Taking the Leap!

Since the end of February, it’s been an activist’s dream month, begun by former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Scott Ritter’s talk sponsored by Arlington UJP about the administration’s push for war in Iran. See his books Target Iran and Waging Peace.

Ritter is very engaging and sharp and has been truly courageous in standing up to superiors when they have been wrong. He spoke eloquently about the laziness of Americans and the need for more of us to be actively involved in the political process to take back this country from the corporate interests that have a sranglehold on us.

“We are a nation addicted to the narcotic of consumerism…”

I look forward to reading his books and further writings.

It’s been a week since I got back from the Take Back America conference in Washington, DC. I’m still digesting all of the great sessions and speakers. There was almost too much crammed into a short 3 day period, it was overwhelming and wonderfully recharging.

So many highlights, from sessions with Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine) & David Sirota (Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government–and How We Take It Back) to speeches by Bill Moyers, Phil Donahue, Norman Lear, Majora Carter, Van Johnson, Donna Edwards, Ariana Huffington, Robert Greenwald and others.

Here’s a similar video of Majora Carter, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, of Sustainable South Bronx, who won the Paul Wellstone Award at the conference and delivered one of the most powerful presentations given:

Norman Lear: I am a Born Again American:

Naomi Klein, David Sirota, Sarita Gupta, Rob Johnson discuss Debt & Debacle: America In the Global Economy: