Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 08.20.05

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    08.20.05

1. AWC yard sale          8.20 8am
2. Haiti justice          8.20 9am
3. Farheen campaign       8.20 9am
4. Hmong/Dickinson        8.20 10am
5. Library candidates     8.20 2pm
6. Islam open house       8.20 2:30pm
7. Nagasaki musicians     8.20 6:30pm
8. Venezuela/Cuba         8.20 7pm
9. Bike-in at Bell        8.20 7pm
10. Frogtown filmusic     8.20 7pm

11. Sensible vigil        8.21 12noon
12. LibrarySmart          8.21 1:30pm
13. Dickinson house party 8.21 2pm
14. Lourey/Sheehan        8.21 2pm
15. Amnesty International 8.21 3pm
16. KFAI/Indian Uprising  8.21 4pm
17. Como/lanterns         8.21 4pm
18. Anti-war walkout      8.21 6pm

19. Christopher Childs - 25 reasons to vote for Elizabeth Dickinson
20. Onion - Evangelical scientists: intelligent falling replaces gravity
21. Dave Lindorff  - America has turned against the war
22. William S Lind - Getting swept
23. ed             - Between nothing and nothing  (poem)

--------1 of 23--------

From: Jess Sundin <jess [at] antiwarcommittee.org>
Subject: AWC yard sale 8.20 8am

Annual AWC Yard Sale

Saturday 8/20 @ Bethany Lutheran Church 2511 E Franklin Minneapolis.
8am-4pm
Support the Anti War Committee and pick up new treasures at our annual
fundraiser Yard Sale. Also, volunteers needed & welcome.
www.antiwarcommittee.org


--------2 of 23--------

From: biego001 <biego001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Haiti justice 8.20 9am

The Haiti Justice Committee of Minnesota meets the third Sat. of every
month. Join us at 9am in the Ben Linder room at the Resource Ctr of the
Americas, located at 27th Ave.S. and Lake St. HJC works in solidarity with
the people of Haiti who are struggling valiantly for the return of
Constitutional law and democracy to Haiti in the face of the illegal
removal of President Aristide in 2003. Everyone is welcome. For more
information, call Rebecca Cramer, 612-724-8864.


--------3 of 23--------

From: Farheen Hakeem <hijabicycle [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Farheen campaign 8.20 9am

Did you know there are a mere 27 days between today and the September 13th
primary election? This does not leave very much time to speak to the vast
number of people who live in Minneapolis. Below you will find a list of
dates and times we will be door knocking. Please consider attending on one
of these dates as your help would very much be appreciated.

Door Knocking Dates, Times & Locations

Saturday August 20th at 9 a.m. - Bean Scene Cafe (W. Broadway St. and Penn
Ave. N.)
Saturday August 20th at 1 p.m. - Bean Scene Cafe (W. Broadway St. and Penn
Ave. N.)
Sunday August 21st at 9 a.m. - Cuppa Java (Penn Ave. S. and Cedar Lake Road S.)
Sunday August 21st at 1 p.m. - Cuppa Java (Penn Ave. S. and Cedar Lake Road S.)
Monday August 22nd at 7 p.m. - Nokomis Cup 5149 29th Ave S
Tuesday August 23rd at 7 p.m. - Magpie Coffee 4159 Cedar Ave S
Thursday August 25th at 7 p.m. - Minnehaha Coffee 4554 Minnehaha Ave
Saturday August 27th at 9 a.m. - Fireroast Mountain Cafe 3619 E 38th St
Saturday August 27th at 1 p.m. - Fireroast Mountain Cafe 3619 E 38th St
Sunday August 28th at 9 a.m. - Riverview Cafe 3753 42nd Ave S.
Sunday August 28th at 1 p.m. - Riverview Cafe 3753 42nd Ave S.
Monday August 29th at 7 p.m. - Sister Sludge Coffee Cafe 4557 Bloomington Ave


--------4 of 23--------

From: ed
Subject: Hmong/Dickinson 8.20 10am

Saturday, August 20, 2005
4th Annual Hmong Arts Festival
10am-6pm
Western Sculpture Park, edge of Downtown St. Paul across Marion Street
from Sears

Elizabeth and her campaign team will be attending this event sponsored by
the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (C.H.A.T.). This free festival
celebrates the artistic soul of the Hmong community and increases
visibility and exposure of Hmong art to the broader community. Enjoy arts
and crafts, activities, games, and live music.


--------5 of 23--------

From: c lee <abbeywynn [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Library candidates 8.20 2pm

Last chance to hear the Mpls library candidates:
Walker Library, Sat, 2 pm

If you've already attended a forum, consider attending this last one...the
questions change, rotate by candidate...it really takes at least 2 forums
to adequately compare the candidates and where we will spend our 12 votes
during the primary and our final 6 votes in November.

This last forum could be very interesting with the Walker task force last
fall...even the strib called what happened an "ambush" of the lib. board.
Still haven't found out how much that duplicate study cost in time, staff,
copies and a second consultant idea...anyone know?  Would hope that the 2
councilpeople in that area would attend.

Glad to see the interest in this....finally. Guess we ain't as sexy as the
Park Board for the main stream media.


--------6 of 23--------

From: brotherdamon [at] netscape.net
Subject: Islam open house 8.20 2:30pm

The Islamic Institute of Minnesota is holding a open house and cook out.
On Aug 20 at Masjid As Salaam (The Mosque of Peace) 1460 Skillman
Maplewood Mn 55109. 2:30-5pm.

