Thursday

WILL BRAUN & Geez Magazine, in Canada, pushing Christians to do the right thing

Will Braun


This Magazine
What Would Jesus Ride?
Will Braun Pedals Spirited Social Change


Ryerson Review of Journalism
Where Angels Fear To Tread





"Holy Mischief"

Published in the November 2007 issue of The United Church Observer.

Two years ago, a pair of Winnipeggers launched Geez magazine.

Their subversive take on Christianity is gaining popularity.







"The Geez idea is to acknowledge
the bitterness that many of
us feel toward elements of
Christendom but then to also
move beyond that bitterness
instead of wallowing in it.
__________
It's tough to be oriented
toward solutions and action
but that's where
the adventure begins."



"Obama told the rest of the world that
America is again ready to lead.
__________
"But what if we don't
want America to lead?"



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"I am
a Mennonite
farm boy
from
rural Manitoba."





THE
New American
Dream Interview




WILL BRAUN, 35, lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He is the editor of Geez Magazine.

"Editor is Will Braun, writer and aspiring farmer. His background includes advocacy and organizing around impacts of industrial development on indigenous people and lands in northern Canada. He finds inspiration cycling from one monastery to another. He has written for Sojomail, Znet, rabble.ca and Radical Grace magazine."

"Geez magazine is a quarterly magazine dealing with issues of spirituality, religion, and progressive politics created by Aiden Enns (Adbusters, Buy Nothing Day) and Will Braun.

"Geez won three of the Western Canada Magazine Awards (including the top recognition "magazine of the year") in 2007, and was nominated for two Utne Independent Press Awards in 2006.


"Because it’s time we untangle the narrative of faith from the fundamentalists, pious self-helpers and religio-profiteers. And let’s do it with holy mischief rather than ideological firepower.

"We’ll explore the point at which word, action and image intersect, and then ignite. So let’s blaspheme the gods of super-powerdom, instigate spiritual action campaigns and revamp that old Picture Bible.

"We’ve set up camp in the outback of the spiritual commons. A bustling spot for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

"A location just beyond boring bitterness. A place for wannabe contemplatives, front-line world-changers and restless cranks. A place where the moon shines quiet, instinct runs mythic and belief rides a bike (or at least sits on the couch entertaining the possibility)."


More about Will Braun:



_______________


The New American Dream Trivia Question:

To win something be the last one to correctly answer the following.

Will Braun would rather be ....

a. Fishing for bluegills from shore on an Iowa farm pond
b. Training for RAGBRAI
c. Turning wine into blood
d. Pope Of Canada For A Day
e. Slipping across the border at Grand Forks, mischief on my mind
f. Sending the Mounties in to drag Bush and Cheney back to Ottawa for trial



Answer:
I'll go with E. Wb


_______________





NAD: Will, hello, thank you for taking the time for this.

Wow. That is good stuff in your mission statement.

I guess I understand now that Jim Wallis is the Will Braun of the U.S.

Are you Catholic? Did you ever go to seminary? Where are you from?

What is your day job?


WILL BRAUN:
Thanks Mike. I appreciate your interest.

First on the Jim Wallis point he seems so wrapped up in the machinations of power politics that I'm less and less interested in what he is doing.

Anyway. . . .

I'm not Catholic though I think the contemplative tradition within the Catholic church has much to offer.

Many of the authors I have read are Catholic. But I am not Catholic. I am a Mennonite farm boy from rural Manitoba.

In terms of seminary, nope.

Formal education drove me nuts.

I love to write and read and think and learn, but I found that so much of university was not about learning.

I realized that it would be entirely possible to get top marks without ever having an original thought. So I moved on. But that's a tangent.

Re: my day job I work part time as the editor of Geez magazine, and the rest of the time I am at home with my one-year-old boy.




NAD: I tried to get to Winnipeg for a reading one time and got turned back at the border because of my prison record.

I really thought Canada was an option I had, an ace in the hole.

A place with northern pike growing on trees, smiling faces and free stuff.

But noooooo.


What do Americans just not get about Canada and Canadians?

WILL BRAUN:
Frankly, it's too hard to answer that question without being rude, so I'll have to pass.

I love a lot of things about Americans, but awareness of the rest of the world is not on that list (and of course there are exceptions).

And sorry that our dudes didn't let you in.




NAD: From what you write, churches in Canada must be as bad as they are here.

WILL BRAUN:
There isn't really a religious right in Canada the way there is in the US, but the U.S. religious right has huge influence among churches here.

Where I grew up they still play James Dobson on prime time radio every evening.




NAD: You have hope in changing, though, right? You don't just get mad, take your ball and go home.

WILL BRAUN:
The Geez idea is to acknowledge the bitterness that many of us feel toward elements of Christendom but then to also move beyond that bitterness instead of wallowing in it.

It's tough to be oriented toward solutions and action but that's where the adventure begins.

As for hope, I'm one of those people who worries that hope is too often understood as a luxury of the privileged and tends to supplant action that would change things so others can have better lives instead of us just having psychological relief.




NAD: Would you like to choose one of these to answer, elaborate on?

I don't ask this to make fun. I ask because I really seek the answers.

Are UFOs real?
Did we land on the moon in 1968?
Did Bush knock down the towers?
Was Paul Wellstone's death an accident?
The Oklahoma City bombing? Wasn't that just another U.S. government terrorist exercise? Or not.
Waco. We burned kids, right? You can see flames shooting out of the tanks. Or not.
Is Bigfoot real?
Is there a God?

