We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, February 26, 2010

Dems Retreat, Senate Renews PATRIOT Act

from Anti-War.  In contrast to health care proposals to extend coverage to uninsured Americans, notice how easy it is to renew the so-called Patriot Act (like passing all the Pentagon funding bills), which essentially has shredded the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. As portrayed in mainstream media (MSM) this was because of "blue dog democrats".  Seems like MSM, owned by and on behalf of the ruling capitalist class, likes to color code politics ("red States" and "blue States") as a way of explaining the US political process which, of course, explains nothing--which, of course, is the safest thing to do.