TODAY
President's Corner:
"You Can 'Jump The Shark,' Just Be Sure It Doesn't Eat You!"
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James Schlesinger
I recently met James Schlesinger after he presented testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the, "High Costs of Crude: The New Currency of Foreign Policy" (Nov 16, 2005). Mr. Schlesinger is a living legend having served as Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA and Secretary of Energy under presidents Nixon and Carter, respectively. He is now a Senior Advisor at Lehman Brothers.
Stephen Johnson
I recently met Stephen Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at the swearing in ceremony of Dr. George M. Grey as Assistant Secretary for Research and Development. I also attended Administrator Johnson's confirmation hearing at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Stephen L. Johnson was sworn in as the 11th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 2, 2005. The EPA implements and enforces the nation’s federal environmental laws and regulations; the Agency has over 18,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $8.6 billion.
Spike Lee
I recently met Spike Lee in Washington, DC where he was signing his biography, That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It, by Kaleem Aftab. Spkie appeared on The Bill Maher Show on HBO the previous Friday and talked about a documentary he is planning on Hurricane Katrina and the effect on New Orleans. I briefly talked to Spike about this and asked if he was going to address climate change in relation to more hurricane activity and more powerful hurricanes. He stated that he would call former Vice President Al Gore. I suggested to him that AAEA has another view he should consider. Let's hope he will.
Norris McDonald and Spike Lee
Bruce Willis
I recently met Bruce Willis on Randall's Island in New York City at an event co-hosted by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and ESPN. Bruce was the honoree and received the Foundation's Chairman's Award to recognize his commitment to environmental protection. Willis lives in Idaho and has great respect for the environment. Past recipients of the Chairman’s Award have included former presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as well as actor Clint Eastwood. Guests at the event could participate in and watch others test their skills in timber sports, fly-casting, air dog demonstrations, archery and other outdoor activities with some of the top competitors from ESPN's Great Outdoor Games. The NRA had an interesting computerized shooting range under a tent. I was pretty handy with the laser rifle.
AAEA President Norris McDonald and Bruce Willis
Bruce wore one of his signature hats and stayed under the big tent for the entire evening's program. Paul Berry, of Washington, DC WJLA Channel 7 TV news fame, was the auctioneer for some really nice items and trips. There were fireworks at the end of the program and Bruce stayed to see that too. He is in New York filming Die Hard 4. Randall's Island is between Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005
Reverend Al Sharpton
Everyday Is Today For Al Sharpton
"Norris McDonald worked with me to get the "1st Civil Rights Legislation Law of the 21st Century" passed. Not only did he help in getting the No Fear Act of 2002 passed, as president of the African American Environmentalist Association, he has been a valuable resource to me in addressing energy and environmental policies. -- Rev. Al Sharpton
I first met Rev. Sharpton at his Hall of Justice office in Harlem in 2002. Reverend Al Sharpton is one of the smartest men I have ever met. He demonstrated that he has a photographic memory at one of our meetings. I am also thankful to him for assisting the No Fear Coalition (AAEA is a member) in getting the No Fear Act of 2002 passed into law. When the legislation was held up in the Senate after it passed unanimously in the House of Representatives, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo (Chairmwoman of the Coalition) and I went to New York and requested Al Sharpton to come to Washington, DC for a rally and march to Capitol Hill. He agreed. The legislation moved within weeks, it was passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush in the Spring of 2002. During the presidential race of 2004, I briefed Rev. Sharpton on energy and environmental issues in preparation for the League of Conservation Voters Presidential Debate in Los Angeles, California.
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California Dreaming: AAEA L.A. Office
Catalina Island
My trip to Los Angeles
from June 29-July 10, 2005 was very productive and resulted in an
agreement with Zenobia Jamerson to serve as Director of the AAEA LA Office. She also
offered her residence as the location for our office.I attended the inauguration of Mayor
Villaragosa at City Hall and met Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria
Shriver, former Mayor Hahn, Cheech Maron, Ed Begley, Jr., Henry
Cisneros and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. I was also
interviewed by CBS-TV. I introduced my son to Jesse
Jackson.I met with a movie producer to discuss partnering to
produce films. My son and I spent a considerable amount of time
at Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier (he to play his
favorite video games - - me to people watch). We watched
the July 4th fireworks at Marina Del Ray in Burton Chace Park.
