If so, what does Obama have to say or do before antiwar progressives finally start rousing themselves? In answer to those who say we"should wait" and give Obama"a chance," I'd answer that if we don't raise a ruckus now, we will lose any claim to have a place at the table or influence policy.
When are antiwar progressives going to stop worrying so much about a lame-duck president and start trying to influence the future? Okay, fellow peace activists. What do you have to say? Is the New York Times right? Are antiwar progressives giving Obama a free pass?
Warning: shameless self-promotion. While my book (co-authored by Linda Beito) won't be out until March or April, it is now being advertised by the University of Illinois Press. So far the press is doing a great promotional job. Here is the advertising copy (including blurbs by Juan Williams and Julian Bond):
The long-awaited biography of a colorful and enterprising civil rights leader In whatever role he chose--civil rights leader, wealthy entrepreneur, or unconventional surgeon--Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard (1908-76) was always close to controversy. One of the leading renaissance men of twentieth century black history, Howard successfully organized a grassroots boycott against Jim Crow in the 1950s. Well known for his benevolence, fun-loving lifestyle, and fabulous parties attended by such celebrities as Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson, he could also be difficult to work with when he let his boundless ego get the best of him. A trained medical doctor, he kept the secrets of the white elite, and although married to one woman for forty years, he had many personal peccadilloes. But T. R. M. Howard's impressive accomplishments and abilities vastly outshone his personal flaws and foibles. He was a dynamic civil rights pioneer and promoter of self-help and business enterprise among blacks.
With this remarkable biography, David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito secure Howard's rightful place in African American history. Drawing from dozens of interviews with Howard's friends and contemporaries, as well as FBI files, court documents, and private papers, the authors present a fittingly vibrant portrait of a complicated leader, iconoclastic businessman, and tireless activist.
"Black Maverick's wonderfully told story about an important personality sadly unknown to most students of the Civil Rights Movement is a more than welcome corrective. Dr. Howard's life and accomplishments need to be better known!"--Julian Bond, Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
"Dr. Howard was a history maker, and this book brings him to life as a man of courage whose actions and views on civil rights shaped American history."--Juan Williams, commentator for National Public Radio and author of Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 David T. Beito is a professor of history
According to this reporter, all of these advisors, centrist or otherwise, believe that Hoover's effort to balance the budget prolonged the depression. Thus, in order to avoid repeating this mistake, they agree on the need to"stimulate" the economy through massive government spending.
The centrists don't have a very good understanding of history. Hoover's concern about a balanced budget was largely rhetorical. From the beginning, he was ramping up government spending in agriculture and other areas as well as deficits.
Obama's campaign for" change" included a promise not to hire "retreads." As Philip Giraldi points out in this interview with Scott Horton, he is already betraying this promise with a vengeance. Many of his announced, and likely, appointments are not only retreads but pro-war ones at that. As of now, the peace wing of the Democratic Party, which was crucial to electing Obama, is being left out in the cold.
Watch out. If Rahm Emanuel is able to persuade Obama to impose compulsory national service, this song could suddenly enjoy a revival. Although written prior to Pearl Harbor, the lyrics are surprisingly subversive.
Here is an audio of Nat"King" Cole's rendition:
When skinny me went out with my honey, the boys all started to laugh; But now it's not so funny - they're all gone with the draft.
As a shiek, I can't be beat - the boys all hand me a laugh. But since I have got flat feet, I'm not gone in the draft.
I used to envy the fellows who had such fine physiques; But all they can say is"Hello" on seven-fifty a week.
When the boys get back and see how I'm doin', they'll be sorry they laughed; 'Cause one can't keep on wooing and still be gone with the draft.
When Franklyn D did sign the draft, the cats all had a chill; The boys turned pale and ceased to laugh, 'cause this is a serious bill.
They now realize that skinny me was the luckiest one of all, Who can stay at home with Minnie, while they face the cannon balls.
So boys, take it on the chin, and always wear a smile; You'll find it hard to win carryin' fifty pounds for miles.
When your year of drill is up, you get your calves discharged, You can come back home and freshen up, and run around at large. (Coda:) Gone, gone, gone, gone with the Draft, draft, draft, draft.
