Progressive Calendar 12.15.11 /2 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001umn.edu) | |
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:33:18 -0800 (PST) |
PROGRESSIVE CALENDAR 12.15.11 1. Stand with CeCe 12.15 6pm 2. Labor party/2012 12.15 7pm 3. Voter ID debate 12.15 7pm 4. FBI repression 12.15 7pm 5. Ralph Naderm - Congressional tyranny, White House surrender 6. Steven Higgs - Rocky Anderson enters the fray 7. ed - What capitalism needs (7 5 3 5 7 form) --------1 of 7-------- From: Kim DeFranco Stand with CeCe 12.15 6pm Sent on behalf of CeCe's Support Committee and Communities United Against Policy Brutality Mark your calendars! On Thursday, December 15, join us for a dinner, talk, and the unveiling of the "I stand with CeCe" Poster Project. The evening's program will feature Andrea Jenkins and Rose Brewer talking about issues of white supremacy and racial justice in relation to the case of CeCe McDonald, and to the African-American community at large. The event will also feature the first public display of the "I stand with CeCe" Poster Project. (See below for more info on the poster project) *When: Thursday, December 15, Dinner at 6:00pm, program at 7:00 *Where: Walker Community Church, 3104 16th Ave S, Mpls Donations accepted, no one turned away for lack of funds, childcare provided Andrea Jenkins is a community activist and an award-winning writer, poet and playwright. Rose Brewer is a renowned scholar and activist deeply involved in struggles for social transformation locally and globally. Event co-sponsored by CeCe's Support Committee and Communities United Against Policy Brutality **THE POSTER PROJECT** The “I Stand with Cece” poster project is an effort to capture the breadth of Cece’s support. We believe that racism and transphobia permeate all layers of government, and that there is no justice for Cece in the Hennepin County legal system. We believe that a court system that defends white supremacists forfeits legitimacy. We call upon the Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman to drop all charges against Cece, and we call upon all people of conscious to connect with her case and engage in efforts to defend her. Our goal is to create a visual display that will illustrate the diversity of reasons to stand with Cece. We ask you to participate by going to, http://supportcece.wordpress.com/get-involved/i-stand-with-cece-poster-project/ or by dropping in at the Exchange, at 3405 Chicago Ave S, in Minneapolis, to get an 'I stand with CeCe" poster to complete. Take a moment to reflect on why you are drawn to Cece’s cause, and then complete the sentence on the poster: Because _________________, I stand with Cece.” Drop your poster off at the Exchange or bring it to the December 15th event, "Battling White Supremacy," where we will add it to the display.Thank you for adding your voice to the mix. --------2 of 7-------- Labor party/2012 12.15 7pm The Occupy Movement and the 2012 Elections Why We Need a Labor Party December 15th, 2011 When: Thursday, December 15 at 7:00 pm Where: May Day Bookstore (301 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis) The Occupy movement has spread like wildfire and changed the political dialogue in this country. It arose in part out of young people’s frustration at the lack of real “change we can believe in” after Obama’s election in 2008. Under Obama, things are actually worse for workers and the youth, and the rich are even richer than they were under G.W. Bush. Where are the jobs? Where is the Employee Free Choice Act? Where is the moratorium on home foreclosures? Where are the universal health care and education we so desperately need? Now the 2012 elections already upon us. The Democrats offer no solutions and the Republican wolves are knocking at the door. What is the way forward for the Occupy movement when it comes to electoral politics? How can the labor movement turn things around? How would a labor party change the political dynamic in this country and offer genuine change? Join the Campaign for a Mass Party of Labor as we preview the 2012 elections and discuss how the inspiring Occupy movement and the power of organized labor can offer real solutions to the crisis. For more information, please contact: info [at] masspartyoflabor.org or call 612-568-2675. Learn more about the CMPL at www.masspartyoflabor.org Campaign for a Mass Party of Labor PO Box 18173 Minneapolis, MN 55418 Join the Campaign! If you would like to unsubscribe to this this email list, please reply to this message with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. --------3 of 7-------- From: "LWV Minnesota" <sknuth [at] lwvmn.org> Voter ID debate 12.15 7pm University of Minnesota Voter ID debate When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 Willey Hall 125, 225 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis The University of Minnesota debate team will host a Voter ID debate featuring four Minnesota state legislators at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, in room 125 Willey Hall, 225 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The debate, featuring state Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis), state Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville), state Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and state Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), will focus on the merits of imposing a voter ID requirement in Minnesota. The Minnesota Student Association and the Minnesota Student Legislative Coalition are debate co-sponsors. Doug Chapin, director of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs program for Excellence in Election Administration, will moderate the event.Debate organizers say the controversy surrounding Voter ID laws is relevant to students, as these laws could prevent them from voting where they attend school. The debate, free and open to the public, will include an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the participants. The "LWV Metro Blast" is a way for Metro Area Leagues to invite members of other Metro Area LWVs to timely, informative events. If your LWV will be hosting an event that you would like to invite other Metro Area Leagues to, please email meland [at] lwvmn.org If you would like to unsubscribe from this list, please send an email to meland [at] lwvmn.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. --------4 of 7-------- >From : WAMM FBI repression 12.15 7pm Video Conference: Report Back from National Committee to Stop FBI Repression Conference Thursday, December 15, 7:00 p.m. Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis. Carlos Montes and Noor Elashi will join via video-conference. Carlos Montes faces years in prison, based on COINTELPRO-style charges stemming from his anti-war and international solidarity activism. Noor Elashi’s father, Ghassan Elashi, is one of the “Holy Land Five.” The Holy Land Foundation was one of the largest Muslim charities in the U.S. After a series of outrageously unjust court actions, her father is serving a 65-year sentence. Stop all Witch Hunts! Even now, the “Justice Departments” are investigating, subpoenaing, indicting, torturing, sentencing and imprisoning people for: Providing Humanitarian Aid, International Union Solidarity, National Liberation Struggles, Anti-War Activism, Immigrant Rights and Immigration Legal Assistance, International Solidarity Work, Being Arab or Muslim, “Thought Crimes.” Serious and sobering information and updates were presented at the November 5th conference in Chicago. Come to this important report back from the conference to hear about imprisoned activists and the dangerous issues we all face for exercising what we thought were our rights. Please join others as they share legal, prison, legislative and organizing updates. Sponsored by: CSFR. FFI: Visit www.stopfbi.net. --------5 of 7-------- [The 1% answer to OWS is fascism - ed] Published on Thursday, December 15, 2011 by CommonDreams.org Congressional Tyranny, White House Surrender by Ralph Nader Paraphrasing Shakespeare, something is rotten in the state of Capitol Hill. A majority of Congress is just about to put the finishing touches on an amendment to the military budget authorization legislation that will finish off some critical American rights under our Constitution. Here is how two retired 4 star marine generals, Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar, described in the New York Times the stripmining of your freedom to resist tyranny in urging a veto by President Obama: “One provision would authorize the military to indefinitely detain without charge people suspected of involvement with terrorism, including United States citizens apprehended on American soil. Due process would be a thing of the past…. “A second provision would mandate military custody for most terrorism suspects. It would force on the military responsibilities it hasn’t sought”…. "for domestic law enforcement….” “A third provision would further extend a ban on transfers from Guantanamo, ensuring that this morally and financially expensive symbol of detainee abuse will remain open well into the future.” All of Obama’s leading military and security officials oppose this codification of the ultimate Big Brother power. Imagine allowing the government to deny people accused of involvement with terrorism (undefined), including U.S. citizens arrested within the United States, the right to a trial by jury. Imagine allowing indefinite imprisonment for those accused without even proffering charges against them. Goodbye 5th and 6th Amendments. On some government agency’s unbridled order: just pick them up, arrest them without charges and throw them into the military brig indefinitely. This atrocity deserves to be repeatedly condemned loudly throughout the land by Americans who believe in the rights of due process, habeas corpus, right to confront your accusers, right to a jury trial—in short, liberty and the just rule of law. Some stalwart lawyers are speaking out soundly: They include Georgetown Law Professor, David Cole, George Washington University Law Professor, Jonathan Turley, Republican lawyer, Bruce Fein, former American Bar Association (2005-2006) president, Michael Greco, and the always alert lawyers at the civil liberties groups. Their well-grounded outcries are not awakening the citizenry. Where are the one million lawyers? Where are the thousands of law professors? Where are the scores of law school deans? Are they not supposed to be our first constitutional responders? Where is the Tea Party and its haughty rhetoric about the sanctity of constitutional liberty? Most of the Tea caucus voted for tyranny. Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul has been an outspoken critic of this attack on our civil liberties. The majority also voted to ratify a dictatorial procedure in the Congress, as well. This indefinite, arbitrary, open-ended dictatorial White House mandate was never subjected to even a House or Senate Committee hearing, and was not explained with any rationale known as legislative “findings.” It was rammed through by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees without the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees invoking their concurrent jurisdiction for public hearings. So extreme are these majority Congressional extremists, composed of both Republicans and renegade Democrats, the latter led by Senator Carl Levin, that the Obama Administration has to lecture them about the fundamental American principle that “our military does not patrol our streets.” It is not as if the imperial presidencies of Bush and Obama need any more encouragement and legitimization to continue on their lawless paths to criminal wars of aggression, unlawful surveillance, arbitrary slayings of innocents, wrongful imprisonments, and unauthorized spending. Instead of Congress using its constitutional authority regarding the war, appropriations and investigative powers, it formalizes its impotence by handing the “go for it” power to the Executive branch with the vaguest of language boundaries. Usually there are a few Senators whose upfront defense of our Constitution would lead them to stand tall against the “Senate Club” and put a “hold” on this pernicious amendment. Civil libertarians hope that, before the final Senate vote in the rush to get home for the Holidays, Senators Rand Paul, Tom Harkin, Al Franken, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Tom Coburn or Mike Lee would step forth. A “hold” could spark the demand for public hearings and floor debate to give the American people the time and information to react and ask themselves “how dare Congress take away our most fundamental rights?” President Obama initially threatened to veto the entire bill and make Congress drop these pernicious dictates that so insult the memory and vision of our founding fathers. He is already signaling that he doesn’t have the backbone to reject the false choice “between our safety and our ideals,” that he asserted in his Inaugural Address. Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer, and author. His most recent book - and first novel - is, Only The Super-Rich Can Save Us. His most recent work of non-fiction is The Seventeen Traditions. --------6 of 7-------- December 15, 2011 Rocky Anderson Enters the Fray At Last, a Progressive Alternative to Obama by STEVEN HIGGS Americans who feel betrayed by timid, capitulatory leadership from Democrats like President Barack Obama now have a candidate to consider at the presidential level. On Dec. 12, 2011, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson announced his candidacy on the Justice Party ticket and the next day laid out a cogent progressive agenda on Democracy Now! “Although hailing from a solidly red state, Anderson has been known as one of the most progressive mayors of any major U.S. city in recent years,” host Amy Goodman said in her introduction to the report. “During his two mayoral terms from 2000 to 2008, Anderson was an outspoken champion of LGBT rights, environmental sustainability and the antiwar movement in opposition to the Iraq War.” On both Democracy Now! and in a Dec. 12 article in The Guardian, the former Democrat embraced the Occupy Movement. “There is clearly a convergence of interests regarding the concerns we have and the concerns of Occupy Wall Street,” he told The Guardian. “There’s little I’ve heard from the Occupy movement that I would disagree with, and I think there’s little we support that they would disagree with.” *** The Justice Party is needed because the American political system is “corrupt” and “diseased,” Anderson told Goodman. “We know that the public interest is not being served by anyone in the system right now, particularly the two dominant parties who have sustained this corrupt system and who are sustained by it,” he said. Obama’s Kansas speech on income inequality last week was “total hypocrisy,” Anderson said. The president has accepted more Wall Street money than any other candidate in history, and he is surrounded by alumni from Goldman Sachs. “All any of us have to do is look at our pension plans, our 401(k) accounts, and we can see the direct impacts of this economic disaster, brought to us through, by and large, these criminal acts committed by these Wall Street firms and their employees,” he said. “And not one of them has been brought to justice under the Obama administration.” Anderson compared Obama’s Wall Street contributions and subsequent timidity to his relationship with polluters, from whom he took money and then vetoed EPA efforts to strengthen air quality standards. “We know that’s not in the public interest,” he said. “President Obama has to know that’s not in the public interest. He’s