tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98096952024-03-07T16:56:56.387-07:00Dried Sage"Joining the growing numbers of Sociologists on the Web, Dried Sage boasts a uniquely quixotic and quizzical perspective on the world and its inhabitants. With posts ranging from fledgling theories freed from the demands of peer-review, to impulsive political commentaries unencumbered by pragmatism, to disjointed anecdotes loosed from the stodgy norms of appropriateness, Dried Sage is a must see!"
-- Thyme MagazineJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-31213208648310294392007-07-11T14:32:00.000-07:002007-07-11T15:54:07.236-07:00Habitus crisis<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NVS5EN3PBCHq-zxCv8fR0M9nqd7nKVg3aZ4PFdVOF3glLWp86Ucafmm-p8kaMpLCNtfwL_OHtdDfRM3Kdh4e0AB_QHUMgfT6hD1baiJIOH_zrRMmOjzasctommxe8TyW0PYRWQ/s1600-h/statistics.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NVS5EN3PBCHq-zxCv8fR0M9nqd7nKVg3aZ4PFdVOF3glLWp86Ucafmm-p8kaMpLCNtfwL_OHtdDfRM3Kdh4e0AB_QHUMgfT6hD1baiJIOH_zrRMmOjzasctommxe8TyW0PYRWQ/s320/statistics.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086063658465472930" border="0" /></a>Imagine a continuum along which social science classes may fall. At one end is the "Consumers Choice" model, full of books and articles that conform to the interests of students. They describe sociological concepts in fun, familiar terms and memorable anecdotes, all easily accessible to undergrads. Numbers and statistics are noticeably absent, readings are bite-sized, and the obtuse classics of Sociology are taught with secondary sources. Case studies predominate, complimented with articles from the popular press. Non-specialist books that demonstrate pedagogical utility are preferred to specialist books.
<p>
At the other end is the "Professional Development" model. Readings include basic statistics and technical concepts and professional journals are the norm. Although a deep understanding isn't expected of students, classical theories and authors do make an appearance - always primary sources - and linear regression techniques are common. Qualitative work may be presented, but only to an extent proportional to that in the field of study being taught. Professional development is preferred to accessibility.
</p><p>
This frames some of the tougher choices I'm facing as I redesign my 300-level course on social movements this summer. I see the utility of the accessible course which corresponds to my belief that undergraduate classes should meet students halfway in order to provoke and inspire them to come back for more. On the other hand, students won't learn to perform at a higher level if it's not presented to or expected of them. This resonates with the mantra, "challenge all, exclude none," and strikes me as a good starting point for teaching a diverse bunch of students.
</p><p>
This might be an instance where a teaching philosophy would come in handy. What are my goals? Which methods of teaching most closely meet them? The easiest solution lies somewhere in the middle of this continuum, of course, but my sense is that most teachers fall closer to the side of accessibility. I know mine did, and I resent them for it. Of course, I'm in grad school now - not the typical path of the students we're teaching. What's a teacher to do? And does the answer depend on which university, discipline, or particular bunch of students we're talking about? And there's that nagging question in my head: are we training future consumers here?
</p><p>
Then I hear the wise words of experience: You're rewarded for your research, dummy, not teaching.
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-5054476233817241612007-07-03T12:17:00.001-07:002007-07-03T12:22:13.316-07:003 reasons to be thankful you're not in Tucson<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVN5SixvqnE_KvTE4DVHVrXTV5VwOg_VsK_6jlO6mWkX3xA91FNqpalih2M_zKHuksNWAMR1GxheA4raThZWU7xuKRgl_Lb2KbcYBsyEWmlaQQ34Qv9_mLJTntV0PAEizey8a9A/s1600-h/summer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVN5SixvqnE_KvTE4DVHVrXTV5VwOg_VsK_6jlO6mWkX3xA91FNqpalih2M_zKHuksNWAMR1GxheA4raThZWU7xuKRgl_Lb2KbcYBsyEWmlaQQ34Qv9_mLJTntV0PAEizey8a9A/s320/summer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083052736067121554" border="0" /></a>
<p>
2:00 am is truly lovely this time of year.
</p><p>
Wish you were here,
<br>
Jeff
</p></div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-43885796065670573752007-07-02T12:23:00.001-07:002007-07-02T12:24:14.689-07:00He's no Vladimir Putin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyATh-IlTh6puiFU-FN4IiW_2rRv8yLEKD8hAX2qiupYIL2jk_5PyWUQ-dVDoev7QX7gtUEik4WDpg9z12LIgFHvo6xHD7RVUDYu322h-ovgfsAL_jGABppIi1CMzfPt3XAlFTg/s1600-h/NoPutin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyATh-IlTh6puiFU-FN4IiW_2rRv8yLEKD8hAX2qiupYIL2jk_5PyWUQ-dVDoev7QX7gtUEik4WDpg9z12LIgFHvo6xHD7RVUDYu322h-ovgfsAL_jGABppIi1CMzfPt3XAlFTg/s400/NoPutin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082682359562350962" border="0" /></a>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-39820958400044402007-06-30T00:53:00.001-07:002007-06-30T03:13:39.030-07:00Is Democracy a consumer's right?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1NEIQWyNsqwunHIxPuzCo9s-4DM7fH8O35CPGlgD-8l8LhNLsoCGrtmoE_4Rrc0aoLCVAsiLI1U0OoZYX-v5Kuh2FjgGsYyULZ4PN_p53LrKmH0gg6-DXZXEtIHvw5bm-TA4BA/s1600-h/ralph.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1NEIQWyNsqwunHIxPuzCo9s-4DM7fH8O35CPGlgD-8l8LhNLsoCGrtmoE_4Rrc0aoLCVAsiLI1U0OoZYX-v5Kuh2FjgGsYyULZ4PN_p53LrKmH0gg6-DXZXEtIHvw5bm-TA4BA/s320/ralph.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5081798455292834146" border="0" /></a>He's dropped "consumer protection" for the "citizen participation." He's flouted political propriety by campaigning for president. He's flung himself onto the machinery of U.S. politics. Now, Ralph Nader is, once again, <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E2IF2mHAKcSrxelemliSmpuYkwjkAkUzgJQIF3tAUX5JanGJFnsBhAGRzDPghNlqJMBkv0bUPX5yaqn41As39W6yAQAnShXq/9-0&amp;amp;amp;amp;fp=4686c84b345a1eec&ei=Zw6GRt_8HIvQqQPf2t3RDA&url=http%3A//www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/us/politics/22nader.html%3Fref%3Dus&cid=0&sig2=-vwcU09zmAe5kNuAMW9YVA">considering a run</a> for the presidency.
<p>
In 2000, he swayed nearly 3 million voters, and four years later that number dropped to fewer than 500,000. We've heard it so many times that it's virtually unquestioned today that Ralph was the "spoiler" that put King George into office. To question that interpretation, which is but one politically expedient reading of that election, has been to invite venomous attacks and vitriolic condescension from Democratic apologists.
</p><p>
My hat is off to Ralph Nader. I don't believe that the weight of Al Gore's loss rests on his shoulders, nor do I believe that we should write off Nader's foray into electoral politics so quickly. Despite the nauseatingly common whining about Ralph's "<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19442065/site/newsweek/">bloated ego</a>," his campaign is a conscious and thoughtful one that goes beyond any single presidential race.
</p><p>
Nader's career as a consumer champion has revolved around politics for decades. His advocacy for automobile safety, clean air, whistleblowers, food labeling, and numerous other causes in the name of the "public interest" has sought new or improved legislation, regulation, and enforcement - all thoroughly depending on political channels. When General Motors sent spies to undermine his auto safety campaign, he was testifying before congressional committees about the need for seat belts. When the Reagan Revolution steamrolled through Washington, Ralph was on the streets to drum up public support. When the Democrats buckled under a Republican Congress, he recognized that the Left was losing its political voice in Washington. That's when he ran for President. 1996. 2000. 2004. Now, possibly 2008.
</p><p>
Did he expect to win? Of course not. But this is part of a campaign that dates back to the Nixon Administration. It has broadened from narrow consumer issues to fundamental questions of democracy. Nader's campaign today amounts to institutional civil disobedience - without breaking a single law (although, to hear the yelps of Democrats you'd never know it).
</p><p>
"What third parties can do is bring young people in, set standards on how to run a presidential election and keep the progressive agenda in front of the people," <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4580_Page2.html">he said</a>. "And maybe tweak a candidate here and there in the major parties." The narrowmindedness of liberal pundits has squeezed out any analysis that extends much beyond an election cycle.
</p><p>
When Nader's campaign ends - and who's to say when that will be? - we'll still have to wait another 20-30 years to be able to assess how successful it has been.
</p><p>
</p><blockquote><p>There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!
- Mario Savio, Berkeley (1964)
</p><p></p></blockquote>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-35909450717834260602007-06-17T14:22:00.000-07:002007-06-17T15:40:03.635-07:00He said his name, BoRev, and he danced a lick across the cellI don't know how you people do it - blog three, four...seven times a week. Do you have family responsibilities, jobs? How about suntans (get outside!), or insomnia (get to bed!)? I simply can't keep up. In fact, the more I desire to keep up the less capable I feel.
