If you crave a hefty dose of lies and propaganda, go see Karl Rove at Duke on December 3rd. He's trying to re-write history, such as this gem from a recent appearance on Charlie Rose:
Last night on The Charlie Rose Show, former Bush political adviser Karl Rove claimed that he was “opposed” to holding the pre-war Iraq vote just ahead of the 2002 elections. “The administration was opposed to voting on it in the fall of 2002,” Rove said. He stated that his upcoming book will argue that the administration did not want to schedule an Iraq war vote prior to the 2002 elections...
Billy Talen, aka Rev. Billy, will speak at N.C. State University at 8 p.m. Nov. 28. Rev. Billy will discuss his book “What Would Jesus Buy?” at Stewart Theater in Talley Student Center.
Rev. Billy leads the Church of Stop Shopping, an activist performance group based in New York City. Using the form of a revival meeting, on sidewalks and in chain stores, Rev. Billy and his gospel choir exhort consumers to abandon the products of large corporations and mass media; the group also preaches a broader message of economic justice and anti-militarism, protesting sweatshops and the Iraq war.
Though Talen does not call himself a Christian, he says Rev. Billy is not a parody of a preacher, but a real preacher; he describes his church's spiritual message as “Put the Odd back in God.”
"What Would Jesus Buy?" talks about the “Shopocalypse,” starting your own stop-shopping church, and retail interventions.
Before the day of show, tickets are $10 for the public, $5 for non-NCSU students and free for all N.C. State students, faculty and staff. For more information or to order tickets, contact Ticket Central at (919) 515-1100, TTY: (919) 515-7371 or on the web at http://ticketcentral.ncsu.edu. The event is being sponsored by the Issues and Ideas Committee of the Union Activities Board, Honors, Caldwell Fellows, First Year College and the Inter Residence Hall Council at NCSU.
Durham, NC -- New York Times columnist Paul Krugman will discuss the links between political partisanship and economic inequality on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at Duke University.
In his new book, “Conscience of a Liberal,” Krugman combines social and political analysis with historical commentary to examine connections between political ideologies and economic trends, from the Gilded Age to the present. He maintains that New Deal policies created postwar prosperity and that the time is ripe for a return to liberalism.
About his new book, Krugman has said, “My generation grew up in a nation of strong democratic values and broadly shared prosperity. But both those values and that shared prosperity have been slipping away.
“We can reverse that trend. Political and economic reform turned the oligarchic America of the Gilded Age, a place of vast inequality, bigotry and corruption, into the imperfect but far better society of the postwar era. The challenge now is to do again what the New Deal did: to create institutions that will support and sustain a decent society.”
A New York Times op-ed columnist since 1999, Krugman is a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University and Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the best-seller, “The Great Unraveling,” and the textbook, “International Economics: Theory and Policy” (currently in its seventh edition), considered the standard on international economics without calculus.
Krugman taught at Yale, MIT, University of California-Berkeley, the London School of Economics and Stanford University before joining the Princeton faculty in 2000. From 1982 to 1983, he spent a year working at the Reagan White House as a staff member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Krugman’s appearance is co-sponsored by the Regulator Bookshop of Durham. Copies of “Conscience of a Liberal” will be for sale at the event. A book signing will begin at 7 p.m.
Parking is available for a fee in the visitor lot on Science Drive or the Bryan Center parking lot and garage. For directions, visit the Sanford Institute website: www.pubpol.duke.edu/about/location.php.
For more information, contact: Allison Rosenstein | (919) 613-7312 | allison.rosenstein@duke.edu
For everyone who cannot stand the crass commercialism of the Christmas holiday season, The Church of Stop Shopping is for you! The Reverend Billy is a mock evangelist who uses his charater to do real activism. Here's a little bit about it:
Statement of Belief :: Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir believe that Consumerism is overwhelming our lives. The corporations want us to have experiences only through their products. Our neighborhoods, "commons" places like stoops and parks and streets and libraries, are disappearing into the corporatized world of big boxes and chain stores. But if we "back away from the product" - even a little bit, well then we Put The Odd Back In God! The supermodels fly away and we're left with our original sensuality. So we are singing and preaching for local economies and real - not mediated through products -- experience. We like independent shops where you know the person behind the counter or at least - you like them enough to share a story.We ask that local activists who are defending themselves against supermalls, nuke plants, gentrification -- call us and we'll come and put on our "Fabulous Worship!" Remember children... Love is a Gift Economy! — The Rev
They have a movie out called 'What Would Jesus Buy?', produced by Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame), which looks pretty funny. Go check out the trailer (below) and keep an eye out for local screenings.
Enclosed please find a copy of the U.S. Constitution. I wish you'd make some time in your busy schedule to read it.
I would have hoped that you'd be pretty familiar with it already, because you have at least three times in your life taken a solemn oath to uphold, protect and defend it, but all the signs indicate that you either don't know what's in it, or you don't care.
Thus begins the letter that President George W. Bush will be receiving with each of at least 30,000 copies of the constitution. The effort to give the president this early holiday gift is led by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him , a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.
3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy
12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet .
13. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business
14. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
15. Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)
16. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80's isn't relevant.
17. Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.
(h/t Susie)
