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Lets cut to the chase. The November 2012 elections will be unlike anything that any of us can remember. It is not just that this will be a close election. It is also not just that the direction of Congress hangs in the balance. Rather, this will be one of the most polarized and critical elections in recent history.
Too many progressives view the electoral realm as simply a canvass upon which various pictures of the ideal future are painted
Unfortunately what too few leftists and progressives have been prepared to accept is that the polarization is to a great extent centered on a revenge-seeking white supremacy; on race and the racial implications of the moves to the right in the US political system. It is also focused on a re-subjugation of women, harsh burdens on youth and the elderly, increased war dangers, and reaction all along the line for labor and the working class. No one on the left with any good sense should remain indifferent or stand idly by in the critical need to defeat Republicans this year.
U.S. Presidential elections are not what progressives want them to be
A large segment of what we will call the progressive forces in US politics approach US elections generally, and Presidential elections in particular, as if: (1) we have more power on the ground than we actually possess, and (2) the elections are about expressing our political outrage at the system. Both get us off on the wrong foot.
The US electoral system is among the most undemocratic on the planet. Constructed in a manner so as to guarantee an ongoing dominance of a two party duopoly, the US electoral universe largely aims at reducing so-called legitimate discussion to certain restricted parameters acceptable to the ruling circles of the country. Almost all progressive measures, such as Medicare for All or Full Employment, are simply declared off the table. In that sense there is no surprise that the Democratic and Republican parties are both parties of the ruling circles, even though they are quite distinct within that sphere.
The nature of the US electoral system--and specifically the ballot restrictions and winner-take-all rules within it--encourages or pressures various class fractions and demographic constituency groups to establish elite-dominated electoral coalitions. The Democratic and Republican parties are, in effect, electoral coalitions or party-blocs of this sort, unrecognizable in most of the known universe as political parties united around a program and a degree of discipline to be accountable to it. We may want and fight for another kind of system, but it would be foolish to develop strategy and tactics not based on the one we actually have.
The winner-take-all nature of the system discourages independent political parties and candidacies on both the right and the left. For this reason the extreme right made a strategic decision in the aftermath of the 1964 Goldwater defeat to move into the Republican Party with a long-term objective of taking it over. This was approached at the level of both mass movement building, e.g., anti-busing, anti-abortion, as well as electoral candidacies. The GOP rights Southern Strategy beginning in 1968 largely succeeded in chasing out most of the pro-New Deal Republicans from the party itself, as well as drawing in segregationist Democratic voters in the formerly Solid South.
Obama never pretended that he was anything other than Black
Efforts by progressives to realign or shift the Democratic Party, on the other hand, were blunted by the defeat of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964, and later the defeat of the McGovern candidacy in 1972, during which time key elements of the partys upper echelons were prepared to lose the election rather than witness a McGovern victory. In the 1980s a very different strategy was advanced by Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow insurgencies that aimed at buildingat least initiallyan independent, progressive organization capable of fielding candidates within the Democratic primaries. This approachalbeit independent of Jackson himselfhad an important local victory with the election of Mayor Harold Washington in Chicago. At the national level, however, it ran into a different set of challenges by 1989.
In the absence of a comprehensive electoral strategy, progressive forces fall into one of three cul-de-sacs: (1) ad hoc electoralism, i.e., participating in the election cycle but with no long-term plan other than tailing the Democrats; (2) abandoning electoral politics altogether in favor of modern-day anarcho-syndicalist pressure politics from below; or (3) satisfying ourselves with far more limited notions that we can best use the election period in order to 'expose' the true nature of the capitalist system in a massive way by attacking all of the mainstream candidates. We think all of these miss the key point.
Our elections are about money and the balance of power
Money is obvious, particularly in light of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. The balance of power is primarily at the level of the balance within the ruling circles, as well as the level of grassroots power of the various mass movements. The party that wins will succeed on the basis of the sort of electoral coalition that they are able to assemble, co-opt or be pressured by, including but not limited to the policy and interest conflicts playing out within its own ranks.
The weakness of left and progressive forces means we have been largely unable to participate, in our own name and independent of the two party upper crust, in most national-level elections with any hope of success. In that sense most left and progressive interventions in the electoral arena at the national level, especially at the Presidential level, are ineffective acts of symbolic opposition or simply propaganda work aimed at uniting and recruiting far smaller circles of militants. They are not aimed at a serious challenge for power but rather aim to demonstrate a point of view, or to put it more crassly, to 'fly the flag.' The electoral arena is frequently not viewed as an effective site for structural reforms or a more fundamental changing of direction.
Our politics, in this sense, can be placed in two broad groupingspolitics as self-expression and politics as strategy. In an overall sense, the left needs both of thesethe audacity and energy of the former and the ability to unite all who can be united of the latter. But it is also important to know the difference between the two, and which to emphasize and when in any given set of battles.
Consider, for a moment, the reform struggles with which many of us are familiar. Let's say that a community is being organized to address a demand for jobs on a construction site. If the community is not entirely successful in this struggle, it does not mean that the struggle was wrong or inappropriate. It means that the progressives were too weak organizationally and the struggle must continue. The same is true in the electoral arena. The fact that it is generally difficult, in this period, to get progressives elected or that liberal and progressive candidates may back down on a commitment once elected, does not condemn the arena of the struggle. It does, however, say something about how we might need to organize ourselves better in order to win and enforce accountability.
In part due to justified suspicion of the electoral system and a positive impulse for self-expression and making our values explicit, too many progressives view the electoral realm as simply a canvass upon which various pictures of the ideal future are painted. Instead of constructing a strategy for power that involves a combination of electoral and non-electoral activity, uniting both a militant minority and a progressive majority, there is an impulsive tendency to treat the electoral realm as an idea bazaar rather than as one of the key sites on which the struggle for progressive power unfolds.
The Shifts within the Right and the Rise of Irrationalism
Contrary to various myths, there was no 'golden age' in our country where politicians of both parties got along and politics was clean. U. S. politics has always been dirty. One can look at any number of elections in the 19th century, for instance, with the Hayes-Tilden election of 1876 being among the more notorious, to see examples of electoral chicanery. Elections have been bought and sold and there has been wide-spread voter disenfranchisement. In the late 19th century and early 20th century massive voter disenfranchisement unfolded as part of the rise of Jim Crow segregation. Due to gains by both the populist and socialists is this era, by the 1920s our election laws were reformedin all but a handful of statesto do away with fusion ballots and other measures previously helpful to new insurgent forces forming independent parties and alliances.
What is significant about the current era has been the steady move of the Republican Party toward the right, not simply at the realm of neoliberal economics (which has also been true of much of the Democratic Party establishment) but also in other features of the ideology and program of the Republicans. For this reason we find it useful to distinguish between conservatives and right-wing populists (and within right-wing populism, to put a spotlight on irrationalism). Right-wing populism is actually a radical critique of the existing system, but from the political right with all that that entails. Uniting with irrationalism, it seeks to build program and direction based largely upon myths, fears and prejudices.
Right-wing populism exists as the equivalent of the herpes virus within the capitalist system. It is always there--sometimes latent, at other times activeand it does not go away. In periods of system distress, evidence of right-wing populism erupts with more force. Of particular importance in understanding right-wing populism is the complex intersection of race, anti-immigrant settler-ism, producerism, homophobia and empire.
In the US, right-wing populism stands as the grassroots defender of white racial supremacy. It intertwines with the traditional myths associated with the American Dream and suggests that the US was always to be a white republic and that no one, no people, and no organization should stand in the way of such an understanding. It seeks enemies, and normally enemies based on demographics of The Other. After all, right-wing populism sees itself in the legacy of the likes of Andrew Jackson and other proponents of Manifest Destiny, a view that saw no inconsistency between the notion of a white democratic republic, ethnic cleansing, slavery, and a continental (and later global) empire. Jacksonian Democracy was primarily the complete codification and nationalization of white supremacy in our countrys political life.
Irrationalism is rising as an endemic virus in our political landscape
Largely in times of crisis and uncertainty, virulent forms of irrationalism make an appearance. The threat to white racial supremacy that emerged in the 1960s, for instance, brought forward a backlash that included an irrationalist view of history, e.g., that the great early civilizations on Earth couldnt have arisen from peoples with darker skins, but instead were founded by creatures from other planets. Irrationalism, moreover, was not limited to the racial realm. Challenges to scientific theories such as evolution and climate change are currently on the rise. Irrationalism cries for a return to the past, and within that a mythical past. A component of various right-wing ideologies, especially fascism, irrationalism exists as a form of sophistry, and even worse. It often does not even pretend to hold to any degree of logic, but rather simply requires the acceptance of a series of non sequitur assertions.
Right-wing populism and irrationalism have received nationwide reach anchored in institutions such as the Fox network, but also right-wing religious institutions. Along with right-wing talk radio and websites, a virtual community of millions of voters has been founded whose views refuse critique from within. Worse, well-financed and well-endowed walls are established to ensure that the views are not challenged from without. In the 2008 campaign and its immediate aftermath, we witnessed segments of this community in the rise of the birther movement and its backing by the likes of Donald Trump. Like many other cults there were no facts that adherents of the birthers would accept except those facts which they, themselves, had established. Information contrary to their assertions was swept away. It didnt matter that we could prove Obama was born in the US, because their real point, the he was a Black man, was true.
The 2012 Republican primaries demonstrated the extent to which irrationalism and right-wing populism, in various incarnations, have captured the Republican Party. That approximately 60% of self-identified Republicans would continue to believe that President Obama is not a legitimate citizen of the USA points to the magnitude of self-delusion.
The Obama campaign of 2008 at the grassroots was nothing short of a mass revolt
