AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Latest From The Rag Blog

Click below to link to The Rag Blog

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/

Markin comment:

I find this The Rag Blog website very useful to monitor for the latest in what is happening with past tense radical activists and activities. Anybody, with some kind of name, and who is still around from the 1960s has found a home here. So the remembrances and recollections are helpful for today’s activists. Strangely the politics are almost non-existent, as least any that would help today, except to kind of retroactively “bless” those old-time left politics that did nothing (well, almost nothing) but get us on the losing end of the class (and cultural) wars of the last forty plus years. Still this is a must read blog for today’s left militants.

Additional Markin comment:

I place some material in this space which may be of interest to the radical public that I do not necessarily agree with or support. Off hand, as I have mentioned before, I think it would be easier, infinitely easier, to fight for the socialist revolution straight up than some of the “remedies” provided by the commentators in these entries. But part of that struggle for the socialist revolution is to sort out the “real” stuff from the fluff as we struggle for that more just world that animates our efforts.

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Newer posts →

Michael James :
‘Rising Up Angry’: Porch climbers, greasers, popcorn girl, and a family, 1968-’69

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

After my work in Uptown, I focused on bringing the movement, the revolution, to working class white kids, who had been overlooked by organizers.

Greasers, Kankakee River State Park, Illinois, 1969. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | March 12, 2014

In September of ’68, while liquored up on Jim Beam, I took in the reactionary flick Wild in the Streets at a rinky-dink theater in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This was a tale of wild-ass, rebellious, fascist hippies under 30 overthrowing the over-30 elders deemed worthless to the New World Order.
Suddenly, a line from the film’s song “The Shape of Things to Come” jumped off the screen: “There’s a new sun Risin’ up angry in the sky.” Rising Up Angry was about to become the name of the newspaper and organization I founded and helped build.
Continue reading →

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Chicago, Community Organizing, Michael James, New Left, Pictures from the Long Haul, Rag Bloggers, Rising Up Angry, SDS, Sixties, Wild in the Streets, Working Class Organizing | Leave a comment

The Latest From The Rag Blog

Click below to link to The Rag Blog

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/

Markin comment:

Additional Markin comment:

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Bloggers, Ritual, Spirituality, Vernal Equinox | Leave a comment

Tom Hayden :
The Taliban are winning

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

This war never should have happened because it was always unwinnable, unaffordable, and therefore unpopular.

Karzai meets with representatives of the Taliban. Image from Jihad Watch.

By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | March 12, 2014

The U.S. national security elite, mainstream media, and therefore most of the American people, are in strategic denial of the fact that the Taliban are winning the war in Afghanistan.
Why is the denial “strategic”? Because our government and military establishment cannot easily admit failure without damaging our superpower status and their multiple careers. However, such a denial also risks never learning the lessons.
Defeat has multiple possible meanings. It doesn’t mean the insurgents will overrun Kabul any time soon. It is possible, however, that the Afghan security forces will implode along with the Humpty-Dumpty regime of President Hamid Karzai.
Continue reading →

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Afghanistan War, Al Qaeda, Anti-War Sentiment, Hamid Karzai, Imperialism, Military Intervention, Public Opinion, Rag Bloggers, Taliban, Tom Hayden, U

The Latest From The Rag Blog

Click below to link to The Rag Blog

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/

Markin comment:

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. Foreign Policy, U.S. Imperialism | 2 Comments

Ron Jacobs :
The multi-pronged provocation of Crimea

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

After years of watching Washington and its NATO alliance entice and cajole traditionally Russian allies to join the western capitalist sphere, Moscow has recently begun fighting back.

Solider in unmarked uniform guards the airport in Crimea. Image from SundayWorld.com.

