Opinion

On Monday morning this week we groaned to discover that one of our local National Public Radio stations has launched another pledge drive. This is in addition to listing what seems like 17 different commercial sponsors for every quarter-hour segment all day long. We knew that it was just a matter of time before the other NPR station followed suit, and that KPFA wouldn’t be far behind with another pledge drive of their own. We’ve also gotten letters complaining that some stations which shall be nameless have been selling individual recorded talks by newsmakers instead of playing them for free on the air for everyone to hear. -more-

BRAINS WIN! -more-

THANK YOU, RICHMOND -more-

In his Jan. 22 UnderCurrents column. “Oakland’s Test In the Aftermath of Oscar Grant’s Death,” J. Douglas Allen-Taylor says that Oakland is being tested. I agree that people in Oakland, and the Bay Area, are being tested, but not in the way he describes. The important question is, when people rise up against brutal injustice, what stand do you take? Do you stand aside and criticize? Or do you join the struggle, and see it through? -more-

The capitalist state has two roles long recognized by political thinkers. First, like any state it must provide services that cannot be reliably developed through private means, such as public safety and orderly traffic. Second, the capitalist state protects the haves from the have-nots, securing the process of capital accumulation to benefit the moneyed interests, while heavily circumscribing the demands of the working populace. -more-

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Though I missed the thrill of being there, I felt privileged to experience the historic 44th inauguration (I wish we could get rid of that monarchial word) through the lens of various media cameras. The Channel 4 talking heads even had a surprisingly impassioned “pre-show” discussion about the significance of a black presidency and articulately placed the event upon Dr. King’s shoulders and upon the shoulders of the Civil Rights Movement activists who shed their blood, sweat and tears for this day. Protests and marches were discussed in an almost surreal heroic and positive light. I had the feeling that dissent might even become fashionable for the mainstream, in which case I could give it up and move on to other things. -more-

As director of the Asylum Project at the East Bay Sanctuary, I see those who want to escape marriage and be free and those who want to be free to marry. We represent women who have fled forced marriage and wife inheritance—both sometimes including female circumcision—and domestic violence. Apart from the lack of love and the slavery aspects of forced marriage and wife inheritance, they can be death sentences in polygamous societies where AIDS is rampant. Domestic violence can be a long, slow death sentence, or a sudden one. We also represent clients who have suffered lifelong and truly horrible persecution on account of their sexual orientation. -more-

California’s fiscal state frustrates anyone who pays attention. The discontent comes from two angles—either someone is fed up that Republicans insist on not raising taxes, arguing that paying taxes is an important duty of all citizens, or someone is upset that California cannot live within its means as it continues to spend more and more and then cries for help when revenues deviate from expectations. -more-

With the coming of the new Obama administration, much has been said about how much change and hope he will bring to this country. Indeed, Barack Obama did accomplish quite a creditable victory over his Republican opponent. Many thousands of starry-eyed individuals enthusiastically cast their votes for the Democratic candidate, with the hope of electing a government which would be more responsive to people’s needs. While it is quite a historic occasion to have the first black man elected to this country’s highest office, my concern is what he actually intends to do once he is there. Careful examination of Obama’s rise to power, his past voting record, and those who have supported and advised him, sadly indicate that the majority of the American public has fallen for a grand deception. -more-