New election law carries risks
The passage this October of the “Help America Vote Act” is the product of long and hard work and difficult compromises by members of both the House and Senate, as well as the tireless efforts of election reform advocates around the country. The compromise bill takes historic steps forward, and regrettably, erects barriers at the same time.
One step, millions of steps
If you got on a bus to go to Washington, D.C., for the Oct. 26 antiwar protest, if you took to the streets in San Francisco, or if you took part or plan to take part in a demonstration in any city in the world against the U.S. war against Iraq, you’re in good company. Protest has been the method by which workers have stood together historically to push back the more brutal aims of the ruling class.
Fox hunting trumps activism in major newspapers
In late September, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of London to protest military action against Iraq, rallying in what the London Independent called “one of the biggest peace demonstrations seen in a generation.” Yet neither The Washington Post nor The New York Times saw fit to run a full article about the protests, instead burying passing mentions of the story in articles about other subjects.
International notes
India: Plans made for Nov. 14 anti-Iraq war demo / China: Reaffirms political settlement re Iraq / Brazil: Metalworkers’ Federation congratulates Lula / Ireland: Anti-Racist Workplace Week / Korea: North-South cooperation affirmed / South Africa: Unions protest food prices
National Clips
TAOS, N.M.: 2,500 march at Rumsfeld’s house / FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.: African-American Research Library & Cultural Center opens / AUGUSTA, Me., MONTPELIER, Vt., NASHVILLE, Tenn.: Marchers call for peace / ALBANY, N.Y.: Insurers must cover womens’ health needs / NASHVILLE, Tenn.: Religious leaders meet on AIDS in Africa / SANTA MONICA, Calif.: Voters to decide on living wage law / NEW YORK: MIT on WTC collapse
Bush, Cheney and Halliburton found guilty
DALLAS – Two hundred low-income activists rode into Dallas on Oct. 24 to make sure that the world knows how George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the Halliburton Corporation are pulling America down.
What I wish I had said on Veterans Day
Last Veterans Day, I was in a nursing home with a broken ankle, and all us war veterans were invited to a meeting in the day room. We had the usual inspirational patriotic songs and then the hostess introduced some speakers from the VFW and the American Legion, and several other individuals.
Ft. Benning, Ga. has a school for terrorists
Since the vicious and compounded horrors of Sept. 11, U.S. Americans have been forced into a heightened intimacy with “terrorism.” It has come home with a vengeance and in a manner hitherto unimaginable.
Forging a peace majority
The Bush Administration seeks to ride the crest of popular demand for security against terrorism through Congress and the courts with their own agenda.
Socialist patriotism in the present crisis
To be a patriot is to love one's country, people and civilization without hating others, without thinking yourself superior. American revolutionaries were patriots, as were Yugoslav and Chinese Communists, who led their people against Nazi and Japanese invaders. European Communists and socialists who organized resistance movements against the Nazis, their allies, and fascist puppets were patriots.
