Posts by Jan Frel

Jan Frel is an AlterNet staff writer.

Terry McAuliffe's Political Funeral Video
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on June 10, 2009 at 2:13 PM.

Via Jerome Armstrong from MyDD I saw this eerie video to the right. From Tuesday's Virginia Democratic primary for governor, in which Clinton money guy Terry McAuliffe got the drubbing he deserved. It's a disturbing video -- who would be so stupid as to plant thousands of signs on a country road like that? What a colossal waste. But then -- we step back and look at the spectacle -- and it looks like what artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude might have come up with if they were given the task of sharing the essence of Terry McAuliffe; infinite two-dimensional Terry flowers blooming on the roadside.

Progressives Have the Troops and a Massive War Chest for Health Care Reform
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on June 2, 2009 at 7:35 AM.

I'm sitting in a press conference next to my AlterNet colleague Joshua Holland. We're watching progressive heavyweights Bob Borosage, Howard Dean and labor leader Anna Burger discuss the prospects for health care reform in Congress this summer. The topic is the major pile of dough -- $82 million -- and number of grassroots and advocacy groups -- 1,000 -- and their members -- 30 million -- that are pushing hard for the Health Care for America Now (HCAN) campaign.

Howard Dean lays out the landscape: "This is a center-left nation," Dean is saying. He ties the rise of America's "multi-cultural" society, and the precedents set by patterns of younger voters who "see themselves as multicultural" -- who not only have elected a multicultural president, but whose ideology offers hope for health care reform. RIchard Kirsh, who is the national campaign manager for HCAN, makes some major declarations: "We've waited 100 years for health care reform, and we're going to see it in the next few months."

Pollster Celinda Lake announces the results of a survey she conducted for Change to Win, a major labor coalition pushing hard for health reform. Looking through the results, the one that caught my eye is this number: 62% of people in the survey think that health care, education and energy reform must be enacted as soon as possible. Which is really in tune with the thinking of this HCAN campaign.... do it NOW!

A reporter from the Boston Globe asks Howard Dean if it's more important to have a bipartisan plan or a public health care plan, and Dean smashed that softball out of the park -- we'll pass it with 51 votes if we need to, Dean says. Kirsh came up to the mic and reminded us that when Social Security was up for a vote in DC, not one GOPer in the House voted for it, and only one Republican senator gave a yes vote.

Food Fight: Are You Sick of Being Fed by the Corporations?
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on May 7, 2009 at 12:49 PM.

This clip is from the new documentary Food Fight -- a look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement has created a counter-revolution against big agribusiness. This clip features Will Allen, McArthur Genius Grant Winner 2008.

Note for Santa Cruz residents: You can go to a screening on Tuesday, May 12th, 6:30pm at the Riverfront Twin Cinemas. Special guests (Woody Tasch) and local farmers, supper reception after at the Farmhouse Culture Kitchen, 303 Potrero St.

10 Most Offensive Signs from the Tea Party Protests (Photos)
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on April 16, 2009 at 3:46 PM.

Matt Palevsky, who's heading up Huffington Post's Citizen journalism arm, has orchestrated comprehensive coverage of yesterday's Tea Parties from over 2,000 contributors, including a disturbing photogallery of the top 10 most offensive signs. Here's the first, from Jesse Russel in Madison, WI.:

Go check out the rest.

Waltz with Bashir: Popular Animated Film Released as a Graphic Novel
Posted by Jan Frel on January 25, 2009 at 4:39 AM.

Writes TomDispatch's Tom Engelhardt, "As a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, Ari Folman took part in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon and was on duty in Beirut during the notorious massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. Just a week ago, Waltz with Bashir, the animated documentary film Folman directed in which he explores his own nightmarish, half-suppressed memories of that period, was given its first underground screening in Lebanon -- not far, in fact, from Hezbollah headquarters in southern Beirut -- though the film is officially banned in that country. It has also been screened in Palestinian Ramallah and is reportedly soon to be shown in the Arab Gulf states. It has already won six Israeli Academy Awards, best foreign film at the Golden Globes, and is now nominated for an Oscar as best foreign film."

