Rybak Sees Solution in North Minneapolis Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak talked to The UpTake’s Chuck Olsen at Netroots Nation about the Minneapolis Promise, the mayor’s plan to export Minnesota’s crazy politicians (and keep the sane ones) and how he will appeal to the White House for federal aid for North Minneapolis, which was ravaged by a tornado on May 22.

Despite the heartache in North Minneapolis, Rybak spoke in glowing terms about neighbors helping neighbors across community lines and across racial lines. When Rybak first toured the damage, he said he witnessed beautiful examples of genuine humanity all around him.

Tarryl Clark Brings Unions, Environmentalists Together

Tarryl Clark told The UpTake at Netroots Nation this past weekend about her work with the Blue Green Alliance, the Midwest-wide merger between unions and environmental groups. Clark has teamed up with former Michigan Congressman Mark Schauer to launch the Alliance’s Jobs 21 campaign. “This is about bringing people together and creating jobs that are sustainable and will be good for our kids and grandkids,” she said.

Clark lost to Michele Bachmann in the race for Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District last year, and will run in the 8th District next year to unseat Tea Party-backed Republican freshman Chip Cravaack.

“The Walls Are Closing in on Democracy”, Warns Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann, whose show “Countdown” will be reborn tonight on Al Gore’s progressive news station Current TV, addressed Netroots Nation on Thursday via video. Olbermann will deliver the keynote speech at Netroots 2012 in Providence, Rhode Island. “Countdown” was unceremoniously pulled off MSNBC, sending the unapologetic leftist commentator Olbermann to the West Coast. “The walls are closing in, not just on journalism, but on democracy. The walls, like anything else, are owned by huge corporations,” said Olbermann.

Daily Kos Blogger Kaili Joy Gray Grills White House’s Dan Pfeiffer

Daily Kos blogger Kaili Joy Gray served White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer anything but softball questions when she interviewed him on stage at Netroots Nation this weekend. Questioning what President Obama has done for the progressive movement was a constant theme during the conference, and that reached a fever pitch between Gray and Pfeiffer. Among other uncomfortable questions, Gray asked Pfeiffer why President Obama wouldn’t come out and support marriage equality after he had apparently done so as an Illinois state senator. Watch The UpTake’s interview with Kaili Joy Gray afterward.

Van Jones Distinguishes Between the American Dream and the American Fantasy

Green activist Van Jones delivered a thrilling speech at Netroots Nation on Saturday, rolling out his new organization, “Rebuild the Dream” which will kick off this summer and culminate in a rally in Washington in October. Jones, who has become a staple at Netroots, distinguished between the American Dream and the “American Fantasy” propagated by the right. He called the latter “Dream killers, who have a wrecking ball agenda for our country. A wrecking ball for America.” Jones also challenged right-wing Fox News commentator Glenn Beck to a debate. (Beck declined the offer yesterday, calling Jones, an “unrepentant Communist revolutionary”.

Here’s an excerpt from Van Jones’ speech (and watch The UpTake’s exclusive interview with Van Jones).

Now, some of you all are liberal, you might have a few progressives in here, so let me make sure you understand what I mean when I say killing the American Dream. I’m not talking about killing the American “Fantasy”, okay? The American Fantasy: everybody’s gonna be rich, you buy a lot of things, you’ll be happy? No, that’s an American Fantasy, which means it’s the American nightmare. That needs to go. That needs to go. We don’t believe in that. We don’t believe in that at all.

I’m talking about something much, much deeper than that. Something that we had in this country until the commercializers turned it into something else. The American Dream was simply the idea that hard work should pay in our country. That you should be able to get up in the morning in America, and if you willing to and are able to work, walk out your front door, go to a dignified job, put in a good day’s work and come back home with a paycheck that you can feed your family with and give your children a better life. That’s the American Dream. That’s what our parents fought for and our grandparents fought for and we should not let it be taken away from us on our watch. That’s the American Dream.

And we have Dream killers. Dream killers, who have a wrecking ball agenda for our country. A wrecking ball for America. But they painted that wrecking ball red, white and blue. And they think we’re going to salute their red, white and blue wrecking ball? They got another thought coming in the United States of America. No. It’s time for the deep patriots to stand up to the cheap patriots. It’s time for the deep patriots who love this country and who love everybody in this country, no matter what color you are or who you want to marry or what kind of piercing you got in your nose, we love everybody, we are the deep patriots. They’re the cheap patriots and I’m tired of them questioning us and what we stand for.

So are we going to stand together?

“Our Walmart” Protests Poor Working Conditions

Girsheila Green with the organization “OUR Walmart” speaks to investigative journalist Tina Dupuy about poor working conditions at the Big Box giant. Last week, about 150 workers appeared at Walmart’s headquarters to protest the unhealthy work environment and disrespect between bosses and employees.

After Loss to Bachmann, Tarryl Clark Runs Again for Congress

Tarryl Clark lost to Michele Bachmann last year in the race for Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. But she’s not throwing in the towel. Redistricting will allow Clark to challenge Republican Chip Cravaack next year in the state’s 8th Congressional District — the Iron Range. Cravaack unseated Democrat Jim Oberstar in 2010 after he served for over three decades in the House of Representatives.

The UpTake spoke to Tarryl Clark at Netroots Nation about her upcoming race against Cravaack, and her “day job” with the Blue Green Alliance.

Kaili Joy Gray: Why Did Obama Retract Support for Gay Marriage?

Daily Kos blogger Kaili Joy Gray interviewed White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer on stage at Netroots Nation and asked him several stinging questions about President Obama’s positions with respect to certain progressive policies. Some of the questions stumped Pfeiffer. The UpTake interviewed Gray afterward, in particular about Obama’s apparent retraction of his support for marriage equality after speaking out in favor of gay marriage rights before he arrived in Washington as an Illinois Senator.

Comedian Julianna Forlano: “A ‘Boehner’ is still a Boner”

New York-based comedian Julianna Forlano joked about Congressman Anthony Weiner’s distasteful demise during an interview with The UpTake at Netroots Nation, adding that “there are still plenty of dicks left in Congress.” As for House Speaker John Boehner, Forlano pulled out the German accent as she quipped, “A ‘Boehner’ is still a boner, no matter how you spell it.” Asked about Michele Bachmann, Forlano joked that the Minnesota Congresswoman has no inner monologue and probably calls up the Koch brothers for guidance.

Van Jones: Running Wrecking Ball through American Society isn’t Patriotism

“People are tearing down the American dream, and we want to build it back up,” progressive visionary Van Jones told The UpTake during an interview on the final day of Netroots Nation 2011. “We have to be more creative than just running a wrecking ball through American society and calling that patriotism. … The challenge for Americans is to decide, every single day, whether to be a destroyer or a hero.” Jones’ new project, Rebuild the Dream will launch this summer in an attempt to reengage a conversation about this country’s future and culminate in a major summit this coming October.

The UpTake asked Van Jones if he actually wants to debate right-wing Fox News personality Glenn Beck (which he joked about during a keynote speech), whether Jones considers himself a political figure, where he finds inspiration on a daily basis, and how he thinks Netroots Nation will evolve in the years to come.