Job Party

As the global economy grinds to a halt, progressive "pundits" are driving me crazy by equating a Keynesian "stimulus" with jobs.

They are not the same thing.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a $787 billion "stimulus." It was not a jobs bill. 

It was supposed to save and create millions of jobs through trickle-down policies of tax cuts, unemployment benefits, aid to state and local governments, and "shovel-ready" construction projects.

According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, in its peak year of 2010, it increased the number of people employed by between 1.3 million and 3.3 million. Most of those jobs were saved, not created.

Yes, yes, poverty exists, just as war does, and the two feed off each other. When I titled a book "War Is A Lie" I meant that the justifications offered for wars were false and that the idea that we must always have wars is false. Our government doesn't market new poverty campaigns in the same way it does wars. It markets campaigns to dismantle healthcare and pension systems or to eliminate foreign aid or to restrict organizing rights. But our culture pushes the false notion that poverty must always be with us.

A broad nationwide progressive coalition will host over 1,000 events nationwide on Monday to protest attacks on unions and cuts in essential social programs, and to commemorate the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this date in 1968.

The "We Are One" coalition includes the nation's largest unions and progressive groups, including AFL-CIO, SEIU, NAACP, Moveon, and Democracy for America.

Dr. King's legacy will be a powerful inspirational force. He was in Memphis helping sanitation workers fight for a union. The night before his assassination, he gave a moving, prophetic speech:

Last weekend, tens of thousands of us rallied in New York City and around the nation. We demonstrated our solidarity with workers in Wisconsin and around the nation who are under attack by Tea Party Republicans like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Step by step, we're creating a powerful grassroots response to the Tea Party: a Job Party.

Imagine if TV routinely looked like this.  The world would not look anything like it does.

A People's Hymn
By David Swanson

From the Capitol in Madison
To the shores of Tripoli
We will fight the people's battles
And we'll fight them peacefully;
First we learn nonviolent tactics,
And we train before we start.
For our fight will be relentless,
We commit with all our heart.

Our flags unfurl to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We will fight in every clime and place
And we'll never touch a gun.
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic seas
You will find us always on the job
Building new democracies.

Here's health to everyone on earth
Whom we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we'll risk our life
And never lose our nerve.
If the tyrants and their funders
Wish history to please
They will step out of their palaces
And join our democracies.

From CvillePodcast

2.24.11 Best-selling author and political analyst David Swanson joins Coy for an extended conversation about the events in Wisconsin. Swanson breaks down the comments made by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during the recent prank call by an imposter claiming to be well known philanthropist and political advocate David Koch. He also addresses the idea of a “class war” which we may or may not be witnessing in the Packer state. Finally, the two discuss the movement right here in Charlottesville to give UVA employees a “living wage.” Be sure to check out his most recent book War is a Lie.

 Standard Podcast [18:31m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (6)

1. Authors David Swanson and Sandy Davies with Nuremberg War Crimes Prosecutor Ben Ferencz

2. Protest at Bank of America, which takes billions from govt. while you work for a living and pay taxes

1. War Is A Lie and There Is Blood on Our Hands

David Swanson and Nicolas "Sandy" Davies in South Florida on Feb. 26, 2011

Ben Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the World War II Nuremberg War Crimes Trials and founding father of the International Criminal Court, will make an important statement on U.S. foreign policy at an event with David Swanson and Sandy Davies in Boca Raton on Feb. 26, 2011.

David Swanson will discuss and sign copies of "War Is A Lie".
Sandy Davies will discuss and sign copies of "Blood on Our Hands".

3-5 p.m. Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saint Andrews Estates South Auditorium
6045 Verde Trail South
Boca Raton, FL 33433

PLEASE RSVP to nparker0511 at gmail dot com
561-702-4174

Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America

This Saturday we're drawing a line in the sand. The entire progressive movement is putting everything we have into one massive display of progressive solidarity nationwide.

We won't let Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker - or any other billionaire-bought TeaParty Governor - break the unions. Unions created America's middle class and if they disappear we'll all end up as corporate slaves.

The entire progressive movement - Netroots, unions, environmentalists, and community groups - will hold solidarity rallies in major cities, including every state capital, this Saturday around noon.

2.21.11 Best-selling author David Swanson joins Coy to discuss the labor unrest in Wisconsin. Be sure to check out his most recent book War is a Lie.

 Standard Podcast [14:56m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (21)