The Rag Blog | The Latest in News and Views from the Progressive Front

Alan Waldman :
‘Love/Hate’ is a very dark but highly compelling Irish crime drama

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Despite its violence, this Dublin gang war saga is well written, performed, and produced, with strong characters and dialogue.

Love/Hate is gritty Irish mobster series.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | August 14, 2014

[In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series that readers may have missed, including TV dramas, mysteries, and comedies from Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland. Most are available on DVD and/or Netflix, and some episodes are on YouTube.]

Britain’s Guardian newspaper praised the award-laden Irish gang-war drama Love/Hate, comparing it to The Wire and The Sopranos, saying “what makes Love/Hate distinctive is the way in which the scripts root the mobster genre in the trends and tensions of contemporary Irish culture.” On the eve of the third of its five seasons, The Irish Times hailed the show as “the best drama RTÉ [the Irish broadcasting company] has produced.”
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Alan Waldman, Crime Drama, Criticism, Irish Television, Love/Hate, Rag Bloggers | Leave a comment

Lamar W. Hankins :
REPORT | Child murder in Texas

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Is the Church of Wells, considered by many to be a cult, sacrificing children at the altar of religious belief?

Wells, Texas, is home to the controversial Church of Wells which many consider to be a cult.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | August 11, 2014

[Lamar Hankins was Thorne Dreyer‘s guest on Rag Radio, Friday, September 12, 2014, on KOOP 91.7-FM in Austin. On the show they discuss the Church of Wells, the death of Faith Shalom Pursley, and other issues raised in this article. Listen to the podcast: on The Rag Blog or at the Internet Archive.]

WELLS, Texas — The death of three-day old Faith Shalom Pursley in Wells, Texas, more than two years ago was a result of child neglect and satisfied the criteria for injury to a child, criminally negligent homicide, and manslaughter under the Texas Penal Code. The latter two charges, if applied to the case, would make the child’s death a form of criminal homicide — what most people call murder.

Faith’s parents — Kristin and Daniel Pursley — and their religious leaders — “elders” in the Church of Wells — decided their religious beliefs took precedence over seeking medical treatment for the Pursleys’ new baby. As a result, Faith died of a routinely treatable condition. The Pursleys and their religious group, at the insistence of the “elders” of the sect (three 20-something young men — Sean Morris, Ryan Ringnald, and Jacob Gardner), chose prayer, rather than the services of a competent doctor, to “treat” Faith’s obvious medical distress.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Cherokee County, Child Protection, Church of Wells, Criminal Justice, East Texas, Faith Healing, Fundamentalism, Grand Jury, Lamar W. Hankins, Rag Bloggers, Religious Cult | 341 Comments

Thorne Dreyer :
PODCASTS | Listen to Rag Radio interviews with Chris Tomlinson and David Bacon

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Award-winning journalist Tomlinson discusses his acclaimed new book, ‘Tomlinson Hill,’ and photojournalist Bacon addresses the role of U.S. policies in causing the current immigration crisis.

Chris Tomlinson, left, with Rag Radio host Thorne Dreyer in the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Interviews by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | August 11, 2014

Journalist and author Chris Tomlinson discusses his new book, Tomlinson Hill, and photojournalist David Bacon addresses the border immigration crisis on these two Rag Radio podcasts.

Rag Radio is a weekly hour-long syndicated radio program produced and hosted by long-time alternative journalist and Rag Blog editor Thorne Dreyer. The show is produced in the studios of KOOP 91.7-FM, a cooperatively-run all-volunteer community radio station in Austin, Texas. It is broadcast live on KOOP every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CST) and streamed live on the web.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Chris Tomlinson, David Bacon, Immigration Crisis, Interviews, Podcast, Racism, Rag Bloggers, Rag Radio, Slavery, Texas History, Thorne Dreyer, Tomlinson Hill | Leave a comment

METRO EVENT | Beverly Baker Moore: The tribe gathers

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

‘Friends of New Journalism’ come together to party and hail ‘Rag Blog’ editor Thorne Dreyer on the occasion of his 69th trip around the sun.

