The Oscars: 2010 - thoughts and predictions

Tonight (ABC, 8:30 PM) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will hand out its annual awards (Oscars) in 24 categories covering most aspects of filmmaking.

Well, we've finally seen the last (An Education and The Blind Side) of the 10 nominated films. It seems that according to most reports it's a race between Hurt Locker and Avatar. I think of the 10 nominated films (and that's really all this is about, there are many other worthwhile films that are ignored each year) Avatar is my favorite and The Hurt Locker is probably my least favorite. Why? Avatar, beneath all the 3D, futuristic effects, and blue-skinned natives, is really a contemporary version of the genocide against the indigenous people of this continent in order to steal their land and resources. A mysterious corporation is after the richest deposit of the potentially earth-saving (and profit making) mineral Unobtainium (note the name) located on Pandora. They, of course, enlist the assistance of the U.S. armed forces to once again destroy the native Na'vi population. Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose. It also raises questions about the environment and the power of the physically challenged - the leading male character is a paraplegic, except when he's on Pandora. (Lost fans note John Locke on the island and off).

In contrast to this, The Hurt Locker seems to me to reinforce all the stereotypes of the bomb-crazy Iraqis. In contraast, only the American characters are fully developed, the Iraqis are just bomb-throwing props. This doesn't seem to me to be the basis of a great anti-war film. I know there are others who disagree.

A few words about the other films. I really liked Precious and The Blind Side because they demonstrate, in very different ways, that it isn't the color of one's skin that determines one's potential, but the circumstances in which a child grows up. I prefer Precious mostly because, in addition to some incredible acting, the person who turns Precious' life around is a teacher of color (Alicia Keys) and not another white superhero. But even in the more typical white savior film The Blind Side it still shows how it's the situation one is in that determines so much (rich white people do better in this society than poor Black people). Isn't that surprise? Perhaps if we were to equalize the starting position of the contestants, the race wouldn't be so one sided.

A quick word about Up in the Air and An Education. I liked both of them and would recommend them to anyone who hasn't seen them. I know in many ways they are very different and George Clooney isn't a 17-year-old woman, but at their core, they are very much alike. Two other thoughts: District 9 and Avatar are very similar in their politics and I don't know what sense Inglorious Basterds makes except to fulfill a Quentin Tarantino's fantasy. I suspect that the only reason why A Serious Man (or Job 2009) and Up have been included was to fill out the required 10 films.

A few other comments:

I really want to see Jeff Bridges win for best actor. I know it's a career award, but it was one hell of a performance.

I'm not at all convinced about Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) - the best actress favorite. I don't think her work touches what Gabourey Sidibe did in Precious and I've been told, since I haven't seen it, Meryl Streep's cover of Julia Child (Julie & Julia). I also liked watching Carey Mulligan get an education in more ways than one and Helen Mirren as Madame Tolstoy (yes, that Tolstoy), but I'd watch Helen Mirren do anything.

Christoph Waltz (The Hurt Locker) seems to be the odds on favorite for Best Supporting Actor and I don't really have any objection, except to say Matt Damon was wonderful in Invictus.

As for Best Supporting Actress I think, like everyone else, that it should go to Mo'Nique in Precious. But if there were a silver Oscar it should go to Crazy Heart's Maggie Gyllenhaal. She was really wonderul as always.

One other race to pay close attention to is Best Director. It seems that, even if Avatar beats The Hurt Locker for Best Picture, the voters may divide Picture and Director and give the director award to Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow. If she wins it will be the most important award of the evening, because she will be the first woman to ever be so honored and it's about damn time.

That's about it, except to say that the award for Best Costume Design better go to The Young Victoria or the Academy will hear from both Ann and me.

The new Doctor Who (2010)

So you want to see the first glimpse (and that's all it is) of the new (2010) version of Doctor Who. Well here is what I've found.
His new companion, Amy Pond, is played by Karen Gillan.

ACORN wins a big one against right-wing attempts to defund it

ACORN won a big battle in its struggle to overturn the unconstitutional congressional provisions specifically naming it for defunding. According to The Center for Constitutional Rights,

Yesterday, Wednesday, federal judge, for the second time, granted an injunction against Congress’ unconstitutional de-funding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to apply to federal budget provisions signed into law by President Obama in December 2009 and ordered the United State of America and several named agencies to rescind orders cutting off funding to ACORN and its affiliates and allies. A preliminary injunction was won in December 2009 in the Center for Constitutional Rights’ (CCR) case charging Congress with violating the U.S. Constitution’s protections against Bill of Attainders and the First and Fifth Amendments in several recurring resolutions. Today’s opinion extends that protection by ordering a permanent injunction and directing agency heads to disregard the provisions denying funding and to rescind the memos that implemented the Congressional action.

I think the best way to understand the congressional attack on ACORN is to ask, who's behind it? Or maybe, why is ACORN being targeted now? The answer is simple. The Republicans and their right-wing allies (the line between these two is getting more and more blurred) are deathly afraid of the enfranchisement of poor people and mostly people of color. That's exactly who ACORN is organizing. ACORN has fought for the last 40 years to get poor people, working class people and people of color access to the American dream. In very simple terms that means enfranchisement, education and a good job and home of one's own. These are hardly radical ideas. But they do require some changes, which the Republicans and their right-wing allies are ideologically against. They are opposed to broader enfranchisement, greater access to education and to home loans because securing access to these rights requires government intervention, the great bugaboo of the right.

ACORN is being targeted by the internal enemies of democracy because above and beyond everything else they are scared to death of the enfranchisement and empowerment of poor people and working people, particularly people of color. It's not accidental that this anti-ACORN attack follows the election of a person of color to the what is still to them the aptly named White House. It has not been missed by these people that if only the votes of white people were counted in 2008, John McCain would now be president. So the enfranchisement of poor people, people of color and young people does not bode well for the future of Republican/right wing power. And the primary goal of ACORN has always been the expansion of voting rights. But not just to expand the franchise, but to educate people how to exercise their power - the vote is only a part of that struggle. The struggle continues between the power of bribery (oops, I mean campaign contributions) and the power of the vote of an ORGANIZED constituency. And that's what ACORN does, it helps people to organize so that they can exercise their power. Human centered social change has never happened unless people were organized. And prepared to exercise their power both inside and outside the electoral process. Resistance is key and it takes many forms.

The politics of The Hurt Locker and Avatar

If you are following the race for the Oscar - or even just interested in the politics of the nominated films - this article addresses the politics of The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Since the media (especially film critics) has essentially ignored the politics of these two films, Mamoon Alabbasi's article fills in some of the spaces. I think there is more to be said about both films, especially Avatar, but this is a good beginning.

Consortiumnews.com

Posted using ShareThis

The War Resisters League's income tax pie chart

The pink shows how much of your income tax dollars are used to support the U.S. military.

Just so you know what you're paying for:


Hot off the press! Tax Day Pie Chart FY2011

The War Resisters League's famous "pie chart" flyer analyzes the Federal Fiscal Year 2011 Budget (released in February 2010). Perfect for Tax Day!

Each year, War Resisters League analyzes federal funds outlays as presented in detailed tables in "Analytical Perspectives" of the Budget of the United States Government. Our analysis is based on federal funds, which do not include trust funds--such as Social Security--that are raised separately from income taxes for specific purposes. What you pay (or don't pay) by April 15, 2010 goes to the federal funds portion of the budget.

Order print copies via WRL online store,
or by phone at 212.228.0450

Downloadable versions are available on WRL website

Orders can also be mailed to:
War Resisters League
339 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012

If you have questions about ordering, email WRL at wrl@warresisters.org.

Copies are available for $.10 each (1-199), $.07 each (200 or more), $.06 each (500+) plus 20% postage. Call for information on very large or rush orders.

The War Resisters League spends a lot of time, energy, and money to create this resource. Please credit when using. For permissions to reprint, email us at wrl@warresisters.org.

1000 U.S. Deaths in Afghanistan: Vigil Tues Feb 23, 5:30-6:30 pm

1000 U.S. Deaths in Afghanistan!
Vigil Tues Feb 23, 5:30- 6:30 pm:
Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

According to icasualties.org the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan has reached 1,000 as of, Feb. 22.
An untold number of Afghans have also died. Just this weekend at least 27 Afghan civilians were killed by a NATO airstrike.

Join other NYC peace groups in a commemorative candlelight vigil:

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 5:30 pm
Rockefeller Center:
West side of 5th Ave bt 49th and 50th St

In a candlelight ceremony, names of U.S. military and Afghan citizens who have died in war-related incidents will be read, to the somber beat of a drum.
Invited political and celebrity speakers, including actor/author Malachy McCourt, actress Kathleen Chalfant, State Sen. Bill Perkins, civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel, and others will make brief remarks.

At 6:30 p.m., the vigil group will walk to the Times Square recruiting center for more comments, name readings and songs by the Raging Grannies
(Route: down 5th Ave, turn right on W. 44th St., walk to recruiting center at Broadway & 44th Street.

Let’s send a strong message: it’s time to bring the hostilities to an end! Replace missiles with missions! Replace destruction with diplomacy!

PLEASE BRING CANDLES OR FLASHLIGHTS!

Participating groups: Grandmothers Against the War; Brooklyn For Peace; Granny Peace Brigade; Veterans for Peace; Raging Grannies, Peace Action NYS; World Can't Wait; Code Pink; Gray Panthers; West Side Peace Action, and others

Questions? Call 718-624-5921 or e-mail bfp@brooklynpeace.org

Kevin Smith v. Southwest Airlines

I suppose you've heard about the Southwest Airlines v. film director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, and upcoming Copout) brouhaha by now. It seems to me that it's a perfect example of how capitalist corporations fail to serve their customers but just indulge their greed for profit. After all they have to pay their executives. Clearly greed isn't exclusive to Wall Street. In short, in case you missed it, Smith was thrown off a Southwest Airlines flight (although he paid for two seats) because they couldn't accommodate him on a soldout flight. If you want to check other airlines click here

It seems to me that if airlines were concerned about serving their customers instead of squeezing as much out of them as possible they would have accommodations for heavy-set people. But that would mean they might have to give up a few seats (and a few fares). It's hardly surprising that people are flying less. It's also true that Americans are getting fatter (not a good thing) but the airlines are not the appropriate diet monitors, since all they care about is making as much profit as possible. so the hell with the customers. Also, I believe, if the planes were appropriately designed (for the population) the concerns about safety, voiced by hired experts, could easily be accommodated. The capitalist hunger for profits is not a customer or worker friendly world.

March 12: Celebrate International Women's Day with the Federation of Cuban Women

In Celebration of International Women’s Day
Welcome the visting delegation of the
FEDERATION OF CUBAN WOMEN

Friday, March 12, 2010,
you will have a unique opportunity to share an evening of information and open dialogue with the leadership of the Cuban Federation of Women (FMC). Martizel Gonzalez, Foreign Relations Representative, of the Federation of Cuban Women, North America Region, will be joined by others

Friday, March 12th
John Jay College
Reception 6:30pm
Program Begins 7pm

The FMC Delegation will be there to discuss:
* Women in Cuba today
* The world economic crisis and its impact on Cuba
* Prospects for ending the U.S. embargo of Cuba and normalization of relations
* Democracy in Cuba today
* Cuba’s ongoing solidarity with Haiti
* Recent developments on race relations in Cuba and much more

During the Question & Answer part of the program, you will also be able to raise your interests and concerns.
Literature will be available on Cuba, the Cuban 5, current activities and trips to Cuba and Cuba’s initiatives in solidarity with
the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Sponsored By:The July 26th Coalition, an ongoing initiative by the organizations and individuals in solidarity with the People Cuba, in the NYC/Tri-State Area.

For more information about this event and the ongoing work of the July 26th Coaltion contact :

Book signing/discussion: Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire

Saturday, Feb. 20, 12 p.m.

Richard Becker
Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire.

ANSWER Coalition office
2295 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., Ground Floor

... Richard Becker, ANSWER's Western Regional Coordinator, will be in New York City to speak about his new book Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire. Becker is a noted writer and commentator on Middle East affairs. He led fact-finding delegations to Palestine in 2000 and 2002, delivering medicine to Palestinian hospitals. Becker helped produce the video Palestine Fights for Freedom (2002) based on his experiences.

Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire provides a sharp analysis of historic and current events in the struggle for Palestine—from the division of the Middle East by Western powers and the Zionist settler movement, to the founding of Israel and its regional role as a watchdog for U.S. interests, to present-day conflicts and the prospects for a just resolution.

The book’s narrative is firmly rooted in the politics of Palestinian liberation, and is a necessary introduction to the heroic efforts of the Palestinian people to achieve justice in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

In addition to the Saturday, Feb. 20 event in the ANSWER office in Harlem, Becker will be speaking at the following New York City locations:

Feb. 22: City College
Monday, Feb. 22, 5pm-6:30pm
Hoffman Student Lounge (Back Theatre)

Feb. 23: Bronx Community College
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 12pm-2pm
South Hall (Conference Area)
Hosted by ANSWER Club at Bronx Community College

Feb. 23: John Jay College
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 6:30pm
Room 1311 in N-Building
Hosted by Justice in Action

Contact the ANSWER Coalition at 212-694-8720 or email nyc@answercoalition.org for more information about these events.

Oscar firsts:: Kathryn Bigelow & Lee Daniels

OK, the Oscar nominations have been announced. And maybe Hollywood has decided to join the rest of U.S. society. But it's clearly easier to elect a Black President than for a Black or female director to win an Oscar.

The best picture fight is between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. As I said earlier, Kathryn Bigelow is the fourth woman to be nominated for Best Director (Lina Wertmuller, Seven Beauties ; Jane Campion, The Piano,; and Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation). Only The Piano was nominated for Best Picture. Bigelow would be the first woman to ever win for Best director.

But there is another important award to focus on. Lee Daniels (Precious) is the second African American to be nominated for Best Director (John Singleton, Boyz N the Hood, was the first). But Daniels has already made Oscar history, because Precious is the first film by a Black director to be nominated for a Best Picture award.

Oscar nominations tomorrow (Tues)

Tommorow (Tues) morning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce its nominations for the Oscars. The winners will be announced March 7th.

Here's a tip for those who plan to wager on the outcome: In 54 out of the last 60 years the winner of the Directors Guild award for best picture went on to win the Oscar. Last Saturday the Directors gave their award to The Hurt Locker.

More importantly, if The Hurt Locker wins it will be the first movie directed by a woman -Kathryn Bigelow - to win the Best Picture Oscar. If she wins the Best Director, that would also be a first for women.

As a Hollywood gossip footnote Bigelow and her main competitor - James Cameron (Avatar) used to be married. Sounds like a Spencer Tracy/Kathryn Hepburn movie to me.

Howard Zinn: 1922-2010, Presente!

graphic By Sergio Iniarte
(from Thank You Howard Zinn on Facebook)


Howard Zinn revolutionized the way we understand history - from the bottom up - but he did much more than that. He changed the way we see ourselves in relation to history and social change. He made it clear that we all have a role to play in history. In other words, he was not only a radical historian, he was also an activist. He taught, not just with his writing and teaching, but also by example. Howard Zinn died on Wednesday at 87 of a heart attack. Fortunately for all of us he was able to work until the very end. His last contribution to history (as far a I know) was "The People Speak" on the History Channel, a TV version of his magnificent A People's History of the United States. (1980)

Always the activist, his 1967 work, The Logic of Withdrawal, was, as Amy Goodman said this morning (1/28),

the first book on the war to call for immediate withdrawal, no conditions. A year later, he and Father Daniel Berrigan traveled to North Vietnam to receive the first three American prisoners of war released by the North Vietnamese.

