Ivan Koop Kuper :
METRO | Saying goodbye to Mike Condray and remembering Liberty Hall

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Thanks to Condray and crew, Houstonians were treated to many an unforgettable evening of history-making performances.

Mike Condray 1

Mike Condray. Photo from the Kuper Group Archives.

By Ivan Koop Kuper | The Rag Blog | March 30, 2016

HOUSTON — On Bruce Springsteen’s 1998 multi-album box set of miscellaneous recordings, Tracks, “The Boss” performs a live acoustic version of his composition, “This Hard Land.” Within the song, he poignantly sings, “Hey Frank, won’t you pack your bags and meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall / Just one kiss from you my brother, and we’ll ride till we fall.” This was Springsteen’s way of paying homage to the music venue where as a young man, he blazed a musical trail deep into the heart of the southern United States as part of a promotional tour after being signed to New York-based Columbia Records.

Springsteen was also giving a tip-of-the-hat to Liberty Hall owner, Mike Condray, who, in March 1974, took a chance and booked this unknown New Jersey road warrior into his Houston music venue, four continuous nights, to the delight of the city’s live music aficionados.
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Jeff Shero Nightbyrd :
METRO | Deep in the heart of Texas: The guns
of August

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Mass shootings of the innocent are commonplace now. But Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower sniper, shocked the nation’s psyche.

Charles Whitman

Charles Whitman. Image from The Cactus (1963) / Austin History Center.

By Jeff Shero Nightbyrd | The Rag Blog | March 29, 2016

With introduction by Thorne Dreyer

On August 1, 1966, 25-year-old engineering student, Eagle Scout, and former Marine sharpshooter Charles Whitman murdered his wife and mother and then took three rifles, two pistols, and a sawed-off shotgun to the observation deck atop the iconic Texas Tower at the UT-Austin administration building and for an hour and a half mowed down students and random pedestrians on the grounds below, killing 14 and wounding 32 others. Among those injured were our dear friends and colleagues Sandra Wilson and Claire Wilson (no relation), who lost her unborn child and her fiancé. Claire was saved by John Fox, Austin personality and musician now known as Artly Snuff, who, along with James Love, carried her to safety.

In her 2005 oral history of the shootings, Pamela Colloff wrote, “The crime scene spanned the length of five city blocks . . . and covered the nerve center of what was then a relatively small, quiet college town… Hundreds of students, professors, tourists, and store clerks witnessed the 96-minute killing spree as they crouched behind trees, hid under desks, took cover in stairwells, or, if they had been hit, played dead.” Coloff, as cited by Texas Monthly, wrote that Whitman “introduced the nation to the idea of mass murder in a public space.”
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Lamar W. Hankins :
Republicans’ rejection of the Constitution is a disservice to America

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

They have been distorting the history of the Supreme Court nomination process to justify
their political desires.

Merrick Garland and Obama

President Obama announces the nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. Public Domain photo.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | March 27, 2016

The Supreme Court nomination process is being fought out between Republicans and Democrats, with no thought given to its effect on the biggest plurality in the country — independents.

Neither a Republican nor a Democrat, I am an independent.  For the last 24 years, I have voted for candidates all over the ballot.  I have voted in both Republican and Democratic Party primaries.  I find the range of views within both of the major parties incoherently disparate.  But what concerns me today is that the intransigence of one of those parties’ elected officials is denying me and all other independents (as well as most Americans) a properly functioning federal government.
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Alan Waldman :
TELEVISION | In the Brit mystery series ‘Grantchester’ a vicar and a village cop solve numerous murders and other crimes

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

The estimable Robson Green stars in this rural whodunnit, whose exciting second season returns to P.B.S. on Sunday, March 27.

Grantchester

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | March 26, 2016

[In his Rag Blog column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series that readers may have missed, including TV dramas, mysteries, and comedies from Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland. Most are available on DVD, Netflix and/or Netflix Instant Streaming, and some episodes are on YouTube.]