<p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu29vAsrLJxk1IqPFD43k43s4NzgqYNeBit0U6giCmgAL6FGq-5FpaUgVKTqZX-kCR1G9XFOEB_kaL9v3FfYgNhtOSLC9xwNfcNq663kYyhxT2CBFCxMW1wuLWfddYzBEBL4R1FQ/s1600-h/borev.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu29vAsrLJxk1IqPFD43k43s4NzgqYNeBit0U6giCmgAL6FGq-5FpaUgVKTqZX-kCR1G9XFOEB_kaL9v3FfYgNhtOSLC9xwNfcNq663kYyhxT2CBFCxMW1wuLWfddYzBEBL4R1FQ/s400/borev.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077155859408425330" border="0" /></a>In the spirit of reverence toward those with whom I can't keep up, I want to introduce you to <a href="http://www.borev.net/">BoRev.net</a>, subtitled, "Dispatches from the Bolivarian Revolution." It's a political blog that drips with sarcasm and wit. It is unabashedly pro-Venezuelan and takes many incisive stabs at U.S. policies in the region and the media lapdog that follows it. It'll challenge any of you who think you know what's going on in Venezuela these days.
<p>
Here you can learn how our government supports a <a href="http://www.borev.net/colombia/">murderous Columbian regime</a>; how <a href="http://www.borev.net/2006/12/more_fun_facts_from_the_latino.html">Venezuelans are more satisfied with their <span style="font-style: italic;">democracy</span></a> than are Americans; and how a <a href="http://www.borev.net/2007/04/perfectly_good_economist_story.html">pro-market media tells half-truths</a> to mislead you about Venezuela.
<p>
Since its inception less than a year ago, BoRev.net has hit its stride. In recent months this blog has averaged <span style="font-style: italic;">70 posts per month. </span>Jee-zus! Mr. BoRev, Mr. BoRev, dance!
</div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-22258087082201478562007-06-08T12:38:00.000-07:002007-06-13T13:13:58.561-07:00Go, Dick! Go!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqujKXYKoPASZaKHA17b_hPju9CxHOm02p4yh2zSxEoKIyt8j8tWrPOWsGKCK1NjvRolwWQG3sqGjzngIMwCk8MgVsXwyd-3uPUHjQs23_mCmi262MsyShy7iB0WhTTrWzYJRKzQ/s1600-h/CIA.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqujKXYKoPASZaKHA17b_hPju9CxHOm02p4yh2zSxEoKIyt8j8tWrPOWsGKCK1NjvRolwWQG3sqGjzngIMwCk8MgVsXwyd-3uPUHjQs23_mCmi262MsyShy7iB0WhTTrWzYJRKzQ/s320/CIA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073799965236859202" border="0" /></a>Be sure not to miss the story that Washington wants you to ignore.
<p>
Dick Marty, a Swiss senator working under the auspices of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe">Council of Europe</a>, just released his 72-page report [<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/marty_08_06_07.pdf">PDF</a>], his second in a year [first one here: <a href="http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060606_Ejdoc162006PartII-FINAL.pdf">PDF</a>], that confirms that the CIA - yes, that's our folks - ran secret prisons in Europe to detain and torture suspected terrorists, the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6733353.stm">BBC reports</a>. The CIA program of so-called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition">extraordinary rendition</a>" sweeps up suspects (often without charges, warrants, or other requirements of U.S. and international law) and shuttles them off to countries where torture is both known and expected to happen. Conveniently, this allows our government officials to distance themselves from whatever unpleasantness may occur there.
</p><p>
Several European countries too, the report insists, are complicit in their transport and illegal treatment.</p><p>
</p><blockquote><p>[Romania and Poland] did host secret detention centres under a special CIA programme established by the American administration in the aftermath of 11 September 2001 to “kill, capture and detain” terrorist suspects deemed to be of “high value”.</p><p>
</p></blockquote><p>Today also marks the beginning of a trial for 26 (suspected) American CIA operatives accused of kidnapping a Muslim imam on the streets of Milan in broad daylight 4 1/2 years ago. None of the Americans are attending the trial and the U.S. government refuses to turn them over.
</p><p>
The imam, Abu Omar, says he was flown to Germany and then to his native Egypt where he was tortured. He has <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6694905,00.html">reportedly</a> lost <span style="font-family:georgia;">"</span><span style=";font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >70 percent of his hearing in both ears, has a lesion on his spine and suffers depression as a result of the torture he endured."</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >
</span>
</p><p>
Dick Marty wants you to know that the U.S. is writing its own rules in the "War on Terror," rules that defy it's own constitution and laws, as well as European laws and global declarations against human rights abuse. So much for all that bullshit Thomas Jefferson fed us about individual liberties and democracy. We're eating crow now.
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-43606413463548660282007-05-11T13:50:00.000-07:002007-05-11T16:25:27.296-07:00The Old Left's new face in Congress<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iyoECkJfCHNK8iH3HOEmdvvS07vrWiCbYe1TVIZqULtIsTlii9u5km3lXuCt5GexyN-usd4wQQBUwG0kMUX4_FQLp97cwhWbsvj-zWCz3TxTCCbFE53blg9DUWY4PUO54D5p9Q/s1600-h/deal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iyoECkJfCHNK8iH3HOEmdvvS07vrWiCbYe1TVIZqULtIsTlii9u5km3lXuCt5GexyN-usd4wQQBUwG0kMUX4_FQLp97cwhWbsvj-zWCz3TxTCCbFE53blg9DUWY4PUO54D5p9Q/s400/deal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063440110117148802" border="0" /></a>Anyone paying attention to the Democratic Party's new push for "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/washington/08trade.html">A New Trade Policy for America</a>?"
<p>
A couple of big shots in the party have been meeting privately with our Commander-In-Chief to hammer out an agreement that requires all future transnational trade agreements (e.g., those pending with Peru, Panama, Columbia, and South Korea) to include provisions that protect workers and the environment. (Here's a <a href="http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/enewsletter/5-11-07/07%2005%2010%20New%20Trade%20Policy%20Outline.pdf">1-pager</a> outlining what those crazy left-wingers are pushing for). Well, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/11/business/11trade-web.html">it appears</a> that Bush and Democratic leaders have tied the knot.
</p><p>
As the Center for American Progress (CAP) <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/05/trade_new_track.html">reports</a>, the bipartisan compromise states:
</p><blockquote><p>
Countries that sign trade agreements with the United States now must make fully enforceable commitments to respect the five basic international labor standards, as enshrined in the 1998 International Labor Organization <a href="http://www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/DECLARATIONWEB.static_jump?var_language=EN&var_pagename=DECLARATIONTEXT">Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work</a>....
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>These five standards, if you're not versed in ILO policies, include rights to organize and bargain collectively, and prohibitions against child labor, forced labor, and workplace discrimination. That ain't half bad, that is if you can enforce compliance, something that has dogged the ILO for years. Why should we believe anything is going to change now? The article continues:
<blockquote>
<p>
The compromise also calls for a new Strategic Worker Assistance and Training, or SWAT, initiative to deal more effectively with the negative impact of trade on the livelihoods of some Americans and their communities. Finally, it lays down important markers on areas of national concern that are substantially affected by global trade, such as environmental protection, port security, investor rights, government procurement, and developing countries’ access to life-saving medicines.
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>
Finally! Someone's looking after investors. Whew! Ok, so there's nothing here about protecting women's rights, traditional cultures, sexual minorities, people of color, prisoners, political prisoners, prisoners of war, the mentally ill, seniors, the un- (or under-) employed, or preventing inequities that drive illegal immigration. Hell, maybe we should just be thankful that the workers of the world are finally on the road to meaningful recognition and that environmental protection is riding shotgun. Too much too quickly is probably just asking for trouble.
<p>
Trouble is exactly what Bush and his new Democratic <del>bedfellows</del> allies are facing with this new agreement.
</p><p>
In the Left corner we have David Sirota at <a href="http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/05/11/bush_and_dems_collaborate_on_trade_deal.php">TomPaine.com</a>. He raises concerns that the U.S. won't be held to the very standards that it's imposing on other nations, that Dems had to agree to give up a substantial degree of Congressional oversight of future trade deals in order to seal the deal with Bush. Although, Sirota notes, there's no way to know for sure because the details of the deal have been kept suspiciously shrouded. Others, notably the <a href="http://www.pr-inside.com/teamsters-oppose-trade-deal-that-sells-r122130.htm">Teamsters</a> and the <a href="http://digital50.com/news/items/BW/2001/07/14/20070511005570/news-from-usw-usw-raises-serious-concerns-about-proposed-trade-deal-reached-with-bus.html">United Steel Workers</a>, contend that these protections still don't address what free trade agreements are so good at, sending jobs oversees.
</p><p>
In the right corner we have Dan Ikenson of the <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,104753.shtml">Cato Institute</a>. He worries that trade agreements now on the table may fall apart, and that the inability of poorer countries to meet the stricter requirements will lead to new sanctions and tariffs that will interfere with the smooth functioning of the market. Some of those precarious trade agreements have already been signed but would require those countries to agree to the new provisions. South Korea's chief negotiator delicately <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070511/640000000020070511162604E3.html">put it this way</a>:
</p><blockquote>
<p>
There is no change in our government's stance that there is no renegotiation on the Korea-U.S. FTA [free trade agreement].