Waltz with Bashir (read Sheerly Avni's review, published on AlterNet) has now been turned into a vivid graphic novel, and can you read excerpts of it digitally on TomDispatch.  It's interesting to watch how a compelling story can jump through various forms of media. Shooting War, a graphic novel set in Iraq in the year 2011, took the opposite path; it started out as a web comic in SMITH Magazine, later became a full graphic novel, with an excellent animated trailer to promote it.

Life Is About to Get Much Harder for Shady Media Moguls and Greedy Telecoms
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on January 23, 2009 at 5:27 AM.

A good sign that events are quickly moving away from eight years of rampant greed and disregard for the public interest by media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and greedy telecoms: "President Barack Obama today designated Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps as acting chair of the agency."

Copps, who long served as a thorn in Bush's side as an FCC commissioner, has unswervingly fought against the media consolidation and giveaways we had the misfortune of experiencing in the Bush era. He's been profiled and praised for years by progressives and public interest groups as a rare voice of sanity these past years on media issues. First good move by Copps that comes to my head: He called for an inquiry into Murdoch's shady buyout of the Wall Street Journal.

FCC watchdog and media reform advocate group Free Press is clapping its hands loudly at Obama's decision. Take a look in AlterNet's archives from the Bush days, and you'll see nothing but solid opposition by Copps to virtually every vile action taken by the Bushies at the FCC, led by Colin Powell's son, Michael. Here's media critic Norm Solomon quoting Copps in 2003:

"I understand they (broadcasters) live in a commercial culture and a business culture. But this is a special industry with a special charge -- administering the public airwaves. Nobody owns these airwaves. There's no TV company or radio company that owns the airwaves. The people of the United States of America own the airwaves."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Bush I & Bush II Share Their Thoughts on Vibrating Chairs in Their Goodbye Interview
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on January 12, 2009 at 3:44 PM.

This doesn't need much introduction. Here's the link from Fox News's Brit Hume interview with the Bush father and son -- and here's the touching ending to the latest installment of the Bush era:

HUME: When you first took office, took occupancy of this office, as I recall, the two of you had a brief moment together.

G.W. BUSH: Right.

HUME: Can you reflect on that? Do you remember it?

G.W. BUSH: We had just witnessed the Inaugural Parade, and I came upstairs at the White House up there, and I think you were taking a nap.

G.H.W. BUSH: No, I was in the bathtub, thawing out.

G.W. BUSH: Yes, he was in the bathtub. (Laughter.)

HUME: Were you really?

G.H.W. BUSH: Yes.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

CA's Prop 5, Rehab vs. Lockup: Voters' Chance to Become a More Advanced Society
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on October 28, 2008 at 3:21 PM.

Supporters of California's Prop 5 have released a new ad touting the positive benefits of adopting the initiative:

From the release:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Former Warden of San Quentin Prison Supports Dramatic Justice Reform Initiative in CA
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on October 24, 2008 at 4:36 PM.

Supporters of California's Proposition 5, the Non-Violent Offender Rehabilitation Act, have released a powerful TV ad:

From the release:

The first Yes on 5 spot, titled "Warden," features Jeanne Woodford, former warden of San Quentin State Prison and former Director of the California Department of Corrections. Against a backdrop of images of San Quentin, she speaks of her 25 years working at the prison, where she began as a prison guard. "Let me tell you," Woodford says, "too many of the men I dealt with started out as kids with drug problems. But California doesn't have treatment for kids." She goes on to say that the youth treatment provisions of Prop. 5 are one of its main draws for her. "I can't tell you how good I feel," Woodford says, "when I think of all those kids who will never wind up in prison."

Watch the video:

The Sad Essence of Drug Prohibition: The War on Fun
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on October 2, 2008 at 5:31 PM.

Don't worry, said the Canadian law enforcer to the Vermont Agricultural Committee about the possible dangers of allowing people have legal access to hemp: "You'd have to smoke 400 pounds of it to even get a smile on your face."

That's the whole concern -- that's why the Ag Committee got together, why the Canadian guy made the trip to talk to the Committee; to say that smoking hemp is not an easy path to fun. Of course it's easy to point out that this concern is a rather scary one for a society to have. But it's true. It's a war on fun -- Mark Ames:

"If everyone would admit that people do drugs because they're fun, then suddenly, the whole 30-year war on drugs thing would seem savage and bizarre: the war on fun. Which is exactly what it is. Drugs are also incredibly practical. They can help you get through rough times. They can numb you to horrible circumstances. They can improve your social skills. Or they can increase your work efficiency."

California Cops: Here's Your Pot Back, 3 Years Later
Posted by Jan Frel on September 18, 2008 at 4:00 PM.

Uhh, here's your weed back:

A medical marijuana user has his pot back, nearly three years after police in Huntington Beach, Calif., seized it. A judge Tuesday ordered police to return about four ounces of marijuana to Jim Spray. Spray says he used the pot to relieve back pain. He was arrested but charges were dropped. Police have been struggling to decide how to deal with California law allowing marijuana use for medical reasons but federal law that prohibits it.

Hopefully, the pot wasn't kept in sunlight ...

Rachel Maddow's TV Ratings Shoot Through the Roof
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on September 18, 2008 at 12:00 PM.

The latest cable news ratings show that Rachel Maddow is already ahead of Keith Olbermann and Larry King. Quite a feat in the ultra-competitive TV news environment.

Cable News Ratings for Tuesday, September 16

8PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)

The O'Reilly Factor- 3,060,000 viewers (731,000) (1,253,000)

Election Center-1,166,000 viewers (431,000) (576,000)

Countdown w/Keith Olbermann- 1,635,000 viewers (509,000) (771,000)

On the Money--207,000 viewers (65,000) (106,000)

Nancy Grace -1,166,000 viewers (412,000) (618,000)

9 PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)

Hannity & Colmes-3,136,000 viewers (716,000) (1,375,000)

Larry King--1,710,000 viewers (496,000) (801,000)

Rachel Maddow Show-1,801,000 viewers (534,000) (872,000)

Business of Innovation--a scratch w/102,000 viewers (a scratch w/42,000) (59,000)

Glenn Beck- 656,000 viewers (211,000) (354,000)

The Sad Death of a Mighty Publication -- eXile, R.I.P.
Posted by Jan Frel on June 16, 2008 at 4:00 PM.

The eXile is dead. Long live The eXile.

The eXile is/was an English alt-weekly published in Moscow. It's been shut down -- the financiers have pulled the plug after an audit by Russian authorities, which means that even though most news sources in America would run screaming from The eXile's content, they're going to run with the story because it's a chance to mock savage Russia's crackdown on media and democracy.

Two of the pieces on AlterNet's front page today are by eXile alums: Matt Taibbi and Eileen Jones. I started reading The eXile in 2004, and since that time, I've worked with its many great current and former authors on articles for AlterNet: Mark Ames, John Dolan, Matt Taibbi, Gary Brecher, Alexander Zaitchik, and Eileen Jones. These aren't just good writers -- this is more or less the list of the very best out there in my humble opinion. It's no coincidence that they all wrote for the same paper; credit goes to 11-year editor and founder Mark Ames.

From Fox News (See? Even Rupert Murdoch couldn't resist):

MOSCOW -- An irreverent English-language newspaper in Russia has been forced to close following an official probe, its editor said Monday. "The eXile," a brash monthly that criticized the Kremlin and the West in its pages -- often seeking to offend -- was subject to a June 5 audit, said Mark Ames, its American editor. After inquiring about the paper's links to Russia's opposition leader Eduard Limonov, inspectors issued a small fine for minor infractions such as an incorrectly printed address, Ames said. In the wake of the probe, sponsors including the paper's publisher withdrew financing, forcing it to close.

The good folks at The eXile knew what was coming. As their final issue eXplained (cover displayed to the right): "In a nation terrorized by its own government, one paper dared to fart in its face."

