Ever since I first saw John Sayles’ film Lone Star in the late 1990’s I’ve dreamed about getting him to make a film about my parents’ case. One reviewer captured the essence of that film, which is set in a small Texas border town: “Sayles ingeniously sets this mystery against the backdrop of a developing, multicultural community losing its economic base while haggling over a history of racism. The overall effect is of a complicated American tragedy mitigated by the possibility of personal redemption.”

(by guest blogger, Ellen Meeropol*)

I did an MFA program to learn craft. Retired from my nurse practitioner career, I promised myself to my writing full time and had no plans to teach. But things happen and I started leading writing workshops. And - it turns out - I love it, especially with beginning writers who are more interested in exploration and illumination than publication.

After more than a decade there is finally some hope for the Cuban 5 - Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González who have been imprisoned since 1998. They were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. Four were sentenced to life and one to 75 years. The 5 were agents of the Cuban government, but were not committing espionage against the United States. Instead, they were monitoring Cuban exiles in South Florida who were plotting terrorism against Cuba.

Left wing families face a serious challenge integrating their politics into their lives. The pervasiveness of international corporate exploitation, consumerism and pacification through entertainment make it almost impossible to live progressive lives that are consistent with their values. Yet without such integration, it is difficult to create the essential culture of resistance and alternative vision that is needed to transform our society.

I just finished reading an AlterNet article by Bruce E. Levine entitled “8 Reasons Young Americans Don’t Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance.” The 8 reasons are: