Progressive Calendar 03.08.06 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu) | |
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 04:29:10 -0800 (PST) |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 03.08.06 1. Women/labor/KFAI 3.08 11:30am 2. AlliantTech/trial 3.08 1:30pm 3. StP transit 3.08 6pm 4. GP Mpls 3.08 6:30pm 5. Anti-torture 3.08 6:30pm 6. Intl Women's Day 3.08 7pm 7. KFAI/global girls 3.08 7pm 8. Peace/justice 3.08 7pm Bemidji MN 9. No Anoka stadium 3.08 7pm 10. Animal ag 3.08 7pm 11. Vs/Pawlenty/rich 3.09 11am 12. Marriage/what 3.09 12:15pm 13. CCHT housing 3.09 4pm 14. Eagan peace vigil 3.09 4:30pm 15. Spied on/play 3.09 8pm 16. Green Party - GP to defend reproductive rights vs SD bill 17. Michael Kaehler - Money [assembled quotes] 18. Paul Krugman - Graduates versus oligarchs 19. ed - Yet more re/pre --------1 of 19-------- From: bkucera [at] csom.umn.edu Subject: Women/labor/KFAI 3.08 11:30am Labor show airs on KFAI radio "We Can Do It," a half-hour show about women and the labor movement, will air at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, on KFAI radio as part of its International Women's Day programming. Produced by the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota, the show talks about the union advantage for women workers and features interviews with organizers. Tune in to 90.3 Minneapolis, 106.7 St. Paul or listen online at www.kfai.org (The title, "We Can Do It," comes from the famous poster of Rosie the Riveter). --------2 of 19-------- From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com> Subject: AlliantTech/trial 3.08 1:30pm Wednesday, 3/8, 1:30 pm, bench trial begins for 41 arrested at Alliant Tech (may continue to next day), Henn Co Dist Court, 7009 York Ave S, Edina. www.alliantaction.org --------3 of 19-------- From: Tim Erickson <tim [at] politalk.org> Subject: StP transit 3.08 6pm Don't miss the next Leage of Women Voters St. Paul Members Meetup - OPEN TO ANYONE Wednesday, March 8 Topic: "Connecting Saint Paulís Transportation & Transit Options" Featuring: Commissioner Rafael Ortega, Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and Chair of the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority Wednesday March 8, 6-7:30pm MISSISSIPPI MARKET, 622 Selby Avenue, at Dale Street, in the upstairs Community Room. A chili supper will be provided to attendees by LWVSP. Please park in the overflow lot, across Hague Ave. LWVSP Member Meetups are monthly, informal get-togethers designed to explore vital civic issues and provide an opportunity for citizens to learn about the League in an informal environment. All Member Meetups are free and open to both League members and the general public. Upcoming events include: To RSVP for the Meet-up or for more information, please contact Amy Mino at amy [at] minofamily.net or 651-430-2701. For more information on the League of Women Voters St. Paul, please visit: http://www.lwvsp.org/. --------4 of 19-------- From: becki [at] opencivics.org Subject: GP Mpls 3.08 6:30pm The Green Party 5th District is working on a plan to create a Minneapolis local and re-creating a 5th district. The next SC meeting for the 5th District in March 8th. It is an open meeting. I have invited Becky Knopp and Will Donovan. All of the current SC has a copy of the minutes from the meeting in Dec. We will be meeting at Columbia Grounds on the corner of Central and 33rd NE. The meeting starts at 6:30. --------5 of 19-------- From: Dave Bicking <dave [at] colorstudy.com> Subject: Anti-torture 3.08 6:30pm This Wednesday 1/11, and every Wednesday, meeting of the anti-torture group, T3: Tackling Torture at the Top (a sub-group of WAMM). Note new location: Center School, 2421 Bloomington Ave. S., Mpls. We have also added a new feature: we will have an "educate ourselves" session before each meeting, starting at 6:30, for anyone who is interested in learning more about the issues we are working on. We will share info and stay current about torture in the news. --------6 of 19-------- From: Bryan Cole <bryan_j_cole [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Intl Women's Day 3.08 7pm In Honor of International Women's Day An Evening of PROGRESS, PROTEST AND SOLIDARITY! Wednesday, March 8 7-9pm Macalester College, Kagin Commons 1600 Grand Av StPaul This is event is free and open to the public. The St. Paul and Macalester college chapters of Amnesty International invite you to a special evening in honor of International Women's Day. On Wednesday, March 8th, join us as we celebrate the history of this unique day and mark the accomplishments made this past year in the struggle for women's rights. Learn how you can take action to end the abuse of women's rights world wide. The evening will feature four speakers: Hemlal Kafle will address the issue of female trafficking, Human rights attorneys Malinda