Steve Rossignol :
‘Operative 100’: The snitch who maimed Texas socialism

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

It was a conscious effort initialized and orchestrated by corporate interests.

Waco Times Herald, May 20, 1917.

By Steve Rossignol | The Rag Blog | July 3, 2019

It is no secret that throughout American history the labor movement has been infiltrated by government and corporations. This private spying business had its roots with the Pinkerton private detective agency, which after the Civil War earned the reputation as a paid strike breaker and union buster.

The Pinkerton business model soon led to a proliferation of private detective agencies dedicated to the same goal of destruction of the organized labor movement. American industrialists employed them in the quest for profit and at the expense of its workforce as the struggle between labor and capital intensified into sometimes bloody conflicts. And it should be noted that the information provided by those agencies and agents many times proved to be full of misinformation.
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Steve Russell :
In the aftermath of ‘The Photo’

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Is the United States becoming a rogue nation?

Rio Grande river. Creative Commons photo by Ryan Moehring /
USFWS / Flickr.

By Steve Russell | The Rag Blog | June 27, 2019

Unless you live under a rock, you saw the photo — the same one I saw, the one that set my stomach churning even worse than those of the filthy conditions in our kiddie jails, yours and mine. We also own that picture: Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his almost two year old daughter, Valeria, face down where their bodies washed up. In death, the baby’s arm was still around her father.

I would show you the photo if the copyright laws allowed it. It’s all over Fake News: CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times. You can bet it’s all over Europe as well, and the countries that mean us ill will keep it around to illustrate our president’s crazed tweets on immigration. Remember the “caravans” that required a military response the day before the election and evaporated as the votes were being counted?

Those who accept the task of apologizing for the photo will claim the fault lies with the dead man who fled El Salvador with his family and chose to die in the river between Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas. He died trying to break U.S. law.
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Jonah Raskin :
BOOKS | ‘In the Company of Rebels’

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Jonah reviews Chellis Glendinning’s memoir about her friends, lovers, and comrades.

By Jonah Raskin | The Rag Blog | June 26, 2019

At the very start of her new heartfelt book — In the Company of Rebels: A Generational Memoir of Bohemians, Deep Heads, and History Makers ($24.95, New Village Press) — about her friends, lovers, and comrades, Chellis Glendinning asks why one should bother to learn about “other generations’ attempts to bring justice, peace and beauty into this tattered world.”

Her answer a few paragraphs later is expressed in two words, “History rocks,” which might satisfy the needs of rock ‘n’ rollers and their ilk but probably won’t appeal to historians and scholars.

Imbued with the idea that her contemporaries — the rebels of the last 50 or so years — “have been sturdy, creative, courageous catalysts” Glendinning recounts some of the key movements of contemporary history and offers compact and compelling biographies of 46 individuals, some of them household names in lefty homes and others hardly known at all, or mostly forgotten.
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Lamar W. Hankins :
Reflections on patriotism, July 4, 1776 to July 4, 2019

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Only by helping create the change that makes liberty and equality possible can I feel patriotic.

Columbus lands on Hispaniola where he is met by Arawaks who were subjected to genocide, a pattern of suppression that continued with Native Americans. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | June 26, 2019

“A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle, and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”  — George William Curtis, 19th Century writer and editor of Harper‘s

“Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” — James Bryce, British Member of Parliament and Ambassador to the U.S

I’m not sure when I began to feel patriotic about this country. From the age of 10, when I began learning about the history of mistreatment of “Negroes,” it was impossible for me to feel pride and love for a country whose government allowed and encouraged the enslavement of some people followed by massive discrimination against those same people.

Later, I learned about the destruction and subjugation of “Indians” in numbers rightly called genocide. Later, I found out about discrimination against others due to their ethnicity, their sexual orientation, and their birth into the poor and working classes that pushes them into multiple forms of impoverishment.
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Anne Lewis :
STORY & VIDEO PODCAST | Asilo, terror y el futuro #3: ‘Niños llorando’

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Basado en casos documentados por Jennifer Harbury…

ASILO, TERROR Y EL FUTURO #3 Niños Llorando from Anne Lewis on Vimeo.

