The North Star Steering Committee invites you to participate in an interactive North Star member Zoom meeting to discuss how we can take action, both inside DSA and with other progressive organizations, to build the united resistance to Donald Trump’s election, keep the Senate Democratic, and flip the House. Topic: NS Decisions and action plan. Time: Mar 20, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88190781674? us02web.zoom.us/j/88190781674? pwd=YktYWlM2NUNNL3B0K3JTcE5aSlpOUT09 Meeting ID: 881 9078 1674us02web.zoom.us/j/88190781674? Passcode: 764920 Please join us.
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The primary is over. This is it. The election will once again be between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And, frighteningly, at this point most polls have Trump in the lead. The question we now face is a simple one. How do we defeat Trump and his right-wing extremist allies in the House and Senate? How do we elect more Progressives to Congress? And, frankly, the answer is complicated by the reality that the Democratic establishment is ill-prepared to do that. They have relatively little support within the working class. Their support among the Latino community is declining. And they are even seeing a drop In support from the Black community - historically the Democrats strongest base of support. Their support among young people is declining. The Democrats are also weak in terms of generating grass-roots activism or excitement. We have to do things differently. While most Democrats will focus their attention on Trump's indictments, his insults and outrages, our job is to be laser-focused in reminding people of the fraud and pathological liar for working people we all know Trump to be. For instance: This is a president, Donald Trump, who said he was going to provide health care to everyone, yet tried to throw 32 million people off of health care and has pledged to continue to try and accomplish that goal. This is a president who said he was going to stand up for working families and who promised to pass tax reform legislation designed to help the middle class, yet 83 percent of his tax benefits go to the top 1 percent. This is a president who promised to take on the pharmaceutical companies. He said they were "getting away with murder." Yet, drug prices continue to soar and he appointed a drug company executive as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This is a president who promised to take on the greed of Wall Street, but then proceeded to appoint more Wall Street titans to high positions than any president in history. This is a president who appointed vehemently anti-labor members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This is a president who believes climate change is a "hoax", and appointed agency leaders and judges who consistently undermined our ability to move toward sustainable energy and protect the environment. This is a president who said he would do "everything in my power to protect our LGBT citizens," yet went out of his way to attempt to deny them from getting the health care they need and allow discrimination against them in the workplace. This is a president who brags about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and denying reproductive rights to millions of women across the country. This is a president who said that if he won that America would be respected again around the world, yet as a result of his anti-democratic and incompetent policies has succeeded in significantly lowering the respect that people all over the planet have for the United States, all while embracing right-wing authoritarian rulers around the world. This is a president who not only rejected his own defeat and attempted to incite an insurrection to stop Congress from certifying the election, but worked overtime to make it harder for people to vote and easier for billionaires to buy the outcomes of elections. I happen to believe that if Trump is elected once again this November, the 250 year old experiment of modern democracy in this country may very well come to end. The truth is, Donald Trump sold out the working families of this country once, and if he wins again all of the anti-worker, anti-democratic policies he pursued during his first term will only be magnified. He is a menace to working people whose rejection of climate science threatens the future of this planet. We have to appreciate how unbelievably severe the current moment is. This is not the message most Democrats trying to defeat Trump will communicate, but it one we must relentlessly remind the working people of this country about ahead of November's elections. So there it is. A lot of important work ahead of us. Planning. Save the date: March 20 – 7 pm EDT/ 4 pm PDT We are planning an interactive North Star member Zoom meeting to discuss how we can take action, both inside DSA and with other progressive organizations, to build the united resistance to Donald Trump’s election, keep the Senate Democratic, and flip the House. I Opposed Humphrey in ’68. All I Did Was Help Prolong the Vietnam War.
Michael Kazin When I was young, the left I was a part of helped elect Nixon. Please don’t make a similar mistake today. I remain as committed to the ideals of the left as I was back in 1968. But back then, in my small, disruptive fashion, I may have helped elect a president who ended the era when liberals dominated American politics, enacting policies like the Civil Rights Act and Medicare that benefit tens of millions of people. Under Richard Nixon, the nation began to move rightward, a shift from which we are still struggling to recover. Before the Watergate scandal brought him down, he also took four long years to withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam, after another 20,000 or so U.S. soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians had died. Donald Trump may not embroil the nation in a long and bloody foreign conflict. But he’ll hand Ukraine to Putin, and he’ll give Israel a total free hand to kill as many Palestinians as it can. And here at home, Trump has already vowed to wage a war against “the Communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” Such invective most definitely includes young Americans who sympathize with the Palestinian cause. To support the Democrat who runs against him next year should not be shrugged off as voting for a lesser evil. It will be a necessary choice to preserve what, in his final speech, Martin Luther King Jr. called “the right to protest for right” that is so vital to whatever “greatness” our nation possesses. Read the entire Piece. https://newrepublic.com/article/177353/hubert-humphrey-1968-loss-prolong-vietnam-war Michael Kazin’s latest book is What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party. He teaches history at Georgetown University. As a woman who is deeply rooted in my faith, I believe in the humanity of all people and the importance of pursuing peace. So the Vice President’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza is a welcome and much-needed shift from the White House, and a testament to the strength of our movement. We have been calling for an end to this violence from its inception, and our coalition is growing daily. We must be clear. An immediate and indefinite ceasefire is the only way forward. It is the best way to save lives, return all hostages, and deliver the humanitarian aid Gaza so desperately needs. And it’s not just a moral imperative but a sacred duty. Our shared humanity is at stake. For the past five months, the world has watched in horror as the crisis in Gaza has worsened daily. Over 30,000 Palestinians — two-thirds of whom are women and children — have been heinously killed by the Israeli military’s relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign. Over 11,000 children have been killed in Gaza, a horror that defies explanation. 260 children who will never celebrate their first birthday. Thousands more weigh heavy on our conscience and in our hearts. Babies, toddlers, teenagers, young men and women. I am devastated at the number of times that I’ve had to call for an indefinite, lasting ceasefire in the past one hundred-plus days. I feel betrayed. I feel haunted. And I feel shame. If a temporary truce ends and the indiscriminate bombing resumes, it means returning to a world where a child is being killed every 15 minutes in Gaza. It means a full-scale Rafah invasion, where over 1.5 million Palestinian civilians are sheltering without food, clean water, or medicine. It means more Palestinian civilians will be on the brink of starvation. We cannot let this cruelty continue. The U.S. cannot — and should not — continue offering its full-throated support for the Israeli government as it violates international law and operates with callous disregard for human life. Vengeance is not a foreign policy doctrine. We cannot bomb our way to peace. History has shown us that time and time again. Together, we will continue to call for peace, to pray for peace, and to work for peace. And I will continue to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable and push them to move with the urgency this moment demands for a full and lasting ceasefire. In solidarity, Ayanna The “Uncommitted” vote was a measure of frustration with Biden’s stance on Gaza, and it was up dramatically from past primaries.
