Breaking The Spell

• I've Moved

  To keep up with my now very-occasional blogging, check out my new blog. [...]
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  Posted: August 20, 2009, 1:50pm EDT
  

• Running Out Of Money Before We Run Out Of Month

  The economic collapse has hit the Rose household like a hurricane. We've always been right near the edge financially, so when our main breadwinner is out of work for a few weeks, there are some serious consequences and tough decisions to be made.
  
  It's going to be a while [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2009, 5:43pm EDT
  

• Thoughts And Links On Racism

  Between work, family, a meeting in LA, the flu and a host of other obligations, it has not been easy to find the time or willingness to write.
  
  I'm quite grateful, though, that we have a number of terrific writers and investigative journalists in Hawai'i who have helped me [...]
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  Posted: March 21, 2009, 5:50am EDT
  

• Good Times!

  
  Yesterday's rally for civil unions brought out more than forty people, twice as many as I had expected.
  
  The response from passers-by was impressive. These stood out: a wedding party, "Just Married" painted on the' [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 3:21am EDT
  

• Nice video!

  Thanks to a friend for passing along this beautiful video:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 6:14am EST
  

• Engaging Debate In Our Circles

  This Saturday at 4:30 PM at the intersection of Kaumuali`i Highway and Nawiliwili Road near the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, I'll be standing with a group of social justice advocates to support civil unions for same-sex couples.
  
  In planning this rally, I was surprised to run into some rather' [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 5:02am EST
  

• They're Here, They're "Left," And We Better Not Get Used To It

  It's a sign of my heterosexual privilege that I have been so astonished over the last week to see the homophobia ooze out of what I had considered some unlikely places. If I were gay, lesbian or transgendered, I suppose none of this would have surprised me.
  
  Well, just' [...]
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  Posted: March 02, 2009, 2:30am EST
  

• Sorry, Mr. Lewis!

  Fortunately, in these lean times, I've been able to find some extra work to help make ends meet around here.
  
  Unfortunately, I don't have much time to write - and there's a lot I'd like to write about these days.
  
  For example, I see in today's Garden Island' [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 3:15am EST
  

• "Apartheid Is So Gay"

  It's very depressing to see that 2,000 people showed up at the Capital yesterday to protest the civil-unions bill.
  
  It would be fun to call an anti-civil union rally in a convention hall, just to get all those folks together to show them this:
  
  
  
  [...]
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  Posted: February 23, 2009, 4:05am EST
  

• Recommended Reading on Direct Action

  Diary of a Walking Butterfly is a good site offering analysis and resources for organizers. Here's a gem we'd be wise to consider deeply:
  
  
  Social Power Gets the Goods
  
  "Direct Action Gets the Goods":
  The person who wrote this definitely could have meant “social [...]
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  Posted: February 19, 2009, 12:41pm EST
  

• Rebel Voices and Visions

  Check out the new sites I've linked to on the right hand column. (Thanks to the AK Press blog for pointing these out.)
  
  One of them, Red State Rebels, grew out of the anthology by the same name, which I highly recommend.
  
  The book validates the' [...]
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  Posted: February 18, 2009, 10:20am EST
  

• Training for Columbine

  
  Several days ago, a Career Fair was held on the campus of my son's high school. The centerpiece of the day's activities was a military display, during which a helicopter landed on the PE field and students were encouraged to handle weapons. As my son pointed out, "It felt" [...]
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  Posted: February 15, 2009, 1:10am EST
  

• The 2009 Anne Braden Anti-Racist Training Program

  This is from the Catalyst Project. Good stuff - I wish I could go:
  
  Dear Catalyst Community,
  
  We are excited to announce that applications are now available for our second Anne Braden Anti-Racist Training Program, starting August of 2009! The 2008 program was a tremendous success built on [...]
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  Posted: February 14, 2009, 9:57am EST
  

