Member Posts

A few random thoughts

Lauren — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:34:43 EDT

Wow, it has certainly been quiet around here these past few weeks. I guess everyone was watching the Olympics, followed by the DNC--that's what I've been doing at least. I was glued to the TV to watch Michael Phelps and Barack Obama make history. My thoughts on both are after the jump.

Students working with Campus Progress in the news

pdelatorre — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:52:22 EDT

Students that work with Campus Progress in both Texas and Montana have started the year with a bang by getting stories in their campus papers.

In Texas, former Campus Progress Student Advisory Board member Hooman Hedayati wrote a powerful op-ed about what we learned from the de facto seven month moratorium on the death penalty caused by a supreme court challenge to the legality of lethal injection. Here is a snippet:

During the recent moratorium on executions, several notable things happened. Three states - California, North Carolina and Tennessee - launched studies of their death penalty systems. Two states, Maryland and Nebraska, debated abolishing the death penalty in their state legislatures. A third state, New Jersey, did away with capital punishment altogether. For the first time in Texas, Rick Reed, a candidate for the Travis County district attorney's office, ran on a platform opposing capital punishment.

Who Placed Whose Hands?

Josh Eidelson — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:19:36 EDT

Hillary Clinton got some deserved criticism for her lecture about how "it took a President" to pass the Civil Rights Act (didn't Obama prove he values the role of the President when he started running to be the next one?). But Robert Caro's op-ed today reminds us she could have said something worse:

"Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans," I have written, "but it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy's sacred curtain behind them, placed their hands upon the lever that gave them a hold on their own destiny, made them, at last and forever, a true part of American political life."

This isn't poetic - it's just offensive. Did LBJ tie African-Americans' shoes before they left the house to vote? It should go without saying that African-Americans have been a "true part of American political life" since before the birth of the United States. Among other things, they led a movement which seized the franchise by shifting public opinion and transforming the political landscape. That movement made the difference between the days when LBJ was strategizing against Civil Rights legislation to the days when Jesse Helms must claim to support it.

Caro seems smug towards Civil Rights activists who didn't trust Johnson's support until they got it. No doubt which bills Johnson supported, and when he came around to support them, is indeed, as Caro says, some combination of "ambition and compassion." It's short-sighted for historians to lionize Johnson's choices while disparaging the people whose vision, tactics, and courage made it possible for him to wed the two. Of course it makes a huge difference who the President is. But the Great Man Theory that tells us Lincoln freed the slaves and then Johnson gave their descendants the vote is a theory that should be in the dustbin of history by now.

Let's remember that as we consider the progress Barack Obama's nomination represents as well as the struggles ahead should there be an Obama presidency.

Hurrican Season: the hidden messages in water transform and unite

canow.environment — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:57:07 EDT

Climbing PoeTree presents a multi-media two-woman show about unnatural disaster and a great shift in universal consciousness.

Trust me, you don't want to miss it.

When I saw Climbing PoeTree perform at the Empowering Women of Color Conference at UC Berkeley earlier this year, I was overwhelmed with a call to action. Their passionate art comes alive and inspires the soul to reach out to the world...to turn challenges into opportunities...to join the movement and build community.

Hurricane Season interweaves spoken word poetry, sound collage, shadow art, dance, film and animation to explore critical issues facing humanity through the kaleidoscope of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, namely: land rights and housing rights; water access and food justice; over-policing and mass-incarceration; state violence and militarization; racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia; environmental justice and climate change; globalization, migration, and economic justice. It is centered on building bridges, creating safety nets, and finding solutions through art to the interconnected problems our communities face—how can we become agents for change rather than victims of circumstance?

A “solutions-cipher” follows every show, where audience members participate in a dialog featuring local grassroots organizations, visionaries, and healers. The objective of the post-show “solutions-cipher” is to address the issues surfaced in Hurricane Season on a local level, to cross-pollinate creative strategies for self-determination, and to turn the passion generated in the show into action manifested in the community.

Get invovled in your local city and don't miss this amazing tour!

Californians, it's our chance to ban BPA for good!

canow.environment — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:29:16 EDT

I just read on Enviroblog that every formula manufacturer in the U.S. puts baby formula into cans lined with bisphenol-A.

Bisphenol what? Bisphenol-A is a chemical associated with reproductive defects and low dose toxicity.

As if this isn’t outraging enough, I also read that the chemical is often found in baby bottles and sippy cups too. Healthy Child, Healthy World takes you through the rooms of your house to identify, item by item, toxic substances consumed by children and families everyday. And Healthy Toy database indicates which toys and car seats are lead-free.