Schmeichen and Michelle Garnett McKenzie, from MN Advocates for Human Rights, will talk about women and the asylum process and Carol Arthur, Executive Director of the Domestic Abuse Project, will put the issue of domestic abuse in an international context. The event is free to the public. A reception with light refreshments will follow the program. Internaional Women's Day (IWD) began as a national call to action in 1909 as the Socialist Party of America demonstrated, calling for the right to vote and the political and economic rights of women. In 1911, the first International Women's Day took place in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Participation diminished after the 1920's, but saw a resurgence in the 1960's with the rise of feminism. In 1975, the United Nations officially sanctioned and began sponsoring IWD. Every year on March 8th, millions of women and men celebrate the progress of the women's rights movement, protest human rights violations against women and stand in solidarity as they work for justice and equality for all women. Acts of injustice and violence against women are the most inscidious and widspread forms of human rights violations on the planet. For the international community, it represents the largest conflict in the struggle for human rights. --------7 of 19-------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> Subject: KFAI/global girls 3.08 7pm KFAI presents GIRLS GO GLOBAL Wednesday, March 8, 7-10pm Cedar Cultural Center 416 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis Tickets & info: (612) 338-2674 or www.thecedar.org An eclectic evening of music, dance and spoken word, featuring performances by Boston folk/soul songwriter Rachael Davis, hip-hop/spoken word artist Dessa of Doomtree, jazz vocalist Prudence Johnson, Eastern European dance band Orkestar Bez Ime, indie-rock band Aviette, Ojibwe musician Lyz Jaakola and more! This event is a benefit for KFAI and will be broadcast live on the air as part of its 24 hours of special International Women's Day programming. This is an event that I and many others have worked hard on, and I'm really proud of the line-up. I think it will be a wonderful community event, good for all ages, genders and musical persuasions. :) --------8 of 19-------- From: audreythayer <athayer [at] paulbunyan.net> Subject: Peace/justice 3.08 7pm Bemidji MN [This is the only time these events will be listed. Save them if you're interested. -ed] March 6-10th - Daytime - BSU Union BSU Peace/Justice Tabling Volunteers needed to assist students at table. March 8th - Wednesday - BSU - Movie focusing on the anti-war issue at BSU approximately 7pm March 9th - Thursday - Bridget's Irish Pub - Downtown Bemidji - from 8pm until 10pm Volunteers needed to assist with flyer (now) and pass the word for attending Volunteers to come and read anti-war/peace poetry, music or skits March 12th - Sunday - Ski For Peace - Bemidji Cross Country Ski Club Contact Gina Walters/Aaron Tank for details March 18th - Saturday (11am-1pm) Peaceful Direct Action in designated streets in Bemidji - Volunteers needed to stand with their sign of statements (extra signs and flags will be welcome for those who forget to bring a sign) 1pm Street march to designated location (BSU Union) Volunteers to assist with walkers needed. 2pm Rally - Anti-War music and speakers (BSU Union) Musicians welcome - please call 444-2285 for further information. 6pm Candlelight Virgil at Paul Bunyan Statue Area to read list of dead. Volunteers needed for this event. Further questions please call (218) 444-2285 --------9 of 19-------- From: Ron Holch <rrholch [at] attg.net> Subject: No Anoka stadium 3.08 7pm Taxpayers For an Anoka County Stadium Referendum formerly Taxpayers Against an Anoka County Vikings Stadium Wednesday March 8, 7pm Centennial High School Red Building - Room 104 4704 North Road Circle Pines, MN The red building is on the east end of the high school complex, and is set back furthest from North Road. Enter on the East side of the building. The largest parking lots are near this building. No matter where you live in Minnesota, If you haven't already done so please write your representatives and tell them we do not need to waste more money on stadium giveaways to Billionaires. Please continue to tell them we want a vote as required by state law for any tax increase to pay for a stadium. Write letters to your local paper too. AGENDA ITEMS INCLUDE: Updates on City resolutions to support Referendums Website Survey of Legislators Petition Promotion MN Data Practices Act Request to Anoka County Fund Raising Ideas Any Questions, comments contact me at: Ron Holch rrholch [at] attg.net <mailto:rrholch [at] attg.net> --------10 of 19-------- From: Gregory J. Oschwald <greg [at] ca4a.org> Subject: Animal ag 3.08 7pm Panel on Animal Agriculture <http://www.exploreveg.org/events/panel-on-consumer-choices-and-food/> The final panel in the series leading up to Peter Singer's visit <http://www.exploreveg.org/events/singer> will look at different perspectives on animal agriculture. Animal agriculture has played a key role in human societies for thousands of years. But rapid changes in our cultures, our environment, and our farming practices have raised new questions about this role in recent decades. Offering a variety of viewpoints, this panel will examine economic, environmental, and ethical issues concerning modern animal agriculture. Panelists: Dennis Johnson, PhD, West Central Research and Outreach Center, UofM, Morris and Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture Mark Kastel, Cornucopia Institute John Fetrow, MBA, VMD, Veterinary Population Medicine Department in the College of Veterinary Medicine, UofM, Twin Cities 7pm on Wednesday, March 8 Hodson Hall <http://onestop.umn.edu/Maps/HodsonH/index.html> 495 on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota (Address: 1980 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108; street parking nearby) - Ethics and Animals: A Lecture by Peter Singer <http://www.exploreveg.org/events/singer> Join us on March 23 for a lecture by influential ethicist Peter Singer on ethics and animals. The lecture will be followed by a free catered reception. Widely regarded as one of the most influential living philosophers, Peter Singer is also known and esteemed in many other fields for his work in medical ethics, famine relief, euthanasia, and environmental ethics. Singer's books, including /Animal Liberation/ and /Practical Ethics/, have been translated into 15 languages and are widely taught in ethics classes throughout the world. His work is credited with starting the modern animal protection movement. TIME Magazine includes Singer among its "100 most influential people" of 2005. The lecture will be followed by a catered reception. Please email us at info [at] ExploreVeg.org <mailto:info [at] exploreveg.org> for more information. 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 23 Ted Mann Concert Hall <http://onestop.umn.edu/Maps/MannConc/index.html> on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Gregory Oschwald Compassionate Action for Animals http://www.ExploreVeg.org/ (612)626-5785 (office) (612)270-5696 (cell) greg [at] ca4a.org --------11 of 19-------- From: Welfare Rights Cmte II <welfarerights [at] qwest.net> Subject: Vs/Pawlenty/rich 3.09 11am Join us to say NO to Pawlenty's cuts! Fund Children's Needs, not Rich People 's Greed! Thursday, March 9 11am State Capitol, outside the House Chamber on the 2nd floor. This Thursday, Governor Pawlenty will be presenting his "State of the State" to a joint session of the legislature. The session is scheduled to start around 11:30 a.m. We need to be there as the politicians and officials enter the chamber. Send a message to Pawlenty: --Undo the cuts to welfare, health care and childcare --Stop racist attacks on immigrants --Tax the rich: Close corporate tax loopholes --Raise the MFIP grants --Any state budget "surplus" is blood money. It is only there because the 2003 cuts ripped apart the safety net for poor and working people For more info, call the Welfare Rights Committee at 612-822-8020. --------12 of 19-------- From: humanrts [at] umn.edu Subject: Marriage/what 3.09 12:15pm March 9 - The 1899 Cuban Marriage Law Controversy: Church, State and Empire in the Crucible of Nation. 12:15-1:15pm The Institute for Global Studies cordially invites faculty, undergraduates, graduates and staff to a Latin American talk on March 9! This is a brown bag talk, so please feel free to bring your lunch. Presenter: Enid Logan, Assistant Professor in Sociology Enid Logan, Assistant Professor in Sociology, will examine a battle over canon and civil marriage that took place during the first U.S. occupation of Cuba, 1899-1901. This period constituted the dawn of Cuban independence and the birth of American imperialism as well. The controversy surrounded the publication of a marriage law in 1899, known as Military Order No. 66. This law, which declared that henceforth only civil marriages would be recognized by the state, was a direct blow against the power and authority of the Catholic Church. The battle over the marriage law constituted an important site of conflict and negotiation between the Spanish-identified Church and representatives of the nascent Cuban state. In fighting over the right to regulate marriage, Church officials and Cuban statesmen sought to define the limits of secular and religious powers, make a break with the colonial past, and define the terms of identity and independence. Location: 246 Social Sciences, West Bank, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN --------13 of 19-------- From: Philip Schaffner <PSchaffner [at] ccht.org> Subject: CCHT housing 3.09 4pm In 2006, Central Community Housing Trust celebrates 20 years of creating affordable, quality apartments and town homes in our community. Learn how Central Community Housing Trust is responding to the affordable housing shortage in the Twin Cities. Please join us for a 1-hour Building Dreams presentation. Minneapolis Sessions: Mar 9 at 4:00p * Mar 23 at 4:30p St. Paul Sessions: Mar 29 at 7:30a * Apr 19 at 4:30p We are also happy to present Building Dreams at your organization, place of worship, or business. Space is limited, please register online at: www.ccht.org/bd or call Philip Schaffner at 612-341-3148 x237 (pschaffner [at] ccht.org) --------14 of 19-------- From: Greg and Sue Skog <skograce [at] mtn.org> Subject: Eagan peace vigil 3.09 4:30pm CANDLELIGHT PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs and candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends south of the river speaking out against war. --------15 of 19-------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> Subject: Spied on/play 3.09 8pm Thur MAR 9-26: "Survellience Society" Explored in Play TC Playwright Explores 'Survellience Society' @ Intermedia Arts reviewed by Lydia Howell PULSE, Your Grassroots Alternative Newspaper of the TC Days after seeing "Do You Want To Know A Secret?", more questions unexpectedly emerge, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I'm still arguing with all the characters - and continually switching 'sides'. TC Playwright Daniel Pinkerton and the Fortune's Fool Theater actors have gotten into my head with this insidiously brilliant look at what living in a 'surveilence society' does to people. Set in East Germany, during latter-stage Communism and after the Berlin Wall falls, Pinkerton puts an intimate microscope on domestic spying. Nearly one in eight East Germans colluded with Stasi, the State secret police: some directly reporting, others were "unofficial collaborators", informing on friends, co-workers and even family members. "It's more interesting to use the 'mask' of East Germany, something that happened some time ago," observes Pinkerton, who has a Master's degree in history. A previous play "The Ballad of Mary Mallon" is a musical about Typhoid Mary, co-created with composer Chris Tennaula. "My playwrighting is informed by my work in history. I like to write about other societies, other times with attention to the particular and then the theme is visible," Pinkerton declares. "This play isn't just political. It's tragedy. It's people living in a pressure-cooker." Based on a true story, the pivotal character is Karin Berger, a lifelong reform activist, torn from her Communist newspaper editor husband, Walter, and their daughter, Erika, when she's sent to prison for her politics. A real life family of veteran TC actors create the Bergers. It's refreshing to see a play that centers on a woman as the politically-engaged protagonist. Barbara Kingsley perfectly embodies both Karin's tough vulnerablility after prison and the intense idealism that landed her there. Her angry woundedness and careening struggle to reconcille past and present propel the play. Stephen D'Ambrose makes Walter a gentle foil, air to Karin's fire. There's a magnetism of "opposites attract" in their married love as it cracks under the weight of events bigger than they are. Kingsley and D'Ambrose have long resumes with the Gutherie, Jungle, Mixed Blood and other area theatres. Maggie D'Ambrose was last seen as the teenager in love with a 27-year-old man, in Bedlam's "Teach Me Tonight", Ariel Pinkerton's playwright debut - who's the daughter of this play's author and the production's lighting designer. The younger D'Ambrose plays the Bergin's daughter, Erika, on her own adolescent emotional rollercoaster, yanked between her parents' crisis and yearning to define her own independent identity. Incarceration imposes lonely dispair on Karin as Walter awkwardly attempts to bridge their separation during a prison visit contrasts with Walter's solid bond with their daughter, Erika. The family's reunion coincides with the government's fall and eventually, the release of files the State kept on citizens. Also in the mix is Karin's longtime friend, Anja, played with sardonic sexiness and hard-edged realism by Greta Grosch. Harry Baxter plays Karin's father, Wolf, a higher-up in the former Communist regime. Are his overtures to heal his severed relationship with Karin sincere or a sociopath's manipulations? These characters are so complex one forgets these are actors. "What happend in East Germany was blatent. It's more subtle here. It's insidious - racial profiling, the use of fear." Stephen D'Ambrose says. "My character's perception is 'I'm trying to protect you' that's what he's about." Leah Cooper, (who's Executive Director of the Minnesota Fringe