People Before Profit blog

LETTERS

Fri, 26 May 2006 07:37:00 +0000

Raise minimum wage I read with interest “Raising the minimum wage is a national battle” by Julia Weaver (PWW 5/20-26). Raising the minimum wage is a badly needed change for the reasons she cites. An error, however, was the statement that four states have raised their minimums; the current number is 17 or 18, plus D.C. You might be interested in the array of information on “Raising the National Minimum Wage: Information, Opinion, Research” at www.raiseminwage.org.

Brock Haussamen North Branch NJ

No difference I shudder at the demise of George W. Bush from, and the ascendancy of Hillary Clinton to the presidency. It seems to be a Hobson’s choice, with no clear alternative of returning our nation to the independence it once enjoyed under the Founding Fathers. At age 78, I have lived through many presidencies starting with Roosevelt. I could never understand the steady drift away from national independence both during Democrat and Republican administrations over the generations. Then I bought the book by professor Carroll Quigley called “Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in our Time” (1975) and found out why this is going on. It is not by happenstance; in fact, it follows a design advocated by Quigley. The late Georgetown University professor explained: “The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.” I think the solution is to get the American people as a whole to understand this process before anything can be done.

Frank M. Pelteson Las Vegas NV

On immigration After President Bush said the national anthem should be sung only in English, a progressive radio host I was listening to not only said (as your editorial did) that he had sung it in Spanish while courting Latino voters, but she also made the humorous and sarcastic-but-true comment that he should try learning how to speak English too. Yes, Bush is using the “illegal” immigrant issue to divide us and divert our attention from more important issues like the Iraq war, his illegal wiretaps and illegally disclosed phone call records, oil industry thievery, his disdain for democracy and our Constitution, his abandoning of New Orleans, his threats to the environment and to all life itself. But while I’m progressive, I’m not sympathetic to the notion that people who come here illegally should be referred to as “immigrant,” because the word presumes legal status. But with Bush’s not-so-tacit invitations for them to come, and Bill Clinton’s complicity in passing the NAFTA that helped destroy the jobs Mexico used to have for its people, it’s wrong for us to say they shouldn’t come here to work.

A reader Wanaque NJ

Missing May Day The red flag and its hammer and sickle are symbols of tomorrow. We can celebrate a new day singing the “The International,” joining our brothers and sisters in song, heard round the world on May 1. I thrill to see the world’s working class celebrate, with photos in the People’s Weekly World. I miss seeing the flags, the songs, and the ecstasy of this past May Day pictured on your pages.

Paul Gershowitz Albuquerque NM

Disagreement on Duke story I was disappointed in the “Not This Time: Rape, Race, and Class at Duke” article by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (PWW 4/15-21) which appeared on the opinion page. It unfortunately repeats many of the presumptions and prejudices that have been directed against the lacrosse team by all segments of the national media. We do not know what happened that night, and there is no reason to discount the testimony of the team members in favor of that of the victim. There has been an incredible rush to judgment that has resulted in the arrest of two young men, both of whom may not have even been at the party that night. This whole situation is turning into a game, fueled by the ambitions of the district attorney standing for re-election in racially mixed Durham in a few months. The PWW has no place contributing to the perfect storm of public opinion which has been entirely directed against the Duke lacrosse team, as this has resulted in the jailing of two possibly innocent young people. It does not matter if these young men are athletes, if they are white, or if they are rich. This is a question of justice, and the PWW should not allow itself to be blinded by prejudice and stereotyping.

Matt Murtagh Washington DC

Denise Winebrenner Edwards responds: I appreciate your letter. It made me stop and think. The main point I wanted to make is a united voice — Black and white, men and women, university and community — can bring justice. Unfortunately, the case is news because in the majority of rape cases where the victim is African American the case is not pursued by law enforcement. Chances are good that the DA would not have dreamed of taking the word of a “stripper” over that of Duke students if it had not been for the united town and gown outcry. The voices of the young woman and the young men, three of whom have now been indicted, can be heard as well. Something did happen that night, which put the victim in the hospital. The jury will decide. It is a charged atmosphere where race and class collide in allegations of a sex crime. No one is safer if a serious investigation is not conducted. But it is never as simple as the electronic media captures in clichés and sound bites. I tried not to paint with the same wide brush.

EDITORIAL: Memorial Day

Fri, 26 May 2006 06:52:00 +0000

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was proclaimed in 1868 by Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Civil War veterans. Logan designated the day “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country.”

Referring to the war that defeated the slavocracy, Logan continued, “Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms.”

This Memorial Day, we mourn the dead in a very different, ugly, needless war.

George Bush and other officials utter flag-draped platitudes about fallen soldiers. But they shun flag-draped coffins of the nearly 2,500 who died in an imperial war based on lies, and ignore the many thousands of Iraqis killed. And they give short shrift to those returning home wounded in body and mind.

The number of Army soldiers committing suicide is the highest since 1993. Twenty-two committed suicide in Iraq last year, nearly one in five of all non-combat deaths. Meanwhile troops with severe psychological problems are being sent into combat.

The Pentagon says over 17,000 U.S. troops have been wounded, but many say the number is much bigger. Many “walking wounded” are not tracked. NBC News reported recently that combat brain injuries are common but often not reported.

“Iraq is not an OSHA-approved workplace,” Stephen Robinson, a Desert Storm veteran and executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, told a Gannett reporter. “So people are having extreme environmental exposures. Extreme heat and extreme cold and fine sand.” Soldiers breathe the sand, with chemical or biological contaminants, into their lungs. They are also contracting blood-borne diseases that can remain in the bloodstream for years, affecting their immune systems.

A new report, “From Vietnam to Iraq: Ignoring the Veteran Healthcare Crisis,” issued by Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Iraq Veterans Against the War, details how the Veterans Administration health care system is “underfunded and overwhelmed,” calling it a crisis that will continue to grow.

