tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281791102009-11-24T15:32:05.500-08:00Brought to you by the miracle of functioning anarchy.The Raghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15985130753260648425noreply@blogger.comBlogger5000125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-30581151370199591302009-11-24T15:00:00.000-08:002009-11-24T15:32:05.512-08:00

A sign in Caracas, Venezuela, denounces expanded U.S. military presence in Colombia. Photo by Thomas Coex / AFP / Getty Images.Just the beginning?The U.S buildup in ColumbiaBy Marion Delgado / The Rag Blog / November 24, 2009CARTAGENA DE INDIES, Colombia -- Larandia Air Force Base, Departmento Caquetá, in southern Colombia, is shared by the Colombian National Army (COLAR), National Police (DAS),

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-57693214546264363872009-11-24T06:24:00.000-08:002009-11-24T07:52:32.636-08:00

Paul Krassner depicted in Oui Magazine advertisement for an upcoming October 1975 interview. Graffiti includes references to the Realist mascot, Lenny Bruce, and Jerry Rubin. Image from the Realist Archive Project.In praise of indecency:Paul Krassner is our 'Satirist-Laureate'By Harvey Wasserman / The Rag Blog / November 24, 2009It’s time our national government at last enshrines its most

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-66888933472603338302009-11-23T13:43:00.000-08:002009-11-24T14:23:37.099-08:00

A quiet way of helping:The backpacks of Moblerly, Missouri...we began to realize that some of these children go home to houses where they literally may not eat over the weekend. And we couldn't just sit back and not do anything to help them.By Ted McLaughlin / The Rag Blog / November 23, 2009"Every Friday afternoon, the backpacks are placed carefully on the floors of the hallways in the

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-13276111638938600522009-11-23T10:58:00.000-08:002009-11-23T13:24:18.537-08:00

Above,“Golpistas: Here Is Your Vote.” Rebelión poster. Demonstration against electoral campaign, Intibucá. Photo from Indymedia Honduras.Micheletti prepares for election;Moves against boycott, resistanceBy David Holmes Morris / The Rag Blog / November 23, 2009With a nod of approval from the U.S. State Department, the de facto president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, has announced he will take

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-78283545312611182012009-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:002009-11-22T11:54:56.927-08:00

Photo by Mike Albans / AP.The real death panel:A requiem for true health care reform?By Dr. Stephen R. Keister / The Rag Blog / November 22, 2009It was ten years ago that I lost my wife who was my buddy and companion. The Lady succumbed to a particularly virulent type of malignancy after a year of intensive treatment which she had hoped would give her a few more years.Happily, at the end we were

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-61951531267316072632009-11-22T09:01:00.000-08:002009-11-22T09:43:18.975-08:00

"Wait Times!" Cartoon by Matt Bors.The GOP's health care nuttinessAnd the insurance industry backstoryThe problem the right has with health care reform is not that it represents intrusive government (it doesn’t). It’s that it doesn’t represent the kind of intrusive, authoritarian government they like.By Glenn W. Smith / The Rag Blog / November 22, 2009The sheer volume of the nutty screaming from

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-10935123321346596362009-11-22T06:30:00.000-08:002009-11-22T06:50:39.279-08:00

Genetic science in agriculture:The uses of biotechnologyBy Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / November 22, 2009I recently wrote about GMO’s on The Rag Blog ("The Future of Agriculture: Genetics and the Limits of Oil") and I want to expand a little on the thoughts I presented in that article.Biotechnology is a powerful new tool that we are just learning to use, but it can give certain targeted benefits

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-6575505262175580802009-11-21T11:20:00.000-08:002009-11-21T14:31:17.618-08:00

Mural at the University of Central America in San Salvador depicts martyred Jesuit priests and suggests complicity of the nation’s business and political leadership.Slain Jesuit priests honored in El SalvadorIn El Salvador, six Jesuit priests are being honored twenty years after their murders by the U.S.-backed Salvadoran military. On Monday [November 16, 2009], the priests were bestowed the