Festival) steadily steers these relationships' collision course, intuitively knowing when to push actors to their edge and when restraint is more powerful. Lately, 'multi-media" seems required for every play. Too often, that means actors competing with ornate soundscapes and lots of projected videos. The impression is audiences have ADD, demanding hyper-stimulation, as if actual human beings simply on stage would be dull. That's not the case with what videographer, Mathew Foster, brings to the play. His (mostly grainy black and white) projections of characters speaking directly are creepily ambivalent: are these interrogations? secret tapes? freely given exchanges? Artistic Director for the Ministry of Cultural Warfare, Foster creates a survellience atmoshere that's essential to the play. There's also sublte critique of our tell-all, culture of confession. Politics in this play is deeply personal. Government spying pits loyalty against fear. Betrayal and complicity defy easy assumptions. How a society faces an ugly past is explored through the closest emotional ties. "This play doesn't make judgements. We're all culpable," Kingsley says. "It makes you think about betrayal and what we do to survive." With the post-9/11 domestic spying and our own Homeland Security's (mostly concealed) powers, this play challenges those who claim they're fine with being spied on "if it helps stop terrorism" since they have "nothng to hide". A chilly invasiveness permeates this character-driven play that leaves one haunted with the intimate implications of State intrusion of our privacy. Fri. Mar.17:discussion after the performance led by Prof. Eric D. Weitz, director of Ctr. for German and European studies, an expert onpost-WWII Germany history. "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" Opens Thur Mar 9-Sun Mar 26, Thur.-Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm and 7pm, $15 (Sun. matinee Pay What You Can), Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S. Minneapolis (612)673-1131 or email fortunesfooltheater [at] gmail.com --------16 of 19-------- Greens vow to defend reproductive rights after SD bill is signed GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 7, 2006 Greens vow to defend full reproductive rights for women after the South Dakota anti-abortion bill is signed WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the wake of news that South Dakota has outlawed most abortions, Green leaders pledged party support for efforts to stop Roe v. Wade from being overturned. "This is a widely anticipated major step in the radical Republican agenda to repeal women's rights," said Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Georgia Green Party and spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus <http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/>. "The Green Party and its candidates support full reproductive rights for women. If these rights are repealed or limited by a Supreme Court decision upholding the South Dakota law, we will hold accountable all those Senators who either supported or refused to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Roberts and Judge Alito." On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed the bill, which was passed by the state legislature in February after supporters argued that the recent appointment of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito made the Supreme Court more likely to overturn reproductive rights. The bill outlaws all abortions, including those performed in cases of rape or incest, except when necessary to save a mother's life. Greens called the South Dakota strategy part of a larger effort by extremist Republicans to abolish freedom and equality for women, cancel privacy rights, and create law based on sectarian religious precepts. For the Green Party, the right of women to control their own bodies is nonnegotiable, and Greens call it essential for every woman to have the right to safe, legal abortion on demand <http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#998980>. "If Roe v. Wade is overturned and reproductive rights can no longer be guaranteed at the federal level, we will fight to keep abortion legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia," said Cara Jennings, Green Party member and candidate for City Commission (District 2) in Lake Worth, Florida, in a March 14 election. "The Green Party is on the side of the majority of Americans, who don't believe that the clock can be turned back 40 years." MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 --------17 of 19-------- From: Michael P. Kaehler <winston [at] cloudnet.com> Subject: Money [assembled quotes] "Since printing paper money is nothing short of counterfeiting, the issuer of the international currency must always be the country with the military might to guarantee control over the system. This