I have a serious question

If the right of collective bargaining for public employees is so critical to our principles of human dignity and the democratic process that it justifies an emergency email from the Congregational Advocacy & Witness Director asking us to sign a petition from Interfaith Worker Justice and to participate in a strategy call with labor leaders; if it's a basic human right enshrined not only in our principles, but in the United Nations Universal Human Rights Declaration and in the first amendment to the Constitution, then why are we holding our General Assembly in North Carolina, one of only five states in the nation to outlaw collective bargaining by public employees? Why did we hold the 2005 GA in Texas, one of the other five? If "Standing On The Side Of Love" means fighting for the right of public sector employees to use collective bargaining, then why are we rewarding states that outlaw it?

We're famous for our rigid stands on human rights. We boycotted Arizona just because they didn't make MLK's birthday a holiday. We spent last summer furiously blogging about Arizona again, holding special conference call meetings to vote on cancelling our GA there because of 1070. We're also famous for the way we vet venues- every last detail must be accessible, recyclable, fair traded, capped and traded, sustainable, renewable, local, and prevailing waged- how did we let a basic human right slip through the cracks?

Don't tell me that this is a new situation; it's not. In 2005, Indiana revoked collective bargaining for the public sector- indeed, Indiana was the inspiration for Wisconsin's actions, as we managed to turn red ink to black despite the horrible recession. (although Gov Walker seems not to notice that in Indiana we also had some tax increases) There was no outpouring of outrage by UU ministers and bloggers then- had anyone cared, we might have had emergency "Move the GA from anti-union Texas" meetings that year, and we certainly wouldn't have selected another anti-union state for this GA had there been an uproar. But there wasn't. So why do we suddenly care about public sector unions now when we never did before? What's changed between the selection of an anti-union state for our GA and now?

Could it be that we choose our issues by wetting our finger and holding it in the air? There is a lot more press and public uproar over Wisconsin than there was over Indiana; it's a lot more fun signing petitions that someone might actually read, and having conference calls with real activists instead of the same voices you heard at GA. Could it be that this time the DNC is involved? They were in no position to exploit the situation in Indiana in 2005, but they're having a field day in Milwaukee. I've noticed over the years that our actions and concerns track the DNC's pretty closely- remember our rather fluid positions on the filibuster? Could it be that we've taken so much flak for being elitist that we're suddenly desperate to prove solidarity with the middle class?

Don't like these theories? What's your explanation?

UUA General Assembly 2009 Evaluation

I received a GA wrap-up email advertising DVDs of the GA, and requesting feedback. I will eventually fill out their official feedback form, but I'm going to do my own version here first, because I have a lot of problems with theirs, and because I learned a lot of things about attending a GA that I had never suspected.

Here's an example of a question I had problems with: "How would you rate General Assembly efforts to support greening, both in preparation for GA and at GA, including hotels, transportation, the convention center, handouts, etc.?" Now just how in the Hell could I evaluate that? I didn't survey all the hotels to see if they were compliant with all our rules. I don't know what past program formats were like, or how much paper and printing was or was not saved by this year's changes. I don't know how much effort was required to get the Salt Palace to agree to our green demands- for all I know, they were ahead of us in this regard, and we needed only countersign their existing procedures. Or maybe they were an environmental Hell that we reformed through much arm-twisting...again, how the Hell should I know?

A much better question was, "How well did GA succeed in addressing accessibility concerns?" And I'm shocked by my own answer: not very. It's an answer I wouldn't have given in any previous year, I'm sure, but recent experiences have greatly expanded my understanding of what "accessibility" means- it's a lot more than just "are the doors wide, and ramps available?"

Until recently, I would have divided the accessibility world into those in wheelchairs, and everyone else... but I've learned what a wide world "everyone else" is. Some of us (in my case because of recent illness) who walk just fine nonetheless have speed and stamina issues, and the Salt Palace is a huge place- so huge that the Palace employees routinely use electric scooters to get around. Add in lines at the restrooms, and it simply wasn't possible to get from plenary to some of the workshops in the time allotted. At every workshop there was a parade of late arrivers; many of us walking with sticks, many appearing fully able-bodied to the casual observer- but all of us unable to make the long trek in the time allowed. The same issue raised its head in registration- very long lines, with very few seats. For a number of back, hip, and knee problems, standing still is even more agonizing than walking; chairs should be provided any time one is expected to stand around for more than a few minutes. One last point along these lines: our hotel was so close that no shuttle service was provided... but "close" is a more relative term than I would have thought when I was younger. If you can trust my many years in Reserves and Boy Scouts for pacing off distances, it was 278 yards from the front door of the hotel to the front door of the Salt Palace. A meaningless distance for me normally- but in my depleted condition, a very uncomfortable walk at the end of a long day. I'll never take the independence of two feet for granted again- and I'll never plan an event without adequate benches and rest areas, either!

