Evangelicals You Need to Know by Zack Exley

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Barbara ehrenreich calls for public dancing

march 2007 Is Wikipedia the new town hall? Return of the health care monster

Evangelicals you need to know by zack exley

PLUS: Senator Bernie Sanders bashes Bush’s budget

Kristian Williams parses the Pentagon’s new counterinsurgency manual m a r c h 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s

GFCH07inthesetimes100hip.indd 1 2/4/07 1:38:17 PM contents Volume 31 - Number 03 frontline 8 M a k i n g B l ac k Vo i c e s H e a r d A new study examines minority youth opinion By Chelsea Ross

a l s o : –The Occupation Project begins 28 43 –Return of the Cold War –Envrionmental regulations get rolled back 12 a ppa l l- o - m e t e r By Dave Mulcahey views 14 Bac k Ta l k Molly and the mainstream By Susan J. Douglas 20 11 15 t h e t h i r d coa s t For Israel’s sake By Salim Muwakkil 17 d r o pp i n ’ a d i m e Obama’s base: broader than black FEATURES By Laura S. Washington 18 Colombia’s Third Way CULTURE With the FARC no longer credible, a new leftist party has emerged 38 I s W i k i p e d i a t h e By James North N e w Tow n H a l l? Digital media and the potential of 20 Preaching Revolution an empowered public The evangelicals the left should get to know By Pat Aufderheide By Zack Exley a l s o : –Chalmers Johnson has a new 26 Counterinsurgency 101 Nemesis General Petraeus says he thinks the war in Iraq is winnable. His –Bisexual healing recent manual suggests otherwise By Kristian Williams 45 H e a lt h & s C i e n c e Merck’s murky record 28 Reclaiming What Makes Us Human By Terry J. Allen Reviving joy, ecstasy and solidarity in a time of killjoys 48 E l d e r s o f t h e By Barbara Ehrenreich N e w L e f t Talking ’bout my 33 The Health Care Monster Returns Generation on Fire Even Republicans recognize its ravages, but what’s the best By Neil DeMause way to slay the beast? By David Moberg 36 In Defense of A Free Press Sarah Olson talks about journalists’ lack of legal protections By Lisa Sousa

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 0 0 7 editorial

“With liberty and justice for all...”

Which Side Are We On? Founding Editor and Publisher James Weinstein (1926-2005) n early February, President Bush budget that reflects the needs of working Editor Joel Bleifuss told a group of Wall Street executives people instead of the wealthy. acting MANAGING Editor Phoebe Connelly that “income inequality is real; it’s And it is time for citizens across the Associate Editor Brian Cook been rising for more than 25 years. nation to stand up and demand that their Assistant Editor Jacob Wheeler Editor-at-Large Jessica Clark I… And the question is whether we re- representatives and senators, Democrats Senior Editors Craig Aaron, Terry J. Allen, Patricia spond to the income inequality we see and Republicans, do so and thereby rep- Aufderheide, Lakshmi Chaudhry, Susan J. Douglas, with policies that help lift people up, or resent the interests of all Americans, not Christopher Hayes, David Moberg, Dave Mulcahey, Salim Muwakkil, David Sirota, Silja J.A. Talvi, Kurt tear others down.” a select few. Vonnegut, Laura S. Washington It’s ironic that this president raised We must ask: Which side are we on? Contributing Editors Dean Baker, Frida Berrigan, the issue of income inequality because Are we for the rich and the powerful or Will Boisvert, Phyllis Eckhaus, Barbara Ehrenreich, Annette Fuentes, Mischa Gaus, Juan Gonzalez, his own trickle-down economic policies the middle class and working families? Miles Harvey, Paul Hockenos, George Hodak, Doug have contributed to the growing gap be- As a member of the Senate Budget Ireland, John Ireland, Hans Johnson, Kari Lydersen, tween the very rich and everyone else, a Committee, I see a pretty clear answer. I Naomi Klein, John Nichols, James North, James Parker, Kim Phillips-Fein, Jehangir Pocha, Aaron situation worse today than at any time will not be voting for more tax breaks for Sarver, Fred Weir, Adam Werbach, Slavoj Žižek since the ’20s. the outgoing CEO of Home Depot, who Proofreaders Alan Kimmel, Brian O’Grady, Despite Bush’s professed concern, the recently received a $210 million golden Norman Wishner budget he recently submitted to Con- parachute. Rather, I will be voting to sub- Interns Michael Burgner, Nick Burt, Brandon Forbes, gress will exacerbate the enormous gap stantially increase financial aid for low Stephanie Gray, Chelsea Ross, Wanda Victores between the rich and the poor, squeeze and middle class families so that every Art Director Rachel Jefferson the middle class, reward war profiteers American, regardless of income, can re- Illustrator Terry LaBan and hurt those most in need. ceive a college education. web Director Seamus Holman art intern Greta Schluderberg The president’s budget cuts the number I will not support a tax cut for the for- of children receiving childcare assistance mer CEO of Pfizer, who received a $200 Publisher Tracy Van Slyke by 300,000 and terminates food stamps million compensation package. Instead, Associate Publisher Aaron Sarver Assistant Publisher Anna Grace Schneider for 280,000 families. At a time when vet- I will vote to substantially increase Circulation Director Peter Hoyt erans urgently need access to healthcare, funding for childcare so that families Advertising and Marketing Coordinator the president’s budget imposes a new en- can find affordable and quality care for Erin Polgreen rollment fee for Veterans Administration their children. PUblishing Interns Bradley Gardner, Katharine healthcare as high as $750. And the list The former CEO of ExxonMobil, who Goktuna, Gabrielle Sinclair goes on and on. managed to get a $400 million retirement In These Times Publishing Consortium Grant Abert, Theresa Alt, Aris Anagnos, Stuart Over the next decade, the Bush budget package, does not need more tax relief. It Anderson, Collier Hands, Polly Howells and Eric would cut Medicare by $252 billion and is far more important that we keep our Werthman, Nancy Kricorian and James Schamus, Medicaid by $28 billion. In 2008 alone, promises to the veterans of this country Betsy Krieger and David Kandel, Lisa Lee, Chris Lloyd, Edith Helen Monsees, Dave Rathke, Abby education will be cut by $1.5 billion and who now find themselves on waiting lists Rockefeller and Lee Halprin, Perry Rosenstein, Lewis the Environmental Protection Agency to get the health care they need. Steel, Ellen Stone-Belic, Dan Terkel, Studs Terkel will lose $509 million. If we as a nation are serious about Board of Directors Joel Bleifuss, Janet Geovanis, The administration claims we just don’t creating a more egalitarian society, we Robert McChesney, David Moberg, Dave Rathke, have the money to reduce childhood need to invest more federal resources in Beth Schulman, Tracy Van Slyke poverty or provide universal healthcare. education, health care, housing, infra- In These Times (ISSN 0160-5992) is published monthly by the Institute for Public Affairs, 2040N . Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647. Periodicals Meanwhile, millionaires would receive structure, environmental protection and postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to In These Times, 308 E. Hitt St., Mt. Morris, IL 61054. an average tax break of $160,000 per sustainable energy. We also have to re- This issue (Vol. 31, No. 03) went to press on February 22, for newsstand sales from March 9, 2007 to March 30, 2007. The entire contents of In These Times year at a cost of $739 billion over the duce our national debt. Given that reality, are copyright © 2007 by the Institute for Public Affairs, and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without permission next decade. And, the president’s 2008 Congress must develop the courage to of the publisher. Copies of In These Times’ contract with the National Writers defense budget—$608 billion—is more stand up to the big money interests and Union are available upon request. Contact the union at (212) 254-0279 or www.nwu.org. than at the height of the Vietnam and roll back the tax breaks for the wealthi- Subscriptions are $36.95 a year ($59 for institutions; $61.95 Canada; $75.95 overseas). For subscription questions, address changes and back issues Korean Wars. est one percent, stop corporate welfare, call (800) 827-0270. Class warfare is being waged in Amer- eliminate unneeded defense weaponry, Complete issues and volumes of In These Times are available from Bell and Howell, Ann Arbor, MI. In These Times is indexed in the Alternative Press ica and the wrong side is winning. It is and demand that the wealthy and power- Index and the Left Index. Newsstand circulation through Big Top Newsstand Services, a division of the IPA, at (415) 445-0230, or [email protected]. time for the new Democratic majority in ful rejoin American society. Printed in the United States. Congress to stand with the working fam- We should do nothing less.

MMUNIC PHIC CO ATIO GRA NS ilies of our country. It is time we offer a —Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) UNION LABEL ® IN GCIU TER ION 759-C NATIONAL UN m a r c h 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s mixed reaction

After all this effort, I am left with two simple sentences for policymakers. You have no military solution for the issues of Iran. And you have to make diplomacy work.

—Ret. Air Force Lt. Col. Sam Gardiner, summing up his conclusions from a war game conducted by the Atlantic Monthly in Fall 2004

LaBanarama by terry l aban

Number of times President Bush invoked 39 references to God and Christianity in his State of the Union and Inaugural addresses.

Percentage of Americans who report 27 attending church on a weekly basis.

Percentage of the population who 64 believe religious leaders should not try to influence politicians’ positions on issues according to ABC News/Washington Post Poll.

Number of clergymen, 10,594 as of Feb. 18, who had signed onto the Clergy Letter Project, ac- knowledging evolution as a scientific fact.

q u i d p r o q u o

The Quid: The Quo: Congress hasn’t updated the Federal “All aboard!” has been the response Railroad Safety Program since 1994, of the Association of American and government statistics show Railroads (AAR), an industry group an increase in railroad accidents recently hiring the relatives of key and fatalities over the past decade. lawmakers and staffers. The father of Congressional debate over reautho- Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), who just rization began in early February, and took a seat on the House transporta- some Democrats have been propos- tion committee, is now working as a ing improved track inspections, lobbyist for Big Rail, as are the father more thorough accident investiga- and brother of Jennifer Esposito, the tions and heftier fines for companies new majority staff director of the that break the rules. House subcommittee on railroads.

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 0 0 7 letters

Shame of the Nation Thank You I felt I had to write to you We would like to honor the following people for supporting in the middle of reading In These Times, and add their names to those recognized in your three recent articles on our February anniversary issue. Guantánamo. I am totally op- Peter Abbott Audrey Faulkner Walter and posed to closing Guantánamo Mary Abbracci Keith Finlayson Elizabeth Leutz unless every one of its inmates Jeffrey and Todd Freeberg Jack Levine is freed. Because I am sure Diane Alson Mike Friedrich David Lewit that, if the camp were closed David Amor Ken Frisof Ronald Lind without this condition, those Dana Andrewson David Gassman Peggy Lipschutz detainees would just disap- Susan and Eric Beverley Geer Marianne Makman Aubery John Georgian Robin and pear into other black holes, Paul Ayers Norbert Goldfield Julian Markels suffering the same, or even John Baker Nicky Gonzalez Yuen Phyllis Massengale worse, tortures. Nancy Becker and Jude Yuen Scott Matz Yes, Gitmo is the shame Bernice Bild Frances Goodman P. McClung Not Intended For of the United States, and Susan Blumenthal Neal Gosman William McNaughton Steve Meiers Torture William Minneman I enjoyed your February I seem to remember that some pacifists Eugene Morris issue and Mischa Gaus’ “In- Elizabeth Neuse terrogations Behind Barbed floated “hem” a while back for a non- Nicholas Norris Wire.” I especially appreci- Mike Nusbaumer ated the perspective that the sexist pronoun to use as the object of Nancy Palter military did not, over time, Mitchell Penberg verbs and prepositions. Diane Percival and support these practices as Janet Atwill they occur at places like Helen Pickering Gary Briggs Guantánamo. the world is helpless to do Sandra Polishuk Hank Bromley C.J. Halpin Over the past several years, anything about it because John S. Pools Robert M. Brown Stephen Hand I have been responsible for the United States is the best- Bonnie Preston Clellen Bryant Catherine Harris armed bully on earth. At least Dale Preston the development of SERE Steve Buchtel Richard Hathaway Laura Quinn and 222, the course used to train the rest of us see it … let it be R. Burns David A. Hermanns James Hathaway and certify SERE psycholo- a warning to us. Brian Campbell Walt and Rei-Shi Gail Radford gists. During that time I met Evemarie Moore L.R. Caporael Herrs Richard Roast and worked with many of the Chicago Linnea Capps Elizabeth Donald Ruehl Carol Childs Higginbotham psychologists and admin- John Sahr Us vs. Hem? Eve Cholmar Edward Holmgren istrators of that program. I David Salant I thank Joel Bliefuss for Aimee and Joel Huberman rarely found that they had Dale Sandberg Doug Christensen Tom and Kathy Iberle any particular interest in giving us “ze” and “hir” in “A Richard Sanders Jean Christie Diana Johnson- using these techniques for Politically Correct Lexicon” Steven Sarafolean Lisa Christopherson Dubash (February). That takes care of Jonathan and the interrogation of enemy Wayne Clark-Elliott John Kail the nominative and posses- Gail Schorsch combatants. Madeleine Clyde Kathy Keck sive cases, but what about the Joseph Schwartz Instead, they focused Daniel Cook Raymond and Francis Sheppard on working with victims objective and accusative? Nancy Cook Dana Koch Richard and of the practice and prepar- I seem to remember that Darrel Crain and Felix Kramer Eleanor Shorter some pacifists floated “hem” Nancy Teas-Crain David Kulick ing Americans who might Ellen Simer a while back for a non-sexist Kevin Czmowski Richard Kurzberg become the victims of these Barry Spector pronoun to use as the object David Dawdy Howard Landsman practices. SERE 222 is a non- John Sproat Eric Decker and Stephanie A. Lane classified course and only of verbs and prepositions. Nicholas Sturgeon Susan Stone Dana Larson provides information regard- I remain in grammatical Richard Vanden Robert Deneen John Lawry solidarity, Heuvel ing the practice of psycholo- Loraine Dimock Donald Lazere Sam Abrams R.W. Varney gists in this area. Henry D’Souza Mariruth Ledyard via e-mail Ron Voorhees Terry Thompson Leonard Duroche Kathie Lester via e-mail Mike Farin

m a r c h 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s contributors

Come one, Come all. Zack Exley is a senior strategist with In 2006, In These Times launched a series of panels and discus- OMP, a D.C.-based communications sions with leading thinkers, journalists and activists, including and fundraising firm, and co-founder Nation columnist Katha Pollitt, photojournalist and Gaza-based and president of the New Organizing blogger Mohammed Omer and philosopher Slavoj Žižek. This Institute. He was director of online year’s events promise to be as stimulating as last. Join us at the organizing and communications at In These Times Chicago office: Kerry-Edwards 2004. Before that, he served as organizing director at • March 8, 7:00 p.m.: Learn about the latest peace-keeping MoveOn.org, and played a bit part in the drama of the efforts in Darfur at panel discussion led byJen Marlowe, early Dean Internet campaign. author of Darfur Diaries. Invited guests include Illinois State Sen. Jaqueline Collins and Darfuri refugee and Exley spent the ’90s working as a union organizer around activist Muhammed Abdel Rahman. the Midwest and South in various industries. At the crest of the Internet get-rich-quick bubble he wasted his time • April 23, 7:00 p.m.: Author Riane Eisler will challenge creating political parody websites, including GWBush.com, our assumptions about economics and read from her lat- which drew an attack from the Bush campaign and earned est book, The Real Wealth of Nations. him the nickname “Garbage Man” from the president. • May 17, 7:00 p.m.: Senior Editor Christopher Hayes and author Jeffrey Lane will discuss image and race in the Lisa Sousa is a writer, videographer and media activist NBA, the emergence of an influential basketball culture barely surviving her first winter in Chicago. She co-pro- and Lane’s new book, Under the Boards: The Cultural Revo- duced the news program StreetLevel TV while previously lution in Basketball. living in San Francisco. Sousa currently works for Young Chicago Authors, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching cre- And look for In These Times at the following conferences: ative writing to teenagers. • March 9-11: Left Forum, New York. www.leftforum.org Neil deMause covers poverty and corporate subsidy is- • March 30-April 1: Women, Action and the Media 2007, sues for the Village Voice, Extra! and In These Times. Cambridge, Mass. www.centerfornewwords.org/wam Field of Schemes, his exposé on sports stadium contro- • April 21-22: Green Festival, Chicago. greenfestivals.org versies (co-authored with Joanna Cagan), is due out in a newly expanded edition from University of Nebraska To schedule an event with In These Times, contact Associate Press in spring 2008. America’s Mayor, an exposé on Rudy Publisher Erin Polgreen at [email protected]. You can Giuliani that includes his essay on Giuliani’s welfare poli- find more information at www.inthesetimes.com/events/. cies, is due out in a newly updated edition from Soft Skull Press any day now. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he expects gentrifi- Your ideals can live on. cation to have pushed him into the sea by the year 2012. Rebecca Harris is a junior at Northwestern University remember In These Times in your will. majoring in journalism and comparative literature. When she has free time, she spends it biking, crafting, visiting For more information call Tracy Van Slyke at 773-772-0100 the library and making wildly unrealistic plans. x243 or e-mail her at: [email protected].

h o w t o r e a c h u s

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I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 0 0 7 frontline

really thoughtful,’ or, ‘Oh my god, they really have positions on policy,’ ” Cohen says. “Well, they’re the targets of these policies. Yeah, they have positions.” For example, 93 percent of black youth believe that sex education should be mandatory in high schools, and 76 percent think the government should stop funding only abstinence programs. And while almost half of black youth believe that abortion is always wrong, nearly 60 percent think that abortion should be legal in some circumstances. The project also reports that while more than 70 percent of black and La- tino youth feel they “have the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in politics,” more than half believe the The doll test: This little girl, like government “cares little about them.” three out of four black children, Sixty-eight percent of black youth chose the white doll over the believe that the government would do black one (from A Girl Like Me). more to cure AIDS if more white people photo courtesy of youtube.com/a girl like me were afflicted with the disease. “Even though some people will celebrate the end of Jim Crow and legal segregation,” says Cohen, “these young Making Black Voices Heard people are very clear that in their dai- A new study examines minority youth opinion ly lives … they perceive young black people to experience very high levels of By Chelsea Ross discrimination.” Almost 70 percent of black youth reported that they had been n February 10, the short black people. [I thought] it would be in- discriminated against due to their race, documentary A Girl Like Me, teresting and important to actually have and large majorities of all youth believed about the pressures faced by a study where young black people get to that “on average, the police discriminate young black females living in speak for themselves,” says Cathy Co- much more against black youth than Oa white-dominated society, hit number hen, a University of Chicago political they do against white youth.” one on YouTube.com’s featured vid- science professor and lead researcher of When it comes to music, 58 percent eos. One of the interviewees, Jennifer, the Black Youth Project (www.BlackYo- of black youth report listening to rap 18, looks straight into the camera and uthProject.com), which was released in everyday, but even greater majorities confesses: “Since I was young, I consid- early February. (92 percent of females and 74 percent of ered being lighter [skinned] as … more “We want to interrupt this narrative of males) think rap music videos portray beautiful than being dark skinned. … I young black people, even for a moment black women offensively. In the project’s used to think of myself as ugly because I or two, so we can really think through third stage, which begins this spring, was dark skinned.” how we can empower their voices and researchers will perform thorough con- The film, which had been viewed empower them, so they and we can bet- tent analyses of the top rap songs of the more than 450,000 times as In These ter their lives,” Cohen says. past 10 years. Times went to press, gave voice to a pop- The team of researchers surveyed Kyle Myhre, a hip-hop MC and proj- ulation that is often talked about but almost 1,600 black, Latino and white ect coordinator for the University of rarely heard from, much less listened to. youth aged 15 to 25 from several Mid- Wisconsin-Madison’s Diversity Edu- A new University of Chicago study ex- western cities, and conducted in-depth cation Program, says the report is “an amining the experience of black youth interviews with 40 black youth. The important piece of the puzzle. Any in post-civil rights America plans to study exposes the complex attitudes and large-scale social change … needs to be change that. behaviors of these groups when it comes a multi-tiered assault. There need to be “I talk about the two Bills—Bill to sex, hip hop and politics. academic studies, but there also need to O’Reilly and Bill Cosby—who are both “I’ve been a little surprised at how many be community organizers and a media willing to talk about and demean young people have said, ‘Wow, [black youth] are that can cover things properly.”

