The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

We’re Still at War: A Memorial Day Reminder

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While Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have lost their lives in service to the United States, we should also remember that Americans are still at war in Afghanistan. Every weekday since June of 2009, Mother Jones has posted photos of those serving in the U.S. military as a reminder that we’re still at war. On this Memorial Day, they’re sharing a slideshow with images from thus far in 2012.

My thoughts and prayers remain with those who serve.

View the full slideshow: We’re Still at War: A Memorial Day Reminder. [Mother Jones]

What Does an Anarchist Look Like?

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Some of the mainstream journalists in Chicago seem to asking the right questions. Who are these Anarchists and what do they really believe?

A couple of articles hit my news aggregator this morning (both originally from the Sun Times).

What does an anarchist look like — or stand for? [Chicago Sun-Times] – I know what you’re thinking: Unwashed skinny guys wearing dirty black jeans, dirty black shirts and dirty black bandanas covering their dirty white faces.

Tired of wars, anarchist seeks new social order. [Four Star Anarchist Organization] – John Slavin, 30, teaches chemistry at City Colleges, performs post-doctoral research as a visiting scholar at Northwestern University and lives in Logan Square with his partner and their soon-to-be 1-year-old child. He’s also an anarchist.

Why We’re Marching Against NATO

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Stay safe out there, people.

Why we’re marching against NATO. [SocialistWorker.org] – Thousands of people – workers, students, antiwar veterans and activists, Occupiers and community organizers – will take to the streets of Chicago when more than 50 heads of state gather on May 20-21 for a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

People of the world have come to understand through their own personal experience that war is not the answer, and veterans know that non-military solutions – non-NATO solutions – are essential in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world where NATO imagines that force and violence will achieve its objectives.

– Ray Parrish, President of the Chicago Chapter of Veterans for Peace

They’re Gonna Have To Kick Me Out

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Quit the Church? Thanks, but no thanks. [E. J. Dionne, Jr. | Commonweal] – Recently, a group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation ran a full-page ad in the Washington Post cast as an “open letter to ‘liberal’ and ‘nominal’ Catholics.” Its headline commanded: “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church.” I’m sorry to inform the FFRF that I am declining its invitation to quit. They may not see the Gospel as a liberating document, but I do, and I can’t ignore the good done in the name of Christ by the sisters, priests, brothers and laypeople who have devoted their lives to the poor and the marginalized.

Brian’s Comment: I had much the same reaction as Dionne when I first saw the letter from the FFRF. Granted, it is sometimes hard to be a free-thinking Catholic these days, but the Faith is not merely the institutions and the Church is not merely the hierarchy. Our Catholic Faith belongs to me and to my family as much as it does to the bishops, to the Vatican or to any of the Right-Wing bigots to whom I may be offering the sign of peace this weekend.

Occupy’s Meme Warrior: Kalle Lasn Interview

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Occupy’s Meme Warrior. [In These Times] – Last July, Adbusters sent out an invitation: “On Sept. 17, flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street.” The invitation sparked a movement.

Estonian-born documentary filmmaker Kalle Lasn co-founded Adbusters in 1989. Lasn, who is 70, draws his inspiration from the Situationists, avant-garde European revolutionaries who believed corporate capitalism perverted the human spirit. The Situationists reached their zenith in 1968 Paris and disbanded in 1972, but their efforts to affirm what it means to be free live on in Adbusters.

In These Times spoke with Lasn in March to see what “the man behind the curtain” had to say for himself and the movement he helped ignite.

Read the full interview at In These Times.

Politics, Poverty, Full Employment and the Living Wage

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Poverty is Over—If We Want it. [Adam Lassila | The Occupied Wall Street Journal] – It’s unconscionable that more than 30 million full-time workers don’t earn enough to provide for their families. It’s also unacceptable that 22 million willing laborers don’t have access to full-time work. Every human being deserves a job that can provide for his or her family’s well-being. Full employment is possible, but the U.S. government has rejected it as a policy goal because it is not in the best interest of the elites who control Washington.

Read more.

ALEC’s Attack on Public Education

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What You Need To Know About ALEC. [Bridging Differences | Education Week] – Since the 2010 elections, when Republicans took control of many states, there has been an explosion of legislation advancing privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job protections and collective bargaining rights. Even some Democratic governors, seeing the strong rightward drift of our politics, have jumped on the right-wing bandwagon, seeking to remove any protection for academic freedom from public school teachers. This outburst of anti-public school, anti-teacher legislation is no accident.

Read more.