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>
It seems that The Middle is compromising the Right and Left right out of the picture. With respect to the stakeholders in this deal - labor and big business - Bush and the Democratic leadership clearly decided it would be better to ask forgiveness rather than permission.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-48925601112514476592007-05-06T11:32:00.000-07:002007-05-06T23:40:38.614-07:00The dangers of trans-beltway organizing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFLbOZz3U5eUOmF31rzTDQp9ZJUIEP6JtE0keY0_UpqFEiAQum9c19JjCWggrLbFNiWz7aRCnhp2QrPt-Vlpj-y2gxtb0vCmgCUNG7F8qGpTuUt1z21QpCTW9avt-ctNsTSBl-Q/s1600-h/antiwar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFLbOZz3U5eUOmF31rzTDQp9ZJUIEP6JtE0keY0_UpqFEiAQum9c19JjCWggrLbFNiWz7aRCnhp2QrPt-Vlpj-y2gxtb0vCmgCUNG7F8qGpTuUt1z21QpCTW9avt-ctNsTSBl-Q/s320/antiwar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5061537890576586866" border="0" /></a>As Congress squares off on proposals to de-fund the war and bring the troops home, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/washington/06left.html?hp"><span style="font-style: italic;">NY Times</span><span> reports</span></a> that the antiwar movement is finding success by moving away from social movement strategies.
<blockquote><p>“The principle under which we’ve been operating is more like a political campaign,” Mr. Matzzie said....</p><p>The discussion at the retreat mirrored that of planning meetings for traditional political campaigns, with presentations on polling, strategy and field operations....</p><p>“The whole movement has updated themselves to be where campaign-style politics are generally,” said Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist. “They’re just incredibly savvy, tactically and politically. They know how to use the news cycle.”
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>
Finally! Those idealistic do-gooders are beginning to wake up and realize that sit-ins, marches, and other acts of civil disobedience aren't getting them anywhere. Welcome to Washington, kids!
<p>
Wait...hang on a second. Maybe - now just bear with me for a second here - maybe its the Washington insiders who are warming up to social movement strategies?
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
Many of the major players in Americans Against Escalation in Iraq earned their stripes not from sit-ins, marches and other acts of civil disobedience but as Democratic operatives on Capitol Hill and in political campaigns. The sophisticated political operation they have built is a testament to how far the antiwar movement has come since the Vietnam era.
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>Cha-ching! But this is really nothing new. Social movements have long worked with political elites who sought to strengthen their own political capital with claims to be the voice of the people. Sociologists have argued that social movements gain political leverage when they throw their numbers and organizational weight behind one or the other political faction in a time of heightened political division (as we are seeing now, especially with election season in full swing).
<p>
It's probably more accurate to say that the antiwar movement and Democratic insiders are both taking steps toward the other. The result is a tenuous, trans-beltway coalition being pulled in two directions toward their respective fields, and we should not be surprised by disagreements over goals and tactics.
</p><blockquote>
<p>
“There’s a dividing line between those groups who feel the most important thing is to be clear on bringing the troops home as soon as possible, and the groups that feel that unity within the Democratic Party is most important and the most important thing is for the Democrats to win the White House,” said Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of Code Pink, an antiwar group that is not part of the alliance. “So the groups who feel the most important thing is to win the White House would naturally be more inclined to listening to Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she says the only way we can get a vote through is if we water it down.”
</p><p>
</p></blockquote>Watering down issues has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy">long been</a> the province of large, bureaucratic organizations (like political parties) bent more on survival than achieving their stated goals. If Democratic Party survival - e.g., in the next election - remains tied to opposing the war, as it has within the last year, then we should see more trans-beltway organizing. However, as Democrats begin to stake their political territory in the presidential race we are likely to see greater divisions (more frequent, though not necessarily more pronounced) and an increasing diversity of proposals about how to best end the war. This doesn't bode well for their social movement pals.
<p>
Social movements, for their part, include a range of organizations that range from living room meetings of neighbors planning banner-hangs and mock funerals to massive non-profit organizations housed in DC making personal visits to congressional leaders. Movements aren't centrally coordinated so they are more likely to develop factions and break apart. Each organization's position vis-a-vis the political field shapes the nature and timing of its response (if any) to changes in that field. The longer the Dems drag out the antiwar debate and as the election draws nearer, social movements (and coalitions like Americans Against Escalation in Iraq) are likely to feel increasing pressures pulling them both into and out of electoral politics. The larger, bureaucratic organizations will tend to cozy up to the party while smaller, decentralized organizations will cling firmly to their strident rhetoric of ending the war immediately.
</p><p>
This same dynamic has led to the collapse of many a social movement, as "moderates" clamor to get inside the beltway while "radicals" are increasingly marginalized, repressed, and driven to failure. Is it inevitable? Can the antiwar coalition maintain momentum with support both inside and outside the beltway? <a href="http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12438">This article</a> by a Boston University historian about congressional opposition to the Vietnam War suggests that we've been here before and party politics, albeit "sophisticated" and "saavy," is at best a very slow process. <span style="font-style: italic;">Ten years</span> before the end of that war, Congress was debating and passing legislation to stop funding it. So I ask you, <span style="font-style: italic;">should the antiwar movement be moving closer to electoral politics?</span></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-25759634207938427902007-04-09T10:26:00.000-07:002007-04-09T12:03:23.894-07:00Leapin' Lizardos!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Kr-2V1xM96fdajWC9xOfuAmdjbY7rn9-eDVi6-Imp3vmvPm1nKv-ESL3FYaWua6Fg4kf5sp2a1fI0j7Jue4KfKKoHTq66Nhj1rIeaQwsCE1BQizNaele7VMgNC5XUegYRnegOg/s1600-h/starbucks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Kr-2V1xM96fdajWC9xOfuAmdjbY7rn9-eDVi6-Imp3vmvPm1nKv-ESL3FYaWua6Fg4kf5sp2a1fI0j7Jue4KfKKoHTq66Nhj1rIeaQwsCE1BQizNaele7VMgNC5XUegYRnegOg/s400/starbucks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051501529948612562" border="0" /></a>Who could argue that the U.S. is <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">not </span>the cultural factory for the rest of the world? Hip-hop, Hollywood, and hanging ten were all produced on these shores before being exported to the far reaches of the globe. Your average global citizen is much more likely to recognize Jerry Seinfeld than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Depardieu">Gérald Depardieu</a>, Madonna than <a href="http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ayumi_hamasaki/">Ayumi Hamasaki</a>. And this isn't a benign exportation, this is <span style="font-style: italic;">cultural imperialism.</span> Many <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Imperialism-Edward-W-Said/dp/0679750541/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0321478-2087230?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176142958&sr=8-1">critics</a> of the U.S. have screamed that the "<a href="http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0761988122&id=JAHhSDKSxz0C&pg=PA312&lpg=PA312&ots=2SIwsk0AsS&dq=isbn:0761988122&sig=hhbpPAisAq5YcOBfan-9zSyfSKE#PPP1,M1">McDonaldization</a>" of their societies is breaking the backbone of traditional cultures and replacing it with a global culture dominated by the richest country on Earth. Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and blue jeans - it's hard to disagree with them.
<p>
Enter <a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Eolizardo/index.html">Omar Lizardo</a>. Though he's not alone, our dear friend disagrees and he recently appeared on a New York progressive radio program to talk about it. You can hear for yourself as Omar takes on the forces of anti-imperialism <a href="http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2007/07_03_01.mp3">here</a> (fast-forward to the 40-minute mark, just beyond halfway). I dare say, I don't think Omar supports cultural imperialism, but he does question whether or not it really is happening.
</p><p>
One listener responds, "I could take only about 15 minutes of listening to this guy (Lizardo) before I had to delete the...segment lest I destroy my computer in anger." Read more of that comment and the ensuing discussion <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/pen-l@sus.csuchico.edu/msg23841.html">here</a>. Finally, read <a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Eolizardo/papers/globcultsoc.pdf">Omar's paper</a> for yourself (mentioned briefly in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/business/22scene.html?ex=1329800400&en=e7c4e56b6513f67a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss"><span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span></a>).
</p><p>
Go Omar, go Omar - it's your birthday!</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-27011111709091163222007-04-01T21:50:00.000-07:002007-04-03T13:25:10.107-07:00Passenger 21A callingI'm writing from seat 21A on US Air flight number 2834 tonight. How cool is that? I've never blogged from an airplane before and, in fact, I've never found a free WiFi connection in an airport before. We're sitting idly at gate B3 at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport waiting for some connecting flight to send more passengers our way. Frankly, I think if they can't hire a fast enough plane to get here on time that's their problem. Let's taxi this sucker!
<p>
It occurs to me that in only twelve hours I'll be in front of 60 students again, introducing them to framing theories - not my favorite part of social movement studies. Oh how I long to be in bed at that time! Has anyone ever tried teaching a class from bed via podcast or some such newfangled technology? The thought is intriguing. Would it be possible to have a video conference with my students from the site of, say, a protest event? Could we connect from the classroom to Gloria Steinem's office for a discussion? Would John McCain discuss the view of immigration protests from Washington in real time?