She also reminded us that,

When Daniel Ellsberg needed a place to hide the Pentagon Papers before they were leaked to the press, he went to Howard and his late wife Roz.

Also on the tribute to Zinn on Democracy Now ,author and journalist Naomi Klein summarized his contribution in these words:

But the thing about Howard is that the history that he taught was not just about losing the official illusions about nationalism, about the heroic figures. It was about telling people to believe in themselves and their power to change the world. So, like any wonderful teacher, he left all of these lessons behind. And I think we should all just resolve to be a little bit more like Howard today.

For more of Democracy Now's tribute - which also includes Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker and Zinn' collaborator Anthony Arnove - go to http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/28/howard_zinn_1922_2010_a_tribute

Restore democracy in the U.S.

The Supreme Court today (1/21) decided there should be no restraints on corporate spending on elections. In other words, they decided that corporations should have the same free speech rights as individuals. This completely distorts the Constitution. What is already an oligarchy (not a democracy) will become a virtual dictatorship of the corporations. Check all this out on freespeechforpeople.org

Share This Video Far And Wide | freespeechforpeople.org

Dennis Brutus and the struggle to isolate Apartheid South Africa's sports teams

In memory of Dennis Brutus - who was remembered Sunday at The Brecht Forum - here is a preview of a new film about the struggle to create an international sports boycott of Apartheid South Africa. This was one of Brutus' lasting accomplishments (If your seeing this on Facebook, please go to http://contestedterrain.blogspot.com/2010/01/dennis-brutus-and-struggle-to-isolate.html to see the video preview)

Jan 21: Protest Wall Street greed

Jan 21, 12:00 - 2:00pm

85 Broad St, (Goldman Sachs Headquarters)

On January 21st, Goldman Sachs and other major banks and financial institutions will announce the huge bonuses that will be given out to its elite bankers--the very people who destroyed our economy and threw hard-working Americans out on the streets. Rally in front of the headquarters of Goldman Sachs.

Americans are living through the most difficult economic crisis in the last 50 years. One in five Americans does not have decent, full-time paying work.

Goldman Sachs' behavior is un-American and unpatriotic.

Come rally on behalf of America. Come rally to demand a new economic system which rewards all Americans, not just a few.

Bring your signs and banners.

INITIAL CONVENORS:

Progressive Democrats of America
Democrats.com
Democracy for America
Jonathan Tasini For U.S. Senate

Happy birthday Ellen!

We went to a couple of events today - more about that later {with photos). Fortunately because of the weather they were in the same place. One of these events was Ellen Davidson's report back from Gaza and her 50th birthday party. After the report back there were supposed to be toasts to Ellen and the party. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the toasts to Ellen so here's mine:

I have known Ellen for nearly 30 years, we worked together at the Guardian and she and Ann were in a singing group- "Womansong"- with four other wonderful women {Barbara, Jill, Mara, Carmen) who sang at our wedding (27 years ago). I say all this so you'll know how well I've known Ellen. So let me say that when I heard that Ellen went to Gaza to support the people there, I was not in the least surprised, even for a moment, because I know that wherever people are fighting for liberation Ellen will be there. She understands, as few of us do, that we are a human race and wherever one of us is oppressed we are all oppressed and it is always all our struggle.

Sunday, January 17: Dennis Brutus Memorial

Sunday, January 17, 2:00 PM

Dennis Brutus Memorial
A celebration of the life of South African poet, anti-Apartheid fighter, and human rights activist Dennis Brutus (1924-2009)

Speakers TBA

Brecht Forum
451 West Street
(bt Bank & Bethune Streets)

Phone: (212) 242-4201 - Email: brechtforum at brechtforum.org

Co-sponsors: Black Left Unity, Haymarket Books, Activist-Poets Roundtable, War Resisters League, The Indypendent

Jan. 15, 3:30PM - Protest on Wall Street

PROTEST ON WALL STREET
ON DR. KING’S BIRTHDAY!

FRI., JAN. 15, 3:30 – 6 p.m.
At Wall St. and Broad
(across from the Stock Exchange)

No more bail outs & bonuses for bankers –
BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE!!

WE DEMAND JOBS FOR ALL
SAVE FREE STUDENT MTA CARDS
STOP FORECLOSURES AND EVICTIONS
HOUSING, EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE - NOT WAR

Here's to you Mrs. Robinson

Does anyone else love the fact that the 60-year-old member of Parliament, who's also Northern Ireland's First Lady, who stepped down from her seat in Parliament (her husband, Northern Ireland's First Minister also stepped down) after her affair with then 19-year-old Kirk McCambly was revealed is named Mrs. Robinson.

It would seem that any woman named Mrs. Robinson has a cultural responsibility to have an affair with a younger man.

The Simpsons, Mazel Tov

Congratulations to the people of Springfield - Particularly, of course, Marge, Homer, Bart, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Snowball (cat), Lisa and Maggie. And a special salute to Matt Groening, who created the show.

The Simpsons has broken the record (formerly held by Gunsmoke) of 20 years on prime time TV (or it will when the next season starts) So raise a burger or donut to The Simpsons

There will be a regular Simpsons show Sunday (1/10) @ 8PM and Morgan Spurlock's The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3D! On Ice!@ 8:30PM.

Favorite protest signs

Here are two (I know, actually three) of my favorite signs of the past year. One from a right-wing anti-public option demo and one from a pro-gay marriage action:

Emergency Demo to support Gaza Freedom March - Dec. 31

Emergency Demonstration:
Thursday Dec 31, 1 pm

Protest Egypt's refusal to allow Gaza Freedom March to enter Gaza

EGYPTIAN MISSION TO THE UN:
304 East 44th St. (btwn 1st & 2nd Ave)

The government of Egypt continues to deny international activists from the Gaza Freedom March and also from Viva Palestina's humanitarian aid convoy access to the Gaza Strip. This clearly demonstrates the Egyptian Government's complicity with Israel in maintaining the illegal and devastating blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the December 2008 Israeli invasion that left more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead, the Gaza Freedom March is a grassroots global response to the inaction on the part of world leaders and institutions. 12 Brooklynites, including 2 BFP members, are in Cairo with the Gaza Freedom March.
Tell Egypt to open its border with the Gaza Strip, let people and goods in and out!

Thursday December 31st, 1 PM

EGYPTIAN MISSION TO THE UN:
304 East 44th St. (btwn 1st & 2nd Ave)

A WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE ACTION ALERT

A WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE ACTION ALERT

Please join the War Resisters League in supporting its members and allies who are part of this historic international delegation against the Israeli siege on Gaza. Put pressure on the Egyptian government to open up the Gaza-Egypt border and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed!

From The Gaza Freedom March Steering Committee:

UPDATE
December 21, 2009

We are determined to break the siege
We all will continue to do whatever we can to make it happen

Using the pretext of escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us yesterday that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks, into January. We responded that there is always tension at the border because of the siege, that we do not feel threatened, and that if there are any risks, they are risks we are willing to take. We also said that it was too late for over 1,300 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now. We both agreed to continue our exchanges.

Although we consider this as a setback, it is something we've encountered-and overcome--before. No delegation, large or small, that entered Gaza over the past 12 months has ever received a final OK before arriving at the Rafah border. Most delegations were discouraged from even heading out of Cairo to Rafah. Some had their buses stopped on the way. Some have been told outright that they could not go into Gaza. But after public and political pressure, the Egyptian government changed its position and let them pass.

Our efforts and plans will not be altered at this point. We have set out to break the siege of Gaza and march on December 31 against the Israeli blockade. We are continuing in the same direction.

