The Rag Blog | The Latest in News and Views from the Progressive Front

Bert Garskof :
Listen to Bernie, then take to the streets

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Sanders can’t bring about his exciting progressive program without what he calls a revolution.

Bernie with member of the billionaire class. Image from Occupy.com.

By Bert Garskof | The Rag Blog | January 18, 2016

It seems obvious to me that the programs espoused by Bernie Sanders, if implemented, would help ordinary people, hurt big banks, work toward significant re-distribution of income, divert resources to peaceful cooperation internationally, help the environment, hurt global warming, help renewables, and hurt big oil.

Hell, we get it. Not that he is a socialist or communist or anarchist. You don’t elect what would be my vision: anarchy/community/freedom/equality. That’s a different story and an exciting one, but Sanders is a legitimate Social Democratic, as people in Europe would name him. In America he is really a New Deal Democrat. Alone in the current set of options, his policy if adopted would really do some good.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged 2016 Elections, Bernie Sanders, Bert Garskof, Electoral politics, Progressive Politics, Rag Bloggers, Sanders Revolution, Social Action | 2 Comments

Steve Russell :
‘Y’all Qaeda’ militia musters at Oregon bird sanctuary on land claimed by the Paiutes

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Unwelcome armed militants are occupying an empty building on federal land considered sacred by a Native American tribe.

Go on now. Git. Image from Daily Kos.

By Steve Russell | The Rag Blog | January 13, 2016

When I was an active trial court judge in Texas, I had a lot of contact with the posse comitatus, understood as a self-directed band of gun-toters rather than the common law “hue and cry” raised by a law enforcement officer to pursue a felon. They also call themselves “militia,” pointing at the Second Amendment for authority and conveniently overlooking the words “well-regulated” that modify “militia” in that document.

The reason I used to see a lot of them is that they do not believe the government has the authority to require a license to drive — let alone liability insurance — or to require registration of cars. Automobiles, they believe, are subject to a human rights analysis — based on documents written before automobiles — and trying to regulate automobiles is almost as treasonous as trying to regulate firearms, but not quite.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Aamon Bundy, Cliven Bundy, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Native Americans, Oregon Militia, Paiutes, Rag Bloggers, Steve Russell, Y'all Qaeda | 4 Comments

Thorne Dreyer :
RAG RADIO PODCASTS | Interviews with Philip Russell, Jonah Raskin, and Roy Casagranda

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

We discuss the sad state of Mexico under Enrique Peña Nieto; we reflect on the lives of Jack London and Dalton Trumbo and do some California dreaming; and, in a two-parter, we look at Iraq, Syria, and the U.S. role in creating ISIS.

Philip Russell with The Rag Blog‘s Alice Embree on Rag Radio Jan. 8, 2016. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Interviews by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | December 13, 2015

The following podcasts are from recent Rag Radio shows. The syndicated Rag Radio program, produced in the studios of Austin’s cooperatively-run KOOP-FM, has an international audience and has become an influential platform for interviews with leading figures in politics, current events, literature, and cutting-edge culture.

♦ Author & Historian Philip Russell on Mexico’s National Crisis Under Peña Nieto

Read the show description and download the podcast of our January 8, 2015 Rag Radio interview with Philip Russell, here — or listen to it here:

♦ Jonah Raskin on Dalton Trumbo, Jack London, and the California Drought

Read the show description and download the podcast of our December 18, 2015 Rag Radio interview with Jonah Raskin here — or listen to it here:

♦ Roy Casagranda: How U.S. Actions in Iraq Set the Table for ISIL

Read the show description and download the podcast of our December 11, 2015 Rag Radio show with Roy Casagranda here — or listen to it here:

♦ Roy Casagranda: ISIL and the Origins of the Syrian Crisis

Read the show description and download the podcast of our December 4, 2015 Rag Radio interview with Roy Casagranda here — or listen to it here:

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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Alice Embree, Interviews, Jonah Raskin, Philip L. Russell, Podcasts, Rag Bloggers, Rag Radio, Roy Casagranda, Thorne Dreyer, Tracey Schulz | Leave a comment

David P. Hamilton :
How Bernie Sanders wins

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

The key to the Sanders campaign is motivating people to participate in greater numbers and more actively than they have ever done before.