</p><p>
Ok, we're ready to taxi! Tucson, Arizona...here I come!</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-428112299931269802007-03-30T16:14:00.000-07:002007-04-07T13:58:43.995-07:00Sociology from the slow lane<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04k2h5nHsqh6xsJo7fxuPQ6xCCH6V6873M7UgRuueu8ukX_24Wi8jDA-xZZUbyWeONhe4HmXy2e3Ir17Bha71WO6ONIRHd65ITRM5Ewwcefeoo62RcpjwfRzvaw2Gnit8WOIUPQ/s1600-h/lamborghini.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050793075093137346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04k2h5nHsqh6xsJo7fxuPQ6xCCH6V6873M7UgRuueu8ukX_24Wi8jDA-xZZUbyWeONhe4HmXy2e3Ir17Bha71WO6ONIRHd65ITRM5Ewwcefeoo62RcpjwfRzvaw2Gnit8WOIUPQ/s320/lamborghini.jpg" border="0" /></a>I'm here in Oakland, California - ok, actually I'm sitting at a coffeeshop on the edge of the UC Berkeley campus where a guy just parked his <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Lamborghini_Countach_LP500S.jpg">Lamborghini</a> in front and came in. I used to drool over these things when I was eleven. I wonder what kind of gas mileage it gets?
<div><p>
Oakland is home to this year's meetings of the <a href="http://www.pacificsoc.org/">Pacific Sociological Association</a> - "the PSAs." In contrast to the American Sociological Assocation's annual conference, the PSAs attracts more students and fewer faculty, more amateurs and fewer big shots, more teaching-oriented schools, fewer research-1 schools, more marginal, less influential research. And here I am in the thick of it.
</p>
<p>
Everyone who walks by that bright red Lamborghini ogles with unflinching awe. I wonder how much a fender-bender in that thing would cost?
</p>
<p>
Here at the PSAs, I find myself dumbstruck with one session in particular entitled "Pirate Professors, Deviant Departments, and Disappeared Programs." Straight from the conference program, here are the papers:
</p>
<p>
<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)">"Views of Education from Beyond this World" - Emails and Conversations with my Dearly Departed Mentor 'Boz'</span>
</span>
</p>
<p>
<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">
Why</span> we should give a shit about what Boz thinks is beyond me. Maybe if "pirate professor" could be worked into the title, then we'd have something.
</p>
<p>
</p><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">"Educating Astrosociologists: The Need to Bring Outer Space Into Social Science Classrooms (the guy's affiliation, not a university, is </span><a style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic" href="http://astrosociology.com/">astrosociology.com</a><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">)</span>
<p></p>
<p>
I certainly agree that "astrosociologists" should be better educated, but I think we disagree about exactly <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">how </span>that should happen.<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">
</p></span>
<p>
<span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><em>The Denial of Educational & Employment Opportunity Due to the Discovery of Evidence Contradictory to the Axiomatic Assumption of Harmlessness of High Demand Religious Movements: A Case Study of the Normative Negation of Conflict of Interest from Australia.</em></span></p>
<span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">
</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">How many times did <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">you </span>have to read that before it started to make sense?</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">
<p>
The Fascist Trend in American Academe: "Disappearing" Sociology at Niagara University, New York</p></span>
<span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">
</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">The allusion here is to the disappearances (that is, kidnapping, torture, and murder) of thousands of "objectionable" civilians throughout Latin America by fascist, right-wing dictators over the past fifty years - e.g., our old friend <a href="http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/chile/juicio/eng.html">General Pinochet</a>.</span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"></span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">To think that an academic department in New York has suffered the same fate is, well, slightly hard to believe. Try to imagine the sports page that broadcasts: "Patriots <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">lynch</span> Browns on Home Turf." Some comparisons rankle our better judgments. </span>
<p>
</p></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">
Brown Balled: Exclusion of Mexican American Students in Higher Education
<p>
</p></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">How the hell did this paper get stuck in this ridiculous session? My sympathies to the author.
<p>
This Lamborghini, sitting inches off the ground with doors that open <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">up</span>, has a handicap permit hanging in the window. This just keeps getting weirder.
</p></span></span>
<p></p></div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-30001149860992628972007-02-12T14:23:00.000-07:002007-02-12T15:07:45.031-07:00Vegan New Balance shoesThis post serves as a record for those who, like me, are searching for high quality vegan athletic shoes. <a href="http://www.newbalance.com/">New Balance</a> (NB) produces several such shoes (although they may still contain glues made with animal ingredients), although this company has also been linked to overseas sweatshops. <a href="http://www.newbalancechicago.com/">This website</a> lists those NB shoes which are made in the U.S., and therefore are least likely to be made in sweatshops. I have indicated U.S.-made shoes in bold.
<p>
This list comes from New Balance customer service.
<blockquote>
<p>
<strong>Running:</strong>
<br><u>Men</u><br><strong>M2001GR/BK</strong>, <strong>M1222WS/SG</strong>, M1122MC, <strong>M857ST</strong>, <strong>M1024WG</strong>, M1000SR/BG/WB, M891GY/WG/BS, <strong>M881WG</strong>, M825SO/LW, M816WN/BK, M755AW/CU, <strong>M767ST</strong>, M719WN/SB/SM/GO, M692WN/WG/SR, M660WB/GO, M643SR/SO/BK, <strong>M587NV</strong>, M498WND, <strong>M907OR</strong>, M872OR/BK, <strong>M809AT/BK</strong>/SG/BR, M606NV/BK/AT/BR
<br><u>Women</u><br><strong>W1222SP/WB</strong>, <strong>W1122MC</strong>, <strong>W1024WB</strong>, W1000WB/SP, W891WL/WG/WC/SO, <strong>W881WB</strong>, W816WB, <strong>W857ST</strong>, W825LW/SY, <strong>W767ST</strong>, <strong>W719</strong>SR/<strong>WB</strong>/<strong>SP</strong>/GB, W692WN/WP/SG, W660WT/GP, W643WT/BP/WR/WG, <strong>W587WB</strong>, W498WND, <strong>W907OR</strong>, W872OR, W809AT/GB/BR, W606WO/GB/GG/BP
<p>
<strong>Cross Trainers:</strong>
<br><u>Men</u><br>MX1008W/BK, MX980WN/BK, MX716WN/BK
<br><u>Women</u><br>WX1008W, WX980LB/PL, WX716WP/WG
<p>
<strong>Walking:</strong>
<br><u>Men</u><br>MW843WN/BK, MW791WN/LR, MW758WG/GR, <strong>MW659WN</strong>
<br><u>Women</u><br>WW843WB/BK, WW791WB/GY, <strong>WW758WB</strong>/WL, <strong>WW659WL </strong>
<p>
<strong>Tennis:</strong>
<br><u>Men</u><br>CT1002W/NV, CT822W
<br><u>Women</u><br>WCT1002W, WCT822W
<p>
</blockquote>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-48915703989582047092007-02-01T20:19:00.000-07:002007-02-02T10:09:33.519-07:00From the lonely caverns of Academia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIky_OnSJTKtPaoijMl7thqBRR6CmRg3oLmNVFQydYUSW3-K_FgE5-9sf5t4L5EK_NGofrPuvhGSw1hZoRSNy39QqOQWMTV0939yD0RA4GsdwdMtAVt4SkGk6m8pIQj9ESjPEAw/s1600-h/joe.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5026801125430659586" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIky_OnSJTKtPaoijMl7thqBRR6CmRg3oLmNVFQydYUSW3-K_FgE5-9sf5t4L5EK_NGofrPuvhGSw1hZoRSNy39QqOQWMTV0939yD0RA4GsdwdMtAVt4SkGk6m8pIQj9ESjPEAw/s400/joe.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well, in the nearly two weeks since David Horowitz <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2007/01/enter-horowistas.html">added l'il ol' me</a> to his list of admirable...er, abominable leftist academics I've received a flurry of congratulatory support. Friends and colleagues seem downright happy for me, and at least one is decidedly pissed that he didn't make the list. You're on my list, my friend.
<p>
Since that first day, Horowitz has <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=522">exposed</a> two more universities, Penn State and U. Pitt, to the neoconservative light of day. I was approached for interviews by the <a href="http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid:91732">Tucson Weekly</a> and our <a href="http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2007/02/02/News/Faculty.Responds.To.Horowitz-2693740.shtml?sourcedomain=wildcat.arizona.edu&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com">campus newspaper</a>, and today I just learned that our graduate student council passed a resolution condemning Horowitz's so-called academic bill of rights. Hear, hear!
</p><p>
What <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">is</span> the best response to an attack like this? Remember, this isn't just against me or a "few bad apples," it's an explicit attempt to change the institutions of academia. If you work in academia, we're talking about you here.