I have friends in Minnesota who still drive around with Wellstone bumper stickers and I heard him speak once so I lament his death. But I just don't know much about the circumstances around his death.
_______________
In terms of Bush and the towers, I find it very interesting that the question has appeared in mainstream media in Canada from time to time. That whole thing was just too bizarre and too important not to ask the unthinkable questions.
_______________
And bigfoot . . . I've spent a lot of time with indigenous people and they have lots of stories about Bigfoot. I know people who have seen footprints. Those stories exist somewhere in a realm other than fact and fiction, and I accept them as such.

This probably doesn't speak to what you are getting at but ...




NAD: An aspiring farmer ... who bicycles from monastery to monastery.

That sounds intersting. How's that working out?


WILL BRAUN:
The long distance bike trips have been fewer since my partner Jennifer and I had a little boy.

Biking takes so much time which is great, but I can't just leave Jennifer and the little guy behind. But biking is about learning to live in smaller circles, so staying home is an important exercise in itself.

As for farming, we're hoping to make a rural move within the next year, and make some of those farming aspirations a reality.




NAD: Do you have hope in Obama?

Why?

WILL BRAUN:
Yes. Some things will change.

Why not?

WILL BRAUN:
But my hope is limited.

I frankly found myself getting annoyed at his inauguration speech.

The fundamental American narrative of striving for power and greatness remains unchanged. The sense of entitlement to greatness remains.

Some of the bravado remains. The fact that prosperity trumps pretty much everything still remains.

And the notion that God is on the side of America and that God wants American to be big and powerful remains. Obama told the rest of the world that America is again ready to lead.

But what if we don't want American to lead?



Do you give a crap about Obama?

WILL BRAUN:
He's too important not to care about.

The world breathed a sigh of relief when he was inaugurated.

That relief will quickly dissipate into reality but there is something significant in that.




What do you have hope in?

WILL BRAUN:
People getting together on the smallest local level to take responsibility for making their lives, relationships and communities more caring and compassionate.

I'm interested in everything we can do no matter who is or is not president.

I'm interested in all the stuff that Obama can't do for us.



NAD: Does your favorite coffee cup have words on it? What are they?

WILL BRAUN:
I don't drink coffee.



What did you absolutely have to get done by noon today?

Take care of the basic necessities of my little boy.

How about by Christmas 2009?

It hurts me to think that far in advance.

____________

About

THE New American Dream Feature Interviews

If you search the archives below, you will find, in a sort of order [last to first], interviews with:

Ben Heine, political artist in Belgium

Matt Sullivan,
editor of The Rock Creek Free Press

Sam Smith,
editor of The Progressive Review

Jarek Kupsc,
9/11 Truth filmmaker, "The Reflecting Pool"

Bill O'Driscoll,
arts editor, Pittsburgh City Paper

Gerry McCarthy,
editor of The Social Edge

Jim Cullen,
editor of The Progressive Populist magazine

Bartcop,
old-school blogger from Tulsa

Lee Rayburn,
radio show host from Madison, Wisconsin

Aimee England,
bookseller in Michigan

Al Markowitz,
poet for the working woman & man

Timbre Wolf,
a Tulsa peace minstrel goes to Hawaii

Steven Stothard,
a radical grows in Indiana

Dale Clark, an artist in the desert

Jacqui Devenuau, Green Party organizer in Maine

Don Harkins, co-editor of The Idaho Observer

Stewart Bradley, independent film producer

Rick Smith, Cleveland area radio host

William P. Meyers, independent book publisher, political activist

Ian Woods, Canadian publisher, 9/11 Truth activist

Richard D. Brinkman, Edmonton, Canada 9/11 Truth

Lynn Berg, New York City actor

Alejandro Rojas, of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network

Brian Kasoro, publisher of The Liberator magazine

Brother Raymond, walked from Denver to D.C., for truth

Korey Rowe, one of the producers of Loose Change

Dave Zweifel, editor of The Madison Capital Times

Cathleen Howard, expatriate, from Tucson to Mexico, to pursue her dreams

Sander Hicks, Brooklyn radical entrepreneur, writer, publisher

Joe Bageant, America's blue-collar author

Frida Berrigan, a lifetime of faith, hope and love

Denise Diaz, brewing up a revolution, at The Ritual Cafe in Des Moines

Deanna Taylor, Green Party activist, teacher, in Salt Lake City

Rossie Indira-Vltchek, writer, filmmaker in Jarkarta, Indonesia

Nora Barrows-Friedman, Pacifica reporter in Gaza

Delaney Bruce, Friends of Peltier

Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs

Michael Sprong, South Dakota Catholic Worker


Brian Terrell, Des Moines Catholic Worker

Bob Graf
, One of the Milwaukee 14

Loren Coleman, Bigfoot researcher

Monty Borror, Sci-Fi artist from Virginia

David Ray, Great American Poet

Jack Blood, radio show host, in Austin, Texas

Danny Schechter, A Real Reporter

Bob Kincaid, host, Head-On Radio Show

Tony Packes, Animal Farm Radio Host, Keeping An Eye on Big Brother

Richard Flamer, Working With the Poor in Chiapas

David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Truth activist author

Barry Crimmins, U.S. comedian, author, social activist

Bret Hayworth, political reporter for the Sioux City [IA] Journal

Lisa Casey, publisher of website All Hat No Cattle

Joe & Elaine Mayer, activist couple in Rochester, Minnesota

Fr. Darrell Rupiper, U.S. priest revolutionary

Whitney Trettien, MIT student, Green Party activist

Meria Heller, radio show host

Phil Hey, professor, poet

John Crawford, book publisher

Steve Moon, Iowa Bigfoot researcher

Carol Brouillet, California social activist, 9/11 Truth

Russell Brutsche, Santa Cruz artist

Kevin Barrett, professor, radio show host, 9/11 Truth activist

A'Jamal Rashad Byndon, social activist in Omaha

Chris Rooney, Vancouver, Canada Catholic Worker, website publisher

Marc Estrin, political novelist, from the left

Peter Dale Scott, poet, professor, author, activist

Anthony Rayson, anarchist zine publisher, works with prisoners

Alice Cherbonnier, editor of The Baltimore Chronicle, an independent newspaper

Wednesday

BEN HEINE — gives us a European's picture of the United States



The American dream is different
for each American,
____________

though I think it's always related
to material wealth and financial success.






