Backward Ho!
A few thoughts in praise of backwardness.
"We don't look backward," says President Obama in reference to imposing justice on powerful large-scale criminal suspects. Of course, as we don't prosecute future crimes but only crimes of the past, "not looking backward" is a euphemism for immunity -- an immunity not granted to those accused of small-scale crimes or crimes with no victims at all.
"Forward!" says President Obama, making that seemingly vacuous word his slogan. But the word has meaning; it means continuing thoughtlessly in the current direction, without seeking guidance from the mistakes or accomplishments or untested inspirations of the past.
The secrecy of the Obama White House, including record levels of classification, ground-breaking legal claims to secrecy, and record-level prosecutions of whistleblowers, moves us in practice to the position of rolling "forward" without a clear idea where we are or where we've just been. This is nearly as fatal to good public policy as "looking forward" is to law enforcement.
"We don't look backward," says President Obama in reference to imposing justice on powerful large-scale criminal suspects. Of course, as we don't prosecute future crimes but only crimes of the past, "not looking backward" is a euphemism for immunity -- an immunity not granted to those accused of small-scale crimes or crimes with no victims at all.
"Forward!" says President Obama, making that seemingly vacuous word his slogan. But the word has meaning; it means continuing thoughtlessly in the current direction, without seeking guidance from the mistakes or accomplishments or untested inspirations of the past.
The secrecy of the Obama White House, including record levels of classification, ground-breaking legal claims to secrecy, and record-level prosecutions of whistleblowers, moves us in practice to the position of rolling "forward" without a clear idea where we are or where we've just been. This is nearly as fatal to good public policy as "looking forward" is to law enforcement.
Book Review: Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation Deborah Davis
Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation
Deborah Davis
Atria Books
No doubt the vast majority of Americans did not realize that October 16 was the one hundred and eleventh anniversary of the day that Booker T. Washington, a former slave, dined at the White House at the invitation of President Theodore Roosevelt. When I relayed this information to my students, they did not get the significance of the invitation or the dinner. After all, I had taught them that black people built the White House, and it is currently occupied by a black family. What was the big deal about a dinner?
Deborah Davis
Atria Books
No doubt the vast majority of Americans did not realize that October 16 was the one hundred and eleventh anniversary of the day that Booker T. Washington, a former slave, dined at the White House at the invitation of President Theodore Roosevelt. When I relayed this information to my students, they did not get the significance of the invitation or the dinner. After all, I had taught them that black people built the White House, and it is currently occupied by a black family. What was the big deal about a dinner?
My last day with my first dog
I’ve been meaning to share this for a very long time, and while it seems like I've continually let life get in the way, it probably has more to do with the reluctance of reliving this time in my life. But in holding onto this for so long, I feel it is causing many beloved companion animals to have their last moments on earth in a state of fear and anxiety, unnecessarily, when those final moments could be spent in safety and peace. So, in remembrance to my beloved Bear, who I lost this time 8 years ago, and in service to those presently nearing their last moments with their beloved companions, I’m finally sharing my story.
When I found Bear, I was newly married and not even looking for a dog. In fact, I had set out to the AFB base animal shelter merely in support of my mom, as she sought after a cat. While she was in the cattery, for some reason I was compelled to walk the cages and see the dogs at the shelter. As I was visiting with the inhabitants, they were all enthusiastically greeting me at their kennel gates, with what I would describe as their best efforts at selling themselves for liberation from this place; all but one.
When I found Bear, I was newly married and not even looking for a dog. In fact, I had set out to the AFB base animal shelter merely in support of my mom, as she sought after a cat. While she was in the cattery, for some reason I was compelled to walk the cages and see the dogs at the shelter. As I was visiting with the inhabitants, they were all enthusiastically greeting me at their kennel gates, with what I would describe as their best efforts at selling themselves for liberation from this place; all but one.
