Verso Books, hailed as “America’s preeminent radical press,” needs your help! Go to the Kickstarter campaign here.
What is Verso Books and why does it need your help?
For more than fifty years Verso Books has been an essential radical publisher, publishing landmark books by Benedict Anderson, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky, Mike Davis, Norman Finkelstein, Nancy Fraser, Walter Rodney, and Edward Said.
Our world is changing quickly, from environmental collapse to the rise of right-wing political movements and new economic crises. What has not changed is Verso’s 50-year commitment to radical publishing – publishing books that challenge capitalism, patriarchy, and imperialism, and provide a glimpse into the radical future we can build together.
Since its founding Verso has been supported by book sales, allowing us to remain independent as the book business has been taken over by international conglomerates.
Verso Books for Fall, 2024.
But Verso now faces an unprecedented threat to its existence. In July we were informed that our UK distributor of many years, Marston Book Services, along with its parent company United Independent Distributors and its other subsidiaries, was beginning the process of filing for bankruptcy. The company entered administration on July 25, impacting not only Verso but a long list of independent publishers.
To learn more and help support this essential publisher, go to the Kickstarter campaign, running thru Oct 24th, here.
Seattle Focus: Speaking Out Against the “Progressive” Status Quo
The overall crime rate in Seattle is 115% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 16.14 daily crimes that occur in Seattle. Seattle is only safer than 7% of the cities in the United States. The lack of good judgement from the City of Seattle has left Seattle in a chaotic state to put it mildly. To quote from a recent piece by The Seattle Times editorial board: “Seattle is in a crisis of its own making, with soaring crime in parts of the city enabled by lax enforcement and prosecution.”
“Public officials have abdicated their duty to deal with this criminal cohort. Their failure is creating a citizen backlash that could erode support for all homeless programs. Homelessness should not be criminalized. But crime cannot be excused or ignored.” –David Horsey, The Seattle Times
That said, we here in Seattle who are left scratching our heads must also contend with so-called progressives who believe that if you have a problem with crime then you are part of the problem. Which brings us to the above video by local singer/songwriter Abby London which should help stir up interest in voting in Seattle’s primary election on August 6th. London has just released this video to help shape a new Seattle City Council. One incumbent has already stepped down and others are not seeking reelection to the Seattle City Council, opening a crowded field of 55 candidates. They are offering a diverse range of solutions to problems such as homelessness, housing affordability and transportation.
The Seattle Times editorial quoted above can be read in its entirety below:
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Filed under Commentary, Editorial Cartoons, Seattle
Tagged as City, Crime, David Horsey, Editorial Cartoons, Homeless, Media, News, Politcs, Pop Culture, Progressive, Seattle, Transients, Urban