m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Cohen says she plans on reaching Senate offices in Chicago, Washington, out to those people, disseminating the The Occupation D.C., and Fairbanks, Alaska. They plan study’s findings to community lead- to continue through the end of March ers, educators and policy makers, in Project Begins or until the funding for the war comes the hope that the study will be “used in n the morning of Feb. 5, eight up for a vote in the Senate. classrooms, by community organizers activists entered the downtown Chicago-based Voices for Creative and by youth advocates.” OChicago federal building that Nonviolence (formerly Voices in the “It would be nice if one of the presi- houses the offices of Democratic Sens. Wilderness) initiated the campaign, dential candidates, maybe Sen. Obama, Barack Obama and Richard Durbin. and is organizing nationally along with would comment on and … listen to Four headed directly to Obama’s office; CODEPINK and Veterans for Peace. So young black people,” Cohen says. “And the rest gathered in the building’s cafete- far, about 500 people in 25 states have not just listen, but take their positions ria and quietly went over their plans. signed up on the project’s Web site for seriously; vote their voices in policy po- Gus Roddy would lie on the floor of campaigns, which Voices co-coordina- sitions and make them a central com- Durbin’s office, under a white sheet and -pa tor Jeff Leys says is “the tip of the iceberg.” ponent in evaluating how well this de- per flowers. “We’re going to keep humming Many participants—in Chicago, as many mocracy is working.” ‘Taps’ while we cover him up,” said Suzanne as 90 percent—have joined through local She also hopes the study will draw Sheridan, who distributed programs for groups, rather than signing up online. attention to arenas where young peo- what they intended to be a memorial ser- The campaign is timed to coincide with ple are already speaking out, such as vice for Iraqi and American war dead. the White House’s request for $93 billion spoken word poetry, underground hip- The group then took an elevator to the in supplemental funding for Iraq and Af- hop and independent films, such as A 38th floor and filed into Durbin’s office. ghanistan. It follows a $70 billion “bridge Girl Like Me. The Occupation Project had begun. fund” bill that was allocated in September “The question is,” says Cohen, “will peo- The project is a nationwide campaign. Although Durbin voted against the war, ple listen to what they have to say?” n Activists visit the local offices of their he “voted for every dollar requested for national lawmakers and vow to stay the troops because if his son or daughter Chelsea Ross is a Chicago-based freelance until legislators pledge to vote against were in Iraq he would want to make sure writer, photographer and graphic designer. She supplemental funding for the Iraq war— they had the equipment they need,” says last wrote for In These Times about the 2006 Bi- or until they are forcibly removed. On John Normoyle, deputy press secretary at oneers Conference in Marin County, Calif. the first day, protesters were arrested at Durbin’s Chicago office. But Voices - ac

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 a c t n o w

On Feb. 7, the Jubilee Action Network hand-delivered more than 10,000 “I heart Liberia” valentines to U.S. Trea- sury Secretary Henry Paulson, asking him to “Have a heart and cancel Liberia’s debt.” Liberia is struggling to move forward after two decades of civil war ended in 2003, but its $3.5 billion debt severely inhibits the government’s ability to help its impoverished citizens. According to Jubilee’s Code Pink and Occupation Debayani Kar, the valentines, phone Project activists stage a sit- calls and organized pressure on the in at Sen. John McCain’s Treasury resulted in Paulson sending office in Washington D.C. a letter to Congress asking legislators on February 5, 2007. to work with the Treasury to fund Liberian debt relief. And on Feb. 13, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tivists respond by citing a House Appro- charges of criminal trespass, both mis- announced the United States priations Defense Subcommittee hear- demeanors. Hasbrook received a federal would forgive all of Liberia’s $391 ing where it was learned that equipment charge of disturbance and a state charge million debt. purchased with money appropriated for of assault. (She says she’s “mystified” why Next, Jubilee and its more than 75 troops will not actually reach Iraq until her charge is different from the others.) member organizations—which 18 months after the bill passes. In Washington, D.C., 10 people were ar- include the Institute for Policy Stud- “The war’s only going to end when the rested at Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) of- ies, Africa Action and Friends of funding stops,” says Laurie Hasbrook, fice on charges of disorderly conduct. the Earth—rallied for debt relief to who participated in the Feb. 5 action The following week, Occupation Zambia. Jubilee organized a massive at Durbin’s office. When the group was Project participants arrived at the fed- effort to call Michael Sheehan, owner ordered to leave, those not willing to be eral building bearing valentines with of Donegal International, the “vul- arrested left as planned. Hasbrook and pictures of smiling Iraqi children, but ture fund” that cheaply purchased three others stayed and were arrested. found Obama and Durbin’s office doors Zambia’s debt when it was about to In Obama’s office, the activists dis- locked to those without an appoint- be written off, then sued the country in order to collect the full amount. Kar played pictures of ordinary Iraqis, and ment. After negotiations with security, said callers successfully shut down read aloud from prepared texts, including three people entered Obama’s office Sheehan’s phone line on Feb. 20. a letter from an Iraqi who opposes the oc- (though they had to leave the valen- cupation, a letter from a U.S. soldier who tines behind); Durbin’s office would not To get involved in Jubilee’s next cam- served in Iraq and the Sermon on the allow the activists inside. paign, visit www.jubileeusa.org. Both Mount. Between readings, they talked Voices co-coordinator Kathy Kelly, Jubilee and the Institute for Policy Studies (www.ips-dc.org) have exten- with members of the staff, who brought who visited Obama’s office that day, says sive information on the importance them water. Ken Bennett, Obama’s state the group had a cordial conversation with of debt relief for African countries. director, negotiated, offering to meet Bennett. Obama has introduced a bill with one person in the inner office. that would remove all combat brigades —Anna Schneider “If one of us goes into the inner office from Iraq by March 31, 2008, which Kelly then all of us have to go,” says Dan Pear- and others find unacceptable. Staffers let son, a co-coordinator with Voices who the group read the names of the dead un- participated in the action that day. The til closing, when the protesters left. meeting did not happen. “They feel the same sense of urgency The four were told they could stay in that Obama does about a war that never the office until closing time if they would should have been authorized and never sit down and be quiet. They refused, con- should have been fought,” says Obama tinued with their readings and singing, spokesman Tommy Vietor. and were arrested. But regardless of whether it actually “If we’re disrupting the office, then so changes votes, Leys says, civil disobe- be it,” says Ron Durham, another one of dience is valuable. It creates opportu- the protesters arrested. “What goes on in nities for people to consider “pushing the office contributes to the war continu- the envelope” in their own lives, he says, ing over there.” whether that means speaking one’s Seven of those arrested Feb. 5 face mind or risking jail. federal charges of disturbance and state —Rebecca Harris

1 0 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Czech Republic and Czech citizens,” To- the Greens, are the most hostile, saying it Return of polanek said. would back the plan only if it is part of a But many Czechs fear the base will NATO system and not just an American the Cold War make them the target of terrorist attacks one. rague—As if the Bush admin- as they are dragged into Washington’s The leader of the opposition Social istration didn’t already have its geopolitical schemes. Nevertheless, sev- Democrats, Jiri Paroubek, has said most Phands full with the “war on terror” eral polls show a majority of Czechs back of his party’s members oppose the idea. spiraling out of control in Iraq and Af- the plan if it entails only a radar base, In early February, Paroubek backed off ghanistan, its Jan. 20 announcement that perhaps in hopes that in exchange the from calls for a referendum after “being it plans to expand the proposed U.S. mis- United States will drop visa requirements leaned on,” by U.S. officials in Prague, ac- sile defense system into the former War- (and the onerous fees) for them. Linger- cording to the London Guardian. Still, saw Pact nations Poland and the Czech ing fears of Russia may also be tipping the Social Democrats and, even more Republic is threatening to re-kindle the many Poles and Czechs into the arms, lit- so, the Czech and Moravian Communist Cold War. erally, of the Americans. Party are in the opposition camp. Russian President Vladimir Putin has Backers also see it as a chance for the Some of the wariest Czechs are those spoken out forcefully against the pro- Czech Republic to do its part in the “war living in Jince, about 30 miles southwest posal, calling it emblematic of the United on terror.” Most prominent among them of Prague, where the United States wants photo courtesy of isis States’ “increasing disregard for the fun- is former dissident, playwright and presi- to base the radar installation at a former damental principles of international law.” dent, Vaclav Havel, who has backed sev- military site. Protests have been held In response, he threatened to pull Russia eral American interventions, including there as well. out of the Conventional Armed Forces the Iraq war (although he now advocates Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwar- in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which spells out for a U.S. withdrawal). zenberg visited the region in February to how many soldiers and how much mili- “Do the Czechs want to be a modern meet nervous local mayors and reassure tary hardware can be deployed through- European society, which feels a shared them that hosting about 200 Americans out the continent. responsibility for the state of the world,” will pump up the local economy. Putin isn’t alone in his anger. Several Havel asked on Jan. 25, “or would we pre- “The Cold War is returning to Europe,” hundred people gathered on a snowy day fer to leave the resolution of global prob- says Josef Hruby, mayor of Zajecov, who in late January at Wenceslas Square in lems to others?” met with Schwarzenberg. “I just don’t Prague, to protest the controversial anti- Topolanek faces a tough fight to win want to live through my kids having to missile defense system. The proposed parliamentary backing for the American learn how to put on gas masks.” construction has sparked debate in the plan. His fragile center-right govern- Judging by the rhetoric, Russian fears central European country and mobilized ment was cobbled together in January dwarf Czech concerns. On Jan. 23, Vladi- progressives who oppose it. after seven months of on-again, off-again mir Popovkin, who commands Russia’s Referring to the Soviet crackdown talks. Topolanek’s Civic Democratic Par- space forces, told Russian news agen- on the “Prague Spring” reform of 1968, ty generally supports the radar scheme, cies Interfax and ITAR-TASS, “The radar demonstrators held up placards reading: but the coalition partner Christian Dem- in the Czech Republic would be able to “1968—Go Home, Ivan! 2007—Go home, ocrats are less enthusiastic, and the third monitor rocket [Russian] installations in John!” Pavel, a Prague university student, and oddest member of the government, central Russia and the Northern Fleet.” said he was tired of his government “kiss- ing someone’s ass.” Under the proposal, the Czechs would house the radar system and the Poles the silos with 10 rockets to shoot down missiles fired from “rogue regimes” like Iran and North Korea. The United States already has missile interceptor sites in California and Alaska. A missile site in Poland would be the first part of the anti-missile shield outside the United States and the only one in Europe. “The government does not have mages a mandate to authorize the base,” says Jan I Tamas, a leader of the “No Base” move- et t y G ment, which is calling for the issue to be A member of / AFP

“Young Russia” in a /

decided in a national referendum. A Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has gas mask in front of a V IKO

poster reading “Czech today, N opposed the the idea, arguing that “se- Ukraine tomorrow” during a rally against KOLES curity issues usually are not decided by Czech participation in U.S. anti-missile defense referendum.” “Locating the base here will system, near the Czech embassy in Moscow ATALIA

undoubtedly improve the security of the N

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 1 1 And on Feb. 19, General Nikolai Solovtsov, stations in Norway, in Greenland, and in commander of Russia’s missiles forces, Britain—on top of its Defense Support Rolling Back upped the ante, saying, “If the govern- System satellite alert system—which per- ments of Poland and the Czech Republic mit the early detection of missiles, wher- the Regs take a decision to this effect, the strategic ever they come from.” missions limits on coal-fired missile troops will be capable of having There’s also the question of whether power plants, endangered species these facilities as targets.” the missile defense system will ever be Eprotections that inhibit logging, On the same day in Warsaw, Topole- functional. Despite being the single larg- and restrictions on chemicals in drink- nek and his Polish counterpart Jaroslaw est defense research and development ing water have all been thorns in the side Kaczynski said the system was not aimed project in U.S. history, with the Bush of the Bush administration. at Russia and expressed their clearest administration spending more than $40 But an executive order released on Jan. support yet for the plan. billion on the program, only five of its 18 with little fanfare could give the White Russia wants Washington to promise 10 tests have been successful, and all of House-controlled Office of Management in writing that the missile system is not those were achieved within carefully and Budget (OMB) much greater control aimed at its country, according to a Feb. controlled environments that did not re- over such agencies as the Environmen- 6 Interfax report. “The Russians say, ‘This flect real-world conditions. tal Protection Agency (EPA), Occupa- is my backyard. You need our coopera- Perhaps the U.S. goal is more political tional Safety and Health Administration tion.’ They are right. You cannot stop Iran than military. In his 1997 book, The Grand (OSHA), Mine Safety and Health Ad- or contain Iran without Russia. You need Chessboard, former U.S. National Security ministration (MSHA) and Centers for the Russians on board,” Andrew Brookes, Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote that Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). a space technology expert at London’s In- maintaining U.S. primacy would require With the new Democratic majority in ternational Institute for Strategic Studies, Washington “to prevent collusion and Congress, the Bush administration has told the AFP news agency on Jan. 26. maintain security dependence among less power to pass laws that weaken en- Some experts question the point, mili- the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and vironmental protections, worker safety, tarily at least, in building a radar sta- protected, and to prevent the barbarians public health standards and the like. Crit- tion in the Czech Republic. According from coming together.” ics fear the White House will now carry to Bruno Gruselle, a researcher at the None of the vassals here in “New Eu- out its political agenda by dictating how Paris-based Strategic Research Founda- rope” are making any mention of that. federal agencies can interpret and enforce tion, “the U.S. military already has radar –Tony Wesolowsky policies. appall-o-meter

3.0 That’s Mexican Work impressive. 2.2 Why, I Would Those who just had to have What kind of Republican is Karl Rove? the lunchbox may want to Never Suggest … Is he the by-the-bootstraps, sweat-of- apply for the KISS Platinum What is it about fund- the-brow, honor-in-all-work kind? Or Visa Card, featuring an in- agelicals that makes them is he the genuine kind? Judging from a troductory 0% Fixed APR for so tone-deaf? Consider posting on National Review’s Web site up to 12 months (restrictions Pastor Philip Andrukaitis of “The Corner,” he’s the latter. Blogger apply), no annual fee, balance the South Portland (Maine) Mark Krikorian shocked conservative transfer savings and valuable Baptist Church, who placed readers by passing on the porcine platinum services. Every time an ad on the “Religion & strategist’s bon mots justifying President they whip it out to buy a Values” page of the Portland Bush’s proposed amnesty/guest-worker skinny mochaccino or to tank Press Herald with this catchy program. According to a congressman’s up the Tahoe, they can gaze upon Gene title: “The Only Way to Destroy the Jew- wife, Rove quipped, “I don’t want my 17- Simmons’ schlongy tongue and fondly ish Race.” year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or recall their loss of innocence. Now if that kinda creeps you out, then make beds in Las Vegas.” Genuine senti- Meanwhile, consumer capitalism the joke’s on you, see, because there is ment, no doubt, from a man who ought continues to astonish with its ability to no way to destroy the Jewish race. And to be making license plates. decimate context. A new ad campaign that, explained Andrukaitis in a contrite 1.3 Depends® Rock City for the oldster pressure group AARP letter to the newspaper, was the mes- features the peppy strains of a song sage he intended to deliver to anybody Ah, the ’70s … they seem like another who saw the ad and decided to drop country. In that rosy-fingered dawn of only a handful of proto-retirees will recall from their safety-pinned rebellion in. But, of course, the whole plan went commodified deviance, the band KISS pear-shaped when people who don’t was a true pioneer, purveying its blend phase—“Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” a 1979 gem by the Buzzcocks. (A more take an interest in genocide spotted the of cock rock and antinomian kitsch not ad and ... well, anyway, you can bet his just to the kids but to the kiddies, in ob- daring ploy might have been to repur- pose “Orgasm Addict,” another ’Cocks “God hates fags” sermon went into the jects ranging from lunchboxes to a Han- circular file. na-Barbera cartoon. And they did this hit, but maybe it doesn’t quite suit the all before the advent of pop irony—very demo anymore.) —Dave Mulcahey 1 2 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s The order could have devastating con- snapshot sequences for environmental protections, says Howard Learner, executive director of the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center,. “The Bush administration is now trying to do through administrative barriers and regulatory policies what it can’t do through Congress,” he says. “The administration has long been trying to change the Clean Air Act, forestry protections, and other environmental and natural resource stat- utes. The realignment of Congress clearly makes that more challenging. So they’re turning to administrative processes that gum up the works.” (The OMB and the EPA did not - re spond to requests for interviews.) A series of executive orders, the most recent being number 12866, have allowed the White House to review regulations before they are published in the Federal Register. The new order gives the OMB the new orleans—Fatima Shaik, a former reporter for the Times- expanded power to review “guidance doc- Picayune, writes for In These Times on New Orleans. She sent us this uments” published by federal agencies. photo with her dispatch from Mardi Gras. “People are reunited Guidance documents are statements momentarily to dance with friends who had to move out of town. that explain how an existing regulation They enjoy the company of their children, who have been sacrificed to will be interpreted, implemented and en- other cities, and better schools.” Read her story at www.inthesetimes. forced. In a worst-case scenario, the OMB com/article/3049/mardi_gras_flame/ (Photo by Fatima Shaik) review of guidance documents could take the nuts and bolts of interpretation and enforcement out of the hands of agency forces will not protect public health. This to go on the attack, handing her an axe to experts and turn it over to White House standard is particularly disturbing as it chop Congress off at the knees,” says Shull. appointees with political agendas. relates to adverse effects with long time Critics fear the extra studies and proof During a Feb. 13 House Science and delays, like climate change, the effects of required by the order could delay critical Technology Committee hearing, Rep. which don’t show up for years. environmental, health and safety regula- Brad Miller (D-N.C.) said, “It is not good The order also calls for detailed cost- tions from taking effect for years. Shull government when agency action is based benefit analyses to be used in consider- notes that guidance documents largely on economic or political back room ing government regulation. And it au- govern the implementation of the Super- deals rather than environmental or pub- thorizes a policy officer, appointed by the fund environmental clean-up program. lic health consequences.” administration, to oversee each agency The new regulations could cause massive The bulletin defines “significant guid- as a liaison with the OMB. delays in the already severely underfund- ance documents” meriting OMB over- “It creates a new layer as far as annual ed and bureaucratically mired program. sight as those that, among other things, priority planning goes,” says Robert Shull, The OMB bulletin describes the execu- would result in “an annual effect of $100 Public Citizen’s deputy director for auto tive order, which was published in the Jan. million or more or adversely affect … a safety and regulatory policy. “[The offi- 23 Federal Register and takes effect 180 sector of the economy.” In other words, cers] will have their hands on everything days later, as a way to increase government environmental or other regulations internally at the agencies. It will lead to agencies’ transparency and accountability. that would cost industry considerable political priorities shaping what should It mandates that electronic versions of amounts of money—like cleaning up ar- be public policy.” guidance documents be available to the chaic coal-fired plants—would be subject Watchdog groups Public Citizen and public, and that agencies accept public to extra administrative oversight. OMB Watch are particularly disturbed comment on significant guidance docu- The new executive order also raises the because these processes will likely be ments. These are arguably positive devel- bar for what corporate activities warrant overseen by Susan Dudley, a hard-line opments, but it does not obligate them to government regulation. It stresses “mar- anti-regulation ideologue. During her take action based on public comments. ket failure” as the main standard for deter- tenure at the industry-funded Merca- Far from increasing public participation mining whether something should be reg- tus Center at George Mason University, in policy, critics say the executive order ulated. A toxic chemical like mercury, for Dudley opposed safeguards against arse- does just the opposite. “This,” says Learner, example, would only be subject to federal nic in drinking water and smog. “is inside baseball in the extreme.” emissions limits if it is proven that market “I read this as an invitation for Dudley —Kari Lydersen

