On the Banks
Bretigne
- Location
- California,
- Birthday
- January 08
- Bio
- "Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks."
-- Will Durant
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I am a former journalist turned filmmaker, creative writer and mom. I am also a reluctant yogini and avid -- though not professional -- ballet dancer.
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You can see my films, books, and some of my journalistic writing clips here: http://www.bretigne.com.
MY RECENT POSTS
- Did Obama Let You Down?
There’s Still Hope!
March 05, 2012 03:29PM - Mere Anarchy Loosed Upon the
World
January 27, 2012 12:48AM - My List Isn't As Long As
Yours, But...
October 03, 2011 07:54PM - The Evils of Money
September 28, 2011 02:05PM - How to End War - video
September 23, 2011 07:55PM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “Al, I think you are
absolutely right. But what
kind of world
do we live in
where…”
August 22, 2011 05:59PM - “Amy,
Then I
guess the problem must be one
of comprehension. My
article
made it
pr…”
August 10, 2010 04:23PM - “Waleed, thanks for
pointing that out! I've fixed
it now.
Sorry about
that!
(And…”
August 10, 2010 03:05PM - “Judy, thanks for posting
this! I don’t know
if
you’re aware of the
l…”
August 10, 2010 02:18PM - “dgrdfg,
Re:
“That said, are you
*sure* Rand Paul doesn't
support
mass
murder…”
June 02, 2010 06:26PM
Bretigne's Links
- Me online:
- Break the Matrix
- On the Banks
Did Obama Let You Down? There’s Still Hope!
Three years ago, I wrote an article in which I made some very specific predictions about the incoming Obama administration. I wrote the piece in the form of a letter to my pro-Obama friends and said that by the end of his term, Obama’s administration would not look very different from/… Read full post »
Mere Anarchy Loosed Upon the World
My contribution to "Why Peace" is online today here. I hope it helps to clarify why I am not only against some wars, but against all war.
From the essay:
As I write this, my son is running around the house naked, even though I’ve asked him twice to put his
… Read full post »My List Isn't As Long As Yours, But...
So there are a few lists of demands and grievances from the Wall Street protestors floating around the Internet now. Those I've seen pretty much confirm what I've seen in the various clips of protestors that are circulating: That most of
… Read full post »The Evils of Money
This is a response I wrote to a friend's FB post lamenting the money-grubbing nature of the guy in the video below. My friend accused this guy of being part of the problem, so I felt compelled to write this. And then after doing so, I realized it kind of
… Read full post »How to End War - video
How to End War
Want to know how we can end war once and for all?
(Photo from National Archives, thanks to pingnews photo service.)
Important Soup (How I commemorated 9/11)
I was in Paris, walking down a street near the Champs Elysees. I came upon a French woman trying to explain something to a foreign couple. She seemed very agitated and I stepped in to help. Buildings in New York had been attacked, she told me in French, and I… Read full post »
Are There Any Arguments for Nuking Hiroshima?
I knew it was only a matter of time before someone wrote in response to my recent article "Remembering Mr. Miyamoto," to educate me as to why it is sometimes right and just to slaughter innocent civilians. I was fortunate in that the first person to do so was both articulate… Read full post »
Remembering Mr. Miyamoto
From my article on LRC last week:
"People don’t want to confront... that their government could have done something like this unless it was absolutely necessary. ...it’s almost like people find some sort of relief in the idea that sometimes you have to just… Read full post »
What's So Special About Cory Maye?
(Originally posted here.)
A few years ago, I was praying for the man in this picture. If you don't know who he is, just Google "Cory Maye" and you'll read about how ten years ago he was asleep on a chair in his living room, alone… Read full post »
My Dream for Egypt
This is a fantasy. I know that. So please don't write in telling me "it will never happen" or "the Egyptians aren't anarchists", etc. I know it's probably not going to happen. I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm saying I'd like it to.
What's happening… Read full post »
My Pre-Thanksgiving Wish
In war, it is widely understood that dehumanizing the enemy
makes it much easier to kill, brutalize and torture them.
What happens when a government begins to dehumanize the citizens
that live under it? What should those citizens expect in the
future from such a government?
We are… Read full post »
Privilege and Prejudice
From my article on MattCockerill.com:
I must have been six or seven when my grandmother, a schoolteacher, explained to me “when we’re talking about boys and girls together, we call them all ‘he’.” I loved my Nana, but thought it was the stupidest thing I had eve… Read full post »
"Saving Afghan Women & Preventing Genocide" on the Radio
I was interviewed onAntiWar Radio earlier this week. From the description:
"Bretigne Shaffer, author of the article “Saving Women and Preventing Genocide: The Real Reasons We’re in Afghanistan Now,” discusses the ridiculous notion of harmonious societies created by foreign… Read full post »
Saving Women & Preventing Genocide: Why We're in Afghanistan
From my article on today's LRC:
So now the cheerleaders for war would have us believe that they are more concerned… Read full post »
Remembering Hiroshima - Accurately, Please
Today is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, and for the first time ever, the US government has sent an envoy to attend the annual ceremony commemorating the attack. Don’t hold your breath for an apology though. The US government still insists that, w… Read full post »
Why Helen Thomas' Fate Makes Sense
From my article on Lewrockwell.com:
"Helen Thomas’ fate serves as a reminder of what we all know, and what… Read full post »
The Rand Paul Kerfuffle: It’s Not About Racism
In listening to the fallout over Rand Paul’s comments about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a few things stand out for me:
Am I the only one who thinks it’s crazy/… Read full post »
Tiananmen -- What Has Changed?
So my first thoughts, a couple of weeks ago when I realized what day it was going to be today, were “my God! Has it been TWENTY YEARS???” Twenty. Yes. Hard to believe.
I was renting a professor’s house in a small village next to the Chinese University of Hong… Read full post »
Loving the Police State
Abusive Power and the Culture of Obedience
(Originally published here.)
By Bretigne Shaffer
Published 05/07/09
"But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is o… Read full post »
Who Do Public Schools Really Serve?
If you're interested in finding out why public schools don't seem to be serving those they are intended to, my documentary on the Howard County Public School System's ban on student transfers provides a few insights.
The above description makes it sound a lot more dry than it is. What… Read full post »
An Open Letter to my Pro-Obama Friends
An Open-Letter to My Pro-Obama Friends
(Originally published here.)
By Bretigne Shaffer
Published 01/26/09
Dear pro-Obama friends,
I got a call from one of you the day after the election. You
were so happy. You had "not been so proud to be an American
for... decades!" You're living… Read full post »
Judy Mandelbaum
Kerry Lauerman
Joan Walsh
Salon.com