Fifty years later: Did the war on poverty fail?
For about two weeks this January, poverty was recognized as a serious problem in this amazingly rich but unequal country, as we observed the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty.
In his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson said:
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.
When you look at the full text of the speech, it is clear that LBJ believed that poverty could be eradicated, not just reduced. In fact, he states unequivocally that “we shall not rest until this war is won.” State of the Union addresses are obviously political statements, and I am sure that many – especially those on the Right – will challenge LBJ’s sincerity. What else
In his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson said:
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.
When you look at the full text of the speech, it is clear that LBJ believed that poverty could be eradicated, not just reduced. In fact, he states unequivocally that “we shall not rest until this war is won.” State of the Union addresses are obviously political statements, and I am sure that many – especially those on the Right – will challenge LBJ’s sincerity. What else
Is this the end of the internet as we know it?
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On January 14, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia struck down a Communications Commission rule that guaranteed what is called “net neutrality.” The rule prohibited internet providers from blocking internet traffic to consumers based on content or bandwidth or charging consumers a greater fee to access content. The split decision by the court in favor of Verizon and MetroPCS had additional support in the form of briefs from rightwing lobbying groups and the conservative former Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli had filed friends of the court briefs to assist the appellants in their case. The court leaned heavily on a similar decision in 2010 in favor of ComCast, that prompted renewed rules prohibiting the blocking of internet traffic based on content.
Verizon brought the new lawsuit that asks to charge both the internet subscriber for access and the content providers for access to the subscribers.
Celebrating MLK: A drum major for justice
As I went from event to event Monday celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King, I was struck by both the tribute and the distortion.
The tribute is remarkable. Martin Luther King held no public office. He amassed no great fortune. He led no victorious armies. He was arrested, harassed by the FBI, denounced and defiled. Yet today, we devote a holiday to his birth. Schoolchildren study his life and learn of his “dream.” No matter how much the culture seeks to domesticate him, the lessons are inescapable.
Standing up for justice is honorable. Racism is unacceptable. Nonviolence — challenging unjust laws and practices with nonviolent protest — is honorable. It is a testament to a confident country that we would so honor Dr. King.
But the distortion is real also. Martin Luther King grew revered once he was martyred, but he was the center of controversy when he was alive. Gallup polling showed that he grew more unpopular over the course of the 1960s. By 1968, a Harris poll showed that three-fourths of Americans and 55 percent of African Americans had negative views about him.
The tribute is remarkable. Martin Luther King held no public office. He amassed no great fortune. He led no victorious armies. He was arrested, harassed by the FBI, denounced and defiled. Yet today, we devote a holiday to his birth. Schoolchildren study his life and learn of his “dream.” No matter how much the culture seeks to domesticate him, the lessons are inescapable.
Standing up for justice is honorable. Racism is unacceptable. Nonviolence — challenging unjust laws and practices with nonviolent protest — is honorable. It is a testament to a confident country that we would so honor Dr. King.
But the distortion is real also. Martin Luther King grew revered once he was martyred, but he was the center of controversy when he was alive. Gallup polling showed that he grew more unpopular over the course of the 1960s. By 1968, a Harris poll showed that three-fourths of Americans and 55 percent of African Americans had negative views about him.
Is this the end of the internet as we know it?
On January 14, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia struck down a Communications Commission rule that guaranteed what is called “net neutrality.” The rule prohibited internet providers from blocking internet traffic to consumers based on content or bandwidth or charging consumers a greater fee to access content. The split decision by the court in favor of Verizon and MetroPCS had additional support in the form of briefs from rightwing lobbying groups and the conservative former Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli had filed friends of the court briefs to assist the appellants in their case. The court leaned heavily on a similar decision in 2010 in favor of ComCast, that prompted renewed rules prohibiting the blocking of internet traffic based on content.
Spirit of MLK Launches Worldwide Wave of Action
Happy MLK Day!
The spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is a driving force behind the upcoming Worldwide Wave of Action. Here's an Anonymous call to action video featuring MLK. Please consider sharing it today...
Spirit of MLK Launches Worldwide Wave of Action
Video transcript:
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges…. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom…"
On the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 2014, the spirit of MLK will rise again. We will engage a worldwide wave of action, "from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. From every mountain side…"
We will "let freedom ring."
The spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is a driving force behind the upcoming Worldwide Wave of Action. Here's an Anonymous call to action video featuring MLK. Please consider sharing it today...
Spirit of MLK Launches Worldwide Wave of Action
Video transcript:
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges…. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom…"
On the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 2014, the spirit of MLK will rise again. We will engage a worldwide wave of action, "from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. From every mountain side…"
We will "let freedom ring."
