The Fire This Time…And The Next
Filed under: Global Economy & Politics, Me Stuff, Society & Economy
For the past several days I have been engaged in an online discussion with English people about the riots. It has been a profoundly troubling experience. There is a tight nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach as I write these words. All of the deep, dangerous class and racial divisions in English society are in full view and people are no longer talking in niceties. That was the fire this time. Where will the fires break out next time? No one can say, but as an American, I believe we are on a similar road that led to to Tottenham. These thoughts below are part of that online discussion. These have been edited for clarity..
A World of Secrets: Why we should cherish leakers & hackers.
Filed under: Global Economy & Politics, Society & Economy, Technology
When I was teaching at a Catholic women’s high school on Chicago’s South Side, I did not allow note passing in class. It was distracting to the learning environment. I quietly confiscated them, placed them on my desk and asked that they be picked up at the end of class. I did not destroy or read them. Their contents, their authors and their recipients were none of my business. These young women lived in a crowded urban world where their privacy was invaded by both adults and their own peers.
I wanted them to understand that while note passing was rude, that was no excuse for authorities to invade their privacy. It was my way of showing respect. I feel the same today about people’s personal phone calls, e-mail messages, text messages, casual conversations, instant messages and the like. Unless there is clear and compelling evidence of criminal wrongdoing, there is no reason to invade what little privacy people have these days. It’s rude behavior by authorities and should not be tolerated in a civilized society.
The South Will Rise Again
Filed under: Global Economy & Politics, Job Safety & Ecology, U.S. Politics, Unions, Workplace
On April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. It ended the Civil War. The surrender was actually a great victory for the American South because it was another nail in the coffin of slavery.
On July 27, 2011 Southern workers at Danville, Virginia’s Swedish-owned IKEA plant voted overwhelmingly for union recognition with the International Association of Machinists (IAM). This was another great victory for The South. Although both slavery and legal segregation are gone, the scourge of cheap labor & poor working conditions remains. These are not just material hardships for Southern workers, but an insult to their honor and self respect as human beings.
Why I am not disillusioned with Barack Obama
“From his community organizing days to the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama has always put pragmatic deal-making above ideology, even when it angered allies.” —Chicago Tribune reporter James Warren from his article ‘Get Over It: This Is Who Obama Is.’
I am not disillusioned with Barack Obama. Unhappy, yes, but not disillusioned. Having observed Barack Obama from his earliest days as a successful politician, I naively thought that people outside of Chicagoland understood his background as a community organizer. In the grit and grime of Chicago street level politics, deals are struck are all the time among bitter foes. Deals are also often trampled on and forgotten when the power relationships shift. Read more