Thursday December 3, 2009
The New York Community Church
40 East 35th Street (between Madison and Park)
New York City
6:30 PM

Racism, Repression & Resistance
COINTELPRO Then and Now: 40 years since the FBI and Chicago police assassinated Fred Hampton

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the murder of Fred Hampton and the release of The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffrey Haas. Panel discussion will explore the ongoing repression of political dissent in the U.S., from the COINTELPRO program that targeted the Black Panther Party to the current surveillance and disruption of political movements in the name of national security.

Panelists Include:
Jeffrey Haas: attorney and author
Malik Rahim: founder of Common Ground Relief in New Orleans
Francisco Torres: member of the San Francisco 8
Laura Whitehorn: activist and former political prisoner

Discussion and book signing will follow the presentation.
This event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Co-sponsors include: The National Lawyers Guild.
For more information, contact Sarah Hogarth at

Thursday, December 3, 2009
Columbia University
Altschlul Auditorium,
417 International Affairs Building. 6:15pm

Synopsis:
Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor and professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, returns to the Heyman Center to deliver the 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture.

Click here for more information on Noam Chomsky.

This event is free and open to the public.
No Tickets, no reservations required.
Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

Click here for the location of the International Affairs Building.

Presented by:
Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University

The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931. He states: “The American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.  I did a quick search online to see what bloggers were saying about the American Dream.  Most of it was negative.  The American dream is what has driven our country to having one of the best economics and life styles in the world.  Why do you think people from around the world keep trying to get into America instead of out of America?  Are we perfect – no we are not!  Is America the best country on God’s green earth – absolutely!  The American Dream, capitalism, equality for the masses are all tied together.  We still have some inequality in America but compare it to Islamic countries where they stone gays, women have no rights and they are totally intolerant of other religions.  The American Dream is still alive and well in America.  The complaining left wingers should stop complaining and help more people achieve the American Dream.

Obamacare/ Pelosicare – Reason #3 of why it is not good for America. BAD PROVISIONS in the bill. a) People will be finds $2,500 and possibly go to jail if they do not buy health insurance. b). Creates 111 new bureaucracies c) Adds a trillion dollars to the US deficit.  This means that our children and grand-children will be paying for it.

GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona.  She writes an open letter to our nation’s leadership:

“I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me.   Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.

You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three, Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There are many conflicting opinions and it is too soon for this radical legislation. Quit throwing our nation into politically-correct quicksand.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision that will burden me, my children, and grandchildren. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night without even reading it. Slow down!  Fix only what is broken — we have the best health care system in the world — and test any new program in one or two states first.

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. More is not better! Shrink it down. Mind your own business.  You have enough to take care of with your real [Constitutional] obligations. Why don’t you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes — how did they pull that one off? Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with any of our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello! Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs — and that is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person! Why do you want me to hate my employers? And what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Every company must sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. (Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid?) We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please stop trying to manipulate and appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Slow down and get some input from nonpoliticians and experts on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed-reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy.  I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not.

It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is needless urgency and recklessness in all of your recent spending of our tax dollars.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on bringing our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzwords like unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long, because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented… You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work, pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone… and we are now looking at you.

You have awakened us, the patriotic freedom spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office.

We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution, and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them… Because we will get you fired and they will not save you.

If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be, one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.”

In this post I am trying to do two things: increase my post count yes, but foremost I would like to share the Chinese characters that I am trying to learn in blocks. As I am darting about through my book about them, writing down anything I find interesting, plus any component characters. That’s right, complex-looking characters are always, damn near always, made of two or more simple components. The base character of the whole thing is called the ‘radical‘, but more on that later.

For example, on the Seoul metro system there is a station named Dongdaemun, which in Korean script is spelled: 동대문. These three characters are dong dae mun. Simple syllables.

Anyway, being a clever chap as I am, I somehow already know that 문 (mun – actually sounds more like ‘moon’) means ‘door’ and looks like this in Hanja:

문 "mun" - door

Oh, since I am showing you the Chinese characters as above, I should point out that I am not including the native Korean versions of these words. So the phonetic English corresponds to the Chinese world via the more accurate phonetic Korean symbols. Confused? I am. No! It makes sense.