By Ron Jacobs | The Rag Blog | March 18, 2014

Recent events in the Ukraine are even more center stage since the voters there elected to become independent.
Although there are some questions about the complete veracity of the recent referendum, the common understanding seems to be that enough residents of Crimea no longer wish to be part of Ukraine. Whether or not they want to be independent or part of Russia (and whether or not they have much choice in the matter) remains the unanswered part of the equation.
Continue reading →

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Crimean Conflict, Crimean Referendum, Crimean War, Eastern European, NATO, Rag Bloggers, Ron Jacobs, Russia, Ukrain, Viktor Yanukovych, Vladimir Putin, World History | Leave a comment

The Latest From The Rag Blog

Click below to link to The Rag Blog

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/

Markin comment:

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comment

Robert Sharlet :
Jim Retherford, the ‘Man in a Red Devil Suit’

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Jim has been a fearless New Left editor, a political performance artist, part of a guerrilla theater troupe, and has worked with some of the legendary figures of the ’60s.

Jim Retherford, the Man in a Red Devil Suit, Bloomington, Indiana, 1969.

By Robert Sharlet | The Rag Blog | February 19, 2014

Last summer political scientist Bob Sharlet attended a reunion in Bloomington, Indiana, of New Left activists who had gone to school at Indiana University in the 1960s and early ‘70s. They came to the event from all over the country. “Quite a number had not broken bread or lifted a glass together in at least a quarter of a century,” Bob noted, “while many had neither met nor even spoken for over 50 years.”
Sharlet interviewed several of those in attendance for his blog, Searching for Jeff, which is dedicated to his late brother, Jeff Sharlet, who was a leader of the GI resistance movement during the Vietnam War and also was active in SDS at Indiana in the mid-‘60s. (And who shouldn’t be confused with the award-winning journalist and author of the same name. That Jeff Sharlet is Bob Sharlett’s son.)
Continue reading →

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Abbie Hoffman, Austin Activists, Bloomington, Direct Action, Guerrilla Theater, Indiana University, James Retherford, Jeff Sharlet, Jerry Rubin, New Left Reunion, Political Performance Art, Progressive Journalists, Radical Activists, Rag Bloggers, Robert Sharlet, SDS, Sixties, The Rag, The Rag Blog, The Spectator, Thorne Dreyer, Underground Press, Yippies | 4 Comments

The Latest From The Rag Blog

Click below to link to The Rag Blog

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/

Markin comment:

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Tom Hayden :
The Cold War that threatens democracy

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

The new Cold War doctrine is that democratically elected nationalist or socialist leaders are new dominos threatening the fall of a U.S.-controlled order.

Tom Hayden, left, interviews Mikhail Gorbachev in 2002. Photo courtesy Tom Hayden.

By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | March 20, 2014

While the first Cold War was fought against communism, a successor Cold War is steadily unfolding against democratic electoral outcomes unfavorable to America’s perceived interests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal occupation of Crimea has for now revived raging Western memories of Joseph Stalin’s top-down incorporation of the former Eastern Europe. Lost in the new anti-Russian narrative, however, is the growing U.S. pattern of ignoring democratic electoral outcomes where they are inconvenient, in the name of “promoting democracy.”
Continue reading →

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Cold War, Crimean Conflict, Domino Theory, Egypt, interve, Latin America, Muslim Brotherhood, Neoliberalism, New Cold War, Rag Bloggers, Russia, Socialism, Tom Hayden, U.S. Foreign Policy, Ukraine, Venezuela, Viktor Yanukovych, Vladimir Putin | Leave a comment

In Honor Of The 143rd Anniversary Of The Paris Commune-On The Barricades- The Dwindling Days

Henri Broue was beside himself when he heard the alarm bell, the bell that was used to warn of impending danger in front of the barricades coming now from two sources, the dreaded Prussians who had the outpost fortresses of the city under their control and now the dreaded revamped Theirs governmental forces who were charging throughout the at various point. He thought back to late March, late March when the now fallen Jean-Paul Dubois had urged the section committee to pursue the Thiers troops and disband them before they had a chance to regroup in Versailles. But that fervent brave voice was not listened to was not heeded as the spirit of the time was not following a military bend but a good riddance to bad company feeling after Theirs and company had fled to Versailles. Now with the ringing of the alarm (three long gongs, repeated) they were back, back seeking revenge, seeking blood, seeking death.