Harvey's Radio Show: Green Power And Wellness – Legal Hemp & Marijuana
LEGAL HEMP & MARIJUANA! are celebrated on this landmark Solartopia Green Power & Wellness Show as Harvey is joined by long-time hemp campaigners Anndrea Hermann and Tom Murphy. We celebrate electoral victories in Colorado, Washington State and elsewhere. Then we explore the deep details of legalized hemp, now a half-billion-dollar/year industry in Canada. Based in Manitoba, Anndrea explains the realities of a hemp industry that employs tens of thousands of Canadians for a crop that’s used in food, cleansers, construction, paper, rope, twine and much much more. From Maine, Tom tells us of federal legislation aimed at finally bring the hemp industry back in the US, where it might well outstrip its smokable cousin in terms of revenue and employment. The future of cannabis—industrial and otherwise—is the future of American health, economy and agriculture.
Listen to the full hour
Listen to the full hour
Free Bradley Manning now
History is filled with examples of brave individuals who have broken the law to serve the greater good of humanity. In other words, whistleblowers expose crimes, even if they break a law in the process, and like a jaywalker who crosses street to stop a murder- they should be given medal for their heroism and pardoned the jaywalking ticket. Bradley Manning, who is alleged to have shared information with WikiLeaks that exposed spying, corruption, war crimes, among other tools of repression used by the global elite – is a shining example of one such individual who deserves to a ticker tape parade befitting a hero, not the over 900 odd days of imprisonment and torture that have lead up to his current hearing at Fort Meade.
If you agree, grab this embeddable video & blog it, tweet it, facebook it and email it.
YouTube
If you agree, grab this embeddable video & blog it, tweet it, facebook it and email it.
YouTube
The NAACP commemorates World AIDS Day
Fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS has been an uphill battle for over 30 years. This disease has disproportionally affected our community. 1 in 16 African American men and 1 in 32 African American women will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime. If Black America were its own country, it would rank 16th in the world for people living with HIV.
Earlier this year, the NAACP Health Department launched a HIV and AIDS awareness campaign and created a faith and social justice manual with faith leaders titled The Black Church and HIV: the Social Justice Imperative. For more information about this Initiative and the manual, please visit Initiative
We are committed to stopping the spread of the disease so we encourage you, your family and the community to get tested. Free testing is available in your area — go here for further information:
HIV Testing site locator
Earlier this year, the NAACP Health Department launched a HIV and AIDS awareness campaign and created a faith and social justice manual with faith leaders titled The Black Church and HIV: the Social Justice Imperative. For more information about this Initiative and the manual, please visit Initiative
We are committed to stopping the spread of the disease so we encourage you, your family and the community to get tested. Free testing is available in your area — go here for further information:
HIV Testing site locator
Lost military veteran
Heroes, parades, and much more for the men and women that serve in our Armed Forces as they first return. There is a neglected percentage that is swept under the rug and never is seen as they once were when we first returned. The men and women where the silent demons of years past come to haunt and destroy, as the faded glory once recognized by others gone. The commanding attitude with the suspicious survival instincts that civilized society sees as dominance and miss trust to justify under safety issues to ignore or isolate you. Incarceration rather than treatment for the medical conditions of war no one wants to see as the cause and effect of what happens. Combat fatigue, PTSD depending on the war how civilized society rates us for the useless life we have become. Homeless on the street because this nation will not recognize medical conditions that are not recorded in the time limit established by those that never serve. Politician’s refusal to listen and hear the bums sleeping under bridges in filth and shame because our uniforms are now dirty and the sins of our history clean citizens can and will not accept.
Nuke power's collapse gets ever more dangerous
In the wake of this fall's election, the disintegration of America's decrepit atomic reactor fleet is fast approaching critical mass. Unless our No Nukes movement can get the worst of them shut soon, Barack Obama may be very lucky to get through his second term without a major reactor disaster.
All 104 licensed US reactors were designed before 1975---a third of a century ago. All but one went on line in the 1980s or earlier.
