October 28, 2015

The Richest 1% by 2016 ~

October 27, 2015

GDP and Unity

Sigh.

Ok, they want loyalty oaths. I'm willing to unite with all other Sanders supporters. We can all vote to keep Capitalism going but with drastic changes that will help the drowning working class. It's not my first choice - I'd prefer a socialist society - but I understand compromise and want to unite. I wonder how many on DU are willing to unite with the same goal: elect Bernie Sanders?

👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦👨?👨?👦

October 27, 2015

How I got redder and redder

If you think capitalism is one big atrocity, it makes sense to organize with people who think so too.

How I got redder and redder - by Joel Reinstein, Ann Arbor, Michigan
October 27, 2015

ONE OF my first political memories is of being in my parents' bedroom, listening to something about Bill Clinton and George Bush on the radio. My parents explained to me that Clinton was the good guy and Bush was racist, and from then on out, I was ready to go.

(snip)

I've changed my mind a little since then. From reading horrifying investigative reports in Harper's magazine and Mother Jones to bewildering conversations with enigmatic older friends – one told me "public schools were created so workers could read instruction manuals," and I thought he was a right-winger – to classes in feminist philosophy and Afrocentric pedagogy with a proudly socialist professor, I kept getting redder.

After a couple years as an armchair anarchist, I was standing outside a Coup show when someone invited me to Detroit for an International Socialist Organization meeting. They had an agenda, took stack, spoke with sharp focus, and engaged seriously with the task of organizing to fight police racism in Detroit. It was like they actually intended to overthrow capitalism, to get even instead of mad ...

More here: http://socialistworker.org/2015/10/27/how-i-got-redder-and-redder

October 27, 2015

RELEASE EVENT: RED ROSA

Mainly for NY area peeps, but the rest of us will figure out how to order it!

Rosa Luxemburg is one of the foremost political thinkers of the 20th century. Her philosophy of socialism and democracy was present in every aspect of her life—her work as an economist and educator, her activism against war and socioeconomic injustice, her relationships with friends and lovers.

Red Rosa, a new graphic novel by Kate Evans, published by Verso Books in collaboration with the RLS–NYC, opens up Luxemburg’s intellectual world to a new audience, grounding her ideas in the realities of an inspirational and deeply affecting biography.

Join us at Verso Books on Thursday night, November 5, to celebrate the release of Red Rosa with a special event featuring Kate Evans and New York-based artist and writer Molly Crabapple. Evans will open the event with a presentation about the process of creating this graphic novel. She will then be joined by Crabapple for a dialogue about what it means to be a political feminist graphic artist in this day and age.

There's a link for RSVPs here: http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/red-rosa/

October 26, 2015

Iowa Caucus Poll

CBS has Hillary ahead of Bernie by 3% --> http://2016iowacaucus.com/hillary-retakes-lead-over-sanders-cbs-newsyougov-poll/

BUT there is also an online poll on that page for folks who find the website and vote --> he's beating her by 15% there (go vote!!)

This is going to come down to turn-out, y'all.

Hoping the millennials come through for us.

October 25, 2015

Bernie and 14 Elections

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With thanks to: Women for Bernie Sanders 2016 (Facebook Page - go like them)

Also, here is their Facebook page with a ton of resources: http://www.women4bernie.us/

October 23, 2015

My Turn: The time has come for real change

(Posted on Bernie's facebook page an hour ago - he has not given up and neither should we!!!)

We are a much greater nation because these presidents took on powerful special interests and acted on behalf of the American people. That’s what we have to do today.

by Sen. BERNIE SANDERS For the Monitor - Oct 21, 2015

The American people understand that our current economic system is rigged, and that our campaign finance system is corrupt. They know that while the very rich get much richer, millions of Americans work longer hours for lower wages, and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth.

