Michael Sigman: We’ll never know the Chairman of the Board’s innermost insights about doing/being, if indeed he had any. What cannot be denied is that his choice of material covers a rich spectrum of emotional leaps and existential twists and turns.
Has the War on Teachers Morphed Into a War on Children?
By
Mark Naison: As I have become involved with an Opt Out movement in New York State that has inspired thousands of families to demand that their children be allowed to sit out state tests, I have become even more appalled by what current school policies are doing to children.
What Part of Rape “Victim” Don’t These Sociopaths Get?
By
Julie Driscoll: Kids yucked it up, snickered and giggled and guffawed and made light of this young woman’s violation, all while Ms. Parsons’ life, full of misery and pain and despair, was ultimately too much to bear – and she ended it.
‘Lean In’ All You Want — But If You Want a Better Job, Unionize!
By
Brigid O’Farrell: “Leaning in” might well help get more women into the top echelons of the corporate world and that is progress for equality. Sheryl Sandberg sets an important precedent by going home for dinner with her family, but can a non-management worker at Facebook do the same?
UPDATED: How Obama Administration Silences Congo’s M23 Rebel Movement
By
Georgianne Nienaber: It seemed that while M23 was winning on the battlefield against both the FDLR and the regular Congo Army (FARDC), and had gained recognition by the African Union as a partner in peace negotiations, they had lost the social media and Internet public relations battle.
Occupy the Ballot: A Public Forum on Popular Movements and Independent Politics
By
A meeting of the minds with a range of community organizers including Ron Gochez, Marcy Winograd, Bilal Ali, Michael Feinstein, Kim MaGill and others and organizers who are working to develop alternatives to the current corporate-dominated political system.
This New Year’s, Resolve to Give Yourself a Break
By
Michael Sigman: For post-postmodern nourishment, I’m keeping David Foster Wallace’s mighty novel Infinite Jest on my night table with the intention of reading at least 10 pages a week. It’s a long haul, but if I keep my resolve, I’ll be done by New Year’s 2015!
Two Hurricanes, Two Networks
By
Rosemary Joyce: The novelty of living with a disaster, via the reach of new media, was underscored for me by an echo, a memory of another hurricane: Katrina.
Deepak Chopra on Sister Giant November 10 – 11, 2012
By
World-renowned spiritual leader Deepak Chopra released a video endorsement of Sister Giant, a nonpartisan conference on women and politics organized by bestselling author Marianne Williamson
Why I’m Boycotting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Book
By
Peter Dreier: People of conscience don’t have to buy his books or buy tickets to his movies, and can urge others to do likewise. He is an embarrassment to all Californians.
Jim Lehrer, Marriage Counselor
By
JP Sottile: Setitle: Like an expert counselor, Lehrer facilitated an open and honest exchange of feelings and emotions. Okay, not much honesty. But the exchange did seem “open”…for business.
Defending Teachers and Teaching
By
Mark Naison: Every time I walk into a classroom, I am trying to do for my students what the best teachers I had did for me; to capture my imagination to such a degree that what went on in that class would be etched in my memory for life.
What Teachers Do
By
Mark Naison: Teachers are some of the most selfless, generous people in our nation. They deserve better than what they are currently getting from our political leaders and mass media
Like Lemmings to the Sea
By
Tom Degan: It’s going to take at least two administration – possibly three – to dig ourselves out of The Great Recession. And the only way to succeed is for those administrations to be progressive ones. A turn to the right is a turn backwards.
Sacred Native Site Pe’Sla Threatened
By
Georgianne Nienaber: In a race against the clock, the Sioux Nation is fighting to save Pe’ Sla, one of its most sacred religious sites.
The Rattlesnake and the Cobra: Does Race and Ethnicity Matter?
By
Rudy Acuna: My preference is to ridicule Arpaio through caricatures and set up a dunking booth where we could sell chances to throw baseballs at the lever that would tumble the sadist excuse for a human being into the water.
Stop-and-Frisk Citizen Journalists
By
Sharon Kyle: Do citizens have a right to monitor the behavior of law enforcement? What about citizen journalists? The case of citizen Joseph “Jazz” Hayden may be one of police retaliation. What do you think?
Occupy L.A. Reaches Out to Art-Walk Goers in Spite of LAPD
By
Cheryl Aichele: Occupy LA Activists hope its chalk-art campaign will hit LAPD in the pocket books and others in their hearts to raise awareness and encourage others to participate.
Whites Mostly Missing at Trayvon Rallies
By
David Love: So what’s going on here? Some black folks in Sanford suggest that many whites are supportive, but do not want to display any public sentiments for fear of being called a “ni**er lover.”
Participatory Democracy: From the Port Huron Statement to Occupy Wall Street
By
Tom Hayden: It is time for a participatory New Deal, to bring the banks and corporations under the regulations and reforms they have escaped through runaway globalization.
Kony 2012, Does Social Media Oversimplify?
By
Matthew Kavanagh: From Twitter trending to the front page of The New York Times to public statements by the White House and the Pentagon, the Kony 2012 campaign has shown the power of social media to affect U.S. public debate – but what about the dangers of oversimplification?
Should We Crash the Prison System by Demanding Trials?
By
Bruce Reilly: If everyone refused a plea bargain and went to trial, the system would crash. This maneuver is not new. I could have never organized these men to refuse plea bargains and go to trial for several reasons.
A Good Neighbor Policy
By
Steve Hochstadt: Hiding behind internet anonymity, Internet trolls try to use their anger to prevent the rest of us from discussing politics like friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens.
Top 10 Most Read Last Week Led by Wells Fargo Meets Occupy
By
LA Progressive Editor Dick Price’s report on the meeting local Occupy representatives had with Wells Fargo Bank officials in downtown Los Angeles — Wells Fargo Meets Occupy: Where There’s Smoke There’s Smoke? — led this week’s list of 10 most read articles.
10 Most This Week Led by Julie Driscoll’s Take on the Komen Trainwreck
By
ulie Driscoll’s look at the long-term effects of the Komen Foundation’s ill-advised decision to strip its funding for Planned Parenthood for what were rather obviously political reasons, led this week’s LA Progressive 10 Most Read articles list.
99 Percent Clubs: Online Public Square and Free Speech Zone
By
Mark Naison: What we did not envision, when we created our 99% C lub, was how it would create an incredible online free speech zone and public square not only for club members, but for people with no direct connection to Fordham who found out what we were doing.
Facebook Community Helps Save a Few of Congo’s Many Cholera Victims
By
Georgianne Nienaber: Some rudimentary help is now on the way to Walikale due to a tight-knit Facebook community that rallied to find a simple solution that will not solve the problem, but might save a life or two.
Someone Is Watching You
By
Steve Hochstadt: Right now we are being spied upon on a grand scale unimaginable a few years ago. Not by the government, but by the real Big Brother, Big Brother Computing.
Black LGBTQ Community Doesn’t Support Its Own
By
Rev. Irene Monroe: A lack of financial support from the black LGBTQ community has contributed substantially to all the print and online black LGBTQ publications folding.
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Batting Third: In Support of Independent Political Parties
Rich Broderick: Suffice it to say that I must politely reject suggestions from my liberal friends that not voting for Obama is tantamount to voting for the Apocalypse.