The Tom Steyer I Know

Categories Community Activists, environmentLeave a Comment on The Tom Steyer I Know

Of all the billionaires I know, Tom Steyer is my favorite.

I had dinner and drinks with him and a handful of activists in Hermosa Beach a few years ago and found him to be about as as down to earth, smart and interesting as the guys I like to hang with.

March 11 2016
(photo by Al Muratsuchi)

You may have seen one of Tom Steyer’s video ads on-line or on television calling for the impeachment of President Trump.  Trump noticed them and called Steyer “wacky & totally unhinged.”  Nancy Pelosi criticized Steyer and his calls for impeachment as “not helpful.”

I think Steyer is dead solid perfect right-on and I’m glad somebody has the courage and vision to say the obvious. I’m especially glad it’s him.

Most of us in the environmental movement know who Steyer is, and we’re well aware of his work as a political and climate action activist, but plenty of folks I run into haven’t heard of him yet.

With Steyer seriously considering a run for Diane Feinstein’s US Senate seat and his ongoing impeachment campaign it won’t be long before Steyer’s recognition numbers go beyond the current 25% of voters who say they know enough about him to form an opinion.

I know plenty of elected representatives at all levels, I know my fair share of CEOs and celebrities too, but I don’t personally know a one of them as tough, determined, authentic and genuine as Tom Steyer.

Continue reading ➞ The Tom Steyer I Know

Men Are The Problem. Women Are The Solution

Categories environmentLeave a Comment on Men Are The Problem. Women Are The Solution

feministIt should be pretty simple and obvious what the solution to our current “Age Of Stupid,” problem is if we want to change course as drastically as we need to, and if we choose to survive instead of hurtling at record speed into the abyss.

Naomi Klein detailed the blueprint in “This Changes Everything” but she left out one architectural design feature.

Man must step down – or be removed – from all positions of power and replaced by equally competent women (of whom there is no shortage).

Women have earned the exclusive leadership rights until at least the end of the century, and then we can take a look back at how things went and determine if we want to re-up the exclusive deal for the next century.

Any honest and objective evaluation of how we got to where we are leaves you with one undeniable conclusion – men have been in charge of everything and men have screwed up almost everything they’ve been in charge of. It’s in their nature.

Whether it’s health, safety, equity, environment, education, justice, foreign relations, poverty, transportation, homelessness, violence – I could go on and on mansplaining it to you, but half the population understood this whole proposition when they read the headline of this piece.

Continue reading ➞ Men Are The Problem. Women Are The Solution

It’s #TimeForUnrest Because My Friend Liz Deserves A Life Outside Her Bedroom

Categories HealthLeave a Comment on It’s #TimeForUnrest Because My Friend Liz Deserves A Life Outside Her Bedroom

I met 12 year old Liz Burlingame in 1980 back when I was 23 years old and didn’t like kids.

Smart, witty, humble –  a little awkward, but a bright shining light with such a positive and endearing personality I couldn’t help but love Liz and make a rare exception to my “Children Not Invited” rule.

Joe & Liz Sept 18
Me and Liz on my birthday in 1982. She made a “Happy Birthday Mr. Joe” sign for their Newport Beach garage door.

Liz read books and was interested in current events and liked to talk about them – all traits we shared.  Liz was a nerd compared to her bouncy, athletic and popular sister, Lynn – which made her even more winsome to me.

But what sealed the deal for me was that Liz became the first fan of my fledging writing work – long before anything I wrote was worth the attention. Liz was interested in whatever screenplay or sitcom I was writing on spec or just talking about writing.  Liz was rooting for me from the beginning and has never stopped being the supportive kid sister I always wished for.

The one subject I never thought I’d be writing about is the one I’m now sharing here about Liz being sick and mostly bedridden for the past 26 years with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that struck her down like Thor’s hammer.

This is the story of how Liz has had her life from age 23 to 49 (which she is today), robbed from her by a disease that many doctors still deny is real, know almost nothing about and are doing almost nothing about.

In this heartbreaking piece Liz wrote just last month she says,

I live in Atlanta, a city of 5.8 million people, home to the CDC, and noted for its medical facilities, but there are so few doctors here that treat ME/CFS that most patients I know travel to South Carolina to consult a doctor there.

I want to grab disbelieving doctors by the lapels and shout, “A little help, please!” Modern medicine has dismissed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome possibly because the name sounded so negligible. It sounded far more like a complaint than what it really is.

CFS is a disease.

Continue reading ➞ It’s #TimeForUnrest Because My Friend Liz Deserves A Life Outside Her Bedroom