Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 11.03.05

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     11.03.05

1. Landmines/dinner   11.03 7pm
2. Cuban Five/CTV     11.03 8:30pm

3. Wage ordinance     11.04 9:30am
4. Six hunters case   11.04 7:30pm

5. Bicking campaign   11.05 8am
6. Homeless vets      11.05 10am
7. Latino soldier     11.05 10am
8. Evolution/creation 11.05 10am
9. Socialist conf     11.05 10am Chicago IL
10. Greens/StPaul     11.05 12noon
11. Econ justice tour 11.05/06 1pm +
12. Get real/films    11.05 2:30pm +
13. Dean Z fundraiser 11.05 4pm
14. Who benefits?     11.05 4:30pm
15. Activist art      11.05 5pm
16. Belfry center     11.05 7pm
17. Coreopsis poetry  11.05 7pm

18. Cockburn/StClair - Holy Alito! Not as crazy as Scalia, but just as bad
19. M Junaid Alam    - Lying and the culture of life: what moral values?
20. John Walsh       - Leo's lies
21. ed               - Neo Leo lies (poem)

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Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 17:54:12 EST
From: MJShahidiusa [at] aol.com
Subject: Landmines/dinner 11.03 7pm

Thanks to some of you, we have raised over $90,000.00 in the past few
years from Minnesota alone and we have removed landmines from 80 acres of
land in Afghanistan.

This year's international Night of a Thousand Dinners is November 3, 2005.
Everyone is invited to prepare food and invite others for dinner or take
them to a restaurant and pay for them. Instead, the guests are requested
to make a donations for landmine removal. Or, you may get together for
drinks and snacks and ask each other for a donation.

ON THURSDAY, 11/03,05, 7pm, WE WILL BE GOING TO DaAFGHAN RESTAURANT FOR
AUTHENTIC DINNER. Students $15.00, others $25.00. Call me for reservation,
at 612-328-1913, until Th., 2 p.m. $10.00 from each donation will go to
Adopt-A-Minefield program, United Nations Association, 2104 Stevens Avenue
South, Minneapolis, MN 55404. www.unamn.org


--------2 of 21--------

Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 08:52:04 -0600
From: leslie reindl <alteravista [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Cuban Five/CTV 11.03 8:30pm

Altera Vista
Thurs Nov 3, 8:30 pm, St. Paul cable Channel 15:  "The Cuban Five:
Imprisoned by the U.S. for Trying to Stop Terrorism Against Cuba," with
Prof. Gary Prevost, St. John's University, and Prof. Peter Erlinder,
William Mitchell College of Law, taped Aug. 29, 2005.


--------3 of 21--------

Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 20:15:52 GMT
From: Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council <kyle [at] mplscluc.com>
Subject: Wage ordinance 11.04 9:30am

Minneapolis Living Wage Ordinance -One step left to go!

Over 135 union members, members of the faith community, and community
activists packed the public hearing to support the Minneapolis Living Wage
Ordinance on Monday. You can read coverage of the public hearing at
www.workdayminnesota.org .

Because of strong public support for the measure, the ordinance passed
through the committee hearing, and will now come before a vote of the full
City Council this Friday, November 4! This is the final step for this
important ordinance, and we need to make sure our opponents aren't able to
weaken the language.

Please join us at City Hall this Friday, November 4

9:30 am - Full meeting of the Minneapolis City Council - City
Hall Council Chambers, Room 317

The proposed Living Wage Ordinance would strengthen the current
policy in these ways:

 -Raise the definition of a Living Wage to 130% of the federal poverty
limit ($12.09/hr - the level at which a family of four qualifies for food
stamps).
 -Applies to businesses who are awarded city contracts or business
subsidies.
 -Make it a strong, enforceable ordinance with penalties for violations
and strong enforcement mechanisms.

The Minneapolis City Council has been generally supportive of the Living
Wage Proposal, but our opponents are starting to turn up the heat. It is
important that city leaders hear from constituents that want to pass a
strong, enforceable, Living Wage Ordinance!

Call and email your Council Member and Mayor Rybak and urge them to
support the Living Wage Ordinance:

Ward 1, Paul Ostrow (612) 673-2201,
paul.ostrow [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 2, Paul Zerby (612) 673-2202,
paul.zerby [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 3, Don Samuels (612) 673-2203,
don.samuels [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 4, Barb Johnson (612) 673-2204,
barbara.johnson [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 5, Natalie Johnson-Lee (612) 673-2205,
natalie.johnsonlee [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 6, Dean Zimmerman (612) 673-2206,
dean.zimmerman [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 7, Lisa Goodman (612) 673-2207,
lisa.goodman [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 8, Robert Lilligren (612) 673-2208,
robert.lilligren [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 9, Gary Schiff (612) 673-2209,
gary.schiff [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 10, Dan Niziolek (612) 673-2210,
dan.niziolek [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 11, Scott Benson (612) 673-2211,
scott.benson [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 12, Sandra Colvin-Roy (612) 673-2212,
sandra.colvin.roy [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Ward 13, Barrett Lane (612) 673-2213,
barrett.lane [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Mayor RT Rybak (612) 673-2100, rt [at] minneapolis.org


--------4 of 21--------

Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 21:01:08 -0600
From: Bao Phi
Subject: Six hunters case 11.04 7:30pm

The Loft presents
IMPARTIAL (?)
Asian American Artists and Community Response to the Chai Soua Vang Case

Featuring Tou Ger Xiong, Ka Vang, Blong Yang, F.I.R.E., Ed Bok Lee,
Juliana Pegues, John Thao, David Mura, Shoua Lee, Bryan Thao Worra, Thuyet
Nguyen, Daniel S. Le, Chao Thao, Pete Wong, and CCR

Performance and Informal Discussion moderated by Bao Phi and Tou Saiko Lee
Friday November 4, 7:30pm
Free and open to the public
At the Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
www.loft.org <http://www.loft.org/>

The guilty verdict is in.  Six hunters are dead.  The Wisconsin attorney
general has stated this case was "not about race".  Do we see simply in
black and white?  Where are the shades of color that flesh out our
reality?  Asian Pacific Islander American artists and community members
express an alternative perspective on this case and the surrounding issues
which have been lacking in media coverage.  Moderated community discussion
to follow show.  Co-sponsored by the Loft and Pan Asian American Voices
for Equality.

