Mr. Seth Goes to Washington, Part 3: Inauguration Day (Written January 21, 2009)
Dear Friends,
I woke this morning with the throbbing pain of heel splints. The physical exhaustion of the marathon walking, standing, waiting, and herding for 14 hours-a-day over this freezing concrete city has finally taken it’s toll. The Messiah may arrive today, and I’d watch on television. (grin).
I tried to write something last night, but my brain and body were in utter retreat. I jotted down a few notes, had two classes of champagne, fumbled with the video camera, and passed out. I actually slept 7-hours for the first time in who knows how long.
It’s hard for me to put into words what an extraordinary whirlwind of a day it has been.
I feel as if I am in the vortex of history.
I don’t know where to start or which theme to cling to. Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I feel psychically overwhelmed… and the Inauguration hasn’t even happened yet.
Personal Reflections on a Seminal Event
By Seth J. Itzkan, August 29, 2008.
I won’t soon forget the most important political moment in my lifetime.
Antidote to Timidity
In addition to the superlatives that are no doubt in abundance this August morning, I would add that Obama’s treatments of the abortion, gay rights, and gun ownership issues were transcendent. “Don’t tell me we can’t uphold the second amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals”, he angrily exalted concerning the latter. That type growling clarity is exactly what the Democratic Party has been lacking. He is the antidote to timidity. Another pinnacle moment came when he proclaimed the bipartisan principles of patriotism, “The men and women who serve in our battlefields…have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America”. Read the rest of this entry »
[Partial transcript of talk by Dr. James Hansen. Talk give June 1st, 2008 in Lexington, Massachusetts. Transcript notes by Seth J. Itzkan. I’ve added time stamps next to the text taken from the video available below. See further notes on the talk here.]
http://www.lexgwac.org/JamesHansen.html
26:25 “We do need a revolution. It is going to have to be led by the people. We can’t expect Washington to lead it without the pressure from the public.”
We have to close the gap if we’re going to fix the problem.
Our climate system is dominated by positive feedbacks.”
“strong positive feedback”
26:40 “There is this large gap between what is understood about global warming by the relevant scientific community and what is known about global warming by those who need to know, and that’s the public and policy makers…And we have to close that gap if we’re gong to solve the problem.” Read the rest of this entry »
On June 1st, myself and several colleagues had the extraordinary pleasure of an impromptu and informal ice cream parlor seminar with Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA’S Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Dr. James Hansen is the top climate modeler for U.S. government and is considered the world’s foremost authority on global warming. He often speaks to Congress and is regularly cited in the press.
[Picture 1: Dr. James Hansen talks to a group at the impromptu ice cream parlor seminar in Lexington, MA, following a public presentation in the town hall. Photo by Seth Itzkan.] Read the rest of this entry »
The hysteria that gripped Boston as a result of harmless cartoon characters placed around the city for a marketing campaign aimed at youth hearkens analogies to the classic apocalyptic science fiction movie Twelve Monkeys (1995), and should give us pause as to the unwarranted and taxing state-of-fear we have created for ourselves in our post 911 world.
Like the movie Twelve Monkeys, images of a cartoon-like character, in this case monkeys, are clandestinely placed in public places and are subsequently considered signatures of a terrorist plot. And, like the movie, the images are nothing but a form of graffiti aimed at a particular youthful sub-culture. The movie though, does feature a terrorist intent on harm, however, he goes unnoticed amidst the innocent distractions.
On this MLK Day, I am intrigued by the story of Mukhtar Mai, a poor village woman who is being hailed as the Rosa Parks of Pakistan. Mukhtar is a rape victim who had the audacity to stand up to her tribal-leader attackers and see them prosecuted in the nation’s highest court. Her stance has helped change the attitudes and laws concerning rape and even “honor killing” in her country.
An article on the efforts that John Michitson and I have been making for a regional Eco-Industrial Netwoking effort has been published in the October 3, 2005 copy of the Haverhill Eagle Tribune. Click to see PDF copy
The article says, in part:
Eco-Industrial Networking, the practice he spearheaded with Seth Itzkan of Plant-TECH Associates, a Medford-based consulting firm, is geared toward making the region economically and environmentally robust.
In five to 10 years, he and Itzkan hope Haverhill and surrounding municipalities will be bustling with innovative and environmentally friendly businesses. By collaborating with one another, these business would be able to slash expenses and maximize profits.
Twelve Monkeys (err.. Mooninites)
Like the movie Twelve Monkeys, images of a cartoon-like character, in this case monkeys, are clandestinely placed in public places and are subsequently considered signatures of a terrorist plot. And, like the movie, the images are nothing but a form of graffiti aimed at a particular youthful sub-culture. The movie though, does feature a terrorist intent on harm, however, he goes unnoticed amidst the innocent distractions.