Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nuclear Power and Protest

Posted on March 16, 2011 by David S. Meyer

The continuing disaster in Japan hasn’t closed the nuclear debate in the United States, even as many national political figures, including President Barack Obama, have been trying to invigorate the nuclear power industry. This is a social movement story. In … Continue reading →

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On Wisconsin: After Defeat, Activists Pick New Arenas

Posted on March 12, 2011 by David S. Meyer

When a door closes, start trying the windows.  A defeat in Wisconsin has spurred a new wave of activism, and advocates have turned their attention beyond the state senate. In the United States, when activists lose a battle in one … Continue reading →

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Investigating Religions: Congress, Muslims, and Terror

Posted on March 10, 2011 by David S. Meyer

I’m deeply troubled by the hearings in the House of Representatives that opened today, “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.”  Initiated by Representative Peter King, a Republican from Long Island, it’s hard to … Continue reading →

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Irvine 11 update

Posted on March 10, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Nothing’s happened, but there’s plenty of news.  Coverage continues this morning on NPR. Recall (post here): The Irvine 11 are students who disrupted Israeli ambassador Michael Oren’s speech here at UCI.  After facing discipline on campus, they now face criminal … Continue reading →

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The Hidden Camera: Technology, Testimony, and Truth

Posted on March 9, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Conservative hidden camera insurgent, James O’Keefe, has notched a victory on his own checkered activist scorecard, taking down the CEO of National Public Radio, Vivian Schiller, who resigned under pressure this morning. Pretending to be a potential donors (funneling money … Continue reading →

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It’s not just protest (Madison)

Posted on March 8, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Although those dramatic demonstrations, like the ones we saw in Madison, capture the imagination, by themselves, they won’t change a policy or a government.  Protest signals, supports, and coerces.  Changes in politics and policy depend upon how a broad range … Continue reading →

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More on the Phelps Family (Not much, I hope)

Posted on March 3, 2011 by David S. Meyer

At Slate, David Weigel reports that Michael Moore lampooned the Phelps Family and the Westboro Church nearly fifteen years ago, posting a video.  He also notes that Sarah Palin is angry about the Court’s decision, and has attacked it on … Continue reading →

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The Phelps Family and the Supreme Court

Posted on March 2, 2011 by David S. Meyer

The Supreme Court ruled today that vicious anti-gay rhetoric, deployed at unrelated events, was Constitutionally protected (8-1, Justice Alito dissenting). The tiny Westboro church, comprised mostly of Pastor Fred Phelps and his family, pickets military funerals and other public occasions, … Continue reading →

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Beck & Piven III

Posted on March 1, 2011 by David S. Meyer

NPR’s All Things Considered has come to the Beck/Piven saga, a story we discussed  a while back [see (II) and (I)].  Maybe this is getting to the tale late; on the other hand, once crazy provocative charges reach a few … Continue reading →

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Beyond Madison: Who’s Watching? Who’s Talking? Who’s Doing?

Posted on February 27, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Watch the crowd in a fight. That’s an old insight in the social sciences, stated pretty clearly by E. E. Schattschneider in The Semi-Sovereign People fifty years ago. The point: The losers in any political struggle have an interest in … Continue reading →

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