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7306 [lbo-talk] Why Super Barry should get the nom -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 4:51 PM, Charles Brown wrote: > His 6th post of the day. The day before it was 13. The day before that it was 5. The limit is 3.

Document Size:	4785
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 13:58:55 PDT 2008

7307 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 4:41 PM, Michael Pollak wrote: > The principle that one builds from the base, certainly. But the > idea that > this is the path to an alternative national party -- and that that > should > be our aim -- is not true. Or at least not true with major > supplement. > You'd have to change rules of the political system first. The > Swedes were > operating in a parliamentary system, where it's perfectly natural > to grow > from a small local party ...

Document Size:	5628
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 13:49:34 PDT 2008

7308 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 3:31 PM, Charles Brown wrote: > What religion has over our atheism is optimism, a > can-do spirit, the power of positive thinking. Thus, > religion gets people to _do_ things. It inspires action. > What socialist theorists need from religion is that > optimism that we can change things. that "yes we can > spirit". Can you promise them eternal life?

Document Size:	5197
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 12:55:07 PDT 2008

7309 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 7:41 AM, Julio Huato wrote: > Doug wrote: > >> If I were to give a serious answer to Charles's question it'd be to >> organize around specific issues, like single-payer health care, both >> to achieve the specific goal and to build a movement, and forget (for >> now) the presidency. The president of the U.S. is, as the Sparts like >> to say, the chief executive of the world bourgeoisie. That's not an >> office we should be focusing on ...

Document Size:	6077
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 12:12:58 PDT 2008

7310 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 3:22 AM, Michael Pollak wrote: > On Fri, 9 May 2008, Doug Henwood wrote: > >> If I were to give a serious answer to Charles's question it'd be to >> organize around specific issues, like single-payer health care, >> both to >> achieve the specific goal and to build a movement, and forget (for >> now) >> the presidency > > I couldn't agree with you more. My only question is how. I'd be > willing > to give substantial amou ...

Document Size:	6305
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 12:10:37 PDT 2008

7311 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 10, 2008, at 2:45 PM, Michael Pollak wrote: > Sure, and we wouldn't stop them. But Doug's point -- with which I > agree > -- is that the purpose of a left is to move politics to the left. > And you > do that from outside the political process, by building a movement > that > exerts force on politicians. It doesn't mean you don't care who gets > elected. It means you care more about how you can influence them > before > and after they get elected, when the ...

Document Size:	6424
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 11:55:44 PDT 2008

7312 [lbo-talk] secret treaties -- rank: 1000

[The WSJ thought this worth a news alert. It's not every page one story they do that for.] > NEWS ALERT > from The Wall Street Journal > > > Two of the nation's largest labor unions -- SEIU and Unite Here -- > have struck confidential agreements with large employers that give > the companies the right to designate which of their locations, and > how many workers, the unions can seek to organize. The agreements > are raising questions about union transparency and worke ...

Document Size:	12808
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat May 10 06:06:11 PDT 2008

7313 [lbo-talk] so much for the new coalition... -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 6:28 PM, Shane Mage wrote: > Only polls (like some of > Zogby's) giving the choices of McCain-Obama-Nader or McCain-Clinton- > Nader can possibly have any validity. Hey, how many votes did Ralph get in 2004?

Document Size:	4845
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 18:20:41 PDT 2008

7314 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 8:24 PM, Charles Brown wrote: > Hey, I got an idea! A.R. Ammons put it nicely - the way to be a > leader is to get in front of whatever crowd is moving and wave your > arms around. That's much more fun than tailism, for sure. > ___________________________________ > Now I see why Pretty Boy Barry gets no has no substance. Obama has plenty of substance. He's a very smart guy and a skilled politician. But his brains are all in service of the rehabilitation of U.S ...

Document Size:	5345
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 18:19:48 PDT 2008

7315 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 7:58 PM, Michael Pollak wrote: > On Fri, 9 May 2008, Doug Henwood wrote: > >> Hey, I got an idea! A.R. Ammons put it nicely - the way to be a >> leader >> is to get in front of whatever crowd is moving and wave your arms >> around. That's much more fun than tailism, for sure. > > Wouldn't such a person be immediately eviscerated in these environs > for > losing their critical faculties? Since such arm waving is mainly > linguistic ...

Document Size:	5796
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 18:18:15 PDT 2008

7316 [lbo-talk] Getting some business that Magic Barry ain't got -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 5:44 PM, Charles Brown wrote: > What's the LBO proposed proram, coalition, movement ? Hey, I got an idea! A.R. Ammons put it nicely - the way to be a leader is to get in front of whatever crowd is moving and wave your arms around. That's much more fun than tailism, for sure.

Document Size:	4985
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 14:54:34 PDT 2008

7317 [lbo-talk] reading list -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 5:32 PM, Bill Quimby wrote: > Perhaps this is a great example of a thread best left to die, but I > can't help it....Is it that the people behind this effort are TOTALLY > clueless and ignorant [books in *English* for Darfur?] or is there > some > minor degree of rationality - like intending to sell the books at > Strand's > and send the proceeds to Darfur? The former, I'm pretty sure. It'd be a lot less effort to put a buck in a can than haul 'em over to ...

Document Size:	5062
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 14:44:06 PDT 2008

7318 [lbo-talk] waiting for the quantitative to turn into the qualitative -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 4:52 PM, Julio Huato wrote: > The difference between "almost nothing" and "nothing" is, well, > decisive. If Obama is not "special," then why didn't Hillary Clinton > prevail already Julio, he's got a 1-2 point advantage in the popular vote!!!!! That's not world-historical stuff.

Document Size:	5194
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 14:02:21 PDT 2008

7319 [lbo-talk] so much for the new coalition... -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 2:58 PM, Julio Huato wrote: > Doug wrote: > >>> quantitative change mutates into a qualitative leap >> >> Latest average of the national polls from RCP, vs. McCain: > > Please read my previous post on this. And, again, nothing wrong with > following the day-by-day polls. We just need to be somewhat > circumspect about the inferences. Yeah. I know about daily polls. As I've said every pres election for the last two or three now, you can ...

Document Size:	5589
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 12:49:43 PDT 2008

7320 [lbo-talk] waiting for the quantitative to turn into the qualitative -- rank: 1000

On May 9, 2008, at 3:13 PM, Julio Huato wrote: > On the Dem's advantage I referred to -- and on daily polls -- from a > mind not fogged by the follies of Obamania: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/opinion/09krugman.html Well yeah. As Jim Farmelant put it the other day, the Dems could nominate a dead dog and win. In fact a dead dog might do better than an actual human Democrat! Generic Dems often poll better than actual Dems. But this party advantage has almost nothing to do w ...

Document Size:	5547
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri May 9 12:46:59 PDT 2008