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scott_laugenour |
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Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 14:59:03 PM EST |
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Web Page:
http://www.scottlaugenour.org
Email:
scott@scottlaugenour.org
Bio:
2012 GRP Candidate for State Representative in the 4th Berkshire District; GRP State Committee representative of the Berkshire Hampshire Franklin and Hampden state senatorial district.
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Wed May 30, 2012 at 12:26:22 PM EDT
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(Thanks Scott, for leading the way. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
Having accepted nomination from Independent and from Green-Rainbow voters to be placed on the ballot, and having filed certified nomination signatures and other necessary paperwork with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, I choose to make public my federal and state tax returns from 2011. Local media or voters in the 4th Berkshire District may make a request to my campaign treasurer, Jeff Turner, at jeff@scottlaugenour.org.
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Sat May 05, 2012 at 10:15:44 AM EDT
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(Shout out to all you Lenox readers. You know who you are! - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I participated as a registered voter at the 2012 Lenox Town Meeting on May 3 at 7pm. My votes on the twenty-nine articles are recorded below with annotation.
It is important, in my opinion, for voters to know the voting records of candidates for office. In 2010 when I ran for office I also made my 2010 town meeting votes public.
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Fri Mar 16, 2012 at 12:50:01 PM EDT
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(I'd be curious to see evidence of adverse health impacts. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I submitted testimony to the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Public Health today as part of the process being undertaken for the Commonwealth to set appropriate siting standards for wind turbines. The public comment period closes on March 19, 2012.
Please join me in calling for reparations if health impacts are confirmed. It is clear that some wind turbines have been sited too close to peoples' homes.
The work that an independent panel conducted for DEP/DPH is incomplete.
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Tue Feb 28, 2012 at 10:12:49 AM EST
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(Keep hootin', hollerin' and howlin', Scott! - promoted by eli_beckerman)
ASKING OUR TOWNS TO AFFIRM THAT LOCAL ENERGY POLICIES WILL SHAPE THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS: THESE POLICIES SHOULD INCLUDE SEEKING MEANINGFUL MEASURABLE ACTIONS TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES OF CONSERVATION, SOLAR, AND WIND, FOCUSING ON COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP.
Following the issuance of the Lenox Wind Energy Research Panel's final report, the Board of Selectmen held a public hearing on February 27 and then voted 4-0 on February 29 not to pursue the project as it was outlined in a feasibility study it had received from Weston Solutions.
Lenox will continue to develop solar projects and conservation programs. I will continue to argue that wind energy development should not be taken off the table, even while acknowledging that the feasibility study for wind energy that was prepared by Weston Solutions was not thorough enough for any actionable proposal to be voted upon.
I submitted the following statement to the Lenox Board of Selectment on February 28, 2012. It includes a call to affirm the town's commitment to reducing carbon emissions through a town meeting vote and by incorporating such an affirmation into the charge of an Energy Committee.
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Mon Feb 27, 2012 at 11:23:01 AM EST
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("I hope we shall crush... in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." --Thomas Jefferson - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The Green-Rainbow Party offers the example in Massachusett politics of not accepting corporate financial influence. As I noted ten days ago, Beacon Hill's Joint Committee on the Judiciary is holding a public hearing tomorrow, for which I submitted the following testimony today, in support of an effort to amend the US Constitution.
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Wed Feb 15, 2012 at 10:31:55 AM EST
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(We the People indeed - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The Citizens United decision worsened an already terrible situation of big-money influence in democracy. I support amending the US constitution to remedy the situation.
Such amendments require proactive purposeful resolve by individual state representatives, whose legislative bodies must ultimately ratify what Congress passes.
Please join me in preparing testimony in support of a piece of legislation currently on Beacon Hill for a public hearing later this month. Read on for details...
When elected to Beacon Hill I will lead in that resolve by example, advocacy, and action.
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Wed Feb 08, 2012 at 16:12:39 PM EST
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(The answer my friend, is blowing in the industrial wind. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
In response to a question from a Lenox voter that was posted on the wall of my campaign's Facebook page about my position on 'industrial wind in the Berkshires,' I submitted the following text.
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Sun Feb 05, 2012 at 10:01:46 AM EST
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(I think it's time -- especially with the ridiculous MBTA fare-hike/service-cut combo it's proposing -- for the people of Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to Boston and from the Cape all the way North to start raising a coordinated ruckus for a major reinvestment in public transportation from the state legislature. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I am a user and an advocate of the public transportation system in Berkshire County. I have posted on this subject in a prior blog, too.
The board of the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority consists of appointees from the towns and cities in the network. I represent the town of Lenox and have provided the following report to the Board of Selectmen and citizens. It will be incorporated into the Town of Lenox 2011 report, published prior to town meeting and town elections.
The number one request of both employers and users is that the system operate later into the evenings and on Sundays. The legislature currently does not provide the funding that would allow a public transportation service that would better serve the local economy. I will work hard to change budget priorities to that the funding is there.