I think it happened because Al-Qaeda wanted to show
the world that American supremacist behaviour
had come to an end.
____________
America was vulnerable as any other country.

I believe it was also a revenge
by the attackers and all their supporters
against American imperialism.





... But I was struck by
the Indian tribes reserves in Arizona.

This was quite shocking.
Most of the Indians have no social
help and live in total poverty.
____________
They become depressed and alcoholic
and they die very young.

They are treated like animals in a zoo by the "modern Americans"

(because the Indians only should
be called "Americans",
as it's their land originally...
).
____________
That can only happen in America.
I liked a lot visiting the US,
but I was deeply shocked by this.




This is a very old photo
(poor quality,
it hurts the eyes, sorry)
showing my nurse Odette and me
as a child when I was living
in Ivory Coast, Africa, from 1983 to 1990.
____________
I realize just now how pretty
and courageous she was.
I miss her.




I would say the American culture
is rich and fertile.
____________
The only problem is that
it’s too “self-centered.”


I teach French, English and History
in a Belgian high school.

This is very challenging and time consuming.

A few months ago,
I was working in a communication agency.
____________
I didn’t really like it.

I think we, artists, must accept
making jobs that have nothing related to our passion.





THE
New American Dream Interview




BEN HEINE lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.

He is a political cartoonist, caricaturist and painter.

He was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Ben studied Communication and Journalism at the Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales [Brussels], and Painting and History of Art at the Academie Royale des Beaux Arts de Bruxelles [Belgium], and at the Hastings College of Arts & Technologies [England].

He works as a freelance artist. (His website: www.benheine.com)


____________

The New American Dream Trivia Question:

To win something be the last one to correctly answer the following.

Ben Heine would rather be ....

a. Fishing for bullheads from shore at a farm pond in Iowa
b. Throwing shoes at Bush
c. Illustrating children's books
d. Illustrating NATO headquarters with instructive grafitti
e. Official artist beer taster non-monk dude at Westvieteren Trappist Brewery
f. Official muralist for Obama's White House




Answer:
g. a singer and musician in the south of Spain


____________


NAD: Ben, hello, thank you for taking the time for this.

Where do you think your passion came from?

What are your personal experiences of oppression, militarism, imperialism?


BEN HEINE:
My passion started a long time ago when I was a little boy.

I didn’t live in an oppressed country, I read about it in books and news articles.

And I do my best to denounce all kinds of social injustices, crimes against humanity, human rights infringements, racism and oppression with my pencils and brushes.



NAD: How long have you been making a living as an artist? You don't have a day job, do you?

Did you use to?

BEN HEINE:
Are you joking? Do you really think I make a living as a political artist?

Ha ha, no, I don’t. I do have a full time day job.

I teach French, English and History in a Belgian high school.

This is very challenging and time consuming.

A few months ago, I was working in a communication agency.

I didn’t really like it.

I think we, artists, must accept making jobs that have nothing related to our passion.

That’s stupid, I know, but that’s what society obliges us to do.

A good friend of mine and a very talented Spanish artist, Juan Kalvellido, used to work many years at Burger King and make his revolutionary political creations beside!



NAD: Would you like to choose one of these to answer, elaborate on?

I don't ask this to make fun. I ask because I really seek the answers.

- Are UFOs real?
- Did we land on the moon in 1968?
- Did Bush knock down the towers?
- Was Paul Wellstone's death an accident?
- The Oklahoma City bombing? Wasn't that just another U.S. government terrorist exercise? Or not.
- Waco. We burned kids, right? You can see flames shooting out of the tanks. Or not.
- Is Bigfoot real?
- Is there a God?

... What makes you think that?


Is there a God?
Yes, I think so. God is to be found in as many entities as there are human beings. This is just a personal opinion.

(Mike, I’m not a crazy philosopher, you are. J)



NAD: Let me see, how do I want to put this ... do Europeans give a shit about America?

Do we really affect your lives?

How about our wars, our government? Our movies, entertainers?

Or, do you have your own culture, exclusive of us.

I have never been to Europe, you understand.

BEN HEINE:
Very good question you ask here.

Yes, in my opinion, all European countries and people are very concerned about America’s decisions.

Many European countries are involved in the same wars (sad to say, but for instance, the Belgian government sent some troops in Afghanistan too…)

Many Americans used to be Europeans in the past.

American culture affects us in a strong way too.

We have all your big Hollywood movies in our cinemas. I’m not sure that this is positive because this is somehow a “brain colonization”.

And we actually don’t have much choice.

And yes, we have our own culture. We have our own movies too, ha ha!

Each country in Europe has rich traditions. Belgium is in the middle of Europe.

From Brussels, I can travel to Amsterdam, Paris, London or Berlin in just a few hours.

We all have different languages.

Although we all have different customs and standards of living, we still feel Europeans.




NAD: Do you have hope in Obama?

Why? Why not?

