In Search Of Lost Time In The Be-Bop 1960s High School Night-With Marcel Proust In Mind

In Search Of Lost Time In The Be-Bop 1960s High School Night-With Marcel Proust In Mind




By Josh Breslin



....with apologies to the great early 20th century modernist French writer Marcel Proust whose most famous (and massive) work I am stealing the title from in my headline. Apparently I will steal any literary tidbit, from any source and from any time, just to round out an entry in this space. I had also better explain, before some besotted, hare-brained, pencil at the ever ready, school of novel deconstruction devotee, probably tragically childhood’d, post-modern literary-type jumps on me I know, and I know damn well, that an alternative translation for the title of Proust's six volume work is Remembrances Of Things Past. But isn't this In Search Of Lost Time a better title for the needs of this space? In any case I promise not to go on and on about French pastry at teatime (which, by the way, brother Proust did do, for about sixty pages in the volume Swann’s Way, so there is the trade-off. Okay?).

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As I, clumsily, pick up, or try to pick up some precious dirt to rub between my fingers from the oval in front of the old high school, on this bedraggled, prickly frigid, knife-like wind- gusting in my face, not fit for man nor beast, kind of a winter’s day as the shortly-setting sun begins it descent into night, I really do wonder what demons, what cast-out-of-the-inner-sanctums-of-hell demons, have driven me here, here to this worn-out patch of an oval, after so many years of statutory neglect. Moreover, picking up dirt from an oval that I have not walked on, much less picked up gravel from, in over forty-five years, although I have logged many a mile around a larger version (I believe) of this oval either practicing during track or cross country season, or, and this may jog reader memory, running the 600 yard dash as part of the old time President’s National Physical Fitness Test. Yes, I thought mention of that event might bring ring a bell, a bell of anguish for some, as they puffed and chortled their way to the finish line in their tennis shoes, or whatever knee-busting sneakers we wore in those days, in order to be cool. Hey, just like today.



In any case, here I stand, and now you know, or have a pretty good idea where I am. What you do not know, at least do not know yet, is that I am not here, rubbing some funky old town dirt through my fingers on a cold winter’s day just for the joy of it. For raider red oneness, either. Or some such old man’s quirks. Rather, I am here, and you can start calling 911 right now if you like, to evoke, evoke mind you so there is no fooling around about it, the spirit, the long past spirit of days gone by at the high school. The spirit of the time of my time. Probably not since old Tommy Wollaston went looking for a suitable site for his maypole debaucheries, and stumbled on Merrymount has this town seen such a land grab, in a manner of speaking. See, what I am thinking is that some dirt-rubbing, a little kabala-like, or druid-like, or keltic-like, or Navajo-like, or something-like, dirt-rubbing will give me a jump start on this “voyage”.



I will confess to this much , as this seemingly is a confessional age, or, maybe just as a vestige of that hard-crusted, family history-rooted, novena-saying, stations of the cross walking, ceremonial high mass incense-driven, mortal sin-fearing, you’ll get your reward in the next life so don’t expect it here, buster, fatalistic Catholic upbringing long abandoned but etched in, no, embedded in, some far recesses of memory that my returning to North Quincy High School did not just occur by happenstance. A couple of years before my mother, Doris Margaret Breslin (nee Radley) NQHS Class of 1943, passed away.



For a good part of her life my mother lived in locations a mere stone's throw from the school. You could, for example, see the back of the school from my grandparents' house on Young Street. As part of the grieving process, I suppose, I felt a need to come back to North Quincy. To my, and her, roots. In part, at least, for the feel of roots, but also to figure out, or try to figure out for the 584th time, what went wrong in our old, broken down, couldn't catch a break, working poor, North Quincy-historied, family. As part of that attempted figuring out, as I walked up Hancock Street from Walnut Street (the old, woe begotten, seen better days, ram-shackled homestead now standing guard above part of the Newport Avenue by-pass) and swung down East Squantum I passed by, intentionally passed by, the old high school. And here I stand, oval-stuck, dirty-handed, bundled up not to well against the day’s winds, or against the fickle, shifting winds of time either, to tell my tale.



Now I will also confess, but without the long strung-out stuff that I threw in above about my Catholic upbringing, that in figuring out why ill winds blew across my family’s fate I was unsuccessful. Why, after all, should the 584th time bring some sense of enlightenment, or of inner peace, when the other five hundred, more or less, did not do so. What this sojourn did do, however, was rekindle, and rekindle strongly, memories of sitting, without number, on the steps of the high school in the old days, in the high school days, and think about the future, if there was going to be a future.