Come and visit a Mosque, ask question about Islam. We look forward to
meeting you all. If you have any question please call 651 748 1688


--------7 of 23--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Nagasaki musicians 8.20 6:30pm

Saturday, 8/20, 6:30 to 8 pm, musicians from Nagasaki and St. Paul
Orchestras play together at MN History Center.  www.saintpaulnagasaki.org .


--------8 of 23--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Venezuela/Cuba 8.20 7pm

 Come Party and Celebrate!
 Talk with young people just returned from the World Youth Festival in
Venezuela
 Celebrate the victory of the overturning of the convictions of the Cuban
Five
 See the movie Deacons for Defense, the story of Blacks in Louisiana in
the mid 60's defending themselves ageist the KKK

Eat Latin American Food & Drink
Saturday, August 20, 7pm
Donating $10
Hosted by Alan and Areceli at their home, 41 Imperial Dr W, West St Paul
For directions call 651-644-6325

All proceeds go to travel for youth coming back from Venezuela and to
restock  Pathfinder Books. Sponsored by the Socialist Workers Party
and the Young Socialists.


--------9 of 23--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Bike-in at the Bell 8.20 7pm

BIKE-IN AT THE BELL
A celebration of bikes and biking
Bell Museum Courtyard

Hop on your bike and make your way to the Bell Museum for Bike-In at the
Bell, and evening of outdoor film and music brought to you by the Bell
Museum of Natural History and Minnesota Film Arts. Ride your bicycle and
receive a discount on admission to this unique outdoor event, which
features live music, food and drink, plus information and special
demonstrations all about bikes and biking! At dusk, enjoy bicycle themed
films from local and national filmmakers on our big outdoor screen!

 Featuring outdoor music from 7pm to dusk:
 Best Friends Forever
 Frilla
 Your Loving Tiger
 Woodcat

Following the music, a diverse array of short films celebrating bikes and
biking. From a soothing look at biking through nature to a bike-themed
karaoke sing-a-long, these films explore why and how we love to bike.

 Including: Bicicles - a look at the phenomenon of winter biking in Canada
 One Got Fat: Bicycle Safety - a bizarre safety film from 1963
 Daisy - a soothing tandem bike ride down forest trails
 Endless Love - bring your singing voice for this karaoke ride!
 Bike Ride - bittersweet animated short from local filmmaker Tom Schroeder
 Aeolian Ride - inflatable bubbles & bunnies take over the streets of NYC!
 Plus short local films from Minnesota Film Arts Bicycle Film Challenge

More info call 612.331.7563 of http://www.mnfilmarts.org/bell


--------10 of 23--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Frogtown filmusic 8.20 7pm

FILM: WHAT AMERICA NEEDS--Mark Wojohn's road-trip finding democracy's
spirit

If you have not yet seen TC film-maker MARK WOJOHN's powerful 2003
road-trip documentary WHAT AMERICA NEEDS, don't miss this weekend's St.
Paul screening. A few weeks after the 9/11/01 attacks in NYC, Wojohn set
off on a trip around America, asking everyone he met one basic
question,"What does America need?"

From urban centers, like NYC, LA and the nation's capitol to small town
America in the South and the West, and suburban in between, Wojohn asked
550 very diverse people his question: 500 of them answered--often in very
unexpected and hopeful ways. WHAT AMERICA NEEDS gives our country back to
those of us who DON'T have our radios tuned in to Rush Limbaugh--no matter
if we're 'red state"(or'blue state').

From the all-in-pink bicycle lady on a beach boardwalk and punk youth to
the senior couple traveling out West in their RV, San Franicsco gays
celebrating Halloween to a suburban family outside Washington,DC to a
variety of folks on the NYC subway, and more, Wojohn made a point of
looking for as much diversity as he could find.(The only gap is how few
people of color are represented in the film).

But, a kind of human common ground emerges in the film that can only
inspire hope for a future very different than the present, divisive
moment. Wojohn also has a luminous eye for this nation's great natural
landscape, reminding us what a damn beautiful country we are blessed to
live in. With wit, eyes wide open and a 'democratic sensibility" worthy of
the 19th century poet Walt Whitman, Mark Wojohn's WHAT AMERICA NEEDS is a
documentary expressing the best of our nation's soul. (Performance details
below in original msg from Mark Wjohn) Lydia Howell, Minneapolis

---
On Saturday August 20th, there will be a Movies and Music in the courtyard
of the Frogtown Lofts. Music will be by TO KILL A PETTY BOURGEOSIE and the
movie will be WHAT AMERICA NEEDS by Mark Wojahn. Expect the music to start
around 7pm and documentary will commmence at dusk (8:30pm). This is a free
event and we are inviting y'all to come by early at 5:30pm to cookout and
socialize. If you can make it then, please BYO food and refreshments. Also
bring your blankets or folding chairs. We hope to see you this Saturday!
-- Frogtown Social Club co-honcho 653 Galtier Street Saint Paul,
(651)487-5375 - Mark Wojahn

for more info the band please go to http://tokillapettybourgeoisie.us
for more infor on the movie please go to http://www.whatamericaneeds.com

The Frogtown family Lofts was established in the early 1990s as a Coop for
artists and their families. Today that mission includes individuals from
all backgrounds with a preference to artists. Located at 653 Galtier
Street in Saint Paul. It is centered in the Frogtown neighborhood, an area
north of University, south of Como and West of Rice and East of Lexington
avenues. For rental info please call Kelli at (612) 746-0400 for more
details or to schedule a showing.