Actually all the metro stations I have seen have their full Hanja name on their titles. Using these I could estimate the number of brush stokes, which follow a reasonably simple set of rules (see here) and look the character up in the little book I bought in Bandi & Luni. So working backwards for some reason, lets look at the middle syllable – 대 (dae) this character looks like this:

대 "dae" - big

So we now know that the last two words are ‘big door’. Why might you find a big door in a city? On a gate to a city wall of course. So what does dong mean? Actually amusingly (at least to me) this is also Korean for ‘poop’ but it is a homophone for the Chinese word for East. I’m pretty sure it is even spelt the same way in Korean script (hangul) *shrug*. Moving on, here is the character:

동 "dong" - East

This character is made from two more simple characters (but not spoken words – that’s important) which give a clue to it’s meaning and have also helped me to remember it. The two characters are tree, which actually looks a bit like a tree with it’s branches at the top and roots at the bottom:

목 'mok' - tree

and sun which used to be round but then went all square, the line through the middle denotes sun rays, or so I’m told:

일 'il' - sun

You can think of the East character as an image of the sun rising behind a tree. That only happens to the East. So if you know the two simple characters, you can put them together with the sun nestled in the middle of the trunk there to make the complex character.

So if we put these all together they mean (only in Chinese remember) ‘the Easterly big door’ or the Easterly city gate. Here is a picture of that gate from from wikipedia somewhere else because wikipedia’s picture is dull:

Dongdaemun - Easterly city gate of Seoul

Here is what the sign at the metro station looks like. Notice the Korean (hangul), Chinese and English characters all up on it.

Korean, English then Chinese characters for Dongdaemun

—-

Credit for the Hanja symbols goes to Naver – the Korean Google for their useful Hanja section, even if it is not in English.

It’s time to stand up and sign on! Or are you afraid to put your name to this document. Afraid that it might cost you too much. Afraid that you might be called on to live up to it. Afraid your name will be disclosed to the radical anti-life, anti-family, anti-American, and anti-God crowd that controls the culture and government. If YOU won’t take a stand then how do you expect your loved ones and your posterity to live and experience freedom and take a stand for Christ?

Religious leaders vow civil disobedience on anti-life issues – Washington Times.

All Time Low is under attack by the Westboro Baptist Church. If you don’t already know, WBC is known for their radical anti-homosexual views.

This is what the WBC has to say about the situation:

“You may be wondering what in the world WBC cares about these losers – so let me break it down for you. How do you know how far gone a society is? You look at their social icons. When you look at these gender-confused, haphazard freakazoids then you can plainly see that america is DOOMED, for real! This is the final generation, and a little concussion is the least of their worries. Here is what they have to look forward to when this once great nation finally falls – for her fall is already started… Cain was the father of all musicians, and you still bear his curse to this day. Praise God! AMEN!”

A member also tweeted Alex Gaskarth [frontman for All Time Low] the following:
“”God Hates Fag Enablers! WBC will picket All Time Low’s concert in Philly.”

Gaskarth’s response:
“”Stay home. Intolerance isn’t welcome at our show.”

Ridiculous much?

Radical Politics

RADICAL THINKERS AUDIO

 

AUDIO NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE OCT 23 NEW SCHOOL EVENT:

Judith Butler, Simon Critchley and Jacques Rancière

On the importance of critical theory to social movements today

Radical Thinkers

To celebrate the release of a new set of titles in the acclaimed Radical Thinkers series, as well as publication of their own key texts, three of Verso’s most respected and influential writers met October 23 in New York to discuss the future of radical thought.

LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE TALK HERE:  http://versobooks.com/verso_info/butler-critchley-ranciere.shtml

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

I haven’t had a good chance to peruse this website, but it was featured in Simon Fraser’s student newspaper. It’s a collection of art that is documented in Vancouver in the sixties. Pretty self explanatory. So, if you’re interests lie in the radical art of the 1960’s and how art was perceived around this era, I’m sure you should find this website interesting.

Vancouver Art in the Sixties

RADICAL THINKERS AUDIO

AUDIO NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE OCT 23 NEW SCHOOL EVENT

Radical Thinkers
Judith Butler, Simon Critchley and Jacques Rancière
On the importance of critical theory to social movements today
To celebrate the release of a new set of titles in the acclaimed Radical Thinkers series, as well as publication of their own key texts, three of Verso’s most respected and influential writers met October 23 in New York to discuss the future of radical thought.

*** LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE TALK HERE: http://versobooks.com/versoinfo/butler-critchley-ranciere.shtml
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

JUDITH BUTLER is Maxine Elliot Professor of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her many books include ‘Giving an Account of Oneself’, ‘Precarious Life’ and, most recently ‘Frames of War: When is Life Grievable?’ (Verso, 2009):

“Judith Butler is the most creative and courageous social theorist writing today.  Frames of War is an intellectual masterpiece that weds an new understanding of being immersed in history, to a novel Left politics that focuses on State violence, war and resistance.” —CORNEL WEST

UK/Rest of World BUY FRAMES OF WAR HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Frames-War-When-Life-Grievable/dp/1844673332/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258662716&sr=1-1
US BUY FRAMES OF WAR HERE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frames-War-When-Life-Grievable/dp/1844673332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258662785&sr=1-1

———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— –

SIMON CRITCHLEY is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research and at the University of Essex, UK. Among his numerous books are The Book of Dead Philosophers, Infinitely Demanding and Ethics —Politics—Subjectivit y, which has just been released as part of Verso’s Radical Thinkers IV.

“[Infinitely Demanding] is remarkable in terms of its clarity, emotion, and energy. Critchely puts forward a theory of fundamental anarchism backed up by a vigorous ethical commitment. Reading and discussing this essay is utterly essential.” —ALAIN BADIOU

UK/Rest of World BUY INFINITELY DEMANDING HERE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinitely-Demanding-Commitment-Politics-Resistance/dp/1844672964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258662881&sr=1-1

US BUY INFINITELY DEMANDING HERE:  http://www.amazon.com/Infinitely-Demanding-Commitment-Politics-Resistance/dp/1844672964/ref=sr_1 1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258662921&sr=1-1

———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— —-

JACQUES RANCIÈRE is a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris-VIII. His many books include On the Shores of Politics (part of Verso’s Radical Thinkers II), The Politics of Aesthetics, Night of Labor, The Future of the Image and Hatred of Democracy. The Emancipated Spectator is new from Verso.

“Rancière’s writings offer one of the few conceptualizations of how we are to continue to resist.”—SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK

“His art lies in the rigor of his argument—it’s careful, precise unfolding—and at the same time not treating his reader, whether university professor or unemployed actress, as an imbecile.” —KRISTIN ROSS

UK/Rest of World BUY EMANCIPATED SPECTATOR HERE: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emancipated-Spectator-Jacques-Rancière/dp/184467343X/ref=sr_1 1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258663001&sr=1-1

US BUY EMANCIPATED SPECTATOR HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Emancipated-Spectator-Jacques-Rancière/dp/184467343X/ref=sr_1 1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258663027&sr=1-1

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

too nonconformist to pay rent

I volunteer with radicals and anarchists, socialists and new wave hippies. Every week I spend a full day cooking, and hanging out with them. We do good work, we feed the homeless, we utilize society’s waste and make it into something great. We give out information, we protest.

But sometimes I absolutely hate them. These fucking worthless anarchist squatting pieces of shit, doing nothing for anyone but their own high moral code, helping people only as a by product of their agenda. Dirty hippies, coming to my house where I pay bills and do work so they can eat my food, shower in my shower, and use my internet because they’re too nonconformist to pay rent and get a job like a normal productive member of society.

But I will never say these things.

After waiting a lot for the Brasil images to be edited, the movie is online!!!! 4 min of cool action and effects with many new tricks. I hope you enjoy

Or see it large-screen at Vimeo
……………Mas Adrenalina…………..

Christus Rex

This coming Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King. I’m going to give a 3-minute wonder at the BCP communion (on Jeremiah 23.5–8 & John 6.5–14). In an emergency, I may have to preach at the parish eucharist also (on Daniel 7.9–10, 13–14; Revelation 1.4b–8 & John 18.33b–37), which is most definitely Christ the King.

I expect many sermons will fail to get across what ‘Christ is king’ means. In Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary, which draws to a close this coming week, we have John’s account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate (or is Jesus putting Pilate on trial?). The key phrase in understanding Jesus as king here is his words, “My kingdom is not of this world” (ἡ βασίλεια ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, hē basileia hē emē ouk estin ek tou kosmou toutou). Again there is the danger of misunderstanding the line to think he is talking about heaven. That interpretation completely disarms and voids the words of any meaning. It is basically putting on Jesus’ lips the idea that he doesn’t care about earthly life and all that matters is ‘pie in the sky when you die’.