JOHN NICHOLS https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/michigan-primary-analysis-biden-gaza/ We, members of the American labor movement, mourn the loss of life in Israel and Palestine. We express our solidarity with all workers and our common desire for peace in Palestine and Israel, and we call on President Joe Biden and Congress to push for an immediate ceasefire and end to the siege of Gaza. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We also condemn any hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, or anyone else.
In issuing this call, U.S. unions are joining the efforts of 13 Congressmembers and others who are calling for an immediate ceasefire. The basic rights of people must be restored. Water, fuel, food, and other humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza, power must be restored, and foreign nationals and Palestinians requiring medical care must be allowed out of Gaza. The Israeli hostages taken by Hamas must be immediately released. Both Hamas and Israel must adhere to standards of international law and Geneva Convention rules of warfare concerning the welfare and security of civilians. There must be a ceasefire in Gaza. The cycle of violence must stop so that negotiations for an enduring peace proceed. The U.S. must act. We call on President Biden to immediately call for a ceasefire. The road to justice cannot be paved by bombs and war. The road to peace cannot be found through warfare. We commit ourselves to work in solidarity with the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to achieve peace and justice. Union members come from diverse backgrounds, including Jews, Muslims, and Middle Eastern communities. The rising escalation of war and arms sales doesn't serve the interests of workers anywhere. In the end, we all want a place to call home and for our children to be safe. Working people around the world want and deserve to live free from the effects of violence, war and militarization. Thousands of Americans have joined the groundswell of global solidarity demanding a ceasefire now. It's the labor movement's turn to make our voices heard and demand a ceasefire. Together, we can stand for peace, justice, and a better future for working people everywhere. Please sign this call and add your name to a growing list calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. https://www.laborforceasefire.org/ Union Statements and Resolutions Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza
UPDATE: Prioritize and Plan North Star’s Next Actions
North Star’s newly elected Steering Committee asks for your participation in a process of prioritizing and planning our joint work to resist a MAGA neo-fascist takeover. The 2024 campaigns are underway – this is a crucial year with multiple challenges and opportunities. Save the date: March 20 – 7 pm EDT/ 4 pm PDT We are planning an interactive North Star member Zoom meeting to discuss how we can take action, both inside DSA and with other progressive organizations, to build the united resistance to Donald Trump’s election, keep the Senate Democratic, and flip the House. Please spread the word about North Star. Persons interested in joining can use the contact form on our blog. North Star caucus is open to both DSA members and non-members. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/contact.html Manning Marable was a prolific African American scholar, academic, writer and political organizer who made significant contributions to building the U.S. left and Black left from 1980 until his passing in 2011. He was the founding director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies and the Center for the Study of Contemporary Black History at Columbia University. Manning’s first book, How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America (1983 & 2015), along with Race, Reform and Rebellion- The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945-2006, ( 1983 & 2007), provide crucial political and social history of African American struggles while developing a Marxist tradition of scholarship and activism Let Nobody Turn Us Around (2000 and 2005 co-edited with Leith Mullings), which traced the history of “transformational” (left) politics in black political writing from the time of slavery to the present, became one of the most widely used textbooks in black studies. www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/manning-marable-1950-2011-a-radical-intellectual-a-dsa-founder See more https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/manning-marable-1950-2011-a-radical-intellectual-a-dsa-founder BY
DAVID BACON While Republicans cry “invasion” and Democrats placate them with hard-line border policy, immigrants languish in prisons or die in dangerous passage. A rational approach to immigration must both address the causes of displacement and protect those who migrate. … Should Trump win the election in November, he promises to reinstitute the notorious family separation policy. Children who survive the crossing, unlike Yorlei and Jonathan, might not see their moms again for months and easily be lost, as so many were, in the huge detention system. Oklahoma senator James Lankford wants to reintroduce the "Remain in Mexico" policy, under which people wanting asylum were not allowed to enter the United States to file their applications, and the Mexican government was forced to set up detention centers just south of the border to house them while they waited. Trump and other Republicans would imprison all migrants who face a court proceeding, applying to stay or stopping a deportation. Pending cases now number in the millions, because the immigration court system is starved for the resources needed to process them. https://jacobin.com/2024/02/migration-detention-ice-immigration-crisis Join us in taking the NS strategy to a next level. All are welcome. We have a strategy. It now requires that we increase our focus on the 2024 elections. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/our-strategy.html We have started with our list serve, then members are invited to a NS zoom meeting, in pursuit of clarifying NS strategy and focus. We now need to clarify, refine and plan our next steps.
