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Thankfully, we’re joined by the uniquely powerful JUDITH WHITMER, rebel Chair of the Democratic Party of Nevada, where an uprising of grassroots activists has transformed the playing field. 

Judith has helped lead the charge to at last put the Democratic Party apparatus in reach of grassroots activists who actually support a progressive agenda….and who are willing to fight for a progressive agenda.

We learn from GREG COLERIDGE that the horrendous Citizen’s United does not protect dark money’s ability to buy primaries, as they’re themselves the bailiwick of private corporations, ie the political parties.  

Thus we realize the possibility of actually having fair and accessible systems to choose partisan candidates, a revolutionary development to say the least.

DOROTHY REIK, THERESA BONPANE, JUSTIN LEBLANC, MARY STONEWALL and others chime in with great questions.

We’re FURTHER joined by WENDI LEDERMAN, who has compiled a brilliant and extremely important roster of non-partisan grassroots organizations around the country.  

What does surrender look like in the world of geopolitics? To my mind, this gets pretty close:

“President Biden’s national security adviser said on Sunday that the United States had warned Russia that there would be ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the country if Moscow used nuclear weapons in its increasing desperation to hold on to territory in Ukraine.”

What would we do in a world lacking police, prisons, surveillance, borders, wars, nuclear weapons, and capitalism? Well, we might survive. We might sustain life on this little blue dot a little longer. That — in contrast to the status quo — ought to be sufficient. We might, in addition, do a lot more than sustain life. We might transform the lives of billions of people including each person reading these words. We might have lives with less fear and worry, more joy and accomplishment, more control and cooperation.

But, of course, the question I began with might be asked in the sense of “Wouldn’t the criminals get us, and the forces of law and order be imperiled, and evildoers take away our freedoms, and sloth and laziness deprive us of updated phone models every few months?”

I recommend, as a way to begin answering that concern, reading a new book by Ray Acheson called Abolishing State Violence: A World Beyond Bombs, Borders, and Cages.

September 16 marks the 40th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the killing of around 3,000 Palestinians at the hands of Lebanon’s Phalangist militias operating under the command of the Israeli army. 

 Four decades have passed, yet no measure of justice has been received by the survivors of the massacre. Many of them have died, and others are aging while they carry the scars of physical and psychological wounds, in the hope that, perhaps, within their lifetime they will see their executioners behind bars. 

Composer Gaetano Donizetti may have been born in the 18th century and his 1835 opera Lucia di Lammermoor may be based on Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor, which was published 1819. But the updated version of Lammermoor that LA Opera is rather gloriously kicking off its 2022/23 season with is a startlingly spectacular state of the art production that is arguably the most cutting edge operatic live show that this longtime reviewer has ever had the good luck to behold. As directed by Switzerland’s Simon Stone, this rendition of an early 19th century work is a role model in how to successfully update classics for 21st century audiences, just as Leonard Bernstein and company brilliantly reset the tragic saga of Verona’s teen age sweethearts in Romeo and Juliet to Manhattan’s mean streets in West Side Story for 20th century viewers.

In his anticipated speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is expected to, once more, make a passionate plea for the recognition of Palestine as a full member. 

Part 1:
We are then joined by the legendary KEITH ELLISON, Attorney-General of Minnesota and lead prosecutor in the legendary George Floyd case. 
Keith is a former multi-term US Representative and Vice-Chair of the national Democratic Party.
We discuss with him the relatively safe, democratic voting conditions in Minnesota and the desperate need to replicate them nationwide.
Keith is gratefully joined by RAY MCCLENDON of the Georgia NAACP, connecting powerful pro-democracy organizers in critical states where conditions are very different.
Joining them also are BOB FITRAKIS, JULIE WIENER, WENDI LIEDERMAN, HEDI TRIPP, TATANKA BRICCA and others.
The need for a national organization of progressive state Attorneys-General and secretaries of state has never been more critical.
We finish this amazing hour with JAMIAH HARGINS and his truly mind-boggling organization promoting urban farming and water conservation.

Ah, the children!

They belong to us, sayeth the Department of Defense. At least some of them do.

It’s a little more complicated than it used to be, thanks to one of the changes that occurred back in 1973, a year of startling historical significance. That was the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and, oh yeah, the Watergate hearings (remember those?). But there was more. The United States, tangled militarily in the quagmire of Vietnam and increasingly torn apart on the home front by protests, was on the brink of conceding defeat in Nam and getting the hell out of the ravaged country. Before that came about, the military-industrialists made a pragmatic decision. They got rid of the draft.

The idea was to shut up the protesters by taking away their personal stake in America’s militarism. The term that was then emerging was “Vietnam syndrome” — people were sick of war. Uh oh! Big problem for the defense industry and all the groveling politicians indebted to it. Patriotism itself had become poisoned. People began calling for profound national change, including (God help us) an end to war. Was the antiwar movement becoming the new patriotism?

This critic usually reviews plays with deep social, psychological and philosophical significance, such as A Noise Within’s Animal Farm, Orwell’s satire about the revolution betrayed in Russia; Deaf West Theatre’s mounting of the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Getty Villa; and Antaeus’ Everybody, an adaptation of the Christian morality play Everyman, about the meaning of life. I appreciated all of these quality productions but by far the most enjoyable work I’ve had the good fortune to experience this year is Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, a musical comedy without any deep political, Freudian or existential messages.

Remarks on September 19, 2022 for online event at https://peaceweek.org
Powerpoint here.

Thank you for including us. After I speak, World BEYOND War Education Director Phill Gittins will discuss the educational work that can move us away from war, and World BEYOND War Canada Organizer Maya Garfinkel will discuss the nonviolent activism that can do the same. This way, I can talk just about the easy part, which is why we should abolish war.