I tried to write this story, or a part of it, a couple of years ago so a little background is in order so the thing makes some sense to others. That now seemingly benighted entry, originally simply titled, A Walk Down “Dream” Street, started life by merely asking an equally simple question posed to fellow classmates in the North Quincy High School Class of 1964 about whether their high school dreams had come true or not, as least for those who had thought about the issue, on the Classmates. com website. I had “discovered” the site that year after having been pushed and pulled in ways that drove me back to memories, hard, hard-bitten, hard-aching, hard-longing, mist of time, dream memories, of North schoolboy days and of the need to search for my old high school friend and running mate (literally, in track and cross country, as well as “running” around town doing boy high school things, doing the best we could, or trying to), Bill Cadger. I posed the question this way there:



“Today I am interested in the relationship between our youthful dreams and what actually happened in our lives; our dreams of glory out in the big old world that we did not make, and were not asked about making; of success whether of the pot of gold or less tangible, but just as valuable, goods, or better, ideas; of things or conditions, of himalayas, conquered, physically or mentally; of discoveries made, of self or the whole wide world, great or small. Or, perhaps, of just getting by, just putting one foot in the front of the other two days in a row, of keeping one’s head above water under the impact of young life’s woes, of not sinking down further into the human sink; of smaller, pinched, very pinched, existential dreams but dreams nevertheless. I hope, I fervently hope, that they were the former."



Naturally, the question was posed in its particular form, or so it seemed natural at the time for me to pose it that way, because those old, “real”, august, imposing, institutionally imposing, grey granite-quarried (from the Granite City, natch) main entrance steps (in those days serious steps, two steps at a time steps, especially if you missed first bell, flanked by globular orbs and, like some medieval church, gargoyle-like columns up to the second floor, hence “real”) is a place where Bill and I spent a lot of our time, talking of this and that.



Especially in summer night time: hot, sultry, sweaty, steam-drained, no money in pockets, no car to explore the great American teenage night; the be-bop, doo-wop, do doo do doo ,ding dong daddy, real gone daddy, rockin’ daddy, max daddy, let it be me, the night time is the right time, car window-fogged, honk if you love jesus (or whatever activity produced those incessant honks in ignition-turned-off cars), love-tinged, or at least sex-tinged, endless sea, Wollaston Beach night. Do I need to draw you the big picture, I think not. Or for the faint-hearted, or the merely good, denizens of that great American teenage night a Howard Johnson’s ice cream (make mine cherry vanilla, double scoop, no jimmies, please) or a trip to American Graffiti-like fast food drive-in, hamburger, hold the onions (just in case today is the night), fries and a frappe (I refuse to describe that taste treat at this far remove, look it up on Wikipedia, or one of those info-sites) Southern Artery night. Lost, all irretrievably lost, and no thousand, thousand (thanks, Sam Coleridge), no, no million later, greater experiences can ever replace that. And, add in, non-dated-up, and no possibility of sweet-smelling, soft, bare shoulder-showing summer sun-dressed (or wintry, bundled up, soft-furred, cashmere-bloused, I would not have been choosy), big-haired (hey, do you expect me to remember the name of the hair styles, too?), ruby red-lipped (see, I got the color right), dated-up in sight. So you can see what that “running around town, doing the best we could” of ours mainly consisted.



Mostly, we spoke of dreams of the future: small, soft, fluttery, airless, flightless, high school kid-sized, working class-sized, North Quincy-sized, non-world–beater-sized, no weight dreams really, no, that’s not right, they were weighty enough but only until 18 years old , or maybe 21, weighty. A future driven though, and driven hard, by the need to get out from under, to get away from, to put many miles between us and it, crazy family life (the details of which need not detain us here at all, as I now know, and I have some stories to prove it, that condition was epidemic in the old town then, and probably still is). And also of getting out of one-horse, teen life-stealing, soul-cramping, dream-stealing (small or large take your pick on dream size), even breathe-stealing, North Quincy. Of getting out into the far reaches, as far as desire and dough would carry, of the great wild, wanderlust, cosmic, American day and night hitch-hike if you have too, shoe leather-beating walking if you must, road (or European road, or wherever, Christ, even Revere in a crunch, but mainly putting some miles between).



We spoke, as well, of other dreams then. I do not remember some of the more personal aspects of the content of Bill's dreams. If you want the “skinny” on Bill’s dreams he’s around, ask him. However, a lot of what Bill and I talked about at the time was how we were going to do in the upcoming cross country and track seasons, girls, the desperate need to get away from the family trap, girls, no money in pockets for girls, cars, no money for cars, girls. (Remember those were the days when future expectations, and anguishes, were expressed in days and months, not years.) Of course we dreamed of being world-class runners, as every runner does. Bill went on to have an outstanding high school career. I, on the other hand, was, giving myself much the best of it, a below average runner. So much for some dreams.