The energy for the Obama campaign was aimed against eight years of Bush, long wars, neoliberal austerity and collapse, and Republican domination of the US government. It took the form of a movement-like embrace of the candidacy of Barack Obama. The nature of this embrace, however, set the stage for a series of both strategic and tactical problems that have befallen progressive forces since Election Day 2008.
The winner-take-all nature of the system discourages independent political parties and candidacies on both the right and the left
The mis-analysis of Obama in 2007 and 2008 by so many people led to an overwhelming tendency to misread his candidacy. In that period, wethe authors of this essayoffered critical support and urged independent organization for the Obama candidacy in 2008 through the independent Progressives for Obama project. We were frequently chastised by some allies at the time for being too critical, too idealistic, too left, and not willing to give Obama a chance to succeed. Yet our measured skepticism, and call for independence and initiative in a broader front, was not based on some naïve impatience. Instead, it was based on an assessment of who Obama was and the nature of his campaign for the Presidency.
Obama was and is a corporate liberal
Obama is an eloquent speaker who rose to the heights of US politics after a very difficult upbringing and some success in Chicago politics. But as a national figure, he always positioned himself not so much as a fighter for the disenfranchised but more as a mediator of conflict, as someone pained by the growth of irrationalism in the USA and the grotesque image of the USA that much of the world had come to see. To say that he was a reformer does not adequately describe either his character or his objectives. He was cast as the representative, wittingly or not, of the ill-conceived post-Black politics era at a moment when much of white America wanted to believe that we had become post-racial. He was a political leader and candidate trying to speak to the center, in search of a safe harbor. He was the person to save US capitalism at a point where everything appeared to be imploding.
For millions, who Obama actually was, came to be secondary to what he represented for them. This was the result of a combination of wishful thinking, on the one hand, and strongly held progressive aspirations, on the other. In other words, masses of people wanted change that they could believe in. They saw in Obama the representative of that change and rallied to him. While it is quite likely that Hillary Clinton, had she received the nomination, would also have defeated McCain/Palin, it was the Obama ticket and campaign that actually inspired so many to believe that not only could there be an historical breakthrough at the level of racial symbolisma Black person in the White Housebut that other progressive changes could also unfold. With these aspirations, masses of people, including countless numbers of left and progressive activists, were prepared to ignore uncomfortable realities about candidate Obama and later President Obama.
There are two examples that are worth mentioning here. One, the matter of race. Two, the matter of war. With regard to race, Obama never pretended that he was anything other than Black. Ironically, in the early stages of his campaign many African Americans were far from certain how Black he actually was. Yet the matter of race was less about who Obama wasexcept for the white supremacistsand more about race and racism in US history and current reality.
Nothing exemplified this better than the controversy surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright, followed by Obama's historic speech on race in Philadelphia. Wright, a liberation theologian and progressive activist, became a target for the political right as a way of 'smearing' Obama. Obama chose to distance himself from Wright, but in a very interesting way. He upheld much of Wright's basic views of US history while at the same time acting as if racist oppression was largely a matter of the past. In that sense he suggested that Wright's critique was outdated.
Wright's critique was far from being outdated. Yet in his famous speech on race, Obama said much more of substance than few mainstream politicians had ever done. In so doing, he opened the door to the perception that something quite new and innovative might appear in the White House. He made no promises, though, which is precisely why suggestions of betrayal are misplaced. There was no such commitment in the first place.
With regard to war, there was something similar. Obama came out against the Iraq War early, before it started. He opposed it at another rally after it was underway. To his credit, US troops have been withdrawn from Iraq. He never, however, came out against war in general, or certainly against imperialist war. In fact, he made it clear that there were wars that he supported, including but not limited to the Afghanistan war. Further, he suggested that if need be he would carry out bombings in Pakistan. Despite this, much of the antiwar movement and many other supporters assumed that Obama was the antiwar candidate in a wider sense than his opposition to the war in Iraq. Perhaps assumed is not quite correct; they wanted him to be the antiwar candidate who was more in tune with their own views.
With Obama's election, the wishful thinking played itself out, to some degree, in the form of inaction and demobilization. Contrary to the complaints of some on the Left, Obama and his administration cannot actually be blamed for this. There were decisions made in important social movements and constituencies to (1) assume that Obama would do the 'right thing,' and, (2) provide Obama 'space' rather than place pressure on him and his administration. This was a strategic mistake. And when combined with a relative lack of consolidating grassroots campaign work into ongoing independent organization at the grassroots, with the exception of a few groups, such as the Progressive Democrats of America, it was an important opportunity largely lost.
There is one other point that is worth adding here. Many people failed to understand that the Obama administration was not and is not the same as Obama the individual, and occupying the Oval Office is not the same as an unrestricted ability to wield state power. Team Obama is certainly chaired by Obama, but it remains a grouping of establishment forces that share a common frameworkand common restrictive boundaries. It operates under different pressures and is responsive--or not--to various specific constituencies. For instance, in 2009, when President Zelaya of Honduras was overthrown in a coup, President Obama responded--initially--with a criticism of the coup. At the end of the day, however, the Obama administration did nothing to overturn the coup and to ensure that Honduras regained democracy. Instead the administration supported the 'coup people.' Did this mean that President Obama supported the coup? It does not really matter. What matters is that his administration backtracked on its alleged opposition to the coup and then did everything in their power to ensure that President Zelaya could not return. This is why the focus on Obama the personality is misleading and unhelpful.
No Struggle, No Progress
President Obama turned out not to be the progressive reformer that many people had hoped. At the same time, however, he touched off enough sore points for the political Right that he became a lightning rod for everything that they hated and feared. This is what helps us understand the circumstances under which the November 2012 election is taking place.
The US electoral system is among the most undemocratic on the planet
As a corporate liberal, Obama's strategy was quite rational in those terms. First, stabilize the economy. Second, move on health insurance. Third, move on jobs. Fourth, attempt a foreign policy breakthrough. Contrary to the hopes of much of his base, Obama proceeded to tackle each of these narrowly as a corporate bipartisan reformer rather than as a wider progressive champion of the underdog. That does not mean that grassroots people gained nothing. Certainly preserving General Motors was to the benefit of countless auto workers and workers in related industries. Yet Obama's approach in each case was to make his determinations by first reading Wall Street and the corporate world and then extending the olive branch of bi-partisanship to his adversaries on the right. This, of course, led to endless and largely useless compromises, thereby demoralizing his base in the progressive grassroots.
While Obama's base was becoming demoralized, the political right was becoming energized
It did not matter that Obama was working to preserve capitalism. As far as the right was concerned, there were two sins under which he was operating: some small degree of economic re-distributionism and the fact that Obama was Black. The combination of both made Obama a demon, as far as the right was concerned, who personified Black power, anti-colonialism and socialism, all at the same time.
The Upset Right and November 2012
We stress the need to understand that Obama represents an irrational symbol for the political right, and a potent symbol that goes way beyond what Obama actually stands for and practices. The right, while taking aim at Obama, also seeks, quite methodically and rationally, to use him to turn back the clock. They have created a common front based on white revanchism (a little used but accurate term for an ideology of revenge), on political misogynism, on anti-freeloader themes aimed at youth, people of color and immigrants, and a partial defense of the so-called 1%. Rightwing populism asserts a producer vs. parasites outlook aimed at the unemployed and immigrants below them and Jewish bankers and Jewish media elites above them. Let us emphasize that this is a front rather than one coherent organization or platform. It is an amalgam, but an amalgam of ingredients that produces a particularly nasty US-flavored stew of right-wing populism.
Reports of declining Obama support among white workers is a good jumping off point in terms of understanding white revanchism. Obama never had a majority among them as a whole, although he did win a majority among younger white workers. White workers have been economically declining since the mid-1970s. This segment of a larger multinational and multiracial working class is in search of potential allies, but largely due to a combination of race and low unionization rates finds itself being swayed by right-wing populism. Along with other workers it is insecure and deeply distressed economically, but also finds itself in fearpsychologicallyfor its own existence as the demographics of the USA undergoes significant changes. They take note of projections that the US, by 2050, will be a majority of minorities of people of color. They perceive that they have gotten little from Obama, but more importantly they are deeply suspicious as to whether a Black leader can deliver anything at all to anyone.
Political misogynismcurrently dubbed the war on women---has been on the rise in the US for some time. The New Right in the 1970s built its base in right-wing churches around the issue in the battles over abortion and reproduction rights, setting the stage for Reagans victory. In the case of 2012, the attacks on Planned Parenthood along with the elitist dismissal of working mothers have been representative of the assertion of male supremacy, even when articulated by women. This in turn is part of a global assault on women based in various religious fundamentalisms that have become a refuge for economically displaced men and for gender-uncomfortable people across the board.
The attack on slacker, criminal and over-privileged youth, especially among minorities, is actually part of what started to unfold in the anti-healthcare antics of the Tea Party. Studies of the Tea Party movement have indicated that they have a conceptualization based on the "deserving" and "undeserving" populations. They and many others on the right are deeply suspicious, if not in outright opposition, to anything that they see as distributing away from them any of their hard-won gains. They believe that they earned and deserve what they have and that there is an undeserving population, to a great extent youth (but also including other groups), who are looking for handouts. This helps us understand that much of the right-wing populist movement is a generational movement of white baby-boomers and older who see the ship of empire foundering and wish to ensure that they have life preservers, if not life-boats.
The defenders of the 1% are an odd breed. Obviously that includes the upper crust, but it also includes a social base that believes that the upper crust earned their standing. Further, this social base believes or wishes to believe that they, too, will end up in that echelon. Adhering to variations of Reaganism, bootstrapping or other such ideologies, they wish to believe that so-called free market capitalism is the eternal solution to all economic problems. Despite the fact that the Republican economic program is nothing more or less than a retreading of George W. Bush's failed approach, they believe that it can be done differently.
Empire, balance of forces and the lesser of two evils