The dialogue between Jesus and Pilate is apocalyptic: hidden, subversive prophecy. The Bible readings over the last three Sundays have been trying to attune us to this apocalyptic frequency, but it’s still far too easy to miss what is being said to us. Jesus is saying that he is a king, but his kingly nature is diametrically opposed to that of world leaders. Worldly kings and queens can be characterized as

• holding absolute and/or ultimate power over their subjects,
• enriching themselves off their subjects,
• demand the servitude of their subjects.

Jesus’ kingship is the opposite to this. His incarnation is the laying aside of power. He lived a simple life to enrich others. He served others. If we understand Jesus’ kingship through his words and actions, we see that it is a completely upside-down kingdom from the earthly perspective. If we call Jesus king and fail to recognise the radical and revolutionary, subversive and prophetic nature of his authority, then we are not only missing the point, but we are collaborating in the great lie of Christendom, that Jesus upholds authoritarianism — we turn Jesus into Pilate/Caesar.

To avoid this, many take the escape route of describing Jesus’ kingdom as heavenly in its location rather than just in its nature. This relegates our earthly life to a mere waiting room for heaven in which to try to remain good enough to get in. It is presented in far lofty terms from pulpits, but it is what this boils down to.

Perhaps, this word ‘king’ is problematic for us; it was for Pilate too. But maybe renaming this the Feast of Christ Political is a bit too edgy for the church. He was part of the high-tension politics of his day, surprising all by following a unique, untrodden path. He was not on this side or that side, he was his own man. Our world has different political polarisations, but the same political passions as then. This Feast of Christ the King is a moment for specific reflection on how we as Christians, followers of Christ, follow his path through our political world.

I end with two thoughts, which maybe found more spiritual, and thus more palatable.

Earthly kings and queens send out their subjects to die for their selfish ideals; Christ is the king who died for his own for the highest of ideals.

From Celtic Daily Prayer

Question: What are the only human-made things in heaven?
Answer: The wounds in the hands, feet and side of Christ.

The trend is strikingly visible in a single image from Rasmussen:

The green line is the people who like Obama.  And it’s dropping like an asteroid.  The red line is the people who don’t like Obama.  And it’s going higher and higher.  And the “-14″ is the difference between the people who really like Obama from the people who really don’t like him.  As you can see, the “really don’t like hims” have it.

At traffic lights, I’m a big fan of encountering green.  Here, I really love the red.

Obama is already speaking about the possibility that he might be so politically gangrenous by 2012 that he won’t even bother to run.

“You know, if – if I feel like I’ve made the very best decisions for the American people and three years from now I look at it and, you know, my poll numbers are in the tank and because we’ve gone through these wrenching changes, you know, politically, I’m in a tough spot, I’ll – I’ll feel all right about myself,” Obama told CNN’s Ed Henry.

Obama went on to say:

“I’d feel a lot worse, if at a time of such urgency for the American people I was spending a lot of time thinking about how I could position myself to ensure reelection.

“Because if I were doing that right now, I wouldn’t have taken on health care, I wouldn’t be taking on things that are unpopular,” the president said. “I wouldn’t be closing Guantanamo. There are a whole series of choices that I’m making that I know are going to create some political turbulence. But I think they’re the right thing to do, and history will bear out my theories or not.”

All I can say is, “or not.”  You’re “theories” are bogus, Barry.

Health care was bad enough, in terms of a blatant display of either ignorance or disavowal of the clear will of the American people.  But when you look at the determination to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other terrorists on civilian trial in New York City in the face of overwhelming rejection of the electorate, you can see that Obama frankly doesn’t give a damn what the nation thinks.

As Rasmussen puts it:

Just 29% agree with the decision to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and five other terrorists suspects in a New York city courtroom. Only 14% believe terrorist suspects should receive the same legal rights in court as U.S. citizens.

We can add the fact that Obama hasn’t bothered to try to keep our citizens safe at home or our soldiers safe abroad (or at home for that matter).  Between Afghanistan, Fort Hood, and the H1N1 debacle, you’ve seriously got to wonder.

Only 47% of Americans at least somewhat approve of Obama.  And only 47% of Democrats strongly approve of him.

But he’s not listening to you.  He’s listening to George Soros and Andy Stern.

And there are portents of a total disaster for Democrats in 2010 if they continue on their suicidal path into the hard-core ideological liberal agenda they have been pursuing.