The tribe gathered for Thorne Dreyer’s 69th birthday party at Maria’s Taco Xpress in Austin, Friday, August 1. (Dreyer’s the smug one up front in the loud blue shirt and “Goofy” cap!) Photo by Carlos Lowry / The Rag Blog.

By Beverly Baker Moore | The Rag Blog | August 10, 2014

AUSTIN — The tribe gathered Friday night, August 1st. The call was to “Come and Party Like It’s 1969” in honor of our hard-working Rag Blog editor, Rag Radio host, and birthday boy, Mr. Thorne Webb Dreyer. Thorne has now completed 69 trips around the sun, and that’s reason enough to party.

But 69 is a fun number in itself, what with the famous sex position and the past history of using the number to hassle censors and the general excesses of the time, so maybe we tried harder, because it really was a good party. (See the photo above. And those pictured were only the cats we could herd!)
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Beverly Baker Moore, Friends of New Journalism, Maria's Taco Xpress, Metro, New Journalism Project, Rag Bloggers, Rag Radio, The Rag Blog, Thorne Dreyer, Thorne's 69th Birthday Bash | 1 Comment

METRO | Sunshine Williams : Austin’s illustrious mayor likes them ‘bad boys’

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Hizzoner fetes ex-Louisiana governor and ex-con Edwin Edwards, who joins the rarefied company of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and noted doper Lance Armstrong.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell (left) with former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. August 7, 2014, was “Governor Edwin Edwards Day” in Austin. Photo courtesy of Edwin Edwards for Congress.

By Sunshine Williams | The Rag Blog | August 9, 2014

AUSTIN — Mayor Lee Leffingwell is almost as embarrassing to Austin as Gov. Rick Perry is to the state of Texas. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the mayor honored an ex-governor, ex-con from Louisiana by declaring Thursday, August 7, 2014, “Edwin Edwards Day.” This after Edwards spent nine years in prison for “bribery, racketeering, extortion and fraud — involving a riverboat casino licensing scandal.” (Also see Ken Heman’s column in the Statesman, “Honoring the dishonorable in Austin.”)

And last October, during the Austin City Limits Festival, he named controversial Toronto Mayor Rob Ford an Honorary Citizen of Austin. I suggest the mayor go to his dictionary and look up “honor” and “honorary” or just Google them. Those terms don’t include those “bad-boy” acts of Edwards nor Ford’s drugging, alcoholism, and alleged sexual harassment of his employees.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged City of Austin, Edwin Edwards, Lance Armstrong, Lee Leffingwell, Metro, Rag Bloggers, Rob Ford, Sunshine Williams | 5 Comments

METRO PODCAST | Thorne Dreyer : Community activists Bill Oakey & Roger Baker on Austin transportation politics

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Affordability blogger Oakey joins The Rag Blog’s Baker in a lively discussion of the city’s proposed billion dollar transportation bond election and other community issues.

Roger Baker, standing, and Bill Oakey in the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin, Texas. Photo by Tracey Schulz / Rag Radio.

Interview by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | August 7, 2014

[Also read Roger Baker’s in depth analytical article, “Is Austin’s ‘Strategic Mobility Plan’ smart planning or a billion dollar boondoggle?” on The Rag Blog.]

On this Rag Radio podcast, Austin community activist and affordability blogger Bill Oakey and transportation writer and Rag Blog contributing editor Roger Baker discuss a number of community issues affecting Austin, including affordability and gentrification, but they focus primarily on Austin’s controversial proposed billion dollar transportation bond election.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Austin Politics, Bill Oakey, Interview, Metro, Podcast, Rag Bloggers, Rag Radio, Roger Baker, Thorne Dreyer, Transportation | Leave a comment

Rachel Roth :
Are Texas jails safe for pregnant women?

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Jails in the state are endangering pregnant women and their fetuses, despite the state’s professed interest in ‘unborn babies.’

