Progressive Calendar 04.30.11 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu) | |
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:51:25 -0700 (PDT) |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 04.30.11 1. $ociety/$pirit 4.30 1pm 2. CUAPB 4.30 1:30pm 3. Northtown vigil 4.30 2pm 4. Intl workers 4.30 5pm 5. END:CIV film 4.30 7pm 6. Web of Debt 4.30 7pm 7. Celtic players 4.30 8pm 8. Malalai Joya/TV 4.30 9pm 9. John Kolstad - Riverside road construction 10. Alan Muller - Oppose SF1244: Another attack MN environmental review 11. Kathy Ahlers - Hampden Park Co-op seeks GM 12. JP Sottile - 2-party America: divided, conquered 13. Alan Maki - Can Obama win in 2012? 14. ed - Freedom (haiku) --------1 of 14-------- From: Richard Kotlarz <richkotlarz [at] GMAIL.COM> Subject: $ociety/$pirit 4.30 1pm [ed head] Please find pasted in below an invitation for the next (fifth in five months) conversation about money at the Minneapolis downtown library. I envision this session as being something of a workshop where we will get beyond simply talking about money in a more general discussion, and put a greater focus on seeing in real terms how money in our society is created, issued and retired, and how the effects of that unfold into our lives. This is where our personal and collective financial lives, and the "monetary system", begin. Saturday, April 30th, 2011 A Conversation with Rich Kotlarz on Money, Society and the Spirit Hennepin County Downtown Library, 300 Nicollet, Minneapolis 55401 Room N-202. 1-4:30pm As part of the Ecology Democracy Network's next conversation with monetary theorist Rich Kotlarz, we will: -Role-play how money comes into existence. -Do an exercise to examine the language of economic reporting as it appears in the media. Feel free to bring in an article if you like. Rich Kotlarz is director of the "Council on Money and Society" in Minneapolis/ St. Paul, in association with Third Threshold Ministering of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Rich has offered insight and created a climate of discussion with people throughout the United States on how we can view, and implement a renewed monetary vision. Ken Pentel Director of the Ecology Democracy Network P.O. Box 3872 Minneapolis, MN 55403 www.ecologydemocracynetwork.org kenpentel [at] yahoo.com (612) 387-0601 --------2 of 14-------- From: Michelle Gross <mgresist [at] visi.com> Subject: CUAPB 4.30 1:30pm Meetings: Every Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Walker Church, 3104 16th Avenue South http://www.CUAPB.org Communities United Against Police Brutality 3100 16th Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55407 Hotline 612-874-STOP (7867) --------3 of 14-------- From: Vanka485 [at] aol.com Subject: Northtown vigil 4.30 2pm Peace vigil at Northtown (Old Hwy 10 & University Av), every Saturday 2-3pm --------4 of 14-------- From: Meredith Aby <riot369 [at] gmail.com> Subject: Intl workers 4.30 5pm Fundraising Dinner for May 1st march Saturday, April 30 - 5pm-10pm 3236 Longfellow Ave S, Minneapolis (In the backyard) MIRAc and the May 1st Coalition are sponsoring a fundraising dinner for the march on May 1st, International Workers' Day. $8-$10 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All money raised at the dinner will be used to help pay for the costs of organizing the march and rally. We will be also be picking the winners for MIRAc's May 1st raffle at the dinner, so bring an extra $5 to buy a raffle ticket! If you can't come but want to make a donation, you can send a check to MIRAc/May 1st Coalition, PO Box 7266, Minneapolis, MN 55407 or donate online here<http://mirac1.wordpress.com/> --------5 of 14-------- From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net> From: "Jaime Hokanson" Subject: END:CIV film 4.30 7pm Preview screening: END:CIV: MAYDAY Activists are screening the new documentary END:CIV across the continent on or around May 1st. In Minneapolis, we'll be hosting a preview screening of the film at MAYDAY BOOKSTORE on Saturday, April 30 at 7pm. Promotional materials for the upcoming June 6 Minneapolis screening with Frank López and Waziyatawin will be available for you to take home! Come preview the film to learn how END:CIV illuminates a way out of civilization's all-consuming madness and into a saner future. Then, invite your friends, family and comrades to the screening in south Minneapolis on June 6. May Day Bookstore is located at 301 Cedar Ave on the West Bank of Minneapolis, beneath the Hub. --------6 of 14-------- From: Amber Garlan <agarlan [at] hammclinic.org> Subject: Web of Debt 4.30 7pm The next Green Party book club meeting is Saturday evening 4/30/11 at 7:00. We meet in the community room between 161 and 163 Erie Street in St. Paul. This month we are discussing "Web of Debt" by Ellen Brown. This book exposes a lot of activity in the banking world that I never knew went on. I do not know a lot about the banking world and