Obama has fed his Green Jones to King CONG

Van Jones has been fed to King CONG (Coal, Oil, Nukes & Gas).

Obama’s one serious green bright spot been sacrificed at the McCarthyite altar of the corporate bloviation machine.

The brilliant, charismatic Jones was responsible for the administration’s single significant accomplishment to date. With clarity and verve Jones finally brought to the mainstream the critical message that what’s good for the environment is also good for the economy.

The convenience of this simple truth has long been known to the green power movement. Since the early 1970s we have argued that converting away from fossil and nuclear fuels---coal, oil, nukes & gas---and onto a Solartopian system based on renewables and efficiency is the only route to long-term prosperity. With community-based solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, mass transit, increased conservation and efficiency, we can and must build a sustainable economy that will create jobs and geo-political stability.

Join the March in Pittsburgh at G20

Friday, September 25th, 2009, Noon – 5:00 PM. Pittsburgh: Thousands to March to the G20 Summit to Bring the Peoples’ Demands: Money for Human Needs, Not for Wars and Occupations – Environmental Justice for the Earth and its Inhabitant – Jobs and Health Care for All.
WHAT: Permitted rally and “Peoples’ March” to G20 Summit
WHO: Thomas Merton Center Antiwar Committee and 40+ endorsing groups

WHERE: The plans for Friday are:
12:00 pm – Opening Rally at the corner of Fifth and Craft Avenues in Oakland.
2:00pm – Protestors will march down Fifth Ave. to the City County Building Downtown for a speak-out.
3:00pm – They will march down Grant St. to the Federal Building for another speak-out.
3:30pm – They will march down 10th St. to a block from the G20 and then conclude the march.
At least three feeder marches are being organized to join the march along the route.

Republicans Scream "Stay Away From Our Kids, Obama! If Anyone's Gonna Fill Their Heads With Partisan Crap It's Gonna Be Us!"

The latest controversy that has Republicans' panties in a collective snit is President Barack Obama's plan to address the nation's school children Tuesday in a speech designed to motivate, challenge and inspire excellence through education. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, not if you're a closed-minded conservative who views Obama's address as a form of "indoctrination."

A parent interviewed on Fox News Thursday morning said she's so angry that she's keeping her children home rather than subject them to Obama's speech: "This is government of the people...it's not about us having to do for government but what the government should be doing for us."

So much for the selfless principle behind President John F. Kennedy's stirring, patriotic plea to the American people during his 1960 inauguration address: "Ask not what your country can do you for, ask what you can do for your country." This woman couldn't have presented the typical Republican 'I-don't-give-a-shit-about-anyone-but-me' philosophy any clearer.

BonTaj Roulet blazes new ground raising green for Greens

In a tough economy, with music lovers thinking twice before going to see their favorite acts, the 34-date BonTaj Roulet Tour by Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal is blazing new green ground in raising money for charities. So far it's collected over $100,000 for environmental and other causes. It could add that much again before the final show on September 25 at Rancho Mirage, California.

The tour features a unique pairing that cuts across rock and blues barriers...and a whole lot more. With strong reviews and healthy ticket sales on an otherwise rough summer for the music business, the tour is also laying the groundwork for a new mix in the magic art of using commercial concerts to raise funds for green and other causes.

According to Kathy Kane, Bonnie Raitt's manager, "the artists are giving, the concert goers are giving AND the ticketing agencies are giving, along with some key venues and promoters." Among the collaborators are Ticketmaster, Live Nation Ticketing, and Musictoday. "Not every venue and promoter is contributing," says Kane, "but many are trying, and every venue and promoter has worked with us to make this happen."

Crucial questions on Afghanistan war

Many of your elected employees (e.g., Pres. Obama, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives) are conducting so-called alleged “town hall” style meetings with their employers (otherwise known as voters) during the fully paid vacations you have provided for them in August and September.

