Rise! Resist! Revolt!

New York State Budget Crisis

2010-04-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

New York State is in the midst of a 9 billion dollar budget gap, and unlike the federal government which can simply sell its debt to china, all states must balance their budget. Naturally the politicians, who gave billions to the banks and corporate executives who arrived at the white house in private jets, decided to place the debt on the backs of the working people of New York. As if cutting student metrocards, which provide public school students necessary free public transportation to school, wasn't enough: now millions of working people will get kicked out of their homes. Because of a $45 million dollar deficeit, New York will revoke Section 8 rental vouchers. Section 8 is a low income rental assistance program that endless New Yorkers rely on to make it hand-to-mouth every month working tough jobs and making the city work. Unfortunately the corrupt capitalism government fails to realize that the people of new york city need the section 8 program since they are more concerned with an economic recovery that somehow leaves out the vast majority of people with unemployment hovering at 10%. The New York Housing Authority tells people in section 8 to move into public housing complexes, but fails to realize that public housing complexes are overcrowded with waiting lists for years.
A couple years ago I laid back on my ex's coach as she answered calls for her parents private house in the bronx that had an empty apartment and a "FOR RENT" sign out front. Every minute of the day someone called, and every caller was looking for a lanlord accepting section 8.
The fact that the same politicians who gave billions of tax dollars to bankers and executives, are now suggesting cuts on social programs indicates that capitalism as an economic system is a broken gamble.

Greek Philosophy and the Development of Modern Western Society

2010-02-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle’s struggle was one to save humanity if you really think about it. While the Sophists thought they were smart and cunning for their discovery of a fundamental truth, Their discovery would lead humanity down the path of greed, capitalism, war, and deceit. That truth is essentially that if you take immoral and deceitful steps in life, they can benefit you. The most blaring example is of a politician who lies to his constituency in order to win their following and then use that to proceed his actual hidden agenda. For example George Bush using 9/11 as a means to start wars, and a reason to lie to the public at large, or Ancient Athenian politicians deceiving the masses for their own selfish purpose. The most classic definition of justice can be traced back to the moment when Socrates publicly criticized corrupt politicians despite the consequences for history to admire, and Plato’s idea that the city must have egalitarianism between specializations of labor. But the greatest injustice occurred when Socrates was put to death. It is a metaphor for triumph of sophist immorality in humanity, despite the gentle trickle of Socrates revolutionary ideas down through his students.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were all philosopher of a respective time period who saw the influence of the sophists on society, and those who created vice and sin, and attempted to warn society against such self-destructive practices. Socrates focused on rewards in the afterlife, Plato on rewards in the current life, and Aristotle was more concerned with happiness and health. Yet despite their differences like Marx, Lenin, and Mao, they all share the same fundamental ideology. For the Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle it was this belief that society could be run by moral good rather than rampant addiction to power, wealth, and pleasure that leaves us feeling empty inside.
The Sophists on the other hand, sought rampant power, wealth, and pleasure and their beliefs have had unimaginable influence on the modern world. As they executed Socrates; only Plato’s student was left to teach other free thinkers in society the truth about being moral. This represents how social justice movements throughout history have always been underground struggling against corrupt oppressors. Socrates’ death paved the way for absolute control of the hierarchy in western society by those who put morals aside and get the job done with a iron fist. When taking office George Bush had sought to invade Iraq in order to open up the state-owned oil company to him and his buddy Cheney’s oil company Halliburton. When terrorists attacked the country however, he cleverly deceived Americans into blaming the middle east as a whole allowing him the breathing space to begin war maneuvers against Iraq. That’s the result of injustice created by the execution of Socrates. If Socrates had never died such leaders would not exsist.
Plato’s city in interesting because it stress egalitarianism between leaders, workers, and soldiers in terms of material goods, and this redistribution of goods based on what makes the most logical sense to attain general happiness of the society as a whole has been the struggle of revolutionaries since the day of Plato. Plato’s city illustrated in a very basic way that there was a way to avoid divisions within a populace, make everyone happy, keep specialization of labor, do away with poverty, and have a happy functioning society. This is a key ancient definition of justice.
In summary, the Sophists triumphed over moral Greek philosophers through their deceiving and cunning use of power. Their whole demeanor may represent what is unjust in society today. Although originally deceiving for goals, they end up only in search of power, wealth, and pleasure. Socrates and his followers faced death and persecution for warning all of western society of the dangers that unmoral sophism would bring, and now we are left with a crumbling capitalist economy, global war of terror, and people dying due to the lack of infrastructure their country has been left with due to the rampant greed of lying filthy rich capitalist politicians all over the world.

2 Interesting Poems about City Life

2010-02-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

My Struggle

Born In The Gutter, A baby who never muttered
I Only Yelled. Now I'm All Grown and all alone
But through my fighting and my writing I become a clone
immortalized in words and ideas of Freedom and Dreams that we demand
as the judge glares down at your cuffed hands on the stand or when the doctor says no to treatment when your hearts bleeding and wallets sleeping

So in wrath I took class, but never believed words of an ass
or the curse of the madman elephant whose war was hellbent
on destroying the community and youth to who my mind stayed true

Our Generation made of strong heroes
Born from the Ashes of Ground Zero
Our potential reveal in the first Black Presidential
Going Back to My Past, All I can ask
Is If Gods up there, He Love me and let me stay blessed
So cops give me no stress, my clothes fresh, and live life enjoying what's best; a college knowledge to solve global problems

Urban Legend

When I was locked up
A kid on chalk and no luck
Forwarned me not to write on the prison wall
And since the day I’ve avoided Jail all-in-all

It may be an Urban Legend forged in heaven by dread bredren
Or a jynx as old as the great sphinx but me thinks god protected me from a broken legacy.