I like the way one blog writer put it when she said “we mamas gotta be our OWN lobbyists.” California moms and dads can take action by supporting legislation to ban of bisphenol-A. State senate Bill 1713 needs our help. Make noise by contacting companies that use bisphenol-A and share the facts with parents you know.

Want Progress? Be Progressive!

Tommaso — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:39:15 EDT

Want strengthen the progressive movement on your campus, bring engaging speakers and films to jumpstart dialogue, and engage in activism on local and national issues?

Then join the Campus Progress Student Network for 2008-2009! We’re currently still accepting applications to join the team of Student Representatives from the across the country who work with the staff of Campus Progress to advance progressive causes at the local level and make their voices heard on the issues they care most about.

*** New deadline! Applications are now due by Wednesday September 3rd, so click here to learn more and to apply. ***

Yay! Campus Progress Got an Apocalyptic Postcard!

Tanya Paperny — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:18:10 EDT

We got mail:

I am surprised that "Acceptance of Homosexuality" and "Liberal Activist Judges" aren't on there.

I like how not -all- the boxes are checked, implying that this is a warning to be heeded and it's not too late. If there's a deadly gamma ray burst, I'll be sure to get in touch with this dude...Oh wait, he didn't leave a return address.

Amethyst Initiative Unites College Presidents to Lower Drinking Age

lizbrecht — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:52:34 EDT

The Amethyst Initiative, headed by John McCardell, President Emeritus of Middlebury College, has united over 100 college presidents in an effort lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.

The Initiative's website cites a "culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking" that has developed amongst college youth, and, in language reminiscent of the debate over sex ed, states that "alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students."

Already, op-eds in the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post have come out strongly against the proposal. The Post's article cites figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, showing that, since the legal drinking age was moved to 21 in all states, alcohol-related fatalities dropped by 60%. MADD also states that "research shows the earlier youth drink the most likely they are to become alcohol dependent," and, consequently, to drive drunk.

McCardell's Amethyst Initiative seems to miss the mark; by aiming to lower the drinking age in an attempt to stop illicit binge-drinking, they've missed some of the larger issues in the debate over teens and alcohol.

Privatization of Report Cards?

lizbrecht — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:29:10 EDT

Read an interesting and troubling article this morning from ABC News... $100 per month to perform well in middle school sounds pretty nice to me, but when I was this age, that was a considerable amount of cash.

Doesn't this, as the article suggests, cheapen the experience of learning? The most significant lessons I learned in middle school, high school, and college were subjective, not objective, in nature - learning how to analyze, read critically, etc - how might these more important aspects of education be measured on a rubric of a cash payout?

White Paper Justifying Iraq War Written Three Months before Intel Report Arrived

MichaelCollins — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:16:20 EDT

White Paper Justifying Iraq War Written
Three Months before Intel Report Arrived

A war based on deception and fraud Worldpassion cc

National Security Archive Stunner

Michael Collins
Washington, DC

The National Security Archive released a report Friday Aug. 22, 2008 that sheds even more light on the premeditated lying and deception that took the United States to war in Iraq. The findings are based on new evidence compiled by Dr. John Prados and published by the National Security Archive. See "White Paper" Drafted before NIE even Requested , "Scoop" Independent News, Aug. 24, 2008.

Most notably, Prados shows the depth of the deception perpetrated against citizens and Congress regarding the alleged threat to U.S. security posed by Iraq. It had appeared that the White House rewrote the Oct. 1, 2002 National Intelligence Estimate and then issued that doctored report to Congress on Oct. 4, 2002. Prados reveals convincing evidence that the Oct. 4 White Paper had already been written by July 2002. He shows that it was only slightly altered after the final NIE arrived. This White Paper served as the basis for the war.

Obama selects Biden

Southern Progress — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:36:42 EDT

The much-anticipated text message that some-to many of you-may be recieving shortly regarding Obama's selection for his running mate may hold little significance now.

According to the Washington Post, and now assumed as valid via the MSM such as CNN and MSNBC, the news is that Senator Joe Biden will be Obama's running mate.

In my opinion-one I've shared with many for at least the last two years--this was the inevitable choice if the Democratic Party wanted to do that which they've been less than stellar with in recent years: that is to say, selecting a candidate based upon not just heart but mind as well.

Of course the "hearts and minds" reference is one used as semantics according to the particular framer, however, one of the problems with the Kerry nomination of 2004 was that while it did make perfect sense to select a candidate with a rich and prestigious past as a Vietnam warrior, in many respects there wasn't much overall excitement and enthusiasm for such a pick.

