Journalism

Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics, by Michael Walzer

Introduction by Jon Wiener.  A how-to book for activists written at one of the darkest moments of the Nixon years, it remains relevant and useful today.  The book takes up the question of what we can do, what we should do, about a president who fills us with dread and rage.  “What is to be done?” is of course the classic question for leftists facing oppressive regimes and long odds.  Walzer’s book is “an invitation to commitment and participation,” to get together in groups, to argue at meetings, and then to go out and talk to people.  The book has been republished in 2019 by New York Review Books at the suggestion of some high school students in Los Angeles.

Naomi Klein: The Green New Deal Is Changing the Calculus of the Possible

JW: How would you describe the Green New Deal resolution introduced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey?
Naomi Klein: It’s a sweeping plan to radically transform how we get energy, move ourselves around, live in cities, and grow our food; and it puts justice at the center—justice broadly defined, from racial and gender justice to making sure no worker is left behind, battling inequality at every level. It’s really about multitasking. It’s about understanding that we are in a time of multiple overlapping crises, and that we are on an incredibly tight deadline . . .
continued at TheNation.com, HERE

Podcast Spotlight: “Start Making Sense”

“As the host of Start Making Sense, the weekly podcast of The Nation magazine, Jon Wiener ’66 promises “political talk without the boring parts,” and the show delivers, featuring interviews with a mix of Nation contributors and other leading journalists and experts. (Recent guests include author Naomi Klein, New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert, and Princeton historian Sean Wilentz.). . . ”  continued at the Princeton Alumni Weekly, 2-21-19, HERE

2019 will be the worst year of Donald Trump’s life: LA Times op-ed

Some presidents have really bad years.
For Nixon, it was 1974 — the Watergate year, which ended with his resignation. For Clinton, it was 1998 — the Monica year, which culminated with an impeachment trial in the Senate in 1999. He won that vote easily and came out more popular than before.
It’s a good guess that Donald Trump’s really bad year will be 2019.  . . . continued at LATimes, HERE  1/3/2019

How George H.W. Bush Paved the Way for Trump Pardons: Harold Meyerson on the dark side of Reagan’s successor.

The second-worst thing Bush did was his last act as president: pardoning many of the Iran/Contra conspirators, in order to block investigation of his own breaking the law. That points the way for Donald Trump to follow his example — by pardoning the people who might testify against him.
(The worst thing?  Nominating Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.)
. . . continued at TheNation.com, HERE  12/5/18

Michelle Obama’s Carefully Scrubbed Memoir: Amy Wilentz on the missing politics in ‘Becoming’

In LA, Michelle’s event was not at a bookstore, but rather at the Forum in Inglewood, where the Lakers used to play. It has 17,000 seats and was sold out for her event. She has similar venues in other cities. It’s not your typical author appearance. . . We’re interested in what the book has to say about politics, because hers were maybe more complicated than she let on. . . .
continued at TheNation.com, Nov. 30, 2018, HERE

 

Rebecca Traister: The Politics of Women’s Anger

Q: The New York Times page-one headline after Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony read, “A Nominee is Rescued By a Display of Rage.” I wonder if you have any comment on that?
Rebecca Traister: One of the things I write about in the book is the issue of whose rage is taken seriously as politically valid and politically consequential. . . .
Continued at TheNation.com, HERE  10/12/18