Revolt

Revolt https://www.dailykos.com/news/Revolt News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 22:22:35 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 22:22:35 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) What The F**k Happened? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/19/1773578/-What-The-F-k-Happened <div> “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” —Desmond Tutu </div> What the fuck happened? I mean seriously, what the fuck happened? How did we get here and who allowed this shit? What I am talking about is the state of our country. Over the last ten years, we have taken a new direction. But especially over the last eighteen months, we as a country have completely morphed into something that a lot of us don’t even recognize anymore. My question is, is this who we really want to be? The list is long. It’s so long in fact that most people just throw their hands up in the air now because it is impossible to keep up with it all. Even political junkies like me get frustrated with the amount of bullshit that is going on every day. I experience information overload to the point now that it has become almost impossible to research, dispute, corroborate a breaking story. The evening news is littered from wall to wall with nothing but trump. It is impossible to have a conversation with friends, co-workers or family members without breaching the subject. And the most absurd thing about all of this is despite everything that he has done, he still has loyal followers. Thus the question, what the fuck happened? Are all of these followers closet bigots, misogynists, racists and fake christians and now they’ve finally found their spiritual leader that has allowed them to come out into the light? Or did trump do a great job in bringing these topics to light in such a way that it has turned ordinarily good people into assholes? Does anyone have the answer? <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Kovaleski.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/555456/large/Kovaleski.jpg?1529465841" title="Kovaleski.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> I really thought we had turned the corner. I thought that people had started to see each other as fellow human beings. Yes, there is still the kkk and other impotent groups out there. Regardless, I thought a lot of that stuff was in the rear view mirror. Wow, was I wrong. The hate is everywhere. From co-workers to politicians to people of the cloth, the hate extends far and wide. And they aren’t afraid to show you now. I have people that I have known for years that I don’t really care to be around anymore because of their hate. It’s disturbing. It’s quite troubling, the things that are acceptable now. Here’s my list. Comment below if I missed anything. <ul> <li>Mocking the disabled</li> <li>Kidnapping children</li> <li>Pardoning convicted felons if they agree with you ideologically</li> <li>Misogyny</li> <li>Bigotry</li> <li>Racism</li> <li>Poisoning drinking water</li> <li>Raping the earth for unneeded natural resources</li> <li>Bombing other countries</li> <li>Killing their civilians</li> <li>Police brutality</li> <li>Not convicting police officers that kill civilians</li> <li>Gutting public education</li> <li>Gutting consumer protection oversight</li> <li>Gutting pollution oversight</li> <li>Lying</li> <li>Gerrymandering</li> <li>Voter suppression</li> <li>Violation of constitutional rights</li> <li>Union busting</li> <li>Judging others based on their religious beliefs</li> <li>Rape</li> <li>Sexual assault</li> <li>Political corruption</li> <li>Colluding with foreign adversaries</li> <li>Violating the emoluments clause</li> <li>Nepotism</li> <li>Bullying</li> <li>Allowing foreign adversaries to cyber attack us</li> </ul> Trust me, this is my short list. But what a list it is. And if you are skeptical of it, google any one of these bullet points. I dare you! Is this really the country we want to be? Is this how we want to be known around the world? Unbelievably, some of us do. But not the vast majority. And that majority not only has the power to change it, but has the duty to change it. It is our duty and our responsibility to make things right. Your move. rss@dailykos.com (DonZ) 2018 BlueWave Border Children Community Democrats DonaldTrump Election2018 FamilySeparation fucktrump GOP ICE Immigrants Immigration MAGA Politics Republicans Resist Revolt trump _1773578 Wed, 20 Jun 2018 03:40:23 +0000 Hidden History: England's 1381 Peasant Revolt https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/4/3/1734702/-Hidden-History-England-s-1381-Peasant-Revolt In 14th century England, the largest political rebellion in the country’s history broke out in London. It had far-reaching consequences which can still be felt today. <blockquote> "Hidden History" is a diary series that explores forgotten and little-known areas of history. </blockquote> <figure class="image-captioned"><a title=""><img alt="Peasants'_Revolt_(death_of_Wat_Tyler)" height="498" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/24948201457_b5cf67f991_z.jpg" width="640"></a> <figcaption>The death of Wat Tyler. A contemporary manuscript.</figcaption> </figure> By 1380, medieval Europe was in a shambles. There was plague and famine: the Black Death in 1348 had killed as much as one-half of the entire continent. The Hundred Years War between England and France, meanwhile, was dragging on and on. Religious law held sway, and people lived in ignorance and superstition. There was a rigidly hierarchical social structure that had existed for centuries, which fixed forever one’s place in society—one inherited the job of one’s father, whether it was a farm laborer or pig-keeper, an artisan like a blacksmith or carpenter, or a nobleman. It was a horrible time to be alive. But, in an odd irony, the devastation wrought by war and plague actually made things better in some ways for the peasantry. With so many people gone, there was now both a large amount of unoccupied land and a severe shortage of peasant labor to work it. The balance of economic power had unexpectedly swung to the favor of the peasantry, and they tried to take full advantage: demands were made for higher pay, better living conditions, and more land. The nobility fought back using pure repression: royal decrees were sent which limited the amount of pay and land a peasant could get and which restricted his movements, forcing him to stay on the manor estate on which he was born and preventing him from leaving to find work elsewhere. As social tensions became ever greater, an explosion was inevitable. In 1381, the English King was Richard II, only 14 years old. The real power lay with the advisors who ruled in his stead—especially with the King’s uncle, John of Gaunt. It was John who decided that the royal treasury needed more money to pay for the interminable war with France, so he created a new “poll tax”. This had nothing to do with an electoral poll: it was a simple head tax, to be paid by every adult male and married female in the country—and the same amount was to be paid by everyone regardless of how wealthy or poor they were. Today, we would consider this to be blatantly unfair—and so did the medieval peasantry. But while modern citizens can protest unfair taxes by voting and petitions, medieval people had no political or social rights at all—they were little better than slaves. But some of England’s peasantry found a way to avoid paying the new poll tax. England’s government depended upon local church records of marriages, births and deaths to keep track of each area’s census, and this record was often incomplete. Sometimes by bribery or favor, but mostly just by oversight and error, many people—as much as one-third of the population in some areas—did not actually appear on the tax rolls and therefore never paid the tax. When the King’s treasurers added up the money, they found that they were short. And so, they made the near-fatal decision to send in “commissioners” to find all the ones who had avoided the tax and make them pay up. The heavy-handed methods used by these commissioners provoked widespread resentment; many people were forced to pay another tax even though they had already paid the first time. Women were particularly targeted: accounts declared that some of the commissioners used their fingers to test young women to see if they were still virgins or if they were married (and therefore subject to the tax). The rebellion began with a baker named Thomas, from a village in Essex. Thomas gathered a group of local peasants and, on May 30, 1381, went to the town of Brentwood to confront one of the royal commissioners. When Thomas told him that all the people in the surrounding villages had already paid the tax, the commissioner flew into a rage and ordered everyone nearby to be arrested. Thomas Baker and the others resisted, a riot broke out, and the commissioner and his accompanying men—heavily outnumbered—fled the village. The next day, another tax commissioner arrived in Brentwood, this time accompanied by a detachment of troops. But the peasantry had reached the breaking point. In the act which crossed the line of no return, they attacked the soldiers, killed six of them, beheaded the tax collector, and drove the rest of the King’s men out of the village. This was now treason, and there was no going back. But the poll tax was deeply unpopular, and as word spread from village to village, the rebellion grew. Within days, all of Essex was aflame with revolt. On June 2, Lesner Abbey at Kent was attacked by a mob of peasants armed with farm tools, led by a local man named Abel Kerr. The Abbey quickly surrendered, and the tax records kept inside were burned. At the same time, other rebel leaders had gathered in the village of Bocking, in Essex, to draw up a manifesto. This was no disorganized mob of bandits and malcontents: it was an extraordinarily well-disciplined group of social rebels who knew exactly what they wanted to achieve and now formed a comprehensive plan for how to get it. At Bocking they declared that while they had no quarrel with the young King Richard, they sought the removal of many of his advisors, including John of Gaunt. But they also put out a radical new demand: “to have no laws of England, only which they themselves had moved to be ordained”. It was the first time in European history that anyone had demanded that common people have the right to make their own laws. In a series of coded messages, word of the rebellion and its aims was sent to most of southern England. Within a week, the rebels had gathered an army of peasantry led by Abel Kerr—untrained and not well-armed, but large enough to pose a serious threat. Some of its officers were English Army troops who had been ordered to France but had deserted instead. The first target was the castle at Rochester, where a local serf was being held on charges of running away from his manor lord. The rebels took the castle without a fight—the serfs inside had opened the gates and let them in. Other strongholds soon followed. The rebels also appointed a leader—a roof-tiler named Wat—and Wat Tyler would become the most famous figure of the Peasant Revolt. His first act was to lead the rebel army to Maidstone to capture the Archbishop’s castle and free a number of prisoners being held there. After that, Tyler and his army departed for Canterbury to deal with Archbishop Sudbury, one of the King’s advisors who the peasants blamed for the poll tax. On June 10, the rebels broke into the Canterbury Cathedral (during Mass) demanding Sudbury’s head—but the Archbishop had already fled to London. And now, the Peasant Revolt took its most amazing turn of all—Wat Tyler and his men, numbering at least 60,000, decided to march on London, capture the Archbishop, and present their demands for reform to King Richard II himself. At the same time, other peasant armies from Cambridge and Essex converged on London (stopping along the way long enough to behead the chief royal tax collector in Essex and burn all the tax rolls). They began to arrive on the evening of June 12. As more and more groups of peasants approached, the young King and his counselors fled to the safety of the royal fortress at the Tower of London, the most secure place in the city and impossible for any but the most powerful and well-equipped army to take by force. But once in the Tower, the royal government was itself effectively trapped: the entire population of London at the time was only 40,000 people, and with most of the English Army away fighting in France there was only a small garrison of a few hundred in the city, enough to protect the King inside the fortress, but not enough to go out and drive away the much large peasant army in combat. There then occurred one of the most extraordinary events in English history: the young King Richard II and some of his advisors boarded a river barge and sailed to the place where the peasant army was encamped. Remaining on the boat, safe from possible capture, the King of England began talks with the rebellious peasantry. Unsure of how large the rebellion was, or even what the rebels wanted, Richard II at first simply demanded that the insurgent army should disperse and go home. Instead, the rebels submitted a list of names—high-ranking advisors to the King, many of whom were right there on the boat with him—which they wanted handed over to them for “justice”. Richard refused, and the barge returned to the Tower. The rebels decided to follow him. Pouring towards London, the peasants were joined by city residents who sympathized with them. On June 13, the mass of people made their way to the only place where they could cross the Thames River—London Bridge. After entering the city, they killed a number of lawyers at the Courts of Justice and burned the estate house of the King’s uncle John of Gaunt (Gaunt himself was away in Scotland). Gathering up the stores of silver, gold and jewelry there, the rebels neither stole it nor redistributed it: instead, they dumped it all into the Thames. This was not an act of mere theft or looting: it was a conscious and deliberate political protest. By nightfall, the peasants controlled almost all of London. Richard II was now a virtual prisoner inside the Tower of London fortress. Nearly half of the entire country was in revolt. The English peasantry—viewed by the nobility as savages who were barely above an animal level of ability—had organized a nationwide uprising, formed a powerful military force, planned and carried out a targeted campaign of political violence, and now had the royal government itself on its knees. At this point, though, the rebels were still rather naively convinced that the King was not their enemy—was perhaps even a supporter—but was being misled by bad advisors, and could be won to respect the rights of common Englishmen if only they could talk to him. Through a messenger, King Richard, having really no choice, sent word to the rebel leaders: he would ride out and meet them the following day. The meeting took place at Mile End, just outside the city, with the King and his retinue, some 30,000 peasants from the countryside, and thousands of Londoners who had simply come to watch. The rebels presented four “requests”: an end to the institution of serfdom which bound each peasant to a particular manor; the right of every farm laborer to sell their produce wherever they chose, instead of turning it over to the manor lord; a legal reduction in land rents; and amnesty for all the participants in the Revolt. It would, in one stroke, completely transform the economics and culture of the English countryside. The King had no choice but to accept, and dutifully wrote out and signed charters agreeing to all these demands. Then the rebels casually mentioned that they also wanted the heads of several of the King’s advisors. Richard left, promising only that the counselors would “receive justice”. The crowd followed, all the way to the Tower. In 300 years, the Tower of London had never fallen in battle, but when the peasants arrived, they found the gates open, probably by sympathizers. Swarming inside, they quickly found the Archbishop of Canterbury—who they held responsible for the poll tax—and beheaded him in the Tower’s chapel. The treasury minister soon followed. By the end of the day, convinced they had won all their demands, most of the peasant army left London and began the long walk home to the countryside. But events were not over yet. One small group of rebels