Call the Egyptian embassy and ask your elected official to call on your behalf. Contact your local media/press to tell them you are going to Gaza. Egyptian embassies and missions all over the world must hear from us and our supporters (by phone, fax and email) over the coming crucial days, with a clear message: Let the international delegation enter Gaza and let the Gaza Freedom March proceed.

Contact your local consulate here:

Contact the Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo
Ahmed Azzam, Email: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

In the U.S., email Omar Youssef at the Egyptian Embassy, omaryoussef@hotmail.com

War Resisters League
339 Lafayette Street | New York, NY 10012
212.228.0450 | wrl@warresisters.org

Up in the Air: a review

So Saturday eve we went (with our friends Barbara & Eli) to see Up in the Air. It's like no other movie you've ever seen, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. George Clooney - who I think is the last real movie star - is brilliant. But the character he plays is an empty vessel. He works for a company that sends people out to fire people. That's it, just to fire people. Although it's only mentioned once or twice, their main purpose is to prevent the people being fired from suing. Their job is to convince those being fired that this is a new beginning - at whatever age or qualifications. In order to be able to do this day-after-day, year-after-year, one has to be an emotional void. Of course, Clooney is his usual charming self. He travels many miles up in the air. One day he meets a beautiful woman (Vera Farmiga) in an airport bar, she accompanies him back to his room and they have sex. They meet from time to time, when it's mutually convenient to indulge themselves. Finally he invites her to his sister's wedding and he begins to believe there is something more happening than just convenient sex. She has a secret that will ultimately turn him back into an empty firing automaton. At the same time a young woman (Anna Kendrick) shows up at his company with an internet strategy for firing people. In other words, let's make the process less human, more abstract. She becomes his protege. He wants to keep the firing process what its always been, she wants to make it less personal. He wins this battle, but they lose the war - he in his relationship with his occasional lover, she with the job.

The movie appears to be in touch with a contemporarily high unemployment rate. But it's effectively empty. None of the three main characters is worth rooting for. Sure there are some laughs, really fine performances but at its heart (which it doesn't have) Up in the Air is an almost empty two hours.

Up in the Air will almost surely be nominatec for an Oscar - it was chosen the best film of 2009 by the National Board of Review, it captured six Golden Globe nominations But it was left out of the list of movies receiving nominations for their ensemble casts, Screen Actors Guild's equivalent of a best picture award. Instead, the SAG nominating committee opted for "Inglorious Basterds" and "Precious" along with Sony Pictures Classics' British period drama "An Education," Summit's Iraq War film "The Hurt Locker" and the Weinstein Co.'s Roman disaster of a musical "Nine."

If you want to see how totally cannibalistic capitalism can be, Up in the Air will show you.

Dec. 22, Hearing in ACORN v. U.S.A.

Hearing in ACORN v. U.S.A.

Tuesday, December 22, 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
(Arrive early for security and seating)

United States District Court Eastern District of New York,
225 Cadman Plaza East, (Room 6D)
Brooklyn, New York



Last week the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) celebrated a major victory in our case on behalf of ACORN over congressional de-funding, but we have to go back to court tomorrow and we hope you will come show your support if you can.

The case charged Congress with violating the Bill of Attainder provision in the U.S. Constitution by singling out an organization for punishment without a fair investigation and trial, violating the Fifth Amendment right to due process, and infringing on the First Amendment right to freedom of association by targeting affiliated and allied organizations as well. And the judge agreed. Two days later, Congress passed a new budget that included three specific references targeting ACORN for de-funding, and we are asking the judge to amend her decision to include these new violations of the law. Join CCR tomorrow, Tuesday, December 22, 2009 to pack the court to make it loud and clear that Congress cannot act as judge, jury and executioner.

The U.S. Constitution forbids lawmakers from singling out a person or group for punishment in order to protect against political retribution without due process. We asked the judge to amend her decision granting an injunction against Congress' unconstitutional de-funding of ACORN to apply it to the new federal budget provisions that President Obama signed into law last week. The United States has also filed papers asking the judge to reconsider her December 11 ruling and set it aside.


For more information on ACORN v. USA, please visit CCR's website. Join us to show solidarity with ACORN and to make sure the right does not continue its unconstitutional targeting of progressive organizations.

We hope to see you in court.

Two Deaths to note: Liam Clancy & Bess Lomax Hawes

I was sad to hear of the death of Liam Clancy, the last remaining member of the extraordinary Irish band - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. There were many nights in the Village of the 1960s and 1970s that would not have been the same without Liam, Tom, Paddy and Tommy Makem at the Lion's Head and the old Limelight. No matter how popular they became the Clancys were never too big to join us late at night. The alcohol didn't hurt either. As we all know the music was an integral part of the politics of those years and the Clancy Brothers were a very important part of that music. Culture and politics are never really separable. They taught us a whole new way to hear Irish music and to think about Irish politics.

Although I wasn't as familiar with Bess Lomax Hawes as with Liam Clancy, anyone who sang with Woody and Pete deserves to be remembered. She was part of the Almanac Singers in the 1940s with Woody, Milard Lampell, Pete, Arthur Stern and Sis Cunningham. For those of you who are knowledgeable about ethnomusicology, Bess Lomax Hawes was the daughter of folk song collector John A. Lomax and the sister of Alan Lomax.

Both Liam Clancy (and the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem) and Bess Lomax Hawes should be remembered as key parts of our movement.

Dec. 14, New York City Labor Chorus mini-concert

Monday, Dec. 14, 6-8 PM

New York City Labor Chorus mini concert

CWA local 1180
6 Harrison St. (at Hudson)

NOW Applauds Senate Defeat of Abortion Ban Amendment, Urges Removal of Stupak-Pitts in Conference

NOW Applauds Senate Defeat of Abortion Ban Amendment, Urges Removal of Stupak-Pitts in Conference

NOW Applauds Senate Defeat of Abortion Ban Amendment, Urges Removal of Stupak-Pitts in Conference

NOW Applauds Senate Defeat of Abortion Ban Amendment, Urges Removal of Stupak-Pitts in Conference

12/8: Book party for The Tyranny of Oil

Tuesday, December 8, 7 pm
Book Talk & Party

7 pm - Book Talk with Author Antonia Juhasz
8pm on... - partying until you want to leave

Eight Mile Creek
240 Mulberry Street (bt Prince and Spring)
(212) 431-4615

Author, Antonia Juhasz, will speak about her book, The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry--And What We Must Do To Stop It,
just released in paperback: updated with a new preface: "Big Oil and the Obama Presidency."

with a special appearance by The Yes Men!

Film award season begins: The National Board of Review

The film award season begins with the National Board of Review:
:
Best Film: UP IN THE AIR
Best Director: CLINT EASTWOOD, Invictus

Best Actor(s) (a tie): GEORGE CLOONEY, Up In The Air; MORGAN FREEMAN, Invictus
Best Actress: CAREY MULLIGAN, An Education
Best Supporting Actor: WOODY HARRELSON, The Messenger
Best Supporting Actress: ANNA KENDRICK, Up In The Air
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: JEREMY RENNER, The Hurt Locker
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: GABOUREY SIDIBE, Precious

Best Foreign Language Film: A PROPHET
Best Documentary: THE COVE
Best Animated Feature: UP

Best Ensemble Cast: IT’S COMPLICATED

Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut: DUNCAN JONES, Moon; OREN MOVERMAN, The Messenger; MARC WEBB, (500) Days of Summer
Best Original Screenplay: JOEL AND ETHAN COEN, A Serious Man
Best Adapted Screenplay: JASON REITMAN and SHELDON TURNER, Up In The Air
Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: WES ANDERSON, The Fantastic Mr. Fox
William K. Everson Film History Award: JEAN PICKER FIRSTENBERG
NBR Freedom of Expression: BURMA VJ: REPORTING FROM A CLOSED COUNTRY; INVICTUS; THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSEBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS

Ten Best Films
(in alphabetical order)

AN EDUCATION
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
INVICTUS
THE MESSENGER
A SERIOUS MAN
STAR TREK
UP
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


Read more at Film School Rejects: Nat’l Board of Review Takes Up in the Air as Best Picture - Film School Rejects http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/natl-board-of-review-takes-up-in-the-air-as-best-picture-neilm.php#ixzz0YhLj76FV

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy: Obama & Afghanistan

There are many things I could say about our escalation of the "war"in Afghanistan, but I'm going to let Pete Seeger say it for me:

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

As always Pete nails it.

