Lamar W. Hankins :
Assault weapons regulation and the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ killings

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

I have yet to hear or read a persuasive rationale for anyone in civilian life needing an assault weapon.

assault rifle

Come and get it! Assault rifle for sale at Illinois sporting goods store. Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | January 14, 2015

The recent mass killings at the offices of the French publication Charlie Hebdo brought to mind what I learned on a trip last summer while traveling around rural upstate New York with my wife. We noticed a good many yard signs demanding the repeal of the SAFE Act. As soon as we could get internet access, we checked out what these signs were about.

We learned that in December 2013, the New York State Legislature decided that some new gun regulations would make the state safer for its citizens and visitors. It passed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, referred to as the NY SAFE Act.
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David P. Hamilton :
Muslims in France: A little context

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

You can’t generalize with much accuracy about Muslims in France, no more so than about
Christians or secularists.

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African lades in Place Blum. Photo by Sally Hamilton / The Rag Blog.

By David P. Hamilton | The Rag Blog | January 12, 2015

It is impossible to generalize about Muslims in France. Anyone who speaks of some unitary “Muslim community” in France is spouting nonsense. This is most commonly heard as, “Why doesn’t the Muslim community condemn these terrorists?”

It is often stated that Muslims make up about 8% of the population of France, a total of 5-6 million people, comprising “the largest Muslim population in Europe.” This is usually spoken in slightly shocked tones by Americans. But who are these Muslims? Actually, the statistics concerning them are somewhat obscure and slippery.
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Paul Krassner :
‘Charlie Hebdo’ : Killing cartoonists

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

It’s an awesome outrage. Of course, some dinosaur Republicans might try to blame Obama.

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“I am Charlie.” Screen grab from Charlie Hebdo‘s website,
January 7, 2015. Image from BBC News Europe.

By Paul Krassner | The Rag Blog | January 7, 2015

This massacre is an awesome outrage, even to liberals and conservatives alike, although some dinosaur Republicans might try to blame Obama. It’s a horrendous violation of semantic principles, such as “The menu is not the meal” and “The map is not the territory.” As an atheist, I perceive the irony of those assassins shouting “God is great” to justify their insane act in the name of a deity that I believe doesn’t exist.

And what could happen in America? Security guards protecting the Onion offices? Treat Funny or Die as Islamic marching orders? Invade the cyberspace of NBC for broadcasting Saturday Night Live until it morphs into Saturday Night Dead, if it’s not already deceased?
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Harry Hurt III :
Let us now praise famous men: Remembering Mickey Leland, and opening the door to Cuba

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

My dear friend, the late Houston congressman Mickey Leland, once declared: ‘I am as much a citizen of the world as I am of this country.’

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Harry Hurt III and Fidel Castro display each other’s books in Fidel’s Havana office in March 1983. Screen grab from television footage.

By Harry Hurt III | The Rag Blog | January 7, 2015

“Hello, Harry. This is your nigger congressman Mickey Leland. You want to go to Cuba?”

It’s a Monday morning in mid-March 1983. I’m at my writing desk in a rental house in Houston, trying to think up story ideas for Texas Monthly magazine. Mickey’s proposition almost sounds too good to be true. I immediately commit without bothering to get approval from my editor in Austin. Four days later, we’re on a private jet to Havana with a Houston television crew and three of his congressional staffers.

The official purpose of our Cuba trip is to negotiate the release of two American prisoners, a young white couple who hail from a Republican congressional district in north Houston. The Cubans suspect they’re marijuana smugglers, but there’s no hard evidence against them. Their plane crashed on the island, and the husband had the presence of mind to torch it before they were captured.
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Alice Embree :
METRO | Honoring the enduring courage and generosity of Rev. Bob Breihan

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Thorne Dreyer

Spiritual counselor and social activist Bob Breihan is celebrated on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

bob breihan with Alice and Thorne

Rev. Bob Breihan, center, with The Rag Blog‘s Alice Embree and Thorne Dreyer, at his 90th birthday party. Photo by Carlos Lowry / The Rag Blog.

By Alice Embree | The Rag Blog | January 7, 2015

AUSTIN — Rev. Bob Breihan sported a black top hat — with the words “Can you believe it?” — at a party held for him on Sunday, January 4. A large gathering of family, church colleagues, and long-time friends came together at the University Methodist Church in Austin to celebrate his 90th birthday.

Bob Breihan was a prominent voice in the 1950s movement to desegregate Austin, a courageous advocate for reproductive rights, and a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War. Between 1960 and 1980, Bob Breihan was director of the Methodist Student Center on Guadalupe — a place that opened its doors to young people who were part of the political and social movements of the day.
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Alan Waldman :
The 27 best films I saw in 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

My favorite 2014 movies include ‘The Imitation Game,’ ‘Boyhood,’ and ‘A Place at the Table.’

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Benedict Cumberbatch is magnificent in The Imitation Game.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | December 31, 2014

I saw 27 excellent films in theaters, on cable/dish TV, and via Netflix and Netflix Instant streaming — which is 59% more good movies than the 17 I saw last year. I have been compiling a best films list for more than 20 years, and usually more than half of my selections are foreign, but this time the Yanks predominated.

Once again, the most enjoyable shows I saw were TV series (mentioned below the films list), probably because writers are unfettered there and allowed to do good work. If you click on my name, you will find 23 terrific mysteries and comedies from U.K, Ireland, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand that I reviewed this year on The Rag Blog.
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Kate Braun :
On Winter Solstice, holly invites good fortune
for the coming year

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

This is a time to celebrate newness: a new moon cycle, a new spiritual cycle, a shift of energy.

winter solstice

Winter Solstice. Image from Indian Country Today.

