Michael Lerner lecture

The site of this talk was a synagogue housed in a lovely colonial-style building in south Minneapolis, in a leafy neighborhood bordering Minnehaha Parkway. Shir Tikvah is a reform Jewish synagogue. They were formerly housed in the same building in which I saw Thomas Frank last Thursday evening! The Universalist congregation and the reform Jewish congregation actually swapped buildings!

Michael Lerner is the editor and founder of Tikkun magazine, and co-founder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). In person he's a lovable-looking schlub (don't know Yiddish? It means kind of a slovenly person). One thing I noticed about him as he spoke was that although he was talking about serious things, he was almost always smiling. He was soft-spoken, and had an endearing way of occasionally stopping to ask, "Do you know about this?" "Do you know what I mean?" Almost as if he were in a one-on-one conversation.

The main thing I actually took away from his talk was the same idea as cognitive therapy...that as you think so you create. He said we have two competing impulses within us personally and within society. One is fear or insecurity, which leads to a belief that we must dominate others before they dominate us. The other is hope, which leads to love and caring. There is a continuum between these two poles within us at all times, and we constantly move around on that continuum in our day-to-day lives. He further says that there is a "social energy" that resonates with one pole or the other of the above-mentioned impulses. His obvious example is the "social energy" following 9/11. There was a climate of fear that resonated with our own tendencies towards fear and insecurity. Or something like that! Anyway, he said that the goal of the NSP is to keep reinforcing a positive social energy.

He talked about the feeling that so many have that there is something wrong with the moral fabric of our society, even though we have great scientific advances and wonderful products and money flowing, etc. The NSP calls for a New Bottom Line: not just money and power, but also caring and love. He asserted that such a thing could and must be taught in our schools.

I will let you read about the Global Marshall Plan yourselves. It is a plan to end world poverty and hunger. It seems similar to the UN Millenium Development Goals. I haven't studied the differences yet. Let's do it together! The goal is so worthy, and part of Lerner's point is that this is the way to true security.

Of course, he runs up against doubters and cynics all the time. His retort is to tell about hearing stories from the very early pioneers of contemporary feminism and civil rights. They say that very few of those around them believed that it could happen. And yet, here we are, not totally finished with the job by any means, but much much further along than anyone ever thought possible. I think he was saying that it's not helpful to be a naysayer, but rather, telling each other we believe it can happen is helpful. Whew! There's a message aimed right at me!

I should add that the word "spiritual" in "Network of Spiritual Progressives" is interpreted very broadly by its members. This is an extremely ecuminical group. Although Tikkun started out as a Jewish magazine, and still calls itself Jewish, you will see the full spectrum of religious thought in its pages. I have even seen pagan themes there.

Along with the worthy goals of the Global Marshall Plan, I also think that Lerner's is a voice to listen to on issues involving Israel and Palestine. He's written a book, Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation, the thrust of which, as I understand it (ummmm...haven't read it yet...so many books, so little time!) is that Israeli Jews and Palestinians must truly listen to each other's stories about the situation as a first step towards genuine reconciliation. I think he has in mind something similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions formed after the fall of apartheit in South Africa. In any case, as a Jewish voice from the left on Israel/Palestine, I think he carries a certain authority that some other critical voices do not. At least for me.

Liberty Parade and festival

Well, we didn't make the parade but we did make the festival in Loring Park. It was a small affair, occupying just a small portion of the park. But it was a high-spirited affair, with some bands, lit tables, folks decked out in colorful costumes, and a George Bush clown!

There was a large presence by Ron Paul's folks; in fact, I think they're largely the organizers. I did manage to buy from them a pocket copy of the Constitution. I've wanted one for awhile and never managed to get around to getting one. I also got two tickets to the Ron Paul rally on Tuesday for the price of $20...only slightly more than the $17.76 asking price for a single ticket!

Kind of an interesting blend of left-wing and right-wing hippies! And a beautiful day in a beautiful Minneapolis park.

Scott Ritter lecture

Scott Ritter's talk was held in a very congenial venue: the auditorium at the William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul, not terribly far from the Xcel Center. It was an appropriate venue, since the bedrock of Ritter's talk, indeed his mission, is the Constitution. The talk was sponsored by U.S. Tour of Duty, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), Veterans for Peace, and some other groups.

Ritter has very much the demeanor of the former Marine that he is. (Check out his full bio at the Tour of Duty site.) At some points his delivery was a little bit that of the macho football coach, at others the professional military briefer. But he was also very passionate, almost like an evangelical minister in style.

