People Before Profit blog

FBI raids spark free speech protests

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:12:00 +0000

CHICAGO -- Peace and solidarity activists, concerned about simultaneous FBI raids last week in Minneapolis and here, held picket lines in front of FBI headquarters in more than 20 cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles (click here for video) and New York. Protestors here carried handmade signs that included slogans such as "Freedom to dissent."

The FBI supeonas seem to suggest it's an investigation into "material aid" for groups on the United States terrorist list. But civil liberties advocates warn that the government's definition of "material aid" is too broad and vague and could trample free speech rights. Activists also say this is a way to intimidate and harass law-abiding, nonviolent activists who disagree with U.S. foreign policy. The Department of Justice Inspector General, just days before the raid, issued a report on unwarranted FBI spying of peace groups from 2001-2006.

The following video is Stephanie Weiner, one of the antiwar activists whose home was raided, speaking at the Chicago rally. (Story continues after video)

The Chicago Sun Times, in an editorial this week, "Keep U.S. secure but don't chill free speech," reminded its readers of Chicago's notorious Red Squad, which spied on tens of thousands of Chicagoans involved in antiwar and civil rights activism, and incited violence.

"In the 1960s and '70s, the Chicago police Red Squad kept dossiers and spied on tens of thousands of locals. The squad was supposed to target anti-war violence, but often pursued people simply because they opposed then-Mayor Richard J. Daley, were active in unions, were neighborhood or environmental activists or were independent aldermen.

"Police spies eavesdropped, committed burglaries and tried to incite violence.

"We could hear echoes of the complaints about the Red Squad on Monday, when hundreds of protesters showed up at FBI offices in Chicago and Minneapolis to denounce the agency for searching the homes and offices of anti-war activists. During the searches, agents confiscated computers, cell phones, numerous documents and financial records."

The newspaper, known for its tabloid-style and rightward take on the news, said the FBI raids "can be a major deterrent to speaking out. It also discourages associating with those who have been targeted."

The Committee to Stop Repression of Antiwar and International Solidarity Activists suggests taking the following actions:

Call the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at 202-353l-1555 or write an email to: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov with the following message:

• Stop the repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists.

• Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.

• End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.

The committee asks that all concerned circulate statements of solidarity to your friends, neighbors and communities and ask them to sign on and do the same.

Photo and video: Activist Stephanie Weiner speaks in front of FBI headquarters in Chicago, next to her teenage son, whose room was also searched by the FBI. (John Bachtell/PW)

Former base could bring new life to Oakland

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:59:00 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. - U.S. Census data released this week confirm what everyone knows: household income is falling, poverty is rising. The American Community Survey found national median household income dropped nearly 3 percent between 2008 and 2009, while poverty rose in 31 states and declined in none.

That was the backdrop to a Sept. 28 telephone press conference revealing even grimmer figures for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, in the East Bay across from San Francisco. But there was a twist: a giant redevelopment project could help turn the tide for some of the workers hardest hit by the Great Recession, if provisions are included that will benefit area residents. The Port of Oakland is expected to take a crucial vote on the project next month.

In the East Bay one in 10 people lived in poverty last year, and in Oakland - the East Bay's largest city - the ratio was one in six, Jennifer Lin of the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy told the gathering. Along with "abysmal" unemployment, Lin said, the census data for the area showed a 5 percent drop in median earnings, and revealed that some 40 percent of those in poverty were actually working part or full time.

Racial and ethnic disparities made the situation even worse for many Oaklanders. African Americans "earned about 60 cents on the dollar compared to their white counterparts, while Latinos earned 40 cents," Lin said. With Oakland workers in the five lowest-paid job categories earning less than 60 percent of what it costs to provide for their families, she said, "this means many families are either going on public assistance or having to do without critical needs."

The ray of hope in this grim picture is the impending redevelopment of the giant former Oakland Army Base. The size of 200 football fields, the base sits on land part of which is owned by the City of Oakland and part by the Port of Oakland. Estimates say redevelopment could ultimately produce up to 8,000 jobs.

The Revive Oakland! labor, faith and community coalition was formed to make sure those are "real jobs and opportunities in our community," coalition spokesperson Mona Trevino told the reporters. She called the base redevelopment "the opportunity of a lifetime" to put Oaklanders to work, provide businesses with a skilled workforce and revive the city's flagging economy. But, she said, "to make this a real recovery, we need real investment, including job training, and real jobs."

The coalition is calling on the developers to sign a "good jobs contract" with the community including local hire requirements for both construction and long-term jobs, a commitment to fund jobs training, and a pledge that the jobs generated will be family-supporting, with permanent, full time jobs the norm.

"We also need a neighborhood resource center and outreach program to link the local community and employers," Trevino said, "especially for those most often locked out of employment opportunities."

Thousands of Oakland residents already back the "good jobs contract," and elected officials including area Assemblyman Sandre Swanson and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson have indicated their support for the project.

Job training is vital to the project, so workers with few skills, spotty work histories or challenges to employment can prepare themselves for the quality jobs the coalition envisions, said Greg Brooks of the Alameda Trade and Logistics Academic Support Initiative (ATLAS).

Brooks described the rigorous 11-week ATLAS program, which operates in conjunction with area community colleges to provide skills training leading to certification, along with personal development, job search preparation and help with job placement. "Those who complete the program can essentially run a warehouse," he said. "They can take these certificates anywhere and get a job."

Interest in such programs is so great that ATLAS, publicized only by word of mouth, attracts many times more applicants than can currently be accommodated, Brooks said.

With the Port commissioners' crucial vote just around the corner, Trevino told the reporters, "Now is the time for the developers to finalize the good jobs contract with the community." For more info click here.

Photo: Marilyn Bechtel In July Revive Oakland! coalition members and supporters rallied
outside Port Commission headquarters to call for local hire and other
community benefit provisions, in plans to redevelop the former Oakland
Army base.

Missouri tax ballot initiative would gut services

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:38:00 +0000

Missouri tax ballot initiative would gut services Missouri voters have a tough elections season ahead of them. Not only are right-wing Republican Roy Blunt and Democrat Robin Carnahan neck-to-neck in the U.S. Senate race, but democratic congressman RussCarnahan is also facing a tea-party challenger Ed Martin, who served as right-wing Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's chief of staff. Martin was later forced out of his position for intentionally deleting political emails relating to Governor Blunt; the scandal ultimately cost Missouri tax payers over $2 million.

In addition to these races, Missouri voters also face a billionaire-funded November ballot initiative that would eliminate the earnings tax in St. Louis and Kansas City. The earnings tax accounts for over one-third of both cities budgets; firefighters and police officers salaries are paid by the earnings tax, as are public recreational centers and park services, among other public services like snow removal, trash pick-up and after school programs.

According to a broad coalition of unions and community groups, United for Missouri's Priorities, the initiative, Proposition A, would "gut city services" by eliminating 33 percent of St. Louis' general fund - roughly $145 million - at a time when the city is already trying to make up a $45 million budget shortfall. The initiative would also eliminate 42 percent of Kansas City's general fund - roughly $200 million - which is more than the entire budget for the Kansas City Police Department.

St. Louis is already discussing reductions in garbage collection,public safety services and street lighting.

Additionally, according to a fiscal note sent by the City of St. Louis in response to ballot initiative petitions being filed, eliminating the earnings tax without a replacement tax "would result in cuts to public safety services so deep as to end the city's viability as a place to live, work and visit."If Proposition A passes in November higher taxes would likely be imposed on low income and middle-class families through increased property and sales taxes.

In fact, according to the Missouri Budget Project, without the earnings tax St. Louis would have to triple its current sales tax from 1.375 percent to 5.3 percent, and sitdown restaurants would have to increase their tax to 14.66 percent.

According to the Kansas City Star, "Repeal of the earnings tax...would presumably shift the [tax] burden to the poor..."