Thien-bao Thuc Phi Program Associate The Loft 1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55415 612-215-2585 baophi [at] loft.org
<mailto:baophi [at] loft.org> www.loft.org <http://www.loft.org/>


--------5 of 21--------

From: Ian Stade <ianstade [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Dave Bicking campaign 11.05 8am

We are doing lit dropping and doorknocking for Green Party candidate for
Mpls City Council Dave Bicking this weekend, going out of his house 3211
22nd Ave South all day.  Starting at 8am to 6pm.  There will be somebody
at his house from 9am-2pm to set up people with lit and doorknocking
sheets.

We also need phone callers and people to help on election day.
Please email (ianstade [at] gmail.com) or call me if you can help (532-8288).


--------6 of 21--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Homeless vets 11.05 10am

Saturday, 11/5, 10 am, meeting of Veterans for Peace Minneapolis, talking
about homeless veteran issues, Peacehouse, 510 E. Franklin, Minneapolis.
waynewittman [at] msn.com


--------7 of 21--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Latino soldier 11.05 10am

Latino Soldier Speaks
SATURDAY, November 5 10-11:30am

Camilo Mejia, the first veteran of the war against Iraq to go AWOL,
spent a year in prison because of his decision. He will speak on his
opposition to war and the relevance of the peace movement to Latin America.

$4 ($3 MEMBERS) ROMERO ROOM RESOURCE CENTER OF THE AMERICAS 3019 Minnehaha
Avenue Minneapolis


--------8 of 21-------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Evolution/creation 11.05 10am

November 5 - Evolution/Creation Debate Author Speaking.  10am. Cost: $10
(includes coffee, juice, muffins and fruit.).

Michael Rose, Historian and Philosopher from Florida State and author of
The Evolution-Creation Struggle and veteran of many evolution/creation
debates will be guest speaker at a special Critical Thinking Club meeting.

Room 351 Terrence Murphy Hall at downtown Minneapolis campus of University
of St. Thomas, 1000 LaSalle, Minneapolis


---------9 of 21--------

From: adamcturl <adamcturl [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Socialist conference 11.05 10am Chicago IL

2005 Midwest Socialist Conference
WAR, POVERTY, RACISM
TIME FOR AN ALTERNATIVE!

10am, Saturday, November 5 * Chicago, Illinois
(University of Illinois-Chicago, 750 S. Halsted)

A new opposition is being born. In Washington, D.C., hundreds of thousands
turned out in the biggest anti-war demonstration since the start of the
Iraq war.

Millions are asking questions about, in Time Magazine's words, "system
failure." The free market has produced savage inequalities. Instead of
addressing these, the U.S. has imposed policies that have further
impoverished workers and the poor. To back up its economic agenda, Bush
has diverted billions of dollars to wars and occupations in Afghanistan,
Iraq, and Haiti.

With increasing urgency, a new generation of activists is looking for an
alternative that can explain the crisis in our world and help galvanize a
fight for a better society. This year's Midwest Socialist Conference,
"War, Racism, and Poverty: Time for an Alternative,"  addresses today's
burning issues, how to fight for immediate reforms, and organize for a new
society - a socialist society built to meet human needs from New Orleans
to Baghdad.

WORKSHOPS AND FORUMS INCLUDE:

 Race and Class Exposed: How Can We Stop Oppression?
 Hidden from History: The Fighting Tradition of U.S. Workers
 Abortion Rights and the Fight for Women's Liberation
 No Human Being is Illegal: The Fight for Immigrant Rights
 Iraq for Iraqis: Why We Defend the Right to Resist
 Army of None: Organizing Against Military Recruitment
 Is Socialism Against Human Nature?
 Socialism from Below or Socialism from Above: Marxism vs.  Stalinism
 System Failure: Why Capitalism Doesn't Work
 Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx
 What do Socialists Mean By Revolution?
 Soldiers Rebellions: From Vietnam to Iraq
 The Fire Last Time: Student Movements of the 1960s
 Israel: The Hijack State
 Introduction to the ISO
 Chavez, Venezuela and the Fight for Socialism
 Leninism: Myth and Fact

FULL PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

10am-11am Registration/Welcome
11am-12:30pm Workshops
U.S. Imperialism Today: Is the Bush Doctrine Finished?

Hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters turn out as George W. Bush's
opinion polls drop. Diplomacy is offered in place of war on Axis of Evil
member North Korea. The European Union is forced to retreat from its
U.S.-backed threats to get tough on the nuclear program of another member
of the "axis," Iran. Is the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive warfare finished?
And can the antiwar movement prevail in getting the U.S. out of Iraq? Come
to this workshop to discuss the future of the Bush Doctrine and the
struggle against U.S. imperialism.

Hidden from History: The Fighting Tradition of U.S. Workers

Workers in the U.S. have a rich history of resistance from the 19th
century to the presents--of fighting back and achieving gains previously
thought unthinkable. But that history remains largely hidden. This
workshop brings that history to light and reveals its lessons for today.

Introduction to the ISO

The International Socialist Organization is dedicated to fighting for a
world free of all exploitation, racism and sexual oppression - society
whose productive resources are democratically owned and controlled by the
working-class majority, and where human need replaces capitalist greed.
This workshop will provide an introduction to the politics and practices
of the ISO and provide lots of time for questions, disagreements and
discussion for those who are new to the group or interested in joining.