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 1 3 back talk

by susan j. dougl as Molly and the Mainstream nly Paul Krugman of the New we’ve killed more Iraqis than Saddam Hussein did.” York Times seemed to get it. In She skewered Bush’s repeated lies about the deficit O“Missing Molly Ivins,” Krug- and the alleged positive impact of his tax cuts, remind- man was a lone voice in the mainstream ing readers that those cuts, if made permanent, “will add press to capture her unique gifts, and more than $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. the enormous heart she gave to us all. The federal budget would be virtually in balance if there Some people really should live forever, had been no tax cuts.” Of Team Bush’s all out war on the and Ivins was one of them. The hole she press, Ivins wrote, “We are under full attack now, and it leaves in public commentary is enor- is time to fight back.” mous, and with every new outrage to And then there were those “two books” she and Lou come (and they seem to come in bat- Dubose wrote about Bush. Shrub and Bushwhacked, both talions), we will miss her more and more. Krugman bestsellers, were ferocious, infuriating and, yes, funny emphasized two things about Ivins that others failed to exposés of Bush’s policies while governor of Texas and note: “her extraordinary prescience on the central politi- of his importation of these disasters to the federal lev- cal issue of our time” and her adherence to the principle el, where they hurt far greater numbers of people while that the times “when people also devastating the envi- are most afraid to challenge ronment. Bushwhacked was authority are also the times Ivins was a fierce critic of hypocrisy and about Bush’s various misbe- when it’s most important to venality, and she was very, very funny: gotten programs “doing cruel do just that.” Her bullshit detector was possibly the things to real people.” There Ivins was a fierce critic of were fabulous sentences hypocrisy and venality, and most finely honed in the business. like, “Public policy stamped she was very, very funny: Her MADE IN TEXAS is like bullshit detector was possibly the most finely honed in Hungarian wine—it does not travel well.” Ivins’ witti- the business, and her ability to make us feel the delicious cisms eased us into accounts of everyday people fighting combination of indignation suspended in laughter was against incinerators in their neighborhoods that would what made us love her. What one needed when observ- burn toxic sludge, with the Bush administration elimi- ing politics (especially in Texas, which she referred to as nating any recourse for appeal of their construction. The “the National Laboratory for Bad Government”) was “a book reported on USDA intentions to relax its standards keen appreciation of the surreal.” In one of her better- for fecal contamination of beef and its plans to add ir- known quips, Ivins said of a congressman, “If his I.Q. radiated meat to the nation’s School Lunch Program. Are slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.” we all still laughing? This is merely “poking a little fun”? It is her humor that seems to have given the main- Oh how we will miss her. I want to read what she would stream media license to trivialize her death and sanitize have said about the brouhaha over Joe Biden’s surprise that her politics. Heidi Collins on CNN announced, “Every a black man could be both “clean” and “articulate.” Was this now and then Molly Ivins liked to poke a little fun at the a cloddish remark? Sure. Did it deserve front-page coverage, politicians.” She then noted that Ivins had written sev- given what else is going on in the world and given the many eral books, “including two about George W. Bush.” On deadly lies from Team Bush that never got this kind of scru- CBS, Ivins’ death was only briefly noted by Katie Couric, tiny? And, should we be surprised at Biden? No—and Ivins and the CBS Early Show reiterated that Ivins “poked fun would have been the first to remind us of Biden’s bungling at politicians.” Not even the more detailed obituaries on of the Anita Hill hearings, where he suppressed testimonies NPR or the New York Times noted that Ivins was a femi- from women who would have corroborated her claims about nist and a progressive, whose writing appeared in The then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Progressive for 20 years. As the Senate stumbles along, as the war in Iraq con- Ivins was doing a bit more than “poking a little fun” when tinues to exact its heart-breaking toll and as Team Bush she emphasized, early on in 2003, that the American public persists along its arrogant path of calamitous policies, had been “lied to” about the war in Iraq. By October 2003, we will indeed miss Ivins’ sarcasm. But we will miss her Ivins noted, “We have now lost more soldiers in the ‘peace’ courage, her ferocious commitment to social justice and than we did during the war.” She added, ruefully, “I have a her extraordinary ability to cut to the absolute heart of suggestion for a withdrawal deadline: Let’s leave Iraq before issues even more. n

1 4 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s the third coast

by salim muwakkil For Israel’s Sake? he more we examine the disaster Feith’s office was still reeling from an earlier scandal, in that is the Bush administration’s Mid- which aide Lawrence Franklin was charged with passing Tdle East policy, the more apparent classified information to the American Israel Public Affairs becomes the corrosive influence of Israel, Committee (AIPAC) and to an intelligence official at the or more accurately, of those U.S. officials Israeli Embassy. The charge emerged from an extensive FBI acting on what they construe as Israel’s best investigation of the lobbying group. interests. Yet Congress is oddly unwilling Franklin, who worked in Feith’s Office of Special Plans, to bring any investigative focus on the role pleaded guilty and was convicted on three lesser charges in of Israel’s fervent supporters in instigating exchange for his cooperation in the FBI’s continuing probe. this deepening debacle. He was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison and fined What makes this issue especially crucial $10,000. is the well-established link between the Bush administration’s Libby is officially charged with lying to the FBI and the neoconservative brain trust and Israel’s right-wing govern- grand jury about his talks with reporters outing CIA agent ment. Two members of Bush’s neocon corps are now in the Valerie Plame. Unofficially, he is blamed for trying to dis- news for their attempts to warp intelligence to justify a pre- credit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who, in February emptive invasion of Iraq. In 2002, had investigated claims the past, both men (like many that Iraq sought uranium from neocons) publicly advanced at- In 1997, Douglas Feith authored Niger and found the story un- tacking Iraq to benefit Israel. a policy paper in which he urged true. Wilson later wrote an The same group also has put Israel to re-occupy ‘the areas under op-ed in the New York Times Iran in their bomb-sights. suggesting Bush misled the The two are Douglas Feith, Palestinian Authority control.’ American people to justify in- the Under Secretary of Defense vading Iraq. for Policy between 2001 and 2005, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and by extension, Cheney’s office, sought to debunk Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff Wilson by suggesting that Plame, his CIA-officer wife, sent According to a February report by acting Inspector Gen- him on a junket to Niger. This, of course, was to cast suspi- eral Thomas F. Gimble, Feith’s Office of Special Plans at the cions on his rejection of Bush’s alarmist claims about Iraq. Pentagon took “inappropriate” actions to advance the asser- These are not just examples of neocon ideology gone wild, tion that al-Qaeda was working with Saddam Hussein—as- as Packer, himself a former supporter of the Bush invasion, sertions that were not backed up by the nation’s intelligence points out in his somewhat rueful book. “The idea of re- agencies. In other words, Feith manipulated intelligence to aligning the Middle East by overthrowing Saddam Hussein justify an invasion. was first proposed by a group of Jewish policy makers and Feith is a co-author of “Clean Break: A New Strategy for intellectuals who were close to the Likud,” he writes. “And Securing The Realm,” a strategy paper written in 1996 for when the second President Bush looked around for a way Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu that to think about the uncharted era that began on September urged a break away from the Oslo Peace Accords, a military 11, 2001, there was one already available.” defeat of the Palestinians, the removal of Saddam Hussein These polices were designed with Israel in mind, as well as from power and the installation of a Hashemite king on the the United States. In fact, writes Packer, “For Feith and Wur- Iraqi throne. A co-author of “A Clean Break” was David mser, the security of Israel was probably the prime mover.” Wurmser, Feith’s chief aide at the Pentagon. Such talk invariably sparks charges of anti-Semitism for sug- A long time activist in right-wing Israeli politics, Feith gesting the canard about Jews’ dual loyalties. However, the wrote his own prescription for the Jewish state in a 1997 connections between Bush’s influential corps of neocons and paper titled “A Strategy for Israel,” in which he urged Israel Israel’s expansionist Likud Party are too obvious to ignore. to re-occupy “the areas under Palestinian Authority con- These neocon ideologues have transformed the United States trol.” According to a 2005 book by New Yorker staff writer into a rogue state that is an echo of Israel; locked in a vicious George Packer, a departing Colin Powell denounced Feith cycle of occupation-resistance-revenge, steeped in belliger- to President Bush as “a card-carrying member of the Li- ent militarism, globally isolated and loathed. kud.” Packer’s rigorously researched book, The Assassins’ Congress’ willful ignorance of these links is a grievous Gate: America in Iraq, provides a careful anatomy of this malfeasance of duty. Where are progressive Democrats on network of American “Likudniks.” this issue? n

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1 6 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Droppin’ a Dime

l aur a s. washington Obama’s Base: Broader Than Black lack leaders, be wary. If you es- the room. Then Jones went in for the kill—he asked when chew the Obama phenomenon, you they would stop owing the Clintons. Bmay have to pay a price. On Feb. 10, Some Clinton allies in the room were livid. “ ‘You could Sen. Barack Obama announced his presi- hear a pin drop,’ said one person in the room who doesn’t dential candidacy in Springfield, Ill., the currently support either Obama or Clinton,” the Web site Land of Lincoln. The Obama train has left reported. Jones says he’s not backing off. African-Ameri- the station and it ain’t comin’ back. can leadership, Jones says, must get past “the crabs in a Playing petty plantation politics may barrel syndrome. Every time one of us pulls up, we want feather a few nests and puff up some to pull him down.” chests, but Obama is looking to turn the There has been a backlash. While Obama was announc- black political equation upside down. If he ing in Springfield, PBS host Tavis Smiley was honchoing goes all the way, black politics will never be the same. That’s his annual State of the Black Union conference at Hampton a good thing. University in Virginia. Coverage of the all-day event on C- On a sunny, sub-freezing Springfield morning, Obama’s Span was interrupted for the Obama announcement. top strategist, David Axelrod, shared some of the Obama Smiley said that Obama had called him to apologize for strategy. “Sometimes move- missing the event. The Rev. Al ments from the grassroots can Sharpton scolded Obama for overcome entrenched politics, At 45, Obama didn’t sprout from making his announcement and I think this is one of those the civil rights movement. He’s not before a predominantly white times,” Axelrod told me. “No beholden to either the Washington crowd in Springfield, rather one represents a ‘turning of than at the forum. He added the page’ that we need, no one or New York black establishment. that he is looking for Obama represents the future, more to explain “what’s his embrace than Barack Obama.” of our agenda.” African-American leadership had better get ready to turn Cornel West, the Princeton University professor and black the page with him. That isn’t going to be easy for black pols intellectual, said African Americans should ask Obama, who have been hamstrung by dubious and dependent rela- “How deep is your love for the people” and “Where is your tionships with the Democratic Party for far too long. money coming from?” In the background were a blinding Some Obama critics were outraged by his recent endorse- array of banner logos trumpeting the “sponsors” of Smiley’s ment of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s re-election bid. conference: ExxonMobil, Verizon, Wells-Fargo, McDonald’s, Daley has been challenged by two African Americans who Allstate Insurance, etc. are running as progressive reformers. But Obama doesn’t The Obama candidacy is dead in the water if he adopts a need Daley. It’s the other way around. sectarian agenda. Until now, African-American presiden- At 45, Obama didn’t sprout out of the civil rights move- tial candidates have made little serious effort to extend their ment. His father wasn’t a sharecropper. He’s not a preacher. attention beyond the base. This is one big reason why black He’s not beholden to either the Washington or New York politicians usually crash and burn when they seek office in black establishment white majority districts. Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, Obama’s po- Thirteen percent of the nation cannot elect a president. litical mentor, recently set ’em straight. The salty and savvy And the last thing Obama needs is to be seen pandering to Jones was on the Obama train before the East Coast elites the race men. It’s time to turn that page and play ball with had even heard his name. Like Lincoln, Obama launched the adults. The crowd that cheered back the chill in Spring- his political career in the Illinois Senate. field was predominantly white and spanned all ages. Obama’s In early February, according to the political news site Po- kickoff rally the next day in Chicago turned out thousands litico.com, Jones flew to Washington, D.C. to speak to the more, mostly black. Obama has true rainbow appeal. Democratic National Committee’s black caucus. He used the That spells progress for our issues and a surge in progres- platform to make a no-nonsense plea that black Democrats sive power. Last month, my In These Times colleague Salim coalesce behind Obama, noting that they don’t “owe” any al- Muwakkil noted that Obama’s prospects present black legiance to other presidential contenders, àla Hillary Clinton. America with a “brand new bag.” Salim, here’s one back He noted the jobs and appointments President Bill Clin- at you: Obama’s candidacy adds a new set of hues to the ton had doled out to blacks. Some of those people were in Democratic palette. n

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 1 7 Colombia’s Third Way With the FARC having devolved into little more than bandits, a new left-wing party has emerged. By James North

ereia, Colombia—Jorge Franco is a 54-year-old truck driver and a political paradox. On the one hand, he enthusias- Ptically supports Colombia’s right-wing president, Álvaro Uribe, who won re- election last May in a landslide. “Uribe pushed back the subversives and he’s making the country safe again,” Franco says. “That man truly wears pants. At the same time, Franco is disturbed by the ongoing economic injustice in Colombia, and he takes an open-minded approach toward the new nonviolent left-wing party, the Polo Democráctico Independiente (PDI), that continues to mages t t y I grow after finishing a surprising second e A man stands inside his in last year’s election with 22 percent of house, the roof riddled the vote. He angrily dismisses the recent with splinter holes, after absurdly low increase in the minimum an attack by Revolutionary wage—imposed by Uribe—and says he Armed Forces of Colombia will certainly consider voting for the PDI in November 2006.

in regional elections later this year and in MAURICIO DUENAS/AFP/G the next national vote in 2010. The PDI also owes its rise to a tremen- ticipate in Colombian political and eco- came to power in 2002, the FARC was dous scandal that has reached officials nomic life with the hundreds of millions already kidnapping travelers off Colom- at the top of President Uribe’s ruling they have made off the drug trade. bia’s highways (the group holds about coalition, even if it has not yet touched But Uribe’s scheme is falling apart. A 1,000 hostages), carrying out massacres him personally. Over the past decade, paramilitary chief’s computer was dis- of its own and launching indiscriminate right-wing, private paramilitary sol- covered to contain direct communica- gas cylinder bombs that kill scores of diers—numbering up to 30,000—have tions between the paras and leading innocent civilians. massacred thousands of the rural poor, politicians in Uribe’s coalition. A coura- Uribe, aided by the billions of dollars trafficked drugs worth hundreds of mil- geous PDI Senator named Gustavo Petro he gets from the United States, enlarged lions of dollars, and seized vast tracts of is hammering away at these connections. the army and police and pushed the the Colombian countryside—up to one- He wears a bulletproof vest and travels FARC back to remote areas. Now, one quarter of the arable land, by one esti- with up to 20 bodyguards. can travel safely around Colombia again, mate. The paramilitaries, which operate Unfortunately for the left, when truck which is the single biggest reason Uribe privately but cooperate directly with driver Franco refers to “subversives,” won 62 percent of the vote last year. The the Colombian army, are the main rea- he is still talking about the 17,000 or president successfully convinced the son the country has 2.5 million internal so guerrillas of the FARC (Fuerzas Ar- public that the FARC was their main refugees—the largest number in the madas Revolucionarias de Colombia or enemy, even though three-quarters of world outside of Sudan. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colom- the 4,000 political deaths each year are Uribe has increasingly come under bia), an insurgency that was once a left- caused by the Colombian army and its pressure from the U.S. government, wing movement—the oldest and largest paramilitary allies. which is unable to ignore the blood his in Latin America. In the past, the FARC The strategy succeeded because left- vicious allies are spilling. He offered the stood for the rural poor, but it has de- ists sometimes mistakenly downplay the “paras” a tacit deal: stop fighting, ad- generated into armed bands with little value of public order, while rightists un- mit some of your crimes and you will political content. The FARC now tax derstand that personal safety and stabil- get light prison terms. Thus cleansed, and profit from the drug trade in the ity are often more important than even the para leaders could continue to par- areas they still dominate. When Uribe basic economic demands. The PDI is not

1 8 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s making this mistake; some of its mem- meet world demand. And the price on to having met some para leaders “socially.” bers have belonged to various guerrilla U.S. streets has not risen at all—which Not just rumors but years of persuasive al- groups in the past, but firmly distancing would have happened if the source of legations by courageous eyewitnesses have itself from the FARC has helped the party supply were really choked off. linked the right-wing armies to massacre gain the support of a growing number of In early February, the Bush administra- after massacre, yet Uribe somehow man- Colombians. tion proposed continuing Plan Colom- ages to know nothing about them. Even if President Uribe is partly a victim of his bia at $600 to $700 million a year—the technically innocent, he is guilty of stag- own success. As Colombians feel safer, most aid given to any country outside the gering moral blindness. they are taking a closer look at their soci- Middle East. The Center for International Among the thousands of victims of ety, and what they see is an unequal na- Policy (CIP) and the Washington Office the paramilitary violence is Yolanda Iz- tion still dominated by traditional Latin American oligarchs, now joined by the newly rich paramilitary drug barons. Un- As Colombians feel safer, they are taking a closer employment and underemployment are look at their society, and what they see is an tremendous; to give one example, thousands of Colombians make a tenuous liv- unequal nation still dominated by traditional Latin ing by standing around on street corners American oligarchs and paramilitary drug barons. with cellular phones, offering calls to passersby for a few cents a minute. on Latin America, D.C.-based human quierdo, a 43-year-old impoverished hile prospects for the Co- rights and solidarity groups that work on woman from the lawless frontier area in lombian left are promising, ac- Colombia, will lobby not to cut aid, but to the northern part of the Province of Cór- Wtivists in the United States also shift the proportion away from weapons doba whose family’s land was stolen by believe they can convince the new, Dem- and fumigation toward strengthening the para in the ’90s. She was not afraid to ocratic-controlled Congress to modify Colombia’s judicial system and helping speak out, and she traveled to the nation- the Bush administration’s policy, Plan the rural poor. ally publicized hearings into paramilitary Colombia, which has spent nearly $5 bil- Adam Isacson, who coordinates the violence to represent 800 other families lion in aid, most of it militarily, in a “war Colombia program at the CIP, explains: whose small farms were also stolen. on drugs” that has not only failed to stop “American addicts and drug users are Izquierdo received anonymous threats. the cocaine and heroin trade, but actually in effect buying guns for both sides. So She asked for government protection, but strengthened the criminal right. you can argue that we have some moral it never came. On Jan. 31, she was mur- Here in Pereira, a city of 600,000 in cen- responsibility for what happens there. dered in a shantytown outside the re- tral Colombia’s famous “coffee zone,” new And a democratic system is growing in gional town of Monteria, where she, her buildings are going up, but they are not Colombia, even if it is far from perfect.” husband and their five children had fled financed by the mountainous area’s tradi- He hopes the U.S. public will ask more after losing their land. tional export. The local paper, El Diario, from their elected officials: “Over the past The words “Colombia” and “vio- recognized recently that the city might be few years, the Bush policy has continued lence” have become synonymous, often experiencing “an artificial boom” due to on autopilot because congressional staff- with the implication that kidnapping “drug money—like all over the country.” ers tell us, ‘My boss doesn’t hear from and murder are an intrinsic part of the The coffee zone is just emerging from a constituents on Colombia.’ ” nation’s history and culture, and that worldwide crisis during which prices The lack of attention to Colombia is change is therefore hopeless. In fact, the fell 82 percent below their old level, and quite extraordinary, when contrasted violence in Colombia is not of the result along the road down to the Colombian with the U.S. mainstream media’s ob- of irrational outbursts but rather a cold, city of Armenia, one can easily see where session with neighboring Venezuela calculated strategy by the politically the frustrated growers actually pulled out and its fiery president, Hugo Chávez. dominant to hang onto, and increase, coffee bushes from the deep green slopes Uribe, George Bush’s best friend in Lat- their power. and replaced them with cattle pastures in America, presides over a nation with Yet there is hope. An overwhelming and banana groves. Jorge Franco, who thousands of political killings each year, majority of Colombians reject violence, knows the agriculture of this area well, most of them linked to his allies, and yet and the nonviolent, democratic left is says you will find the more lucrative ex- Colombia receives almost no attention stronger than ever. The question that con- port, coca, from which cocaine is derived, from the editorial pages of record and fronts the Democratic Congress is this: “up in the mountains.” television pundits. Meanwhile Chávez, Will the United States send hundreds of No one, aside from a few half-hearted who has been blamed for very little po- millions of dollars to support Uribe and Bush administration spokespeople, de- litical violence, is regularly vilified. his friends or will it come to the aid of nies that the “war on drugs” in Colombia That Uribe himself will probably not people like Yolanda Izquierdo? n has failed. As much coca is grown here be directly implicated in the paramilitary as in 2000, before the U.S. spent billions scandal is a tribute to his power of denial. James North has reported for In These of dollars to spray and eradicate it. Co- Before he won the presidency in 2002, Times from Africa, Asia and Latin America for lombia and other Latin American coun- he governed the province of Antioquia, 30 years. He lives in New York City and can be tries still produce more than enough to a paramilitary stronghold, and he admits reached at [email protected].

