books

Updated the book page , again.

icewater chickenwire

icewater chickenwire

Originally uploaded by South Carolina’s Northern Kingdom

Clip of British Sea Power performing “The Licorice Fields of Pontefract”

I had no idea about Sir John Betjeman prior to chasing down this ref to British Sea Power (the band).

Clip of British Sea Power performing “The Licorice Fields of Pontefract” on John Betjeman & Me, BBC2, then discussing their feelings for professional female volleyball players.

If you are sufficiently interested by the band to check out more of their music, here is the video that got to me with the puppets.

The “Easy! Easy! Easy!” chant is that of the British wrestler Big Daddy, btw. Headpress mag did an article on him once, disparaging him in language remincient of the scorn heaped on Hulk Hogan.  See and hear it here.

Op-Ed: Why Americans should support third parties

The Dispatch, daily paper of Columbus, Ohio, ran an Op-Ed on Feb 12, 2008 by law prof. Mark R. Brown on why voters should support third parties.

America, unfortunately, has devolved into a two-party (and two-candidate) system. The benefits behind this approach — efficiency and fidelity — do not outweigh its costs. In particular, America’s political duopoly suppresses free thought. The two major parties silence dissident voices with promises and penalties; sacred party beliefs and “taboo” topics are squelched in the name of loyalty. An austere marketplace of slogans and codes has consequently emerged, with two parties marginally competing over voters in the middle. I say marginally because the modern Republican and Democratic platforms are not that different.

How so not that different? Brown goes on.

It could be that everyone in America agrees that marijuana is so innately evil that the government can and should prohibit its possession and use. Similarly, Americans might uniformly agree that same-sex marriage is so bad that it deserves no federal protection. National polls in the run-up to the 2004 elections, however, suggested that neither consensus existed: more than one-third of Americans favored the outright legalization of marijuana, and an even larger percentage favored legalizing same-sex marriage.

This kind of restriction on political speech is most clear as it works inside the two major parties. 

I had a conversation recently with an aunt of mine. She took an online poll and was shocked to discover the candidate who best matched her opinions was Dennis Kucinich. I asked her whether she would support Kucinich and she said she wouldn’t, “because it doesn’t matter.”

The comment meant two things: she recognized that Kucinich was not a “respectable” candidate.   Every mention in the media of the Ohio congressman was prefaced or followed by “why doesn’t he drop out/he’s bound to drop out.”  The only news articles focusing entirely on Kucinich concerned some comments he made a decade or more ago about seing a U.F.O.  Well that’s that then. So tactically he had no possibility of being heard and did not in fact matter to the result of the process.

I think she was more shocked to discover that her opinions do not matter. So far as official politics is concerned, she may as well not have an opinion, just like Viggo Mortgenson.

Finally Got The News (doc)

The Detroit IWW is sponsoring a lecture by Dr. Luke Tripp, once a member of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and showing the seldom seen documentary Finally Got The News at the same event.

 If I was in Detroit February 23, I’d be there.

• http://www.iww.org/en/node/3939

 Start: Feb 23 2008 – 1:00pm

End: Feb 23 2008 – 3:00pm

Location(s)

Sabathani Community Center

310 East 38th Street Room D-1

Minneapolis, MN, 55409

United States

See map: Google Maps

The Notes of Japanese Soldier in USSR

Kiuchi Nobuo was a Japanese air corps soldier captured by the Soviet Army at the end of World War II.  Nobuou has drawn a series of postcard-like cartoons recounting his experiences as a P.O.W.   Life in a Siberian prison camp was extremely hard, no surprise, but he did live in more pleasant places and recounts tolerable, bittersweet and even seemingly enjoyable experiences.

• The Notes of Japanese Soldier in USSR

Nader sets up exploratory committee

Friends and supporters of Ralph Nader have set up an exploratory committee to prepare for a Presidential campaign.  Nader is not officially angling for the Green Party nomination.  Former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney is organizing inside the Greens to obtain the nomination, and may well get it.

•  http://www.naderexplore08.org/
• http://runcynthiarun.org

Nader supporter Howie Hawkins has been appearing as a stand-in for Nader in some debates and Green primary registrations.  As in 2004, Nader does not want to openly seek the Green nomination, it’s not clear why exactly.  He has been upfront about wanting to found a broad populist movement for political change.  [New parties established for the 2004 run were called "Populist Party" in Maryland and Arkansas].  Nader’s likely reasons for keeping arm’s length from the Greens would be:

• He thinks the Greens are too overtly ideological to serve as a base for his project. (They  might join it later, but wouldn’t draw in independents and Democrats)
• The remnants of the Reform Party endorsed Nader in 2004 and might do it again, if Bloomberg is definitely out. 

The most prominent state organizations descended from the Reform Party have begun to realign around the Independence Party of New York.  They call it the Independence Party of America  http://independencepartyofamerica.com/freedom/ on ballot in NY, OR, KS, MS, MN,  soon to be in VA (as “Independent Green” ?)  and DE.

 The Reform franchise has been considerably reduced by infighting over jusut who or what consititutes the national party.  Of the various factions, the National Committee headed by Rodney Martin has been on a winning streak and the factions are coming into alignment.

 Personally, I would like to see Nader and McKinney pursue their own paths for now, then select each other for their running mate in the Summer. There is a lot of talk on listserves about DemoGreens backing McKinney and the real independents and radicals in the Greens going for Nader.  That may be true in CA and NY, but out here in the sticks, we need to maximize our opportunities.