And, maybe, on my part, I also expressed some sketchily-drawn utopian social dreams, some fellaheen justice dreams. Oh, you don’t know that word, "fellaheen", perhaps. To have oneness justice for the "wanters" of the world; for the “no got”, not the other kind, the greed-driven kind, want; fear-driven, fear to go left or right or to put two feet in front of you want; for the misjudgment-making from having too little of this world's goods want; for all the cramp-spaced in this great big planet want; for the too many people to a room, one disheveled sink, one stinking toilet want: for the bleary-eyed pee-smelled, dawn bus station paper bag holding all your possessions want; for the two and three decker house no space, asphalted, no green between want; for the reduced to looking through rubbish barrels, or worst, want; for the K-Mart, Wal-mart, Quincy Square Bargain-Center basement outfitted out of fashion, no fashionsista, no way, want,; for the got to have some Woolworth’s five and dime trinket to make a small brightness want; for the lottery, keno, bingo, bango, mega-bongo waiting for the ship to come in pay-out want; for the whiskey soaked, wine-dabbled, or name your poison, want; for the buddy, can you spare a dime want; for the cop hey you, keeping moving you can’t stay here, want; for the cigarette butt strewn pick-up streets want; for fixing, or fixings, to die want; and, for just plain, ordinary, everyday, non-descript want, the want from whence I, and, maybe, you came.



This is the sing-song of the fellaheen, the life-cycle of the fellaheen, the red masque dance of the fellaheen; the dance of the working, or not so working, poor, the day time dance. The dance that I will dance, at least it looks that way, until I draw my last breathe. For the night time, the "takers", stealth thief, jack-roller, pimp daddy, sweet-dark covering abandoned back alley streets, watch out behind you (and in front too), sweated, be-fogged, lumpen fellaheen night, the no justice wanted or given night, you will have to look to the French writers Genet, Celine, or one of those rough boys, the takers have no need of my breathe, or my tears. I have had my say now, and it was worth standing, as the night devours the sun, at this damn wintry oval to say it, alright.

NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

 

ANTI-SYRIAN PROPAGANDA WAR, Chapter XXXI. . .

 

Six Killed Pediatricians Sign Letter To Obama We are used to quite a lot of warmongering propaganda against Syria. The "last hospital in Aleppo gets destroyed" - week after week after week, reports by Physicians For Human Rights on Syria turn out to be scams, videos and pictures of "children rescued" by the U.S./UK payed media group "White Helmets" are staged.    But the yesterday released and very well propagandized Open Letter of Aleppo Doctors takes the crown of warmongering anti-Syrian fakes… Stenographing the letter's propaganda the Guardian cleverly notes:  It has not been possible to verify the names of all the doctors listed in the letter.  May be because these names are those of famous Jihadis? … Wasn't the last pediatricians in east-Aleppo killed on April 28?   More	“Freedom Fighters” in Aleppo today
Afghan “Freedom Fighters” 1983 with Reagan	Media Distorted Syrian Ceasefire’s Breakdown Coverage of the breakdown of the partial ceasefire in Syria illustrated the main way corporate news media distort public understanding of a major foreign policy story. The problem is not that the key events in the story are entirely unreported, but that they were downplayed and quickly forgotten in the media’s embrace of themes with which they were more comfortable.  In this case, the one key event was the major offensive launched in early April by Al Nusra Front—the Al Qaeda franchise in Syria—alongside US-backed armed opposition groups. This offensive was mentioned in at least two “quality” US newspapers. Their readers, however, would not have read that it was that offensive that broke the back of the partial ceasefire. On the contrary, they would have gotten the clear impression from following the major newspapers’ coverage that  systematic violations by the Assad government doomed the ceasefire from the beginning.   More

 

The sham rebrand of al-Qaeda's Nusra Front

The Nusra Front’s adoption of the new name Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and claim that it has separated itself from al-Qaeda was designed to influence US policy, not to make the group any more independent of al-Qaeda.  The objective of the manoeuvre was to head off US-Russian military cooperation against the jihadist group, renamed last week, based at least in part on the hope that the US bureaucratic and political elite, who are lining up against a new US-Russian agreement, may block or reverse the Obama administration’s intention to target the al-Qaeda franchise in Syria…   Qatari intelligence reportedly met several times with Golani and offered substantial direct funding in return for a formal move to renounce his loyalty to al-Qaeda…  The real reason for the rebranding and creation of a supposedly independent organisation was the threat of a US-Russian joint air campaign against Nusra Front. Golani himself provided a very strong hint that it was the primary consideration, declaring that it was intended to take away the excuse used by the US and Russia to "bombard and displace Muslims... under the pretence of targeting Jabhat al-Nusra”.   More

 

Outside help behind rebel advances in Aleppo

Syria’s opposition has hailed rebel advances in the strategic city of Aleppo as a stunning success for ragtag forces, while the international community looked on as 300,000 Syrians suffered a weeks-long siege.  But the offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s troops may have had more foreign help than it appears: activists and rebels say opposition forces were replenished with new weapons, cash and other supplies before and during the fighting.  “At the border yesterday we counted tens of trucks bringing in weapons,” said one Syrian activist, who crosses between Syria and neighbouring Turkey. “It’s been happening daily, for weeks … weapons, artillery — we’re not just talking about some bullets or guns.”   More

 

