People Before Profit blog

Gun madness, solutions and people’s movements

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:55:00 +0000

NEWTOWN, Conn. - The bells seemed to toll exceeding slow. They instructed us to dwell on each loss, each human being. Hundreds huddled in the rain struggling to keep their candles lit as the bells peeled 26 times. It should have been 28 times.

I stood with a group of educators. Dawn Hochsprung was from my town, born and raised, and was a parent of five. As principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, she tried to stop this latest mass killing spree.

In the United States, there are 87 gun deaths each day and 183 gun-related injuries each day according to the Center For Disease Control (CDC) and the University of Chicago. There were 17 mass shootings alone in 2012.

The insane proliferation of guns has to stop. The madness has to stop. The proposal of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to arm educators, nurses and librarians is a reflection of the madness. The descent people in the NRA need to replace this bellicose leadership or vacate the organization.

It is important to expose the economic roots of the madness. Why? Because therein lies the political base of the NRA leadership and the gun lobbies.

Fifty one thousand gun stores feed this madness. There are more gun stores than grocery stores or McDonald restaurants in the U.S. The gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson made $48.5 million dollars in the last quarter alone. Freedom Group, the gun manufacturer who makes the semi-automatic weapons including the one used in the Newtown school massacre, has made over $200 million dollars on such sales. Wall Street does the financing.

As we dig deeper into this issue, there is much more to discuss. Sports announcer Bob Costas raised the issue of gun proliferation after the gun shooting death of the partner of Jovan Belcher, the Kansas City Chiefs football player and Belcher's subsequent suicide. Costas was roundly criticized for his statement on guns and especially for doing it during a football game on national television. CNN polls on both issues are running 2:1 against Costas. Does the fact that both victims were African American account for some of this negative reaction? It happened before the tragic events in Newtown.

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns Campaign (www.DemandAPlan.org) offers some solutions. These include a criminal background check for every gun sold, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and making gun trafficking a federal crime. A ban on handguns must be added to this list. Why? Because when this was done, as evidenced by such countries as England, Germany and Australia, gun deaths dropped dramatically.

These steps would have the added effect of slowing the gun running into Mexico and the carnage in the border areas. The analysis and solutions put forward by the Connecticut Peace Council, especially the connection to the country's continual war footing, are a necessary addition.

We must never forget the students massacred at Ohio's Kent State University and Jackson State University in Mississippi, during the U.S. war in Vietnam. Our culture of violence has multiple roots. Profits are the taproot.

But the discussion and the actions can't stop here. An item that can be fought for in every state and town, and raised on the national level, is to make our parks gun free zones. This can be taken up with local park commissions and town councils. It is one way for mass participation and for deepening consciousness locally on the need to transition to a culture of peace.

Looking down the road, it is time for revolutionary boldness. Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that, "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, . . . " It does not say the Senate is to be a millionaires' playground. Too many representatives get support from the gun and military industrial complex lobbies. This has to end.

A Senate of Peoples' Movements, to replace the millionaires club, is a proposal that needs the light of day. Every two years primaries in each state nominate representatives of labor, peace, women, people of color, environment, LGBT and other social justice movements in some agreed upon ratio by a broad peoples' alliance of these organizations.

If such a Peoples' Senate were in place, would an event like the Newtown massacre have occurred? Would an assault weapon have been as readily available to the mentally unstable shooter?

Polls show 20% of our people are open to the ideas of socialism. How many would be open to a Peoples Senate proposal? I say many. It has the added benefit of showing the people of the USA that the left is striving for a culture of peace. Let's invite everyone to join the discussion and action.

Photo: Mothers and their children pay their respects at a memorial for shooting victims near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 15. (AP)

Ten of the worst things said in 2012

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:12:00 +0000

Some people have a tendency to say bad things. Sometimes the quotes are bad because they are stupid, sometimes because they are wicked, and sometimes because they are just incomprehensible. We've tried to include some of each.

DREAMers are "brats"

CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette Jr. said this one. Specifically, he said, "At times, these young people act like spoiled brats." He says DREAMers are going too far in their protest actions and act "entitled." Oooooooooooo! Those bastards! How dare they feel entitled to be citizens of the country in which they grew up! In a rambling, self-contradictory column, Navarrette argued further that DREAMers are demanding better treatment than "run-of-the-mill illegal immigrants" - even though he later chastises them for demanding too much, including comprehensive immigration reform for all undocumented immigrants. This could have been the worst thing said, but it is lessened by the insignificance of Navarrette's column.

The 47 percent

Everyone knows about Mitt Romney's idiotic comment, made in Florida, in which he states that 47 percent of the country are dependent on the government and will therefore vote for Obama. This comment would be higher on the list, except that it has a good side: it helped Romney lose the election.

Rape's not so bad

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., told the world that in cases of "legitimate rape" a woman's body has a way to "shut that whole thing down." Later, Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock let everyone know that "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." What exactly is he accusing God of? Whatever your views on abortion, we bet you were appalled by these statements. Especially if you actually, you know, believe that God is good.

Arm the teachers, put guards in schools, etc.

As a country, we have this terrible problem of people shooting up schools. It's not unheard of elsewhere, but it's far less common. Of course, the problem can't be that there are too many guns or that the guns are too effective, according to the NRA and Republican lawmakers in many states. Shooters wouldn't have a tougher time on their rampages if they didn't have a gun at all or if they had to stop and reload after six shots. No, the real solution is arming the teachers or putting armed guards in schools. The armed guards thing didn't work out so well at Fort Hood, a military base where virtually everyone was armed, or at Virginia Tech, which had its own police force. Arming the teachers? With all due love and respect to my grade school teachers, who did a fine job of teaching, I don't think they' would have done such a fine job as Dirty Harry-style warriors. Other solutions (hint: better gun control in all states) are in order.

Apple should try to compete with Google Maps!

Anyone who tried to use the app that came with the new iPhones understands.

Democrats like slavery

That was Rep. Allen West, whom the good voters of Florida had the sense to throw out in the November elections. Specifically, he said, "[T]he Democratic appetite for ever-increasing redistributionary handouts is in fact the most insidious form of slavery remaining in the world today, and it does not promote economic freedom."

And we thought we'd already covered the worst forms still existing slavery.

The Mayans

Okay, Dec. 21, 2012, came and went. Can everyone who thought the world would end on that day - based on a thousands of years old calendar that didn't even predict the end of the world - just take a few moments to admit that they are stupid? Or, to be more charitable, that they acted very stupidly? On a related note, congratulations to the Mexican and Guatemalan tourism industry on a successful campaign!