Bernie Sanders, Austin, March 31, 2015. Photo by Alan Pogue / The Rag Blog.

By David P. Hamilton | The Rag Blog | January 12, 2016

Part A. Winning the nomination

Essentially, Bernie Sanders wins by recognizing the potential for the conventional wisdom of presidential elections to be changed by creating a new campaign model based on popular participation. Some have called it the “Alinsky model” on a national scale; that “power is derived from two main sources — money and people. ‘Have-Nots’ must build power from flesh and blood.”

For example, conventional wisdom is that the 2016 presidential campaign will cost a couple of billion for each major party candidate, most of which must necessarily come from the very rich. The .04% of the population who make maximum contributions provide the bulk of campaign funds for both parties. Considerably less than 1% contribute as much as $200 to any presidential political campaign.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged 2016 Elections, Bernie Sanders, David P. Hamilton, Democratic Primary, Electoral politics, Hillary Clinton, Rag Bloggers, Sanders Campaign | 3 Comments

Roy Casagranda :
¡Oye ISIL! Aquí están unos consejos que no han sido pedidos

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Women and children among Syrian refugees striking at the platform of Budapest Keleti railway station. Refugee crisis. Budapest, Hungary, Central Europe, 4 September 2015.

Refugiados sirios, septiembre de 2015. Imagen de Wikimedia Commons.

By Roy Casagranda | The Rag Blog | 16 de diciembre, 2015

Traducido del inglés por Cecilia Colomé

Leer este artículo en inglés

Mis consejos para todas las fuerzas pro-ISIL en Estados Unidos:

Seguir bombardeando a Iraq y Siria. Esta es la manera como ISIL se originó. Tiene sentido que las fuerzas pro-ISIL lo sigan haciendo.
Rechazar colaborar con los rusos y los iraníes. Ellos tienen la máxima posibilidad de derrotar a ISIL.
Evitar ayuda humanitaria cueste lo que cueste.
Alentar a Israel para que siga bombardeando a las fuerzas de Hezbollah en Siria. Hezbollah está combatiendo a ISIL y a Jebhat al Nusra (al Qaeda).
Bloquear la entrada de refugiados sirios. Esto realmente dañará a los árabes como personas y pondrá una presión enorme en Europa. Cualquier cosa que hagas, no ayudes a tus aliados o a gente que odia tanto a ISIL que están poniendo en riesgo la vida de sus hijos para escapar de ISIL. Puedes encausar a esas personas hacia las manos de ISIL de nuevo.
Mantener la retórica anti-Islam a gritos. Esto le confirma al mundo que EE.UU. realmente está en guerra contra el Islam. Eso es por lo cual los extranjeros se unen a ISIL. Si tú, aun por un segundo, indicas que no serás intolerante, eso realmente disminuirá su fuente de combatientes extranjeros.
Mantener inundados los mercados de petróleo para disminuir los precios del petróleo. Los ingresos de Irán, Rusia, Irak y Arabia Saudita dependen desesperadamente de las ventas de petróleo. Si puedes destrozar a esos cuatro países, la gran resistencia a ISIL se evaporará.
Seguir alentando a Turquía a derribar a tiros los aviones de combate rusos. Una Tercera Guerra Mundial es una excelente manera de darle más poder a ISIL.
Por seguro elegir a Trump o Cruz para presidente. Eso realmente ayudará al tema del punto 6.
Registrar a los musulmanes, hacerles usar brazaletes, y negarles la entrada, re-entrada. De hecho, ¿por qué no detenerlos como lo hiciste con los japoneses y los nativos americanos? Yo creo que eso realmente ayudaría al tema del punto 6. Recuerda que el punto 6 es muy importante.
Reaccionar exageradamente con retórica y leyes en contra del Islam la próxima vez que ISIL ataque. Ellos probablemente están planeando atacar tantas veces como puedan antes de noviembre del 2016. Seguir reaccionando exactamente como ellos quieren; después de todo, ellos creen que están creando la apocalipsis. Muchos de ustedes han estado trabajando con el mismo objetivo.