Along with mourning the dead and ending this bloody war, we must fight like hell for the living.

Connecticut PWW honors state AFL-CIO

Fri, 26 May 2006 05:46:00 +0000

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — At the People’s Weekly World annual May Day celebration here, Connecticut AFL-CIO President John Olsen recalled that only two years ago Connecticut Labor Against the War was awarded the Connecticut PWW’s Newsmaker Award. This, he said, contributed to the dialogue that resulted in adoption by the state and national AFL-CIO of strong resolutions against the Iraq war.

Olsen spoke at this year’s May 7 celebration, where he accepted the Newsmaker Award on behalf of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. “It is in rooms like this where things begin to happen,” Olsen said.

Making the presentation, Art Perry of SEIU 32BJ credited Olsen’s leadership for creating the climate where Change to Win and AFL-CIO unions in the state have continued to work together despite a national split.

Also at the event, the Winchester Citizens Ad Hoc award was accepted by Craig Gauthier and several other workers from the recently shut-down U.S. Repeating Firearms Plant here. The group vowed to keep the struggle going and to keep city officials on their toes to find another manufacturing buyer, making sure that former workers have the opportunity to be hired with union representation.

Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans President Kevin Lynch thanked everyone for their support on last year’s tremendous struggle to beat back the Bush attacks on Social Security. Special recognition was given to Community Organized for Responsible Development for their recent community benefits agreement with the giant Yale New Haven Hospital, and Unidad Latina en Accion for organizing community support for the immigrant rights movement.

The Hartford Young Communist League’s Rap Group had everyone in the room rocking and clapping. The event raised over $2,000 for the People’s Weekly World 2006 fund drive.

Earlier in the week here, Yale University graduate students marched from campus to join over 4,000 others marching through the downtown streets in support of immigrant rights.

This fight for justice has stirred up a powerful coalition of real grassroots organizing, Joelle Fishman, chair of the Connecticut Communist Party USA, told the PWW gathering.

New Yorks TWU Local 100 storms Albany

Fri, 26 May 2006 05:43:00 +0000

ALBANY, N.Y. — Torrential rains couldn’t dampen the spirits of NYC transit workers as they boarded buses at locations across New York City May 16 for a trip to the state capital here. They presented Transport Workers Union Local 100’s legislative agenda and called on state lawmakers to pressure The city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority to sign the contract ratified by the workers last month. The trip was also intended to spearhead a broad fight for reform of the state’s Taylor Law, which imposes severe penalties for strikes by public workers, but no penalties for management transgressions.

After meeting with individual members of the State Senate and Assembly, Local 100 members filled Albany’s Sawyer Theater. Political and labor leaders hammered the MTA and spoke on themes the unionists had lobbied around earlier in the day.

Sheldon Silver, Democratic speaker of the Assembly, went beyond support for the current struggles of transit workers to describe what he called an assault on working families by current New York Gov. George Pataki, President Bush and the entire extreme right. “Statewide and nationally,” he said, “we’re in for an extreme makeover.” Silver called for unity for the November election and for unity behind Local 100 President Roger Toussaint. “In unity there’s victory, now it’s time to be victorious!” he said.

TWU International President James Little criticized Pataki and mocked his aspirations to higher office. Pataki, he said, “shouldn’t be going to the White House, he should be going to the big house.”

Senate Minority Leader David Paterson characterized media attacks on Local 100 and its leaders as an “ideological campaign against working people.” Paterson was vigorously applauded when he called the Taylor Law unconstitutional. This November he is slated to run for lieutenant governor on a ticket headed up by current attorney general and likely Democratic candidate for governor Eliot Spitzer.

Denis Hughes, president of the State Federation of Labor, called the struggle of Local 100 an example for all working men and women.

Amalgamated Transit Union leader Larry Hanley praised Local 100 for winning what he called, “the best contract I’ve seen over the last three years.” Hanley thanked Toussaint for refusing to sign off on the pact with the MTA before ATU also had a deal, calling it an unprecedented display of solidarity.

The actions of the MTA and the governor were a “vendetta,” designed to pay workers back for their resistance and to crush the example they had set before others catch on, responded Toussaint. The termination of automatic dues deduction by the MTA and other penalties imposed on the union will present a challenge, but also an opportunity, he said. Putting its own dues collection infrastructure in place would force the union to go back to old style, one-to-one unionism, he said, and this accomplished, they would never again let the employer be their banker.

Cuban medical school is unique

Fri, 26 May 2006 05:29:00 +0000

The Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba, is no ordinary medical school. The mission of the LASM is to train students who come from medically underserved populations and then to return them as doctors to serve their communities.

I was one of a group of students who gathered last weekend for an orientation/retreat as part of the application process for the LASM.

The school is a project of the Cuban government, furthering their goal of not only improving the living conditions of their own citizens, but also those of the people of the world. The Cuban Ministry of Education, through LASM, offers students from around the world full scholarships, which include tuition, room, food, textbooks, basic necessities and even a small stipend.

How did this revolutionary program begin? In the aftermath of hurricanes George and Mitch in 1998, Cuba sought to help the countries hardest hit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize and Honduras. With limited short-term resources, it made a pledge to provide long-term help by training students from the region who would make a commitment to return to their communities after they finished their studies.

In 2000, the scholarship offer was extended to U.S students. This move was justified by the fact that so many Americans live in Third World conditions, with limited access to health care.

LASM is now the educational home of 7,200 students from at least 24 nations, including 19 Latin American countries, four African countries and the United States. The first class graduated from the program in 2005.

U.S. applications to LASM are processed through the office of the Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization. For information, visit www.ifconews.org.

Cori Marshall (coripmarshall@yahoo.com) is currently applying to attend LASM in the fall.