this book blows my mind. "The Dow is a dead banana republic dictator in full military uniform propped up in the castle window with a mechanical lever moving the cadaver's arm, waving to the Wall Street crowd." Michael Bolser, Midas (April 2004), "Web of Debt" by Ellen Brown, page 309 "In plain English, taxpayer money is being used to make the markets look healthier than they are...WGFM (Working Group on Financial Markets) is not accountable to Congress and can act from behind closed doors. It not only can but it must, since if investors were to realize what was going on, they would not fall for the bait. "Maintaining investor confidence" means keeping investors in the dark about how shaky the market really is...The stock market was to be the Roman circus of the twenty-first century distracting the masses with pretensions of prosperity." "Web of Debt" by Ellen Brown, page 310 & 311 See everyone Saturday 4/30/11, I will bake cookies, Peace, Amber --------7 of 14-------- From: Richard Broderick <richb [at] lakecast.com> Subject: Celtic players 4.30 8pm "Nobel For Yer Bicycle," a sampling of poems, stories, monologues and drama from Ireland's Nobel Laureates and other leading writers from Ireland and Wales, presented by Celtic Players. April 30, 8:00 p.m., and 2 p.m., May 1, at Celtic Junction, 836 Prior Ave., St. Paul. Tickets: $10 on the day of performance, $8 if purchased in advance at Irish on Grand (1124 Grand Ave) or by emailing: tickets [at] thecelticjunction.com. Students and adults 62-plus, $8, children under 7, free of charge. For more information, call (612) 722-7000. -------8 of 14-------- From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net> Subject: Malalai Joya/TV 4.30 9pm Stream "Malalai Joya: A Woman Among Warlords" at: http://ourworldindepth.org "Malalai Joya: A Woman Among Warlords" Called the bravest woman in Afghanistan, former parliamentarian and outspoken critic of US/NATO involvement in her home country, Malalai Joya speaks in Minneapolis. Episode includes a question and answer session.(April 2011) MTN 17 viewers: "Our World In Depth" cablecasts on Minneapolis Television Network (MTN) Channel 17 on Saturdays at 9pm and Tuesdays at 8am, after DemocracyNow! Households with basic cable may watch. Sat, 4/30, 9pm and Tues, 5/3, 8am "Malalai Joya: A Woman Among Warlords" "Our World In Depth" features analysis of public affairs with consideration of and participation from Twin Cities area activists. "Our World In Depth" is locally produced and not corporately influenced. Order a dvd copy or contact us at ourworldindepth [at] gmail.com. --------9 of 14-------- From: John Kolstad <jkolstad [at] millcitymusic.com> Subject: Riverside Road Construction "A public meeting to answer questions regarding the project and specifically the proposed assessment for the 2011 construction extents has been set for April 28th at 7PM at the Seward Towers East Advantage Center 2910 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406." Dear Mpls Council Member Cam Gordon: I want to ask the city, "Why is the City of Minneapolis, that claims to be broke and needs to tax seniors, the poor and those on fixed incomes out of their homes, Continues to spend money like a drunken Sailor?" My understanding of the Riverside Project is it will be a complete rebuild, like Lake Street, including Lights, sidewalks etc. We are nearly broke here on Lake Street. I still paying for a substandard rebuild of Lake, and we have really never recovered from the devastation of the construction for 3 years. The Blue Moon has really never fully recovered, but our property tax have skyrocketed plus the ~$25,000 Special Assessment for crappy work. No one at any level over government has done a things to help the Lake Street Businesses and nothing has been done about the criminal Construction company that did substandard work that we have had to pay for. Their punishment was to get the contract for the Gophers Stadium. If the City IS broke, or suffering financially, the first step is to stop spending for none essential things. Cam, you said bike riders say Riverside is dangerous. I assume you mean pot holes. If that is the reason, there are hundreds of dangerous streets. If you need to fix Riverside, it could be patched where the substructure is broken then cap the street until the City and the economy recover. They did this on Lake Street before the re-build and it was smooth as glass from Hiawatha to the river. We were told that "that engineers has said the substreet is pullverised and failing". I walked this section with a friend [we both had experience with street construction] before the construction. There was not a single sign of substructure failure. This was a lie because the county wanted to get Federal Road Money. So the County ravaged businesses on a 6 mile strip to get Federal Money and not a penny for those devastated. What assurance is there that the City will do any thing to insure a quality