I’m half way through Chris Hedges’ depressing and informative book, The Death of the Liberal Class. Hedges says, “The story began, I believe, in World War I, when there was a massive reconfiguration of American political life, and I would argue American culture itself.” Hedges’ thesis is that up until World War I, progressive and…
Ever notice that people are mixed? I mean: parts of them are really good and laudable, but other parts are difficult to deal with or downright harmful. People can be kind to their children and pets but mean to their spouses, employees, coworkers, or fellow citizens. Or they can donate to charity but cheat on…
Over the last thirty years, Republicans, conservative Democrats, and their well-to-do allies have perfected a twelve-step program that has worked to transform America. Cut taxes and establish loopholes and subsidies for the rich and the corporations, to redistribute wealth upwards, drown government in red ink, and justify slashing of social programs. a. Lowest tax rates…
I was reading the Wikipedia article on Clean Elections, with the hope of deepening my knowledge and writing a summary article. What I learned, in short, is that many states and jurisdictions have passed various forms of Clean Election laws, but both the Courts and the citizens themselves have rolled back the laws in some…
Three minute summary, from Michael Moore’s ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ DVD Extra Preview – Bank of North Dakota A detailed (26 min.) history of the Bank of North Dakota (produced by PrairiePublicBcast) Slides from Bob Hasegawa’s PowerPoint presentation http://www.inspireseattle.org/minutes/HB%202040-State%20Bank.pdf Materials courtesy of Inspire Seattle
See The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ description of the Peoples’ Budget. Support for the People’s Budget Paul Krugman “genuinely courageous†“achieves this without dismantling the legacy of the New Deal†Dean Baker “if you want a serious effort to balance the budget, here it is.” Jeffrey Sachs “A bolt of hope…humane, responsible, and most of…
Good news! You can watch Pirate TV with streaming or downloaded video, from the comfort of your computer.  I have never been able to watch the broadcast shows (on my boob tube) at the appointed times, so the availability of streaming and downloadable films greatly expands the value of the service. Here, for example, is…
In his book “Death of the Liberal Class”, as well in recent articles Why Liberal Sellouts Attack Prophets Like Cornel West and The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic, Chris Hedges condemns what he calls “the liberal class” for its refusal to confront the truths about the Democratic Party, about Barack Obama, and about…
Sunday afternoon I heard Amy Goodman and Dennis Kucinich speak at Seattle Green Festival. Both speakers received standing ovations. This article covers Amy Goodman’s speech. Here’s my photo of her during the book signing that followed the speech. Goodman spoke about her book “Breaking the Sound Barrier” — the power of independent journalism. I couldn’t…