Global
April 7, 2003
Dear friends,
It appears that the Bush administra- tion will have succeeded in coloniz ing Iraq sometime in the next few days. This is a blunder of such magnitude — and we will pay for it for years to come. It was not worth the life of one single American kid in uniform, let alone the thousands of Iraqis who have died, and my condolences and prayers go out to all of them.
So, where are all those weapons of mass destruction that were the pretense for this war? Ha! There is so much to say about all this, but I will save it for later.
Dear friends,
It appears that the Bush administra- tion will have succeeded in coloniz ing Iraq sometime in the next few days. This is a blunder of such magnitude — and we will pay for it for years to come. It was not worth the life of one single American kid in uniform, let alone the thousands of Iraqis who have died, and my condolences and prayers go out to all of them.
So, where are all those weapons of mass destruction that were the pretense for this war? Ha! There is so much to say about all this, but I will save it for later.
Oh good. It looks as though
we’re going to have as big a
fight over postwar plans for Iraq as we did over the war itself. Just what we need, more of everybody being at everybody else’s throat.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems prepared to run the world, favors one Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile-emigre group, as postwar leader (read figurehead-puppet). Chalabi is bitterly opposed by both the State Department and the CIA.
According to Knight-Ridder’s Jonathan Landay, American military planes flew Chalabi and 700 troops, the newly named “First Battalion of Free Iraqi Forces,” into Nasiriyah Sunday to be integrated into Gen. Tommy Franks command. Landay reports, “Senior administration officials said that Chalabi had had difficulty recruiting enough forces to go into southern Iraq and may have tapped the discredited Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group, to get his 700 soldiers.” Think how happy the Iraqis will be to see some detachment from their old enemy Iran.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems prepared to run the world, favors one Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile-emigre group, as postwar leader (read figurehead-puppet). Chalabi is bitterly opposed by both the State Department and the CIA.
According to Knight-Ridder’s Jonathan Landay, American military planes flew Chalabi and 700 troops, the newly named “First Battalion of Free Iraqi Forces,” into Nasiriyah Sunday to be integrated into Gen. Tommy Franks command. Landay reports, “Senior administration officials said that Chalabi had had difficulty recruiting enough forces to go into southern Iraq and may have tapped the discredited Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group, to get his 700 soldiers.” Think how happy the Iraqis will be to see some detachment from their old enemy Iran.
I’ve been friends with the guys in Denovo for I don’t know how long – hell, I was in bands with some of them. I listened to Jason, Marc, Chris and Sean write these songs. But I’ve moved, and Sunday is no longer dominated by Denovo practice day. While my life is a little quieter, it lacks the right soundtrack.
But my problem has been solved. Heartfelt, raw – somewhere between indie rock and hardcore – Denovo’s new seven-inch masters melodic, post-hardcore. While I’ve drifted away from a lot of indie records in the past couple of years, Denovo pulls me back with their authenticity and ingenuity.
On the instrument side, Denovo skillfully juxtaposes driving bass lines and creative drum work with guitars that alternate between fret-board acrobatics and driving synchronicity. The vocals are clean, heartfelt and complete Denovo’s sound. Sean met the other guys during the years Special Aviation Project, Denovo’s predecessor, was searching for a singer. When you listen to the seven-inch, you know why their search stopped with him.
By now, it's a media ritual. Whenever the U.S. government raises
the alert level for terrorism -- as when officials announced the orange
code for "high risk" on May 20 -- local, regional and national news
stories assess the dangers and report on what's being done to protect
us. We're kept well-informed about how worried to be at any particular
time. But all that media churning includes remarkably little that has
any practical utility.
Presumably, the agencies that are supposed to help safeguard the public don't need to get their directives via network news or the morning paper. As for the rest of us, the publicity is very close to useless -- unless we're supposed to believe that feeling anxious makes us safer or looking sideways at strangers will enhance our security.
Presumably, the agencies that are supposed to help safeguard the public don't need to get their directives via network news or the morning paper. As for the rest of us, the publicity is very close to useless -- unless we're supposed to believe that feeling anxious makes us safer or looking sideways at strangers will enhance our security.
The Ohio State University's entirely student-run musical theater group, Off the Lake, will present its annual spring musical: Kiss Me, Kate will be held in Hitchcock Hall on the OSU campus (2070 Neil Avenue) on May 29th, 30, and 31st at 8:00pm. Admission is only a canned good, which will later be donated to the Mid-Ohio food bank.
Based around Shakespeare's comedy Taming of the Shrew (the play within the play), Kiss Me, Kate is a lively mix of the old and the new, sure to keep many genres of audiences on the edge of their seats. Ex-lovers Fred Graham, an egotistical producer and the male lead, and Lilli Vanessi, a capricious stage diva, are reunited humorously to produce a musical version of Taming of the Shrew. Further hilarity ensues when two gangsters show up to collect an IOU and wind up on stage.
Featuring a 25-member cast and a 15-piece orchestra, Kiss Me, Kate offers much more than theatrics. The music and dancing of this straight- from-Broadway production are a force to be reckoned with.
Based around Shakespeare's comedy Taming of the Shrew (the play within the play), Kiss Me, Kate is a lively mix of the old and the new, sure to keep many genres of audiences on the edge of their seats. Ex-lovers Fred Graham, an egotistical producer and the male lead, and Lilli Vanessi, a capricious stage diva, are reunited humorously to produce a musical version of Taming of the Shrew. Further hilarity ensues when two gangsters show up to collect an IOU and wind up on stage.
Featuring a 25-member cast and a 15-piece orchestra, Kiss Me, Kate offers much more than theatrics. The music and dancing of this straight- from-Broadway production are a force to be reckoned with.