For example, many of the groups we participate along side of in a popular front do not include in their strategies an emphasis on defending reproductive rights and gender equity. Should NS highlight these issues in our work? We have an established strategy of defending democratic rights within DSA and in our society. In 2024 that might be pursued by electoral work to defend left congress people and Squad members such as Jamall Bowman, Greg Casar and others under attack by AIPAC who share our priorities but who are not endorsed by their local DSA chapters. If we choose to support these individuals, what do we do beyond cheering? ( although cheering is good). Do we work in their campaigns, send donations, work independently as NS telephone bank? These items, tactics and more are under discussion. You are invited to enter the dialogue and share your views on the list serve. See link below. After some debate we will attempt to come to some agreements on a N.S. zoom call. We hope to wrap this up in early March so that we can get beyond talk and focus our participation. You are invited to participate in this goal setting and planning. Go to: Political Next Steps for North Star , at https://groups.google.com/g/dsa-north-star-all-members/c/D2DAz2lCJTs Of course individual NS members will continue to pursue the issues individually as their analysis of local events suggest. After the online discussion, we will be scheduling a webinar on Zoom for NS members who wish to participate in the decisions about the next steps. Duane Campbell What will it take to win the presidency in 2024 ? One opinion. Do not be swayed by polls. This article clarifies what we must do to defeat Trump. What matters above all are the outcomes in six battleground states, outcomes that will be too narrow to be accurately polled. The bottom line is "the outcome in those states will depend not on the margin of error in polls, but on the margin of effort by campaigns, activists, media, and concerned citizens to mobilize America’s anti-MAGA majority." To be more specific, please read. Linked and pasted in below. https://www.weekendreading.net/p/the-electoral-college-landscape?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-restack-comment&r=lvopu The Electoral College Landscape To reach 270, Biden needs to win either Pennsylvania, or Georgia + Michigan. Forwarded by Bob Wing. “We have given into the Republican narrative in such a way that we’re beginning to sound like them”: A roundtable discussion with Rep. Delia Ramirez, Heba Gowayed, Victor Narro and Carlos Rojas Rodriguez
NATASCHA ELENA UHLMANN FEBRUARY 8, 2024 In These Times. Going into the 2024 election, the GOP’s position on migration is abundantly clear. In June 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stood at a presidential campaign podium emblazoned with the words “Stop the Invasion” and likened border crossings to home break-ins. On the campaign trail in December 2023, Donald Trump declared immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Mere weeks ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lamented the state’s inability to shoot asylum seekers crossing the border because “the Biden administration would charge us with murder.” These pronouncements mark a mainstreaming of eliminationist rhetoric: Where conservatives once coyly hinted at nativism, they now openly fantasize of murder. https://inthesetimes.com/article/biden-letting-republicans-set-terms-immigration What should the border conversation look like? See. First They Came for the Immigrants. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/first-they-came-for-the-immigrants https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/the-5-biggest-trump-republican-lies-about-illegal-immigration and more. Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, issued the following statement on the Senate’s national security and immigration supplemental agreement: “After months of a negotiating process that lacked transparency or the involvement of a single border-state Democrat or member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, it is no surprise that this border deal misses the mark. The deal includes a new version of a failed Trump-era immigration policy that will cause more chaos at the border, not less. It is in conflict with our international treaties and obligations to provide people with the opportunity to seek asylum. It fails to address the root causes of migration. And it fails to provide relief for Dreamers, farm workers, and the other undocumented long-term residents of our country who contribute billions to our economy, work in essential jobs, and make America stronger. “When I was sworn into this office, I made a promise that I would fight to fix our outdated immigration system and to create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who have been forced to live in the shadows of our country for far too long. Not a day has gone by that I have not tried to reach out across the aisle to do exactly that. It is critical that we support our allies in their fight to defend democracy and provide humanitarian relief, but not at the expense of dismantling our asylum system while ultimately failing to alleviate the challenges at our border.” The border bill failed on Wed. Feb.7,2024. Alex Padilla, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders voted No. ### Also: Immigrants Make the Economy Stronger and Richer Paul Krugman https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/opinion/immigration-republicans-economy.html It Is Happening HereYes, a large number of migrants are trying to reach the US via crossing the US-Mexico border. But this is not at root a “border crisis.” The underlying problem is that tens of millions of people across the globe face a crisis of their right to stay at home. Migration has been a basic part of the human experience throughout history, and the right to migrate should be defended. But what the world faces today is forced migration, where millions who would prefer to stay in their homelands safely cannot do so: “The movement of people from country to country, displaced by war, insecurity, and neoliberal economic policies, is enormous and growing… Nothing can stop this global movement, short of a radical reordering of the world’s economy and politics.” —David Bacon, Dignity or Exploitation: What Future for Farmworker Families in the United States, The Oakland Institute, 2021 As of 2020, the number of international migrants—people living outside their home country--was 281 million. This is 3.5% of the global population, compared to 2.8% in 2000 and 2.3% in 1980. And US policies are a big part of the reason for this steady increase: “neoliberal strictures, [US] support for oligarchs, and the War on Drugs have impoverished millions and destabilized Latin America.” Additionally, US militarism and failure to deal decisively with climate change are major contributors to forced migration globally. Immigration policy in whose interests? Photo by David Bacon Essay by Max Elbaum, Convergence read more. https://convergencemag.com/articles/first-they-came-for-the-immigrants/ AFT Resolution