Por Anne Lewis | The Rag Blog | 20 de Junio, 2019

“Tener hijos no le otorga inmunidad contra arrestos y procesamientos … Citaría al apóstol Pablo y su claro y sabio mandato en Romanos 13 de obedecer las leyes del gobierno porque Dios ha ordenado al gobierno para sus propósitos.” — El fiscal general Jeff Sessions.

“Crear psicosis no es la cura.” — Papa Francisco

Es difícil imaginar que los niños pequeños sean arrebatados de sus padres. Trae consigo flashes de escenas del Holocausto o, más cerca de casa, subastas de esclavos y escuelas residenciales de indios americanos.

La “tolerancia cero” fue heredada de la administración de Bush, continuó a través de Obama con familias alojadas juntas en cárceles privadas. Se suspendió, al menos parcialmente, en T. Don Hutto bajo una fuerte protesta social liderada por Grassroots Leadership, pero la idea de castigar a los padres a través de la separación y las privaciones dirigidas a los niños sigue siendo parte de la política de inmigración. En abril de 2018, la Administración de Trump implementó específicamente la separación de los niños de sus padres en la frontera.
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Anne Lewis :
STORY & VIDEO PODCAST | Asylum, terror, and the future #3: Crying babies

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Based on case stories of Jennifer Harbury…

ASYLUM, TERROR, and the FUTURE #3 Crying Babies based on cases stories of Jennifer Harbury from Anne Lewis on Vimeo.

By Anne Lewis | The Rag Blog | June 11, 2019

“Having children does not give you immunity from arrest and prosecution… I would cite the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.” — Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“Creating psychosis isn’t the cure.” — Pope Francis

It’s hard to imagine young children being taken away from their parents. It brings with it flashes of scenes from the Holocaust or, closer to home, slave auctions and American Indian Residential Schools.

“Zero tolerance” was inherited from the Bush administration, continued through Obama with families housed together in private prisons. It was at least partially discontinued at T. Don Hutto under strong social protest led by Grassroots Leadership, but the idea of punishing parents through separation and hardship directed towards children remained part of immigration policy. In April 2018, the Trump Administration specifically implemented separation of children from their parents at the border.
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The Rag Blog :
METRO EVENT | Akwasi Evans: ‘Speaking Truth to Power, a Tribute’

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer
Event: Celelebration of Akwasi Evans’ life
What: Evening of art, poetry, music
When: Sunday, June 23, 2019, 6-10 p.m.
Where: Kenny Dorham’s Backyard
Address: 1106 E. 11th, Austin TX 78702
Bands: Riders Against the Storm (RAS), Harold McMillian and Friends, SHERi Mogul.
Admission: Open to the public
Sponsors: SouthPop, DiverseArts, and Six Square

Also see “Akwasi Evans: Poet, Publisher, and Born Rebel” by Mariann G. Wizard on The Rag Blog.

AUSTIN –Friends and family will celebrate the life of beloved Austin journalist and activist, Akwasi Evans, this Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. at Kenny Dorham’s Backyard.

Evans was a steadfast voice and champion for East Austin with his newspaper, NOKOA: The Observer.
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Mariann G. Wizard :
Akwasi Evans: poet, publisher, and
born rebel

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Publisher of Austin community newspaper, ‘NOKOA: The Observer,’ is dead at 70.

Akwasi Evans with bullhorn. Image courtesy SouthPop.

By Mariann G. Wizard | The Rag Blog | June 19, 2019

Also see “METRO EVENT: Akwasi Evans: Speaking Truth to Power: A Tribute,” on The Rag Blog for more details.

Akwasi Evans, an Austin activist and community publisher for half of his 70 years, passed away from complications of prostate cancer on April 18, 2019, at his Austin home. An online obituary covers the basics of early life, family, and his life and work in Austin.