The choice in November 2012 does not come down to empire vs. no-empire. While anyone can choose to vote for the Greens or other non-traditional political parties, the critical choice and battleground continues to exist in the context of a two-party system within the declining US empire. The balance of forces in 2012 is such that those who are arrayed against the empire are in no position to mount a significant electoral challenge on an anti-imperialist platform.
To assume that the November elections are a moment to display our antipathy toward empire, moreover, misses entirely what is unfolding. This is not a referendum on the America of Empire: it is a referendum pitting the America of Popular Democracythe progressive majority representing the changing demographics of the US and the increasing demands for broad equality and economic relief, especially the unemployed and the elderlyagainst the forces of unfettered neoliberalism and far right irrationalism. Obama is the face on the political rights bull's eye, and stands as the key immediate obstacle to their deeper ambitions. We, on the left side of the aisle, recognize that he is not our advocate for the 99%. Yet and quite paradoxically, he is the face that the right is using to mobilize its base behind irrationalism and regression.
Thats why we argue that Obama's record is really not what is at stake in this election
Had the progressive social movements mobilized to push Obama for major changes we could celebrate; had there been progressive electoral challenges in the 2010 mid-term elections and even in the lead up to 2012 (such as Norman Solomon's congressional challenge in California, which lost very narrowly), there might be something very different at stake this year. Instead what we have is the face of open reaction vs. the face of corporate liberalism, of austerity and war on steroids vs. austerity and war in slow motion.
This will be one of the most polarized and critical elections in recent history
This raises an interesting question about the matter of the "lesser of two evils," something which has become, over the years, a major concern for many progressives. Regularly in election cycles some progressives will dismiss supporting any Democratic Party candidate because of a perceived need to reject "lesser evil-ism", meaning that Democrats will always strike a pose as somewhat better than the GOP, but remain no different in substance. In using the anti-lesser evil-ism phraseology, the suggestion is that it really does not matter who wins because they are both bad. Eugene Debs is often quotedbetter to vote for what you want and not get it, than to vote for what you oppose and get it. While this may make for strong and compelling rhetoric and assertions, it makes for a bad argument and bad politics.
In elections progressives need to be looking very coldly at a few questions:
Are progressive social movements strong enough to supersede or bypass the electoral arena altogether?
Is there a progressive candidate who can outshine both a reactionary and a mundane liberal, and win?
What would we seek to do in achieving victory?
What is at stake in that particular election?
In thinking through these questions, we think the matter of a lesser of two evils is a tactical question of simply voting for one candidate to defeat another, rather than a matter of principle. Politics is frequently about the lesser of two evils. World War II for the USA, Britain and the USSR was all about the lesser of two evils. Britain and the USA certainly viewed the USSR as a lesser evil compared with the Nazi Germany, and the USSR came to view the USA and Britain as the lesser evils. Neither side trusted the other, yet they found common cause against a particular enemy. There are many less dramatic examples, but the point is that it happens all the time. Its part of politics as strategy mentioned earlier.
It is for these reasons that upholding the dismissal of the 'lesser evil-ism' is unhelpful. Yes, in this case, Obama is aptly described as the lesser of two evils. He certainly represents a contending faction of empire. He has continued the drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His healthcare plan is nowhere near as helpful as would be Medicare for All. He has sidelined the Employee Free Choice Act that would promote unionization. What this tells us is that Obama is not a progressive. What it does not tell us is how to approach the elections.
Approaching November
The political right, more than anything, wishes to turn November 2012 into a repudiation of the changing demographics of the US and an opportunity to reaffirm not only the empire, but also white racial supremacy. In addition to focusing on Obama they have been making what are now well-publicized moves toward voter suppression, with a special emphasis on denying the ballot to minority, young, formerly incarcerated and elderly voters. This latter fact is what makes ridiculous the suggestion by some progressives that they will stay home and not vote at all.
The political right seeks an electoral turn-around reminiscent of the elections at the end of the 19th century in the South that disenfranchised African Americans and many poor whites. This will be their way of holding back the demographic and political clocks. And, much like the disenfranchisement efforts at the end of the 19th century, the efforts in 2012 are playing on racial fears among whites, including the paranoid notion that there has been significant voter fraud carried out by the poor and people of color (despite all of the research that demonstrates the contrary!).
What too few leftists and progressives have been prepared to accept is that the polarization is to a great extent centered on a revenge-seeking white supremacy
Furthermore, this is part of a larger move toward greater repression, a move that began prior to Obama and has continued under him. It is a move away from democracy as neo-liberal capitalism faces greater resistance and the privileges of the "1%" are threatened. Specifically, the objective is to narrow the franchise in very practical terms. The political right wishes to eliminate from voting whole segments of the population, including the poor. Some right-wingers have even been so bold as to suggest that the poor should not be entitled to vote.
November 2012 becomes not a statement about the Obama presidency, but a defensive move by progressive forces to hold back the Caligulas on the political right. It is about creating space and using mass campaigning to build new grassroots organization of our own. It is not about endorsing the Obama presidency or defending the official Democratic platform. But it is about resisting white revanchism and political misogynism by defeating Republicans and pressing Democrats with a grassroots insurgency, while advancing a platform of our own, one based on the Peoples Budget and antiwar measures of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In short, we need to do a little triangulating of our own.
Why do we keep getting ourselves into this hole?
Our answer to this question is fairly straight forward. In the absence of a long-term progressive electoral strategy that is focused on winning power, we will find ourselves in this "Groundhog Day" scenario again and again. Such a strategy cannot be limited to the running of symbolic candidates time and again as a way of rallying the troops. Such an approach may feel good or help build socialist recruitment, but it does not win power. Nor can we simply tail the Democrats.
The central lesson we draw from the last four years has less to do with the Obama administration and more to do with the degree of effective organization of social movements and their relationship to the White House, Congress and other centers of power. The failure to put significant pressure on the Obama administration--combined with the lack of attention to the development of an independent progressive strategy, program and organizational base--has created a situation whereby frustration with a neo-liberal Democratic president could lead to a major demobilization. At bottom this means further rightward drift and the entry into power of the forces of irrationalism.
Crying over this situation or expressing our frustration with Obama is of little help at this point. While we will continue to push for more class struggle approaches in the campaigns messages, the choice that we actually face in the immediate battle revolves around who would we rather fight after November 2012: Obama or Romney? Under what administration are progressives more likely to have more room to operate? Under what administration is there a better chance of winning improvements in the conditions of the progressive majority of this country? These are the questions that we need to ask. Making a list of all of the things that Obama has not done and the fact that he was not a champion of the progressive movement misses a significant point: he was never the progressive champion. He became, however, the demon for the political right and the way in which they could focus their intense hatred of the reality of a changing US, and, indeed, a changing world.
We urge all progressives to deal with the reality of this political moment rather than the moment we wish that we were experiencing. In order to engage in politics, we need the organizations to do politics with, organizations that belong to us at the grassroots. That ball is in our court, not Obamas. In 2008 and its aftermath, too many of us let that ball slip out of our hands, reducing us to sideline critics, reducing our politics to so much café chatter rather than real clout. Lets not make that mistake again.
Note: This commentary was originally published on Alternet.org.
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, Bill Fletcher, Jr., is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, the immediate past president of TransAfricaForum, and the author of Theyre Bankrupting Us - And Twenty Other Myths about Unions. He is also the co-author of Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice, which examines the crisis of organized labor in the USA. Click here to contact Mr. Fletcher.
BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator Carl Davidson is a political organizer, writer and public speaker. He is currently co-chair of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, a board member of the US Solidarity Economy Network, and a member of Steelworker Associates in Western Pennsylvania. His most recent book is New Paths to Socialism. Click here to contact Mr. Davidson.
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I've been overwhelmed.
It's nothing that can't be cured by a little bit of ice cream and some Grey's Anatomy though.
We've been making a lot of big changes around here--some for the better, some I'm still not quite sure about.
While I feel that I am pretty easy going when it comes to change; it's the decision-making process that often leaves me dazed and confused.
I am one of those people that will buy four bags of chips when I am at the grocery store because I can't decide on just one flavor--the same may be true for ice cream, shoes, and chocolate...
I also must confess. One of the hardest choices has been blogging.
As you may have noticed my posts have been more limited and less creative-like in the past few months.
Last summer Hunk started a new job--which we are so thrilled about.
He is now a CFO at a small hospital--I call him a big deal, he rolls his eyes and scoffs.
While we love the experience he is gaining and the opportunities that await us in the future, the difficulty that has arisen from this new position is that he must travel two hours a day for work and he often has to stay and work late many nights.
This has meant that I have had to step up--in my role as a parent, as a homemaker, as a wife, as a task-manager...
While I use to spend a large majority of my time making projects, sewing, blogging and decorating; now, I need to play the role of a parent to an overly sugar crazed two-year-old, while also attending to the daily needs of the house.
This means I am often the one taking vehicles to get the oil changed, making sure tires get rotated, running errands for Hunk because he is never home in time, and making sure that everything is completely done so that when John walks in the door we can have a few quality hours minutes together.
I'm not sad or annoyed about how our life has changed, it's just meant that for the time being I have needed to prioritize, and sadly, blogging has been one thing that has suffered because of the change.
Let me emphasize...this post is not a gentle way of saying I'm stopping. Heck no, I've worked way too hard to let this baby go.
What I am saying is that there may be some changes (if you haven't already noticed).
It will mean less giveaways and more day-to-day life posts.
Seriously, I could write three novels on living with Brecken.
So you may see a lot of his face, a lot more of my face (not behind the camera), and a lot more about the fun and new changes that are happening in our life.
(I REALLY want to talk about them now....but I must resist).
So, hold on and stay with us as we still try to transition to this new schedule and lifestyle.
Because WE LOVES YOU BIG TIME!

