“Sexual Personae,” By Camille Paglia.
Camille Paglia’s SEXUAL PERSONAE is a huge book in every sense. It makes me want to read and reread a great many books, examine and re-examine a great number of sculptures and paintings. There are in it interpretations of particular works with which I disagree, and others on which I am not qualified to judge, but the big themes in it – the continuity of paganism, the approaches to sex and nature – are a valuable contribution.
One
Shrub by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose
This book is a warning not to elect George W. and of course it’s too late, he’s already been appointed. But it will remain useful far into the future to be able to read such an accurate prediction of what sort of president this clown was going to be. Just as people in the future will be curious to examine what exactly our knowledge of global warming was while we went about creating it, some will be curious to read what knowledge we had of this walking
Silver City Smokes
August 14, 2004
Mark your calendar now and plan to go see John Sayles’ new movie “Silver City” when it opens on Friday, September 17. It’s a powerfully entertaining story and – more importantly for any good book or movie this year – it’s powerfully anti-Bush.
Someone told me “Manchurian Candidate” was an anti-Bush movie. I didn’t think so when I saw it, not even in the way that “The Day After Tomorrow” was
Simulating Sex: Aesthetic Representation of Erotic Activity by Steve Bachmann
At a time when pornography has become mainstream and sex haters have gained national political power, it would seem than sex is all around us. But most of us are unaware that much interesting thinking about sex is going on. Mostly, I, for one, find myself wishing people could get their minds onto some OTHER topic for a few minutes. MoveOn.org became a political force by channeling our frustration with Congress’s
Simulating Sex: Aesthetic Representation of Erotic Activity Read More »
Solidarity Forever!
Nelson Lichtenstein’s new book, “The State of the Union,” gives a history of labor unions in the United States by way of arguing for the need to restrengthen them, and I think the case is very persuasive.
Lichtenstein weaves together a number of themes to explain the decline in union membership and power. One is increased reliance on individual rights and legal protections. Federal laws ban all sorts of discrimination, endangerment, and abuse, but the federal
State of the Union Read More »
The two books that I would most highly recommend to readers in the U.S. today are “A People’s History of the United States,” by Howard Zinn, and “Labor’s Untold Story” by Richard Boyer and Herbert Morais. These books tell a history of the country that is generally kept secret.
“Why Unions Matter” by Michael Yates is a terrific short introduction to something you’ll never learn in school or from the U.S. corporate media: what a labor union is
the best books out there Read More »
“Moral Judgment: Does the Abuse Excuse Threaten Our Legal System,” By James Q. Wilson.
James Q. Wilson’s “Moral Judgment: Does the abuse excuse threaten our legal system?” (1997) is a good contribution to a usually muddled discussion. I think that even people, like myself, who disagree with most of Wilson’s attitudes toward criminal justice should agree with most of what he says here.
Wilson favors a vocabulary of religion and traditional philosophy and displays
Moral Judgment: Does the Abuse Excuse Threaten Our Legal System Read More »
Freeing Our Press
Sep. 6, 2004
A review of “Our Unfree Press: 100 Years of Radical Media Criticism,” edited and with an introduction by Robert W. McChesney and Ben Scott, published in 2004 by The New Press, 435 pages.
This book collects some stunning examples of U.S. media criticism from 1906 through 2003. The introduction is in many ways a wonderful work of analysis. The primary purpose it lays out for the book is establishing that radical criticism of for-profit media is not new or
Our Unfree Press: 100 Years of Radical Media Criticism Read More »
PDA Report on International Peace Conference in London
By David Swanson
London, England, December 10, 2005–Fellow PDA National Board Member Steve Cobble and I participated in an historic international peace conference in London on December 10 and in various related events the same week. We met with several Members of Parliament and will be working to facilitate teamwork and future events with them and members of the US Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The conference, hosted by the Stop
PDA Report on International Peace Conference in London Read More »
By David Swanson
Today Cindy Sheehan, Brian Haw, and a crowd of other peace activists paid a visit to #10 Downing Street, the home of British Prime Minister Tony Blair — and birthplace of the Downing Street Minutes. Sheehan is known around the world as the mother whose campaign has demanded an explanation from George Bush for her son’s death in Iraq. Haw is known to all of Britain as the man who has lived in Parliament Square
Cindy Sheehan Goes to Downing Street Read More »
London, Day 2: Scotland Trip
By David Swanson
Today, Cindy Sheehan and Scottish mothers who have lost their sons in Iraq held a rally outside the Scottish parliament, spoke at a cross-party meeting of Members of the Scottish Parliament, were welcomed to the City of Glasgow by the Lord Provost, and addressed an anti-war rally in Glasgow. This, plus the trips up to Scotland from London and back took Cindy and Andrew Burgin and me about 16 hours, so we’re a wee bit knackered, but we’re
Scotland: Stop the War! Read More »
Mayor of London Calls Bushies “A Gang of Thugs”
By David Swanson
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, England, threw a bash for anti-war activists this evening and denounced the Bush Administration as “a gang of thugs.” He praised the work of those present from the US and the UK who have worked to end the war, including offering high praise for Cindy Sheehan, who also spoke.
Photo album here:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/images/london-day1/index.htm
“You are
Mayor of London Calls Bushies "A Gang of Thugs" Read More »
By David Swanson
On Tuesday in New York, Jonathan Tasini will announce the launch of his campaign for United States Senate, challenging Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. A Democrat, at least one who convincingly opposes Bush, is very likely to win the general election in this race. This means that the primary is the real election, and the question is what kind of Democrat we want to have in the Senate.
Behind curtain number one is Hillary Clinton, a pro-war, pro-CAFTA, pro-corporate health
Progressive Primary Challenge to Hillary Launched Read More »
By David Swanson
On Saturday, December 10, in London, England, leaders of the peace movement against the Iraq war from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Iraq will meet to strategize. There is hope that the tide has already turned against the occupation, and that a coordinated international effort will be able to mobilize sufficient public pressure to bring the war to a complete end.
If you can make it to London, sign up here: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
If you can’t make it, I think
An International Peace Movement Building Read More »
By David Swanson
That’s right, I’ve left the beautiful beltway and moved back to the coolest city in the country: Charlottesville, Va., where…
The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice promotes peace at top volume and gets even the police cars and busses to HONK as they roll by…
Main Street has been closed and trees planted in it, and an arts community built around it…
A real progressive is running for Congress next year against a Bush-devotee…
I can walk
Best Blue Town in the South Read More »
By David Swanson
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a candidate considering a run for Secretary of State of Massachusetts, an unusual candidate in that he is a national leader in the fight for voting rights and campaign reform. Today John Bonifaz officially anounced his candidacy! This is, as I argued two weeks ago, a race of NATIONAL importance.
Here is what the Boston Globe said today: “Activist
Bonifaz Announces Campaign Read More »
By David Swanson
“What’s more moderate than exploring the truth? Is there really partisanship in truth?…We don’t need to be afraid to use the word impeachment. It is the process that was set up. It’s not a bad word. It stands for accountability. It is the system of justice in our political system
A Congressman for Impeachment Read More »
By David Swanson
During the middle of the day on Friday, I spent an hour or two on a conference call with activists and congressional staffers discussing next steps to end the war. We planned, among other things, to organize support for Congressman John Murtha’s bill, H.J.Res. 73, which he introduced on Friday. The bill resolves that:
“The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the
Friday Night Congress: What Was That? Read More »
Here’s a photo album showing Wesley’s house the day we moved in.
Photos of Wesley's House Read More »