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | December 19, 2014

“Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu / Ve al kulam / Salaam Aleinu
ve al kol ha olam / Salaam”

Sunday, December 21, is Winter Solstice, which you may also call Yule or Yuletide. Lady Moon is new on December 21; a new cycle is beginning. Fix a sprig of holly hear the front door; this invites good fortune for the coming year. Including holly, ivy, and mistletoe in your decorations also invites Nature Sprites to join your celebrating.

The longest night and shortest day of the year, this is a time to celebrate newness: a new moon cycle, a new spiritual cycle, a shift of energy, a welcome to more daylight time. This is a fire festival. Yule signifies the return of Lord Sun and fire reinforces his growth. Burn candles, have a Yule Log, cook over open flames outdoors, whatever is easiest for you to do to incorporate fire energy into your celebrations.
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Tom Hayden :
The U.S.-Cuba deal is a victory for the
Cuban Revolution

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

The embargo is going to be hollowed out from within, with American tourist and investment dollars permitted to flow.

Cuba Peace Concert

Cubans celebrate. Image from AP.

By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | December 17, 2014

No one in the mainstream media will acknowledge it, but the normalization of American relations with Havana, symbolized by release of prisoners today, is a huge success for the Cuban Revolution.

The hostile U.S. policy, euphemistically known as “regime change,” has been thwarted. The Cuban Communist Party is confidently in power. The Castros have navigated through all the challenges of the years. In Latin America and the United Nations, Cuba is accepted, and the United States is isolated.

It is quite legitimate for American progressives to criticize various flaws and failures of the Cuban Revolution. But the media and the right are overflowing with such commentary. Only the left can recall, narrate, and applaud the long resistance of tiny Cuba to the northern Goliath.
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Ed Felien :
In Minneapolis, demonstrators protest
institutional racism

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

They ask city government to stand at the side of poor people and people of color, rather than standing over them with a club.

demonstrators in minneapolis

Hands up, don’t shoot: Demonstrators in Minneapolis. Image
from myfox9.com.

By Ed Felien | The Rag Blog | December 11, 2014

[Demonstrations in reaction to police killings of young unarmed black men are spreading across the country. Their message: “Black Lives Matter.” Rag Blog contributor Ed Felien reports on events in Minneapolis.]

MINNEAPOLIS — For a couple of hours on Thursday, December 3, an action by a hundred or more brave souls was being televised live. It was thrilling. They began at a Burger King restaurant at 34th and Nicollet with a demonstration calling attention to the need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and, then, they marched down the freeway entrance to 35W and down 35W to City Hall.

Their protest turned to police brutality and, in particular, the refusal of grand juries to indict police officers in the deaths of two unarmed black young men: Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island.
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Michael James :
Coin, Durango & Hannibal: On the road with Jesse James, 1979

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

By noon Jesse and I were on the road, rolling west toward Durango, Colorado, to visit my ex-pro-football-playing friend David Meggyesy.

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Truck and Arrow at Cedar Crest, Colorado, 1979. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | December 10, 2014

[In this series, Michael James is sharing images from his rich past, accompanied by reflections about — and inspired by — those images. These photos will be included in his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.]

It’s late summer 1979; I’m on the road with Jesse James. He’s my first-born. Born into the organization and newspaper Rising Up Angry, his mom Stormy and I named him Jesse Hampton Nathanial William Floyd Robin James, after social bandits, insurrectionists, radicals, and revolutionaries. When we set out on our adventure, Jesse was nine and I was 37.
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Lamar W. Hankins :
A problem with authority

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

By the age of 20, I was aware of the frequent exercise of authority in illegitimate, violent, corrupt, and otherwise abusive ways.

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Eric Garner’s last moments. Screen grab from video.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | December 9, 2014

The recent cases in both Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City concerning the failure of grand juries to indict police officers for killing Michael Brown and Eric Garner, both African-American, led me to think about authority figures in our society and how we respond to them.

In the New York case, Eric Garner tried to discuss the situation before he was swarmed by several officers and suffocated to death in an action that the medical examiner ruled a homicide. In Missouri, Michael Brown was less cordial and reacted in a way that most adults know is highly likely to escalate what, from its inception, was a problem encounter with the police officer.
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Philip L. Russell :
A third of the way: Peña Nieto’s first two years

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Sluggish economy, drug cartel crime, controversial reforms, student murders and ensuing mass demonstrations mark Peña Nieto’s presidency.

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Mexico’s Enrigue Peña Nieto: A troubled presidency. Reuters photo.

By Philip L. Russell | The Rag Blog | December 8, 2014

853px-Rag_radio2Philip Russell will discuss the state of Mexico and the Peña Nieto presidency on Rag Radio, Friday, Dec. 12, 2-3 p.m. (CT), on KOOP 91.7-FM in Austin and streamed live here. Joining Russell on the show will be Rag Blog Mexico City correspondent Johnny Hazard, who has been covering the demonstrations in Mexico.

Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, took office in December 2012 after receiving 38 percent of the vote in a media-driven, copiously funded, one-round election. Media hype spilled over from sympathetic Mexican TV networks to the international press. The Economist coined the phrase “Mexico’s Moment,” declaring that Mexico’s time had come.
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