Other obits and news of Evans’ death appeared in the Austin American-Statesman, Austin Chronicle, KUT-FM, and a piece by his longtime friend, golf partner, fellow publisher, and radio co-host Tommy Wyatt in The Villager.

Each report brings to light new perspectives on Evans’ service to his chosen community. At his funeral, over 200 family, friends, and political associates, people from all walks of life, heard him eulogized by Dr. Nelson Linder, president of Austin’s NAACP, and eight ministers. Yet it’s not enough. Akwasi’s passing leaves a huge hole in Austin’s progressive community, and filling it seems highly unlikely, as he was a uniquely dedicated man who called himself a born rebel.
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Anne Lewis :
STORY & VIDEO PODCAST | Asilo, terror y el futuro #2: Feliz cumpleaños número 18

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Basado en casos documentados por Jennifer Harbury…

ASILO, TERROR Y EL FUTURO #2 Feliz Cumpleaños Número 18 from Anne Lewis on Vimeo.

Por Anne Lewis | The Rag Blog | 11 de Junio, 2019

El sábado por la mañana, en la estación de autobuses de Greyhound en Harlingen, una venta en casa a una cuadra, y una mujer sin hogar camina en frente de un lado a otro delante de la estación. Llamadas de pájaros y edificio del Bank of America al fondo. Se nos dice que no podemos filmar dentro.

Este es uno de los lugares donde las familias se quedan después de la detención en las hieleras, si tienen familiares que las patrocinarán. Los voluntarios los recogen en las estaciones de autobuses a lo largo de la frontera, evalúan sus necesidades médicas, los cuidan en refugios, les brindan información sobre ayuda en el camino y los devuelven a la estación para su viaje al norte, al este y al oeste.
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Anne Lewis :
STORY & VIDEO PODCAST | Asylum, terror, and the future #2: Happy 18th Birthday

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Based on case stories of Jennifer Harbury…

ASYLUM, TERROR, and the FUTURE #2 Happy 18th Birthday from Anne Lewis on Vimeo.

By Anne Lewis | The Rag Blog | June 11, 2019

Saturday morning at the greyhound bus station in Harlingen — yard sale a block down the street — a homeless woman paces back and forth in front of the station; bird calls and Bank of America building in the background. We are told that we cannot film inside.

This is one of the places where families are left after detention in hieleras — if they have relatives who will sponsor them. Volunteers pick them up at the bus stations along the border, assess their medical needs, take care of them in shelters, provide them with information about help along the way, and return them to the station for their trip north and east and west.
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Steve Rossignol :
A marker for Covington Hall

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

William Covington Hall was a major organizer of the IWW in Texas and Louisiana.

Covington Hall marker. Photo by Steve Rossignol / The Rag Blog.

By Steve Rossignol | The Rag Blog | June 6, 2019

William Covington Hall stands out in southern socialist and labor history as one of the paramount organizers of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Texas and Louisiana. Writer, poet, labor organizer, orator, newspaper editor — Covington Hall is perhaps best remembered for his efforts to organize lumber workers in the East Texas and Western Louisiana piney woods in the first two decades of the 20th Century.

But for all his notoriety during those years, Covington Hall died in relative obscurity on February 21, 1952. For the longest time the location of his gravesite was unknown and unmarked[i]. It was time to resolve the oversight.
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Ed Felien :
China has already won the Trade War

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Thorne Dreyer

Trump is playing a short game, and China is (as always) playing a long game.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, November 2017. Image from
Wikimedia Commons.

By Ed Felien | The Rag Blog | May 22, 2019

A trade war is when a country raises tariffs (taxes) on a product coming into the country. The business selling that cheaper foreign product then has to pass that tariff (tax) onto the consumer, and this can make the product cost the same as an American-made product.

Big retailers like Walmart and Target have been lured to China to produce their goods. They’ve invested billions in creating a manufacturing infrastructure. The Chinese provided Special Economic Zones where U.S. capitalists could build factories, hire workers at low wages, and the workers even agreed to a no strike pledge. The only hitch in all this was that the Chinese government owned 52% of the factory.
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