Tonight (Thursday), a fundraiser to help defray Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos‘ Albuquerque expenses will be held at 5:30pm at La Zona Rosa. Contact the Travis Co. Democratic Party at 477-7500 for more info.

David Barsamian, founder and director of the progressive Alternative Radio syndicated series, will speak on “USA (United States of Amnesia): How the Media Construct Memory and Invent History” at UT on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7pm, in the Bass Lecture Hall in Sid Richardson Hall. Barsamian, winner of the ACLU’s 2003 Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism, previewed his talk by telling Naked City: “The litany of lies that the Bush administration — with a very willing corporate media — has spun is breathtaking in scope. At the same time, I think people are seeing through it, because it is so blatant … it’s propaganda that would make Joseph Goebbels blush. Why is public opinion in the rest of the world so dramatically different? Are they all stupid, or do they have access to other information that Americans don’t?”

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.