R.I.P. Marty Balin (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018). Marty Balin was one of the original founders of the Jefferson Airplane and in the early years was its signature voice. This YouTube clip features him performing “Volunteers” live at Woodstock in 1969. Rolling Stone obit: here; Washington Post: here. [Read more…]
Eric Satie : Gnossiennes 1 – 3 / Reinbert de Leeuw ( piano) | Video Worth Watching
Music for a bit of respite from the hectic and insanely tumultuous last few days: Satie’s Gnossiennes 1 – 3 performed by pianist Reinbert de Leeuw. Breathe slowly and deeply. [Read more…]
Hell Hath No Fury Like Women the GOP Scorned | Progressive Activist Calendar Sept. 28 – Oct. 8, 2018
Every woman I have contact with in any way, at my home, on the phone, on social or mass media, had a visceral reaction to the Republicans’ misogyny-fest on Capitol Hill this past week, also known as the judicial confirmation process. Tears, fears, rage, and physical reactions are the norm, not the exception.
I’m not about to write about the details of Senate spectacle of a bunch of old men sending a message that women don’t matter. It just makes me incoherently angry. Besides, I’m not so sure words from me are what’s needed right now.
I do believe a line has been crossed. We have an obligation to make this upcoming election a statement. It is already the year of the woman in terms of candidates for elected office. Now we all need to make sure it’s the year that women’s voices driving voter turnout.
I hope I’m right. There are more than two dozen events in this week’s Activist Calendar for your consideration. If you haven’t already volunteered for a campaign or get out the vote effort, now is the time to make a commitment. [Read more…]
The Unbelievable Cruelty of the GOP’s Kavanaugh Charade
By Jill Richardson / OtherWords
This past week, my private reality and the public reality playing out on the television have diverged. It’s hard to believe that I live in the same world as Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate judiciary chair trying to Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court.
When Christine Blasey Ford first alleged Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her — and when talking heads on TV began doubting her veracity, or insisting that the assault was not a big deal — a different conversation began.
It’s a private conversation, one-on-one, mostly. A few of us posted about sexual assault in general or about our own past assaults on our Facebook pages. Then the private messages began. [Read more…]
Airburst | Geo-Poetic Spaces
When F-16s
fly overhead
I sense the bulging wall
of a blood vessel
and worry the unchecked aneurysm
will rupture
into an airburst
vaporizing
sunbathing
torsos [Read more…]
Corporate Landlords: The Fight for Affordable Housing in California – Yes on 10 | More Video Worth Watching
The folks at Brave New Films have put together some revealing footage on the issue of corporate landlords and single-family dwellings here in California. More info in yesterday’s Starting Line column. [Read more…]
California 2018 Propositions 10-12 | Are They Really About Rent Control, Lunch Breaks and Cage-Free Eggs?
In the conclusion to this series on statewide propositions, we’ll look at two measures that aren’t what they seem to be and one that is what it seems to be, even though opponents claim otherwise.
Prop 10 asks voters to repeal the law prohibiting communities from regulating what landlords can charge residential tenants. Prop 11 asks voters to legalize a questionable labor policy. And Prop 12 ups the ante on the treatment of animals raised for human consumption.
On Monday, I looked at Propositions 1 through 4, and yesterday it was 5 through 8. If you’re wondering about Prop 9–aka the billionaire scheme to split California into three parts–you won’t find it.
The “Three States Initiative” was removed from the ballot by California Supreme Court” because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition’s validity and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election.”
Alas, venture capitalist and cryptocurrency investor Tim Draper has declared he’ll no longer be interested in this form of political tinkering by 2020. [Read more…]
Mark Bartlett, Chula Vista City Council D1 | Candidate Profiles for the November 2018 Ballot
Chula Vista is the second most populous city in San Diego County. With nearly 300,000 people, we are projected to grow immensely in the next coming decades. Chula Vista is also a city that is booming. Our city is coming back with a strong resurgence after a sluggish decade wherein budgetary decisions made by the previous administration had a direct impact leading to the downward trend.
New development and construction are cropping up across the city, and community leaders, as well as elected officials, know our city has a bright future. The Bayfront Project, Millenia Project, the potential four-year public university, and the flourishing of our Third Avenue Downtown center are just some of the city’s major growth activities.
We have quite a lot for which to be thankful; however, I would not be running for office if I saw everything as idyllic and perfect. Chula Vista, for all its strengths, has significant pitfalls that elected officials must address. We have a lack of public resources in our northeast corner of the city.
When I Think of the Wall
When I think of the wall
I see in my mind,
first of all,
people on my side of the wall,
people who,
when all is thought through,
appraising all of humanity,
live relatively comfortably,
in possession of all kinds of
certificates and degrees
from preschool
to PhDs,
living and/or dreaming
the dream of all dreams,
the American Dream,
that “Keeping Up with the Joneses Dream” [Read more…]
Text of the Declaration by Julie Swetnick, the Third Women to Accuse Kavanaugh of Sexual Misconduct
In her sworn statement, Swetnick says that she “fully understands the seriousness” of her accusations and charges that she was “gang-raped” when she was a high school student at a party where Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were both in attendance.
Represented by attorney Michael Avenatti, a third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward publicly on Wednesday to accuse Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of gross sexual misconduct when he was a young man.
In her sworn statement, Swetnick says that she “fully understands the seriousness” of her accusations and charges that she was “gang-raped” when she was a high school student at a party and that Kavanaugh, and his friend Mark Judge, were both “present.”
She also says she that Kavanaugh and his friends were known at the time for “targeting” girls with alcohol and drugs in order to take advantage of them sexually, and that she has “a firm recollection” that Judge and Kavanaugh were among the “boys lined up outside rooms at many [other] parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room.” [Read more…]
Donald Trump’s Sexual Predator Friends – from Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 11/9’ | More Video Worth Watching
Here are some excerpts from Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9 to help provide additional context to the sham show of a hearing being staged today by Senator Grassley’s Senate Judiciary Committee. [Read more…]
16 Women and Donald Trump | Video Worth Watching
This Brave New Film compilation from November 2017 of vignettes of the testimony of sixteen women who have come forward to report being sexually assaulted or harassed by Donald Trump should provide some context for today’s Senate hearings on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. (h/t to AGD) [Read more…]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- …
- 747
- Next Page »