[ISIL es el acrónimo del Estado Islámico de Irak y el Levante.]
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Posted in Español | Tagged Español | Leave a comment

Lamar W. Hankins :
METRO | The religious pretense of Texas
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

These imaginary violations of religious liberty allow Texas politicians to pander to the religious right.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s watercolor with the face of Jesus on the Statue of Liberty.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | January 7, 2016

SAN MARCOS — It will come as no surprise to anyone who watches Texas politics that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is a panderer — mostly pandering to the religious right. But Patrick is also dishonest in his pandering. It is one thing to tell people what they want to hear, but it is another to make claims that the author knows are false or misleading. That is exactly what Patrick has done in his latest “Special Contributor” column for the Austin American-Statesman.

In the December 31 column, Patrick stitches together several of his press releases to write about the great danger Texas Christians face: their imminent loss of religious freedoms. Thanks to Patrick, these dangers have been thwarted and all Christians throughout our great state can now rest easy, at least until Patrick can identify some more faux threats to their religious liberty.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Dan Patrick, Lamar W. Hankins, Metro, Rag Bloggers, Religious Liberty, Separation of Church and State, Texas Politics | 1 Comment

Jenn Lewis :
METRO | Homes for the brave? A vet’s story

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

I was officially a homeless military veteran in the otherwise vibrant city known as Austin.

The author, Jenn Lewis, served in the U.S. Navy as a journalist from 1999-2003. Photo from her collection.

By Jenn Lewis | The Rag Blog | January 6, 2016

AUSTIN — Confucius once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

I fell and had a very hard time rising for a few months in 2014. After struggling to find a steady job in New England, Austin beckoned me with its allure of great music, culture, and economy. However, when I arrived I seemingly had no real opportunities in the “shining city of the New South.”
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Austin Homeless, Clarence Lowe, Foundation Communities, Green Doors, Homeless Vets, Jenn Lewis, Metro, Rag Bloggers, StarForce, Steve Adler | 1 Comment

Shepherd Bliss :
FILM | Robert Bly: Tribute to a radical poet

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Robert Bly has made a big difference in the lives of many, bringing a contentious, creative presence into his prophetic work.

Poster for Haydn Reiss’ film about the radical poet, Robert Bly.

By Shepherd Bliss | The Rag Blog | January 6, 2016

Poet Robert Bly, now 89 years old, is a radical, by which I mean he returns to the roots. Haydn Reiss has captured him in his new, moving film “Robert Bly: A Thousand Years of Joy.”

Watching the film was a trip down my memory’s lane, dating back to meeting the National Book Award-winning poet in the sixties. I was in boot camp training at Ft. Riley, Kansas, home of the Army’s First Division, the Big Red One. I intended to follow our family tradition, which gave our name to Ft. Bliss, Texas. I was on my way to the American War on Vietnam.
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Posted in Rag Bloggers | Tagged Film, Haydn Reiss, Poets, Radical Poets, Rag Bloggers, Robert Bly, Shepherd Bliss | Leave a comment

Elaine J. Cohen :
METRO | Are the dreaded immigration sweeps coming to a city near you?

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

My friends trembled as they shared their stories of crossing the Rio Bravo and the desert, and hiding from ‘la migra.’

ICE Special Agents arrest suspects during a 2010 raid in Houston.
Photo Courtesy of ICE.

