The Rag Blog: Joshua Brown : Life During Wartime: Puppet Master

28 February 2011

Joshua Brown : Life During Wartime: Puppet Master

Political cartoon by Joshua Brown / The Rag Blog / February 28, 2011.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

The Rag Blog

1 Make/read comments:

new york locksmith said...: Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.; Dec 14, 2011 12:55:00 AM

Only a few posts now show on a page, due to Blogger pagination changes beyond our control.

Please click on 'Older Posts' to continue reading The Rag Blog.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Receive Regular E-Mail Notices About What's New on The Rag Blog

You can receive our weekly digest and other timely updates free!

You can also receive regular e-mail notices about what's new on the Rag Blog. Click here to subscribe to RSS feeds for the Rag Blog.
To Make a Comment

Comment Policy: This blog enforces a specific comment policy that prohibits personal attack, goading and harassment, and other malicious remarks. We will delete remarks considered inappropriate, at the discretion of the editors. We will also delete all commercial solicitations.

Recent Stories

Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers : Come to Chicago! -- By Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers / The Rag Blog. "The tiny fraternity of concentrated wealth and power that calls itself the Group of Eight (G8)" is meeting in Chicago in mid-May, overlapping with a meeting of representatives from NATO. But NATO/G8 won't be alone. Demonstrators from the Occupy movement are planning a major convergence on Chicago and, in response, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is "concocting a culture of fear" about the planned protests. But Bernardine and Bill say, "Chicago is big enough for all," and invite everyone come to Chicago -- "to resist and to be heard."
Richard Raznikov : Battlefield America -- By Richard Raznikov / The Rag Blog. Sen. Lindsey Graham tells us that the United States is part of the "field of battle" in the "war on terror." As a result, thanks to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Patriot Act, "laws which have protected Americans from their government for 200 years no longer apply." According to Richard, "There are no more legal barriers to arrest without warrants, prison without lawyers, condemnation and even execution without trial."
Ron Jacobs : Women's Rights are Human Rights -- By Ron Jacobs / The Rag Blog. International Women's Day has its roots in an 1857 New York City strike by female garment workers who demanded improved working conditions and equal rights for women. Textile workers marched again in 1908, demanding the vote and an end to sweatshops and child labor. They were attacked by the police. Women's Day is now celebrated world-wide but, because of its socialist roots, its observance has been discouraged in the U.S.
Rag Radio : Rock Journalist Margaret Moser and Film Actor Sonny Carl Davis -- By Rag Radio / The Rag Blog. Moser and Davis were Thorne Dreyer's guests on Rag Radio, where they discussed the classic 1980 Alan Rudolph movie, "Roadie," which starred Meat Loaf, who is a 2012 inductee into theTexas Film Hall of Fame. They also talked about the Austin Music Awards, South by Southwest, and the thriving Austin cultural scene. The post has an embedded player so you can listen to the podcast of our lively interview.
Lamar W. Hankins : Gasoline Prices and Political Nonsense -- By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog. No one likes paying higher prices for gasoline, but what most politicians tell us -- "looking to score political points, rather than find a way out of this mess" -- is simply nonsense. Hankins punches holes in the reigning myths about what causes high gas prices. (Two actual reasons the prices are high: the rising cost of oil on the world market due to higher demand in China and India, and the actions of crude oil commodity speculators.)
Jim Rigby : The Flag by the Pulpit -- By Jim Rigby / The Rag Blog. Human rights activist Rigby, who is the pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, wonders what it means "when we tell preachers not to be political, but place a flag by the pulpit as though the flag were not itself a political statement..." According to Rev. Rigby, if a Roman emperor required a statue of himself to be placed in an early church, "it would be a reminder that people could worship however they wished, so long as their first loyalty was to the empire."
BOOKS / Gilbert's Memoir Helps Us Understand Our History -- By Rick Ayers / The Rag Blog. Ayers offers another Rag Blog take on former Sixties activist and long-time political prisoner David Gilbert's remarkable memoir, "Love and Struggle: My Life with SDS, the Weather Underground and Beyond." In the book, Gilbert "often counters narrow and stupid characterizations of the 60s and 70s, reminding us of the human faces behind the mythology of the radical movements," Ayers tells us, and adds that this is a book "you won't soon forget."
Harry Targ : Political News as Commodity -- By Harry Targ / The Rag Blog. Not only did Andrew Breitbart -- who died on March 2 at the age of 43 -- "produce vicious lies about people and organizations" that did incalculable harm, he also "became a role model for other so-called journalists who have produced like-minded distorted reportage" at Fox and other venues. Professor Targ puts Breitbart's work in the context of the larger role played by the news media in a modern capitalist society.
Danny Schechter : Exit Snow and Breitbart: End of an Era? -- By Danny Schechter / The Rag Blog. Danny's thesis in this fascinating essay is summed up in his lead, where he notes "an eerie synchronicity in the pending resignation of veteran Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican who had more than she could take of hyper-partisan 'conservative' correct-lineism in Congress, and the death of Andrew Breitbart, the right-wing provocateur who did his very best to create the dynamic that Snowe was rejecting."
