thiis is my intro.this is the rest of my article.
Feb 17, 2009
another post...
After a hot and exhaustive morning picking weeds on a guava farm, I, along with the other Americans on my delegation, went to visit a Cuban orphanage, once a small mansion in old Havana before the 1959 Cuban revolution. We crowded into a large room forming a half circle facing the head of the orphanage. She was a short and cheerful woman with her hair braided and pulled back, her glasses in her hands. The ceiling had small patches that had crumbled away. Many buildings show signs of aging; construction materials are hard to obtain in a nation under a U.S. economic blockade.this is the rest of the post.
Feb 16, 2009
This is a really really really really really long title. I hope you like it.
this is the first post. test!
Nov 2, 2008
November 4th: Now or Never?
Here is the latest commentary on the elections from the upcoming issue of Dynamic:
With the breakneck pace of today's "horse race"-style elections coverage this summer’s Democratic and Republican National Conventions may as well have taken place years ago. Yet, there are many Americans who watched or attended Barack Obama’s acceptance speech in Denver that can still recall the lines wrapped around the stadium for miles, and the over 80,000 people who were in attendance that day.
At the time, some commentators attempted to portray this closing night of the DNC as a “rock concert” for a narcissistic and shallow “celebrity” candidate.
Some of Obama’s closing remarks addressing these criticisms at Invesco are important to remember now: "What they don't understand is that this election isn’t about me, it's about you...Change doesn't come from Washington. It comes to Washington."
Today, it seems that the only thing that has been predictable or conventional about this election is that it has been unpredictable and unconventional.
Who would have thought that even John McCain would choose a tenth-rate, first-time governor and long-time religious fundamentalist as his running mate? Or that notable Republicans such as Christopher Buckley and Colin Powell would decide to endorse Obama? And as the twists and turns continue, we remain embroiled in one of the worst economic crises in our nation’s history.
So it is not an exaggeration to say that the stakes have grown higher everyday–while the days left until November 4th are fewer and fewer.
There are those who say that this election is “Obama’s to lose” but as history has shown, nothing is ever in the bag.
This is politics and the going will get rough. We have already witnessed this in the increasingly hysterical and demagogic McCain and Palin rallies.
But it would also be unfortunate—and self-defeating—to become too cynical or discouraged under these circumstances.
One of the most trite ways of expressing this has to be the many times you may have heard someone utter the following mantra: “If (insert applicable candidate) wins, I will move to (insert applicable country).”
Of course, these individuals usually do not wind up moving. In fact, they usually revert back to not doing much of anything. This election’s equivalent of this pitiful phenomenon is maybe even worse and more nihilistic: “Obama will never win because Americans are too racist.”
These people should speak for themselves.
Apparently the real sacrifices and accomplishments of the civil rights movement mean nothing to them. Nor, apparently, do the ongoing shows of support for Obama, by tens of thousands of white, working class people in campaign rallies all over the country.
Yes, there have been some disappointments and many difficulties this year. This is part of reality and will always be the case—in any country, in any time, even with the greatest of leaders.
On the other hand, this election continues to exceed—and defy all expectations.
Regarding the most urgent issue of the day, the economy, polls and figures indicate that more Americans have confidence in Obama’s handling of the situation over McCain’s.
Anyone who has watched the presidential and vice-presidential debates cannot honestly say with a straight face that they do not see the increasingly stark contrasts between the candidates.
They are wrong. Let's prove it on Election Day—and beyond.
Oct 16, 2008
Joe Who?
"Joe the Plumber", "Joe Six Pack" and all the rest of redonkulously false and mystifying classifications of the American public in this election, is catching on. With so much help from the media, of course. While I didn't see the debates last night, everyone I know was asking "Who the hell is Joe the Plumber?" Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber who drinks a Six Pack) has been a busy bee floating from one conservative news outlet to the next talking about Obama's tax plan. Which, by the way, would give him a tax cut with this $250k plumbing business. As a small business, your taxable income is much smaller than your gross income.
In the middle of the this celebrity in the making (he considers himself akin to Britney Spears.. any hopes that we will see pictures of his crotch while exiting a car?), the NYTimes decided to actually look into who this new representative of the American "middle class" is. Well according to them, he is an unregistered plumber who owes back taxes.
Here is Joe Biden talking about the Joe Plumbers in his 'hood.
In the middle of the this celebrity in the making (he considers himself akin to Britney Spears.. any hopes that we will see pictures of his crotch while exiting a car?), the NYTimes decided to actually look into who this new representative of the American "middle class" is. Well according to them, he is an unregistered plumber who owes back taxes.
Here is Joe Biden talking about the Joe Plumbers in his 'hood.
Ohio Republicans want a repeat of 2004
Scared of what looks to be an Obama landslide, desperate Republicans in Ohio are trying to deny the voting rights of 200,000 newly registered voters because of no-matches. Meaning that the identification they gave on the voter registration forms (Driver's License Number or Social Security Number) did not match their name on government databases. Most of the time this is because of typos when a person's information is entered in to the databases.
Republicans are harping on the case of voter fraud because of recent findings showing that ACORN, who have people get paid by the signature to register voters, has been a big source of no matches in different states. The same type of thing is happening in FL, but it has been proven that many of the people found no matches were because of typos when their information was entered by government employees.
I have no doubt there are probably a many new Jimmy Johns and Ronald McDonald registered near college campuses when you have people getting paid by the signature. Yet, does it really matter? The 1,000 new Jimmy Johns won't be coming out to vote because they don't exist!
This is just another ploy by the Republicans to continue to suppress and deny people their right to vote. They want to create another 2004 where thousands of people in Ohio were denied the right to vote and lead to the state going for Bush. All the more reason for everyone who is able to vote to get out and vote on Nov. 4th so that this election won't be stolen!
Republicans are harping on the case of voter fraud because of recent findings showing that ACORN, who have people get paid by the signature to register voters, has been a big source of no matches in different states. The same type of thing is happening in FL, but it has been proven that many of the people found no matches were because of typos when their information was entered by government employees.
I have no doubt there are probably a many new Jimmy Johns and Ronald McDonald registered near college campuses when you have people getting paid by the signature. Yet, does it really matter? The 1,000 new Jimmy Johns won't be coming out to vote because they don't exist!
This is just another ploy by the Republicans to continue to suppress and deny people their right to vote. They want to create another 2004 where thousands of people in Ohio were denied the right to vote and lead to the state going for Bush. All the more reason for everyone who is able to vote to get out and vote on Nov. 4th so that this election won't be stolen!
Sep 30, 2008
Slow Down! Capitalism is not Dead
I am amazed by the number of frenzied, pre-mature "revelations" that global capitalism is dying. An article from the Independent Media Center headlines "US Capitalism is Dying: Beware the Ruling Class Attempts to Save It". {http://www.indymedia.org/en/2008/09/913653.shtml}. The UK Guardian asks "Is this the death of global capitalism?" {http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2008/sep/15/wallstreet.globalrecession}
Not exactly.
It is true that capitalism is in an incredibly advanced stage, and thus its contradictions seem to become more exposed and more extreme. But the latest financial crisis on Wall Street, and the follow up rejection of Bush's $700 billion bail out plan are by no means an overthrow of capitalism. The Treasury Department will still establish supplemental funds to help corporations, while the Fed has similar resources they can use to bail out others under laws established during the Great Depression. {http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/business/30plan.html?ref=business "Treasury and Fed Looking at Options; Sept 30th NY Times}
i.e. Wall Street will be okay.
The current question isn't about how to finish the deal on capitalism this week. It's more about how we are going to guarantee the economic security of working people that have been impacted by this long before Wall Street noticed it. And young people will feel it for years to come. There is still a lack of discussion when it comes to bailing out those of us who have lost our homes, or those of us seeking credit to purchase our first home or car or a loan go to school.
This is the discussion the Left and the Center must continue to push.
If you are having a hard time wrapping your brain around all of the information circulating, check out the People's Weekly World's "Guide to the Financial Crisis" at http://www.pww.org/article/view/13771.
Not exactly.
It is true that capitalism is in an incredibly advanced stage, and thus its contradictions seem to become more exposed and more extreme. But the latest financial crisis on Wall Street, and the follow up rejection of Bush's $700 billion bail out plan are by no means an overthrow of capitalism. The Treasury Department will still establish supplemental funds to help corporations, while the Fed has similar resources they can use to bail out others under laws established during the Great Depression. {http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/business/30plan.html?ref=business "Treasury and Fed Looking at Options; Sept 30th NY Times}
i.e. Wall Street will be okay.
The current question isn't about how to finish the deal on capitalism this week. It's more about how we are going to guarantee the economic security of working people that have been impacted by this long before Wall Street noticed it. And young people will feel it for years to come. There is still a lack of discussion when it comes to bailing out those of us who have lost our homes, or those of us seeking credit to purchase our first home or car or a loan go to school.
This is the discussion the Left and the Center must continue to push.
If you are having a hard time wrapping your brain around all of the information circulating, check out the People's Weekly World's "Guide to the Financial Crisis" at http://www.pww.org/article/view/13771.
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