Do you spend time thinking about Obama? Bush?

BEN HEINE:
Yes, I have many hopes.

Barack Obama has won the presidential elections and I believe an important change is happening in America.

There is a new positive hope for Americans and for the citizens of other foreign nations.

I foresee a better future for America hence for the world.

There are a lot of expectations. And Obama might disappoint us in many ways.

But he will act differently than his predecessors and if he follows only 50 perent of his promises this will have positive consequences.

This election changed in many ways my views about America.

America is able to renew itself as no other country can do.




NAD: Does your favorite coffee cup have words on it? What are they?

What did you absolutely have to get done by noon today?

BEN HEINE:
My favourite coffee cup has a big heart on it.

I’m a lover and I drink liters of coffee everyday.

I must prepare the lessons I’ll give to my students tomorrow and answer to a bunch of emails.




NAD: What else would you like to add? What else should I have asked?

BEN HEINE:
If I may, I would like to put here some questions that were recently asked to me by Joe Szabo http://www.joeszabo.us/

(Joe Szabo is an American cartoonist, author, editor, public speaker and founder of WittyWorld International Cartoon Magazine. He is currently making a worldwide survey for his upcoming book on “The Image of America”.)



1) If you could think of one word that could describe the United States best, what would that be?

The US, as everybody knows, is a multicultural country. It is the fruit of the old European colonization. The practice of intense slavery gave the US African people.

Now, people from all around the world (especially from South American coutries)are coming to live in the US, because they consider it as an "El Dorado".

The US is a mix of nationalities, of origins and roots, that's, according to me, an explanation of it's cultural wealth, but also of the growing xenophobia, and the fear of the foreigner...



2) In its relation to other countries, do you see the U.S. as a partner, leader, or dictator?

The US is definitely a worldwide leader.

It is a strong democracy, thus not a dictatorship.

Since the "Monroe Statement", the US has decided to lead and not to be lead. The US is a partner for some countries (mostly European) but also has many enemies (mostly in the Middle East and in South America).



3) Many countries took the model for their own constitution, legislative system as well as economic and cultural development from the United States. Do you see this as an equalizer, a threat to national and cultural independence or do you view this as a common sense, forward-propelling factor for the rest of the world hoping to catch up?

I see this as "a common sense, forward-propelling factor for the rest of the world hoping to catch up." I am from Belgium. Belgium got its independence from the bigger nations surrounding it (Germany, France, Nederland...) in 1831.

It got its own Constitution, which was inspired from the US Constitution. We can criticize the use of this Constitution by the Bush administration, but I think that the US Constitution in itself is a true and beautiful example of real democracy.



4) Is there still such a thing as "the American dream?" And if so what is it for you?

The American dream is the search of material possessions as a way of finding happyness.

The American dream is different for each American, though I think it's always related to material wealth and financial success.

The famous "American dream" has evolved throughout American history.

It has become a symbol and an ideal.

The American dream is different nowadays and is more related to egoism, making money and pure consumerism.

I find it a bad choice. In some ways and for some people, it has become the "American nightmare".

Mike Palecek (an American writer living in Iowa for whom I made several illustrations in his recent book "Iowa Terror" : http://benheine.deviantart.com/art/Mike-Palecek-76144453) has just launched a new website called "The New American Dream" where he gives a new definition of it, affirming that one of the obstacles Americans need to overcome is the lack of curiosity about the rest of the world ... I can't agree more with him.


5) Why do people hate America?

May be because of it's arrogance though its a young democratic State in mankind history, because of it's violent way of solving conflicts abroad (Iraq, Afghanistan...), because many Americans just ignore what's happenning outside the borders of their country, because big US multinationals (Coca Cola, Nike, McDonalds...) invade and destroy the economy of several other nations.

In the Middle East, many Arab countries hate America because it backs Israel by giving money to the Israeli government and weapons to Tsahal (the Israeli army).

Europeans usually criticize specifically the Bush administration (not the US in general). They usually dislike Bush because they believe he is stupid and doesn't understand the consequences of his acts.

But the US and European countries still have a lot in common (same judeo-christian roots, similar culture, same way of living, similar political systems...)

I think the question is wrong. It shouldn't be "Why people...", but "Why some people...".

Americans are sometimes "paranoiac" and believe all the world hates them, which is of course wrong. People know North America is able to change fast.


6) About 59 million immigrants, including 11 million illegal aliens, live in the U.S. today. Why do so many people - some even risking their lives - keep migrating to the U.S.?

As I said in a previous answer, I think the main reason to that is the "El Dorado" ideal. We have roughly the same situation in Europe (many Africans try to migrate to European industrialized countries, most of them die on their way. It's a terrible situation.)

The immigrants (Mexicans...) coming in the US dream to earn more money, to have a great job, to live in a nice house, and to enjoy social/financial help. Some immigrants also seek asylum and consider the US as a better democracy, they are political refugees.

This is a totally wrong conception.

What they get instead is social exclusion, ghettos... America is considered as the richest and most powerful, technologically advanced country but many Americans do not earn a lot and live as "poor people".

All the world saw the growing poverty some American citizens after the Katrina disaster last summer.


7) Tell a story you heard about or experienced in the United States and of which you could say it can happen "only in America."

Well, a few years ago I visited all the Western coast of the US (and only Washington in the East). The landscapes, towns (Canyons, Yosemite village, salt desert, amazing hotels in Las Vegas, business in Holywood, Indians in Arizona...) hotels, food and people were great. I can't quote all the great things I saw.

But I was struck by the Indian tribes reserves in Arizona.

This was quite shocking. Most of the Indians have no social help and live in total poverty.

