FROM THE BARRICADES FOR 4/11/09

Posted by Jon Pike Apr 11, 2009

Life, and blogging is sometimes funny. I had fully intended another subject for my main column this week, and then the news changed my mind. In all of my articles, I have now written about protest actions surrounding the state of the US economy three times. I fully expect to be writing about this issue many more times before I’m through. People are frustrated. Unlike previous decades there seems to be a greater faith in collective action. I find this heartening, not only because I write about activism and that gives me grist for my articles, but we are a country based on voluntary association. I’m happy we’re turning to each other to vent our collective spleens. I think its healthy.

Here’s what I see happening on the activism horizon these days on some other fronts:

I may finally get around to writing about the activism on the evolution/creationism front. My major grist for this issue is the blog of biologist at tiny University of Minnesota-Morris, Dr. P.Z. Meyers. Meyers is becoming a major celebrity because of his blogging and activism on the atheism and evolution fronts.

It looks like there’s considerable activity on the gay marriage/civil unions front. The anti-gay marriage people have launched a serious TV ad campaign on this issue.

Being a media maven, I would like to pen an article on media activism one of these days, soon. I almost wrote a column this week on an unusual protest against a TV network. A group of media activists petitioned CNBC to do its business differently. You may recall that a number of CNBC personalities, such as Jim Cramer were very bullish on a number of financial stocks that went belly up and helped precipitate the recent financial crisis. The media activists petitioned CNBC to be less promotional and more journalistic in its coverage of the economy. They were lobbying a news organization, to be more journalistic.

Well, as you can see, that story came close to, but did not become the article this week. I guess this is what this blog is for, to write about the activism that doesn’t make the main column, but does have its interest and that people can read about.

I would like to do something about the greater number of non-profit news organizations that are springing up. I just don’t know if that necessarily counts as activism. Well. As always, we’ll see what the week brings.