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 1 9 by zack exley A new evangelical movement offers lessons for the left.

ecently, I blogged a series of essays titled “The Revolution Misses You,” in which I called for progressives to revive the forgotten dream of practical yet radical change. Friends and colleagues immediately scolded me for using “extreme” terms such as “revolution” and “radical.” “You’ll only alienate people,” they said. “This will come back to haunt you.” At first, I was surprised by what felt like a dramatic overre- Raction. But I soon realized why I had fallen out of sync with the progressive mainstream on the use of the “R-words”: I had been spending time listening to and reading evangelical Christians who are preaching revolution. In Grand Rapids, Mich., a 36-year-old evangelical pastor named Rob Bell regularly describes his ministry as “revolutionary,” “radical” and “an insurgency.” Far from alienating people with such language, Bell’s Mars Hill Bible Church draws thousands of new worshipers each year from the mostly conservative and white suburbs of west Michigan. In one recent sermon, available as a podcast from MarsHill. Revolutionary preacher Rob Bell broadcasts his sermons to thousands of American suburbanites each week. org, Bell tells his congregation that the only time Jesus speaks of God directly taking someone’s life is the Par- conservative, nondenominational church in North Carolina able of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-22), a story about a man where the pastor preached a sermon called “Two Fists in the who builds bigger barns to store a surplus harvest instead Face of Empire.” Looking further, I found a movement whose of sharing it with those in need. He closed the sermon by book sales tower over their secular progressive counterparts in listing a dozen places around Grand Rapids where congre- Amazon rankings; whose sermon podcasts reach thousands gants could unload their own surplus wealth. of listeners each week; and whose messages, in one form or In his book Irresistible Revolution, 30-year-old author another, reach millions of churchgoers. Bell alone preaches Shane Claiborne, who is currently living in Iraq to “stand in to more than 10,000 people every Sunday, with more than the way of war,” asks evangelicals why their literal reading 50,000 listening in online. of the Bible doesn’t lead them to do what Jesus so clearly told wealthy and middle-class people to do in his day: give ut this movement is still barely aware of its own up everything to help others. existence, and has not chosen a label for itself. The popular evangelical Christian magazine Relevant, George Barna, who studies trends among Christians launched in 2003 by Cameron Strang, the son of a Christian for clients such as the Billy Graham Evangelical As- podro publishing magnate, contains a “Revolution” section com- sociation and Focus on the Family, calls it simply / os t

plete with a raised red fist for a logo. They’ve also released “The Revolution” and its adherents “Revolutionaries.” o

B h p

The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World, a “The media are oblivious to it,” Barna wrote in his 2006 /

compilation by radical, Christian social-justice campaign- book Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of com . r ers from around the world. the Sanctuary. “Scholars are clueless about it. The govern- k ic l f Bell and Claiborne are two of the better-known young voices ment caught a glimpse of it in the 2004 presidential election of

of a broad, explicitly nonviolent, anti-imperialist and anticapi- but has mostly misinterpreted its nature and motivations.” y es talist theology that is surging at the heart of white, suburban According to his research, there are more than 20 million t Evangelical Christianity. I first saw this movement at a local, Revolutionaries in America, differentiated from main- cour

image

2 0 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s stream evangelicals by a greater likelihood of serving their 2006 book tour for God’s Politics began to develop the feel community and the poor and oppressed within it, a more of a revival tour. At evangelical Christian Bethel Univer- “intimate, personally stirring worship of God” in daily life, sity in St. Paul, Wallis spoke shortly after a rally held by and a much greater chance of studying the Bible every day. Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. More people at- One indication that this movement is new, nebulous tended Wallis’ event. “One of the Dobson organizers came and spontaneous is that Gregory Boyd, a like-minded over and told me, ‘If they make us keep focusing on just mega-church pastor two states away in St. Paul, Minn., two issues [abortion and gay marriage], they’re going to knew nothing of Rob Bell’s theology until recently. He lose all of us,’ ” he says. only heard of the pastors’ conference after the fact be- Wallis has long been known on the left as a progressive evan- aspiringindie / os t o

h cause his book Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest gelical voice in the wilderness. But in fact, over the past decades p / for Political Power is Destroying the Church was distrib- Wallis has had plenty of company, including Brian McLaren, com .

r uted to conference participants. Tony Campolo, Ron Sider and N.T. Wright, among others. k ic

l “There’s definitely something going on,” says Boyd. “I’ve And while this new generation has been inspired by many of f

of only become aware of it as people have responded to my book. those teachers, they do not have the same association with the y

es It’s not organized—it’s amorphic. It would include the ‘emerg- organized left that some of their predecessors do. Shane Clai- t ing church movement,’ but it’s bigger than that. It’s a vision of borne is one of the few young voices in this movement who at cour the kingdom [of God]. It’s a new kind of Christianity.” least knows the history of cross-pollination between the Left Heather Zydek, the former “Revolution” section editor and Christianity, mentioning Catholic Worker founder Doro- image for Relevant magazine and the editor of The Revolution: A thy Day’s socialist origins in Irresistible Revolution. Revolutionary preacher Rob Bell broadcasts his sermons Field Manual for Changing Your World, says, “I definitely Zydek characterizes the movement this way: “We want to thousands of American suburbanites each week. don’t have a name for it, but, yes, something is happening. to get back to the roots of Christianity, to the essence of Some people say it’s a Generation X—or Y—thing. But baby Christianity, which is about service to those in need, sac- boomers are in on it too.” rifice, denial of self for others—it’s about [Jesus saying] Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners magazine and ‘pick up your cross and follow me.’ But for too long we’ve author of the bestseller God’s Politics, says, “ ‘Progressive spread a gospel of suburbanism, of self-centeredness, of evangelicals’ was thought to be a misnomer, but now we’re capitalism, of political conservatism—but not the gospel: a movement.” He was as surprised as anyone when his the gospel that came from Christ.” podro / os t o h p / com . r k ic l f of y es t cour Rob Bell on the Nashville stop of the “Everything Is Spiritual Tour” image

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 2 1 ment stores has been converted into an events and youth meeting space with a stage, and ping pong and pool tables. The broad, carpeted concourse is now filled with comfy sofas and chairs for sitting and talking. Though the complex is perfectly clean and attractive, you get the feeling that the church, in renovating the facilities, has spent the minimum possible resources to meet a functional needs. t t More striking than the size of Mars csco / Hill is the intensity of participation os t

o among the membership. The Mars Hill h p / house church program—where small

com numbers of people come together in a . r k home for Bible study, fellowship, mutual ic l f support and as a launching point for of y outreach into the community—involves es t Students from Norway more than 2,000 members in hundreds on stage at the “Isn’t She of groups, each with its own leaders. cour Beautiful” conference Several hundred volunteer as childcare image providers and Sunday school teachers. And hundreds more serve each Sunday had been a regular listener of Rob ing plastic-rim, hipster glasses, a white belt as ushers, parking helpers and medics. Bell’s sermon podcasts for a few and cool shirt. He looks like a grown-up (With 3,500 people in a room, you never months when he announced the Janu- indie rock star (and used to play in a popu- know what can happen.) ary 20-21 “Isn’t She Beautiful” confer- lar Grand Rapids band). The son of a Rea- Yet Mars Hill is not atypical. Accord- ence (“She” being the church). The gan-appointed federal judge, Bell gradu- ing to the Barna Group, nine percent of Iinvitation was open to “Church leaders, ated from Wheaton College, where male Americans attend house churches (up pastors, and basically just revolutionaries and female students live in separate dorms from one percent 10 years ago). And and insurgents from all over the world.” I with curfews and are encouraged to abstain tens of thousands of churches are de signed right up. from physical intimacy. After receiving his facto community centers, serving and I arrived at Mars Hill the evening be- M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary supporting virtually all aspects of their fore the conference, in a heavy snow, just in Pasadena, Calif., Bell interned at a con- members’ lives, usually with a signifi- in time to catch the regular Sunday night servative, non-denominational evangelical cant percentage of members acting as service. The Mars Hill church building church in Grand Rapids, from which he volunteers. In this way, churches have is a converted mall. From the outside it launched Mars Hill as a “church plant” in left progressives in the dust in terms of looks just like any other old shopping cen- February 1999. The name Mars Hill refers serving and engaging people directly. ter—they’ve never put up a sign. So when to the site where the apostle Paul preached The union hall is the left’s nearest equiv- you walk in and see the teeming, logo-free to non-Jews by making the gospel current alent, but not only is it dying, it rarely community inside that has taken over ev- and relevant to their own culture. attempts to serve anywhere near as ery inch of this entire mall, you get the On this night, Bell barely preached many of the needs—spiritual and prac- feeling that you’ve walked into an alternate himself, and instead spent the evening, tical—as churches do. universe. Imagine walking into a McDon- as he often does, interviewing a mem- alds to find your mom’s kitchen inside. ber of the church about how she was ould the shift in focus from The sanctuary is a hollowed-out depart- living out the gospel. She and her hus- personal salvation to the build- ment store that used to host RV shows and band had moved to a broken inner-city ing of the “kingdom of Heaven” swap meets—no decoration, just exposed neighborhood and begun a tutoring be the inevitable result of the aluminum walls, ducts and beams. As I and family assistance ministry that is long rise of “back to the Bible” walked in, a volunteer handed me a Bible. now in the process of expanding out of fundamentalism?c Tens of millions of Three thousand people were on their feet, a church basement to fill an entire reno- American Christians are not only read- singing powerfully and worshiping in an vated warehouse. ing the Bible, but getting together in explosive expression of collective joy that If you compare the Mars Hill com- groups and studying it—studying the simply does not exist in the left of this era. plex to progressive community centers historical context in which the authors There were certainly some “hipster Chris- or union halls, it has no rival. The en- wrote, the nuances of the original Greek tians” in the crowd (tattoos, goatees, etc.), tire mall has been converted. Most of and Hebrew, and the issues raised by but overwhelmingly the congregants were the stores are now classrooms for the translation and conflicting source texts. mainstream-looking Michiganders. different grades of its enormous Sun- Zydek says, “No matter how you pick Rob Bell finally took to the stage, sport- day school. One of the large depart- and choose your favorite Bible passages, if

2 2 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s you know that Jesus died on the cross for which made national news, he said: had never received so much positive you, that’s going to affect the way you treat feedback in his career: “Some people Never in history have we had a Christian other people. If you’re a Bible-believing theocracy where it wasn’t bloody and bar- literally wept with gratitude, saying that Christian, maybe you choose to empha- baric. That’s why our Constitution wisely they had always felt like outsiders in the size evangelism or maybe you emphasize put in a separation of church and state. … I evangelical community for not ‘toeing works, but you can’t ignore Jesus’ example am sorry to tell you, that America is not the the conservative party line.’ ” of unconditional love on the cross.” light of the world and the hope of the world. Yet the Revolution is not primarily a Wallis agrees. “The religious right The light of the world and the hope of the reaction to Republican attempts to politi- is being replaced by Jesus,” he says. world is Jesus Christ. cize the church. What sets it apart from “They’re just really digging into Jesus, mainstream evangelicalism is not a lib- and what they read in [the Book of] Acts He also spoke out against the exclu- eral rejection of Republican politics, but doesn’t correspond to their churches. sive focus on abortion and gay marriage rather a more radical rejection of conser-

And so they’re changing them or going by many evangelical leaders. “Those are vatism and liberalism, and anything else out and creating new communities.” the two buttons to push if you want to get that is not the “kingdom of God.” The Revolutionaries’ faith in the Bible Christians to act,” he said. “And those are To the Revolutionaries, what seems leads them to a gospel of social justice, but the two buttons Jesus never pushed.” righteous or commonsensical to hu- it also leads to a morality that is far out of His not-very subtle rebuke of Re- mans does not matter; all that matters is step with mainstream American culture publican electioneering caused around what God wants. Boyd writes in Myth of and the left. Sex outside of marriage, di- 1,000 members of his congregation to a Christian Nation: “To the extent that vorce, “lust,” “sexual immorality” and ho- leave. “Close to 700 left during the six- an individual or group looks like Je- mosexuality are all things Jesus or other week ‘Cross and the Sword’ sermon sus—dying for those who crucified him New Testament voices spoke about with series,” he says. “Another 300 or so left and praying for their forgiveness in the varying degrees of intensity. when I ‘didn’t have the good sense’ to process—to that degree they can be said According to Wallis, the Revolutionar- back off the topic but rather returned to manifest the kingdom of God. To the ies are “breaking away from the Right in to it once again just prior to the elec- degree that they do not look like this, droves—but they will never be captured tion.” But 4,000 stayed. And he said he they do not manifest God’s kingdom.” by the left. They’re going to challenge the left on a lot of things: For these Christians, sex is covenantal and not recreational. And they oppose abortion and they are not going to move away from that.” diversity Where Revolutionaries most part find out more about ways with many mainstream evangeli- A commitment to diversity represents more than a commitment to mutual funds that cal churches’ interpretation of the Bible make a difference. is in their embrace of women as leaders, basic fairness. elders and preachers. Mars Hill’s lead We believe that companies that Call 1-800-530-5321 or visit www.domini.com. elder (board chair) is a woman. A simi- support and encourage diversity in lar process of reversal of the restriction their workforce will be better able to on women in leadership is taking place serve the needs of a diverse society, in many evangelical churches across where women and minorities are the country. extremely important customers. oyd’s Myth of a Christian Na- The Domini Funds are not insured and are subject to market risks. Invest- tion is based on a series of six ser- ment return, principal value, and yield of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their mons called “The Cross and the original cost. You may lose money. Sword” he delivered at his St. Paul You should consider the Domini Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges, and church in the politically-charged expenses carefully before investing. Please obtain a copy of the Funds’ current batmosphere of the 2004 presidential elec- prospectus for more complete information on these and other topics by calling tion, in which Minnesota was a heavily- 1-800-530-5321 or online at www.domini.com. Please read it carefully before targeted swing state. In those sermons, investing or sending money. DSIL Investment Services LLC, Distributor 09/06

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 2 3 to anything I’ve ever seen working in unions, progressive organizations and Democratic political campaigns. On the left, recruiting and mobilizing leaders has become devalued work that is typi- cally left to inexperienced recent college graduates. The pastors at this conference, however, saw recruiting and inspiring leaders as one of their central callings. Too often, the left pays lip service to the

a grassroots, but lacks faith in grassroots t t leaders. The result is that too many of csco

/ our organizations are one person deep os t and stretched impossibly thin. At the o h p

/ conference, I tried to imagine what Kerry campaign field offices (where I com . r k spent a lot of time in 2004) would have ic l f

looked like if we had recruited leaders of instead of “bodies” and expected them y es t The Mars Hill “Isn’t She to be “faithful, committed members of Beautiful” conference a team” (words included in Mars Hill cour winds down after a lecture. volunteer job descriptions). Some orga-

image nizations on the left do include “leadership development” in their organizing And that is where anticapitalism and In the shopping mall liberated by Mars models. But churches seem to assume anti-imperialism come in. Capitalism Hill, the Colossians Remixed authors—a that there are already plenty of “de- doesn’t look like Jesus. Empire doesn’t married couple who home school their veloped” leaders in their midst and go look like Jesus. In their critique of the children—discussed their work during straight to giving them as much respon- political and economic institutions of an all-day forum attended by a thousand sibility as they can. the “kingdom of the world,” the Revo- suburban, white, middle-class moms and Andrew Richards is the “local outreach lutionaries are following in the tradi- dads. How many authors from the anti- pastor” at Mars Hill, charged with driv- tion of early Christianity. In Colossians globalization left have presented their ing the Mars Hill house church program Remixed: Subverting the Empire, pastor ideas to a willing mass audience of mid- to reach people in need in the greater and theologian Brian J. Walsh and theo- dle-class suburbanites? Grand Rapids community. “We’re not logian Sylvia C. Keesmaat write: The thinking and dreaming of this only taking care of the needs of our own movement is as utopian as the most far- community, but we want to respond to Just as in the ancient world, the [Roman imperial] images of peace and prosper- out sect of antiglobalization anarchists, yet the needs that are in the greater commu- ity masked the reality of inequality and they are living it right at the heart of main- nity,” he said before a recent Sunday ser- violence, so the contemporary images pro- stream America. And they are organizing vice while trying to recruit more leaders. jected by advertising mask the reality of with unbelievable success, attracting thou- He laid out five areas of focus: urban at- sweatshops, inequality, and domestic and in- sands of new participants every week and risk youth, refugees, poverty, community ternational violence created by our lifestyles. spawning hundreds of new churches and development and HIV/AIDS. And in the face of the ubiquitous imagery of thousands of new small groups and house Rob Bell and other church leaders the empire, Paul proclaims Jesus as the true churches every year. seem to be building up to a big chal- image of God (Col 1:15) and calls the Colos- lenge. It is unclear exactly what is in the sian Christians to bear the image of Jesus in t the “Isn’t She Beautiful” con- works. (Bell does not give interviews.) shaping an alternative to the empire. ference, the non-theological ses- But he has been preaching more and For the Revolutionaries, the new “tem- sions were devoted to one of the more about “systemic oppression,” pov- ple”—from which Jesus chased the money secrets of this movement’s suc- erty, debt and disease—not just locally changers in the Bible—is the shopping cess: leaders—identifying them, but globally. And other leaders have in- mall. They write: arecruiting them, “loving them” and letting dicated to the membership that the cur- them lead. The pastors at the conference rent level of sacrifice for others in the Globalization isn’t just an aggressive stage in the history of capitalism. It is a religious all seemed to view their church member- community and the world is not in line movement of previously unheard-of pro- ships as seas of under-utilized leaders, and with Jesus’ teachings. portions. Progress is its underlying myth, spent as much time as they could learning On Dec. 10, 2006, Bell kicked off a se- unlimited economic growth its foundational from each other and the Mars Hill staff ries of sermons, titled “Calling all Peace- faith, the shopping mall its place of worship, how to be the best “fishers of men” they makers,” during which he said: consumerism its overriding image, ‘I’ll have believe Jesus called them to be. Never before in history have there been a a Big Mac and fries’ its ritual of initiation, This high-density leadership orga- and global domination its ultimate goal. group of people as resourced as us. … Nev- nizing model stands in stark contrast er before has there been a group of people

2 4 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s who could look at the most pressing needs prophetic politics. It is what the proph- the same force that the Christian Right of the world and think: well, we could do ets and Jesus finally call us to.” exerted around abortion, gay marriage it … History is like sitting right there, in “Take any big issue we’ve got: Politics is and other areas? the middle of war, and great expenditure, failing to deal with it. They see that,” Wallis All that’s certain is that they will keep and violence, and the world torn apart in a thousand directions—[waiting for] a continues. “But I’m saying that we need to praying for answers with a desperate whole ground swell of people to say, ‘Well, change politics. Social movements change yearning and remarkable openness—as we could, we could, we could do this. We politics—and the strongest social move- Rob Bell did recently: ments have spiritual foundations.” could do what Jesus said to do.’ God, give us a vision for a new kind of I asked Wallis if leaders like Rob Bell world. We grieve, we honor, we condemn. But, as of now, the Revolutionaries were part of a rebirth of the Liberation But we want to move through that. We want seem to be embracing person-to-person, Theology movement that took root in to have asked the hard, hard questions. But “be the alternative” solutions to the exclu- Latin America in the ’60s and ’70s. “This we want to move though that too. And we sion of advocating for social policy that is movement is in a sense liberation theolo- want to be people of a dream, which we be- more in line with their vision of the king- gy in the best sense of the word,” he says, lieve is your dream for the world. But then, dom. Boyd says, “I never see Jesus trying “but it’s more personally faith-based, God, we want to move past that. We want to resolve any of Caesar’s problems.” more street-based and finally more com- to move to action. ... God, what would this Wallis believes this reluctance comes munity-based. I remember you’d go to a look like? Show us millions of different ways from the recent experience of being [liberation theology] event and it would to bless—to bless in such a way that it would literally shake the foundation of the Earth dragged into the mess of partisan politics be analysis, analysis, analysis—and there and capture us with this kind of dream. ... on the terms of the Republican party. would never even be a prayer.” Please, God, open our eyes. “But the prophets [of the Bible] This new generation of Christian don’t talk about just being an island of Revolutionaries most definitely places And 10,000 American suburbanites hope—they talk about land, labor, capi- prayer above analysis. But where will replied, “Amen.” n tal, equity, fairness, wages,” says Wallis. their prayers lead them? Will they forev- “And who are the prophets addressing? er restrict themselves to person-to-per- Zack Exley has worked as an organizer in the Employers, judges, rulers. On behalf son, “relational” solutions? Or will they labor movement and electoral politics and is a co- of widows, orphans, workers, farmers, choose to influence political leaders on founder and president of the New Organizing In- ordinary people. The gospel is deeply issues they share with the left—poverty, stitute. He blogs at ZackExley.com and the Huff- political. It’s not partisan politics, but a war, environmental destruction—with ington Post. Reach him at [email protected].

