http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/02-2
>From Empire to Democracy
by Howard Zinn
The Guardian UK: October 2, 2008
This current financial crisis is a major way-station on the way to the
collapse of the American empire. The first important sign was 9/11, with the
most heavily-armed nation in the world shown to be vulnerable to a handful
of hijackers.
And now, another sign: both major parties rushing to get an agreement to
spend $700bn of taxpayers' money to pour down the drain of huge financial
institutions which are notable for two characteristics: incompetence and
greed.
There is a much better solution to the current financial crisis. But it
requires discarding what has been conventional "wisdom" for too long: that
government intervention in the economy ("big government") must be avoided
like the plague, because the "free market" will guide the economy towards
growth and justice.
Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have
always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that
intervention has been welcomed by the captains of finance and industry. They
had no quarrel with "big government" when it served their needs.
It started way back, when the founding fathers met in Philadelphia in 1787
to draft the constitution. The first big bail-out was the decision of the
new government to redeem for full value the almost worthless bonds held by
speculators. And this role of big government, supporting the interests of
the business classes, continued all through the nation's history.
The rationale for taking $700bn from the taxpayers to subsidise huge
financial institutions is that somehow that wealth will trickle down to the
people who need it. This has never worked.
The alternative is simple and powerful. Take that huge sum of money and give
it directly to the people who need it. Let the government declare a
moratorium on foreclosures and give aid to homeowners to help them pay off
their mortgages. Create a federal jobs programme to guarantee work to people
who want and need jobs and for whom "the free market" has not come through.
We have a historic and successful precedent. Roosevelt's New Deal put
millions of people to work, rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, and,
defying the cries of "socialism", established social security. That can be
carried further, with "health security" - free health care - for all.
All that will take more than $700bn. But the money is there. In the $600bn
for the military budget, once we decide we will no longer be a war-making
nation. And in the swollen bank accounts of the super-rich, by taxing
vigorously both their income and their wealth.
When the cry goes up, whether from Republicans or Democrats, that this must
not be done because it is "big government", the citizenry should just laugh.
And then agitate and organise on behalf of what the Declaration of
Independence promised: that it is the responsibility of government to ensure
the equal right of all to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".
Only such a bold approach can save the nation - not as an empire, but as a
democracy.
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
Howard Zinn is a historian, playwright, and social activist
***
----- Original Message -----
From: j s f
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 2:45 PM
Subject: Earth Sucks get tickets
herein find the news, maybe old to you, or maybe new, but here all
in one place....
EARTH SUCKS: A Cosmic Rock Musical
opens at the Art/Works Theatre
in Los Angeles, California
on Saturday, October 4th
check out the links and the clips and the rest of the hoopla
hope to see you there.
cosmically yours
Intergalactic Opening: 10/4/2008
Art/Works Theater
6569 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90038
www.plays411.com/earthsucks
323 960 7744
www.earthsucksmusical.com
breaking news: Alien Rock Band Invades Los Angeles
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=6396080
Earth Sucks is a Celebration of Individuality and a Search for Hilarity in
the Universe
www.dailybruin.com/news/2008/oct/01
interview with emily stern:
www.jewishjournal.com
And for those of you able to afford it, please consider purchasing the
SUPER☆STAR TICKET which, in addition to including a ticket for yourself +
complimentary drink & dessert, helps to fund a program that brings in-need
high school students to the theater.
Many Thanks....
Citizens of Earth Productions
+1 310 621 6654 phone
+1 310 496 1432 fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
***
From: "Karin Pally" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 12:51 PM
Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of the European Parliament
is flying in from Rome to give the Keynote Speech
at the Rebuilding Alliance First Annual Peacemakers Dinner
WHEN: Saturday, October 4, 5 pm to 9 ;m.
WHERE: at the Red Rock Chateau
Silverado, Orange County, CA 92676
To reserve by phone, call Joanne at (714) 396-0178
DonateNow: All donations are tax deductible in the U.S.
Rebuilding Alliance Tax ID #56-2392452
To join us in person, please go to:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=167241&CFID=11837450&CFTOKEN=74529992
To support us from afar, please go to: http://www.rebuildingalliance.org
We wish you Eid Mubarak and Shana Tova!
Thanks to the generosity of the Simaan Family, who are hosting and
donating the dinner, 100% of all donations from this benefit event will
support The Rebuilding Alliance and its projects, bringing the world
together to rebuild Palestinian communities & make them safe.