They become depressed and alcoholic and they die very young. They are treated like animals in a zoo by the "modern Americans" (because the Indians only shoud be called "Americans", as it's their land originally...). That can only happen in America. I liked a lot visiting the US, but I was deeply shocked by this.

I was also amazed by the "big dimension" of everything. Las Vegas is a particularly good example: Huge hotels with so many casinos ... In one of the hotels, there is even a reconstitution of Paris!

Along the streets, there are lakes with shows and spectacles to attract the tourists and visitors in the casinos.

... All the advertising lights, the smart limousines, the famous people.

Actually Las Vegas is an artificial town in the middle of the desert! This was beautiful to see.
That can only happen in North America.



8) Why did 9/11 (the terror attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon) happen?

That's very complicated.

The September 11 attacks were a tragic event in American history.

It was also tragic for the world. The so called "War on terrorism" launched by the Bush administration generated more dramatic tensions between leading countries. Instead of appeasing the world, it increased terrorist attacks worldwide.

I think it happened because Al-Qaeda wanted to show the world that American supremacist behaviour had come to an end.

America was vulnerable as any other country.

I believe it was also a revenge by the attackers and all their supporters against American imperialism.



9) How would you describe the American culture?

I would say the American culture is rich and fertile.

The only problem is that it’s too “self-centered.”



10) What is America's greatest shortcoming?

It's too "self-centered", blind to all the disasters that are happening outside its borders...



11) How is America different from your country?

My country is really tiny.

[J] The USA is huge.

We, as Belgians do not really consider that being Belgian is a “top quality” in itself. At least that's my belief. I consider myself more as a “citizen of the world” or a “European”.

I was born and lived 7 years in another country (Ivory Coast, Africa).

So I might be somehow an "exception".

I have the feeling that some Americans are so proud of their nationality that they don’t pay attention to what’s happening “outside”.

This is an important difference.



12) Would the world be a better or worse place without America? Why?

I don't know. What I know is that any other huge nation could make the same mistakes.



13) Describe your feelings, and emotion when you see an American flag.

I see a lot of colored and complex symbols…

Now the fact that it is so frequently displayed in public and private places (more I think than in other European nations) proves a certain fear of the American people to lose what they have had with great difficulty: independence, unity, freedom, democracy and power.

Although American people do certainly not interpret it this way, I think many foreign observers see this as a hostile and arrogant demonstration of authority, control, supremacy…

A flag should have a rational meaning, but the American flag brings a lot, may be too much emotion, pride and passion.



14) In your view what are the main goals of U.S. foreign policy?

I think the main goal of the U.S. foreign policy is to preserve national interests.

This is rather logical. But I’m convinced that this shouldn’t be the purpose of a leading nation worldwide.

A good leader normally helps as much as they can the weakest the poorest and the oppressed ones and do not fight only for their own interests.

A good leader promotes Peace and defends democracy and justice in its land but also in other lands. But it’s always easier to play with people’s fear.



15) How do you see the foreseeable future of America?

Barack Obama has won the presidential elections and an important change is happening in America.

There is a new positive hope for Americans and for the citizens of other foreign nations. I foresee something good for America.



16) What are America's greatest contributions to the world? You may give more examples starting with the most important.

There have been many contributions. Here are a few ones that I have in mind :
1) The progress and spreading of new technologies and applied sciences.
2) The proof that a country can have citizens of all origins, of all races, of all colours living in an apparent peaceful harmony.
3) The demonstration of the importance and effectiveness of the Constitutional democracy and the safe development of universal suffrage.
4) Freedom of the will for the individual.
5) Universal access to education and information

But all these positive contributions have been achieved with tremendous difficulties and after centuries. And I could evoke a negative aspect for each one of them. ( 1) weapons’ business, 2) Xenophobia, racism, 3) 8 years of almost “dictatorship” under the Bush administration…)

____________

About

THE New American Dream Feature Interviews

If you search the archives below, you will find, in a sort of order [last to first], interviews with:

Matt Sullivan, editor of The Rock Creek Free Press

Sam Smith,
editor of The Progressive Review

Jarek Kupsc,
9/11 Truth filmmaker, "The Reflecting Pool"

