It’s bitter sweet to be writing about prisons during the week that Gil Scott-Heron died. I believe that Gil did some time for possession of cocaine. That tells you so much about the current purpose of the incarceration industry. I guess there’s a good chance that with a record and prison time that Gil lost…
Gil Scott-Herron died a few days ago. If you are not familiar with his work, he is the grandfather, the god father of rap, hiphop, spoken word. Here is a video of Gil talking about his work. Gil is best known for the revolution will not be televised piece.
The Supremes gave orders to California to do something about the prison over-crowding recently. It was a split 5-4 decision as most controversial decisions will be from the current court because there are 4 strongly conservative ideological votes on the court (alito, roberts, scalia, thomas for those tracking the justices) one swing vote (kennedy) and…
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…
Rachel Maddow doesn’t seem happy with Obama. You make the call.
You’d be hard pressed to find a better example of “kick-’em when they’re down” politics this year than the workers’ compensation legislation rushed through Olympia on Monday. By the governor’s own estimate, the bill will take about $1 billion that injured workers would have received over the next five years and give it to their…
I guess “Obama Hostility Syndrome” applies to the far left as well as the far right. It is a condition whereby fault is found with anything and everything Obama does. Short memories and impatience rule the day for so called “progressives”, who give little credit to Obama for the work he has done for women’s…
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…
The Washington legislature continues to crawl through the special session. You can see where they have been by tracking the slimy trail. Well. I guess that’s a little harsh. But here is a note about the current status from my friends at POWER: POWER is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a…