remained behind. Led by Wat Tyler, they wanted more, and confronted King Richard the next day. They met at an open spot on the edge of the city called Smithfield. It’s not clear how much of what happened on June 15, 1381, was planned and how much was accidental. With the rebel force now reduced to about 300 men and the hardcore leadership of the revolt in front of him, Richard II, though just a boy of 14, may have seen an opportunity to save his kingdom with his own force of about 200 men, and may have set up the meeting as a trap for the rebel leader, willing to risk everything in a final fight. Wat Tyler and King Richard met on horseback in the center of the field, with their retinues behind them. As Tyler began to list his demands, a scuffle broke out involving one of the King’s squires. Tyler was attacked by the Mayor of London and stabbed, falling wounded off his horse. And then, just as it seemed that open combat would break out, the young Richard boldly rode up to the peasant forces and shouted, “You shall have no other King but me—follow me!” He led them off to another nearby field. The wounded Tyler was taken inside a nearby chapel. And then, whether pre-planned or not, the final blow fell. As the peasant force gathered behind the King, every available royal force in London was quickly moved to surround them. Tyler, meanwhile, was dragged out into the street by royal troops and beheaded. The severed head was delivered to the King just as the royal troops surrounded them. The rebels all dropped their weapons and surrendered. With their leader dead, the bulk of their army disbanded, and the belief that the King was on their side shattered, the Peasant Revolt died almost as quickly as it had arisen. King Richard’s retribution was swift. Determined that such a revolt could never happen again, he hunted down and killed every rebel leader he could find—hundreds were executed by “drawing and quartering”, others were beheaded or hung. Thousands more were unofficially executed by local authorities, without even a trial. But even though they ultimately were defeated, the Peasant Revolt was the first step that led to the American Revolution and the French Revolution, and sent a message that has echoed through all of political history right down to today. No government, not even an unelected autocrat, can hold power if its own people are not prepared to accept it. <blockquote> NOTE: As some of you already know, all of my diaries here are draft chapters for a number of books I am working on. So I welcome any corrections you may have, whether it's typos or places that are unclear or factual errors. I think of y'all as my pre-publication editors and proofreaders. ;) </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Lenny Flank) England Feudalism History Rebellion Resistance Revolt Revolution _1734702 Tue, 03 Apr 2018 19:00:07 +0000 White House doubles down: Trump didn't write or send tweet. Who is in charge? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/12/4/1720968/-White-House-doubles-down-Trump-didn-t-write-or-send-tweet-Who-is-in-charge In an interview with CNN this morning, Kellyanne Conway doubled down on the White House statement that John Dowd wrote the tweet implicating Trump in a scheme to obstruct justice. Moreover, Conway goes a step further, saying the lawyer drafted it, and sent it to the “Director of Social Media” who is apparently the one empowered to make a statement, under the President’s personal account, using phrasing like “I had to fire”. <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!&lt;/p&gt;— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 2, 2017&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;'><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!Ã¢Â€Â” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937007006526959618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2017</a></blockquote></div> I asked this question the day it happened: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/2/1720608/-How-many-people-are-authorized-to-pretend-to-be-the-president-Public-has-a-right-to-know" target="_blank">Who, exactly, is running the country</a>? Who is empowered to speak in the presidential voice with statements of “I” from the President’s personal account? Now that Conway has said the President was uninvolved, and it went from Attorneys to the Director of Social media, WHO is the Director of Social Media? How was this approved to post without the president signing off on this statement? This may sound funny, but these are serious questions that need to be answered. Who, exactly, is running the White House? The president’s twitter feed has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/31/trumps-tweets-come-back-to-bite-him-in-court-again-this-time-in-transgender-military-case/" target="_blank">been cited in US court cases without this information provided to the court</a> that it was not the presidential voice. The Twitter feed has been made a part of Trump’s policy and T<a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/07/25/trump_im_here_to_cut_through_the_fake_news_filter_and_speak_straight_to_the_american_people.html" target="_blank">rump has indicated it comes from him more than once</a>. If other parties are pretending to be the President, post information pretending to be him, and do so without presidential authority, this is a defacto coup d’etat. If this is true, and the White House knew that prior tweets did not always come from the president, they should have been obligated to make that case in front of the courts as these issues arose. While it sounds funny, it is not. If the Twitter feed is assumed to be the voice of the president, but isn’t, could it be used to give unlawful orders? Fool the world? Cause trade, legal, or military ramifications with global partners and allies? Conway’s statement this morning is beyond troubling — the public needs to know, post haste, who exactly is the Director of Social Media, and what empowered him to make this decision. If this is all a cover up, then the public should know that the White House has continued a foolish, wild lie with dangerous consequences toward our democracy. rss@dailykos.com (Chris Reeves) Conway coupdetat dangerous Recommended Revolt trump Twitter WhiteHouse _1720968 Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:05:11 +0000 The Broken Urn (part 2) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/11/20/1717170/-The-Broken-Urn-part-2 i blogged a story yesterday, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/18/1716919/-The-broken-urn#comment_68414381" target="_blank">The Broken Urn</a>, reflecting my sorrow after a contentious county Democratic meeting. And I was answered by others who reminded me that there was truth on both sides. This is my attempt to walk in the shoes of those on the other side. The Others were sad and angry. They saw distance forces rending the fabric of their hope and future. Education was almost unattainable and other roads to a good life looked narrow and hard to traverse. Large powers, corporations and immensely wealthy individuals, rose as Shadow giants threatening dreams and blocking vision. To lose a future was terrible, but to lose the sense of volition, of acting with power within one’s own life was worse. And the Others, sensing their strength, hit at these Shadow giants — striking out for themselves and all others who suffered. They struck out in anger, but also in hope, that they could change something. That they could make a difference. But the Shadows were insubstantial. Like fog that your hand cuts through with no effect, but that blinds you and leads you in circles, and may destroy your life. The shadow giants were thus unknowable but powerful. Distant but engulfing. And the Others grew sadder and angrier. And the Others heard other voices that called on them to stand tall, to push back — but where to push? How to feel that sense of power, that sense of self? And then Others saw something that looked real. An urn, shining bright. It was a vessel for all of the People’s ideas of how to make a better world, of how to defeat the shadow. The Others saw first the urn, then the People gathered around it. The Others at first looked at the People with hope. Were they there with the same hopes, the same fears, the same anger? Were they guarding the urn from the Shadow? Or were they guarding the urn from the Others? The Others approached, and the People shuffled around the urn, uncertain. The Others determined that they would no longer feel that loss of future, that loss of self. They made themselves as big as they could. They called out, “We have things to put in the urn. We have good ideas to make our world better.” And the People reached out. And the People said, “Our urn is almost full, but you can add one good idea, one way to make the world better.” And the Others saw again the dark shadow. And the Others remembered how through all of life the shadow had teased them on, promised them good, and then left them with nothing — not even their sense of power. Was this the last chance? Was this urn the only way that the Others could reclaim life, for themselves and others like them? Would the Others falter and fail in this attempt? And the Others grabbed for the urn. And the People grabbed back. The urn fell. It broke. Whose fault it was is hard to say. And the Others said, “You might have liked my ideas. Together we have broken the urn that let us move on. But I feel stronger than before. I do not regret that.” And they looked at each other over the broken urn, the good ideas, the way to make the world better flowing away. And all pointed, and gestured, and puffed up, and cried inside. rss@dailykos.com (chichagof) Corporations Democrats Revolt urn _1717170 Mon, 20 Nov 2017 09:43:54 +0000 Pearson and the Neo-Liberal Global Assault on Public Education – Alan Singer’s Latest HuffPost https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/1/1667844/-Pearson-and-the-Neo-Liberal-Global-Assault-on-Public-Education-Alan-Singer-s-Latest-HuffPost <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/592fe501e4b0d80e3a8a336c" target="_blank" title="">Pearson and the Neo-Liberal Global Assault on Public Education – Alan Singer’s Latest Huffington Post</a> A complete report on Pearson’s global activities by Alan Singer and Eustace Thompson of Hofstra University is posted by <a href="https://ei-ie.org/en/" target="_blank">Education International</a> and available <a href="https://www.unite4education.org/resources/unclassified/pearson-and-the-neo-liberal-global-assault-on-public-education/" target="_blank">online</a>. Follow Alan Singer on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces8" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces8</a>. <div> Powerful forces are at work shaping global education in both the North Atlantic core capitalist nations and regions historically referred to as the Third World. Neoliberal business philosophies and practices promoted by corporations and their partner foundations, supported by international organizations, financiers, and bankers, and welcomed, or at least tolerated by compliant governments, are trying to transform education from a government responsibility and social right into investment opportunities. They defend their actions as reforms designed to increase educational equity and achieve higher standards; where possible they seek out local community support. But the underlying motivation behind corporate educational reform is extending the reach of free market globalization and business profits. </div> <div> An early twentieth century political cartoon from Puck magazine portrayed the Standard Oil Company as a giant octopus with tentacles encircling and corrupting national and state governments. The image can easily be applied to the British-based publishing company <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/01/21/everybody-hates-pearson/" target="_blank" title="">Pearson Education</a>, a leader in the neo-liberal privatization movement. Pearson has tentacles all over the world shaping and corrupting education in efforts, not always successful, to enhance its profitability. Its corporate slogan is “Pearson: Always Learning,” however critics rewrite it as “Pearson: Always Earning.” Pearson’s business strategy is to turn education from a social good and essential public service into a marketable for-profit commodity. Among other tactics to promote its products it manipulates United Nation Sustainable Development Goals as entry into global education markets. At a September 2015 United Nations <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld%20" target="_blank" title="">Sustainable Development Summi</a>t world leaders adopted a series of goals including the promise that by 2030 they would “ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education” and that they would “substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries.” </div> <div> Pearson justifies its push to dominate education worldwide as a campaign for “<a href="https://efficacy.pearson.com/content/dam/corporate/global/efficacy/files/asking-more-the-path-to-efficacy.pdf" target="_blank">efficacy</a>,” which it defines as “making a measurable impact on someone’s life through learning.” However, in the introduction to the document where they promote efficacy, Pearson CEO John Fallon makes it clear that the company expects to profit handsomely from the “huge opportunity offered by the growing evidence of what works, advancements in technology and our enhanced ability to harness the power of data.” </div> <div> In the United States and the global-North, Pearson efficacy means marketing much maligned high-stakes tests that push rather than assess curriculum and learning and serve to promote other Pearson products. It is also big in selling data management programs of questionable value and digital platforms that are supposed to enhance instruction. In the global South, <a href="https://www.unite4education.org/uncategorized/unmaking-the-market-maker-pearson-in-the-global-south/" target="_blank">Pearson</a> efficacy means selling “low fee” “Pay As You Learn” private schools to the poorest segments of society in Africa and Asia. Pearson makes its profit partly by hiring low paid unqualified people to work in the schools. </div> <div> In the United States Pearson’s efforts in the United States have been marred by a series of scandals and challenged by a parent and teacher led movement against high-stakes testing. On a global scale, the corporate take-over and privatization of education in <a href="https://www.educationincrisis.net/articles/item/1233-just-6-a-month-the-world-bank-will-not-end-poverty-by-promoting-fee-charging-for-profit-schools-in-kenya-and-uganda" target="_blank">sub-Sahara Africa</a> has been sharply criticized by United Nations officials and advocates for investment in public education. In a 2015 statement, 190 education advocates from 91 countries, called on governments in the under-developed/mis-developed world to stop education profiteers and the World Bank to stop financing these efforts. In May 2016, <a href="http://mgafrica.com/article/2016-03-31-liberia-plans-to-outsource-its-entire-education-system-to-a-private-company-why-this-is-a-very-big-deal-and-africa-should-pay-attention" target="_blank">Kishore Singh</a>, United Nations special Rapporteur on the right to education, described the out-sourcing of public education in Liberia to an American corporation as “unprecedented at the scale currently being proposed and violates Liberia’s legal and moral obligations.” <div> Despite its omnivorous appetite for profit, Pearson Education has suffered through a series of financial crises, the product of changing global economic realities, increasingly hostility to the Pearson brand, and corporate “missteps.” In <a href="https://www.pearson.com/ar2015.html" target="_blank">2015</a> its sales were down £4.5 billion ($6.5 billion) or about 5%; operating profit down £723 million ($1 billion) or about 3%; adjusted earnings per share between 2010-2015 fell about 2%; operating cash flow was down more than 15%; and share price on the London Stock Exchange was down 38.2%. In January <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3409708/4-000-jobs-cut-education-giant-Pearson.html" target="_blank">2016</a> Pearson, facing financial difficulties, announced it would eliminate 4,000 jobs, about 10% of its 40,000 global workforce. </div> <div> In 2017 <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dfe183a2-2d9d-11e7-9555-23ef563ecf9a" target="_blank">Pearson</a> awarded CEO John Fallon a 20% combined bonus and pay increase even though revenues from the company’s United States higher education business were down by 18% and the company was slashing dividends it pays to investors. The news of the bonus, the dividend cut, and the investor rebellion drove Pearson’s stock share price down on the London exchange to £6.39, about $8.25, on April 28. Pearson stock was valued at £15 ($20) two years earlier, so mismanagement had wiped billions of dollars off the value of the company. In May 2017 at the annual <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/05/pearson-shareholders-reject-pay-revolt-john-fallon" target="_blank" title="">shareholders meeting</a>, in non-binding vote that was a repudiation of Pearson’s leadership, investors overwhelmingly rejected the payments to Fallon. </div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Reeces Pieces) Education Globalization Pearson Revolt testing _1667844 Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:14:24 +0000 How Are You Resisting? What a Week! Support the Dream Defenders. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/19/1664275/-How-Are-You-Resisting-What-a-Week-Support-the-Dream-Defenders <h2>Question of the Night </h2> How are you bringing the Resistance to your block, your precinct, your congressional district, your neighborhood, your town, and/or your state? <h2>The Three R’s</h2> <ul> <li>Resist: The immediate actions. Protests, town halls, phone calls, etc., as organized by <a href="http://front.moveon.org/" target="_blank">MoveOn</a>, <a href="https://www.indivisibleguide.com/" target="_blank">Indivisible</a>, and other groups.</li> <li>Rebel: The electoral components. Running for office, campaigning, GOTV efforts, becoming a precinct delegate.</li> <li>Revolt: The long-term efforts to change our culture. Writing and enacting new legislation and the “development of organizational and movement infrastructure.” [<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/22/1655273/-The-Three-R-s-Resistance-Rebellion-Revolution" target="_blank">here</a>.]</li> </ul> My source of The Three R’s was a recent story by first-time Daily Kos author <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/user/Go%20Local%20Go%20Cooperative" target="_blank">Go Local Go Cooperative</a> titled <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/22/1655273/-The-Three-R-s-Resistance-Rebellion-Revolution" target="_blank">The three R's: Resist, Rebel, and Revolt</a>. rss@dailykos.com (2thanks) Action HeSoUgly Impeachment Indivisible IndivisibleGuide.com Investigation phonecalls Politics Protests PutinandTrump Rebel Resist Resistance Revolt sicsempertyrannis SpyVersusSpy trumpandputin tyrants vlad VladimirPutin WeSoBeautiful _1664275 Sat, 20 May 2017 00:08:36 +0000 Good News! Not Comey: The Westland Five (librarians fired for unionizing): The Union Vote Is Yes! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/12/1661827/-Good-News-Not-Comey-The-Westland-Five-librarians-fired-for-unionizing-The-Union-Vote-Is-Yes <h2>Good News for Resisters</h2> Here is a brief update on progress made by the librarians of the Westland Michigan public library to improve working conditions. <h2>Five Librarians Fired for Unionizing</h2> The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) formally notified the Westland, Michigan, library board of the staff’s intent to unionize, and two days later, five librarians were fired. Suspicious. The SEIU did file a ULP (jargon — Unfair Labor Practices). For details of previous stories on this issue, please see: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/25/1645350/-5-Westland-Librarians-Fired-for-Unionizing-Progress-Week-2-STDDs-CTP-Action" target="_blank">Five Westland Librarians Fired for Unionizing: Progress, Week 2.</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/04/15/1652782/-The-Trumpolini-of-Westland-Public-Library-Yasuragi-sez-He-s-like-freakin-Trump-3-STDD-CTP" target="_blank">The Trumpolini of Westland Public Library. Yasuragi says: "He’s like freakin’ Trump."</a></li> </ul> <h2>Good News: 85% of library staff vote FOR a union!</h2> In late April, 32 staff members returned ballots on whether or not to unionize. The tally showed 27 for forming a union and 5 against. My daughter, one of the five fired librarians, has been hired by the SEIU to help organize the library staff. The meet-and-greet between negotiators from both sides will take place soon. Members of the library staff who voted to unionize will select negotiators from the staff to represent them in the negotiations. It seems that about 30 citizens show up at library board meetings and Westland city council meetings to support the librarians. The city council has about seven members, and five seats are open this year. At least three of the regular protesters and supporters of the librarians are running for seats on the city council. <h2>More Good News: Opinions of the board are shifting. </h2> The library board includes seven members, including the Trump-like chair of the board, Mark Neil. [See update, below.] The on-site director of the library, Sheila Collins, is reported to be extremely verbally abusive of staff. She is so bad, it is unbelievable that she continues to be director. However, she has had the “100 percent” support of the board chair. The board has been unanimously behind the library director “100 percent” because their source of information was the chairman. Now one of the board members, Bob Johnson, has changed his mind, given the information provided by staff and citizens. If you want to watch his speech, it begins at about the 59-minute mark in the video below, but I must warn you … he … speaks … very … slowly. In addition, one of the board members will be moving out of town, so the mayor has the opportunity to appoint another member of the board. Here is the most recent library board meeting, May 10. <div class="dk-editor-embed facebook-embed-responsive center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder dk-x-embed" href="#" data-height="315" data-src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fkristy.cooper.71%2Fvideos%2F10211567938185754%2F&show_text=0&width=560" data-width="560">Embedded Content</a></div> <h2>An Observation </h2> Well organized protests create change. Keep at it! <blockquote> <h2>ABOUT SUPPORT THE DREAM DEFENDERS</h2> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="" src="https://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z205/JekyllnHyde_photos/August%202014/STDDTemplate1.jpg" width="370"> <figcaption>(Wordcloud composed of Support the Dream Defenders, Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act, Expand Medicaid, Freedom of Information Act Project, Combat Racism, Demand Equality.)</figcaption> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> </figure> Members of the Daily Kos group Support the Dream Defenders launched four ongoing projects: 1. We came together to support the Dream Defenders in Florida and their mission, our first project and the origin of our name. The <a href="http://dreamdefenders.org/vest/">Dream Defenders</a>defend the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. by "develop[ing] the next generation of radical leaders to realize and exercise our independent collective power; building alternative systems and organizing to disrupt the structures that oppress our communities." Please donate <a href="https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=75925">here</a>. 2. Our <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/Michael%20Brown%20Over-Policed%20Rights%20Act%20of%202015">Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act</a>, crowd-sourced at Daily Kos in the fall of 2014 after the death of Michael Brown. Our bill quickly earned endorsements from the NAACP and the ACLU. The NAACP forwarded our bill to members of Congress, and we distributed it to members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressive members of Congress. President Obama signed into a law a small piece of our bill in December 2014. The Department of Justice included parts of our law in their reports on Ferguson, Missouri, in 2015. Our state version of the MBOPRA is currently in committee in the Kansas legislature. 3. Our <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/Support%20the%20Dream%20Defenders%20FOIA%20Project">Freedom of Information Act project</a>. Nineteen Republican governors chose to kill poor people by not expanding Medicaid. Ebola has killed about 9000 people in total in the world; Republican governors kill 23,000 people PER YEAR by refusing federal support for Medicaid, a story ignored by traditional media. Our project forces those governors to out themselves, clapping them in a Catch 22. With the support of readers, we publicize our results through letters to the editor, press releases, and petitions. 4. Our Law Enforcement Documentation Act of 2016. More information about STTDs <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/20/1365345/-Listen-Up-2-Daily-Kos-Pundits-Grill-2-Members-of-Support-the-Dream-Defenders-STDDs-Week-25">here</a>. You can receive all future diaries of Support the Dream Defenders in your Daily Kos Stream by clicking <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/Support%20The%20Dream%20Defenders">here</a>. Then click "Follow," which will make all STDD diaries appear in "My Stream" of your Daily Kos page. This is a community diary. Please Join us. You are also welcome to join us on <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/BlackKos">The Porch</a> over at the Black Kos Community group on Friday afternoons at 4 p.m. ET." </blockquote> This is a community story. Please join us in the comments. Power with, not power over, 2thanks Update: The Westland city council has seven members (not six, as originally reported). Four seats will be voted on in the next election, this fall. The abusive director of the library, Ms. Collins, continues to be on administrative leave. rss@dailykos.com (2thanks) Abuse AbusiveSupervisor Action BuildingCommunity Community D Rebel Recommended Resistance ResistingTrump Revolt SupporttheDreamDefenders TrumpianChairOfLibraryBoard Unionizing Westland-Michigan WestlandFive workplaceabuse _1661827 Sat, 13 May 2017 00:09:28 +0000 I called mine. Did you, will you call yours? Resist, Rebel, and Revolt. #STDD https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/5/1659381/-I-called-mine-Did-you-will-you-call-yours-Resist-Rebel-and-Revolt-STDD How do we respond to the Republican House approving TrumpCare yesterday? I can’t answer that question for us or you, but I can answer it for me. I am continuing to resist, and today I called my three Members of Congress, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Gary Peters, and Representative John Conyers, and thanked them. This I did because Ezra Levin, Angel Padilla, Leah Greenberg, three of the founders and organizers of <a href="https://www.indivisibleguide.com/" target="_blank">The Indivisible Guide</a>, suggested it in this video: <hr> <div class="dk-editor-embed facebook-embed-responsive center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder dk-x-embed" href="#" data-height="315" data-src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Findivisibleguide%2Fvideos%2F259667417830468%2F&show_text=0&width=560" data-width="560">Embedded Content</a></div> rss@dailykos.com (2thanks) Action BuildingCommunity Community How-To-Activism Rebel Resistance ResistingTrump Revolt SupporttheDreamDefenders _1659381 Sat, 06 May 2017 00:08:06 +0000 Trump Goes Too Far https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/5/1640335/-Trump-Goes-Too-Far Donald Trump has always been a lying bag of crap. But, his latest use of a Breitbart fake news story in an attempt to divert attention from real information about his despicable personal deeds and those of his partners in real crime must be the last straw. The REAL news media must stop lending their legitimacy to this clown. Progressive organizations, of which there are too damned many to be effective, must stop riding their own fund raising hobby horses and focus on the illegitimacy surrounding the fake president. States that are funding Trump’s wet dreams must turn off the tax spigot and, if necessary, begin steps to succeed from the broken union that is the United States. And, most important, but most unlikely of all, the other two branches of the failing US government must check this attack on decency and majority rule. Nothing, even the rise of Fascism and the ascendancy of total control by corrupt business interests, should justify even for those interests what is happening in this country. This is no longer a matter of resistance. Popular revolution will be the only answer, if the powers that be do nothing meaningful to stop this insane descent into government by anarchy. rss@dailykos.com (bgerber) impeachtrump NoTaxationwithoutRepresentation Revolt TrumpIsFakeNews _1640335 Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:16:47 +0000 Trump Hotel Take Down Friday https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/31/1628114/-Trump-Hotel-Take-Down-Friday <h2>Trump believes he can do anything because he believes we will do nothing. Increase the economic impact on the Trump family and their illegal holdings. This Friday at 4pm PST start calling the Trump Las Vegas hotel and jam up the phone lines on the busiest booking day of the week. If you get someone on the line, say “Is this where I call if I have reservations about the Trump administration?” (702) 982-0000 PLEASE SHARE!</h2> rss@dailykos.com (vselwyn) Action Direct Resist Resistance Revolt trump _1628114 Tue, 31 Jan 2017 20:31:09 +0000 Remember, Remember, The Fifth Of November.... https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/5/1591574/-Remember-Remember-The-Fifth-Of-November <blockquote> Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Night">Bonfire Night</a> and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain">Great Britain</a>. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes">Guy Fawkes</a>, a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot">Gunpowder Plot</a>, was arrested while guarding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosives" title="">explosives</a> the plotters had placed beneath the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="">House of Lords</a>. Celebrating the fact that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I">King James I</a> had survived the attempt on his life, people lit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire">bonfires</a> around London, and months later the introduction of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observance_of_5th_November_Act_1605" title="">Observance of 5th November Act</a> enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night" target="_blank" title="">en.wikipedia.org/...</a> </blockquote> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=4CA9pD3pVA4" title="" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4CA9pD3pVA4" data-height="480" data-width="854">YouTube Video</a></div> <blockquote> 9 Things you never knew about Guy Fawkes… As Bonfire Night preparations get underway, we take a look at some of the common misconceptions and lesser known facts about our favorite villain…. 1. Guy Fawkes did not die from being hung, drawn and quartered 2. Guy Fawkes was not the Gunpowder Plot's ringleader 3. Guy Fawkes won the unlikely admiration of King James I 4. Guy Fawkes was actually Protestant by birth 5. Guy Fawkes has an island named after him 6. Guy Fawkes liked to be called by an Italian nickname 7. The Houses of Parliament are still searched once a year to make sure there are no conspirators hiding with explosives 8. The cellar that Fawkes tried to blow up no longer exists 9. The gunpowder would have done little damage to Parliament <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11209784/9-things-you-never-knew-about-Guy-Fawkes.html" target="_blank" title="">www.telegraph.co.uk/...</a> </blockquote> A popular speech scene from a movie most of us already have watched several times, inspired by the concept of Guy Fawkes, and rebellion against a repressive regime…. <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=KKvvOFIHs4k" title="" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KKvvOFIHs4k" data-height="480" data-width="854">YouTube Video</a></div> “Truth be told, if you are looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror….” Be safe out there, and make sure you go and vote. rss@dailykos.com (LamontCranston) Catholics England GuyFawkes London Parlament Protestants Revolt _1591574 Sat, 05 Nov 2016 13:06:47 +0000 How Can We Defeat Trump? And What if We Don't? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/25/1491122/-How-Can-We-Defeat-Trump-And-What-if-We-Don-t How can we defeat Trump? Obviously pointing out his many and serious flaws does nothing. Plus the media love him. Every time he does or says anything the media is all over it. Doesn’t matter what it is — they are giving him all the publicity any candidate would drool over. And it’s been like this from the very first moment he announced he was running. Frankly, it’s sickening. On the other hand, the media have decided that Sanders can’t/won’t/shouldn’t win. In the beginning they refused to give him any mention at all. It was like he was invisible. Now he’s no longer invisible to the media, but they only give him the absolute minimum reportage they can get away with. And they always lead with Hillary or a republican. Never Bernie. At least not that I’ve seen. The reality is, more ordinary people support Bernie than any other candidate regardless of party. And the more people learn about him, the more they support him. That’s why the DNC is heavily stacking the deck against him. It doesn’t matter what the people want. The party operatives want Hillary as their nominee. This seems to be the biggest argument against Bernie. The “he can’t win” crowd that’s been harping on that since the very beginning of the race. And it’s still going strong. What gets me is that even progressives, who logically should be supporting Bernie even though he isn’t perfect, also insist he can’t win, that he doesn’t have the experience, that his ideas aren’t realistic or will cost too much or whatever. Most recently this was the response to Bernie’s economic plan. But — it’s not unrealistic at all! In fact, if the things that Bernie proposes are acted upon, this country’s economy would surge. And it would be with true value-added goods and services. Because he is proposing to deal with this country’s massive crumbling infrastructure (roads, bridges, electric grid, etc.). Health care for all will expand the jobs in all aspects of health care. Did you know that there aren’t enough “regular” doctors now, and the future looks even dimmer? (By “regular” doctors I mean family doctors — our first line of defense in an increasingly broke and expensive medical/insurance system). Then there’s environmental restoration. The jobs in this category are extremely diverse and involve all sectors of the economy. And our faltering educational system — broken not only in the inner cities but also in rural areas where people can not afford to keep buildings in repair or to pay teachers a decent salary. And agriculture, and energy. Revamping, downsizing, regionalizing, implementing conservation measures, and renewables. Imagine the jobs there! Good paying jobs! Jobs that would serve to revitalize our communities, states, and the nation as a whole. Unrealistic??? No! We just lack the will to move forward on these most essential needs. Too many of us have bought into the “we can’t afford it” mentality of the elites. Whenever money needs to be spent on something that actually benefits ordinary people we’re told it’s too expensive. But wars? Corporate tax breaks and loop holes? Heck — go for it! Nothing’s too expensive for the weathy. Well, I for one am sick of this, and I am not buying into it. The money is there. We all know it is. Daily Kos wants to know how to defeat Trump. It’s easy — stop pandering to the “Bernie can’t win” mentality and get out there and convince more people that he can. Fight the DNC every way possible. Get in the streets at the convention. Make it known that what the people vote for matters and that the people, not the elites in the party, should be calling the shots. Even today there’s an article that asks, “Why do Sander’s supporters think Bernie can win?”. I’m one of Bernie’s supporters who thinks that he is the only candidate who has a chance of defeating Trump, or any other republican for that matter, in November. I know lots of people who plan on writing Bernie’s name in if he isn’t the nominee. Personally, I’m torn. A part of me wants to vote for who I really want to win. But another part of me can’t imagine what Trump would do to this country. My mind goes into nightmare territory when I think of this. Repression, rapidly increasing environmental destruction from which there is no return, worsening climate change, no federal aid for victims of the increasingly dangerous weather we’re experiencing, poor and elderly people pushed out into the streets where they die for lack of food, shelter, medical care (even more than they do now). Foreign policy? Trump? Seriously? The USA would be a laughing stock. I have yet to hear the man make one complete sentence that makes sense from beginning to end. Not quite as bad as Sarah Palin, but very close. To defeat Trump we need to support the candidate most able to beat him, and that is Bernie. The other option is, Trump wins (which he very well could — at first I thought there was no way but now I’m not so sure) and this country revolts. People get into the streets. All bets are off. There is a mixture of violent and non-violent actions designed to change the status quo because the status quo is only for the 1%, the rest of us are expendable. We are cogs in the wheel of the global, capitalist, market. When one of us falters and dies, another is shoved into our cog. This is the future we face if we don’t act. Combine that with climate chaos and a rapidly deteriorating environment, crumbling infrastructure, dumbed down schools, and lack of decent and affordable healthcare (despite the ACA) — and our world, certainly what we call “civilization” is gone. My heart and soul ache for my children and grandchildren. What a horrible legacy! People are so used to being held down, told not to dream, not to use our imaginations to envision a better future because it’s unrealisic, impractical, illogical . . . all words designed to keep us good little slaves. But today we must dare to dream. We must dare to imagine a better world, a greener world, a world that embraces diversity of all types, a world with clean water, air, healthy food for our children. A world where rivers, oceans, moutains, old growth, rainforests . . . and the flora and fauna who live in them are valued and protected. A world where money isn’t the bottom line. A world that values life and spirit and joy. This is not impractical, it is not illogical, and most of all it is not unrealistic. But first you have to believe. I believe Bernie’s revolution will come to pass. Whether it happens in the polls or in the streets is up to us. rss@dailykos.com (smlowry) bernie Candidate Capitalism ClimateChaos Election Environment Primary Revolt Revolution trump _1491122 Thu, 25 Feb 2016 16:49:45 +0000 Sudden Thought: A Possible Real Second Revolution in the US? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/7/1428541/-Sudden-Thought-A-Possible-Real-Second-Revolution-in-the-US In case you didn't hear about it on Monday, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/union-activists-storm-air-france-office-job-cuts-151005144636539.html">Air France executives were forced to flee after union protesters stormed a meeting at HQ</a>. I actually expected a generally large public backlash against the workers, but surprisingly there have been a much larger out pour of support than I thought. Here's some from MSN: <blockquote>The real question here is did uppermanent get their bonuses for cost cutting? Did they walk away unscathed while the workers lose their jobs? That is what would and does happens in the US. 24 Likes · Oct 5, 2015 11:34am</blockquote> <blockquote>Sounds like something that needs to be done in Washington. Any Takers ? 12 Likes · Oct 5, 2015 11:25am</blockquote> <blockquote>Sometimes necessary! 5 Likes · Oct 5, 2015 11:36am</blockquote> <blockquote>history is full of examples of societies rearranging the distribution of wealth. violence is how it is enforced. a natural dynamic. those who say violence is no solution usually have the most to loose. 5 Likes · Oct 5, 2015 1:54pm</blockquote> <blockquote>good for the workers. the ceo are way overpaid I am sure. We need more of this in the U.S. 5 Likes · Oct 5, 2015 12:01pm</blockquote> Some from here on DailyKos too: <blockquote>Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (29+ / 0-) Viva la France! We could use a little sauce for our executive goose's on this side of the pond. by prwsag52 on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 06:05:01 PM EDT </blockquote> <blockquote>Cant happen soon enough. (5+ / 0-) by xxdr zombiexx on Tue Oct 06, 2015 at 07:57:59 AM EDT </blockquote> <blockquote>If You Ruin My Livelihood... (45+ / 0-) Then you are taking bread out of the mouths of my family. If you are taking bread out of their mouths, you are trying to kill them. No one takes kindly to people trying to kill their families. Q.E.D. by The Lone Apple on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 04:20:37 PM EDT </blockquote> <blockquote>Paging all Frenchmen (41+ / 0-) Please come here. Americans are meek and drugged in a stupor, and/or fondling their latest gun. by pajoly on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 04:21:47 PM EDT </blockquote> <blockquote>I wish it would (106+ / 0-) I love seeing expensive suits get ripped off greedy assholes. But I don't expect it.  French workers have a sense of solidarity that barely exists in the selfishness ethos of the US. by Urizen on Mon Oct 05, 2015 at 04:34:16 PM EDT </blockquote> *In response to another saying that a similar event will happen in the US. That last quote though, repeats something that is widely believed sadly: "a sense of solidarity that barely exists in the selfishness ethos of the US." Such defeatist attitudes are so widely held here by so many citizens, that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don't think others will stand with you, you're not going to stand either. Yes, there is a layer of undeniable selfishness in this country, but I know there exists underneath a sense of solidarity. You agreeing with any of the comments above is proof that it does exists. If that's not enough to show the solidarity does exist, look up these events that happened since the end of the Reconstruction Era: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Coalfield_War">Colorado Coalfield War</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain">Battle of Blair Mountain</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_%281946%29">Battle of Athens</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281954%E2%80%9368%29">African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_incident">Wounded Knee Incident</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement">Occupy Movement</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_unrest">Ferguson Unrest</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Baltimore_protests">2015 Baltimore Protests</a> These are just several examples. Though victory is not easy to come by, and failure is always a possibility, we can come together and unleash the best we've got upon the world! If we lose, we go down fighting tooth and nail, so that when we finally die we can proudly look back with no regrets and say we did our damnedest. It's always better to try and actively fight for a better future, than just assuming helplessness and do nothing believing there is "no point." If you think I'm somehow overreacting, you likely won't be if things continue going the way they currently are: <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/07/retirement/central-states-pension-fund-cuts/index.html">273,000 union workers face pension cuts</a> <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/government-watching-blacklivesmatter-and-its-not-okay">The Government Is Watching #BlackLivesMatter, And It’s Not Okay</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/business/trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal-is-reached.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin%C2%AEion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article&_r=0">Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Reached, but Faces Scrutiny in Congress</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/10/06/the-tpp-has-a-provision-many-will-love-to-hate-isds-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/">The TPP has a provision many will love to hate: ISDS. What is it, and why does it matter?</a> <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/is-alabama-trying-to-disenfranchise-black-voters/article/445924">Is Alabama trying to disenfranchise black voters?</a> Just to name a few. rss@dailykos.com (TheLovingThinkingFighter) AirFrance Baltimore BlackLivesMatter Civil Rights CivilRights Environment FederalBureauofInvestigation Ferguson Future Labor Occupy Wall Street OccupyWallStreet Pension Privacy Revolt Revolution Solidarity Trans-PacificPartnership Union Uprising _1428541 Wed, 07 Oct 2015 22:21:41 +0000 LIVE VIDEO: Civil War Breaking out in Ukraine https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/2/18/1278597/-LIVE-VIDEO-Civil-War-Breaking-out-in-Ukraine Link to live feed. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_LFrMcoEm4#t=1343652">https://www.youtube.com/...</a> RT <a href="http://rt.com/on-air/ukraine-central-kiev-protest/">http://rt.com/...</a> Protester's TV feed with stereo sound <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/16554225">http://www.ustream.tv/...</a> Photos from today's clashes <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-26243195">http://www.bbc.co.uk/...</a> Context below. rss@dailykos.com (greendem) EU Kiev Revolt Russia Ukraine _1278597 Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:30:27 +0000 The Necessity of Revolt https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/1/18/1270638/-The-Necessity-of-Revolt Perhaps we would be better served and more honest with one another if were to rename "The Age of Enlightenment" according to its actual effect, which is deceit. Wouldn't you be more inclined to read the writings of those touted as the progenitors of a new age if you knew they were party to what could be considered, "The Age of Deceit,” if you knew that ideologues, charlatans and yes-men established the ideological foundations of “The New World,” and wouldn’t you find your love of country, your love for The United States of America, replenished if you knew that it emerged from a rebellion that decried the tangible results of such deceit? Consider the number of voices throughout human history that go unheard. What did The Sons of Liberty discuss in the squalid corridors of Boston? Who were the protestors that trespassed upon The Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver and destroyed their cargo? rss@dailykos.com (johnnymonicker) Democracy Revolt Revolution _1270638 Sat, 18 Jan 2014 08:20:00 +0000 Conservatives in open revolt against GOP https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/15/1247413/-Conservatives-in-open-revolt-against-GOP <div class="dkimg-r"><img src="http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l451/metaK_09/anti-republican.jpg" alt="speed bump" title="speed bump" width="500" /> <div class="dkimg-cap"></div> <blockquote>"The RedState contact email is now getting one anti-GOP email for every one anti-Democrat email. That has never happened before."</blockquote> Erick Erickson's latest Redstate missive makes his feelings on the emerging Senate deal pretty clear. It's called <a href="http://www.redstate.com/2013/10/15/reject-this/">REJECT THIS</a>. (You can click the link but it's nothing you couldn't write yourself -- Ted Cruz is the only conservative with balls, McConnell is a spineless K Street fuckwad, etc.) But note the above line. This is how it begins, right? This is how the splintering is forced out into the open -- and Erickson is positively gleeful about it! Karl Rove is being <a href="http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2013/10/14/mitch-mcconnell-ally-plans-to-bring-big-money-to-kentuckys-senate-race/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">openly attacked</a> for spending money to protect McConnell from Matt Bevin. Republicans are evenly <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/favorable-ratings-republicans-sink%E2%80%93again">split</a> in their opinions of their leaders, approving by 49-47%.   What if, instead of the usual "a pox on both their houses!" bullshit being applied to both parties, it is now applied to the "two houses" of the Republican party? And what if this no-win feeling -- amongst whites, conservatives, traditional Republicans -- suppresses voter turnout just as it traditionally does among the electorate as a whole? How can you message to independents when you have no message? How can you turn out exurban whites and Sam's Club conservatives when your party is in public disarray? <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/10/14/2777891/coming-war-white-people/">ThinkProgress</a> gets specific (bolding mine): <blockquote>Congressional Republicans got 60 percent of the white vote in the 2010 election, compared to just 37 percent for the Democrats. What if, as we move into 2014, the war among white people breaks out in earnest, with the Tea Party on one side, business and establishment Republicans on the other and white working class voters already suspicious about the party’s Paul Ryan-inspired drive to cut Medicare and Social Security watching from the sidelines?  All this would make it prohibitively hard for the party to replicate its 60 percent showing among white voters in 2014. Say white support subsides to, say, 55 percent, with Democrats edging up to 42 percent. Assuming that the minority share of voters rises by a couple of points relative to 2010 and support for Democrats clocks in close to 80 percent, we are then in take-back-House territory, a popular vote margin of 6 points or so.</blockquote> This is a key point.  Polls show generic ballots having <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/new-poll-shows-21-point-swing-against-congressional-gop-among-independents/">moved</a> 21 points towards Democrats. Kos is <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/09/1245715/-Dems-turned-out-for-local-NC-elections-yesterday-good-sign-for-2014">right to point out</a> that when our base shows up to vote in large numbers, we always win. But of course this corollary is also true: When their base fails to show up to vote in large numbers, they always lose. Barack Obama won't be on the ballot in 2014. The acute anger of the shutdown will have faded. Individual races will matter -- speech presence, retail politics. But if the Republican house is divided against itself and troubled conservatives are left with a "pox on both Republicans houses" taste in their mouths, they won't show up to vote. If you're hearing one thing from Rush, but another from Fox, what to think? Karl Rove and RedState disagree? Who to believe? And all the while you keep hearing stories about Obamacare's rollout, people covered and receiving care? What's a frustrated teabagger to do? History says: stay home. An animated, enthusiastic, fired up progressive base is always the best way to win. But a demoralized, confused, infighting conservative base will get the job done. And it looks like that's what we'll have.   <blockquote>UPDATE: Top of the rec list? Thanks team. The Twitter machine tells me that the House is still running around in circles, confused and hung over after last night's <a href="http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/15/20974030-cruz-again-huddles-with-his-house-gop-flock?lite">Booze Cruz</a>, but hope springs eternal that we'll find a way out of this. It'd be nice if we didn't have to deny basic governmental services to millions and careen towards a cliff of worldwide economic collapse in order to expose the far right wing as the nihilists they are, but you go to war against the moronic opposition party you have, not the moronic opposition party you may wish to have, you know?</blockquote> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Save the clock tower) counterattack Erickson GOP Karl Rove KarlRove Recommended Redstate Revolt ThinkProgress _1247413 Tue, 15 Oct 2013 14:35:22 +0000 Stuff That Really Matters™☮ ♥ ☺ 5.28.13 - Get Apocalyptic https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/5/28/1212121/-Stuff-That-Really-Matters-5-28-13-Get-Apocalyptic Excerpted from an article in <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/love-and-the-apocalypse/love-and-the-apocalypse-1">Yes! Magazine's current Summer 2013 issue: Love and the Apocalypse</a>. <blockquote>Feeling anxious about life in a broken-down society on a stressed-out planet? That’s hardly surprising: Life as we know it is almost over. While the dominant culture encourages dysfunctional denial—pop a pill, go shopping, find your bliss—there’s a more sensible approach: Accept the anxiety, embrace the deeper anguish—and then get apocalyptic. [snip] If all this seems like more than one can bear, it’s because it is. We are facing new, more expansive challenges. Never in human history have potential catastrophes been so global; never have social and ecological crises of this scale threatened at the same time; never have we had so much information about the threats we must come to terms with. [snip] Mainstream politicians will continue to protect existing systems of power, corporate executives will continue to maximize profit without concern, and the majority of people will continue to avoid these questions. It’s the job of people with critical sensibilities—those who consistently speak out for justice and sustainability, even when it’s difficult—not to back away just because the world has grown more ominous. - Robert Jensen,  <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/love-and-the-apocalypse/radical-is-the-new-normal">Get Apocalyptic: Why Radical is the New NormalFeeling anxious about life in a broken economy on a strained planet? Turn despair into action. Yes! Magazine</a> </blockquote> Jensen also features this quote from James Baldwin: <blockquote>“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”</blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a quick, thought-provoking slideshow: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/26/recycled-buildings_n_3340412.html?ir=Green#slide=2497851">5 Recycled Buildings: Wing House, Sea Fort Resort And More Places That Will Blow Your Mind.</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Corporation, still one of the most significant documentaries of the new millenium. Because what's clearly wrong is a strong signal of what would be right. The following trailer is good, but it only hints at its brilliant central motif, which shows how corporate behavior IS clinically psychopathic. If you haven't seen it, isn't it time? <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xa3wyaEe9vE" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe></center> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Corporation 2020 campaign gets it. But will we? This is part of the New Economics we MUST understand and engage in if we truly want to move forward beyond our current crises. <blockquote>On a cool day last December, the eminent Swedish scientist Johan Rockström stood in front of a large audience at the European Parliament in Brussels and pleaded his case. “This is what we could call ‘the scientist’s nightmare,’” Rockström said. “We have disturbed the energy balance to the point where we are committed to three degrees warming. We have reached the sixth mass extinction of species on planet Earth—the first one to be caused by humans.” Rockström elaborated on his seminal 2009 Nature paper: “Suffice it to say that it’s not only climate change [we need to worry about], but we should be equally preoccupied with the interlinked issues of nitrogen, phosphorus, biodiversity, freshwater, land.” - [snip] Launched at the Rio+20 conference in 2012 as a campaign to transform today’s model of business to make it fit for the future, Corporation 2020’s name points to the fact that a large-scale shift in human behavior must occur within the next decade or so—rather than in 2050 or 2100, as some multilateral negotiations discuss—if we are to maintain any hope of a sustainable world. [snip] Corporation 2020 addresses this imbalance through four planks of change, which, when implemented, can snowball into significant structural changes in the economy. The first is a proper accounting and reporting system for these hidden externalities. Some companies have attempted to measure these on their own, but various groups (such as the TEEB for Business Coalition) are now coming together to collaborate on standardizing this measurement and disclosure. The second plank is a new system of taxation. Taxation can be used as an incentive to promote conservation and resource efficiency, but unfortunately our current system tends to rely mostly on taxes on income and profits. Third, Corporation 2020 takes a close look at corporate advertising, positing that advertising is a key factor in the expansion of an unsustainable consumer culture. Finally, recognizing that sustainability is not just an environmental issue, Corporation 2020 takes on the wildly risky levels of financial leverage that many companies now utilize, which contributed to the last four economic crises and which remain a threat to a sustainable economy. <a href="http://thesolutionsjournal.anu.edu.au/node/22221">- Solutions Journal</a> </blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And deservedly so: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/bill-mckibben-sophie-prize_n_3344939.html?ref=topbar">Bill McKibben's Sophie Prize Win For Climate Change Activism Awards Him $100,000</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FYI, if, like me, you didn't know: there's a <a href="http://greenshadowcabinet.us/">Green Shadow Cabinet</a>. And it's got some great people. <blockquote>The Green Shadow Cabinet includes nearly 100 prominent scientists, community and labor leaders, physicians, cultural workers, veterans, and more, and provides an ongoing opposition and alternative voice to the dysfunctional government in Washington D.C.. As with shadow cabinets in other countries, the Green Shadow Cabinet of the United States responds to actions of the government in office and demonstrates that another government is possible. This cabinet is led by the 2012 Green Party presidential nominees of Dr. Jill Stein and Ms. Cheri Honkala and supports independent politics and policies. However, it is not a project of any political party.</blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ProPublica updates the <a href="http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/nat_sec_timeline">Timeline: How Obama Compares to Bush on Torture, Surveillance and Detention</a>. Be sure to use the mouse over function. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The latest on New Era Windows, the workers cooperative formed to revive Republic Doors & Windows - Serious Energy, the company that bought and rescued the business back in 2009 following the worker "occupation," and then subsequently shut it down in 2012 as well, leading to a planned buy-out from the newly formed worker cooperative, decided at the last moment this past month that it would not be selling the factory to the workers after all. Apparently, liquidation looked better to them. Liquidation is set for July 6th. <a href="http://www.rebelcapitalist.com/index.php/site/permalink/statement-from-new-era-worker-owners/">A protest RALLY is scheduled the day before.</a> What:  Rally and delegation at Mesirow Financial to save good Chicago jobs. Where: 353 N Clark Street, Chicago When: Thursday July 5th, 12pm Noon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ <a href="http://www.whatawaytogomovie.com/">What a Way to Go: Life At the End of Empire</a> This is the way: build a boat. WOW! Now this is what I'm talking about. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22305004" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" defang_webkitallowfullscreen="" defang_mozallowfullscreen="" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/22305004">Let's Build a Boat</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/whatawaytogo">VisionQuest Pictures</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Surviving that old new economy, where a "recovery" spreads like an economic plague: <blockquote>A new report from the Brookings Institution, <a href="http://confrontingsuburbanpoverty.org/">“Confronting Suburban Poverty in America”</a>, reveals how formerly affluent bedroom communities have faltered in recent years. Brookings researchers found that between 2000 and 2011, the rate of poverty in the American suburbs grew by nearly two-thirds — more than twice as fast as it did in cities. [snip] But this report doesn’t really say that cities are winning. If anything, it says we’re all losing — you’ll notice that both of those trend lines in the graph are on the rise. It’s further evidence of the growing wealth chasm and how it dictates our choices. - Susie Cagle, <a href="http://grist.org/cities/poverty-moves-to-the-suburbs/">Poverty moves to the suburbs</a>, Grist </blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Millenials could be the silver lining in the collapse? <blockquote>A quiet revolutionary struggle is brewing in the minds of the US "millennial" generation, those 80 million Americans between ages 16 and 34. They are wrestling with the fundamental edict of capitalism: Buy and you shall be happy. The millennials have not rejected consumerism, but they have also not embraced it fully. They experience its very real downsides - that also afflict millions of older Americans and go to the heart of capitalist sustainability and morality. Recent polls by marketing firms and the respected Pew Research Center show strong environmental concerns among millennials, but hint at a broader issue: whether consumerism itself makes for a good life and society. Americans, especially the young, love their computers and sleep with their iPhones next to their pillows, but still worry about the negative sides of consumerism. [snip] In a recent informal study of Boston-area college students, I asked them how they felt about American consumerism. Almost all said they would prefer to be in a society that was less consumer-oriented, because consumer culture gives them these headaches:     * It creates fierce competitive pressure to have more and newer "stuff."     * It complicates their lives, always worrying about how to maintain, pay for and use all the things they buy.     * It distracts from a quality life with their family and friends.     * It creates a "dirty" lifestyle that makes them and the planet sick.     * It leads to more inequality, with people seeking more at the expense of others.     * It distracts from political engagement - President Bush told them to go shopping as he was gearing up for war with Iraq after 9/11.     * It imprisons them in a life full of products and empty of meaning. <a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16582-consumerism-and-its-discontents">Consumerism and Its Discontents</a> - Charles Derber, Truthout </blockquote> <a href="http://itsoureconomy.us/issues/">20 Big Ideas for Creating a Democratized Economy</a> - from <a href="http://itsoureconomy.us/">It's Our Economy</a>, an organization of <a href="http://itsoureconomy.us/who-we-are/">four amazing people</a> I had the pleasure of meeting and working with for two weeks at the October 2011 occupation of Freedom Plaza in D.C. Two of them, Kevin Zeese and Dr. Margaret Flowers, are members of the aforementioned Green Shadow Cabinet... rss@dailykos.com (Words In Action) AffordableSustainableHousing Climate Change ClimateChange cohousing Collapse Cooperatives Green IntentionalCommunities LocallyOwnedBusiness neweconomy Poverty Rebel relocalization Revolt _1212121 Tue, 28 May 2013 19:00:37 +0000 the Revolt you aren't being told about https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/7/6/1106851/-the-Revolt-you-aren-t-being-told-about <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/17/world/meast/arab-spring-one-year-later/">tunisia</a>so when 100,000 people go to Tahrir square <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2045759,00.html">tahrir square</a> or <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12512536">Libya</a> but what if 100s of thousands are protesting in the third largest economy of the world? Crickets.  