Bill O'Driscoll,
arts editor, Pittsburgh City Paper

Gerry McCarthy,
editor of The Social Edge

Jim Cullen,
editor of The Progressive Populist magazine

Bartcop,
old-school blogger from Tulsa

Lee Rayburn,
radio show host from Madison, Wisconsin

Aimee England,
bookseller in Michigan

Al Markowitz,
poet for the working woman & man

Timbre Wolf,
a Tulsa peace minstrel goes to Hawaii

Steven Stothard,
a radical grows in Indiana

Dale Clark, an artist in the desert

Jacqui Devenuau, Green Party organizer in Maine

Don Harkins, co-editor of The Idaho Observer

Stewart Bradley, independent film producer

Rick Smith, Cleveland area radio host

William P. Meyers, independent book publisher, political activist

Ian Woods, Canadian publisher, 9/11 Truth activist

Richard D. Brinkman, Edmonton, Canada 9/11 Truth

Lynn Berg, New York City actor

Alejandro Rojas, of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network

Brian Kasoro, publisher of The Liberator magazine

Brother Raymond, walked from Denver to D.C., for truth

Korey Rowe, one of the producers of Loose Change

Dave Zweifel, editor of The Madison Capital Times

Cathleen Howard, expatriate, from Tucson to Mexico, to pursue her dreams

Sander Hicks, Brooklyn radical entrepreneur, writer, publisher

Joe Bageant, America's blue-collar author

Frida Berrigan, a lifetime of faith, hope and love

Denise Diaz, brewing up a revolution, at The Ritual Cafe in Des Moines

Deanna Taylor, Green Party activist, teacher, in Salt Lake City

Rossie Indira-Vltchek, writer, filmmaker in Jarkarta, Indonesia

Nora Barrows-Friedman, Pacifica reporter in Gaza

Delaney Bruce, Friends of Peltier

Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs

Michael Sprong, South Dakota Catholic Worker


Brian Terrell, Des Moines Catholic Worker

Bob Graf
, One of the Milwaukee 14

Loren Coleman, Bigfoot researcher

Monty Borror, Sci-Fi artist from Virginia

David Ray, Great American Poet

Jack Blood, radio show host, in Austin, Texas

Danny Schechter, A Real Reporter

Bob Kincaid, host, Head-On Radio Show

Tony Packes, Animal Farm Radio Host, Keeping An Eye on Big Brother

Richard Flamer, Working With the Poor in Chiapas

David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Truth activist author

Barry Crimmins, U.S. comedian, author, social activist

Bret Hayworth, political reporter for the Sioux City [IA] Journal

Lisa Casey, publisher of website All Hat No Cattle

Joe & Elaine Mayer, activist couple in Rochester, Minnesota

Fr. Darrell Rupiper, U.S. priest revolutionary

Whitney Trettien, MIT student, Green Party activist

Meria Heller, radio show host

Phil Hey, professor, poet

John Crawford, book publisher

Steve Moon, Iowa Bigfoot researcher

Carol Brouillet, California social activist, 9/11 Truth

Russell Brutsche, Santa Cruz artist

Kevin Barrett, professor, radio show host, 9/11 Truth activist

A'Jamal Rashad Byndon, social activist in Omaha

Chris Rooney, Vancouver, Canada Catholic Worker, website publisher

Marc Estrin, political novelist, from the left

Peter Dale Scott, poet, professor, author, activist

Anthony Rayson, anarchist zine publisher, works with prisoners

Alice Cherbonnier, editor of The Baltimore Chronicle, an independent newspaper

Tuesday

MATT SULLIVAN & The Rock Creek Free Press


Scientists Find Explosives

in World Trade Center Dust




Wall Street Bailout Exceeds

Cost of All US Wars Combined


And you can throw in the New Deal,

Marshall Plan and Moon Shots as well




NY Times Complicit

in FBI Anthrax Coverup




Cheney Directed

Assassination Ring





THE
New American
Dream Interview




MATT SULLIVAN, 52, lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

He is the editor and publisher of The Rock Creek Free Press, a newspaper in Washington, D.C.

He has a degree in chemistry as well as graduate training in medicinal chemistry, electronics and computer systems architecture.
__________
"We distributed our first issue on January 23, 2007 at the great anti-war rally on the Mall in Washington. We distributed about 5,000 copies of the paper among the roughly 300,000 in attendance that day.

"The first year saw just five issues go to press; most for special events like the anti-war rally and the September 11 anniversary commemoration."

__________

Trained in chemistry at the University of Delaware he worked as a R&D engineer at HP before taking graduate training in chemistry at the University of Texas in Austin.

It was in Austin where he met his wife, Elaine, and also where he became involved with the nascent Dell Computer Corporation, where he worked for seven years, until 1993.

Matt now lives with his wife and son in his home town of Bethesda, a suburb of Washington, DC, since 1993 and has been involved in the 9/11 truth movement since early 2005.



"9/11 Activists
create newspaper to cover 9/11 Truth"

Rock Creek Free Press will release its first issue to coincide with the Jan. 27 Peace March on Washington. While the paper is not exclusively dedicated to 9/11 truth, it is one of the main topics we will cover.

The first issue has no less than five articles on 9/11, including articles by Webster Tarpley and Wayne Madsen. In addition, Cynthia McKinney writes about the need for impeachment, while Louis Wolf writes about the looming conflict with Iran, and much more.

Read it now at http://RockCreekFreePress.com.

Most of the first press run of 10,000 copies will be distributed at the January 27th peace march on Washington, but copies of the paper will be available to interested 9/11 truth activists across the country.

To get your copy, visit the RockCreekFreePress.com website and click on SUBSCRIBE. I will send you a copy of the paper at no charge and with no obligation.

We are already planning the next issue which will be dedicated exclusively to 9/11truth. We are designing that issue to be an educational tool for 9/11 truth groups across the country. The newspaper format permits us to produce an expansive and powerful educational tool at a very low cost. If that sounds like something your local 9/11 truth group would be interested in, please contact me through the website, RockCreekFreePress.com.

With your support, I intend to publish "The Creek" as often as I can, and make it available around all the power centers of Washington. Even if the Senators and Congress people don't read it, if their cab driver, the doorman, waiters, and others around them do, it can't help but have an impact. And who knows, maybe even congressional staffers and a few lawmakers will have the courage to pick up a copy.

Please visit the website and help support the RockCreekFreePress.com

Come to Washington this weekend to demand the truth. dc911truth.org has all the details.

Matt Sullivan, Editor@RockCreekFreePress.com



_______________


The New American Dream Trivia Question


To win something be the last person to correctly answer the following.


