"livin in a violent world"

post from field negro on 22 July 2012 12:00:27 AM. © field negro

I am just making some observations tonight, but I am not getting on my soapbox, because that's what friends do; we just talk to each other.

A few years ago a former client came to me and wanted me to represent his little brother. He was upset because, as he put it at the time, the young man was a "civilian" and wasn't in "the game". He didn't have a record and was just caught up with some bad kids in the neighborhood. According to his brother, "he (his little brother) wasn't a soldier" like him, and he didn't want him to become one.

Anyway, I have since heard that term "civilian" used to describe folks who aren't involved with a certain lifestyle by folks who are in that life. And I have since heard them address themselves as "soldiers" as well. I suppose that in their own minds, most of the people getting killed in our inner cities are "soldiers" fighting their own meaningless wars for drugs, money, and turf.

That is how the rest of society views them as well. Maybe not as "soldiers", but ~~people~~ thugs caught up in a deadly and violent lifestyle who kill each other all too frequently. But we know where they are, and we know when to stay away and who to stay away from. It is why even though we have had 193 murders and counting so far in Philly (not to mention the carnage taking place in other cities all over America) we don't even seem to notice or care. They are way at the bottom of our consciousness scale. Those killings don't affect us.

It is why President Obama did not make an official statement about the 274 murders in his hometown of Chicago so far this year, but he had to make one about the shootings in a movie theater in Colorado.

When violence is random and in places that we don't expect it, we get 24 hour cable coverage and front page news headlines. We know the names of all the victims and the shooter will forever live in infamy. It ignites gun control debates and we ponder and pontificate about the violence of our culture until it fades away and the next tragedy strikes.

That doesn't happen when we pick up the paper on Monday morning and read about the shootings and mayhem in the streets of pick a city, that's just the way it is with "those people". We expect that. It's like reading the box scores from last night's baseball game. And, believe it or not, the "soldiers" fighting their senseless and violent battles want it that way. They have their turf and their enemies are defined: Other "soldiers" in the game who know the rules and who, for the most part, play by them.

Sadly, the folks who live within the confines of their battle field do not have the luxury of just moving out or tuning out the violence. They might not be soldiers in the battle, but they are also at war. Unfortunately for them, though, the presidential candidates will not take a break from their campaigns to consider their plight and mourn with the rest of the country. Flags will not be flown at half-mast, and the residence of North Philadelphia, East St. Louis, or the city of Detroit will not be getting a visit from the president.

?Turned on the TV this morning. Had this shit on about ? about livin? in a violent world. Showed all these foreign places?where foreigners live, and all. Started thinkin?, man. Either they don?t know?don?t show?or don?t care about what?s goin? on in the ?hood. They had all this foreign shit. They didn?t have shit on my brother, man.?   ~Doughboy (Ice Cube) Boyz N The Hood~

Well Doughboy, Aurora, Colorado is right here in America, but it might as well be in a foreign place to folks "in the hood".







Read The Full Article:
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2012/07/livin-in-violent-world.html

Digg this

Another Fun Edition Of "Too Long For A Tweet/Too
Short For A Post"

post from DownWithTyranny! on 22 July 2012 12:00:24 AM. © DownWithTyranny!

I always feel badly when one of our candidates doesn't get elected and Norman Solomon's loss was painful. But Norman worked effectively for the progressive cause for decades before he ran for office and he'll continue his work far into the future. Not everything happens in Congress... far from it. I was listening to an interview with author Peter Dreier on the radio the other day, a discussion of his new book, The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century. Most of the 100 greatest and their accomplishments-- from W.E.B. Du Bois, Cesar Chavez, Emma Goldman, Bob Dylan, Upton Sinclair and Albert Einstein to Helen Keller, Saul Alinsky, Barbara Ehrenreich and Dr. Seuss-- had nothing to do with being elected to office. Woody Guthrie was on that list as well, of course. And yesterday Norman Solomon sent out an e-mail reminding voters of one of his lesser-known songs, "I've Got To Know" (video above).

After the commemorations of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday last week, I thought about one of his less-known songs, "I've Got to Know."

Why do your war boats ride on my waters?
Why do your death bombs fall from my skies?
Why do you burn my farm and my town down?
I've got to know, friend, I've got to know!

Of course this song was written many decades-- and countless wars-- ago. But Woody Guthrie's voice endures, raising crucial questions. Like:

What makes your boats haul death to my people? ...
Why doesn't your ship bring food and some clothing?

California's new North Coast congressional district will not be represented next year by someone with a record of challenging the warfare state. But we can continue to build on the momentum of our campaign-- organizing for long-term capacity to challenge elected officials who don't show a commitment to peace and social justice.

And yes, Dr. Seuss... real name Theodor Seuss Geisel. He wrote 64 children's books, all of them filling children with positive messages that stand at healthy odds against the fascism and selfishness of the political right. Dr. Seuss was a kind of anti-Ayn Rand writer. Among some of his best-known books that drive reactionaries insane are The Lorax (1971), about environmentalism and anti-consumerism; The Sneetches (1961), about racial equality; The Butter Battle Book (1984), about the arms race; Yertle the Turtle (1958), about right-wing icon Adolph Hitler and anti-authoritarianism; and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), criticizing the materialism and consumerism of the Christmas season.