LETTERS

Fri, 19 May 2006 06:52:00 +0000

Color of anger is … blue? Now we all know the true color of anger is red. But it may just be blue now. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll concerning President Bush’s job performance, 47 percent of voters “strongly disapprove” of his stewardship while only 20 percent “strongly approve.” That 47 percent who “strongly disapprove” are angry. They are angry because they have been lied to. They are angry because our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, and our friends and neighbors are being killed and maimed because of those lies. They are angry because Bush and his gang have changed our country in the eyes of the world to one that kidnaps, imprisons and tortures people indiscriminately without regard to guilt or innocence. They are angry because the rich are getting obscenely richer. They are angry about criminal disregard shown by the Bush administration toward the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The list goes on and on. But what does all this anger have to do with the color of anger? The answer comes from an article in the Post written by Richard Morin entitled “Pink is the New Red.” He found that red states were becoming blue states and the blue states were getting “bluer.” Further he found that some of the strong red states have become “watery pink at best.” So while we may mourn the temporary loss of the phrase “red with anger” we can enjoy the refreshing coolness of all the new blue, and be cheered knowing Bush is learning more about the hues of blues as he sings them.

Bill Appelhans Chicago IL

Classic antiwar film I was glad to see mention of the film “Sophie Scholl” (PWW 4/29-5/5). It has been playing here in New York for almost three months. It is not a “small” story, as your writer remarks. The immediate background is the Battle of Stalingrad, the turning point of World War II, and the greatest single battle in history. Germany alone lost over 250,000 dead there. It began in September 1942 and was not over until February 1943. The small group of students at Munich University wrote and distributed four anti-Nazi leaflets. Later, there were two more. In the fifth leaflet there is this quote: “Do not believe the Nazi propaganda which has driven the fear of Bolshevism into your bones.” “Sophie Scholl” was made as Europe watches the atrocious war of conquest on Iraq. Its relevance to the present and the clear parallels it draws are the reasons it was made in the first place. It is a masterpiece as a work of art in the tradition of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Paths of Glory” and other powerful antiwar films.

Peter Gourfain Brooklyn NY

International living wage A call for an International Living Wage is a proper response to the global immigration crisis that does not pit workers with citizenship, wherever, against those without. This may be the only unity call, and it is not just a call, as in slogan. It is a call on Marxists everywhere to use whatever skills, contacts, influence and resources we have to let people everywhere see that an International Living Wage for a 40-hour week is feasible and implementable and enforceable. I’d like to say a 36.5 hour week, but I’m no fanatic.

Peggy Powell Dobbins Atlanta GA

Caste system info I’m writing to let the PWW that I enjoy your work and articles. However, there is a terrible caste system in India and no one seems to be talking about it. I don’t read it in any U.S. papers or magazines and I don’t see any Black leaders discussing this issue. I say “Black leaders” (whether motivational speakers, activists, historians, etc.) because this matter is directed toward the “blacks” of India. May someone at PWW can look into this matter so more Americans can be aware of it. Thank you.

Asia Griffith Via e-mail

A promise made As Chile struggles to overcome the past and restore justice and human rights, an obstacle remains in the system. In the 1980s Chile’s then dictator Augusto Pinochet installed an electoral law that in effect blocked the left from participation in the electoral process. The “binominal” (sometimes called binomial) system was composed by the far right and imposed on Chile by Pinochet. In early April, a group of communist female leaders met with Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet to urge her to keep her campaign promise to do away with the binominal system. The left voted en masse for Bachelet. Dolores Cautivo, one of the communist women who met with Bachelet, said, “We think all of Bachelet’s gestures positive, but we think gestures are weak and we believe we need concrete actions for Chile to really live in full democracy.” President Bachelet will have to choose between full democracy, or the lie that is the binominal system.

Brian McAfee Muskegon MI

Bush’s anthem hypocrisy Just a comment on your editorial “Our anthem — nuestro himno” (PWW 5/6-12): PWW readers may be interested to know that in Kevin Phillips’ 2004 book, “American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush,” one can find the following passage on George W. Bush’s courting of Hispanic voters prior to the 2000 election: “When visiting cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia, in pivotal states, he would drop in at Hispanic festivals and parties, sometimes joining in singing the ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ in Spanish.” Phillips also mentions (and I’m sure many PWW readers will remember this) that G.W. Bush initially supported amnesty for “illegal” Mexican immigrants; he didn’t adopt his anti-immigrant stance until after 9/11. Thank you.

David S. Pena West Palm Beach FL

Thank you! I am grateful for your recent article (“Illinois lawmakers seek Bush impeachment,” PWW 5/13-19) that draws attention to the disgraceful conduct of Mr. Bush. Your publication communicates the intense pain, frustration and despair felt by millions of us who cannot make our voices heard via the media. I hope that state legislators can get the impeachment ball rolling. In the face of incompetence, dishonesty, blatant religious hypocrisy and disregard for human suffering, you offer me hope of recoverable sanity.

Conrad Baer Spokane WA

Cuba revolutionizes its energy policies

Fri, 19 May 2006 05:14:00 +0000

U.S. jitters over the prospect of dwindling world energy supplies are mounting daily. “Peak oil” and similar concepts are entering our everyday language.

In socialist Cuba the outlook is somewhat different. Cubans know what an energy crisis is. Oil supplies there peaked 16 years ago and then, with the fall of the Soviet Union, plummeted by 50 percent.

The consequences were devastating. Power outages were widespread. Food production took a big hit. Caloric intake fell an average of 40 percent. Most adults lost 25-30 pounds.

Cuba survived, its socialist ideals intact, largely because its leadership and people took organized steps to radically reduce energy consumption. That approach continues to this day, despite improvements in domestic petroleum production (currently about 60,000 barrels a day) and Cuba’s more favorable terms of trade with oil-rich Venezuela.

Speaking to a million people in Havana on May Day, Cuban President Fidel Castro staked the future of the revolution on Cuba’s success in conserving energy.

