We aren't all idiots-News from the North Texas Progressive

Larry James of CitySquare named Peacemaker of the Year Dallas Peace Center also honors Texas Muslim Women's Foundation and Rev. Bill Matthews




The Dallas Peace Center (DPC) hosts its 24th annual Peacemaker Awards Dinner on Thursday, December 2, at the Double Tree Hotel, 4099 Valley View Lane, honoring Larry James of Central Dallas Ministries, Texas Muslim Women's Foundation, and Rev. Bill Matthews for their diverse and successful efforts in promoting peace, justice and human rights. Radio personality and activist Rick Vanderslice will emcee the event.



Larry James, CEO of Central Dallas Ministries (CDM), has guided his organization for 16 years, fighting poverty through housing, hunger relief and health care, and working to discover and dismantle the institutionalized systems that prevent the disenfranchised from advancing. James has said that his top advisors are the people he serves, and his willingness to listen to the voice of experience has made CDM unusually effective. Its revolutionary apartment building, Citywalk@Akard, provides formerly homeless and low-income people with high quality living quarters in a building that also houses moderate income residents. James's blog, "Larry James' Urban Daily" is a must-read for anyone interested in changing the social, political and physical structures of our city that work against the poor.



The Texas Muslim Women's Foundation was founded in 2005 in order to empower, promote, and support women and families through educational, outreach, philanthropic, and social services. TMWF participates in numerous community charity events, operates a resale shop and has an active youth auxiliary. In the next few years, the organization plans to open Sayyah (which means "shade"), a shelter for abused women of all faiths and races.



Rev. Bill Matthews has been a cornerstone in the Dallas peace and justice community for more than two decades. Possessing a special gift for bringing diverse people together in fellowship, Matthews as chaired or been a member of numerous boards of organizations that include DFW International, the Thanks-Giving Foundation, the Dallas United Nations Association and the Dallas Peace Center. He is currently working on a proposal to bring the Parliament of World Religions to Dallas for a 2014 conference.



Tickets are available at different levels. For more information contact Trish Major at 214-823-7793 or admin@dallaspeacecenter.org. To purchase tickets online, visit www.dallaspeacecenter.org.


Restrepo documentary on National Geographic channel tonight !

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, "Restrepo," named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

DIRECTORS' STATEMENT
The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take part in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at remote outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one's political beliefs. Beliefs are a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality.

- Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger




http://restrepothemovie.com/story/

Check you listing for channel 8 pm

Democracy Now


Chalmers Johnson, 1931-2010, on the Last Days of the American Republic




The distinguished scholar and best-selling author Chalmers Johnson has died. He passed away in California on Saturday afternoon at the age of 79. During the Cold War, he served as a consultant to the Central Intelligence Agency and was a supporter of the Vietnam War, however, later became a leading critic of U.S. militarism and imperialism. He wrote the book, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire in 2000, which became a bestseller after the 9/11 attacks. He went on to complete what would become a trilogy about American empire. Today we re-air part of our last interview with Chalmers Johnson from 2007.




Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/22/chalmers_johnson_1931_2010_on_the



Wendell Potter is the insurance industry's worst nightmare.


In June 2009, Wendell Potter made national headlines with his scorching testimony before the Senate panel on health care reform. This former senior VP of CIGNA explained how health insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, how they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, and how they skew political debate with multibillion-dollar PR campaigns designed to spread disinformation.


Potter had walked away from a six-figure salary and two decades as an insurance executive because he could no longer abide the routine practices of an industry where the needs of sick and suffering Americans take a backseat to the bottom line. The last straw: when he visited a rural health clinic and saw hundreds of people standing in line in the rain to receive treatment in stalls built for livestock.


In Deadly Spin, Potter takes readers behind the scenes to show how a huge chunk of our absurd healthcare spending actually bankrolls a propaganda campaign and lobbying effort focused on protecting one thing: profits. Whatever the fate of the current health care legislation, it makes no attempt to change that fundamental problem.

Potter shows how relentless PR assaults play an insidious role in our political process anywhere that corporate profits are at stake-from climate change to defense policy. Deadly Spin tells us why-and how-we must fight back.


Wendell Potter on MSNBC Discussing the Insurance Industry's Campaign against Michael Moore's SiCKO and Health Reform watch here

http://wendellpotter.com/2010/11/my-apologies-to-michael-moore-and-the-health-insurance-industry/

30 Media Heroes from Salon


Salon's popular "30 Biggest Media Hacks" list has resilted in them sponsoring a readers' ballot to pick "30 Media Heroes."
The response has been overwhelming, with votes pouring in via Comments at the end of the original story.
Voting ended this weekend -and final results will be announced Monday morning. Already it's clear that TV and web journos and pundits dominate, with little love shown for longtime print stars.
Here's the current Top 30, which naturally could still change quite a bit.

Leaders in approximate order (as of Friday morning):

1 thru 10: Rachel Maddow, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Jon Stewart, Amy Goodman, Bill Moyers, Keith Olbermann, Stephen Colbert, Cenk Uygur, Jeremy Scahill.

11-21: Chris Hayes, Arianna Huffington, Dylan Ratigan, Jane Hamsher, Paul Krugman, Bill Maher, Chris Hedges, Greg Mitchell, Digby, Frank Rich




http://www.thenation.com/authors/greg-mitchell

...of this award. I have known of this organization for a long time, and truly believe they are doing a magnificent job of helping those in need to work their way out of the hole of destitution, ill-health, and all the other ramifications of being in poverty. There are other cities who have started similar works in Texas, inspired by the Dallas example, that I know of, Austin, and San Antonio.