subset: commoncrawl


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Or, How To Design RPGs the Robin Laws Way (Part One of Several)
I've been asked to describe my process of RPG design, so let's kick off what will surely be a series of posts illuminated by your further questions. Should this need be said, this is my process and not a commandment for others to do likewise. If it sometimes seems like I'm making Olympian pronouncements it's because qualifiers are boring and I will have no truck with them.
Sometimes I pitch a game to a publisher (Feng Shui, Mutant City Blues, Ashen Stars); other times I am presented with a brief and asked to develop an approach (The Esoterrorists, Rune, HeroQuest.) The distinction between these two starting points is not always clear-cut.
The first step is to refine the initial brief, by identifying the design throughline and the core activity. Without the second, resulting game will be hard to pitch to gamers and to play. Without the first, it has little reason to exist in the first place.
The core activity I've talked about before. It tells you who the characters are and what they're doing. You're heroes fighting to shape the turning of an age in a world where myth takes on fantastic reality. You play troubleshooters for hire on a war-ravaged fringe of an interstellar empire. You lead an isolated tribe of raiders at the dawn of the iron age.
The design throughline is the central concept underlying game play, and your reason for creating a new rules set (to the extent that you are.) The game evokes the spirit of Jack Vance's stories of the Dying Earth. Or streamlines investigative play, so that the solution to mysteries depends not on finding clues but putting them together. Or provides a simple framework for the building of dramatic storylines.


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TCL Communication designs, develops and markets a diversified range of mobile devices in more than 160 countries under the Alcatel brand. Currently a top-five smartphone manufacturer in North America, Alcatel branded devices from TCL Communication deliver innovative, feature-rich experiences that make access to today's mobile technology simple; offering a diverse portfolio of value-packed products equipped with the technology people want most.
TCL Communication is a wholly owned company of TCL Corporation, one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Alcatel is a trademark of Alcatel-Lucent used under license by TCL Communication.


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Northern Arizona Plenty More To Explore
Sedona is the perfect place to centrally locate yourself so you can experience Northern Arizona's most famous attractions, many of which are conveniently located within a comfortable "day trip" distance from Sedona. So plan enough time to stay and see it all while your'e in town. There is so much to choose from that you won't want to miss out on. Of course you must see the "8th Wonder of the World", the Grand Canyon, only 114 miles north of Sedona. Travel to Navajo or Hopi Lands to experience the Native American culture. For nature lovers, you'll enjoy a backpacking trip in the wilderness of the Coconino National Forest. In Flagstaff you can spend a day skiing at the Snowbowl, or strolling the Arboretum gardens by day and observing the stars at the Lowell Observatory by night. Visit the Museum of Northern Arizona rich in Native American history and art. Several National Monuments and State Parks are less than an hour away. So plan to extend your stay and expand your horizons. There is plenty more to explore within a short distance from Scenic Sedona. Click on the attraction buttons to the right to learn more.
Copyright © 2005-2017 RED ROCK TV. All Rights Reserved.


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Well, you didn't think we'd leave it at just the first album and be done with it, did you?
Now that enough time has elapsed for listeners' heart rates to come back to normal, we are more than merely pleased to add the Sonics second album – the entirely appropriately entitled "Boom" – to our ever expanding range of Hip Pocket titles.
Most bands down the years have tended to work off much of their initial youthful aggression on their debut album. Come album two, an amount of mellow has likely as not crept into the proceedings, along with an increased musical professionalism. Not so the Sonics. Not content with being able to play in their hometown of Seattle and to be heard in Sacramento without the aid of amplification, they upped the pressure and the volume to an extent where they could probably be heard south of San Diego without the benefit of a prevailing wind.
"Boom" still does much more than merely deliver on the promise of their first Etiquette album, "Here Are The Sonics". Few records have ever packed as much of a musical punch from start to finish. Even more so than their first album, it offers a representation of what the Sonics must have sounded like 'in the dance' at the peak of their considerable powers.
Recorded in the most glorious no-fi you could ever wish for and with anthemic originals like Cinderella and He's Waiting vying for your attention with what is possibly the most violent version of Louie Louie that there will ever be, "Boom" is an album that has always justified the esteem in which it is held by collectors around the globe. Here it is, issued in its original format for the first time on a UK CD, to make the Hip Pocket series even hipper…
By Tony Rounce


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Processing and Delivery Information: Please allow Processing Time as stated above for your order, plus standard transportation delivery time. Orders placed after 2PM EST may not begin processing until the next business day. Please call for Rush Processing and/or Rush Shipping options.


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April 23, 2018
Everybody thinks that you have to have all of this extra money if you want to travel and I'm here to BUST THAT MYTH. You can totallyyyyy do awesome trips for cheap if you know what to do! Last month my husband Braxton and I went on an amazing 8 day trip to Europe. We […]
Thanks for stopping by!
I'm Alexis. Photographer, World Traveler, Wife, Twin Mom, and lover-of-all-things-pumpkin.
Here you'll find the sessions I've done, advice for photographers and future clients, and the occasional personal post starring my favorites humans.
I like to keep it real, if you dig that then I'll probably dig you.


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Antibiotic overuse fuels gastro bug fear
Health warning Unnecessary use of antibiotics could unleash a killer hypervirulent strain of gastro bug in Australia, warn infectious disease experts.
They are calling for heightened awareness of the latest strain of Clostridium difficile within the community, and broader testing by GPs to track its spread.
Speaking as part of the annual scientific meeting of the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) Dr Tony Korman, of Monash Health, and Professor Tom Riley, from the University of Western Australia, say the RT244 strain, which has arrived in Australia, shares many genetic features with RT027.
It was outbreaks of RT027 in the UK, US, Europe and Canada from the mid-2000s that caused major panic in the health systems and front-page news.
In the UK in 2005, one in 250 death certificates put down C. difficile as a contributing cause.
There are about 50,000 cases per year while in the United States it is endemic in nursing homes.
"Not wishing to be alarmist, but in the US [C. difficile] is now the most common healthcare infection risk even more than MRSA [golden staph] infections," says Korman.
Human flora
Riley says C. difficile can only present if gastric flora is upset and pinpoints the "unnecessary" use of antibiotics as the major issue for its spread.
ASID President Dr David Looke, of the University of Queensland, agrees and says the onset of C. difficile is directly linked to the use of antibiotics.
"Antibiotics kill off the normal flora of the bowel that protects us," he says adding this shows we "disturb our own human flora at our peril".
Looke says Australian authorities need to "keep a closer eye on RT244 as the New Zealand data suggests it is more virulent than other strains".
Korman says the new hypervirulent strain has yet to take root in Australia's hospital systems but it had been found in the community.
However he says the New Zealand experience shows its spread is inevitable without greater testing for the strains in the community.
Food-chain fear
Riley says one of the concerns with the spread of RT244 in New Zealand was the source of the infection was not the hospital system.
He says it is possible the food chain could be a source for the disease's spread within the community.
"If you have amplification of these organisms in animals, when animals are slaughtered there is the potential for contamination in the carcass," says Riley.
He says a study into this potential route of infection is about to start.
They say the most important action GPs can take at present is "good antibiotic stewardship" and where they suspect C. difficile infection to request pathology.
"At this time it is quite critical that we get the surveillance right," says Riley.
Korman says one of the main risks with C. difficile infection is that up to 50 per cent of those who have suffered an infection will relapse, some multiple times.
While some patients will respond to antibiotics in severe cases a new approach known as faecal transplant was proving successful, says Riley.
A study published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine found transplanting healthy donor faeces into people with severe C. difficile infection helped restore healthy bacteria in the gut.
Looke says a more palatable form of treatment is also on the horizon with "promising results" from overseas trials and development of a vaccine.


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As reported earlier this month by the always informed quarrygirl, the ABC Bakery used by some chapters of the Girl Scouts of America has four varieties of cookies that are vegan (Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Lemonades and Thanks-a-Lots). Woo hoo!
Be careful, though, because some Girl Scout chapters use a different bakery (Little Brownie Bakers) that has NO vegan cookie options. The only vegan cookies are the four varieties mentioned above IF they are made by ABC Bakery..
I know the vegan Girl Scout cookies are available in my 'hood of Orange County (the Girl Scout chapter here uses ABC Bakery), but if you are in Los Angeles you are outta luck since the other bakery is used. I think these are the only two bakeries the Girl Scouts uses countrywide, but I am not 100% sure on this, so always do your research before buying!
To find out if your local Girl Scouts carry the vegan cookies, you can look for the ABC Bakery logo on the cookie boxes or look up cookie selling locations by zip code here! You can also check the ingredient list - the non-vegan bakery uses dairy in all their cookies (boo.).
I was able to buy some cookies from a co-worker whose daughter was selling the vegan varieties and I was so excited! I can't tell you the last time I was able to enjoy Thin Mints...they tasted delicious, just how I remember! I also got some Peanut Butter Patties and they were pretty much to die for as well!