Calling for a Bilateral Cease-Fire in Gaza and Promoting a Two-State Solution and an End to the Weaponization of Hate Adopted unanimously by its Executive Council The war in Gaza must end, and diplomacy that creates two states for two peoples must start. Far too many Palestinians and Israelis have perished, and far too many Palestinians and Israelis have had their lives shattered and destroyed. As educators, healthcare professionals and public service professionals, we are sick at heart over the toll this war has taken on thousands of innocent people, particularly innocent children. We have long recognized the right of Israel to protect its citizens against crimes of war and aggression. The horrific slaughter of Israeli civilians perpetrated by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others on Oct. 7 was the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. To this day, Israeli civilians taken as hostages on Oct. 7 are still in captivity in Gaza. The ongoing war in Gaza—its terrible toll of tens of thousands of civilian Palestinian deaths and its widespread destruction—has created a humanitarian tragedy that must end. Further shedding of blood in Gaza and the infliction of more pain and anguish will not bring peace and security to either Palestinians or Israelis. Cycles of violence and retribution in Israel and the Palestinian territories for the better part of a century cannot be broken with more of the same. Moreover, there is real danger of the expansion of the current war in Gaza to other nations in the Middle East and beyond. For all these reasons and more, the American Federation of Teachers supports a negotiated bilateral cease-fire, agreed to by both sides in this war and guaranteed by the international community. A cease-fire agreement must include humanitarian aid for the immediate provision of desperately needed food, water, medical care, clothing and emergency shelter to Palestinians and the release of all hostages taken on Oct. 7. The AFT reaffirms its support for a two-state solution, with true self-determination for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. Both peoples have deep roots in that land and the right to live there in peace and with freedom. A bilateral cease-fire is necessary to start the process of negotiating a lasting agreement that ends the decades of conflict and bloodshed by recognizing the rights of both peoples and providing each with its own government—two states for two peoples. The Palestinian people of Gaza have suffered under the dictatorial rule of Hamas, which has brutally repressed and eliminated its Palestinian opponents. Hamas declares its intent to destroy the state of Israel and has a massive terrorist infrastructure. Hamas is not a partner for peace, security or a two-state solution; that is why the peace initiative organized by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states does not include Hamas in its proposals for the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are a major obstacle to achieving lasting peace, freedom and security. He has opposed a two-state solution while enabling numerous illegal settlements on the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu’s government has stood idle in the face of violence and land theft that extremist settlers have waged against Palestinians in these territories. Netanyahu has an interest in prolonging the war to escape the public scrutiny of his colossal failure to protect Israeli citizens, and to escape his ongoing trials. Despite the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling against his effort to override that very court, he continues to undermine Israel’s democracy. It is time for another election in Israel so that Israelis can elect leaders who truly believe in democracy, security and a peace process. We support those forces in Israel and in Palestine that seek a different future for themselves—a democratic future where Israelis and Palestinians both can live in dignity and with self-determination and security for all. Meanwhile, the war has also unleashed a wave of hate and incitement to violence in the United States, with appalling demonstrations of antisemitism and Islamophobia. The AFT reiterates our long-standing and uncompromising opposition to antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of hate and incitement to violence. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring our work and teaching environments are safe and welcoming for the people we represent and those we serve, and to promoting a democratic education that builds understanding and mutual acceptance across different religions, races and ethnic groups. Whatever one’s view of the war and the issues raised by it, there is no justification for using it to spread hate and intolerance. The weaponization of incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia in campaigns to censor dissenting views of the war and the underlying conflict between Israel and Palestine is also deeply disturbing. These campaigns are particularly troubling in education, where they strike at the heart of the freedom to have unfettered, intellectually honest and respectful discussion and to freely debate ideas, even controversial ideas. That is the hallmark of both American education and American democracy. We will defend the rights of educators and their students to participate in intellectually honest discussions, to articulate and rally around their views, including the underlying conflict between Israel and Palestine. Moreover, we will not tolerate the weaponization of academic discourse to be used in political attacks on American colleges and universities, and as a pretext for attacks on efforts to increase diversity, promote equity and advance inclusion. Our campuses must be places of dialogue for the furtherance of understanding in a pluralistic society. Teachers and students must be free to express different views on the burning issues of the day, without fear of loss of position and retaliation, and without intimidation and threats of violence. As a union deeply committed to teaching, to healthcare and to defending democracy, we pledge to continue our advocacy for democracy at home and abroad, as we support the principles of dignity and freedom for all. (2024) The discussion this month is about the Senate Border Policy bill. Maga Republicans see the proposals as too generous. But, the Republicans already have a migration bill. It is HR-2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2 The bill passed in the House. HR 2. On May 11, 2023 This is what the House will start from. Introduced in House (05/02/2023) This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility. requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system. Passed on May 11, 2023. It includes endless negative proposals such as building the wall plus including the following. DIVISION B--IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS TITLE I--ASYLUM REFORM AND BORDER PROTECTION This title imposes additional requirements for asylum eligibility. (Sec. 101) This section expands provisions that bar certain individuals from applying for asylum. Currently, an individual may not apply for asylum if that individual may be removed to a third country (i.e., a country that is not the applicant's country of nationality or last habitual residence) if that third country has (1) a full and fair asylum process that the individual could use, and (2) an agreement with the United States allowing for such removals. This section expands this provision by authorizing removal to third countries that do not have an agreement with the United States. This section also bars an individual from applying for asylum if the individual traveled through at least one third country before arriving in the United States, with certain exceptions (e.g., the individual applied for and was denied asylum in that third country). The Speaker of the House Johnson says that these are the minimums to achieve progress on resolving the enforcement at the border. More on border policy Congressman Casar on the border crisis. http://antiracismdsa.blogspot.com/2024/01/policy-on-migrant-crisis.html Lets not be Stupid. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/let-us-not-be-stupid-about-immigration 2018. Steps toward a labor informed policy on immigration. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/steps-toward-a-labor-informed-position-on-immigration 2018.. Note. This article makes references to working with the DSA Immigrants Right Working Group. The U.S. needs to develop new policies about immigration. The Congress has failed to come to a compromise for over 30 years. In response to the current economic crises in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and the world wide environmental crisis, the migration crises continues to grow. It is not sufficient to develop and repeat slogans. Here is the resolution written by members of the IMWG, and adopted by the convention. It provides a good start for consideration of the many interactive issues. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/us-faces-migration-crisis Nation's Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Issues Historic Warning of Looming Trouble Over Razor Wire at U.S. – Mexico Border LULAC ALERT: TEXAS GOVERNOR ABBOTT IS ENCOURAGING CRIMINAL WHITE EXTREMISTS WITH A HATE AGENDA TO COME TO THE STATE January 29, 2024 Washington, DC - LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, is issuing an immediate National Alert, only the second in the organization's nearly 100-year history. "Abbott and his supporters are creating a media circus for political gain and to raise money. LULAC abhorrently condemns hate speech, actions, and lies that hurt human life, especially those coming to the United States to survive deplorable conditions and seek refuge. Let's see immigration for the good it provides our country rather than calling it a threat to divide and weaken us as a nation," says Garcia. "False and inciteful political rhetoric from Governor Greg Abbott is agitating people to possibly commit acts of violence and mass murder. We urge our members, especially those in Texas, to be on alert for armed out-of-state extremists with a hate agenda," says Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president. "We've seen death at the hands of shooters due to hate speech. We cannot forget what occurred at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, just a few years ago. Hate speech is being used yet again to rachet up anger and hatred that are putting Hispanic Texans, law enforcement, military service members, and innocent civilians in the crosshairs," says Garcia. LULAC issued the first National Alert in May 2023, warning against traveling to Florida after Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed Bill 1718, unleashing a wave of anti-immigrant measures against Latinos in that state. LULAC's no-travel advisory and community grassroots actions were patterned after steps the organization took when Arizona passed SB1070 in 2010. "We need true bipartisan support for immigration reform. A multiprong approach to reforming our immigration system. Our focus needs to target drug cartels, human smugglers, and arms runners. Not families, women, and children. At the same time, we need to open legal immigration options for real refugees and provide legalization for those immigrants with no criminal record who pay a fine and pass a background check," urges Garcia. LULAC remains focused on positive dialogue by all sides in Congress and urges Americans not to antagonize each other on the streets throughout the border regions. "I plead with our communities to remain peaceful and law-abiding and not get drawn into confrontations with those trying to provoke a fight. Instead, our strongest, most effective voice is our vote at the ballot box in 2024, where we are focusing all our energies," says Ray Mancera, LULAC national vice president for the southwest. "These stunts by Abbott and others are encouraging lawlessness and do nothing to solve the broken immigration system. LULAC is committed to comprehensive immigration reform," says Lydia Guzman, LULAC's national immigration chair. "The Supreme Court ruled that erecting deadly barriers is illegal, and it is also inhumane to let women, children, and families die because of them," says Guzman. A group claiming to be "God's Army" announced it will leave Virginia Beach, Virginia, in a convoy headed to Texas today, then straddle the U.S. – Mexico border. The group's statement said that it plans to "take our border back." Abbott signed a statement Wednesday, January 24, citing Section 4 of the Constitution, "which reserves the right of self-defense." Twenty-five Republican Governors have added their names. "Abbott and his supporters are creating a media circus for political gain and to raise money. LULAC abhorrently condemns hate speech, actions, and lies that hurt human life, especially those coming to the United States to survive deplorable conditions and seek refuge. Let's see immigration for the good it provides our country rather than calling it a threat to divide and weaken us as a nation," says Garcia. ### ------------ ---------------- --------------- About LULAC The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 525 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC's programs, services, and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting the critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/ Santa Fe Democratic Socialists. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free. “ Emma Lazarus. The New Colossus There is a crisis at the border, but it is not caused by immigrants. It is a crisis of Xenophobia, failed leadership, and blowback. For thousands of years, there was no border at the Rio Grande. People moved freely back and forth. This continued throughout most of the U.S. history. America’s middle class was built on the millions of immigrants who came to this country, without any arcane visa bureaucracy, whether at the shores of Ellis Island or across the Chihuahuan desert. Now, due to the consequences of imperial wars and globalized capitalism, the people of Central America have been displaced from their homes and are seeking , as per their right under Article 14 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights safe refuge. Undocumented immigrants have become a backbone of the modern economy, and their immigration status is used by employers to intensify exploitation and skirt labor laws. As we all know this is an election year. California Red recognizes that there are different points of view within DSA regarding how the organization should approach electoral politics in general and the presidential election this year in particular. Fred Glass (with permission) 2024: The fascist danger During a panel presentation on “Labor Communications and the Left” at the annual International Labor Communications Association conference in San Diego in December, I asked the audience of a hundred or so union staffers from several dozen labor organizations two questions. “How many of you think that there is a serious possibility that the day after the election in November we will wake up to find ourselves in a fascist country?” Around two thirds of the room slowly raised their hands. “What, if anything, are you as labor communicators planning to do to stop that from happening?” No one raised their hand. This was perhaps an unfair question. The first day of the conference had been euphoric, as one presenter after another recounted the tremendous strike victories that their unions had won—autoworkers, actors, screenwriters, hotel workers, grad students and others—over the previous year, and how their communications strategies had contributed to the wins. Not yet into the 2024 calendar year, perhaps it was too much to expect that their unions had started thinking seriously about the coming elections, and how to convert strike energies and strategies into political