magnificent scheme seems the perfect system for obtaining perpetual wealth for the country that issues the de facto world currency... "The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement solidified the dollar as the preeminent world reserve currency, replacing the British pound. Due to our political and military muscle, and because we had a huge amount of physical gold, the world readily accepted our dollar (defined as 1/35th of an ounce of gold) as the world's reserve currency. The dollar was said to be "as good as gold," and convertible to all foreign central banks at that rate. For American citizens, however, it remained illegal to own. This was a gold-exchange standard that from inception was doomed to fail. "The U.S. did exactly what many predicted she would do. She printed more dollars for which there was no gold backing. But the world was content to accept those dollars for more than 25 years with little question - until the French and others in the late 1960s demanded we fulfill our promise to pay one ounce of gold for each $35 they delivered to the U.S. Treasury. This resulted in a huge gold drain that brought an end to a very poorly devised pseudo-gold standard. "It all ended on August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window and refused to pay out any of our remaining 280 million ounces of gold. In essence, we declared our insolvency and everyone recognized some other monetary system had to be devised in order to bring stability to the markets. "Amazingly, a new system was devised which allowed the U.S. to operate the printing presses for the world reserve currency with no restraints placed on it - not even a pretense of gold convertibility, none whatsoever! Though the new policy was even more deeply flawed, it nevertheless opened the door for dollar hegemony to spread. "Realizing the world was embarking on something new and mind-boggling, elite money managers, with especially strong support from U.S. authorities, struck an agreement with OPEC to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions. This gave the dollar a special place among world currencies and in essence 'backed' the dollar with oil. In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. This arrangement helped ignite the radical Islamic movement among those who resented our influence in the region. The arrangement gave the dollar artificial strength, with tremendous financial benefits for the United States. It allowed us to export our monetary inflation by buying oil and other goods at a great discount as dollar influence flourished... "It sounds like a great deal for everyone, except the time will come when our dollars - due to their depreciation - will be received less enthusiastically or even be rejected by foreign countries. That could create a whole new ballgame and force us to pay a price for living beyond our means and our production. The shift in sentiment regarding the dollar has already started, but the worst is yet to come. "The agreement with OPEC in the 1970s to price oil in dollars has provided tremendous artificial strength to the dollar as the preeminent reserve currency. This has created a universal demand for the dollar, and soaks up the huge number of new dollars generated each year. Last year alone M3 increased over $700 billion. "The artificial demand for our dollar, along with our military might, places us in the unique position to 'rule' the world without productive work or savings, and without limits on consumer spending or deficits. The problem is, it can't last... "In November 2000 Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for his oil. His arrogance was a threat to the dollar; his lack of any military might was never a threat. At the first cabinet meeting with the new administration in 2001, as reported by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the major topic was how we would get rid of Saddam Hussein - though there was no evidence whatsoever he posed a threat to us. This deep concern for Saddam Hussein surprised and shocked O'Neill. "It now is common knowledge that the immediate reaction of the administration after 9/11 revolved around how they could connect Saddam Hussein to the attacks, to justify an invasion and overthrow of his government. Even with no evidence of any connection to 9/11, or evidence of weapons of mass destruction, public and congressional support was generated through distortions and flat out misrepresentation of the facts to justify overthrowing Saddam Hussein... "In 2001, Venezuela's ambassador to Russia spoke of Venezuela switching to the Euro for all their oil sales. Within a year there was a coup attempt against Chavez, reportedly with assistance from our CIA... "Now, a new attempt is being made against the petrodollar system. Iran, another member of the 'axis of evil,' has announced her plans to initiate an oil bourse in March of this year. Guess what, the oil sales will be priced Euros, not dollars..." "Once again Congress has bought into the war propaganda against Iran, just as it did against Iraq. Arguments are now made for attacking Iran economically, and militarily if necessary. These arguments are all based on the same false reasons given for the ill-fated and costly occupation of Iraq." - Hon. Ron Paul of Texas, before the U.S. House of Representatives, February 15, 2006: The End of Dollar Hegemony (and the start of the war against Iran) - "Give me control over a nation's currency and I care not who makes its laws. The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from its profits or so dependent on its favors, that there will be no opposition from that class." - Baron M.A. Rothschild - "The bold efforts that the present bank has made to control the government and the distress it has wantonly caused, are but premonitions of the fate which awaits the American People should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it... If the People only understood the rank injustice of our money and banking system there would be a revolution before morning!" - President Andrew Jackson (1828) upon vetoing the Second Bank of the United States Charter - ""When it shall be said in any country in the world: 'My poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; My jails are empty of prisoners; My streets of beggars; The aged are not in want; The taxes not oppressive; The rational world is my friend because I am a friend of its happiness.' When these things can be said, then may that country boast of its Constitution and of its Government." - Thomas Jefferson - "Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.... But if in the pursuit of the means we should unfortunately stumble again on unfunded paper money or any similar species of fraud, we shall assuredly give a fatal stab to our national credit in its infancy. Paper money will invariably operate in the body of politics as spirit liquors on the human body. They prey on the vitals and ultimately destroy them." - President George Washington in a letter to J. Bowen, Rhode Island, Jan. 9, 1787 - "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce... And when you realise that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate." - President James A. Garfield within weeks of his assassination - "History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance." - President James Madison - "The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the Bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe." - President Abraham Lincoln - "We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world - no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government of conviction, and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress, of small groups of dominant men." - President Woodrow Wilson - "[T]he real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy length over City, State, and nation... It seizes in its long and powerful tentacles our executive officers, our legislative bodies, our schools, our courts, our newspapers, and every agency created for the public protection... To depart from mere generalisations, let me say that at the head of this octopus are the Rockefeller-Standard Oil interest and a small group of powerful banking houses generally referred to as the international Bankers. The little coterie of powerful international Bankers virtually run the United State s government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both parties, write political platforms, make catspaws of party leaders, use the leading men of private organisations, and resort to every device to place in nomination for high public office only such candidates as will be amenable to the dictates of corrupt big business... These international Bankers and Rockefeller-Standard Oil interests control the majority of newspapers and magazines in this country." - John Hylan: Mayor of New York in 1922 - "When, through the process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers. These truths are well known among our principal men who are now engaged in forming imperialism to govern the world. By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance." - 1924 edition of the American Banker's Association Digest - "The real truth of the matter is, and you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson. History depicts Andrew Jackson as the last truly honorable and incorruptible American president." - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, November 23, 1933, in a letter to Colonel Edward Mandell House - "Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." - President Harry Truman - --------18 of 19--------- Graduates Versus Oligarchs By PAUL KRUGMAN February 27, 2006 http://select.