But although I don't agree with Obama's decision to escalate the "war" in Afghanistan, he has always been clear: Iraq bad, Afghanistan good. He just happens to be wrong.

Nov. 30 & Dec. 2: World March for Peace Arrives in New York City!

World March for Peace Arrives in New York City!
Monday, November 30 & Wednesday December 2

The World March for Peace kicked off on October 2, 2009 (Gandhi's birthday), and is currently under way in 100 countries and 300 cities.
Final destination is Argentina, (Punta de Vacas) on January 2, 2010.

Monday November 30: the international team of marchers will arrive from Senegal at JFK Airport.
1 pm: Join us at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 1 pm, to greet them. We're invited to walk with them across the Brooklyn Bridge
3 pm: Press conference (3 pm) at City Hall
7 pm: Celebration at Riverside Church in Manhattan.

Five goals of the World March:
• Worldwide nuclear disarmament
• Withdrawal of troops in invaded territories
• Progressive and proportional reduction of conventional armament.
• Signature of non-aggression treaties
• Government renunciation of war as a means to resolve conflicts

Wednesday December 2, 6:30 pm:
Join the celebration at Unitarian Church of All Souls,
(Reidy Friendship Hall),
1157 Lexington Ave @80th St, Manhattan

Come to enjoy:
Russell Branca jazz trio with Heather Bennett, piano; Sylvia Cuenca, drums; and Russell Branca, bass
Poetry readings by Phoebe Hoss, Howard Pflanzer and Eliot Katz
Speakers who will share their actions for local and global peace and non-violence, including a representative from the
World March organization; Bruce Knotts, Director of the UU/United Nations Office, Guy Quinlan of the Nuclear Disarmament
Task Force
Sing-along of peace songs
Food and beverages

(Train: 6 to 77th St.)
Free Admission; Donations appreciated!

Questions? Call 718-624-5921 or email bfp@brooklynpeace.org

World March for Peace is endorsed by Brooklyn For Peace and many others, including Noam Chomsky, Cornell West, Howard Zinn, Cindy Sheehan, and more www.worldmarchusa.net/endorsements.php

Christian Groups To Protest For The Right To Gay Bash - Politics - Air America

Mad Hatter's Tea Party invades the Capitol

I have been giving some thought to the Republican Tea Parties since they invaded the Capitol yesterday (Thurs) to protest extending health-care coverage to all Americans who need it (without unduly advantaging the insurance companies). I know they like to see themselves akin to the protesters at the Boston Tea Party, but I think they are much more like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland and they make just about as much sense.


(tea party photo by Smialowski/Getty)

Oct. 28 (Tonight): Protest Dow Chemical

From Merle Ratner:

Today (Wednesday) October 28, 6:30-8:00 pm

Milk Studios
450 West 15th St
(bt 9th and 10th Aves)

Dow Chemical has the unmitigated gall to be sponsoring an event about impact of and solutions to the global water crisis (see below)! There is indeed a global water crisis that needs to be addressed, but Dow is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Join Agent Orange & Bhopal activists to protest Dow’s lies and complicity!

Demand compensation for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims and cleanup of the toxic hot spots

Demand cleanup and compensation for the victims in Bhopal

Dow’s attempt to portray itself as responsible corporation is a lie since Dow refuses to compensate the victims of Agent Orange and clean up the toxic, dioxin-laden water and land in Vietnam resulting from its manufacture of Agent Orange used against the Vietnamese people during the U.S. war, and refuses to clean up and provide safe water to the people of Bhopal to whom it is responsible for the aftermath of a terrible chemical spill.

For the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign,

Oct. 28 (Tonight): Mobilization Against the War in Afghanistan

October 28, 7 pm

An Evening of Mobilization Against the War in Afghanistan

15th St Friends Meeting House (15 Rutherford Place)

Malalai Joya, the outspoken female politician and member of the Afghan parliament,
and American combat veterans from the conflict in Afghanistan,
will discuss the reality of the war, its consequences for the Afghan people and the effects on our troops.

Sponsored by The Nation Institute, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Mark Kurlansky (author of Non-Violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea) and Veteran war correspondent and Institute Fellow Chris Hedges, (author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning)

At a time when our military commanders concede that we are rapidly losing ground to the Taliban insurgents, it is vital that we recognize the consequences of the war and the dangerous direction it could take if we permit further military escalation.

The event is free and open to the public.

Oct 24:International Day of climate action

Saturday, October 24, 11 am - 12 noon

The Cathedral of St. John

the Divine invites the community to take a stand ethically, aesthetically, and spiritually. Come hear, see, and reflect upon the important issue of climate change — in the midst of our daily lives.

350 rings. Between 11 am and 12 noon, the Cathedral’s iconic bells will be rung in a sequence signifying 350. (see below for significance of 350)

Across the world on Saturday, October 24, people will engage in local “climate actions” in a massive coordinated global campaign to draw world leaders’ attention to the gravity of climate change. The burning of fossil fuels—literally, the burning of the earth—is the major cause of this problem.

Information will be available through a booth staffed by the Congregation of St. Savior.

At 11:30 am, as the bells are tolling, those who are gathered on the steps of the Cathedral will be photographed and the photo will be uploaded as one of the international climate actions.

The Cathedral supports the 350 campaign, an international effort led by environmentalist Bill McKibben and a dedicated team of volunteers (www.350.org). On Oct. 24 there will be actions at iconic places around the world—from the Great Barrier Reef to the Rockies to our community—in a united effort to send a clear message to world leaders: the solutions to climate change must be equitable, they must be grounded in science, and they must meet the scale of the crisis.

The number 350 derives from scientific observation that 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon is the level at which life as we know it on this planet can continue without disastrous effects (including, e.g., flooding and changes in weather patterns, which tend to affect the poor most drastically, and which are increasingly expected right here in New York City).

Contact your state Senator to move the Marriage Equality Act.

The Human Rights Campaign is asking that we contact our State Senator, even if you are certain that your Senator will vote for marriage equality (as are we) it's always good to give them support for doing the right thing.

The New York state senate will soon have an opportunity to vote on marriage equality. I just contacted my New York state senator and Senator John Sampson through the Human Rights Campaign.

They've made it quick and easy to send a personalized message to legislators. Now, more than ever, our senators need to hear from you and other New Yorkers who support marriage equality.

10/15: Vigil: Say NO to War in Afghanistan!

Thurs. Oct. 15, 4:30-6:00 pm

Vigil: Say NO to War in Afghanistan!

Brooklyn Boro Hall
Joralemon Street (bt Court & Boerum Place)

Bring the Troops Home Now--From Iraq & Afghanistan!

This October marks the 8th anniversary of the launch of the U.S.-led "War on Terror" in Afghanistan, already expanded into Pakistan. As a result, we are LESS safe, and TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS poorer. Defending it as a "war of necessity". the Obama administration is considering a major escalation of the violence. Last week Congress voted in for the 2010 Defense Appropriation including $128.2 billion to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through September 2010 (total military budget is $625.8 billion.) ALL Brooklyn reps and Senators Gillibrand and Schumer voted in favor .
Although many have raised "concerns" about US policy in Afghanistan, our elected represenatives have now authorized funding for another year of war. SPEAK OUT NOW to change our country's direction!

