Feb 8, 2003

The alleged key elements of President Bush’s 2004 re-election strategy have been recently revealed. The president apparently intends to emphasize the war against terrorism and homeland security. For many, this was no surprise since it has been clear since Sept. 11, 2001, that the war against terrorism is as much about moving a domestic right-wing political agenda as it is about fighting terrorists.

Let’s hear it for heroes. Not the fantasy “super-heroes” depicted in action movies, but real-life workaday Americans who risk their careers and reputations to take a principled stand for what’s right.

“We support our troops!” Supporters of the possible war against Iraq, and of Resident Bush, criticize the rest of us as being against the troops. But slogans aren’t the real tests, actions are.

Popularizers of evolutionary theory, from Huxley on, have tended to emphasize the idea of competition between and within species, of “nature red in tooth and claw.” Often, this emphasis on conflict and competition has been the means whereby evolutionary theory is enlisted in the cause of bourgeois ideology.

Early on the last day of the year, Dec. 31 2002, thousands of Brazilian workers were constructing platforms and mounting sound systems in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. A historic event was about to occur in the next 48 hours – the inauguration of the new president, Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, a left-wing metal worker.

The White House has cancelled a poetry reading after one of the invited guests, poet Sam Hamill, suggested attendees use the forum to read anti-war poetry. The event, which was to be held Feb. 12, was entitled “Poetry and the American Voice,” and was to feature readings and discussion of work by Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman.

The work of social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin is unparalleled among contemporary photographers. Rogovin is considered one of the finest social documentary photographers of the twentieth century.

NEW YORK – For three decades, Stanley Nelson’s documentaries have made audiences sit up and take notice. With interviews, photographic stills, and found footage, the filmmaker’s eloquent works combine historical research and current issues to provide a uniquely intelligent perspective.

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor John Street presented his $3.3 billion Budget for fiscal year 2004 to the city council, Jan. 29, a budget that will cut more than 500 city jobs this year and 1,614 by 2008. He said the cuts were necessary to prevent an $830 million deficit by 2008.