Abortion Rights and the Fight for Women's Liberation

Women's right to abortion has been separated from the struggle for women's
liberation in recent years. Ever since the Roe v.  Wade decision made it
legal for women to have abortions in 1973, laws have been passed that
restrict women, especially the young and poor, from having access to an
abortion. Nicole Colson gives a history of the struggles that won abortion
rights and wider freedoms for women and argue what we need to do today to
save abortion rights and fight for the true liberation of all women.

Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto over 150
years ago. Since those days there has been no shortage of people to argue
that his ideas about how capitalism really works, and about how workers
could overthrow capitalism and replace it with a truly democratic
society--are outdated. But again and again, Marx's ideas shed needed light
on the system and struggles of today. This talk aims at looking at the
revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx--and what they mean for socialists and
activists today.

No Human Being is Illegal: The Fight for Immigrant Rights

>From the Minutemen's vigilante attacks on immigrants--to the governors of
border states "declaring a state of emergency" on the borders immigrants
are being scapegoated by both politians and right-wing thugs. Where does
this war on immigrants come from and what can be done to build a united
movement to take on the scapegoaters - both in office and on the streets?
Bridget Broederick and Orlando Sepuleveda explain.

12:30-2:00pm Lunch Break

2:00-3:30pm Workshops

Iraq for Iraqis: Why We Defend the Right to Resist

Many who oppose the Iraq War are horrified by the religious ideas and
military actions of the resistance to U.S. forces. It is argued that if
American forces were to pull out now, not only would it leave behind a
civil war but right-wing religious fanatics would take over. This talk
will discuss the reality behind the media myths about the "insurgents" as
well as discuss the politics of self- determination for an occupied
people.

Army of None: Organizing Against Military Recruitment

A new student movement against military recruitment has grown - at
colleges and high schools across the U.S.--at the same time as the
military has failed repeatedly to meet its recruitment goals. This
student-led workshop aims to share experiences and strategies in the fight
against military recruitment--in this key struggle against the occupations
of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Is Socialism Against Human Nature?

People who want to end the exploitation, oppression, poverty and war
characteristic of modern capitalist society are regularly told tha
fundamental change is impossible because of human nature. Human nature is
also said to make socialism impossible. Human beings, it is claimed, are
naturally selfish, competitive and aggressive. But is there any evidence
that these familiar claims about human nature are actually true? Sarah
Macaraeg exposes the truth about these claims and makes the case that
socialism is not only possible, but necessary.

Socialism from Below or Socialism from Above: Marxism vs.  Stalinism

Generations of Americans have been raised on the notion that socialism
leads to Stalinist gulags, gray homogeneity and authoritarianism. But the
real Marxist tradition of workers' power from below is quite the opposite.
Elizabeth Lalasz will provide a historical and theoretical challenge to
Stalinism and resurrect the democratic Marxist tradition.

System Failure: Why Capitalism Doesn't Work

The greed and inequality of our society is often explained as an
expression of indifferent and arrogant leaders. But the fact that millions
starve and go homeless, while others have feasts and mansions is not
simply the outcome of selfishness, but the results of a system based on
profit. Adam Turl will explain the basic economics of capitalism and what
Marxists challenge is a humane and realistic alternative.

Race and Class Exposed: How Can We Stop Oppression?

Hurricane Katrina exposed the depths of racism and poverty in America.
Forty years after the Civil Rights Act and the War on Poverty, inequality
is as stark and severe as ever.  Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor will explain why
and how race and class are used, who benefits from them and how to mount a
challenge to a system that requires the immiseration of many in order for
a minority to luxuriate and rule.

3:30-4:15 Break

4:15-5:45pm Workshops

What do Socialists Mean By Revolution?

When socialists talk about the need for revolution to end oppression and
exploitation once and for all, we're often accused of being unrealistic
and utopian. But what do socialists really mean by revolution? This
workshop aims to answer those questions about socialism and revolution.

Soldiers Rebellions: From Vietnam to Iraq

Many returning veterans and military families of soldiers in Iraq have
joined the ranks of the antiwar movement, echoing the mass GI antiwar
struggle of the 1960s that finally helped put an end to the Vietnam War.
While today's movement is nowhere near the level of the Vietnam soldiers'
revolt--the parallels and lessons from that revolt are key to antiwar
activists today.

The Fire Last Time: Student Movements of the 1960s

The 1960s saw a massive wave of struggle among students across the
U.S.--around the Vietnam War but other struggles as well. The activists
who began organizing against the war in Vietnam had been involved in, or
influenced by, several other struggles: the Black struggle for civil
rights in the U.S. South; the movement against the proliferation of
nuclear weapons; protests against the anticommunist witch-hunts of the
1950s; and the struggle for free speech centered on the University of
California-Berkeley campus. Joe Allen will explain what the history of the
1960s student movements means for us today.

Israel: The Hijack State

The State of Israel is held together by a series of myths. False notions
dominate about its rationale as a response to European anti-Semitism and
outright lies are perpetuated to justify its repression and displacement
of the Palestinian people. Sherry Wolf will take on those myths and
present an argument for why all those who hate oppression must champion
the cause of Palestinian liberation and oppose the Zionist mythology

Chavez, Venezuela and the Fight for Socialism

Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez promises that this country is creating
"21st Century Socialism." Billions from Venezuela's oil profits have been
poured into social problems and in some firms workers elect their own
managers. Bob Quellos - who attended the World Youth Summit in Venezuela -
will address the lessons and challenges posed by Venezuela for all those
seeking an end to exploitation and oppression.

Leninism: Myth and Fact

>From the prevailing notion that Lenin was a megalomaniac who waged a coup
in 1917 to the idea that he demanded unswerving obedience to a line - from
an autocratic party machine, Lenin's popular legacy is not favorable - or
accurate. This talk will take on those myths and provide a historical and
political defense of his ideas and practices.

5:45-6:30pm Break

6:30-8:30pm Plenary Session

War, Racism, Poverty: Organizing against the Wars at Home and Abroad

More information will be released on speakers for the plenary session
shortly.

