Author Archives: Thorne Dreyer

Harry Targ : Robert Gibbs and the ‘Professional Left’

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs slammed the “professional left” for being too critical of Barack Obama. Photo by Carolyn Kaster /AP.Criticizing Obama:A dialectical look at the ‘professional left’ By Harry Targ / The Rag Blog / August 14, 2010 … Continue reading

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Ted McLaughlin : Debunking the Immigrant Myths

Sign on fence of ranch on US/Mexico border near Campo, California. Photo by Fred Greaves / Reuters.Fear fuels $600 million border bill:Debunking the myths about immigrants By Ted McLaughlin / The Rag Blog / August 14, 2010 On Thursday, the … Continue reading

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An Indian hanging himself in the drunk tank is seldom big news in Indian country. But when Jay Spotted Elk hung himself while facing misdemeanor charges in Sheridan County, Nebraska, his mother decided not to stand for it. And Steve … Continue reading

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Amy Goodman : Climate Change is the Real Deal

This Greenland glacier split in two, sending a 100 sqare mile iceberg floating off into the Arctic Ocean. Image from Mirror, U.K.News at 11:How climate change affects you By Amy Goodman / August 13, 2010 Our daily weather reports, cheerfully … Continue reading

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John Ross : ‘El Jefe Diego’ and ‘The Mysterious Disappearers’

Photo of kidnapped Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, released via Twitter. This is the second version, with the copy of the muckraking newsweekly El Proceso, featuring his face on the cover, apparently photoshopped in.Bicentennial mischief in the making?The mysterious kidnapping of … Continue reading

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Clare Bayard : Soldiers Charge Troops Unprepared for Deployment

Troops in Afghanistan: How prepared are they? Photo by Brennan Linsley /AP.Army Weak:Reserve members facing deploymentCharge their company not fit for battle By Clare Bayard / The Rag Blog / August 12, 2010 See ‘A call to action at Fort … Continue reading

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Roger Baker : Is Marx Still Relevant?

Image from The Great Illuminator.Confessions of a neo-Marxist:Why Marx still matters By Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / August 10, 2010 I suppose I might now call myself a neo-Marxist. This is not to argue that Marx does not … Continue reading

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VERSE / Alyce Guynn : Minnie Redux

Image from Found Shit. Minnie Redux(after Cab Calloway’s ‘Minnie the Moocher’) I never kicked the gongyet I have longedfor an opiatic oblivionto the world pressing down I find it– that escape–in books, rented BBC seriesthe hat moviesand, at times, in … Continue reading

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VERSE / Bobby Nelson : The Wall

Photo by Veruschka (1971) / Playboy / Flatrock. THE WALL We are all masonshighly skilledwithout apprenticeshipa birthright of our culture We lay the bricksunintentionally – without designas we sit in silenceand long for god-driven bulldozers    to crush our life’s work Our … Continue reading

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Steve Russell : In Memory of Jay Spotted Elk

In memory of Jay Spotted Elk It became possible to prove that Jay Spotted Elk’s last night on earth was not unusual in the history of Sheridan County, Nebraska. By Steve Russell / The Rag Blog / August 9, 2010 … Continue reading

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Harry Targ : Ethics Charges and the Natural Order of Things

Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Photo from Getty Images.The natural order of things:Ethics and Congresswomen Waters and Harman By Harry Targ / The Rag Blog / August 9, 2010 The stories about ethics violations by Congressman Charles Rangel (NY) have been making … Continue reading

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Bob Feldman : Brent Snowcroft and the Roots of the Iraq War

Bush I’s national security advisor Brent Scowcroft. Photo from The Washington Times.‘Liberating Kuwait’ and targeting Saddam:Twenty years of war against Iraq By Bob Feldman / The Rag Blog / August 9, 2010 This August marks the twentieth anniversary of the … Continue reading

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