Furthermore, Proposition A would prevent residents from Missouri's two largest cities from deciding their own future; if residents of St.Louis and Kansas City decided that they wanted to end the massive cuts to their city's budgets, this initiative actually prohibits them from doing so, as this is a state-wide ballot initiative.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, people in Olivette, Joplin, St. Charles and "and every other hamlet in the state" would vote on what happens in Missouri's two largest cities.

"It's one thing to have taxation without representation," the Journal continued, "This is the exact opposite. These people don't pay the earnings tax, nor do they benefit from it," yet they would ultimatelydecide if St. Louis and Kansas City have an earnings tax.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and aldermanic president Lewis Reed have both received significant contributions from Rex Sinquefield, the billionaire funding the initiative. Both have refused to come-out publicly against the initiative. However, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon opposes Proposition A.

According to Aaron Burnett, from St. Louis Jobs with Justice, "Without the earnings tax our city's infrastructure would crumble. We would see massive cuts to our public services, causing huge delays in response times for our police and firefighter services. And we would see increased taxes on working-class families. We have to stop thisinitiative in November."

Rinku Sen discusses racial justice

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:11:00 +0000

"The biggest and overarching question today is how we move forward with a modern racial justice agenda," said Rinku Sen, president and executive director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and publisher of ColorLines magazine.

Key areas in that framework include legislative battles around financial reform, education equity, addressing the mortgage crisis, immigration reform, police accountability and criminal justice concerns, notes Sen.

"Every issue has a racial dimension and if we deal with those dimensions we can help solve problems facing everybody," she said. "But if we don't, then we won't be able to solve them thoroughly."

We have to be able to see these issues in all their complexities when dealing with race, gender and class, Sen said. It's also a matter of political will on the part of racial justice activists that are willing to engage in a complicated analysis about race today, she added.

According to Sen, one of the problems is that we tend to focus very heavily on diversity when it comes to women, people of color, gays and lesbians or working people. "We have to be able to move beyond the diversity framework to one based on equity," she notes.

For example, when we think diversity we're concerned about having enough bodies in the room, she pointed out. But if we look at it from an equity point of view, we're concerned about having power and resources in order for those communities to thrive.

"The biggest challenge in race-related discourse is to make sure we're not leaving people out and that when we include folks that it's a genuine inclusion," she says.

Meanwhile ARC launched a national public education campaign this week called Drop the I-Word that's focused on eradicating the racial slur "illegal" in the media and in public discourse about immigration.

"This is about shifting the discussion," said Sen. The premise is that when the word "illegal" is used to describe immigrants it dehumanizes them and promotes policies that follow that frame, she notes.

"In order to prevent hate crimes against immigrants and to get a truly sane and modern immigration policy - we have to be clear that this is about human beings."

ARC is asking supporters to stop using the I-word and take that pledge at www.droptheiword.com.

We also want supporters to especially challenge media outlets that use the term in their stories and headlines by writing letters their editors as well as to politicians, said Sen.

Last weekend hundreds of activists nationwide convened in Chicago for ARC's Facing Race conference, known as the nation's largest multiracial gathering of racial justice advocates. Conference organizers say their goal was to provide a strategic space for participants to wrestle with the realities of structural racism and forge a vibrant vision for change. Workshops, panels and forums about racial justice, the economy, health care, the housing crisis, immigration reform, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender rights and much more were featured.

All kinds of activist groups are needed including teachers, parents, business leaders and elected officials to move the fight for racial justice and civil rights forward, said Sen. People on the grass roots should be thinking about how they can impact their city or town's local economic development and policies, she added.

A native of India, Sen grew up in the U.S. on the Northeast side. She started her activist career as a student at Brown University where she received a B.A. in Women's Studies in 1988. Later she received an M.S. in Journalism at Columbia University in 2005. She has been published in several publications including The Huffington Post, Jack and Jill Politics and The San Francisco Chronicle, to name a few. Author of several books, Sen also recently appeared on The Tavis Smiley show.

Founded in 1981, the Applied Research Center (ARC) is one of America's leading think tanks on racial justice. The group has several offices across the country and aims to investigate the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develop new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality.

Reflecting on this year's Facing Race conference Sen said she was moved that so many people came out and were so engaged from start to finish.

"It just represents that there is a huge constituency for racial justice," she said. "If we continue to get consolidated and keep growing we could win."

Photo: Brian Palmer for the Applied Research Center

Atheists know more about religion than believers says poll

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 03:40:00 +0000

"The more you know, the less you believe." A study released September 28 by the Pew Research center seems to have proven the above quote, by American Atheists president David Silverman, correct.

"Atheism," says Silverman, "is the product of education."

According to the poll, atheists and agnostics know more about the world's religious faiths than anyone else. Out of 32 questions, non-believers answered, on average, 20.9 correctly. Jews followed at a close second with a score of 20.5, while the national average was 16.0.

The group most associated with heavy religious belief, white evangelical Protestants, scored only 17.6.

When questioned specifically about Christianity and the Bible, white evangelicals and Mormons scored the highest with an average of 6.7 questions right out of 12, but non-believers correctly answered only three-fifths of a question less than evangelicals and 1.2 less than Mormons. Atheists know more about Christianity than Christians overall do.

Why the disparity?

"What we see a lot of is that religion, people who follow religion, do not actually think about it very much," Silverman told the World. "They don't really wonder if they were born into the correct religion; they just assume it. Once they actually look into it, they become atheists."

Silverman argued that when people actually spend time studying their religion, they see that it is "incompatible with the real world."

"Christianity posits an all-loving, all-powerful, omniscient God," Silverman answered, when asked for an example. "No matter how much you couch it, no matter how much you squint at it, an all-powerful, all-loving, omniscient God doesn't mesh with world suffering, doesn't mesh with AIDS, doesn't mesh with cancer. It doesn't mesh with natural disasters. An all-powerful God would be able to stop them; an all-loving God would want to stop them."

Christians argue that everything in the world happens according to the plans of God, who moves in "mysterious ways," that show goodness that we simply cannot understand. But "if God were all powerful, he could change his plan."

One might not be surprised to find the average lay person unschooled in the religion in which he or she was raised. But what about the priests and pastors, those who have been to the seminary?

Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola, in an article for the journal Evolutionary Psychology, interviewed five non-believing preachers. Most of the religious leaders, who spoke to the researchers secretly, said that they thought they were the "tip of the iceberg" and that many more were secretly no longer able to believe. For these pastors, their lives have become interwoven with their former faith, and they are simply unable to come out of the closet.

Or, as Dennett puts it, "These are brave individuals who are still trying to figure out how to live with the decisions they made many years ago, when they decided, full of devotion and hope, to give their lives to a God they no longer find by their sides."

In many ways, religion can be a nasty thing, with the faithful finding something terrible in each other's religions. Christians often point to Muslims and their Koran, noting orders to kill non-believers and other atrocities. But anyone can point back. "Hell is really introduced in the New Testament," Silverman notes. "That's where you get into the whole concept of the all-loving God creating a place of eternal torment for those who don't believe in Him, simply on that basis."

Still, it's easy enough to find genuinely good people in almost any religious group, people who would, for example, take great offense to a story in which the hero impregnates his own daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). This proven lack of knowledge of the subject by its adherents - the average Christian only answered about half of all questions about the Bible and Christianity correctly in the Pew poll - may help to explain the contradiction.

For disabled, questions abound on Race to Top

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:37:00 +0000

As part of President Obama's stimulus program, special education funding was doubled. It was an unprecedented infusion of money.

However, it was a one-time, short-term funding boost for children with special needs.

There is still a ways to go for the federal government to live up to its promise of "full funding" of special education.

Special education costs more per pupil than general education. When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975, the federal government pledged to fund up to 40 percent of the cost above the national average per pupil expenditure.

But over these last 35 years, the federal government never provided even half that, until the stimulus spending brought it to 33.4 percent.