8:30pm Post-Conference Party

INFORMATION ABOUT SPEAKERS:

NICOLE COLSON is a reporter with Socialist Worker newspaper and the author
of "Occupation and Resistance in Iraq" and the "Truth about Afghanistan"
in the International Socialist Review.

ELIZABETH LALASZ is on the editorial board of the International Socialist
Review and the author of "Classics of Marxism: The Civil War in France."

ALAN MAASS is the author of "The Case for Socialism" and editor of
Socialist Worker newspaper. His articles have also appeared in
CounterPunch* and the International Socialist Review.

JESSE SHARKEY is a delegate in the Chicago Teachers' Union and member of
the Save Senn Coalition* which organized against the Navy's takeover of
Senn High School.

MARTIN SMITH is a former Marine and member of Iraq Veterans Against the
War.*

KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR was is the author of "Racism and the Criminal
Injustice System" and "Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs: Racism in America
Today" in the International Socialist Review.

JUAN TORRES is a member of Gold Star Families for Peace.* His son, John
Manuel Torres, died in July, 2004 - less than two weeks before he was
scheduled to return from Afghanistan.  Juan Torres took part in the
protest at Camp Casey outside Bush's Crawford ranch.

BOB QUELLOS is a member of the Campus Antiwar Network* who attended the
16th World Festival of Youth* earlier this year in Venezuela.

SHERRY WOLF is on the editorial board of International Socialist Review.
She is the author of "The roots of gay oppression" and "The Democrats and
War: Not a Lesser Evil" in the International Socialist Review.

* for ID only

CONFERENCE LOCATION
University of Illinois-Chicago 750 S. Halsted Chicago, Illinois

REGISTRATION
Registration is $5. To pre-register contact your nearest ISO branch or
call 773-551-5780 or e-mail Chicago_socialists [at] yahoo.com. Registration
begins at 10am on the day of the conference.

CHILD CARE
Free child-care is available on request, but please let us know ahead of
time. Please e-mail Chicago_socialists [at] yahoo.com or call 773-551-5780 and
let us know the number of children, their ages and any special needs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call 773-551-5780 or e-mail Chicago_socialists [at] yahoo.com.

The 2005 Midwest Socialist Conference is sponsored by the International
Socialist Organization, which has branches in Chicago and around the
Midwest. For more information on the ISO please visit our website,
www.internationalsocialist.org.

The ISO publishes the weekly newspaper, Socialist Worker, which is
available online at www.socialistworker.org


---------10 of 21---------

From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com>
Subject: Greens/StPaul 11.05 12noon

All people interested in finding out more about the Green Party of St.
Paul are invited to:

Our monthly meeting
First Saturday of every month
Mississippi Market, 2nd floor
Corner of Selby/Dale in St. Paul
noon until 2 pm

http://www.gpsp.org


--------11 of 21--------

From: Brian Payne <brianpayneyvp [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Econ justice tour 11.05/06 1pm +

Nov. 5-6 Economic Justice Tour in the Twin Cities:

On November 5-6 the Economic Justice / Abundant Life Tour will pass
through the Twin Cities.  Links will be drawn between farm and economic
policy in the U.S., free trade agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA) and international
financial institution (IFI) agendas imposed abroad, and the increasing
repression and criminalization of social movements in resistance and at
grassroots peoples' mobilizations against so-called 'free trade'
negotiations, the policies of the WTO, the IFIs and the G-8.  The
relationship between the rise of effective social movements and the
increase in overall militarization and US military presence in Latin
America will also be explored.  Speakers will include:

 - Isabel Díaz-Ubillús, Peruvian youth organizer with JUNANDINA, who will
discuss issues related to rural women, water privatization and Andean
youth.
 - Damara Luce, organizer with Alliance for Fair Trade, who will show a
film on the victory in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Taco Bell
Boycott.
 - Joel Greeno, Wisconsin dairy farmer and member of the National Family
Farm Coalition, who will discuss the impacts of free trade on small
farmers in the U.S.
 - A slideshow from the Beehive Collective, a collective graphics workshop
that creates political posters, graphics and mosaics on subjects of
globalization

Tour stops include:
November 5
1-5pm University Baptist Church (1219 University Ave., Minneapolis, just
across from the University of Minnesota), including music from the
Pachamama Band and a teach-in on water rights led by the Minnesota Water
Alliance.

November 6
4-6pm Macalester College, Carnegie Science Building, Room 06 (in the
basement); after 6pm, join presenters and Farm in the City for the Fall
Harvest Festival in the basement of the Weyerhaeuser Hall.

For more information, contact: Brian Payne, brianpayneyvp [at] gmail.com,
612-822-8460


--------12 of 21--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Get real/films 11.05 2:30pm +

Get Real!: City Pages Documentary Film Festival
November 4-10
Landmark's Lagoon Cinema, on Lagoon Ave. off Hennepin Ave.S, uptown
Minneapolis
www.citypages.com/getreal

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

2:30pm: The Real Dirt on Farmer John
A portrait of a great American original in the Thoreau mode and a look
at one man;'s fight for organic farming.

5pm: Ballets Russes

7:30pm: Green Green Water (work in progress)
Directed by TC film-maker DAWN MIKKELSON. Do you know where your
electricity comes from? Some of it comes from Manitoba,Canada thru
hydro-pwer created by dams destroying Indigeous people's lands and way of
life.Mikkeslson speaks at the screening.