Jessica De Samito. Image from National Advocates for Pregnant Women / #JusticeforJessica

By Rachel Roth | The Rag Blog | August 7, 2014

What’s going on in Texas? Jails in the state are endangering pregnant women and their fetuses, despite the state’s professed interest in “unborn babies.”

In May, a woman named Nicole Guerrero filed a lawsuit against the Wichita County Jail for ignoring her when she was in labor. Locked alone in a cell, Nicole gave birth on a mat on the floor to a premature baby who died.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Criminal Justice, Drug Use and Pregnancy, Methadone Treatment, Pregnant Prisoners, Prison Conditions, Rachel Roth, Rag Bloggers, Reproductive Rights, Texas Jails, Women Behind Bars | 3 Comments

Ken Wachsberger :
Academic publishing is destined to fail without a publisher-author partnership

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Publishers have to show that they give a damn about their writers because writers are paying attention.

Publish or perish. Image from 08. Twenty Three.

By Ken Wachsberger | The Rag Blog | August 7, 2014

In the May 26, 2014 issue of The Nation, Scott Sherman wrote about the precarious state of academic publishing due largely to pressures it faces, including from declining library budgets, the rise of commercial publishing conglomerates, and especially the growing popularity of electronic publishing, seen by some university press directors as “a decisive rupture from the past” (“Under Pressure: Incrementalists and futurists battle over the mission of the university press” — online version had a different title).

He provided an insightful look at the inside of the university press system. However, his solutions didn’t go far enough because they omitted the needs of a key player, namely writers.
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Posted in RagBlog | Tagged Academic Publishing, Digital Technology, Ken Wachsberger, National Writers Union, Publish or Perish, Rag Bloggers, Writers' Contracts | 6 Comments

METRO | Roger Baker : Is Austin’s ‘Strategic Mobility Plan’ smart planning or a billion dollar boondoggle?

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

What most voters probably don’t know about Austin’s upcoming big bucks transportation
bond package.

Don’t feed the monster! This cartoon by Dan Hubig illustrated an article entitled “Mopac: The Monster that Ate Austin,” in a 1975 issue of the Austin Sun. Different century, same monster.

By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | August 6, 2014

[Roger Baker joined Austin community activist Bill Oakey and host Thorne Dreyer on Rag Radio, Friday, August 1. They mostly discussed issues raised in this article. You can listen to the podcast here.]

Introduction
Major problems with the billion dollar bond proposal
CAMPO and politics of Austin growth
The role of Austin public private partnerships
Austin growth forecasting
A look back at rail planning
The road lobby meets the rail lobby
The billion dollar bond campaign
Conclusion
‘Austin Strategic Mobility Plan’ bond details and documentation*

*The last section, ‘”Strategic Mobility Plan” bond details and documentation’ is rather long, takes a deeper look at the major bond problems, and has additional background documentation, links to click, video clip sections, and more.

Introduction

On June 26, 2014, the Austin City Council unanimously approved a billion dollar “Austin Strategic Mobility Plan” (the Plan). This plan and its bond proposal are expected to become the basis for a $1 billion dollar November transportation bond election, when the Austin City Council decides on August 7 just how they want to put it on the ballot, likely to be titled “Proposition 1.”
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Austin City Council, Austin Growth, CAMPO, IH-35, Light Rail, Metro, Project Connect, Rag Bloggers, Roger Baker, Strategic Mobility Plan, Transportation, Transportation Politics | 19 Comments

METRO | Alice Embree : Texas stands with Gaza

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Thousands march in Austin protesting the Israeli invasion and demanding an end to U.S. complicity.

Thousands march in Austin in support of Gaza. Photo by Alice Embree / The Rag Blog.

By Alice Embree | The Rag Blog | August 6, 2014

Rami Janoudi / ICPR.

AUSTIN — Thousands convened at the state Capitol in Austin on August 2nd for a rally to protest Israel’s horrific assault on the population of Gaza and demand an end to U.S. complicity in the siege of Gaza.