I have a lot more to say, but public mourning should be kept brief. The best I can do is give some advice: Go read the archives of the eXile's principal authors. You'll never think the same.

eXile, R.I.P. -- You will be missed.

Soldiers Increasingly Take to Pill Popping to Cope with Fighting Bush's Wars
Posted by Jan Frel on June 12, 2008 at 6:00 PM.

Ah, the irony. Wired's Noah Schactman notes:

After years on patrol overseas, 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope, Time magazine reports in a cover story on "America's Medicated Army."

Drugs have always played a role in warfare, but anti-depressants are a new thing, as Scachtman highlights from the Time article:

"In the Persian Gulf War, we didn't have these medications, so our basic philosophy was 'three hots and a cot'" -- giving stressed troops a little rest and relaxation to see if they improved. "If they didn't get better right away, they'd need to head to the rear and probably out of theater." But in his most recent stint in Baghdad in 2006, he treated a soldier who guarded Iraqi detainees. "He was distraught while he was having high-level interactions with detainees, having emotional confrontations with them -- and carrying weapons," [Colonel Joseph] Horam says. "But he was part of a highly trained team, and we didn't want to lose him. So we put him on an SSRI [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, like Prozac and Zoloft], and within a week, he was a new person, and we got him back to full duty."

There are wonderful drugs out there that can take us to new understandings of reality ... and horrible realities that can only be dealt with by taking massive drugs. Check out Penny Coleman's AlterNet article on this subject, "Pentagon, Big Pharma: Drug Troops to Numb Them to Horrors of War."

In Exclusive Interview Obama Says He "Misspoke But Didn't Lie" About Smalltown Pa.
Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet on April 14, 2008 at 5:27 PM.

From Will Bunch at Attytood:

Barack Obama came to speak to editorial writers and reporters from the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer this evening, and he essentially tried a do-over on his controversial remarks about "bitter" small-town Pennsylvanians, admitting that he'd "mangled" what he was trying to say at a San Francisco fundraiser 10 days ago, but that he agreed with a backer who told him that "you misspoke that you didn't lie."

His remarks were perhaps his most detailed effort, to date, to recast what he said on the West Coast, when he said that the ailing eonomy in the Rust Belt caused people to "get bitter" and that "they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment ot anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Tonight, he sought to explain that he never meant to imply that either religion or the use of guns for hunting -- a huge pasttime here in Pennsylvania -- was a bad thing.

Here's a full transcript of what he said:

The problem actually with this most recent episode is not that I was saying one thing behind closed door and saying something else in public. The truth is actually that I've made these same comments in a similar way on "The Charlie Rose Show" back in 2004 or 2005, and I had said it in town hall meetings in small towns.

The problem is that I just mangled it, which, you know happens sometimes. The point that I was making was actually two separate points that got conflated. Number One, that people who had felt abandoned by Washington and political leaders when it comes to an economy that's falling apart, they find stability in those things that they count on - their faith, the traditions that have been passed down generation to generation and in many rural communities that includes hunting, their family, their community - those are positive things.

They also are vulnerable to, you know, explanations for why the world has changed and politicians seek to divide them,. And sometimes politicians over the last decade have used anti-gay sentiment, they've used anti-immigrant stuff, and there's a long history of quote unquote "wedge issues" that I think distract from the very difficult issues that we have to deal with.

And so my syntax was poor but as a wise older woman who was talking to me the other day said, 'You misspoke but you didn't lie,' and I think that's how I feel about it, and as I've said these are things that I said as I was campaigning in Iowa -- and when people would talk to me about immigration and some of these other hot button issues, I'd say I think these are distractions from our failure to deal with some very critical issues.

That last comment about how he "misspoke but didn't lie" was a telling one, because it was in this same room two weeks ago that his rival Sen. Hillary Clinton also acknowledged that she "misspoke" about landing in the line of Bosnian sniper fire, which had been shown by tapes of the event to be untrue. Obama is more or less, pardon the pun, sticking to his guns here, with the caveat that he never meant to suggest that firearms or the church were bad things to "cling" to. Somehow I doubt this new nuance will satisfy his critics, either on the political right or within the Clinton campaign.