Paul Buhle and Milton Knight :
BOOKS | C.L.R. James: Back in style, black in style

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

‘C.L.R. James in Imperial Britain’ opens up the issue of the Third World struggle in an elegant and memorable way.

clr james in imperial britain

By Paul Buhle and Milton Knight | Truthout | May 5, 2014

Author’s note: This marks the first appearance of excerpts from C.L.R. James, a Graphic History, a comic art book in process, drawn by distinguished African-American artist Milton Knight, edited by Paul Buhle. The excerpts — young Trinidadian James grows to self-consciousness and emigrates to London, writes a play about Toussaint Louverture, with Paul Robeson starring — are easily understood.

[C.L.R. James in Imperial Britain by Christian Hogsbjerg (2014: Duke University Press): Paperback;  312 pp.; $24.95.]

This year marks a quarter-century since the death of Cyril Lionel Robert James (1901-89). His obituary in The New York Times, putting aside many other interests and qualities of a long and productive life, mainly described him as the last giant of Pan-Africanism.
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METRO UPDATE | Roger Baker : The continuing Texas drought crisis

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | May 4, 2014

pray for rainRoger Baker’s three-part Rag Blog series, “Can Austin survive the current Texas drought,” garnered much attention and was reposted widely, including by the highly-influential Resilience.org. Roger wrote the following update for The Rag Blog‘s Metro Page.

There are two tracks of policy response involved when discussing Austin’s drought crisis — the science and the politics. The situation the Austin Climate Action Network faces really amounts to a new climate reality coming into conflict with Texas politics — over Austin’s shrinking water supply.
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Lamar W. Hankins :
The dishonesty of Clemson and its football coach

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Not only does coach Dabo Swinney use his personal Christian beliefs to recruit, he also uses religion to manipulate, control, and motivate his players.

clemson player tattoo

Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson: “Jesus Christ is my Savior.” Photo by Tamika Moore / The Chronicle of Higher Education.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | May 4, 2014

For the last half-century, Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, has been a coeducational, public institution. Lately, however, Clemson has seemed more like a private religious school.

Clemson’s head football coach, Dabo Swinney, recruits players based on his philosophy that being a Christian means that he has good values, so he lets all of his recruits and their families know that he is a devout Christian of the Baptist persuasion. Not only does Swinney use his personal Christian beliefs to recruit, he also uses religion to manipulate, control, and motivate his players.
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Posted on May 3, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer
perry oops
METRO | Lamar Hankins reports that the investigation into Rick Perry’s handling of the Lehmberg affair just may have legs.
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METRO | Lamar W. Hankins : Rick Perry investigation may have legs

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Did Governor Perry try to strong-arm Rosemary Lehmberg into resigning? Upon reflection,  some of the criminal complaints against Perry may have a legitimate basis.

perry oops

Rick Perry image from PoliticusUSA.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | May 1, 2014

AUSTIN — When they were first announced, I was skeptical of the criminal complaints lodged against Rick Perry by Texans For Public Justice. I began to get more interested when Perry hired, at taxpayer expense, a $450-an-hour attorney to represent him. When Thorne Dreyer asked me to examine the allegations closely, I agreed to do so. Looking at the four criminal charges made me realize that some of the charges may be reasonable.

Last summer, Governor Perry threatened to veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) of the Travis County District Attorney’s office unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned from office. Perry “believed” she had lost the confidence of the people after she behaved atrociously immediately after her arrest and while being booked, pled guilty to DWI, served a 45-day jail sentence, and paid a fine.
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Marilyn Katz :
Sipping lattes on the edge of a Volcano

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

What do Palestinians, human rights workers, progressive Israelis, and Israeli settlers have to say about daily life in an occupied land?

west bank security barrier

A security barrier in the West Bank city of Hebron, where a Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli soldiers in March.

By Marilyn Katz | The Rag Blog | April 29, 2014

Part two of two.

The international news coverage of the Israeli-Palestine conflicts often dwells on the disputes among diplomats or dramatic actions in the street. What’s missing, however, are the realities residents face as they go about their daily lives.

Even as the United States-prompted negotiations between the country’s leaders grow uncertain in the face of an April 29 deadline, those in the region — including human rights workers, elected officials, intellectuals, and government workers — don’t anticipate that the personal consequences of occupation will diminish anytime soon.
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Kate Braun :
Celebrating Beltane lets you see beyond the veil

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

It is a fire festival and marks the return of vitality and passion to Mother Earth.

beltane girl maypole

Decorate the area with May poles.

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | April 28, 2014

“Have you walked around your parks and towns
so knife-edged orderly?
While the fires are burned on the hills upturned
in far-off wild country?
Come a Beltane. Come a Beltane.”