construction job and hold the Contractor accountable? Never, they give to much money in campaign contributions. What will they do to help the independent businesses on Riverside? I expect nothing as usual. Looking at the Area, I expect the Gorillas in the room are Riverview Hospital, Augsburg and maybe the university. Are any of them exempt from property tax and special assessments? I Have attended hundreds of meetings like this I expect there will be no one there to speak for the people of Minneapolis or Seward, Only those supporting the project already. People can ask questions, even good questions, but these meetings are rigged so the answer is incomplete or total lie, and the questioner is not allowed to follow up or make a comment, because "we need to hear from other people with questions". Even when there are enough of us to speak up and say, no, we don't want this, the City and the contracted Legal group goes around the will of those affect. [We met for 3 year over the fate of East Lake Construction. At Every Single Meeting we said "no to the extra enhancements" on Lake with the Shitty cubed sidewalks. Then they simply went around us and Cam you were the only elected official that would even listen and ask for discussion. The spineless DFL Council and Mayor victimized those of us on Lake st. Then crow about what big supports of small business they are. This whole Process is a joke, and no elected official at any level lifts a finger for the victims] Yes, the City is hurting, the State is hurting, the Country is hurting. Yet the biggest business in Minneapolis, the biggest business in the State, the biggest business in America, that produced 90% of the new jobs in MN in the last state study, Has receive zero help from the governments at any level. The Business of course is Small Business that provides over 50% of jobs in America. The City and the State are actively harming Small Business. Property Taxes, Rotten health care policy, Regulations that favor big players, and the City Inspection Department are enemies of Small Business. What the City is doing to Small Biz on Lake street and area is a crime and no one does a thing to help the businesses. So how can we possibly believe that Riverside Must Be Rebuilt including the enhancements and that we are not being lied to, manipulated and robbed again? I expect there will be no one to speak to these issues and if they are there they will be marginalized. I know you support most of the issue I addressed, like the need to help small business, and you are marginalized on the council [12 to 1]. Thus I just want to clarify a perspective and it is more about the process and the institution of the council than you personally or as a Council Member. The Rich are getting richer by the Day and completely at the expense of the rest of us. And it is because they control what is happening. Sincerely, John Kolstad/ East Lake --------10 of 14-------- Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:35:07 -0500 From: Alan Muller <amuller [at] dca.net> Subject: Oppose SF1244: Another attack on Environmental Review in Minnesota SF1244/HF1491 is a bill to make it quicker and easier to permit garbage dumps. One section says "The Pollution Control Agency shall amend Minnesota Rules, part 7001.3500, subpart 1, to extend permit terms to coincide with site capacity, design capacity, ultimate capacity, or design life as determined by the proposer, if the permit is for a solid waste land disposal facility. I take this to mean that dump permits would NEVER expire. This would be quite enough to put SF1244/HF1491 in the stinker category. But it's been amended to include another broad attack on the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (Environmental Review Program: Environmental Assessment Worksheet/Environmental Impact Statement). SF1244 was "amended and recommended to pass" by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday, April 26th. The wording apparently came directly from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, via a PDF document. The first line reads "Senator ................... moves to amend S. F. No. 1244 as follows:" Various other amendments were made to facilitate filling wetlands, authorize the consumptive use of water "without regard to minimum flow or water level requirements," and so on. The whole stinky bill as amended has just been posted Our understanding is that amendments were slipped into the bill a few minutes before midnight without prior public notice, and that testimony from opponents was not allowed. Audio and video recordings of the meeting are <http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/schedule/unofficial_action.php?ls=87&bill_type=SF&bill_number=1244&ss_number=0&ss_year=2011>here. It was referred to the Committee on State Government Innovation and Veterans which is holding a hearing on it this evening, April 28, 2011, at 6:00 pm, room 123 in the Capital, St. Paul. Here are