HOW ISRAEL PLAYS SYRIA’S CIVIL WAR

As the IDF’s Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi said earlier this summer, in Syria “there are not good guys or bad guys anymore, where the white knight hits the black knight.” Nevertheless, he added, for Israel the worst outcome would be a situation where the pro-regime axis emerges victorious at the end of the civil war.   In this he was joined by Amos Yadlin, a predecessor as Military Intelligence chief and one of the country’s most respected strategic thinkers. In two major articles, Yadlin argued that Israel should ditch its policy of non-intervention in favor of a more active policy that leads to the defeat of the country’s “most bitter enemies”: Iran and its Syrian and Lebanese allies. To achieve this end he called for direct military support to anti-Assad rebels, increased humanitarian assistance, and a parallel front against the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. “When Assad is ultimately ousted,” Yadlin wrote, “it is important that the Arab and Muslim world know that Israel was on the right side of the struggle and operated correctly from both a moral and a strategic perspective.”   More

 

Saudis Resume Bombing Yemen and U.S. Sells More Weapons

The Pentagon announced an additional $1.15 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia this week, even as a three-month cease-fire collapsed and the Saudi-led coalition resumed its brutal bombing campaign of the Yemen capital Sana’a.

The U.S. has already sold more than $20 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia since the war began in March 2015, defying calls from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to cut off support. The Saudi-led coalition is responsible for the majority of the 7,000 deaths in the conflict, which has left more than 21 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Saudi Arabia has been accused of intentionally targeting homes, factories, schools, markets, and hospitals.   More

 

U.S. Air Force refueling missions over Yemen grow by 60 percent

U.S. Air Force KC-135s and KC-10s are and have been prepositioned within the Central Command theater ready to “support partner nations and theater refueling requirements,” said Air Forces Central Command spokeswoman Kiley Dougherty.  As of Aug. 8, “we've flown 1,144 aerial refueling sorties totaling approximately 9,793 flying hours and providing 40,535,200 pounds of fuel to 5,525 receiving aircraft,” Dougherty told Air Force Times in an email Monday. The latest statistics show sorties in support of the Saudi-led coalition against Yemeni rebels have increased roughly 61 percent since AFCENT last provided data in February.   More

 

The world's best cyber army doesn't belong to Russia

National attention is focused on Russian eavesdroppers’ possible targeting of U.S. presidential candidates and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Yet, leaked top-secret National Security Agency documents show that the Obama administration has long been involved in major bugging operations against the election campaigns -- and the presidents -- of even its closest allies.  The United States is, by far, the world’s most aggressive nation when it comes to cyberspying and cyberwarfare. The National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on foreign cities, politicians, elections and entire countries since it first turned on its receivers in 1952. Just as other countries, including Russia, attempt to do to the United States.   More

 

Why It's So Hard for Members of the Military to Speak Out

Having spent trillions of dollars on war with such sorry results, it’s a wonder that key figures in the U.S. military or officials in any other part of America’s colossal national security state and the military-industrial complex (“the Complex” for short) haven’t spoken out forcefully and critically about the disasters on their watch.  Yet they have remained remarkably mum when it comes to the obvious.  Such a blanket silence can’t simply be attributed to the war-loving nature of the U.S. military.  Sure, its warriors and warfighters always define themselves as battle-ready, but the troops themselves don’t pick the fights.  Nor is it simply attributable to the Complex’s love of power and profit, though its members are hardly eager to push back against government decisions that feed the bottom line. To understand the silence of the military in particular in the face of a visible crisis of war-making, you shouldn’t assume that, from private to general, its members don’t have complicated, often highly critical feelings about what’s going on. The real question is: Why they don’t ever express them publicly? … To those who’ve been exposed to hierarchical, authority-heavy institutions, that lesson will undoubtedly come as no surprise.   More

 

 

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ISRAEL, PALESTINE . . . and the U.S.

 

DEMS AND ISRAEL/PALESTINE: New Leadership, Old Policies

Clinton has gone out of her way during the campaign to say that she will make strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance one of her top priorities. In an op-ed in the Jewish Daily Forward in November, she committed to doing “everything I can to enhance our strategic partnership and strengthen America’s security commitment to Israel.” (Given U.S. preparations to sign, as early as next week, a new memorandum of understanding to provide Israel $47 billion in military aid over the next 10 years, it’s worth asking how much stronger it could be). When Sanders challenged Clinton during a debate in March to declare Israel’s use of force in Gaza in 2014 disproportionate, she refused… Key constituencies of the party, including its grassroots base and those mobilized by the Sanders campaign, are ready for the U.S. to take stronger action on ending Israel’s impunity. Under Hillary Clinton’s leadership, however, it will take a lot of agitation to make the Democracy Party catch up with its progressive base.   More

 

TELL CONGRESS: Oppose 'Combating BDS Act of 2016'