</p><p>
My initial thought was to just stay quiet; I didn't want to fan the flames of controversy. But with the ensuing media attention, the discussions across campus, and a well financed campaign to restrict academic freedom, I've since decided that speaking out is best. But am I, a leftwing indoctrinating idealogue, the best spokesperson against this twit? Where's the chair of my department? The university president? The state Board of Regents? Where are all the academic bigshots? Whose voice are Ma and Pa America hearing out there?</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-1162858279066251542007-01-31T22:11:00.000-07:002007-02-01T22:22:44.520-07:00Sexipedia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/282/731/1600/sex.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/282/731/400/sex.jpg" border="0" /></a>
<p>
</p><blockquote><em></em><p><em>Today's entry is <strong>for adults only</strong>. No kidding. But then I figure that I know all 8 of you who read this and (don't prove me wrong!) I think you're all mature enough to handle it. But be careful what you click on - you just might get it! </em></p><p>
</p></blockquote>
<p>
There are three reasons for today's post. First, I want to impress upon you how extensive and truly amazing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia</a> is. Second, I hope to encourage a little sexual - <span style="font-style: italic;">yes, sexual</span> - education and exploration. And third, well, I'm just curious what effect this will have on traffic volume to this website (if this is your first time here - welcome!). Let's begin.
</p><p>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia</a>, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is self-touted as the "largest reference website on the Internet," and at 1,612,758 entries <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Statistics">and counting</a> it's hard to argue. It is the <a href="http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=6m&size=large&compare_sites=&y=t&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">11th most popular</a> site on the Web, more popular than eBay, Amazon.com, Facebook and the BBC.
</p><p>
I don't remember exactly how it happened, and I certainly don't want to incriminate myself unnecessarily, but a few years ago I stumbled across an entry for some bizarre sexual act that I'd never heard of, and as is characteristic of the Internet, I quickly found links to other entries on strange and wonderful sexual minutia. Some were educational, others inspirational, and many were downright funny.
</p><p>
In the years since I've spent many, many hours sifting through Wikipedia's <em>non-</em>sexual content and have learned, as you probably have too, a little bit about a helluva lot of things. Recently, though, I was reminded of this early encounter with Wikipedia, I decided to return for another look at the bluer side of things and (against the better wishes of my girlfriend) to share.
</p><p>
One thing I discovered is that I'm not alone. The <a href="http://hemlock.knams.wikimedia.org/%7Eleon/stats/wikicharts/index.php?wiki=enwiki&ns=alle&limit=100&month=01%2F2007&mode=view">11th most popular</a> entry this month at Wikipedia is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex?redirect=no">sex</a> (other notable entries: sexual intercourse is 22nd, female pornstars 24th, pornography 28th, masterbation 36th, oral sex 40th, and George W. Bush is 45th). Just ahead of World War II at number 17 you'll find the fascinating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sexual_positions">list of sex positions</a>. Now that one's worth a look. This isn't <span style="font-style: italic;">just </span>a handy bedside reference, but also a great place to penetrate this large and unwieldy world of Sexipedia (another <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_spot">good spot</a> to begin is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Sexuality">Sexuality Portal</a>). Here you will find not only diagrams but descriptions of ways to do it standing up, sitting down, kneeling, with your genitals, with your mouth, with somebody else's mouth, two penises, three anuses - it's truly astounding.
</p><p>
Here at Sexipedia you can learn more about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexually_transmitted_disease">sexually transmitted diseases</a>, discover the science of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexology">sexology</a>, or even read about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_space">sex in space</a>! The options are overwhelming. You already know what pediphilia is, but how about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetophilia">emetophilia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotemnophilia">apotemnophila</a>, or scores of other mind-blowing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphilia">paraphilias</a>?
</p><p>
You don't want to be caught with your pants down when that beauty you met at the bar suggests <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felching">felching</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> and you don't know what it is. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wikipedia!</span>
</p><p>
Don't embarass yourself by trumpeting your musicianship when he asks for a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty_trombone">rusty trombone</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wikipedia!</span>
</p><p>
Before you agree to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowballing_%28sexual_practice%29">snowballing</a> with a new partner, find out what the health risks might be. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wikipedia!</span>
</p><p>
</p><p><span style="font-size:0;">Now I'll sit back and watch the traffic roll in!<span style="font-style: italic;">
</span></span></p><span style="font-size:0;"></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-66126439678336268262007-01-31T21:25:00.000-07:002007-01-31T21:36:53.250-07:00Buy! Buy!For those paying attention, Hannan & Freeman's (1989) book<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674643496/ref=wl_it_dp/102-6087518-9188929?ie=UTF8&coliid=I71FUB5H5N0U1&colid=M8IVDX3GBA80"></a> has dropped to 65 bucks - hardback is only $90. Get it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674643496/ref=wl_it_dp/102-6087518-9188929?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;amp;coliid=I71FUB5H5N0U1&colid=M8IVDX3GBA80">while it's available</a>!
<p>
Hard to believe there are now five copies available when only months ago it would've cost you <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/08/milking-classics.html">a few thousand</a>.
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-81514853565128900012007-01-19T16:34:00.000-07:002007-01-25T09:38:09.882-07:00Enter the Horowistas<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCM9sywLN9wX5tCTpdNBUj4lRRNlctLAU-Zcpjc9_JQHFhTxODvuvYN9YymO3hmpsRoEqY-Ou-Ls0xnA2VR57TqqrBtLcKgKwzbwbCC49wvfrmZfidOK-8EFol7NkGPL5PTyW0g/s1600-h/indoctrination.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021811343049507250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCM9sywLN9wX5tCTpdNBUj4lRRNlctLAU-Zcpjc9_JQHFhTxODvuvYN9YymO3hmpsRoEqY-Ou-Ls0xnA2VR57TqqrBtLcKgKwzbwbCC49wvfrmZfidOK-8EFol7NkGPL5PTyW0g/s320/indoctrination.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">I've made the list. David McCarth... I mean, Horowitz, David Horowitz, who wrote a book naming the 101 "most dangerous" (leftist) academics, has been letting that list grow on his website. You can now find me and my course, <em>Political Indoctrination</em>...
</div>
<p align="left">
Wha?
</p>
<p align="left">
...well, we call it <em>Collective Behavior and Social Movements</em>. No kidding - there's a page there dedicated to me! But before you read it, some background.
</p>
<p align="left">
Horowitz is the figurehead and driving force behind a social movement against leftwing influence in academia because it threatens to indoctrinate the malleable young minds of the next generation. The <a href="http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/">David Horowitz Freedom Center</a> (DHFC), founded in 1988 by the man himself, is a <a href="http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/FlexPage.aspx?area=2006_Year_End_Report">self-described</a> "battle-tank, not just a think tank," with a budget of $5.8 million. It does a lot of writing, speaking, hosting celebrity-studded events (John Ashcroft, Sen. Jon Kyl, Newt Gingrich), and pushing its "<a href="http://cms.studentsforacademicfreedom.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1925&Itemid=43">Academic Bill of Rights</a>," a carefully worded libertarian manifesto of free speech and neutrality in education. As a 501(c)3 (non-profit) organization, DHFC cannot directly engage in political activities, so that's left to its ally, also a Horowitz brainchild, <a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/">Students for Academic Freedom</a> (SAF).
</p>
<p align="left">
While looking over SAF's official handbook [<a href="http://cms.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/files/pdf/SAF%20handbook%20FINAL%202.pdf">pdf</a>] for new chapter organizers, I couldn't help but notice some things that my students would pick up on. The first piece of advice in the section "recruiting members" takes a page right out of the classic study by Snow et al. (1980) on the topic (which we study in the class): "It is easiest to recruit members from a pool of likeminded friends or acquaintances." True, so true. And, of course, you can't very well build a movement without people to carry the pickets, but new recruits are just one of many resources you'll have to mobilize. SAF recommends "also try attending the meetings of other groups on campus and asking to make a brief presentation about the goals of SAF to see if they would be interested in joining." My students would recall McAdam's (1988) finding that new recruits are more likely to be members of other organizations or have previous activist experience. <em>Damnit! </em>...there I go again, indoctrinating!
</p>
<p align="left">
Here's a webpage dedicated to me and the danger I pose: <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/Articles/collectivebehavior.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">how can you resist?</span></a>
</p>
<p align="left">
If you want to look for your friends, neighbors, or colleagues on this list, <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=522">check here</a>. Is there a SAF chapter on your campus? Go <a href="http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/">here</a> and click "SAF Chapters." Arizona doesn't seem to have a one up and running but it does list a local representative. So I might extend him an invitation to talk to my class while we're learning about the Zapatistas and collective action frames.
</p><blockquote><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021890739814941138" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho97maZYB5GNDJL4T9FlT-SEZeuWTRjrvEtE-Xao6WbGF0QgC4XykXkNWbLdHjbbdVWJOV3EKa5vYnkJEiuU-uKZsBqIUwtUkGwUTEmC2in2jXZYO_Dqx97uf_1urIvb9YaKrxHw/s200/Murrow.jpg" border="0" />His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not
walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we
are not descended from fearful men.
<i></i></p><p align="left"><i><span style="font-size:85%;">Edward R. Murrow (1954)</span></i></p></blockquote>
<p>
<em><strong>Update:</strong> See the article in the </em><a href="http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid:91732"><em>Tucson Weekly</em></a><em>.</em></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-30531265465398229262007-01-16T21:32:00.000-07:002007-01-16T21:59:17.692-07:00Social movements and the men who love themThe conference is in August, but the deadline is tomorrow. It's gonna be a loooong night. I've been <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2005/09/guillotines-and-grad-school-grief.html">here before</a> and it's never a pretty sight. Sleep deprivation is meant to be a torture method, not a work routine.
<p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUfJpJxULcwVs6wCWM_CKgzHWTPnwTSZ9m5YX77EEWYb3dDZBdgKIMb_bf_BA_Qa-9eN7wHCkg38Sk86n5AWgrKhZqOIVsHZZiBBEH9FQfY85M8behe_niffEaYQqWcFAEZDHug/s1600-h/nosleep.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUfJpJxULcwVs6wCWM_CKgzHWTPnwTSZ9m5YX77EEWYb3dDZBdgKIMb_bf_BA_Qa-9eN7wHCkg38Sk86n5AWgrKhZqOIVsHZZiBBEH9FQfY85M8behe_niffEaYQqWcFAEZDHug/s320/nosleep.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020852843787993490" border="0" /></a>
Ever wonder why social movements don't change much? I mean, they've done the same stuff since the Jefferson administration. What gives?
</p><p>
Is it because they've found the best way to get what they want? Or is it because they have no other option? <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/10/your-social-movement-is-growing.html">I've wondered</a> this very thing and have come up with a different answer. And before tomorrow I'll have 20 pages making my case. It won't be pretty (and neither will I by that time) but it'll be adequate to meet the ASA deadline. At that time I may make it available through eBay for a <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2007/01/so-i-was-thumbing-through-latest-issue.html">reasonable price</a>. Or <a href="http://u.arizona.edu/%7Ejlarson">here</a>.</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-80089786879613888872007-01-12T10:16:00.000-07:002007-01-12T11:33:53.085-07:00Putting dime stores to shame<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_I3wLarEwdy4L2KMAGnPaeuxyBUfeRnwx7VHjQUdAmYuJ1p6jKoNxCUmTN9eq7pKeaBnqwC2f6lT-eZeVGvytrvJcRRr-w8O7UmLsvhpv7uBOqD8K3qsUeQ662fxYFFhwP7qpw/s1600-h/onecent.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_I3wLarEwdy4L2KMAGnPaeuxyBUfeRnwx7VHjQUdAmYuJ1p6jKoNxCUmTN9eq7pKeaBnqwC2f6lT-eZeVGvytrvJcRRr-w8O7UmLsvhpv7uBOqD8K3qsUeQ662fxYFFhwP7qpw/s320/onecent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019195420203434370" border="0" /></a>So I'm thumbing through the latest issue of Amazon.com today looking for this book I'm interested in and I encountered a dilemma.
<p>
The book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gandhi-Autobiography-Story-Experiments-Truth/dp/0807059099/sr=8-1/qid=1168622839/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7556303-2950555?ie=UTF8&s=books"><span style="font-style: italic;">An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth</span></a>, by Mahatma Gandhi. Now this guy's an <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/01/wwgd.html">important figure</a> in my life so I'm thinking, maybe I should get a hardback? Wow - I never buy hardbacks! But wouldn't it be nice to have a classy edition of this book by such an amazing person - my hero, really (it's a shame that sounds like such an 11 year-old thing to say).
</p><p>
So I turned to the used books page. And the problem struck me: there are several oodles of different editions to choose from. Not only are there new and used versions, but hardback and paperback, old and recent, some with guest introductions, publisher X or Y. How's a guy supposed to pick one?
</p><p>
There are trade-offs, of course. New books are crisp and clean but more expensive and wasteful of our Earth's precious resources. But if I'm concerned about precious resources, maybe I should just borrow from the library or read the freakin' e-book version available there. But, alas, you can't make notes in the margins of an e-book or library book (I know, some people clearly dispel with that rule). Recent editions are likely to be in better shape and they do have that guest introduction, but again they're more expensive and maybe that introduction sucks and spoils an otherwise austere copy of Gandhiji's writing. Which publisher? I don't know! WWGD?
</p><p>
Here's where it got tricky for me. I stumbled across a used Houghton Mifflin paperback edition from 1983 selling for <span style="font-style: italic;">one red cent!</span> What?! Shipping costs are 349% more than the cost of the book! Then I thought, Gandhi would probably be pleased to see this and disappointed that there's only one available at this price. It is worth noting, however, that there are currently 31 copies of this same edition under 5 bucks. How can I turn down a one-cent used book in favor of a new, fashionable, hardback version of the same book? And it's not just any book, but a book about <span style="font-style: italic;">Gandhi</span>, Mr. LiveSimply!
</p><p>
What kind of an outfit sells books for one cent? There's no way this is a reputable business. Really, how can they recoup their costs? Maybe they're taking a loss on some books in order to drum up business and a good reputation while they gouge us on the equally <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/08/milking-classics.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">over</span>priced books</a> in their catalog. Maybe there's a demented old man at his computer somewhere, squeezed into a tiny apartment full of ragged old books. Do I trust this guy? For only one cent, does it really matter? In the comments section, my fears were assuaged: "Go with the name you can trust: Thriftbooks...".</p>
<p>
Anyway, I went with the hardback.</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-79101499061551867072007-01-01T17:49:00.000-07:002007-01-02T00:12:48.229-07:00Bombing the White House and other New Year's ResolutionsHappy New Year Mom, sister, and the FBI agents who've googled their way to this post. Of course, when I say "bomb" I refer to that age-old practice of inundating our elected representatives with letters of encouragement, discouragement, and any other couragement that we think they should consider in their deliberations. Let's bomb the White House this year with calls to end this despicable war. Hear hear!
<p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-XbuHFVhRjgD_EKteouwPjIvkYH079UUjcB4YaWXEREK9HBuOBe_So9bPZBT2GmfSFTKRL4YLgCJo9WieIFOJodNYXvJvbWeD3kdn_Cog9W6PL0T9oVtxs0NMoIgdK_5oVpoCA/s1600-h/sudan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-XbuHFVhRjgD_EKteouwPjIvkYH079UUjcB4YaWXEREK9HBuOBe_So9bPZBT2GmfSFTKRL4YLgCJo9WieIFOJodNYXvJvbWeD3kdn_Cog9W6PL0T9oVtxs0NMoIgdK_5oVpoCA/s320/sudan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5015240592353852402" border="0" /></a>As long as you're here, how about a movie recommendation? <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lost_boys_of_sudan/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lost Boys of Sudan</span></a> (2004) carried Heather and me into the new year last night (this morning) with a mixture of sadness and intense fascination. It's a documentary about two of the nearly 4,000 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_of_Sudan">Sudanese boys</a> orphaned in that country's brutal civil war (now roughly 19-20 year-olds) and eventually brought to the U.S. to find work, an education, and the perversity of a country they had long perceived was like Heaven.
</p><p>
The predominant theme is the incredible difficulty these guys find just getting started in this society. For the ethnomethodologist within us all it's a great study of the taken-for-granted rules of everyday life. Upon arrival they're quickly given an orientation to the local Safeway to learn of new fruits and products for personal hygiene. They're dumbfounded by insistent warnings by their hosts against same-sex public displays of affection in this country. Circled around their speakerphone, they're perplexed by the high cost of their phone service as the operator tries to explain the costs of 3-way calling and the "*69" feature.
</p><p>
The Christians who apparently run this program of resettlement don't hide their evangelical intentions and their attempts to help are tinged with an obvious misunderstanding of what these guys most need and want (girlfriends, jobs, an education). The boys come to question whether the difficulties they encounter here are any less than those of the refugee camps they left behind. It's as damning of the extravagance of Western society as it is enlightening about the hurdles for this remarkable refugee population. Three thumbs up!
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-28640958290516855832006-12-30T14:56:00.000-07:002006-12-30T17:15:00.226-07:00Our life is made by the death of others*In one of the more macabre Christmas seasons in recent memory, three high profile deaths crowd the headlines. The man who, in 1968, proclaimed in song, "I'm black and I'm proud!", James Brown, died unexpectedly in the middle of a world tour. He's being eulogized today in an Augusta, GA hockey arena. If the hardest working man in show business had waited just one more day, he'd have read about the death of President Ford whose unfortunate legacy appears to hinge on pardoning his corrupt and impeached predecessor.
<p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseNfkXj4uiYw6g-Iyl_2guRwJmML342m5D08QihTHct0_FsAa8yX_b8T2iEm4nERfKnPHBDrjQaJ2ZXhuJRuQZCu0iz1r9n3Bx7lkCXZcixsYvk-FLcs5pR791IJWlpkoU0O4YA/s1600-h/noose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseNfkXj4uiYw6g-Iyl_2guRwJmML342m5D08QihTHct0_FsAa8yX_b8T2iEm4nERfKnPHBDrjQaJ2ZXhuJRuQZCu0iz1r9n3Bx7lkCXZcixsYvk-FLcs5pR791IJWlpkoU0O4YA/s400/noose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014477656745014242" border="0" /></a>But the topper that pushes these two bumpkins to the back pages is of course Saddam Hussein. Read the Western press and you'll find it peppered with eurocentric depictions of a brutal man whose socialization bred "<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2524190,00.html">tribal loyalty</a>" and led to "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/world/middleeast/30saddam.html?pagewanted=2">Corleone-like</a>" family feuds (if his family is mentioned at all), who was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/world/middleeast/30saddam.html?pagewanted=5">dumbfounded</a> to learn that Americans can legally insult their president, who built a Baghdad mosque that houses a Koran written in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/world/middleeast/30saddam.html?pagewanted=6">his blood</a>, and who boldly criticized and belittled the American military. Its easy to avoid any misplaced compassion one might feel.
