Global
Every night gunshots lullaby me to sleep
In ruins of abandoned buildings
the broken glass is
where we bottle up all our
broken dreams. . . .
Hold the dream with me, as it breaks loose from Jameale Pickett’s poem. Something beyond the insane dance of crime and punishment is happening, at least this year, this moment, in Chicago’s high schools. Young people are getting a chance to excel and become themselves, as more and more schools find and embrace common sense, also known as restorative justice.
The funding is fragile, precarious, but some schools in struggling communities are figuring out how to break the school-to-prison pipeline, even though the system as a whole remains wrapped up in suspensions, expulsions, zero tolerance and racism.
“The Obama administration on Wednesday urged school officials to abandon unnecessarily harsh suspension and expulsion practices that appear to target black students,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported recently.
For about two weeks this January, poverty was recognized as a serious problem in this amazingly rich but unequal country, as we observed the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty.
In his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson said:
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.
When you look at the full text of the speech, it is clear that LBJ believed that poverty could be eradicated, not just reduced. In fact, he states unequivocally that “we shall not rest until this war is won.” State of the Union addresses are obviously political statements, and I am sure that many – especially those on the Right – will challenge LBJ’s sincerity. What else
In his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson said:
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.
When you look at the full text of the speech, it is clear that LBJ believed that poverty could be eradicated, not just reduced. In fact, he states unequivocally that “we shall not rest until this war is won.” State of the Union addresses are obviously political statements, and I am sure that many – especially those on the Right – will challenge LBJ’s sincerity. What else
As of the 21st, Citizens United has reached it's "fruit & flowers"
anniversary - four years of degrading our electoral process, one attack
ad at a time.
Super PACs and special interest groups spend millions of dollars to influence elections. We often don't know where they get the money. We don't know what their true motivation is. Yet they spend enough cash to put their agenda front and center, while middle class families in Ohio - the ones that don't have a million dollars to spend on campaigns - get drowned out.
I bet Karl Rove and the Koch brothers are celebrating today. You could have bought a sports team -- or maybe a small tropical island - with the amount of money their affiliated groups spent on the last election. BUT WE’RE GOING TO USE TODAY TO REAFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT TO STAND AGAINST CITIZENS UNITED.
On this anniversary, I'm teaming up with some of my colleagues to gather 400,000 signatures on our petition to end the effects of Citizens United. JOIN US - SIGN THE PETITION RIGHT NOW.
Super PACs and special interest groups spend millions of dollars to influence elections. We often don't know where they get the money. We don't know what their true motivation is. Yet they spend enough cash to put their agenda front and center, while middle class families in Ohio - the ones that don't have a million dollars to spend on campaigns - get drowned out.
I bet Karl Rove and the Koch brothers are celebrating today. You could have bought a sports team -- or maybe a small tropical island - with the amount of money their affiliated groups spent on the last election. BUT WE’RE GOING TO USE TODAY TO REAFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT TO STAND AGAINST CITIZENS UNITED.
On this anniversary, I'm teaming up with some of my colleagues to gather 400,000 signatures on our petition to end the effects of Citizens United. JOIN US - SIGN THE PETITION RIGHT NOW.
With the official disinvitation of Iran from Geneva II, the peace conference regarding Syria set to begin this week, proceedings can go forward uninterrupted. Considered a hindrance to the peace process, the UN withdrew Iran’s invitation because Iran refused to agree to Bashar Assad’s removal as an ultimate precondition (specifically including a “transitional” power to supplant Assad until a new government is established.) As the Syrian regime’s largest proxy in the war effort Iran could be expected to maintain this hard line position. Those involved in the Geneva II negotiations figured, then, that Iran’s presence would symbolize anything but peace in Syria.
But, while the UN is issuing loyalty tests to major players involved in the Syrian crisis, perhaps the United States should look inward on its role in the conflict. After all, if Iran can be excused from Geneva II for failing to desire Assad’s exit from power then why is the U.S. going in the first place? Traveling through the recent history of America’s entanglement in Syria can be tricky and confusing, but episodes such as the Iranian peace conference exit add to the journey’s salience.
But, while the UN is issuing loyalty tests to major players involved in the Syrian crisis, perhaps the United States should look inward on its role in the conflict. After all, if Iran can be excused from Geneva II for failing to desire Assad’s exit from power then why is the U.S. going in the first place? Traveling through the recent history of America’s entanglement in Syria can be tricky and confusing, but episodes such as the Iranian peace conference exit add to the journey’s salience.
As I went from event to event Monday celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King, I was struck by both the tribute and the distortion.
The tribute is remarkable. Martin Luther King held no public office. He amassed no great fortune. He led no victorious armies. He was arrested, harassed by the FBI, denounced and defiled. Yet today, we devote a holiday to his birth. Schoolchildren study his life and learn of his “dream.” No matter how much the culture seeks to domesticate him, the lessons are inescapable.
Standing up for justice is honorable. Racism is unacceptable. Nonviolence — challenging unjust laws and practices with nonviolent protest — is honorable. It is a testament to a confident country that we would so honor Dr. King.
