Taking my cue from a hit showtune, I think it's time we all realized that regardless of how old we are or what we think our jobs are, one fact has never been more clear in these uncertain times:

We all have a little more homework to do.

We have more homework to do for:

The millions that live uninsured
The millions who are legitimately concerned over how to change health care for the better in this country
Thousands and thousands of military families who struggle to make ends meet--
--To say nothing for the millions of other families who are seeing even worse problems
Our children and their posterity, who will inherit an ever-changing Earth wondering "what the hell were our parents thinking? Were they lazy or just plain stupid?"

I encourage all Americans--and all of you who regularly read what I write--to do a little more homework. Not on FOX, not on CNN, not on MSNBC--but really to give yourself an assignment like "truly understand the health care argument," and work bit by bit, every day, to grasping the knowledge of that debate and passing that along to your friends and family.

The Information Age is both wonderful and painful--wonderful in that information can be transferred within nanoseconds; painful in that misinformation can also be transmitted at the same speed.

Millions of Americans live misinformed about the important issues of our time because they read the fearful and deplorable rhetoric being spouted by ultra-conservative and destructive radicals within the borders of this nation. A true progressive counter-insurgency--necessary for not just the survival of liberty in this country, but also for the survival of life--relies not just on the perpetuation of information and reason, but more importantly, on the fostering of a new way to speak.

A new progressive majority must know the English language, the Bible and football like they know economics, foreign policy and political strategy. We can craft the great progressive solutions of our time in the language of the opposition, thus denying them the ability to discourage progress with the same old lines. It's tough to paint a Democrat as God-less or un-American when he or she knows Scripture and the score of the Sunday Night NFL game.

Time for a little more homework.

It's that time again--time to guess where The Journeying Progressive will be running today! This time, it's worth $50!!!

The incentive to reply with a guess to today's challenge is that, if an American wins a stage before I post a reply with where I actually ran, I will DOUBLE your winnings to a whopping $100! That's $100 free, just for guessing correctly where I will be running and visiting the site!

So get your submissions in before I reply with my most recent destination (itstands@gmail.com)!

Please submit in the following format:

Subject Line of Email: RAAC Guess

Name:
Address:
Phone:
DOB (must be over 18):
Occupation:
Your Guess (city AND state!):


I hope you'll follow my journey, both on the road and on the blogosphere, and challenge yourself, your friends and your family to live a healthy lifestyle and promote progress in your own homes and communities.

That's the wonderful thing about being progressive: you don't have to be rich. You don't have to be a certified expert with a big fancy Ivy League degree. All you have to be is American, and alive. Those two qualifiers may sound simple, but if you look truly deep into what it means to be American and what it means to be alive...I can promise you that to be both is the greatest lifelong journey in the history of mankind.

As for me, I'll keep running, writing and relocating. Along the way, I'll meet as many Americans like you as I possibly can. Keep reading, keep guessing and keep promoting progress for America.

Defined:

"Madoff": As in Bernie Madoff, who famously made off with billions and billions of dollars of money from innocent Americans after decades-long lies.

"Madoffing": The willingness to deliberately lie to average Americans, in order to line one's pocket with gold. The desire to think only of oneself, yet claim to have "the best interest of the taxpayers" at heart. The claim to be of the people, yet to bury the progress of those people by skyrocketing the economic inequality of the average American taxpayer.

"Madoffer": Anyone who practices Madoffing. Typically a movement conservative: they say "lower taxes" but really their policies mean "status quo for average American taxpayers, ridiculous profits for the ridiculously rich, like us Madoffers."

I defined it. You use it. Call it out when you see it, on Twitter, on Facebook, on CNN/FOX, anywhere.

America's best kept secret is the mayor of Newark, New Jersey: Cory Booker.

It is obvious watching him from the outside, and regarding his impressive accomplishments already as a young mayor, that Booker isn't just a politician--he is a progressive, in the best sense of the word. A brilliant man himself, Booker places the city and its people far above his own best interests--something sorely lacking in the annals of American government today.

