HAPPY 4th OF JULY! JESSE HELMS HAS DIED!

• Anti-integrationist
  
• Opposed Martin Luther King day
  
• Name is on the Helms-Burton act, the centerpiece of the embargo against Cuba
  
• against ALL Affirmative Action programs
  
• voted to bail out the savings and loan industry AND to slash school lunches for impoverished children, medical care for disabled veterans, prescription drugs for the elderly, and wages for working families
  
• absolutely hated all gay people
  
• supported apartheid in South Africa
  
• From a Mother Jones article

  a staunch ally of right-wing military rulers like Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Raoul Cedras in Haiti, and Roberto D'Aubuisson in El Salvador. Confronted with evidence that D'Aubuisson directed death squads to murder civilians, Helms made it clear that some things are more important than human life. "All I know," he replied, "is that D'Aubuisson is a free enterprise man and deeply religious."

• Routinely fought against AIDS research from the beginning, blaming people suffering from the disease for it.
  
• In 1993, sang Dixie to the first african american senator, Carol Mosely-Braun, and promised to make her "cry."
  
• Hell burns hotter tonight!
  

The 4th of july is coming up.

Every year, the fourth of July comes up and the empire celebrates revolution. The contradiction annoys a lot of us, but something else happens: a lot of people come to History Is A Weapon and read The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass. Read it, forward it to your friends, and enjoy your Fourth. We may be a small axe, but the big tree will know soon enough, we're sharp and ready and, soon enough, it'll fall.

George Carlin RIP

From Carlin's Obituary in the always disappointing New York Times:

Although some criticized parts of his later work as too contentious, Mr. Carlin defended the material, insisting that his comedy had always been driven by an intolerance for the shortcomings of humanity and society. “Scratch any cynic,” he said, “and you’ll find a disappointed idealist.”

Still, when pushed to explain the pessimism and overt spleen that had crept into his act, he quickly reaffirmed the zeal that inspired his lists of complaints and grievances. “I don’t have pet peeves,” he said, correcting the interviewer. And with a mischievous glint in his eyes, he added, “I have major, psychotic hatreds.”

Carlin will be missed.

Utah Phillips RIP

The great folksinger and storyteller, Utah Phillips, passed away a few days ago. With the passing of Rosalyn Zinn in the last week, this has been a crummy week. Our condolences with the family.

Roslyn Zinn

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of painter/activist/teacher Roslyn Zinn. While we may only know her through the glimpses, her participating in the stories of Howard's life, the mentions in his talks, for those of us who didn't know her personally, her deepest impact is through his work. Her obituary in The Boston globe quotes Howard Zinn saying:

"I never showed my work to anyone except her, because she was such a fine editor," he said. "She had such a sensibility about what worked, what read well, what was necessary, what was redundant."

As someone who works in media production, I know that there is always more than the single author or director guiding the final vision. As one of the many people who has been profoundly impacted by this body of work, I mourn her passing. Our prayers are with her family and friends.