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-91940009220495751662009-11-21T07:49:00.000-08:002009-11-21T09:21:23.904-08:00

Above, the Fellowship's house on C Street in Washington, D.C. Photo by Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press / MCT. Below, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak. Photo by Susan Walsh / AP.The Fellowship on C Street:Bart Stupak and the impact of the Family Expect it to grow in power if economic conditions do not improve dramaticallyBy Sherman DeBrosse / The Rag Blog / November 21, 2009See 'C Street House no longer tax

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-34100696476953363152009-11-20T12:05:00.000-08:002009-11-22T07:02:26.268-08:00

Photo by chrisjfry / Flickr.Serve the people!Carve up Wall StreetBy Alex Knight / The Rag Blog / November 20, 2009See Amy Goodman's interview with Robert Scheer on Wall Street and the economy, from Democracy Now!, Below.Yesterday, Democracy Now! reported that two major records have been broken in 2009 -- Wall St. profits ($35.7 billion in the first half of the year), and the number of Americans

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-58105775575597913832009-11-20T08:07:00.000-08:002009-11-20T08:35:01.349-08:00

"The First Thanksgiving," painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930) / Wikimedia Commons.How I stopped hating ThanksgivingAnd learned to be afraidThis is a society in which even progressive people routinely allow national and family traditions to trump fundamental human decency.By Robert Jensen / The Rag Blog / November 20, 2009I have stopped hating Thanksgiving and learned to be afraid of

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-67294698580747364352009-11-20T07:06:00.000-08:002009-11-20T15:58:10.486-08:00

Putting children in jail:T. Don Hutto and family detention in AmericaAs hope for change in Obama immigration policy dwindles, activists speculate on the fate of family detention.By Lily Keber / The Rag Blog / November 20, 2009See 'Hutto: America's Family Prison,' A film by Lily Keber and Matt Gossage, Below.When she first arrived in the U.S. with her two small children, Denia didn’t realize she

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-42989970813187506812009-11-19T19:03:00.000-08:002009-11-19T19:43:54.773-08:00

The symbolic uses of politics:The Gipper and the RogueBy Harry Targ / The Rag Blog / November 20, 2009Moderate Republicans -- yes, they are not extinct, though most are in hiding -- scoff at Sarah Palin and wish she would go away....Reagan piously gave lip service to the right-wing social agenda while doing nothing to further it by legislation....The ‘Gipper’ talked tough about the Russians --

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-46223948170193135722009-11-19T10:58:00.000-08:002009-11-21T07:58:51.909-08:00

Below, cover of Space City!, June 1, 1971. Illustration and design by Bill Narum.Bill Narum was a dear friend of The Rag Blog and my personal friend and colleague for more than four decades. He was art director at Space City!, the pioneering underground paper we published in Houston in the late Sixties and early Seventies. He was a major force in the Houston underground radio scene -- at KLOL and

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Agriculture, genetics and a sustainable future......the oil requirement for U.S. food production and transportation will no doubt loom as a much bigger factor, forcing a restructuring of the food industry.By Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / November 18, 2009An old friend, Val Liveoak, posting on a Rag-junkie list, drew my attention to this interesting article on genetic engineering and its

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-40091571301208882562009-11-18T11:10:00.000-08:002009-11-18T11:33:41.063-08:00

The independents are jumping ship...Republican misinformation and economic realityBy Sherman DeBrosse / The Rag Blog / November 18, 2009By persistent obstructionism and using endless false information, the GOP pulled off some big wins in the 2009 elections. Worse still, they have been able to convince people that Obama has handled the economy badly. The YouGov poll shows that 47% disapprove of

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-43925744936448590112009-11-18T06:08:00.000-08:002009-11-18T07:20:12.762-08:00

[There was a remarkable segment on last night's Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC (Nov. 17, 2009). Former evangelical leader Frank Schaeffer described for Maddow and her audience some genuinely frightening activity that is occurring on the fringes of the religious right, including the use of biblical verse to make thinly-cloaked calls to violence against the President of the United States. Schaeffer