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 2 5 By Kristian Williams

soldier in Baghdad, in town for the “surge” and wondering whether things really are as bad as they seem, might want to read FM 3-24, the U.S. military’s Counter- insurgency Field Manual, released last December. On Page 1-29, our soldier will find a handy table—“Successful and unsuccessful counterinsurgency operational practices”—that outlines the Dos and the Don’ts. (See sidebar.) In which column would one place the major decisions of the Bush administration? The dissolution of the Iraqi army, the de-Baathification of the civil service, the failure to guard important historic and Iraqi soldiers man a cultural sites, the granting of reconstruc- checkpoint at the entrance of tion contracts to American firms, and the Sadr City, an impoverished long-term neglect of legal due process—all Shiite Muslim neighborhood correspond to the advice on the “Don’t” in Baghdad, on Feb. 6, 2007. side of the chart. And that’s not account- ing for atrocities like those in Falluja, Ha- ditha or Abu Ghraib. The “Dos” column, instituted foot patrols, held local elections cies, which is then followed by chapters on the other hand, reads like a list of what and distributed money for reconstruction. on the integration of civilian and military the United States has failed to do: meeting At the year’s end, Mosul was one of the few activities, the use of intelligence, the de- the population’s needs, expanding secure pacified areas. But Petraeus’ approach ran sign, execution and sustainment of op- areas, politically isolating the insurgents, counter to Rumsfeld’s. At the beginning erations, developing local government training and equipping Iraqi forces, secur- of 2004, Rumsfeld replaced the Airborne forces and ethical constraints. ing the borders and so on. with a Stryker force one-fourth as large. According to FM 3-24 the ultimate aims If this table serves as a pocket-sized The Stryker Brigade halted the foot patrols of a counterinsurgency program are po- score card, the 280-page manual is a full- and the local government’s efforts. Within litical—winning legitimacy for the gov- bodied treatise on the subject. This is the a few weeks, Mosul was in chaos. The ques- ernment and undermining the claims of Afirst new counterinsurgency field manual tion facing Petraeus now is whether that the rebels. Strategically speaking, it is as to appear in 20 years, and as such, it serves process can be reversed—three years later, important to meet the population’s needs as a tacit admission that the American on a much larger scale, and with a budding as to hunt down the enemy. A counterin- strategy in Iraq is simply not working. civil war. It’s a tough test for the theory set surgency program is, as the manual puts The manual’s perspective takes on addi- out in his handbook. it, “armed social work.” tional significance since its chief author, Written primarily for “leaders and But mounting a successful counterin- Gen. David Petraeus, has just taken over planners at the battalion level and above,” surgency is a dangerous balancing act. as the top commander in the war. FM 3-24 sets doctrine for the Army, Ma- Any sign of weakness benefits the insur- Petraeus, who wrote his dissertation at rine Corps, Army Reserve and National gents, who will exploit the atmosphere of Princeton on the military lessons of the Guard. It addresses practical, organiza- uncertainty and insecurity in their efforts Vietnam War, distinguished himself in Mo- tional and theoretical dimensions of low- to discredit the government. But if the sul with his hearts-and-minds approach. intensity conflict, starting with general military is overbearing and oppressive, the Shortly after the 2003 invasion, he used the principles and then focusing on specific insurgents can use public resentment and 101st Airborne to establish an overwhelm- operations. Hence, it begins with a de- sincere grievances to gain support and ing presence in the city, then promptly tailed analysis of the nature of insurgen- justify violence. It is not enough to win the

2 6 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s battles if the government loses the backing Direct discussion of the Iraq war is undermined French efforts and contributed to their loss despite several significant mili- of the population in the process. relatively polite and tends to foreground tary victories. ... France eventually recog- FM 3-24 does a good job conveying this stories of U.S. military success. But since nized Algerian independence in July 1963. complexity. It refers repeatedly to the local- it is impossible to read the book without ized, “mosaic” nature of insurgencies, and the present war in mind, certain impli- Under the circumstances, especially to their tendency to shift suddenly, unpre- cations are nevertheless obvious. There given the list of reasons for the French dictably and often. The guide provides a is scant mention of Abu Ghraib, for ex- policy, it is hard not to read this para- list of “counterinsurgency paradoxes.” For ample, but there are extensive, repeated graph as the professional military’s di- example: “Sometimes, the More Force Is discussions of the legal, moral and po- rect repudiation of the Bush-Gonzales- Used, the Less Effective It Is,” and “Tacti- litical prohibitions against torture. (An Rumsfeld torture doctrine. cal Success Guarantees Nothing.” It practi- appendix reprints the complete text of Other historical cases cited in the man- cally makes a mantra of the slogan “Learn Common Article 3 of the Geneva Con- ual provide similar, unsettling grounds and Adapt.” It also stresses the need for ventions). There is also a brief retelling of for comparison. For example: decision-makers to familiarize themselves the French experience in Algeria: During Napoleon’s occupation of Spain with local conditions, the history of the During the Algerian war of independence in 1808, it seems little thought was given region, the culture and the country’s in- between 1954 and 1962, French leaders de- to the potential challenges of subduing the stitutions. While always careful to remind cided to permit torture against suspected Spanish populace. Conditioned by the deci- the counterinsurgent of the inevitable role insurgents. Though they were aware that sive victories at Austerlitz and Jena, Napo- violence plays, the manual especially em- it was against the law and morality of war, leon believed the conquest of Spain would phasizes need for political legitimacy. they argued that— be little more than a “military promenade.” So along with the tedious details of • This was a new form of war and these Napoleon’s campaign included a rapid con- military organization and procedure, the rules did not apply. ventional military victory but ignored the handbook provides a substantial outline • The threat the enemy represented, com- immediate requirement to provide a stable of basic sociological concepts (plus an munism, was a great evil that justified environment for the populace. The French failed to analyze the Span- appendix on “social network analysis”), extraordinaryInsurgency means. and Counterinsurgency • The application of torture against insur- ish people, their history, culture, motiva- a political science lecture on the nature gents was measured and nongratuitous. tions and potential to support or hinder the mages of legitimacyoften barbaric and enemies history survive lessons by their drawn wits, constantly This adapting official to the condoning situation. of Defeating torture on them the requirespart achievement of French political objectives. ... t t y I e fromcounterinsurgents American involvementto develop the ability in to Iraq, learn and adaptof French rapidly Army and leadership continuously. had This several manual nega empha-- Napoleon’s cultural miscalculation resulted in Afghanistan,sizes this “Learn Vietnam, and Adapt” El Salvadorimperative as and it discusse tives ways consequences. to gain and Itmaintain empowered the support the moral of the peo- a protracted occupation struggle that lasted ple. E/AFP/G legitimacy of the opposition, undermined nearly six years and ultimately required ap- Y the Philippines; T.E. Lawrence’s Arabian campaign;1-161. Popular Mao’s support guerilla allows war counterinsurgents in China; to devethe lopFrench the intelligencemoral legitimacy, necessa andry to caused identify in and- de- proximately three-fifths of the Empire’s total

-RUBA feat insurgents. Designing and executing a comprehensive campaign to secure the populace and then gain L and several less famous (or infamous) co- ternal fragmentation among serving officers armed strength, almost four times the force its support requires carefully coordinating actions along several LLOs over time to produce success. One lonial wars, revolutions, resistance move- that led to an unsuccessful coup attempt in of 80,000 Napoleon originally designated. MAD A of these LLOs is developing HN security forces that can assume primary responsibility for combating the The Spanish resistance drained the resourc- H 1962. In the end, failure to comply with moral

A ments and terrorist fights. insurgency. COIN operations also place distinct burdens on leaders and logisticians. All of these aspects es of the French Empire. It was the begin- of COIN are described and analyzed in the chapters thatand follow. legal restrictions against torture severely ning of the end for Napoleon. FM 3-24:Table “S uccessful1-1. Successful and unsuccessful and unsuccessful counterinsurgency counterinsurgency rational operational practices” practices The authors are not so blunt as to draw a direct comparison with Bush’s present misadventure, though they do certainly in- vite one. (Note the phrase “military promenade,” so like the “cake walk” we were promised in Iraq.) The analogy also poses inevitable questions, questions the manual does not and probably cannot answer directly: Given the central importance of political legitimacy, what do you do when the government is not legitimate, when the war is not just? What happens when the moral high ground has been irrevocably lost? The counterinsurgency Field Manual hints at an answer. It comes as the heading to the Algerian case study quoted above: “Lose Moral Legitimacy, Lose the War.” Petraeus the general still insists that the war can be won; Petraeus the theorist would seem to disagree. n l

Kristian Williams is the author, most re- manua cently, of American Methods: Torture and the 3-24

fm Logic of Domination (South End Press, 2006).

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 2 7

15 December 2006 FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5 1-29 Reclaiming What Makes Us Human Through the ages, the killjoys of governing elites have been threatened by public expressions of collective joy. By Barbar a Ehrenreich

he enemies of festivity have argued for centuries that festivities and ecstatic rituals are incompatible with civilization. In our own time, the incompatibility of festivity with industrialization, market economies and a complex division of labor is usually simply assumed, in the same way that Freud assumed—or posited—the incompatibility of civilization and unbridled sexual activity. In other words, if you want antibiot- ics and heated buildings and air travel, you must abstain from taking hold of Tthe hands of strangers and dancing in the streets. The presumed incompatibility of civilization and collective ecstatic tradi- tions presents a kind of paradox: Civilization is good—right?—and builds on many fine human traits such as intelligence, self-sacrifice and technological craftiness. But ecstatic rituals are also good, and expressive of our artistic temperament and spiritual yearnings as well as our solidarity. So how can civilization be regarded as a form of progress if it precludes something as distinctively human, and deeply satisfying, as the collective joy of festivities and ecstatic rituals? In a remarkable 1952 essay titled “The Decline of the Choral Dance,” Paul Halmos wrote that the ancient and universal tradition of the choral dance— meaning the group dance, as opposed to the relatively recent, European-derived practice of dancing in couples—was an expression of our “group-ward drives” and “biological sociality.” Hence its disappearance within complex societies, and especially within industrial civilization, can only represent a “decline of our biosocial life”—a painfully disturbing conclusion. Perhaps the problem with civilization is simply a matter of scale: Ecstatic rituals and festivities seem to have evolved to bind people in groups of a few hundred at a time—a group size at which it is possible for each participant to hear the same (unamplified) music and see all the other participants at once. Civiliza- tions, however, tend to involve many thousands—or in our time, millions—of people bound by economic interdependencies, military exigency and law. In a large society, ancient or modern, an emotional sense of bonding is usually found in mass spectacles that can be witnessed by thousands—or with television, even billions—of people at a time. Ours is what the French theorist Guy Debord called the “society of the spectacle,” which he described as occurring in “an epoch without festivals.” Instead of generating their own collective pleasures, people absorb, or consume, the spectacles of commercial entertainment, nationalist rituals and the consumer culture, with its endless advertisements for the pleasure of individual ownership. Debord bemoaned the passivity engendered by constant spectatorship, announcing that “the spectacle is the nightmare of im- prisoned modern society which ultimately expresses nothing more than its desire to sleep.” But there is no obvious reason why festivities and ecstatic rituals can’t survive within large-scale societies. Whole cities were swept up in the French Revolution’s Festival of Federation in 1790, with lines of dancers extending from the streets and out into the countryside. Rock events have

2 8 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s sometimes drawn tens of thousands for In one way, the musically driven cel- days of peaceful dancing and socializ- ebrations of subordinates may be more ing. Modern Brazil still celebrates Car- threatening to elites than overt political naval and Trinidad preserves its Car- threats. Even kings and colonizers can nival. Recent nonviolent uprisings, like feel the invitational power of the music. Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, invariably Why did 19th century European coloniz- feature rock or rap music, dancing in the ers so often describe the dancing natives streets, and “costuming” in the revolu- as “out of control”? The ritual partici- tion-appropriate color. There is no ap- pants hadn’t lost control of their actions parent limit on the number of people and were in fact usually performing who can celebrate together. carefully rehearsed rituals. The “loss of Nor can the growing size of human control” is what the colonizers feared societies explain the long hostility of would happen to themselves. In some elites to their people’s festivities and cases, the temptation might be projected ecstatic rituals—a hostility that goes onto others, especially the young. In the back at least to the city-states of ancient fairy tale, the Pied Piper used his pipe Greece, which contained only a few tens to lure away the children from a Ger- of thousands of people each. No, the re- man town. Rock ‘n’ roll might have been pression of festivities and ecstatic ritu- more acceptable to adults in the ’50s if als over the centuries was the conscious it could have been contained within the work of men, and occasionally women, black population, instead of percolating who saw in them a real and urgent out to a generation of young whites. threat. The aspect of “civilization” that is most hostile to festivity is not capi- ut elite hostility to Dionysian talism or industrialism—both of which festivities goes beyond pragmat- are fairly recent innovations—but social Bic concerns about the possibil- hierarchy, which is far more ancient. ity of uprisings or the seduction of the When one class, or ethnic group or gen- young. Philosophically, too, elites cringe der, rules over a population of subordi- from the spectacle of disorderly public nates, it comes to fear the empowering joy. Hierarchy, by its nature, establishes rituals of the subordinates as a threat to boundaries between people—who can go civil order. where, who can approach whom, who is For example, in late medieval Europe, welcome, and who is not. Festivity breaks and later the Caribbean, first the elite the boundaries down. withdrew from the festivities, whether While hierarchy is about exclusion, out of fear or in an effort to maintain its festivity generates inclusiveness. The dignity and distance from the hoi pol- music invites everyone to the dance; loi. The festivities continued for a while shared food briefly undermines the without them and continued to serve privilege of class. As for masks, they their ancient function of building group may serve symbolic, ritual functions, unity among the participants. But since but, to the extent that they conceal iden- the participants are now solely, or al- tity, they also dissolve the difference most solely, members of the subordinate between stranger and neighbor, mak- group or groups, their unity inevitably ing the neighbor temporarily strange presented a challenge to the ruling par- and the stranger no more foreign than ties, a challenge that may be articulated anyone else. No source of human differ- in carnival rituals that mock the king ence or identity is immune to the car- and Church. In much of the world, it nival challenge: cross-dressers defy gen- was the conquering elite of European der just as those who costume as priests colonizers that imposed itself on native and kings mock power and rank. At the cultures and saw their rituals as “savage” height of the festivity, we step out of our and menacing from the start. This is the assigned roles and statuses—of gender, real bone of contention between civiliza- ethnicity, tribe and rank—and into a tion and collective ecstasy: Ecstatic ritu- brief utopia defined by egalitarianism, als still build group cohesion, but when Celebration photos from around the they build it among subordinates—peas- world, clockwise from bottom left: ants, slaves, women, colonized people— England, Germany, China, the elite calls out its troops. Italy, India and Spain photos: get t y images

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 2 9 creativity and mutual love. This is how giously hierarchical along lines of class or will to organize for our survival. In danced rituals and festivities served to and race and gender, may unite millions fact the very notion of the “collective,” of bind prehistoric human groups, and this in economic interdependency, but it the common good, has been eroded by is what still beckons us today. “unites” them with no strong affective ties. the self-serving agendas of the power- So civilization, as humans have known We who inhabit the wealthier parts of the ful—their greed and hunger for still more it for thousands of years, has this funda- world may be aware of our dependence power. Throughout the world (capitalist mental flaw: It tends to be hierarchical, on Chinese factory workers, Indian tech and postcommunist), decades of conser- with some class or group wielding power workers and immigrant janitors, but we vative social policy have undermined any over the majority, and hierarchy is antag- do not know these people or, for the most sense of mutual responsibility and placed onistic to the festive and ecstatic tradi- part, have any interest in them. We barely the burden of risk squarely on the indi- tion. (Whether this is an inherent feature know our neighbors and, all too often, vidual or the family. of civilization, we do not know, though see our fellow workers as competitors. If The family is all we need, America’s os- advocates of genuine democracy can civilization offers few forms of communal tensibly Christian evangelicists tell us—a only hope that this is not the case. Con- emotional connection other than those fit container for all our social loyalties temporary anarchists and socialists differ provided by the occasional televised war and yearnings. But this, if anything, rep- on this point, with some proposing com- or celebrity funeral, it would seem to be a resents a kind of evolutionary regression. plex methods of grassroots democratic rather hollow business. Insofar as we compress our sociality into planning that would presumably abolish the limits of the family, we do not so much hierarchy of all kinds while preserving e pay a high price for this emo- resemble our Paleolithic human ances- modern means of production. Michael tional emptiness. Individually, tors as we do those far earlier prehuman Albert proposes such a system in his Wwe suffer from social isolation primates who had not yet discovered the 2003 book Parecon. Others, most notably and depression, which, while usually not danced ritual as a “biotechnology” for the anarchist thinker John Zerzan, argue fatal on their own, are risk factors for the formation of larger groups. Humans that the problem goes much deeper, and cardiovascular and a host of other dis- had the wisdom, wit and generosity to that we cannot achieve true democracy eases. Collectively, we seem to have trou- reach out to unrelated others; hominids without eliminating industrialization ble coming to terms with our situation, huddled with their kin. and possibly the entire division of labor.) which grows more ominous every day. Our civilization has its compensatory This leaves hierarchical societies with no Half the world’s people live in debilitat- pleasures of course. Most often cited is means of holding people together except ing poverty. Epidemics devastate whole the consumer culture, which encourages for mass spectacles—and force. nations. The icecaps melt, and natural us to deflect our desires into the acquisi- Contemporary civilization, which, for disasters multiply. But we remain for the tion and display of things: the new car, or all its democratic pretensions, is egre- most part paralyzed, lacking the means shoes, or face-lift, which will enhance our status and make us less lonely, or so we Tu men perform the “Wutu” dance around the village of Nianduhu in northwest are promised. The mall may be a dreary China in late December, 2005. The dancing is part of a ceremony held every year to place compared to a late medieval Eng- drive evil spirits from the town. lish fair, but it offers goods undreamed of in that humbler setting—conveniences and temptations from around the globe. We have “entertainment” too, in the form of movies; ever-available, iPod-delivered music for solitary enjoyment; computer games; and, possibly, coming soon, experiences in virtual reality. And we have drugs, both legal and illegal, to lift the depression, calm the anxiety and bolster our self-confidence. It is a measure of our general deprivation that the most common referent for ecstasy in usage today is not an experience but a drug, MDMA, that offers fleeting feelings of euphoria and connectedness. But these compensatory pleasures do not satisfy our longings. Anyone who can resist addiction to the consumer mages culture, the entertainments, and the t t y I e drugs arrives sooner or later at the con- /G os t o This article is adapted from Dancing in the

