Additions

So we added "There Was No Rules At All: Stories from Vietnam" by Haywood T. "The Kid" Kirkland, but then we realized we forgot to add the RIOT GRRRL MANIFESTO. We recently got a chance to meet Kathleen Hanna (secret information: there's going to be new Le Tigre projects happening and she is awesome in person), so we've been meaning to add this for awhile. But here they are and spread the word.

Redesigning

This isn't gruel html, we like History Is A Weapon to look beautiful. It is for this reason that we are delighted to announce the improvement we've made to a People's History of the United States section of History Is A Weapon. For a whole book, it was too difficult to read chapter to chapter. Well, look at it now. Beautiful.

Additions

Added Tecumseh's Speech to the Osages (Winter 1811-12) and "Characteristics of the Early Factory Girls" (1898) by Harriet Hanson Robinson as transparent pleas for you to continue your work ending the wars and overthrowing patriarchy.

New Howard Zinn DVD and Addition

We make no secret of the fact that we like PM Press and twe're happy to share that they're coming out with a new DVD with Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky.





It is also worth noting that we have a new addition: "The Feminization of Earth First!" by Judi Bari. Enjoy and, as always, spread the word.

The People Speak

We made some additions to the site, but we have some even more interesting news first. History Is A Weapon is an anonymous site, but one of our participants had the honor of going to the premiere of The People Speak, a new film based on Voices of a People's History by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove.

It's going to air on The History Channel and, these are words we thought we'd never type on the History Is A Weapon website, there will actually be something worth watching on the History channel. The comments from the History Channel CEO were kind of embarrassing and the director was a little squeamish about the advertisers when it was done, but the film itself is a real piece of work. Combining a Who's Who of progressive movie stars and musicians with documentary footage and Zinn himself speaking, it's a real treat. History teachers, activists, and everyone else should basically set their TIVO for The People Speak. You won't be disappointed. One note, it was definitely weird watching this with the glitterati at Jazz at Lincoln Center, but you know how History Is A Weapon rolls: we're everywhere.

Okay, keep an eye out. You heard it here first.
We made a few new additions on the spurring of said delinquent History Is A Weapon operative, and added Marge Piercy's The Low Road (which was apparently delivered by a magnetic Stacyann Chin in the movie), as well as Nina Simone's Mississippi Goddam. We also corrected a few errors throughout the site and updated the Start Page.
Remember, if you come across any typos on our site, please send us an email letting us know (info in the FAQ). Now go link to us. The more you link to us, the more random people have a shot at realizing that HISTORY IS A WEAPON

Mobile History Is A Weapon

History Is A Weapon does have a small portal to the mobile world. It's at www.historyisaweapon.com/mobilehiaw.html and if you have a small screen, or just no taste and dislike our awesome book-style table of contents, then you can browse to your heart's content.

New Howard Zinn Front Page

A People's History Of The United States of America's main page at History Is A Weapon was re-designed today. It looks great. You should go tell people about it.

Documentary Is Never Neutral

We just put online our major redesign of Documentary Is Never Neutral. We're totally proud of it, thankful of re-designer Anna over at Left Palate, and slowly adding new content to it. If you're a radical documentary filmmaker type, interested in it, or know someone who is, come on down, the price is right, and check it out.

The 2000 Election and the "War on Terrorism"

So until today, the last two chapters of the most recent A People's History of the United States were never typed up. But now it's just one chapter that remains, because The 2000 Election and the "War on Terrorism" is online.

Where are the other updates? We've got stuff on the stove, kids, and you'll see it unleashed when it's good and ready.

A Question of Class

In the last year, as History Is A Weapon has become more widely known, we've been getting a little more email sent in. We try to respond to everyone in a timely manner and be as helpful as we can. In the last few months, we've been getting some email that we appreciate, but it peeves us a little. College students, they've been only college students so far, say great things about the site and then insist that we expand. We'd love to add more stuff, about first nation stuff, queer issues, more on gender, latino and asian struggles, but there's only so much time and we're trying to get other things off the ground. Besides, we're picky. They always close their emails with a pledge to help, but most of them disappear into the ether (with some notable exceptions who we appreciate greatly). We always respond with a "why don't you type up 'A Question of Class' from Dorothy Allison's Skin?" We hear such good things about it. Well, now we need to suggest something new to be typed up, because A Question of Class is here and it is excellent.