Certainly no Kossack is writing on this because you aren't supposed to know. that a revolution is spooling up in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/world/asia/thousands-in-tokyo-protest-the-restarting-of-a-nuclear-plant.html">Japan</a> rss@dailykos.com (nathanguy) Anonymous Fukushima Nuclear Protests Revolt Tokyo _1106851 Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:06:28 +0000 The Rumbling--And Why The 2012 Elections Won't Help...Much https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/30/1049925/-The-Rumbling-And-Why-The-2012-Elections-Won-t-Help-Much   I took a longer break from blogging than I thought--to think, observe a bit, rest the brain, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150576726949913">cycle New Zealand's spectacular South Island</a>. But, what stirred me to break this hiatus, at the very moment that people are switching off their computers to turn to libations and debauchery, was, well, the modest observation that the rumbling throughout the globe is just beginning--and the 2012 elections won't change much because neither party wants to challenge the bankruptcy of the so-called "free market". rss@dailykos.com (Tasini) 2012elections China Class Warfare ClassWarfare Democrats FreeMarket Ohio Republicans Revolt Strikes Trade Wages _1049925 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000 History is Messy https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/23/1039219/-History-is-Messy After some arguments I've had the last few days, this really needs to be said: I am both amazed and exasperated by the people who discount the Occupy movement because it didn't spring full-formed from Athena's forehead. History doesn't work that way. Revolutions don't work that way. The first American Revolution took almost a decade to achieve the form we regard it with today, and even then it failed in many of its originally intended goals. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/Revolutionary-War.jpg"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/Revolutionary-War.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html">The Constitution we consider to be the bedrock of our nation</a> was first begun in 1787 - over a decade after the Declaration of Independence (which itself took months to draft) was released, and <a href="http://www.usconstitution.net/consttime.html">three years after the fighting with England ended. That Constitution was ratified over a year later, and amended with the original Bill of Rights in 1791</a>. If you want vague, try <a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html">reading the Declaration of Independence</a>. It doesn't lay out a plan for change, create a workable government, or do much of anything except lay out a point-by-point list of general grievances that boil down to "Fuck you, King George." It certainly wasn't accepted as gospel by the majority of colonial citizens, many of whom put up exactly the same arguments against that rebellion that American conservatives put up against Occupy now. We talk now about the Founders as if they were a bunch of saints all gathered together in the same room who crafted " a more perfect union" within a few hours, then went out to kick British butt with nothing more than blue tricorns and Minutemen. In reality, the various American Revolutions (the original Colonial insurrection, the War Between the States, and the Civil Rights/ Vietnam/ culture war battles of 1960-1990) have all involved long, messy, disorganized and contentious shifts. In all cases, there was intervention from other nations, too; we would have lost the war of 1776 before it even began had we not been supported by France, Spain, and various Native American groups, all of whom were later screwed by the United States in return. Various other nations played roles in the so-called Civil War, while the Civil Rights revolt occurred (and is still occurring) all over the world. This revolution is worldwide, too, and while we can hope it never escalates to the shooting-war stage, that decision depends on how we handle things when we have the chance to avoid that outcome. My point is, change looks clean only in hindsight. And regardless of how you feel about OWS, we ARE in a period of change. It would be helpful, then, to understand our history, realize that future generations will remember us someday, and act accordingly. As I posted on my Facebook wall yesterday, it's especially galling when folks identify their personal grievances with the current situation by using the name of <a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/teaparty.htm">a mob of vandals who protested the collusion between the English Crown and the British East India Company by inflicting millions of dollars in damage upon its stock</a>... and then turn around today and attack the Occupy movement for being anti-corporate malcontents! The level of historical ignorance surrounding the Tea Party is enough to make me want go all Moses on certain people, force-feeding texts of actual HISTORICAL FACTS to them until they get the point. [1] My point here is this: The facts are out there, the Occupy movement DOES have <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/01/1021956/-First-official-statement-from-Occupy-Wall-Street">a sort of Declaration of Independence</a>, and Rome is neither built, destroyed or turned around in a day. Real life is messy, and glib responses just make a bigger mess. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/bostn_tea_29900_lg.gif"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/bostn_tea_29900_lg.gif" /></a> ------------------ 1. In <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+32%3A19%2CExodus+32%3A20&version=NIV">Exodus 32:19-20</a>, Moses reacts to Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf by smashing the original 10 Commandments, destroying the Calf, mixing water into the resulting mess, and then forcing the children of Israel to drink the results. Compared to THAT, a bunch of people yelling in the streets looks downright peaceful. rss@dailykos.com (Satyrblade) 99% 99Percent AmericanRevolution BostonTeaParty Civil Rights CivilRights Congress Culture Economy Facts historicalfacts History Law Media moses Occupy OccupyWallStreet OWS Protests Revolt Tea Party TeaParty turningpoints _1039219 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:00:03 +0000 Blades, Blood, and Gravity https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/16/1037071/-Blades-Blood-and-Gravity Revolutions look glorious in hindsight, when the battlefields become shopping malls and the corpses make way for monuments. When the harsh words of revolt become TV jingles for another shopping day, the pain of sacrifice becomes the glut of institution. Rough-hewn human beings become plaster saints, their imperfections glossed over to commemorate a victory long past. We celebrate the blood spilled two centuries ago by running ourselves toward tomorrow’s debt. But when living beings shed one another’s blood, that moment’s not some Hallmark card – it's just the blade of history. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/police-brutality.jpg"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/police-brutality.jpg" /></a> History is implacable. Its currents wash over the chaos of a moment, freezing bloody faces into pretty portraits. But when that current has been raised by fury and atrocity, no dam holds it back for long.   Righteous anger does not go away. You cannot sell a lie of freedom to a shackled man forever. Sooner or later, he, and others like him, will rise up. And at that time, their mercy, reason and forgiveness will be based on the restraint of their oppressors. History shows that fury multiplies, and the final sum of the ensuing revolution will be counted in either compromise or blood. Trouble is, once blood starts flowing, it’s damn near impossible to stop. And when the same government that praises and supports revolt on foreign soil turns gas and truncheons and rubber bullets against its own dissent, it plants the seeds of its own downfall, too. Just look at France, who helped us win a war against England, only to fall beneath Madame Guillotine less than a decade later for exactly the same reasons being protected in the streets today: the unbridled greed of an insulated upper class, and its suppression of the people paying their way. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/Kissinginthefaceoftyranny.jpg"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/Kissinginthefaceoftyranny.jpg" /></a> Time institutionalizes hard-won victories. The atrocities of Selma and Bunker Hill become sale-price holidays when the blood’s long dried and victory has been secured. But to the people in those moments, those Valley Forge soldiers and Deep South Freedom Riders, to the people who face down tyranny, their righteous passions and the surety of their cause are the blades that shape tomorrow. As any student of history sees, the hand that opposes them eventually falls beneath them – maybe a year later, maybe decades later, but it always fucking falls. Maybe history’s not required reading in the Mayor’s Office or the F.B.I., but if not, it should damn well join the curriculum while there’s still time to avoid the worst. To you who oppose the Occupy movements – you smug Me-Firsters, deluded bootstrappers, Randian supremacists, and just-plain-folks who believe, as Mayor Bloomberg says, that the rights assured to us in our highest law are conditional upon government consent, I ask you this: Do you think this will all just go away? Do you think that when hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people rally all across the nation because we are sick and tired of supporting a handful of aristocrats, that a few riot cops and mocking newscasters will make our anger vanish? Do you think that beating women, gassing kids, shooting veterans of the wars you helped support will somehow be forgotten once the smoke clears? Do you think that by dodging or buying mass media coverage of a story, you can change the facts and make that story disappear? Because, if so, you are very, very wrong. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/2f3183a4-e464-4cb6-b70d-565dc9e49491.jpg"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/2f3183a4-e464-4cb6-b70d-565dc9e49491.jpg" /></a> You are raising the blade of history, and then sticking your own head – along with ours – into the spot where that blade descends. That never goes well. Never. Am I preaching violent revolt? No – very much the opposite. But then, I’m not the one siccing cops on peaceful protests. I’m just a student of history, and I see where it leads. History, like anger, follows gravity. And the higher you raise a blade, the heavier the trajectory of its fall. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/police-violence.png"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/police-violence.png" /></a> rss@dailykos.com (Satyrblade) 1% 1Percent 99% 99Percent AmericanRevolution atrocity Authority Blood Civil Rights CivilRights Community Cops Culture Economy FrenchRevolution Government History Law Media Money Occupy occupyberkeley Occupyviolence OccupyWallStreet OWS Police Police Brutality PoliceBrutality Power Protest Protesters Revolt Revolution Rights StoneWall ValleyForge _1037071 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:43:47 +0000 Tea, the Bible, and the Marketplace https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/17/1027296/-Tea-the-Bible-and-the-Marketplace Some time ago, a theatrical malcontent and his followers took drastic action. Enraged by the corruption of church, state and the marketplace, they attacked the merchants, trashed their goods, and occupied the temple where the marketplace had set up shop. Once there, this malcontent used that temple as a staging-ground for sermons and healing. He mocked the authorities, condemned their sins, and drew their fury against him. We know him now as Jesus Christ. Perhaps you’ve heard of Him. <a href="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/WWJD-whipbankers.jpg"><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/Satyrblade/WWJD-whipbankers.jpg" /></a> The tale of Jesus and the money-changers is well-known. What’s not nearly as famous, though, is His occupation of the Temple at Jerusalem. According to Matthew (21:12-25; 22-24), Mark (11:15-33; 12-14), Luke (19:41-48; 20-22 [1]), and John (2:13-18), the Christ didn’t simply take out a whip, smack a few guys around, yell a sentence or two and then leave. The Bible makes clear that Jesus and His followers stuck around a while: And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him. And could not find what they might do; for all the people were very attentive to hear him. (Luke 19:47-48) Let’s be clear: The authorities did not want Him there. Jesus taunts them, lectures them, insults them in their place of power. Surrounded by a mob, he disrupts their trade and humiliates them in public for days on end. No wonder they wanted Him destroyed! Through the scope of hindsight, it’s easy to miss the anger of the crowd that demanded Jesus’ punishment. We see now the triumphant Christ defying corruption, not the rebel whose followers attacked sacred institutions. The man many people regard as Savior and Redeemer was in His time an outlaw, literally crucified for treason, blasphemy and dissent. His followers were hunted, His legacy shamed. Like the vandals of Boston Harbor, Christ’s victory came in hindsight. At their times, both were anathema. Yet many people who consider themselves Christians oppose the 99% movement – often in terms more befitting to the Pharisees. That so many of these folks also link themselves to that Boston Tea Party, a similar act of vandalous disobedience, solidifies their inherent irony. [2] Somehow, a number of these folks have turned the Christ who fed the poor and ministered to outcasts into a poster-boy for unfettered capitalism. Haven’t these people read their Gospels? Maybe they should do so again. Are you one of them? Perhaps you should, too. Someday, we too will be seen in hindsight. How do you wish to be remembered? ------------- NOTES ------------- [1] Luke’s account is the most detailed, and contains both the “render unto Caesar” statement and the less-familiar parable about the master and husbandsmen of the vineyard (Luke 20:10-20): What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandsmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they (the priests) heard it, they said "God forbid". Bearing in mind that these words were spoken to the faces of scribes, lawmakers and high priests while Jesus and His followers occupied their temple, the significance of those lessons cannot be missed. [2] That irony intensifies when we examine Christ’s words regarding wealth and exploitation - see especially Matthew 6:1-5, 19-21, 24; 12:33-37; 19:18-24; and MOST especially 18:23-35. As for the Boston Tea Party, it was not a billionaire-backed protest against an elected president, but a costly, theatrical act of international terrorism conducted against the entrenched collusion between the English government and the British East India Company – a massive and predatory corporation. That’s the historical fact. As the man says, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party">you can look it up</a>.   rss@dailykos.com (Satyrblade) 99% 99Percent anathema anti-American Bible BostonTeaParty Christianity Christians Civil Rights CivilRights Community Culture Economy Environment gospel Health Care HealthCare Jesus Labor Limbaugh MarketPlace Media merchants money-changers Occupy Wall Street OccupyWallStreet Pharisees Politics Protest PushBack Rebel Rebellion Rescued RescuedtoRecommended Revolt Revolution RushLimbaugh Tea Tea Party TeaParty Temple Trade Wall Street WallStreet _1027296 Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:49:26 +0000 One by One https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/6/1023513/-One-by-One For all the minorities in the USA wanting a change. For all the 99% of those who are standing up to the Goliath of our time. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. If we continue and keep working at it, it will accomplish what we are working for. For those of us who are at times overwhelmed by hard times, this is not much - but such as I have I give it to you. This is a song that doesn't rely on religion, but holds a fundamental truth. Things can change and work out if we just don't give up. Our country is very much like a ball of mixed up colored strings right now - we just have to get rid of all the knots and tangles... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNpNqwXCDO0">One by One</a> rss@dailykos.com (whatGodmade) 99% 99Percent AnEarForMusic Community Democrats Hope Meta Minorities Obama Occupation Protests Republican Revolt _1023513 Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:41:53 +0000 This Is Not A Hostage Situation, It Is A Revolution https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/2/1022023/-This-Is-Not-A-Hostage-Situation-It-Is-A-Revolution I keep hearing how the demonstrators in what is being variously called OccupyWallStreet, OccupyTogether, the 99% Movement as well as other names need to be more clear of their DEMANDS. The critics seem to be extremely uncomfortable with the “leaderless” aspect of the movement and they keep asking for spokespeople to step up. It looks as though that the majority of the people making this criticism tend to be older than the majority of the people actually demonstrating. This is not a slam on Baby Boomers or other generations, but there does seem to be a generational element to these criticisms. rss@dailykos.com (angrycalifornian) 99% 99% movement 99Percent A99 Economy Education Non-violence occupy together Occupy Wall Street occupytogether OccupyWallStreet Revolt Revolution Wall Street WallStreet _1022023 Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:09:02 +0000 The System Failed - How to Deal with The Current Economic Depression https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/8/20/1009023/-The-System-Failed-How-to-Deal-with-The-Current-Economic-Depression By now I think that even the biggest skeptics may be considering the possibility that perhaps the capitalist system in its current form has failed.  The skepticism about the reality of the failure of the worldwide financial system is understandable.  As a whole, abstract thinking and having a highly developed sense of empathy are not widespread qualities in society.  Things could be crumbling fast all around, but for a person who is still doing fine (economically), it's almost impossible to be aware of the tsunami wave of calamity rapidly approaching. Unfortunately that has been one of the major weak-spots of the middle classes throughout history.  Once they achieve a certain level of economic stability they become complacent, not understanding that the path to those achievements is littered with cracked skulls, and brutalized and jailed activists that gave their all to demand freedom, democracy and dignity from oppressive regimes. But the most important thing the middle class always fails to understand is that the forces that would subjugate, exploit and enslave the population never rest.  Their pounding against the edifice of freedom, rights and dignity for the average citizen is constant, eternal.  And therefore, those rights and freedoms must always be defended with the same commitment, zealotry, bravery and conviction, that helped make them a reality to begin with. rss@dailykos.com (Ray Pensador) Economy Labor laborstrike Media Revolt Revolution StoptheMachine Strike Unite WallStreetCriminals WorkStoppage _1009023 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:13:22 +0000 America's Orwellian Ruling Class https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/6/25/988749/-America-s-Orwellian-Ruling-Class The first twenty years of my life were spent proving George Orwell wrong. The last ten have largely vindicated him in all but his temporal forecasting. The analysis in 1984 was actually quite dead on. I don't say this lightly, sensationally, or "hyperbowlically," (as John Boehner might allege). No, I mean this quite literally. Consider: the paradox of thrift holds that in a crisis more private and/or public saving tends to decrease overall savings. Yet here we are on the cusp of our fourth year of roughly double digit unemployment, and federal and local governments are deep into a policy of austerity measures aimed at increasing public savings (and thus, overall savings somehow). If the economy continues to show poor job growth, the solution must be... more austerity! Even as this goes on, the stock markets and GDP continue to improve hand over fist. But how you ask? It's easy to know where to invest when there's only one investment bank in town. The 2008 crash did wonders for the consolidation of elite financial power, and no serious person will deny this. However, the reason most of this growth is jobless is based on the fictitious nature of investing in asset values. There is surely a bubble somewhere, even if that bubble is now Goldman itself. What is much more realistic is the housing market. Environmentally, we've seen the worst Oil spill in US history lead to just a slap on the wrist and renewed off shore drilling, tar sands in the Northeast and Canada, and Nuclear meltdowns in japan that are threatening the world's supply of fish. There are massive right wing attacks on public sector unions, women's reproductive health, and the environment, while the elite "left" is sidelined despite having controlled both houses of congress and the Whitehouse with veto-proof majorities for two of the last four years. Despite hundreds of billions in pledged aid, Haiti is experiencing a failed state superimposed on a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and we (the US, who run the show) have yet to distribute more than 10% of the aid money that has already been delivered. Our foreign policy is as toxic elsewhere as it was in Cholera infested Haiti, and the plight of the American middle class is looking more and more like the plight of the Chinese migrant workers who made these jeans I wear. In short, upward mobility is becoming an increasingly slippery and more treacherous slope, while from the bottom, the world is looking more and more like 1984. rss@dailykos.com (tote) 1984 Class Warfare ClassWarfare Culture Gramsci Revolt RulingClass structure Unemployment _988749 Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:36:53 +0000 What Howard Zinn Really Said About Obama https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/6/16/985932/-What-Howard-Zinn-Really-Said-About-Obama I was pleasantly surprised to see Howard Zinn's name right on top of the rec list. The diary highlighted some excellent points such as: <blockquote>We don't live in a democracy . . . we live in a capitalist oligarchy, with some democratic representation.  In fact, we have enough democratic representation, it turns out, to occasionally get some things we want.  Have you ever heard of Social Security, Medicare, rural electrification, the minimum wage, or labor unions?  The capitalist oligarchy didn't want those reforms . . . but they were forced to accept them. </blockquote> However, the diarist failed to answer one key question: "why were they forced to accept the reforms?" This is a question Howard Zinn has spent his career answering. rss@dailykos.com (Johnnythebandit) 1930s Democrats FDR HowardZinn Labor New Deal NewDeal Obama Recommended Revolt Strikes _985932 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:27:37 +0000 Moving Occupy Wall Street to Occupy America the easy way. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/6/5/982225/-Moving-Occupy-Wall-Street-to-Occupy-America-the-easy-way Three months before Occupy Wall Street came into being, I wrote this essay under the title "National The King Is Naked Week" Coming to in front of your home!" (jun 5, 2011) It got no traction here at all, and was itself a more detailed rewrite of a diary published a day or two before. Since then I've shown it to a number of people, some of them famous if you listen to NYC radio, who've praised it and called it "prescient." I'm just republishing, changing only the title, Not even fixing the typos. The reason is that it remains the one way, imo, in which we can stymie the suppression and spinning of protest in this country. As you will read, I anticipated every tactic the 1% would employ. Which was no great trick since they been doing these exact things since the Pinkertons were hired to suppress labor protests in the 1880s. (I didn't know just yet to call them "the 1%.") Now the topic I picked: Letting Congress know we all know they are corrupt, is not necessarily the best topic or the only topic. But I still sort of like it at this point. A little outside-the-Beltway-coffin pressure on all Congress will go a long way, I suspect. Originally published June 5, 2011. Please mentally adjust to current calendar as necessary. I'm wearied, we're all wearied, of mass protests which get little or no coverage. If it gets coverage the ass with the mask throwing rocks and being tear-gassed gets most of the visual time. While the voice-over mischaracterizes the issue which got everyone there in the first place. And if a protest gets full-day coverage, like the before-war, world-wide, Iraq protests did in some places, so what? The people who make decisions have made decisions, and anyway they didn't really ask for our opinion in the first place. We all call and write our Congress critters, but it is discouraging that time and again we end up with exactly the opposite of what we ask of them. Even when it's a simple majority, or two-thirds, or four-fifths of the general public who want the thing. In fact, there seems to be a rule that democratic outcomes cannot possibly result from our democratic system. "Soooo, this would actually solve real critical problems, and the people really want it? Completely not pragmatic, off the table and into the rubbish with you." Somebody says that somewhere. Is it an elite body, or just a class custom? Doesn't matter who or why. Still gets said. Well, dang, this ain't a very good situation, now is it? It's like our government is blind and death to We, the People. Oh, sure, they all have a sound bite here and there, throw a few bones, sing a few tunes... But decisions are made as if we had no say. No democratic outcomes from a democratic system? That ain't right. So maybe there's a way to fix it, something we've not tried yet, maybe something like... rss@dailykos.com (Jim P) Action Activism Community Congress Government GrassRootsRebellion Media Occupy Politics publicservice publicshaming Revolt Revolution _982225 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:00:03 +0000 We Need "National The King Is Naked Day" and We Need it Now! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/6/4/981974/-We-Need-National-The-King-Is-Naked-Day-and-We-Need-it-Now I'm wearied, we're all wearied, of mass protests which get little or no coverage. If it gets coverage the ass with the mask throwing rocks and being tear-gassed gets most of the visual time. While the voice-over mischaracterizes the issue which got everyone there in the first place. And if a protest gets full-day coverage, like the before-war, world-wide, Iraq protests did in some places, so what? The people who make decisions have made decisions, and anyway they didn't really ask for our opinion in the first place. We all call and write our Congress critters, but it is discouraging that time and again we end up with exactly the opposite of what we ask of them. Even when it's a simple majority, or two-thirds, or four-fifths of the general public who want the thing. In fact, there seems to be a rule that democratic outcomes cannot possibly result from our democratic system. "Hmmm, this would actually solve real critical problems, and the people really want it? Completely not pragmatic, off the table and into the rubbish with you." Somebody says that somewhere. Is it an elite body, or just a class custom, doesn't matter. Still gets said. Well, dang, this ain't a very good situation, now is it? It's like our government is immune to input from the public. Oh, sure, a sound bite here and there, throw a few bones, sing a few tunes... But decisions are made as if we weren't there. No democratic outcomes from a democratic system. Just ain't right. Let's see what we can do... rss@dailykos.com (Jim P) Action Activism Community Congress Government GrassRootsRebellion Media Politics publicservice Revolt Revolution _981974 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:56:26 +0000 Trickle Down https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/5/15/976206/-Trickle-Down I think I finally understand what they mean by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/us/15flood.html?_r=1&hp">Trickle Down</a>. rss@dailykos.com (Detroit Mark) Class Warfare ClassWarfare nationalupheaval Revolt risingup _976206 Sun, 15 May 2011 11:11:08 +0000 1821 meet 2011 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/3/11/955513/-1821-meet-2011 1821, the year of the Greek Revolution and a new Greek relatively high-production-values documentary, can teach us much. The Greek doc and HBO's John Adams are similar in teaching sometimes uncomfortable history. Without the French, we would have been sunk! In 1821, the Ottoman Empire still spread over most of North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. Through a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, people in what is now southern Greece, not only rebelled but succeeded in gaining their independence and established a western style kingdom in 1830, a mere nine years after the Revolution began. rss@dailykos.com (Athenian) Greece History Libya now what? NowWhat Revolt Turkey _955513 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:54:59 +0000 POLL ::: Whatcha Want Obama To Do in Libya ? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/3/6/953178/-POLL-Whatcha-Want-Obama-To-Do-in-Libya Al Jazeera hits a bull's eye: <blockquote>Compare the Libyan situation to the end of the first war against Iraq, when President George Bush incited Kurds and Shia Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein. But Saddam, in control of the skies, brutally crushed the uprising using helicopter gunships. -- Al Jazeera, March 5th </blockquote> We've all heard Obama's Bush41-style encouragements to Libya's rebels: <blockquote>"Qaddafi has lost legitimacy, must leave."</blockquote> What has to happen to back it up? The French are the ones up for dealing with Gaddafi: <blockquote>-- AJ @ 4:48pm 05-March - French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said his country was seeking a United Nations Security Council resolution to impose a No Fly Zone in Libya.</blockquote> Meanwhile: AJ @ 1.25am - Tanks manned by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi  fired on houses when they launched a fresh assault on the town of Az Zawiyah. Gaddafi is using helicopters, jets and tanks. Same as Saddam in 1991. We pay $14,344-per-income-tax-paying-household a year for the military-and-spies. What should Obama do in Libya ? rss@dailykos.com (vets74) Al Jazeera AlainJuppe AlJazeera Arab BarackObama France George H.W. Bush GulfWar1991 International Iraq IraqUprising1991 Libya MoammarGaddafi National Security NationalSecurity Oil President Obama Rebellion Revolt War White House WhiteHouse _953178 Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:50:19 +0000 Gaddafi; A Western Made Monster Running Amok https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/25/949567/-Gaddafi-A-Western-Made-Monster-Running-Amok <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="680" height="410" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qx5cUpSN0_Q" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680" height="410" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qx5cUpSN0_Q" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object> When Baron Von Frankenstein created his monster, undoubtedly he felt a great sense of pride, achievement and satisfaction. Just think of the prestige, the glory and riches that would follow for such a scientific breakthrough. If one considers how valuable and useful a big, strong, obedient creature could be, it is easy to fathom all the dirty jobs its master could delegate to it. rss@dailykos.com (lbines) CrimesAgainstHumanity Europe kaddafi Libya MiddleEast Oil Revolt Revolution Tripoli Tyrant _949567 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:25:03 +0000 breaking: Libyan army defecting https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/20/947795/-breaking-Libyan-army-defecting <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/20/109081/uprising-in-libya-against-gadhafi.html">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/...