In the last 30 years there has been a massive redistribution of wealth in the United States. Unfortunately, it has gone in the wrong direction. Trillions of dollars have flowed from the pockets of working families into the bank accounts of the top 1 percent. Meanwhile, billionaires and large corporations continue to exploit tax loopholes their lobbyists created, while Republican presidential candidates fight for even more tax breaks for the people who need them the least.

Now is the time for bold action to rebuild our disappearing middle class. Now is the time to protect the most vulnerable members of our society – the elderly, the disabled and the children. Now is the time to demand that the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations accept their responsibilities as Americans and pay their fair share of taxes ...

More here: https://politics.concordmonitor.com/2015/10/opinion/my-turn-the-time-has-come-for-real-change/

October 23, 2015

Leaking the Drone War

A courageous new whistleblower has revealed the terrible extent of President Obama’s drone program.
by Nicole Colson ~ 10.23.15

For fourteen years, America has relied on drone warfare as a key method for carrying out the so-called “war on terror.” But aside from occasional news stories about another botched bombing that killed civilians instead of the intended targets, little information has ever been made available about the inner workings of the drone warfare program.

Until now.

Last week, the Intercept website published a series of articles titled “The Drone Papers,” based on a trove of leaked documents from an unnamed whistleblower who is reportedly a member of the intelligence community and worked on the programs described in the files. As journalist Jeremy Scahill, one of the lead authors, explained: "The series is intended to serve as a long-overdue public examination of the methods and outcomes of America’s assassination program . . . The public has a right to see these documents not only to engage in an informed debate about the future of US wars, both overt and covert, but also to understand the circumstances under which the US government arrogates to itself the right to sentence individuals to death without the established checks and balances of arrest, trial, and appeal."

While drone warfare was used under George W. Bush, it has arguably become the chief weapon of the “war on terror” under Barack Obama — used to hunt down and kill those deemed to be terrorist threats around the globe ...

Much more here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/10/drone-war-obama-intercept-leak-yemen-pakistan-war-on-terror/

October 21, 2015

The "invisible primary" -

This is what I am reading today in the NYTimes:

These people (Nate Cohen, NYTimes, et al) are on drugs. Seriously. There is no "coalition" coming together for Hillary- we all want Bernie. The majority on DU want Bernie. The only folks who don't want Bernie are crazy republicans, republican lights (aka third way), and their media minions.

October 20, 2015

The Man Behind the Dragon Tattoo

Former Internationalen editor Håkan Blomqvist on the socialist politics of his colleague Stieg Larsson.
by Håkan Blomqvist 10-20-15

Stieg’s last article for Internationalen in 1988 — entitled “Glasnost in the streets of Moscow. Like a warm wind” — expressed the Trotskyist hope for democratic socialism in Soviet Union. Socialistiska partiet and its predecessors had always supported radical democratic movements in the Eastern bloc, from the Prague Spring of 1968 to clandestine Soviet trade unions and Solidarnosc in Poland.

"The enlightened socialism and political passion of Stieg Larsson is not possible to fake.” These are the concluding thoughts of an article in one of Sweden’s largest liberal newspapers discussing the publication of a fourth book in Larsson’s Millennium series.

Stieg didn’t write the book, of course — his life was cut short by a heart attack in 2004. Instead a new author penned the additional volume, much to the consternation of Stieg’s companion of thirty-five years, Eva Gabrielsson, his personal friends, and others who have accused the project of being grotesque, immoral, and plain “grave robbery.”

Norstedts, the publishing house, contends that it is not unusual for a new writer to continue the work of a popular series of novels — the Millennium books have sold 80 million copies, the largest circulation of any Swedish author. Together with the films, the “Millennium industry” has yielded roughly $500 million, with about $60 million going to Stieg’s father and brother.

But Stieg was not just an author of popular detective novels. He was a socialist activist and throughout his short life fought racism, sexism, and social injustice. “The commercialization of Stieg’s work goes against everything he stood for,” says Gabrielsson ...

Much more here - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/10/stieg-larsson-girl-with-dragon-tattoo-millennium-eva-gabrielsson/