some of the provisions weakening environmental review, mostly excerpted from a letter by Paula Maccabee, Esq. --Quadrupling the number of individual signatures required in order to secure even an Environmental Assessment Worksheet - from 25 to 100; --Requiring that the 100 petitioners be residents of the county or adjoining county; --Eliminating the right to petition for any business located near the project, since only "residents" would be allowed to petition; --Eliminating the right to petition of a family living in another county whose child is in a nearby school or day care or who own a lake cabin or farmland near a proposed project, since that family would not be "residents," --Effectively precluding Environmental Assessment Worksheets in a sparsely populated area where fewer than 100 adults may be affected by environmental impacts of a project; --Eliminating the consideration of "economic, employment, and sociological effects" from Environmental Impact Statements; --Directing the Environmental Quality Board to create additional exemptions from environmental review. This provision seems to suggest that the EQB provide exemptions without going through a rulemaking process, since the EQB already has authority to exempt various project categories from environmental review by rule. Overall, the environmental review amendments proposed for SF 1244 would deprive Minnesota citizens of their rights to information, participation, preservation of clean air and water and protection of their health and the value of their own property near a proposed project. This bill has no merits and should be withdrawn or voted down. [This bill shows the utter contempt of the ruling class for anything not themselves right now. If you put your life in their hands you're a dead man. -ed] ACTION: Contact the Chair and members of the <http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/committees/committee_bio.php?cmte_id=3054&ls=87>Senate Committee on State Government Innovation and Veterans and ask them to reject SF1244. Ask to testify against this bill (call 651.296.0284, Elisabeth DeBeck, to get on the list). Committee members: Mike Parry J. "Ted" Daley W. Wiger Carlson J. Cohen Scott Dibble E. Gazelka Barb Goodwin Ted H. Lillie Gen Olson Julianne E. Ortman Dave Thompson Patricia Torres Ray Alan Muller Energy & Environmental Consulting 113 W. 8th Street Red Wing, MN, 55066 302.299.6783 alan [at] greendel.org --------11 of 14-------- From: Kathy Ahlers <ahler002 [at] umn.edu> Subject: Hampden Park Co-op seeks GM Hampden Park Co-op is the last righteous co-op in the Twin Cities that has a working volunteer discount program. From: "Michael" <mmckenna1831 [at] comcast.net> OPENING FOR GENERAL MANAGER Hampden Park Co-op (HPC), an independent, well-established Twin Cities natural foods co-operative, is looking for a new general manager. This person will be able to oversee the operations of the HPC grocery store; create a cohesive and collegial management team and staff that are supportive, synergistic, and working towards the success of the cooperative; and meet goals and objectives established by the board of directors. Reports to the board of directors and supervises any and all employees and volunteers. Ideal candidate should have: Natural foods or grocery retail management experience Experience with natural foods Experience with or familiarity with cooperative structure Human resources: supervisory/management/team building experience, especially knowledge and skills in hiring, evaluating, and employment processes Excellent communications skills, written and verbal Computer skills: knowledge and use of hardware including pc, printer, scanner, fax, product bar coding systems, POS systems, and cash registers, as well as software such as MS Office Suite (word processing, spreadsheet, database, publication), QuickBooks, or the equivalent Financial experience: ability to budget and produce financials, interpret both for strategic planning and successful communication to general membership Demonstrated ability to handle multiple demands as well as delegate responsibilities Excellent time management and follow-up skills Experience working with board of directors and volunteer management. Bachelor's degree Completed COVER LETTER and RESUME/CURRICULUM VITAE should be emailed to: mmckenna1831 [at] comcast.net. Indicate "CANDIDATE" in subject line. Please include two professional references including relationship to, phone and email. The COVER LETTER and RESUME/ CURRICULUM VITAE may also be delivered in person, to: Hampden Park Co-op, 928 Raymond Avenue N., St. Paul, MN 55114-1125, no later than May 6, 2011. For more information about HPC please visit our web site http://www.hampdenparkcoop.com/ --------12 of 14-------- 2-Party America:Divided,Conquered By JP Sottile, Reader Supported News 28 April 11 Someone very smart once said, "Your labels are your handles." And we've got handles. Left and Right. Liberal and