Anything Rick Santorum said on the UN rights of the disabled treaty

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, torpedoed by Republicans in the Senate, would have put the world on course to emulate the Americans with Disabilities Act. But for people like Rick Santorum, UN-phobia took over, causing him to say such stupid things as, "CRPD gives too much power to the UN, and the unelected, unaccountable committee tasked with overseeing its implementation, while taking power and responsibility away from our elected representatives and, more important, from parents and caregivers of disabled persons." That this simply isn't true doesn't matter to people so fearful of the UN as Santorum and the GOP in general. To them, any treaty that is even remotely connected to the United Nations (you know, the organization that, despite its flaws, has done more than any other to reduce poverty, provide potable drinking water, etc. than any other organization on Earth) is just another step toward the rule of the World Government. Put on your foil hats!

Marco Rubio: "I'm not a scientist, man"

When asked by GQ how old he thought the Earth is, Fla. Senator and presumptive Republican candidate for the 2016 elections answered, "Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries." It's not a mystery at all. The Earth is about 4 billion years old. The only people who disagree are members of extreme religious sects. Most Christians understand this, as do most Jews and Muslims. Scientists definitely understand this. Who exactly is Rubio trying to appeal to? Oh, that's right: the Republican base.

There you have it. Ten of the worst things said in 2012. We tried to put them in order, but we couldn't figure out which was worst and which was best. A few were almost in the #1 spot, but those possible negative victories were undone by various factors. And don't worry: we understand that there were a lot more than ten things said. If you think any others should be added to the list, feel free to enter them in the comments. Whoever comes up with the best wins that most special feeling of being the smartest person in the room. We admit that if you're sitting alone in front of your computer the feeling's not so special, but it will have to do.

Best wishes!

Photo: Rep. Akin looking clever. Donkey Hotey // CC 2.0

10 favorite food websites in 2012

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:51:00 +0000

This is not a list of websites for cooking shows or well-known chefs. Rather it is a grouping of websites about all things relating to the food we eat: where is comes from, who does the work, what are the issues and what we can do to be informed and take action.

Farm Aid. The first Farm Aid concert in 1985 was held to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. But they have expanded under the slogan Farm Aid: Family farmers, good food, a better America.

They have a HOMEGROWN.org website promoting food from family farms, an online Farmer Resource Network to help family farmers thrive and their Farm Aid's Action Center to allow concerned citizens to become advocates for farm policy change.

UNITE HERE! REAL FOOD.REAL JOBS. Institutional food - food prepared outside of the home - is a big part of our food system. Changes in the food practices of these institutions would have a profound impact on the both food system and food workers. The website is a rich resource, with stories from those in food service.

The latest post is about Mrs. Kim, a worker from Chicago Public Schools, whose lunchroom workers fought for four months this Spring to make their vision of freshly-cooked food for Chicago's children a reality.

Healthy School Food. This is such a great website! Their Project Cool School Foods in Ithaca and New York City are partnerships between the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, the school districts, businesses and organizations to develop, test, and implement plant-based, made from scratch, international bean-based recipes in school cafeterias. And it is a Farm to School Program, featuring locally grown, organic beans and grains grown at Cayuga Pure Organics.

Their wealth of information includes recipes, school gardens, resources and success stories. And check out the photo on their Facebook page - that lunch tray makes my mouth water!

Growing Power Inc. Their vision is inspiring urban communities to build sustainable food systems that are equitable and ecologically sound, "creating a just world, one food-secure community at a time."

Growing Power implements their mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.

Chicagoans can check out the Facebook page for Growing Power Chicago to find out when and where they can purchase food and/or volunteer.

Slow Food USA. Their slogan is "supporting good, clean and fair food" - everything that fast food is not. Their programs promote local and regional foods and safeguard biodiversity. Be sure to check out their US Ark of Taste, a catalog of over 200 delicious foods in danger of extinction. By promoting and eating Ark products they hope to ensure they remain in production and on our plates.

United Farm Workers. UFW, founded by Cesar Chavez, exists to provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society's bounty.

Their stated values are: Integrity: Doing the right thing even when no one is looking; Si Se Puede Attitude: The embodiment of a personal and organizational spirit that promotes confidence, courage and risk taking; Innovation: The active pursuit of new ideas; Non-Violence: Engaging in disciplined action; Empowerment: A fundamental belief in and respect for people.

Many UFW campaigns are to protect the farm workers on the job in the fields and to keep the food we eat safe. They often collaborate in these efforts with environmental groups. Check out the work they have done to keep strawberry fields safe.

United Food and Commercial Workers. The 1.3 million members of the UFCW in the U.S. and Canada work in a wide range of industries from meat packing plants, grocery stores, retail stores and a number of other industries.

Over 240,000 UFCW members work in the packing and food processing industry. They work the kill floors, process sides of beef, pork, lamb, and work in chicken plants.

Hundreds of thousands of UFCW union brothers and sisters work in supermarkets across the country-slicing meat in their delis and stocking shelves.

UFCW has a militant history, most recently rallying in Michigan on the sham right to work law and the dangers of faster speed lines in poultry processing plants.

Seafood Watch. Fishing practices worldwide are damaging our oceans-depleting fish populations, destroying habitats and polluting the water. As informed consumers, we can help turn the tide. This website provides consumers with information on the issues and what we as consumers can do - including a downloadable pocket guide to sustainable seafood and an app for your smart phone. These are helpful when you are shopping or eating out.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The CIW is a community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. Southwest Florida is the state's most important center for agricultural production, and Immokalee is the state's largest farm worker community.

Their 5,000 members work for large agricultural corporations in the tomato, citrus and other harvests, traveling along the entire East Coast following the harvest in season.

They fight for: a fair wage, more respect, better and cheaper housing, stronger laws and stronger enforcement against those who would violate workers' rights, the right to organize without fear of retaliation, and an end to forced labor in the fields.

Their campaigns include: an anti-slavery campaign and a campaign for fair food.

Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI has been the organized voice in the U.S. on nutrition, food safety, and health for forty years. They educate the public, advocate government policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health and environmental issues, and counter industry's powerful influence on public opinion and public policies.

CSPI puts out the Nutrition Action Health Letter, runs an Action Network, and has a nifty consumer "tool kit" on their home page. Arguably the best and most important work they do is fighting against hugely profitable companies that direct ads (for shockingly junky non-foods such as soft drinks) at children.

This group of websites (and their social network formats) can help you and your family eat healthier and get involved in the issues that affect our food, food workers, and ultimately our planet.

Photo: Northeast Organic Farming Association of RI.

