November 18, 2008 archive

Original article, a speech by Jeremy Dear given at the Annual Conference of the Labour Representation Committee (the organising hub of the left wing within the Labour Party and among trade union activists), via Socialist Appeal (UK):

As an aside, you may be asking why we should be interested in what Jeremy Dear is giving a speech on? The answer, to me, is simple: Labour has been hijacked by the neoliberal militarists just the same as the Democrats have been. While the crisis in Britain may not be 100% the same as here in the US, it is part and parcel of the collapse of international capitalism. Our workers face the same problems as theirs. It is within this framework that I think Dear’s speech is worth a read:

Over at Harper’s, Scott Horton lays out the case for prosecuting the Bush adminstration (subscription required, but having someone lay out the case clearly does my heart good, so it’s worth it).

Yay!  Another Monday Open Thread DD Ripple Awards!   A totally egalitarian endeavor, anyone can appoint themselves as awarders (is that a word?).  If no one does, then I reign supreme!  A win/win for me!  Mwoo ha ha ha ha.

The object of the award is akin to mining for gold in Sutter’s Field back in the Gold Rush Days.  Find a gem and give it some attention by bestowing an award.  Simple.

Without further ado:

From Roy Reed’s “The Weapon of Young Gods #39: Frayed Strands a great opening scene:

For many years I’d tried to convince myself that nostalgia meant death, that indulging in happy memories was much worse than just a pleasant waste of time, but recently I’d suspected that was a war I’d lost before it had even begun. The impulse to dwell to distraction had long since permanently fused with my frontal lobe, because not only had I been unable to kick the vile temptation, I’d come to enjoy it and-in a pinch-even capitalize on it. What I didn’t realize, though, was how completely uncontrollable it could be, and that almost cost me a lot more than a few lost hours on the day I discovered how completely Frankie had lied to me.

And as far as comments, a pretty recent one.  We’re all struggling with the issue of accountability and in edger’s essay: “Never Forget”, by Marc Ash, Jay Elias has this to say (and the resulting dialogue with edger is ripple-worthy, imo):

This is a question I’ve been considering lately…  

..that of how to deal with the felons who are former and current Bush administration officials.  And I remain mixed.

Prosecuting them for their crimes is something I consider important.  But to my thinking, the real failure has been to purge the Nixon criminals from the public sphere.  And without cleansing them, I don’t see how you can cleanse the Bush people.

How do we the people actually seek justice for Antonin Scalia, Henry Kissinger, or Pat Buchanan?  And if we cannot obtain justice from them, can we really honestly clean up the present?

I don’t know.

Open Thread is Open.