Ph Streets: A History of Collective Joy, out now ina from Metropolitan Books. Ch

3 0 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s clusion that “something’s missing.” What ment of their religion is belief, meaning they be good-humored enough to even that might be is hard to pin down and an effort of the imagination. Dionysus, entertain the argument. And indeed you finds expression in vague formulations in contrast, did not ask his followers for would have to be a fool, or a drug-addled such as “spirituality” or “community.” their belief or faith; he called on them to hippie, to imagine that a restoration of Intellectuals regularly issue thoughtful apprehend him directly, to let him enter, festivity and ecstatic ritual would get screeds on the missing glue in our so- in all his madness and glory, their bod- us out of our current crisis, or even to ciety, the absence of strong bonds con- ies and their minds. imagine that such activities could be re- necting us to those outside our families. stored in our world today, with anything In 1985, Robert Bellah et al.’s book Hab- or all kinds of reasons, then, our like their original warmth and meaning- its of the Heart: Individuals and Commit- imaginary “unconverted savage” fulness. No amount of hand-holding or ment in American Life found Americans Fmight despair over what civiliza- choral dancing will bring world peace caught up in their personal ambitions, tion has wrought. He would bemoan the and environmental healing. unable to imagine any larger sense of community. In 2000, Robert D. Putnam published Bowling Alone: The Collapse The prehistoric ritual dancer or the Caribbean and Revival of American Community, practitioner of Voudou did not believe in her god in which he reported a decline not just in civic participation but in any kind of or gods; she knew them, because, at the height of group activity. There is even an intel- group ecstasy, they filled her with their presence. lectual current called communitarian- ism, which aims to somehow restore the social cohesion characteristic of smaller, absence of the gods, which is manifested In fact, festivities have served at times less divided societies, and its adherents by the new requirement that they be to befuddle or becalm their celebrants. have included such notables as Bill and summoned by the imagination, through European carnival coexisted with tyranny Hillary Clinton. interior faith rather than through shared for centuries, hence the common “safety For most people, though, the “some- ritual. He would be baffled by the fact valve” theory of their social function. Na- thing” that’s missing is most readily re- that our great reproductive achievement tive American Ghost Dancers could not placed by religion. Far from withering as a species—the huge population, even reverse genocide with their ecstatic rituals; away, as Marx predicted, religion has un- overpopulation, of the earth—routinely nor could colonized Africans render them- dergone a spectacular revival, especially leads to frustration and hostility, rather selves bulletproof by dancing into a trance. in the largely Christian United States than to an enrichment of individual In the face of desperately serious threats and the Muslim parts of the world. Peo- experience. He would cringe from the to group survival, the ecstatic ritual can ple find many things in their religions— misery around him—the poverty and be a waste of energy—or worse. The Hai- a sense of purpose and metaphysical disease that our technological cun- tian dictator Fançois “Papa Doc” Duvalier explanations for human suffering, for ning has proved incapable of relieving. actually encouraged Vodou as a means of example. They may also find a sense of Above all, he would be stricken to find strengthening his grip on the population. community—the umma of Islam or the his species on what may be the verge of My own Calvinist impulses—inher- neighborliness of a small-town church. extinction—through pandemics, global ited in part from those of my ancestors The anthropomorphized God of Chris- warming, the nuclear threat and the ex- who were genuine Calvinists, Pres- tianity, in particular, is himself a kind of haustion of resources—yet too isolated byterian Scots—tell me insistently to substitute for human solidarity, an in- from one another to stand together, as get the work done, save the world and visible loving companion who counsels early Homo sapiens once learned to do, then maybe there’ll be time for celebra- and consoles. Like a genuinely caring and mount any sort of mutual defense. tion. In the face of poverty, misery, and community, he is said to be a cure for We try, of course. Many millions of possible extinction, there is no time, or depression, alienation, loneliness, and people around the world are engaged in justification, for the contemplation of even mundane, all-too-common addic- movements for economic justice, peace, pleasure of any kind, these inner voices tions to alcohol and drugs. equality and environmental reclamation, say. Close your ears to the ever-fainter But compared to the danced religions and these movements are often incuba- sound of drums or pipes; the wild car- of the past, today’s “faiths” are often pal- tors for the solidarity and celebration so nival and danced ritual belong to a dis- lid affairs—if only by virtue of the very missing in our usual state of passive ac- tant time. The maenads are long dead, fact that they are “faiths,” dependent on, quiescence. Yet there appears to be no a curiosity for the classicists; the global and requiring, belief as opposed to di- constituency today for collective joy it- “natives” have been subdued. Forget the rect knowledge. The prehistoric ritual self. In fact, the very term collective joy is past, which is half imagined anyway, dancer, the maenad of ancient Greece or largely unfamiliar and exotic. and get to work. the Caribbean practitioner of Vodou, did This silence demands some sort of ex- not believe in her god or gods; she knew planation, so let us give the enemies of nd yet … It does not go away, them, because, at the height of group ec- festivity—or at least the revolutionaries this ecstatic possibility. Despite stasy, they filled her with their presence. among them, like Robespierre and Len- Acenturies of repression, despite Modern Christians may have similar in—their due. What is lost is not that the competing allure of spectacles, fes- experiences, but the primary require- important, they would argue, should tivity keeps bubbling up, and in the

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 3 1 most unlikely places. The rock rebellion nothing, or at least without the excuse of element of the carnivalesque: costumes, broke through the anxious conformity a commercial concert or athletic event. music, impromptu dancing, the sharing of post-war America and generated an Thousands of women gather every sum- of food and drink. The media often de- entire counterculture. Then, at the other mer for the Michigan Womyn’s Music ride the carnival spirit of such protests, end of the cultural spectrum, where the Festival, described on its Web site as as if it were a self-indulgent distraction spectacle of athleticism merged with “the best party on the planet.” Gay male from the serious political point. But sea- nationalism, people undertook to carni- culture features “circuit parties,” involv- soned organizers know that gratification valize sports events, reclaiming them as ing dancing and some times costum- cannot be deferred until after “the revolu- occasions for individual creativity and ing, and, with some help from chemical tion.” The Texas populist Jim Hightower, collective joy. Religions, too, still gener- stimulants, these can go on for days. It for example, launched a series of “Roll- ate ecstatic undertakings, like the annu- was gay culture, too, that first appropri- ing Thunder” events around the country al Hasidic pilgrimage to the Ukrainian ated Halloween as an adult holiday, now in the early 2000s, offering music, food, town of Uman, which has sprung up just celebrated with parades of costumed and plenty of conviviality, and with the since the fall of communism and fea- people of all sexual inclinations. stated aim of “putting the party back in tures thousands of Hasidic men, dressed We might also note such recently in- politics.” People must find, in their move- entirely in white, dancing and singing in vented festivities as the Berlin Love pa- ment, the immediate joy of solidarity, if the streets in honor of their dead rebbe. rade, an outdoor dance party that has at- only because, in the face of overwhelm- The impulse to public celebration lives tracted more than a million people at a ing state and corporate power, solidarity on, seizing its opportunities as they time, or the annual Burning Man event in is their sole source of strength. come. When Iran, which is surely one of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where In fact, there has been, in the last few the world’s more repressive states, quali- thousands of people of all ages gather an- years, a growing carnivalization of pro- fied for the World Cup in 1997, “celebra- nually to create art, to dance and to paint test demonstrations, perhaps especially tions paralyzed Tehran,” according to and costume themselves. among young “antiglobalization” activ- Newsweek. “Women ripped off their gov- And whatever its shortcomings as a ists in Europe, Latin America, Canada ernment-mandated veils; men gave out means to social change, protest move- and the United States. They wear cos- paper cups of strictly forbidden vodka as ments keep reinventing carnival. Al- tumes—most famously, the turtle suits teenagers danced in the streets.” most every demonstration I have been symbolizing environmental concerns There are also cases of people com- to over the years—antiwar, feminist or at the huge Seattle protest of 1999. ing together and creating festivity out of for economic justice—has featured some They put on masks or paint their faces; they bring drums to their demonstra- Young travellers on a beach in Goa. The tiny Indian state became known as a hippie tions and sometimes dance through heaven in the ’60s and its beaches have hosted all night parties for adventurous the streets; they send up the authorities backpackers ever since. with street theater and effigies. A Seattle newspaper reported of the 1999 demonstrations: “The scene … resembled a New Year’s Eve party: People banged on drums, blew horns and tossed fly- ing discs through the air. One landed at the foot of a police officer, who threw it back to the crowd amid cheers.” The urge to transform one’s appearance, to dance outdoors, to mock the powerful and embrace perfect strangers is not easy to suppress. And why, in the end, would anyone want to? The capacity for collective joy is encoded into us almost as deeply as the capacity for the erotic love of one human for another. We can live without it, as most of us do, but only at the risk of succumbing to the solitary nightmare of depression. Why not reclaim our distinctively human heritage as creatures who can generate their own ecstatic pleasures out of music, color, feasting mages and dance? n t t y I e /G e Barbara Ehrenreich l was one of the origi- a t i nal “sponsors” of In These Times when it was V mi

A founded 30 years ago.

3 2 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s The Health Care Monster Returns Even Republicans acknowledge its ravages, but what’s the best way to slay the beast? by david moberg

ike the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the health insurance monster has returned, creeping back onto Lthe public stage. After President Clinton’s jury-rigged pen to contain the monster collapsed in 1994, it never really went away. Political leaders tried to ignore the beast or deal piecemeal with its ravages, but it pushed more unsuspecting civilians into the uninsured pit, devoured more family budgets, squeezed even giant corporations’ ability to compete globally, and raised fear and insecurity among the populace. Now its depredations have become too loathsome to ignore for even cautious politicians and business executives—who still are inclined to see the monster as one of their own. After a rebuff in the fall elections, when voters ranked health care as one of their top concerns, President Bush offered a plan that almost certainly would not deliver his promise of “quality, affordable health care for all Americans.” Recently, chief executives like Lee Scott of Wal-Mart—under ney signed a flawed plan for universal health care when he attack for its skimpy health insurance coverage of employees— was governor of Massachusetts, and California Gov. Arnold and Steve Burd of Safeway—which endured a long strike by Schwarzenegger, after vetoing statewide single-payer legisla- southern California grocery workers to cut their health insur- tion passed last year, has his own health insurance plan. ance—joined progressive leaders like Service Employees Indus- There’s reason for hope when leaders across the political trial Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern, head of the nation’s spectrum recognize the problem. But there’s no guarantee that largest health workers union, to call for major changes in the such agreement will lead to a good solution. For more than a health care system. Under fire from both other labor unions decade, conventional wisdom has dictated that only incremen- and many citizen health care groups for joining with strange tal steps should be taken. Now more politicians are willing to bedfellows on behalf of very broad principles, Stern argues that consider bolder steps—but the right is still determined to push “the most essential change is to get everyone in a system where its agenda. And many progressive reformers are cautious about they have health care,” then work to improve it. pursuing their ideals, as they continue to nurse scars from the Although the war in Iraq is likely to dominate the already fight business interests waged against the Clinton plan. energetic Democratic presidential primary race, health care is “Overwhelmingly, people are trying to find incremental re- emerging as the leading domestic issue in both parties. Short- sponses instead of a national response,” says Marilyn Clement, ly after announcing his candidacy, John Edwards laid out a national coordinator of Healthcare-NOW, a coalition advocat- comprehensive health care plan. Barack Obama said that the ing a public insurance program as the single payer of health nation should provide universal insurance coverage by the care bills. “They are still putting forward the same proposals as end of the next president’s term, though so far he has mostly last summer, such as ‘The first step is to get national health care advocated for minor and politically easy reforms, like com- for children.’ Well, that’s good, but we won the election. It’s time puterizing health records. Republican candidate Mitt Rom- to escalate our hopes.”

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 3 3 he first crucial step is to define health results for the average American. ing employer-provided insurance as the problem. For many people, it’s In 2004, the United States spent $6,100 income). As part of this strategy, con- Tthe rising number of Americans per capita on health care, compared to servatives have also undermined Medi- without health insurance, now nearly 47 $2,250 per capita on average by the coun- care, first, by subsidizing private insur- million. But equally problematic is the tries in the Organization for Economic ance companies to provide Medicare decline in quality and scope of coverage Cooperation and Development, which insurance and, second, by establishing for those who have insurance. And much have national health insurance programs. a prescription program only available of the public ranks the cost of health Because public expenditures cover 60 through private insurers. care as their top medical and economic percent of American health care costs, The Bush strategy would be a boon concern. Focusing primarily on insuring U.S. taxpayers are paying more than the for wealthy and healthy individuals, as everyone won’t necessarily solve those cost of national health insurance, but not well as employers and insurance compa- problems. Indeed, the skyrocketing cost receiving it. nies, but it would ultimately leave most of health care is the main reason that the “How much can a new system depend Americans paying more for less health ranks of the uninsured continue to grow. on private insurance companies to pro- security. The harsh edges of the plan Faced with rising insurance premiums, vide affordable, good health care for ev- could be softened—by regulating the in- businesses have been trying to cut costs eryone?” asks Roger Hickey, co-director of surance companies’ attempts to charge by evading responsibility for providing Campaign for America’s Future, a Wash- more or deny coverage to people seek- health insurance, leading Stern to declare ington, D.C.-based progressive advocacy ing insurance, or by offering tax credits that “the employer-based health care sys- group. “That should be the debate.” or direct subsidies to the poor instead of tem is dead.” Now the country is faced with two tax deductions. But these changes still But the more fundamental problem is radically different proposals for reform. embody what economist Jared Bern- our reliance on private, for-profit corpo- The first, pushed by conservatives and stein, of the progressive think tank the rations to provide health insurance—the embraced by Bush in his new plans, Economic Policy Institute, calls YOYO real monster in this saga. They’re the would make individuals more respon- (“You’re On Your Own”) economics. main reason for rising costs (making sible for buying their own health insur- The diametrically opposite alterna- health insurance in the United States ance. While giving them tax breaks to tive is to recognize that “we’re in this to- about twice as expensive as in most in- help pay the premiums, it would push gether” (WITT, in Bernstein’s schema) dustrial countries), for the growing num- them in the direction of lower-cost, less and move towards social insurance, or ber of uninsured, and for the inferior comprehensive plans (partly by tax- a plan like Medicare. In this case, the federal government—through a public agency—would provide comprehensive insurance. It would be financed directly by progressive taxes on individuals and business, unlike the current system, LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX! which provides $200 billion a year in economically regressive and largely un- A Pro-sex Space for the Pro-choice Movement recognized tax deductions to subsidize 2nd National Conference & 10th Anniversary Celebration employer-based health insurance. 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3 4 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s counted, the overall overhead that private “There are a lot of dedicated, smart wonders, “Can we figure out a way to talk insurance imposes on the system eats up people who have made the judgment about this so as not to get bogged down, about one-third of what Americans spend that taking some steps toward a com- sway, with “Harry and Louise” commer- on health care. Eliminating those costs, as prehensive system with a public health cials [that the insurance industry used proposed by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) care plan is better than waiting for the against President Clinton’s plan]?” and supported by Ohio Rep. and Demo- perfect system,” says Hickey, whose or- But there’s no guarantee that insurance cratic presidential candidate Dennis Ku- ganization supports Hacker’s proposal. companies won’t launch a war against these cinich, could finance most of a Medicare The labor movement, which was divided compromises, especially any that curtail expansion to cover all Americans much over support of a single-payer system in insurance industry profits. And corpora- more comprehensively than the program the ’90s, seems even more cautious now. tions that support universal health insur- does now. Most progressive reformers acknowledge that ost progressive reformers acknowledge that Medicare for Medicare for everyone would best slay the health Meveryone would best slay the crisis monster, but many strategists worry that health crisis monster, but many strategists worry that trying to eliminate the trying to eliminate the private insurers will private insurers will provoke a withering counterattack. Consequently, many cur- provoke a withering counterattack. rent proposals try, as Hillary Clinton did in 1993, to preserve a more regulated role “The political will isn’t there now, but ance will almost certainly oppose any plan for the insurance companies and at the it could get there for single-payer,” says that doesn’t seriously reduce their financial same time expand public programs, on AFL-CIO health care lobbyist JoAnn responsibility, which would threaten to the model of Medicare, to provide a com- Volk. A close union ally adds, “Most shift costs to individuals. “Everyone says petitive alternative to private insurers. of the labor movement has already ac- they’re for universal health care,” says Don Edwards’ plan would require employ- commodated to the reality that we’re not Bechler, chair of the California Universal ers to cover employees or help pay for going to get a pure single-payer system. Health Care Organizing Project. “But the their insurance (what’s widely known They have made the judgment that it’s fundamental question is, ‘Who pays?’ Is as “pay or play”). Everyone would have just not within the range of possibility.” [universal health care going to be] a slid- to buy insurance, taking advantage of SEIU’s Stern—who has argued that ing scale health care plan where everyone tax credits, expanded programs such as the United States needs an “American” is entitled to first class health care, or a flat Medicaid and the State Children’s Health plan, and not a foreign model like Can- tax to sell junk insurance?” Insurance Program, or new regional ada’s single-payer system—says, “First When Clinton tried to finesse such po- “health markets” that would provide a we should create [a health care system] litical opposition by making insurance choice of competitive private plans and in which everyone is covered, then we companies central to his plan, he suffered a public plan. Along the same lines, but can figure out how to rationalize it. It merciless attacks. No plan worth having with a simpler design and more robust will cost more money than if we did it will win without a massive grassroots or- public component, Yale political scien- the other way [i.e, pursing the best al- ganizing and education campaign. And tist Jacob Hacker proposes that every- ternative], but I think we have more Medicare for all is the one most likely to one not in Medicare be covered either chance of getting it done. The perfect do so, while simultaneously strengthen- by insurance at work or a public insur- cannot be the enemy of the good.” ing progressives politically. ance pool, including both regulated pri- The American people are at least open vate plans and a Medicare-like plan. lthough a small but rebound- to the argument. In a 2003 Washington Both these proposals move in the di- ing movement for some form of Post poll, one of the few to pose alter- rection of Medicare for all, but strike a AMedicare-for-all exists, some pro- natives fairly, 62 percent of respondents compromise with the existing system, gressive groups that would be its natural said they would prefer a universal health losing the potential for better efficiency partisans are reluctant to commit them- insurance program like Medicare, run and more equity in the bargain. Why selves to a specific plan. William McNary, by the government, to the current health not push for universal Medicare (aka, president of USAction, a national group insurance program. And support for the a “single payer” plan)? Proponents of of statewide citizen organzations, notes Medicare program remained nearly as compromises say Medicare for all is a that many of their allies are splintering high even if it limited the choice of doc- political non-starter. Americans, they over proposals. “Things are fracturing,” tors or led to waiting lists for non-emer- argue, are suspicious of government, he says, “it would be best for us to line gency procedures. like choices and often like the private up behind principles,” and not a plan. Jim Eventually, Medicare-for-all advo- insurance they already have. And be- Dean, chairman of Democracy for Amer- cates might have to settle for a com- sides, they say, the insurance industry— ica, a liberal movement within the Dem- promise. But the opportunity for ma- along with most business interests and ocratic Party, thinks the United States is jor change in the health care system political conservatives—would launch ripe for universal health care, but worries doesn’t come around very often. Since a scorched earth campaign against such about both infighting over the best plan any change will require a massive effort, a proposal. and the specter of corporate attacks. He why not fight for the best? n

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 3 5 in person

By Lisa Sousa In Defense of a Free Press Sarah Olson, a journalist based in the San stories that may not be popular with the Francisco Bay area, has became a hero for current administration. How would you compare your situation Americans concerned about the erosion of to that of former New York Times corre- press freedoms in the Bush era. On May 30, spondent Judith Miller? 2006, Olson interviewed Army First Lieutenant Judy Miller’s case is about revealing confidential sources and who leaked clas- Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to sified information about something. Ev- erything Lt. Watada said is on the record. publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, for the by the prosecution and the defense. A So it’s not the typical framework people Web site truthout.org and Pacifica Radio. new trial will begin on March 19. think of when they think of journalists For that refusal, on Feb. 5, the Army hauled For upholding the First Amendment being subpoenaed. This case is about him before a military court in Fort Lewis, right to freedom of the press, Olson will preserving the right of ordinary Ameri- Washington, for a court-martial. The Army receive the James Madison Award from cans, particularly men and women in charged him with one count of “missing the Society of Professional Journalists on the armed services, to speak to the press movement,” for refusing to deploy to Iraq, March 13. The award is named after Mad- without fear of retribution or censure. A and four counts of conduct unbecoming ison, the fourth President of the United number of people have suggested that the an officer and a gentleman—two of which States and the creative force behind the Army may be using his court-martial to stem from statements he made to individ- First Amendment. send a message to the rest of the military ual journalists regarding his opposition to In These Times recently spoke with Ol- that public opposition to the war isn’t go- the Iraq war. son about her case, it’s significance and ing to be tolerated. To help make their case, in December, the challenges currently facing defenders A lot of people are really down on the U.S. military subpoenaed Olson to tes- of the First Amendment. Judy Miller. I can understand that be- tify in Watada’s military trial, where if con- A number of journalists have recently cause she may have done more than any victed he could face a year in jail for each been subpoenaed to reveal their con- other single person in the United States of the two charges related to speaking with fidential sources and/or hand over to help create the war in Iraq. Her con- Olson and, on a separate occasion, Greg unpublished material. How was your sistently bad reporting and unwilling- Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. situation different? ness to verify the accuracy of the things The subpoena required Olson to appear she was saying is one of the reasons that in court on behalf of the prosecution to It was a military court that subpoenaed we’re in the war today. America’s thresh- verify Watada’s statements, even though me, rather than a civilian court. The mili- old for bringing journalists into court audio files were available on the Internet. tary is the only place that I know of where has been significantly lowered in part be- If she refused to comply, she risked a felo- people in the United States can be charged cause of Judy Miller. ny charge and six months in jail. with making personal political statements. Josh Wolf, another Bay Area-based So, Olson started a campaign to chal- For me, that’s the biggest difference. media worker, is in jail for refusing to lenge the subpoena. On Jan. 29, bowing Why didn’t you just verify what Lt. hand over his unpublished material. to public pressure, the Army dropped Watada said and get it over with? Do you think your victory is relevant the subpoena against Olson just prior to to his case? the start of the trial. The defense and the It’s a journalist’s job to report the prosecution had reached a deal: Watada news, not to participate in the govern- I certainly hope to raise awareness would verify the statements attributed ment’s prosecution of personal political about his case. Josh was working as an to him and in response the prosecution speech. These kinds of subpoenas erode independent videographer—he sold his would drop the two charges resulting the barrier between press and govern- footage of a San Francisco protest against from statements he made to journalists. ment. When speech itself is a crime, the G8 Summit in 2005 to the local Watada’s court-martial resulted in a mis- journalists are turned into an investi- news—and the local/federal law enforce- trial on Feb. 7, when the military judge gative tool of the government. It also ment agencies wanted his unpublished nullified the Stipulation of Facts accepted scares journalists away from covering outtakes. That’s totally protected under