Global capitalism: The gift that keeps on taking

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:55:00 +0000

During this holiday season, while armies of eager shoppers packed malls and stores throughout the nation, America also joined in the festive atmosphere, giving expensive gifts to many of its friends and associates. You might be wondering what is hiding underneath the wrapping paper? If you guessed weapons, you are spot on. Yes, that's right, there is no better way to say "I love you" than to give your ally a 2,000-pound bomb that can be used to greet their next-door neighbor, say, in the Gaza Strip.

According to government reports, the United States military uses approximately 1.8 billion rounds of small arms ammunition a year. We know then that the Military-Industrial Complex leaders and corporate executives are having a very Merry Christmas. Better yet, while American children track Santa Claus via NORAD, you know, the same system used to track Russian Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM's), American bombers and drones are patrolling the skies alongside him.

Well, Santa Claus visited what seems to be every nation on Earth spreading good will and oh yes, Western capitalism. Santa Claus also paid visits, according to NORAD, to nations like Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. I wonder if he dodged all the drones spreading their gifts as well. So tell me, what is this season all about? What is this holiday spirit we are teaching to our youth?

While many Americans enjoy the company of family and friends along with the materialist cornucopia that lies beneath the Christmas tree, many more Americans will be going to bed cold and hungry in substandard housing, fearing the economic specters still haunting them.

I wonder if anyone looks at the tags or labels on their Christmas gifts. Can one fathom the working conditions where the consumer goods were produced? Maybe the clothing bought at Wal-Mart was made in Bangladesh, where workers are treated like chattel, forced to work in horrid conditions, which has resulted in the death of over 100 factory workers in recent weeks. Where is Wal-Mart, who greets its consumers better than its workers?

Karl Marx wrote in Capital Vol. I, "A commodity is therefore a mysterious thing, simply because in it the social character of men's labour appears in them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labour..." Thus, the social relationship consumers and producers have is presented in the form of the commodity which alienates the one from the other. Therefore, when children this season open their gifts, they see the object as it is, without seeing the labor, the working conditions and the hands that built, packaged, shipped and delivered the product. What does "Made in China" mean? The mode of reflection should be redirected to who made it in China and what their standard of living is.

It seems that Americans are further disconnected than ever before from the growing inequality that surrounds us. While the superrich enjoy gated communities, private transportation and the most exquisite cuisine, approximately 20,000 people will die on Christmas day from hunger or hunger-related issues according to the United Nations.

For such an emotionally charged season, few people care to address the structural inequality around the globe today. Even fewer know that major corporations have been purchasing large tracks of land throughout Africa and the nations which comprise the periphery, in a move dubbed "Land Grab" as reported by the Oakland Institute. While we send more aid and food to the regions struggling with perpetual war, disease and environmental issues, multinational conglomerates seize the opportunity in the midst of discord, to buy land that will be converted to produce vegetables and raise livestock for export. Yes, corporations are buying land in nations that have chronic poverty and war to grow crops and livestock for the global market. These moves have displaced tens of thousands of villagers, forcing them from their traditional homes and ruining local agriculture. This renewed economic colonialism seeks to destroy the infrastructure of a continent already deeply devastated by the AIDS pandemic, poverty and war.

The global plutocratic class has a lot to be thankful for this season, with record profits and the economy generating huge sums of wealth for the upper elite. The season of giving does not apply to them save the few charities that they donate to and then write off in their yearly tax return. Giving for the economic elite does not mean structural change, better working conditions, environmental protection or organizing the workplace. No, it means publicity stunts and propaganda about the benefits of private philanthropy over the "welfare state."

We the working class must show them what giving is all about, organizing our workplaces, fighting on behalf of the poor and the marginalized as well as fighting racism, sexism and LGBT violence that have been institutionalized by the hetero-patriarchal capitalist order. We must fight for peace and demilitarization both at home and abroad, focusing our efforts on rebuilding our nation, the environment and improving the international labor force. That is how the working class should feel empowered. Whether you are religious or not, the holiday provides an opportunity to be with family and friends, to build relationships of love and solidarity and to continue to fight for justice, equality and a brighter future.

So what should we be teaching people, most especially the youth about the holiday season? That the season for giving means much more than spending our days wasted in stores shopping endlessly for presents while Christmas music plays in the background. The season means redoubling our efforts at fighting for structural changes both at home and around the global. It means creating a more equitable society and international community where the experiences and fears of war, poverty and disease can be alleviated. It means being thankful for the ability to have a voice and to work hand in hand in movements of solidarity and freedom alongside rural farmers, industrial laborers and the technicians that embody human labor and ultimately our progress as a species. Most of all this season, we should be grateful that we have another year to give to the struggle for building a better world.

Photo: Santa and his reindeer at a farm in Alaska. Marc Lester - Anchorage Daily News/AP

Is Syria situation spinning out of control?

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:03:00 +0000

The news from Syria is not good.

Fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups has now taken at least 40,000 lives, and there are half a million refugees. Both sides have committed shocking atrocities. Combat has spread to the major city of Aleppo and to the capital, Damascus. The rebels have taken over the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, in response to which the Syrian military bombarded the camp while most of its residents fled.

Some have stated that the Assad regime is on the ropes, but others question this. All, however, are agreed that the bloodshed will continue, for even if Assad falls, conflicts are liable to arise among disparate rebel forces, especially between political Islamist or jihadi groups and more secular groups.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced U.S. support for the Syrian National Council as the "only" legitimate representative of the Syrian people. This group, mentored by the U.S-French-organized "Friends of Syria," has been recognized by more than 90 governments, including especially the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan of Turkey, which shares a long border with Syria. The council and its armed affiliates are the recipients of largesse from the NATO countries and from the right-wing monarchies of the Arabian Gulf.

However the claim that the Syrian National Coalition is representative of the Syrian people has not been endorsed yet by the Syrian people. The Assad regime continues to have at least grudging support from many Syrians, especially those who fear a Sunni Islamist takeover of the country with all that this implies. And the Islamist forces themselves are not likely to want to share power with groups, including exiles, that may oppose their program.

One Islamist group, the extremist al-Nusra front, is emerging as one of the the most powerful forces within the internal rebel coalition. Some see al-Nusra as closely allied with al-Qaeda, and it is a major conduit for foreign jihadis wanting to join the Syria fight. If they end up running Syria, there is little doubt that this will be a great shot in the arm for al-Qaeda affiliated and influenced groups worldwide.

Therefore it is not surprising that Secretary of State Clinton has added the al-Nusra front to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. But the "terrorist" listing has annoyed some leading figures among the rebels, who consider al-Nusra an important and legitimate part of the struggle against Assad.

The situation continues to escalate. Last week, the United States accused Assad of preparing to weaponize deadly chemicals to use against the rebels. Later, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta backed away from this a bit, but not before announcing that the U.S. will send Patriot missiles and some U.S. troops to help Turkish forces deployed along the Turkish-Syrian border. This has prompted fear that NATO is about to declare a no-fly zone in the area, which was a key step toward full-fledged intervention in Libya last year.