PPS ! This is really funny, click on this if you like to laugh at GW!

THE DAILY SHOW REPORTS ON BUSH'S SUMMER VACATION In the opening segment of
last night's edition of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart called attention to
George W's vacation and Cindy Sheehan's attempts to meet with him. add new
comment | read more http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/649 = = = =


--------11 of 23--------

From: skarx001 <skarx001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Sensible vigil 8.21 12noon

The sensible people for peace hold weekly peace vigils at the intersection
of Snelling and Summit in St. Paul, Sunday between noon and 1pm. (This is
across from the Mac campus.) We provide signs protesting current gov.
foreign and domestic policy. We would appreciate others joining our
vigil/protest.


--------12 of 23--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: LibrarySmart 8.21 1:30pm

Please join Samantha Smart & friends for two special campaign events
designed to organize support and raise funds for her campaign for the
Minneapolis Library Board (primary on September 13).

LITERARY LUNCH for SMART for Library Board with POETRY! & FILM! @ MAY DAY
BOOKS, hosted by LYDIA HOWELL, host of KFAI's "Catalyst Sun.Aug. 21 @
1:30pm

Lydia Howell:
Libraries have been sites of liberation for African-Americans, women and
working-class people to access education and self-knowledge denied them.
Librarians have been freedom-fighters resisting forces of censorship,
guarding our First Amendment rights to freedom of thought---a role they
continue today battling the PATRIOT Act's attempts to monitor what we
read. Libraries are a basic pillar of REAL democracy (along with public
schools, voting rights and due process). But, funding CUTS are cutting
hours and limiting new book aquistions, threatening closures. Running for
Minneapolis Library Board, SAMANTHA SMART fought for keeping hours at her
NOKOMIS branch. Her 25 years of community activism include founding SPEAK
OUT SISTERS and co-hosts WOMANIST POWER AUTHORITY (Sun.9pm)on KFAI RADIO.
Hear her speak & support her campaign at this event!

LITERARY LUNCH: summer sandwiches (including vegatarian),salads, sweets

POETRY: Jules Nyquist (co-host WRITE ON RADIO, KFAI);Erin LynnMarsh(Loft
student);TBA.BRING A FAVE POEM TO SHARE (yours/other's)

FILM: Literature has often inspired great films. Enjoy A RAISIN IN THE
SUN, starring SIDNEY POITIER & RUBY DEE, in a classic by LORRAINE
HANSBERRY, who was the first African-American and woman to win a Pulitzer
Prize for playwrighting.

$5-10 Benefits SAMANTHA SMART for LIBRARY BOARD Campaign (PRIMARY VOTE:
SEPTEMBER 13!)
Sunday AUG.21 @ 1:30pm @ MAY DAY BOOKS
301 Cedar Ave.S. (basement HUB Bicycle)West Bank,Minneapolis
(612)333-4719 www.maydaybookstore.org Smartlibraries2005 [at] earthlink.net


--------13 of 23--------

From: Paul Busch <pobusch [at] msn.com>
Subject: Dickinson house party 8.21 2pm

Elizabeth Dickinson Meet and Greet/House Party 8.21 2-4pm

You're invited to an important house party to help elect a smart new mayor
for St. Paul: ELIZABETH DICKINSON

Please join us:
Sunday August 21
2-4pm
1523 Laurel Av StPaul

Enjoy a light summer buffet featuring locally-grown and organic fare with
musical by singing sensations "Helen and Karen"  and piano by Dave Shove.

And, of course, meet Elizabeth, who will be with us to talk about her
progressive vision for our great city, including:

* Strong neighborhoods
* A healthy urban environment
* Sustainable economic development
* Living wage jobs

Elizabeth is smart, she's organized, she's inspiring, she's honest, and
she believes in the power of people and our neighborhoods to make St. Paul
the best it can be.

Sponsors
Sponsored by the following friends of Elizabeth Dickinson: Clare Welter,
Paul Busch, Lois Kreider, and Julian Grant. For more information, contact
Paul at pobusch [at] msn.com or (651) 646-4656.

Other Ways You Can Help
Can't make it, but want to support Elizabeth?  Consider contributing,
volunteering, and displaying a lawn sign!

Volunteer: http://www.elizabethdickinson.org/volunteer.php
Contribute: http://www.elizabethdickinson.org/contribute.php
Lawn Signs: http://www.elizabethdickinson.org/lawnsigns.php
...or Just Learn More: http://www.elizabethdickinson.org


--------14 of 23--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Lourey/Sheehan 8.21 2pm

Sunday, 8/21, 2 pm, welcome back on the steps of the State Capitol building
for MN Rep. Becky Lourey (whose son recently died in Iraq) after her
solidarity visit with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford. Write
charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com for evolving details.


--------15 of 23--------

From: Gabe Ormsby <gabeo [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: AI 8.21 3pm

Join Group 37 for our regular meeting on Sunday, August 21, 3-5pm.

Our speaker this month will be Gary King, who has just returned from a
visit to the Philippines. He will fill us in on news about the Philippine
Scholars program, his visits to political prisoners, and the rise of death
squads in the country. Gary's presentation will begin at 3:00.

After Gary King's presentation, we will hear from each of our sub-groups,
get news on Amnesty campaigns, share actions and discuss ongoing human
rights issues worldwide.

All are welcome at the meeting, and refreshments will be provided.

Location: Center for Victims of Torture, 717 E. River Rd. SE, Minneapolis
(corner of E. River Rd. and Oak St.). Park on street or in the small lot
behind the center (the center is a house set back on a large lawn).

A map and directions are available on-line:
http://www.twincitiesamnesty.org/meetings.html.


--------16 of 23--------

From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org>
Subject: KFAI/Indian Uprising 8.21 4pm

KFAI's Indian Uprising for Aug. 21st

THE HEART OF WHITENESS: CONFRONTING RACE, RACISM AND WHITE PRIVILEGE by
Robert Jensen , Paperback, 124 pp $9.07, City Lights Books, (publication
date, September 30,  2005) www.citylights.com.  An honest look at U.S.
racism, and the liberal platitudes that attempt to conceal it

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois wrote that the real question
whites wanted to ask him, but were afraid to, was: "How does it feel to
be a problem?" In The Heart of Whiteness, Robert Jensen writes that it is
time for white America to self-consciously reverse the direction of that
question at the heart of color. Itıs time for white people to fully
acknowledge that in the racial arena, they are the problem.

While some whites would like to think that we have reached "the end of
racism," in the U.S., and others would like to celebrate diversity but
remain oblivious to the political, economic, and social consequences of a
nation founded on a system of white supremacy, Jensen proposes a
different approach. He sets his sights not only on the racism that canıt
be hidden, but also on the liberal platitudes that sometimes conceal the
depths of that racism in American "polite society."

This book offers an honest and rigorous exploration of what Jensen refers
to as the depraved nature of whiteness in the United States. Mixing
personal experience with data and theory, Jensen faces down the difficult
realities of race, racism, and white privilege. He argues that any system
that denies non-white people their full humanity also keeps white people
from fully accessing their own.  This book is both a cautionary tale for
those white people who believe that they have transcended racism, and
also an expression of the hope for genuine transcendence.

"Very few white writers have been able to point out the pathological
nature of white privilege and supremacy with the eloquence of Robert
Jensen. In The Heart of Whiteness, Jensen demonstrates not only immense
wisdom on the issue of race, but does so in the kind of direct and
accessible fashion that separates him from virtually any other academic
scholar, or journalist, writing on these subjects today." ­Tim Wise,
author, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son

Robert Jensen is the author of Citizens of the Empire. He is a professor
of Media Ethics and Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin,
rjensen [at] uts.cc.utexas.edu.

* * * *
Indian Uprising is a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs radio
program for, by, and about Indigenous people & all their relations,
broadcast each Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis and
106.7 FM St. Paul.  Current programs are archived online after broadcast
at www.kfai.org, for two weeks.  Click Program Archives and scroll to
Indian Uprising.


--------17 of 23--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Como/lanterns 8.21 4pm

Sunday 8/21, 4pm to dusk, lantern lighting festival at Como Park's Ordway
Memorial Japanese Gardens.  www.saintpaulnagasaki.org


--------18 of 23--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Anti-war walkout 8.21 6pm

Spaghetti Dinner and Counter-Recruitment Planning Meeting

Sunday August 21, 6pm. Walker Community Methodist Church, 3104 16th Avenue
South, Minneapolis.

After a spaghetti dinner, Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) activists
will describe their campaign work last spring, as well as their ideas for
counter-recruitment planning for the upcoming year. $10.00 suggested
donation (no one turned away). Sponsored by Youth Against War and Racism
and endorsed by WAMM.

---
From: Ty <tymoore77 [at] yahoo.com>

Calling all anti-war activists, parents, and young people:

Want to help high school activists get military recruiters out of our
schools?
Hungry for a delicious spaghetti dinner?

We are inviting you to join us for dinner and a planning meeting to form a
"Counter-Recruitment Youth Support Committee" (tentative working title).
The aim of the meeting is to bring together local anti-war organizations
and activists, alongside concerned parents and educators, to support the
efforts of high school activists in the fast-growing Youth Against War and
Racism network, as well as stepping up the pressure on area school boards
to take action against the Pentagon's growing efforts to use our schools
as recruiting stations for the war in Iraq.

Spaghetti dinner and counter-recruitment planning meeting

Sunday, August 21st
6:00 PM dinner ($10 requested donation, no one turned away)
6:45 PM planning meeting

Walker Community Untied Methodist Church
3104 16th Ave S (one block from Lake St. and
Bloomington Ave.)
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Proposed Agenda:
 1. Dinner at 6pm - Welcoming remarks and short talk Youth Against War and
Racism activists describing our campaign work last spring.
 2. Plans for a metro-wide student walkout this fall - how community
supporters can help YAWR make the walkout a big success.
 3. Pressuring school boards - A petition drive and a proposal for a
press conference and rally at the Sept. 13th Minneapolis school board
meeting to urge them to register their opposition to military recruiters
in public schools, and ensure opt-out forms are distributed.
 4. Next meetings, next steps

WHY A WALKOUT?

To step up the struggle to stop the war.  There have been massive,
historic protests against Bush's war on Iraq, a war which has injured over
10,000 U.S. soldiers and cost the lives of nearly 1,800 U.S. soldiers and
100,000 Iraqis. But unfortunately, protests and lobbying politicians has
not been enough to stop the war. Massive strikes of students, workers, and
soldiers would be much more effective in shutting down the war machine,
the kind of tactics that forced the government to end the Vietnam War.
We're organizing a walkout - a more powerful form of protest - which can
help pave the way for future widespread, combative actions.

Bush is losing support - now is the time to strike back. Polls show
support for Bush and the war at an all-time low. We must seize this
opportunity to organize a bold, determined action to further undermine
Bush and the war. On November 2nd, the anniversary of Bush's re-election,
students across the country will also be walking out. This National Day of
Action, called by Youth Against War and Racism and other groups around the
country, can mobilize the widespread anger at the Bush administration and
its war.

Young people will respond to a walkout.  The idea of a walkout will
capture the imagination of students, like the day after Bush began the war
when over 3,000 high school students walked out across the Twin Cities.
Students don't want the military using our schools as recruiting stations
for their wars. It is disproportionately poor youth and students of color
who are being targeted by recruiters to fight and die in Iraq. Young
people are facing low wages, dead-end jobs, unemployment and being priced
out of higher education. We need funding for jobs and education instead of
spending even more than the nearly $300 billion that has already been
wasted on this war for oil and empire. A bold call for walkouts could draw
hundreds of young people out of the classrooms and into the streets to
protest of this war and its racist poverty draft.

Challenging military recruiters in schools is one of the most effective,
concrete ways to jam the military machine.  This fall is a great time for
a walkout because there has been widespread media exposure of recruiters -
manipulative, dishonest recruiting tactics and a growing
counter-recruitment movement has emerged across the country. While school
officials are doing very little, claiming their hands are tied, student
walkouts will send a loud and clear message that military recruiters are
not welcome in our schools.

Dinner and meeting organized by Youth Against War and Racism, the Anti-War
Organizing League, and Socialist Alternative.

For more information: call 612-760-1980 email against.war [at] gmail.com


--------19 of 23--------

From: Christopher Childs <worldgarden [at] igc.org>
Subject: 25 reasons to vote for Elizabeth Dickinson

I was impressed by Bob Spaulding's list of the 25 differences between
Coleman and Kelly [posted elsewhere].  I would agree with a good many of
his points.  Chris was my city councilmember, too, and on occasional
acquaintance, I like the guy personally.  But even if my Better Half
wasn't running, I'd have a whole bunch of questions about what to expect
from him as mayor.  (If Chris and Elizabeth knocked Randy out and got past
the primary -- now, c'mon, wouldn't that be interesting? -- is there any
doubt in anybody's mind that Chris would start drifting to the right to
pick up all those Kelly voters??)

I'll save any direct response to (some of) Bob's 25 for another post.
But for the moment, inspired by his effort, please let me offer -- as a
personal statement, not Official Campaign Literature --

A COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE  :-)  SPOUSE'S 25 REASONS
TO VOTE FOR ELIZABETH DICKINSON

1.  She takes stands for what she believes in, whether or not it will be
popular with any individual or group.  You can hire for your mayor a
politician who puts his finger in the wind or goes where his big donor
power brokers want him to go, or you can hire someone who's proven that
she sticks to her guns -- and that what she wants is what's best for her
city.  You can hire someone who likes to play politics -- or you can hire
someone who wants to transform it.

2.  She's done more for St. Paul out of office than many politicians have
done during a lifetime in office: she gave thousands of hours (yes,
thousands) of her time without compensation to get the High Bridge and
Riverside and King power plants cleaned up so your kids would have air to
breathe that wouldn't cause asthma, and so older folk and people with
heart or lung conditions wouldn't have attacks triggered by coal-based
pollution.  She's also a force behind the planned renegotiation of the
Xcel Energy franchise... and she'll be a lot more of a force in the
mayor's office.

3.  When she says she cares about the people, she means it.  During her
near-upset 2003 run for the Ward 2 city council seat -- a race she ran on
just under $10,000, not a dime of it from PACs or corporate special
interests -- she knocked on nearly every single family door in her ward.
You'd see her at events like the sendoff for the immigrant workers' rights
bus ride to Washington.  Other politicians would be hobnobbing with the
Anglo "players" who helped organize the event; Elizabeth would spend a few
minutes with the organizers, then she'd dust off her high school Spanish
and talked to the people on the bus.

4.  She has better, more original, more creative ideas than anyone else in
the race.  She's proposed renegotiating Xcel's franchise in a way that
would give the city an extra $1-2 million per year -- plus cleaner energy
and more street lights -- and cost the average ratepayer roughly a dollar
a month... a dollar they wouldn't have to pay if they're low-income, and
could easily avoid paying (even if they're rich) if the dollar's important
enough to them to take simple steps and conserve energy.

5.  She's got more guts than Kelly and Coleman combined.  She's risked
everything to run for office because she was asked -- by longtime DFLers
as well as Greens -- to get into the race.  She gave up a good job that
was her household's primary source of income (her employer wouldn't give
her a leave of absence; their loss)... and (with her husband's agreement
and support) she put everything on the line to give the people of St. Paul
a real, meaningful choice and a shot at electing a truly progressive
candidate.  What have the two guys put at risk to run?

6.  She's not anti-development, but she wants the neighborhoods, not the
big developers, to take the lead in deciding what "improvements" will
truly work for the city, and what won't.  She's been on a District Council
(and co-chaired its Environment Committee), and she wants all the
community councils at the table and engaged when the future shape of the
city is being decided.