But the distortion is real also. Martin Luther King grew revered once he was martyred, but he was the center of controversy when he was alive. Gallup polling showed that he grew more unpopular over the course of the 1960s. By 1968, a Harris poll showed that three-fourths of Americans and 55 percent of African Americans had negative views about him.
The tribute is remarkable. Martin Luther King held no public office. He amassed no great fortune. He led no victorious armies. He was arrested, harassed by the FBI, denounced and defiled. Yet today, we devote a holiday to his birth. Schoolchildren study his life and learn of his “dream.” No matter how much the culture seeks to domesticate him, the lessons are inescapable.
Standing up for justice is honorable. Racism is unacceptable. Nonviolence — challenging unjust laws and practices with nonviolent protest — is honorable. It is a testament to a confident country that we would so honor Dr. King.
But the distortion is real also. Martin Luther King grew revered once he was martyred, but he was the center of controversy when he was alive. Gallup polling showed that he grew more unpopular over the course of the 1960s. By 1968, a Harris poll showed that three-fourths of Americans and 55 percent of African Americans had negative views about him.
President Obama should know that his silence in regards to the military industrial complex is a betrayal of the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 exactly one year after, to the day, he profoundly indicted U.S. militarism. Obama unleashed the same militarism in his so-called Afghanistan surge. King's Silence is Betrayal speech, given at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, denounced a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift. send comments
In the middle of the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression, the lack of a Green New Deal and jobs programs that make the U.S. less energy dependent are leading to imperial folly in Central Asia. Obama's popularity erodes as he embraces the same militaristic policies that destroyed President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. As the architect of the War on Poverty, Michael Harrington, used to say, The War on Poverty was not lost in America, it was lost in the jungles of Vietnam.
In the middle of the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression, the lack of a Green New Deal and jobs programs that make the U.S. less energy dependent are leading to imperial folly in Central Asia. Obama's popularity erodes as he embraces the same militaristic policies that destroyed President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. As the architect of the War on Poverty, Michael Harrington, used to say, The War on Poverty was not lost in America, it was lost in the jungles of Vietnam.
Not since the abolitionists and suffragists rocked Ohio’s politics in the 19th and 20th centuries has a movement in the Buckeye State been so essential to human rights. The announcement last week that Ohio’s Legislative Black Caucus, aided by civil rights advocates, is backing The Voter Bill of Rights as an amendment to the Ohio Constitution is the single most important issue before in the 21st century. The proposed constitutional amendment would end the massive new Jim Crow purges of poor and black people Ohio has become notorious for in national elections.
The amendment would adopt the approach of the European Union and make voting a Constitutional right. Many Americans are shocked to discover that the right to vote is currently not an enshrined Constitutional right. Voting rights are often limited by the 50 different state governments that administer federal, state, and local elections.
The proposed voter bill of rights would assure that all qualified Ohio citizens have a right to cast a ballot, and more importantly, have that ballot counted.
The amendment would adopt the approach of the European Union and make voting a Constitutional right. Many Americans are shocked to discover that the right to vote is currently not an enshrined Constitutional right. Voting rights are often limited by the 50 different state governments that administer federal, state, and local elections.
The proposed voter bill of rights would assure that all qualified Ohio citizens have a right to cast a ballot, and more importantly, have that ballot counted.
On January 14, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia struck down a Communications Commission rule that guaranteed what is called “net neutrality.” The rule prohibited internet providers from blocking internet traffic to consumers based on content or bandwidth or charging consumers a greater fee to access content. The split decision by the court in favor of Verizon and MetroPCS had additional support in the form of briefs from rightwing lobbying groups and the conservative former Attorney General of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli had filed friends of the court briefs to assist the appellants in their case. The court leaned heavily on a similar decision in 2010 in favor of ComCast, that prompted renewed rules prohibiting the blocking of internet traffic based on content.
Happy MLK Day!
The spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is a driving force behind the upcoming Worldwide Wave of Action. Here's an Anonymous call to action video featuring MLK. Please consider sharing it today...
Spirit of MLK Launches Worldwide Wave of Action
Video transcript:
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges…. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom…"
On the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 2014, the spirit of MLK will rise again. We will engage a worldwide wave of action, "from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. From every mountain side…"
We will "let freedom ring."
The spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is a driving force behind the upcoming Worldwide Wave of Action. Here's an Anonymous call to action video featuring MLK. Please consider sharing it today...
Spirit of MLK Launches Worldwide Wave of Action
Video transcript:
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges…. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom…"
On the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 2014, the spirit of MLK will rise again. We will engage a worldwide wave of action, "from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. From every mountain side…"
We will "let freedom ring."
Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. ... A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. – “A Time to Break Silence (Beyond Vietnam)” Dr. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967.
This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its "Choose Nonviolence" campaign, a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King's value of nonviolence in resolving terrible issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in Kabul, Afghanistan.
This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its "Choose Nonviolence" campaign, a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King's value of nonviolence in resolving terrible issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in Kabul, Afghanistan.