</a> <blockquote>CAIRO, Egypt _ Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, fell Sunday after a crack army unit defected to the opposition and clashes spread to the capital, Tripoli, as an uprising against Moammar Gadhafi appeared to threaten the Middle East’s longest ruling dictator’s 42-year grip on power, residents and news reports said. Gadhafi’s youngest son, Saif Gadhafi, seemed to acknowledge in a rambling speech on state-run television that Benghazi and the nearby eastern city of Baida were no longer under government control. Read more: <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/20/109081/uprising-in-libya-against-gadhafi.html#ixzz1EZFte7Ga">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/...</a> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (nathguy) bengazi Breaking Libya MuammarQaddafi National Security NationalSecurity Revolt _947795 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:29:05 +0000 Obama's Carter Moment https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/9/942301/-Obama-s-Carter-Moment When Jimmy Carter bowed to pressure from Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller to let the Shah of Iran into the United States, he doomed the "moderate" Iranian revolt and his own re-election ambitions. The Iranian pre-Khoumeni government warned the U.S. that taking in the Shah would radicalize segments of the population who already believed that counter-coup sponsored by the U.S. was already underway. We ignored the Iranians advice, the U.S. Embassy was overrun. Barack Obama has been trying to thread the needle by advocating moderation and alluding to a peaceful path for Mubarak to exit.  As recently as a few hours ago, our "Allies," UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel have asked him to "tone it down." The popular, broad-based, people coalition in Tahrir square see the U.S. as the primary supporter of Mubarak and a possible supporter of a counter-revolt. rss@dailykos.com (Agent Orange) Barack Obama BarackObama Egypt HenryKissinger HosniMubarak Iran Israel JimmyCarter Military omarsuleiman Revolt SaudiArabia Shah Tahrir UAE WaelGhonim _942301 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:22:49 +0000 WTF is wrong with Americans? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/2/2/940880/-WTF-is-wrong-with-Americans All over the world people are standing up to corrupt kleptocracies. In Greece and Iceland, the people took to the streets to resist the looting of the public sphere by banks. The dictator of Tunisia has fallen and Mubarak is on they way down. Americans, however, are as docile and obedient towards our masters as ever. rss@dailykos.com (wannabe hermit) Oligarchy Recommended Revolt _940880 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 07:56:06 +0000 What To Expect in Egypt https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/28/939564/-What-To-Expect-in-Egypt For the past 11 years, I've been researching political change in history, which has suggested a pattern. A pattern where the interests of the Lower Class, Upper Class and Working Class each take a turn, in a repeating cycle, at dominating the political agenda for a period of several decades. My book, Working Class Rising: Where the Tea Party Comes From and How to Fight It, will be coming out next month and will be available at Amazon in softcover or Kindle versions. I've used the template that has emerged from my research to consider the likely consequences of what is occurring today in Egypt. rss@dailykos.com (catherineD) Demonstration Egypt elbaradai mubarak muslimbrotherhood Nationalism People Purity Revolt Revolution Uprising _939564 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:28:01 +0000 Updated: We are all Khaled Said. US Supported Regime killing civilians. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/26/939165/-Updated-We-are-all-Khaled-Said-US-Supported-Regime-killing-civilians Suez is in chaos. According to eyewitness reports <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATY3Q81QW6A&feature=youtu.be">police stations</a> are being torched, along with other government buildings. Anonymous computer experts are helping Egyptians get around DNS blocks. They're posting instructions for proxies and direct IP connections on twitter with the #jan25 hashtag. A recent tweet asked wireless users in Cairo to disable password protection on their networks so that everyone could get information out. Some reports say they've cut land lines out of Suez, the only communications still up are through Vodaphone. A BBC World Service broadcast played Hillary Clinton's response around 9 PM Eastern. The Egyptian government has only responded by cracking heads. Update: BBC Reports that Clinton has responded with even stronger language, saying "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people." "We support the universal right of the Egyptian people, including the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly." The revolt was caused by anger at continued injustice. One young activist became the rallying cry for many Egyptians. This is the story of Khaled Said. rss@dailykos.com (OllieGarkey) Anonymous Egypt Hillary Clinton HillaryClinton KhaledSaid mubarak Protest Revolt State Department suez Tunisia _939165 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:10:16 +0000 A TAX REVOLT, PERHAPS? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/11/928291/-A-TAX-REVOLT-PERHAPS I said this earlier this year, when I first joined Daily Kos...... and I was laughed at, ridiculed, called a Tea partier, etc...... then, it was about the health care bill. I was told I was being ridiculous. Obama made the best deal he could, I'm a purist, I was just trolling, Obama really is on our side, etc..... A Tax revolt? We're lefties. We don't do that sort of thing, I was told. But now it has come full circle again, and we stand at the precipice of another monumental fail by the Obama White House. Rather, it is a major victory for the White House, as they've put together yet another piece in their puzzle for the systematic dismantling of our economic and democratic structures, just as Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Reagan all have done. rss@dailykos.com (DJamesGoodwin) failingofgovernment Revolt Taxes _928291 Sun, 12 Dec 2010 07:36:01 +0000 FRIEND AND FOE: PART TWO OF THREE https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/4/890138/-FRIEND-AND-FOE-PART-TWO-OF-THREE I would not suggest reading "The Complete Report on Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct" if you do not like numbers. Over the 8 years it took to build the 250 mile long aqueduct, from its head at an elevation of 3,812 feet, to its mouth at the northern end of the San Fernando Valley at 1,135 feet, not a single pump or moving part was required. * For their $24.5 million investment the citizens of Los Angeles got "...215 miles of road, 230 miles of pipe line, 218 miles of power transmission line and 377 miles of telegraph and telephone line. rss@dailykos.com (KAMuston) Construction History Revolt _890138 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:27:39 +0000 Americans are Armed and Angry https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/27/861468/-Americans-are-Armed-and-Angry The American people are moving in on Washington. They are angry and frustrated - and they come with weapons in hand. The armed revolt is closer than we think. This was the impression you got if you happened to watch cable news last week. With images of armed protesters on the outskirts of Washington as a dramatic backdrop, the usual suspects of American politics – the talking heads and the commentators – discussed a new study by Pew Research Center on just how angry and dissatisfied Americans are. rss@dailykos.com (Claus Elholm Andersen) Anger CableNews Obama PEWResearchCenter Polling Rescued Revolt _861468 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:15:06 +0000 Electric Vehicles Work: Major Advancement Highlights Need for Better Policy https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/29/798490/-Electric-Vehicles-Work-Major-Advancement-Highlights-Need-for-Better-Policy For years we have been hearing how "batteries are too expensive or not sufficiently long lasting" for electric cars. This was always incorrect. Well over half a century ago it was not clear if the major power source for vehicles was going to be electric, gasoline, or something else. The reason gasoline happened to take hold was because it was ridiculously cheap, while the enormous environmental (and later national security) costs were a) considerably lesser,and b) otherwise simply not integrated into the prices, or considered. An electric car that could meet the ballpark performance/expectations cost that consumers have come to expect, could have been built at any time. The answer, at least until gasoline is no longer available, was simply to put a genset auxiliary motor on board; to power the vehicle, and to simply recharge the battery, if or when the charge gets too low. rss@dailykos.com (Colt45) ChevyVolt Climate Change ClimateChange ElectricVehicles EnvironmentalPollution FossilFuels lithiumionbatteries MarketIncentive Regulate Revolt Tax Zinc-AirBatteries _798490 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:17:14 +0000 Credit card rant gets results - Debtors Revolt Begins. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/5/789828/-Credit-card-rant-gets-results-Debtors-Revolt-Begins <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/29/news/companies/youtube_bank_of_america/?postversion=2009092914">Credit card rant gets results - Debtors Revolt Begins.</a> <embed width="500" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jGC1mCS4OVo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="405"></embed> rss@dailykos.com (thinkingblue) Banks Debt Economy Political Politics Revolt _789828 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:29:43 +0000 "Capitalism" a Cathartic Crescendo for Moore Audiences https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/21/784617/--Capitalism-a-Cathartic-Crescendo-for-Moore-Audiences Last night I attended a private screening of Michael Moore's new documentary, <a href="http://www.capitalismalovestory.com/">Capitalism:  A Love Story</a>, opening on October 2nd for general audiences. Depending on where we are in a news cycle when this carpet bombing of every vile capitalistic image since the death of FDR is released to the public, this could either begin us marching in the streets (the real marches this time, not the Wal*Mart pre-fab ready made marches), or we could find ourselves so exhausted by the revelations that we will just need a month to mourn. That will be the key. <a target="_blank" href="http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k213/DetroitMark/?action=view¤t=ALeqM5hEqW4cRmNs0TOAJtYRAkHzIGnJ-ws.jpg"><img alt="Photobucket" src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k213/DetroitMark/ALeqM5hEqW4cRmNs0TOAJtYRAkHzIGnJ-ws.jpg" border /></a> rss@dailykos.com (Detroit Mark) Capitalism-ALoveStory Capitalism: A Love Story Depression Dick Cheney DickCheney George W. Bush GeorgeWBush Globalization HenryPaulson MichaelMoore OrganizedLabor Recession Recommended Revolt _784617 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:22:51 +0000 The Republican Gambit in Iran, 3 moves ahead. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/24/746162/-The-Republican-Gambit-in-Iran-3-moves-ahead Let's pretend that the American people for the last 2 elections did not set forth a mandate that the Republican party was to no longer have control of the Governance of this Country. Let's pretend that the Republicans now speaking out against the President of the United States about his apparent 'weak' response were the ones now in control of the Country. Let's pretend that the actions they called for President Obama to carry out, the Republicans actually DID if they were still in control of the Governance of this Country. More below the fold.... rss@dailykos.com (Liberal Reality Check) BarackObama Election ForeignPolicy Iran President Obama Republicans Revolt _746162 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:34:10 +0000 Memo to China: You watchin' this whole Iran thing? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/17/743442/-Memo-to-China-You-watchin-this-whole-Iran-thing Hey there China, have you been watching what's happening over there in Iran? Awesome, huh! Something tells me you ought to be paying attention, because you could be next up.   rss@dailykos.com (stevedubya) China Iran iranianhero Protest Revolt Revolution TankMan _743442 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:30:37 +0000 The letter I wrote to Michelle Bachmann https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/2/715866/-The-letter-I-wrote-to-Michelle-Bachmann Here is the letter I wrote to my idol, Michelle Bachmann.  The only true person in all of Washington who "gets it." rss@dailykos.com (Apesauce) Michele Bachmann MicheleBachmann Revolt Treason _715866 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:47:33 +0000 the kleptocracy gathers steam.... https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/16/709420/-the-kleptocracy-gathers-steam as if taxpayers haven't been bent over by the government's machinations on behalf of Wall Street to date... to whit, (from "Nakedcapitalism") (read the comments) "We have been saying from the first time the idea that Team Obama floated the idea of having a "public private partnership" buy toxic bank assets, that it was merely a very costly way to disguise overpayment. Henry Paulson tried twice to find a way to hoover up bad bank assets, the first time via the MLEC, the second via the initial conception of the TARP. Both times he was unable to solve the basic conundrum: the banks were holding the assets on their books at above market prices, and would not be willing to sell them for less (that would result in them showing losses, which is precisely what they want to avoid). And under the TARP, Paulson had contended the purchases might result in the government showing a profit (lol); that would almost certainly be rubbish, given that the banks would have the incentive to dump their most overvalued assets on Uncle Sam (the taxpayer)." rss@dailykos.com (sooner) Bailouts Revolt _709420 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:43:42 +0000 DailyKos Let Me Delete My Diary Damn It! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/19/699380/-DailyKos-Let-Me-Delete-My-Diary-Damn-It <a target="_blank" href="http://tinypic.com"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" src="http://i43.tinypic.com/2hykjv6.jpg" border /></a> DailyKos is far more radical than facebook is when it comes down to members bill of rights. For instance when members attempt to delete old DailyKos diaries they are not permitted to do so. The DailyKos community should demand that DailyKos allow its members to delete their old diaries. Not that long ago many in the facebook community demanded that facebook allow its personal information to be deleted when ever they choose to. But it seems that the hammer of thor has landed on our dairies. Every diary that is posted is kept secretly hidden and woven into a deep locked chamber. With no end in sight to this dictatorship over our work as journalist, writers, poets, and bloggers our future seems dim. Will the DailyKos member unite together and defend their rights or will the dark "axis of evil" DailyKos along with Facebook and many other sites triumph. To victory! From now on all dairy post should rebel and strike at the heart of dictatorship. Yell loud and clear, "Let Me Delete My Diary!!!!!!", or else their will be hell to pay.   rss@dailykos.com (EmeterioBetances) Abuse Daily Kos DailyKos ErrinF Facebook Meta online Revolt Revolution Web _699380 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:15:25 +0000 Forget the Great Depression - Look at reign of King John https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/3/692468/-Forget-the-Great-Depression-Look-at-reign-of-King-John Doing some research on the Magna Carta and King John of England today. Makes me think a better historical parallel for this moment than the Great Depression of the 1930s is the ruinous reign of King John (1199 - 1216), which was so bad for the barons - the people who claimed the benefits of the socio-political-economic system as "We the People" are supposed to in America - that they forced the monarch to sign the Magna Carta. rss@dailykos.com (Demophilus) Democracy Depression Economy History MagnaCarta Parallels Revolt Teaching _692468 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:07:09 +0000