by David Burn | May 26, 2004 | Literature, Politics
One of the great things about Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States is the cast of characters he introduces to the reader. Characters that are in many cases unique voices and “true American heroes.” Emma Goldman is one such character deserving of a closer look and frequent mention. More frequent than Madonna, for instance.
An excerpt from the Emma Goldman papers: When President William McKinley was shot in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz, the police immediately tried to implicate Goldman, noting that Czolgosz had recently attended one of her lectures in Cleveland. Consequently Goldman and other anarchists were arrested. Eventually, though, disappointed by the lack of evidence against her, the authorities were forced to order Goldman’s release. Goldman temporarily withdrew from public life to avoid harassment. When she re- emerged she entered one of her most politically active periods, speaking around the country, writing on a wide range of topics, and editing her free-spirited journal, Mother Earth from 1906 to 1917. Many, however, remained convinced that she was a dangerous killer, thanks in large part to the anti- anarchist agitation of the press.
Emma’s mugshots from 1901.
by David Burn | May 23, 2004 | Politics
Craig Unger’s House of Bush, House of Saud begins with a single question: How is it that two days after September 11, 2001, even as American air traffic was tightly restricted, a Saudi billionaire socialized in the White House with President George W. Bush as 140 Saudi citizens, many immediate kin to Osama Bin Laden, were permitted to return to their country?
by David Burn | May 22, 2004 | Advertising, Politics
Sticker Nation of Ashville, NC is offering a quality adhesive product with phrasing of your chosing at a very reasonable price.
by David Burn | May 14, 2004 | Literature, Politics
“A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be democratic. No country can be really well prepared for modern war unless it is governed by a tyrant, at the head of a highly trained and perfectly obedient bureaucracy.” -Aldous Huxley
by David Burn | Mar 19, 2004 | Politics
“I’m the commander–see, I don’t need to explain–I don’t need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel like I owe anybody an explanation.” – George W. Bush, Washington Post, 11-19-02
“Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.” – Lt. General William G. Boykin, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, The New York Times, 10-17-03
by David Burn | Mar 4, 2004 | Politics
Republicans zealously claim to be pro-business. So, why elect a Governor of Texas and then a President of the United States with a long and sordid history of failed business dealings? Because Dick Cheney is there to run things, but the VP has next to no charm. Dubya is a much better frontman for the oil industry. Much like Ronald Reagan, Dubya is a useful prop, an electable face. He’s been propped up by his cronies, his family, and various oil industry interests his entire life. Like any good servant, he recognizes just how much he owes his supporters. And he has no qualms about paying them back, no matter the cost in lives lost, the ruin of the American economy and democracy itself.
A carefully-crafted publicity shot can work wonders. Here we see that Dubya is one of us–a pickup truck drivin’, tobacco spittin’ good old boy (not a Harvard-educated MBA groomed for the top slot).
by David Burn | Mar 1, 2004 | Politics
Embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tells it like it is. Over the weekend many thousands of people took to the streets in Caracas and other cities in this oil-rich nation to vigorously support (and to oppose) his leadership. Chavez openly blames the US for the failed coup attempt against him in 2002. Over the weekend, speaking to his supporters, he called Bush an imperialist “asshole,” questioned the legitimacy of his Presidency, and added, “I have to say to those here who would try to apply the Haiti formula, that Venezuela is not Haiti and that Chavez is not Aristide.”
by David Burn | Mar 1, 2004 | Politics
US Representative Maxine Waters , from California’s 35th District received a 15 minute phone call this morning from Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife Mildred, an American citizen. They claim they were kidnapped by American and French forces and taken against their will to Central African Republic. Waters further explained that Jesse Helms’s former chief of staff, Roger Noriega , is now at the State Department and in charge of “regime change” in Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba.
Thanks to Amy Goodman and Democracy Now for this critical programming.
by David Burn | Mar 1, 2004 | Politics
Haitians celebrate in the streets as President Aristide flees the country (with the “help” of US Marines) for the second time in his career.
As this former French colony and severely impoverished island nation erupts into unrest , we are left to wonder what is really happening on the ground in Haiti. It’s difficult to say, for the American mainstream press is not going to report the story honestly. It’s at times like these when concerned citizens need Pacifica Radio, and other alternate media channels more than ever. I began tuning in to KPFA in Berkeley, CA (a Pacifica sister station) in 1989. Today, their stream is available worldwide via the Internet.
by David Burn | Mar 1, 2004 | Film, Music, Politics
Last night Evil Vince busted out Music Is The Weapon, a documentary from the BBC on Nigerian musician/politician, Fela Kuti. I’ve seen his son Femi Kuti perform as an opener for String Cheese Incident. But I really knew nothing about his radical, “James-Brown-of-Africa” father until last night. And I did not know much about Nigeria, an oil-rich nation one in every four Africans calls home. This is an important film to see.
