Thorne Webb Dreyer, Editor
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Category Archives: RagBlog
Playing with Fire : Perry Admits Medina Role in Winningham Execution
Fighting fire with fire: David Medina played role in execution:Perry’s counsel was cleared of arson charges By Glenn W. Smith / October 19, 2009 Dog Canyon’s Glenn W. Smith and Steve Hall of the StandDown Texas Project join Thorne Dreyer … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Forensic Science, Rick Perry, Texas Politics
2 Comments
Dick Flacks : Pete Seeger’s Project
Celebrating Pete Seeger:Our political troubador More than any other individual, he had conceived and fostered a tradition of protest song that drew from a number of cultural roots, had significant political consequence, and reshaped the forms and content of popular … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged American History, Blacklist, Civil Rights Movement, Communist Party, Folk Music, McCarthyism, Music, Pete Seeger, Social Movements, The Left
5 Comments
Biodiversity and Global Change : Carbon in the Soil
Insights from soil carbon research: Scientists analyze interactions with climate change and land management to address food, fuel, water and fiber needs. By Alison Grantham / October 18, 2009 Nearly 300 soil scientists from 33 countries gathered last week in … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Agriculture, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Scientific Research, Sustainability
2 Comments
Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom : Economics and the Environment
Elinor Ostrom celebrates winning the Nobel prize in economics. Photo by John Sommers II / Reuters.Elinor Ostrom breaks the Nobel mold:A new look at economics, the environment and the commons The economics profession needs to be shaken up. Ostrom’s Nobel … Continue reading
Death Penalty Probe : Perry Pressured Panel Chair
Fired commission chief Sam Bassett:Pressure from Perry on Willingham probe By Zachary Roth / October 13, 2009 It’s starting to look more and more like Texas governor Rick Perry orchestrated an effort to thwart a state probe into an arson … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Political Corruption, Rick Perry, Texas
2 Comments
Rag Radio! : Healthcare NOT Warfare
TUESDAY ON KOOP RADIO IN AUSTIN:RAG RADIOHOSTED BY THORNE DREYER KOOP, 91.7 FM — Every Tuesday afternoon — 2-3 PM The latest addition to the Rag media family, Rag Radio presents issue-oriented discussion and cutting edge cultural programming in the … Continue reading
McChrystal Clear : More Boots on the Ground
Gen. Stanley McChrystal: Repeating the cliches.Do the numbers:500,000 troops for Pashtunistan? McChrystal repeats the clichés of classic counterinsurgency… American generals used the same vintage phrases in Vietnam, where efforts to ‘protect the population’ led to forcing rural peasants into fortified … Continue reading
Iran and the Geneva Talks
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili expressed Tehran’s readiness to cooperate with the international community in all areas, saying he entered the talks with six powers in Geneva with “good will.” Photo: Al Alam.Real Progress With IranBy … Continue reading
Losing Our Humor Over Guantanamo
On Guantánamo, Lawmakers Reveal They Are Still Dick Cheney’s PawnsBy Andy Worthington / October 6, 2009 I like to believe that, despite studying Guantánamo for four years, I still have a sense of humor, but last Thursday I lost it, … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Criminal Justice, Guantanamo, Indefinite Detention, Torture
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Sen. Al Franken : The Internet is the Town Square
This may be the clearest, most useful exposition on Net Neutrality that I have yet seen. — Thorne Dreyer / The Rag Blog The Internet:It’s not a truck, It’s a town square The Internet is a platform for speech, debate, … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Al Franken, Censorship, FCC, Freedom of Speech, Internet, Net Neutrality, Telecoms
1 Comment
Understanding the Politics of the Vocal Discontents
Remember Scout and Jem Finch? They who burn books …. will also, in the end, burn people.” — Heinrich Heine Fear, Ignorance and the Summer of Our DiscontentBy John Atcheson / October 4, 2009 Fear To those of us in … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Corporate Power, Electoral politics, Political Action, Tea Baggers
11 Comments
Cause of Death : Forensic Science Gone Bad
“The Judgment of Cambyses” (right panel) by Gerard David, 1498.A post mortem:The justice system and the medical examiner There has been a spate of occurrences that is beginning to cast some doubt on the judgment of at least some medical … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Criminal Justice, Forensic Medicine, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Legislature
1 Comment