As of yesterday, 29 Senators and 90 Representatives had supported this outlandish legislation. Click here to see if your Members of Congress have cosponsored this bill.  This bill would “authorize” state and local governments to unconstitutionally penalize entities such as nonprofit organizations and corporations for supporting the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).  The Supreme Court has long held that boycotts and related activities to bring about political, social, and economic change are political speech, occupying “the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.” As the Harvard Law Review recently concluded, “Supreme Court precedents make clear that attempts to disqualify contractors for support of BDS are foreclosed by the First Amendment.”  Even though this bill might be unconstitutional, we still need to organize to oppose it. This legislation is designed to further encourage a country-wide effort by the Israel lobby to try to suppress BDS activism at the state and local level.  Check out the RightToBoycott website we recently launched with member groups Palestine Legal and Jewish Voice for Peace. Find out if anti-BDS legislation has been introduced in your state and get the legal and organizing resources you need to mobilize to challenge it.  Contact your Member of Congress today!

There are 89 co-sponsors in the House – so far including NONE from Mass;  28 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Sen. Markey, but not Sen. Warren.

 

Palestinians welcome Movement for Black Lives platform

Pledging to “firmly and consistently stand in solidarity with our Black sisters and brothers in the United States and around the world,” Palestinians welcomed the policy platform recently released by the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 50 Black-led organizations.  In a statement on Tuesday, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) reiterated its support for the growing Black Lives Matter movement.  The BNC thanked the Movement for Black Lives “for the powerful words of solidarity in the Invest-Divest section of the platform specifically endorsing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures against Israel’s occupation and apartheid in line with the 2005 Palestinian civil society call until all Palestinian human rights are respected.”  More

 

Black activists slam Israel lobby attack on Movement for Black Lives

The Movement for Black Lives (MBL), a coalition of more than 50 Black-led organizations, provoked the wrath of the Israel lobby earlier this week following the release of its much anticipated policy platform, “A Vision for Black Lives.”  In response, voices from inside and outside the movement are pushing back without fear, signaling the shrinking effectiveness of Israel lobby groups in framing the narrative, particularly among the younger generation of social justice activists…   The backlash from pro-Israel groups and media outlets was swift, with the most scathing coming from the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in Boston, a member of a national network of communal organizations that lobby for Israel, including by supporting anti-BDS laws in state legislatures around the country.   More

 

Former AIPAC Researcher:

CONDITIONS SHOULD COME WITH $40B AID PACKAGE TO ISRAEL

Despite the billions of dollars in foreign assistance that Israel already receives annually from the United States, the Obama administration is reportedly close to providing the Jewish state with up to $40 billion in funding over 10 years, making it the biggest U.S. military aid package ever given to any country.  However, if American taxpayers are going to again foot the bill for financing the Israeli military, which continues to occupy 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, then conditions must be put on the deal to exact concessions from Israel. U.S. aid to the Jewish state should be tied to progress in the peace process and respect for Palestinian human rights…   Under Netanyahu’s watch, Israel clearly has no intention of ending its occupation. Consequently, the United States should be exerting pressure on Israel to persuade the Netanyahu government to abandon its settlement activities, not rewarding the Jewish state with increased military aid.

The Obama administration should make it clear that there are strings attached to U.S. aid and that Israel’s failure to comply with a settlement freeze will have financial penalties.    More

 

 

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OTHER EVENTS

 

 

 

 

WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

 

Baltimore Police Systematically Abuse Black Residents' Civil Rights

When Baltimore erupted in an uprising last year following the violent death of Freddie Gray in police custody, angry protesters, most of them black youth, were widely denounced as criminals and thugs. Maryland's governor deployed the national guard as riot police poured in from across the state and residents faced a city-wide curfew… Yet, as in Ferguson, Missouri, it was the sustained mobilization to Baltimore's streets that forced the world to see the systemic racism of the city's police department, and forced Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to ask the Department of Justice to launch an investigation. Poor black residents of the deeply segregated city described a police department that behaved like an occupying force, brutalizing and disproportionately targeting them with unnecessary stops and deadly force… Now, the Department of Justice has released the findings of its investigation in a damning report that confirms police systematically abuse the civil rights of residents, disproportionately targeting African Americans with unjustified stops, searches, arrests and violent force, and committing horrific acts of degradation.   More

 

 

The Staggering Racial Wealth Divide

Most media coverage of racial injustice has understandably focused on our country’s unfair policing and criminal justice system. But to fully understand the current reality of racial inequality in America, we also need to take an honest look at our nation’s shocking wealth disparities.