Given that more members of the U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan in July and August 2009 than in any other two month period since the U.S. successfully removed the then current government from power in Afghanistan in late 2001 almost eight years ago, you may wish to ask these questions in person or send them to each of your elected employees and ask for answers.


What military threat does Afghanistan currently pose to the United States?

Given that the purpose for the invasion of Afghanistan was fully accomplished in 2001, why are U.S. troops in Afghanistan today?

Given that the purpose for the invasion of Afghanistan was fully accomplished in 2001, how long do you intend to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan?

How many of your children are old enough to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces now?

The Columbus Free Press talks with David Swanson, author of <i>Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union</i>

SPECIAL EVENT: David Swanson will be in Columbus at 7pm on Sept. 9 for a book signing and meet-and-greet at Areopagitica, a bookstore at 3510 N. High St. near Oakland Park in Clintonville. For more information, contact Connie Hammond at chammon@columbus.rr.com

F.P.: Tell us about the book.

David Swanson: The book is called Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and forming a more perfect union, and as that title might suggest, it’s somewhat divided into a couple of parts. One part – what’s wrong, and one part, what do we do about it.

The part about what’s wrong deals largely with the real acceleration during the past eight years of the transfer of power -- from the Congress, and the courts and the people to the White House, and the crimes and abuses but also the systemic changes that need to be undone and reversed

Texas no limit

A night at the salon

A night full of history, knowledge and a whole lot of fun. That is how you can describe the August Second Saturday Salon organized by Free Press Managing Editor Suzanne Patzer and her husband Bob Fitrakis, who is Executive Director. The guests in attendance were from all walks of life leading to many interesting conversations. Stories of exciting and political past, struggles of today’s world, and promises of the future took over the night. One guest I had the pleasure of speaking to is brilliant artist Malcolm J. Mr. J. has a past full of loneliness and depression which he turned into something beautiful. He admitted himself into a treatment to help with his drug and alcohol addictions. Mr. J has been drawing since his younger years, motivated by his 4th grade teacher Mr. Valentino. Since his recovery he has taken it to new levels with help from organizations such as the Fresh Air Gallery, the Cultural Art Center and the VSA arts of Ohio.

A colossal sound

The Columbus Free Press sponsored an August 25, screening of the documentary “A Powerful Noise” at the Drexel Theater in Bexley. The movie focused on three women who aided the people of their countries, especially assisting women who are discriminated against after tragic experiences. The three women’s names are Jacqueline (a woman from Bamako, Mali), Hahn (a Vietnamese woman) and Nada (a mother from Bosnia).

Jacqueline (better known as “Madame Urbain” to the people she helps) runs an organization called APAF which helps the women of Bamako get regulated pay and just treatment from their employers, but it does not stop there. Additionally, the organization helps women who were not able to get an education that enables them to sustain a normal life. Madame Urbain also knows that it is important to not only assist the women of Bamako, so she is a motivational speaker who talks to children currently enrolled in school, and villages where she has helped build schools.

Rekindle the spirit of Kennedy’s 1980 run: Social democracy

Thinking about the death of Senator Edward Kennedy causes me to reflect on my own life and political activism. First, I was struck by the fact that “Teddy” was only one year younger than my father. The Senator always seemed eternally youthful, optimistic, and idealistic. I harbored in the back of my mind, up until the time his brain cancer was announced, that somehow – someway – he would still end up as President someday.

But, I was there for his last battle in 1980, supporting him and his United Automobile union allies in Detroit. In many ways, it was the last shoot-out in the Democratic Party between the liberal/progressive forces longing for a return of the New Deal/Great Society and the emerging new pro-corporate Democrats.

Not that the corporatism of Carter and his economic moderation was not offset by his championing of human rights and a rational energy policy, rather those of us who pushed Kennedy in 1980 realized that the “stagflation” – simultaneously high unemployment and high inflation – associated with Carter and the Democrats would likely pave the way for the rise of Ronald Reagan and his politics of deregulation and casino capitalism.

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