What Harvey Weinstein tells us about the liberal world | Thomas Frank | Opinion | The Guardian

What Harvey Weinstein tells us about the liberal world | Thomas Frank | Opinion | The Guardian



"What explains Weinstein’s identification with progressive causes? Perhaps it was all about cozying up to power, the thrill of being a friend of Bill Clinton.



Perhaps it was all about moral absolution, in the same way that lists of corporations-that-care always turn out to be led by outfits like Walmart, Goldman Sachs and Exxon-Mobil. In the world of the wealthy, liberalism is something you do to offset your rapacious behavior in other spheres. It’s no coincidence that, in Weinstein’s desperate first response to the accusations against him, he thought to promise war against the National Rifle Association and to support scholarships for women.



But it’s also something deeper than that. Most people on the left think of themselves as resisters of authority, but for certain of their leaders, modern-day liberalism is a way of rationalizing and exercising class power. Specifically, the power of what some like to call the “creative class”, by which they mean well-heeled executives in industries like Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood.



Worshiping these very special people is the doctrine that has allowed Democrats to pull even with Republicans in fundraising and that has buoyed the party’s fortunes in every wealthy suburb in America.



That this strain of liberalism also attracts hypocrites like Harvey Weinstein, with his superlative fundraising powers and his reverence for “great artists”, should probably not surprise us. Remember, too, that Weinstein is the man who once wrote an essay demanding leniency for Roman Polanski, partially on the grounds that he too was a “great artist”.



Harvey Weinstein seemed to fit right in. This is a form of liberalism that routinely blends self-righteousness with upper-class entitlement. That makes its great pronouncements from Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons. That routinely understands the relationship between the common people and showbiz celebrities to be one of trust and intimacy."

Let’s Try This Again, Olympia: Fully Fund Education Without Hurting Students of Color | South Seattle Emerald

Let’s Try This Again, Olympia: Fully Fund Education Without Hurting Students of Color | South Seattle Emerald: by Sharonne Navas and Rachael Myers



Come the start of the legislative session next week, elected representatives must come up with an additional $1 billion of funding by the start of next school year to fully fund education. This latest McCleary development gives Washington another chance to create an education system that equitably invests in…

What White Marchers Mean for Black Lives Matter | South Seattle Emerald

What White Marchers Mean for Black Lives Matter | South Seattle Emerald: by Marcus Harrison Green (This article is published in conjunction with the Seattle Weekly) The cries rang out in unison throughout Seattle’s Central District. Black Lives Matter!!! And as my own voice joined the chorus of hundreds of other marchers, one next to me gave a heavy sigh. “You can’t go anywhere in Seattle without…

When Black Lives Mattered: Why Teach Reconstruction | Zinn Education Project

When Black Lives Mattered: Why Teach Reconstruction | Zinn Education Project: By Adam Sanchez



Every day seems to bring new horrors as the U.S. president’s racist rhetoric and policies have provided an increasingly encouraging environment for attacks on Black people and other communities of color. The acquittal of yet another police officer accused of murdering a Black man in St. Louis, the raging battle across the country over whether symbols of slavery should be removed from public spaces, and the formation of a “Commission on Election Integrity” to further suppress voting by people of color are just a few of the recent reminders that racism is as American as apple pie. In moments like these, it’s worth remembering a time in U.S. history when Black lives mattered.

I'm A Brown Woman Who's Breaking Up With The Democratic Party | HuffPost

I'm A Brown Woman Who's Breaking Up With The Democratic Party | HuffPost: I realize now that the love has been one-sided.

10 Good Things About A TERRIBLE Year | PopularResistance.Org

10 Good Things About A TERRIBLE Year | PopularResistance.Org



The Left still has this binary thinking held over from the pre-1973 period when a very different Democratic Party existed.  In 2018, a defeat for the Republicans is NOT a working class victory.  We have TWO Wall Street parties, folks.  Not one.

De-Escalate Washington

De-Escalate Washington: 940, De-Escalate Washington.



This measure would require all law enforcement officers in the state to receive violence de-escalation and mental health training, as developed by the criminal justice training commission. It would require law enforcement personnel to provide first-aid to save lives and require law enforcement agencies to adopt guidelines for implementing this duty. It would amend the standard for justifiable use of deadly force by law enforcement, including adding a “good faith” standard and requiring independent investigation.