MetaFilter posts tagged with left

Christians fight the Right

No Robots — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:27:14 -0800

The goal of Red Letter Christians is simple: To take Jesus seriously by endeavoring to live out His radical, counter-cultural teachings as set forth in Scripture, and especially embracing the lifestyle prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount. Red Letter Christians are part of a Christian backlash against the Christian Right. The “Red Letters” are the words spoken by Christ himself, often rubricated in Bible editions. The Red Letter movement is certainly not without critics. The movement is growing, with churches like that of the pirate pastor springing up. Red Letter Christians do not want their movement to become an instrument of the partisan Left. They see its role as social and cultural, as opposed to political. It is up to politicians, then, to respond. Historical antecedents include The Social Gospel Movement and Christian Socialism.

Le gauche caviar

acb — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:36:13 -0800

So, what's the problem with champagne socialism? Are well-off advocates of left-wing positions hypocrites? How does one square egalitarian convictions with personal affluence?

Anarchist Dating Advice

the man of twists and turns — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:27:57 -0800

Political Identification: communist
Your problem: I have recently started seeing a communist woman, and I really like her, but my problem is that I still have overwhelmingly strong feelings for the communist woman I had a thing with in the summer, and who has gone to fight the good fight in other lands. Should I tell the comrade I’m currently seeing about my divided affections? As we are not yet in full communism, I fear I may not have enough to go round… From: Bloody Red Heart"

"Dear Bloody Red Heart, Always remember that information is power, and functions as such." "In contemporary times, the nation-state and its corporate media can no longer be trusted as sources of advice on interpersonal relationships. We don’t seek the accumulation of sexual surplus value. We want to stop the proliferation of nuclear families and their poisonous fallout. We say “No” to the corporate dating Olympics. So who can we trust to set us on the path towards egalitarian love, that controls the means of its own sexual relations? have a question for the mending-hearts bloc?" "The Mending-Hearts Bloc speaks only for itself, and would never claim to give relationship advice from all anarchists, or for all anarchists or any other group. It’s mutual aid should be only considered as part of a diversity of tactics, and other than that, perhaps entertaining."

Marx's Revenge

the man of twists and turns — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:48:30 -0800

How Class Struggle Is Shaping The World The Next Left - An Interview with Bhaskar Sunkara

However, socialism’s reputation is making a comeback, at least among the young. If Millennials need any pointers, the avowedly socialist editorial board of Jacobin (previously) is happy to oblige.

via the man himself. Previously on MetaFilter

How The Left Has Won

the man of twists and turns — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:35:05 -0800

Or, why is there still socialism in the United States?

Why, then, would we look for evidence of socialism only where a state seized by radicals of the Left inaugurates a dictatorship of the proletariat? Or, to lower the rhetorical volume and evidentiary stakes, why would we expect to find socialism only where avowed socialists or labor parties contend for state power? We should instead assume that socialism, like capitalism, is a cross-class cultural construction, to which even the bourgeoisie has already made significant contributions – just as the proletariat has long made significant contributions to the cross-class construction we know as capitalism. What follows?

The Swinging States of America

shoesfullofdust — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:56:05 -0800

Over the Decades, How States Have Shifted

$20 million ... 'sold to the public as charity work in the service of human rights.'

the man of twists and turns — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 08:17:59 -0800

Mark Ames (of the eXile): The Left’s Big Sellout – How the ACLU and Human Rights Groups Quietly Exterminated Labor Rights (via naked capitalism)

Less than twenty years after Fred Koch fought to destroy labor rights through “Right To Work” laws, the executive director of the ACLU, Aryeh Neier—the same Aryeh Neier who later led Human Rights Watch— colluded with William Buckley to push the ACLU rightward against labor by getting the ACLU to represent big business and “Right To Work” laws, under the guise of “protecting free speech”—the same bullshit pretense always used by lawyers and advocates to help big business crush labor and democracy. This “free speech” pretense is the basis on which the ACLU currently supports the Citizens United decision, which effectively legalized the transformation of America into an oligarchy.

Mother Jones: Why Screwing Unions Screws the Entire Middle Class (print version) Antiwar.com: Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars (via Mondoweiss) Salon: When Blue Collar Dreams Became Identity Politics NY Times: Turning Our Backs on Unions', by Joe Nocera, on Timothy Noah's book The Great Divergence, reviewed by the NY Times and previously on MetaFilter And a quick search for 'labor' on AmnestyUSA's website this post inspired by this post

"Whereas the left is always in danger of talking itself into the ground."

The Whelk — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:32:37 -0800

What's also obvious is that this phase of Occupy, with talk of credit unions and occupying the SEC, while eminently worthy, is also kind of boring, especially when compared to the thrill of Occupy's park phase. Some, though, are ready to move on. "It's easy to go back to the park occupation and fetishize it, in a way," says Occupy Chicago's Brian Bean. "I prefer not to run a mini-society – I want to run society." - The Battle For The Soul Of Occupy Wall Street - Rolling Stone - Mark Binelli.

"Sooner or later, nearly everyone on Haaretz gets called a Nazi."

zarq — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:23:12 -0800

The Dissenters. New Yorker profile by editor David Remnick: "Ha'aretz prides itself on being the conscience of Israel. Does it have a future?" (Via)

On the Lack of Left Wing Discourse in the Blogosphere

ennui.bz — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:47:01 -0800

Who, exactly, represents the left extreme in the establishment blogosphere? You'd likely hear names like Jane Hamsher or Glenn Greenwald. But these examples are instructive. Is Hamsher a socialist? A revolutionary anti-capitalist? In any historical or international context-- in the context of a country that once had a robust socialist left, and in a world where there are straightforwardly socialist parties in almost every other democracy-- is Hamsher particularly left-wing? Not at all. It's only because her rhetoric is rather inflamed that she is seen as particularly far to the left.

