Category Archives: Rag Bloggers

RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Historian Martin Duberman on ‘Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left’

Martin Duberman. Image from Lambda Literary.Rag Radio podcast:Historian Martin Duberman discusseshis new biography of Howard Zinn By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | November 1, 2012 Historian Martin Duberman discussed his new book, Howard Zinn: A Life on the … Continue reading

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Alan Waldman : Anglo-Welsh Sitcom ‘Gavin & Stacey’ is Wacky Gem

Waldman’s film and TV treasures you may have missed: Englishman James Corden and Welshwoman Ruth Jones wrote and performed in one of the freshest, wackiest TV comedies in years: the award-gobbling, Anglo-Welsh sitcom Gavin & Stacey By Alan Waldman | … Continue reading

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VERSE / Don Paul : Word Passed Down through Forbidden Radio

Don Paul and Chuck Kinder at Stanford, January 2002. Photo by April Smith.Word Passed Downthrough Forbidden Radio for Chuck Kinder and John Sinclair on their birthdays, October 2012 The voices beside your pillow, friends past midnight,Wailing from the River, whistling … Continue reading

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Kate Braun : Samhain Is a Time for Transformation

Time for transformation: Acorn Carved with Dremmel Tool. Image from Skull-A-Day.Celebrating Samhain:A time for transformation By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | October 31, 2012 “Under the moonlight we dance/ Spirits dance, we dance/ Holding hands we dance…” Wednesday, … Continue reading

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Harry Targ : The Real Romney Foreign Policy

Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up? Image from Foreign Policy.Unleashing the military:The real Romney foreign policy Military spending would grow in a Romney administration, especially because of ties to the neocons and a hawkish Congress which promotes military … Continue reading

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IDEAS / Bill Meacham : Is Religion a Parasitic Meme or a Helpful Adaptation?

Moai at Easter Island. Moai are the living faces of deified ancestors. Image from Wikimedia Commons.Religion:Parasitic meme or helpful adaptation? That humans are religious is indisputable. Like morality, religion in one form or another seems to be a universal aspect … Continue reading

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Lamar W. Hankins : Paul Ryan Makes War Against People, Not Poverty

President Lyndon Johnson marked the start of the War on Poverty with a visit to Tom Fletcher’s front porch in Martin County, Kentucky, in April 1964. Photo by Walter Bennett / Time magazine. Image from Daily Yonder.Paul Ryan’s war:Not against … Continue reading

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Jay D. Jurie : ‘Weimar Moment’ or Chicken Little?

“Pillars of Society.” Painting by militantly anti-Nazi German Dadaist George Grosz, 1926, during the Weimar Republic. Image from Alpha History.It can’t happen here:A ‘Weimar moment’ or Chicken Little? Whether or not the U.S. is at a ‘Weimar moment,’ those who … Continue reading

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RAG RADIO / Thorne Webb Dreyer : ‘Texas Jewboy’ Kinky Friedman Mulls Second Run for Governor’s Mansion

Rag Radio podcast: The Kinkster talks music and politics and second run for Texas governor Kinky Friedman in the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin, Texas, Friday, October 19, 2012. Photo by William Michael Hanks / The Rag Blog. By Thorne … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Mike Davis : The Reds Under Romney’s Bed

The reds under Romney’s bed The image of the Red Cavalry going into battle with the Book of Mormon in their saddlebags is quite a stretch; most of us, on the contrary, would probably vote for Mormon ‘socialism’ as the … Continue reading

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Jonah Raskin : ‘Uncle Tom’ Vs. Simon Legree, 2012

Uncle Tom and Simon Legree. Image from Uncle Tom’s Cabin Reconsidered.Election 2012:‘Uncle Tom’ Obama Vs. ‘Simon Legree’ Romney Ironically, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, modern-day Americans are once again in need of emancipation and without … Continue reading

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Alan Waldman : NBC’s Short-Lived ‘Life’ Is Smart, Quirky Cop Show

Waldman’s film and TV treasures you may have missed: Short-lived NBC cop show Life is smart, quirky, and gripping. Damian Lewis is wonderful as the LAPD cop, falsely imprisoned for murder, who pursues the real killer and conspirators. By Alan … Continue reading

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