He began by driving home the point that he supports the military; he's not a pacifist. He even chuckled a bit that he was being co-sponsored by WAMM. But he was quick to explain that his support for the military was as a bulwark in defense of the Constitution, which he said was what made our country what it is. He reminded us that the call to arms is a somber and serious affair; the day we commit our troops to a just fight should be a day of mourning, not cheerleading and jingoism. I think he thereby drew a connection with WAMM...that war IS madness and, while not always avoidable, should be truly a last resort and not to be gloried in.

He took to task folks who had "Support the Troops" stickers on their car, yet knew nothing about where those troops were or what they were doing. "Where's the 3rd Brigade, 4th ID currently fighting?" "ummm I dunno." Where, in relation to Baghdad, is Fallujah?" "ummmm not sure"... and so forth. He also gave an extended metaphor for supporting the troops: support your local firefighters. You want firefighters; you want them to be the best at what they do; you want them to have all the equipment they need, and the best equipment, right? You love firefighters...but that doesn't mean you love fire!

He forcefully put forth the idea that, as some serve in uniform, we all should serve as active citizens, knowing our Constitution and actively participating in the government that is meant to serve it. By way of demonstration of what he meant he asked the audience a) how many have read it, and b) whether, having read it, you could pass an exam on it. Quite a few hands up on a) from this liberal activist bunch; quite a few less on b).

Ritter talked at some length about how ill-informed most Americans are. How many knew anything of the vast history and culture of Iraq, the complexities of that society? Rather, we let the war boosters just boil it all down to a single mean-looking man with a moustache. Easy. He also pointed out that many Americans don't have passports, which is to say they have never been out in the wider world to see how others live. So they can't make nuanced judgements about foreign affairs.

This brought him to the meat of his topic: the current threat against Iran. He pointed out how with Iran many of the same things are happening. Again, many Americans have little knowledge of the history and culture of the country, again content to have the conflict boiled down to one wacky guy in a windbreaker -- Ahmadinejad. (I would add, though he didn't specifically talk about it, not many Americans are conversant with our 20th century history with Iran -- the overthrow of the Mossadegh government, the close relationship of the CIA with the Shah's secret police, the SAVAK.) Speaking of Ahmadinejad, Ritter suggested suggested we find Iran's constitution online and read it. Under their constitution, he pointed out, the President has no significant power (see Articles 123-128). He does not have the power to order attacks on another country. (This is not to say that his oral output is not awful!)

Getting to the heart of our current problems, the nuclear threat, Ritter pointed out that Iran, as a signatory to the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT (note: this is a pdf document) has the right to a nuclear energy program (see Article IV) and explained why they might need one, namely, that their "vast" reserves of petroleum are running out. He claimed this was shown in a study during the Ford administration and its conclusions were signed off on, i.e., acknowledged, by Dick Cheney as Ford's chief of staff!

In response to a question about news reports that the IAEA had made some statements suggesting that Iran wasn't in full compliance, Ritter explained the Jekyll-Hyde nature of the IAEA. There's the legal track under agreements stemming from the NPT, with which Iran is so far in full compliance; there is no evidence of a nuclear arms program. But there is also a political track, where political pressure comes into play. As an example, he talked about a laptop supposedly stolen from Iran which hints at a secret nuclear program. This track, he claims, is the source of the confusing reports about Iranian non-compliance.

I thought one of the most interesting remarks he made came in response to a question about whether Israel might attack Iran on its own. His claim: that Israel is not capable of launching a strike against Iran on its own. This sounds somewhat shocking to my ears, since I'm accustomed to thinking of Israel as a mighty military power. I mean, they struck Iraq's reactor in the ... 80s?? And more recently, they bombed ...something... in Syria. But Ritter claims that Israel is a regional power not a superpower. He then proceeded to explain in some military detail, almost like a briefing, exactly why Israel would not be able to do it. He forcefully pointed out that it would be a losing proposition for Israel in every way. He claims that Israel's statements about doing it are bluffs to get us to do it.

He made another statement which caught my attention, given talk in some circles about whether the Joint Chiefs or other commanders might refuse to follow orders to attack Iran. His view is that if the military were ordered to attack iran, they would do so without hesitation. This comes from the career military officer, and someone, I think, who has his ear a little bit to the ground on current thinking inside the military. So... so much for the idea of a mutiny. And he said this is the way it should be, that the military should be apolitical in that way, that it should have an advisory role, not a decision role. But when asked about the military's view on Iran, he said that while the ground services (the Army and Marines) were against an action, the air and naval services were in favor. The reason is that they have been largely out of the fight in Iraq and have seen funding go to the ground services. Now they're yearning for a war to demonstrate their usefulness and the need for new weapons systems.

