Eclectic Boogaloo & Participation Theory Now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrrJvYLH_kc
What follows is a poem—inspired in part by the grainy yet graceful video above—and a short program for the Academy dashed off by Charles Keil.
Warren vs. Sanders: a Clash of Classes
Now comes Hillary Clinton, adding gravy to Elizabeth Warren’s beef with Bernie Sanders by suggesting that he has a pattern of disparaging female opponents. One of them, former Vermont governor Madelyn Kunin, says Sanders called himself a better feminist then she and “urged people not to vote for me just because I was a woman.” Ouch! On the other hand, NOW has a history of endorsing men over women who don’t support their issues, and Sanders’ record has been good enough to earn him a 100 percent rating from the group. So, should you cast your ballot on the basis of Clinton’s assertion? Four years ago, I did.
The Y of It
Real talk in real time on the Warren/Sanders rift…
Patriarchal Prerogative
Why don’t people get that the conversation is bigger than “Did Bernie say it or didn’t he,” and that pointing to videos where he said encouraging things about their political ambitions to school girls 30 years ago does not address or resolve the issue?
Letter from Beto: Special Election in Texas on January 29th
We’ve spent the last two weekends knocking on doors in Fort Bend county trying to help Eliz Markowitz win a special election for the state house. If she wins, she’ll be the first Democrat to represent the district in the legislature.
Old Ideas and New Blood (Alvin Ailey, 2020)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, January 2, City Center: “Ode,” “Fandango”, “Mass,” “Revelations”
The Great Green Wall: An Interview with Filmmaker Jared Scott
The face of Africa’s Sahel, one of the most ecologically vulnerable areas in the world, is getting a makeover with a Great Green Wall of eucalyptus, cassava, and acacia trees. It is hoped that by 2030, the wall will restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million jobs in rural areas. Jared Scott’s film The Great Green Wall, takes us on a tour of the land and the people who are making this miracle happen.
Here’s to 2020: A Letter from Beto
Beto sent this note to people who’d contributed to his presidential campaign. He’s kept in touch with them since he dropped out of the race. There’s nothing extra-special about his modest messages, yet they testify to his character and his clarity democracy can’t be a me-first thing. His notes hint he still has something more to give the American organizing tradition (if we let him)…
Surprise Medical Billing: Outrage and Betrayal (Thy Name is Schumer)
Congress can rarely ameliorate even patent outrages. We know this. One person’s outrage is another person’s profit, and the profiteer usually has more cash and more leverage than the outragee. But, it looked like one medical outrage was actually about to be solved, at least partially, by this highly partisan Congress, and highly partisan administration.
Liner Notes
A folklore professor from the Ivy League was scowling when he came up to me at the 1969 meeting of the American Folklore Society. He stabbed a finger in my direction and, without a hello, said, “There’s one thing I can never forgive you for.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You wrote the liner notes for Phil Ochs’ album.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“That’s not authentic folk music,” he said.
“Who cares?” I said.