9:45pm: Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Comic relief, from one of the funniest women doing stand-up. Who says
women have no sense of humor?! [No one who wants to live! - ed]


--------13 of 21--------

From: m1r3201 [at] aol.com
Subject: Dean Z fundraiser 11.05 4pm

Fundraiser
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Oak Street Cinema, U of M Campus (Oak & Washington),
4-6pm.  $10 per person donation

Please come and help Dean tell his side of the story. Hear information the
Twin Cities Media refuses to report. And consider that Dean's case could
be part of a larger attack on the Green Party. You will see:

A music video by Andrew Turpening, "Land of 10,000 Homeless"  Margaret
Hastings' film (which Dean is in), "Illegal to be Homeless, "Coldwater
Nation," the story of what really happened in the fight to stop Highway 55
and save sacred Native American Land in 1998-1999. Entertainment by John
Kolstad, Barb Tilsen, and the J4z Players, time permitting

DEAN NEEDS YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT! SEE YOU THERE ON NOVEMBER 5TH

The Zimmerman for Justice Defense Committee is completely independent of
Dean's re-election campaign, and all monies raised go towards Dean's legal
defense. Contact us through our website (and please note the unusual
spelling) http://www.zimmermanforjustice.org/

Zimmerman for Justice, David Tilsen and Scott Cramer, co-chairs 3220 10th
Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407


--------14 of 21--------

From: Janet & Bill McGrath <mcgrath1 [at] rconnect.com>
Subject: Who benefits? 11.05 4:30pm

Next presentation of my talk entitled "Who Benefits" will occur at

4:30pm Saturday, Nov 5, at Oak Center General Store near Lake City, and at
10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at the public library in Belle Plaine.

So what are these talks?

Behind the wars and cultural wedge issues, the economic security ("money")
of our middle class is being transferred rapidly to approximately 145,000
households, each of which has an average annual income of $3.2 million.

That's the common thread running through tax cuts, outsourcing of jobs,
and recent legislation regarding prescription drugs, health insurance,
Social Security, pensions, bankruptcy, class action lawsuits and labor
unions.

At each one of these talks, there will be a one-hour presentation by me,
followed by your discussion that will focus on possible solutions.

My resume: Lived 27 years in Northfield. Former newspaper reporter. For
18 years, I've owned a small business publishing & selling car repair
manuals.

These talks are not connected to any political party, candidate or
organization. They are continually being presented, especially in the
Second Congressional District. Thank you. -- Bill McGrath


--------15 of 21---------

From: Susan Hensel <susanhensel [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Activist art 11.05 5pm

A LEAP OF FAITH: at the intersection of Faith & Politics
November 4-December 29, 2005
Susan Hensel Gallery - 3441 Cedar Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55407

Opening Reception
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
5-9pm

FREE FOOD
Airforce Nutrisoda
Good Music
Artists' talk

A national group of twenty-two artists from all faith traditions were
asked:
		How do faith & politics interact?
		Should they interact?
		How does one affect the other?

A diverse response ensued.  This show of painting, sculpture, books, mixed
media & video is their answer.
		Some answer with further questions.
		Some answer with fierce proclamations.
		Some answer with quiet meditations on faith.

Among these artists there is great concern about the narrowing gap between
church and state and the apparent the corporatizing of both.  There are
many expressions of the message of faith broken by human action - there
are also expressions of quiet faith and of transformation. The affects of
9/11, of the last two presidential elections, of the war in Iraq are all
present.  The acknowledgement of a deeper history is also in play

Do come for a challenging evening with the arts.

Susan Hensel BFA '72, U of Michigan
Susan Hensel Gallery Susan Hensel Design, LLC 3441 Cedar Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55407 phone/fax 612 722-2324
http://www.susanhenseldesign.com

Join the susanhenseldesign Yahoo Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/susanhenseldesign/


--------16 of 21---------

From: Carrie Anne Johnson <v0teyourheart [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Belfry center 11.05 7pm

Nov 5 - Grand opening of The Belfry Center for Social & Cultural
Activities!!!

Celebrate the grand opening of The Belfry Center for Social and Cultural
Activities!

The Belfry is a new collectively run community space in Minneapolis that
is a collaboration between the Bat Annex Free School, Daybreak Newspaper,
and local radical artists.

Saturday November 5, 3753 Bloomington Avenue
gallery opening at 7pm
with food and drink and art by Belfry members
music at 8pm with Eufio Spider Baby The Blackthorns

Carrie Anne v0teyourheart [at] yahoo.com


--------17 of 21---------

From: Coreopsis Poetry Collective <coreopsispoetry [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Coreopsis poetry 11.05 7pm

Coreopsis Poetry Collective
Presents an evening of poetry
Saturday, November 5, 7pm

Featuring:
Rachel Moritz
Heid Erdrich
Kathleen Jesme
Short open mic to follow

at Black Dog Café 308 Prince Street lower town St. Paul

coreopsispoetry [at] yahoo.com
We exist to cultivate a community of diverse local artists and poets
which integrates all art forms centered around poetry.


--------18 of 21---------

Not as Crazy as Scalia, But Just as Bad
Holy Alito!
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
and JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
CounterPunch
November 2, 2005

Let's hear it for Protestant fundamentalists (American variety) yet again.
Was there ever a more pragmatic bunch? After centuries of howling No
Popery and denouncing the Whore of Rome, they're now trying to give us a
US Supreme Court that will, in the probable event of Alito's confirmation,
boast no fewer than five Roman Catholics, a clear majority: in order of
arrival on the bench: Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Roberts and, most likely,
Alito.

You can see why the conservative Christians don't trust Protestants when
it comes to matters of Choice or any of their other cherished issues. The
two Protestants on the Supreme Court are the Justices they hate most: a
liberal Republican, John Paul Stevens and a libertarian, David Souter.

So Alito comes to us more or less from the same mold as Roberts: a
tightly-wound Catholic in his mid-fifties, educated at an Ivy League
school, seasoned in the Reagan Justice Department, specifically in the
office of the Solicitor General, meaning that both Roberts and Alito were
part of the core legal team pressing Reagan's counter-revolution against
civil rights laws. They both ended up on the federal appeals court.

One difference is that after his stint in the Solicitor General's office,
Alito had sufficiently impressed the Reaganites to get appointed US
Attorney for New Jersey, where he sharpened his claws as a federal
prosecutor.

