Occupy movement comes to New Paltz; one arrest is made | New Paltz Times

23 Dec

A New Paltz resident and Occupy movement member spoke up during the public comment period, saying, “I was an activist probably before many of my fellow members were even born.” That said, he felt “rejuvenated by these young people and the Occupy movement, which is born out of great darkness. Homes of working Americans are being foreclosed on; millions are without health insurance; those that are pay more than half their paycheck for the limited insurance they receive, which includes increasingly high co-pays and deductibles that they can’t afford. We’re seeing extreme layoffs, corporations paying off politicians to continue practices that endanger public health and our water and air. They are a ray of light shining into that darkness, and I support them.”

via Occupy movement comes to New Paltz; one arrest is made | New Paltz Times.

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Swing Dance Clubs Go Retro in New York City – NYTimes.com

23 Dec

Here’s some truth in an old tradition:

The swing-dance social world is an extremely fluid and democratic fellowship. Women ask men to dance and vice versa. Partners switch with every song. One might arrive with a significant other or alone. Just as older people dance with youngsters, one can expect to see same-sex as well as male-female couples. Markedly absent is the supremacy of the ultrabeautiful or the ultrathin. People who are plain while standing on the sidelines are often transformed into dynamos of charisma on the dance floor. Those who are heavy execute complicated moves with grace.

via Swing Dance Clubs Go Retro in New York City – NYTimes.com.

Ron Paul and the second coming of Buchananism – War Room – Salon.com

23 Dec

Buchanan called Paul “an honest, principled, courageous political leader,” but stressed that he won’t be making any endorsement in the GOP primary because of his MSNBC contract. While he doesn’t think Paul can actually win the nomination, he insists the GOP is slowly moving in his direction, with the price-tag that comes with a sustained overseas presence eventually wearing down the GOP’s hawkishness.

“What’s going to bring it down is these deficits,” he said. “I think Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan are ahead of their time.”

via Ron Paul and the second coming of Buchananism – War Room – Salon.com.

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Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation

21 Dec

Ron Paul represents the ideology that Republican insiders most fear: conservatism.

Not the corrupt, inside-the-beltway construct that goes by that name, but actual conservatism.

And if he wins the Iowa Republican Caucus vote on January 3—a real, though far from certain, prospect—the party bosses will have to do everything in their power to prevent Paul from reasserting the values of the “old-right” Republicans who once stood, steadily and without apology, in opposition to wars of whim and assaults on individual liberty.

Make no mistake, the party bosses are horrified at the notion that a genuine conservative might grab the Iowa headlines from the false prophets.

via Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation.

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Thank You, Anarchists | The Nation

20 Dec

The anarchists’ way of operating was changing our very idea of what politics could be in the first place. This was exhilarating. Some occupiers told me they wanted to take it home with them, to organize assemblies in their own communities. It’s no accident, therefore, that when occupations spread around the country, the horizontal assemblies spread too.

At its core, anarchism isn’t simply a negative political philosophy, or an excuse for window-breaking, as most people tend to assume it is. Even while calling for an end to the rule of coercive states backed by military bases, prison industries and subjugation, anarchists and other autonomists try to build a culture in which people can take care of themselves and each other through healthy, sustainable communities. Many are resolutely nonviolent. Drawing on modes of organizing as radical as they are ancient, they insist on using forms of participatory direct democracy that naturally resist corruption by money, status and privilege. Everyone’s basic needs should take precedence over anyone’s greed.

Through the Occupy movement, these assemblies have helped open tremendous space in American political discourse. They’ve started new conversations about what people really want for their communities, conversations that amazingly still haven’t been hijacked, as they might otherwise might be, by charismatic celebrities or special interests.

via Thank You, Anarchists | The Nation.

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Letters at 3AM: Occupy the Future

20 Dec

It is not my place to speak for Occupy, but I’ll use my own “people’s mic” to offer a proposal: that Occupy demands a constitutional amendment to reverse Supreme Court decisions that have given corporations the rights of citizens. Carefully craft this amendment to make clear, beyond doubt, that a corporation does not enjoy or deserve the constitutional rights of a citizen. Rather, a for-profit corporation is a commercial venture subject to the republic’s laws governing commerce. This amendment must state and enforce that corporations are not people.

Change the Supreme Court’s stance that corporations are people and you change the fundamental rule under cover of which corporations conduct themselves. The passage of such an amendment would go a very long way toward getting corporate money out of American politics.

via Letters at 3AM: Occupy the Future – Columns – The Austin Chronicle.

Embracing Impermanence: Why Some Architecture Should Be Temporary – NYTimes.com

20 Dec

Kronenburg made a compelling argument that the experimentation inherent in such structures challenges preconceived notions about what buildings can and should be. The strategy of temporality, he explained, “adapts to unpredictable demands, provides more for less, and encourages innovation.” And he stressed that it’s time for end-users, designers, architects, manufacturers and construction firms to rethink their attitude toward temporary, portable and mobile architecture.

This is as true for development and city planning as it is for architecture. City-making may have happened all at once at the desks of master planners like Daniel Burnham or Robert Moses, but that’s really not the way things happen today. No single master plan can anticipate the evolving and varied needs of an increasingly diverse population or achieve the resiliency, responsiveness and flexibility that shorter-term, experimental endeavors can.

via Embracing Impermanence: Why Some Architecture Should Be Temporary – NYTimes.com.

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And if the Newt free-fall doesn’t stop… – Opening Shot – Salon.com

19 Dec

New Iowa data from Public Policy Polling released overnight show the former House speaker plummeting to third place in the lead-off caucus state, with just 14 percent of the vote. The new Iowa leader, according to PPP, is Ron Paul with 23 percent, followed by Mitt Romney at 20. At the national level, the latest numbers from Gallup’s daily tracking poll have Gingrich nursing a 4-point lead over Romney, 28-24 percent — a far cry from the 38-23 percent advantage he enjoyed in the same poll just over a week ago. Paul is at 10 percent in that survey.

via And if the Newt free-fall doesn’t stop… – Opening Shot – Salon.com.

Don’t Tax the Rich. Tax Inequality Itself. – NYTimes.com

19 Dec

Congress should reform our tax law to put the brakes on further inequality. Specifically, we propose an automatic extra tax on the income of the top 1 percent of earners — a tax that would limit the after-tax incomes of this club to 36 times the median household income.

Importantly, our Brandeis tax does not target excessive income per se; it only caps inequality. Billionaires could double their current income without the tax kicking in — as long as the median income also doubles. The sky is the limit for the rich as long as the “rising tide lifts all boats.” Indeed, the tax gives job creators an extra reason to make sure that corporate wealth does in fact trickle down.

via Don’t Tax the Rich. Tax Inequality Itself. – NYTimes.com.

Community Bands in America

18 Dec

In 19th century America, the community band was at the center of community life. Here’s a documentary about them:

Meet The Band, a Hindsight Media production, is a one-hour documentary tracing the history of community bands n the United States. We profile four very different bands from around the country and takes us through the American Revolution, the Civil War and the 20th century.

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