3 6 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Do you have any criticisms about how the media covered your role in the Watada cases? The media did a fine job for the most part. One of the things I’ve learned through this process is how challenging it is for journalists to follow stories that address not just the who, what, where and when, but also the why. My situation might be very disturbing to me, my family and my friends, but the reason I began speaking publicly is not because I see this as a situation about me as a person. It’s not even a story just about Lt. Watada. It’s not about the individual players. I think mages we need to think more about why we

t t y I don’t have a place in the daily news for e Independent journalist and radio producer Sarah Olson stories that tackle the question of why. speaks at the National Press What are the ramifications of the Army EIER/AFP/G

L Club in Washington, D.C., in going after Lt. Watada for speaking out? early February. AREN B

K The Army’s own numbers show that more than 50 percent of the military is the California state shield law. [The shield For example, in a hypothetical situ- unhappy with the war and there are a law protects a journalist from being held ation, what if in the course of your in- number of high-profile objection cases in contempt of court for refusing to dis- terview someone told you they had a or AWOL cases. This is the context in close unpublished information that was nuclear bomb that was going to go off in which Lt. Watada’s court-martial is hap- gathered for news purposes, whether the 48 hours and they told you where it was, pening—it’s a very political context. I do source is confidential or not.] The pros- would you reveal that information? This believe that the Army would like to send ecutor got around that by convening a is just simply not one of those situations. a message in some way. federal grand jury, saying that a cop car Obviously I would take each situation at I think that Lt. Watada’s court-martial allegedly set on fire during the protest was its face value. will set legal precedent for decades into purchased in part by federal dollars. Did you learn anything about the the future about what’s allowable speech, On Feb. 6, he broke the record for the rights of journalists or the First and it will set political tone today for longest number of days that a journalist Amendment that you didn’t know? what is tolerated in terms of dissent. in the United States has been incarcer- We don’t know what is going to hap- ated for not handing over his unpub- Absolutely. The first thing is that jour- pen to Lt. Watada. What do you hope lished material to a federal grand jury. nalists don’t really have any rights. That people take away from his court-mar- It’s possible that Josh will continue to was really shocking to me. I wasn’t aware tial and your role in his case? sit in prison after having broken no law that the courts didn’t uphold a journal- whatsoever, which is an infuriating and ist’s ability to object to a subpoena and I hope there is greater support in the gross injustice. I wasn’t aware that you could be com- United States for journalists to be able to Did you ever waver in your decision to pelled to participate in the prosecution gather and disseminate news without the challenge the subpoena? of someone who is speaking to you. government interfering in that process. You say that media workers—and not That fundamental notion of press free- No. I was contacted by the Army in just members of the press—should dom is not as irrelevant to individuals July and I was subpoenaed in Decem- be covered under shield laws. Why do and institutions as we sometimes think. ber. I had a lot of time to think about the you make that distinction? When journalists are able to fight back situation and work myself into a First against these subpoenas, it’s possible for Amendment frenzy. By the time I was It’s important to protect the whole them to be dropped. subpoenaed I was very clear about what scope of people who are engaging in acts With regards to Lt. Watada’s situation, the issues were. of newsgathering. That includes bloggers, I want to underscore that there is a grow- Can you foresee any circumstance in Indymedia journalists and people who ing amount of dissent within the military. which you would testify on behalf of a are working on a contract basis, for exam- A majority of the troops in Iraq would government prosecution? ple, people who are working as assistants, like to come home, and active duty mem- translators and fixers in Iraq. A whole host bers of the military are increasingly find- I think a person could make a reason- of people work in newsgathering who are ing ways to express their discontent and able case that there are certain situations not traditionally defined as journalists, opposition to the war. It is very impor- when journalists should be compelled to and who don’t necessarily work for the tant that we have a media that can cover reveal certain pieces of information. Hearst Corporation or a huge paper. that perspective. n

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 3 7 culture

The input of many is a powerful tool in today’s DIY media. By Pat Aufderheide Is Wikipedia the New Town Hall? Public broadcasting everywhere is in crisis, and in part it’s because technology seems to be turning pubcasters into dinosaurs. In fact, not just them, but all broadcasters. Consider the business leaders: NBC formally declared itself an “Internet company” and is slashing its analog TV invest- been central to the public sphere. ments. Mega-media mogul Rupert Murdoch The public sphere is the informal part of our bought MySpace last year and is now considering lives where we manage the quality of our shared dumping his satellite assets because he’s looking culture. Church, the post office, sidewalks, Star- forward to wireless digital TV. Pubcasters used bucks, the water cooler—they are all places in the to be providers of trusted information. But when physical world (or what our digerati friends like to bloggers are so busy linking to each other that they call “meat space”) where people bring along their hardly have time to watch television or read news- experience with the media. It is an informally papers, is the mainstream media—even the PBSes structured set of social relationships, where power and NPRs—becoming irrelevant? can be mobilized against large institutions such as No wonder pubcasters are suffering heartburn the state and large corporations. these days. But why should the rest of us care about Mass media have acted as a pseudo-public sphere. their problems? Because communications make up Broadcast news services were stand-ins for our col- the circulatory system of public life in a democ- lective, top-priority concerns of public life. Popular racy—and for almost a century mass media have programs were, similarly, pseudo-public culture,

3 8 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s distilled examples of how a culture un- tunities for truly public communication. encyclopedia of whatever information derstands itself—or at least as corporate Communications can now, finally, visibly people want to explain to other people. broadcasters would like it to. be the constitutor of public life. It’s wide open to anyone, has more than Public broadcasting has been a pro- This is not merely an idea. Today, ev- three million articles in 125 languages… tected, if compromised, zone that pro- erybody has a blog—there are at least 70 and only three employees, counting vides some higher-quality opportunities million. They are growing by the min- founder Jimmy Wales. Everyone else is for people to learn about each other and ute, and they are growing around the a volunteer, donating money, time and their problems, and to share a common world. Blogs, it turns out, are socializing energy—many of them briefly. They fol- cultural experience of consuming the machines. Writers want readers and get low a few clear rules, including one that same media. But public broadcasting is them by linking up with other bloggers, calls for a “neutral point of view”—not still a stand-in for public communica- and so blogs form complex clouds of objectivity but a fair representation of tion, because it is a mass medium. The social relationships. different perspectives. broadcasters speak to the many, who then talk to each other. How accurate is Wikipedia? That depends on the Can digital media change this? Can new technologies bring media made by, strength of the publics that gather around the with and for the public? Could pubcast- topics being dicussed. But what’s shocking is how ers be part of it? Certainly new technologies have creat- accurate it frequently is. ed such opportunities for “many-to-many” communication, and people are leaping What about the public part, though? A Wikipedia entry is a living and con- upon it. The pace of change is extraordi- Are they actually fueling conversations stantly changing organism, reflecting the nary. The blogosphere is doubling every about issues that affect the public in ways current state of negotiations between six months, as measured in the number that allow publics to form and act? Con- people of vastly differing opinions on a of weblogs. It’s a multilingual and multi- sider a traditional role of public media: to subject. For instance, the entry on abor- cultural environment. Social networking serve as a watchdog on power. The blogo- tion reflects constant input, monitored has exploded. Traffic on MySpace, which sphere has acted in this way, transcend- and edited by others of differing views. two years ago was insignificant, had al- ing at times political partisanship. How accurate is Wikipedia? That de- ready by early 2006 far outstripped traffic For instance, when Sens. Tom Coburn pends on the strength of the publics that to traditional news Web platforms such (R-Okla.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) gather around the topics that are covered. as the New York Times and CNN. proposed the creation of a searchable But what’s shocking is how accurate it is. What used to be the audience is grad- database of all federal government con- Science entries are more accurate than en- ually being supplanted by a new entity— tracts and grants over $25,000, political tries in history. Facts that stand alone do a wildly fluctuating set of networks of bloggers of all stripes loved the idea. It better than those for which the meaning people engaged in issues and topics and would be a treasure trove for anti-corrup- changes dramatically in context. But the passions who seize upon communication research. Then suddenly one senator community of active contributors does a tions media to make their networks real put a “secret hold” on the bill, stalling it. lot for accuracy. When Alex Halavais, a and make things happen. Yesterday’s The blogosphere erupted, especially professor of interactive communication screen talked to you; you talk through Republicans and libertarians. Bloggers at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, today’s screens, whether through Skype told people to contact their senators. Connecticut, deliberately entered er- or on your video-enabled cellphone. Everyone did. Bloggers also pooled ef- rors—some minor, some middling—into Yesterday you listened to the news; now forts to flush out the secret-holder—Ted 13 widely differing Wikipedia entries, all you link to it on your blog. Yesterday Stevens (R-Alaska)—and the outcry were corrected within three hours. you watched the movie; now you make forced him to lift the hold. Mainstream What is so exciting about Wikipedia a video, put it on YouTube and link it to media reported on the event. The bill isn’t just the generation of new informa- your Facebook account. Never before was passed. And the Office of Manage- tion, but the creation of active publics have there been so many opportunities ment and Budget, which will maintain around the creation of knowledge for for publics to communicate, critique the database, had a meeting with blog- publics. People who have certain entries and create media. gers to ask for their continued support on their watch lists are part of a public in But will this new open environment ac- for efforts to monitor spending. which there can be vigorous disagreement tually generate public media—media for How about the provision of reliable but shared interest in addressing an issue. public knowledge and action, media that information, another function of pub- Wikipedia and blog actions take helps a public into being and nourishes lic media? Wikipedia is surprisingly some explaining. How can you get re- it? There’s reason for some enthusiasm. good proof that collaborative work by liability out of a mass of unreliable ac- In a new book, The Wealth of Networks, amateurs can provide balanced and re- tions? James Surowiecki, an economics legal scholar Yochai Benkler makes a liable information, and even become a writer at the New Yorker, gives it away powerful argument that DIY (do it your- vigorous site of public debate and ne- in the title of his book, The Wisdom of self) media offer unprecedented oppor- gotiation. Wikipedia is an open-source Crowds. He analyzed the research lit-

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 3 9 N E W B O O K B Y H O WA R D Z I N N ! ividedThey Blog D ion: t lec E . . S . U he 2004 he 1 column photo Caption Box: t here and and here “This brilliant new book— p like Howard Zinn’s presence, and icalBlogos his whole life— is the best possible t The community structure of political blogs. The colors reflect political antidote to political despair. Read it, orientation, red for conservative, and blue for liberal. Orange links go and rejoin the struggle for a human from liberal to conservative, and purple ones from conservative to liberal.

The size of each blog reflects the number of other blogs that link to it. source:ThePoli world and a foreign policy that’s good for children.” erature on group decision-making and Internet access structure their networks? — daniel ellsberg released the Pentagon exposed the counter-intuitive fact that How will today’s inequalities be trans- Papers in 1971 and is author of Secrets: A Mem- crowds can in fact be wise, under cer- lated into the online environment? How oir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers tain conditions. In fact, time and again will we safeguard the public from viola- when asked to solve a problem, groups tion of privacy and fraud while main-

A POWER GOVERNMENTS CANNOT SUPPRESS of people who individually and without taining equality of access? But this is a By Howard Zinn consultation pool their opinions—even thrilling if also terrifying time for public Published by City Lights when their expertise varies widely and media. Pubcasters could be leaders in includes real experts—seem regularly developing new platforms. A Power Governments Cannot Suppress to come up with answers that are at And some pubcasters are toying with is Howard Zinn’s new collection of rebellious least as good as that of the most accu- the idea of playing a role as facilitator of rate member of the group. open public media spaces. For instance, essays on American history, class, immigra- Not all crowds or groups, though. They Minnesota Public Radio has turned its tion, justice, and ordinary people who stand up need to be diverse, not in a politically listeners into sources and generators of to power. Penned over an eight-year period, A correct sense but in the sense of a great new stories with Public Insight Journal- Power Governments Cannot Suppress is variety of kinds of knowledge. You need ism. StoryCorps is generating grassroots an invaluable post-9/11-era addition to the the ignoramuses along with the smart oral histories for public radio. The In- alecs. They need to guard against being dependent Television Service and Bos- themes that run through his bestselling classic, influenced by what they think others are ton TV station WGBH are both hosting A People’s History of the United States. going to say. They need to have ways to “mashup” sites for online video. They’re

$16.95 | 308 pages | paperback aggregate their knowledge. They need to all demonstration sites that let us glimpse isbn: 978-0-087286-475-7 be able to coordinate their actions based the possibilities of public media made by on that knowledge. and for the public itself. n Now people can make their own media, share it with others and aggre- Pat Aufderheide is a senior editor at In gate what interests them, and rank this These Times and the director of the Center for College professors may order examination material. That is a “wisdom of crowds” Social Media at American University in Wash- copies for $5.00 by faxing us on school letter- recipe for decentralized, collaborative ington, D.C. She runs the Future of Public Media head with credit card info: (415) 362-4921 media creation. Project, funded by the Ford Foundation. She re- For Howard’s speaking & media schedule, or Plenty of policy roadblocks remain in cently gave the annual Graham Spry Lecture on to order copies at 30% discount, check out: the way: How will we allocate this spec- Public Broadcasting in Montreal (Spry founded www.citylights.com trum in the future? How will commer- Canada’s public broadcasting system). This essay cial and noncommercial providers of was adapted from her remarks.

4 0 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Books ing would-be critics. Gabriel García fulfill the author’s prophesy. Márquez shared dinner with Clinton, Since then, according to Johnson, our America’s Own listened to the president spontaneously country’s predicament has only wors- recite long passages of Faulkner and ened. His new book, Nemesis: The Last Worst Enemy subsequently wrote an admiring profile. Days of the American Republic, takes its By Mark Engler These days, the world’s Nobel Laure- name from the Greek “goddess of ret- ates are more likely to turn acid pens ribution and vengeance … punisher of n March 1999, President Clinton against the White House. The Bush ad- pride and hubris.” Put secularly, John- toured several Latin American coun- ministration shocked the international son is arguing that the United States Itries, surveying areas devastated by community with its aggressive milita- is its own worst enemy. Sooner rather Hurricane Mitch and meeting with gov- rism, its belief in unitary executive pow- than later, he contends, U.S. arrogance ernmental delegations to promote his vi- er, its use of torture and its good-versus- will be its downfall. sion of globalized trade and cooperative evil understanding of global affairs. Johnson’s book is made up of largely regional diplomacy. In each country, he These same troubling traits have com- autonomous chapters on a range of received a warm welcome. When Clinton manded the attention of Chalmers John- loosely-related subjects: how the Bush spoke before the National Assembly of El son, who believes they have brought us administration’s executive power grab Salvador, members of the leftist FMLN to the “last days of the American repub- undermines the U.S. Constitution as party, former guerilla leaders who had lic.” Johnson, a retired professor of Asian well as international law, how the CIA become elected representatives, respond- Studies at the University of California, functions as the president’s private ed with a standing ovation. San Diego, and current president of the army, the extent to which America’s Given that the United States had Japan Policy Research Institute, popu- extensive global network of military worked diligently throughout the ’80s larized the CIA-originated term “blow- bases provides an infrastructure for to destroy the rebel movement, this back” with his 2000 book of that title. imperial power projection, why space was an astonishing sight. Yet, in spite That volume warned that America’s co- may be the final frontier for military of the United States’ long intervention- vert interventions abroad would come expansion, and what lessons might be ist history, Bill Clinton was popular in back to haunt us, and it became a best- learned from the defunct British and Latin America. He had a way of charm- seller after the attacks of 9/11 seemed to Roman empires. Together these topics [ art s p a c e ]

Beneath the streets of Stockholm, graffiti sculptor Tibet is building an infantry of artifacts that are meant to stand the test of time. Each cement sentinel is bolted, glued or welded to its post, be it in Stockholm’s sewers or the foundations of a decaying industrial complex. A rough mishmash of human and simian forms clad in bio-hazard gear, Tibet’s creations function as a kind of cave art from a bleak and apocalyptic future. Tibet calls the sculptures “a message in a bottle with a twist,” and documents their installations at www. tibetunderground.blogspot.com. “What someone who actually finds one [of my sculptures] will think … I will never know. It’s the question that keeps me awake at night and propels the whole project.” —Erin Polgreen

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 4 1 indicate the end is near. “The time to head off financial and moral bankrupt- cy is short,” he writes. “We are on the cusp of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire.” Johnson’s writing is often described as “polemic,” but that doesn’t capture the heartfelt concern that underlies his dis- tress about our country. Whereas many of us have grown numb to White House outrages, Johnson’s indignation at the administration—its torture memos, its contempt for the freedom of public information, its defacing of established treaties—is vivid. This might be due to his conservative background: A Navy lieutenant in the early ’50s, consul- tant for the CIA from 1967 to 1973, and long-time defender of the Vietnam War, Johnson became horrified at American militarism and interventionism only later in life. He writes like he is making up for lost time. Feminist pop culture icons: Buffy, Ellen, Ani Johnson’s most distinctive contribution to the debate about U.S. empire Books is his documentation of America’s vast ties of mobilizing.” Johnson has essen- network of overseas military bases, a tially thrown up his hands. project he began in his 2004 book, The Such pessimism is overblown. The re- Bisexual Healing Sorrows of Empire. “Once upon a time, public has survived Richard Nixon and J. By Jessica Clark you could trace the spread of imperial- Edgar Hoover, and democracy, however ism by counting up colonies,” he writes battered, will outlast Bush as well. The ringing is often a sign of unfin- in Nemesis. “America’s version of the president has lost his deferential Con- ished political business,” according colony is the military base.” The United gress; his approval ratings have sunk to Cto feminist author Jennifer Baum- States maintains 737 bases worldwide, all-time lows. Bush is less an omnipo- gardner. costing more than $127 billion and cov- tent tyrant than a lame duck. She should know. Since 2002, Baum- ering at least 687,347 acres in some 30 In terms of geopolitics, the Bush gardner has been spearheading the foreign countries. For local populations legacy is also ambiguous. Nemesis is confessional “I had an abortion” cam- exposed to the pollution, bar fights and a book about hard power. Likening paign—most recently captured in the brothels that surround such encamp- America’s far-flung bases to Rome’s gar- documentary film Speak Out: I Had an ments, they are wounds that fester daily. risons, Johnson posits that not much Abortion (www.speakoutfilms.com)—and At home, Johnson argues, Americans has changed since the days of Caesar in her new book, Look Both Ways: Bi- suffer from the bloated military budgets and Octavian. But, with nuclear weap- sexual Politics, she’s tackling a topic that required to maintain this “baseworld.” ons scattered amongst major and minor makes both straights and gays wince: the Each of Johnson’s erudite chapters global powers, hard power has its limits. explosion of young women experiment- both enlightens and disturbs. But his To judge the strength of a nation, then, ing with bisexuality. underlying jeremiad about democracy’s one must also gauge its talent for softer “The label bi sounds bad,” writes Baum- death lacks analytical force. Johnson persuasion. And here the Bush admin- gardner, “because at least in some ways, looks incredulously upon “those who istration militarists have become their bisexuals are an unliberated, invisible believe that the structure of govern- own worst enemies. Acting out visions and disparaged social group.” And yet, ment in Washington today bears some of global dominance, they have inflamed she notes, according to Alfred Kinsey’s resemblance to that outlined in the world resentment and spawned ever famous studies (and a more informal sur- Constitution of 1787.” And it seems that more challenges to American power. vey of Nerve.com personals), more than there is no going back: “The legislative Our troops are embattled. Bush’s state 30 percent of women have had or seek branch of our government is broken, visits attract street protests. Discourte- same-sex encounters. In the past decade, and it is hard to imagine how it could ous politicians hover at every podium. It they have become nearly de rigueur on repair itself, given the massive interests all makes you wonder: How much more liberal arts campuses, inspiring the dis- that feed off it.” Likewise, a grassroots dangerous was it when our president was paraging acronym “LUG” (Lesbian Until movement to reclaim democracy “is both commanding and esteemed, lauded Graduation). Why? unlikely given the conglomerate con- by laureates, touring our imperial back- Porn-inspired dorm fantasies aside, the trol of the mass media and the difficul- yard to standing ovations? n rise in bisexual experimentation among

