Today in Meet Your Congressman, or Today in Shaking Your Head

The U.S. Congress passes legislation that creates funding for things like highways or transit. Committees and sub-committees focus in on the different areas of concern. Within the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is the subcommittee on Highway & Transit. The Chairman of that subcommittee is John Duncan, Jr., or Tennessee. The first thing I found on his homepage is a recent speech he made on the floor of the House. Here is a portion:

I know most environmentalists come from very wealthy or upper income families, and I know they will say we don’t have enough oil to drill our way out of this problem.

and

When environmental radicals stop more domestic oil production, it helps foreign energy producers, but it really hurts middle and lower-income Americans.

Yes, Chairman of the subcommittee on Highway & Transit. I think we might be in trouble.

Community Lost, B.B. King, Live at the Regal

B.B, King’s Live at the Regal is one of my favorite albums. The energy is just incredible. I always thought it was performed at the Regal that is on 79th near the Skyway on the Southside, but there was actually a Regal Theatre in the heart of Bronzeville. And that’s where this and many other memorable performances were held. Here’s what the Regal Theatre looked like:

From the Library of Congress

This is the same street now:

From google streetview

As someone who lived on the Southside for a few years and saw the remnants of its glorious past, this just hits home how devastating suburban white flight and the forgotten city center were to these urban neighborhoods. The thought of how much government played a role is what drives me to get out of bed in the morning. We have to fix policy at every scale so that it levels the playing field. The above track is the essence of urbanity to me and how far we have fallen. We have created a climate where this energy is not possible in either this location or in suburbia. We have hollowed out these urban communities, declaring them not part of the real economy (even though they was and actually could be). And at the same time we have created vast suburban expanses devoid of heart, culture or place. Instead of B.B. King performing amazing music in front of thousands of people (who probably walked or took the El to the show) in an amazingly detailed theatre (the first devoted to black entertainment), we get manufactured music performers who endorse products on stage in between lip-synced songs in characterless venues in the middle of acres of concrete.

A website called Black History Heroes has a nice write up on the Regal here.

This post is not brought to you by Coca Cola, Ford or any credit card company.

Some Nice Links

A Carbon Tax is desperately needed: USAToday (surprisingly) and Ryan Avent.

This is a great profile of Shelley Poticha. She is charged within the Obama administration to change the status quo of how government policy subsidizes suburban living.

New Geography on the variables in choosing suburban or urban living for families.