The Largest Minority

May 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

American hero Ralph Nader speaks at Google’s Mountain View, CA headquarters on May 12th as part of the Policy Talks@Google series.

May 3rd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

With each election cycle, it’s become increasingly clear to me that the United States must make an immediate transition from representative democracy to participatory democracy if our species hopes to be around another 50 years. Understanding how nations like Venezuela are making this transition is essential to building our own “utopia”.

“Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century” is a Left Forum Panel, hosted by Z Communications which took place at Cooper Union, NYC, on 3/15/2008. It was filmed by Charngchi Way (Chomskyan) and David Buccola (Buddhagem). Much props to them.

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April 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Chris Hedges hits the nail right on the head in this interview with Thom Hartmann while promoting his new book, “I Don’t Believe in Atheists”. In Hedge’s previous book, “American Fascists”, he railed against the new breed of Fundamentalist Christians monopolizing the poor of America. Now Hedges explains why learning about people like Jerry Falwell prepared him for the equally dim mindset of Fundamentalist Atheists like Christopher Hitchens.

Christopher Hitchens is a narcissistic pro-war bigot whose God is his own ego. He attempts to deny human nature by externalizing evil as a byproduct of religious philosophies. Hitchens drives such a hypocritical wedge of superiority between his philosophy and those of theists that he ends up arguing for the infallibility of his own group.

It is important to recognize that history’s worst persons were just as human as you and I. Failing to accept the commonalities of human kind has allowed freedom-loving Americans to stand behind a fascist government and Israelis to defend Nazi-style tactics against Palestinians. Likewise, it’s the same mental dichotomy of “me versus everyone else” which prevents Hitchens from realizing the similarities between him and the religious fanatics he condemns.

Hitchens’ fascist quest to forcibly bring Muslims into “reason” is identical in all respects to the most radical fundamentalist preachers who call for a new Christian crusade in the Holy Land. The most striking difference, however, is that Hitchens is actually taken seriously on shows like Real Time, as if his agenda had more merit than Pat Robertson’s.

Just as Fundamentalist Christianity uses religion to achieve the most un-Christian ends, so too does Fundamentalist Atheism use the spirit of agnosticism to foster intolerance and justify dominance over non-converts. Hitchens’ followers worship the personality of their jingoist god just as much as he worships himself. In my opinion, anyone who confuses Hitchens’ condescending wisecracks for honest intellectual inquiry would do well to read more than just Vanity Fair.

The role of philosophy, religious or otherwise, is to provide assistance in a person’s ongoing quest for truth, not to allow a suspension of rational thought by providing you with a final and absolute answer.

Then again, I could be wrong.

February 22nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Ever since the Democratic Party’s corporate masters decided they needed to exclude Dennis Kucinich from the debates, I stopped posting the events. However, since one of these two remaining windbags is likely to be our next president, I figured that posting this “debate” might actually be useful to the remaining few of us who actually are liberals. If nothing else, we should at least be familiar with our future enemies and their rhetoric.

Let me just sum it up for those of you who’d rather not waste such a significant portion of your Friday. Obama admits that there’s no difference between him and Clinton, as if it’s a good thing, and Hillary continues to campaign against George W. Bush and all the horrible things he’s done with her help. To top it all off, the crowd apparently loved everything they said, including the idea of an American Separation Wall cutting through our southern border and mandated health insurance over a not-for-profit system. Way to go Democrats. I can’t wait for all that “change”.

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February 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Democracy Now! looks at the slight differences between Clinton and Obama on domestic issues such as the economy, the housing crisis, social security, health care, and nuclear power. Discussing their stances are Robert Kuttner of the American Prospect, Max Fraser of The Nation, and Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear.

Notice the disgusting grin on Clinton’s face when she acknowledges that single-payer health care is a system “a lot of people favor, but for many reasons, is difficult to achieve.” Um, the only ones making it difficult is fuckers like you. Out of all the Democratic candidates, it’s simply disgusting that Dennis Kucinich was the only one who endorsed a universal single-payer not-for-profit system.

Parts 2 and 3 and available below the fold
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January 19th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

After being excluded by General Electric/NBC from the Las Vegas “debate”, Congressman Dennis Kucinich joined Amy Goodman the following day for a re-host of the event. I only wish that they had allowed Dennis to talk more by shortening the clips from Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. Since they all say the same thing anyway, it’s not really necessary to hear each one repeat the other. Still, Democracy Now! deserves major kudos for attempting to right the irreversible wrong committed by NBC. Due to this crime, NBC, the sponsors of the debate, and Howard Dean have received an overwhelming response of emails and calls on why we’re boycotting them permanently.

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January 17th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Dennis Kucinich rocks your grandma something proper. NBC? Not so much.

January 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Rest assured that we will continue to hold Disney/ABC and General Electric/NBC accountable for their exclusion of Dennis Kucinich from the last two debates. So rather than give last night’s Democratic “debate” (perhaps “Democratic” ought to be in quotes too) any more coverage than it’s already gotten, I present to you a debate with serious candidates actually talking about real issues - the Green Presidential Debates.

If you want to know what the slight differences are in the rehashed Nixon healthcare plan being proposed by Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, you can find plenty of lengthy filler on YouTube. I’m sure you’ll also be able to hear the word “change” used as a marketing device to sell their conservative platforms, and even learn what their favorite colors are too. Over here on the genuine Left however, we have real discussions and aren’t apologetic about it. The 2008 Green Presidential candidates are Jared Ball, Kent Mesplay, Cynthia McKinney, Kat Swift, and Jesse Johnson. Cindy Sheehan and Ralph Nader are also featured. Hat tip to John Geraghty for the vids.

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