I came across and article headline this morning that was 'kind of, sort of' familiar. When I clicked over to the actual article referenced, I realized why it sounded familiar.
Because I wrote about it months ago in: Fringe back on October 17, 2011
Of course, back then I was CRAZY.
Well, like they say, "Craziness LOVES company..." (I believe this should be 'misery' but with the amount of misery in this country over the past three years? Yeah, let's just say 'crazy'.) Here comes my special friend, my co-conspirator, my bestest ever favorite author and all-around great Socialist...
Frances Fox Piven!
Come on, let's be givin' it up for her!!!
[Silence]
Found on TheBlaze.com:
According to Frances Fox Piven:
At last weekend’s Left Forum 2012, the annual pep-rally for liberal thought, renown leftist professor and activist Frances Fox Piven shown some light onto the makeup of the current America Left. In this minute of audio, Piven tells the packed auditorium which worldview philosophies embody their movement:- The Occupy Movement is made up of “All parts of the Left.”
- That includes proudly: “Democrats, Socialists, Communists, Anarchists.”
- Must all work together because of the “Huge task of transforming America and the world.”
- “We are all together”
“There is room for all of us. Religious leftists, people who think peace is the answer, those who think that wholesome food is what we really need, ecologists and old-fashioned Democrats, Democratic Socialists, Socialists and Communists.”
Piven goes on to discuss the major undertaking that the leftist movement is working on and why these ideologies must unite:
“We can work together because we have a really huge task before us, transforming America and the World.”
Both statements were met with applause and agreement from the audience of over one thousand.
I had never heard of the Left Forum 2012 (or any other year). Being a curious cow, I decided to check it out and see what all the fuss was about.
Yeah, I went there. Now I need another shower...
Courtesy of THE NATION:
Each spring the Left Forum convenes the largest progressive gathering in North America in a rambling, lively confab unlike anything else in the United States. Originally established in 1981 as the Socialist Scholar's Conference, the event was renamed the Left Forum in 2005 after a split in the ranks forced a year's hiatus and a reconstituted organizing structure.
Continuing a tradition begun in the 1960s, intellectuals and organizers meet to share notes, perspectives, strategies, experience, vision and, of course, drinks! [Kool-Aid?]
Last year's conference, led by the LF's energetic director, Seth Adler, saw a record 3,500 activists attending more than 300 panels and workshops. This weekend's proceedings, invigorated by the Occupy movement, are expected to beat these numbers.
This year, the Left Forum will focus on the $64,000 question of how best to confront global capitalism:
How can American leftists best support the many revolutionary struggles abroad that took root in 2011?
How can the Occupy movement be sustained and nurtured in the US?
How can new technologies help foster social change?
What needs to happen for new chains of solidarity to bloom between workers in the West and their counterparts in the global South?
Are democracy and capitalism mutually exclusive?
Join an illustrious group of writers, thinkers and activists in this immensely important conversation about the fate of the earth. [Moos Note: If I were THIS full of myself, I'd spontaneously combust]
Speakers include Medea Benjamin, Michael Ratner, Frances Fox Piven, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Wallace Shawn, Marina Sitrin and Nation writers John Nichols, Laura Flanders, Michael Klare, Ari Berman and Doug Henwood.
Panel topics are, to say the least, wide-ranging: This video featuring Barbara Ehrenreich [Moos Note: Please be sure to watch the following video clip in which Barbara Ehrenreich refers to 'Angry Old White People' - then look at HER. This is your official 'Moment of Irony' of the day - enjoy!] at last year's opening plenary gives a good sense of the breadth and depth of the conversations you'll find at the LF.
Taking place at on March 18 and 19 at Pace University in Manhattan, the Left Forum, which is co-sponsored by The Nation, is the place to be for progressives this weekend. Check out the full, very extensive schedule, read up on the speakers and register your spot in the conversation. [Moos Note: Ewwww, so sorry I missed it. Perhaps next year?!?!]
Since I hadn't stopped in to visit the Communist Party USA website in a couple of months, I figured that I should see what they're up to since they called for the 'Occupation' of everything.
Yes, Communists never fail to make me scratch my head and wonder aloud, "WTF?".
This morning's headline:
Was Jesus a communist? — Live Broadcast Mar 27
A new short film by Matthew Modine is making the rounds at film festivals and is receiving positive reviews. 'Jesus Was A Commie' is sparking a new wave of discussion about religion and economics.
Tim Yeager, a dedicated trade union organizer and Episcopal priest, will speak about the economic and social justice message in Christianity in a video presentation March 27.
Today many Christian conservatives have attempted to interpret the message of the Bible to justify a right-wing agenda of division, exploitation, capitalism and inequality. But what if the values at the heart of the gospel were really about equality, justice, environmentalism and collectivity?
What is liberation theology? Aren't Marxists against religion? Is the U.S. a Christian nation? Was Jesus a communist? What's the significance of the Christian right? Should religion influence politics at all? Do common teachings of progressive values (peace, love, equality, justice, the golden rule, etc) provide a basis for broader unity among religious and secular people?
Remember to dial in often to this particular session, I'm sure audio ports will fill up fast!!!
Wondering where Communists, Socialists, Progressives and Liberal Democrats are staking their futures?
With this Guy...
I am staking my future with Him too. But isomehow I can't help thinking that my belief in Christ is a bit 'different' than theirs... Well, at least from what I've seen and heard them say in the past.
Know what I mean?
Por ejemplo:
And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
And they marvelled at him.
Please notice that Jesus said to 'render' (a.k.a.: 'give') the things which are Caesar's (a.k.a.: government's).
He never said anything about Caesar taking from one man and giving it forceably to another...
Have a nice weekend folks.
Remember to say your prayers tonight.
We're going to need them.
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