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Wed Dec 14, 2011 at 18:37:46 PM EST
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(Time for propositional political opposition! - promoted by eli_beckerman)
My second testimony in 2011 to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing takes place December 15 at the public hearing on the Medicare For All bill.
It has been proven throughout the world that that comprehensive health insurance will cost less and be of better quality when it is financed through public progressive taxes rather than through private regressive premiums.
...the barriers to implementing Medicare For All in Massachusetts are not based on economics, on health & medicine, or in public support. The hurdles are political.
There has been a decrease in the number of co-sponsors of the bill ... and lackluster advocacy for Medicare For All.
Beacon Hill will respond more favorably when confronted with an occupation against big-money business as usual.
The complete testimony follows.
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Wed Oct 05, 2011 at 17:02:09 PM EDT
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(Important municipal-level issues on alternative energy and town governance. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The Select Board in Lenox is feeling the heat from some dedicated wind opponents, just as the Select Board in Amherst has been feeling some solar heat.
My letter to the Berkshire Eagle below suggests allowing the town meeting process to play out in Lenox next year, as happened this year in Amherst, where the town didn't appear to be as divided as the solar opponents had claimed.
No one is suggesting a massive industrial wind farm. The site that was tested can support one or two turbines, which would provide the town and possibly residents and others with clean energy options. If Lenox has the capacity to develop both wind and solar it should pursue both options and present them to voters.
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Tue Oct 04, 2011 at 15:56:25 PM EDT
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The Democratic Party candidate, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, in the special election for 3rd Berkshire District State Representative witholds support for Medicare For All because it would put institutions 'in jeopardy.' This revelation occured at a debate last night among the four candidates. The Democrat's statement was in response to Green-Rainbow Party's Mark Miller's clear call to move forward with Medicare For All.
MassCare is the leading statewide advocacy group for Medicare For All. Although its non-profit status prevents it from joining the MA Nurses Association and others in endorsing Miller, it occasionally takes part in voter education by publishing responses to candidate questionnaires.
Today I sent the following message to MassCare's Executive Director, Ben Day, strongly suggesting that this election is such an important occasion. Mr. Day responded very quickly letting me know he would bring this up with his co-chairs.
If MassCare acts on this it may be the first time that it sends a questionnaire out in a partisan election where a Green-Rainbow Party candidate was challenging a Democrat. MassCare failed to send questionnaires out in last year's gubernatorial election and in state rep elections in the 3rd and 4th Berkshire Districts.
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Thu Sep 01, 2011 at 14:58:26 PM EDT
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Two prominent Democrats on the town of Lenox's Select Board proposed and seconded a formal motion in a 'new business surprise' item on August 31, 2011. The motion, if passed, would have closed public discussion of wind energy at upcoming public forums that were intended to focus on both wind and solar plans, thus limiting the municipal energy options that the public could learn about.
It so happens that the town's Democratic Party Town Committee is meeting this evening. Might the Democratic Town Committee address and publicize its position on wind energy? One of the Select Board members who advanced the anti-wind motion is the Democratic Town Committee Chairman.
The Case for a Green-Rainbow Party Town Committee.
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Sun Jun 26, 2011 at 18:19:03 PM EDT
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(Bankruptcy as a step towards Medicare For All? Let us find a better path! - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I made a statement before the Joint Committee on Health Care Finance at a public hearing on Friday, June 24, 2011 at 11 am in Pittsfield. The Committee was hearing testimony on H1849, "An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Controlling Costs ..." . My statement was in opposition to the bill. The Chair of the committee asked me several questions afterwards. A transcript is posted below.
I was happy to meet with fellow health care advocates from around the state, most of whom are strong supporters of Single Payer Health Care (aka Medicare For All), which is one of my major campaign issues as a Green-Rainbow Party candidate. The issue is also one of the major policy initiatives behind the party's mobilization around the Commonwealth.
Joining me at the hearing were fellow Green-Rainbow Party members Patrick Burke, Mark Miller, Jeff Turner, Jeff Wheeler. Mark Miller, a candidate for 3rd Berkshire District, also provided testimony.
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Tue Jun 07, 2011 at 16:00:53 PM EDT
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(There's work to be done to make registering GRP a meaningful and effective move. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The established power brokers are not pleased at the mobilization of the Green-Rainbow Party, which is a way of saying that they are taking notice. A brief mention that I made in an article about how green party membership bolsters ones activism elicited a response on the Green-Rainbow Party's Facebook page from an official within a competing political party, who pleaded against registering with a green party, saying that a voter who did so loses his or her influence because that voter could no longer participate in Democratic Party or Republican Party primaries.
Our influence is growing because our numbers are growing. We don't increase our influence by participating in other parties' primaries.
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Mon May 02, 2011 at 22:22:30 PM EDT
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(Sounds like at least 3 of the 4 Berkshire state rep. incumbents need a strong Green-Rainbow challenger... and I'm guessing we've already found 2 of them! Who will step up in the First Berkshire district? - promoted by eli_beckerman)
People around the country have worn this button in solidarity with protesters who peacefully occupied the capitol building in Madison in February and March of this year.