Wealth — the total assets a family owns after the bills are paid — is the safety net we all need to help us get through the tough times and invest in our futures. And its polarization along racial lines is striking.  The average wealth for white households is $656,000. For Latinos it’s $98,000, and for black households it’s just $85,000. The average wealth of black and Latinos combined still doesn’t come close to half of white wealth.  And while white wealth continues to grow substantially, any gains in black and Latino wealth pale in comparison. Current estimates show that if nothing changes, the racial wealth divide will grow to $1 million by 2043…  Generations of racial discrimination in programs like housing and government benefits are now reflected in dismal bank statements and paltry retirement funds for blacks and Latinos.       More

 

A National Grassroots Network Goes All In To Defeat Trump

A newly formed national network of grassroots organizations with affiliates in 30 states that represent more then 1 million people has agreed to throw its weight behind an all-out effort to defeat Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 elections and to build support for a progressive economic and social justice agenda.  About 100 leaders of People’s Action, the organization formed out of an alliance between National People’s Action, Alliance for a Just Society, USAction and Campaign for America’s Future, voted on the “defeat Trump” resolution at its first-ever People’s Assembly, a governing body comprised of affiliate leaders. The resolution is not an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, although it calls for the organization to “reinforce and strengthen Hillary Clinton’s (and the support of down-ballot candidates) for our key issues in order to move our agenda after the election.”   More

 

Trump's economic plan:

No 'death tax', less business tax, and fewer regulations

In addition, Trump said he would lower corporate tax rates from 40% to 15% – a rate he said punished “companies for making products in America”… Trump also said he would eliminate the estate tax, which currently applies to estates larger than $5.45m for individuals, or $10.9m for married couples… The specifications of the economic plan appeared to mimic proposals offered last fall by his campaign and later highlighted on his campaign’s website. In March, the group Citizens for Tax Justice said his plan would cost more than $12tn. Trump also reiterated his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and his plan to ask TransCanada to renew the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The newest proposals included a temporary moratorium on regulations from federal agencies.   More

 

The Millions of Americans Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Barely Mention: The Poor

Increasing affordable housing was until recently a standard campaign pledge for presidential candidates of both parties. President Bill Clinton created a “National Home Ownership Strategy.” President George W. Bush announced early in his first term a target of creating 5.5 million new minority homeowners by 2010, alongside measures to encourage the construction of rental housing.  But Mrs. Clinton did not mention housing in her Philadelphia acceptance speech. Her campaign website highlights 37 issues, but housing is not among them, although the campaign issued some proposals in February…   The silence is particularly striking because the problem is growing. There is not a single state where a full-time worker earning the minimum wage can rent a market-rate one-bedroom apartment for 30 percent or less of their income, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. And more than 11 million households spend more than half of their income on rent.   More

 

CLASS AND IDENTIFY POLITICS IN THIS ELECTION

Once a class-based coalition, the party has become an alliance between upscale well-educated whites and, importantly, ethnic and racial minorities, many of them low income. “The voice of the left — especially the old social democratic left — has lost force in recent years,” Ian Buruma, a professor of democracy, human rights, and journalism at Bard College, wrote me in an email. This is partly because leftwing parties since the 1960s began to switch their attention from working class struggle to identity politics…  If liberal public policy intellectuals are unable develop “a clear program to refashion capitalism and globalization for the twenty-first century,” Rodrik warns, “the field will be left wide open for populists and far-right groups who will lead the world – as they always have – to deeper division and more frequent conflict.”

If current trends continue, not only will there be a class inversion among the white supporters of the Democratic Party, but the party will become increasingly dependent on a white upper middle class that has isolated itself from the rest of American society.  Instead of serving as the political arm of working and middle class voters seeking to move up the ladder, the Democratic Party faces the prospect of becoming the party of the winners, in collaboration with many of those in the top 20 percent who are determined to protect and secure their economic and social status.   More

 

The Great White Hype: No One Is Energizing the White Working Class, Not Even Donald Trump

…poll numbers actually show that Trump is now less popular with the white working class than Romney was. In 2012, Romney won 62 percent of noncollege-educated white voters. The latest NBC-Wall Street Journal poll showed that Trump isn’t even winning a clear majority with the group, with just 49 percent backing him. A McClatchy/Marist poll puts him even lower, at 46 percent. This is a reversal from earlier in the summer, when Trump’s support among the group was in the 60s, higher than Romney’s, though not by leaps and bounds.  Much of the analysis of Trump’s support was based on the fact that he did very well indeed among a particular group of white working-class voters early on: those who planned to vote in the GOP primary. Surowiecki, for instance, cited a July 2015 Washington Post/ABC News poll that showed a third of white GOP voters without college degrees had decided to support Trump, more than his rivals in the then-crowded field.  But one third of white working-class voters planning to vote in a GOP primary is not that many people. Just 14 percent of eligible adults took part in the presidential caucuses and primaries, 9 percent of the total American population. White working-class Trump voters were a small subset of that number, not really enough to make much of a difference.   More

 

The Israeli Company That Fenced in Gaza Eyes Trump's Mexico Wall

“Israel is known as a leader in developing anti-intruder systems because of the threats it faces constantly,” said Yiftach Shapir, a senior fellow specializing in military technology at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. He said such barriers “are not impermeable, especially with a very long border like in the southern U.S that needs constant patrolling.”  That’s not stopping Magal from closely following Trump’s controversial proposal to build a barrier to stop undocumented immigrants from slipping across the 2,000 mile-long border between the U.S. and Mexico.  “We would join forces with a major U.S. defense company that has experience with such projects worldwide,” Koursh said. “We’ve done it in the past and we would definitely want to do it.”   More