On that note, someone asked how he might reduce the Pentagon's budget if he could. He said he strongly favors an increase in conventional ground forces, and he said he could pay for that by cutting missle defense and nuclear arsenal and delivery systems and some other wasteful weapons systems, and still allow for a 30% cut in the overall defense budget! How interesting is that?!

All in all, I think the important thrust of his talk, and his work, is to promote an active citizenry that believes the government is by them and for them.

Read in August 3 - Synbat

Bob Mayer is the author here. His books are a kind of guilty pleasure. Mayer is an ex-green beret and he writes exciting and realistic combat stories. This one is kind of "Michael Crichton meets Tom Clancy". It's about genetically engineered, i.e. synthetic, battle "forms". Hence...synbat. The synbats were created in a secret government project, and of course, they got loose. The Special Forces guys were called in to clean up the mess. It's actually a rather scary scenario. And a quick exciting read, as are all of his books.

Under the pseudonym of Robert Doherty, Mayer has written a great SF series, Area 51. If you're at all a "buff" of UFOs, pyramids, crystal skulls, etc., you'll love it! This series weaves every ufo/new-age urban legend you've ever heard into a rollicking adventure story. They should have made this instead of the last Indiana Jones film!

Read in August 2 - The Kindling

This book is authored by Mick Farren, and is the first of a two-part series. I originally found the second book, Conflagration, just browsing at my library, and figured I should try to read the first book first.

The Kindling is a kind of odd, annoying alternate history. It seems to be set in the pre-revolutionary period of North America...except there'll be no revolution because the entire political order is different. Apparently the Norse conquered most of Europe, then settled North America. So there are these states, many with the same names as we know (why would that be?), plus the Kindom of Albany (as in NY). And in a clash of civilizations, the "west" seems to be fighting something like the Mongol horde, only they're called the Mosul. After conquering much of Asia and the Middle East, they've now invaded North America. On top of this, the level of technology seems to be sort of circa 1914, but there are also "rocket bombs". ?! And on top of that there's magic. Or is it some sort of dimensional travel?? Are we veering into fantasy? Science fiction? Confusing!

Still, he manages to write a rollicking story, basically a war story, with good characters (with odd names, like...Yancey Slide), very good action scenes, and rather a lot of sex.

Read in August1 - The Last Colony

Alas, reading this book, by John Scalzi, I come in at the end of a trilogy. The first book is Old Man's War, followed by Ghost Brigades.

I would class this book as space opera, which, I thought, was a somewhat dying breed in SF. It's set amongst the stars, with numerous planets, alien races, and so forth. It's about about human colonization of the universe and the agreements and negotiations between civilizations/races, and about the politics of the colonial administration.

The book was an easy read, a story of political intrigue, musings about family, and at the end, a ripping little war story. I also really liked Scalzi's humor; he really writes some witty, funny dialog.

I also found myself thinking about space opera in a new way, given all the new planetary systems we've discovered over the last decade or so. Before, for all that many people might have thought there must be other planets out there, we really didn't know. Now we do, with more and more being added every day. With new and better search tools coming online, the next decade should see many many more discovered, and possibly, finally, ones that resemble earth. So suddenly interplanetary space opera begins to take on a new meaningfulness. Cool!

I'll shortly be reading the other two books in the trilogy.

Thomas Frank lecture

Tonight was kind of the kick-off of events for me. I went to the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis just a few blocks away to hear NYT (and now WSJ) columnist Thomas Frank. He is touring in support of his latest book, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule.

Thomas himself is a very perky, accessible, cynical, rather boyish guy. He physically reminded me of a young George Will (eeek!! He'd probably hate that description!), but with a twinkle in his eye. While he made his very serious points, he did so in a breezy, oftentimes funny way.

A quick example of his impishness. When he took the stage -- and by stage I mean the stage of the worship space -- he immediately whipped out a bottle of water, took off the cap, and off-handedly tossed it into an ornate ritual basin next to the lectern/pulpit! He immediately snatched it out and apologized profusely... but with a little twinkle in his eye. Now, the universalists are a very liberal bunch, and this was no Catholic baptismal font or holy water basin, so I don't think it was a big deal. Everyone laughed (I think!) But...um...still....