• My First "Craft" Post: On Letters To The Editor

  I love writing and reading letters to the editor. I find that the letters page is a pretty good vehicle for sharing ideas, since it's read by such a broad cross-section of the population. Often times, in small communities, it's the most vibrant part of a newspaper. In fact, I [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2009, 2:25am EST
  

• We Need White History Month

  The following article appeared in The Nation:
  
  
  White History 101
  
  Why it’s time to take off the blinders
  
  by Gary Younge
  2/28/2007
  
  original article
  
  Whatever happened to James Blake? He is probably the most famous bus driver ever. And yet when he [...]
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  Posted: February 07, 2009, 3:48am EST
  

• "Full-Spectrum Economics"

  I just heard a terrific talk aired on Against the Grain, my favorite KPFA program, by Rian Eisler, the author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating A Caring Economics.
  
  One of the topics she addresses is the way that traditional economics fails to take into [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2009, 2:30am EST
  

• Turn On The Waterworks

  Please keep an eye on the story of the Kaua'i Springs water bottling company.
  
  Access to clean drinking water is on the cusp of becoming a critical sustainability issue on Kaua'i as it already has around the world. The small actions we take here, now, can have have [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2009, 2:47am EST
  

• Pinch Me - I Must Be Dreaming

  I think there might just be "a dime's worth of difference" after all. And when you're scraping your change together, every penny counts:
  
  "We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests. I do not view the labor movement as part of" [...]
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  Posted: January 30, 2009, 3:25am EST
  

• Gen Pop

  I'm sorry to follow a "humor" post with something so depressing, but my friend Jordan just sent out an article he wrote about torture at Angola Prison in Louisiana. Lest we forget, this doesn't only happen at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
  
  Whether we choose to admit it or not, [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2009, 2:26am EST
  

• Just For Fun

  Racism is Over is a funny blog taking aim at the "post-racial" world we supposedly live in now that Obama is President.
  
  I especially like the post about the greeting card industry... [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2009, 1:00am EST
  

• There Is An Alternative After All

  
  Please take a few moments to read Andrea Brower's explanation of sustainability and re-localization at SaveKauai.org.
  
  Many urban Leftists like myself who have been traditionally concerned with class, gender and racial justice questions have been slow to recognize the importance of addressing ecological concerns. One reason' [...]
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  Posted: January 27, 2009, 2:28am EST
  

• Dismantling Superferry Myths

  Some of our best and brightest have a terrific op-ed printed in today's The Garden Island. Mahalo!
  
  Clarifying misperceptions about the Superferry
  
  By Andrea Brower, George Inouye, Noelani Rogers and Ed Coll
  Published: Monday, January 26, 2009 3:09 AM HST
  
  Hawai‘i Superferry has been debated in' [...]
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  Posted: January 26, 2009, 2:17am EST
  

• Are We "Post-Racial" Yet?

  This week, Uprising Radio aired a terrific talk by Tim Wise, noted anti-racism author and educator. This is a must-listen for anyone who thinks that electing Barack Obama means we have entered a "post-racial" era - whatever that means!
  
  Not only does he address the realities of systemic, [...]
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  Posted: January 23, 2009, 11:23am EST
  

• Hilda Solis and The Employee Free Choice Act

  As readers of this site know by now, I'm not one who believes my energy is best spent lobbying the government. But once in a while, I think there are opportunities to apply a small amount of pressure that can help tip things in a progressive direction. If that helps' [...]
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  Posted: January 23, 2009, 3:16am EST
  

• Reflections On The Day After

  I do most of my organizing work with people who are to the Left of the Democratic Party. Our conversations in the aftermath of the inauguration - and, indeed, throughout the entire election season - have been incredibly instructive to me.
  
  One of my friends reported feeling deeply disheartened [...]
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  Posted: January 21, 2009, 3:51am EST
  

• Explaining My Pathetic Failure To Address The Gaza Bombardment

  I feel a little ashamed that I've been silent here about the bombing and ongoing occupation of Gaza.
  