The Huffington Post (hardly even remotely CLOSE to being pro-conservative) has this:

NEW YORK — Despite sweeping Democratic successes in the past two national elections, continuing job losses and President Barack Obama’s slipping support could lead to double-digit losses for the party in next year’s congressional races and may even threaten their House control.

Fifty-four new Democrats were swept into the House in 2006 and 2008, helping the party claim a decisive majority as voters soured on a Republican president and embraced Obama’s message of hope and change. Many of the new Democrats are in districts carried by Republican John McCain in last year’s presidential contest; others are in traditional swing districts that have proved tough for either party to hold.

From New Hampshire to Nevada, House Democrats also will be forced to defend votes on Obama’s $787 billion economic recovery package and on energy legislation viewed by many as a job killer in an already weak economy.

Add to that the absence of Obama from the top of the ticket, which could reduce turnout among blacks, liberals and young people, and the likelihood of a highly motivated GOP base confused by the president’s proposed health care plan and angry at what they consider reckless spending and high debt.

Taken together, it could be the most toxic environment for Democrats since 1994, when the party lost 34 House incumbents and 54 seats altogether. Democrats currently have a 256-178 edge in the House, with one vacancy. Republicans would have to pick up 40 seats to regain control.

Republicans hold a six point lead over Democrats in generic balloting – and have held a lead for four months.  That hasn’t happened since the dinosaurs walked the earth.  That’s actually even bigger than it sounds, given the fact that those identifying themselves as “Republican” are considerably more likely to vote than those identifying themselves as “Democrat.”

On my own view, the Democrats aren’t in 1994 trouble; they’re actually more along the lines of being in 1997 trouble.

1997 was the year of the Heaven’s Gate cult mass suicide, as members – all wearing the same kind of Nike sneakers – committed suicide in order to beam themselves onto the spaceship hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet.

As the Democrats pursue radical leftist policy after radical leftist policy, they are essentially saying, “Beam me up, Scotty!” just like their Heaven’s Gate intellectual forebears did before them.  As the American people clearly are turning against the Democrats’ radicalism, the Democrats are calling for still more radicalism.  It’s almost as if they’re saying, “If we guzzle more of our Kool-aid faster, we’ll be SURE to win.”

I was never a Bill Clinton fan.  But one thing you could count on Slick Willie to do was whatever was politically best for Slick Willie.  He was a liberal; but if the people demanded he be a moderate, he would suddenly discover that he was a moderate.

That isn’t Barry Hussein.  He is a hard-core ideologue.  People like me tried to warn you that the man who spent 23 years in a racist, anti-American, Marxist church would be such an ideologue.

Barry will destroy his presidency, and destroy the Democrat Party, in order to advance an agenda that is far more radical than the American people understood when they elected him.

Say hello to Obama’s little friend, the Cloward-Piven strategy.

Update, November 24:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 27% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -15. This is the lowest Approval Index rating yet measured for President Obama (see trends).

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Democrats Strongly Approve while 68% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major political party, just 16% Strongly Approve and 51% Strongly Disapprove (see other recent demographic highlights from the tracking poll).

Oh, oh, Democrats.  It looks like independents utterly despise your Messiah.

The most dangerous aspect of having elected  a bombastic antecedent President is that he believes his self-imposed, ridiculous, unenlightened and radical doctrines. He blissfully ignores the fact that his ideology has been tried, and tested , on the backs of 60 million people ,whose  untimely deaths served only to prove this ideology of redistribution to be a total failure.

As the Germans and the rest of the free world  celebrates the anniversary of  the fall of the Berlin Wall, our  President continues  building brick-by-brick,  another wall around the American people.  Europeans, Koreans and even Russians will tell you that walls choke freedom, stifles free expression and leads to a huge “Have” and “Have not” gaps in society.  The bricklayers become the masters and the new plan unfolds on the back of the unsuspecting American citizens. Our freedoms are  being taken from us ensuring us to choke on our individual rights from here on end.  Obama’s vision is to redistribute the wealth not just among Americans but the world over. It is a real fact.

The problem comes from those many kool-aiders that walk the walk of the sheep. Those are people that blindly follow others losing self in the process. They are great at parroting the wisdom and stupidities of others, yet never searching answers for themselves. They follow a P.C. ideology because that is what they are told to do. There is no independent kool-aider thinking. `

Today the kool-aiders are the Obamites.They represent half of the nation including most of the media for the exception of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and certain conservative magazines and talk radio shows.