Matt Sullivan would rather be ....

a. The "Dude, you're getting a Dell" guy.

b. Riding the D.C. subway all day, this big smile on my face, it is awesome

c. Meeting Karl Rove in the alley behind the Lucky Bar on Connecticut

d. Breaking the story of David Ray Griffin as the Nobel Peace Prize Winner on the front page of The Rock Creek Free Press.

e. Ben Franklin, in the early days of journalism, fighting the good fight

f. Getting booked into the D.C. jail for sedition, moving over on the bench in the holding tank to make room for Dick Cheney


Answer:

I actually was a, the Dell guy... obviously not the one on TV, but I was one of Dell's early tech-support guys manning the 800 lines when Dell was getting started in the late 80's in Austin Texas.

Actually I think d. breaking the DRG Nobel story would be great.


_______________





"Unfortunately, I think the
whole political system in this country
is so controlled by the ruling elites
that they won't allow real change to take place.
__________
No genuine change-agent would be
allowed to rise to power and any that do,
like Paul Wellstone, are dealt with."






NAD: Matt, hello, thank you for taking the time for this.


... "graduate training in medicinal chemistry, electronics and computer systems architecture."


Dude, your day job must be king or emperor of something ... right?


MATT SULLIVAN:
All that university training and corporate work is in the past.

I worked for many years in the computer business, which is to say I worked in an office.

In fact the last five years before I quit that life I worked in a secure computer facility; locked in a vault, no windows, people had to be "buzzed" in and out ... I spent more time with machines than people, which I really didn't like.

I decided I wanted to get outside, so I quit that to start my own small business.

I now own a small construction business specializing in skylights.

Having my own business means my schedule is flexible so I have the time to work on other projects, like the newspaper.

I spend one week per month doing nothing but the newspaper and the other three weeks at my "day job".


NAD: So, in 2007 you started a print newspaper out of your garage to counter all the lies in the mega-papers in this country ... Don Quixote tilting at the Lincoln Monument.

How's that working out for you?

MATT SULLIVAN:
That's right.

I got so fed-up with my local paper, the Washington Post, that I threw it out and started my own.

The newspaper is definately the most interesting and exciting project I have ever worked on.

I have met so many interesting and impressive people and everyone has been so supportive of our effort.

It's been great.

I've met, or talked with famous journalists, like Paul Craig Roberts, Robert Perry, Kristina Borjesson, Wayne Madsen, and many others, who have been very generous and allowed us to re-print their work.

Everyone we have contacted has been so supportive of our effort, it tells me that there is a great need out there for independent honest journalism.

We provide an outlet for stories that otherwise wouldn't see ink and readers are hungry for it.




NAD: Would you like to choose one of these to answer, elaborate on?

I don't ask this to make fun. I ask because I really seek the answers.

Are UFOs real?
Did we land on the moon in 1968?
Did Bush knock down the towers?
Was Paul Wellstone's death an accident?
The Oklahoma City bombing? Wasn't that just another U.S. government terrorist exercise? Or not.
Waco. We burned kids, right? You can see flames shooting out of the tanks. Or not.
Is Bigfoot real?
Is there a God?


... What makes you think that?


MATT SULLIVAN:
Alright, before I pick one specific "conspiracy" from your list, let me just say that your list is very interesting and it is exactly the question of which "conspiracy theories" the paper should tackle that give us the most trouble.

Not all "conspiracy theories" are created equal.

Some are more popular, some have better evidence, and some have more believers, some are true, some are not; but from my perspective, as a newspaper man, the question is which ones have good evidence that we can make into a good article.

The paper has covered the OKC bombing in an original series of articles by Wendy Painting, and we cover 9/11 in almost every issue.

One conspiracy we haven't covered, that I think we should is the Wellstone tragedy.

I do think Paul Wellstone was probably targeted for assassination. The question is whether there is enough evidence and can we get a good article to explore the issue.




NAD: Print vs. online vs. sitting on your hands.

How do you pay for it?

MATT SULLIVAN:
At this point subscriptions are paying for about half of our printing and mailing expense.

Donations make up about half of the remainder, and I pay the rest out of my own pocket.

We are not a money making operation, but I don't think any start-up newspaper ever is.

I would be happy if we could reach break-even within a year.


Why print?

MATT SULLIVAN:
There are a lot of on-line publications out there.

But to actually put something on paper, to have presses roll and thousands of actual printed copies ship to all parts of the country and five foreign countries ... that takes a higher level of commitment than just posting something on the internet.

I think it makes it more real.

It also means that copies of the paper are indexed and archived in libraries including the Library of Congress. What we print becomes part of the official national record.


Who helps you?

MATT SULLIVAN:
We couldn't do this without the help and support of over a dozen volunteers here in Washington who help us proof read and edit the paper before it goes to print, and help us fold, stamp and label the nearly one thousand papers that are mailed to subscribers.

Most of the people who help with the paper are from the 9/11 truth movement, members of dc911truth.org.


How long can you keep this up? ...

MATT SULLIVAN:
We are into our third year of publication and subscriptions are increasing at the fastest rate yet.

At some point, probably within a year, the operation will become large enough that we will have to "professionalize" the paper and make it into a real business.


... What good has your paper done?

MATT SULLIVAN:
It is impossible to know the full impact that any of us have on the world but I have been amazed at the at the effect that the paper has had, sometimes in subtle ways.

We get fan letters from readers, and those are always fun, but even more heartening are the people who say they really like our coverage of health issues, or our history articles, but they don't completely agree with our 9/11 coverage ... but at least they are thinking about it.

We actually had a radio DJ here in D.C., on a sports radio station, spend about 30 minutes on-air ranting about a 9/11 truth article in our paper.

Wow, you couldn't buy better coverage if you paid for it and that has happened several times, and on TV as well.

It is extraordinarily difficult to get people to seriously consider something outside their comfort level, like 9/11 truth.