 

High School Students' Test Results Are Being Sent to Military Recruiters Without Consent

Data released by the Department of Defense on August 1st shows the military administered its 3-hour enlistment exam to nearly 700,000 students in 12,000 high schools during the 2013-14 school year, a 2% increase over the prior year… The data released by the DOD identifies 900 schools that require students to take the test, although the number is actually much larger. For instance, North Little Rock High School tested 680, almost all of its juniors and seniors. All of the data was shipped to recruiters without mom and dad in the loop, while the Pentagon's database reports that the students took the test voluntarily. (70% of the students are economically disadvantaged, and the school is 89% minority.)  Alief Early College High School in Houston tested 500 seniors.  The school is 97% minority. The database says the test was not required.  How do they manage to get 500 teenagers to voluntarily take a military enlistment test? … Once the test is scored, the recruiting command sends recruiters to the schools to meet with students to discuss "career paths."   More

 

A financial transaction tax would help ensure Wall Street works for Main Street

A well-designed financial transaction tax (FTT)—a small levy placed on the sale of stocks, bonds, derivatives, and other investments—would be an efficient and progressive way to generate tax revenues. Gross revenues from a well-designed FTT would likely range from $110 billion to $403 billion…  Regardless of the level of revenues raised, an FTT would be a win-win for the U.S. economy. Higher revenues would result in more funds for social insurance programs and much-needed public investments. Lower revenues would be the result of the FTT crowding out financial transactions of little value to the U.S. economy. This would boost Americans’ incomes through lowering fees on financial services, such as the management of 401(k)s and other accounts.   Why this matters: As the U.S. economy continues to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession, an FTT would help ensure the financial sector compensates other sectors of the economy (particularly U.S. households) for the damage the sector inflicted. Through generating tax revenues, decreasing the fees Americans pay on their investments, and shrinking unproductive parts of the financial sector, an FTT would help Wall Street work for Main Street.   More

 

Veterans For Peace Awarded 2016 Peace Prize

Veterans For Peace Awarded 2016 Peace Prize
The US Peace Memorial Foundation has awarded its 2016 Peace Prize to Veterans For Peace “In recognition of heroic efforts to expose the causes and costs of war and to prevent and end armed conflict.” Michael Knox, Chair of the Foundation, presented the award on August 13 at the Veterans For Peace national convention banquet, held at the University of California, Berkeley.  In his remarks, Knox said, “Thank you, Veterans For Peace, for your tireless antiwar work, creativity, and leadership.  Your organization is an inspiration to peace loving people throughout the world.” The Peace Prize was accepted by Michael McPherson, Veterans For Peace Executive Director; Barry Ladendorf, President of the Board of Directors; and by Doug Rawlings, a VFP Founder, to loud applause from an audience of about 400. President Ladendorf commented, “For 31 years, Veterans For Peace has been the only veterans organization that has consistently led the peace movement in an effort to abolish war, eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, expose the real costs of war, stand in solidarity with veterans and victims of war, and to keep our nation from interfering overtly and covertly into the affairs of other nations.  This award is a great honor for Veterans For Peace and is a testament to the foresight, wisdom and dedication of our founders and to the thousands of VFP members worldwide who have led us in our non-violent struggle for a peaceful world.  We are indeed grateful and honored to receive the 2016 US Peace Memorial Foundation Peace Prize.” See photos and full details at: www.uspeacememorial.org/PEACEPRIZE.htm. In addition to receiving our highest honor, the 2016 Peace Prize, Veterans For Peace has been designated a Founding Member of the US Peace Memorial Foundation.  They join previous Peace Prize recipients Kathy F. Kelly, CODEPINK Women for Peace, Chelsea Manning, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Dennis Kucinich, and Cindy Sheehan. Distinguished Americans and nationally prominent U.S. organizations that were also nominated and considered for the award this year include Center for Global Nonkilling, Lynn M. Elling, Colman McCarthy, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility.  You can read about the antiwar/peace activities of all recipients and nominees in our publication, the US Peace Registry. The US Peace Memorial Foundation directs a nationwide effort to honor Americans who stand for peace by publishing the US Peace Registry, awarding an annual Peace Prize, and planning for the US Peace Memorial in Washington, DC.  These projects help move the United States toward a culture of peace by honoring the millions of thoughtful and courageous Americans and U.S. organizations that have taken a public stand against one or more U.S. wars or who have devoted their time, energy, and other resources to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts.  We celebrate these role models to inspire other Americans to speak out against war and to work for peace. Please help us continue this important work.  Have your name permanently associated with peace by joining the list of individuals, organizations, and Peace Prize recipients who are Founding Members.  Founding Members are listed on our website, in our publication the US Peace Registry, and eventually at the US Peace Memorial.   If you haven't yet become a Founding Member or made your 2016 contribution, please do so today!  Thank you very much for your support.   Lucy, Charlie, Jolyon, and Michael Board of Directors The IRS has determined that US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by U.S. law.  A receipt will be provided.   Find us on Facebook   Copyright 2016, US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc.
FOUNDATION DOCUMENTS AND LINKS YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING
“WORLD PEACE: A FIRST STEP”	"HONORING PEACE AND ANTIWAR BEHAVIOR: THE US PEACE REGISTRY" 2015 ANNUAL REPORT