The rally and march had statewide participation with thousands coming from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth, to join the Austin turnout. Six busloads of people came from Houston. The march from Congress Avenue to the Austin City Hall was spirited and diverse.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Alice Embree, Austin Gaza Protest, Gaza, Israeli Occupation, Metro, Rag Bloggers, Social Action | Leave a comment

METRO | Bruce Melton : Is Austin Energy now against alternative energy?

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

The future is bright and breezy, not black and dirty. Whatever is going on with Austin Energy misses some very important and fundamental news.

The light at the end of the tunnel is not a coal train. Photo by Bruce Melton / The Rag Blog.

By Bruce Melton | The Rag Blog | August 5, 2014

AUSTIN — Really? Austin Energy is against alternative energy? A report in the Austin American Statesman on Friday, August 1, says just that. Why? Austin just signed a contract for 150 Mw solar for 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (KWh) — likely a new world record! The cost was so cheap that Austin tripled the size of the new facility from 50 to 150 megawatts.

That Statesman article says Michael Osborne, chair of the Generation Resource Planning Task Force and a former Austin Energy executive, said this is half the price of energy from natural gas. The July report from the Austin Generating Task Force has new coal at 5.5 cents per KWh, new nuclear at 10.4 cents, and new natural gas at 2.9 to 10.8 cents per KWh. The cheapest energy in Austin today is from a contract for wind signed by Council in February for 2.6 to 3.6 cents per KWh.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Air Capture, Alternative Energy, Austin Energy, Bruce Melton, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Metro, Rag Bloggers | Leave a comment

METRO EVENT | Austin friends to celebrate
the life of John Muir

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Thorne Dreyer

Event: John Muir’s Wake
Place: Shoal Creek Saloon
Address: 909 North Lamar Blvd., Austin
When: Sunday, August 24, 2014
Hours: 4-6 p.m.

John Muir at 2009 reunion of the 12th Street Law Office, an Austin movement law collective. Photo by Carlos Lowry / The Rag Blog.

AUSTIN — Friends of John H. Muir will gather at Shoal Creek Saloon on Sunday, August 24, to remember him and celebrate his life. The Melancholy Ramblers will provide music.

John was a long-time Austin resident and social justice activist, widely-known and well-loved. He died of natural causes in his home on June 23, 2014, at the age of 68.

John Muir graduated from St. Mark’s School in Dallas, attended Columbia University in New York from 1964-1966, and the University of Texas at Austin from 1968-1969.
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Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged Austin Activists, Celebration, Death, John Muir, Metro, Obituary | 2 Comments

Despite its violence, this Dublin gang war saga is well written, performed, and produced, with strong characters and dialogue.

Is the Church of Wells, considered by many to be a cult, sacrificing children at the altar of religious belief?

Award-winning journalist Tomlinson discusses his acclaimed new book, ‘Tomlinson Hill,’ and photojournalist Bacon addresses the role of U.S. policies in causing the current immigration crisis.

‘Friends of New Journalism’ come together to party and hail ‘Rag Blog’ editor Thorne Dreyer on the occasion of his 69th trip around the sun.

Hizzoner fetes ex-Louisiana governor and ex-con Edwin Edwards, who joins the rarefied company of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and noted doper Lance Armstrong.

Affordability blogger Oakey joins The Rag Blog’s Baker in a lively discussion of the city’s proposed billion dollar transportation bond election and other community issues.

Jails in the state are endangering pregnant women and their fetuses, despite the state’s professed interest in ‘unborn babies.’

Publishers have to show that they give a damn about their writers because writers are paying attention.

What most voters probably don’t know about Austin’s upcoming big bucks transportation bond package.

Introduction

Thousands march in Austin protesting the Israeli invasion and demanding an end to U.S. complicity.

The future is bright and breezy, not black and dirty. Whatever is going on with Austin Energy misses some very important and fundamental news.

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What most voters probably don’t know about Austin’s upcoming big bucks transportation
bond package.