Anyway, the point of Frank's book, as I understand it, is this. The conservative movement has a bedrock belief in the power of the market as the proper driving social force in human society, as against the idea of citizens coming together to order their own society. Since they believe that the market rules, they naturally despise the institution of government, and have sought to destroy it or hobble it wherever they can. Everywhere, that is, but where it serves their interests. And their interests are basically to make money. Among others, one thing that follows from this is corrupt government and scandal, of the kind we have increasingly seen during the Bush years. Frank claims that aside from the scandal, the bad governance is intentional; in effect, they want to govern badly so the public will lose confidance in government! Another thing that follows from this view of government is rampant privatization and outsourcing of government functions.

One way they do this, according to Frank, is by gutting the civil service. They replace career civil servants (whom they see as left-leaning and obstructionist) with loyal party members, many of whom have no other real qualification for the office they hold. And often they are from the very industries their agencies are meant to regulate! The result is incompetence; his example was the FEMA disaster during and after Hurricane Katrina.

Although Frank is clearly -- jubilantly! -- partisan, he did not spare the Dems some responsibility. He also pointed out that after years of this effort by conservatives, the problem is now systemic, and will be immensely difficult to change. The problem, he says, is the presence of huge amounts of money at play in politics. And he claims the biggest problem is the disparity in wealth between the small percent of those at the top of the economic spectrum and the rest of the populace. He was pretty candid in admitting that even if Barack Obama is elected, he will have a very, very difficult time changing it. I should add that he nevertheless seemed excited about Barack and was trying to keep things moving so we could all get out in time to watch the acceptance speech!

In response to some questions, Frank was refreshingly candid about admitting he really didn't know what the heck to do about all this! He had no real solution to offer, other than to try to hold the scoundrels, whoever and wherever they might be, accountable.

Blogging the non-convention

I have to say, although I wish the Republicans were elsewhere, this will be a very exciting time here in the Twin Cities. The RNC convention is going to be a magnet not only for the Repub celebs, pundits, etc., but the same crew on the left. One crew will be inside, the other outside...and I will be partaking of the outside crew!

So, what am I looking at? Well, here's a schedule of events I'm hoping to make.

• Thursday, 8/28: 7:30 p.m. Thomas Frank, speaking in support of his latest book, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule (see next post).
• Saturday, 8/30: 3 p.m. Scott Ritter, speaking about "The Iran Talks at the William Mitchell College of Law. I think Ritter is one of the most articulate, interesting, and authoritative voices on the left right now. As a former Marine intelligence officer and weapons inspector in Iraq, I think he really has an important perspective on our current foreign affairs.
• Sunday, 8/31: 1 p.m.Liberty Parade and festival in and around downtown Minneapolis. They promise music, speakers, art displays and activities, all to answer the question "What does liberty mean to you?"
  
• Sunday, 8/31: 7 p.m. Rabbi Michael Lerner speaks on the Global Marshall Plan at Shir Tikvah Temple. Lerner is the founder of the Tikkun movement, and I think, a strong authoritative voice -- critical of many of Israel's policies, but certainly a supporter of Israel's existence.
• Monday, 9/1: 11 am. This is it!! THE march on the RNC. Yikes! Wooohooo! Gulp.
• Tuesday, 9/2: 12:30 pm, Rally for the Republic by Ron Paul supporters as a counter-RNC convention, Target Center, downtown Mpls. Yes, I can hear you scratching your heads and/or grinding your teeth! But Ron Paul's supporters have stood up against the criminal Bush government, albeit from a different perspective, and I've long been curious about that perspective. I think this will be interesting.
• Tuesday, 9/2: 12:30 to 7 pm, Ripple Effect festival for sustainability, justice and equality, with Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, Dead Prez, Wookie Foot, Matisyahu, Medea Benjamin, Will Steger and others, Minnesota State Capitol. Can you say....partaaaaay?! It may be tough to balance this one against Ron Paul!
• Thursday, 9/4, 1 to 8 pm, Peace Island Picnic, Harriet Island, St. Paul. This event is largely the brainchild of Colleen Rowley, the courageous FBI agent who wrote a whistle-blowing letter to the head of the FBI after she and her colleagues were obstructed by superiors from investigating Moussawi's laptop prior to 9/11. It's intended to be another party, within sight of the convention.
• Thursday, 9/4: 6:30 pm, Super Rally with Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez. "Open the Debates!" Speakers/Performers: Nellie McKay, Cindy Sheehan and Tom Neilson and special guests. Gosh...think Nader will speak? ;-) I can hear more head-scratching. But I think Nader is a true patriot and a great public servant, and although I won't vote for him, I sure want to hear him take both the dems and repubs to task...and I think everyone should have a chance to hear his critiques.

So there you have it. There are tons of other arts events going on, so who knows what else I'll stumble into. But I'll try and bring it to you here!