This time around with the charismatic and popular Barrack Obama representing a "change we can believe in" Joe Biden provides an intense and deeply knowledgeable front in future debates.

Of course, Biden's experience with foreign policy is essential in this year's debates. Unlike Kerry however, who make a lot of great points, Biden provides unbridled emotion and enthusiasm to go with it. Consider one of my personal favorite speechs by Biden on Iraq and in direct response to McBush, I mean McCain.

http://vodpod.com/watch/873146-a-case-for-joe-biden-obama%E2%80%99s-potential-choice-for-veep

Overall, I'm ecstatic about this move by Obama. Perhaps more than anything, Biden--with the possible exception of Hillary and Bill, knows both how to respond to the ridiculousness of the right-wing noise machine and how to pre-emptively strike and strip it of any notions of moral and ethical pretense. Here, consider Biden's analysis of Rudy Giuliani's constant use of 9-11 to attack Dems:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyxi0T37JmY

The Reality of Change

Eli Turkel — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:54:05 EDT

Yesterday I read in a local paper an article by Tom Hayden that nicely articlated the meaning and hopes of the Obama candidacy. Hayden is an influential and long-time progressive warrior who has done much to register urban communities to vote, been a california state legislator, and written numerous books. As a prominate voice in the progressive community Hayden's nod to the Obama candidacy as a part of that movement is significant. What is more interesting about Hayden's support is the way he articulates his positive stance on Obama.
As an actual member of the American far-left, Hayden has no problem telling us that Obama's views are centrist and that if we are looking for Obama to get into the Oval office and rearrage the instiutional furnature, we will be soarly dissappointed. Hayden goes through a detailed analysis of Obama's position on the Iraq war to illustrate his point. Along with Obama's position on Iraq progressives could also point out Obama's missed oppurtunity to spend the summer debating McCain, or his opting-out of public campaign financing. In any event, Hayden's point and the reality of Obama's candidacy is that it is not ideal. Indeed, Obama will be the first to tell us he is not a prohet or a savior, instead he inspirationally tells us that "we are the change we've been waiting for".

The Book They Can't Stop - A Review

MichaelCollins — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:10:28 EDT

A Review of Bugliosi's -- The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Vanguard Reviewed by Michael Collins

The Prosecutor and the President

Vincent Bugliosi wants George W. Bush prosecuted for murder. There are others who are complicit in the crime, namely the Vice President and Condoleezza Rice, but Bush is the target of this famed former Los Angeles prosecutor (the Charles Manson case) and best selling author (Helter Skelter and The Betrayal of America as two examples). He is undeterred by the virtual major media blackout on interviews and advertising. He's taking his case directly to the people through alternate media and the internet.

DC Political Elites Out of Touch?

Liberaltarian — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:54:05 EDT

..And in other shocking news, the sky is blue! The Pope is Catholic! Economists are myopic!

The Washington Post has a great article today about how many national political figures who live in DC, and are "representing" DC at the DNC next week, are clueless about DC itself:

Harold Ickes is the prototypical insider, a career political operative who knows as much about how Washington works as anyone. Just don't ask the former Clinton White House official and Democratic superdelegate what ward he lives in.
"Oh boy," Ickes said recently by phone. "It's either 2 or 7. I live in Georgetown."
Or who represents him on the D.C. Council.
"Don't know."
Or the name of the public schools chancellor.
"I don't know the name, an Asian woman."
If Ickes isn't plugged into the local political scene -- correct answers: Ward 2, Jack Evans and Michelle A. Rhee -- that's because there have long been two separate and distinct Washingtons. One is federal, the other local, and rarely do those in these two worlds think of one another.

Though that last sentence isn't really correct. I know the writer was going for a semblance of "balance," but the fact is that local-DC politicians are acutely aware of what's happening on Capitol Hill. Congress has veto power over DC, and not vice-versa.

Perhaps it's best described by stealing a line from Stephen Colbert's epic win of a Correspondents Dinner performance: "DC is a chocolate city too, with a marshmallow center."