4 2 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s young women, Baumgardner argues, is intimate,” she writes “but too similar, too son and a phase, “a stage of development indicative of their desire for equality in familiar. There was almost a lack of re- … like puberty.” She values the time she romantic partnerships—and they bring spect on my part, a bit of misogyny. An- has spent in women-only spaces and re- these “gay expectations” back to their astasia was so delectable, but also, like Ms., lationships. However, she suggests that encounters with men. Not just lusting a ghetto—too confining, over-populated, dwelling in a sense of oppression ulti- after “anything that moves,” as the stereo- under-resourced, and undervalued—a mately “fetishishes male power, making type goes, young women who “look both margin that is expected to hold too much.” it larger than it is.” ways” are interested in romance, in being Passages like these add depth to Look While experimenting with same-sex understood completely and treated as full Both Ways, as they cut straight to the relationships can reveal internalized prej- people. Bisexuality, writes Baumgardner, heart of many young women’s fraught udices for women, it also allows them to is as much about “crazy, overwhelming, relationship to both feminism and their play with male roles—including sleeping cue-the-orchestra love” as it is about “hot, own femininity. While Baumgardner with and even objectifying women—de- messy, cue the Led-Zepplin-record sex.” acknowledges and honors the powerful mystifying masculine power. Such free- Many of Baumgardner’s theories are role that feminism has played in the lives dom from traditional interaction pat- drawn from her own experiences, both as of generations of American women, she terns can be liberating and instructive. an openly bisexual woman and as a femi- also recognizes that the movement has Baumgardner notes that feminism has nist writer who noted the rise of gay, lesbi- lost steam as women have gained more too often downplayed the pleasure of an, bisexual and transgender activism on power. Like the second wave feminists personal sexual expression and display. college campuses while on previous book who came before them, young women She calls women’s reclamation of the ob- tours with writing partner Amy Richards. exploring their sexual identities are ide- jectifying gaze “defanging the babe.” Though she shares the values of the larg- alists—but they are less hampered by a Baumgardner places Look Both Ways er “queer” culture, she eschews the term rigid code of political conduct that forces squarely in the feminist tradition by fram- itself, noting that younger activists tend them to forswear men entirely. Once- ing the struggle for civil and social rights to use it, but she isn’t comfortable doing revolutionary women-only spaces like as a historical progression. For her, fight- so. In Look Both Ways she tells her own the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival ing for bisexuals to be recognized and story, and reexamines the stories of both have become quaint and claustrophobic. treated as equals in their own right is a contemporary and second-wave feminists Yet, individual women must still grap- feminist impulse, as it extends the battle who have had relationships with both ple with stereotypes and glass ceilings. for personal freedom to a still-maligned women and men. For Baumgardner, life Baumgardner deals with this tension by group. In her own life, Baumgardner narratives are key to understanding and recasting feminism as both a crucial les- notes, it accords with her desire for inclu- defining one’s bisexuality. She argues that a person’s sexual identity is formed from cumulative sexual experiences and attrac- tions, rather than who is one’s partner at any given time. “People who look both ways deserve to have a sexuality that originates in them, not one that’s a reflection of who they are currently sleeping with—a core of sexuality that is our own,” she writes. As a lover of complex stories, Baum- gardner cooks up quite a stew for the reader: a pinch of Freudian psychology; a dollop of passionately retold feminist history; a cupful of pop culture icons like Buffy, Ellen and Ani; and generous portions of personal anecdotes, including her own dalliances with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls and her trouble achiev- ing orgasms with male partners. The effect is a bit like a late-night grad-school gabfest: revealing, smart, titillating—and, yes, sometimes cringe-inducing. Along the way, she brings up topics that most feminists would rather let lie, such as her own internal prejudices she encountered in the relationship with her first girl- friend, Anastasia, whom she met while working at Ms. “With Anastasia, the relating was very

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 4 3 sion. She writes, “I don’t want there to be a space that I don’t have access to.” While this need has inspired her feminism, she notes, “it is the GLBT movement that is Homeless and Scorned changing the world right now—as opposed to feminism, which is embedded in Lisa Gray-Garcia, aka Tiny, grew up homeless in California. Gray-Garcia, a journalist and founder of the San Francisco-based POOR Magazine, tells of her our culture and laws, and in many ways is childhood in Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America. Below, much less visible.” Gray-Garcia describes the point when she says “our official homelessness began.” Perhaps it’s this currency, this political frisson, which makes bisexuality sexy to I experienced my first bitter taste of class discrimination at the Shangri-La. young women, along with its lingering “Miss, how long are you planning to stay here?” the undertaker-like front whiff of taboo. But for how long? After desk man would ask us each day. Theoretically that was none of his business all, according to Baumgardner, the end since we were paying him every day before check-out time, but still he would goal is not the endless production of ever- ask, and then suddenly, one week after our arrival he shook his head from more-boutique political movements, but side to side in a defiant “no” when I tried to pay him for that night’s stay. the serial dissolution of movements, al- “I’m sorry miss, but I can’t extend your stay.” “But why?” my breath began lowing each of us to be socially recog- to leave my chest. “We’re booked,” he wouldn’t look at me. “But you told us nized as “complex individuals.” the room was available all winter when we checked in.” She suggests that such progress can be “Well, I’m sorry.” […] judged, in part, by the way that minorities Later that day as we were dragging out our burgeoning Hefty bags contain- are treated in popular media. Take the tra- ing everything we could carry (we didn’t have money for luggage and would jectory of gay television characters as an try to make the white and black plastic bags look less like trash bags by tying example—from the mincing queens and them in elaborate knots at the top) the bellman told us quietly, sadly, and in bull dykes of comedy to the courageous solidarity that the hotel management had gotten martyrs of the AIDS era, through a phase a lot of “comments” about us. “Comments” is as “chic” mascots in the ’90s, to more code for “trash,” “homeless,” “bums,” et al., and recent roles as everyday characters with as I thought about it I couldn’t understand what human foibles. Baumgardner offers the would elicit those comments—we didn’t smell, example of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as our clothes were clean and relatively new, our a parable. Just as this series ends with the hair was clean, we were showered. What had birth of many slayers, freeing Buffy from condemned us, then? the burden of individual heroism, she sug- But it didn’t matter, we were homeless, we were gests, the acceptance of contested identi- two women alone. Our car was old, filled with ties by the larger population frees activists everything we owned, topped off by a weary, from the burden of heroically embodying blue king-sized mattress perched on it’s side like their race, class or sexual preference. a cloth wave in mid-break. We didn’t belong to Baumgardner began her project just anyone or anything. We paid with cash, we had before gay pop culture became ubiqui- no credit cards, we owned nothing of value. tous. “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy did not exist, nor did The L Word. … Ellen did not have a great new talk show that proved how popular she was despite be- hackles of gay and feminist activists, but Parodoxically, she suggests, the end ing gay. Gavin Newsom hadn’t yet rushed its one of the most interesting moments result of so many young women looking gay marriage out of the land of theory in the book. By looking both ways (both both ways may be to allow gays, lesbians, and into the messy world,” she writes. She physically and metaphorically), bisexu- bisexuals, transsexuals and everyone in suggests that even current controversies als are able to pass as straight. Because of between to develop “straight expecta- about gay marriage have widened accep- this, she argues, they expect and demand tions”—the assumption that they will be tance. “All of the news stories about gay equality and acceptance to an extent that seen and treated as fully human no mat- marriage, for instance, make people who earlier generations of closeted gays and ter who they sleep with. wouldn’t normally talk about gay people lesbians couldn’t. In this, they are much Baumgardner says that she hopes her or rights talk about them. I have to believe like the young women who embody femi- book will validate the experiences of that it leads to the next steps of liberation, nist ideals while turning their backs on young women, providing an opening for the ones where gay people aren’t a cute movement dogma. identification and quintessentially femi- cultural topic or a fad to exploit.” “It’s the tragic part of being gay (or nist consciousness-raising. While she is Rejecting the pressure to be a “model” thereabouts) that I don’t want any part of, sometimes embarrassed by revealing the feminist or lesbian, Baumgardner coun- honestly,” writes Baumgardner. “It’s not details of her life, she told me, “I think the terintuitively champions the virtues of en- so much that I am afraid of it. It’s more shame is not OK, it’s going to hurt me. titlement and the messiness of authentic that tragedy is not the whole story and, “It’s my experience that if you’re bold personal discovery. Her discussion of the like focusing on back-alley butchers to enough to have the conversation, incred- privileges of bisexuality is sure to raise the justify abortion rights, it’s over-told.” ible things come out of it.” n

4 4 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s health + science

by Terry j. Allen HPV Vaccine: Betting on a Mercky Record e r c k While Perry’s pace is suspect, Merck’s long-term effects remain unknown. launched is transparent. If Gardasil becomes rou- “The published data looks great, but Mits new cer- tine, the $360 course will generate an- at the very least, I would like to see vical cancer vaccine nual sales of $3.2 billion by 2010. This efficacy data among 11- and 12-year- with a major advertis- potential windfall has led cynics to dub olds, which won’t emerge until they ing and lobbying blitz, the push the “Help Pay for Vioxx” pro- are sexually active,” says Karen Smith- and pushed to make gram. Before Merck withdrew the ar- McCune, a professor of obstetrics and the drug mandatory thritis drug in 2004, it may have caused gynecology at the University of Cali- for all 11- to 12- year- almost 28,000 deaths, according to fornia, San Francisco. old girls. Cervical FDA estimates. In one Texas liability It also takes time to assess whether cancer, caused by the trial, lawyers produced documents and data are comprehensive and reliable, sexually transmitted human papillo- e-mails from Merck scientists discuss- and mirror real-world conditions. Mer- mavirus (HPV), affects 10,000 women ing Vioxx’s potential heart risks as early ck outsourced some of its Gardasil tri- in the United States every year, and as 1997, more than two years before it als to Contract Research Organizations kills 3,700. The toll is far greater in the went on the market. (CROs) in the developing world, includ- developing world, where women lack In the meantime, people will have to ing JayaJan Pharmaceutical Research in diagnostic Pap tests. weigh the risks of trying a new vaccine. India. CROs are part of a $14 billion Gardasil may well be what Merck While there are good reasons for women industry that recruits subjects and runs claims: a lifesaving vaccine that pro- to take Gardasil—especially if they lack trials for Big Pharma. Conflicts of inter- tects against key HPV strains without access to regular Pap tests—there are also est can arise when CROs are paid royal- any significant side effects. Because solid reasons for waiting before making ties only after a drug is approved rather the drug is most effective on unex- it mandatory. (They do not include the than getting a set fee independent of posed populations, the FDA recom- paranoid belief that all vaccines are evil, results, or when CROs believe favorable mends vaccinating girls as young as or the worry that protecting against an findings will lead to future contracts. nine—before they are sexually active. STD encourages girls—already unde- Merck spokesperson Amy Rose refused Merck—along with Women in Gov- terred by fear of AIDS, pregnancy, fum- to specify how, or even if, the company ernment (WIG), a recipient of Merck bling teenage foreplay, eternal damna- oversees CROs. funding—went one step further, advo- tion, or being labeled a slut—to indulge The FDA—hobbled by underfund- cating mandatory vaccination. WIG has in unbridled sex.) ing, politicization and dependence on introduced bills in 20 states; in Florida, “The safety of new agents cannot be Big Pharma money—has few resources Merck helped write the legislation. In known with certainty until a drug has to assess foreign trials and relies on drug Texas, brushing aside abstinence junk- been on the market for years,” accord- companies. Even U.S. studies are sub- ies and the legislature, Gov. Rick Perry ing to a 2002 study in the Journal of the ject to manipulation, as when research- issued an executive order requiring American Medical Association. “Serious ers simply exclude unfavorable trials vaccination for all girls entering the ADRs [adverse drug reactions] com- from those submitted to the FDA. sixth grade unless parents opt out. monly emerge after Food and Drug Ad- Of course, none of this means that The stealth timing (late on Friday, ministration approval.” Reacting to out- Gardasil is unsafe. Few things in medi- just before Super Bowl Sunday), poli- rage over Vioxx and other drug safety cine are guaranteed, and odds are good tics (Perry is a pro-abstinence Chris- debacles, the FDA announced on Jan. that the HPV vaccine is a life-saving tian Conservative), and speed of Perry’s 30 that it will eventually require com- breakthrough. But consumers, activ- order (just months after the FDA ap- prehensive safety reviews of new drugs ists, health professionals, and parents proved the vaccine and before all the 18 months after their introduction. wanted the option of waiting for more data have been published) raised ques- For now, assurances of efficacy and data. The mighty PR stink they raised tions. It soon emerged that the WIG safety are only as good as the data on smothered Merck’s lust for an instant state director is the mother-in-law of which they are based. While more blockbuster. On Feb. 20, the company Perry’s current chief of staff, and his for- than 20,000 women between ages 16 announced it would immediately stop mer chief of staff is now one of Merck’s and 26 took part in trials, the sample of lobbying state legislatures to make vac- three Texas lobbyists. The governor re- 9- to 15-year-old girls was small—only cination mandatory. n ceived $6,000 from Merck’s political ac- 1,184. And since no participants have tion committee. been followed for more than five years, contact Terry J. Allen at [email protected]

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4 6 m a r c h 2 0 0 7 I n T h e s e T i m e s Webb adds a coda: Years later, she ran into All present hope that the stories in New Left Elders Wilkerson, and found out that she hadn’t Generation on Fire will cut through the Continued from back page even been at the rally, let alone made the haze of legend to inspire young activists phone call. She later discovered that the today. Gloria Richardson, a civil-rights Nobody minds. It’s a day for jok- FBI had been running a COINTELPRO veteran whose battleground was not the ing, mostly about lost hair and gained counterintelligence operation to infiltrate Deep South but her hometown of Cam- pounds, just like any reunion. Even- and disrupt the anti-war movement at the bridge, Md.—when JFK ordered locals tually, everyone sits down and begins time. The call, she now assumes, came to halt their protests against whites-only swapping stories. Kisseloff’s books are from someone imitating Wilkerson. restaurants after the governor declared notable for including very few famous There are knowing nods around the martial law, Richardson famously re- people, though a few do slip in (Daniel table. Jim Fouratt, a founder of the Gay plied that the president could go to Berrigan is the ringer this time around): to make the cut, the only criterion is to ‘I think that America as a nation is perfectly be a great storyteller. Great stories are on hand. Zellner, who happy to keep [the history of the ’60s] quiet, joined SNCC as a college student in his because they can’t afford for young people— native Alabama, tells of the segregationist who tried to gouge out his eyes at a rally black and white—to follow their idealism.’ on the city hall steps in McComb, Miss. Later, as he sat in a ramshackle jail not Liberation Front and one of the Yippies hell—is most peeved that the civil-rights knowing whether to fear more his jail- who tossed dollar bills onto the floor of movement has been painted as a collec- ers or the mob that waited outside, “four the New York Stock Exchange to pro- tion of Kings and Abernathys, with an men came in suits and ties to interview test the war (the resulting mad scramble occasional fed-up Rosa Parks added for me and take pictures of my wounds—that shut down trading), chimes in that he every-person flavor. was the FBI. They said, ‘We were there, spent three months in a Texas jail on a “This was a secular movement,” she and we didn’t want you to think you were trumped-up drug charge, emerging to says. “Almost everybody was a church all alone. We wrote it all down.’ ” hear rumors that he was an FBI infor- member, but it was not led by preachers.” David Cline, an early activist with Viet- mant, something he says has “haunted It was only after the first wave of demon- nam Veterans Against the War, tells how him” the rest of his life. strators had been jailed repeatedly, she in 1967 he had broken his leg in a car ac- “It came, I believe, from this program,” says, that she and other parents went to cident, and it healed a half-inch shorter, he says. “The goal was to take potential SNCC to demand training to pick up something he assumed would keep him leaders and destroy them.” where their children had left off. out of the draft. “But ’67 was a pretty “I think young people today are always heavy year, and they were just looking ll those assembled still consid- looking up to this Martin figure,” she for live bodies to replace dead bodies.” er themselves activists, in one way says. “Nobody talks about who went to He ended up in combat for six months, Aor another. On the Generation on jail. Predominantly, those hundreds of getting shot twice and hit once by mor- Fire Web site (www.generationonfire. cities in the South that were organized tar shrapnel. He recalls the moment of com), which features interviews (in- were mostly by high school and gram- his radicalization: his superiors led him cluding Fouratt’s) that were cut from the mar school students putting their bodies to the body of a young North Vietnamese book, Kisseloff notes that this continued on the line.” It’s a good model for orga- soldier he’d shot, saying, “You did a good engagement didn’t sit well with agents or nizing, says Richardson, because “they job, son, here’s the gook you killed,” and publishers: “I think that rankled a lot of can’t control those young people. They all he could think of was how the man’s people who would have preferred that can’t fire them, they can’t stop them from mother would react to the news. the people in the book all ended up as getting a loan at a bank.” Marilyn Salzman Webb, who was active sellouts.” Richardson, now in her 80s, has no in the civil rights, anti-war and feminist Cline works with both VVAW and patience for “listen to your elders” talk. movements, recounts the incident that Veterans for Peace, and has advised the “I think that America as a nation is per- helped lead the women’s liberation move- nascent Iraq Veterans Against the War. fectly happy to keep that quiet, because ment to split from the broader New Left. Verandah Porche, co-founder of the Ver- they can’t afford for young people—black After being jeered off the stage at a Nixon mont commune that inspired Kisseloff to and white—to follow their idealism. counter-inaugural rally for daring to give begin this project, stages “Voices of the “A lot of times people empathize with a women’s rights speech, she says, she Uninsured” poetry readings to promote an issue, but they don’t really know what got a phone call. “If you or anybody else universal health coverage. And Barry to do—I know that happened to us at first ever gives a speech like that anywhere in Melton, former lead guitarist of antiwar in the movement,” she says, as the Nation the country,” said the voice on the other heroes Country Joe and the Fish, is now interns finish their free sandwiches and end, “we’ll beat the shit out of you.” Webb a public defender in California—where, the guests of honor take turns cleaning thought she recognized the distinctive ca- he says, he now commonly has to shoo up the remains of the meal. “You stand dence as that of Students for a Democratic military recruiters who accompany de- there and watch and you hope they suc- Society activist Cathy Wilkerson. fendants to court, hoping to get them off ceed, but you don’t really realize that you In the book, the anecdote ends there. But so they can be shipped to Iraq. too can go in and do it.” n

I n T h e s e T i m e s m a r c h 2 0 0 7 4 7 Elders of the New Left

by Neil deMause

t sounds worryingly like the setup for a punch line: What do you get when you put nine ’60s radicals in a conference room at the offices of the Nation magazine? Or maybe a the title for a reality series—you have the Chicago Eight member, the anti-war veteran, the feminist, the white civil-rights activist and the black civil-rights activist—“That ’60s Show,” perhaps. Fortunately, this gathering is a less high-concept occasion: Ithe publication of Generation on Fire, the latest book by Jeff Kisseloff, whose previous oral histories brought to light turn- of-the-century Manhattan (You Must Remember This) and the early years of television (The Box). A labor of love that took a decade to find its way to publication, his new book focuses on the social movements that raged during Kissel- off’s formative years. For the Nation Nine, who represent about half of the book’s interview subjects, this luncheon will be their first meeting outside of the printed page, aside from those who knew each other back in the day. The first joke flies about 15 minutes after we’ve arrived. Bob Zellner, who came to fame as the only Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer whose daddy was a Klansman, tries to gather the assembled to sit down and eat. Yet everyone mills around even more ag- gressively. And the New York Times photographer quips: “This is going to be true to the times, isn’t it?”

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