Oppressors fail to realize the crime in their lives
They lock men up millions on average
Because in New York a man is no less than an animal savage

You come to me seeking wisdom and peace
Water, bread, success, and something to eat
Lady Liberty… on your lovely island
Don’t you see the youth of America is crying?
Our Life is haunted by the jailhouse frying and injection
This is the Section 8 legend…

Two interesting HS Journalism Articles: Obama's Continuation of Bush's Programs? and The Anger at the MTA taking away NYC Student Metro Cards

2010-02-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

The War on the Middle East is Draining America

The War in Iraq and Afghanistan is in its ninth year, and most students can barely remember a time when America wasn’t at war. A recent random-selection school poll cleary indicates that over 80% of students say we need to pull out, and over 50% of the general public disapproves of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan according the Washington Post. Yet President Obama, pushed by republicans and weak democrats in congress, recently increased troops in Afghanistan contrary to the overwhelmingly strong public opinion against the war.
The argument in the mainstream media is that the wars have become wars of necessity for the safety of America, but this brings to question, when will we be able to stop fighting? The arguments and motives of keeping US forces in the Middle East are similar to those of US forces in Vietnam in the 1960s. Albeit, the US army was a draft army in Vietnam, students still are rightfully wary and tired of the endless wars.
David Simantove(’11) said “I want us to pull out, but it’s tough to see an end to it.” This kind of sentiment is supported by the fact that the US in the midst of the greatest recession since the great depression.
When Common Sense interviewed and surveyed students about how the recession has effected their family, students were quick to express their concerns. Rebecca Smith (’10) told Common Sense Newspaper, “My father lost his job and now he doesn’t pay child support anymore.” Similarly Emma Wilde (’12) responded that, “My uncle and my cousins have lost their jobs in this recession.”
A cash-strapped federal and state government has voted to cut social services like student metro cards, yet bailout bank executives whose incompetence helped lead to the recession, and continue to fund the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Resident Economics teacher Mr. Evans expressed serious concern, “…If anything, the war drains resources. We already have an unpaid $2 trillion debt to this war.”
And that’s only Iraq. Many students claim that they don’t know as much as they should, don’t care, or that we should stay in Afghanistan because its “the good fight.” The reality is that the wars are connected, and have similar consequences of draining resources, killing soldiers and civilians, and creating anger that leads local Iraqis and Afghanis to join insurgencies. Freshman Kate Mallary (’13) added, “ I think more money should be put into the schools, so many countries have tried in Afghanistan and failed, so we’re just dumping money over there.”
Although troops report not having adequate body armor, and complain that they are paid less then privately contracted mercenaries like those of the recently indicted blackwater corporation accused of massacring scores of innocent Iraqis, Obama insists on the necessity of continuing a war with significant opposition on the home front.
Despite the fact that US bombings have destroyed infrastructure in both countries leading native people to join terrorist insurgencies in response, and despite the fact that the US army is relying on recruits promised college education and a chance at the American dream in impoverished areas, politicians insists that it is in the interest and safety of America.
The interest and safety in America right now really relies on restoring economic faith. While economists claim the economy has already recovered while enjoying lavish vacations in 5-star hotels, Americans on the street know that the 10% unemployment rate indicates that its only over for the rich, and just beginning for the poor.
Instead of creating public works programs, building public housing, and improving schools and job placement programs in inner-city communities, Obama has instead chosen to continue the policies of his predecessor, the president with one of the lowest approval ratings in history.
As troop and civilians death tolls rise daily, it appears the only solution to ending the war lies not in the hands of the government, but soldiers, students, and people who mount a public outcry against the war. It was the public pressure from yearly protests in big cities across the country in the war that led our politicians to draft the “timeline” for pulling out of Iraq. It’s up to Americans to keep them accountable, and push for an end to the draining war in Afghanistan.

Say Good-Bye To Your Student Metrocard, But Hello to Resistance

In December, the MTA announced a plan to snatch student full-fare metrocards from out of the hands of over half a million students who use them on a daily basis. The plan will entail the distribution of half-fare metrocards next semester and then entirely getting rid of the metrocard program by 2011.
Although the situation appears bleak, student from Bronx Science to Boys & Girls have begun organizing against what they call an encroachment of a hard fought for right. Junior Ian Turley said, "It is a moral mockery to be forced to spend money for free education." This sentiment was echoed by both lowerclassmen and upperclassmen here at HSAS. Senior Melissa Olivo quickly stated, "I hate it. I hope the MTA headquarters explode." Sentiments like these are alarming to government which intends to keep schools running efficiently, despite the anger of students, and the threat and blackmailing tactics of the MTA in order to secure further fare hikes or funding. Resident Economist and Commodities Trader Arnold Mansdorf stated that the blackmailing tactic of the MTA is, “political football… They’ll never do it. How do the expect families of two to four kids to pay 10 to 14 dollars a day?” This highlights dissent from not only poor students, but suburban teachers, and all stratas of society.
Last month, a student protest in front of MTA headquarters on 42nd street attracted approximately a 1000 students from the 5 boroughs, fiery speakers talked about mass civil disobedience and storming the headquarters, but the protest remained peaceful and suprisingly well organized.
Most troubling about the situation is the vow by students, who can't afford the $2,500 cost of transportation to-and-from school for one year, to simply not go to school anymore. Despite the fact that the government was able to provide banks with billions of dollars in the infamous bank bailouts started under Bush, the government claims its pockets are empty when it comes to money for jobs and education or the people whom the government is supposed to represent. Senior Kadacia stated that, "It'll take a toll on my mom, and they should cut something else." In fact a recent survey indicates that over 90% of students agree with this, they just feel too isolated to actually take action to protect their metro cards
Bloomburg's maitenance of a sizable police force, larger then the original invading force of Afghanistan, has continued guliani's policy and created heavy strain on the city economically and socially.
Aside from the murder of citizens like Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell, Officers have drained the city of money for social programs, and put it towards the overpolicing of urban communities. When questioned whether Officer Castro believed that cutting the police force and funding school metrocards would be a good idea, he responded, "that's not good we gotta keep the crime down." But the Bronx has the one of the highest dropout rates, most arrests, and intrusive searches by police of students with a high rate of racial profiling.
These police officers will be paid to arrest students as they jump turnstyles and refuse to pay court summons as they attempt to get to school.
Senior David Greenblatt and other concerned students have begun organizing against the metrocard cut by collecting expired metrocards from last semester with messages to the board of education. Although a small step, only through greater student activism will the MTA begin to pay attention to the demands of students.

Spend Just One Night...

2010-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Spend Just One Night...

Dark of the night leads to light in the park. I stare at the lone souls on the barren snow covered cold. They make homage to the snow and blow it everywhere. This is my block, my park, and my night of dark. All those who lurk here hold no fear, Selling in the wrong place results in your face smashed. Cash made on Marcy, Cash made is larcency for many. The blunt cold holds no prisoners, it starves you and carves you into a new man. Just one night in the cold mista mayor, just one night in the blizzard player. That's all we ask before you tell us the poor are lazy, and the homeless are crazy. These streets are amazing to the outta towner, which is why im trying not to be a downer, but spend just one night on em. Spend just one night under those street lights.

The economy sunk, kids flunk, moms lack of pay leaves the food situation outta luck. soleless shoes smell like skunk, and broken boots are in cahoots with socks of cloth that lack being waterproof. Days like these no please, so as a teen i lived on selling anti-government trees, but as a kid we lived off that government cheeese, so in places like these its pretty hard to dream, spend just one night, and you'll be cooking up schemes...