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Martin Luther King Articles
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The Story Of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Strivings Of The Negro People
The Wife Of His Youth
The Bouquet
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Hot-foot Hannibal
A Negro Schoolmaster In The New South
The Capture Of A Slaver
Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt's Stories
Paths Of Hope For The Negro Practical Suggestions Of A Southerner
Signs Of Progress Among The Negroes
by: Charles W. Chesnutt
On the northeast corner of my vineyard in central North Carolina,
and fronting on the Lumberton plank-road, there stood a small
frame house, of the simplest construction. It was built of pine
lumber, and contained but one room, to which one window gave light
and one door admission. Its weather-beaten sides revealed a
virgin innocence of paint. Against one end of the house, and
occupying half its width, there stood a huge brick chimney: the
crumbling mortar had left large cracks between the bricks; the
bricks themselves had begun to scale off in large flakes, leaving
the chimney sprinkled with unsightly blotches. These evidences of
decay were but partially concealed by a creeping vine, which
extended its slender branches hither and thither in an ambitious
but futile attempt to cover the whole chimney. The wooden
shutter, which had once protected the unglazed window, had fallen
from its hinges, and lay rotting in the rank grass and jimson-
weeds beneath. This building, I learned when I bought the place,
had been used as a school-house for several years prior to the
breaking out of the war, since which time it had remained
unoccupied, save when some stray cow or vagrant hog had sought
shelter within its walls from the chill rains and nipping winds of
One day my wife requested me to build her a new kitchen. The
house erected by us, when we first came to live upon the vineyard,
contained a very conveniently arranged kitchen; but for some
occult reason my wife wanted a kitchen in the back yard, apart
from the dwelling-house, after the usual Southern fashion. Of
course I had to build it.
To save expense, I decided to tear down the old school-house, and
use the lumber, which was in a good state of preservation, in the
construction of the new kitchen. Before demolishing the old
house, however, I made an estimate of the amount of material
contained in it, and found that I would have to buy several
hundred feet of new lumber in order to build the new kitchen
according to my wife's plan.
One morning old Julius McAdoo, our colored coachman, harnessed the
gray mare to the rockaway, and drove my wife and me over to the
saw-mill from which I meant to order the new lumber. We drove
down the long lane which led from our house to the plank-road;
following the plank-road for about a mile, we turned into a road
running through the forest and across the swamp to the sawmill
beyond. Our carriage jolted over the half-rotted corduroy road
which traversed the swamp, and then climbed the long hill leading
to the saw-mill. When we reached the mill, the foreman had gone
over to a neighboring farm-house, probably to smoke or gossip, and
we were compelled to await his return before we could transact our
business. We remained seated in the carriage, a few rods from the
mill, and watched the leisurely movements of the mill-hands. We
had not waited long before a huge pine log was placed in position,
the machinery of the mill was set in motion, and the circular saw
began to eat its way through the log, with a loud whirr which
resounded throughout the vicinity of the mill. The sound rose and
fell in a sort of rhythmic cadence, which, heard from where we
sat, was not unpleasing, and not loud enough to prevent
conversation. When the saw started on its second journey through
the log, Julius observed, in a lugubrious tone, and with a
perceptible shudder:--
"Ugh! but dat des do cuddle my blood!"
"What's the matter, Uncle Julius?" inquired my wife, who is of a
very sympathetic turn of mind. "Does the noise affect your
"No, Miss Annie," replied the old man, with emotion, "I ain'
narvous; but dat saw, a-cuttin' en grindin' thoo dat stick er
timber, en moanin', en groanin', en sweekin', kyars my 'memb'ance
back ter ole times, en 'min's me er po' Sandy." The pathetic
intonation with which he lengthened out the "po' Sandy" touched a
responsive chord in our own hearts."
"And who was poor Sandy?" asked my wife, who takes a deep interest
in the stories of plantation life which she hears from the lips of
the older colored people. Some of these stories are quaintly
humorous; others wildly extravagant, revealing the Oriental cast
of the negro's imagination; while others, poured freely into the
sympathetic ear of a Northern-bred woman, disclose many a tragic
incident of the darker side of slavery.
"Sandy," said Julius, in reply to my wife's question, "was a
nigger w'at useter b'long ter ole Mars Marrabo McSwayne. Mars
Marrabo's place wuz on de yuther side'n de swamp, right nex' ter
yo' place. Sandy wuz a monst'us good nigger, en could do so many
things erbout a plantation, en alluz 'ten ter his wuk so well, dat
w'en Mars Marrabo's chilluns growed up en married off, dey all un
'em wanted dey daddy fer ter gin 'em Sandy fer a weddin' present.
But Mars Marrabo knowed de res' wouldn' be satisfied ef he gin
Sandy ter a'er one un 'em; so w'en dey wuz all done married, he
fix it by 'lowin' one er his chilluns ter take Sandy fer a mont'
er so, en den ernudder for a mont' er so, en so on dat erway tel
dey had all had 'im de same lenk er time; en den dey would all
take him roun' ag'in, 'cep'n oncet in a w'ile w'en Mars Marrabo
would len' 'im ter some er his yuther kinfolks 'roun' de country,
w'en dey wuz short er han's; tel bimeby it go so Sandy didn'
hardly knowed whar he wuz gwine ter stay fum one week's een ter de
"One time w'en Sandy wuz lent out ez yushal, a spekilater come
erlong wid a lot er niggers, en Mars Marrabo swap' Sandy's wife
off fer a noo 'oman. W'en Sandy come back, Mars Marrabo gin 'im a
dollar, en 'lowed he wuz monst'us sorry fer ter break up de
fambly, but de spekilater had gin 'im big boot, en times wuz hard
en money skase, en so he wuz bleedst ter make de trade. Sandy tuk
on some 'bout losin' his wife, but he soon seed dey want no use
cryin' ober spilt merlasses; en bein' ez he lacked de looks er de
noo 'ooman, he tuk up wid her atter she b'n on de plantation a
mont' er so.
"Sandy en his noo wife got on mighty well tergedder, en de niggers
all 'mence' ter talk about how lovin' dey wuz. W'en Tenie wuz tuk
sick oncet, Sandy useter set up all night wid 'er, en den go ter
wuk in de mawnin' des lack he had his reg'lar sleep; en Tenie
would 'a done anythin' in de worl' for her Sandy.
"Sandy en Tenie hadn' b'en libbin' tergedder fer mo' d'n two
mont's befo' Mars Marrabo's old uncle, w'at libbed down in Robeson
County, sent up ter fine out ef Mars Marrabo couldn' len' 'im er
hire 'im a good han' fer a mont' er so. Sandy's marster wuz one
er dese yer easy-gwine folks w'at wanter please eve'ybody, en he
says yas, he could len' 'im Sandy. En Mars Marrabo tole Sandy fer
ter git ready ter go down ter Robeson nex' day, fer ter stay a
mont' er so.
"Hit wuz monst'us hard on Sandy fer ter take 'im 'way fum Tenie.
Hit wuz so fur down ter Robeson dat he didn' hab no chance er
comin' back ter see her tel de time wuz up; he wouldn' a' mine
comin' ten er fifteen mile at night ter see Tenie, but Mars
Marrabo's uncle's plantation wuz mo' d'n forty mile off. Sandy
wuz mighty sad en cas' down atter w'at Mars Marrabo tole 'im, en
he says ter Tenie, sezee:--
"'I'm gittin monstus ti'ed er dish yer gwine roun' so much. Here
I is lent ter Mars Jeems dis mont', en I got ter do so-en-so; en
ter Mars Archie de nex' mont', en I got ter do so-en-so; den I got
ter go ter Miss Jinnie's: en hit's Sandy dis en Sandy dat, en
Sandy yer en Sandy dere, tel it 'pears ter me I ain' got no home,
ner no marster, ner no mistiss, ner no nuffin'. I can't eben keep
a wife: my yuther ole 'oman wuz sole away widout my gittin' a
chance fer ter tell her good-by; en now I got ter go off en leab
you, Tenie, en I dunno whe'r I'm eber gwine ter see yer ag'in er
no. I wisht I wuz a tree, er a stump, er a rock, er sump'n w'at
could stay on de plantation fer a w'ile.'
"Atter Sandy got thoo talkin', Tenie didn' say naer word, but des
sot dere by de fier, studyin' en studyin'. Bimeby she up'n says:--
"'Sandy, is I eber tole you I wuz a cunjuh-'ooman?'
"Co'se Sandy hadn' nebber dremp' er nuffin lack dat, en he made a
great miration w'en he hear w'at Tenie say. Bimeby Tenie went
"'I ain' goophered nobody, ner done no cunjuh-wuk fer fifteen yer
er mo; en w'en I got religion I made up my mine I wouldn' wuk no
mo' goopher. But dey is some things I doan b'lieve it's no sin
fer ter do; en ef you doan wanter be sent roun' fum pillar ter
pos', en ef you doan wanter go down ter Robeson, I kin fix things
so yer won't haf ter. Ef you'll des say de word, I kin turn yer
ter w'ateber yer wanter be, en yer kin stay right whar yer wanter,
ez long ez yer mineter.'
"Sandy say he doan keer; he's willin' fer ter do anythin' fer ter
stay close ter Tenie. Den Tenie ax 'im ef he doan wanter be turnt
inter a rabbit.
"Sandy say, 'No, de dogs mout git atter me.'
"'Shill I turn yer ter a wolf?' sez Tenie.
"'No, eve'ybody's skeered er a wolf, en I doan want nobody ter be
skeered er me.'
"'Shill I turn yer ter a mawkin'-bird?'
"'No, a hawk mout ketch me. I wanter be turnt inter sump'n
w'at'll stay in one place.'
"'I kin turn yer ter a tree,' sez Tenie. 'You won't hab no mouf
ner years, but I kin turn yer back oncet in a w'ile, so yer kin
git sump'n ter eat, en hear w'at's gwine on.'
"Well, Sandy say dat'll do. En so Tenie tuk 'im down by de aidge
er de swamp, not fur fum de quarters, en turnt 'im inter a big
pine-tree, en sot 'im out mongs' some yuther trees. En de nex'
mawnin', ez some er de fiel' han's wuz gwine long dere, dey seed a
tree w'at dey didn' 'member er habbin' seed befo; it wuz monst'us
quare, en dey wuz bleedst ter 'low dat dey hadn' 'membered right,
er e'se one er de saplin's had be'n growin' monst'us fas'.
"W'en Mars Marrabo 'skiver' dat Sandy wuz gone, he 'lowed Sandy
had runned away. He got de dogs out, but de las' place dey could
track Sandy ter wuz de foot er dat pine-tree. En dere de dogs
stood en barked, en bayed, en pawed at de tree, en tried ter climb
up on it; en w'en dey wuz tuk roun' thoo de swamp ter look fer de
scent, dey broke loose en made fer dat tree ag'in. It wuz de
beatenis' thing de w'ite folks eber hearn of, en Mars Marrabo
'lowed dat Sandy must a' clim' up on de tree en jump' off on a
mule er sump'n, en rid fur 'nuff fer ter spile de scent. Mars
Marrabo wanted ter 'cuse some er de yuther niggers er heppin Sandy
off, but dey all 'nied it ter de las'; en eve'ybody knowed Tenie
sot too much by Sandy fer ter he'p 'im run away whar she couldn'
nebber see 'im no mo'.
"W'en Sandy had be'n gone long 'nuff fer folks ter think he done
got clean away, Tenie useter go down ter de woods at night en turn
'im back, en den dey'd slip up ter de cabin en set by de fire en
talk. But dey ha' ter be monst'us keerful, er e'se somebody would
a seed 'em, en dat would a spile de whole thing; so Tenie alluz
turnt Sandy back in de mawnin' early, befo' anybody wuz
"But Sandy didn' git erlong widout his trials en tribberlations.
One day a woodpecker come erlong en 'mence' ter peck at de tree;
en de nex' time Sandy wuz turnt back he had a little roun' hole in
his arm, des lack a sharp stick be'n stuck in it. Atter dat Tenie
sot a sparrer-hawk fer ter watch de tree; en w'en de woodpecker
come erlong nex' mawnin' fer ter finish his nes', he got gobble'
up mos' fo' he stuck his bill in de bark.
"Nudder time, Mars Marrabo sent a nigger out in de woods fer ter
chop tuppentime boxes. De man chop a box in dish yer tree, en
hack' de bark up two er th'ee feet, fer ter let de tuppentime run.
