My only question: why is it when brown people come together and take some kind of action to help themselves when the state has failed them, they are “gangs?” White people who do this are called “mavericks” and “pioneers” and “elite club members.” Anyway, this is totally cool. Out of a fucking shack in a ditch, people. Amazing.

Under a scorching summer sun, a swarm of 400 furious women engulfed the scruffy electricity office of Banda district in north India. They were all dressed identically in fluorescent pink saris. For more than a fortnight they and their families had had no electricity, plunged into darkness at dusk and stewed in sweat at dawn. But they had all been sent bills demanding payment for power they had never received.

It was at noon one day last May that the group, brandishing sticks, first surrounded and then charged into the office, punching the air and shouting slogans of solidarity. They wanted to confront the officer in charge but met instead his cowering juniors, at whom they bawled to telephone the boss. When the man refused to come to the office, the women became incensed. They snatched the office key, roughed up the terrified staff and, after herding them outside, locked the door and ran away, vowing to return the key only when they had electricity again.  Read more 

CLICK the pic to the left to find yourself magically transported to a page hosting my latest MTV Street Team ’08 video, which was shot in Eugene, Oregon at a Martin Luther King Jr rally and march on January 21, 2008.

All shooting, editing, and sleeplessness by Nezua.  Read more 

YOU MAY RECALL, I posted a request for Olbermann last week or so, passing on the wish/hope/dream that one person in the Native American comunidad expressed for a greater level of exposure of their particular need.  Read more 

The Oregon Peace Grandmas, arrested after an action in which the most violent act appears to have been the throwing of some poster paint on a window, for which deed they were compared by the prosecutor to the suicide hijackers of 9-11…were acquitted. The news comes from the infinitely admirable FreewayBlogger, who got it out of the Portland (OR) Indymedia:

A Multnomah County jury found five grandparents charged with “unlawfully and intentionally causing substantial inconvenience to the United States” not guilty of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree on Thursday, December 13. Judge Richard Baldwin heard the case which stems from a silent vigil held by the Surge Protection Brigade, also know as the Seriously Pissed Off Grannies,  Read more 

OLBERMANN, I already know you read me, dawg. Stop LYIN’. And we all know you are down with tha populace, and have been a beacon of hope to many of the voiceless. You have put that pretty mug in front of the camera and scoffed forth many important statements on many crucial topics. (The War on Billoism is fun to watch, too.) So yeah. We’re in this together, and even tho you iz da elite, you have positioned yourself in the endzone of social justice lately. Please push your envelope (sorry to abandon the football metaphor, I roused it in your honor, but I just feel too damn corny to continue), let’s get that Olbermann® brand up there with the hardcore truth-to-powers, let’s get all Historical on their asses. Let’s bring attention to an epidemic of violence and poverty among those who have already suffered too much at the hands of this nation’s “development” (forgive the gross euphemism, indigenous friends, I’m trying to butter up Olbermann sssh).

Keith, you and I don’t need to quibble at the ubiquity of violence that seeks women in our culture. We know it is a reality. And in the American Indian Reservations, this violence flourishes in disproportionate numbers. And consequences for those who would harm these women—as well as protection and justice—withers, caught between indifference, legal complications, and/or hostility. There are at least shelters on-rez for them. It’s not a cure. But it is something. A place to go to be safe, to learn, to find some comfort and figure out what to do next.

Except when there is no money for such a place. Then, where could these women hope to find help?  Read more 

AND WILL THEY SAY nobody could have foreseen the weakness of the levees?

For the first time, Washington D.C. has collected data on H.I.V. and found that in the nation’s capital, the “modern epidemic”—as the Washington Post calls it—is now primarily one affecting blacks.

The numbers most starkly illustrate HIV’s impact on the African American community. More than 80 percent of the 3,269 HIV cases identified between 2001 and 2006 were among black men, women and adolescents. Among women who tested positive, a rising percentage of local cases, nine of 10 were African American. […]

The District’s AIDS rate is the worst of any city in the country, nearly twice the rate in New York and more than four times the incidence in Detroit, and it has been climbing faster than that of many jurisdictions. […]

—Study Calls HIV in D.C. A ’Modern Epidemic’; More Than 80 Percent Of Recent Cases Were Among Black Residents

And big propz must go to the woman who dares try and change the world, as well as shout out the truth as she lives and sees it:  Read more 

Letters to the editors, calls to the talk shows: demand investigation of real issues. Flood the blogs.  Read more 

So I got this link from the ActBlue folks, and it’s hard not to be impressed- I remember when they seemed just a tiny start up of yahoos (kidding, guys!) and now they are raising millions. With money from regular people too, the average donation size for this quarter is just under $100. I’ll have some money soon, and here’s my question to you: is anyone out there worth it? I’m not trying to be flip here, I’m curious what you all think about donating to campaigns (and I’m speaking only of campaigns, not organizations or charities). Is it feeding the Beast (the SCLM)? Does it cause candidates to take the Little People more seriously? Is there any fucking point to the national game anymore, or are we just fucked and thus should save our cash for ourselves? Tell me what you think.