O Spend Just One night mista mayor, Just one night with us, those of us who now ride in the back of the bus. Those of us who lust for just a fraction of your pizza crust. Spend one night with us, and ill trust, youll see that public housing bill thru. You're eyes will be covered in black&blue, and your wallet left empty as Aldei the Truancy School.

Spend Just One Night and fly kites with us on project roofs, Aloof from the truth, will politicians ever understand those of us who think like John Wilkes Booth? Desperation plagues not this nation, but this city, a type of gritty you just can't understand unless you move to this land of skidrows and addicts for blow gilded with riches and paid cop snitches

Spend Just One Night with us on these streets

The Story of Students X, Y, and Z

2010-02-27T10:43:00.001-08:00

The following short story is based on real & recent events in a Bronx High School. The events highlight the infamous power of the capitalist state to suppress free speach through a variety of techniques. Of course the state, school officials, and police are not allowed to openly state in public that these students were persecuted for their beliefs in socialism and progress, at the same time , it was clear to all students who paid attention that the inventive techniques of suppressing the students are merely the state using different methods to accomplish the goals of a fascist state, through covert means.

High School X is just your average Bloomberg-era high school. After years of failing schools and cesspools of hopeless gang violence, and teenage pregnancy, the Board of Education and Bloomberg started splitting up large schools into smaller environments which "supposedly" would focus on students, and create a better situation for the youth. In reality, the small schools drained resources and good students from the big schools. This created horrid enviroments in the big schools resulting in their closure and replacement with charter schools, and schools that could be run with profit in mind.

So what does High School X have to do with it? High School X is is a small trailer filled with the best students from not only the bronx, but all NYC. Thus we are nationally ranked at 19 by US new & world report.

On our first days of global history and american history we learned about the suppression of free speech in the USSR and China. But never could we imagine that we would learn America is no different.

It all started freshman year. two students name Student X and Student Y, concerned by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, interested by economics of socialism, and fascinated with American politics, decided to create a political action club to get students involved in social justice and liberal politics. The club was first called the "revolution club." School officials did not originally respond in overt anger or violence against students, but started talking to the freshmen and explaining to them the bureacracy and impracticality of the club. After blackmailing teachers for their job, the club could not start as it could not find a faculty advisor.

Sophmore year, radical students again attempted to create a similiar political club. This time under the name of "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism." Again the administration denied the students requests, but took a more seriously concerned approach. This time they threatened the students claiming that running the club could involve in a impeachment and suspension in school, if they proceeded.

Oddly, a wealthy conservative student was granted permission to start a club with conservative political leanings and an agenda of teaching students moderate views on the issues. His club was called "Political Action Club", yet its lack of getting anybody involved in anything at all made it a sham.

Junior year, the all-city school enacted two new troubling policies. One which would accumulate points and convert them into detentions and suspensions for every minute late to school despite having students who travel 2 to 3 hour commutes on unreliable MTA trains. Meanwhile wealthier students who paid upto $5000 to ride the bronx science school buses to school were given excuses, and allowed to make up missed 1st period exams/quizzes. Second, the school started kicking out students who failed classes, rather than offer than a path to make up their credits on campus. This tore apart classes, and was used as an excuse to toss struggling students to the curb and encourage them to drop out.

As a result Student X decided to run for student representitive. Student X ran on a platform of reversing the aggressive school policies of the above paragraph. When he put up posters, the school tore them down, and threatened him multiple times with suspension and explusion on the grounds of "insubordination." Insubordination is essentially the legal grounds master and slave.

Student Y posted stickers on campus for a 3rd party candidate in the 2008 election named Gloria La Riva, and was forced to pay hundreds of dollars in summons for his expression of free speech, while major party candidates were given space in school, and their position on issues were taught in class.

Senior year. Student X arrived in school a minute late after a 2 hour commute from brooklyn, and was barred from an examination. Later he causually speaks to his peers in revolutionary whispers. A teacher approaches, and student X casually mentions that the schools unfair policy of subordinating students and barring students from taking tests, kicking students out who are struggling, and suppressing free speech is what creates drug dealers and schools shooters and drop outs. As a result of this statement, student X is placed in a suspension center.

The suspension center works as a re-education center. While some students are in there for fights with cops, others are in there due to political statements. The trailer is gaurded by armed officers, metal detectors, and there is no way out of the barred windowed orange trailer. On all the walls it says "learn how to speak with authority, learn how to speak with police" and "teachers" walked in educating us on the functions of the american government, our rights, and the great american democracy. When Student X asked why he was there the teacher responded, "Because your a radical and people like you need to be cleaned up."

After a week Student X went AWOL from re-education camp and found a civil liberties lawyer. After months of a long hard fight, the board of education cleaned the record of Student X realizing the danger of the decision they had just made: They had violated the very first amendment of the constitution, and locked someone up for it.

Meanwhile...

Student Z is witnessing all this from a neutral perspective. All his life he has seen struggle and strife accross the street from the poverty of the Mott Haven Projects. Suddenly he finds his calling in a sea of injustice. He writes a poem critiquing how bloomberg is "planting a million trees" in a place like Mott haven, when trees won't do anything for hood. He writes about the uncoincidential moments of life and how one must seize the day at every moment. He writes and writes creatively.

Student Z then shows the poem to the school as a gift for the yearbook, however, the schools recognizes the radicalized nature of the poem.

Days later worried Student X attempts to make contact with Student Z... Student Z sends him a video.."To all those classes in school... let this be my message... I bet .. I bet you have never seen me in hospital robes like these.. Well let me tell you how I got here. I wrote a poem as a gift to the school to show them my creativity and free thinking... and look where I ended up." Student Z had been placed in a Pysch Ward for his beliefs, but his close friends knew better, and Student X knew better for sure.

The Story you have just read is true. Students X, Y, and Z are real people who have been politically persecuted for their belief in socialism. The school has subversively used the mechanisms of the state to suppress free speech, and free thinking in school zones, and brainwash a future generation of robots for the white collar workplace. If you are at all angered by the story you have just read show it to concerned friends and family, media, and whoever. We need help because we the students feel targetted and unsafe to speak our minds.

Back Again: New Life Lessons Bring this Blog New Meaning

2010-02-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hello all, I have recently taken an all to long hiatus from my writings, but that time is up. Blog writing is a stress reliever, a means of communicating your ideas to the world, and a means of self-improvement in your own writing. What has been the cause of my hiatus? Well... my beliefs in socialism and liberation have caused many problems in my pursuit of my education. America's intolerance of ideas that threaten the very foundation of our society brought me many troubles so for a while, I took time off and focused on beating the failed public education system, and attempting to create a future for my self.