Grantchester is yet again one of those smart, well-made, excellently performed British procedural cop shows, this one set in the small Cambridgeshire village of the same name, back in 1953. James Norton stars as Anglican priest (and former Scots Guards officer) Sidney Chambers who develops a sideline in sleuthing, with the initially reluctant help of Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (the always wonderful Robson Green). The series is based on The Grantchester Mysteries collections of short stories, written by James Runcie. His father was a WWII tank commander and later the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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Henry Mecredy :
The Edsel tragedy

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Ford was able to command vast numbers of person-hours of labor but these creative efforts went entirely unmanifested in social good.

1958 Edsel Roundup crp

1958 Edsel Roundup. By Josephew at en.wikipedia / Creative Commons.

By Henry Mecredy | The Rag Blog | March 24, 2016

The Edsel, a car introduced by Ford in 1958, is famous in postwar American history as a costly failure. It sold poorly and its production was cancelled after little more than two years; it is written about even in the 21st Century as a cautionary case study. The Edsel fiasco has stimulated a large literature with abundant ironies, interesting personal and corporate stories, a few nice jokes (“Every Day Something Else Leaks”), and even some sober business reflections. All of these ignore some actually important points.

According to a number of histories and contemporary articles, the Edsel was conceived as a tool to wrest away from General Motors and Chrysler a significant portion of the so-called mid-price auto market. It was intended, in other words, to substitute the Edsel for cars already in production; already fulfilling the exact role for which the Edsel was designed.
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Marilyn Katz :
Chicago activists should be commended, not scolded, for shutting down Donald Trump’s rally

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Peaceful resistance doesn’t egg on Trump’s supporters: It forces them to back down.

<> on March 11, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago demonstrators at Trump rally in Chicago on March 11, 2016. Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images / In These Times.

By Marilyn Katz | The Rag Blog | March 23, 2016

CHICAGO — Something strange is happening here, and it merits a serious discussion. In the week that has passed since Chicago shut up Trump, both the mainstream and other media have seen a rush of articles criticizing not Donald Trump but the protestors who shut his rally at the University of Illinois-Chicago down, defending Trump’s First Amendment rights but not those of the demonstrators.

Writers from David Moberg and Clancy Segal on the Left, to moderate Ron Grossman of the Chicago Tribune, to right-wing ideologue Charles Krauthammer strangely agree on one thing: that the anti-Trump demonstrations and “violence” will turn off American voters and move them into The Donald’s camp.
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Johnny Hazard :
Crisis de ozono en la zona metropolitana de la capital de México

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Cecilia Colome

Una razón: los diez millones de personas de la Ciudad de México no piensan dejar sus carros.

Mexico City smog

Fotos por Yamile Requena.‎

Por Johnny Hazard | The Rag Blog | 20 de marzo, 2015

Leer este artículo en inglés

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Después de dos días de “mal tiempo”, inusual para marzo, el sol regresó y la Ciudad de México se enfrentó a una contingencia de contaminación de ozono a partir del domingo, 13 de marzo. Unas de las causas:

  • La temporada más calurosa y más seca comienza en marzo.
  • Líderes del partido de derecha Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) consiguieron un amparo contra Hoy no circula, el programa que durante décadas ha obligado a muchos carros a descansar un día a la semana para reducir la contaminación y el tráfico. Aunque el amparo solo obligaba a pequeños cambios al programa y solo era para los litigantes, oficiales locales decidieron cancelar el Hoy no circula, permitiendo la circulación de 600,000 carros adicionales por día.

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Carl Davidson :
Does the U.S. really have six political parties?

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

The major parties in the U.S. are not ideological parties in the European sense, but are constantly changing coalitions.

donkey elephants masks

Image from Activist Post.

By Carl Davidson | The Rag Blog | March 21, 2016

Successful strategic thinking starts with gaining knowledge, particularly gaining adequate knowledge of the big picture; of all the political and economic forces involved… It’s not a one-shot deal. Since both Heaven and Earth are always changing, strategic thinking must always be kept up to date, reassessed and revised.

This statement was part of the opening to a widely-circulated article I wrote about two years ago, “Strategic Thinking on the U.S. Six Party System.” It’s time to take my own advice, and reassess the working hypothesis I put forward back then.