Crackpot Frank Guinta Caught Impersonating A Real Person

If you follow DWT with any regularity, you already know what a pathetic clown congressional teabagger Frank Guinta (R-NH) is. Now he's trying to campaign against former (and, hopefully, future) Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter as though he was the challenger and she was the incumbent. That must be because polls show that New Hampshire voters are overwhelmingly in favor of punishing the lame incumbents this year-- all of whom, like Guinta, are Republicans. Last week Guinta took out a batch of ads calling on voters to ?retire? and ?replace? Carol Shea-Porter. This week, his misleading robo-call to voters says, "Hi, this is Frank Guinta, candidate for Congress, running against Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. I?m running to end the broken culture of Washington?"

Did You Vote Yet?

And speaking of New Hampshire, our ads warning 18-26 year olds that both Guinta and corporate whore Charlie Bass both voted to kick them off their parents' health insurance plans, have been running on Facebook and seen by hundreds and thousands of young viewers who are being urged to register to vote and to get even in November. The ad campaign just ended but we're going to continue it for a full month for one of the campaigns. And you get to pick which one. So far Paul Ryan in Wisconsin is "winning" and today's the last day you can vote. Voting is here.

Hard To Believe But... Mitt Gets Worse

If Willard Romney has earned a reputation as a flip-flopper, when it comes to LGBT issues, there?s one thing you can always count on: Mitt Gets Worse. A man with no core values or soul, he's just moved further and further right as his political ambitions have increased and he's built a base on the right of the GOP by vowing to work to diminish the rights and the freedoms of the LGBT community. Coming from a once persecuted minority-- Mormons-- the man is beyond craven, beyond disgusting and truly contemptible. Jennifer Chrisler of Massachusetts, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council and a lesbian mom, knows a great deal about what a hateful monster Romney is. Watch her video:

Eric Cantor Isn't On Anyone's Short List-- Or Long List

Have you ever wondered why no one ever mentions Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, as a possible Romney running mate? Wall Street worships him like a golden calf. Organized Crime just gave him $5,000,000 through Sheldon Adelson. He's the House Majority Leader. You always hear about Romney looking at far less well-know figures-- from Rob Portman to Tim Pawlenty-- but never a peep about Cantor. PPP got to the bottom of that recently.

There are several prominent Republican politicians in these states who seem like plausible Romney running mates, but none of them would have much of an impact on the home front. If Bob McDonnell was Romney's choice the race would simply shift from a 50-42 Obama advantage to a 50-43 one in Virginia. If Richard Burr was on the ticket Obama's 47-46 edge in North Carolina would remain completely unchanged.

The one person we looked at who would make a big difference is Eric Cantor in Virginia. Cantor has a 22/41 favorability rating and on the off chance Romney selected him Obama's advantage would become 12 points at 50/38. That's a pretty strong sign of how weak the House Republican brand is right now.

Makes it even odder that Steve Israel has decided to keep the DCCC out of the explosive grassroots effort led by Wayne Powell to defeat the unpopular Cantor is his own congressional district. Israel just does not want to hear about it and won't lift a finger for Powell. If you'd like to, you can right here... on the Eric Cantor page.

What Will Be Buck McKeon's Last Act Before He's Hauled Off To Prison?

So is Buck McKeon going to shut down the military now? The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee-- unless he's been removed already-- once solemnley vowed to stop funding for the U.S. military if same-sex marriages were to ever take place on a base. Well, one did. Wouldn't it be ironic if the armaments makers' and war profiteers' most bribed congressman, a devoted warmonger himself, wound up being the one to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan?

Read The Full Article:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2012/07/another-fun-edition-of-too-long-for.h
tml

Digg this

Sunday Talk: Known and unknown

post from Daily Kos on 22 July 2012 12:00:07 AM. © Daily Kos

Donald Rumsfeld once famously said:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns?the ones we don't know we don't know."

And never has that been more true than with regard to Mitt Romney.

Here's what we know we know about the presumptive GOP nominee:

He's not much of a singer; certainly no Barack Obama.
2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was a better candidate than him.
He doesn't adhere to his church's teachings about lying.
The waiters and waitresses who serve him refreshments are unhappy.
Releasing his tax returns would hurt him politically, and he never would've run for president if he thought he'd have to.

And here's what we know we don't know:

What is he hiding, and where is he hiding it?
How could he amass up to $100 million in his IRA during his time at Bain Capital?
Who let the dogs out?
Is he running for president, or for first lady?
What the hell does "retired retroactively" mean?
Did he personally endorse an amnesty program?
Is Schrödinger's cat alive, dead, or both (simultaneously)?

I'm not exactly sure what we don't know we don't know, but I think maybe that was Rumsfeld's whole point.

Perhaps you people can help me out with that one.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/dmeuQeHAnCY/-Sunday-Talk-Known-and
-unknown

Digg this

What We Now Know

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 22 July 2012 12:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Up host Chris Hayes out lines the week of noteworthy news items with guests Richard Benjamin, a senior fellow at Demos and author of "Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America;" Betsey Stevenson, (@BetseyStevenson)[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.docudharma.com/diary/30415/what-we-now-know

Digg this

A Dissenters Digest for July 8-21

Dissenters' Digest takes a look back at news stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/nQLfCfxCXc0/

Digg this