A few voices are still being raised in favor of seeking a negotiated solution to the crisis. Early this week, Syrian Vice President Farouk Al Sharaa publicly expressed the view that neither side can win and that a peaceful end to the fighting should be sought. Iran has now also stepped forward with a plan for a negotiated settlement involving new elections with the possibility that Assad leaves office. However, as long as the Gulf Arab monarchies and NATO continue to supply the rebels with funding, they will not see these initiatives as attractive.

A number of questions now face the U.S. government and people:

* Is there still a chance to get a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis, or do people like the al-Nusra Front now have the upper hand to such a degree that all chance of this has vanished? If there is such a chance, would it not be better for the U.S. to support it?

* If Assad falls, will there be an immediate civil war among rebel factions? If so, what are the chances that the likes of al-Nusra will end up in full control? And if those chemical weapons really exist (and are not imaginary "weapons of mass destruction" like the ones that served as the pretext for invading Iraq), who will control them?

* If al-Nusra and allies take over Syria, what fate will befall Syrian Christians, Jews, Alawites, Druses, and secularists, including Syrian communists and other leftists? What kind of humanitarian and refugee disaster awaits?

* What impact will this have on the rest of the Middle East, North Africa and the Muslim world? Will destabilization of neighboring countries, as has happened as the result of the Libya war, now be greatly increased?

* Most of all, what lessons will be learned from the Syrian situation that were not learned from Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq?

Photo: Syria Freedom // CC 2.0

Profits are driving force behind gun epidemic

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:20:00 +0000

Bushmaster, manufacturer of the semi-automatic rifle used to kill 20 small children and six teachers and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, is a multi-million-dollar firm.

Bushmaster is one of 15 firearm and ammunition manufacturers owned by the giant Wall Street "private equity" and hedge fund firm Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus in 2006 created a holding company called Freedom Group to acquire the gun firms. Others in the Freedom Group include Remington, the famous maker of sniper rifles and shotguns, and Advanced Armament, which makes silencers.

Dan Primack, a columnist in pro-business Fortune magazine, wrote Dec. 17, three days after the Sandy Hook shooting: "For many gun enthusiasts, semi-automatic rifles like the .223 Bushmaster [used in the Newtown massacre] is about sport and individual liberty. For Freedom Group, they are about profit."

Some 24 companies manufacture the AR-15, the type of semi-automatic weapon used by Adam Lanza in Newtown. In addition to Bushmaster they include famous names Colt and Remington. Also among them is another Freedom Group company, DPMS (Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services) Panther Arms.

The Freedom Group companies are not the only ones owned by a Wall Street group. "It is often overlooked, but some of the biggest gun makers in the nation are owned by private equity funds run by Wall Street titans," New York Times financial reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin noted this week.

These include Colt Defense, which markets submachine guns and other weaponry to the military and private security firms, and Bushnell Outdoor Products, which makes "Tactical Red Dot: First Strike" laser gun scopes, loaders for AK-47s, and multi-round bullet magazines. A Bushnell subsidiary markets its Hot Lips 10-Round Magazine this way: "Put 10 rounds through your 10/22 faster than the blink of an eye, and reload with amazing ease." Colt Defense is owned by Sciens Capital Management, a fund advised by the prominent Blackstone Group and another fund run by Credit Suisse. Bushnell is owned by MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm that once owned the diet company Jenny Craig.

The sole reason for existence of such Wall Street firms is to make fast maximum profits for investors. They typically make these profits at the expense of workers and communities - including the working class hunters and gun owners whose liberty and safety the gun industry and its lobbyists claim to champion.

For these Wall Street firms and gun manufacturers in general, increasing sales is vital to their profit mission. Military sales have been a big piece of their business. Gun firms like Bushmaster, Colt, DPMS and others market heavily to the Pentagon. But the gun industry faced big worries as the end of the Cold War in the 1990s brought a big downturn for the defense industry as a whole. Thus along with pushing military spending, sales to civilians took on added importance for gun firms. A New York Times report in November 2011 noted, "For companies like the Freedom Group, the challenge is to expand the market." The article concluded: "The issue is whether the Freedom Group, and Cerberus, can persuade more Americans to buy more guns."

In its 2012 third-quarter financial report, Freedom Group noted that: "Changes in regulation could materially adversely affect our business by restricting the types of products we manufacture or sell or by imposing additional costs on us or our customers in connection with the manufacture or sale of our products. Regulatory proposals, even if never enacted, may affect firearms or ammunition sales as a result of consumer perceptions."

Thus it's no surprise that the firearm industry's trade group, the National Sports Shooting Foundation, actively mobilizes public opposition to any and all restrictions on guns.

And it seems hardly coincidental that over the past decade, the gun industry and "citizen" anti-gun-control groups like the National Rifle Association have become increasingly intertwined.

From 2004 to 2010, the NRA's "revenue from fundraising - including gifts from gun makers who benefit from its political activism - grew twice as fast as its income from members' dues," Bloomberg Businessweek reported last January.

In 2005 the NRA started its Ring of Freedom program to solicit money from corporations and other big donors. The same year, "NRA lobbyists helped win passage of a federal law that limited liability claims against gun makers. Former NRA President Sandy Froman wrote that it 'saved the American gun industry from bankruptcy.'"

"More than 50 firearms-related companies have given at least $14.8 million" to the NRA under this program, Bloomberg reported.

The NRA's top corporate contributor is Missouri-based MidwayUSA, Inc., which sells ammunition, high-capacity magazines and other gun-related products. Midway's website heavily promotes the NRA. "No company in America is more dedicated to, and more supportive of, the goals of the National Rifle Association than MidwayUSA," the company boasts. "Inside the MidwayUSA facility, most employees have NRA member and life member stickers beside their name plate on the cubicle walls. Most departments host a sign that says '100% NRA Department.'"

MidwayUSA founder and CEO Larry Potterfield and his family are "regular contributors" to the NRA Foundation, and his wife Brenda Potterfield is vice president of the foundation's Board of Trustees.

Ronnie Barrett, owner of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, is a member of the NRA Board of Directors. Barrett manufactures AR-15 weapons.

Cerberus executive and Freedom Group CEO George Kollitides is a trustee of the NRA Foundation and a director of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, these companies and their lobbyists have been on the defensive to an unprecedented degree.

On Monday the California State Teachers' Retirement System, a major investor in Cerberus and the Freedom Group, sent shockwaves when it said it was reviewing these investments.

On Tuesday, Cerberus said it plans to "immediately engage in a formal process to sell ... Freedom Group."