Henri had been nothing but a young man the first time, his first time, on the barricades back in those bloody June Days of ’48 when all hell broke loose as the as the old forces tried to drown the new republic in blood, and did so. And hell that was only a republic, not even a workers republic like he and his comrades on barricade Marat (French Revolution, circa 1789, figured murdered by Corday) were trying to establish, establish through the German defeat, the starvation blockade, the perfidy of the Theirs government, their flight and now their vengeful return. The Commune had made some headway, had stabilized things for a while but they forgot a few things too, forgot they were not an isolated island in France but part of all France and should have fought, fought like hell to link up with the other communes in some kind of defensive league. Now they were being destroyed section by section without any outside help, without, as well, any forces to hold the Prussians at bay.

Henri Broue did not consider, despite his revolutionary past, himself a brave man, or a great military fighter although he accounted himself well back in the days. This he knew though, this he knew well, brave or a coward, he was going to be on barricade Marat just as long as he held breathe…

In Honor Of The 143rd Anniversary Of The Paris Commune-On The Barricades- The Dwindling Days

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Class Struggle Continues...

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The Class Struggle Continues...

“Let them know that reconciliation is possible!”…

Awash in the light of the new day in Immokalee this morning, Wilson Perez (right) and his wife and 9-month-old baby boy listen to Pastor Miguel Estrada as he bestows an Ash Wednesday blessing (below) on dozens of farmworkers and their allies before they embark on the first leg of the
Now Is the Time Tour.

Over 60 farmworkers and their allies head out from Immokalee at dawn, launching their 10-day, 10-city journey as ”Now is the Time” Tour hits the road!…
In the cool, early hours of a beautiful March morning in Immokalee, farmworkers gathered at the CIW community center ahead of the launch of the Now Is the Time Tour with a To-Do list almost as long as the 2,800-mile tour itself.
After many weeks of preparation, a veritable mountain of signs and banners for the protests, hand-painted props for the tour theater piece to be performed at community meetings along the way, and food, drink, and medical supplies for the long days on the road had accumulated at the CIW office. Before the tour crew could head north, all those materials had to make their way onto the bus and into the many vehicles of the trailing caravan, and the front door of the CIW headquarters was swinging throughout the morning as members carried box after box…

to the tour vehicles parked outside:

Amidst the buzz of packing and last-minute preparations, men, women, and children poured into the office, ready for the 10-day trek. Spirits soared among the group as the day broke…

Don't miss the rest of today's photos -- and moving words from Pastor Miguel's Ash Wednesday blessing for workers as they embarked on the Tour -- at the CIW website!

Now is the Time Tour Media Round-Up!

We have been so occupied with the stuff of the Now is the Time Tour – not to mention sharing that stuff, in the form of colorful photos and videos — that we haven’t had a chance to share all of the great press emerging about our journey across the country. So without further ado, here are the highlights.
We start off with an excellent, hard-hitting op/ed from the Orlando Sentinel, courtesy of Scott Maxwell.

Publix: Great store, but sorry policies for farmworkers
by Scott Maxwell

Protesters carry signs during a protest outside the Publix supermarket on Saturday, February 2, 2013. The protest was staged by farmworkers activists in an attempt to raise wages for tomato pickers. (Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel /February 2, 2013)

I love Publix.
The helpful workers. The BOGO bins. The deli subs and bakery pies.
But one thing I don’t love about the Lakeland-based grocery chain is its refusal to ensure that tomato pickers get decent wages and working conditions.
We’re talking one measly extra penny a pound.
Walmart pays the extra penny. So does McDonald’s. As does Whole Foods, Burger King, Chipotle and many others.
Publix, however, refuses...

Head over to the Now is the Time Tour website for the rest of the media round up!

Veterans For Peace

For Immediate Release

Contact: Pat Scanlon, Office: 978-475-1776, Cell: 978-590-4248, email:Vets4PeaceChapter9@gmail.com

Or Contact Eddie Duffy, the Friel’s Sisters Uncle: 617-869-2965

IRISH SINGING TRIO SHUNS TRADTIONAL PARADE

WILL WALK IN SAINT PATRICK’S PEACE PARADE

Boston, Mass. – March 14, 2014 – The Friel Sisters, beautiful and talented young Irish musical trio of three sisters has shunned the traditional Boston Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and plan to perform in the alternative Saint Patrick Peace Parade on Sunday, March 16.