Freddie De Boer on the lack of left wing discourse in the blogosphere.

No, the nominal left of the blogosphere is almost exclusively neoliberal. Ask for a prominent left-wing blogger and people are likely to respond with the names of Matt Yglesias, Jon Chait, Kevin Drum.... Each of them, as I understand it, believe in the general paternalistic neoliberal policy platform, where labor rights are undercut everywhere for the creation of economic growth (that 21st century deity), and then, if things go to plan, wealth is redistributed from the top to those whose earnings and quality of life have been devastated by the attack on labor.

Matt Yglesias responds.

"We’re just Christians who think the political and Christian right-wing have their priorities wrong."

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:54:24 -0800

The Christian left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice. "We will not be profiled or pigeonholed and we will not ‘Be Quiet.’ We’re Christians. We’re Liberals. Please get used to it. Thank you."

Doing the Reactionary

overeducated_alligator — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:39:32 -0800

"Don't go Left/But be polite/Move to the Right/Doing the Reactionary…" "Doing the Reactionary" was written by Harold Rome as part of the 1937 musical revue Pins and Needles, first staged by the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. Notable recordings of this particular song include Cab Calloway and a then-20-year-old Barbra Streisand. Lyrics observe that anti-leftist scaremongering can simultaneously stifle labor activism, and push popular opinion towards fascism - to the benefit of the rich and powerful: All the best dictators do it, Millionaires keep steppin' to it, The Four Hundred love to sing it, Ford and Morgan swing it...

Which side are you on?

Obscure Reference — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:40:34 -0800

Why Some Countries Drive on the Right and Some Countries Drive on the Left. Primarily throughout history people used the “keep-left” rule. It has only been very recently that the world has predominately switched to the “keep-right” rule.

Exploring ...

WCityMike — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:57:31 -0800

A story arc from the Far Left Side webcartoon: Comic #1, Comic #2, Comic #3. Pardon the FPP's language being so spartan before the break – it's a beautiful little gem, but the particular beauty is killed if given any prefacing. (The closing panel is of course a reference to this, and note his wife's name.) The Far Left Side is a political cartoon done from the progressive viewpoint in Gary Larson's style, although (if you've read this far without reading the original links) rest assured the linked-to panels are fairly apolitical.

A concept-map exploring the Left vs Right political spectrum.

blue_beetle — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:54:57 -0800

Left vs. Right , the Infographic

Tiny Zombie Flashlight Fun

Happy Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:47:27 -0800

Left 4K Dead. Just you, in a dark corridor, with a torch, and a gun. And zombies. So many zombies.

The People's Singer

digaman — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:29:16 -0800

"If Communists liked what we did, that was their good luck," said Lee Hays, founding member of the Almanac Singers. A fascinating portrait of one of the linchpins of the politically engaged folk movement of the '40s and '50s. Hays sang beside the more celebrated (and, on one important day in Bob Dylan history, infamous) Pete Seeger on such classic Almanac albums as Talking Union. [Listen here.]

The Left's Victim Complex

exogenous — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:20:15 -0800

The American Left's Silly Victim Complex

so far left they're...neocon?

telstar — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 00:20:56 -0800

Strange Bedfellows: Radical Leftists for Bush Among the German far-left, one subgroup called the anti-Germans holds some contradictory views. Most call themselves communists, yet loudly proclaim their support for Israel and George W. Bush.

Win is irreversible, says ruling party's candidate

amberglow — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:43:16 -0800

Mexico's election: now being recounted, but some are saying it was stolen with our help. Many countries in Latin and South America have been moving to the left lately, following in the footsteps of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. Argentina actually caught us messing with things during their election, too. Exit polls in Mexico (as in Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004) showed a lead for the more leftist (relatively) candidate, and for those who scoff at using exit polls as evidence--in 2004, US Republican Senator Richard Lugar, in Kiev, cited the divergence of exit polls and official polls as solid evidence of “blatant fraud” in the vote count in Ukraine. As a result, the Bush Administration refused to recognize the Ukraine government’s official vote tally. So, honest election, or what?

Prescription for the American left

mountainmambo — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 05:16:14 -0800

A Letter to the American Left By Bernard-Henri Lévy. "Nothing made a more lasting impression during my journey through America than the semi-comatose state in which I found the American left. I know, of course, that the term "left" does not have the same meaning and ramifications here that it does in France. And I cannot count how many times I was told there has never been an authentic "left" in the United States, in the European sense.

But at the end of the day, my progressive friends, you may coin ideas in whichever way you like. The fact is: You do have a right. This right, in large part thanks to its neoconservative battalion, has brought about an ideological transformation that is both substantial and striking. "

Katrina seen from the Left

cleardawn — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 13:54:51 -0800

Storm Hits, Capitalism Preserves Profits, Humanity Drowns. Beyond pointing out that Bush cares greatly about rich white people, what does the Left have to say about Katrina? How accurate is it to blame racism and capitalism for the federal governments's lack of response?

Right hand left hand cars

IndigoJones — Wed, 18 May 2005 17:27:38 -0800

Okay, so why do they drive funny overseas? Blame it on swords , of course, but also on Pope Boniface (can this really be true?), and, of course, on the French. At least we all can agree on boats.

Total Pussy Weekly Issue.01

phirleh — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 06:58:58 -0800

Most Americans don't know their left wingers from their right wingers. And no, its not about hockey or chicken parts.

Fred Flintstone: Rockefeller Republican, Nixon Supporter

amberglow — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 18:00:11 -0800

Political Leanings of Selected Cartoon Characters Did you know that Mickey Mouse is an extreme right-wing Republican (some say even a John Bircher)? (brought to you from way way back in 1996, as a result of this thread)