There's been sedate talk in the mainstream press about Alito's legal
caution, his sense of fairness, his steady temperament, his understated
humor, his respect for the law as the executive instrument of fairness in
American society. How anyone can come to this bizarre conclusion passes
our understanding. Alito's record, from inside the prosecutor's office,
his justice department briefs and in his judicial opinions, displays a
rancid right-winger whose views fume with prejudice against the weak and
the poor.

Some samples of the "even-handed", "legally cautious" Alito:

In 1986, Alito helped write a opinion that employers could legally fire
AIDS victims because of a "fear of contagion, whether reasonable or not."
Alito honed a new edge to the notion of strict constructionism by arguing
that the employers were justified in so doing because discrimination based
on insufficient medical knowledge was not prohibited by federal laws
protecting the disabled.

In other words, irrational popular hysteria (that for example you could
get AIDS from touching a door knob also touched by an AIDS victim) was in
Alito's view an entirely sound basis for breaching legal protections.
Years later Alito was still defending this position, saying that the tide
of science may have subverted the hysteria but nonetheless it hadn't
shaken "our belief in the rightness of our opinion".

Somewhat in the same vein, in 2001 Alito wrote a majority Appeals court
opinion striking down a public school policy prohibiting harassment
against gay students. Alito bluffly tore down the policy, saying it
interfered with the First Amendment rights of other students to engage in
"simple acts of teasing and name calling".

In 2003, when Alito was serving on what the Washington Post bizarrely
describes as "the left-leaning" Third Circuit, he actually managed to
outflank Judge Michael Chertoff from the right. Chertoff, (now director of
Homeland Security and noted defender of torture and of holding so-called
enemy combatants, without access to attorneys or judicial review) wrote a
majority opinion in Doe v. Groody ruling that a search warrant should be
confined only to the person named on that warrant.

Alito brushed such pettifogging notions aside, arguing for the minority
opinion that the cops (in this case in Schuykill county, PA) would be
severely hampered if they had to interpret any search warrant in its
written terms, rather than having the power to infer that such warrants
gave police the power to search anyone else with the misfortune to be in
the vicinity. In the case under consideration, the Schuykill police had
strip-searched not only the suspect but also a mother and her 10-year-old
daughter who lived in the same house.

Also in 2003 Alito wrote a majority opinion approving the conditions for
probation laid down by the state of Delaware on a man who had pled guilty
to possession of child pornography, said conditions being his agreement to
undergo random polygraph tests.

It's a prime function of the so-called "left-leaning" Third Circuit to
attend to the interests of big business, massed in its Delaware corporate
enclave. Here Alito joined Roberts in his deference to the Money Power,
slashing away at the ability of stockholders to launch class action suits,
or employees to litigate against racist treatment.

In all, Judge Alito has issued 700 opinions, most of them on
business/labor issues. All of these have been, in the opinion of the US
Chamber of Commerce, home runs for the Business Team.

In 2001 Alito wrote a majority opinion striking down an EPA order
mandating that the W.R.Grace Company clean up drinking water that its
fertilizer plant had poisoned in Lansing, Michigan. Alito said the EPA
lacked a rational basis for imposing such a costly burden on the company.

In a 1997 Appeals Court dissent Alito argued that a black housekeeping
manager from Marriott, who claimed she'd been passed over for promotion
for racial reasons, had no standing. To allow her to sue, Alito, wrote,
was to allow " disgruntled employees to impose the cost of trial on
employers who, although they have not acted with the intent to
discriminate, may have treated their employees unfairly."

There's no doubt that Alito is vehemently opposed to any woman's right to
choose. As his 90-year old mother Rose snapped at reporters the day Bush
nominated him, "Of course he's against abortion.

Alito's 1991 Appeals Court minority opinion on abortion has been widely
publicized, and rightly so. The issue before the Appeals Court was the
constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law saying that a woman had to inform
her spouse of an impending abortion.

The actual case concerned a woman terrified that her abusive partner would
beat her up if she so informed him. Alito's arguments were rejected by US
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who staked out her own ground
with a tart dismissal: "The state may not give to a man the kind of
dominion over his wife that parents exercise over their children."

Liberals now girding themselves for a showdown over the nomination have an
inconvenient skeleton to deal with. When New Jersey's two Democratic
senators - Bradley and Lautenberg - glowingly ("an accomplished and
distinguished lawyer") presented Alito to their colleagues on the Senate
Judiciary committee in April 1990, the room hummed with good vibrations.

Kennedy warmly praised President George H.W. Bush's nominee, and said he
was "sure" Alito would be a successful judge. Though they had his record
in the Solicitor General's office and as US Attorney before them the
committee only asked Alito four questions, before voting to confirm. One
of these piercing interrogatories went to Alito's 4-year old son, coyly
(this was Kennedy) asking whether the lad thought his father was judicial
timber.

The Democrats claim they're going to battle Alito down to the wire, but
the recent Roberts nomination casts a shadow over this pledge. Senator
Leahy of Vermont, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, voted for
Roberts and so did that hero of the progressive wing of the Democratic
Party, Feingold of Wisconsin.

So if any effective undermining of Alito's nomination is to take place, it
will probably come from Republican moderates, the political grouping that
has no appetite for a knock-down fight on abortion. Bush needs just such a
showdown, to give him a stronger political profile amid his current woes.
The Democrats have Choice as almost their sole remaining issue and money
raiser. But the Republican moderates who have to face the voters in the
mid-term elections next year, know that this issue could mean the
difference between victory and defeat. A majority of the American people
have no desire to abolish a woman's right to choose.

==
[The fascist clock minute hand ticks another tick to midnight. Before the
US is totally fascist, how about seceding from the parties that fail us? I
have no faith in the national Dems to defend us. They will just shrug
their shoulders and say, Well, I'm glad it's not ME they're coming to get
today; too bad for everybody else, easy come easy go. And people wonder
how it happened in Germany and Italy.  -ed]


--------19 of 21--------

Lying and the Culture of Life
What Moral Values?
By M. JUNAID ALAM
CounterPunch
November 2, 2005

Strong moral values, decency, propriety, and honesty: conservatives long
ago declared these ideals essential to their belief system, achieving
political ascendancy with promises of restoring honor to a government they
view as tainted by liberal immorality and excess.