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T For Texas-With The Legendary Texas Bluesman Henry Thomas In Mind

T For Texas-With The Legendary Texas Bluesman Henry Thomas In Mind

CD Review   

By Zack James  

Texas Blues, various artists, 4 CD set, 1996 

“I don’t know the difference between Texas blues, Mississippi blues, New Orleans blues and North Carolina blues except I know those mountain bound blues meant that those North Carolina pickers, picked cleaner than the others,” Mac Devitt was telling Seth Garth one night at the Club Nana, at a time when both the club and knowing the different blues traditions back among young city rat aficionado in the early 1960s mattered. A time when seemingly long dead guys, long forgotten too, were coming out of the woodwork, old time blues guys and a few gals, Sippy Wallace comes to mind, from Texas, Mississippi, New Orleans and North Carolina made knowing the difference, hell, when the old bastards got going defending the differences mattered.   

The reason the subject of the different traditions had even come up was that Seth Garth who already had something of reputation for being a folkie, at a time when folkie meant “beatnik” around Riverdale and while most of the corner boys he hung around with could give a rat’s ass about folk music or the difference blues picks he was trying to pick up any “converts” he could. All they gave a rat’s ass about and Seth had been among them then was hard-boiled rock and roll music. One whom he had picked up for the folk portion of his endeavors was Jack Callahan but he was lost on the blues gambit, didn’t have a feel for the sound. And beside Jack was getting “hot” with Kathy Kelly who while she would not have used the term “rat’s ass” didn’t give one which meant that Jack didn’t.

The whole bit about music anyway, as it involved Seth, was that he had dreams, since he couldn’t carry a tune and was bloody murder on any instrument that he played that did not cry “uncle,” of becoming a music critic, or at least give it a swipe on the way to a big time journalist’s career. He really did have an ear for various types of music and more importantly had a sense of where various musical genres were heading, and who would follow the trends. Stuff that certain newspapers with anxious advertisers and maybe small press academic publications would grab with all hands. So he spent lots of time in high school doing research and listening to all kinds of stuff so HE knew the difference between the blues traditions.      

Funny thing about his “conversion” of Mac. The off-the-wall conversion had originally started when they were in the middle of a “clip” up at Slappy’s Record Shop in downtown Riverdale at a time when Seth was in his larcenous heart phase (a phase that really never left him he just had it under control better sometimes more than others). The “clip” of course was the classic corner boy coming of age action that made one a corner boy in the Acre neighborhood of Riverdale, the working poor section. Slappy’s was well-known as the place where teenagers, especially girl teenagers who seem to have had more discretionary funds available, bought their rock and roll 45s and LPs. Slappy’s though was a full service shop and you could get others stuff, even classical music records if you can believe that there. He, Slappy, had small bins of folk and blues stuff which expanded somewhat when those genres started getting a hearing from guys like Seth and some of the college kids who attended Knolls College a few towns over. Seth had grabbed, clip grabbed, a fair share of his folk record collection from those bins (including throwing back a few dogs when they didn’t work out after he played them on the family record player at home).

At the time when Mac expressed interest he was plowing forward on his blues phase after he had heard a guy named Skip James down in Newport at the folk festival there. (The folkies, the serious New York and Harvard Square folkies did not draw as big a distinction as Seth did at the time between say mountain music and blues, country or city-etched it was all roots music and that was the draw.) Now a lot of times Seth would work the clip alone, had it down to a science. But on this one he was looking for Texas blues, guys like Mance Lipscomb, Henry Thomas, Lightnin’ Hopkins so he needed a cover, a guy to help look through the piles. That was the time when Mac asked his naïve if heartfelt question.             

Seth later after grabbing a new Mance Lipscomb and a legendary Tanker Thornton album gave Mac the skinny on the differences. The sound differences which made the various geographical locations have distinct sounds. That North Carolina clean pick was already mentioned but the Texas beat had more Mex influence was, the way Seth explained, a little more heavy-handed by design on the down-beat. Although later Seth would care less about the regional distinctions, would see once these lost treasure guys got “discovered,” got shipped up to places like Newport for the young urban acolytes to sit at the feet of that they would play off of each other. As for Mac he never stayed the course, got wired up with some girl from Mechanicville who was only crazy for Bobby Darrin and so of course that was all that Mac was crazy for. Still Seth was glad to hone his critical skills-and add to his record collection with Mac’s help.