On Saturday, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson will be giving the keynote speech at the Energy Action Coalition's Power Shift 2011 conference, a meeting of potentially 10,000 green youth activists in Washington, D.C.
According to the schedule, President Obama's former green jobs czar Van Jones will be speaking Friday evening, and members of the International Socialists Organization will be hosting a panel discussion Saturday:
Van Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy. Van is a co-founder of three successful non-profit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All. He is the best-selling author of the definitive book on green jobs: The Green-Collar Economy. He served as the green jobs advisor in the Obama White House in 2009.
For those unfamiliar with EAC, its website claims:
Working with hundreds of campus and youth groups, dozens of youth networks, and hundreds of thousands of young people, Energy Action Coalition and its partners have united a burgeoning movement behind winning local victories and coordinating on state, regional, and national levels in the United States and Canada. [...]
Energy Action Coalition is committed to building a diverse and inclusive movement to solve the climate crisis and address environmental and economic injustice.
Here are some of the workshops and breakout sessions available to attendees:
From the BP Oil Spill to the Japanese Nuclear Crisis: Why Capitalism is Killing the Planet
The past year alone has highlighted the massive toll taken on our planet by the coal, oil, and nuclear energy industries. Yet President Obama continues to support these three industries, which have produced not only ecological catastrophe but also widespread human suffering. This panel will discuss why this is the case, how it is linked to a system of global capitalism that puts profit before the needs of human beings and the planet, and how we can move beyond the capitalist ecological crisis.
Panelists
Chris Williams, International Socialist Organization
Heather Kangas, International Socialist Organization
Amanda Duzak, International Socialist Organization
Isn't that nice? A member of the White House is speaking at a conference where avowed socialists are going to tell kids why capitalism is destroying the planet.
For those unfamiliar, this is what ISO stands for:
The International Socialist Organization (ISO) is committed to building an organization that participates in the struggles for justice and liberation today--and, ultimately, for a future socialist society. [...]
A world free of exploitation--socialism--is not only possible but worth fighting for. The ISO stands in the tradition of revolutionary socialists Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky in the belief that workers themselves--the vast majority of the population--are the only force that can lead the fight to win a socialist society. Socialism can't be brought about from above, but has to be won by workers themselves. [...]
We see our task as building an independent socialist organization with members organizing in our workplaces, our schools and our neighborhoods to bring socialist ideas to the struggles we are involved in today, and the vision of a socialist world in the future.
So, not only have socialists been invited to speak to an American youth organization, but also current and former members of the Obama administration will be in attendance as well.
Hadn't heard about this? Well, that's not surprising, for according to LexisNexis, the only major news outlet to even bother reporting Jackson's scheduled appearance at this conference was the Washington Times on March 25, but it made no mention of the ISO panel.
Other than that, nada.
By contrast, the press are still harping on Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas for attending events hosted by the Koch brothers last year. The Associated Press has done over 50 stories including the names Koch and Scalia, the New York Times 24, the Washington Post fourteen, and USA Today six.
On television, CNN's had 31 reports on this "crucial" subject, MSNBC twelve, CNBC two, NPR two, ABC one, and PBS one.
I guess Supreme Court justices attending a conservative gathering is of far greater concern to the media than current and former members of the White House speaking at a youth conference where avowed socialists are sponsoring a panel discussion on why capitalism is destroying the planet.
But that's not all, for here's another session available to attendees Saturday:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Dirty Money, Chamber Leaks, and How to Win Back Main St.
The U.S Chamber of Commerce claims to represent small businesses across America but answers to the biggest, dirtiest corporations in the country. This panel will expose the U.S Chamber’s true colors as obstructionists to climate progress and its underhanded tactics for maintaining its crumbling reputation. Panelists will also discuss how we can win against the Chamber by mobilizing our communities and local businesses to band together for green jobs and climate solutions. Join us for a panel featuring Brad Johnson from the Center for American Progress, Phil Aroneanu from 350.org, Bonnie Hemphill of Climate Solutions, and representatives from the labor and sustainable business community.
Warms the cockles, doesn't it?
As a final chuckle, Nobel Laureate Al Gore will also be speaking to attendees Friday evening.
Although it certainly is no surprise that he doesn't mind hanging out with socialists, this should forever end the question about just how closely tied the global warming agenda is to this far-left political ideology.