  I am far from an expert on this issue, though I do seek out information about it from an array of sources. One of the main reasons I don't write about [...]
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  Posted: January 20, 2009, 11:19am EST
  

• Inaugural Hipness

  "We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right."
  
  - Rev. [...]
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  Posted: January 20, 2009, 4:46am EST
  

• More Healthy Left Self-Criticism

  Several of the best essays of Left self-criticism I've read lately have been by white guys in the movement. I'll try to figure that out some other time.(Not that there's anything wrong with it - some of my best friends and most beloved family members are white male leftists.) [...]
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  Posted: January 16, 2009, 4:08am EST
  

• Increasing Our Reach

  I've been pretty distracted from writing lately, but just for the sake of staying somewhat current, I want to post a link to yet another resource I'm finding useful.
  
  I'm noticing an encouraging self-critical trend on the Left (the constructive kind, for a change!) and a renewed focus on [...]
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  Posted: January 14, 2009, 10:30am EST
  

• Another Resource

  I'm reading a remarkable essay titled "De-Colonizing the Revolutionary Imagination."
  
  This is a practical, brass-tacks essay about how we can engage in effective resistance to the logic of empire and exploitation.
  
  Here's an excerpt:
  
  

  The worst thing that can happen to our movements right now is [...]

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  Posted: January 10, 2009, 1:58am EST
  

• A Promising Trend

  I was checking out some links from a friend's blog and found the website for smartMeme. I recommend checking it out if your interest is grappling with the diverse ways we can meet the organizing challenges of the 21st century.
  
  Here's a quote from the site [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 11:04am EST
  

• We Don't Care What You Say, We're Not Peeing In That Cup!

  Today, I was surprised to find the following distinctly regressive message in my email, forwarded to a big list by a member of Kaua'i's progressive community:
  
  

  THE JOB - URINE TEST
  (I sure would like to know who wrote this one! They deserve a HUGE pat on the back!)
  [...]

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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 4:05am EST
  

• Police Violence Claims Another Victim

  The blatant execution of Oscar Grant in an Oakland BART station a few nights ago has now sparked social upheaval and protest, as it should.
  
  One thing we here on Kaua'i should note is that the cop who murdered Oscar Grant is reported to have stated that he thought [...]
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  Posted: January 08, 2009, 5:39am EST
  

• Resource for Allies

  
  Just a nudge to you all to check out the website of the newly-formed Hawaiian Independence Alliance!
  
  Be sure to watch the videos. Along with a really terrific analysis of the Akaka Bill by Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, there are a couple of statements by [...]
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  Posted: January 06, 2009, 4:22am EST
  

• Housing Justice on Kaua'i

  Ann Punohou is pulling together a meeting on Thursday to discuss housing justice on Kaua'i.
  
  Her hope is to create pressure to end housing and HUD discrimination against low-income renters by getting an anti-discrimination law passed here.
  
  I think that's a worthy goal, and it should [...]
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  Posted: January 05, 2009, 3:36am EST
  

• Entering A New Year, Full Of Doubt and Love

  "Dejeme decirle, a riesgo de parecer ridiculo, que el revolucionario verdadero esta guiado por grandes sentimientos de amor."
  ("Let me say, at the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by feelings of great love.")
  - Ernesto "Che" Guevara
  
  Occasionally, I enter periods of profound [...]
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  Posted: January 03, 2009, 1:10am EST
  

• Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands! Pictures From Today's Solidarity Demonstration

  About 30 people came out to hold signs with the Kaua'i Alliance for Peace and Social Justice in Lihue today to show our opposition to Governor Lingle's push to sell off the lands seized from the Kanaka Maoli. We held our demonstration in solidarity with a protest which took place [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2008, 3:32pm EST
  

• Saving the Earth Means Killing Capitalism

  We're atheists so we don't observe Christmas. We leave that to the Christians - to whom it belongs - and do other things instead.
  