He saw a “new stage of reorganization which encourages citizens to participate in the struggle against waste and bad habits, and gives people the possibility of raising moral and revolutionary standards.”

If other nations were able to follow Cuba’s example, Castro said, global hydrocarbon reserves would last twice as long as currently predicted and harmful emissions would be cut in half. Cubans per capita use 5-6 percent of the energy consumed by residents of the United States.

Today, young Cuban activists are making home visits to persuade families to get rid of antiquated appliances and to deliver new, energy efficient ones. In the recent period, Cubans have received 2 million new electric cooking units, 3.5 million electric rice cookers, 2.5 million electric cook pots, 2.3 million water heaters, 250,000 energy efficient refrigerators and 9 million energy saving light bulbs.

Cuba’s cities and towns have received thousands of new transformers, circuit breakers and other hardware. Energy officials will be buying 4,158 generators for hospitals, polyclinics, senior citizen homes and hotels.

About 60 percent of the country’s power distribution network will be revamped this year alone. Plans are afoot to use wind power and natural gas to generate electricity.

The Cuban president praised the 10,000 social workers who have taken over gasoline sales in a bid to stop pilfering and graft. The move has led to a 250 percent increase in government revenues.

These forward-looking measures are based on the lessons learned during the “special period” after the fall of the USSR. Filmmaker Pat Murphy, who helped produce a new documentary on Cuba’s energy conservation program, said the change “was much more of a social transformation than a technical one. … The transition worked to a great extent because of the Cuban focus on cooperation.” (For more about the film, “The Power of Community,” visit www.communitysolution.org.)

Spotlighting Cuba’s development of cooperative farms, urban gardens, and the use of draft animals and organic methods, Murphy said the Cuban approach is to “work with the planet, not against it.”

Texas labor picks candidates

Fri, 19 May 2006 04:49:00 +0000

IRVING, Texas — The Texas AFL-CIO held its 46th Political Education (COPE) convention here, May 8-9. Democrats, independents, and even one Republican made persuasive appeals for labor’s endorsement.

The Texas labor movement has been strengthened by solidarity affiliations from some of the unions that split from the AFL-CIO and joined the Change to Win coalition last year. It was announced, for example, that all the unions are still participating in the Alliance for Retired Americans, a 3-million-member grassroots advocacy group, which announced its Texas founding convention for May 20 in Austin.

At the top of labor’s suggested voting list this November will be Democrat Barbara Radnofsky, who made a well-received speech in Spanish and English to the delegates. She will be going after Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who has almost a zero percent voting record on labor’s issues.

Heading the state candidates will be Chris Bell for governor. Bell is a former Democratic congressman. One notable part of Bell’s distinguished career is that he “lit the match” that started Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R) barbecuing when he filed the first ethics charges against “The Hammer” in 2004.

The governor’s race in Texas is an unusual one. Bell is facing incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry. However, Bell has received less money and far less publicity than the two candidates running as independents.

The Texas State Employees’ Union (TSEU/CWA) favors longtime Republican Carole Strayhorn for governor, largely on the basis that she has raised almost as much money as Perry.

Independent candidate, mystery writer and bandleader Kinky Friedman is probably the emotional favorite for the state’s highest office. He regaled the union convention with his campaign slogans, “How hard can it be?” and “Why the hell not?”

Friedman’s short presentation was mostly jokes, such as, “Asking Bush to investigate oil company prices is like putting Cheney in charge of gun safety.” He delivered a series of supposedly self-deprecating, nearly anti-Semitic jokes about being a Jewish cowboy. Oddly, Friedman may have been the most on-target of all the political hopefuls in that he actually talked about two of the biggest issues: the environment and immigration.

Friedman has teamed with singer Willie Nelson to offer biodiesel at a fuel station in Hilltop, Texas, so his environmentalist credentials are established. His views on immigration emerged as a result of his misunderstanding a question about voting credentials. While Friedman’s position wasn’t especially good, he was the only candidate to speak to the issue — a remarkable fact, given how large this issue looms in state and national politics.

VaLinda Hathcox, who won the Democratic primary for Texas land commissioner, also bumbled a question. Hers related to the Texas “right to work (scab) law.” The unionists, who have suffered under this rotten anti-worker legislation every day since 1948, punished her by endorsing her Republican opponent, Jerry Patterson. Although they were invited, no Republicans other than Patterson attended the convention.

One candidate that clearly spoke to the frustrated hearts of Texas workers was Texas attorney general candidate David Van Os. Van Os said that the United States was being run by “gangsters from Texas,” and that the people running state government were “the gangsters’ junior partners.”

He brought the crowd to their feet when he ended, “Fight, fight, fight! Fight until hell freezes over, and then fight them on the ice!”

Letters

Tue, 16 May 2006 03:42:00 +0000

IFCO profits from immigrant labor Re “Movement presses on in wake of raids, arrests” (PWW 4/29-5/5): I am a former employee from IFCO Systems – Valley Crating Inc. in Ohio. I witnessed how these people are treated. IFCO herds them around like livestock. In fact the IFCO in Smithville, Ohio, was not raided. IFCO prefers to employ “illegals.” This is their way of doing business — less wages and they get to push these poor people around with the threat of deportation if they talk back or don’t work the 60-hour workweek. If you go to IFCO as a “legal” American looking for work you more than likely will not get hired, because IFCO would pay $10 to $12 an hour while they can get away with paying $6 an hour for those who aren’t “legal.” Not to mention out of that $6 an hour IFCO deducts $50 a week for rent and $15 a week for transportation to and from work. When I worked at IFCO I was making $12.50 an hour and working side by side with “illegal” workers doing the same job as me, and even some of them doing a better job than me, and they got paid $5 or $6 an hour.