With my acceptance to Stony Brook, one of the best state universities in the world and one of the best writing/journalism programs, I feel it is time to return to one of my callings in life of writing. The new RRR! blog will continue to contain social polemics of the past, but will now also include urban poetry and short stories as well. These stories will be in the line of socialism, as the experiences recounted have led many New York City Dwellers onto the path of socialism.

American History: Part 2-20th century

2009-06-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Gilded age saw laissez-faire capitalism evolve to its fullest and most ruthless form in the name of industrialization. Workers worked in miserable factory conditions with no labor rights and no fair wages . When workers unionized the government and bosses attempted to suppress them with the army, national guard, police, and private detective agencies like Pinkerton Detective Agency. This continued into the 20th century thanks to the stubbornness of the government and industrial bosses in granting workers any rights at all from the start of militant union in the early 1860s until the early 1900s when progressivism forced the government to make some reforms to appease the militant strikes that rocked the country conducted by the Industrial Workers of the World Union, the Western Federation of Miners, and other militant unions.
During WWI, the government coerced unions into waiving their rights to strike in the name of the war and better working conditions. IWW recognized the supposed improved conditions as a fallacy and striked anyway while unions like the American Federation of Labor, an elitist “skilled” labor-only movement, sold out and gave into government controls which have kept this organization stagnant even til this day. The split in the labor movement gave the government room to attack.
Government response to the peak of union radicalism and strength in the form of IWW was to raid their headquarters in all over the country in the name of national security and arrest their leaders in what became known as the Palmer Raids. Nevertheless, union struggles pushed the government to pass trust busting laws under President Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft. Because of the struggles of the labor movement, corporations do not have as great a power to hustle working people not only in terms of worker’s wages, but also in terms of collaborating to keep prices high as well as out-right lie in advertisement.
After subduing radicalism in the labor movement, the 1920s was a period of conservatism and gilded prosperity for investors. Capitalism thrived like never before for about nine years, bringing untold wealth to the already wealthy. Then one day in 1929 the pyramid scheme collapsed and millions ended up jobless all because of unregulated gambling on wall street. Suddenly the people had power to change things again and during the thirties America brought its self near socialism in order to avoid the end of the capitalist system. Not only did Communists align with liberals and liberals with unions and anarchists in a big united coalition against fascism worldwide, but the president of the United States was forced to expand the role of the government to something that finally served the people setting up pubic works projects, social security for the elderly, medical care for the poor, and other greatly needed reforms to once again calm the people from social revolution.
Textbooks declare that the end of the great depression was due to the industrial expansion of the economy during WWII. What this meant was that only by building on the industry of death, the armed forces, could the broken system return to some sort normal economic situation. Part of the reason for the depressions length was that FDR, despite being more progressive then his predecessors, was still in the historic role of presidency and didn’t feel comfortable with spending to much on the people. So in 1936, ignoring signs of recovery in areas where the government was setting up social programs, FDR cut New Deal programs and the economy again slumped and then slowly revived itself until the war when FDR introduced the Second New Deal.
WWII was a tragic war in which millions of young working people were drafted up, sent of to war and killed, same as 3 decades earlier. The common argument is that it was necessary to destroy fascism. The truth was that the bosses and the government did not care to much about fascism, rather they didn’t mind it as long as it didn’t clash with the United States and its allies. They let it spread untouched to Spain despite the heroic struggle the Spanish people put up. They let it spread to Czechslovakia, Austria, Ethiopia, etc. Businessmen like Ford for example even sold trucks to Franco’s fascist forces in Spain, because in the end profit is more important than supporting democratic forces. The U.S. regained its economic confidence by sustaining little damage on the homefront and coming out on top, but the lives it cost will never be forgotten, and the men and women who volunteered in the Lincoln Brigade to fight in Spain, the very first battle against fascism, those who would not put up with America’s blind eye to fascism, must never be forgotten even if they are often ignored.
After the War, presidents Truman and Eisenhower presided over a national purge led by Senator McCarthy. The purge, often called “McCarthyism” or “The Red Scare (pt. 2),” aimed at squashing dissent and promoting conformity in the new age of planned suburban life. The Smith Act along with countless state laws curbed peoples right to advocate anti-government ideas or hold anti-government political meetings. With every passing generation came new wisdom and a group known as “the beats” , with roots in the Lost generation of writers and artists of WWI and perhaps even the militant labor movement of the thirties, introduced Americans to new ways of thinking. At the same time the resistance by black people to jim crow in the south was slowly gaining strength as the opportunity to win rights in the name of countering soviet propaganda which blankly pointed to how racist capitalism really was to the revolutionary movements of Africa and Latin America like the African National Congress in South Africa and the July 26th Movement in Cuba. Although the movement started peaceful and patriotic, after brutal police beat downs, being sprayed with hoses, and murder of civil rights activists the movement realized that only through militant struggle could freedom be won. The whole culture of the 1950s was one of conformity, and consumerism despite lies of America being the “land of individualism. Bosses set up “company unions” and encouraged people to buy cheap conformed suburban housing. In Levittown, the first suburb, the peverted ideal American dream community meant no black people were allowed to live there. All this would culminate into an explosion in the 1960s.