Whether you choose April 30 or May 1, you will be celebrating Beltane, a cross-quarter celebration that, like Samhain, provides an opportunity to see beyond the veil that separates the mundane world from the spiritual realm. Beltane honors the union of God and Goddess. It is a fire festival, the last of the three spring fertility festivals. It marks the return of vitality and passion to Mother Earth. It is a time to celebrate Life.
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Harry Targ :
Workers’ Memorial Day: What is needed?

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Remembering those who died on the job and continuing the fight for a safer workplace.

workers day

This year’s events will highlight demands to address contemporary issues of concern.

By Harry Targ | The Rag Blog | April 28, 2014

The stench is vomit-making as never before. The fat and plucks, the bladders and kidneys and bungs and guts, gone soft and spongy in the heat, perversely resist being trimmed, separated, deslimed; demand closer concentration than ever, more speed. A helpless, hysterical laughter starts up. Indeed, they are in hell; indeed they are the damned. Steamed, boiled, broiled, fried, cooked. Geared, meshed.

In the hog room, 108 degrees. Kerchiefs, bound around their foreheads to keep the sweat from running down into eyes and blinding, become saturated; each works in a rain of stinging sweat. Almost the steam from the vats seems cloud-cool, pure, by contrast. Marsalek falls. A heart attack. (Is carried away, docked, charged for the company ambulance.) Other hearts pound near to bursting. Relentless, the conveyor paces on.

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Bob Feldman :
People’s History of Egypt, Part 23, 2006-2011

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

With 30 percent unemployment and 44 percent of its people in poverty, Egypt saw an eruption of strikes and other protests.

egyptian strikes 2006

A wave of worker protests rolled through Egypt. Image from libcom.org.

By Bob Feldman | The Rag Blog | April 28, 2014

[With all the dramatic activity in Egypt, Bob Feldman’s Rag Blog “people’s history” series, “The Movement to Democratize Egypt,” could not be more timely. Also see Feldman’s “Hidden History of Texas” series on The Rag Blog.]

According to James Gelvin’s The Arab Uprising: What Everyone Needs To Know, “in Egypt…about 40 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day,” and as recently as 2008 The Economist magazine noted that under Mubarak’s regime “44 percent of Egyptians still” counted “as poor or extremely poor, with some 2.6 million people so destitute that their entire income cannot cover basic food needs” and “the average wage” was “less than $100 a month.”
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Alan Waldman :
‘Cold Feet’ was engaging British dramedy about the triumphs and tribulations of three couples

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

In only five seasons the show garnered numerous awards and nominations, and the cast went on to many other fine TV achievements.

cold feet

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | April 28, 2014

[In his weekly 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, and Scotland. Most are available on DVD and/or Netflix, and some episodes are on YouTube.]

Cold Feet is a well-written, -directed, -produced, and -acted comedy-drama that significantly changed the topics British entertainment programs could deal with, although it engendered a lot of angry mail while doing so.
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Joshua Brown :
POLITICAL CARTOON | Commencement speeches we wish we’d hear

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

life during wartime 4-27-14

Cartoon by Joshua Brown | The Rag Blog | April 27, 2014

[Joshua Brown is the executive director of the Center for Media and Learning/American Social History Project, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and is a professor of history at CUNY. Find more of his work on The Rag Blog here and his archives here.]

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Bobby Bridger :
My relationship with Rod Kennedy in four acts

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Kerrville was a great vision that all of us involved in Texas music shared, but — ironically — one that only someone of Rod’s unique talents as an impresario could actualize.

rod kennedy

Rod Kennedy. Photo by Merri Lu Park / Kerrville Folk Festival Staff Photographer.

By Bobby Bridger | The Rag Blog | April 24, 2014

Rod Kennedy, 84, died Monday, April 14, in hospice care in Kerrville, Texas. Kennedy founded the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1972 and, as the Austin Chronicle wrote, “managed to grow his tiny festival into one of the behemoths of the industry, an annual 18-day event that predates most modern music festivals…” Renowned singer/songwriter, author, actor, and playwright Bobby Bridger was with Kennedy from the beginning and performed at Kerrville for 26 straight years.

HOUSTON — In early March 2014, Dr. Kathleen Hudson of Schreiner University in Kerrville sent me a photo of my old friend Rod Kennedy on Facebook. I contacted her immediately and told her I thought Rod looked like the years were finally catching up with him. She agreed and suggested I try to see him as soon as possible. Kathleen was kind enough to arrange a lecture in her creative writing class for me so that I could have an excuse to be in town and “drop in” on Rod rather than have it appear I was rushing to his deathbed for a final visit.
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