</p><p>
Although it may change, the reaction from the American public is at the moment not newsworthy. I suspect that when all is said and done most Americans, despite years of world class reportage (ahem), don't know much about Saddam Hussein, his country, or its culture. They just want their sons and daughters in the military to come home safely. The memory of the hanging will pass from their minds as easily as has James Brown and President Ford.
</p><p>
Sociological research on memory has shown that the ways we remember famous figures are shaped in part by periodic commemorations and the sometimes competing representations of them that different groups promote. James Brown will be remembered by some as a commercially successful performer and by others as an embodiment of Black Pride. Gerald Ford will inherit the prestige attendant with the presidency even as some highlight his unremarkable administration and pardoning of a crook. Saddam Hussein's memory, on the other hand, will find unity in death, at least in this country. He will be incessantly evoked in the coming years by politicians and pundits as the very Incarnation of Evil and no one will disagree.
</p><p>
I can't help but wonder, ten or twenty years down the road, how will George W. Bush be remembered? Standing strident amidst the rubble of the World Trade Center? Decked out in flight gear atop an aircraft carrier emblazoned with "Mission Accomplished"? Or counterpoised against images of a condemned and hanged Incarnation of Evil?
</p><p>
<span style="font-size:85%;">* With acknowledgments to Leonardo da Vinci.</span>
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-82095278012479464262006-12-02T14:25:00.000-07:002006-12-02T15:42:53.856-07:00I've been googled!One part of me feels violated, another enticed. Those wiley polititians are up to their old tricks but now they've entered the Space Age of Nano iPods and Google.
<p>
Twice in just over a month this blog has attracted the attention of political campaigners apparently in search of mentions of their campaigns in the Blogosphere. Once they locate the attractor blog they pollinate it with, of all things, a form letter.
<p>
The first letter arrived last month in the comments section of a <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/10/pig-stretching-has-no-place-in-arizona.html">post</a> I wrote about Arizona's (successful!) ballot initiative that increases the space required to house pregnant pigs and calves before killing them and chopping them into meal-sized pieces. The letter writer clearly didn't read the post, but neither would I if I was buzzing from blog to blog in search of a home for my spam.*
<p>
The second came via email just yesterday in response to my most recent <a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/11/when-congress-might-not-be-best-target.html">post</a> about not one, but <em>three</em> political campaigns (I'm just asking for it, aren't I?). This time I attracted the big boys, Congress. Namely, 2004 presidential contender Representative Dennis Kucinich. And, god bless'im, he's campaigning for animals and animal rights activists.
<p>
But before you read this email from Dennis "The Progressive Menace" Kucinich (and I mean that in the most positive way), give some thought to the implications of this new political tactic. Every blog post you publish, whether it expresses your opinions, your daily activities, your loves or your hates, enters the public sphere for all to scrutinize, record, tally, and respond to for whatever good or evil they may intend. I've gone to great lengths to keep my name from junk mailers of the credit card, mail-order catalog, and magazine subscription varieties. But this blogging business opens up a whole new and virulent can of worms that is starting to worry me.
<blockquote><p>From: Veith, Catherine <catherine.veith@mail.house.gov><br>
To: [me]<br>
Date: Dec 1, 2006 10:03 AM<br>
Subject: Rep. Kucinich and the AETA
<p>
<em>Hello Jeff,</em>
<p>
<em>Congressman Kucinich has asked that I pass along to you his
statement regarding the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Please post as
you see fit. Let me know if you have any questions.
</em>
<p>
<em>Thank you,</em><br>
<em>~Cate Veith<br>
</em>
<em>Special Assistant</em><br>
<em>The Office of Congressman Dennis Kucinich </em><br>
<em>1730 Longworth House Office Building </em><br>
<em>Washington, DC 20515 </em><br>
<em>202.225.5871 office </em><br>
<em>202.225.5745 fax</em>
<p>
<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://kmareka.com/index.php" target="_blank"></a>
Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act:
<p>
I stand with every Member of the House in defense of the rights of individuals to be free of bodily harm or injury under all and any circumstances. But, the fact of the matter is, existing Federal law already includes any place which does Federal research.
<p>
So the question is, why create a new and specific classification here?
<p>
We, of course, need to protect peoples' right to conduct their work without fear of assault. But, a larger question remains yet unanswered by this Congress: How should animals be treated humanely?
<p>
There are some specific principles with respect to humane treatment of animals but, these do not go far enough. My concern about this bill is that it does nothing to address the real issue of animal protection but, instead targets those advocating animal rights. This legislation will have a real and chilling effect on people's Constitutionally protected First Amendment rights.
<p>
I am not talking about people who would threaten anyone with death because they don't agree with them, but there are individuals who love animals, who don't want to see animals hurt, who have a point and a right to speak out. I think for that reason, this bill has not yet reached its maturity.
<p>
I understand what the sponsors of this bill are trying to do, but I don't think that they will reach the end they are hoping to achieve unless this Congress makes a clear statement about ethical principles with respect to animals and how we treat animals in research and other enterprise.
<p>
These are very serious questions that millions of Americans care about. I understand the intent here, but I think that you must be very careful about painting everyone with the broad brush of terrorism who might have a legitimate objection to research with or treatment of animals that is inhumane.
<p>
Bringing up a bill like this under procedures that only allow limited debate, and no amendments, no matter how well intentioned, is problematic.
<p>
I am not and never have been in favor of anyone using a cloak of free speech to commit violence. The Supreme Court Justice said, your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose. No one has the right to yell "fire"' in a crowded theater. We have heard those kinds of admonitions.
<p>
I am not for anyone abusing their rights by damaging another person's property or person, but I am for protecting the First Amendment and not creating a special class of violations for a specific type of protest.
<p>
Balancing Constitutional concerns against the protection of people and property is never easy. Unfortunately, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act goes too far in the wrong direction. </p><p></p></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;color:#000000;">Yeehaw! Vote for Dennis!</span>
<p>
<span style="font-size:100%;"></span>
<span style="font-size:100%;color:#666666;">* A related and increasingly common tactic used more often for non-political purposes appears in </span><a href="http://driedsage.blogspot.com/2006/10/pig-stretching-has-no-place-in-arizona.html#comment-116239392661555910"><span style="font-size:100%;color:#666666;">this</span></a><span style="font-size:100%;color:#666666;"> comment, also made to the pig stretching initiative post. It seems to be a desperate attempt by bloggers to increase traffic to their own blogs without having to actually strike up a real dialogue with their fellow bloggers. Does anyone else get this?</span></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-21740137819403638602006-11-20T15:52:00.000-07:002006-11-22T12:14:21.106-07:00When Congress might not be the best target<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/3871/1197/1600/746518/easyvote.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/3871/1197/400/481802/easyvote.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<p>
Clearly, some policy reforms are more plausible than others. Take for example the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act," passed by the House last week and now awaiting the President's signature. You know all those <a href="http://www.animalliberationfront.com/">animal liberationists</a> running around releasing mink, vandalizing McDonalds restaurants, and threatening vivisectors? Well we already have laws targeting them. <span style="font-style: italic;">But...</span>why miss a golden opportunity to shore up your political base by expanding the reach of these laws in the name of the <span style="font-style: italic;">War on Terror</span>?
</p><p>
Sure, civil libertarians may <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/aeta-analysis-109th">quibble</a> with the sweeping breadth of the new bill (animal rights tactics that threaten a company's profits - e.g., nonviolent civil disobedience - will be treated as terrorism), but you're not likely to find many politicians willing to risk political capital on a bill like this (silly <a href="http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3887">Rep. Kucinich</a>!).
</p><p>
Championing <a href="http://www.aclu.org/prison/index.html">prisoners' rights</a> - you know, the little stuff like voting or protection against rape - may not be politically expedient but these issues do seem to be becoming thinkable. <a href="http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/FVR_Decade_Reform.pdf">16 states</a> have already loosened their disenfranchisement policies in the past ten years, and with <a href="http://www.soc.umn.edu/%7Euggen/Manza_Brooks_Uggen_POQ_04_abstract.pdf"><span style="font-style: italic;">80 percent</span></a> <span style="font-style: italic;">of Americans in support of restoring voting rights to former felons,</span> surely politicians are clamoring to introduce such legislation, right? Uh-huh.