There are more than 6 million children with a disability who receive special education and related services. That is about 10 percent of the K-12 public school population nationwide.

Obama's main education initiative - Race to the Top - does not address full funding of IDEA, nor class size, two critical elements to quality education.

Since 90 percent of special needs students are "mainstreamed" in general education classrooms (also called "inclusion"), class size and individualized attention are even more important. In this economic climate, school districts and states, scrambling for resources, often have to give short shrift to more expensive programs like special education and highly-qualified teachers who make more money.

There are other concerns and questions about Race to the Top.

Many worry that the program places too much emphasis on standardized tests, charter schools and merit pay, all of which have no track record in improving student learning overall and may adversely affect children with special needs.

Kim Hymes, from the Washington-based Center for Exceptional Children, said students with disabilities are an "integral part in every classroom across the country."

"With all the talk about the next generation of standards, special needs children will be impacted," she said.

And assessments, which are at the center of Race to the Top, are "related to other issues," she said, likeevaluating teachers and tying student learning to performance pay.

A special education teacher in Chicago, who asked that her name not be used, described a real life situation for special needs kids. She said Race to the Top doesn't seem to address the real needs in special education.

"Most public schools are being plagued with budget cuts and overcrowding, so inevitably this means that your special education classroom is going to be affected," she said.

"In the inclusion classrooms the administration will say, 'Hey you have two teachers in the room, you can deal with 38 kids in your class.' The end result is students who need the most support in order to succeed are short-changed."

She added, "Schools who are trying to 'make the grade' know that their kids need a lot of support in order to improve. And, frankly, many just don't do well on standardized tests. So school management and teachers have to make a choice of who to prioritize, and usually it is not the student population with special needs."

Standardized tests have been found to be biased, and not a true measurement of student learning. High-stakes testing leads to distortions in the education process, like "teaching to the test," or not prioritizing students who need the most support.

The Chicago teacher pointed out another big problem: guaranteeing related services like speech therapy or counseling.

"Because of budget cuts and other funding problems," she said, "many of the related service providers - like speech teachers - are scrambling between three and four schools. We won't even talk about counseling and social work staff who are so crucial to all students. The end result, again, is that you end up with the students who need the most support in order to succeed being short-changed."

In one Chicago high school, there are 300 students with special needs and one case manager who has to arrange for yearly meetings with parents, and guarantee services for all the students. In the same school, there is only one guidance counselor to work with all the sophomores and juniors.

Race to Top emphasizes charter schools as a way to "turn around failing schools." Teachers and staff can be fired across the board and a privately-run charter school can be brought in as part of the "turnaround" model.

Yet, charter schools are notorious for their exclusion of special education students.

According to one University of Illinois report on Chicago charter schools, "charter high schools enroll statistically significantly fewer students with special needs than neighborhood schools."

Special needs kids, whether disabled, gifted, or English language learners, are also often left out of public education planning overall. However, the most effective teaching strategies are known to "evolve" from special education, CECR's Hymes said.

Two state-led consortiums have won federal grants to develop accurate assessments of student learning, which could lead to some positive reforms.

But, Hymes warned, children with disabilities should be included "from the creation stage, instead of retrofitting" assessments, standards and teaching methods.

Hymes agreed that special needs kids are like the "canary in the coal mine": if they aren't learning in the classroom, then general education students are probably struggling too.

A good lesson for Race to the Top policymakers.

Photo: Special education professionals, teachers, students and parents protest at the Brockton, Mass. school board in June. The Brockton administration sent pink slips to a stunning 430 teachers out of about 1,300 in the district, and proposed to eliminate 75 of 350 para-professionals positions along with many other support professionals and other staff. (Sarah Nathan/Massachusetts Teachers Association)

A chilling contrast in Michigan's 9th CD

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:10:00 +0000

PONTIAC, Mich. - With the first debate over between incumbent Democrat Gary Peters and his Republican and tea party backed challenger Andrew (Rocky) Raczkowski, voters have real reason for concern if Raczkowski were to be elected congressman in Michigan's 9th district.

During the debate Raczkowski continually professed he'd only be beholden to his Oakland County constituents. His words painted a far different picture.

Raczkowski attempted to demonize health care reform by saying it was "socialized medicine and the takeover of the entire practice of medicine." He blamed health care reform, not the insurance companies, for the increase in premiums many insurance companies enacted before the reform took effect.

Peters pointed to "some incredibly important aspects" of the bill including the provision that allows children under 26 to continue on their parents' policy.

He said because of a sliding scale based on income, "Middle income folks, who are just struggling, pay their bills everyday and can't afford it, now they will be able to have health care. Reform will bring peace of mind to many. We can't repeal health care: we have to keep it in place."

Peters pounded on Raczkowski's support for a 23 percent national sales tax. While Raczkowski tried to deny the charge, he has been endorsed by the Michigan Fair Tax Association because of his support for HR 25, the misnamed Fair Tax Act. This bill would eliminate the IRS (and taxes on CEOs and corporations) and put a 23 percent sales tax in its place.

Peters said it's anything but fair. "How many folks out there would like to pay 23 percent more for everything you buy? A gallon of gasoline? A gallon of milk? A house - 23 percent more, a car - 23 percent more."

Asked if the more than 14,000 men and women discharged for having a sexual persuasion different from the majority means "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" should be abolished, Raczkowski replied "absolutely not."

A far different answer came from Peters: "I am very proud to say I support the repeal."

While Peters touted his work on the Wall Street reform bill, Raczkowski has been quoted in local papers saying he was against Wall Street reform and was concerned the bill would "over regulate" the banking industry.

In addition, he wants individuals to open private Wall Street accounts for their Social Security savings. Luckily for seniors, this was not in place during the recent stock market crash.

To a question on the handling of Iran Raczkowski replied, "War is the last option but all options must be on the table." One got the distinct sense this candidate finger is quick on the trigger.

During his summary, Raczkowski repeated his mantra of opposition to health care reform, the stimulus package and cap and trade.

The Republican is a candidate who sees a very limited role - or no role at all - for government. This is deregulation on a vast scale with safeguards and oversight eliminated. If you're a conservative multi-millionaire, Raczkowski is your man.

Photo: PW/John Rummel

Facing Race conference highlights hope, vision and change

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:55:00 +0000

CHICAGO - "We need to put the spotlight on how major corporations continue to impact quality public services," said LeAnn Hall with the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations during the opening plenary of the Facing Race conference held here recently. "Our struggle is bigger than one big event, boycott or protest. It's a consistent drumbeat to break the right wing direction from moving forward," she said.

Defining the radical right, Manuel Pastor with the University of Southern California added, "The Tea Party is really the last gasp of white supremacy in this country."

Ai-jen Poo with the National Domestic Workers Alliance recalled what a day laborer recently told her: between fear and anger lies courage. "We have to have real power for the long haul because our struggle is a marathon," said Poo.

Panelists discussed the struggle for a vision based on equity and social inclusion in the U.S. among minority communities.

Xochitl Bervera with Social Justice Leadership ended the plenary. "Let us not forget this moment is about the next one. The future is now. We're here because we are the dreamers offering hope for the future so that our vision can become a reality."

More than 1,000 racial justice activists, educators and journalists convened here Sept. 23-25 at the McCormick Hyatt Regency during the Applied Research Center's 2010 Facing Race national conference.

Facing Race, dubbed the nation's largest multiracial gathering of racial justice advocates, featured presentations, workshops and forums on the following topics: debunking "post-racial America;" the economy and green jobs; reproductive justice; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights; the 2010 elections; disparities in health care reform; the DREAM Act and immigration reform; educational equity; welfare; and criminal justice.

Conference organizers say their goal was to provide a strategic space for participants to wrestle with the realities of structural racism and forge a vibrant vision for change.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University was the keynote speaker. Harris-Lacewell is a frequent guest on MSNBC and regularly provides expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender concerns for both The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. She also writes a monthly column for The Nation magazine titled "Sister Citizen."

