Just say 'No!'

I’m not sure what it is with Amy Goodman and birthdays. First it was Harry Bellafonte, now Studs Terkel. A few extracts:

Studs Terkel, the great journalist, raconteur and listener, turns 95 this week. He was born in New York City on May 16, 1912…

His life’s work has been to tell the stories of the working class, the down and out, the forgotten and ignored… “Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things, and that’s what it’s all about. They must count!”

His support for the refugees from the Spanish Civil War, with the Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, earned the attention of Joe McCarthy. He lost his first TV show due to his views. Then Mahalia Jackson, the famed African-American singer, insisted that Studs be hired as the host of her show on CBS. When he refused to sign the U.S. loyalty oath demanded by CBS, Studs says Jackson told them, “Look, if you fire Studs, find another Mahalia Jackson.” CBS backed off. The lesson, says Terkel: “The answer is to say ‘No!’ to authority when authority is wrong.”

And we all know when that is!

Happy birthday, Hazza!

Amy Goodman, Ms ‘Democracy Now!, now has a weekly column on Truthdig. The other day, she commemorated Harry Belafonte’s 80^th birthday. In response to her question about ‘both the Clintons and Obama going to Selma’,

“We are hearing platitudes, not platforms. What do they plan to do for people of color, Mexicans, for people who are imprisoned, black youth? What are their plans for the Katrinas of America?”

And the entertainer provided his take on the trajectory of US politics.

In 1965, Belafonte was on the original Selma march with Dr. King...The stakes were incredibly high. People were shot and killed; people were beaten…Despite all that, Belafonte says that the stakes are higher today.

A gloomy outlook, especially with the left in fragments and so few prepared to take risks needed to confront the perpetual war, anti ‘terrorism’, civil rights shredding juggernaut.

Anyhow, happy birthday, Hazza!