Plunging natural gas prices (due largely to ecologically disastrous fracking) are dumping even fully-amortized US reactors into deep red ink. Wisconsin's Kewaunee will close next year because nobody wants to buy it. A reactor at Clinton, Illinois, may join it. Should gas prices stay low, the trickle of shut-downs will turn into a flood.
But more disturbing are the structural problems, made ever-more dangerous by slashed maintenance budgets.
All 104 licensed US reactors were designed before 1975---a third of a century ago. All but one went on line in the 1980s or earlier.
Plunging natural gas prices (due largely to ecologically disastrous fracking) are dumping even fully-amortized US reactors into deep red ink. Wisconsin's Kewaunee will close next year because nobody wants to buy it. A reactor at Clinton, Illinois, may join it. Should gas prices stay low, the trickle of shut-downs will turn into a flood.
But more disturbing are the structural problems, made ever-more dangerous by slashed maintenance budgets.
Whistleblower: Nuclear Regulators Suppress Facts, Break Law
The likelihood was very low that an earthquake followed by a tsunami would destroy all four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but in March 2011, that’s what happened, and the accident has yet to be contained.
Similarly, the likelihood may be low that an upstream dam will fail, unleashing a flood that will turn any of 34 vulnerable nuclear plants into an American Fukushima. But knowing that unlikely events sometimes happen nevertheless, the nuclear industry continues to answer the question of how much safety is enough by seeking to suppress or minimize what the public knows about the danger.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has known at least since 1996 that flooding danger from upstream dam failure was a more serious threat than the agency would publicly admit. The NRC failed from 1996 until 2011 to assess the threat even internally. In July 2011, the NRC staff completed a report finding “that external flooding due to upstream dam failure poses a larger than expected risk to plants and public safety” [emphasis added] but the NRC did not make the 41-page report public.
Similarly, the likelihood may be low that an upstream dam will fail, unleashing a flood that will turn any of 34 vulnerable nuclear plants into an American Fukushima. But knowing that unlikely events sometimes happen nevertheless, the nuclear industry continues to answer the question of how much safety is enough by seeking to suppress or minimize what the public knows about the danger.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has known at least since 1996 that flooding danger from upstream dam failure was a more serious threat than the agency would publicly admit. The NRC failed from 1996 until 2011 to assess the threat even internally. In July 2011, the NRC staff completed a report finding “that external flooding due to upstream dam failure poses a larger than expected risk to plants and public safety” [emphasis added] but the NRC did not make the 41-page report public.
Book Review: Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock
Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock
By David Margolis
Yale University Press
It is one of the most searing pictures of the modern civil rights movement, and one with which I have always been fascinated: a lone black teenaged girl with her notebook hugged tightly to her chest, her face devoid of expression and her eyes obscured by sunglasses, is walking down the street. Behind her is a crowd of angry whites, one of whom’s face is contorted with rage as she yelled “Go home nigger!”
I always assumed the white girl was an adult whose face summed up the way many whites in Little Rock, Arkansas felt on that fateful day about integration in general and black people in particular. Imagine my surprise when I learned she was just fifteen years old and a student at Central High School, which Elizabeth and eight other black children were attempting to integrate that day. The white girl was Hazel Bryan, the black teenager was Elizabeth Eckford,, and David Margolis does a superb job of tracing their lives from the point of the photograph to the present.
By David Margolis
Yale University Press
It is one of the most searing pictures of the modern civil rights movement, and one with which I have always been fascinated: a lone black teenaged girl with her notebook hugged tightly to her chest, her face devoid of expression and her eyes obscured by sunglasses, is walking down the street. Behind her is a crowd of angry whites, one of whom’s face is contorted with rage as she yelled “Go home nigger!”
I always assumed the white girl was an adult whose face summed up the way many whites in Little Rock, Arkansas felt on that fateful day about integration in general and black people in particular. Imagine my surprise when I learned she was just fifteen years old and a student at Central High School, which Elizabeth and eight other black children were attempting to integrate that day. The white girl was Hazel Bryan, the black teenager was Elizabeth Eckford,, and David Margolis does a superb job of tracing their lives from the point of the photograph to the present.