During her power-point presentation she addressed issues of race, gender, sexuality and class.

"Democracy is being attacked on all sides," she said. "The 2008 election of President Obama was an extraordinary moment. And it matters that Obama's election was much better than the alternative. His victory was more about us than him."

The problem of race today, she notes, is about freedom, citizenship, the vote, racial integration, economic empowerment and cultural autonomy. The idea that because Obama was elected and because things are different - then things are better, in a so-called "post-racial society," is not necessarily accurate, she said.

Harris-Lacewell added Obama's election signaled a new America and shifted partisan power reversing various versions of older white guys when you think of a typical U.S. president.

"Obama's election changes what we think is possible and there is powerful political discourse on race right now," she notes.

She highlighted fighting for women's rights, gay marriage, health care, getting people active to vote and against the privatization of public schools.

"Justice requires that some of us are going to have to give up some things," she said. "Who said changing America would be so simple? We're not going to solve all of our problems tomorrow." But at the end of the day with Obama's election, "We have done something amazing," she said.

Meanwhile ARC is about to release a new study called "Better Together" about the relationship between racial justice organizations and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) constituencies. The study aims to explore the understanding that communities of color and their LGBT members have a good deal at stake in strengthening their relationships. According to the reports executive summary, when racial justice groups, including those focused on LGBT people take on issues of race and sexuality alongside LGBT activists, both can build enduring political power to make policy and practice changes that improve communities nationwide. The study recommends that funders should invest their support both in money and in resources toward LGBT organizations of color and in collaborations between such groups and racial justice organizations across the map.

Photo: Pepe Lozano

From left to right panelists Rinku Sen, president and executive director of Applied Research Center, Rickke Mananzala with FIERCE, Princeton University Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Monica Novoa with ARC and Erica Williams with Center for America Progress discuss race-related topics during the Facing Race 2010 conference in Chicago.

Saving Bragg Nature Center: Another Obama success story

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:52:00 +0000

BALTIMORE-Crews of cement finishers, carpenters, painters, and tile setters have swarmed into the Bragg Nature Center this past summer, renovating a once forgotten, weed infested, crumbling, 37-acre facility owned by the Baltimore City Public Schools.

The construction crews were hired thanks to a $3 million grant under President Obama's economic stimulus package - one of hundreds of projects across the nation that are creating millions of jobs while also building or preserving public facilities that will serve people for decades to come.

Yesterday, the Association of General Contractors released a survey showing that 56 out of 337 metro areas added construction jobs between August 2009 and August 2010, thanks in large part to the Obama stimulus.

"With construction employment on the mend, AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said. "It appears that the worst is finally over. The fact remains, however, this industry has a long way to go before we see construction employment back to pre-recession levels." Without mentioning Republican obstructionism, he added, "Congress is now a year late in passing major highway and transit investment legislation as well as other key infrastructure bills."

"Federal inaction combined with ongoing weak, private, state, and local demand will undermine chances of a broader construction industry recovery," the AGC economist warned.

The Bragg Nature Center is a clear example of an Obama "success story" ignored by the corporate media. Bragg was rediscovered about two years ago when Tony Geraci became the director of BCPS Food Service. Geraci who advocates changing the diet fed to schoolchildren by profit-driven private food vendors, got wind of the existence of Bragg and made a visit. Instantly he realized that the acres at Bragg could be turned into vegetable gardens to provide fresh organic vegetables to Baltimore schoolchildren.

Soon a staff of young farmers, reinforced by hundreds of student and community volunteers, planted vegetable gardens that, over the past two summers, provided a cornucopia of fresh vegetables. Organic eggs are now laid by a flock of chickens that are not cage-bound like those on factory farms. There is also a small herd of goats.

And then this summer, thanks to the stimulus package, came the construction crews.

For years, history wasn't so kind to Bragg, once a home for wayward youth run by the Episcopal Church. When the church closed the facility, they donated the buildings and grounds to BCPS with the promise that it would be preserved in perpetuity for the use of Baltimore schoolchildren.

The Bragg Nature Center is outside the beltway and adjacent to Patapsco State Park which helps explain the deer, fox, raccoons, and other wildlife that abound. There is an assembly of handsome stone buildings including the main classroom, the barn once used to stable horses, the old gymnasium where plants were grown and half a dozen big, greenhouses.

My personal connection with Bragg began twenty years ago when my wife Joyce became the elementary science specialist for BCPS. A naturalist taught classes at Bragg and hundreds of children were bussed here to walk through the woods, the meadows, and past the frog pond and down along the brook that runs through the property.

About ten years ago, amid the deepening financial crisis in the school system, the naturalist was transferred out, classes at Bragg were terminated and the facility began a long steady decline.

The only continuing signs of life was the "Plant Side" where beautiful plants like poinsettias were grown and displayed at schools throughout the city during the Christmas season. The only other sign was the caretaker, my son Nick, who lived with his wife and children in the lovely stone cottage.

He waged a heroic, rear-guard action to preserve and protect the center, driving off vandals and others who tried to misuse the property.

Ice storms tore gutters from the buildings. The paint peeled. The steam furnace that heated all the buildings broke down one cold winter day and the basement flooded. Ever resourceful, Nick took a garden hose down into the basement, snaked the hose out and down the hill and siphoned the water from the basement.

Now he and his family are moving out, looking back wistfully on the decade this was home but also celebrating the rebirth of this precious facility for teaching thousands of schoolchildren about the natural world and healthy food.

Ballot prop to legalize pot gets everyone's attention

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:44:00 +0000

If you want voters to pay attention to propositions, try putting one on the ballot to legalize pot. That's one message from this fall's elections in California.

The most widely-known proposition on the state's ballot this year is the one that would legalize, regulate and tax the recreational use of marijuana. A mid-September survey by the independent, non-partisan Field Poll found Prop. 19 ahead by 49 to 42 percent among likely voters it surveyed - a gain over a July survey that found the measure lagging by 4 percentage points.

The Field Poll also found some 84 percent of likely voters knew about Prop. 19, compared to less than 40 percent who knew about measures to suspend the state's greenhouse gas law or scrap the two-thirds requirement to pass a state budget.

Prop. 19 would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use by adults 21 and older. It would let local governments decide about commercial activities related to the drug, including growing, processing, distributing, transporting and retail sale. Local governments could also tax marijuana-related activities. The state could also regulate production on a statewide basis.

No surprise, either, that the measure is controversial. Like current medical marijuana legislation, Prop. 19 runs counter to the federal ban on all pot use. California okayed medical pot use in 1996 and 13 other states and the District of Columbia also allow it . The Justice Department under President Obama has said it will not prosecute medical pot use that's consistent with state law.

Among the measure's backers is Oakland City Attorney John Russo, who told a press conference earlier this month that "prohibition" is "an outdated and costly approach" that hasn't protected society or furthered law and order.

On the other side, Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown recently told KTTV, the Fox station in Los Angeles, "We got to compete with China, and if everybody's stoned, how the hell are we going to make it?"

It is also no surprise that young voters are among Prop. 19's strongest supporters, with 59 percent of voters under 40 planning to vote Yes. This has led some observers to see the measure as an antidote to the widely perceived "enthusiasm gap."

Less well known among voters, but potentially devastating to California's future, is Prop. 23 to suspend landmark anti-pollution measure AB 32 until the state's unemployment has been 5.5 percent or less for a whole year. Opponents say Prop. 23 threatens California's chances for green jobs, government and private investment in clean technology, and a sustainable economy. http://www.peoplesworld.org/jobs-and-sustainable-future-threatened-by-california-s-prop-2/

The Field Poll found No on 23 prevailing by 45 to 34 percent overall, with voters in most categories opposed. But with the current focus on environmental issues, the Field Poll's finding that just 37 percent of likely voters knew of the measure was a surprise.