Alice Embree : 'Fierce Women' March in San Antonio -- By Alice Embree / The Rag Blog. Alice reports from San Antonio on that city's 22nd annual Women's Day celebration, organized by a coalition of "fierce 'mujeres'" from community and social justice organizations, including union organizers and advocates for reproductive choice and LGBTQ rights. The event, which "crossed boundaries of race, age, class, national origin, and sexual orientation," included a lively dose of political theater provided by CodePink and others. Includes a great gallery of photos from the event.
Jim Hightower : The Keystone XL Flim-Flam -- By Jim Hightower / Reader Supported News. Texas populist icon Hightower reveals that the "dirty little secret" of those pushing the Keystone XL pipeline "is that the tar sands oil producers are in cahoots with Texas refineries to move the product onto the lucrative global export market..." The pipeline and the toxic crude it would carry across six states "would do absolutely nothing to shave even a penny off of the price we pay at the pump."
David P. Hamilton : Guatemala's Perez Molina Wants to Legalize all Drugs -- By David P. Hamilton / The Rag Blog. Otto Perez Molina was inaugurated as president of Guatemala in January, inspiring an outcry among leftists because of his past involvement in the torture and massacre of Maya peoples and other repressive activities. Now he has surprised everyone by announcing that he will propose to Latin American leaders the complete legalization of all drugs. David discusses this development in the context of the Drug War and U.S.-Latin American politics.
Richard Raznikov : The Privatization of Everything -- By Richard Raznikov / The Rag Blog. Richard tells us that "all across the western world, there is enormous pressure... to 'privatize' everything." Severing the connection between the public and the "management of and control over public resources and operations" is dangerous, he tells us. For instance, "Does anyone have to ask what happens to law enforcement and the judicial system once the state agrees to keep private prisons at 90% of capacity?"
Jack A. Smith : Will Israel Bomb Iran? -- By Jack A. Smith / The Rag Blog. Tapping multiple sources, Smith provides us with a thorough analysis of the likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran, reporting that the White House appears to be urging Israel not to start a war before the November elections. The U.S. interest in the region centers on its geopolitical ambitions and the fact that 30% of the world's petroleum originates and is transported through the Gulf. Smith points out that Iran insists it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons, while Israel has "at least 200 nuclear weapons and delivery systems" already in place.
Rag Radio : The Occupy Movement and Activism in Austin -- By Rag Radio / The Rag Blog. Thorne Dreyer interviews several members of the Occupy Austin movement about the group's activities, including plans for Occupy Southby -- a series of events, including the Million Musicians March for Peace -- during the massive SXSW festival; Occupy UT's continuing on-campus activities; and plans for a new worker-owned cooperative coffeehouse. The post includes a player to listen to the podcast which includes live performance by musicians Richard Bowden and Mo McMorrow.
Harry Targ : Social Movements and the Forces of Reaction -- By Harry Targ / The Rag Blog. Professor Targ discusses the nature and historical role of social movements in society -- and how reactionary forces arise to oppose them. He talks about the assault on organized labor with "Right-to-Work" laws; on women, with the attacks against Planned Parenthood; and against grassroots poor people's campaigns, with the targeted destruction of ACORN.
BOOKS / Robert Jensen : Belén Fernández Dresses Down Thomas Friedman -- By Robert Jensen / Truthout. In reviewing Belén Fernández' excellent new book about journalist, author, and "Imperial Messenger" Thomas Friedman, Jensen remarks that, "as annoying as [Friedman's] second-rate thinking and third-rate writing" may be, and the fact that "his work is stunningly shallow and narcissistic, Friedman is celebrated as a big thinker." Why? Because he "tells the privileged, and those who aspire to privilege, what they want to hear in a way that makes them feel smart."
Bob Feldman : Disenfranchising Black Voters in Texas, 1890-1920 -- By Bob Feldman / The Rag Blog. In the latest installment of his revealing series on the "hidden history of Texas," Feldman tells us that "between 1900 and 1910, in an effort to make it more difficult for dissatisfied African-American and poor white small farmers in Texas to express their discontent," Texas politicians intensified their efforts to disenfranchise black voters through establishing a poll tax and other methods.
Lamar W. Hankins : ALEC and the Right Wing Agenda -- By Lamar W. Hankins / The Rag Blog. In 1973, a group of state legislators from around the country met with right-wing ideologues to form the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to promote policies "that underlie the neoconservative and libertarian agenda." The group, funded largely by corporations and corporate leaders, has been remarkably successful in its efforts. Lamar tells us about the group's history and suggests how it can be combated.
Ted McLaughlin : Dems are Better for the Stock Market -- By Ted McLaughlin / The Rag Blog. Surprise! In the face of conventional wisdom, statistics reveal that the stock market has performed much better under Democratic administrations than under those led by Republicans. According to Ted, we have always been told that the Democrats are better for the workers and the Republicans are better for the investor class. "But these figures show that Democratic administrations are better for everyone -- including the rich."