An Icelandic journalist whom I know asked me at the time to comment on the Madison uprisings. She was well-versed in the established narrative that positions Republicans as 'anti-labor' and Democrats as 'pro-labor.' "Such a thing that happened in Wisconsin couldn't happen in Massachusetts, I'm sure, because it's controlled by Democrats," she commented almost as an aside.
"Sure it could," I replied.
My response startled her. "After all," I continued, "regressive trends in taxation and public benefits have been advancing all over the United States under both Republican and Democratic Party leadership for at least a couple of decades."
We've polarized ourselves over many more years in the US via two-party 'debates,' disempowered ourselves in Massachusetts via one-party politics, and vested our public policies in failing trickle-down philosophies. It is to the point that we perpetuate a gushing downward spiral in the general health, education, solvency, and productive civic engagement of our people and communities, believing that it's the only way. It 's time for new voices to participate in the debate. We can expand instead, but it requires action.
It's time for single payer health care and for tax & budget fairness. These are two of the four major initiatives that is fueling the Green-Rainbow Party's outreach, as decided at the party's initiatives summit last month. There are clear steps that people can take to achieve real change and real progress.
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Wed Mar 16, 2011 at 16:29:35 PM EDT
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(Fraud? What fraud? - promoted by eli_beckerman)
This was quite a popular note on my Facebook page.
Following major bank failures in 2008, both the US and Iceland elected new governments. One of the new governments fired the bank presidents and began criminal investigations. Guess which one.
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Mon Mar 14, 2011 at 22:29:32 PM EDT
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My hairdresser in Iceland receives paternity leave benefits from his country's social security system.
Here in the US there is passionate and polarizing debate about disparities and declines in worker benefits. Neither of the prevalent paradigms in the 'bi-partisan' debate paints an encouraging picture of the future. The look of the future for next generations is the responsibility of public policies today.
It seems we are saying to the next generations that they can expect lower living standards into the future and that we're not going to take any action to change it. We're not even offering an apology! The underlying trends of rising health care costs, decreasing health care results, crippling personal debts, stagnant or falling real income, deteriorating infrastructure were occurring even when times were 'good.' Many of the solutions are beyond the immediate realm of city and town government, but they are all within the capabilities of action taken by dedicated organized politically disobedient citizens.
Now back to Iceland ...
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Tue Mar 01, 2011 at 06:55:29 AM EST
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(Looking forward to the interview! Iceland seems particularly relevant to what will happen with our own bubble economy. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I am in Iceland this week, preparing for a Thursday afternoon interview the Minister of the Environment, Svandis Svavarsdottir.
(Interview published in April)
Svandis is with the Left-Green Party, which is part of the nation's ruling coalition together with the Prime Minister's Social Democratic Party. Here is her official profile.
I find it interesting that the green parties in Iceland and in Massachusetts both have hyphenated names which represent a merging of social justice and environmental groups. The Left-Green Party was formed in Iceland in 1999, while the Green-Rainbow Party formed in Massachusetts in 2002.
My interview will lead to an article that I will publish in the US sharing learnings and insights that can assist parties such as the Green-Rainbow Party increase its membership and candidate strength. I have received suggestions for questions to ask Svandis from all over the Commonwealth. If any reader would like to share insights or suggested questions that will assist me in my preparation for this interview, please post them here or e-mail me directly.
scott@scottlaugenour.org
Here are some additional profiles of women active and successful in the green political movement. I shared Svandis' and these other profiles recently in an e-mail bulleting, and I share them here.
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Mon Feb 07, 2011 at 16:34:59 PM EST
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("This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed non-comformists...The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority..." --Dr. MLK, Jr. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The title of this blog came from a collaborative video and sound art piece created in 2009 by the artists Doug Henderson and David Brody, of Berlin and Brooklyn respectively. I liked it instantly upon seeing and hearing it. The call to disobedience came to mind recently when I was asked to define a phrase I sometimes use, 'political disobedience,' in conjunction with my Green-Rainbow Party activism. A Facebook friend asked for a definition of 'political disobedience' when I used it to invite people to meetings of the party's local chapter. It was also on my mind when the Green-Rainbow Party sponsored a recent screening of Howard Zinn's "The People Speak," which is a documentary about the strong positive impacts that people's movements have made through use of direct action and civil disobedience throughout history.
Political Disobedience, like Civil Disobedience, is organized direct action that people take to confront power that does not serve people's interests. I first heard the phrase 'political disobedience' from fellow Green-Rainbow Party member, John Andrews. I liked it instantly upon hearing it as I did with the title of the art piece mentioned in the previous paragraph; I think the time for it is now.
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| About |
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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| Quotes |
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty--power is ever stealing from the many to the few... The hand entrusted with power becomes... the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continual oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot: only by unintermitted Agitation can a people be kept sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.
--Abolitionist Wendell Phillips, 1852
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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