A former IFCO worker Via e-mail

Bottomless pit? How can we as Americans have confidence in this government when we see demonstrations by thousands, young and old, every time an official would visit overseas, the latest by “Dr. Rice” to Athens, Greece. The president is no exception either! Are we much more informed than people overseas? We have a president who speaks in English grammar equal to a fifth-grader. “I am the decider,” he told us, referring to his “decision” to keep his cohort Rumsfeld! The double standard of this government is so obvious. The Chinese president is welcomed with open arms while Castro is still shunned. We are in such a huge amount of debt that the number is baffling even to professionals. Will someone please tell me when all of this will come to an end? Where are we heading as a nation? I hope it is not the bottomless pit!

Jad A. Ghanem Tucson AZ

On supremacy Society is rapidly approaching the realization of what harm can come to democracy from supremacy. During the era of slavery, the nation was forced by Lincoln and the free slave movement to examine the effect of slavery and the denial of freedom for those subject to racist supremacy. For minorities, that has been a continuous battle for freedom to the current day. Wealth supremacy has been much in the news as our society appears to be governed more by corporate profits and their influence and protectionist policies to insure their survival and maximization, including the huge number of layoffs, and companies and even governments availing themselves of offshore workforces with reduced wages. The effect upon American workers is devastating and they have been most vocal about it. Likewise, the effect of male supremacy has always been the unique experience of the female sex, one that too long has been the brick wall that few wish to take down. Yet, evidence of its persistence shows how damaging it is for women who are forced to choose between two masters — one at home, and one at work — while trying to raise socially responsible and responsive children.

Pat R. Boston MA

Suggestion I am a subscriber, very happy with PWW. Suggestion: Increase coverage of countries in southeastern Europe — especially those not in the EU. Thank you.

Willard Saunders Washington DC

More on transgender issues I admire and respect what you do. Please continue. But there are two things that bother me. First, why are you associated with Google, which has already proven its complicity with the fascists. But more importantly, why, if you represent the working class, do you not report more on the continuing efforts by governments across the globe to justify the daily murder of the transgendered community? I would think that if you do indeed represent the people that you would speak of us also ... but alas I am disappointed. Sincerely, proud and trans,

Rosie Schneider Via e-mail

HR 676 groundswell Bruce Bostick’s article “Health care struggles sweep Ohio” (PWW 5/6-12) omits information on the groundswell of support for HR 676, a bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and now co-sponsored by 68 House colleagues that would establish a single-payer health care system in the U.S. Central labor councils in Cleveland, Toledo, Ashtabula, Lorain and Dayton have passed resolutions in support of HR 676. The statewide conference of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has endorsed HR 676. Official retiree organizations of the Cleveland and Ashtabula labor councils have endorsed, as have AFSCME and Painter retiree groups in Toledo and Cleveland. Steelworker Local 1375 in Warren was an early endorser. Several of the endorsement resolutions have been forwarded to the Ohio AFL-CIO, whose state convention is scheduled for July. What is fueling this upsurge of support in union locals for single-payer health care, as embodied in HR 676, is the knowledge among trade unionists that the health care crisis is national in scope and will require a national solution. While unions engage in and support a variety of local and state efforts around ending the crisis, there is a growing movement inside labor that sees the complete solution in HR 676.

Walter Tillow Louisville KY

Fireflies ‘today i’m hiding-out from all of it’ i said to her. ‘from what?’ she asked with an eyebrow raised ‘from all the unreliable, lying news’ i said her attention left the conversation ‘i feel unable to hear the body count’ i lured her back ‘or the next installment of war propaganda’ i concluded she was obviously annoyed at my lack of patriotism she’s just not a mom, i reasoned within my own soul she can’t see a soldier’s hands and recall toddler fingers or nervous first piano recitals or fireflies in jars at nighttime

Jill Pletcher Via e-mail

Help

Fri, 12 May 2006 07:17:00 +0000

“When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody’s help in any way, But now these days are gone and I’m not so self assured, Now I find I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors. Help me if you can ...” (Lennon/McCartney)

Charity. Compassion. Generosity. Solidarity. Whatever you call it, “help” is loaded with complicated emotions. My parents were part of the World War II generation, and it sure didn’t seem like they needed much of it. Mortgages were cheap, jobs with benefits were plentiful, and saving was possible. When that proverbial “rainy day” arrived, they were ensconced in a secure, waterproof shelter. They seemed utterly immunized against vulnerability. And I grew up expecting that I would lead the same life.

Historical perspective tells us the extent to which they benefited from the “help” of millions of workers, heroes who fought and sacrificed so that future workers could have those benefits that afforded them a standard of living that enabled them not to need “help.” I knew these things in an academic way, but in times of great duress and wrenching vulnerability, we are informed far more by our gut and barely at all by our intellect.

And my gut told me that to need help was to be a failure. Millions of others had provided for their families in a seemingly independent way, the way that we were told was the appropriate consequence of right living.

But now those days are gone, indeed. And “self assured” is the very last thing I’ve felt of late.

Through a series of events that are most remarkable only in how commonplace they are, my family and I have been struggling for years to survive in a manner that resembles nothing so much as that fabled Sisyphean task. We labor and fight and exhaust ourselves pushing the boulder of debt and expensive health care and housing up the hill, broiling under a merciless plutocratic sun, only to topple to the bottom and crash, despairing of finding the will or the strength to try again.

The details aren’t particularly important or interesting. Dental bills, car repair, school bills, trying to run a small business in a struggling economy — they are pretty similar to myriad stories all around the United States. No front-page type tragedies here, just the tragedies of quiet despair that afflict millions of American workers. I could not pay my bills. Sometimes my utilities were turned off. Sometimes my garbage was not collected. Creditors grew nasty and harassed me. Sometimes they threatened me. My teeth went unrepaired, as did my roof. Scrambling to tread water, I knew what would happen if that water rose above our heads. I’d seen many others slide beneath the surface and never reemerge.

