The American President

This right here is why Obama is such a threat to the conservative agenda.

from The Huffington Post

Before Andrew Breitbart's unexpected death, the conservative blogger and journalist had promised to release video footage of President Barack Obama that he said would change the election. Now, BuzzFeed has unearthed the video it believes Breitbart was referring to, according to the site's editor-in-chief, Ben Smith.

If this is indeed the footage in question, it's not particularly controversial.

In the 1991 video, which BuzzFeed licensed from WGBH Boston, a young Obama is shown speaking in support of Harvard's first tenured black law professor, Derrick Bell. Bell was staging a protest over the lack of female black professors at the school, and was taking an unpaid leave until Harvard hired a woman of color.

As Bell said at the time, "My major effort in teaching is to convince students ... that they should be ready and able to take risks and make sacrifices for the things they believe in, and their real success in life will come from making those sacrifices and taking those risks, regardless of outcome. The best way to teach that is to practice it."

In the video, Obama, who was then president of the Harvard Law Review, is shown praising Bell, while the professor stands nearby and a crowd cheers. Obama recalls how Bell spoke at an orientation for first-year students, and instead of lecturing the students, encouraged conversation.

More here.

All I can say about this video is that politicians don't EVER do stuff like this. Leaders do. And no matter what we think about Obama's policies, we have to admire someone who commits to an effort such as this. Not bad for a "community organizer".

peace.

Big O Still Has It

Current TV may have been the best move for Keith. These are as good as they've always been.

I think my main man Special K has said about everything I would have wanted to say tonight. Excuse me while I try to get seven hours of sleep. I have to beat on a rusted Xterra wheel with a hammer tomorrow morning.

peace.

Disillusion

A few days ago my good friend Mark published a thought on his facebook wall expressing his disillusion with the progressive protests that have been ongoing on Wall St. It prompted quite a few spirited and thoughtful responses. I threw something in there as well. Many had challenged Mark, claiming that the protests serve to at least bring media attention the group's efforts. But after a few ideas back and forth, Mark posted his final reply to the discussion.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm outside flying a high fist when they roll by my building chanting. They have all my support when they're DOING something.

They're not interrupting my commute in the least bit and maybe that's the problem. Walking by and seeing something so lifeless is depressing. Nathan, you would be in the fierce minority down there, with your ability to articulate such a vision. There is a soul-sucking lack of passion and connection. I want to walk by and feel compelled--I want to feel the urge to stop and stay and not go to work that day.

That Chomsky quote (‎"The courageous and honorable protests underway in Wall Street should serve to bring this calamity to public attention, and to lead to dedicated efforts to overcome it and set the society on a more healthy course.") smacks of obligation and inspires nothing. Media attention is indeed the least we can hope to come of it and it's the most we will get when the focus is so much on the people claiming to shed light on the calamity and not on the calamity itself. The intention is misguided and therefore misdirecting the attention. “There are people who wouldn't normally spend time in the Financial District spending a lot of time in privately-owned Zuccotti park,” says the news. “Who cares?” says everybody. I appreciate the symbolism but to call it direct action is quite a stretch. Horizontal, process-based and leaderless is how virtually every project I’m involved in operates but it only works when it is actively in service of something. I don’t see that service.

Call me a corporatist (again) but where's the takeaway? There is someone in Omaha who sees it on the news and would love nothing more than to be there, but has to stay home and work the job they probably feel lucky to have. What can they do? I’ve walked by it or through it a dozen times and never once been engaged or really even looked at in the eye. Just being there isn’t enough. Really. I want a little more “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore” and a little less hacky-sack.

I’m certainly knocking it a little too hard. I’m on the same team and I care. But it’s not a heroic feat and I think maybe it’s doing more harm than good. Also, routinely invoking the Arab spring is a corporate-minded kind of co-opting of the cheapest and most self-aggrandizing kind. That was probably the thing that pissed me off in the first place.

From what I can tell, Mark's disappointment with these protests is that they do nothing to give Wall St. anything to fear. The people in those buildings absolutely know that a bunch of Kumbaya-singing progressive pacifists have no means by which to inspire real change in either the financial or legislative arenas. No one's afraid of hippies anymore, and I would argue no one really was. Real social change requires something a lot more aggressive and dangerous; it always has. Progressive thought without active, vocal, and immediate engagement breeds a message that is misshapen and non-committal.

And that ain't doin' no good.

I may be wrong and if I am, Mark will certainly correct me. If so, this will be updated accordingly.

peace.

The New American Civil War Part II

Chew on this:

Bedtime is 10:30pm for me tonight, so I can't expand on this right now. Plus, I'll be digesting this myself over the next day or so. We'll get into the particulars tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

peace.

The New American Civil War (Quick Thought)

More power to these folks.

Wisconsin Protests Are Setting Stage For A National Battle

The protests of public sector employees in Wisconsin Thursday are really a "national battle," according to Professor Raphael Sonenshein of California State University, Fullerton.

The battle over union rights for public sector employees in Wisconsin is relevant to people nationwide, and is being watched nationally as well. Moves like this are taking place beyond just Wisconsin.

The GOP gained a lot of ground nationally in the 2010 elections and many Republicans around the country have been pushing to limit the powers of labor unions.

"You have a number of new Republican governors coming in and they have a very strong agenda to weaken public sector union bargaining rights," said Professor Sonenshein.

More here.

It's the rich people vs. the working people. That's the new civil war in this country; more sharply than any of us have seen in our lifetime. The most recent battle of this war occurred on January 21, 2010 with the Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The rich won that one.

Before that, it was the former C.E.O. of Diebold, Inc. Walden O'Dell sending out fundraising letters to Ohio Republicans stating his commitment to "helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes..." to President Bush in the 2004 election.

If you recall, Ohio was the battleground state of that year; even more so than Florida. Many of the political bean counters during that election were especially concerned about the significant discrepancy between the exit polling in Ohio and the actual vote count.

All of Ohio's voting machines were manufactured by Diebold, Inc. The rich won that one.

But in Wisconsin, the workin' folks just might pull a "Tahrir Square" on these fools. As a fellow workin' folk, I'm certainly on their side.

peace.

As Real As it Gets

It's as real as it gets in Egypt right now.

CAIRO — Heavy gunfire resounded around Cairo's Tahrir Square early Thursday as the battle between allies and foes of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak entered a second day.

At least three people were killed when supporters of the beleaguered leader opened fire, witnesses said, but reports varied and could not be confirmed.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement telling any Americans remaining in Egypt who wish to leave on a government flight to "report to airport immediately" and that "further delay is not advisable." It said government flights after Thursday "are unlikely."

More here:

I only have one thing to say about all this stuff going on in Egypt.

All you political extremists out there in America-land pay attention.

If you check the facts (have a look at this), this guy deserves to be compared to this guy much more than this guy does, or even this one. Which is why this is going on.

And that's what the real blood of tyrants looks like.

Is this what you want? Really?

peace.