We have been more effective because we present 9/11 truth and other controversial issues in context, and show other examples, both historic and contemporary, of government sponsored false flag terror and deceit.

We have also developed quite a loyal readership among the local people here in Washington.

We distribute the paper for free in vending machines at most of the subway stations in Washington and they go quickly.




NAD: Do you have hope in Obama?

MATT SULLIVAN:
I hate to be critical of the guy [when he hasn't even taken office], but I'm afraid I don't have much hope for real change from the Obama administration.

That is based mainly on the team he is assembling, which is mostly long-time party apparatchicks, and based on the fact that he has signed-on to the Bush "War on Terror" doctrine and he is refusing to pursue investigation and prosecution of Bush administration wrongdoing.

Unfortunately, I think the whole political system in this country is so controlled by the ruling elites that they won't allow real change to take place.

No genuine change-agent would be allowed to rise to power and any that do, like Paul Wellstone, are dealt with.

That said, there is the small possibility that Obama could change, could break free of his programming and his handlers.

That is what happened with JFK, he broke free of the cold-war paradigm and sought peace with the Soviets, so he had to go.

The same thing, to some extent, is what happened with Nixon. He was much more liberal that his handlers wanted, so they set him up for a fall.

I think Obama knows the stakes, so I really don't expect him to stray off the reservation; but there's always hope.




NAD: Does your favorite coffee cup have words on it? What are they?*

MATT SULLIVAN:
Funny question: my favorite coffee cut has two cartoon animals in a tree and says:
There is nothing like a friend ... friends see things eye-to-eye.



NAD: What did you absolutely have to get done by noon today?

MATT SULLIVAN:
I had to send out emails reminding our writers of the deadline for the next issue of the paper and another e-mail to the local volunteers at dc911truth about our next meeting and to bring articles for the paper if they have them ready.


____________

About

THE New American Dream Feature Interviews

If you search the archives below, you will find, in a sort of order [last to first], interviews with:

Sam Smith, editor of The Progressive Review

Jarek Kupsc,
9/11 Truth filmmaker, "The Reflecting Pool"

Bill O'Driscoll,
arts editor, Pittsburgh City Paper

Gerry McCarthy,
editor of The Social Edge

Jim Cullen,
editor of The Progressive Populist magazine

Bartcop,
old-school blogger from Tulsa

Lee Rayburn,
radio show host from Madison, Wisconsin

Aimee England,
bookseller in Michigan

Al Markowitz,
poet for the working woman & man

Timbre Wolf,
a Tulsa peace minstrel goes to Hawaii

Steven Stothard,
a radical grows in Indiana

Dale Clark, an artist in the desert

Jacqui Devenuau, Green Party organizer in Maine

Don Harkins, co-editor of The Idaho Observer

Stewart Bradley, independent film producer

Rick Smith, Cleveland area radio host

William P. Meyers, independent book publisher, political activist

Ian Woods, Canadian publisher, 9/11 Truth activist

Richard D. Brinkman, Edmonton, Canada 9/11 Truth

Lynn Berg, New York City actor

Alejandro Rojas, of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network

Brian Kasoro, publisher of The Liberator magazine

Brother Raymond, walked from Denver to D.C., for truth

Korey Rowe, one of the producers of Loose Change

Dave Zweifel, editor of The Madison Capital Times

Cathleen Howard, expatriate, from Tucson to Mexico, to pursue her dreams

Sander Hicks, Brooklyn radical entrepreneur, writer, publisher

Joe Bageant, America's blue-collar author

Frida Berrigan, a lifetime of faith, hope and love

Denise Diaz, brewing up a revolution, at The Ritual Cafe in Des Moines

Deanna Taylor, Green Party activist, teacher, in Salt Lake City

Rossie Indira-Vltchek, writer, filmmaker in Jarkarta, Indonesia

Nora Barrows-Friedman, Pacifica reporter in Gaza

Delaney Bruce, Friends of Peltier

Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs

Michael Sprong, South Dakota Catholic Worker


Brian Terrell, Des Moines Catholic Worker

Bob Graf
, One of the Milwaukee 14

Loren Coleman, Bigfoot researcher

Monty Borror, Sci-Fi artist from Virginia

David Ray, Great American Poet

Jack Blood, radio show host, in Austin, Texas

Danny Schechter, A Real Reporter

Bob Kincaid, host, Head-On Radio Show

Tony Packes, Animal Farm Radio Host, Keeping An Eye on Big Brother

Richard Flamer, Working With the Poor in Chiapas

David Ray Griffin, 9/11 Truth activist author

Barry Crimmins, U.S. comedian, author, social activist

Bret Hayworth, political reporter for the Sioux City [IA] Journal

Lisa Casey, publisher of website All Hat No Cattle

Joe & Elaine Mayer, activist couple in Rochester, Minnesota

Fr. Darrell Rupiper, U.S. priest revolutionary

Whitney Trettien, MIT student, Green Party activist

Meria Heller, radio show host

Phil Hey, professor, poet

John Crawford, book publisher

Steve Moon, Iowa Bigfoot researcher

Carol Brouillet, California social activist, 9/11 Truth

Russell Brutsche, Santa Cruz artist

Kevin Barrett, professor, radio show host, 9/11 Truth activist

A'Jamal Rashad Byndon, social activist in Omaha

Chris Rooney, Vancouver, Canada Catholic Worker, website publisher

Marc Estrin, political novelist, from the left

Peter Dale Scott, poet, professor, author, activist

Anthony Rayson, anarchist zine publisher, works with prisoners

Alice Cherbonnier, editor of The Baltimore Chronicle, an independent newspaper

Blog Archive