As The President’s administration continues to infringe on our liberties, those conservative voices are the only line left open for people to get their facts straight. I was under the impression that America was no longer allowed to dictate how other countries should rule. How does Obama explain this new concept to Americans and the world over that it is time to redistribute the wealth to all that have none? Does he see himself as Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor? Maybe he should start wearing green tights and walk the streets with his new friend the Jolly Green Giant who will  protect him when the hungry sheep realize their grass was stolen from under their feet.

Andrea

The comics not even out yet and the film adaptation is already in its early stages. Radical’s forthcoming series The Last Days of American Crime has a premise begging for a film to spring from it, and the premise is this: In the near future the US government broadcast a signal to the public, making conscious criminal acts impossible to occur, so one desperate man decides to make the most of the time he has remaining, thus the clever title. Radical have some great high-concept books, and it’s good to see a fellow West Aussie becoming a part of one of their films. Press release below.

SAM WORTHINGTON TO PRODUCE AND STAR IN THE LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME

Radical Publishing is excited to announce that Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans and James Cameron’s Avatar) has signed on as both star and producer for the film adaptation of The Last Days of American Crime, based off of Radical Publishing’s comic book series, The Last Days of American Crime, created and written by critically acclaimed author Rick Remender (Punisher, Fear Agent). Sam Worthington will be a producer along with producing partner, Michael Schwarz, and Radical’s president and publisher, Barry Levine. Rick Remender will be the executive producer/screenwriter for the film and Radical’s Executive Vice President, Jesse Berger, will executive produce.

The Last Days of American Crime is set in the not-too-distant future, as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards. Graham Bricke, a petty criminal never quite able to hit the big score, intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live… and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the heist of the century into the last crime in American history.

“I had met Sam’s producing partner, Michael Schwarz, at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, who loved the concept for The Last Days of American Crime” said Radical Publishing’s President and Publisher, Barry Levine. “I figured that since Sam had done three tentpole movies back-to-back with Terminator Salvation, Avatar and Clash of the Titans, that he would want the more character driven role of Kevin Cash, the sociopathic partner to Graham Bricke. Michael had set up a meeting between Sam, CAA agents Kimberly Hodgert and Jon Levin along with myself to discuss Last Days. During the two hour meeting, we hit it off and Sam had committed to both star and produce.”

Rick Remender commented with “Sam is the perfect guy for this. He’s a scene stealer, made up in equal parts charm and intelligence. Seeing him play violent sociopath safe cracker Kevin Cash will be a treat all the world will enjoy.”

Readers can preview the first 15 pages of The Last Days of American Crime on Radical Publishing’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/radicalpublishing

The Last Days of American Crime #1 appeared in the October 2009 issue of Diamond Previews and features two separate covers, one by Alex Maleev (DCD# OCT091056) and another by series artist Greg Tocchini (DCD# OCT091057).

The Last Days of American Crime #2 appears in the December 2009 issue of Diamond Previews and features two separate covers, one by Alex Maleev (DCD# DEC090978) and another by series artist Greg Tocchini (DCD# DEC090979).

Comic book genius Rick Remender is reporting that Sam Worthington is goingto to appear in a film version of the upcoming Radical Publishing comic, The Last Days of American Crime.

Remender created and wrote the comic (he is also writing the screenplay) which is illustrated by Greg Tocchini.

The story is set in near-future America. The comic synopsis – In the not-too-distant future as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

Enter: Graham Brick. A career criminal never quite able to hit the big score, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live…and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history.

I really like the sound of this. It has a great sci-fi hook on it and no doubt that will play some further part in the proceedings.

Worthington will play the role of Kevin Cash. He is a safecracker who gets hired for a heist at the eleventh hour. I’m not sure whether Kevin Cash is just the Graham Brick character renamed or whether he is part of the team.

“It’s really motivated by Mamet’s Heist film and James Ellroy’s [novel] ‘American Tabloid’. Ellroy being an example of the kind of hard-boiled crime that has a socio-political backdrop and Mamet’s Heist a very well-thought out film that focuses on the heist itself.” said Remender.

Issue One of The Last Days of American Crime comes to comic stores in December.

Source: MovieWeb

There’s atheism, then there’s atheism. An atheist accepts that the loved ones who have died will not live forever or live again. A radical atheist accepts that their sensation of love has been for nothing other than a lump of flesh.