Sponsor: Brooklyn For Peace
Co-sponsors: Fort Greene Peace, Bay Ridge Interfaith Coalition, CODEPINK, South Asia Solidarity Initiative, Raging Grannies, United for Peace & Justice

10/15: Rally to support single payer health care

Tomorrow (Thurs. 10/15), activists in 9 cities across the country will participate in civil disobedience at health insurance companies. In New York City,

10am - Legal support rally for Patients, Not Profits
UnitedHealth Group (UHG),
ONE PENN PLAZA (facing 34th St)

UHG is the largest insurance company in America. Last year it collected $75 billion in premiums, and spent $11 million on lobbying and campaign contributions. Scores of testimonials have been shared about UHG's abusive practices against patients resulting in denials and deaths. Join us to shame UHG, and support those who are putting their bodies on the line to demand Medicare for All.

Join in a legal rally to stand up for our right to health care.

30 GOP Senators Vote to Defend Gang Rape

Our niece Kate Williams posted the following on FaceBook and I think this info should be spread as widely as possible, whenever we think that the Republicans have reached the lowest possible point in the political sewer they manage to surprise us once again. Here's what they have done now:

it is stunning that 30 Republican members of the United States Senate would vote to protect a corporation, in this case Halliburton/KBR, over a woman who was gang raped.

The story is very simple. In 2005 a woman was gang raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers. Sen Al Franken introduced an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill simply asserting that a corporation that covers up sexual assault (or refuses to allow its employees to take a case of sexual assault to court) cannot receive federal funds. (see video below, if you are seeing this on FaceBook go to)



The 30 Republicans (all men) argued that this was to great an intrusion into the private sector. Here are the names of the 30 culprits: Here are those who vote to protect a corporation over a victim of rape:

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Health Insurers may have shot themselves in the foot

Although their actions shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone at this point in the game the health insurance industry may have (if you'll pardon the expression) shot itself in the foot on Monday. By releasing an obviously biased report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers that the typical family premium in 2019 could cost $4,000 more than projected, if the current House and Senate bills pass, they may have inadvertently provided the best reason for reinvigorating the almost dormant public option.

While dismissing the report's findings as typical of an industry that seeks to protect its profits [above all else], the New York Democrat [Anthony Weiner] also made a fairly salient point. The analysis basically assumes that insurers will raise their rates because the finance committee won't make the pool of consumers more desirable for them. All of which lays out the logical case for providing consumers with a cheap and available alternative, set up and administered by the federal government. (Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/weiner-ahip-report-makes_n_317561.html).

There are obviously two reasons for this stupidity, either they're desperate and know that this time something will pass or their rapaciousness knows no bounds or both. Now we'll see if the Democrats have (to quote a Hillary Clinton supporter in the last campaign) the testicular fortitude to actually pass even an emasculated bill.

Oct. 14: Book party:Slavoj Žižek: First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

Wednesday, October 14, 7:00 pm

BOOK PARTY / FORUM

Slavoj Žižek - First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

Cooper Union, Great Hall
7 East 7th Street, NYC

Co-sponsor: Verso Books

The Left Forum: Debating Capitalist Power in the Age of Obama: Strategies for a U.S. Left

The Left Forum debate is only four days away.

Left Forum presents

Thursday, October 15, 7:30 p.m.

Debating Capitalists' Power in the Age of Obama: Strategies for a U.S. Left.

Debaters: Cindy Milstein, Stanley Aronowitz and Tom Hayden.

Moderator: Esther Armah (host, WBAI's "Wake Up Call")

Questions posed by a panel including David Harvey (author of Limits to Capital);
Maria Svart (union organizer and chair of the NYC local of Democratic Socialists of America, DSA); and
Josh MacPhee (artist, curator, activist, and part of the political art cooperative Justseeds.org).
Audience questions will be taken.


It's a spacious venue, hosted by the Community Church of New York
40 East 35th Street - New York - NY - 10016
Tel: 212.683.4988 - Email:info@ccny.org

[Directions: take the 6 to 33rd St. (at Park Ave.); B/D/F/R/Q/N/W to 34th St. (Herald Square)]

.

Obama Peace Prize: October surprise?

When I heard the news this morning that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I thought that I must still be asleep and having a very strange dream. But when I soon realized that I was awake I thought it couldn't be April 1st yet and I knew I hadn't heard anything about The Onion taking over the news copywriting for a day. Finally I realized that this was real. Fairly soon I heard the right wing nutty response (much like the same people's response to Chicago losing the Olympics). This is what the RNC's Mike Steele had to say:

The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?' It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain - President Obama won't be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.

Actually the American people are really asking: "Why have the Republicans stood in the way of President Obama doing anything?" Hardly surprisingly an extreme version of this came from the massively off-kilter Rush Limbaugh:

This fully exposes the illusion that is Barack Obama. And with this 'award' the elites of the world are urging Obama, THE MAN OF PEACE, to not do the surge in Afghanistan, not take action against Iran and its nuclear program and to basically continue his intentions to emasculate the United States. They love a weakened, neutered U.S, and this is their way of promoting that concept. I think God has a great sense of humor, too.

I'm not sure how god got into this, but Limbaugh's fascination with "emasculation" and being "neutered" makes one wonder about his private life. As the day progressed the right-wing lie machine created its latest. They claimed that the award was decided on about a week after Obama took office. Actually he ws nominated last November, with about 350 other people. The award was decided on quite recently. But that didn't keep the right from spreading their latest version of "death panels."

At first, my reaction mirrored some of this criticism, particularly: What has he done? And how can he be awarded a Peace Prize while he commands an occupation of Iraq, contemplates escalating the devastation of Afghanistan and can't even bring himself to criticize the Israeli murder of innocents in Gaza. But as I thought more about it I began to think the award might be a good thing. I'm almost certain it won't move Obama from his determination to save capitalism from itself. But in the eyes of most sane people (unlike those quoted above) it might press forward the struggle against a nuclear world, attempts to prevent us from destroying our environment and ourselves and abandon the idea that war (no matter how profitable it is) is the only answer to world problems. The Nobel Peace Prize has often been awarded to encourage good behavior rather than as a reward for success. I don't usually predict the future but it will be interesting to see what effect it has. In the short term it's fun to laugh at the right-wing obsessive anti-Obama response

Today is the 8th anniversary of our invasion & occupation of Afghanistan

Today is the 8th anniversary of our invasion of Afghanistan -

U.S. participation in previous wars:

Revolutionary War 6 yrs., 9 Mos.
Civil War 4 yrs.
Korean War 3 yrs., 1 Mo.
WWI 1 yr., 7 Mos.
WWII 3 yrs., 8 Mos.
Iraq 6 Yrs., 7 Mos. (obviously it's still continuing)

Only Vietnam lasted longer (8 Yrs., 5 Mos.) and you know who won that one.

Right wing: A reversal of evolution?

According to the NYT today (10/7), a University of Oregon research team answered No to the question of whether or not evolution can be reversed. There is, however, a possible counter example which might indicate that reverse evolution is possible: The modern Conservative movement and its Republican Party.

How to achieve bi-partisanship: buy some Democrats, put a hit out on some Republicans

Watching the travesty that passed for the Senate Finance Committee meeting last week (9/29) was like watching a bunch of thieves at the public trough. The behavior of the five Democrats who voted against the public option is totally understandable once you realize how well they're getting paid by the healthcare industries. Here's what they've gotten:

Max Baucus got $7,734,102, Blanche Lincoln received $4,190,592, Ken Conrad took in $3,287,891, Bill Nelson was given $2,414,895 and Tom Carper accepted $1,592,380 from health industry interests.

If money is the reason these five Democrats rejected the public option, then it only took a little over 19 million dollars over 20 years to buy the five votes the health insurance industry needed to kill any meaningful reform to their industry.