This is the Rebuilding Alliance's 5th year. Here are some of our
achievements:
• In Gaza, despite the siege, we rebuilt a home for the family Rachel
Corrie sought to protect -- and they are now forming the Rachel Corrie
Charity in Rafah and holding a Ramadan soccer tournament, to bring their
community together.
• When President Carter was barred from entering Gaza, we helped him
connect with Gaza's NGO. President Carter answered the questions they
video-taped, then personally thanked us on the Carter Center website.
• In East Jerusalem, we helped Combatants for Peace build the first
Abir's Garden Playground, brought them to the State Department and
Congress to register Abir's case in the Annual Human Rights Report, and
are working to invoke the Leahy Law to make Israeli Border Police stop
shooting children. They'll be building the next Abir's Garden in Si'ir
village.
• In our very first West Bank project in 2003, we helped the village of
Al Aqaba build a new kindergarten. Ever since then, we've been working
to make it safe. We paid for the lawyer to help the village take its
case to the Israeli High Court when demolition orders were issued
against the whole town. Our kindergarten gave 17 consulates, UN
agencies, and NGOs the confidence to invested in Haj Sami Sadik and his
village too - constructive resistance at its best! Now we brought Al
Aqaba Mayor Haj Sami Sadik and BIMKOM co-founder Shmuel Groag on tour to
tell their story and personally ask you and Congress to care about Al
Aqaba. When this village sees its own master plan approved, it will set
a precedent for the other Palestinian villages slated for demolition,
and fix a glaring failure of the Oslo Accords.
• With help from colleagues at MEPAC, we wrote the Peacemakers
Resolution, H.Res 1369, that unanimously passed the House last week
under the sponsorship of Congresswoman Barbara Lee. It is not perfect,
but it is a start.
• We WON the “Employer of the Year Award” for hiring and training people
with disabilities, and someday we'll find seed funding to extend this
program to provide jobs for returning vets and other disabled people in
war zones.
In all this time, we've relied only on grassroots donations. Since
forming our 501c3, we've never received a grant greater than $10,000 -
but we held on and kept going. Our staff of 1 fulltime, two part-time
give this their all -- and so does our board.
Four new board members joined the Rebuilding Alliance Board of Directors
and together they worked all summer to update our bylaws and create our
strategic plan. If our work means something to you, please
______________________________
The Rebuilding Alliance is a 501c3 nonprofit organization (EIN 56-239
h2452). Donations are tax deductible in the U.S.
The Rebuilding Alliance
457 Kingsley Avenue
Palo Alto, California 94301
United States
phone: 650 325-4663
fax: 650 325-4667
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.RebuildingAlliance.org
***
From: Neighbors Website
Subject: Naomi Wolf
AUTHOR NAOMI WOLF TALKS ABOUT HER NEW BOOK AT 2 LA VENUES:
American Freedom Campaign’s co-founder Naomi Wolf's book, End of America
describes the ten steps would-be dictators always take in order to close
down societies and undermine democracies. The book also explains how the
Bush administration has been closely following the classic playbook.
Appropriately enough, the subtitle of the book is, "A letter of warning to a
young patriot."
Ms. Wolf has now followed that letter of warning with a new book, Give Me
Liberty, which is intended to be a "handbook for American revolutionaries."
As described by the publishers, Give Me Liberty "illustrates the
breathtaking changes that can take place when ordinary citizens engage in
the democratic system the way the founders intended and tells how to use
that system, right now, to change your life, your community, and ultimately,
the nation."
As the goal of this book is to encourage Americans to stand up and take back
their liberties, Ms. Wolf hopes that citizens will join her at events she is
doing around the country. At these events, attendees will engage in what she
is calling a "Citizens' Conversation and Call to Arms" and will also meet
and organize with others who want to defend liberty. Here is a current list
of scheduled events taking place today through October 22.
Monday, October 6 - Los Angeles, CA - 7:00 PM
Los Angeles Public Library/ ALOUD
630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles
(20-minute talk, Q&A, book signing)
Tuesday, October 7 - Los Angeles, CA - 7:00 PM
Vroman's
695 E. Colorado Blvd
(20-minute talk, Q&A, book signing)
http://neighborsforpeaceandjustice.org
------------------------------------
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