For the most part, the strategic picture holds. I suggested setting aside the traditional “two party system” frame, which obscures far more than it reveals, and making use of a “six party” model instead. The new hypothesis, I suggested, had far more explanatory power regarding the events unfolding before us.
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The Rag Blog :
METRO EVENT | ‘She’s Beautiful When
She’s Angry’

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Alice Embree
Photo of 1970 March by Diana Davies

Women march in August 26, 1970, in a scene from the movie, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. Photo by Diana Davies/International Film Circuit.

By Alice Embree | The Rag Blog | March 21, 2016

Event: Screening of ‘She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry’
Dates: Saturday, April 2, 2016, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Faith Presbyterian Church
Address: 1314 East Oltorf, Austin, TX 78704
Admission: Suggested donation $10; no one turned away

AUSTIN — A documentary about the early women’s movement, Mary Dore’s She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, will be shown in Austin on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Faith Presbyterian Church, 1314 East Oltorf. The film was highlighted on The Rag Blog when it premiered in Austin in 2015.

The Austin chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is sponsoring this powerful film testament to a movement that changed America. Suggested donations will support the National Network for Abortion Funds, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. In addition to screening this film, the local DSA chapter has registered a bowling team for the annual Bowl-a-thon that raises money to provide access for low-income women seeking abortion services. If you are unable to attend the movie, but would still like to donate, go to the Austin DSA team page.
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Johnny Hazard :
The Mexico City area has been hit by a
major ozone crisis

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

One reason: Mexico City’s 10 million people simply won’t give up their cars.

Mexico City smog

Photos from Yamile Requena.‎

By Johnny Hazard | The Rag Blog | March 20, 2015

Leer este artículo en español

MEXICO CITY — After a couple of days of unusually cold, windy, and rainy weather made pollution levels drop, Mexico City has faced an ozone alert since Sunday, March 13. The causes:

  • March is the beginning of the hot, dry season.
  • Leaders of the right-wing PAN political party won an injunction in July against Hoy no circula, the program that, for decades, forced certain cars to stay parked one day a week to reduce traffic and pollution. While the injunction really only forced changes in the program, city officials decided to cancel it almost completely, allowing more than 600,000 more cars per day on the road.

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Kate Braun :
The Spring Equinox falls on Palm Sunday
this year

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

The Zodiac begins its cycle as Lord Sun moves into Aries, sign of the Ram.

spring equinox 2013

Satellite image of the Earth at the spring equinox on March 20, 2013. Image from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) / LiveScience.com.

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | March 19, 2016

The Vernal or Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara and Lady Day, falls on Sunday, March 20, 2016. This date is also International Astrology Day, and this year it is the date of Palm Sunday. The Zodiac begins its cycle as Lord Sun moves into Aries, sign of the Ram, a Cardinal Masculine Fire sign.

Use the colors pink, yellow, light green, and all pastels in your dress and decorations. Incorporate representations of eggs and rabbits as well as living plants into your decorations; Mother Earth is awakening from her winter’s nap and life begins anew. Clusters of wild flowers would also be appropriate for this season.
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Roger Baker :
METRO | Austin transportation follies: $4 billion on IH-35 is a fool’s game

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Widening roads in cities like Austin only makes congestion worse as political pressure works against smart transportation planning.

IH-35 Traffic2

IH-35 near downtown Austin: the most congested road corridor in Texas. Image from CultureMap Austin.

By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | March 17, 2016

Don’t get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free view over the whole single great problem, even if this view is still not a clear one. — Ludwig Wittgenstein

AUSTIN — Contrary to much public opinion, congestion in fast-growing cities like Austin cannot be relieved by expanding roadway capacity because existing congestion and latent demand soon shift and fill up the newly added capacity.

To make sense of why there is still such strong political support for expanding capacity on IH-35, we need to understand Texas road politics, as reflected in the Texas Department of Transportation’s history and current policies. Past and current attempts by TxDOT to build enough roads to deal with increasing demand have left TxDOT with more than $20 billion in debt, plus a backlog of unsustainable construction and road maintenance obligations, despite a policy in support of privatized toll roads.
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