I could try to do it some sort of justice, but can't. The entire time I first read it, I annoyed the other person in the room with "you just have to read this! It's amazing." Well, now it is amazing and online. You should read it right now.

New Addition Poster

Oh, do we have a gift for some of you. Now don't go clicking all willy-nilly, but Anna over at Left Palate helped us put together a poster. So if you have access to something that can print 11 by 17 in color and want to help spread the word about History Is A Weapon, the idea and the website, go to our poster page and print up a copy. It's a bigger file, so don't hotlink it or anything, but we trust you.
Happy postering!
The History Is A Weapon poster page






Anna, who designed our wrapping paper, also made an early inspiration to competitor parody something that is perhaps best left described as little as possible. We think she thinks she is funny.

Two New Additions

Search parties have been sent out due to the lack of new additions as of late. So, we're sending up a flare with both Maria Stewart's "Address Delivered at the African Masonic Hall, Boston" and Elizabeth Cady Stanton's "Declaration of Sentiments". We'll probably continue on the down low for a little while, so check out old Left Palate and hold your horses. People are busy.

p.s. We've been getting more than a few emails lately about what Histories are missing from HIAW. While we agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments, you can always type them up and send them to us. We will post them (check in advance, obviously; we do have strict guidelines.)

Left Palate

The Left Palate Beta is going live. Some of us are going to be contributing to it. We love History Is A Weapon's blog, but we don't swear here, to keep the site as clean as possible for the various net nannies. We want HIAW to be accessible in libraries and schools. Left Palate isn't going to be our "place to swear," but it'll allow us to write more about what we're thinking about and looking at, what we're doing, and what we're considering. We invite you to check it out, tell your friends, and participate. Check it out at www.LeftPalate.com

Miseducation

So we wanted the post below to stay at the top a little bit longer, but we wanted to tell everyone about the new additions. Besides a house-cleaning of sorts, fixing old mistakes from the first readings, we added some links into our popular world map. Not all, but some of the locations now link to specific texts in the site about them. That isn't the big news, though. We added a classic text that frankly should've been on the site a long time ago: Carter Godwin Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro .
Now, before we suggest that you read our post below seeking assistance from PHP and Drupal people (or funds to hire someone), we'd like to voice a complaint out into the wilderness of the internet. We've been hearing Nina Simone in commercials lately and it is irritating us: Nina is ours, she didn't get the honor she deserved when she was alive with us, and we certainly don't want to continue the insult by using her powerful voice to sell a stupid car. Listen to her music, but don't use it in commercials.
Now read the post below and uh, go stop the war.

We're so sick of the internet.

Let's be honest. The greatest networking system in the history of humankind and the best we can do is post videos of each other whining about how the Democrats enable Bush. A million monkeys on a million typewriters collectively lamenting that a CIA agent was outed for political reasons. This is craziness. If every single CIA agent was outed - and sentenced to hard labor - it would be a good day for the entire world. Instead, we're exchanging crazy talk.
But we haven't given up on the internet. So many people visit History Is A Weapon, they link to us and use articles here to back up their online arguments. It's great. On top of that, we see ever so brief glimpses of what the internet could be: indymedia.org, protest.net, moveon (complain all you want, but it combines massive numbers of people into a fundraising and hissy-fitting might), campusactivism: the list goes on. Through the piles of silly online petitions and closed-circuit activist list-servs, there is the faintest sight of the possible future and it looks good.
The big dilemma is how to use online networks to build offline activism. Sure, we can advertise another march around another government building, but after more than a decade of connectivity we're reduced to forwarding grainy daily show reruns.
Well, our complaints are wearing us down. We want to make something new, something online and spectacularly dangerous. The kind of thing that takes over, changes everything, and skips well past hope into the realm of revolutionary possibility. Yes, it's ambitious, but none of us are getting any younger and while History Is A Weapon is great, the future is the terrain of choice.
Want to help? We need some friends who know Drupal and PHP. If you don't have that, send us some money so that we can hire some people who do (or at least buy a book or two on the subject).
We're going to make your favorite thing, we just need to get some coders who can make the brick and mortar. If you want to help, send us an email.
Update:We'll be leaving this post up for a while, so don't hesitate to respond even if it has been a few weeks.