You can see the type of leadership Booker espouses in a clip from a recent press conference posted below. He's a figure that all Americans can and should rally behind, as a man of both lofty ideals and one who achieves results through hard work and dedication.



We are quite fotunate to be blessed with a leader like Cory Booker in this country. I'm looking very much forward to supporting him should he ever decide to run for President. He's just the kind of leader we need to move us forward. He's just the kind of progressive we can all be proud of.

I have been on the record as not agreeing 100% with Democrats on the issue of how best to deal with our economy. I've been reading Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal and do tend to agree that Democrats are the best stewards of our economy--or at least, have the long-term potential to be so, IF they can break themselves from the Republican/Reagan/Ridiculous mold that the mainstream media and "Contract With America" hyperbole has crafted over the past 3 decades.

There are certain stereotypes and assumptions that Democrats have allowed themselves to be pegged with, and we all know them. The one that is most troubling, however, is "soft on defense." This conjures up images of Democrats as pacifists, appeasers, etc--a stereotype that is supposed to discredit any of us on matters military. From my observations, we may have the failures of Jimmy Carter's PR organization to blame for this--most Americans claim to feel "safer" with a Republican in office. Which stands out as a little crazy, since more Americans died between 2000-2008 than have since the Vietnam era.

It is no secret that, generation to generation, those who serve our nation come from relatively poorer backgrounds. Many are faced with the ominous choice of military service or jailtime. At a time when college degrees are saddling American youth with unprecedented amounts of debt and credit card companies are feasting on the balance-carriers of our nation, military service has never been a more attractive way to pay down your debt while serving your country.

It amazes me that ours is a society comfortable with paying baseball players and movie stars millions of dollars every month, yet for those that would die to give us the ability to play baseball or watch movies, we start off at under $50,000 a year.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, somehow, in the midst of a difficult engagement in Iraq and the drawing up of more fierce forces in Afghanistan, Congress passed--and the President signed into being--a military budget that cut basic pay for our troops more than 25% between 2007 and 2008. I'm going to blame both parties and give an EPIC FAIL to Congress for this.


It's time to correct these blatant inequities. In light of our current economic woes, and bearing in mind the incredible talents of our troops, I propose a basic Military Service Stimulus Plan: DOUBLE base pay for all military members.

At roughly 2.5 million strong (including reservists), this plan will cost roughly $100 billion, and unlike any other financial stimulus plan, puts money directly into the pockets of people that need it.

This is not to discount any other professions. There are plenty of domestic occupations where risk and sacrifice are part of everyday life: police officers, firemen, social workers and even a few intrepid fishermen in the waters off of Alaska. But for the sake of brevity, let us focus the crux of our efforts on one group of brave men and women we can all rally behind, keeping our other selfless servers close to our hearts.

A stimulus for military members makes sense because, quite frankly, they deserve it. In eight years of tumult and turmoil, the women and men wearing the cloth of our nation have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty in lands that few Americans have ever set foot in before. They are our most basic, most essential ambassadors, and they keep us safe from harm. They have never complained about being overworked or stretched too thin, even as some reservists--fathers and mothers alike during this conflict--volunteer for their third and fourth tours overseas.

The stimulus plans argued about in the political world are designed to supposedly "put money into the hands of those that need it." This is a noble and praiseworthy goal, but as we're creating a queue for those funds, let's put the people who already work hard, risk their lives and protect our country at the head of the line.

I can foresee arguments over whether or not the officer corps of the military needs to have their pay doubled, or whether it makes sense to increase the six-figure salaries that some of our top military leaders are already making. But judging from the heroic, dependable leadership of servicemembers like Admiral Mike Mullen, General David Petraeus and General Stanley McChrystal, I'd say that the upper echelons are as much deserving of a raise than any other upper-level leadership team in the public or private worlds.

And on top of that, our military servicemembers are some of the brightest, hardest-working, most entrepreneurial-minded among us. Helping their lot won't just grow the consumer base, but also the ever-important small-business base that is the lifeblood of our economy and American way of life.