Conservative. Democrat and Republican. In these war-weary years of our financial discontent, we are clinging harder than ever to those labels. Or, perhaps, the labels are clinging harder than ever to us. Either way, this increasingly embattled form of identity politics only makes our handles easier to grab. And the country easier to steer. Like the shiny handlebar of a child's bike, our political culture is adorned with two tassels ... red on one side and blue on the other. For the moneyed elites who run this country, getting what they want is as easy as riding a bike. They make sharp turns to the right and veer a little to the left. But, all the while, they keep peddling exactly where they want to go - directly to the bank. It is no coincidence that the gaping gap between the super-rich and everyone else has widened at the same time the rift between Red States and Blue States has grown. Instead of the ever-more relevant distinction between "rich" and "poor," the political-media complex profits from emphasizing the woefully binary, two-party paradigm that serves them so well. Political salespeople feed us a steady diet of re-heated arguments, each advocating that you buy their brand. And you are what you buy. You are either Red or Blue. A one or a zero. With us or against us. The more we identify with this binary system of ones and zeroes, the more the financial class is able to play their zero-sum game. They get the sums, and we get the zeroes. The greedy hands of the top 1% grab us by those Red and Blue handles and turn us against each other in order to keep us from turning against them. It's all just public relations to the power people who shuttle to the nation's capital on private jets, eager to grease the palms that pull our strings ... and tug on our tassels. Forget Red and Blue ... their true allegiance is to green. And each successive election cycle sucks more and more money into the coffers of their vibrant, growth-oriented political industry. This coming year, the President plans on raising a billion dollars [1] for his re-election. The GOP will try to match it. Where does that money go? To advertising-hungry TV stations, well-heeled consulting firms, pandering pollsters and the manipulative lobbyists who live in the recession-proof economy of Washington, DC. When you get down to the bottom line, it's all about the bottom line. The two parties, the media and the wealthy people who own them both, all profit greatly from perpetuating this epic dog and pony show that distracts us from the real "us vs. them" - the brutal class war that has raged for three decades. It's ironic that, in this land of labels, we have such a hard time with economic class. Despite the facts and figures, many of the poor and working poor still call themselves "Middle Class." Oddly, so do many of the wealthy. Yet, the actual Middle Class shrinks every year. It doesn't seem to matter who is in control, whether Republican or Democrat. They organize us around fiery "hot-button" issues, but, from Reagan to Clinton and from Bush to Obama, they've held the line on key economic policies: tax gifts for the rich and subsidies for corporations; outsourcing and globalization; deregulation and bailouts for Wall Street; and Alan Greenspan's maddening method of using the Fed to enrich the rich. Meanwhile, the more we hate the stance of the other side, the more likely we are to accept less from our own party. Even as we find it harder to vote for someone, they know, at the very least, we will readily vote against someone. Despite President Obama's broken promises and concessions to the power of Wall Street, his team knows that the Blue People have no choice ... they will vote to keep the Red People from winning. The same goes for the other side, where the Red People reliably vote against their own economic self-interest due to a variety of social fears and moral judgments ... anything to keep the Blue People from winning. You see, they have us ... handled. And it's only getting worse. We increasingly mimic the babbling heads by actively slapping labels on each other. Patriots and traitors. Fascists and Socialists. Pro and Anti. The Tea Baggers sling ill-informed epithets like "socialist." So, the Left uses "idiot" as the go-to response to the loud ignorance of their fellow Americans. It's an angry reaction to the long-manipulated Right's seething, self-satisfied claims of moral superiority. Calling each other names offers a visceral satisfaction. But saying "they started it" does nothing to bridge the growing gap between us. Rather, these identifications keep the body politic marching to the two-party tune of the moneyed elite. So long as we obey the orders - "left, right ... left, right ... left, right" - we present little threat to their rarified position or to their unique power to spill the blood and hoard the treasure of both this country and of the empire they've built around it. The more we are divided, the