history Archives - Macska Moksha Press

230+ Years of White Supremacy: “Prejudential: Black America & the Presidents”

February 11, 2020 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Cover of “Prejudential” (Photo by author)

The myth of US American “greatness” is not only a right-wing narrative. Liberals too embrace the concept that the nation is fundamentally good; certainly, they insist, our worst days are behind us and we can all be grateful for the progress we’ve made. Leading us on this shining path have been enlightened figures like Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, Carter and Obama, all of whom have sought to fulfill the promise of the wise “Founding Fathers” and their brilliant (even sacred) Constitution.

In her recently released book, “Prejudential: Black America & the Presidents,” writer and activist Margaret Kimberley skewers this fantasy. She takes on every president from Washington to Trump, with a chapter devoted to each. With the accessible, no-nonsense but pointed style she employs in her weekly Freedom Rider column on Black Agenda Report, Kimberley summarizes the words and deeds of the 44 men who have held the office. The facts are damning.

I consider myself a history buff and have read many books and articles about US history in particular, but there wasn’t a single chapter that didn’t contain surprises for me, in some cases big ones. Some of the things that were new to me:

Our Dire Need for “Creative Extremists”—MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

January 18, 2020 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

The following essay is adapted from my book, “Roadtripping at the End of the World” (Macska Moksha Press, 2019).

In the summer of 2018, while on a cross-country road trip, I stayed one night in a motel on the outskirts of Birmingham. Just being there brought to mind Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which I had heard of but never read. I was too tired to look it up that evening, but later I found a copy online and sat down with it. I was glad I did; though the text is nearly sixty years old, it expresses many lessons that are relevant today, especially for activists.

Virgin Prairie: Rarer Than Old-Growth Forest

August 26, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Purple Poppy Mallow (*Callirhoe involucrata*) – Photo by author

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Roadtripping at the End of the World.“

I was born and raised in Nebraska, but my curiosity about the native prairies was not piqued until years later. In September 2018, over twenty-five years since the last time I lived in the state, I finally visited a remnant of original, unplowed prairie, located outside the city of Lincoln and entirely surrounded by the farmland that replaced most of it. I was entranced by what I found.

Shooting the messengers: How plants are unfairly blamed for wasteful human water practices in the U.S. West

January 9, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

This is part two of a three part series. Part one can be found here.

Saltcedar trees at an undisclosed location in southern California [photo by KtS]

By Nicole Patrice Hill & Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Popular ideas are not always factual ideas.

When the subject is a particular “invasive” plant species, common assumptions about its undesirable impacts are not always scientifically documented or even true. Add to this an inherent bias in the field of invasion biology for interpreting nearly all effects of non-native plants as detrimental without considering the possibility of positive outcomes and you’re sure to get villains nearly every time.

Let’s look at two well-known examples of so-called “invasive” plants that are under the gun: Tamarisk, aka Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) and Russian Olive, aka Oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia). In the western United States, these two trees are now the third and fourth most frequently occurring woody riparian plants, and the second and fifth most abundant species along rivers. To eradicate them would entail destroying a significant amount of healthy vegetation (with no little amount of collateral damage to other flora) and would incur a hefty cost. Congress authorized $80 million for Saltcedar removal between 2005 and 2009, which included herbicide,[1] but that is pennies compared to what would be needed for everything. So the case for removal needs to be strong.

But the case is not strong. The main claims made against both species are that they a) push out native flora, b) monopolize groundwater, and c) don’t provide for native fauna. Saltcedar is additionally accused of increasing the salinity of its immediate environment. Yet these claims have never been proven and plenty of evidence to the contrary has been produced.

What to do at the end of the world? Interview with climate crisis activist, Kevin Hester

March 12, 2018 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

(Photo courtesy Kevin Hester)

Kevin Hester is an environmental and anti-imperialist activist living in New Zealand who is raising the alarm about the dramatic, planetary-scale changes that are underway. He is expecting “the imminent collapse of the biosphere from the perfect storm of runaway abrupt climate change and indifferent human hubris.” He regularly publicizes the latest pertinent stories and data on his website, kevinhester.live, and on his interview show, Nature Bats Last, on the Progressive Radio Network (which he took over from Guy McPherson, the well-known proponent of Near Term Human Extinction theory).

In January of this year, I spoke with Hester over Skype, as part of researching an upcoming (and nearly finished) new book. What follows is a transcript of the conversation, edited for clarity.

Sonnenblume: So I don’t know very much about you except that you’re an activist around climate change and specifically around abrupt climate change.

Hester: Correct. And also, I’ve been involved in anti-nuclear, anti-racist organizations all my adult life as well. So I’ve been in that whole spectrum of environmentalism and geopolitics, the whole gamut.

Sonnenblume: New Zealand doesn’t have any nuclear there, right?

Hester: Yes. Myself and my peers played a small role in that where we used to protest out on the water where the nuclear ships used to come to New Zealand. We’re a member of the ANZUS treaty (Australia-New Zealand-United States) and we fought the government into a corner and backed them up and got enough public support to have New Zealand declared nuclear-free. In the very early 1990’s. It was a really big victory for us.

Sonnenblume: And that’s still the case, right?

Hester: It is, but incrementally the government of New Zealand is making a rapprochement with the Americans. I would be certain that American ships are using our international waters for ships with nuclear weapons, and probably nuclear-powered. The government just turns a blind eye to everything.

Sonnenblume: Right. It seems like that’s kind of the story these days.

Hester: Yes. Subservience to the empire. Whatever America wants, America gets. They get it either officially or unofficially, from what I’ve seen.
Read More…

Hey White People: We’ve Got to Stop Claiming We’re Not Racist

January 2, 2018 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Collage by the author

I am White person born and residing in the USA. These words are addressed to other White people here. If I focus particularly on liberals, that’s because much of my adult life was spent in the Democratic bastions of Minneapolis, Boston, and Portland (Oregon).

One thing that People of Color have been telling us for years is that White Supremacy is something we Whites need to deal with. There is work to do on ourselves that only we can do. They’re right. It is in this spirit that I am speaking today, “between us.”
Read More…

Navigation