I AIN’T MARCHING ANY MORE

Phil Ochs sang that line years ago. Now, as anti-war demonstrations seem to contact in size and perhaps in impact, Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com muses on whats changing after some of the biggest marches in history opposed the war before it started:

Discouragement of a special sort seemed to set in — initially perhaps that the invasion had not been stopped and that, in Washington, no one in a tone-deaf administration even seemed to be listening. Still, through the first years of the war, on occasion, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators could be gathered in one spot to march massively, even cheerfully; these were crowds filled with “first timers” (who were proud to tell you so); and, increasingly, with the families of soldiers stationed in Iraq (or Afghanistan), or of soldiers who had died there, and even, sometimes, with some of the soldiers themselves, as well as contingents of vets from the Vietnam ! era, now older, greyer, but still vociferously antiwar.

However, over the years, unlike in the Vietnam era, the demonstrations shrank, and somehow the anxiety, the anger — though it remained suspended somewhere in the American ether — stopped manifesting itself so publicly, even as the war went on and on. Or put another way, perhaps the anger went deeper and turned inward, like a scouring agent. Perhaps it went all the way into what was left of an American belief system, into despair about the unresponsiveness of the government — with paralyzing effect. As another potentially more disastrous war with Iran edges into sight, the response has been limited largely to what might be called the professional demonstrators. The surge of hope, of visual creativity, of spontaneous interaction, of the urge to turn out, that arose in those prewar demonstrations now seemed so long gone, replaced by a far more powerful sense that nothing anyone could do mattered in the least.

LETTERS: “I COUNT ON YOU DAILY”

Writes D Vondell Smoak:

I count on you every day to let me know what is REALLY going on in my other world. The one in which I work and play and have my being is far different, yet was born and is nourished by the one you work and play and have your being. The greater the chaos in the world you see, the greater the clarity, strength and growth of that which is forming our new paradigm in the world I see. Same world, different eras overlapping.

In terms of renewal, the old must go.

How humanity must move through the process requires individuals — not groups, companies, inorganic beings — but one living breathing, hurting human at a time to wake up and recognize their own divinity. And we’ll each do it in our own unique way, no stereotype “follow me” formula process, which in and of itself is causing some of the chaos, as you may see.

And being stubborn and resistant to change, there will need be a lot of motivation for many individuals. And that, in part, Danny, is your job to make clear. We, humanity, have made slaves and masters in an ever evolving manner from the beginning of our historic lives. Kind or cruel, masters use slaves for their own purposes with impunity.

And it seems to me that you, dear investigative clear thinking seeing reporter and those with whom you work, have the job of telling us all how that is done so we can make choices about what we will be taking into our future. It is solely of our making as free will incarnate earthlings how we will use the new energies. You are doing incredibly important work for us all.

If you are able to accept that the Mayan Calendar is correct, that we are coming to the end of an era and the new era is in the making underneath it all these last many decades, it may ease your heart and energize your work. Only you know what that work is, but you appear to be driven by it. [Actually we all are, some more dramatically and noticeably than others.]…

MISTREATMENT OF FIRE EVACUEES

Jane Allen writes from San Francisco

Thanks for the scoop on this. My parents (85 and 87 years young) live in the San Diego area, so you can imagine how often last week I was checking the fire stories online (in addition to phone calls to them). My husband mentioned that “looters” had been evicted from Qualcomm Stadium for stealing supplies. He couldn’t recall which MSM TV channel had played that “breaking news” (probably Faux News?). I was expecting more on it, but nothing. And now I see why there was nothing more. Is this how far we’ve dropped/skidded down on the humanity scale? That “brown skin people” who’ve lost their homes are a deportation opportunity for our government? Most of the evacuees were white, but FEMA was able to create their own mini-Katrina nastiness for those who weren’t. AND they also had time to stage a fake news conference! Heck of job, guys!

Yes, Boston’s something of of a madhouse today. Folks have been lining up all morning for the festivities.

ON THE SOX

MICHAEL HORAN WRITES:

While I was glad to see dreadlocked Manny et al get the job done against the clean cut, God-fearing men of the west, it’s getting hard watching teams like the Sox emulate the Yanks in simply buying themselves a trophy. I’m no Theo Epstein, but gIve me that same checkbook and I’ll get you into the playoffs myself. More respect for the Pats, who win within the socialist-style NFL (speaking of which, Michael Grahame has an idiotic rant in todays Boston Herald describing the Sox win as triumph for right-wing laissez-faire capitalism. *sigh*).

I watched at least part of every Sox game this year with a couple of exceptions. But the parade leaves me cold, probably because I know there’s be a hell of a lot more people out for it than turned out for our antiwar demonstration on Saturday (a few of my own pics here: )

Much as I love baseball, it’s become a major ingredient in the bread-and-circuses approach taken by media and government: “GIve them the MLB ticket on satellite TV and they’ll have that much less time to read about Blackwater and Chavez and Gaza and etc.”).

PAUL HARRINGTON ASKS A QUESTION

“I am so happy that the boys of beantown won the series, imagine what it would be like if the right-wing folks in Coors country were triumphant.”

Danny:

Just what would it be like if those “evil” right-wing folks from Colorado had prevailed?

FYI; Coors is consumed across the country.

Really? Oh No. And they also just merged. Yikes. Could I have made a flip and prejudicial comment that you caught me on again? Yup.

MEETING RESISTANCE OPENS IN LA ON FRIDAY

VENUE: The Regency Fairfax
7907 Beverly Blvd., LA, CA 90048 Tel: 323-655-4010e

AND IN NEW YORK, DON‘T MISS

Linda Hattendorf (editor of IN DEBT WE TRUST) will be screening her award winning film THE CATS OF MIRIKATANI for the last time in New York City this weekend

THE CATS OF MIRIKITANI returns one more weekend in NYC!!

*** 12:15 PM matinees only ***

Saturday - November 3
Sunday - November 4
(*and remember: Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend…)

@ Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street, NYC, NY 10003

BURMA ARRESTS COMIC WHO MOCKED REGIME

FINALLY, A HALLOWEEN HOOT

Eric Olson writes: This thing is a Halloween hoot:

Shot at the Labor Temple in Brewer, Maine, the video is a trip through an Underworld of job stress, pension loss, health care failure, & crushing debt. Worker solidarity is the only way to slay these monsters. Created by William Rice for the Eastern Maine Labor Council & Food AND Medicine, October 2007. A very creative and poignant offering to rattle you for Halloween.

So trick or treat everybody. I hope the goblins don’t get you.

Watching the debate, I was suprised that Barrack was not as aggressive as expected and that Dennis got some punches in even mentioning but not really explaining his impeachment reference. Also, where was Mike Gravel?

Comments to dissector@mediachannel.org