Evidently, Cerberus fears profits from guns are at risk. But Cerberus is not shutting down the gun and ammunition makers. Instead it's seeking to make money by selling them. Who will buy these firms, and how will the new owners expand their profits? As long as there's profit to be made by selling guns, there will be an incentive to build the market. Perhaps it's time to look at "shutting this thing down."

Photo: Mike Saechang // CC 2.0

The fiscal cliff and odd bedfellows

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:14:00 +0000

What a strange turn of events. If we are to believe the leaks on the deal being cut for the fiscal cliff, it appears that President Obama's agenda was narrow-restore fiscal sanity by upping the tax rates on very high earners. In the process, he appears ready to concede to House Speaker John Boehner a Republican plan to alter Social Security benefits recommended by the Simpson-Bowles commission. What an odd legacy the president would be leaving. The cut in Social Security benefits that Boehner proposes would have a disparate impact on African Americans, the group that voted most vociferously against the Republican worldview. One would think the president's agenda going into the fiscal cliff negotiations would be to remind those who worked hard for his election why it mattered he won.

The cut in benefits is the result of deciding to switch to a theoretical measure of inflation that is meant to capture consumer's making "minor" changes in purchases to cheaper items from preferred items. It is being pushed because some people think that veterans' benefits, Social Security benefits and other federal program beneficiaries face lower cost of living problems than the current measure of inflation captures. The result they claim is that we are over adjusting federal benefits. They claim we could save lots of money without making anyone worse off by more accurately measuring inflation.

First, the measure is experimental. It is not the standard measure of inflation. So, this is all speculation. Second, the data we do have on the prices faced by seniors in an experimental index that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has produced suggests that seniors face higher cost of living changes than the current measure of inflation and so far from not being worse off, seniors, especially those who live longer will face a compounded decline in their lifestyles. The problem is compounded because the gap in the price indexes grows over time.

But, more disturbingly, the reality is that all Social Security beneficiaries are not aged. This is clear among African American Social Security recipients where nearly 40% are under 62. This is because one in four Social Security checks for African Americans goes to a worker with a disability. This key element of insurance that Social Security provides far outweighs issues of shorter life expectancy for African Americans. Further, by including the spouse, widows with disabilities and the children of workers with disabilities, nearly 30% percent of African Americans receiving a Social Security benefit are being helped because a worker or his widow has a disability.

Obviously, someone who has a disability is facing health care issues and faces costs that are rising faster than general inflation. Merely paying people with disabilities a general cost of living adjustment puts them behind but cutting their adjustment for prices is unconscionable.

The administration is reported to have adopted the Simpson-Bowles commission recommendation to help those who get to very old age by giving them a one-time payment to adjust for the deterioration in benefits they will suffer. And, the administration will reportedly exempt SSI (Supplemental Social Insurance) benefits for the extremely poor from the cut in benefit adjustment for inflation. However, while African Americans are disproportionately poor compared to many groups in America, the vast majority of African Americans are not poor and do not qualify for SSI; and, of course African Americans do not have the life expectancy to benefit from the one-time bump up for the very old age. In short, African Americans are getting the brunt of the cut that Boehner and the Republicans want.

The real issue facing Social Security is not that its benefits are too high, or growing too fast. Social Security has a minor funding gap because its revenues are too low as a result of growing income inequality. The Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) tax that supports Social Security is capped, so income above the cap is not taxed-a zero marginal tax rate for the highest earners. But, the majority of income growth since the 1980s has gone to those who have incomes above the cap. As a consequence, for the same benefit amount, those high earners have been paying a smaller and smaller share of their total income. Everyone below the cap has been paying the same share of their income. So, raising the cap on FICA taxes is the real way to address the problems Social Security has.

But, our economy and nation have their own cliff. The majority of Americans 39 and older are unprepared for retirement. The flat incomes of the past decade, the loss of jobs, the loss of home equity and the fall of pension funds mean that America's workers will soon be facing a bleak day. Too old to be competitive in the labor market, they will be forced to live on inadequate incomes. The real problem America faces is that Social Security benefits are too low. The idea of cutting Social Security benefits in the face of the coming crisis is bizarre at best. The idea of accepting Boehner's cut for African Americans, just a little over a month since Nov. 6, well, that is just strange.

William Spriggs is the chief economist at the AFL-CIO

Reposted from AFL-CIO NOW blog

Photo: Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff following a closed-door strategy session, Dec. 18. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Guns, profits and Sandy Hook

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:11:00 +0000

It took the massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut for the country to - we hope - get serious about regulating guns. That is a huge price to pay. The horrendous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was the 16th mass murder in the United States this year. The 16th! This number does not include the gun violence that occurs in our cities and towns daily.

The nation has hit bottom with regard to gun violence. Perhaps, finally, it can admit out loud, "We have a gun problem."

We agree with those who note that preventing mass killings and violence is complex and multi-sided. Universal mental health access is certainly a piece of the puzzle. Ending promotion of militarism in an increasingly violent culture is another.

But the mass bloodshed could not happen without the widespread availability of guns, and increasingly lethal ones, both legally and illegally. The question is: Will we be able to pull together a broad enough coalition to confront and curb those who profit from manufacturing and dealing in these individual weapons of mass destruction?

Much discussion rightly focuses on the National Rifle Association and its power. It and related groups are often referred to as "the gun lobby."

The NRA gun lobby is strategically aligned with political, economic and social forces grouped around the Republican Party and far-right elements. For example, the ultra-right, anti-labor Koch Brothers fund the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has successfully written and passed NRA-backed state laws that allow concealed weapons, guns at schools and "shoot-to-kill" defense - such as Florida's infamous Stand Your Ground law that George Zimmerman hid behind when he murdered teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.

The NRA and its related associations claim to represent individual gun owners and hunters. But no matter how many gun owners are members of "gun lobby" organizations, that is NOT who these organizations truly represent. Who they truly represent are the multi-billion-dollar arms industry - the manufacturers and dealers (Walmart is the nation's top gun seller) of death and destruction. It's an industry - backed by Wall Street - whose only interest is keeping those profits high. Major gun manufacturers are owned by big Wall Street players. Bushmaster, maker of the rifle used by the Newtown killer, is one of several firearm makes owned by the powerful Cerberus Capital Management. With the public outcry after the Newtown massacre, Cerberus announced it would sell its firearm holdings. The Wall Street Journal reported corporations are looking "to distance themselves from guns and gun makers amid a public outcry." But unless there is a sustained public movement to curb guns as a source of profit, the corporate profit drive will continue to push guns to make money.

How do corporations keep profits high? One way is to increase demand. That's where the "gun lobby" steps in. Shrouded in the most right-wing interpretation of the Constitution, the gun lobby peddles fear, racism and paranoia to the American public to pump up gun sales. They say, protect yourself from crime, from the government, from Obama, from Black people, from Mexicans and the Chinese, from economic collapse and apocalypse, from you name it. Unfortunately millions of people buy into it - and buy guns and assault weapons. News media have reported the killer's mother had guns because she was a "prepper," part of a movement that is preparing for economic catastrophe. Newtown itself was a victim of the "gun lobby," which blocked a local law enforcement initiative to bar people from shooting their weapons within 500 feet of a home.

There are billions of profits being made in the legal civilian gun trade. (Not to mention in military and law enforcement weapons sales.) Corporations also profit from the illegal gun trade. Banks, most recently HSBC, have been found to launder drug and gun-trafficking money to the tune of billions in profits. Guns and drugs go hand in hand with the high numbers of shootings in Chicago and other cities.

There are common sense first steps that can be taken to begin to rein in the powerful and destructive gun lobby. Ban assault weapons and high capacity bullet clips to start. That will send a message to the gun profiteers - and the country as a whole - that public safety comes before corporate profits.

Photo: Moveon.org image used in vigils across the country in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. (Moveon/FB)

Systemic violence and mass shootings

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:06:00 +0000

While we mourn the victims of the heinous shootings in Newtown, Conn., it is important to pause for a moment to reflect on what this violence means. Instantly, social media exploded and media "talking heads" were bickering over how the violence occurred and in what way it could have been prevented. Of course, the issues of the Second Amendment, gun control and the NRA were on newsfeeds, tweets and in the political discourse once again. However, there is something the discussion is missing.

While we condemn the attacker for the monstrous crimes perpetrated here, I call attention to the fact that we are still engaged in multiple conflicts overseas. You might wonder how this is connected? The fact is that our society, the United States, is a society based upon justified violence. Our nation was born from the violence of conquest, colonialism and revolution. The British, followed by the colonists and Founding Fathers committed crimes against humanity in their conquest of the indigenous peoples of this continent. In what was seen as "Manifest Destiny," the U.S. government justified the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans, in the name of freedom, democracy and the Bible. No one can forget the barbarous treatment endured by the African slaves brought here illegally and forced to work the land. It was under the whips and chains that America was able to become an economic superpower.

By the end of the 19^th century, America was on the imperialist warpath, involved in conflicts from Puerto Rico and Cuba to the south all the way to the Philippines to the west. Since then, America has marched to the incessant war drum beat, involving itself in conflicts, wars and assassinations in over 60 (known) countries around the globe. So what does this mean? It means that our society, the liberal democratic society that we so cherish, both is founded upon and exists because of violence. As you read this, tens of thousands of troops occupy bases throughout the world, warplanes patrol the skies and drones rain down hellfire missiles upon supposed "enemies." The issue here is that our existence and freedoms are maintained by "justified" violence. The existential necessity of violence makes it an institutionalized systemic reality in the United States.

Noam Chomsky made this very clear in a 1995 article in the Harvard Educational Review entitled "On Violence and Youth." In it, Chomsky argues that the capitalist system, aside from destroying the interaction of family members due to increased demands of the labor force, leads to what he calls "violence against children and violence by children." In essence, the social policy under the capitalist regime, aside from furthering its totalistic aims and control over our lives, breeds violence. It lives by violence and therefore promulgates violence within. The system is violence.

Logically, we can deduce that the United States justifies violence abroad in its campaigns for "freedom" by legally killing tens of thousands of civilians on foreign soil. The War on Terror, the War on Drugs, the illegal assassinations by drones and U.S. exports of military arms to nations like Israel, show that violence is considered a necessary component for U.S. survival and hegemony. Additionally, on the domestic front, violence is extremely profitable for the military-industrial complex and the movie industry. The Pentagon assists Hollywood with making films depicting the "glory" of war and conflicts abroad, like the recent movie Act of Valor, as well as providing aid to video game companies which produce first person shooters.

Angela Davis has argued that the prison-industrial complex in America, the nation with the highest incarceration rate in the world, perpetuates violence due to its draconian penitentiary system and inability to focus on social reforms and rehabilitation. Our inability to talk about mental health, racism, economic inequality, domestic violence and violence against women and the LGBT community further inhibits our ability to combat violence.

All of these examples, and they are in no way exhaustive, show us that the United States, the "land of the free and the home of the brave," exists due to violence. Therefore, we can easily understand that with so much justified and glorified violence surrounding us, an event like Sandy Hook, Aurora, or Virginia Tech is bound to occur.

The real issue here is our "culture of violence." If we are to make lasting changes and seek to stem the tide of violence in our communities, we must confront the realities of the system in which we live. We must stop wars, assassinations and the glorification of violence both at home and abroad. The Second Amendment issue persists and continues to be controversial because just as this nation exists because of justified violence abroad, people find the need to protect themselves at home as well. The moment we confront our social realities and get serious about working for peace, demilitarization and issues of inequality will be the moment we will begin to stem the ever increasing violent outbursts at home.

Photo: Troops training for and fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan fired more than 1 billion bullets a year. Morry Gash/AP

Hostess "betrayal": the case of the missing wages

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:10:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal tells the story of how Hostess Brands, Inc., took its workers wages and used them to cover its own expenses.

Hostess Brands (famous for Twinkies and Wonder Bread) has gone out of business after a lengthy bankruptcy process. During this process information has come out about how corporations can break their contracts with and steal from their workers and yet escape prosecution for their actions. It is an object lesson on how the laws are written to benefit private property and capitalists at the expense of working people who are often denied equal protection.

Here is what Hostess did. It signed contracts with workers in which it was agreed that part of their wages would be diverted from their paychecks and be invested in their pensions. This was a contribution made by the workers independently of the contractual payments made to the pension funds by the company.

In 2011, due to the company's financial problems, Hostess announced that it would end payments to the pension funds. OK, that is one problem for the unions to deal with. But what happened to the workers' wages that Hostess was supposed to be putting into the funds? These wages were not payments coming out of the pockets of Hostess.

Well, Hostess did not list these payments in the workers' paychecks. Instead it just kept their wages and used them to pay for the company's own expenses. During an interview the new CEO, brought in to oversee the liquidation of the company, said this was "terrible" but, "I think it's like a lot of things in this case. It's not a good situation to have." As to getting the money back - c'est la vie.

The WSJ reports that "experts" say that since the money didn't come "directly" from the workers no federal laws were violated ("probably"). Huh! The company says it will put the wages I earned into X but then diverts it to Z and since I didn't have it listed as "deducted" from my paycheck it didn't come "directly" from me, therefore it is really theirs!

The WSJ quoted a lawyer not involved in the case who said, "It's what lawyers call betrayal without remedy. It's sad, but that stuff does happen, unfortunately." Why then would any union sign contracts with companies to co-contribute to their pension funds and allow the companies to oversee the payments if the companies can just keep the payments and the workers are "without remedy"? Is this gaping hole in federal law being addressed?

This betrayal only affected one of two major unions at Hostess: the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union. The Teamsters did not have this kind of arrangement with the company. The baker's union did because "this local was very aggressive about saving for the future," according to a union officer. This is just another example of the truth of the socialist adage that any future for workers under capitalism is problematic.

Update 1: The Kansas City Star reported on 12-10-12 that the National Labor Relations Board has found "that Hostess had failed to bargain collectively and in good faith with a union."

Update 2: Hostess Brands issued the following statement on 12-11-12: "At no time were these pension contributions paid as wages, so no funds were ever 'deducted from paychecks,' as one news outlet erroneously reported. Hostess Brands has at all times continued to pay its union employees' current wages in full compliance with its collective bargaining agreements.''

This statement from Hostess is a new low in the metaphysics of mendacity: since the wages were not first paid then deducted but went directly to the pension funds they were not wages. Caveat faber. Worker beware.

Ten best and worst of Obama’s first term

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Below, find my summary of the best and worst of the last four years. Perhaps the bestest, not included, is the mass movement that elected the president and whose influence must be brought to bear to create real change in Washington and beyond. With that some of the worst can be reversed and turned into bests.

10 best

1. Signing of the Lily Ledbetter Act. One of the first acts of the Obama presidency was to sign the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which reversed a Supreme Court decision limiting women's right to sue for pay discrimination. The act was signed on January 29, 2009.

2. Support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill would allow workers to bargain with employers if a majority signed up for recognition.

3. Support for taxing the rich. President Obama has continuously advocated allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire and making the rich pay taxes proportionate to their income.

4. Support for marriage equality. On May 9, 2012, Obama became the first U.S. president to support gay marriage. Prior to his announcement, Vice President Joe Biden indicated the administration's support.

5. Appointment of two women, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, to the Supreme Court.

6. Sponsored and pushed for the American Jobs Act to address the unemployment crisis.

7. Pressing for Obamacare, the Affordable Health Care Act. The president, ignoring conventional wisdom, supported and passed national health care legislation that other presidents, including Bill Clinton, had been unable to achieve.

8. Keeping campaign promise, pulled troops out of Iraq.

9. Affirmed workers' right to collective bargaining.

10. Condemned "right to work" laws, most recently in Michigan.

10 worst

1. Carrying out targeted assassinations of U.S. citizens accused of terrorism without trial, notably Anwar al-Avlaqi.

2. Military intervention for regime change in Libya under the guise of establishing a no-fly zone to prevent an alleged possible massacre of civilians in Benghazi.

3. In debt ceiling negotiations with the GOP before the 2012 election, Obama reportedly put cuts to Social Security and Medicare on the table.

4. On several occasions in Wisconsin, calling on public workers to accept the idea of "shared sacrifice," implying their benefits packages were excessive.

5. Appointment of GOP favorite General David Petraeus as head of the U.S. command in Afghanistan and later to head the CIA.

6. Inability to close the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo, Cuba, and place prisoners accused of terrorism in the U.S. judicial system.

7. Appointment of General Electric CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt to head the administration's economic advisory board. Immlet laid off over 20,000 workers, shipping many jobs overseas.

8. Appointment of Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers to the Treasury and White House economic team, both of whom were knee-deep in the sub-prime banking crisis.

9. Continuing the Cold War policy of enforcing a blockade of Cuba.

10. After refusing corporate donations to his first inaugural, the president has accepted big capital cash for the second.

Photo: Beth Rankin/Flickr

Fiscal cliff or soaring inequality: Which is scarier?

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:46:00 +0000

In the early aftermath of World War II, the Truman administration was hell bent on reversing U.S. foreign policy from wartime cooperation to unrestrained hostility towards the Soviet Union. To win public acceptance for this policy U-turn, Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan advised the president "to scare the pants off the American people."

Which is exactly what Truman (and the entire establishment) did. They let loose the dogs of anti-Soviet, anti-communist hysteria on the American people. And by and large, they were successful. Anti-Soviet and anti-communist ideas came to dominate people's thinking, crowding out, if not destroying, the democratic, progressive, and internationalist outlook of the New Deal and World War II years.

We know what followed - a permanent war economy and society, a spiraling arms race hanging like a sword over humanity's head, successive and costly military interventions in far flung lands, the rise of the national security state, the crushing of the working class and democratic movement for more than a decade of McCarthyism, the long-term weakening of the left and labor movement, to name a few of the worst effects.

But what does this have to do with today? More than you think.

The U.S. ruling class, stealing a page from Truman's playbook, is trying again to "scare the pants off the American people."

But the object of fear in this case isn't the Soviet Union, which unfortunately no longer exists. It's the "fiscal cliff" and the supposed economic abyss that lies beyond it.

One day it is Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post opining that going over the fiscal cliff will bring "a double-dip recession, 9 percent unemployment, and a totally gridlocked Congress ..."

The next day it is Steve Rattner, financier and Democratic Party operative, writing "... we don't know if our economy will take the icy plunge off the fiscal cliff."

And a few days later, New York Times columnist David Brooks joins this chorus, claiming that we are going to bankrupt our children if we don't rein in deficits and cut "entitlements."

But guess what? So far the American people are not running scared. In the November elections and in recent public opinion polls their desire is clear - to go forward, not backward. No evidence exists to suggest that they are ready either now or in the future to destroy Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, or roll back domestic spending, or resolve the budget crisis on the people's backs.

In short, they are not ready to become accessories to their own undoing.

But here is where it gets complicated. Not all of the political class in the nation's capital shares this point of view.

The mantra of Republicans in the Senate and House, as you would expect, is cut, cut, cut and privatize, privatize, privatize.

But what might surprise you is that some Democrats are buckling in the face of the so-called "fiscal cliff." Contrary to the wishes of voters who elected them, they are seemingly open to reductions (disguised as "reforms") in earned income benefit programs (a much better term than entitlements to describe Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid - which workers pay for through their taxes) in exchange for winning an increase in marginal tax rates on the top layers of the capitalist class.

This position, while far less extreme than the Republican/tea-party right, is a problem. It goes in the wrong direction. It's unnecessary. And it countermands the election mandate.

There are other steps that would really ensure the long-term sustainability of the earned-income programs - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid - and at the same time help curb the deficit. They include: cutting the military budget, raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to levels that existed in the 1960s, raising the income cap on Social Security deductions, implementing single-payer health care and, short of that, making the federal government the sole buyer of prescription drugs.

This is what should be on Congress's legislative agenda - not more cutbacks in living standards.

For more than 30 years, the earned incomes and job opportunities of working people have been tracking downward, while the unearned income and profit-making opportunities of the wealthiest corporations and families have been tracking upward, and both at historically unprecedented rates.

That's what's really scary. And that more than anything else is what needs to change.

Photo: Fiscal cliff scaremongers: Reps. Robert Dold, Jr., R-Ill.; Charlie Bass, R-N.H.; Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio; and Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., held a news conference last August warning about the looming "fiscal cliff." TalkRadioNewsService CC 2.0

The passing of Russell Means was a loss for the world

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:30:00 +0000

On October 22, 2012, Indian rights activist Russell Means passed on after a magnificent life of struggle to better the lives of American Indians. Means had a tremendous impact on Native American struggles of the latter part of the 20^th century and he will be sorely missed, but his passing was a huge loss not just for Native America, not just for all of America, but for the world. He became the warrior conscience of the U.S. as a nation and exposed the oppression of American Indians to the globe.

Means reawakened Native people to the need for direct action in dealing with the "powers that be." Contrary to popular belief, there had been a long unbroken string of Native activism throughout the 20^th century, but the government-leaning mainstream news media had for the most part managed to keep information of Indian resistance hidden behind the "Buckskin Curtain." What distinguished Means and the American Indian Movement (AIM) was that they were able to break through the "Curtain" with justifiably sensational tactics that the media could not ignore. The 1973 Wounded Knee occupation and other protests had to be covered, and that riveted the moral conscience of America and the entire world. All just-minded citizens, of all races, creeds and colors, morally supported the actions of AIM. Public opinion in the U.S. was on the side of Means and the warriors of AIM. One thing that was said about AIM in those days was that they would never lose a fight by default; when called upon AIM always showed up.

It has been said that American Indians are the "miners' canary" which indicates that justice in this society can be measured by how Native people are treated. Given that criterion this country is still sadly lacking in that category.

As for Means, he started out working in an office as a computer operator. He was trained as an accountant, was a straight A student and was awarded a scholarship to Arizona State University. Indian youth, in particular, should find this inspirational at a time when less than half of Native young people graduate from high school.

Means became a steadfast fighter for Indian rights. Among his many accomplishments: He founded the first radio station on his reservation and the first independent health clinic. He was also was a founder of the International Treaty Council which was responsible for the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which impacted peoples worldwide.

In the mid-1970s, I had the priceless opportunity to meet Means, Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt, Jimmie Durham and others prominent in the American Indian Movement, at an AIM rally. I actually remember him as rather quiet. In fact, I don't recall him even speaking on stage at the event.

Means was not only an activist, but also an avid painter, screenplay writer and actor. In these roles he always drew attention to Native issues both contemporarily and historically. He was also an author, writing a several-hundred-page autobiography entitled "Where White Men Fear to Tread." The book, written in language that ranges from the sublime to the earthy, is filled with profound philosophical and political insights. It is a huge indictment of racism and an expose of the appalling conditions in Indian Country that gave rise to AIM. Although I don't agree with all of Means' political views in the volume (specifically on Nicaragua and socialism) it is otherwise a stellar work indicting the U.S. for its horrific treatment of Native people.

Uncompromising to the end, when Means was first diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the summer of 2011 he announced he was eschewing mainstream medical treatment in favor of traditional Native medicine. Through it all, he remained the iconic symbol of American Indian resistance to the ongoing centuries of the race war conducted against Native Americans by the U.S. government.

Means reinforced the iconic image of the intrepid, dauntless Indian warrior willing to risk all consequences in his endless quest for indigenous justice. Exposed in his odyssey was the federal government's equally endless quest to silence him "by any means necessary." He was shot, stabbed (all assassination attempts), imprisoned, harassed incessantly, but he never slowed down. Means was a source of boundless inspiration to all who were committed to "The Cause." Means has walked on, but the movement lives on.

Photo: In a Jan. 31, 1989 file photo, Russell Means, who headed the American Indian Movement, (AIM) testifies before a special investigative committee of the Senate Select Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Marcy Nighswander /AP

The 2012 elections: Seasoned with salt

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Salt, in moderation, improves the flavor of most foods. So too with politics. The victory of President Obama and many other progressive and anti-right-wing campaigns was decisive, and satisfying in high degree, because of some salt. A broad section of the American working class shrugged its mighty shoulders in unity at the class, racial, ethnic, gender and anti-democratic stink coming from the Republican Party.

Outrage at the voter suppression efforts of the Koch Brothers and other reactionary forces fueled an upsurge that exceeded all that the organized campaign, union, and other mobilization centers hoped for. As the campaign reached a conclusion, I witnessed many anecdotal examples of good calls turning into volunteer organizers energetic about reaching out to their neighbors and community.

Not to mention the critical social networking arenas: Michelle Obama's and Bill Clinton's speeches at the Democratic Party convention. In addition, the web exposures of Romney's disdainful donor "chat" reached truly vast circulation.

Clinton boosters give Bill Clinton a lot of credit as proxy for Obama. I give him credit too-he did a great job in this campaign. But the truth is, Obama had a million proxies!

The emerging America is a deeply multi-national, multi-racial culture. It is a living testimony that the defeat of segregation has indeed yielded a promise of a more perfect union. It is a union where the full participation of women will not be denied. It is a union of many peoples, and lifestyles, music and art, sport and game, craft, food, and dress. The post-war millionaires' country club culture, and all its baggage, will rule no more as long as that unity holds. The beauty, diversity, talent, creativity, of this new culture will exceed all that have preceded it in greatness.

I am savoring the mass rejection of the racist messages of the Romney campaign; Austerity Economics - at least its worst advocates ("solve unemployment with more layoffs"); extremist positions on women's health, and the never-ending drug wars and criminalization.

Relished too are the I'm-not-buying-it-this-time" attitude toward right-wing distortions of Obamacare and assassinations of the president's character. Ditto on the electorate's affirmation of same sex marriage.

Now we face the fiscal cliff. Positions are still in play. For the working class, the defense of Social Security and Medicare benefits, unemployment compensation, education, infrastructure and health care investments are key. This is important not only for working families but for everyone.

If workers lose income, there will be no sustainable economic recovery. How can there be? Who hires if customers are not coming in the store? Our unity will be tested. But we know now a piece of the feeling of winning, of surviving the savage counterattack of finance and right-wing capital against the mandate of the original Obama administration to put JOBS first. We know the feeling. And like any good feeling - let's do it again!

Flavorful indeed was the 2012 election. With a little more salt, a perfect dish might be achieved!

Photo: Election victory celebration. AP