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Category Archives: RagBlog
LITERATURE : Road Fatigue
The Beat Generation in the rearview mirrorBy A.G. Mojtabai / July 11, 2008 Even from a distance, it was easy to guess that the clerk with the bowed head at BookPeople was reading behind the counter. Face to face, she … Continue reading
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Tagged American History, Austin, Authors, Beat Generation, Books, Exhibitions, Literary Criticism, Literature, UT-Austin, Writers
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The Muppets, Me and Public TV…
Caroll Spinney with Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Photo by Victor Dinapoli.And the power of popular cultureBy Michael Winship / July 13, 2008 Take a moment to forget about politics and the pickle of our worrisome world. A recent … Continue reading
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Tagged Alternative Media, Entertainers, Popular Culture, Public Television, Television
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The Death of Reaganomics
Barbara Dane et al / Reaganomics Blues. / Fuse 002Singing the Capitalism BluesBy E.J. Dionne / July 10, 2008 The biggest political story of 2008 is getting little coverage. It involves the collapse of assumptions that have dominated our economic … Continue reading
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Tagged Economics, Globalization, McCain, Presidential Campaign, Reaganomics
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U.S. Soldiers No Longer Find Haven in Canada
James Corey Glass, an Army deserter, is appealing an immigration removal order in Canada. Photo by Farah Nosh / Getty Images.Little sympathy for deserters from Conservative governmentBy Ian Austen / July 13, 2008 TORONTO — James Corey Glass, apprentice mortician … Continue reading
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Tagged Canada, Deserters, GI's, Iraq Occupation, Iraq War, Sixties, Vietnam
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FILM : John Cusack’s Savage "War, Inc." Playing (and Marketing) To Its Strength
Hilary Duff in John Cusack’s “War Inc.”John Cusack: Bypassing the Corporate MediaBy Joshua Holland / July 12, 2008 Cusack’s anti-war polemic, War, Inc., continues to defy expectations, despite the traditional media’s dismissive reception. It’s not uncommon for a big-budget Hollywood … Continue reading
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Tagged Alternative Media, Corporate Media, Film, Filmmakers, Iran War, Iraq Occupation, Marketing, Media, Peace Movement, Satire
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BOOKS : The Dark Side by Jane Meyer
They described not just standing, but being kept up on their tiptoes with their arms extended out and up over their heads, attached by shackles on their wrists and ankles, for what they described as eight hours at a stretch. … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged al-Qaida, Books, Bush Administration, CIA, Criminal Justice, FISA, Guantanamo, Human Rights, National Security Agency, Patriot Act, Red Cross, Torture
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Church Lures Teenagers With Assault Rifle Giveaway
Image courtesy Street Prophets.Baptist pastor cancels AR-15 prize at youth conference after Oklahoma City shootingJuly 12, 2008 An Oklahoma church canceled plans for a gun giveaway Friday at its annual youth conference, a local news station reported. The church’s youth … Continue reading
Native Americans, Environmentalists : Thousands Gather in Washington
Dennis Banks organized the five month march to the White House.‘Longest Walk’ reaches Washingtonby Sally Art / July 11, 2008 WASHINGTON – Thousands of demonstrators are gathering in Washington DC after a five month long journey across America to draw … Continue reading
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Tagged Environment, Native Americans, Social Action, Social Change
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Stephen Payne : Hotshot Lobbyist Can Get You Into White House
Lobbyist Stephen Payne shown shooting with VP Dick Cheney. (Careful, dude.) Offered access to Dick Cheney and others in return for donation to Bush library By Daniel Foggo / July 13, 2008 A lobbyist with close ties to the White … Continue reading
SPORT : John McCain’s Terrible (Towel) Tale
Packers fans shown waving “terrible towels.” No, wait a minute…How about those… uh… Steelers?By Sarah Wheaton / July 12, 2008 Terrible Towels are waving at half-staff today. It was only Wednesday when Senator John McCain was talking about how Pittsburgh’s … Continue reading
ART : Burning Man 2008
Obelisk with cutaway view of interior. Design by Rod Garrett and Larry Harvey. Illustration by Jack Haye and Rod Garrett. Burning Man 2008Monday, Aug. 25 – Monday, Sep. 1, 2008Black Rock City, Nevada The Burning Man project has grown from … Continue reading
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Tagged Artists, Ceremony, Community Organizing, Folk Art, Happenings, Performance Art, Ritual, Sculpture
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MEDICINE : Houston’s Dr. Michael DeBakey: 1908-2008
‘Greatest surgeon of the 20th century’ diesBy Todd Ackerman and Eric Berger Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey, internationally acclaimed as the father of modern cardiovascular surgery — and considered by many to be the greatest surgeon ever — died Friday night … Continue reading
