Every morning, I’d wake up feeling strangled. Looking down the road more than a few days brought panic attacks. And I felt as gut-shreddingly alone as that hapless survivor of a nuclear attack in the old “Twilight Zone” episode.

It’s difficult to describe the foul stew of emotions that marinate around those plunged into these circumstances.

What would be best, the solution of the highest order, would be for someone to offer help, born of genuine concern and not pity, someone who understood that things are rarely as easy as they are perceived to be. Someone who wouldn’t think less of you for your struggle. But in this world, it seems you’d be more likely to encounter a unicorn by a crystal stream.

A few months ago, disoriented, depressed and utterly at a loss for solutions, I found myself on a precipice. But amazingly, that unicorn showed up. It wasn’t magic. Despite having plenty of problems of her own, my friend acted. One day, in the mail, along with the usual late notices and frightening bills, I found a manila envelope. In the envelope were gift cards, eight of them, worth $25 each. These cards were for groceries.

I bought things that I needed and things that I wanted. And for the first time in months, I felt — like a regular person, competent, a person with a task and means to accomplish it.

More cards arrived. And every week, I bought groceries. They arrived when I needed them the most, and they were an enormous practical help. But they were much more. They gave me something a lot more useful than even the groceries I dragged home. They told me I was not alone. Somebody cared enough to help me, without making me feel shame, or a failure, or a burden.

I realized that though not everyone has a friend who can help them when they most need it, everyone should. As human beings, we are indeed entitled. The word “entitlement” has been smeared, just like the word “liberal” or, God forbid, “socialist.”

But just like those package directions that tell us, “For best results ...,” proceed as follows. And to get through this life with hope, and dignity and joy and purpose, do it in community. Do it in solidarity with those who can help you and whom you can help. Work to create a society where all of us have that security that comes from knowing that, in times of trouble, we’re not alone.

We deserve institutions of government that recognize this, that assure us that when we need assistance, we’ll have food, shelter, health care. We’ll have the support of those who can help, and, in turn, when we can, we will help others. We do not have to live in a landscape out of “Lord of the Flies.” Community — the ultimate family value.

Lori Challinoir (brennan07@aol.com) is a peace and justice activist and working mother of two in the Chicago suburbs.

Sago Mine families grill company officials

Fri, 12 May 2006 05:09:00 +0000

While an unprecedented public hearing on the Jan. 2 explosion inside the Sago Mine reached no definitive conclusions, it showed that the surviving families know more about mining coal safely than the International Coal Group’s owners and executives.

The methane explosion claimed the lives of 12 miners in the worst coal mining disaster in West Virginia in 40 years.

What ICG does know about is making money — lots of profit. The corporation’s first quarter report shows a net increase in revenue of 38 percent over the figure for the same period in 2005, or $212.2 million versus $153.2 million.

“We are, of course, disappointed that we did not see better results,” said Bennett H. Hatfield, ICG president and CEO. “The Sago Mine accident was a tragedy that unexpectedly and negatively affected not only our financial performance for the quarter, but also strained out management resources as we responded to the accident and its aftermath.” ICG reported that the Sago disaster cost $11.7 million, or nearly $1 million in lost production for each miner killed in the 53 production days the mine stood idle.

Never before had miners’ families been able to stand before a coal company and the federal Mine Safety and Heath Administration (MSHA) and ask questions as to why their loved ones didn’t come home from work. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), whose uncle died in the 1968 Farmington explosion that killed 78 miners, called the hearing.

The families were prepared and sharp. Many had read the extensive interviews and preliminary reports in the wake of the disaster, adding their own experiences and independent research. Their questions forced the Buckhannon, W.Va., hearing to be extended from two days to three, May 2-4, producing 25 hours of sworn testimony.

Debbie Hamner, whose husband George died inside the Sago Mine, wanted to know why MSHA asked Sago safety director Al Schoonover, maintenance foreman Denver Wilfong and fireboss John Boni not to participate in the hearing. Ed Clair, MSHA’s chief lawyer, said, “I’m not going to answer that question,” noting that another investigation is under way.

In interviews following the explosion, Boni said he lied about receiving additional safety training. He said he did so at the direction of Schoonover, his superior. Wilfong testified that Sago did not have lightning arresters, like surge protectors, on some equipment. ICG maintains that lighting ignited the explosion. The interviews are available online at the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, a state agency.

In fact, as questioning from the families revealed, ICG made this claim — that lightning, a freak act of nature, had caused the explosion — one day before it re-opened the mine for production. Its report supporting the claim was not completed until six weeks later and raised more questions than it answered.

Family members hammered on the hundreds of safety violations at Sago. Company CEO Hatfield stuck with the story that the violations did not contribute to the explosion. That prompted MSHA’s top mine inspector, Ray McKinney, to respond. In a roundabout way, McKinney said that the previously cited violations were part of a number of factors that caused the explosion, but that the agency had not yet issued a final report.

Amber Helms, daughter of Terry Helms, who died in the initial blast, summed up the hearings saying, “It opened many windows, but not many doors.”

In a joint statement, United Mine Workers of America union President Cecil Roberts and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney demanded federal action to protect miners. They also condemned the Bush administration.

Pointing out that nothing has changed in the wake of the Sago disaster, despite numerous investigations, congressional hearings, legislative action by West Virginia’s Legislature, and this public hearing, Roberts and Sweeney said, “The Bush administration has failed to enhance health and safety measures for coal miners. Since 2001, the coal enforcement staff has been cut by 190 positions and the budget by 10 percent.”

Driving home the point that the Bush administration’s actions have resulted in increasing the danger in mining, they cited 17 safety rules “killed” during its watch, including standards for rescue teams and ventilation systems.

While ICG was tallying up its profits, more miners have died in the first quarter of 2006 than in all of 2005.

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 12 May 2006 05:04:00 +0000

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.: ‘Missouri needs a raise’

Striking a blow for decency and solidarity, hundreds of union workers collected 210,000 signatures on petitions, more than double the required minimum, to put a referendum on the November ballot calling for an increase in the minimum wage. If voters approve the measure, Missouri’s minimum wage would rise from $5.15 (the federal minimum) to $6.50 an hour, and would include a built-in cost of living increase based on the rate of inflation. Over 42,000 Missouri workers would get a desperately needed raise in pay.

“Union members, churchgoers, people of all stripes in Missouri recognize that minimum wage workers deserve a raise,” said Missouri AFL-CIO President Hugh McVey. “This is not just an economic issue, it’s a moral issue, too.”

The federal government has not raised the minimum wage in nine years, so workers at the state level are taking matters into their own hands. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have already boosted their minimum above the federal figure, and labor and religious activists in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Pennsylvania and Ohio are working hard to have their states join that list.

BALTIMORE: Marching to end the death penalty

“These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” said the Rev. Bob Wickizer, welcoming 50 marchers who were walking from Baltimore to Annapolis to protest Maryland’s death penalty. “That’s what this is going to be about. It’s not going to be about people with white collars changing people’s minds about the death penalty. It’s going to be about electricians and students and street people making change through these extraordinary acts.”

Michael Stark, organizer for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said the group decided to begin their march on May 6 to arrive in Annapolis in time to support the appeal of Vernon Lee Evans Jr., who is fighting to overturn his death sentence. Marchers rallied at the State Capitol.

Evans’ lawyers charge the system is riddled with racism. A University of Maryland study found that in Baltimore County the prosecutor pursued the death penalty in 80 percent of the cases when the defendant was African American and the victim was white — a much higher rate than in other cases.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ala.: Klan burns cross against immigrants

Ray Larsen is the imperial wizard of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in South Bend, Ind. He drove all the way to this small town in northwest Alabama to spew racism to a Klan rally and face the wrath of scores of counter-demonstrators defending equal rights for immigrant workers.

Klan members from Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia attended the rally.

German Garcia, a Russellville resident and supporter of immigrant rights, said the Klan claims it has to “fight back” against immigrants. But “we don’t have a fight with them,” Garcia said.

Sonja Zelada of Florence, Ala., held a sign reading, “All one people.” Police stepped between Zelada and the Klan when a shouting match broke out.

Russellville’s elected officials issued a permit for the Klan rally.

A 22-foot-high burning cross lit up the night following the rally as Klan members in hoods and robes circled the icon of racist terror.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696@aol.com). Roberta Wood contributed.

LETTERS

Fri, 05 May 2006 07:36:00 +0000

Historic ‘paro,’ boycott On May 1, buses were empty, roads were empty, the media showed an empty sweatshop. Truck drivers left their trucks, stopping all transporting of goods from the ports. Two groups met at the border in San Diego. Several other border towns had demonstrations that closed the borders. An editorial on one of the Spanish-language television stations said the marches have been beneficial because it has shown that “we can determine our direction and we have learned our power which we can use to demand respect and dignity.” Many stores closed here, some showing support, others because they did not have enough workers and others because they were in the path of the demonstrations. Whole families attended. Some 27 percent of students in the largest school district did not attend school. There was music and chanting. I took a picture of a young child with the loudspeaker, leading a Sí Se Puede chant for a long time. He yelled it out with great passion. In Mexico, there was a call by clergy and others to boycott all American businesses. I talked with my cousin in Mexico, who stated that she was on her way to an event where they were going to dance for immigrant rights. People who would normally cross the border to buy in the U.S. did not, and it had a great economic impact. In several small cities, within Los Angeles County and surrounding counties, there were record numbers of people marching. Very historic! An amazing experience I was fortunate enough to witness.

Rossana Cambron Los Angeles CA

Barriers didn’t discourage protesters Several hundred additional police officers failed to discourage more than 7,000 people who overcame many barriers to attend the May 1 march in St. Petersburg. One of those barriers was the anger of some of the motorists who were delayed at various intersections, and who found themselves part of a massive traffic jam. The entire protest site was ringed by interlocking metal barriers. People approaching the area on foot were not permitted to open the barriers to gain access. Most were forced to walk at least half a mile along the fence before they found an opening. Parked police cars and the private cars blocked an entire busy two-lane thoroughfare, forcing cars filled with immigrant workers to circle around looking for the “official entrance” of the march. Yet thousands walked long distances, carrying food and beverages, being young and strong and determined to be part of this protest.

Jesse Kern Saint Petersburg FL

Siege ‘strangles’ Palestinians Thanks for the article on the siege of the Palestinians (PWW 4/29-5/5). “Frankly, we are strangling them” is how Israeli government strategy was described by a dissenting official to The Economist in August 2001. Supported by liberal use of force and the apartheid fencing, the “strangling” strategy includes passive and active choking of the food and water supply (in April 2002, the UN issued a special alert on hunger and malnutrition; things have gotten worse since); destruction of the sewage and power systems; destruction of the education and public health systems; overcrowding in housing (11 people in one room is not unusual), worsened by the bulldozing and bombing of thousands of homes. Most serious, “strangling them” has included passive and deliberate destruction of jobs. Public-health studies have demonstrated unemployment’s devastating impact on health. “Strangling them” sets the stage for internal conflict among Palestinians. It has already happened, evident in the declining status of women, youth and children. Palestinians are physically fighting and killing each other and themselves. This is the social equivalent of the “touchless torture” (self-destruction) practices used on prisoners in Iraq, Guantanamo and elsewhere. Capitalist decline is expressing itself in one way in Palestine, Iraq or Haiti, in another in New Orleans, but the results can be surprisingly similar. Because of Palestinian deproletarianization, the way out increasingly depends on labor-led initiatives here and worldwide.

