I enjoyed this video from Democracy Now with historian Peter Linebaugh, author of “The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day.”
Our family will be in the Haymarket on Sunday for this year’s celebration.
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
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
What do we do next?
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
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!
Give Me Something To Believe In
She Drew The Gun plays at the Glastonbury Festival’s 2016 Emerging Talent Competition.
Warm up your Friday a bit.
What is Neoliberalism?
George Monbiot explains.
So pervasive has neoliberalism become that we seldom even recognise it as an ideology. We appear to accept the proposition that this utopian, millenarian faith describes a neutral force; a kind of biological law, like Darwin’s theory of evolution. But the philosophy arose as a conscious attempt to reshape human life and shift the locus of power.
Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.
Read the full article: Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems | Books | The Guardian
The Religion and Socialism Podcast
I’m pleased to be working on a new podcast project for the Religion and Socialism Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The first episode of the program is an interview with renowned theologian and ethicist Gary Dorrien of Union Theological Seminary. Professor Dorrien discusses the relationship between Christianity and socialism, and particularly focuses on issues of racial justice in the United States.
Here’s the iTunes listing. You can also find the program at Soundcloud or click on the player below to listen in your browser.
Europe Is Up All Night
If a suspected terrorist sneezes in Europe, we see security camera footage repeated day and night with endless speculation and commentary on CNN, but there has been a virtual mainstream media blackout here in the United States of news about the French working class rising up over the past two weeks.
On March 31, thousands of French activists gathered at the Place de la République to protest French President François Hollande’s labor reforms, and they’ve been staying “up all night” ever since. The “Nuit Debout” protests are now spreading to Belgium, Britain, Spain and Germany.
Solidarity With Fight For Fifteen
Our sisters and brothers who are hospital workers, home care workers, airport workers, fast food workers, nursing home workers and retail workers deserve a living wage and union rights. Support the Fight for $15 on strike today.