in the 1960s, with the civil rights movement slowly gaining militancy and strength, and the ideas of the beats and third world revolutionaries like Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Mao, and Ho Chi Minh catching on with students, the result was an explosive situation which saw the beginning of the modern day culture war present today. During the 1960s the country saw clear polarization not just between labor and bosses, but between social progress and conservative stagnation. People revolted in Watts and other cities after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. coincidently when he started radicalizing and speaking against the war, and also when police brutality had become too much for the people to accept. The government conducted the Warren Commission and declared a war on poverty to try to calm the revolutionary situation. The Black Panther Party, a militant black revolutionary organization forced the government to expand welfare when they opened community breakfest programs and took active roles in the forgotten urban neighborhoods all over the country. The chance for revclution slipped because each act of protest was each militant but isolated, or widespread but to peaceful. A Machine with one part broken can easily be fixed, but if all the parts break at once, only then will you get a new one.
The momentum of the movement of the 1960s against the war, abuses on civil & woman’s rights, and for greater democracy slowed due to the governments relentless will to crush the anti-war and black power movements, and with the Black Panther Party, in particular, the government viciously infiltrated and tore the movement to shreds by turning activist groups against one another as well as the members within them. COINTELPRO succeeded in planting big brother agents in positions of power that allowed them to derail the party into oblivion. The program was titled COINTELPRO, and it was the blatant suppression of free speech and a continuation of the legacy of the oppression that is inherent to any centralized top-down state.
The big event that represents the tyranny of government was of course Watergate. The Scandal which brought down President Nixon by revealing his participation in wiretapping of his electoral opponents through a break-in, and the subsequent effort to cover up the crime. Also revealed but hushed , was the workings of the American system of “democracy,” where American Airlines, 3M, Good Year, and Milk corporations made campaign donations in exchange for favorable policy on the part of the government. After it all collapsed and corruption exposed to the highest levels, congressmen and senators pushed Nixon bow out gracefully taking all the blame for a system that allowed him to commit crime in the name of “national security.” In exchange, Nixon would not be charged, and his cronies, take Erlichman and Kissinger for example, would face light charges of small fines and suspended prison time, or get off scott-free and be allowed to even stay in the White House. The result was that mechanisms for the perversion of democracy stayed, while one man took the fall. It would set the precedent that criminal doings once you were in the position of presidency, you had special privledge that ordinary citizens did not and that was the problem. It would lead to the Iran-Contra Scandal of the 80s and all kinds of presidential scandals that are now often cut short before they reach the highest office.
Foreign Policy in the 1970s to 1980s reflected the collapse of people’s movements. As the percentage of eligible voters dropped to about 50% in the 70s, moral-less neo-colonialism continued with Ford’s continued aid to South Vietnam in order to secure grounds for “oil exploration and tourism” as one congressman put it. After the North quickly toppled the southern puppet regime in 1975, Carter would refuse to aid Vietnam in its reconstruction despite the thousands of tons of bombs the US dropped on Vietnamese civilians, the napalm, the pellet-bombs, and village massacres like that of My Lai. Albeit, Carter was an Obama. He tried to bring re-inspire people in their country after the democratic lies with Vietnam and the Republican lies with regards to Watergate.
Reagan and the republicans would frame Carter as destroying American standing in the world after decades of US policy in support of an unpopular dictator, the shah, backfired and resulted in 52 US embassy employees being taken hostage. It wasn’t Carters fault, in fact it was more the fault of conservatives like Reagan who would advocate nonsensical anti-democratic support of pro-business dictators from Chile to Nicaragua and Afghanistan. However, Reagan would benefit and and usher in an era of neo-conservatism using this tactic of fear that would be used by conservatives until this day.
The Reagan-Bush era marked cuts in social welfare, curbs on free speech, and cuts on taxes for the wealthy. When air traffic controllers striked against Reagan’s conservative anti-union policies, he issued a decree to dimiss all of them. This action was a historic because it marked the reversal of presidents acting neutral in labor disputes. It was the tiannamen square of the American union. Reagan’s environmental policy helped establish the current carelessness of the government towards environmental degradation. He allowed businesses to decide their own environmental policy no matter how detrmimental. Reagan’s importance to the modern capitalist class is unique because his administration saw the thorough regression of gains made by people’s movements. Where Carter put solar panels on the White House, Reagan demolished them. Where a disease prevention program saving millions of lives could have been set up up, Reagan built a $1.5 Billion submarine for launching nukes en masse.
All of American History has been a struggle between working people, students, and the American people against a handful of wealthy planters, industrial robber barons, and reckless wall street investors. Today, Americans have been left jobless and homeless or without a loved one due to circus games of executives and investors in the housing industry and the war for oil in Iraq started by the politicians who represent the companies that contribute to their campaign, not the people who their supposed to represent. Capitalism makes profit come before democracy. It is why foreign policy has been skewed to support vicious dictators like Pinochet, Noriega, Batista, and the Somozas and why slavery and Jim Crow segregation haunts our history. It is why strikes were crushed, and students disenfranchised from elections and even the right to free speech today in my very own school. American History has, and will have until a social revolution occurs, a path of conflict between rulers and the people because no matter who is put in charge, the nature of the state is one born from racist slavery and free market capitalism. These foundations cannot be completely reformed from the state because they helped develop and bring the ruling class of the U.S to what it is today. History in our schools has been taught in a incoherent and “patriotically” blemished manner that causes many students to lose interest. While the telling of history has become more democratic in recent years due to the internets creation of a global community, and the end of the cold war opening up third way voices, there is still a long way to go before people understand the truth in history; the crimes not just the glories. This will inspire people to then act to change things in the today.

Works Cited

"About the Smith Act Trials." Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 2 June 2009 . The Smith Acts severely inhibited American Democracy during the McCarthy era. This is the story.

D. Roosevelt, Franklin. "On the Purposes and Foundations of the Recovery Program - July 24,." Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. 24 July 1931. 2 June 2009 . FDR's address in favor of social programs and explanation of them. I used the address in connecting FDRs role in saving the US economy with appeasing people through social welfare programs
"Economic Indicators during the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression (III). | The Economic Populist." The Economic Populist . 8 June 2009 .
Graphs illustrate the effect of the cuts in social programs on the economy during New Deal.

"Index of US Foreign Policy Documents." University of Wisconsin Digital Collections. 2 June 2009 . Unprecedented access to US foreign Policy documents shows the profit-motivated nature of US foreign policy

Loewen, James W.. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Touchstone, 2007. Resource; similar to A People's History

Martin, Joseph Plumb. Private Yankee Doodle. Harrisburg: Eastern Acorn Press, 1998. Story of a young farmer's enlistment during revolution

New York Community Media Alliance. "Voices That Must Be Heard: Divide and Conquer: Clintons exploit Black-Latino tensions - New York Community Media Alliance." New York Community Media Alliance. 7 June 2009 example of divide and conquer tactics

Sitkoff, Harvard. The Struggle for Black Equality: 25th-Anniversary Edition. New York: Hill And Wang, 2008. Covers struggle of black people to win their rights starting with slavery and reconstruction. instrumental in discussion of civil rights movement

Weigley, Russell F.. The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973. In depth exploration of American War History, particularly useful with Civil War, Revolutionary War, and WWII

Zinn, Howard. People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.). New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005. Explores popular movements and government abuses throughout American History. Useful throughout paper

American History: The People vs. The Tyrants (Part I pre-20th century)

2009-05-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Been busy lately and haven't had much time to blog but this right here is my thesis on the entire Span of U.S. History. Its a rough draft in the making for my AP US class. I'll put sources up later in part II where I cover the twentieth century in more detail. This is sort of just the preamble. I decided to start at the revolution in order to show how the roots of the capitalist sham were rotten to begin with, and remain that way today despite the gains made by people through centuries of heroic struggle.