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-47585176075345917032009-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:002009-11-17T13:50:26.536-08:00

Top, Chiva party bus Cartegena: Party down. Below, "The Yanks are Coming!"The new Colombian war:Nature of U.S. incursion still unclearThe new U.S. air base in Palanquero... will 'expand expeditionary warfare capability' and 'improve global reach' for 'conducting full spectrum operations...' By Marion Delgado / The Rag Blog / November 17, 2009CARTAGENA DE INDIES, Colombia -- THEY’RE HERE! A scant

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-14809560113256873932009-11-17T06:45:00.000-08:002009-11-17T08:10:16.564-08:00

Rooftop snipers, armored vehicles and lock-down zones around the courthouse are part of the security plan during the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his cohorts. Photo by Schwartz / Daily News.Are we a nation of laws?The trial of Khalid Sheikh MohammedBy Ted McLaughlin / The Rag Blog / November 17, 2009The Justice Department has finally decided to do the right thing, and bring Khalid Sheikh

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-86443883201574192452009-11-17T06:31:00.000-08:002009-11-17T10:01:14.556-08:00

Barack Obama and the Afghanistan decision:One (term) if by war, two if by peaceBy Harvey Wasserman / November 17, 2009As the world awaits Barack Obama's decision on Afghanistan, a lethal myth has spread. It says that standing up to the military will doom him to be a single-term president.The "one if by peace" myth comes most recently from Garry Wills in the New York Review of Books. Wills mourns

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-80054342250977884642009-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:002009-11-16T14:40:21.973-08:00

Grading Obama's presidency:A list of 90 accomplishmentsBy Betty Dubose Hamilton / The Rag Blog / November 16, 2009See 'A Grade for Obama: First six months' record,' by Robert P. Watson, Below. With his list of 90 accomplishments, Dr. Robert P. Watson of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, has graded Barack Obama on his first six months in office.I think the list is invaluable even though, as

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-10914390887851790542009-11-16T08:34:00.000-08:002009-11-16T09:29:10.329-08:00

Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson. Below, Alexis with son Kamani Hutchinson. Photos from Oakland Tribune.U.S. Army:Infant to protective services, mom to AfghanistanBy Dahr Jamail / November 16, 2009See 'Morally bankrupt military: When soldiers and their families become expendable,' by Dahr Jamail, Below.VENTURA, California -- U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-41901545205671068102009-11-16T06:04:00.001-08:002009-11-16T07:16:37.663-08:00

Hot oil? Petroleum "pipa" with the mark of the Zetas, the infamous drug cartel branching out into petro-piracy. Photo from NarcoGuerra Times.HOT OIL!Union crooks, drug cartels and U.S. corporations are stealing billions of bucks of Mexican petroleum.By John Ross / The Rag Blog / November 16, 2009MEXICO CITY -- In a catchy photo op staged this past August, officials of the U.S. Department of

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-85035404266758225512009-11-15T13:52:00.000-08:002009-11-16T18:05:11.536-08:00

Portland's Cannabis Cafe opened on Friday the 13th of November, 2009. Photo from The Portland Mercury.Dutch-style pot shop:Cannabis Café is medical marijuana salon...the cafe comes almost a month after the Obama administration told federal attorneys not to prosecute patients who use marijuana for medical reasons or dispensaries in states which have legalized them.By Dan Cook / November 15,

thorne dreyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16274390474388668913noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28179110.post-29127632769418486122009-11-15T11:35:00.000-08:002009-11-15T12:51:35.453-08:00

It's pure torture:Reviewing the House Health Care planBy Dr. Stephen R. Keister / The Rag Blog / November 15, 2009See 'Healthcare-NOW on the House Health Care bill,' Below.In his excellent review in TheRag Blog, Alex Knight discussed Silvia Federici's new book Calaban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation.Caliban and the Witch is a study of women accused of witchcraft, and

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