action. And yet…. Pretty much everyone with eyes open will agree that the Republican Party has steadily devolved over the past few decades into a fascist party. And with the rise of Donald Trump since 2016 as its leader, the rotten cherry is on top of that fully baked shit pie. Actual fascism The term “fascist” is mostly thrown about loosely to mean someone you don’t like, or who acts in a bullying manner. Getting closer to what fascism looks like historically, the term is used to describe an authoritarian regime or police state. But there are various types of those forms of government, and even people serious about a rigorous definition can disagree about fundamentals. The trouble is partly that fascism isn’t a cookie cutter phenomenon, as it crops up in specific geographic and historic circumstances, which causes different surface appearances and even structural variations, with some qualities more prominent than others depending on where and when. The best attempt I know of to provide a definition useful across time and space is Thomas Paxton’s, from his The Anatomy of Fascism: a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood, and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion. This is a good start (if quite a mouthful), but at least two unaddressed questions for our current situation arise out of this definition: the role of the charismatic leader, and how the "mass-based party of committed nationalist militants" matches up in a country like ours without a parliamentary system and only two mass parties. For these questions, the Republican Party has been providing answers, step by step, for decades, accelerating the past eight years with Trump’s foot on the pedal. Paxton firmly roots his discussion in historical case studies—not just the classic scenarios of Italy and Germany after World War I, but close examinations of more recent examples. But he is not a socialist, and he fails to distinguish Marxism and Stalinism. He notes but does not fully explore the implications of fascism’s customary appearance as a right-wing populism framed for working class followers as an anti-elitist faux socialism (e.g., National Socialism in Germany) to counter a rise in popularity of socialist remedies to economic and political crisis. Let’s just recall how Bernie Sanders restored a socialist analysis to political conversation simultaneously with the rise of Trump. The characteristics Paxton ascribes to fascism thus lack a necessary class component. Ultimately a fascist movement, usually perceived by the capitalist class initially as a threat, becomes the defense of that class, as the upstart party entrenches itself in state power, and a significant fraction of the holders of economic power, used to operating under the fig leaf of political democracy, figures out how to make their accommodation with this more direct form of violent domination of the other social classes. The word none dare speak From 2016 on and throughout Trump’s term in office, “fascism” was the word most liberals and much of the left refused to speak. Although evidence began mounting up during Trump’s first campaign, people were (and remain, if less so) leery of the term; they should not be. He is a fascist. And he is the maximum leader of a fascist movement. What does this mean? It means on November 6 we could wake up to find ourselves moving via a more or less legitimate democratic means of an election to a non-democracy: a police state, a country where the conditions that at various times and in various places have been the norm for African Americans and other historically oppressed and marginalized groups, become extended to the entire population. What might this look like? Take a look at the treatment of socialists, trade unionists, gay people, trans people, women under fascism. For people of color, recall that the anti-Jewish laws devised in Nazi Germany were modeled on the Jim Crow laws of the southern United States. What goes around comes around. Given the advances in surveillance and other repressive technologies in the hands of the state and private corporations today, this will be a fascism on steroids. With the rise of a mass movement for a ceasefire in Gaza, a new generation has been introduced to anti-imperialist politics. This is a hopeful development, but the promise of creating an international dimension for post-Bernie socialist youth faces some challenges. At an anti-APEC street demonstration in San Francisco late last year, I saw a few young people holding a banner that read, “Dis-elect Biden”. A man of about sixty on a bicycle was riding by and stopped. The dialogue that followed was not productive. He said he was for a ceasefire, but if we “dis-elected Biden” we would get Trump. The young people said that they didn’t care, there was no difference between the two. The man on the bike became apoplectic, and security had to step over and separate the arguers. No “lesser of two evils”? A common refrain at the Palestine demonstrations and in individual conversations I’ve been hearing and having with young activists is that they will not vote for the “lesser of two evils”, let alone work for Biden. This is an understandable principled position, but also a historically blinkered point of view. Anger against Biden for his failure to pressure Israel into a ceasefire? Legitimate. A belief that there’s no difference between Trump and Biden because Biden is not stopping Israel’s genocidal war? Untrue. That’s because it’s not about Biden. Every US president since the late nineteenth century has been an imperialist. The United States is the premiere imperialist country of the capitalist world system. It has military bases all over the world. The president is commander in chief of the armed forces. By definition, any US president—at least any so far, and Trump was certainly no different in this regard—is bound by the job to place the interests of US imperialism above the aspirations of the Palestinian people. Exchanging Biden for Trump would not change US policy toward Israel and Palestine immediately for the better and more likely for the worse. It would also squander the new momentum building within the Democratic base against the bipartisan anti-Palestinian racism unquestioned in US foreign policy for decades. Retaining the possibility for a socialist movement The possibility for socialists to build our movement remains with Democrats in power and supporting the party’s progressive wing. Please do not think I am saying that a vote for Biden or another Democrat is a move in the direction of socialism. I’m saying that we retain the possibility for building a mass socialist movement within a nominally democratic society; under a Trumpian fascism, that possibility will no longer exist. I’d suggest we listen to what he said at a rally last year: “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” Under fascism the time horizon for socialism recedes dramatically. Think Chile after the coup against Allende. Think a quarter century in Italy under Mussolini, four decades under Franco in Spain. Even without consideration of the obliteration of civil liberties, looming climate destruction tells us we don’t have that kind of time. In short, to people who say “Let’s not hear about the lesser of two evils; I’m so done with the lesser of two evils”: what, you want the worser of two evils? This would not be just considerably worse; it would be qualitatively, disastrously worse. I don’t want to live out the remainder of my days in a fascist country. But I’m old. What I really don’t want is for my children and grandchildren—or anyone else—to experience fascism first-hand. We have less than a year to keep our crumbling democracy on life support for another