7.  She has life experience broader and deeper than Coleman or Kelly have
in their dreams.  At 45 she's been a factory worker, a teacher in England
and Massachusetts, an ace temp, a professional actor from Boston to
Hollywood to Excelsior (member of three AFL-CIO performers' unions), a
counselor of low-income women in LA and substance abusers in Boston, a
writer, and a Community Affairs Organizer and Capitol lobbyist.  She knows
what it means to work for a living, and she also knows the astonishing
value of freedom to go after work you love -- and she wants St. Paul to be
a city that offers that kind of opportunity to everyone, no matter where
they're starting from.

8.  She's a whole lot better gardener than Kelly or Coleman.  "Blooming
St. Paul"? -- Ever seen either of the two guys on their knees helping to
weed the Garden of Good Hearts in the District Del Sol?  I didn't think
so.  (Seen the flowers in Elizabeth's yard?)  -- Who do you think will
work hardest and best with Parks and Rec?  Who'll really care more about
how St. Paul looks and feels?

9.  She manages money better than Coleman or Kelly, because she has to:
she won't take dollars from special interests, so she ran her '03 city
council campaign on about one-fifth of Dave Thune's budget (and about
one-tenth of Christine Nelson's, if you include independent expenditures
by the Chamber) and she still nearly knocked Dave out in the primary.
She'll run this race on a fraction of a fraction of what the guys will
spend.  Who do you want in charge of the city budget, someone used to
virtually unlimited political income, or someone who spends every dollar
like it's the last one in the till?

10.  She knows what it means to make creativity, commitment and hard work
take the place of money: when Elizabeth came here, with-spouse she did
most of the work to fix up a 1911 house that looked, in the words of one
friend, "like a slum dwelling."  In four years it was on the Home Tour.
(She still has the certificate posted in its kitchen, complete with Randy
Kelly's signature.)

11.  At the same time she watches every dollar, she knows that some things
really, truly, honest to God, are more important than money.  Like your
kids and their future health and welfare and well-being, _including_ their
economic well-being.  She is the one true visionary in this race... and
she's a visionary with her feet on the ground.

12.  She respects and gets along with just about everyone she's ever met,
whether they agree with her or not.  Go ask some of the Republican
legislators over at the Capitol -- the ones who didn't vote her way -- how
they feel about her both as a person and as a professional lobbyist for
the MN AIDS Project.  Who do you want trying to work with your city
councilmember, someone with old baggage who reopens old political wounds,
or someone who makes each member of the council feel listened to and
treated like a human being when she talks with them?

13.  She wants St. Paul to become the Clean Energy Capital of the Midwest,
getting 25% of its power from renewables like wind.  (That's a
business-attracting national profile, and a city identity we can be proud
of.)  It's not just about cleaner air -- as if that wouldn't be enough for
a city that's now having air quality alerts in the middle of the winter --
it's about stabilizing energy prices so businesses that locate here know
their energy costs won't go through the roof as natural gas -- and coal,
and oil -- continue to climb.  _Wind is free fuel._

14.  She appreciates the city's firefighters the way you only can if
you've had a personal experience of what they do: firefighters saved her
home near LA when she had to evacuate during the 1993 Topanga-Malibu fire.
Not only will she fight for the funding the department needs, but you will
see Mayor Dickinson _in the firehouses_ expressing her appreciation and
respect for the crews -- and rebuilding the morale damaged by four years
of disrespect and neglect.

15.  She hates Wal-Martization, and she loves small, smart businesses.
She literally made the movie about Wal-Mart -- a documentary short called
"Always Low," so good it's being distributed from here to the West Coast.
Like the feel of Grand Avenue?  Vote for Elizabeth, 'cause she'll help
keep it feeling that way.

16.  She takes the long view of our security.  She wants the funds the
SPPD needs for today, _and_ -- the moreso because of her work as a
counselor, especially in LA -- she knows you can't just reduce crime
through law enforcement.  You have to invest the money now in everything
from better schools to better recreational programs if you want to have
fewer gangs, less crime, and a more welcoming city tomorrow.

17.  She's always agreed, categorically, with the majority of St. Paulites
that billionaire owners of sports teams should put up the money for their
own damned stadiums.

18.  She voted for Jay Benanav for mayor in 2001, not Randy Kelly.

19.  She's always backed a smoking ban in restaurants and bars.  No
employee should have to breathe in carcinogens daily as a condition of
employment.  It's nuts.

20.  She didn't support George W. Bush in 2004.

21.  She won't ask Tim Pawlenty to help her raise money.  (21a.) Or
Richard Daley, either.

22.  She drives a Prius.  She puts her money where her mouth is.

23.  She inspires people.  Even an experienced political reporter like Tim
Nelson of the PiPress marvels at her ability to "orate" (see post at
<http://www.cityhallscoop.com>).  In St. Paul -- with its nearly lifelong
identity crisis from sitting next door to its bigger, badder sibling city
-- she can generate civic unity and pride, and forge a
nationally-recognized identity, in a way Kelly or Coleman never can.
Compared to her, the guys are about as inspiring as dead oatmeal.

24.  She's the smartest candidate in this race, period.  Her B.Ed.
(Honours) is from Cambridge University in England, one of the finest
educational institutions in the world.  Her M.A. -- in counseling
psychology -- is from highly-regarded Lesley College in another Cambridge,
the one in Massachusetts.

25. In 150 years as a city (okay, 151), St. Paul has never yet had a woman
mayor.  It now has a serious woman mayoral candidate who is smart, deeply
principled, knowledgable about government, articulate and inspiring,
increasingly popular, and absolutely committed to the city and its people.
What the heck are we waiting for, Jane Goodall??  Mother Teresa to come
back and run??  Isn't it about time to put a woman in the mayor's chair,
_now_??