I learned that accessibility is more than travel, too. My eyesight isn't what it once was; I now need reading glasses. My eyes are still within "normal" for most purposes; I have no restrictions on my drivers license, for example... but I found many things at GA hard to read. PowerPoint presentations with low contrast color combinations should be avoided, as should arty fonts. If you want people to actually be able to read your posters and presentations, go with high contrast colors, plain, sans serif type fonts, sized to appear at least ten or twelve point at the maximum distance down the hall.

The survey asks about the cost of GA registration. Hey, it costs money to stage an event like that; as these things go, I didn't think the costs were outrageous. I'll tell you what IS outrageous, though- the cost of the DVDs of the GA! I can't even bring myself to type the words; I'll just cut and paste: "Best Value Bundle - complete audio plus worship video - $545" And that does NOT include the "UU University", sold separately: "This 2-disc DVD set includes four hours of the very best materials from UU University 2009 in Salt Lake City. Excerpts from over 50 hours of programming..." That's right, you get their pick of four hours out of the 50- for $45! $590 freaking dollars, and you still don't quite get everything... and they talk about oil companies gouging!

Let's see, they ask about the program book... fine, good job... orientation, quality of workshops, banner parade... all excellent... ease of making hotel reservations, fine. But about that hotel... the quoted rate was just under 2/3 of the actual cost. EVERYTHING was extra... just as an example, in the three weeks we spent on the road visiting family as well as GA, we had free internet everywhere, even in a log cabin- Hell, they have free wifi at the highway rest stops in Iowa! But not at this hotel- and they charged not just per room, but per computer! Not counting transportation, we spent more attending GA than on our last Paris vacation. Screw your "greening" rules- next time we'll get a hotel outside city limits and taxi in every day; it'll save hundreds.

They asked about UU University- I liked everything about it except for the speaker's conclusions. When the only living theologian who gets quoted is Bill Maher, I'm not likely to be happy about the content.

They ask for comments about this year's site. I must admit the choice baffled me. Salt Lake is not a central location; it is not convenient to anyone living outside Salt Lake. It's not cheap; it costs as much as cities that actually have cultural attractions. It's not full of historical meaning for UUs. Near as I can tell, the biggest thing it has going for it is that it's not Miami, so there's no Port Authority to cause ID controversies.

You know, guys, there are towns that are centrally located, that are transportation hubs, that specialize in conventions- towns like Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St Louis, Nashville... towns that are used to running things like the Kentucky Derby, the 500, the Super Bowl; heck, here in Indy we can get 28,000 people to show up for a sci-fi convention. How about picking out of that pool for a while? Maybe save us a few bucks?
　
　

Woe is me

I'm up in my hotel room, sick as a cliche, missing GA. Well, I suppose if I had to miss a day this is the one to miss, and the plenary will be streamed tonight. I'll be at tomorrow's plenary if I have to rent a wheel chair.

Some quick notes from GA

I had originally intended to blog from GA itself, during the time between programming, but they want $14/day for access there, which would be in addition to the $10/day I'm paying the hotel for internet, on top of the $13/day for parking, all of which is in addition to the room base rate- which with the GA discount is still $35/day higher than we paid for our hotel in Paris. Ok, that was the 14th Arrondissement, but it felt safer and their beggars smelled better.

You can read about the actual goings-on here , so I'll talk about the first impressions of a first time delegate/attendee instead. The people- everywhere you go, you'll find people you have something in common with; you'll never be at a loss for conversation. The exhibit hall; just like the dealers room at a Star Trek convention, even including the fact that many of them use lingo so specific to their interest that it sounds like an alien language to anyone else. (Wait, scratch "alien"- that's not inclusive enough for this venue. Make that differently genomed star travelers) The staff; so cheerful and helpful it inspires a perverse desire to stomp on their toes just to see if they're capable of losing their temper.

There's more, but it's 12:25 AM, and programming starts early tomorrow... err, later today.

We've arrived

It's 11:21 PM, Teusday night, and we're finally ensconsed in our hotel room in Salt Lake City. Too tired to write much more; I'll pick it up tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning we'll register, and try to find some fellow bloggers!

Preparing for GA

Since the family reunion broke up, we've been preparing for GA by restoring and freshening the spirit- traveling to Salt Lake via Yellowstone Park. (which is why I'm so behind on news and commentary, as evidenced by my previous post) (Yellowstone pictures later) Just have time for a quick note while sitting in the hotel having coffee. I've noticed that some of the fumes spewing from geysers and fumaroles not only smell bad, they leave mineral deposits on metal surfaces, such as jewelry... my mother would have found it only fitting that my flaming chalice and pentacle are encrusted with brimstone.

On the road to GA

The long way, via visiting family. It's 9:15 pm; we just got back from dinner at 1880 Coco in Rawlings, Wyoming... yesterday morning at 10:00 am we were just pulling out of Indianapolis. I'm beat. More later.

Calling all UU bloggers

I've put off mentioning it until now, because some family things had put it in jeopardy, but they are now resolved, and so I can announce that we will be going to GA as delegates for our congregation. Who else is going? I'd like to meet all of you I've been reading for so long- can we plan a get together of some kind?

I cannot follow the logic

of Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, UUA Trustee from the Metropolitan New York District , in her decision to not attend the next General Assembly. The issue, of course, is the security requirement that attendees show a government issued ID; she says, "This situation exemplifies our Fifth Principle writ large, and I am consumed by the idea that we have given the US government the capacity to dictate to our General Assembly who might and might not join us." Ok... assuming the worst from the Port security officials, who would be excluded by this? Anyone who drives to GA is already prepared to show ID at any traffic stop. Those who take a train or plane must show their ID just to get there. Anyone staying in a hotel must show ID to get a room. These things apply in every city, not just Ft. Lauderdale. So the only person affected by the special security in the Port of Ft Lauderdale and not at a GA in any other city would be the one who hitchhikes there, and stays at a homeless shelter or tent city in a park, AND who cannot get a government ID for some reason.

So who cannot get the required ID? Not the poor- even if your state does not give free ID as my state does, (Indiana requires ID to vote, and so gives free ID to those who cannot scrape up $10 for a drivers license), and this poor person receives no governemnt aid of any kind, (AFDC, SSI, all other government programs require ID as well), the UUA will buy it for you! (see Frequently Asked Questions About Security in Fort Lauderdale ) So the poor are able to get ID, as are convicted felons, Communists, VooDoo Houngans, left handed albino pipe fitters... in fact, the one and only class of people unable to get U.S. Government ID are illegal aliens. Actually, even an illegal alien could get in if they have ID from their nation of origin- the Ft. Lauderdale Port Security accepts ID from foreign nations, and does not run a computer check on them. (again, see the FAQ) So the only delegate who could be refused is an illegal alien who doesn't even have ID from their home country. Perhaps my congregation is a snooty elitist one, but that description does not fit any of our delegates.

As there is no practical reason for objecting, the only remaining reason is one of principal- the refusal to submit to government even when you're on their turf, rather than your own. I can understand that one, but it seems to me that there's another principal at stake here, too, one that should be balanced against the absolutist non-complance stand- and it has to do with our current debate on the Peace resolution. The raison d'etre for the extra security is that ports are both targets and conduits for terrorism. If there is another 9/11, there will be another war- as simple as that. Unlike the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war had popular support because it was the country from which 9/11 was launched- and a great many of those against the Iraq war are only complaining about how badly it's been handled, not the concept of the war. It seems to me that it's incumbent upon those most strenuosly opposing war to take the lead in following all measures meant to prevent war, and another attack might well mean the full might of the US Military being brought to bear upon the Middle East, rather than the police action it's been treated as so far- something I don't think we want to contemplate. If we want to take peace seriously, we have to take security seriously. Given what's at stake, what kind of example does it set for someone who has to show ID to rent a video to object to showing ID to enter a port?