19 million dollars is nothing compared to the profits the insurance industry will make if a public option is defeated. They got a great deal for that 19 million. The American people? Not so much (from Intershame.com)

This clearly explains the continuation of the ineptitude of the Democrats regarding healthcare reform. From the President on down to the Senate drones like Baucus they have constantly taken every bargaining chip they possessed off the table. First the president dropped any attempt to go for single payer, because he believed he couldn't get it through - never mind trying before giving up.

In March, the president explained at a town meeting why he abandoned single payer:

The problem is, is that we have what's called a legacy, a set of institutions that aren't that easily transformed. Let me just see a show of hands: How many people here have health insurance through your employer? Okay, so the majority of Americans, sort of -- partly for historical accident. I won't go into -- FDR had imposed wage controls during war time in World War II. People were -- companies were trying to figure out how to attract workers. And they said, well, maybe we'll provide health care as a benefit.

And so what evolved in America was an employer-based system. It may not be the best system if we were designing it from scratch. But that's what everybody is accustomed to. That's what everybody is used to. It works for a lot of Americans. And so I don't think the best way to fix our health care system is to suddenly completely scrap what everybody is accustomed to and the vast majority of people already have. Rather, what I think we should do is to build on the system that we have and fill some of these gaps. (from: The L.A. Times)

Yesterday the well paid Max Baucus explained why he was taking the public option off the table:

My job is to put together a bill that will become law. In a sentence, that means my job is to put together a bill that gets 60 votes. I can count. No one has been able to show me how we can count up to 60 votes with a public option in the bill.

It's easy to see the basic fallacy in this argument. Obama could have befgun with single payer and bargained it away to get something else (public option?). But if you give it away before you start, you can't use it to bargain. The same is obviously true of Baucus' argument. He can try to get 60 votes with a public option in the bill, but he might endanger his healthcare insurance company money if by accident he succeeds. If he can't get 60 votes with the public option in the bill, he can always bargain it away. With his strategy, he's a loser but he satisfies his healthcare insurance patrons.

So the connection between the Democrats who oppose a public option and their patrons is clear. But the other side of the story is how the Republicans enforce such absolute discipline over its party votes. Yesterday ALL Republicans on the committee voted against the public option. I don't think it's ever been possible in any organization (not the church, not the military) to enforce that kind of discipline, except for one: The mob. I don't really think that the Republicans have any of Olympia Snow's family in a garage ready to enforce discipline. But in politics defeat is like death. So all the GOP powers-that-be have to do is to threaten any possible rebels with a healthcare insurance company backed more right-wing opponent in their primary. The opponent doesn't even have to unseat them, but the money spent on the primary, won't be there for the general election.

Ergo! no change. Buy the necessary Democrats and scare the hell out of any wavering Republicans.

Oct. 2: Rally to Keep Stella D'oro in the Bronx!

Rally with Workers and Supporters at the Stella D'oro Plant

Friday, October 2, 2009, 3:00-7:00pm

Stella D'oro
237th Street & Broadway, Bronx, NY

212-633-6646
Email:http://bailoutpeople.org/cmnt.shtml

It is crunch time at Stella D'oro! Brynwood Partners, the company's private equity owners, intend to shut down the Bronx facility as early as the first days of October. They have a deal in principle with North Carolina-based manufacturing and marketing firm Lance, Inc. to buy the brand and relocate production to a non-union plant in Ashland, Ohio. But the deal still hasn't closed -- and we can stop it!

Please join the courageous women and men of Stella D'oro -- who have stood up for themselves and for the entire labor movement in New York -- as they rally to keep their plant open -- and their jobs -- this Friday, October 2nd, outside the plant gates at 237th Street and Broadway. Take the 1 train to 238th Street and walk one block south.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds dies

Lucy Vodden died at 46 after a long fight with lupus. Who was Lucy Vodden?

Well, when she and Julian Lennon were grade school class mates, one day 4-year-old Julian brought home a drawing of Lucy and told his father it was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The rest is pop music history.

Bi-partisan rejection of public option in Senate cmte.

Well Pres. Obama finally got the bi-partisan vote he's been looking for. The Senate Finance Cmte. voted down the Public Health Insurance Option amendment by a 15-8 vote, which included 5 Democratic NO votes. These Democrats never fail to go with which ever side their bread is buttered on, rather than the needs of the rest of us. The 5-turncoat Dems., who voted against the people for whom they are supposed to be working are

Chm. Max Baucus
Kent Conrad (N.D.)
Blanche Lincoln (ARK)
Bill Nelson (FLA)
Thomas Carper (DEL)

I wonder if they can say Primary Challenge?

"Pawlenty yanks ACORN funding," Oh! Minnesota doesn't fund ACORN

In case you were wondering, here's the latest notice from NewsMax, an extreme-right wing web site:

Eyeing a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has moved to the right to better appeal to the conservatives who will likely select the GOP candidate.

Pawlenty has been viewed during his two terms as fairly close to the center. But in recent weeks he has made several moves to burnish his right-wing credentials.

Among them: He yanked state funding for the ACORN community organizing group, termed fears over so-called death panels "legitimate," called President Barack Obama's address to schoolchildren "uninvited," suggested he could assert states' rights to block federal healthcare reform, and called Obama's reform plans "a joke."

Well there are a number of problems with Pawlenty's actions. A good right-wing extremist does what's expected of him, but while

Gov. Tim Pawlenty today joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at the ACORN community organizing group, ordering that state agencies "stop all state funding" of the group.

... a local spokesman for the group said there's no state funding to stop.

But one thing that never gets in the way of a good right-wing action is reality. This is just one example.

Rachel Maddow on ACORN, Part II

Here is Part II of Rachel Maddow's multi-show comment on the Republican "Defunding and demonizing" of ACORN. But as angry as she is about it, and I fully agree with her response, she still doesn't get to the reason for the Republican action. The GOP may be racist and dishonest, but they are not stupid. Why attack a 40-year-old community organization? The reason, as I suggested in the previous post, is that if more and more poor Black people are registered to vote (ACORN's main work) the Republican Party will go the way of the pre-Civil Rights South. Remember that only 43% of the white electorate voted for Obama. The votes that elected him had to come from somewhere. Get it? Registering Black people = Republican defeats. The real question is: why did so many Democrats cast self-defeating votes to defund ACORN? And, of course, as always the other question is: Why does the mainstream media just buy into the Republican lies about ACORN?

Tonight's Rachel Maddow comment on the "defunding and demonizing" of ACORN co-stars Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater
(If you are viewing this on FaceBook click here to see the video)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Right attack on ACORN reminiscent of pre-Civil Rights South

I think it would be a serious mistake for us to underestimate the Republican attack on ACORN. We really have to take it very seriously. It's very much a part of the right-wing racist attack on Obama and democratic voting rights. The attack on ACORN is reminiscent of the pre-Voting Rights Act (1965) Southern determination to prevent the voting registration of Black people. Once upon a time before the civil rights movement (SNCC, etc.) went below the Mason-Dixon Line to register African-American voters, the powers-that-be in the South did everything they could to prevent people 0f color from voting. The powers that were feared that if Black people voted they would lose control of the political process in their states. And that, of course, is what happened.

The Republicans, with the help of the mainstream media and Democrats, have promulgated outright lies about ACORN. Their purpose has been to defund the one organization doing more to register people of color to vote. And that, of course, is exactly what the Republican Party wants to accomplish. Just like their ancestors in the South, they know that if poor people, particularly poor Black people, register to vote their percentage of the vote will continue to shrink. Remember in the 2008 election Obama was elected by 53 percent of the broad electorate but only 43 percent of the white electorate voted for him and that's what scares the hell out of the Republicans.

Here's Rachel Maddow last night discussing the Republican attempt to "defund and demonize" ACORN and particularly the mainstream media's failure to report the story accurately, thereby enabling the Republican Party's attempt to increase the white percentage of the voting population. (If you are viewing this post on FaceBook, please click here to see the Rachel Maddow video).

