Friday digest-open thread 8/29/08

What a week this has been, with its historic anniversaries and future history unfurling all around us. A day ahead of Barack Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the presidency, the public radio program On Point spoke with African American writers Maya Angelou, Ishmael Reed, and Alice Walker about the nomination's historical impact. You can listen to the show here. Also, check out what some bloggers of color have written about Obama's nomination at Jack & Jill Politics (Jill Tubman) and Field Negro, as well as what a swing-voting African American has to say about the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket at Booker Rising. And the first two black mayors of Hartford, Connecticut, tell Jesse A. Hamilton of the Courant about the long road from D.C. (August 28, 1963) to Denver (August 28, 2008).

Just as the Gulf Coast is marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, Tropical Storm Gustav is gaining strength after killing at least 68 people in the Caribbean. Is Louisiana ready? Nearby St. Tammany Parish has already declared a state of emergency, key floodgates are being tested, and evacuation plans are in place. Yet the anniversary commemorations went on this morning, albeit in abbreviated form as a tense city waited and watched for news of the next storm threat.

One speaker after another at the Democratic National Convention this week spoke of clean energy and green jobs, and in his speech Thursday night, Obama pledged a $150 billion investment "over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced." Republican nominee-in-waiting McCain has also spoken of government investments in some alternative energy sources. September 27 - the day after the first presidential debate - will be a Green Jobs Now National Day of Action, with the message, as the event website says, that Americans are ready "to tackle the climate crisis by building a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty." Learn more here.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, and we'll see you back here next Tuesday.