De nex' time Sandy wuz turnt back he had a big skyar on his lef'
leg, des lack it be'n skunt; en it tuk Tenie nigh 'bout all night
fer ter fix a mixtry ter kyo it up. Atter dat, Tenie sot a hawnet
fer ter watch de tree; en w'en de nigger come back ag'in fer ter
cut ernudder box on de yuther side'n de tree, de hawnet stung 'im
so hard dat de ax slip en cut his foot nigh 'bout off.
"W'en Tenie see so many things happenin' ter de tree, she 'cluded
she'd ha' ter turn Sandy ter sump'n e'se; en atter studyin' de
matter ober, en talkin' wid Sandy one ebenin', she made up her
mine fer ter fix up a goopher mixtry w'at would turn herse'f en
Sandy ter foxes, er sump'n, so dey could run away en go some'rs
whar dey could be free en lib lack w'ite folks.
"But dey ain' no tellin' w'at's gwine ter happen in dis worl'.
Tenie had got de night sot fer her en Sandy ter run away, w'en dat
ve'y day one er Mars Marrabo's sons rid up ter de big house in his
buggy, en say his wife wuz monst'us sick, en he want his mammy ter
len' 'im a 'ooman fer ter nuss his wife. Tenie's mistiss say sen
Tenie; she wuz a good nuss. Young mars wuz in a tarrible hurry
fer ter git back home. Tenie wuz washin' at de big house dat day,
en her mistiss say she should go right 'long wid her young
marster. Tenie tried ter make some 'scuse fer ter git away en
hide tel night, w'en she would have eve'ything fix' up fer her en
Sandy; she say she wanter go ter her cabin fer ter git her bonnet.
Her mistiss say it doan matter 'bout de bonnet; her head-hankcher
wuz good 'nuff. Den Tenie say she wanter git her bes' frock; her
mistiss say no, she doan need no mo' frock, en w'en dat one got
dirty she could git a clean one whar she wuz gwine. So Tenie had
ter git in de buggy en go 'long wid young Mars Dunkin ter his
plantation, w'ich wuz mo' d'n twenty mile away; en dey want no
chance er her seein' Sandy no mo' tel she come back home. De po'
gal felt monst'us bad erbout de way things wuz gwine on, en she
knowed Sandy mus' be a wond'rin' why she didn' come en turn 'im
back no mo'.
"W'iles Tenie wuz away nussin' young Mars Dunkin's wife, Mars
Marrabo tuk a notion fer ter buil' 'im a noo kitchen; en bein' ez
he had lots er timber on his place, he begun ter look 'roun' fer a
tree ter hab de lumber sawed out'n. En I dunno how it come to be
so, but he happen fer ter hit on de ve'y tree w'at Sandy wuz turnt
inter. Tenie wuz gone, en dey wa'n't nobody ner nuffin' fer ter
watch de tree.
"De two men w'at cut de tree down say dey nebber had sech a time
wid a tree befo': dey axes would glansh off, en didn' 'pear ter
make no progress thoo de wood; en of all de creakin', en shakin',
en wobblin' you eber see, dat tree done it w'en it commence' ter
fall. It wuz de beatenis' thing!
"W'en dey got de tree all trim' up, dey chain it up ter a timber
waggin, en start fer de saw-mill. But dey had a hard time gittin'
de log dere: fus' dey got stuck in de mud w'en dey wuz gwine
crosst de swamp, en it wuz two er th'ee hours befo' dey could git
out. W'en dey start' on ag'in, de chain kep' a-comin' loose, en
dey had ter keep a-stoppin' en a-stoppin' fer ter hitch de log up
ag'in. W'en dey commence' ter climb de hill ter de saw-mill, de
log broke loose, en roll down de hill en in mongs' de trees, en
hit tuk nigh 'bout half a day mo' ter git it haul' up ter de saw-
"De nex' mawnin' atter de day de tree wuz haul' ter de saw-mill,
Tenie come home. W'en she got back ter her cabin, de fus' thing
she done wuz ter run down ter de woods en see how Sandy wuz
gittin' on. W'en she seed de stump standin' dere, wid de sap
runnin' out'n it, en de limbs layin' scattered roun', she nigh
'bout went out'n her mine. She run ter her cabin, en got her
goopher mixtry, en den foller de track er de timber waggin ter de
saw-mill. She knowed Sandy couldn' lib mo' d'n a minute er so ef
she turn' him back, fer he wuz all chop' up so he'd a be'n bleedst
ter die. But she wanted ter turn 'im back long ernuff fer ter
'splain ter 'im dat she hadn' went off a-purpose, en lef' 'im ter
be chop' down en sawed up. She didn' want Sandy ter die wid no
hard feelin's to'ds her.
"De han's at de saw-mill had des got de big log on de kerridge, en
wuz startin' up de saw, w'en dey seed a 'oman runnin up de hill,
all out er bref, cryin' en gwine on des lack she wuz plumb
'stracted. It wuz Tenie; she come right inter de mill, en th'owed
herse'f on de log, right in front er de saw, a-hollerin' en cryin'
ter her Sandy ter fergib her, en not ter think hard er her, fer it
wa'n't no fault er hern. Den Tenie 'membered de tree didn' hab no
years, en she wuz gittin' ready fer ter wuk her goopher mixtry so
ez ter turn Sandy back, w'en de mill-hands kotch holt er her en
tied her arms wid a rope, en fasten' her to one er de posts in de
saw-mill; en den dey started de saw up ag'in, en cut de log up
inter bo'ds en scantlin's right befo' her eyes. But it wuz mighty
hard wuk; fer of all de sweekin', en moanin', en groanin', dat log
done it w'iles de saw wuz a-cuttin' thoo it. De saw wuz one er
dese yer ole-timey, up-en-down saws, en hit tuk longer dem days
ter saw a log 'en it do now. Dey greased de saw, but dat didn'
stop de fuss; hit kep' right on, tel finely dey got de log all
sawed up.
"W'en de oberseah w'at run de saw-mill come fum brekfas', de han's
up en tell him 'bout de crazy 'ooman--ez dey s'posed she wuz--
w'at had come runnin' in de saw-mill, a-hollerin' en gwine on, en
tried ter th'ow herse'f befo' de saw. En de oberseah sent two er
th'ee er de han's fer ter take Tenie back ter her marster's
"Tenie 'peared ter be out'n her mine fer a long time, en her
marster ha' ter lock her up in de smoke-'ouse tel she got ober her
spells. Mars Marrabo wuz monst'us mad, en hit would a made yo'
flesh crawl fer ter hear him cuss, caze he say de spekilater w'at
he got Tenie fum had fooled 'im by wukkin' a crazy 'oman off on
him. Wiles Tenie wuz lock up in de smoke-'ouse, Mars Marrabo
tuk'n' haul de lumber fum de saw-mill, en put up his noo kitchen.
"W'en Tenie got quiet' down, so she could be 'lowed ter go 'roun'
de plantation, she up'n tole her marster all erbout Sandy en de
pine-tree; en w'en Mars Marrabo hearn it, he 'lowed she wuz de
wuss 'stracted nigger he eber hearn of. He didn' know w'at ter do
wid Tenie: fus' he thought he'd put her in de po'-house; but
finely, seein' ez she didn' do no harm ter nobody ner nuffin', but
des went roun' moanin', en groanin', en shakin' her head, he
'cluded ter let her stay on de plantation en nuss de little nigger
chilluns w'en dey mammies wuz ter wuk in de cotton-fiel'.
"De noo kitchen Mars Marrabo buil' wuzn' much use, fer it hadn'
be'n put up long befo' de niggers 'mence' ter notice quare things
erbout it. Dey could hear sump'n moanin' en groanin' 'bout de
kitchen in de night-time, en w'en de win' would blow dey could
hear sump'n a-hollerin' en sweekin' lack hit wuz in great pain en
sufferin'. En hit got so atter a w'ile dat hit wuz all Mars
Marrabo's wife could do ter git a 'ooman ter stay in de kitchen in
de daytime long ernuff ter do de cookin'; en dey wa'n't naer
nigger on de plantation w'at wouldn' rudder take forty dan ter go
'bout dat kitchen atter dark,--dat is, 'cep'n Tenie; she didn'
pear ter mine de ha'nts. She useter slip 'roun' at night, en set
on de kitchen steps, en lean up agin de do'-jamb, en run on ter
herse'f wid some kine er foolishness w'at nobody couldn' make out;
fer Mars Marrabo had th'eaten' ter sen' her off'n de plantation ef
she say anything ter any er de yuther niggers 'bout de pine-tree.
But somehow er nudder de niggers foun' out all 'bout it, en dey
knowed de kitchen wuz ha'anted by Sandy's sperrit. En bimeby hit
got so Mars Marrabo's wife herse'f wuz skeered ter go out in de
yard atter dark.
"W'en it come ter dat, Mars Marrabo tuk 'n' to' de kitchen down,
en use' de lumber fer ter buil' dat ole school-'ouse w'at youer
talkin' 'bout pullin' down. De school-'ouse wuzn' use' 'cep'n' in
de daytime, en on dark nights folks gwine 'long de road would hear
quare soun's en see quare things. Po' ole Tenie useter go down
dere at night, en wander 'roun' de school-'ouse; en de niggers all
'lowed she went fer ter talk wid Sandy's sperrit. En one winter
mawnin', w'en one er de boys went ter school early fer ter start
de fire, w'at should he fine but po' ole Tenie, layin' on de flo',
stiff, en cole, en dead. Dere didn' 'pear ter be nuffin'
pertickler de matter wid her,--she had des grieve' herse'f ter def
fer her Sandy. Mars Marrabo didn' shed no tears. He thought
Tenie wuz crazy, en dey wa'n't no tellin' w'at she mout do nex';
en dey ain' much room in dis worl' fer crazy w'ite folks, let
'lone a crazy nigger.
"Hit wa'n't long atter dat befo' Mars Marrabo sole a piece er his
track er lan' ter Mars Dugal' McAdoo,--MY ole marster,--en dat's
how de ole school-house happen to be on yo' place. W'en de wah
broke out, de school stop', en de ole school-'ouse be'n stannin'
empty ever sence,--dat is, 'cep'n' fer de ha'nts. En folks sez
dat de ole school-'ouse, er any yuther house w'at got any er dat
lumber in it w'at wuz sawed out'n de tree w'at Sandy wuz turnt
inter, is gwine ter be ha'nted tel de las' piece er plank is
rotted en crumble' inter dus'."
Annie had listened to this gruesome narrative with strained
"What a system it was," she exclaimed, when Julius had finished,
"under which such things were possible!"
"What things?" I asked, in amazement. "Are you seriously
considering the possibility of a man's being turned into a tree?"
"Oh, no," she replied quickly, "not that;" and then she added
absently, and with a dim look in her fine eyes, "Poor Tenie!"
We ordered the lumber, and returned home. That night, after we
had gone to bed, and my wife had to all appearances been sound
asleep for half an hour, she startled me out of an incipient doze
by exclaiming suddenly,--
"John, I don't believe I want my new kitchen built out of the
lumber in that old school-house."
"You wouldn't for a moment allow yourself," I replied, with some
asperity, "to be influenced by that absurdly impossible yarn which
Julius was spinning to-day?"
"I know the story is absurd," she replied dreamily, "and I am not
so silly as to believe it. But I don't think I should ever be
able to take any pleasure in that kitchen if it were built out of
that lumber. Besides, I think the kitchen would look better and
last longer if the lumber were all new."
Of course she had her way. I bought the new lumber, though not
without grumbling. A week or two later I was called away from
home on business. On my return, after an absence of several days,
my wife remarked to me,--
"John, there has been a split in the Sandy Run Colored Baptist
Church, on the temperance question. About half the members have
come out from the main body, and set up for themselves. Uncle
Julius is one of the seceders, and he came to me yesterday and
asked if they might not hold their meetings in the old school-
house for the present."
"I hope you didn't let the old rascal have it," I returned, with
some warmth. I had just received a bill for the new lumber I had
"Well," she replied, "I could not refuse him the use of the house
for so good a purpose."
"And I'll venture to say," I continued, "that you subscribed
something toward the support of the new church?"
She did not attempt to deny it.
"What are they going to do about the ghost?" I asked, somewhat
curious to know how Julius would get around this obstacle.
"Oh," replied Annie, "Uncle Julius says that ghosts never disturb
religious worship, but that if Sandy's spirit SHOULD happen to
stray into meeting by mistake, no doubt the preaching would do it
Her Daughters Sold Into Southern Bondage
At Port Royal
At Washington
The Watchers
Toussaint L'ouverture
Randolph Of Roanoke
Song Of Slaves In The Desert
The Huskers
Luther's Hymn
The Christian Tourists
Lines On The Portrait Of A Celebrated Publisher
Why Adam Sinned
Sandy Star Iii
The Farewell Of A Virginia Slave Mother To
To The Thirty-ninth Congress
An Indignation Dinner
The Battle Autumn Of 1862
The Relic