With the state's budget now nearly three months overdue and still in legislative stalemate, it also seems surprising that over three-fifths of likely voters hadn't heard of Prop. 25, to pass a budget by a simple legislative majority while retaining the two-thirds required to raise taxes. Though Prop. 25 is ahead among likely voters, 46 to 30 percent, its lead has shrunk from an overwhelming three-to-one margin in July. Supporters say Prop. 25 would curb the Republican legislative minority's ability to hold the budget hostage for weeks or months, as it has done in most recent years.

As is often the case in California, Prop. 25 has an opposite number, Prop. 26, which would raise the current simple legislative majority needed to pass many fees to a two-thirds supermajority. Opponents say that would make it nearly impossible to collect fees from industries to mitigate pollution.

Another pair of opposites pits Props. 20 and 27 against each other.

Prop. 20 would give a Citizens' Redistricting Committee the job of redistricting California's U.S. House of Representatives seats. A 2008 ballot measure made the Citizens' Redistricting Committee responsible to redistrict state legislative districts. The body hasn't started that work yet. Opponents charge putting the unelected 14-member commission in charge of redistricting is far less democratic than leaving it in the hands of an elected legislature. They are backing Prop. 27 to return all responsibility for redistricting to the state legislature.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandulaneyphotos/2464983282/sizes/l/

“Pro-Muslim” textbooks banned in Texas

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:29:00 +0000

SAN ANTONIO—"We look cuckoo - which we are!"

So says Rick Agosto, a Texas Board of Education member from San Antonio, referring to a resolution banning textbooks with an "anti-Christian" and "pro-Muslim" sentiment, passed September 24 by a razor-thin margin .

According to the resolution, wealthy Muslims are investing in textbook companies and trying to take over the minds of local schoolchildren. Part of the "evidence" of the bias was the fact that some textbooks had twice as many sentences about Islam as sentences about Christianity.

The board rejected suggestions that, instead of issuing a blanket ban, would have called on publishers to treat all religions with "balance and accuracy." Other dismissed resolutions included a call to have scholars review any such claims of bias.

The Texas Freedom Network said that this resolution promotes bigotry and division. According to TFN president Kathy Miller, the some members of the board "ignore[s] sound scholarship and mires themselves in every hot button political issue they can find," and "they simply refuse to put the education of Texas schoolchildren ahead of personal and political agendas."

She said this resolution was an attempt to pit Christians against Muslims.

An unsuccessful candidate for the school board put the resolution forward, and it was added to the agenda by other board members.

The resolution could have been defeated: it was passed by a vote of seven to six. Three Republicans voted against it and two Democrats were absent.

The situation in Texas has national implications. That state is only one of eleven that have an elected board of education. Texas is also one of the few states where acceptable schoolbooks are decided at the state, and not local, level, and it is by far the largest. This makes the state the top textbook purchaser in the country, and publishers therefore cater to its policies.

By focusing on Texas, the extreme right has been able to keep Thomas Jefferson and Thurgood Marshall out of textbooks in districts around the country, and has been able to give a wide, captive audience to books that push anti-scientific beliefs, such as the idea the global warming is still up for debate.

The far right has become more brazen in their attempts to control public education in recent years. Many of the objections were made of texts that were accepted in 2002, by the same members.

But there has been a backlash. Two members of the board have been voted out, others are up for election this November—and efforts to remove them are strong. Progressives are trying to help people understand how powerful these candidates are and why they must vote in November in this "bottom of the ticket" race.

Global warming at stake in November elections

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:09:00 +0000

Not one Republican running for the US Senate in the November elections favors action to curb greenhouse emissions causing global warming. So says a recent report by the Wonk Room.

The only Republican who supported climate change legislation was Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), but he was defeated by Christine O'Donnell, a denier of global warming and evolution, in the recent primary.

There are six key Senate races in which a denier of man made global warming could replace a supporter of climate change legislation: Nevada, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The report is ominous, because if the Republicans win a majority in either House, climate change legislation is dead for the foreseeable future. With the world experiencing the hottest year on record and a growing number of scientists now saying we have passed key tipping points permanently altering the climate, action to curtail greenhouse gas emissions is an urgent necessity.

As the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) notes on its website, "The failure of the US Senate to act on comprehensive climate change and clean energy legislation underscores the importance of the make up of the US Senate following the November elections."

The same is true of the House of Representatives. All told, 229 House candidates have signed the "No Climate Tax Pledge" circulated by the ultra right Americans for Prosperity (AFP).

Republican candidates are under tremendous pressure from the extreme right, the oil and coal industries to oppose any legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Outfits like AFP, funded by the Koch brothers and FreedomWorks, run by Dick Armey, are whipping the candidates in line.

The Wonk Room reports that even Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) who had previously supported climate change legislation now oppose it under pressure from the right. Kirk's opponent, Illinois state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias received the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the LCV.

The Republican candidates are parroting the latest line peddled by the oil and coal industries - while admitting there is global warming, it's not clear where it's coming from. And beside, any intervention would grow government, raise corporate taxes and kill jobs.

Marco Rubio, Republican candidate in a fierce three race for Senate in Florida with Democrat Kendrick Meek and Independent Charlie Crist, called Crist "a believer in man-made global warming."

"I don't think there's the scientific evidence to justify it," Rubio said.

In Kentucky, Republican Rand Paul's campaign coffers overflow with contributions from the coal industry. Paul recently said,

"Now Osama bin Laden had a quote yesterday. He's says he's after the climate change as well. It's a bigger issue, we need to watch ‘em. Not only because it may or may not be true, but they're making up their facts to fit their conclusions. They've already caught ‘em doing this.
Paul has also said about mountain top, "I think a lot of the land apparently is quite desirable once it's been flattened out.... I don't think anyone's going to be missing a hill or two here and there"

In Nevada, a close race pits Senate Majority leader Harry Reid against Sharron Angle, an ultra conservative and Tea Party candidate. Angle calls man-made global warming a "hoax" and says she does not "buy into the whole ... man-caused global warming, man-caused climate change mantra of the left."

Angle calls for fully deregulating the oil and mining industries.

Republican Roy Blunt is locked in a tight battle with Robin Carnahan in Missouri. Blunt says, "There isn't any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth."

And in Wisconsin, one of the strongest advocates of climate change legislation, Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold is in a dead heat with multi-millionaire businessman and Tea Partier Ron Johnson.

"I absolutely do not believe in the science of man-caused climate change. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I think it's far more likely it's just sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time where we have changes in the climate" insisted Johnson.

Even a few more climate change deniers in the US Congress will make the battle for saving planet Earth that much harder. The outcome of the November elections will make a big difference in the fight going forward.

Science: did wind help Moses part the waters?

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:52:00 +0000

It is always risky to call upon science to verify a biblical story (and vice versa) but it can be interesting to see if a Biblical story and science can be reconciled. There is no real point though. A miracle is supposed to defy the laws of science, not be explained by them. Moses' parting of the Red Sea, as a religious doctrine, is purely a matter of faith (i.e., unwarranted belief) but could the religious myth have some basis in fact? A recent article in Science News reports on a scientific study that suggests the answer is yes.

Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado issued the following statement: "The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in."

Drews and his co-workers studied various atmospheric events worldwide where this phenomenon has been observed, and then did a very close study of Egypt and its possible typology and geography around 1250BC (a possible setting for the legendary Exodus). Using computers they recreated several possible scenarios attempting to recreate the conditions that would allow for a "parting of the waters."

Drews said, "The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus."

However, the only place where all the factors coincide to replicate the "parting of the waters" happen far from the Red Sea and require "a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a shallow lagoon along the shoreline." The location is in the north of the Sinai Peninsula along a now vanished branch of the Nile.

Biblical scholars tell us that the name "Red Sea" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew for the "Sea of Reeds;" so the Red Sea itself really didn't have much to do with whatever historical basis, if any, there is to the legend of the Exodus. The location of the Sea of Reeds is unknown but may have been a smaller body of water in the Sinai and may be compatible with the explanation given by Drews.