Though your body was taken away from us years ago, we want you to know that your spirit lives among us still.
Through our dignity and our pride in our history and our culture, you live.
Through our marches and demonstrations and sacrifices for our people's struggles anywhere and everywhere in the world, you live.
Through our dedication to our children, and our commitment to give them the best, you live.
Through those among us who refuse to be beaten down, and who are willing to pay the ultimate price for our manhood and womanhood and peoplehood, you live.
Through our schools and our centers and our holidays and our children named after you, you live.
Through our desire to live life guided by the highest principles, as you did, you live.
And through our commitment to have our freedom and dignity, fully and completely by paying any price, you live.
We declare, brother, to our friends and to our foes, that every shut eye ain't sleep, every good-bye ain't gone.
Brother, you live among us still.
(c) 1985 Yemi Toure
Through our dignity and our pride in our history and our culture, you live.
Through our marches and demonstrations and sacrifices for our people's struggles anywhere and everywhere in the world, you live.
Through our dedication to our children, and our commitment to give them the best, you live.
Through those among us who refuse to be beaten down, and who are willing to pay the ultimate price for our manhood and womanhood and peoplehood, you live.
Through our schools and our centers and our holidays and our children named after you, you live.
Through our desire to live life guided by the highest principles, as you did, you live.
And through our commitment to have our freedom and dignity, fully and completely by paying any price, you live.
We declare, brother, to our friends and to our foes, that every shut eye ain't sleep, every good-bye ain't gone.
Brother, you live among us still.
(c) 1985 Yemi Toure
The endless clash between state power and popular will has
always assumed its most vivid contours in the matters of sex, booze and
drugs. Particularly in the last case the struggle concerns not merely
pleasure but the suppression of pain. The state protects pharmaceutical
companies, who enjoy the highest profits in American business. The state
persecutes marijuana cultivators and suppliers, and, at the federal level,
is trying to crush a nationwide rebellion by those who not only see
marijuana as delightful and benign, but as of proven efficacy as a medicine
for those for whom pain is a chronic condition.
On Friday, May 16, 2003, Columbus Jobs with Justice participated in one of
Columbus' first workers' rights delegations. A group of local labor,
religious and community members (including County Commissioner Mary Jo
Kilroy, representatives from JwJ, the Central Labor Council, the Catholic
Diocese, and a number of labor organizations) visited the corporate offices
of the Kroger Corporation to ask for a visit with the president and to
present a large signed poster demonstrating community support for truck
drivers of Teamsters Local 413, who are in danger of losing their jobs.
Kroger, a union shop where cashiers and others are represented by the UFCW,
is considering giving the trucking contract to a non-unionized, low-paid
owner-operator trucking firm in Texas.
www.theproudliberal.com/slaves.html
You try to tell us that we are free
Free to be slaves of your regime
You try to tell us that we are free
Free to be slaves of your regime
It's mighty funny how the eagle flies
It's time to check the pockets were the eagle hides
It's mighty funny how the eagle flies
It's time to check the pockets were the eagle hides
All the lies you keep trying to sell
Eat your words and go to hell
Even though we're not free we won't be used for your dirty schemes
Even though we're not free you can't take away our dignity ,yeah
What they want is a peaceful change
So the pockets of the pharaohs remains the same
They'll declare war as a slick diversion
eliminate the problem continue the perversion
Even though we're not free we won't be used for your dirty schemes
Even though we're not free you can't take away our dignity ,yeah
David Moore
Lyrics and Music
Copyright 2002
You try to tell us that we are free
Free to be slaves of your regime
You try to tell us that we are free
Free to be slaves of your regime
It's mighty funny how the eagle flies
It's time to check the pockets were the eagle hides
It's mighty funny how the eagle flies
It's time to check the pockets were the eagle hides
All the lies you keep trying to sell
Eat your words and go to hell
Even though we're not free we won't be used for your dirty schemes
Even though we're not free you can't take away our dignity ,yeah
What they want is a peaceful change
So the pockets of the pharaohs remains the same
They'll declare war as a slick diversion
eliminate the problem continue the perversion
Even though we're not free we won't be used for your dirty schemes
Even though we're not free you can't take away our dignity ,yeah
David Moore
Lyrics and Music
Copyright 2002
As Ohio lurches toward more education cuts to resolve the state’s fiscal crisis, state legislators should be cutting wasteful spending. This means they should even consider cutting failed pet projects that have been coddled by lawmakers.
Limping toward its 7th year of existence, Ohio’s charter school program is one such project. The program has produced no academic return for our investment of state and local taxes, more than $200 million this year. Fiscal conservatives in the House of Representatives scrutinized every line item in the Ohio Department of Education’s budget with a fine toothcomb, yet they refused to even glance at the failed charter school program. With more than $600 million cut from K-12 and public higher education already, this program should be the first place lawmakers look to help balance the budget.
Charter school proponents sold the public a new approach to education. They promised taxpayers that if you ‘forget regulation and red tape, we’ll get results, never you mind how.’
The results are dismal.
Limping toward its 7th year of existence, Ohio’s charter school program is one such project. The program has produced no academic return for our investment of state and local taxes, more than $200 million this year. Fiscal conservatives in the House of Representatives scrutinized every line item in the Ohio Department of Education’s budget with a fine toothcomb, yet they refused to even glance at the failed charter school program. With more than $600 million cut from K-12 and public higher education already, this program should be the first place lawmakers look to help balance the budget.
Charter school proponents sold the public a new approach to education. They promised taxpayers that if you ‘forget regulation and red tape, we’ll get results, never you mind how.’
The results are dismal.