text:
UK Size N Welsh Sea Glass Ring
UK Size N Welsh Sea Glass Ring
This ring is entirely handcrafted by me in my home studio in Wales
The sea glass was hand picked by myself on my local beach, St Mary's Well Bay, Penarth.
The sea glass has been set in sterling silver bezels. The ring is UK size N.
One ring included in price.
For a longer and better quality life for your handmade silver item, please avoid contact with chemicals similar to perfume, detergents and soaps.
Each item of jewellery is delivered in a customised Searosejewellery jewellery box. If you order one item, it will be delivered in a sturdy envelope. If you order two or more, your items will be delivered in a sturdy customised cardboard box. All packaging is eco friendly and recyclable.
———International shipping———
I ship all items as standard untracked delivery from the UK. Some items can take up to 6 weeks to arrive, so please keep this in mind when ordering. If you would like your item faster or tracked, these options are available to chose when ordering.
If you would like a small message card enclosed, please let me know.
Instagram - @searosejewellery


text:
This Is the One Song That Makes 'Very Sensitive Boy' Charlie Puth Cry
Music: It moves us... sometimes to tears.
During a Beats 1 Chart Takeover interview this month, self-described "very sensitive boy" Charlie Puth revealed that there are "a lot" of songs that get his waterworks running, but there's only one that unfailingly moves him to tears every time he hears it.
Puth—whose own hit single "See You Again" is undoubtedly one of modern pop's most emotionally charged tracks—told Beats 1 that the David Foster arrange of "All By Myself" by Canadian music superstar Celine Dion is the one song he can't help but cry to.
"Before the third chorus, she's singing in A-major and its all a capella and you're like, 'What are you gonna do, Celine?'" he gushed, explaining how the iconic ballad fills him with emotion.
Watch his interview, below, where he also talks about celebrity listeners (he counts Amy Schumer as a fan), growing up in New Jersey and how food poisoning inspired one of his biggest chart hits. (Yes, really!)
Plus, grab a box of tissues and listen to Dion's "All By Myself," below.