  But perhaps I'm not the only one who chooses to spend Christmas morning reading an essay in Monthly Review about the links between Marxist [...]
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  Posted: December 25, 2008, 1:31am EST
  

• Resource: "Taking Waikiki"

  In 1994, Ed Coll and Carol Bain produced a video documentary called "Taking Waikiki." I highly recommend watching it for insight into the history of the complete economic and political restructuring of Hawai'i under colonialism.
  
  In 2009, many celebrations - and protests - will be planned around the [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2008, 1:28am EST
  

• Inspiring Action

  I have to express my admiration for the creative direct action by Utah student Tim De Christopher at the Bureau of Land Management Auction on Friday. Way to fuck shit up, brother! For more information, see today's Democracy Now! [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 5:29am EST
  

• There They Go Again

  The article below from the Phoenix Business Journal came to me through the Hawai'i demilitarization listserve to which I belong.
  
  It's important to analyze the function of this kind of report. I don't believe this story appeared because a determined investigative reporter uncovered a secret. I think that [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2008, 3:00am EST
  

• More on Greek Uprising

  Infoshop News has good stuff on the uprising in Greece. Be sure to check the links for photos.
  
  Here's a couple of good ones:
  
  Also, there's a very interesting article in Greek News analyzing the roots of [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 5:04pm EST
  

• Upcoming KKCR Interview

  I've never felt like using this blog to announce the community radio program I co-produce with Jimmy Trujillo on KKCR, but I am really looking forward to this week's edition. (Unfortunately, Jimmy's work schedule has forced him to take a hiatus from the program...)
  
  This Thursday, December 18, I [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2008, 9:20am EST
  

• Greece Erupts - What Can We Learn? (In Praise of Unruliness)

  The ongoing full-scale social upheaval in Greece in response to police abuse, neo-liberal privatization schemes and worker and student supression is inspiring solidarity protests across Europe.
  
  One of the things that struck me as I listened to the interview with Greek student activist Nikos Lountos on Democracy Now! [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 5:21am EST
  

• Yay! A Victory for Workers!

  Militant direct action and solidarity created the necessary conditions for workers to win a victory at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago.
  
  I hope we can all take this as an inspiration.
  
  When we engage in direct action, we take the solutions to our problems into [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 2:32am EST
  

• Republic Windows: How Should Hawai'i Show Solidarity?

  
  
  
  The current worker occupation at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago is quickly gathering international and local solidarity and support.
  
  This action by laid-off workers - mostly Latino - to demand the pay and benefits owed them by a company that pulled up [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2008, 4:33am EST
  

• Laid Off Workers Occupy Chicago Factory

  Okay - now that's what I'm talking about!
  
  Laid Off Workers Refuse To Leave Chicago FactoryRUPA SHENOY December 6, 2008 09:22 PM EST AP
  CHICAGO — Workers who got three days' notice that their factory was shutting its doors have occupied the building and say they won't [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2008, 12:10pm EST
  

• Film Showing: "Noho Hewa"

  Andrea Brower sent out the following press release today:
  
  
  Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai'iWINNER OF THE HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL'S 2008 AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY
  
  KAUA'I - "Noho Hewa" will show on Saturday, December 20th, from 6-8:30 at the Kaua' Community College Performing Arts Center [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2008, 12:03pm EST
  

• New Book Digs Deep

  Last weekend I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawaii, edited by Candace Fujikane and Jonathan Okamura. (2008, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.)
  
  This collection explores the relationship of Hawai'i residents of Asian descent [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2008, 2:43am EST
  

• "Constructive Criticism" at Gunpoint

  Is it just me, or is there something really weird about the way Kaua'i Police Department Chief Darryl Perry uses the Garden Island newspaper to beat up on people with whom he disagrees?
  
  The latest example was a response he submitted to a letter to the editor by [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 4:31am EST