Is anyone out there?
The growing concern about war/poverty has not translated into policy change or increased numbers of the active community's organizers/activists. Why is this condition frustrating to long-term organizers?
The last seven years has been a social experiment for neo-con and neo-liberal policy wonks. The neo-con and neo-liberal pretense of differing from the basic agenda of the USA corporate and military leadership would make one cry if we did not laugh. The parameter of discourse and the logical policy outcomes has become even more restricted than they were under the rubric of a Cold War political-economy. Since 9-11, it would appear that the role of an organizer has been to establish political space, public and open, that enables activists and communities to express the growing concerns on war and poverty. However, whatever space has been created is filled by cyber junk and conspiracy diversions.
The last seven years has been a social experiment for neo-con and neo-liberal policy wonks. The neo-con and neo-liberal pretense of differing from the basic agenda of the USA corporate and military leadership would make one cry if we did not laugh. The parameter of discourse and the logical policy outcomes has become even more restricted than they were under the rubric of a Cold War political-economy. Since 9-11, it would appear that the role of an organizer has been to establish political space, public and open, that enables activists and communities to express the growing concerns on war and poverty. However, whatever space has been created is filled by cyber junk and conspiracy diversions.
Presence of mind
“I knew the situation was serious. I was shaking all over. But I was amazed by the complexity of my mind — the most clear part was just the speed and agility of my mind. I immediately began talking to him in a calm voice and engaged in eye contact. But he was not in his eyes. He was in his own world — pointing a gun at me.”
Is this a good time to address the big lie? You know, the lie about our stark, raving helplessness in the face of armed danger and malevolence? Fortress Gun Nut has the whole country hostage to the big lie that a safe America is an armed America, and yet as our stockpile of weaponry, domestic and otherwise, increases, so does our fearfulness, and so does the danger.
And the heroes are often indistinguishable from the perps. We’re all heroes in our own minds. We all watch the movies and imbibe the whack ’n’ win culture. We all learn that real justice must be delivered at the point of a sword that is terrible and swift.
Is this a good time to address the big lie? You know, the lie about our stark, raving helplessness in the face of armed danger and malevolence? Fortress Gun Nut has the whole country hostage to the big lie that a safe America is an armed America, and yet as our stockpile of weaponry, domestic and otherwise, increases, so does our fearfulness, and so does the danger.
And the heroes are often indistinguishable from the perps. We’re all heroes in our own minds. We all watch the movies and imbibe the whack ’n’ win culture. We all learn that real justice must be delivered at the point of a sword that is terrible and swift.
"They wanted them poor niggers out of there." -- New Orleans two years after
"They wanted them poor niggers out of there and they ain't had no intention to allow it to be reopened to no poor niggers, you know? And that's just the bottom line."
It wasn't a pretty statement. But I wasn't looking for pretty. I'd taken my investigative team to New Orleans to meet with Malik Rahim. Pretty isn't Malik's concern.
We needed an answer to a weird, puzzling and horrific discovery. Among the miles and miles of devastated houses, rubble still there today in New Orleans, we found dry, beautiful homes. But their residents were told by guys dressed like Ninjas wearing "Blackwater" badges: "Try to go into your home and we'll arrest you."
These aren't just any homes. They are the public housing projects of the city; the Lafitte Houses and others. But unlike the cinder block monsters in the Bronx, these public units are beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter.
Raised up on high ground, with floors and walls of concrete, they were some of the only houses left salvageable after the Katrina flood.
It wasn't a pretty statement. But I wasn't looking for pretty. I'd taken my investigative team to New Orleans to meet with Malik Rahim. Pretty isn't Malik's concern.
We needed an answer to a weird, puzzling and horrific discovery. Among the miles and miles of devastated houses, rubble still there today in New Orleans, we found dry, beautiful homes. But their residents were told by guys dressed like Ninjas wearing "Blackwater" badges: "Try to go into your home and we'll arrest you."
These aren't just any homes. They are the public housing projects of the city; the Lafitte Houses and others. But unlike the cinder block monsters in the Bronx, these public units are beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter.
Raised up on high ground, with floors and walls of concrete, they were some of the only houses left salvageable after the Katrina flood.
Secret to forcing compliance with subpoenas
On April 10th, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department for papers and Emails related to the apparently politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. The deadline passed. The DOJ did not comply.
On April 25th, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify about the forged documents used as evidence that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. Rice publicly refused to comply, arguing that she was "not inclined" to comply. Two deadlines passed. The committee chairman claimed to believe she would eventually change her mind. She hasn't done so.
On June 13th the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House documents related to the US attorneys firings. The White House publicly refused to comply or to allow Miers to comply. The deadline passed.
Also on June 13th the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed White House Political Director Sara Taylor in regard to the US attorneys firings. The White House wrote a letter to the committee chairman refusing to comply. The deadline passed.
On April 25th, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify about the forged documents used as evidence that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. Rice publicly refused to comply, arguing that she was "not inclined" to comply. Two deadlines passed. The committee chairman claimed to believe she would eventually change her mind. She hasn't done so.
On June 13th the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House documents related to the US attorneys firings. The White House publicly refused to comply or to allow Miers to comply. The deadline passed.
Also on June 13th the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed White House Political Director Sara Taylor in regard to the US attorneys firings. The White House wrote a letter to the committee chairman refusing to comply. The deadline passed.