four years. I plan to keep going to ceasefire demonstrations for as long as it takes to bring it about. I also plan to work to keep the Democrats in power because of abortion rights, relatively progressive labor policies, their acknowledgment of the climate crisis, a stated commitment to civil rights and racial equality and much more. I have no illusions about how far the Democrats will go to make these policies everything they should be. It’s a party divided between neoliberalism and progressive forces, and the neoliberals generally have the upper hand. But I also have no illusions that a fascist Republican Party in power will do anything but put us in the fast lane to destruction—of worker rights, women’s rights, civil rights and the planet itself. Fred Glass Fred Glass is the author of From Mission to Microchip: A History of the California Labor Movement (University of California Press, 2016) and a member of the State Committee of California DSA. Biden Helped Save Democracy in Guatemala as Trump Surrogates Sought to Undermine It Guatemala Shows Democracy Globally is on the Ballot in November 2024 NATHAN NEWMAN 🧭 NOV. 2024. In a story the media barely covered, a new democratically elected President in Guatemala took office early on Monday morning, even as corrupt rightwing forces did everything they could for months to stop his inauguration. And if that sounds familiar, Trump forces were key players supporting coup plotters seeking to stop the new President Bernardo Arévalo from taking office. Which highlights the stakes for global democracy in the coming US election. The Fight for Democracy in Guatemala Arevalo had won a surprise victory in August on an anti-corruption platform that mobilized large numbers of voters, particularly indigenous Guatemalans, to vote out incumbent Alejandro Giammattei, whose conservative government has been awash in corruption scandals. Within hours of winning by overwhelming margins, the Giammattei-controlled Supreme Electoral Tribunal, prodded by Guatemala’s attorney general Consuelo Porras, suspended Arevalo’s reform party to block him from being sworn in. Protests and strikes erupted across the nation, paralyzing the country. Read more: https://nathannewman.substack.com/p/biden-helped-save-democacy-in-guatemalahttps://nathannewman.substack.com/p/biden-helped-save-democacy-in-guatemala nathannewman.substack.com/p/biden-helped-save-democacy-in-guatemalahttps://nathannewman.substack.com/p/biden-helped-save-democacy-in-guatemala Maria Svart has announced her plan to retire. Here is her statement upon leaving. https://www.dsausa.org/news/a-farewell-from-the-national-director/ Here are three of many tributes to her work and her contributions to building DSA. I had the privilege of being on the search committee that proposed Maria as national director. She came to DSA as a skilled union organizer and activist in the New York City Chapter of what was then a small national organization, then shepherded DSA through a period of enormous growth with grace and political acumen. She has my deepest gratitude for her unwavering dedication to democratic socialism and her ability to steer the organization in a period of great potential and many political challenges and wish her well in whatever she chooses to do next. Maxine Phillips. ----- ---- ---- I first met Maria Svart about ten years ago. It was early in her tenure as National Director of DSA. I had stepped away from DSA some years before; nonetheless Maria took time at what was then the Youth Section conference to talk with me about where DSA was at. I was impressed with her political understanding and, especially, with her focus on organizing. Now, a decade later, it’s mind-boggling the changes DSA has grown through, but even more impressive is the fact that Maria has led DSA through those changes. From an organization with a few thousand members to one with close to one hundred thousand; from an organization barely relevant to US politics to one with a real presence in legislatures and the media. Of course, Maria’s resignation will have a tremendous impact on DSA, but she is committed to continuing her involvement in a different role. After a more than a decade of 80- or 120-hour work weeks, it’s not a surprise to me that it’s time for a change. I, personally, look forward to many more years of political discussion with my friend Maria. Chris Riddiough Vice Chair DSA Fund ____. ____. ____ _____ I wish Maria well in the next phase of her life and career, and I thank her for her remarkable service to DSA for the past 12 years. Shortly after Maria came on board as National Director, I was elected to the NPC and served from 2011-17. I saw firsthand how she improved our organizational functioning, positioning us to be better able to absorb people from the Bernie Bump. Because I volunteered in the office, coming in early before NPC meetings, I saw her in day-to-day work, not just interacting with the NPC. We benefited from her excellent writing, her thoughtful approach to strategizing, and her nurturing and development of staff. We have been very fortunate that she stayed on past her initial five-year commitment, under very challenging and exhausting circumstances. Peg Strobel DSA Ventura County CA _____ _____ _____ _________ First and foremost, I thank Maria for her hard work and dedication to DSA during 12 years as National Director (ND). The best measure of her abilities is the fact that she survived and thrived in an organization that experienced dramatic change. That change forced all of us, but especially someone in the ND position, to recalibrate and rethink about what the organization can do and be. She took the lead in steering DSA through those years and into the era in which we are no longer an organization that many on the left believed was doomed to irrelevancy. I very much appreciate her choice to make DSA the center of her organizational life for all these years. A last point: I know some have expressed anxiety about Maria leaving the ND position. That probably reflects the unknowns of DSA’s future. But we will all make that future, building on the legacy that she has left us. And I, for one, believe that left organizations should not desire lifetime national leaders. I know that wherever she works in the coming years, that organization will be the better for having her. Bill Barclay. Ventura, California. NS Steering Committee. Riverside Church, New York City, April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King – a Video Selection 1954 – 1968Portside
The web site Portside has posted a collection of major speeches by MLK. This is an incredibly impressive collection posted by Portside with photos. A positive service to history. https://portside.org/2024-01-11/martin-luther-king-video-selection-1954-1968? Compiled by Abdul Alkalimat, Prof Emeritus Dept of African American Studies and School of Information Sciences, Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign A collection of videos. You can see the progression of MLK through the campaigns and through his life. Martin Luther King's speeches from 1954's Montgomery Bus Boycott to the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. Compiled by Abdul Alkalimat, Prof Emeritus Dept of African American Studies and School of Information Sciences, Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Today — the topic of my speech today is deadly serious, and I think it needs to be made at the outset of this campaign. In the winter of 1777, it was harsh and cold as the Continental Army marched to Valley Forge. General George Washington knew he faced the most daunting of tasks: to fight and win a war against the most powerful empire that existed in the world at the time. His mission