Christopher Childs, West Side
Married to the candidate for 18 years
Green former DFLer who usually still votes for Democrats
unless they are functional Republicans
Dickinson for Mayor _volunteer_


--------20 of 23--------

Evangelical scientists refute gravity
with new "Intelligent Falling" theory
Onion

KANSAS CITY, KS.As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public
schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose
Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical
Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held
"theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new
theory of Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force,
but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them
down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied
Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

Burdett added: "Gravity.which is taught to our children as a law.is
founded on great gaps in understanding. The laws predict the mutual force
between all bodies of mass, but they cannot explain that force. Isaac
Newton himself said, 'I suspect that my theories may all depend upon a
force for which philosophers have searched all of nature in vain.' Of
course, he is alluding to a higher power."

Founded in 1987, the ECFR is the world's leading institution of
evangelical physics, a branch of physics based on literal interpretation
of the Bible.

According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the
International Journal Of Science and the adolescent magazine God's Word
For Teens!, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular
gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus
ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise.

The ECFR, in conjunction with the Christian Coalition and other Christian
conservative action groups, is calling for public-school curriculums to
give equal time to the Intelligent Falling theory. They insist they are
not asking that the theory of gravity be banned from schools, but only
that students be offered both sides of the issue "so they can make an
informed decision."

"We just want the best possible education for Kansas' kids," Burdett said.

Proponents of Intelligent Falling assert that the different theories used
by secular physicists to explain gravity are not internally consistent.
Even critics of Intelligent Falling admit that Einstein's ideas about
gravity are mathematically irreconcilable with quantum mechanics. This
fact, Intelligent Falling proponents say, proves that gravity is a theory
in crisis.

"Let's take a look at the evidence," said ECFR senior fellow Gregory
Lunsden."In Matthew 15:14, Jesus says, 'And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall into the ditch.' He says nothing about some gravity making
them fall - just that they will fall. Then, in Job 5:7, we read, 'But
mankind is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upwards.' If gravity
is pulling everything down, why do the sparks fly upwards with great
surety? This clearly indicates that a conscious intelligence governs all
falling."

Critics of Intelligent Falling point out that gravity is a provable law
based on empirical observations of natural phenomena. Evangelical
physicists, however, insist that there is no conflict between Newton's
mathematics and Holy Scripture.

"Closed-minded gravitists cannot find a way to make Einstein's general
relativity match up with the subatomic quantum world," said Dr. Ellen
Carson, a leading Intelligent Falling expert known for her work with the
Kansan Youth Ministry. "They've been trying to do it for the better part
of a century now, and despite all their empirical observation and
carefully compiled data, they still don't know how."

"Traditional scientists admit that they cannot explain how gravitation is
supposed to work," Carson said. "What the gravity-agenda scientists need
to realize is that 'gravity waves' and 'gravitons' are just secular words
for 'God can do whatever He wants.'"

Some evangelical physicists propose that Intelligent Falling provides an
elegant solution to the central problem of modern physics.

"Anti-falling physicists have been theorizing for decades about the
'electromagnetic force,' the 'weak nuclear force,' the 'strong nuclear
force,' and so-called 'force of gravity,'" Burdett said. "And they tilt
their findings toward trying to unite them into one force. But readers of
the Bible have already known for millennia what this one, unified force
is: His name is Jesus."


--------21 of 23---------

America Has Turned Against the War
Something's Happened
By DAVE LINDORFF
CounterPunch
August 19, 2005

It's not just Cindy Sheehan.

Something has happened in the country in the last few weeks.

Suddenly the deaths of Americans in Iraq are being recognized and talked
about.

You could tell here in Philadelphia when the local TV news programs
featured lengthy stories on the funeral plans of the half dozen National
Guard troops who were killed recently.

You could tell too by a new attitude among the local reporters themselves.

All four of the broadcast network affiliates, including the local Fox
station, sent reporters out to cover the August 17 candlelight vigil in
support of Sheehan. All chose to send their crews to a church in
Philadelphia's integrated Germantown section, where a Methodist church had
announced a vigil as part of the MoveOn/True Majority-organized nationwide
event.

Hosting that gathering was Celeste Zappala, who lost a foster son in Iraq
in April, 2004 (the same month Sheehan's son Casey was killed), and who is
a co-founder with Sheehan of Gold Star Mothers.

When the reporters from the network affiliates interviewed her, and heard
her speak movingly about the losses being suffered because of a war based
upon lies for which so many reasons have been given and then debunked or
rejected, there were tears in some of their eyes.

There were no hard-edged, cynical questions about motives or politics.

Something has happened.

The stories that ran late that evening, juxtaposed appropriately next to
reports on the funerals and on the latest devastating bombing of a bus
depot and a hospital in Baghdad that killed 43, were sober and respectful.
No references to "'60s graybeards." No effort to scare up some small bunch
of counterdemonstrators for "balance."

The national media may still be more timid about stories critical of the
administration. The N.Y. Times buried its story on the nationwide vigil on
an inside page, as did the Philadelphia Inquirer locally, leaving it to
USA Today to give the story the page one prominence it deserved based upon
simple news value.

That was why the local coverage was so important all around the country.
Closer to the ground, away from the self-important editors of the national
media, who seem to have trouble realizing they aren't part of the
government, editors and reporters are picking up the groundswell of
opposition to the war that is building with every new coffin unloaded at
Ft. Dix.