serving the interest of those polluting industries.” The corrupting influence of money from the medical insurance industry is the reason America is the only country in the industrialized world without a single-payer health care system, Anderson added. “The failure – in terms of every major public policy issue – to serve the public interest can be attributed to that corrupting influence of money,” he said. “Just follow the money, and you’ll see why Congress and the White House are pursuing these policies that are so inimical to the interest of the American people.” *** The same day Anderson announced his candidacy in Washington D.C., Donnelly, the Second District Indiana congressman seeking incumbent Republican Richard Lugar’s U.S. Senate seat next year, lent credence to the characterization of Democrats and Republicans as two faces on the same tarnished coin. In comments made at a diner in Indianapolis, he expressed support for the Keystone XL Pipeline through the Western United States, according to an Indiana Public Media report. The pipeline would transport synthetic oil from the Alberta Tar Sands in Northeastern Alberta, Canada, to U.S. refineries from Illinois to Texas. James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, has said it will be “game over” for the climate if the Alberta oil sands become a major source of world oil. “President George W. Bush said that the U.S. was addicted to oil,” Hansen said in an Aug. 29, 2011, story posted on the Reuters website. “So what will the U.S. response to this situation be? Will it entail phasing out fossil fuels and moving to clean energy or borrowing the dirtiest needle from a fellow addict?” Choosing the dirty needle would show Obama “was just greenwashing, like the other well-oiled, coal-fired politicians with no real intention of solving the addiction,” he said. Donnelly linked his Dec. 12 comments to Republican efforts to legislatively tie the pipeline to an extension of the payroll tax cut. “If that being in this bill makes it impossible to get this bill done, there are other points at where we can get the Keystone Pipeline squared away,” he said. The next day, Lugar issued a news release one-upping Donnelly on Keystone. The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tied the pipeline to national security and jobs as he argued the State Department’s decision to delay action until at least 2013 was motivated by presidential politics. “America’s workers and security takes a backseat to the president’s effort to save his own job,” Lugar said in the release. Anderson told The Guardian it is clear that Democrats do not represent the change Americans need. “There are lots of good individuals in the Democratic Party,” he said. “[But] without Democrats voting the way they did in Congress, we wouldn’t have invaded Iraq. We wouldn’t have suffered as a nation because of these Bush tax cuts.” *** Two-party collusion on retroactive immunity to telecom companies is another example of bipartisan decay and Obama’s failed leadership, Anderson said on Democracy Now!. “Then-Senator Obama promised this nation, before the primary, before he won the Democratic primary for the presidency, that he would join a filibuster against telecom company immunity,” he said. Not only did he not filibuster, he voted for the legislation. “Who in this country gets Congress to grant them retroactive immunity for committing clearly felonious acts?” The same goes for Obama’s about face on domestic “war criminals” who engaged in torture in violation of international and domestic law, Anderson told Goodman. “We have this special class of people who aren’t even held accountable under the law.” To politically counter the corruption, the nation needs elected officials “who are pledged not to just represent the people’s interest in the same system, but to change the system and get the corrupting influence of corporate and other concentrated wealth out of our electoral system and out of our system of governance,” he said. Anderson told Democracy Now! that the Justice Party’s agenda reflects input gathered from all over the country that demands a new direction for American society. “It seemed that the notion of justice – economic justice, social justice, environmental justice – that’s what the people in this country want,” he said. “They want an equal playing field. They want the laws to apply to everyone equally. And they don’t want our Congress and our president simply serving the interests of the economic aristocracy in this country any longer.” Today’s politicians are not leaders, he said. They defer to polls and political considerations, not the public interest. “You see these people bouncing back and forth,” he said. “They’re unrecognizable from one moment to another. And it’s because of the basest political considerations. How are they to be trusted?” Steven Higgs is the editor of the Bloomington Alternative. He can be reached at editor [at] BloomingtonAlternative.com. --------7 of 7-------- Capitalism needs a [form 7 5 3 5 7, a new form I have not yet named] dumbed down people who will eat star spangled shit each day and twice on by god Sunday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shove Clove
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