The upshot of all this is, while the Biblical romance remains one of the great fictional accounts of our past, along with the Iliad and the Mahabharata, there is, nevertheless, no scientific reason that some real historical event could not have lain behind the legend of the "parting of the waters."

Drews concluded: "People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts. What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."

Obama discusses elections with student journalists

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:14:00 +0000

Today's young people, the so-called "Lost Generation," are going to be just fine, says President Barack Obama - but only if the progressive reforms made in the past two years are defended from the Republicans and expanded upon.

The president laid out his thinking on September 27, during a national teleconference specifically aimed to give college journalists time to question the president.

"The key is for us to keep on improving the economy. That's going to be my number one priority over the next few years," Obama told the young journalists. "If we're building infrastructure, not just roads and bridges, but also broadband lines, investing in clean energy: all those things are going to open up new opportunity for young people with skills and talent for the future."

"Don't let anyone tell you that somehow your dreams are going to be constrained going forward," Obama said.

The president argued that his administration had already done a great deal to better students' lot. The health care reform, Obama noted, mandated that insurers provide coverage for dependent youth up through the age of 26, which will "provide cushion" for young people just out of college.

Obama and the Democrats also reworked the rules on financial aid. Going forward, no one will have to pay more than ten percent of their monthly salary to their student debt and, for those who go into public service, any outstanding loans will be forgiven ten years after graduation.

The federal government, Obama reminded collegiate journalists, will now lend directly to students, "instead of handing over $60 billion in unwarranted subsidies to big banks."

The money saved through the loan reform will be redirected to two-year colleges, which the president argued are essential in preparing young people for the workforce. Obama announced an upcoming White House summit on community colleges.

Still, high dropout rates remain a problem. "More than one third of all students, and more than half of our minority students, don't earn a degree, even after six years, and that's a waste of potential," noted the president.

While it's up to students and their families to complete college, Obama said, the federal government should work to help remove obstacles. He went on to announce the creation of a college access completion fund and the new "post 9/11 G.I. bill."

Republicans successfully scuttled the DREAM Act - but only for now, says Obama. "This is important legislation that will stop punishing young people whose parents brought them here. They may not have been documented, but for all intents and purposes, they've grown up as American young people. ... The country they've grown up in and love as their own."

While Obama clearly relished noting the progress that has been made, he sounded a note of warning, saying that much would be lost if the Republicans were to seize control in November.

The president acknowledged that there is not nearly as much excitement during the midterm elections as there was during his 2008 presidential campaign. He attributed this to the fact that change for the better hasn't come as fast as people who support him would have hoped and constant fighting in the nation's capital.

"I've been having all these fights with the Republicans to make progress on a whole bunch of these issues," the president said. "And during that time, naturally, some of the excitement and enthusiasm started to drain away, because people felt like, ‘Gosh, all we're reading about is arguments in Washington.'"

Obama explained the fighting, saying that "to bring about big changes, for example, in our energy policy, we've taken on a lot of special interests: the oil companies, utilities. Some of them may not want to see the kind of changes that would lead to a strong green economy. The point is, though, you can't sit it out."

The upcoming elections, he said, are a "big choice," adding that "you've got a situation right now where the Republicans put out their ‘Pledge to America' that says we're going to give $4 trillion worth of tax breaks, $700 billion of those going to millionaires and billionaires, each of whom get on average a $100,000 check."

To pay for even part of that, the president said, the Republicans want "cut all of the improvements that we just talked about." Young people should take note, he continued, because "even though this may not be as exciting as a presidential election, it's going to make a huge difference in terms of whether we're going to move our agenda forward over the next couple of years."

When a reporter from the Badger Herald asked him why he was coming to her school in Madison, Obama said that he wanted to take his message on the importance of the upcoming elections to young people - and that he loves Madison because, during his college years, "I used to drive up there and have fun times, which I can't discuss in detail with you."

Hope is stronger than hate

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:47:00 +0000

In their effort to win the Congress this year and the White House in 2012, the Republican Party and their tea party attack dogs are unashamedly promoting fear, racism, bigotry and red-baiting. This has been the subtext of all of their rallies.

President Obama is one of the most capable and responsible leaders to occupy the White House. His policies have turned the resources of the federal government more towards the benefit of working people than any president since FDR.

This is the people's money: it should be used to help the people. Efforts to regulate Wall Street, to cover the uninsured and extend unemployment compensation show a compassion we have not seen coming from the White House for some time.

The president's policy in Iraq is now at the exit stage. He is promoting negotiation instead of war between the Palestinians and Israelis. The same is true with respect to Iran.

There is a planned exit from Afghanistan.

President Obama has said the military budget should be cut and the resources used to help the people.

From the point of view of the ongoing struggle to rid the nation of the scourge of racism it is significant that these pro-working-class policies are coming from the first African American president.

We take exception to Obama's policies aimed at appeasing the right. His better policies often don't go far enough considering the depth of the crisis. However, with a broad coalition, with a broad people's movement pushing on the issues, the door to bigger gains can be opened.

It is this potential for change that is turning powerful sections of big business against Obama and driving the right wing to extremes.

The tea party with big funds from people like the Koch brothers and an open mike on Fox News represents this extreme.

Sections of the the GOP think it has become the last hope for their party to "bring down Obama." However, the struggle isn't over.

If the Congress ends up in the hands of the Republicans their "A Pledge to America" program will continue the Bush tax cuts for the rich. At a time when the opposite is needed, there will be drastic cuts in working-class entitlements.

With a GOP-led Congress we can expect an Arizona-style national racist attack on immigrant rights, and on marriage equality. Anti-Muslim provocations will increase.

Abortion rights will be in their cross hairs. A double dip recession is also likely.

What else could happen if they have a majority? What atrocities will be carried out against anyone who opposes them? They framed up and destroyed ACORN. Like the criminals they are, these extremists tried to frame Shirley Sherrod in order to attack the NAACP as racist. There are signs that they are out to suppress the black vote in November. The ghost of Joe McCarthy is alive and well in their ranks. Who will the witch hunters be after next?

The November 2nd election is critical. And because of the use of racism, bigotry and anti-communist hysteria against the Democrats and the president, defeating them at the polls has become vital to saving the nation.

Hope is stronger than hate. The coalition that united and elected Obama and the new Congress is bigger and stronger then the tea party/Republican/Libertarian right. Grassroots organizing came from the left not the right. They have the money but they do not have justice on their side.

There is no law that says the midterm elections have to always be a disaster for the majority party. This battle can be won. Black, brown, white, Native American Indian, Asian Pacific people united against racism, hypocrisy and hatred is a powerful thing. Labor, civil rights, women, youth, LGBT, peace activists and environmentalists united can win.

The march on October 2nd must lead to the voting booth in November. That is the path to progress.

Photo: Marguerite Herbst

Republican candidates "pledge" open warfare on working families

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:41:00 +0000

Republican Party Senate candidates pledged this past week to protect tax loopholes for companies that outsource jobs, according to new media reports. In response, the Obama administration wasted no time slamming Republicans who want to stall economic recovery or advocate policies harmful to working families.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told reporters Monday the Republicans are planning to slash funding for education should they manage to gain power in Congress. "Education is our economic defense budget for the future," Pfeiffer said on a press conference call. "The Republicans want to gut this."

"The Republicans are proposing one of, if not the largest education cut in history," he said, referring to their recently orchestrated political theater they called their "pledge to America."

Pfeiffer added that if the Republican plan were adopted, some eight million college students, for example would see their financial aid reduced.

By contrast, the President and Democrats have fought for some of the largest new investments in education in decades, he added.

He also noted the Republican "pledge" demands an end to federal oversight of the banks and corporations behind the collapse of the financial system in 2008. Republicans want to "return to the era of recklessness and irresponsibility by cutting rules and oversight for special interests like Big Oil, insurance companies, credit card and mortgage companies."