When one studies American History in depth, no matter what period, the events that have taken place only make sense when analyzed through a lens of the rich landowners fighting a war against the common American citizen. From the inception of the revolutionary war where the planters hijacked the struggle of farmers and workers discontent with oppressive colonialism, until the crackdowns on unions and “red subversives,” and the tyranny of reaganomics; America’s story has been one of ordinary people struggling for human rights against their all powerful “representatives.”
The revolutionary war was a war with its roots in the working people. Ordinary people who wanted the right to free speech written in stone due to their proud tradition of self-governance that emerged due to the impossibility of royal rule three thousand miles from Britain. Blacksmiths, farmers, young field hands some as young as fourteen or fifteen took up arms and organized in the Sons and Daughters of Liberty to rid America of royal tyranny. Yet it was the planters, lawyers, and wealthy merchants who took up command positions and argued in the continental congress. The rural and urban poor who fought and died in the war went unremembered and unpaid, while the wealthy planters who had remained behind the lines of combat rung in all the praise Washington, Jefferson, and Madison probably didn’t fire a bullet yet they took the glory and fame. This theme would remain a constant in American History from this point onwards.
You see the progress we’ve made to bring us to the point in history we are today, having recently elected a black president and having won certain rights like union laws and important civil rights, is only due to the struggles of movements of people against tyrannical government. Throughout the antebellum period and the period of “Jacksonian Democracy” supposed “grand” reforms were made to make the United States more democratic like abolishing property ownership as a requirement for your right to vote. Jackson was forced to take these steps in order to appease farmers like those who nearly overthrew the government in the Whiskey and Shay’s Rebellion. It still however left black people disenfranchised which led to the civil war.
The Civil War was essentially a contest between Northern Industrialists who realized slavery was not profitable because it left half the country to be content with the backward plantation economy unchanged since the slavery’s beginnings, and southern plantation owners who figured why even pay for the people’s labor? Lincoln was not a real abolitionist and the emancipation proclamation only came because of the pressure abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and John Brown had shown, as well as the support of blacks in fighting for the union and paralyzing the southern economy by fleeing to northern lines. Government approved text books like McGrawHill American History A Survey frames the rioters against the New York Draft as throroughly racist. The reality is that these were working people who didn’t want to die in a rich mans war. Of course many who participated were racist and blamed blacks for the draft, but this was because the divide and conquer tactics of the ruling class makes the masses fear each other and hate each other based on race, ethnicity, religion, or whatever they find convenient to use in order to super-exploit a group a make higher profits as they had done for hundreds of years with black people and now do today with Mexican and Latin American people.
Reconstruction after the civil war gave the north power over the south and so in the name of “taking it too the south”, progressive reforms were passed giving blacks voting rights, civil rights, and power like never before. Yet the rulers ended this experiment quickly because in the end, the lives of those who died in battle fighting against slavery didn’t matter to much when compared to a new era of focusing on industrializing and exploiting working people like never before.
The Gilded age saw laissez-faire capitalism evolve to its fullest and most ruthless form in the name of industrialization. Workers worked in miserable factory conditions with no labor rights and no fair wages. When workers unionized the government and bosses attempted to suppress them with the army, national guard, police, and private detective agencies like Pinkerton Detective Agency. This continued into the 20th century thanks to the stubbornness of the government and industrial bosses in granting workers any rights at all from the start of militant union in the early 1860s until the early 1900s when progressivism forced the government to make some reforms to appease the militant strikes that rocked the country conducted by the Industrial Workers of the World Union, the Western Federation of Miners, and other militant unions.

To be Cont'd

The Crisis in Higher education

2009-04-13T11:43:00.001-07:00

The education system in the US is in crisis. In New York there have been three campus occupations since the new year. Most recently, on April 10th, New School students occupied a building and were gassed and beaten by police in a brutal raid.

The occupations were indeed crushed however the courage the students had in coming together and standing up against injustices in American colleges has created a buzz. College education has become increasingly unaffordable, public schools are underfunded due to the two prolonged wars the US is fighting, and more and more students each year are looking to attend university and each year student take heavy loans just to be able to afford these expensive institutions. Others are sucked into the military just so they can afford their education.
The issue is that education is NOT a tool for recruitment, it is NOT a exclusive club where students do not know where their money is going and board members pocket large profits, education is NOT the stifled conformed atmosphere that its essential commidification has turned it into. Education is a right and should be not bought and sold.
conservatives have attacked professors who think freely in the mainstream media and published books encouraging the witchhunt of radical professors. The atmosphere of a prison has been created in place of what is supposed to be the most important time of one's life. Until education is completely free and universal, students will continue to organize and resist no matter how severe the police repression or adminstrative consequences

Boom, Bust, Broken... Time for Revolution not just change

2009-04-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda a History buff. Last year I got the highest possible score on the Advanced Placement Global History test earning college credits and this year I plan on accomplishing the same in the Ap American History exam. American History, as conformed, distorted, and packed with outright lies, as it is in the American public school system, still reveals lots about the nature of the capitalist system when you are learned in revolutionary marxist thought.
My teacher is having complete review sheets for the entire American history experience and as I have lost my textbook, I am forced to google terms that have slipped my mind. googling the panic of 1819, America's first homegrown recession, I typed
"panic of" and then sat their enjoying the utter stupidity of our system. Every few years since 1819, at least once per decade, our economy does what it is doing now. It has panic where millions lose their homes, lives, jobs, personal fortunes, and are forced to start up from scratch after the fuckheads in charge figure out how to put a big enough band-aid on the shotgun wound that is capitalist economics.
I am convinced capitalism is broken. Only a crackhead could think otherwise as the boom and bust cycle that has existed since the days of scalped natives and whipped slaves all the way up til today, the age of ponzi scheme crooks and greedy bankers. It is not logical, it is inefficient, leads to hunger, leads to homelessness, unemployment, and the destruction of our enviroment.
It is time for nationalization, it is time for economic planning. Not economic planning for bankers and bosses, but within our own communities and for hard working people so we can keep our homes, jobs, and lives. Humans and lives are not chips and coins to be gambled with at a casino we are intelligent so why the fuck do we stick with this system?
The bailouts, which AIG has shown, do not work as an economic band-aid could be used to provide public works projects & jobs, fund a healthcare system, or build a universal university system so youth like me have a future. Perhaps the bailouts, as inefficient and draining of the American people as they are, will save the economy this time, as they have before. But I can promise you if they do, I'll be writing this same post soon after when we again are all crying about the next economic meltdown.