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. ... A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. – “A Time to Break Silence (Beyond Vietnam)” Dr. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967.
This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its "Choose Nonviolence" campaign, a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King's value of nonviolence in resolving terrible issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in Kabul, Afghanistan.
This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its "Choose Nonviolence" campaign, a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King's value of nonviolence in resolving terrible issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in Kabul, Afghanistan.
David Bird, Wall Street Journal Reporter, Goes Missing After Reporting for Three Months on Oil Glut in U.S.
David Bird, a reporter who covers energy markets for the Wall Street Journal, has been missing for nine days. Bird, who has worked for the parent of the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, for more than 20 years, left his Long Hill, New Jersey home on the afternoon of Saturday, January 11, telling his wife he was going for a walk. Despite a continuous search by hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials, Bird has not been located.
Bird is 55 years old, approximately 6’1, and was last seen wearing a red jacket with yellow zippers according to officials. He and his wife, Nancy, have two children, ages 12 and 15. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Long Hill Police at (908) 647-1800.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Bird is a liver-transplant recipient and is required to take medication twice a day. He did not take his medication with him when he left for the walk.
Bereft of Democracy
“(Chris) Christie is the caricature of a Third World despot,” writes Chris Hedges of the reeling New Jersey governor. “He has a vicious temper, a propensity to bully and belittle those weaker than himself, an insatiable thirst for revenge against real or perceived enemies, and little respect for the law and, as recent events have made clear, for the truth.”
And he still might wind up becoming our next president.
This is our kind of guy — media spectacle, bully, errand boy for the moneyed interests. His presidential aspirations may not survive “bridge-gate,” but in his national prominence he sure defines the abject state of American democracy. We give power to would-be despots, “caricatures” only in the sense that they lack life-and-death control over their subjects and are forced to express their wrath through lane closures and the infliction of mere inconvenience on their political foes.
And he still might wind up becoming our next president.
This is our kind of guy — media spectacle, bully, errand boy for the moneyed interests. His presidential aspirations may not survive “bridge-gate,” but in his national prominence he sure defines the abject state of American democracy. We give power to would-be despots, “caricatures” only in the sense that they lack life-and-death control over their subjects and are forced to express their wrath through lane closures and the infliction of mere inconvenience on their political foes.
Toll of U.S. Sailors Devastated by Fukushima Radiation Continues to Climb
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The roll call of U.S. Sailors who say their health was devastated when they were irradiated while delivering humanitarian help near the stricken Fukushima nuke is continuing to soar.
So many have come forward that the progress of their federal class action lawsuit has been delayed. Petitions on their behalf are now circulating worldwide at www.nukefree.org and elsewhere.
Bay area lawyer Charles Bonner says a re-filing will wait until early February to accommodate a constant influx of sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and other American ships.
Within a day of Fukushima One’s March 11, 2011, melt-down, American “first responders” were drenched in radioactive fallout.
Why the Washington Post’s New Ties to the CIA Are So Ominous
American journalism has entered highly dangerous terrain.
A tip-off is that the Washington Post refuses to face up to a conflict of interest involving Jeff Bezos -- who’s now the sole owner of the powerful newspaper at the same time he remains Amazon’s CEO and main stakeholder.
The Post is supposed to expose CIA secrets. But Amazon is under contract to keep them. Amazon has a new $600 million “cloud” computing deal with the CIA.
The situation is unprecedented. But in an email exchange early this month, Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron told me that the newspaper doesn’t need to routinely inform readers of the CIA-Amazon-Bezos ties when reporting on the CIA. He wrote that such in-story acknowledgment would be “far outside the norm of disclosures about potential conflicts of interest at media organizations.”
But there isn’t anything normal about the new situation. As I wrote to Baron, “few journalists could have anticipated ownership of the paper by a multibillionaire whose outside company would be so closely tied to the CIA.”
A tip-off is that the Washington Post refuses to face up to a conflict of interest involving Jeff Bezos -- who’s now the sole owner of the powerful newspaper at the same time he remains Amazon’s CEO and main stakeholder.
The Post is supposed to expose CIA secrets. But Amazon is under contract to keep them. Amazon has a new $600 million “cloud” computing deal with the CIA.
The situation is unprecedented. But in an email exchange early this month, Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron told me that the newspaper doesn’t need to routinely inform readers of the CIA-Amazon-Bezos ties when reporting on the CIA. He wrote that such in-story acknowledgment would be “far outside the norm of disclosures about potential conflicts of interest at media organizations.”
But there isn’t anything normal about the new situation. As I wrote to Baron, “few journalists could have anticipated ownership of the paper by a multibillionaire whose outside company would be so closely tied to the CIA.”