By Elaine J. Cohen | The Rag Blog | January 6, 2016

“Raids are planned in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Charlotte, Memphis, Orlando, Miami, New Orleans, NYC, Chicago, Arlington, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and numerous other cities across the United States”
— Press release from Jonathan Ryan, Executive Director, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES)

AUSTIN — The Deportations have gone into an even higher gear. Recently I was one of six adults who sat around the pine table in one of the houses of Posada Esperanza. Three active children and one toddler played around us. They could see that the grown-ups were worried and talking in serious voices. Their play was not violent — but it slowly increased in pitch and velocity. Their play reflected our state of heart-mind.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Elaine J. Cohen, ICE, Immigration, Metro, Obama Immigration Sweeps, Posada Esperanza, Rag Bloggers | Leave a comment

Kate Braun :
¡Aquí está cómo pasar una navidad genial!

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

Durante el solsticio de invierno esperaremos mucha energía vertiéndose sobre nosostros.

Leño de Navidad. Imagen de Wikimedia Commons.

Por Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | 20 de diciembre, 2015

Traducido del inglés por Cecilia Colomé

Leer este artículo en inglés

El lunes 21 de diciembre de 2015 es Navidad, lo cual usted quizá conozca como el Solsticio de invierno o Mediados de invierno. Ahora es cuando tenemos el día más corto y la noche más larga del año. La Dama Luna está en su segundo cuarto, llevándonos a la Luna llena en la navidad, también conocida como la Luna del Deseo el 25 de diciembre.

No solo estaremos esperando ansiosamente el comienzo de una nueva estación sino que también estaremos esperando con ansias a mucha energía vertiéndose sobre nosotros. No será inapropiado el usar la Luna del Deseo de navidad para desear sabiduría y guía espiritual que nos ayude a cosas nuevas para que nos podamos beneficiar de ellas.
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Posted in Español | Tagged Español | 1 Comment

Philip L. Russell :
Mexico’s Peña Nieto at midterm

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

The president’s low ratings reflect not only his performance but also the inability of his government to address basic problems facing the country.

Caricature of Peña Nieto by Armando Aguayo Rivera / Flickr.

By Philip L. Russell | The Rag Blog | January 4, 2016

Leer este artículo en español

Listen to the Rag Radio podcast of Thorne Dreyer’s interview with Philip Russell, who discusses issues raised in this article. The Rag Blog‘s Alice Embree joins us in discussion of developments in Central America and Cuba. This show originally aired Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, 2-3 p.m. (CT), on KOOP 91.7-FM in Austin. Find all podcasts and more about Rag Radio here.

Read Philip Russell’s earlier Rag Blog article on Peña Nieto’s first two years, here.

The poor are even poorer; the levels of violence and insecurity have shot up. The immaculately coiffed president has remained unmoved and overwhelmed by the national crisis. The job has been too much for him. — Elena Poniatowska, 2015

December 1 marked the halfway point in Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto’s six-year term. His first year in office was by far his best. On day two of his presidency he announced the Pact for Mexico — an alliance of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the center-right National Action Party (PAN), and his own Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI).
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Posted in Rag Bloggers, RagBlog | Tagged Disappeared Students, Enrique Peña Nieto, Human Rights Report, Mexican Economy, Mexican Massacre, Mexican Politics, Mexico, Peña Nieto Series, Philip L. Russell, Rag Bloggers | 2 Comments

Maxine Phillips :
Do Christians and Muslims worship the
same God?

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

For non-Muslims to understand diversity among Muslims seems to be a leap too far.

Image from MuslimVibe.com.

By Maxine Phillips | The Rag Blog | January 3, 2016

In December, a tenured political science professor at evangelical Christian Wheaton College was placed on administrative leave for a posting on Facebook. Next to a picture of herself wearing a head scarf, she wrote,

I stand in human solidarity with my Muslim neighbor because we are formed of the same primordial clay… [and] I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.

True, three major religions in the world have one God as their source. But is it the same God?
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Posted in Rag Bloggers, RagBlog | Tagged Diversity, Islam, Larycia Hawkins, Maxine Phillips, Muslim Reform Movement, Rag Bloggers, Religion, Theology | 1 Comment