"This would be a disturbing return to a set of rules that helped create the financial crisis we're in," he pointed out.

The White House also plans to campaign against the Republican Party's plan to privatize Social Security or to slash benefits for seniors and other beneficiaries.

The administration's new push came on the heels of a new voters scorecard out now that lambastes Republican Senate candidates for their support for economic polices that would kill jobs in the U.S. and hand big tax breaks to the corporations that do it.

A number of Senate candidates recently signed a pledge put out by the far-right anti-working families Republican Party front group called Americans for Tax Reform pledging to protect tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas. These included Tea Party Republicans Joe Miller (Alaska). Christine O'Donnell (Delaware), Marco Rubio (Florida), and Rand Paul (Kentucky). Each has also found themselves behind or neck-and-neck with their Democratic opponent.

Other like Ken Buck (Colorado), professional candidate Dino Rossi (Washington), and Ken Ayotte (New Hampshire) have also public defended taxpayer subsidies for such companies.

Other Republican Senate candidates like Carly Fiorina (California), Sharron Angle (Nevada), Dan Coats (Indiana), and Linda McMahon (Connecticut) have actually ordered outsourcing when they controlled or directed companies in the past or have defended the practice as good for the economy.

So far none of these candidates have held a vote in Congress, but many other Republican candidates have repeatedly voted to kill jobs in the U.S. in order to protect the financial interests of their corporate backers. For example, as a member of Congress, John Boozman (Arkansas) voted six times to protect loopholes that reward corporations for moving jobs out of the country. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, also voted six times to protect such tax loopholes and even voted against a job that saved close to 6,000 teacher jobs in his own state.

Both Sens. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and David Vitter, R-Louisiana, also known for his admitted solicitation of prostitution, have long records of protecting companies that close down jobs in the U.S.

Add to that list of Republicans who are out to hurt working families, Robert Portman, Senate candidate form Ohio. Portman has the distinction of being an architect of the Bush administration's failed economic policies. Portman served as Bush's U.S. Trade Representative when some 17,000 Ohio jobs were closed down and re-opened in other countries.

GOP facing multiple hurdles in election drive

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:01:00 +0000

A week of obstacles is threatening Republican plans to seize control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.

On Tuesday, President Obama will hold his first major mega-rally since the 2008 presidential campaign.

The mass rally is likely to draw tens of thousands to the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and is expected to help generate the kind of national energy that galvanized progressive forces during the 2008 elections. In addition, thousands will gather at hundreds of watch parties nationwide. The crowd could well outsize any of the demonstrations the tea party groups have been able to pull together.

At the end of the week, on Oct. 2, a Washington demonstration expected to draw well over 100,000 people will almost surely dwarf last month's rally by Glenn Beck and the tea baggers. The more than 300 organizations sponsoring the march hope to turn the national conversation itself away from the tea party and toward the fights for jobs and justice.

Groups sponsoring the march, including the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, and the National Council of La Raza, are determined to make the point that the tea party fringe does not speak for America's working people.

500 buses carrying 25,000 people have already been filled in New York-by just one union local, SEIU Local 1199.

George Gresham, president of the health care workers local, said, "We are getting a voice out there that really speaks for working people, a voice that respects the diversity of this country, which the tea party does not."

Many sponsoring the march have attacked the Republicans in Congress for blocking progressive approaches to fixing the economy. Labor blames Senate Republicans for holding up job creation programs and is focused on defeating those Republicans on Election Day.

Marchers will call for extension of jobless benefits, better wages, labor law reform, massive spending on green jobs, better public education and immigration reform. The rally will give Democrats loud and clear backing for legislation that would implement those demands.

And while many unionists will be attending the march, even more of their brothers and sisters will go door-to-door in neighborhoods across the country, campaigning in key districts.

Other bad news this week for the GOP is a growing investigation by the press into a secretive campaign organization run by Bush administration mastermind Karl Rove.

A story in the Los Angeles Times reveals that an entire secret network has been funneling many millions of dollars into Republican campaigns across the country. The network, which aims at electing Republicans to Congress, uses legal loopholes allowing wealthy donors to conceal their identities.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted last week constitutes the fourth bit of bad news for the Republicans. According to the poll, poor performance by the party in the Northeast may turn out to be a key factor in preventing it from taking over the Congress in November.

The Pew survey finds that while Democrats trail Republicans by three points among all registered voters in the South, they are ahead of the GOP by nine points in the Northeast.

It is only because of a so-called "enthusiasm gap," the survey says, that the GOP seems to be doing better among those who are, at the moment, most likely to vote.

Since 2006, Democrats have taken 18 northeastern seats away from the Republicans, with their strongest gains in New England. Among the region's 22 House members, not one is Republican.

Despite chances to pick up two seats in New Hampshire and one in Massachusetts, Rep. Dan Maffei, an upstate New York Democrat elected in 2008, told the Washington Post yesterday that the Republicans' right-wing image, shaped by the tea party, will prevent a GOP comeback in his region, and therefore nationally.

Activists call FBI raids massive “fishing expedition”

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 13:03:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Antiwar and solidarity activists filled the West Town Community Law Office here of Melinda Power, Saturday, Sept. 25, to show support for Joe Iosbaker and Stephanie Weiner whose house was raided by the FBI on Friday.

Clapping and chanting, the activists whole-heartedly supported statements made to the media condemning the raids as a crackdown on the entire peace and solidarity community.

The FBI raided six homes of activists in Minneapolis and two in Chicago "seeking evidence" that the activists gave "material aid" to organizations on the U.S. government's terrorist list.

There were no arrests, but grand jury subpoenas were issued to some, including the Chicagoans. The FBI questioned people in Michigan and North Carolina as part of the sweep.

Along with Iosbaker and Weiner's home, the FBI raided the home of Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network. The Chicago Tribune reports that Thomas Burke also was served a subpoena that requested records of any payments to Abudayyeh or the AAAN.

Power, who is representing Iosbaker and Weiner, told the media it was "harassment and intimidation" that sent a message to the public: "Don't dare challenge the U.S. government!"

Power said the subpoena demands documents "with no time limits" that would detail "people's entire political history."

Iosbaker and Weiner, married and parents of two, are longtime social justice activists and well-known in the antiwar movement.

Power said 20 FBI agents came to the couple's door as they were getting ready for work. "They took 30 boxes of mostly personal belongings. I saw baby cards and postcards from old girlfriends." The FBI took papers going all the way back to the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

"We have done nothing wrong!" a visibly-moved Iosbaker told the media. "We are targeted because of our opposition to criminal wars."

Iosbaker also said they oppose U.S. aid to Israel and Colombia. "They are the two largest recipients of aid and they are brutal governments."

Iosbaker said the FBI took their cell phones, their children's artwork and poetry.

"We won't be intimidated!" he said.

Others called the raids a massive "fishing expedition."

In a statement issued on behalf of the activists, Minneapolis-based supporter Steff Yorek said the raids on homes of the antiwar, socialist or pro-Palestinian groups are "an outrageous fishing expedition."

"Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse," she said.

The FBI has a long and sordid history of cracking down on dissenters, spying on and infiltrating left-wing political groups, peace and civil rights movements.

Just days before the Midwestern raids, the Justice Department's Inspector General issued a report on the FBI spying of peace groups from 2001-2006.

The IG report, "clearly shows that the FBI was improperly spying on people's First Amendment-protected activity, and that the FBI didn't have enough internal controls to prevent abuse,'' according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Chicago's major TV and radio news stations were at the quickly-called press conference, along with alternative news sources. Representatives from Students for a Democratic Society, Palestine Solidarity Group, 8th Day Center For Justice, National Boricua Human Rights Network and a United Methodist minister all gave solidarity statements.

Some of the FBI-targeted activists are members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which is a different organization than the similarly-named Freedom Road Socialist Organization/Organización Socialista del Camino para la Libertad.

Civil liberties advocates have expressed deep concern about the government's broad and vague definition of "material aid." In a 6-3 ruling in June, the Supreme Court upheld the government's ban on material aid, which can include help not directly connected to terrorism or violent acts.

In his June 24 article, "Supreme Court ruling seen as threat to Bill of Rights," Emile Schepers writes that the decision means:

"Even if U.S. persons thought their advice was helping to turn a designated foreign terrorist organization toward peaceful means of attaining its ends, that is, away from terrorism, this would be considered illegal."

According to the decision, this could include legal advice - or even editing or translating statements made by organizations on the government's terrorist list.

The material aid ban and list of foreign terrorist organizations were created by the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The government broadened by the material aid definition - and list of terrorist organizations -in the 2001 Patriot Act, passed by Congress immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Schepers points out that the definition of terrorist organization is deeply political. For example, organizations that have planned and executed attacks on Cuba are not included on the U.S. government's list. And during apartheid in South Africa, the now-ruling African National Congress was deemed a terrorist organization by the Reagan-Bush administrations.

Speakers invited the public to a protest on Monday, Sept. 27, outside the FBI office in Chicago at 4:30 p.m.

Photo: Joe Iosbaker makes a statement to the press with lawyer Melinda Power, left. (John Bachtell/PW)

GOP “pledge” condemned as flim-flam

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:25:00 +0000

The Republican "Pledge to America" rolled out on Thursday is being criticized across the political spectrum for including nothing that can re-boot the economy and even for possibly damaging the GOP election effort itself.

The new "pledge" is loaded with old schemes congressional Republicans have been bandying about for almost two years: Continue the Bush tax cuts for the rich, repeal the health care overhaul that became law this year and freeze federal spending at 2008 levels.

"Off the top, their plan is a trillion-dollar giveaway to the rich - at everybody else's expense," declared OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow. He described the Republican proposal as a "pledge to rob the middle class" and a pledge to "create no jobs, eliminate health care and destroy what is left of the nation's economic security."

Many analysts say the document, which calls Democrats and President Obama an "arrogant and out of touch government of self-appointed elites," isn't likely to sway moderate-leaning undecided or independent voters and could actually reverse some of the GOP inroads with those groups.

"It's designed to stoke up the tea party, connect with the tea party, to say, 'We're with you,'" Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virgina's Center for Politics, told the McClatchy Washington Bureau.

"It's a public relations document," said Robert Reich, a liberal economist at the University of California-Berkeley who was President Clinton labor secretary. "If you take seriously their planks of cutting the deficit, balancing the budget, removing government, that is Herbert Hoover economics. And what's likely to happen if they actually implement that, is a double dip back into recession. There is no demand."

The Washington Post's Dan Balz said the GOP "campaign blueprint shows that if it takes control of the House, it will become 'the party of stop.'"

He and other commentators noted that the program calls for stopping President Obama's economic stimulus, stopping finance reform, stopping health care reform and stopping the president's efforts to end tax cuts for the rich.

Republican Minority Leader John Boehner claimed Thursday that the GOP pledge would save $100 billion in the first year alone without having to cut Social Security, Medicare or veteran's benefits, programs that have solid support across the nation.

Nowhere in the pledge, however, is there a list of items the GOP would cut - the number of space programs, for example, or the number of national parks or other facilities that might have to be shut down.

"It's a pledge to make the deficit bigger," noted Paul Krugman, the Nobel prize-winning economist. "The document repeatedly condemns federal debt - 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade - about $700 billion more than the Obama administration's tax proposals."

"The numbers don't remotely add up," said MSNBC commentator Eugene Robinson. "The document is such a jumble of contradictions that it's hard to imagine it could possibly pass muster with anyone who survived eighth grade arithmetic."

Many commentators noted that the document's "pledge" to repeal health care reform would also increase the deficit. "They want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but how will they pay for it?" asked Time Magazine's Kate Pickert. "The Congressional Budget Office says the law will reduce the deficit by $140 billion over 10 years, so repealing the law will add to the deficit."

Pickert said the GOP call for medical malpractice reform "isn't necessarily a bad idea" but would "reduce overall health care spending by about 1 percent, not exactly a silver bullet."

The "Pledge to America" has already embarrassed to some Republicans on the campaign trail.

Polls show that, when the law is broken down, there are many parts of the Affordable Care Act that Americans strongly support. There is almost universal support, for example, for a provision that went into effect yesterday - prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.

Yesterday, MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell asked Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, if the GOP's "pledge" to "repeal and replace" the health care law would eliminate all of the new provisions that went into effect yesterday and if he approved of the new benefits.

Thornberry initially refused to say if he supported prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions and charging co-pays for certain preventive services. He implausibly claimed that Republicans would repeal all of these benefits and then restore some of them.

Women senators offer bill to compensate Black farmers

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:40:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - With Black farmers applauding during a Sept. 23 rally on the Capitol grounds, Senators Kay Hagen of North Carolina and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, both Democrats, unveiled their bill to provide $1.25 billion to compensate African American farmers for decades of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The open-air rally came at the end of a march by Black farmers and their families from the Agriculture Department building to Capitol Hill. The protesters walked behind a tractor driven by John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association. They carried a big banner that read, "Black Farmers Demand Justice."

Sen. Hagen told the crowd, "Since I came to the Senate, I have been working tirelessly to rectify this injustice. Over 4,000 African American farmers in my state of North Carolina and 75,000 across the country are waiting for their settlement. Unfortunately, the Congress has failed to live up to its obligations."

Hagen, joined by Sens. Lincoln and Mary Landrieu, D-La., introduced a free-standing bill yesterday to fund the $1.25 billion settlement authored by President Obama and approved in a House funding bill in August.

Funding for the settlement had also been attached to a Senate spending bill, but it was dropped at the last minute in the face of Republican opposition. The only Republican who has endorsed the Hagan-Lincoln-Landrieu bill is Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley.

Sen. Lincoln said, "It is way past the time we passed this. We know what the issue is. We need to get the resources to these farmers." Tens of thousands have already lost their farms due to discrimination in granting federal crop loans that are routinely approved for white farmers.

Lincoln said Congress must also extend the statute of limitations used to deny benefits to Black farmers who missed the deadline to apply under the so-called Pigford lawsuit upheld by a federal judge. She also called for creation of a civil rights office in the Agriculture Department. "We need to make sure that discrimination in the USDA is gone."

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the opponents of the settlement always argue it will swell the federal deficit, "and yet we found the money to fund two wars and tax cuts for the wealthy. This has exacerbated an economic catastrophe for Black farmers. The time to correct this injustice is now."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said she has "walked the walk" in rural Texas and seen Black farmers "scratching out a living, helping feed America, and these farmers could not get assistance from their own Agriculture Department. We are waiting for someone on the Republican side, someone from the 'Party of No' to help deliver justice."

Boyd, who operates a small farm in Virginia, told the rally he drove his tractor, renamed "Justice," to Capitol Hill that day as he has every day so far in September. "I will keep on driving it up here until justice is done."

"The Black farmers are dying," he said. "This loss and this discrimination is real. It breaks down lives, tears apart families. We want this bill passed now!"

He thanked the Congressional Black Caucus for pushing the $1.25 billion settlement through the House. He also thanked Obama for introducing a bill to compensate farmers when he was a senator from Illinois.

"And we thank President Obama for reaching this really historic settlement," Boyd said. "For years I walked the corridors in Washington and it did not happen under President Bush." The crowd applauded.

Boyd told the People's World, "I'm very hopeful the Senate will act on this in September." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "said he will try to move it," Boyd added. "We need two Republican senators. So far we have one, Chuck Grassley of Iowa."

Photo: Sen. Kay Hagen, D-N.C., listens at right as Rep. Barbara Lee speaks at Capitol Hill rally for justice for Black farmers, Sept. 23. (PW/Tim Wheeler)