more they can conquer. Rejection is our last resort. When we look at the bottom line, at the empire that is draining our treasury and the sacrosanct economic policies both parties refuse to transgress, we see that we must stop playing into their hands. We have to stop letting fear of Red or Blue line the pockets of the rich with green. It's hard. It's hard to stop fighting. Another smart person once said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We know what that led to, right? Don't wait for the civil war or for other side to change. Make a start by ending your part of the cycle. Give your money to a "third" party. Money talks, so speak up. Give your vote to a "message candidate" outside of the zero-sum game of the two parties. Start looking for alternatives and support them. Don't expect different results from pulling the same lever ... over and over again. And stop playing the media's predictable game of "I'm rubber, you're glue." Why? Because the two-party system wants to keep its grip on our handles. If we reject their labels, perhaps they'll lose their grip and, eventually, lose their power. America must give up the empire abroad and end the class war at home. To get there, we must first reject the two-party system and the language of political division that is doing little more than making us all either red or blue in the face. [1] JP Sottile is a newsroom veteran. His credits include a stint on the Newshour news desk, C-SPAN, Executive Producer for ABC affiliate WJLA in Washington, and a two-time Washington Regional Emmy Award Winner. In addition, JP is a documentary filmmaker --------13 of 14-------- Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 09:27:18 -0500 From: Alan Maki <alan.maki1951mn [at] gmail.com> To: President Barack Obama [et al - ed] Subject: Can Obama win in 2012? Saturday, April 30, 2011 Can Obama win in 2012?By: Alan L. Maki Link: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/can-obama-win-in-2012.html Once people feel they have been betrayed by a politician they don't go back. If Obama remains in the race it simply means fewer people will be voting. Had people believed Obama and the Democrats were real opposition to the Republicans they would have turned out in droves for the 2010 Election. In fact, you can talk to people anyplace - where they are being robbed at the gas pumps, having their pockets picked at the local supermarket, walking down the cracked, crumbling and uneven sidewalks, at work, in community centers or the local union hall, sitting in their cold, unheated living rooms because they can't afford to heat their homes and pay the mortgage or in the state park camping - no matter where you go these days, you are not going to find "happy campers." If there are those who don't believe, just do your own survey by going to your local supermarket and stand at the meat cooler near the hamburger and say to someone: "Pretty soon we aren't going to afford to eat any more; these prices are ridiculous." Say this to ten people; let me know what they say. Then go to the fruits where the bananas are and say, "Look at the prices; can you afford these things?" Again, let me know what the first ten people say. Then take your voter survey out to the gas station and say to a few people, "When is this robbery at the pumps going to end?" Let me know how people respond. Let's be clear-minded here and not influenced by the Democratic Party hacks who are working the social networking sites posing as real people using 40 or 50 phony names bullying, badgering and intimidating people with this crap like, "If you don't support Obama you are going to be saluting Donald Trump." Most people never voted for Obama in the first place; they voted against the Republicans because their livelihoods were already deteriorating and they were war-weary and just plain fed-up. Does anyone really believe that people are happier today because their standard of living has improved? Are people any less war-weary? If you want to know the answer, just ask people: "How is Obama's war economy working for you?" Obama doesn't dare ask voters this question; his die-hard supporters and Democratic Party hacks just loathe this question being asked. Yet, this question is the most honest and forthright question that can be asked of anyone in this country because the answers tell us exactly what people are thinking. The fight between the Democrats and Republicans for votes will be for a share of fewer voters. The Republicans are relying on this although the Republicans have moved so far to the right many of their own people are not turning out to vote, either. Also, Obama by his own admission, is no liberal. I am not nit-picking terms here. It is important we understand where everyone is coming from ideologically because it pretty much tells us what we can expect from people and the organizations and movements they "lead." Obama is a neo-liberal which makes him as reactionary as