Blogging For My Sake

Eli Turkel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:45:40 EDT

My name is Eli Turkel. I am 21 years old and have never written a blog entry before. I have thought about it several times before but have never followed through on it. In high school, a close friend of mine had a sucessful online journal that many peers and even some parents read. People really liked his wriiting; I found it entertaining, but the stuff he wrote was too personal for my style. I never wanted to have an online journal of my life. What I have the urge to do is blog - to share my perspective on daily events and introduce readers to issues that peak my interest.
I want to blog for my own sake. After the re-election of George W. Bush I have felt increasingly out of step with the world. Upset by the state of affiars I sympathized with the notion that democratic particiaption was not a helpful activity. I considered the idea that the way to affect change was to drop out of mainstream culture. Doing so had a drastic affect on my life. I went to war with my family's values, battled them, and tried to conserve what I thought most essential about them while crafting a new way to percieve the world. My endevor was well-intentioned, but ill-concieved. I thought we needed new answers and that those could not come from democratic values. What I now realize is that the values which my family instilled simply need an articulation in our contemporary reality. Instead of slipping away from the world I want to move along with it and give it shape.
I think that blogging will aid in this decision. I have always kept up with and reflected current affairs; blogging will help me catalog my thoughts on contemporary events. With this blog I hope to share my lens of perception with fellow citizens in order to crystlize my own ideas. in a word, I hope to keep a journal of my connection with the world.

Covering Politics: Media and Election 08

Thomas Coen — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:51:37 EDT

In case you missed Campus Progress and The Nation's National Youth Journalism Conference this past July, fear not. One of the morning plenary panels on media and politics was featured in a recent episode of RadioNation with Laura Flanders. You can check out the podcast here featuring Michael Tomasky of The Guardian, Chris Hayes, Betsy Reed, and Amy Alexander of The Nation, and moderated by Daniella Leger of the Center for American Progress.

Harmony at Harmony Cafe

musicfairie — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:00:17 EDT

Hi friends!

I thought the blog was over last week while I was in Mexico, but that was not the case. So you get a few more entries from me, please savor them for the rest of your lives.

Good thing, because I have another restaurant review that I had all but forgotten to include. It's for a sweet little place on M Street in Georgetown that seems miles away from the hubbub - Harmony Cafe.

I've been there countless times, and despite years going by, the place never changes. The mostly empty dining room, the same solitary smiling hostess/waitress, the cheery starway down to the basement.

Harmony is not any ordinary Chinese place. They're one of those crazy ones who have the power to make everything out of non-meat gluten products. While your General Tso's might taste like french toast (that's always the flavor I get with the gluten), at least you aren't ingesting questionable chicken parts. If you want the chicken parts, though, there is no judgment. Meat eaters and veg's alike come together at Harmony.

The must order speciality, however, is the Shiitake Mushroom appetizer. i'm drawn to mushrooms in general, but I must say this is a superb piece of work. Some upperclassmen introduced me to it the first week of freshman year, and I remain a loyal follower 5 years later. Now that's saying something.

So hit up Harmony - bring your veggie friends, escape from the oppressive smell of subway's eternally baking bread. You'll thank me!

Workers take over factories, resume operations

Liberaltarian — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:12:27 EDT

Kantipur is reporting that manufacturing workers of three of the largest tea estates in Nepal have taken over the factories and have started to run them again without management.

DHANKUTA, Aug 3 - Workers of three big tea estates, which remained closed for the last three weeks due to disputes between the management and workers, have forcefully took control of the processing factories and resumed operations.

The factories of Gurash Tea Estate, Kuwabashi Tea Plantation and Joon Tea Garden were taken into control by the workers on Friday and started tea production from Saturday.

Gopal Tamang, president of All Nepal Trade Unions Federation, a trade union closely affiliated with the Maoists, said the workers have resumed tea production and also started collecting tea leaves from the garden. He said the workers were forced to ‘capture’ the factories after the managements refused to initiate dialogues to end the deadlock and added that the takeover will continue until the managements agree to talk.

The tea estates were closed three weeks back after tea workers started protest programs demanding wage hikes, permanent appointments, and medical insurance, among others. The managements of the tea estates have been refusing to sit for negotiations citing insecurity.

This scenario is hardly a new one on the world stage. Less then a decade ago workers across Argentina did the same, taking possession of factories that their owners refused to run. This will be the first real test of the newly-elected Maoist government in Nepal - how will they respond?

Welcome to my Internet Blob

lk — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:46:54 EDT

yeah....my internet blob

Vote for Campus Progress at SxSW!

Tanya Paperny — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:42:42 EDT

South by Southwest (known as SXSW) is an annual interactive festival of film, music, art, and culture held in Austin, TX. For the third year in a row, they are giving the public a chance to weigh in on what panels they would like to see at the festival.

Campus Progress submitted a panel idea entitled "A New Wave? Iraq and Dissent in Cinema," which talks about the impact of Iraq War documentaries (event based on this panel held at NYU). While the online voting only counts for about 40% of the final decision, your vote could help bring us to the huge audiences at Austin next March!