Important to note: This shouldn't be some gradual plan to double base pay over a number of years; no, the plan I'm talking about happens now. We've seen it before--promises to raise pay or efficiency standards by a certain year, only to have Congress talk and deliberate those positives away. I'd like to say I have faith in Congress, but even as a Democrat, my patience with them is running on fumes. We must demand an immediate double in military pay, and not stop until the pen touches paper on the president's desk.

Too often, elected officials view military servicemembers as pawns with few other obligations than marching into the theatre of choice. But today, as reservists are called upon regularly to put their lives and families on hold, it is clear that care must be taken not only for the soldier in the military setting, but--almost as importantly--for his or her family on the homefront. As the son of a national guard member, I know from experience just how difficult the homefront becomes when one parent (sometimes the only parent) leaves--whether that is the mother or the father in any particular family.

You might want to laugh this plan off. But at a fraction of the cost of the previous stimulus plan, and with much more direct impact on Americans that need immediate help, it is an incredibly smart way to get our national priorities in order and save ourselves from destruction by economic ineptitude.

Before I hit the bed, I wanted to make a connection between two completely random videos I saw today for your viewing pleasure. We'll call it part of our "get to know each other" phase of the reader-writer relationship. So:

When I see blood-boiling, utterly crap stuff like this:


It makes me want to run like this:


Yeah, skimpy shorts and all. Don't judge me, because I've got a pair.

The attack ad claims to be paid for by the "Committee for Justice." But what I wanna know is--what justice? Whose justice? Where the hell is the justice here? And that's about all of the bandwidth I'm going to fill discussing that utter garbage. Let's just keep in mind that this is the sort of crap that the right will pull to win votes--progressives have to be on our A-Game 24/7. Sorry friends, we can't take a day off.

Come back tomorrow for more good stuff, don't forget to follow me on Twitter, shoot me an E-mail or invite me out for a run.

Another day, another run. This time, I ran through Chattanooga, Tennessee--one of America's truly great and interesting cities!





I'll admit, when I first rolled into Chattanooga, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard of the city in country songs and on television, but had absolutely no concept of what to expect going in.



Boy, was I ever pleasantly surprised.



The city of Chattanooga itself is pretty standard and what you'd expect from a typical city in America--small streets, industrial-type buildings and the wonderfully pugnant close-quarters aromas of city life. However, I stayed and ran a few miles up the road, at Lookout Mountain--and the beauty was unbelievable.

Right around the Great Smoky Mountains (which really do look like they're smoking!), Chattanooga is famous for its Ruby Falls and incline railways. I would have loved to have gotten a chance to see the Ruby Falls for myself in person, but when I went to the park and discovered that tickets were $35 (which roughly translates into a tank of gas for the Journeying Progressive-mobile), I did a brief cost-benefit analysis in my head (Republicans will be shocked that Democrats actually have a good handle on basic economics, I know), and decided to move on. I have provided the picture below from somewhere online, so you can decide for yourself whether that ticket price was justified:




The run I did was brutal, a run/walk hybrid up about 2 miles to Ruby Falls and back down. By run/walk, I am loosely defining the word "run," and graciously defining "walk." It was killer and I probably was not ready for it, but at least I can look back on it now and think, "wow...my momentary mental lapses actually turn into some great running memories."

When I saw this scene, above, in a Wal-Mart parking lot as I was picking up dinner (don't worry, it was healthy I swear), I just couldn't resist. You can barely make it out (since it's nighttime and I just got a new camera) but those are two cars next to each other, both with Obama '08 stickers on. I laughed to myself at the time--it must have been the highest concentration of Obama supporters in all of Tennessee!

Nobody guessed correctly either, this time...and Lance is still in 3rd (I almost ate my words as he was hundredths of a second from the Yellow Jersey), so next week's Running Across America Challenge will be worth $50, or $100 if Lance gets into the yellow jersey from between when I post the challenge and close with my actual destination.

I know what you're thinking. "But Mr. Journeying Progressive, there are so many cities and towns in America, how are we ever going to guess right?" First off, you don't have to be so formal, just call me "TJP," we've known each other long enough. Second--that's fine! Keep making random (or potentially educated) guesses and who knows--once that dollar amount gets into the 3, 4 or even 5 digit ranges, you'll really be cashing in with a good guess!