</p><p>
On Saturday night I attended an event artfully dubbed "Whores Not Wars." It was at once an anti-war and pro-sex worker fundraising event for <a href="http://www.foodnotbombs.net/">Food Not Bombs</a> and the local <a href="http://swop-az.org/">Sex Workers Outreach Project</a>:
</p><blockquote>...featuring provocative live performance art, whore stories, lap dances, sexy soldiers, and anti-war, pro-whore activities...Prepare to be titillated, disturbed, outraged, pleasured, stimulated, and shocked! Bastardized military gear, pro-peace costumes encouraged!</blockquote>Legalization of prostitution and the de-stigmatization of sex work are top priorities for this group of current and former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_worker">sex workers</a>. Without saying anything about the group's abysmal success at organization-building, I can say with some confidence that achieving their stated goals will be a herculean political task. It's easier to imagine prostitutes at the center of a <a href="http://www.voxfux.com/features/bush_child_sex_coverup/franklin.htm">political scandal</a> than at the center of legislation to protect their rights.
<p>
The political process has a way of pushing minority voices to the margins...and then outlawing them. Once they're outlawed, it sometimes takes away their rights to protest, or vote. It's times like these that social insurgents might want to reevaluate the targets of our campaigns. "Rights" don't always come down from the government but sometimes have to be taken up in other spheres like the economy, education, and religion. This is not to say that change will come necessarily come more quickly there, but some issues seem more apt for <span style="font-style: italic;">political </span>campaigns than do others.</p>
<p>
</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">Follow-up (11/22/2006): </span>Animal protectionism is on the ballot in the Netherlands today and stands a damned good chance of winning. That country's <a href="http://www.partijvoordedieren.nl/content/view/129"><span style="font-style: italic;">Party of the Animals</span></a> is widely expected to become the "first animal rights party in Europe to have its own lawmaker," as it has been polling between 130-140,000 votes (50,000 are needed to gain a seat in the legislature) [<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/19/europe/EU_POL_Netherlands_Animals_Party.php">1</a>]. It certainly is amazing how a proportional-representation system can change the possibilities.
</p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-88934398636205588222006-11-15T15:38:00.000-07:002006-11-15T15:44:55.704-07:00There is nothing funny about thisCrime is a serious matter. It doesn't pay. No one wins. Especially not this guy.
<center>
<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mim90zCi34Y"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mim90zCi34Y" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object>
</center>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-1163318470824547822006-11-12T00:17:00.000-07:002006-11-12T05:59:29.102-07:00Enlightenment as Mass Destruction*<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/282/731/1600/maus.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/282/731/320/maus.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I'm told that my great grandparents, a Jewish family from Northern Europe - Germany (then Prussia) and Poland region - immigrated to the U.S. around 1900, effectively evading the Hitler's genocidal wrath before it emerged. The families they left behind were not so lucky.
<p>
Art Spiegelman's family also came from N. Europe (Poland), but not until after the war. Spiegelman was 29 in 1977 when he began interviewing his father about his experiences in the Holocaust. I just finished reading his Pulitzer Prize-winning, 2-volume comic, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maus-Survivors-Father-History-Troubles/dp/0679748407/sr=8-1/qid=1163318567/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2897386-6807055?ie=UTF8&s=books">Maus: A Survivor's Tale</a> </span>(Pantheon Books, 1993) that recounts those interviews with his father. Well worth the read. It has provoked in me a morbid curiousity about my own distant relatives who didn't survive the war.
</p><p>
Spiegelman's father and mother were living and eventually hiding in Poland when they were captured by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz for the final year of the war. As the Allied troops advanced, his father was made to dismantle the massive gas chambers and crematoria amidst the Germans' hasty retreat. Through stories such as these, Spiegelman writes with remarkable detail about the constant threats on his father's life and the survival strategies that kept him out of the camps for so long as well as those that kept him alive once he could no longer avoid them. [See a sample page from the book <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/art/mauscospread1.gif">here</a>.]
</p><p>
As if to drive the point home, tonight I saw Sacha Baron Cohen's <a href="http://boratmovie.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Borat</span></a>, the much talked about and critically <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/borat/">acclaimed</a> story of a Jew-hating Kazakh journalist who traverses the U.S. provoking outrageous and unscripted reactions from anti-semitic, racist, sexist, and homophobic Americans. The anti-semitic humor ("In Kazakhstan, three main issues: economic, social, and Jew.") - made even more perverse by the fact that Cohen himself is Jewish - is both hilarious and sickening, as when the gun store clerk suggests which types of guns would be best for hunting Jews. In this film, it should be said, the "-isms," and the people who espouse them, are the ultimate butts of the joke.
</p><p>
Given my reading of <span style="font-style: italic;">Maus, </span>subsequent thinking about my family's heritage, and now seeing <span style="font-style: italic;">Borat</span>, it's been an odd and thought-provoking week. I find that I'm still coming to terms with the recency of those 11 million horrific deaths - <span style="font-style: italic;">it was only 60 years ago!</span> In that light, the current American animosity toward Jews, gays, Muslims, and women unearthed in the film is a grim reminder that we may not have changed as much as we'd like to think. If the film reveals our discrimination, <a href="http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=2444">Abu Ghraib</a> and the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5197853/site/newsweek"><span style="font-style: italic;">debate</span></a>(!) about torture expose our willingness to act. If the world slips into more fighting among nations for the top spot as <a href="http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol1/v1_n6.php">some social scientists</a> predict, will we see another Holocaust? Is it realistic to think that genocide will never happen here? Have we really come so far?
</p><p>
<span style="font-size:85%;">
* <a href="http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/culture-industry.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception</span></a>, by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (1944).
</span></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9809695.post-1163032773999137762006-11-08T14:28:00.000-07:002006-11-12T03:21:17.490-07:00Now the Democrats are in. So what?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54918"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/282/731/400/results.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's a serious question with less than obvious answers. While journalists and pundits across the spectrum are trumpeting the election as a damning referendum against Bush and the war in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>, visions of what the future holds are confused, nowhere more than on the Left.
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Will the Iraq War come to a grinding halt under the Democrats' watch?</span> Tom Hayden, founder of the influential 1960's anti-war group <span style="font-style: italic;">Students for a Democratic Society</span> and former representative in the <st1:state><st1:place>California</st1:place></st1:state> state legislature, <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1108-32.htm">insists</a> that "the Iraq War will not end. The administration will continue the conflict into the 2008 election year." Sociologist Immanuael Wallerstein <a href="http://www.binghamton.edu/fbc/195en.htm">predicts</a> "that the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> will be forced to withdraw from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> before the presidential election in 2008." As if to summarize, <span style="font-style: italic;">In These Times</span> senior editor, David Sirota, <a href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2846/">warns</a>, "For the better part of 20 years, Democratic divisions have seethed under <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s political surface...The situation is ready to explode."
</p><p>
In contrast to the tempest of speculation about developments in the war, there seems to be widespread agreement that, as <span style="font-style: italic;">Slate's</span> Jacob <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2153271/">Weisberg</a> puts it, "free trade has definitely left the building." Protectionism is the watchword here and once again we find a divided Left. In contrast to Weisberg's dire tone, the glee is <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn11082006.html">palpable</a> in the words of Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair at Counterpunch who have their own spin on the election results:<o:p></o:p>
</p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">The voters want the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> out of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> and they want decent jobs. Who are the Democrats who will speak to these concerns? Not Hillary Clinton. Not Joe Biden. Not Barack Obama. Maybe John Edwards, if he listens to his wife. What triumphed on Tuesday was not the Rahm Emanuel platform but something far closer to what Ralph Nader spoke for in 2000 and 2004.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">We may indeed see some tangible changes in domestic policy that are being overlooked in all the anti-war noise. Ron Pollack of Families USA, a liberal heathcare advocacy group, is <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1108-01.htm">excited</a> that "some issues—such as expansion of children’s health care coverage and improvements to the Medicare Part D program—will receive a tremendous boost when the new Congress convenes in January." William Greider, writing in <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061030/greider">The Nation</a>, foresees myriad positive changes coming from the new Congress, including raising the federal minimum wage, cutting subsidies to oil companies, lowering prescription drug prices, expanding funding for higher education, and reigning in predatory lending practices.
</p><p class="MsoNormal">I, myself, am more ambivalent about things to come. Will the war come to an end soon? I doubt it. Will the new Congress follow through on allegations that President Bush illegally fabricated evidence and misled in the run-up to the Iraq War? Fat chance. Should they? <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/swanson11082006.html">Of course</a>. As <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon10312006.html">others</a> are quick to point out, many of the new Dems in Congress espouse or lean toward social conservativism, providing a whiff of that intra-party explosion that Sirota warns about. I expect Bush's lofty goals to go nowhere and the Democrats lofty hopes to give way to cautious centrism as they eye the big election in 2008. In the end, I am sorry to say that I share this dismal, pessimistic feelings of <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/frank11082006.html">Joshua Frank</a> at <span style="font-style: italic;">Counterpunch</span>:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Whether or not you're feeling good about last night's results, you can rest assured that the Empire is still in tact. Impeachment of this outlaw administration isn't going to fall down within the next two years...Deaths in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> will continue to mount and no exit strategy will play out in the coming months. Global warming will still not be addressed. Nor will our position on <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the war on drugs, free trade, or privatized health care. Basically things are still damn bleak despite the liberal take over of <st1:state><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></p><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05622537603829078841noreply@blogger.com0