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/opinion/27krugman.html What we're seeing in American society is the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite. Ben Bernanke's maiden Congressional testimony as chairman of the Federal Reserve was, everyone agrees, superb. He didn't put a foot wrong on monetary or fiscal policy. But Mr. Bernanke did stumble at one point. Responding to a question from Representative Barney Frank about income inequality, he declared that "the most important factor" in rising inequality "is the rising skill premium, the increased return to education." That's a fundamental misreading of what's happening to American society. What we're seeing isn't the rise of a fairly broad class of knowledge workers. Instead, we're seeing the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite. I think of Mr. Bernanke's position, which one hears all the time, as the 80-20 fallacy. It's the notion that the winners in our increasingly unequal society are a fairly large group ^× that the 20 percent or so of American workers who have the skills to take advantage of new technology and globalization are pulling away from the 80 percent who don't have these skills. The truth is quite different. Highly educated workers have done better than those with less education, but a college degree has hardly been a ticket to big income gains. The 2006 Economic Report of the President tells us that the real earnings of college graduates actually fell more than 5 percent between 2000 and 2004. Over the longer stretch from 1975 to 2004 the average earnings of college graduates rose, but by less than 1 percent per year. So who are the winners from rising inequality? It's not the top 20 percent, or even the top 10 percent. The big gains have gone to a much smaller, much richer group than that. A new research paper by Ian Dew-Becker and Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, "Where Did the Productivity Growth Go?," gives the details. Between 1972 and 2001 the wage and salary income of Americans at the 90th percentile of the income distribution rose only 34 percent, or about 1 percent per year. So being in the top 10 percent of the income distribution, like being a college graduate, wasn't a ticket to big income gains. But income at the 99th percentile rose 87 percent; income at the 99.9th percentile rose 181 percent; and income at the 99.99th percentile rose 497 percent. No, that's not a misprint. Just to give you a sense of who we're talking about: the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that this year the 99th percentile will correspond to an income of $402,306, and the 99.9th percentile to an income of $1,672,726. The center doesn't give a number for the 99.99th percentile, but it's probably well over $6 million a year. Why would someone as smart and well informed as Mr. Bernanke get the nature of growing inequality wrong? Because the fallacy he fell into tends to dominate polite discussion about income trends, not because it's true, but because it's comforting. The notion that it's all about returns to education suggests that nobody is to blame for rising inequality, that it's just a case of supply and demand at work. And it also suggests that the way to mitigate inequality is to improve our educational system ^× and better education is a value to which just about every politician in America pays at least lip service. The idea that we have a rising oligarchy is much more disturbing. It suggests that the growth of inequality may have as much to do with power relations as it does with market forces. Unfortunately, that's the real story. Should we be worried about the increasingly oligarchic nature of American society? Yes, and not just because a rising economic tide has failed to lift most boats. Both history and modern experience tell us that highly unequal societies also tend to be highly corrupt. There's an arrow of causation that runs from diverging income trends to Jack Abramoff and the K Street project. And I'm with Alan Greenspan, who ^× surprisingly, given his libertarian roots ^× has repeatedly warned that growing inequality poses a threat to "democratic society." It may take some time before we muster the political will to counter that threat. But the first step toward doing something about inequality is to abandon the 80-20 fallacy. It's time to face up to the fact that rising inequality is driven by the giant income gains of a tiny elite, not the modest gains of college graduates. --------19 of 19-------- Yet more re/pre Preptile Young Republican Prepublic What the US is going back to Prepulsive What preppies are Prequium Bush 9/10 mass for the souls of the 9/11 dead Prequited love Premature ejaculation Presidue Bush in jail Pretard Embryo Bush ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments
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