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Anna, Sheila and Clare Friel are three young traditional Irish musicians born in Glasgow with their family roots firmly entrenched in the Donegal Gaeltacht (Derry na mansher). Being siblings, they achieve a close blend on fiddle, flute, and uilleann pipes interspersed with songs sang in unison, many from their family and local repertoire. They have performed in various venues and festivals across Europe, America and Asia and have appeared as guests on stage with acts such as Altan, The Chieftains, and Cherish the Ladies.

We see Saint Patrick’s Day as a day for fun and enjoyment for everyone. It’s a day for all to celebrate our heritage, music and culture and not to judge” said Clare the youngest of the sisters. “I was surprised to hear of the approach of the first parade,” stated Anna Friel one of the older twins, “On a recent trip to the Ulster Museum we learned that St. Patrick was a son of a prosperous family in Roman Britain and was taken to Ireland as a slave. He was a slave for six years before escaping and devoting himself to the church. It is clear that he faced struggles with inequality in his own life and it would be very interesting to imagine what his thoughts on the exclusionary and discriminatory practices would be in a celebration dedicated to him”.

Sheila the third sister added, “Everyone loves St. Patrick’s Day! In Ireland everyone is included, that is why we were surprised to hear about Boston and New York as it’s not something we even consider” Anna added, “We are proud to participate in the Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade because Saint Patrick was a man of peace and there should be no exclusion on this special day, I hope it’s not too cold.”

Web: smedleyvfp.org Twitter: @smedleyVFP Facebook: facebook.com/smedleyvfp

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AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Michael James :
‘Rising Up Angry’: Porch climbers, greasers, popcorn girl, and a family, 1968-’69

After my work in Uptown, I focused on bringing the movement, the revolution, to working class white kids, who had been overlooked by organizers.

Tom Hayden :
The Taliban are winning

This war never should have happened because it was always unwinnable, unaffordable, and therefore unpopular.

Ron Jacobs :
The multi-pronged provocation of Crimea

After years of watching Washington and its NATO alliance entice and cajole traditionally Russian allies to join the western capitalist sphere, Moscow has recently begun fighting back.

Robert Sharlet :
Jim Retherford, the ‘Man in a Red Devil Suit’

Jim has been a fearless New Left editor, a political performance artist, part of a guerrilla theater troupe, and has worked with some of the legendary figures of the ’60s.

Tom Hayden :
The Cold War that threatens democracy

The new Cold War doctrine is that democratically elected nationalist or socialist leaders are new dominos threatening the fall of a U.S.-controlled order.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Michael James : ‘Rising Up Angry’: Porch climbers, greasers, popcorn girl, and a family, 1968-’69

After my work in Uptown, I focused on bringing the movement, the revolution, to working class white kids, who had been overlooked by organizers.

Share:

Tom Hayden : The Taliban are winning

This war never should have happened because it was always unwinnable, unaffordable, and therefore unpopular.

Share:

Ron Jacobs : The multi-pronged provocation of Crimea

After years of watching Washington and its NATO alliance entice and cajole traditionally Russian allies to join the western capitalist sphere, Moscow has recently begun fighting back.

Share:

Robert Sharlet : Jim Retherford, the ‘Man in a Red Devil Suit’

Jim has been a fearless New Left editor, a political performance artist, part of a guerrilla theater troupe, and has worked with some of the legendary figures of the ’60s.

Share:

Tom Hayden : The Cold War that threatens democracy

The new Cold War doctrine is that democratically elected nationalist or socialist leaders are new dominos threatening the fall of a U.S.-controlled order.

Share:

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Michael James :
‘Rising Up Angry’: Porch climbers, greasers, popcorn girl, and a family, 1968-’69

Tom Hayden :
The Taliban are winning

Ron Jacobs :
The multi-pronged provocation of Crimea

Robert Sharlet :
Jim Retherford, the ‘Man in a Red Devil Suit’

Tom Hayden :
The Cold War that threatens democracy