Category: Uncategorized
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Humans: not just selfish | Evolutionary logic of collective action pt.I
“not a joiner” The other day I met up with my friend Mike at a coffee shop here in Providence, RI. Mike is an adjunct history professor at a local community college. Across the country, there are a lot more adjunct professors today than there were ten years ago, and there are a lot fewer…
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Why you should vote today (an appeal to radicals)
originally published on November 2, 2010 Paul Rosenberg offered this the other day at Open Left: A Republican victory this Tuesday will tilt the odds heavily in the direction of retrospectively casting 2008 as another 1968, despite all the numbers of election night pointing to the contrary. If Democrats hold on to control of Congress,…
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“World update: Strikes force Lady Gaga to postpone shows” (Wow, France… pt. 2: parroting)
originally published on November 1, 2010 In my post last week (Wow, France… Why can’t we do that here?!??), I asked, as the title suggests, what prevents the kind of broad, committed, collective action that we’re seeing in France from happening here in the United States. This is especially perplexing, given that their strike is…
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Stephen Colbert is physically altering your brain
originally published on October 28, 2010 Stephen Colbert’s much-publicized March to Keep Fear Alive tomorrow-and his whole schtick really-may be making a far greater political impact than you consciously realize. I’m no neuroscientist, but I might even argue that the faux right-wing pundit is physically altering the very structure of your brain. Such an outlandish…
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Wow, France… Why can’t we do that here?!?? (pt. 1: inoculation)
originally published on October 21, 2010 Do you ever look at newspaper articles about worker and student strikes in countries like France or Greece or Argentina-you know, the kind of activity that shuts down the whole country-and think to yourself, “Holy shit, that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Those people know how to protest!?” Well, I…
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The Stakes in this Election: Incredibly High | Mike Lux discusses “The Progressive Revolution”
originally published on October 20, 2010 Welcome to the second interview in our series. This week we feature progressive organizer, strategist, blogger, and author Mike Lux. Mike is the CEO of Progressive Strategies, the Co-founder of Open Left, and he has been active for thirty years on many progressive issues. Mike is the “outsider’s insider.”…
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Rent Is Too Damn High Party
originally published on October 19, 2010 Why aren’t we doing this in races across the country? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0&w=480&h=385] Another illustration of how a moral narrative about poverty and class is so very available today. It’s ripe, just waiting for candidates who have the courage to speak it; who aren’t afraid of being labeled a socialist; who…
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Interview: Jose Vasquez on Antiwar Organizing & IVAW
originally published on September 30, 2010 Listen to the full interview with Jose Vasquez: http://www.google.com/reader/ui/3523697345-audio-player.swf?audioUrl=http://beyondthechoir.org/interviews/01_Jose_Vasquez.mp3 Jose Vasquez shares his journey from Army Staff Sergeant to Conscientious Objector to Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War – and offers some reflections on organizing with veterans and GIs in today’s antiwar movement. To find out more…
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Asymmetry of Victim Stories (or: why the rich get away with whining about taxes)
I’m reading two great books about the power of story as an organizing tool in social change struggles. One is smartMeme’s RE:Imagining Change (a guide for activists on story-based strategy), the other is It Was Like a Fever: Story-telling in Protest and Politics by Francesca Polletta. Amongst other subjects, both Polletta and smartMeme discuss…
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Jon Stewart perpetuates story of the “moderate center”
originally published on September 17, 2010 This from the NY Times: Jon Stewart announced his much-awaited “big announcement” on Thursday’s edition of his late-night program, “The Daily Show.” He plans to stage a rally in Washington to counter what he identified as extremists on either side of the political spectrum. Mr. Stewart told his audience…
Jonathan Matthew Smucker 