was clear. Liberty, not conquest. Freedom, not domination. National independence, not individual glory. America made a vow. Never again would we bow down to a king. The months ahead would be incredibly difficult. But General Washington knew something in his bones, something about the spirit of the troops he was leading, something — something about the soul of the nation he[that] was struggling to be born. In his general order, he predicted, and I quote, “with one heart and one mind,” “with fortitude and with patience,” they would overcome every difficulty — the troops he was leading. And they did. They did. This army that lacked blankets and food, clothes and shoes. This army whose march left bloody, bare footprints in the snow. This ragtag army made up of ordinary people. Their mission, George Washington declared, was nothing less than “a sacred cause.” That was the phrase used: “a sacred cause.” Freedom, liberty, democracy. American democracy. I just visited the grounds of Valley Forge. I’ve been there a number of times from the time I was a Boy Scout years ago. You know, it’s the very site that I think every American should visit because it tells the story of the pain and the suffering and the true patriotism it took to make America. Today, we gather in a new year, some 246 years later, just one day before January 6th, a day forever shared in our memory because it was on that day that we nearly lost America — lost it all. Today, we’re here to answer the most important of questions. Is democracy still America’s sacred cause? I mean it. (Applause.) This is not rhetorical, academic, or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time, and it’s what the 2024 election is all about. The choice is clear. Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. Robert Reich, Trump and his GOP lackeys are fueling dangerous nativism Some of you ask why I spend so much time and effort writing to you, the “converted,” rather than aim at people who disagree with us. My answer is that we are engaged in the fight of our lifetimes to uphold the fundamental ideals upon which this nation is based. Many of you can make use of data and arguments to reaffirm those ideals and help convince others who are wavering or still reachable. Take immigration, which is being demagogued by Trump and his Republican sycophants. Here are Trump Republicans’ five biggest lies about immigration, and the truth. 1. They claim Biden doesn’t want to stem illegal immigration and has created an “open border.” Rubbish. Since he took office, Biden has consistently asked for additional funding for border control. Republicans have just as consistently refused. They’re voting to cut Customs and Border Protection funding in spending bills and blocking passage of Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental that includes border funding. 2. They blame the drug crisis on illegal immigration. Last Wednesday, at the southern border in Texas, Republican House Speaker Michael Johnson claimed “America is at a breaking point with record levels of illegal immigration. We have lethal drugs that are pouring into our country at record levels.” Rubbish. While large amounts of fentanyl and other deadly drugs have been flowing into the United States from Mexico, 90% arrives through official ports of entry, not via immigrants illegally crossing the border. In fact, research by the conservative Cato Institute found that more than 86% of the people convicted of trafficking fentanyl across the border in 2021 were U.S. citizens. 3. They claim that undocumented immigrants are terrorists. Johnson also charged that “312 suspects on the terrorist watch list that have been apprehended — we have no idea how many terrorists have come into the country and set up terrorism cells across the nation.” Baloney. America’s southern border has not been an entry point for terrorists. For almost a half-century, no American has been killed or injured in a terrorist attack in the United States that involved someone who crossed the border illegally. Johnson’s number comes from government data showing that from October 2020 to November 2023, 312 migrants — out of more than 6.2 million who crossed the southern border during these years — matched names on the terrorist watch list. It’s unclear how many were actual matches and whether the FBI considered them national security threats (the watch list includes family relations of terrorist suspects, many of whom are not considered to be involved in terrorist activity). Republican Representative Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said that FBI “Director Wray admitted before my committee the other day … that with the border wide open and a war in Israel, Hamas can just walk right in. That’s the director of the FBI. He fears for his own agents. It’s clear this is intentional.” Alarmist rubbish. At that November 15 hearing, after Green asked Wray whether people on the terrorism watch list could be among those who entered the country without detection, Wray replied that there was no way to know. When Green then asked whether Wray could guarantee that Hamas wasn’t among them, Wray said, “What I can tell you is that our 56 joint terrorism task forces are working their tails off to make sure that they suss out and identify potential terrorist suspects, whether they’re on the watch list or not.” 4. They say undocumented immigrants are stealing American jobs. Nonsense. Evidence shows immigrants are not taking jobs that American workers want. And the surge across the border is not increasing unemployment. Far from it: Unemployment has been below 4 percent for roughly two years, far lower than the long term average rate of 5.71 percent. It’s now 3.7 percent. 5. They claim undocumented immigrants are responsible for more crime in America. More baloney. In fact, a 2020 study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, cited by the Department of Justice, showed that undocumented immigrants have “substantially” lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants. A recently published study in the American Economic Journal — analyzing official data from 2008 to 2017 on immigration, homicide, and victimization surveys — found “null effects” on crime from immigration. Notwithstanding the recent surge in illegal immigration, America’s homicide rate has fallen nearly 13% since 2022 — the largest decrease on record. Local law enforcement agencies are also reporting drops in violent crime. Who’s really behind these lies? Since he entered politics, Donald Trump has fanned nativist fears and bigotry. He’s now moving into full-throttle neofascism, using the actual language of Hitler to attack immigrants — charging that undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and saying they’re “like a military invasion. Drugs, criminals, gang members and terrorists are pouring into our country at record levels. We’ve never seen anything like it. They’re taking over our cities.” He promises to use the U.S. military to round up undocumented immigrants and put them into “camps.” His demagoguery is being echoed by Trump lackeys to generate fear and put Biden on the defensive. Do we need to address our border situation? Yes — which Biden is trying to do. But we need to do so in a way that treats migrants as humans, not political pawns. Trump and his enablers want us to forget that almost all of us are the descendants of immigrants who fled persecution, or were brought to America under duress, or simply sought better lives for themselves and their descendants. Know the truth, and spread it. See more. https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/let-us-not-be-stupid-about-immigration |
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