August 2011

CA Dem Party May Dump Progressive Caucus for Proposing Primary Challenge to Obama

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On July 30th the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party passed a resolution proposing that a primary challenge be offered to Obama next year.  The Progressive Caucus’s certification expired at the same time, and while other caucuses were routinely recertified that day by the state party, the Progressive Caucus (I’m told by its chair, Karen Bernal) would not have been, had a vote been held.  So the recertification was tabled, and the Progressive Caucus is in read more

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Constitutional Conventions: Shall We ConCon?

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To Constitutionally convene or not to Constitutionally convene: that is the question.  (And one taken up by an upcoming conference I’ll be taking part in at Harvard: http://conconcon.org )  Or is it?  The government’s broken, but would a Constitutional convention be broken too?  This debate among those on the left usually takes the form of:

Progressive #1: We need to fix a system that is rotten to the core and outdated by centuries.
Progressive #2: But then read more

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The Military: Closer to You Than Your Family

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Two blocks from my house in a nondescript little building on the edge of our residential neighborhood is an office with a small sign reading “DVBIC of Charlottesville” which turns out to mean “Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.”

Now, I’m in favor of caring for people with brain injuries.  Heck, I wish we had universal comprehensive health coverage like other countries do.  But it disturbs me how difficult it is in this country to get any distance away read more

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The Divided Left

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The Satan Sandwich budget deal seems to have been left lying on the table in some television green rooms. Dylan Ratigan has begun cursing both political parties, even while still fantasizing about the President saving us. Keith Olbermann and Al Gore want a Tahrir Square in Washington, even while ignoring the actual preparations for it that are going on. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, who are part of those preparations, read more

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Uranium Safe to Eat With a Spoon!

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Carefully ignoring Fukushima, Los Alamos, Vermont, and Nebraska, a comforting new announcement informs us that “nuclear energy is safe.”

A series of soothing television ads and videos tells us that mining uranium in Virginia would produce jobs and protect us from scary foreigners.

Virginia newspapers carried an article from the Associated Press this week that did not pretend to be read more

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Truman Lied, Hundreds of Thousands Died

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On August 6, 1945, President Harry S Truman announced: “Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T.  It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British ‘Grand Slam’ which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare.”

When Truman lied to America that Hiroshima was a military base rather than a city full of civilians, people no read more

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New York Events Free to LetsTryDemocracy Supporters

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Until our supply of tickets runs out, anyone who donates $10 or more per ticket will get their name on a list to get into these amazing events in New York City.  Just donate and we’ll contact you to confirm:

Both events are at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College, 899 Tenth Ave., NYC.

The Guantanamo Lawyers’ Panel
Thursday, September 8 at 5pm in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater lobby
This panel of lawyers who represent Guantanamo and read more

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