Aurora Organic Dairy signs consent agreement with USDA's agricultural marketing service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2007 – The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has entered into a consent agreement with Aurora Organic Dairy (Aurora) in response to a Notice of Proposed Revocation issued earlier this year alleging violations of National Organic Program (NOP) regulations. Under the consent agreement, Aurora’s Platteville, Colo., facility must meet several conditions in order to continue to operate as a certified organic dairy operation. These conditions include removing certain animals from the organic herd and ceasing to apply the organic label to certain milk. Additionally, AMS will exercise increased scrutiny over Aurora’s operations during a one-year probationary review period. If Aurora does not abide by the agreement during that time, AMS may withdraw from the agreement and could revoke the organic certification for Aurora’s Platteville, Colo., plant.
American nightmare: Gonzales "wrong and illegal and unethical"
"What I've experienced in the last six months is the ugly side of the American dream."
Last month, David Iglesias and I were looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where his dad had entered the US from Panama decades ago. It was a hard moment for the military lawyer who, immediately after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias as US Attorney for New Mexico, returned to active military duty as a Naval Reserve JAG.
Captain Iglesias, cool and circumspect, added something I didn't expect:
"They misjudged my character, I mean they really thought I was just going to roll over and give them what they wanted and when I didn't, that I'd go away quietly but I just couldn't do that. You know US Attorneys and the Justice Department have a history of not taking into consideration partisan politics. That should not be a factor. And what they tried to do is just wrong and illegal and unethical."
When a federal prosecutor says something is illegal, it's not just small talk. And the illegality wasn't small. It's called, "obstruction of justice," and it's a felony crime.
Last month, David Iglesias and I were looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where his dad had entered the US from Panama decades ago. It was a hard moment for the military lawyer who, immediately after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias as US Attorney for New Mexico, returned to active military duty as a Naval Reserve JAG.
Captain Iglesias, cool and circumspect, added something I didn't expect:
"They misjudged my character, I mean they really thought I was just going to roll over and give them what they wanted and when I didn't, that I'd go away quietly but I just couldn't do that. You know US Attorneys and the Justice Department have a history of not taking into consideration partisan politics. That should not be a factor. And what they tried to do is just wrong and illegal and unethical."
When a federal prosecutor says something is illegal, it's not just small talk. And the illegality wasn't small. It's called, "obstruction of justice," and it's a felony crime.
Ella Baker, Presente!
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes (repeat chorus)
Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons
Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons (chorus)
That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with people
Passing on to others that which was passed on to me (chorus)
To me young people come first, they have the courage where we fail
And if I can just shed some light as they carry us through the gale (chorus)
The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on
Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm (chorus)
Not needing to clutch for power, not needing the light just to shine on me
I need to be just one in the number as we stand against tyranny (chorus)
Struggling myself don’t mean a whole lot, I’ve come to realize
That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives (chorus)
I’m a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heard
At times I can be quite difficult, I’ll bow to no man’s word. (chorus)
Responsible investment: Gates Foundation and the California Model
Given the magnitude of the global crises we face, we'd hope the key nonprofits trying to address them would use every appropriate tool to maximize their impact.
Yet, Seattle's Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which does much good with its programs (particularly its global immunization efforts), is missing a significant opportunity by not aligning the foundation's investment commitments with its larger social goals. Its choices offer a lesson for other foundations, for pension funds, college and university endowments, and all other nonprofit institutions that control financial capital.
If Gates Foundation wanted to consider a different approach, it might learn from institutions like California's massive CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System) pension fund, which has combined first-rate financial returns with investments that put its dollars in service of socially responsible values.
Yet, Seattle's Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which does much good with its programs (particularly its global immunization efforts), is missing a significant opportunity by not aligning the foundation's investment commitments with its larger social goals. Its choices offer a lesson for other foundations, for pension funds, college and university endowments, and all other nonprofit institutions that control financial capital.
If Gates Foundation wanted to consider a different approach, it might learn from institutions like California's massive CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System) pension fund, which has combined first-rate financial returns with investments that put its dollars in service of socially responsible values.
Astonishing tower collapse screams "No New Nukes!!"
A cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant has collapsed.
A broken 54" pipe there has spewed 350,000 gallons per minute of contaminated, overheated water into the Earth. "The river water piping and the series of screens and supports failed," said a company spokesman. They "fell to the ground."
The public and media were barred from viewing the wreckage for three days. But when a Congressional Energy Bill conference committee takes up Senate-approved loan guarantees for building new nukes this fall, what will reactor backers say about this latest pile of radioactive rubble?
This kind of event can make even hardened nuke opponents pinch themselves and read the descriptions twice. Who could make this up?
Vermont Yankee has been in operation---more or less---since the early 1970s. Its owner is Entergy, a multi-reactor "McNuke" operator that last year got approval to up VY's output by 20%.
A broken 54" pipe there has spewed 350,000 gallons per minute of contaminated, overheated water into the Earth. "The river water piping and the series of screens and supports failed," said a company spokesman. They "fell to the ground."
The public and media were barred from viewing the wreckage for three days. But when a Congressional Energy Bill conference committee takes up Senate-approved loan guarantees for building new nukes this fall, what will reactor backers say about this latest pile of radioactive rubble?
This kind of event can make even hardened nuke opponents pinch themselves and read the descriptions twice. Who could make this up?
Vermont Yankee has been in operation---more or less---since the early 1970s. Its owner is Entergy, a multi-reactor "McNuke" operator that last year got approval to up VY's output by 20%.