Matt has a nice essay about the Left of the 1960s and the Left of today. Go contribute. I think about this sort of thing all the time, and I confess I’m not as ambitious as Matt; I’m not sure how I’d construct such a comparison.  Read more 

I was told by my super-educated very snobby art curator friend not to do this post, so of course I will. Recently I went to see the Societe Anonyme exhibit at the Phillips Collection here in DC. It was great! Modernism is very cool for a lot of reasons, not just because it’s neat to look at. This Wiki entry is a veritable who’s who of great thinkers of the last few centuries, and we’re still enjoying the result of their thought and activism. Some of what Modernism wrought was truly evil, and some of it brought us closer to the goals all good liberals strive to accomplish. I’ll let you all discuss the specifics, but I did have a thought or two about art and politics and technology today.  Read more 

I’m leaving off names because it doesn’t matter.

If you’ve ever been active on the left, you are frequently reminded of why certain stereotypes are grounded in reality. A famous quip about Democrats notes the lack of cohesion, of the disunity in purpose and direction in so many on our side. Who among us hasn’t been bored to tears by the single-issue locutionist, who waxes loquaciously about some topic in equal parts volume and intensity, and who never manages to completely form a “question” to the panel, despite several paragraphs worth of effort?  Read more 

Sirota has two good pieces up about the foolishness of clinging to terms like "Democrat" and "Republican" and of worrying about "bipartisanship" and "centrist mandates." They're very good, and I want to be among the first voices joining his, as progressives understand the opportunities and challenges of this incoming Congress and what can be done there.  Read more 

I was wrong. Now is the time for a little blog triumphalism. I just got this from the Webb campaign:

November 9 Victory Update

As expected, it was extremely close (49.6%-49.3%…a lead of only 7,200 votes), but the hard work of Generation Webb and the rest of our volunteers paid off and we not only won an election for Jim Webb, but we won back the U.S. Senate and have effectively ended the Bush Era in Washington!

Arlington alone made the difference. With 56% turnout and 73% for Webb, we increased participation by 22% and secured 10,000 more Democratic votes over the 2005 governor’s race…the margin needed for Jim Webb’s victory. In comparison, the 2002 mid-term election turnout was just 40%.  Read more 

A while back I wrote this funloving post while in a rare upbeat mood, and last night I spent some time with the Capitol Hill Drinking Liberally gang, and listened to John Hliko, founder of Act For Love and also the infamous DraftWesleyClark.com, and Stempac, the stem cell research advocacy blog. John and I agreed that it’s a simple idea: Democrats need to keep reminding people that we are the party of fun. And good sex, food, booze, comedians, and everything else that makes the burden of life lessened.  Read more 

Lambert and Chris are doing a little well deserved back patting, pointing out that without the Netroots, yesterday’s victories would’ve been a lot less momentous. I basically agree. If there was record “voter anger” and tremendous potential in the electorate, it’s still the case that Netroots activism helped the mostly clueless Dems take advantage of that. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news: starting tomorrow, the job for the Netroots community just got harder, more important, and requiring of even greater effort.  Read more 

I know I said I wouldn’t liveblog this, but gawd dayum! Mr. Hasan is Da Bomb. If you’re a blogger, working on a campaign, or just looking to learn about successful online to offiline organizing and activism, you need to go to one of his training sessions.  Read more 

I’m just a little angry this morning, so it’s time for me to get on the soap box. If you have recently done some of the things I’m going to suggest in this post, please understand I’m not angry with you.

What the christ is wrong with you people? The Kennedy article makes it beyond clear, democracy no longer functions in the republic. Do you think the Democrats are going to save you? The SCLM? Surveillance and probably more than that has emasculated both of those traditional bulwarks against tyranny, to say nothing of their own complicity. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

I’ve been all over the blogosphere, today and yesterday, catching up and watching the Kennedy piece get posted everywhere. Which is great. What I’m not seeing: calls for action. Why the hell not? How much more proof do we need? Has everyone just put the knowledge that we’re having elections in a couple of months in a little box and stashed it in some mental closet? Logic demands we act on this knowledge, today.

I don’t want to hear any whining. “I’m just one person.” “No one in power will listen to me.” “It’s too late to change out the machines.” “Rolling Stone isn’t respectable enough.” “My neighbors don’t care.” “I work two jobs and don’t have time.” To that I say: Tough Shit.  Read more 

John at America blog pointed me to this little blurb about crazy wingnut state supreme court candidates in the highly intellectual land of Alabama. Basically several of them are claiming that they don’t think, and won’t if elected, that they have to follow SCOTUS rulings they don’t like, such as those recognizing my right to have sex with my girlfriend and not be jailed for it.  Read more