Who Rules America

2008-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

A substantial number of Americans, some two-thirds, view the government as being "run by a few big interests looking out for themselves." The results of the University of Michigan's poll raises an important question, one which cannot be easily dismissed by pundits who try to cast an illusion of American democracy; a nation ruled "by the people for the people". Just who rules America? In his class relations study, Michael Zweig found that the majority of Americans are in the working class. So It should come as no surprise that 60% of Americans feel alienated from economic and political decision making when, as Zweig estimates, it makes up 60 percent of the U.S. workforce.

Modern capitalistic society is characterized by three main classes: an elite and small capitalistic class who own and manage large income-producing properties; i.e., corporations, banks, real estate and agri-businesses, a large working class who do not have their own means of earning a livelihood and must sell their labor power to earn an income, and a middle class of professionals, entrepreneurs, and managers that reside between the two. So just who rules America? Who are the "big interests looking out for themselves? They are as G. William Domhoff states are "the owners and managers of large income-producing properties; i.e., corporations, banks, and agri-businesses, along with the the managers and experts they hire".

The Social Upper Class
Michael Useem in The Inner Circle states, "The upper class consists of the social network of established wealthy families whose status is preeminent , whose culture and identity are distinct, and whose membership is closed to nearly all but those of proper descent". Generally speaking, wealth can be defined as the ownership of marketable assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. Income is the amount of wages, dividends and interest paid out to an individual yearly. The people commanding the greatest wealth and highest income are part of the upper class. The .5 to 1 percent of the population that makes up the upper class is also the .5 to 1 percent who owned 39.7 percent of the financial wealth in 2001.

	Financial Wealth
	Top 1 percent	Next 19 percent	Bottom 80 percent
1983	42.9%	48.4%	8.7%
1989	46.9%	46.5%	6.6%
1992	45.6%	46.7%	7.7%
1995	47.2%	45.9%	7.0%
1998	47.3%	43.6%	9.1%
2001	39.7%	51.5%	8.8%

The upper class has it's own exclusive social institutions which include private schools, summer resorts and retreats, and social clubs and gatherings. Large and well known Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Standford are heavily populated and favored by the upper class in receiving distinctive education. As a result, social clubs also play a unique role in differentiating members of the upper class from other members of society. Membership into these clubs can range from a few to tens of thousands of dollars, as well as being subject to a rigorous screening process. The Links in New York, Pacific Union in San Francisco, Chicago Club in Chicago and the infamous Bohemian Club in San Francisco are a few social clubs with a high concentration of members from the corporate community. The 25 largest industrials have one or more directors as members in one or more of these clubs. Highlighting how the upper class is closely interwined with the corporate community.

The Corporate Community
The nationwide upper class is not only a social class but a economic class deeply rooted in the corporate community. G. William Domhoff states, "Several studies show that those 15-20% of corporate directors who sit on two or more boards, who are called the "inner circle" of the corporate directorate, unite 80-90% of the largest corporations in the United States into a well-connected "corporate community". Chase Manhattan Bank has 45 such connections to other corporations and financial institutions, Wells Fargo Bank has 41 and General Motors 33.

Exxon, the world's largest oil company, contains a large concentration of "interlocking directors". For example, according to Endgame, James R Houghton is not only on the board on Exxon, but is also Chairman and CEO of Corning Inc, on the boards of MetLife, Inc, Corning Museum of Glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pierpont Morgan Library, Harvard Corporation, member of Business Council and Council on Foreign Relations.

This highlights the fact that despite competition among the corporate community, there exists cohesion due to their opposition to the liberal labor coalition, anti-corporation and anti-globalization activists, leftists and environmentalists, which derives from their common goals and values and pursuit of profit.

The Policy Formation Network
The corporate community and upper class are supplemented by a wide range of nonprofit organizations such as think tanks, foundations, and policy discussion forums, which itself forms a policy formation network. These institutions play a critical role in creating debates over public policy and in shaping public opinion. The corporate community and upper class have the ability to dominate these organizations due to the fact they were founded by members of the upper class and are funded by large corporations. The Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation are the most highly influential of foundations. Brookings Institute, The American Enterprise, Business Council, Business Roundtable and the Urban Institute are a few of the more important think tanks and policy groups. In fact, the Business Roundtable was highly influential on the corporate community victory of NAFTA. Policy discussion groups bring together directors, managers, government officials and other wealthy or influential people to discuss local and international issues, as well as political, social and economic issues. These groups frame the debate and set the terms for new economic, foreign and other policies.

So Who Rules America?
Despite competition among the corporate community and threats of hostile takeovers, there exists a cohesion rooted in a strong class consciousness which derives from profit motives and capitalist class interests. "Through open and direct involvement in policy planning, through participation in political campaigns and elections, and through appointments to key decision-making positions in government" the upper class are able to rule America and influence decisions affecting the bottom 80% of the population. This power stems from their great concentration of wealth which is derived from ownership and control of large income proudcing corporations. As Domhoff states allowing corporate leaders to "invest money where and when they choose; expand, close, or move their factories and offices at a moment's notice; and hire, promote, and fire employees as they see fit. These powers give them a direct influence over the great majority of Americans, who are dependent upon wages and salaries for their incomes. They also give the corporate rich indirect influence over elected and appointed officials, for the growth and stability of a city, state, or the country as a whole can be jeopardized by a lack of business confidence in government."

Suggested Reading:
Who Rules America by G. William Domhoff
The Inner Circle: Large Corporations and the Rise of Political Activity in the U.S. and U.K. by Michael Useem
The Founding Fortunes: An Anatomy of the Super-Rich Families in America. by Michael Allen
Top Down Policymaking by Thomas Rye
The Power Elite. C Wright Mills
Democracy for the Few Michael Parenti

-blackstone

The State vs Black America

2008-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

What is the State?

The state refers to the legislature -parliamentary control- an the familiar state organs - the courts, the army, police, and the wide of administrative services. Also included in the state is public education, policy-making organizations and such state organs that control the economy, such as the national banks. According to Karl Marx, it is the"centralized State power, with its ubiquitous organs of standing army, police, bureaucracy, clergy, and judicature...[and]parliamentary control.. the national power of capital over labor, a public forced organized for social enslavement". Peter Kropotkin claims, "The State..includes the existence of a power situated above society, but also of a territorial concentration as well as the concentration in the hands of a few of many functions in the life of societies..A whole mechanism of legislation and of policing has to be developed in order to subject some classes to the domination of others". The power vested in it, places the state above and alienated from society, serving the interests of the upper class. It is a structured hierarchy objectively at the service of the top layer of the bourgeoisie or upper class.

The state therefore serves two purposes. One as it's role as an coercive and repressive institution. Which, the police and military being the forefront of those operations. The other role is the organizing of bourgeois democracy: through the combination of certain institutions, laws and policies.