One of the best illustrations of Randolph Bourne’s dictum that “War is the Health of the State” was the rise of the modern income tax during World War II. Before 1942, the tax covered only a small well-off minority. As the federal government lowered the brackets and raised the rates during the war, however, the old “class tax” became a “mass tax.”
The introduction of withholding was the primary means to accomplish this goal. The Office of War Information promoted payment of the tax as not only a patriotic duty but as a positive joy.
It also commissioned Irving Berlin to write “I Paid My Income Tax Today.” Here is an audio of the song as joyfully belted out by comedian and actor Danny Kaye. Tbe lyrics are here if you want to sing along.
We should all continue to hope that Obama will be a peace president, but that does not mean that we should ignore the considerable evidence that indicates otherwise.
For example, his new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is very much from the hawkish wing of the Democratic party. It was Emanuel who was instrumental in getting a clause dropped from the defense appropriations bill requiring Congressional approval for an attack on Iran. Scott Horton has compiled several revealing quotations about Emanuel from the last few years. For the links, see here.
Raimondo: “[E]xamine the CNN photo of Nancy’s coronation and notice its composition: Rahm Emanuel to the left of her, Hoyer to her right – a veritable Praetorian Guard that is little short of menacing. The former torpedoed antiwar candidates in the primary and snubbed them in the general election, while the latter defeated antiwar leader Jack Murtha – frowning in the background – for majority leader on the strength of a smear campaign of extraordinary proportions. Are the men surrounding Madam Speaker an honor guard, or a police escort? Who’s in charge here?”
Raimondo: “The Rahm Emanuel wing of the party – Democratic congressional campaign committee head Emanuel routinely opposed antiwar candidates in the party primaries – is determined to keep the party on a “centrist,” i.e., objectively pro-war course, raising all the old canards about the alleged “weakness” of Democratic candidates on issues related to national security.”
Raimondo: “I would point out that, in a year when the Iraq war is the major issue in races all across the country – and when opposition to the war is at an all-time high, representing nearly 60 percent of voters – the Democrats’ congressional campaign, led by Rahm Emanuel, opposed antiwar candidates with a slate of their own pro-war candidates in the Democratic primaries. In many instances, the Democratic candidate is more pro-war than the Republican.”
Lobe: “Turkey has been aided as well by an expensive lobbying campaign organized and led by a former Republican speaker, Robert Livingstone, and Richard Gephardt, who, as the former Democratic House Leader, had co-sponsored a similar resolution. They have also been joined by several key lawmakers considered close to the so-called Israel Lobby, including the influential Democratic Caucus chairman, Rep. Rahm Emmanuel.”
Safire: “What about Rahm Emanuel, the most powerful voice in the House of Representatives that agrees with Hillary Clinton on foreign affairs. He’s a hawk. And although he’s a rootin’ tootin’ liberal on domestic affairs, he is a hawk on foreign affairs. I was at the—a roast for him for Epilepsy Association, and Hillary Clinton was there, and I said, quite frankly, here you have the hawkish side of the Democratic Party. If they get together, the bumper sticker will read ‘Invade and bomb with Hillary and Rahm.’”
Perhaps they will start to caring about their religious compatriots in Iraq when Obama becomes president, that is if any Christians are still left in Iraq.
According to this story in Der Spiegel, murders and a mass exodus contradict Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promise of security for everyone. Churches are trying to help the refugees, and some may come to Germany -- if the government settles on a plan.....
Since the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Christians in Mosul have had to fear for their lives. Churches have been set on fire, and priests, doctors, engineers and businesspeople have been murdered. In March, aides found the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho on the outskirts of the city. A new series of killings that began in late September has already claimed 18 lives.
About half of Mosul's 20,000 Christians have left the city since September, according to official figures released by the Ministry of Displacement and Migration in Baghdad. Since the US invasion in 2003, more than one third of a Christian population that once numbered about 800,000 has fled the country.
Voting for president and having your ballot be the deciding one cast — statistically, that is like trying to hit the lottery. The odds for the average person are 60 million to 1 against it, a study shows.