A fine notion, indeed, but one question lingers: what happened?

Barely a year into Bush's second term, the American political landscape is
brimming with blatant examples of conservative deceit, dishonesty,
cronyism, and hypocrisy.

Foremost among these examples is Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's
right-hand man, who has been indicted on charges of perjury, obstruction
of justice, and making false statements before a grand jury. Not that this
is cause for embarrassment among conservatives - indeed, many are
relieved, pointing out that Libby is in trouble "only" for lying. It seems
conservative standards on morality have slipped a bit.

Of course, the Libby indictment is but the tip of the beast's horn. The
larger case is about a vengeful administration that was bent on destroying
an undercover CIA agent's career by leaking her name because her husband,
Joseph Wilson, also a CIA agent, challenged shoddy evidence buttressing
the case for war in Iraq.

Let us forget for a moment the value of simple honesty. Let us forget also
the importance of not undermining the nation's intelligence services when
one's entire platform is "national security."

What does this event tell us about the oft-invoked conservative call to
"respect the culture of life," so often invoked in abortion debates? Let
us not pander to fools: this war was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, based on
manifest lies and exaggerations. Therefore, can anyone seriously claim
that this administration showed even the slightest "respect" for the lives
of the 2,000 American soldiers, or the lives countless Iraqi civilians now
lost to the war's horrors? Most intriguing, then, is this "culture of
life" - a culture which champions life when it does not yet exist, and
abandons it when it does.

Surely, however, could the Republican Party not redeem itself through its
philosophy of Christian compassion? Apparently not. Congressional
testimony two weeks ago revealed that when FEMA's sole representative in
New Orleans - who was there only accidentally - found thousands of
Americans stranded without food or shelter during the hurricane, he issued
a desperate call for help to FEMA chief Michael Brown. Brown's aide
replied - several hours later - with the following instructive example of
compassionate conservatism in action: ""It is very important that time is
allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner." The locale of choice? Baton Rouge.
Marie Antoinette would have been impressed.

Equally impressive is the Republican Party's idea of taking responsibility
and not blaming others - a key conservative tenet - in the case of Tom
Delay, the House majority leader indicted for pouring corporate money into
Texas' 2002 state elections, which saw the reconfiguration of the state's
congressional districts along even more pro-Republican lines. Censured
three times in 2004 alone by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, Delay
nonetheless views the indictment as a kind of vast left-wing conspiracy,
calling the prosecutor "an unabashed partisan zealot." Heaven forbid.

It goes without saying that Republican contrition for any of the outrages
outlined above is unlikely: the arsonists are running the firehouse, and
they take great pride in fanning the flames.

We would be sorely remiss, however, if we ignored the role of the
Democrats in this affair. They have sat on their firehoses and idled their
fire engines on key issues, enabling Republican misbehavior to go
unchecked. Most Democrats, it must be remembered, voted in favor of
granting Bush unprecedented war powers. And it was the "liberal" New York
Times, with its neo-con pseudo-journalist Judith Miller at the helm, who
led the drumbeat procession to invade Iraq based on the thinnest of lies.

Naive liberal Democrats were also quite pleased to see conservatives break
ranks during the Harriet Miers debacle, taking it as a sign of some kind
of impending right-wing implosion. They apparently forgot the basic fact
that it was the far right - not what passes for the left - that tore apart
Miers' chances for judicial confirmation. Now, a staunch conservative,
Alito, has been nominated and the "implosion" has disappeared into thin
air. As usual, we can soon count on the usual "centrist" Democrats - those
Klan-minus-costume-crats and heirs to the Dixiecrat legacy - to help vote
Alito onto the bench.

Thus, while conservative wrongdoing is obvious, liberals must take a long,
hard look at their own party's role in producing the present state of
affairs. Americans are told, after all, that there are two major parties,
and that one is supposed to act in opposition to the other.

A fine notion, indeed, but one question lingers: what happened?

M. Junaid Alam, co-editor of Left Hook, can be reached at
alam [at] lefthook.org


--------20 of 21---------

[Leo's Lies]
Lies of the Neocons: From Leo Strauss to Scooter Libby
The Philosophy of Mendacity
By JOHN WALSH
CounterPunch
November 2, 2005

All governments lie as I. F. Stone famously observed, but some governments
lie more than others. And the neocon Bush regime serves up whoppers as
standard fare every day. Why this propensity to lie? There are many
reasons, but it is not widely appreciated that the neocons believe in
lying on principle. It is the "noble" thing for the elite to do, for the
"vulgar" masses, the "herd" will become ungovernable without such lies.
This is the idea of the "noble lie" practiced with such success and
boldness by Scooter Libby and his co-conspirators and concocted by the
political "philosopher" Leo Strauss whose teachings lie at the core of the
neoconservative outlook and agenda, so much so that they are sometimes
called "Leocons."

Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was a Jewish-German emigre from the Nazi regime
who
eventually landed at the University of Chicago where he developed a
following that has achieved enormous prominence in American politics.
Among his students were Paul Wolfowitz who has openly acknowledged that he
is a follower of Straus as has the godfather of neconservatism, Irving
Kristol. Irving Kristol begat William Kristol, the director of operation
for the DC neocons, editor of the Weekly Standard and "chairman" of the
Project for the New American Century, which laid out the plans for the
Iraq War. (PNAC also opined in 2000 that a Pearl Harbor-like event would
be necessary to take the country to war, and one year later, presto, we
had the strange and still mysterious attack of September 11.)

For his part Paul Wolfowitz begat Libby, in the intellectual sense, when
he taught Libby at Yale. Others stars in the necon firmament are Richard
Perle, Douglas Feith and lesser figures like Abram Shulsky, director of
the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans, created by Donald Rumsfeld.
Shulsky, also a student of Strauss, was responsible for fabricating the
lies masquerading as intelligence that were designed to get the U.S. into
the war on Iraq. While the neocons have a passion for the Likud party and
Zionism, they also count among their number not a few pre-Vatican II
Catholics and an assortment of cranks like Newt Gingrich and John Bolton
and crypto fascists like Jeanne Kirkpatrick. The list goes on and Justin
Raimondo has documented it in great detail over the years on Antiwar.com.
But it is enough to note that Cheney's alter ego was Libby, and Rumsfeld's
second in command until recently was Wolfowitz. So both Cheney, the de
facto president with an apparently ill perfused cerebrum, and the geezer
commanding the Pentagon have been managed by younger and very prominent
Straussians for the past five years.

A superb account of the ideas of Strauss, his followers and his influence
is to be found in The Political Ideas of Leo Strauss (hereafter PI) and
Leo Strauss and The American Right (hereafter AR), both by Shadia Drury,
professor of politics at the University of Calgary. Her account of
Strauss's ideas and the prominence they play in American politics today
will give you chills or nausea, perhaps both. As she says in PI (p.xii),
"Strauss is the key to understanding the political vision that has
inspired the most powerful men in America under George W. Bush. In my view
men who are in the grip of Straussian political ideas cannot be trusted
with political power in any society, let alone a liberal democracy. This
book explains why this is the case." For those who wish to understand the
neocon agenda, Drury's books are essential reading. She is clear and
thorough.

Of pertinence to "Scooter's" case and the pack of lies he was concealing
is Strauss's idea that a "philosopher elite" (i.e., Straussians) must
rule. Moreover they must do so covertly. As someone remarked before last
Friday, "Who ever heard of I. Lewis Libby?" a man who shunned the
spotlight and operated behind the scenes. The reason for such covert rule,
or cabal, is that the "vulgar" herd, as Strauss liked to call the rest of
us, cannot appreciate "higher truths" such as the inevitability and
necessity of wars in relations between states and even the utility of wars
in governing a state. So the covert elite must be certain that myths like
religion or the glory of the nation are not weakened for these are among
the best ways to rule over the ignorant herd and lead it into war. (Note
that the Straussians themselves are not religious. They are "above"
religion, capable of dealing with tough truths like man's mortality. But
in their view, religion is a crucial factor in governing in their view.
Irving Kristol, following Strauss, tells us that religion is "far more
important politically" than the Founding Fathers believed and that to
rescue America it is necessary "to breathe new life into the older, now
largely comatose religious orthodoxies." (AR, p. 148). Any religion will
do - except perhaps Islam, which is more or less verboten, given the
affinity of all leading neocons for Israel. Hence the neocons readily
embrace the ideology and leadership of Christian fundamentalism which can
keep the crowd under control and get them to march off to war and death.
The neocons are mainly interested in foreign policy, as was Strauss, but
in exchange for the support of the religious Right in foreign affairs, the
neocons line up behind the domestic program of the fundamentalists. It's a
win win situation, from their point of view.

But useful lies of the grand sort like religious myth or blind nationalism
need support by lesser lies at crucial moments. And so we go to the
"smaller" lies like "weapons of mass destruction," the "smoking gun that
comes in the form of the mushroom cloud." And here too the elite has a
role to play. They are to use their "superior rhetorical skills" to make
the weak argument seem stronger. In other words the cabal not only has to
protect myths and manufacture lies but go to work in selling them. What
Strauss called "rhetoric," we call spin.

All of this comes down to one word: lying. But for Strauss, these lies are
necessary for the smooth function of society and triumph of one's own
nation in war. Hence for Strauss, the lie becomes "noble." This phrase
Strauss borrows and distorts from Plato who meant by a "noble lie" a myth
or parable that conveyed an underlying truth about morality or nature. But
in Strauss's hands the "noble lie" becomes a way of deceiving the herd.
Strauss's "noble lies are far from "noble." They are intended to "dupe the
multitude and secure power for a special elite" (AR, p. 79).

One other idea of Strauss's bears on the situation of "Scooter" Libby. How
is the Straussian philosophical elite going to get from the halls of
academe to the corridors of power? This depends on good luck and the
"chance" encounter between the powerful and the Straussian. Here the
contemporary neocons go beyond Strauss and leave nothing to chance. It
would even appear that they look for the stupid, gullible or those who are
mentally compromised. So William Kristol becomes Vice President Quayle's
chief of Staff, and Libby becomes the right hand man to the addled Cheney
as well as assistant to the Quayle-like Bush. And there are many more.

Finally, Drury makes the point the Strauss and the neocons are not really
conservative at all. They are radicals, at war with the entire modern
enterprise which makes them turn to the ancients for their inspiration -
and even there they need to distort the teachings of Socrates or Plato to
make their case. But the Enlightenment comes to us with the advance of
science to which Strauss is also hostile. He says that he is not against
science as such "but popularized science or the diffusion of scientific
knowledge. Science must remain the preserve of a small minority; it must
be kept secret from the common man" (PI, p. 154). But this is impossible.
Science by its very nature is a vast social enterprise requiring the
widest possible dissemination of its findings. Any society that puts a lid
on this will fail, and so by natural selection, the Straussian project is
doomed to fail.

But before that happens the Straussians can do a lot of damage. As Drury
says, they "cannot be trusted with political power." But we can learn from
them the importance of boldness, not in the pursuit of the "noble lie" but
of the truth. And we must be certain that we are vigorous as we hunt them
down and get them out of power. In that effort Shadia Drury has done us a
great service.

John Walsh can be reached at jvwalshmd [at] gmail.com.

He thanks Gary Leupp a regular on CounterPoint.com for pointing him to
Shadia Drury's books.


--------21 of 21--------

 Neo Leo lies.
 CEO's buy low. Theo's
 fly high. GI's die.


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