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Questions I have about contemporary politics

There are many things I don't understand about contemporary U. S. politics. Perhaps someone can explain this one to me. No matter how much damage the Democratic loose cannons in the Baucus "we work for the health insurance companies" caucus do to President Obama's struggle to reform health insurance coverage, he never calls them out. But at the same time he throws the embattled New York State Gov. Patterson to the wolves . In addition to the fact that Patterson is one of only two Black governors currently serving (Massachusetts's Deval Patrick is the other) and he will almost surely be replaced by a white man - Democrat or Republican - it would seem that a Democratic president would support a Democratic governor.

So why are the extreme right-wing obstructionist Blue Dog Senate Democrats untouchable, while Patterson (in current media parlance) gets thrown under the bus? Any answers?

October 15: The Left Forum: Capitalist Power in the Age of Obama

Thursday, October 15, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

the Community Church of New York City
40 East 35thSt. near Park Ave, NYC


The Left Forum has organized a Dialogue/debate between
Tom Hayden, founder of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and activist in Progressives for Obama,
Stanley Aronowitz, public intellectual and author of over 24 books and
Cindy Milstein, anarchist organizer, writer and popular educator.
The moderator will be Esther Armah of WBAI's "Wake Up Call".

This is a free event, hosted by the Community Church of New York City.

Thursday, October 15, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

40 East 35thSt. near Park Ave, NYC

They will address the roles of capitalists’ power in and beyond the Obama campaign and administration while considering the impact of, and opposition to such power in relation to strategies for building Left alternatives.

This event comes at a time of the exclusion from mainstream media and Washington politics of any discourse that suggests that the systematic dimensions of capitalism are related to the current crises or that the phrase “capitalists’ power” is relevant to public political consciousness.

Debate questions will be prepared and posed by a panel consisting of David Harvey (The Limits to Capital), Maria Svart (union organizer and chair of the NYC local of the Democratic Socialists of America) and Josh MacPhee (Justseeds radical artists' collective founder) and audience questions will be included.

Dec 27-Jan 2: International demonstration to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza

Join Alice Walker, Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Naomi Klein, Mustafa Barghouti, Diana Buttu in endorsing the historic Gaza Freedom March on Jan. 1, 2010 — a massive nonviolent demonstration that will breach the illegal Israeli blockade.
Read the call here and give your endorsement.

اقرأ البيان كاملاً و امنحنا التأييد

Dec. 27-Jan. 2

Join the largest ever international delegation to breach the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza


Read the call here and give your endorsement.

poster by Michael Thompson

Petition to End War and Occupation of Afghanistan

From National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance:

Sign the Petition (I just signed it)

Call on President Obama to End the War and Occupation of Afghanistan, Restore our Reputation in the Global Community!

GOP ventures off the deep end of rationality

I have recently said that there is no way to understand the contemporary Republican Party unless you accept the simple fact they have gone off the deep end, that their ideology (the way they understand the world) is totally out-of-touch with reality. I'm not talking about a Republican fringe, I'm talking about the mainstream of the party.

Here are some comments made recently by Oklahoma Senator James Inhoff. Decide for yourselves.

I never dreamed I would see an administration try to disavow all the things that have made this country different from all others.

I have never seen so many things happening at one time so disheartening to America.

Every institution that has made this country the greatest nation in the world is under attack

There has never been a case of torture there [Guantanamo Bay]. The people there are treated better than in the federal prisons.

I don’t know why President Obama is obsessed with turning terrorists loose in America.

He also said as quoted in the Tulsa World he continues to be proven correct in his claim that global climate change is a hoax. 'More and more, with each month that goes by, more scientists agree with me,' he said. 'We are winning.'" He is referring to a speech he made on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003,in which he said 'much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science. Where he called the threat of catastrophic global warming the 'greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,' a statement that,' he said, 'to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations.' These are clearly not the words of anyone who wants to have a reasoned political discussion. They are intended to scare the hell out of people who are already afraid of this new world they have been told is on their doorstep. At its base it isn't overly concerned about truth.

(Thanks to Carl Davidson for the link to the Tulsa World.)

October 5th Actions Against Continued War & Torture

October 5th Actions
"Direct Action at the White House Against Continued War and Torture"

Monday, October 5, 2009, 8:30am - 6:00pm

Washington D.C.

8:30 – 9:30 am Vigil @ the Supreme Court with Witness Against Torture, focused on Guantánamo, Bagram, and Accountability for Torture

10:00 am Gather @ McPherson Square (15th & I Sts. NW) for Poetry, Music, and Reflections from Elizabeth McAlister

11:30 am Silent, Solemn procession to the White House


EIGHT YEARS AGO ON OCTOBER 7, 2001, THE U.S. AND BRITAIN INVADED AFGHANISTAN— and the war on Afghanistan continues today, with President Obama increasing the number of troops.

On Monday, October 5, 2009 a coalition of peace groups will mark the anniversary and speak out against the war with direct
action risking arrest at the White House. Activists will attempt to deliver a petition asking President Obama to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, end illegal bombing in Pakistan with U.S. drones, close Guantanamo and the Bagram prison, and seek accountability for and ending of indefinite detention and torture.

There will be a number of affinity groups acting at the White House on October 5th.
You are welcome to join one, or form an affinity group of your own.

All who plan to participate in this action should come to a meeting on Sunday, October 4th, 2–5pm
@ the Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road NW.

To participate in the direct action, e-mail octoberactions@warresisters.org, and
for more information, please see www.warresisters.org/octoberactions

Coordinated and sponsored by: National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR), Witness Against Torture, Peace Action, War Resisters League, Atlantic Life Community, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Voters for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, World Can’t Wait, Student Peace Action Network, Activist Response Team, and others.

For those of you looking to coordinate something in your hometown, we have some organizing resources available so please contact us as well.

Print journalists blame the internet for their own failings

This story caught my attention in today's (9/3) NYT. It's about a tenaciously rumored wedding last month between Chelsea Clinton and Marc Medvinsky that didn't happen. But the substance of the story is irrelevant. The writer, Peter Baker, blames the persistence of the rumor, despite continuous denials by the principles and everyone around them, on "the internet-driven media culture, where," he says, "facts sometimes do not get in the way of a good story." However, if one reads further one finds out who really doesn't let facts "get in the way of a good story." He writes "the wedding rumor mill was started by The Boston Globe." Obviously, a mainstay of the "internet-driven media culture." But clearly it must have been carried on by gossip blogs and web sites. Baker writes: "Then New York magazine picked up the ball." (Another internet mainstay). To compound Baker's "inability to let facts get in the way," he says, "In July, The Daily News of New York said that 'Clintonistas are quietly being told to save the date.'" This rumor is once again advanced by another internet mainstay: "The Washington Post reported in August" and then "The Post followed up with a 1,775-word article." And, of course, that paragon of journalistic virtue "The New York Post reported [on Sunday] that the wedding could be that very day...."

So it seems there was no reason for throwing a grenade at the internet, except to cover up the ongoing failure of the corporate-owned media to let "facts...get in the way of a good story." Just imagine, when it really counts, how accurate the print media is likely to be.

Aurora "Rory" Barnes last night at the NuYorican Poets Cafe, Photos by Dan Cohen

Last night at the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe we went to see our friend Aurora "Rory" Barnes. Aurora is an absolutely wonderful performer, who should be on a much larger stage. She is not part of the post-Madonna generation of singers (you know "I dance alot cause I really can't sing"). She can really sing and fill a song with meaning. A mixture of her songs, not always happy, love affairs gone bad and the police murder of 23-year-old Sean Bell from the point of view of his fiancee Nicole Paultre Bell and standards. But don't think it's a sad evening Aurora injects most of it with lots of humor and her warm personality. I guess what I'm saying is if you hear the name Aurora "Rory" Barnes appearing anywhere, Go! You'll love her.