Dangerous Precedents Set for Intellectual Freedom

The controversy surrounding Ward Churchill will have a huge impact on intellectual freedom in the US and should not be ignored. The right-wing attack on Churchill specifically and intellectual freedom in general does not automatically justify what Churchill wrote, of course. That's a completely separate issue, one which might be debated in a reasonably tolerant and literate society. The mainstream liberal/left has washed their hands of the issue; they won't risk getting involved. How long can we afford to be so short-sighted? As Michael Albert points out, Churchill is an easy target (not unlike Afghanistan and Iraq). The reason for concern now is that this will lead to more bold attacks on less controversial targets.

The best writing I have seen on this whole issue is from Robert Jensen in his article Ward Churchill: Right to Speak Out; Right about 9/11.

In this context, I picked these quotes up from an article by Mickey Z. ...

Eugene Debs: "Do not worry over the charge of treason to your masters, but be concerned about the treason that involves yourselves. Be true to yourself and you cannot be a traitor to any good cause on earth."

William Burroughs: "Modern man has lost the option of silence."

Lenny Bruce: "Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say 'fuck the government'."

What We Do and Don't Spend Money On

Announced budget cuts and despicable new initiatives.

Decent Entertainment Industry Journalism...?

It is very rare indeed to find reporting on the entertainment industry that is worthwhile. This recent piece sets the standard, not because I agree with the content, or am a fan of its subject, but because it views the celluloid world of happy endings from our real and troubled world.

Frank Rich: How Dirty Harry Turned Commie

Changing Minds...

New post-inauguration Howard Zinn article here.

The false promises of the rich and powerful about "spreading liberty" can be fulfilled, not by them, but by the concerted effort of us all, as the truth comes out, and our numbers grow.

Thanks, Virginia!

This is stupid. The Virginia State government is stupid. This is Amerika, one step closer to fascism. Ugh.

Some People Behind the "We Stand..." Statement

The statement "We Stand For Peace and Justice" is here.

Below I've compiled links to a handful of the people behind the statement--those whose work or organizations I am familiar with (or which are easy to link to). The names of the other original signers of the statement are visible at the statement website, and you can of course enter them into your search engine and see what they're up to...

So: have you checked out the statement yet? Have you signed it? 120,000 people (and counting) have pledged in a common forum to stand for and work for peace and justice in meaningful ways. Sign the statement. Spread the word. Do the work. Stand with us.

-->Michael Albert Parecon, Life After Capitalism (award speech).
-->Tariq Ali Bush In Babylon
-->Jessica Azulay and Brian Dominick The NewStandard
-->David Barsamian Alternative Radio
-->Phyllis Bennis Institute for Policy Studies, Transnational Institute.
-->William Blum
-->Patrick Bond
-->Noam Chomsky
-->David Cromwell and David Edwards MediaLens
-->Eduardo Galeano (also here)
-->Ted Glick Independent Progressive Politics Network
-->Robert Jensen
-->Naomi Klein NoLogo.org
-->Rahul Mahajan Empire Notes
-->George Monbiot
-->Arundhati Roy
-->Norman Solomon Institute for Public Accuracy, F.A.I.R.
-->Mark Weisbrot Center for Economic Policy Research
-->Howard Zinn

The Depth of Public Discourse at the Bush White House

Have a look at this!

For context I highly recommend Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, by Neil Postman. Here's a great quote from the book:

"Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us...But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter?"

Another great quote from another great source:

"But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. Not really. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Kashmir, the Inquisition, the Crusades and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take "Thou Shalt Not Kill". The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends. It depends on who's doing the killing and who's getting killed."
-George Carlin