Wadi’h Halabi Cambridge MA

Undocumented grandmother I remember from when I was a little kid the story of how my grandmother came to this country. It was well over a hundred years ago and she was poor in Germany. She wanted to come to America but had no passport. So she snuck onto a freighter and hid out in the hull of the ship. One of the sailors knew she was there, so he brought her food and water every day. If HR 4437 had been the law when my grandmother was alive she could have become a convicted felon along with that sweet sailor who was kind enough to bring her food and water. No one called my grandmother an illegal alien in her day and age, and we cannot stand for what we are hearing today! No one is illegal! But the way some of our people are being treated should be.

Ken BeSaw Bronx NY

Great looking GDP? On April 28 our government proudly announced that our gross domestic product grew 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2006, the strongest growth in years. This is great news until we read how Jeremy Rifkin expertly describes gross domestic product in his 2004 book, “The European Dream,” where he compares their dream to our dream. GDP was created by the U.S. Commerce Department in the 1930s as a gauge for measuring the national economic recovery from the depression and later to monitor wartime production capacity in World War II. It does not discriminate between economic activity that improves our standard of living and activity that does not. GDP counts every activity as good. It measures all of our spending on everything such as health care, cost of fuel and energy, homeland security, hurricanes, terrorism, crime, entertainment, etc. For brevity, let us look at just one: military spending. A March 17 Bloomberg news report stated that U.S. military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan will average 44 percent more this year than in fiscal 2005, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Military spending will rise to $9.8 billion a month from the $6.8 billion we spent in 2005. If you do the math, this adds up to a massive $230,000 every minute of every day! With all this added to our GDP, how much more good news like this can we handle?

Bud Deraps St. Louis MO

EDITORIAL: A special May Day in Bolivia

Fri, 05 May 2006 07:33:00 +0000

Bolivia’s working people had a special reason to celebrate International Workers Day this year, as their new government, headed by President Evo Morales, chose May Day to announce nationalization of the country’s hydrocarbons resources. The decree required foreign-owned firms to turn their natural gas fields over to the government at once. Military personnel and officials from the state energy company YPFB immediately began to occupy over 50 energy facilities, including gas fields, pipelines and refineries, to guarantee continuing production.

The government told foreign energy firms they must sign new operating agreements within six months. The firms are to receive about half the value of production, except for those at the two largest gas fields, which are to receive 18 percent. Major foreign investors include Brazilian, Spanish, UK and French firms.

Bolivia’s natural gas reserves, totaling nearly 49 trillion cubic feet, are the second largest in South America. Reclaiming this resource for the Bolivian people has been a key demand in repeated popular uprisings.

In another far-reaching move, Bolivia on April 29 joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), initiated last year by Cuba and Venezuela as an alternative to Washington’s drive for so-called free trade agreements, which destroy local economies to benefit U.S.-based transnational corporations.

Under a separate pact, Cuba agreed to send doctors to treat Bolivia’s poor, and teachers to conduct literacy campaigns. Venezuela will send gasoline to Bolivia and set up funds totaling $130 million for development and social programs.

“In Cuba and Venezuela we find unconditional solidarity,” Morales said as he signed the ALBA agreement. “They are the best allies for changing Bolivia.”

Bolivia has now joined Cuba and Venezuela in the forefront of the growing drive among Latin American countries to take control of their economic and political destinies. Such independent actions carry risks. Bolivia’s people and their government need our wholehearted solidarity and unrelenting vigilance, as they step forward on a new path to use their resources for the benefit of ordinary working people.

Peace Voices

Fri, 05 May 2006 07:04:00 +0000

Bridget Palmatier, carrying a photograph of her husband Cpl. Jacob Palmatier, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Feb. 24, 2005

He was the best husband you could have ever asked for and Bush got him killed. He was the smartest guy I ever met. ... He was bright and funny and warm and kind.

This war needs to end now. Nobody else should have to go through what we’ve gone through. I’m not naïve enough to think that this is going to end the war, but it would be nice if certain legislators would wake up and realize that it needs to end, and that they have the power to do something about it.

Anna Crafton, elementary school teacher, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I’m here because I love my country and I love peace. I think we’ve made a lot of mistakes there, and we’re not serving the people well there. We’re not serving the country in the way that we promised that we would. I hope this demonstration raises awareness that lots of people care and lots of people are thinking that this war is not OK.

Eden Shulz, Graduate Student Organizing Committee/Local 2110

I really think this war is a waste of human beings, a waste of money and it seems like a personal vendetta for the president. He doesn’t even have the guts to send his own kids there. Our region of the UAW has endorsed the rally. We’re all on the same page, the labor movement and the peace movement, on wanting the focus to be on problems in this country. Immigrants’ rights are being violated here; unions are being crushed at NYU and all over the place. There is definitely a connection.

Cathy Scott, president of AFSCME Local 2187, Philadelphia, with delegation from the Philadelphia Central Labor Council

We passed a resolution in Philadelphia against the war, and we wanted to be here in support. We have about 200 people, four buses. The war affects all the services that our workers provide. The public sector workers — their budgets are getting cut; they can’t provide service to the public because it’s all going to Iraq. In the private sector, we’re losing jobs — they’re going overseas — and there’s no support to try to create jobs in the United States.

Ed Bloch, Albany, N.Y., World War II veteran, 1st Marine Division, Okinawa

I’m for peace. In a nuclear age, there is just plain no substitute for peace if the world is to continue.

Roberto Diaz, Urban Farming Agricultural Academy, Worcester, Mass.

I’m here to support antiwar efforts and to support family farms. … We have a farm project that involves about 200 youth from inner-city Worcester. We bring them out to Vermont to teach them organic farming, to bring them home to do some good stuff. We want to get 10,000 farmers signed up for “Farms not Arms” before the year ends to support antiwar efforts, healthy living, eating the right foods. — Dan Margolis