Illustrator Wanted

History Is A Weapon is looking for a talented illustrator who can work on the cheap. Email thedirectorate (the letter A and then the letter T) historyisaweapon.com with a link to your work (subject line: HIAW/Illustration. We have a few small dollars (and presents!), but we're mostly looking for a fellow traveler who can hook up some sweet ink work on the cheap.


In other news, apologies on the dearth of new material. Be assured that we're not hibernating, but preparing the next offensive. If you, or someone you know, is down with the politics of the site and work in Motion Graphics or Animation, feel free to email us as well (subject line: HIAW/3D). No pay, but the awesomeness will scorch.

Plain Words

Added the nuanced and subtle Plain Words. It's a bit understated, but you know how those Galleanists were.

Updated World Map

We uploaded the updated map on US Foreign policy, mostly because the coverage of Bush's trip to Brazil has been so embarrassing. Corporate media is essentially offering a big "huh?" on why virtually all of Latin America doesn't trust the United States government. You have these completely inane comments from Washington scum who are like "well, we just haven't properly presented what we have to offer." You'd think that after a century of of the US government funding, training, and organizing death squads and ultra-right wing dictatorships who "disappear" any critics just as fast as they welcome in the Walmart and nike sweatshops, that most Latin Americans would have a pretty good sense of what the Bush calls "free trade" and "democracy^TM." I just picture these commentators laughing when they get off the phone like "geez, those idiots will believe whatever I feed them!" Anyway, check out the map.

We're going to keep updating this map, so if you have suggestions or want to copy-edit any of the countries, send us an email. We're going to keep doing this until we can "trick" someone who knows flash into teaching us how to make the map in flash. If you are that person or know that person, send us an email too.

Victor Jara

On the train yesterday, I was overcome with emotion reading Joan Jara's moving story of the first days of the coup in Chile, saying good-bye to her husband for the last time, and claiming his body at the morgue. Victor Jara, a popular folk singer in Chile and member of the “Nueva canción Chilena”(New Chilean Song) movement, was clearly a wonderful and courageous man and his widow's writing manages, despite the best efforts of the forces of evil, to bring him back to life.
The coup in Chile was the direct result of American intervention. The absolute horror of it is difficult to convey, but in her words, we can begin to understand the sheer wall of fear and evil. Kissinger should be in prison. Three chapters are now on History Is A Weapon. We encourage you to read them:
Three chapters from Victor: An Unfinished Song by Joan Jara
Charles Horman, an American journalist, was also among the thousand rounded up and executed after the coup. His parents went down afterwards to look for him and his father wrote an amazing book, Missing, that was later turned into a haunting film starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. If you get a chance to check either the book or the film, they're worth your time. I remember seeing the film when I was twelve or thirteen and reading the book soon after and just getting dazed. I'm always disturbed seeing Kissinger on shows like Jon Stewart.

An update

We were going to post something about rethinking activist strategies, but instead, we'll just strongly recommend Dan Berger and Andy Cornell's article Winning the (Anti) War and Rebuilding Political Imagination. But we think you'll be back. Why? Because we just posted the full text of George Jackson's Soledad Brother.

History Is A Weapon croissant

This is for the real History Is a Weapon lovers out there. Oh, just click here. Trust us.

Bill Moyer Movement Action Plan

Just added Bill Moyer's (not to be confused with progressive journalist Bill moyers) Movement Action Plan. Better get your slippers on, take out your notebook, and clear your schedule, because it is loooooong. No complaints, however, because Moyer gets to tackling the questions so many of us have: How do we fight and how do we win?