reactionary can be. By his own admission, Obama is ideologically a "pragmatist" very typical of the Wall Street crowd, as is the labor leadership in this country; and, unfortunately, much of the leadership of the peace, civil rights, environmental and women's movements are ideological pragmatists making it virtually impossible for even the littlest of reforms to be won. In my opinion the entire results of this election in 2012 will be determined by what the liberal-minded voters do; Obama has lost the majority of progressive and left voters for sure and he seems to pretty much have lost the liberal voters who are the most important block in this country when it comes to voting and building movements for progressive change which at this point includes the need to build an alternative party reflecting the aspirations of people who want a United States of America that is for peace, social and economic justice. This is the very best time for liberals, progressive and the left to begin building a new party that offers a real alternative to Wall Street's two parties because we really don't have to worry about being called "spoilers" even though that tag shouldn't bother us because we have the right to vote for the kind of country we want; but, as things presently stand, it is those who continue to support Obama who are the real spoilers because they cling to Obama - a loser. While it is always possible in life for what appears to be impossible to happen, all common sense should tell us a President with three wars hanging around his neck as his major "accomplishments" with rapidly rising prices for food, gas, home heating fuels and electricity coupled with huge unemployment, massive home foreclosures and evictions and the freezing and reductions of wages and benefits is not going to be getting voted in again. Politically the odds of Obama getting elected again are virtually nil. Unless you believe Obama can win without liberals, progressives and left voters turning out to vote for him on Election Day, Obama can't win. In fact, the election isn't even going to be close; Obama will be trounced and trampled at the polls. Even if Obama can win on Election Day he deserves to have every liberal, progressive and leftist working to defeat him because he does not represent or reflect the kind of country we want. Here is my choice for 2012: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82015215170 Cynthia McKinney and Cindy Sheehan might not be able to win on Election Day 2012; but, neither can Barack Obama... I will, however, be voting for the kind of country I want as a left-wing working class voter. And this is my right. I am not going to be badgered, bullied and intimidated into voting for a rotten Wall Street war-monger. *I didn't tell Nixon to take his Vietnam war and shove it up his ass only to be bullied into voting for another warmonger--- Barack Obama*. Here is a very modest program for your consideration: A program for real change... Peace--- end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and shutdown the 800 U.S. military bases on foreign soil. A National Public Health Care System - ten million new jobs. A National Public Child Care System - three to five million new jobs. WPA - three million new jobs. CCC - two million new jobs. Tax the hell out of the rich and cut the military budget by ending the wars to pay for it all which will create full employment. Enforce Affirmative Action; end discrimination. Raise the minimum wage to a real living wage What tax-payers subsidize in the way of businesses, tax-payers should own and reap the profits from. Moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions. Defend democracy by defending workers' rights including the right to collective bargaining for improving the lives and livelihoods of working people. Roll-back and freeze the price of food, electricity, gas and heating fuels; not wages, benefits or pensions. Wall Street is our enemy. Let's talk about the politics and economics of livelihood for a real change. *Alan L. Maki* Director of Organizing, Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council 58891 County Road 13 Warroad, Minnesota 56763 Phone: 218-386-2432 Cell: 651-587-5541 Primary E-mail: amaki000 [at] centurytel.net E-mail: alan.maki1951mn [at] gmail.com Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/ --------14 of 14-------- For the ruling class freedom is a zero-sum game. Fight back or die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments vote third party for president for congress for governor now and forever Socialism YES Capitalism NO Impeach Obama To GO DIRECTLY to an item, eg --------8 of x-------- do a find on --8 Research almost any topic raised here at: CounterPunch http://counterpunch.org Dissident Voice http://dissidentvoice.org Common Dreams http://commondreams.org Once you're there, do a search on your topic, eg obama drones
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