The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

Brian K. Noe

The Saint of Entrance Avenue

· ·

He paces
With hands waving and flapping
Electric Slide
Humpty Dance
Prayer

His orange hair
pops to and fro
like a bobber

Since prison, he doesn’t like to be kept inside.

He is on this corner early every morning
and again at 3 o’clock
the hour that his Lord
gave up the ghost

He used to be a hustler

Now all he does is pray

Those who sometimes go out of the way
to pass by his corner
shout from the car

Bless you my brother
Pray for us

You know I will!

Flash of smile
Back to his duty
Electric Slide
Humpty Dance
Prayer

Remembering Father Berrigan

· ·

Bernardine Dohrn writes of her memories of Father Berrigan, from a time when both of them were wanted by the FBI.

Dan Berrigan refused to report to prison, and during his time “underground” he repeatedly appeared publically to conduct church sermons or to give anti-war speeches, further infuriating FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. His was both a playful “underground” and a passionately moral one. He wrote, of the Catonsville action: “Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children…”

The Weather Underground responded with a much less eloquent “communiqué” to “Brother Dan,” just after he was arrested in 1970. “We watched you, Dan, on TV when they took you to jail, smiling and with hands raised, handcuffed, giving the sign of peace. You have refused the corruption of your generation.”

I ran across these links today. Rest in power, Father.

The Priest Who Practiced Radical Direct Action: Father Daniel J. Berrigan | Beacon Broadside

Imagining The New Creation | Religious Socialism Blog

Bearing The Cross | Chris Hedges at Truthdig

The photo of Father Berrigan is by Jim Forest.

2016 Kankakee Stand Against Racism

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The YWCA’s Stand Against Racism event was held at the Kankakee Public Library on April 28th. My wife and I both attended. There were perhaps fifty or so others in attendance.

We watched this TED Talk from Verna Myers prior to discussion.

I think all of her points are apt. A society where we’re “colorblind” is obviously the goal, but we can’t get there by pretending it already exists. Moving toward situations that make us uncomfortable is also key to breaking down the walls that divide us.

Her point about the necessity of directly confronting racism, especially around people we love, is important. It’s a lot easier just to turn a blind eye. Although she uses the specific example of family gatherings, I think it’s also crucial to call out racism beyond our friends and families, in our workplaces, our churches and the broader community as well.

One of the participants mentioned the Implicit Bias Test during discussion. If you’re interested in taking the test yourself, here’s the link. Be forewarned that the results may be an eye-opener.

SW Interview With Jill Stein

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Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein talked to Todd Chretien of Socialist Worker about why she’s running again this year and about the importance of an independent alternative to the two-party system.

Read the Interview: Thinking and voting outside the two-party box | Socialist Worker

The Real Workers’ Holiday

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Late last week, President Obama issued a proclamation naming May 1st, 2016 as “Loyalty Day” in the United States. The proclamation reads, in part, “On this day, let us reaffirm our allegiance to the United States of America and pay tribute to the heritage of American freedom.”

Loyalty Day was first celebrated in 1921, during the First Red Scare. It was originally called “Americanization Day” and was created purposefully to replace International Workers’ Day, the worldwide celebration of worker solidarity. It was enshrined into law in 1955 by the U.S. Congress during the Second Red Scare, and has been proclaimed each year by every President since Eisenhower.

Throughout history, control of the calendar has been used to set the ideological agenda. One need not look very far into the history of Catholic liturgical calendar to see this. Samhain was transformed into the Feast of All Saints. The Vernal Equinox became the Annunciation. The Summer Solstice became the Nativity of John the Baptist. The list goes on and on.

This practice has not been lost on our own ruling class.

Utah Phillips said “Yes, the long memory is the most radical idea in this country. It is the loss of that long memory which deprives our people of that connective flow of thoughts and events that clarifies our vision, not of where we’re going, but where we want to go.”

In the years of struggle to come, it is more important than ever that we cultivate the long memory. Celebration of International Workers’ Day is the foundation upon which an understanding of what it means to be a true American rests. Our heritage as fighting working class radicals must not be undermined by the false consciousness imposed on us by the One Percent.

Below are a few links, highly recommended for the occasion. For a longer read, I would also recommend Sharon Smith’s excellent history of the labor movement in America, Subterranean Fire.

Today Is Our Day – by Jonah Walters at Jacobin – This May Day, we should celebrate the historic triumphs of the labor movement and the struggles to come.

The legacy of Haymarket – by Sharon Smith at Socialist Worker – Sharon Smith chronicles the hidden history of the Haymarket Martyrs, the movement for the eight-hour day and the origins of May Day.

In celebration of May Day – by Andrea Bauer at Freedom Socialist – A reflection on Karl Marx and the struggle for a shorter workday.

solidarity-of-labor

Obama Took My Lawn-Boy

· ·

I should have heeded the warning signs
First it was my lightbulbs
Then they came after my junk food
And by the time
They got to
My Lawn-Boy
I was too blind and hungry
To fight

Now I’m tripping over this electric cord
And walking behind a puny seventeen inch deck

And not a hard working immigrant with a Weed Eater
Anywhere to be found
Deported, one and all

The lawns of Suburbia must
From time to time be refreshed
From the oil cans of patriots
And tyrants

Toward A Universal Basic Income

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basic-income

Andrew Flowers writes about the movement in Switzerland to guarantee a basic income for all.

Werner posed a pair of simple questions to the crowd: What do you really want to do with your life? Are you doing what you really want to do? Whatever the answers, he suggested basic income was the means to achieve those goals. The idea is as simple as it is radical: Rather than concern itself with managing myriad social welfare and unemployment insurance programs, the government would instead regularly cut a no-strings-attached check to each citizen. No conditions. No questions. Everyone, rich or poor, employed or out of work would get the same amount of money. This arrangement would provide a path toward a new way of living: If people no longer had to worry about making ends meet, they could pursue the lives they want to live.

Read More: What Would Happen If We Just Gave People Money? | FiveThirtyEight

Beyond The Campaign

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What do we do next?

beyond-the-sanders-campaign

If you’re one of the millions who have been invigorated by the Bernie Sanders campaign and want to join the ongoing political revolution, this May 7th forum on movement building beyond the election is for you. We’ll discuss the significance of the Sanders campaign, the meaning of democratic socialism, and strategies for confronting exploitation and inequality at the state and national level. We’ll also offer skills training on coalition building and grassroots organizing. Together, we’ll plan ways to channel the renewed interest in democratic socialism toward a sustainable movement for political transformation. There’s never been a more exciting or vital time to work for change.

The forum is co-sponsored by the Alliance for Community Services, Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, National Nurses United, and Progressive Democrats of America.

There’s more information on this Facebook event page.

The Spirit of ’16

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Easter_Proclamation_of_1916

On this 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, we remember the martyrs who lost their lives in the cause of freedom. Here are some links apropos of the day.

1916 The Irish Rebellion (Documentary from The University of Notre Dame)

Between The Risings (Special Issue of Jacobin Magazine)

The Writings of James Connolly

Our demands most moderate are – We only want the earth!