Blog Archives
UC Berkeley votes to divest from Israeli War Crimes…almost
“We’re still swimming against the current, but the tide is slowly turning in favor of justice.” That’s my friend Naomi’s take of the ongoing back-and-forth at UC-Berkeley over Israel/Palestine. Last month, the Berkeley student senate voted 16-4 to officially recommend that the UC Regents divest from two American companies (GE…
Of Writers and Warriors
Are we still not allowed to call this a recession? Last week, the giant NUMMI car factory closed down in nearby Fremont (30 minutes south of Oakland). Just like that, the last auto plant in California and only unionized Toyota factory in the country was gone. 5,000 jobs just at…
My Students are Superheroes
It’s true. This Saturday is the 14th annual Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam Finals…and it’s gonna be beautiful. I’ve seen almost all of the finalist poets, and this year’s crew is NO JOKE. Serious writers, amazing performers. If you come, you will laugh. Hard. You will cry. Hard. This show…
Jon Stewart is to Glenn Beck as Progressives are to…Lying Aryans?
After years of saying that “Jon Stewart is the best thing on television (after five hours of Sportscenter, of course),” I’ve recently come around to the theory that Stephen Colbert’s show is actually better. At least consistently. I think that’s because Stewart is naturally funnier, and so he falls back…
The Madness of March
The middle of March is here, which means that two of the greatest tournaments in America are currently under way: the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the slightly less known but no less competitive Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam . At Youth Speaks, we say “the point is not the…