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More than 200,000 people were killed or disappeared in Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war. It was one of the bloodiest and most vicious of modern times.
Audio Clip
Former Guatemalan Strongman Stands Trial For Genocide
But one period was especially brutal, the one in which General Efraín Rios Montt was in charge.
As he sought to squash a bubbling leftist uprising, thousands of Guatemalans were raped, tortured and slaughtered by the army he commanded.
Photo by Jill Replogle
Thousands of Mayan women were raped by soldiers and paramilitaries during Guatemala's civil war.
In a scene from the documentary " When the Mountains Tremble," filmed in 1982, indigenous Mayan women dressed in hand-woven blouses wail as they look upon a line of corpses — victims of a recent massacre in their remote village.
"I've seen brutality and had to analyze it through these cases in many places in Latin America and other regions, and what happened in Guatemala is very specific in the intensity, the premeditation," said Almudena Bernabeu, a Spanish lawyer at the Center for Justice and Accountability, based in San Francisco.
Bernabeu is part of the legal team that has been working for 13 years to bring former president Rios Montt to trial.
A UN truth commission after the war documented more than 600 massacres carried out by the Guatemalan army and its proxies.
In some Mayan territories, up to 90 percent of villages were destroyed.
A group of survivors and human rights organizations first filed genocide charges against Rios Montt in Spain. But for years he evaded extradition.
In 2007, Rios Montt won a seat in the Guatemalan congress, and Guatemalan courts ruled his public office granted him immunity from prosecution.
"They didn't want to touch him," Bernabeu said. "Nobody wanted to touch the general."
Until recently, that is. Rios Montt's term in congress ended in January 2012. Two weeks later, he was indicted for genocide in his home country.
Bernabeu said a lot of things came together to change the aging dictator's fate — an intrepid attorney general, international pressure, and mounting evidence in the form of mass graves and secret army plans.
Plus, she said, survivors of the genocide have been dogged.
"Guatemalan are quiet, never in your face, never confrontational, but they never stop what they need to do," Bernabeu said.
For a Guatemalan doctor living in the U.S., it's about time Rios Montt took the stand.
Photo by Jill Replogle
The Guatemalan Foundation for Forensic Anthropology has been digging up mass graves for years, uncovering evidence for war crimes trials, and returning remains to victims' families.
"It's been nearly three decades, 30 years of waiting for this moment to arrive," said Marvyn Perez, who lives in Los Angeles.
Perez was among a group of students captured by Guatemalan police shortly after Rios Montt came to power. They were interrogated and tortured.
Perez was eventually released and his family left for the U.S. a few months later.
He'll be following the trial closely. Perez actually said he's glad Rios Montt and other military leaders are getting a fair trial.
"Today they have the chance to defend themselves, something they denied to so many people," Perez said.
The tinkling melody of Guatemalan marimba accompanied a recent dinner held in the parking lot of a San Diego apartment complex. A group of Guatemalan ex-pats organized the dinner as a fundraiser to support rural schools back home.
More than one million Guatemalans now live in the U.S. Thousands of them arrived after fleeing the violence in their home country.
Not all are gripped by the trial of their notorious former president, and some at the dinner barely knew it was happening. Still Alonso Mendez remembered the fear that plagued his country in the 1980s.
"Everyone was scared of the army," Mendez said, "of their own president, actually. The guy who was supposed to defend the country, he's the one people were most afraid of."
Rios Montt is now 86 years old. If he's convicted, he'll spend the rest of his life under house arrest — not exactly a stiff punishment for genocide.
Still, Bernabeu, the lawyer, said the trial itself is a victory.
"I think it is more the symbol of the dictator, the powerful man," she said, "being forced to listen to 130 testimonies of how people suffered with [what] this, you know, jerk and his men did."
And, of course, there's the possibility of a guilty sentence.
"And hopefully they pronounce it with a microphone and with the room packed," Bernabeu said. "You know, to me, it's the power of that symbol, and that will be there forever."
The trial is expected to last several months.


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Bottom Line:
Mindset is the #1 predictor of success. The conversations that you have with yourself that play a major role in determining your growth. And thinking that you can't do something can become a self-fulfilling prophecy that prevents you from acting and making the decisions you need to live your best life. The good news is that there is good news!
Why it Matters:
You can change your habits, beliefs, and transform the way you think. When you do, you'll be able to look at the world with a new perspective, and that alone can empower you to become the person you know you can be. Pay attention this week to the thought loops that play in your head and try to be more conscientious about what you tell yourself. This small change will help you cultivate a more positive mindset in 2021.
Did you know...
- Negative emotions may weaken your immune response.
- Positive thinking can help you more effectively manage stress and contribute to improving your overall health.
- A positive outlook has been attributed to a 30% decrease in the likelihood of one day experiencing a cardiovascular event.
Next Steps:
Cultivating a positive mindset isn't just a lackadaisical, "granola" way to approach life. New research on the mind-body connection has shown us that our mental health impacts much of our physical health, and a positive mindset can lead to improvements in your overall health and well-being. Speaking of that mind-body connection, if you have a health challenge or some other aches and pains that are weighing on your mind, let us know. We're here to help!
Science Source(s):
- Positive thinking: Stop Negative Self-Talk to Reduce Stress. Mayo Clinic. 2020.
- The Power of Positive Thinking. Johns Hopkins Medicine. 2020.
Dr Austin
Contact Me


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Daily Detox
These days, detoxing isn't an option, it's a necessity to live a healthy life.
But you don't have to retreat to a pricey spa or invest in hard-to-follow protocols. With Pure Body, we've perfected ways to use natural zeolite as an easy, effective and affordable daily detox. Enhance your detox with organic greens and live to your full toxin-free potential.


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KERMIT THE FROG (Kermit the Frog) returns to the big screen in 2011 in Disney's "The Muppets." With 56 years in show business, he boasts countless credits in television, film, stage and online, including the recent hit viral videos featuring the Muppets' take on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2009) and "Ode to Joy" (2008)—both Webby winners (an award very dear to Kermit's heart and feet). He has been honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2002), and his song "Rainbow Connection" was nominated for an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe® in 1979. Kermit has appeared many times in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He received the Key to the City from Kermit, Texas, in 2005, and holds an honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters from the Southampton College at Long Island University. He was the first amphibian to address the prestigious Oxford Union at Oxford University.
Kermit's film credits include "The Muppet Movie" (1979), "The Great Muppet Caper" (1981), "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984), "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), "Muppet Treasure Island" (1996) and "Muppets from Space" (1999). He's also had starring roles in the TV films "Muppets Wizard of Oz" (2005) and "A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa." In addition to hosting and starring in the international hit phenomenon "The Muppet Show," which ran from 1976-1981, Kermit's small-screen credits include "Muppet Babies" and "Muppets Tonight." He has appeared on a host of variety shows, including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Today" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brian." Kermit has also been a guest on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Saturday Night Live," among many others. Kermit's memoirs—"Look Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons"—were published in 2006.
Kermit resides in a swamp, where he maintains a bachelor pad.
Why should audiences see Disney's "The Muppets"?
- It's funny, upbeat and full of laughs for everyone… frogs, pigs, bears… even people. For new fans, it's a chance to see the Muppets in action on the big screen. And for old fans, it's a chance to get together with old friends… and get a little crazy together.
What is Disney's "The Muppets" about?
- Well, it's the story of this incredible Muppet fan named Walter who comes to Hollywood to meet us… and ends up having to get all the Muppets back together to put on a show and save Muppet Studios. I guess it's the first Muppet movie that's really from the point of view of a fan. Jason Segel, who is a really big Muppet fan in real life, co-wrote the movie. He wanted to show what it would be like if the world's biggest Muppet fan—along with his brother Gary (played by Jason) and friend Mary (played by Amy Adams)—came to Hollywood to meet us.
What is your role in Disney's "The Muppets"?
- I play me, Kermit the Frog. I've played other parts, like Bob Crachit in "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and Captain Smollett in "Muppet Treasure Island," but I think "me" is my favorite part. Playing a frog named Kermit might be type casting, but there aren't a lot of great parts for amphibians, so I was happy to get the part. In the movie—and in life, really—I'm a humble frog in Hollywood who wants to get back together with his friends and keep entertaining people.
How does your life differ from the characters you play in the films?
- Well, on the big screen. I'm 16 feet tall. But in real life, it's closer to 18 inches. So, I'd have to say the biggest difference is more height—and better lighting. Seriously, though, my life on screen and off screen is about the same. In real life and on film, I'm surrounded by chaos, craziness, and romantic pigs—just like any other Hollywood star.
Why did you want to take part in this film?
- I understand they considered other actors—George Clooney, Tom Hanks. But in the end, when it comes to playing short, green and amphibious, I'm still Hollywood's go-to guy. According to director James Bobin, when I read for the role of "me," I nailed it.
What is the funniest scene in the film?
- I like the scene where everything goes crazy and no one knows what to do. It's total mad chaos…..Hmm, come to think of it, that describes most of the movie. I can't pick JUST one scene—all the other scenes would get jealous. But I really do like the big finale. Lots of singing, dancing, laughing… and, I don't want to spoil it, but it's happy, too.
What was it like working opposite Jason Segel?
- Jason is not only a great comedian, but as a co-writer of the movie, he's great to work with. If you forget your lines, he can make up new ones. Jason's a swell guy. He really loved the Muppets before we worked together…and he still loves us after. That's a true fan. And he has such a fantastic sense of humor. He can find funny everywhere… even in Fozzie's act.
…Chris Cooper?
- Chris plays the villain, Tex Richman, yet he's really the nicest guy you'll ever meet. That's an incredible feat: being a good guy and playing a bad guy. When it comes to acting, it's not that easy being mean.
…Amy Adams?
- Amy is incredible. She's so beautiful and talented and funny. I'd love to make every movie with her…. but Miss Piggy won't let me. She's also a great actress: she can sing and dance, and she has three Academy Award® nominations. I'm hoping she gets an Oscar® for Disney's "The Muppets." If not, I'm willing to paint myself gold and stand on her mantle.
…Miss Piggy?
- I have to say: working with Miss Piggy is always a pleasure. I have to say that 'cause she makes me say it. This was a different kind of movie for us. Normally, Piggy and I are together right from the start. But in Disney's "The Muppets," Miss Piggy is over in Paris and we have to go get her. That was challenging for me. France is tough for frogs… with legs.
What's the deal with you and Miss Piggy? Are you still together?
- Miss Piggy and I have a professional relationship. I think we're professionals; she thinks we're in a relationship. Actually, Miss Piggy and I are good friends, but just friends. We like each other a great deal, but we are not romantically involved—despite her best efforts.
Describe director James Bobin.
- James has a quirky sense of humor. Just watch his work on "Flight of the Conchords" and you can see this isn't someone who sees the world like everyone else. Not being normal helps when you work with the Muppets. He's a consummate professional—and we're not, so we really needed him.
What is your advice for up-and-coming frogs/actors?
- Never say croak.
To make a rainbow connection with Kermit the Frog, check out http://disney.go.com/muppets/portfolio/kermit/videos.html.
On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, Disney's "The Muppets" hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011.
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THE MUPPETS opens in theaters everywhere on November 23rd!