You could see it in the street-hardened white Philly cop who, as he drove
slowly down the cobblestoned Germantown Avenue pathway between the two
rows of hundreds of candle-holding vigil-goers, made a peace sign with his
fingers.

Something has happened.

N.Y. Times columnist Frank Rich may have jumped the gun and oversimplified
when he wrote last week that someone needs to tell the president the war
is over. It's certainly far from over. But its days are clearly numbered.

Dave Lindorff is the author of Killing Time: an Investigation into the
Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. His new book of CounterPunch columns
titled "This Can't be Happening!" is published by Common Courage Press.
Information about both books and other work by Lindorff can be found at
www.thiscantbehappening.net.

He can be reached at: dlindorff [at] yahoo.com


--------22 of 23--------

If the People of Cleveland Ever Wake Up to What's Really Going On in Iraq,
There'll be Hell to Pay
Getting Swept
By WILLIAM S. LIND
CounterPunch
August 19, 2005

The past couple weeks have been a hard time here in my home town of
Cleveland, Ohio. Third Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit
headquartered just ten minutes from my house, lost 20 guys in two days in
Iraq. It was a kick in the stomach for the whole city.

Those Marines were our neighbors and sometimes our friends. The battalion
commander of 3/25 is an old friend of mine, from his days as a captain.
Last winter, before they deployed, I held a seminar on Fourth Generation
war for him and some of his officers and staff NCOs. The FMFM 1-A was
barely in draft form then, but I did get them a pre-publication copy of
John Poole's Tactics of the Crescent Moon. It is probably the best thing
out there on the Islamic way of war. I hope it helped. Like everyone in
Cleveland, I am frustrated that there is so little we can do for our own
guys over there.

There is one thing I can do, and that is use this column to raise a
question: why are units such as 3/25 being used to conduct sweeps? It was
on a sweep that the 14 Marines were killed when their Amtrack was hit. The
battalion took a similar hit last May in another sweep.

I am not criticizing 3/25 here. The policy of conducting sweeps is set at
a level far above battalion. Maybe these things are decided in the Emerald
City in Baghdad, maybe in Washington. In either case, it is in some vast
headquarters where everything is reduced to Powerpoint briefs and
spoon-fed to generals who know more about promotion politics than they do
about war.

Why do I say that? Because anyone who knows anything about
counter-insurgency warfare knows that sweeps don't work. In a sweep, a
conventional military unit, designed to fight other units like itself, is
sent into bad guy country. It is not going to stay there; it's just
passing through. Inevitably, the insurgents know for days if not weeks
beforehand when and where it is coming. Most of the bad guys simply leave.
Enough stay behind to set some ambushes and plant mines and booby-traps.
The unit doing the sweep comes through like ducks in a shooting gallery.
It gets hit, sometimes hard. Maybe it picks up a few insurgent weapons
dumps. Typically, it rounds up any young men it finds as "possible
insurgents" (units like 3/25 now report that they find no young men on
their sweeps  no surprise). Then it leaves. The insurgents come back.
Nothing has changed, except places like Cleveland hold a lot of military
funerals. In the end, it's us that gets swept.

So why do we keep doing it? Beyond the facts that many of our generals are
military idiots and more are politicians in uniform (do I hear Lincoln up
there sighing?), the standard answer is that we don't have enough troops
in Iraq to occupy the place. That is true. But instead of wasting the
troops we do have by conducting sweeps, why don't we adopt the "ink-blot
strategy" where we can? Deriving from British experience in Malaya and
what American Special Forces and Marines did in the early stages of the
Vietnam war (and it was working when we abandoned it), the ink-blot
strategy uses however many troops we've got to come into an area and stay.
They move right into the towns and villages. They live with the local
people. They provide long-term security, so local people can work with us
without getting their throats cut three days later once we've gone.

No, we do not have enough troops to do this in all of Sunni Iraq. But we
can start with part of it. Yes, that will give the insurgents a free hand
elsewhere, for a time. But sweeps don't change that fact; they only change
the appearance, which may be what is wanted for briefings back in
Washington but means nothing on the ground. Over time, our ink-blots can
slowly expand, as areas become genuinely secure and can be turned over to
someone else (probably local militias willing to take American dollars).

The root problem here is one I have pointed to many times before: the
seeming inability of the American military's higher echelons to learn. The
officers and men of units like 3/25 learn and adapt quickly. But our vast,
overstaffed and underled headquarters seem to live on another planet. They
don't learn from the experiences of others, through history, and they also
don't learn from the experience of 3/25 and other similar units. They just
keep ordering the same failed tactics, like sweeps or dropping bombs on
populated towns and cities, over and over again. I'm not a psychologist,
but I believe that is a traditional symptom of neurosis.

Yet on another level their behavior is rational. American generals become
senior commanders by pleasing politicians. They please politicians by
telling them what they want to hear. The Bush administration wants to be
told that what we are doing is working, so that is what the generals tell
them. And it's so much easier to tell someone else that it's working if
you believe it yourself. It all makes perfect sense - - in a closed-system
fantasy-land that has no relationship whatever to the war units like 3/25
are fighting.

If the people of Cleveland and other places like Cleveland ever figure out
what's really going on, there's going to be hell to pay. Anger is a short
step from grief.


--------23 of 23--------

 Between nothing and
 nothing, there's something. Try to
 find out what it is.


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   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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