Frank's 47% Song

From Frank Gallagher and Joe Wurth of Northwest Iowa "recorded September 28, 2012 in Terry's basement," Frank's 47% Song.

Bartender

The heroic cameraman who taped Mitt Romney's 47 percent remarks at the infamous $50,000. per plate fundraiser has stepped forward.  It was, indeed, the bartender who "done it," as many suspected.

In an interview with MSNBC's Ed Schultz, whistle blower Scott Prouty said he brought his camera to the event because of a prior fundraiser photo op with Bill Clinton, who went into the kitchen afterwards and stood for pictures with staff.  Cameras were not excluded from either occasion. 

He told Mr. Schultz that when he brought a camera to the event, he had not yet decided that he would film all of Mr. Romney’s remarks, or release them publicly.

It was Mr. Romney’s comments about a factory in China, where he expressed amazement at the willingness of Chinese workers to undertake jobs under harsh conditions, that convinced Mr. Prouty to release the video.

“He just wandered through this horrendous place and thought to himself, ‘this is pretty good,’” Mr. Prouty said. “If you typed in Mitt Romney into Google, my goal was to have that clip, that China clip, pop up,” he said.

Below, the full interview with Ed Schultz.

Mr. Prouty states, "You shouldn't have to be able to afford 50,000 dollars to hear what the candidate actually thinks."  And, "I don't think he has any clue what a regular American goes through on a daily basis."
 

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Funeral For Our Future

Via Common Dreams, twenty-six protesters were arrested outside a TransCanada office Monday in Westborough, Massachusetts.  Staging a "Funeral For Our Future," protesters carried a coffin representing the future and sang, "They are digging us a hole, six feet underground, where the pipelines will go."

 

The demonstration is part of a lead-up to national actions against the pipeline March 16th-24th.  

Activist Isabel Arthen stated:

“The total carbon contained in Canada’s tar sands exceeds all the oil burned in human history. If we develop these incredibly dirty fossil fuels, my future will be marked by superstorms, untold numbers of climate refugees and climate-related deaths, and ultimately an uninhabitable planet. The planet is already the hottest it’s been in 4000 years. How hot will it be when the Keystone pipeline delivers over 800,000 barrels of tar sands a day? We must stop it. We will stop it.”

Social Safety Net

An opinion piece from Thom Hartmann on Hugo Chavez and the primary importance of a sturdy social safety net.

 

Poetry

The late Jayne Cortez in two pieces performed at the Sanctuary For Independent Media in Troy, New York in October, 2010, and in A Dialogue Between Voice And Drum, with drummer Denardo Coleman.  The Sanctuary describes her work celebrated "for its political, surrealistic and dynamic innovations in lyricism and visceral sound."

The first selection, Find Your Own Voice.



The second selection, I'm Gonna Shake. 
 

No Nukes

Reuters reports thousands of protesters in Tokyo Sunday decrying nuclear energy.  Today is the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear powerplant disaster in twenty-five years.

*Photo credit/courtesy of Reuters/photographer: Issei Kato/"No Nukes" protesters in Japanese capital Sunday.

Legacy

Over two million people turned out in the streets of Caracas Friday for the funeral of the late President Hugo Chavez.

 

The funeral was attended by dignitaries throughout Latin America, including Bolivia's President Evo Morales. Like Venezuela, Bolivia has declared a 7 day period of mourning for the late President who died Tuesday after a two year fight against cancer.



More here and here and here on the life and legacy of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Saturday Update:

Below, excerpts from the ceremonies, including a speech made by Nicolas Madura.  The vice president was sworn into office friday, with another election slated in a month.  Prior to his death, President Chavez announced the vice president as his preferred successor.  

President Madura stated, "All of our commander’s life has been a testament.  His words, his passions, his work, his people, the people of Venezuela, is his testament."  He continued, saying that Chavez left behind a system of primarily five principles and values:

The first is to maintain the independence and achievements of this popular Bolivarian revolution.  The second objective is to construct our own socialism; diverse, democratic, and Latin American rooted.  The third, to project Venezuela as part of a more powerful Latin America, that will be constructed in the next few years.  We see that represented here in the diversity of presidents who attended this ceremony.  Number four is to construct a world of balance, of Bolivarian balance without empires.  The fifth objective is a historic one:  to contribute to the preservation of the planet and the survival of the human race.   

The ceremony was punctuated by the many world dignitaries and groups lining up around the late president's casket for a moment of silence.

From the United States, Reverend Jesse Jackson attended ceremonies and said a prayer:

Today we are here not because Hugo Chavez died, but because he lived.  We pray God that today that you will heal the breach between the U.S. and Venezuela.

Actor Sean Penn was also seen in attendance; he joins a number of American activists and film figures such as Michael Moore, Danny Glover, and director Oliver Stone in hailing Hugo Chavez, in the words of Mr. Glover, "as a social champion of democracy, material development, and spiritual well-being."