Until then, keep reading, keep contributing and keep in touch. I'm always looking for a good running partner, so if you'd like me to travel to your neck of the woods for a run, shoot me a message at itstands@gmail.com . Keep running forward with the torch of American progress, friends!

Where am I today? I promise you, it's an exciting place...even more exciting is that today's RAAC challenge is worth a whopping $40!

But wait--there's MORE!! If Lance Armstrong or Levi Leipheimer put on the yellow jersey at the end of Stage 6, I will double your winnings to $80! Yeah, I know it's a lot of money!!

So get your submissions in before 24 hours from this post expires (itstands@gmail.com).

Please submit in the following format:

Subject Line of Email: RAAC Guess

Name:
Address:
Phone:
DOB (must be over 18):
Occupation:
Your Guess (city AND state!):



I hope you'll follow my journey, both on the road and on the blogosphere, and challenge yourself, your friends and your family to live a healthy lifestyle and promote progress in your own homes and communities.

That's the wonderful thing about being progressive: you don't have to be rich. You don't have to be a certified expert with a big fancy Ivy League degree. All you have to be is American, and alive. Those two qualifiers may sound simple, but if you look truly deep into what it means to be American and what it means to be alive...I can promise you that to be both is the greatest lifelong journey in the history of mankind.

As for me, I'll keep running, writing and relocating. Along the way, I'll meet as many Americans like you as I possibly can. Keep reading, keep guessing and keep promoting progress for America.

(PS--I'll be coming out with TJP t-shirts and other merchandise for purchase...and just to warn you, they're pretty hot. I mean, seriously. So keep your eyes peeled and get your orders in EARLY. You'll want to impress your friends with how good you look...what's that?...of COURSE the Journeying Progressive is good looking...)

A while back, when I first started writing regularly, I wrote a post speculating on the 2012 sites for the DNC to party it up, hopefully renominating President Obama as the Democratic candidate (knock on wood). It's time to update that a bit.

Let me lay down a qualifier: this list makes a rather bold assumption that, if Obama is popular enough, his reelection will not be monumentally difficult. So, this list is largely designed to increase the progressive majority in Congress, which will be very important moving forward legislation and dialogue. So, without further ado, The Top 12 in '12:

Honorable Mentions: Santa Fe, New Mexico; Buffalo, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; Little Rock, Arkansas

12. PHOENIX, ARIZONA (NR)
Vibrant Latino town in the Great American Southwest, home of the Progressive Southern Strategy, will help Democrats erode southern votes away from the GOP. With a new census coming out, states like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are becoming more electorally valuable.


11. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY (NR)

Some troubles with the gubernatorial race and in Congress makes this an attractive race. And I've got the perfect guy for keynote speaker, a la 2004: Newark Mayor Cory Booker. This may be the perfect opportunity to help him ascend to higher office...Senate or Governor, perhaps? He is more than worthy.

10. MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL, MINNESOTA (NR)
Democrats have been strong as of late in MN, but they could always use a little bit of help, especially with a few Republicans in historically blue districts. Also, who wouldn't love to help kick Michelle Bachmann out of town?


9. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (NR)
Ah, if only we could have a convention there this year. Economic prosperity brought in by the DNC would be a major benefit to the local economy as sticking with the Dems looks mighty good to the remaining GOP Congressmen in Democratic-leaning districts. (This site is only for a bump in Congressional races, as it would give virtually no electoral help to Obama.)


8. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA (HM)
I'm not 100% crazy about this one because the Republicans did it in 2004, but there are quite a few "borderline" districts that could switch Democratic. That, and it's time to exploit Gov. Bobby Jindal while we know he's weak. Louisiana voted for Clinton not too long ago, and victories in Congress and progress towards an electoral boost here are very attractive.


7. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (8)
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this site lately, with Obama narrowly winning the state last November. Still, with no Senate seats open, it may not pack quite the political punch Democrats are looking for. Still, it would be nice to create two blue coasts--the West Coast is already there.


6. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA (10)
There are plenty of vulnerable Republicans and Democrats in this state that has been inching more progressive every year. Richmond is a beautiful city that could certainly use the business, as could the electoral fortunes of Tom Perriello and others. Keynote address may be a good venue for the 2013 gubernatorial candidate to shine, as it looks like Creigh Deeds has his work cut out for him.


5. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (1)
I can say this about any of the top five choices: their local economies certainly need the money. Indianapolis is a big city with blue-collar charm, warmth and nostalgia stemming from their place in history as the crossroads of our nation. "Crossroads of America" might serve as a good theme for 2012 Democrats...and as a state that saw an incredibly tight night in November, Obama could use all the help he can get here. (The reason this venue fell from #1 in my first rankings to #5 is that there are not too many volatile seats here.)



4. DETROIT, MICHIGAN (3)
Like I said before--Detroit could definitely use the money. Michigan votes reliably blue in presidential elections, but there are so many vulnerable Republicans (5 or 6 at my latest count), that a convention here would be almost too good to pass up. The only reason Detroit may not be a good site is that it conjures up memories of the administration's unpopular (and, IMHO, unsuccessful) "bailout" of the automobile industry. My money says that Obama and friends will want to stay as far away from that memory as possible.


3. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA (2)
Now here's a state where Democrats need some help--3 vulnerable Republicans but 4 vulnerable Dems. After the "real America" nonsense that went on during McCain's campaign stops in the region, we really got to see the divide between rural and urban America. Having the DNC in Pittsburgh definitely improves the local economy and goes a long way to showing embittered rural Republicans that Obama and Democrats aren't elite snobs--we're Americans and we live next door to them.


2. COLUMBUS/DAYTON, OHIO (5)
You can say almost the same things about Ohio as you can about Pennsylvania--4 vulnerable Republicans, 4 vulnerable Democrats. Reaching out to large blue-collar communities is important, in order to distance Democrats from the big-money interests of the Republicans, who will almost certainly need to have their 2012 convention and Congressional candidates supported by their troop of ridiculously wealthy donors rather than working-class voters that make up the majority of the population.


1. MIAMI, FLORIDA (NR)
A site I never really considered back when I first made predictions, Florida is the state of the highest political volatility--11 vulnerable Republicans and 2 vulnerable Democrats. This would be the ideal place to make serious gains in the House, while also furthering the Progressive Southern Strategy around the very vibrant and independent Latino political community around Miami and elsewhere in southern Florida. And, if Bill Nelson leaves office in 2012, the keynote address may be perfect timing for his replacement to truly shine on a national level. All in all, Miami is a perfect blend of nostalgia, hard-work and positive, progressive optimism that the Obama administration must tap into.


THE SHOCKER: CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
What better way to sock it to disgraced Governor Mark Sanford than to host the pinnacle of Democratic celebrations on his home turf? Democrats could really drive a progressive, idealistic message home that would rub ironically with the stuff Sanford was supposed to stand for.

----------------------
As I was thinking of the post, one thought stuck out to me which is so vitally important for Democrats in 2012 (and, really, 2010): They MUST think outside of the box.

Like I mentioned, venues 1-5 would all be excellent choices for a convention site--but that doesn't mean we have to pick only one! Having four smaller conventions (venues 2-5), with delegates and where the whole party comes together to hear about local candidates and the national candidates come together to speak, would both aid the host economies and serve as rallying points for Democrats. I can envision multiple poll bumps and "an era of good feelings" for Democrats throughout the country as they party together more than just once. Then, to have a final, nominating convention in a place like Miami (or hell, even Charleston) would be just like any other nominating convention--and, of course, the pinnacle get-together.

Democrats can expand their winnings in both 2010 and especially 2012, if we don't hamstring ourselves to a set of supposed "rules," finding out later (after we've lost) that we were actually the only ones playing by those rules. 2012 is going to be an exciting campaign year, and Democrats can kick it off by being the party of progress and optimism for ALL.