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 in Austin - Pogue sm

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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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:

  1. Seguir bombardeando a Iraq y Siria. Esta es la manera como ISIL se originó. Tiene sentido que las fuerzas pro-ISIL lo sigan haciendo.
  2. Rechazar colaborar con los rusos y los iraníes. Ellos tienen la máxima posibilidad de derrotar a ISIL.
  3. Evitar ayuda humanitaria cueste lo que cueste.
  4. 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).
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Por seguro elegir a Trump o Cruz para presidente. Eso realmente ayudará al tema del punto 6.
  10. 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.
  11. 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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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.

Dan Patrick Watercolor Card

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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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.

Jenn Lewis in U.S. Navy2 crp

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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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.

Robert Bly film

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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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.’

immigration detainees Houston sm

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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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.

Yule log

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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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.

Pena Nieto caricature sm

Caricature of Peña Nieto by Armando Aguayo Rivera / Flickr.

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

Leer este artículo en español

853px-Rag_radio2Listen 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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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.

Muslims praying sm

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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Swathi Narayanan :
METRO | Missing in action but not forgotten

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Thorne Dreyer

A daughter continues her quest to find her father and other lost soldiers.

MIA 1

Karoni and her dad.

By Swathi Narayanan | The Rag Blog | January 2, 2016

AUSTIN — Karoni Forrester’s earliest memory of her childhood is sneaking into her grandfather’s study to call her father. She would keep dialing to see if she could reach him. “I got into trouble because of the very weird phone bills,” she said. But her father never answered the phone.

Forrester was two when her father, Captain Ron Forrester, a Marine pilot, was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA) in Vietnam. He was co-piloting a Grumman A6 Intruder attack plane on December 7, 1972, under orders to take down a bridge in North Vietnam.
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Kate Braun :
Here’s how to have a cool Yule!

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

At Winter Solstice we will be looking forward to much new energy pouring into us.

Yule log

Yule log. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | December 20, 2015

Leer este artículo en español

Monday, December 21, 2015 is Yule, which you may also call Winter Solstice or Midwinter. This is when we experience the shortest day and longest night of the year. Lady Moon is in her second quarter, leading us to the Full Moon, also called a Wishing Moon, on Christmas, December 25.

Not only will we be looking forward to a new season beginning, we will also be looking forward to much new energy pouring into us. It would not be inappropriate to use the Christmas Wishing Moon to wish for the wisdom and spiritual guidance to help guide us into this newness so that we may benefit from it.
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Roy Casagranda :
Hey, ISIL! Here’s some unsolicited advice

Posted on December 15, 2015 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.

Syrian refugees, September 2015. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

By Roy Casagranda | The Rag Blog | December 16, 2015

Leer este artículo en español

My advice to all the pro-ISIL forces in the United States:

  1. Keep bombing Iraq and Syria. This is how ISIL came into being in the first place. It makes sense that you would keep doing that.
  2. Refuse to work with the Russians and Iranians. They have the best chance of defeating ISIL.
  3. Avoid humanitarian aid at all costs.
  4. Encourage Israel to keep bombing Hezbollah forces in Syria. Hezbollah is fighting ISIL and Jebhat al Nusra (al Qaeda).
  5. Block entry to Syrian refugees. This will really hurt the Arabs as a people and put tremendous pressure on Europe. Whatever you do, don’t help your allies or the people who hate ISIL so much that they are risking death of their children to escape them. You can drive those people back into ISIL’s hands.
  6. Keep all the anti-Islam rhetoric at a shrill scream. It confirms to the world that the U.S. is really at war with Islam. That is why foreigners join ISIL. If you, for even a second, hint that you won’t be a bigot, that would really hurt their supply of foreign fighters.
  7. Keep flooding the oil markets to drive down oil prices. Iran, Russia, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are desperately reliant on oil sales for revenue. If you can break those four states, most of the resistance to ISIL will evaporate.
  8. Keep encouraging Turkey to shoot down Russian fighter jets. WWIII is a great way to give ISIL more power.
  9. For sure elect Trump or Cruz to be president. That will really help number 6.
  10. Track Muslims, make them wear armbands, and refuse their entry, reentry. In fact why not intern them like you did with the Japanese and the Native Americans? I think again that would really help number 6. Remember number 6 is very important.
  11. Overreact with anti-Islamic rhetoric and laws the next time that ISIL attacks. They are probably planning to attack as many times as they can before November 2016. Keep reacting exactly as they want; after all, they believe that they are creating the Apocalypse. A lot of you have been working for the very same goal.

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