I toured the San Onofre nuclear power
plant near San Diego. I stopped by Karl Malone's agent's
office in Newport Beach and left some AAEA information. My son
and I went to Catalina Island. We also went to Sony
Pictures Entertainment.
Biking at Venice Beach (My son Sandy is at left)
Maryland Amish Country
May 2005 - - I was recently in Amish country. I didn't even know that there were Amish in Maryland. If you drive out Route 5 to St. Mary's County, you are in Amish country. I rode with a neighbor who was ordering a 75 pound pig. It was great when we turned off of the main paved road onto a dirt road. We drove down past freshly plowed fields just waiting to sprout their flora. I saw a couple of horse and buggy rigs moving about. There were chickens running around the chicken pen near the main house as we approached. We went around to a small barn area where a young Amish man greeted us. He told us that his father was out and proceeded to show us cured meat. I found out that mold on a slab of ham does not mean it is bad; you just cut the mold off. He cut the molded ham open and it looked perfectly fresh inside. A bad piece of meat would be rotten and smelly. I smelled it and it was okay. My neighbor bought the slab of ham. I bought a $3 jar of blackberry jelly.
My neighbor haggled
with the young man about the price because he wanted something
close to 90 cents a pound but the young man was
insisting on $1.45 per pound. As my
neighbor haggled and threatend to tell his many friends not to
come here anymore if he did not get a good price, the young man
said fine with him. The young Amish man was a surprisingly
assertive negotiator. The Amish aren't as passive as the
stereotype might suggest. Or maybe this individual was breaking
the mold.
I noticed that the Amish had dirt on their pants and shirts. Of course, I guess a farmer is supposed to be dirty. The little kids ran around bare footed. The clothes were simple and the men wore suspenders instead of belts. They look you right in the eye when talking to you.
Visiting the Amish farm impressed upon me how far away from real farming my life has taken me. Although I hate the suburbs, it is ultimately where I have lived most of my life. I did live on the water in Annapolis for three years, but that was more of an 'on-the-water' life than a farming experience. Fortunately, one month out of my youthful summers was spent at my grandmother's tenant farm in Eastern North Carolina. That was great. I experienced every facet of farming. My uncle Russell was the equivalent of a mega-farmer as a sharecropper. He lived right up the dirt road from my grandmother. Her sister was Uncle Russell's wife. He grew it all and did it all. From chickens and pigs to tobacco and cucumbers, it was THE farming experience. Of course, my cousins who grew up there wanted to get out as soon as they could. The military was the easy route. My mother went off to college (first on that side of the family).
Black folks have left farming behind. I hope not for good. Blacks today do not want to be associated with farming. We are now sophisticated and living in urban and suburban areas. We are 'sididy - - citified.' We are hip in our aluminum siding, two garage homes. We are urban and urbane. Anything but country. Even blacks in the South do not want to be associated with farming. They are just as suburban and urban as their Northern counterparts. Farming is considered low-class, country, unsophiscated. We don't even want to get a speck of dirt on our designer shoes. We act so ignorant about anything related to farming the land. This when we are just two or three generations removed from sharecroppers. But it is probably reasonable. The reality is that farming is really hard daily work. And coming out of slavery into tenant farming, nobody was pimped worse than American blacks. So maybe our repulsion for farming is justified. But visiting the Amish farm made me think it ain't that bad a way to establish a fierce independence. I hope we have not left for good.
Anyway, blacks could take some important lessons from the Amish. Simplifying our lives might not be all bad. I have simplified my life and I like it. Of course, I just could not give up my computers. But to live off of the grid seems quite fascinating. The Amish use generators fueled by fuel oil to produce electricity to cool their meat. That would not be practical for millions of people. The goal is adminirable however - - to keep things as simple as possible in order to maintain religous principles, community, family and individual integrity. Part of urban black America has lost its way. And before I would lose my son to urban murder, I would much prefer for him to live a full life on an Amish-type farm.
