Beatrice Joyce Kean established the Joyce Foundation in 1948 after accumulating hundreds of millions of dollars in the lumber industry (via family-owned timberlands, plywood and saw mills, and wholesale and retail building-material distribution facilities). During her lifetime, most of Ms. Kean’s modestly small philanthropic gifts were to apolitical recipients such as hospitals and health organizations. After her death in 1972, a professional staff took control of the Foundation and began to move it toward the political left. At first, universities and cultural institutions were added to its roster of grant recipients. A few years later, radical environmentalist and conservation groups entered the picture, as eventually did organizations dedicated to social justice, prison reform, and increased funding for government and social services, particularly for minorities. A notable recent member of the Joyce Foundation’s Board of Directors was Barack Obama, who ran successfully as the Democratic candidate for an Illinois Senate seat in 2004.
Today the Joyce Foundation seeks to “suppor[t] efforts to protect the natural environment of the Great Lakes, to reduce poverty and violence in the region, and to ensure that its people have access to good schools, decent jobs, and a diverse and thriving culture.” The Foundation has six main Giving Programs toward which it directs its philanthropy:
(a) The Environmental Program funds organizations that oppose the use of land for such endeavors as logging, mining, construction, and oil exploration; many of these groups are hostile to a capitalist economic model as well. The Environmental Program warns of global warming — which it attributes largely to pollution created by industrial endeavors — and advocates the increased use of bicycles and mass transit as transportation alternatives to cars.
(b) The Anti-Gun Program seeks to drive small gun dealerships out of business by placing the firearms industry completely under consumer product health and safety oversight. It misrepresents the findings of research on gun-related deaths by failing to distinguish between gun-related deaths among inner-city gang members, where the death rates from shootings are astronomical, and gun-related deaths among members of the general population, which are relatively rare. As a result, it depicts gun violence as a national epidemic, thereby creating a perceived justification for what it hopes will be the erosion of Second Amendment rights.
Steve Kornacki in NY Observer draws an interesting comparison between the two campaigns…
…the similarities between Carter and Obama are considerable. Like Obama, Carter’s resume included service in a state Legislature (rare for a president), and only a very brief stint in high-profile office, his single term as Georgia’s governor from 1970 to 1974. Obama, of course, has only been in the U.S. Senate since 2005, after an eight-year run in the Illinois state Senate. Both also outsmarted their intra-party foes when it came to primary strategy. In ‘76, Carter was the lone Democrat to comprehend the opportunities that attended the proliferation of state primaries and caucuses, entering the race early and targeting every state, a tactic that produced weekly victories, hordes of delegates, and a gathering sense of momentum that left his late-starting rivals in the dust. Similarly, the wisdom of Obama’s decision to contest small caucus states and all of the mid-size contests between Super Tuesday and March 4—and the lack of wisdom in Hillary Clinton’s decision not to do so—is only now becoming clear.
Most significantly, both men came along at exactly the right time. Carter’s peanut-farmer-from-Plains simplicity and his oft-repeated promise that he “will never lie to you” were powerful political weapons after Nixon and his wiretapping, his plumbers and his pardon from Ford. And Obama’s message of hope—and his own life story—resonates with an electorate that, after these past eight years, feels utterly disconnected from its government and simply wants to believe in someone again.
Another similarity is the naivete displayed by both candidates: Obama’s willingness to negotiate with sworn enemies of the US; Carter’s “shock” at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
I actually voted for Carter in 76, and again in 80. As I think back, it was probably a case of identity politics on my part. Carter was a Southerner, a Christian, and I was young and stupid. In recalling the 76 election, Kornacki says if the race had continued another week or so, Ford might have overtaken Carter. Perhaps the early start to this election season is just what the Republicans need to overtake the Democrats.
a B-2 stealth bomber crashed at Andersen Air Force Base this morning. The incident happened at around 10:45am Saturday, as information we’ve gathered so far indicates that a lead B-2 aircraft took off and became safely airborne, but when minutes later a second bomber took off for reasons that are unknown at this point, that aircraft crashed.However, at least two pilots were ejected before the plane hit. Their conditions are unknown at this time. AAFB public affairs officials have not been able to be reached for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Yigo residents have reported that they’ve seen large plumes of black smoke coming from the nearby military base. Additionally, according to Guam Fire Department Angel Llagas, a large explosion was also reported to the island’s 911 service this morning, and two units responded to the area.
This is the second military aircraft that has crashed in the last 11 days. On February 12 a Navy Ea-6b Prowler attached to the U.S.S. Kittyhawk strike group went down about 20 miles to the north of AAFB. All four of the pilots in that incident were released from the hospital with minor injuries.
- Assigned to 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron
- Homebased out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri
- Deployed to Guam as part of continuous bomber presence in Asia-Pacific region
- Primary function: Multi-role heavy bomber
- Armament: Conventional/nuclear weapons
- Payload: 40,000 lbs.
- Crew: Two pilots
- Unit cost: Approximately $1.2 billion