As a capitalist state, the state functions to repress worker's power and pursue interests of the upper class and maintain social harmony. As a racist state, the state functions to repress black power, black organization and movements which can cause social upheaval to the detriment of the power elite, which is for the most part white male.

Legislature, Judiciary and the Prison Industrial Complex
Blacks represent 13 percent of the population, but comprised 35 percent of drug arrests, 55 percent of drug convictions, 74 percent of drug prisoners and 50 percent of those waiting on death row. Prosecutors sought the death penalty 70 percent of the time when an African American killed a White person, but only 19 percent of the time when it was reversed. Another telling statistic is the fact that blacks constitute 13 percent of the population, but were 67 percent of the juveniles in adult courts and 77 percent of the juveniles in adult prisons. In the Jena 6 case, Mychal Bell was originally charged with attempted murder, which was later brought down to aggravated second degree battery, with the "dangerous weapon" used in the attack was argued to be his shoes. After legal maneuvering, rallies, appeals to have him free on bail, Bell was subsequently sent back to juvenile detention for "violating his probation".

Under the infamous Rockefeller Drug Laws it was a 5-year minimum sentence for possessing 500g of powdered cocaine, while the amount of crack needed for a five year sentence is only five grams, a 100:1 ratio. Being that crack cocaine was a cheaper drug to produce and buy, it was popular in the urban ghetto. Which in turn caused Blacks to represent 84 percent of crack cocaine convictions.

The Police and Military
The fact that Blacks comprised 17 percent of drivers on the state of Maryland highway, but 70 percent of drivers stopped by police is a powerful example of racial profiling and repressive tactics utilized by the Police on Black America, and Black males in particular. Police brutality, is a term used to describe the excessive use of physical force, assault, verbal attacks, and threats by police officers and other law enforcement officers, and is a term well understood in Black America. There exist numerous documented cases of the police's function as a coercive and repressive institution through the usage of police brutality.

On Halloween (2007) Rayshawn Moreno and other teens on hit an unmarked police car with an egg. The Officer grabbed Rashaywn into the cop car, where he was taken to a secluded, remote area, stripped of his clothes, beaten by the officers and left for dead. While, Sean Bell died in a hail of 50 bullets fired by undercover police officers after hitting an unmarked police car. Likewise, Amadou Diallo, died from the 19 of 41 bullets fired at him because cops mistook his wallet for a gun. In March 1991, Rodney King was brutalized by 3 cops as 23 other officers wached as he was beaten with batons and shocked with stun guns.

Police brutality, in some cases, especially in regards to the urban riots of the 60's, have had to rely on the coercive and repressive functions of the military to quell social upheaval. For example, a patrolmans' attack on Marquetet Frye in Los Angeles led to the Watts Riots. The conflict resulted not only in 34 deaths and $40 million in damage, but also the National Guard being called to control the riots.

Conclusion

This was just a brief example of how a few apparatuses of the state are used in a coercive and repressive way against Black America. It highlighted, legislation specifically targeting black men in the urban ghetto, in the form of Rockefeller Drug Laws. Which resulted in a explosion of inmate population and added to the disproportionate number of African Americans incarcerated. It showed many cases of recent police brutality and harassment centered in the Black Community, which has a psychological effect on it's residents. It also, showed how when the police cannot contain urban unrest, the military(our troops?) are ready to contain the rebellions.

There are many other state organs, such as policy forming organizations, that play a role in the repression of rights of Black America and it's continual exploitation. More also can be said of public education and it's role of perpetuating the cycle of violence in poverty in the black community. For example, 40 percent of African American males are illiterate and research indicates that illiteracy is the biggest predictor of crime, 90 percent of African-American male inmates are illiterate.

All in all, the evidence makes a compelling case that the state is not only against workers, but disproportionately against blacks more so than whites.

Stop the War - Protest the RNC - Sep 1, 2008 - St. Paul, MN

2007-12-31T12:23:00.000-08:00

2007 is winding down and we are heading into 2008. The U.S. occupation of Iraq continues on, and the Bush administration threatens Iran. The anti-war movement did some good and important things in 2007. But 2008, an election year, can be a year the anti-war movement can really burst out on the national stage on a scale that hasn't yet happened. The Republican and Democratic candidates are all for continuing the U.S. war and occupation in some form. The only thing close to exceptions are Libertarian / Republican Ron Paul, who is absolutely nuts on other major issues, and Dennis Kucinich, who has exactly zero chance of winning the Democratic nomination, and so far has been unable to even move the other candidates' rhetoric to the left, letalone their action. The left and the anti-war movement are presented with a pretty clear situation - the vast majority of the people in the U.S. want the war to end, and none of the ruling class's hand-picked "viable" candidate from either party is calling for the war to end. We have an opportunity this year like very few other times in recent years to see the radicalization of broad numbers of people in the U.S. if we can step up and be serious about organizing spaces, activities and organizations that people can join and get involved with. 2008 could be a year for dramatic growth of the anti-war movement and the left. It won't be easy - the mass media and the electoral game will be pulling people in the opposite direction. The logic will be to "quiet down" and subsume the anti-war movement behind the eventual Democratic nominee (likely Hillary, the most pro-war of all of them) in the interest of beating the Republicans. And it's a powerful pull, because the Bush administration has been particularly odious. Different forces on the left will make different decisions about whether to support one or the other capitalist party candidates, a Green candidate (which could be Cynthia McKinney - a possibly interesting option for the anti-war movement), or to oppose them all. That remains to be seen.

But if we want to see the anti-war movement make gains this year, the bottom line that we must all unite on is the need to continue to build the anti-war movement in the streets to move the entire debate to the left and force all the politicians to respond. We need to turn up the pressure this year, not duck and cover.

Two big nodal points in that effort are the protests at the Republican and Democratic Conventions this summer/fall. In late August, the Democratic Convention will be happening in Denver, Colorado. The Recreate 68 coalition there is organizing to protest the DNC. Those protests will be important, since the Democrats will not be nominating a candidate who calls for immediate withdrawl of U.S. troops. So protesting them to demand immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops will be important.

Then, from September 1-4, 2008, the Republicans will hold their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. While some folks on the left seem to be arguing that the main focus of our protests should be the Democrats this year, I think this is incorrect. The Republicans control the executive branch of government and are principally responsible for the occupation of Iraq and a possible attack on Iran, as well as a list of crimes on other issues so long that I don't even know where to start. And millions and millions of people correctly despise Bush and the Republicans for it. The Republicans will also be nominating a candidate who will continue the war. They must be protested, and in a big and powerful way.

Our movement can and will channel that massive outrage that people feel into the biggest street protests that Minnesota has ever seen. Unluckily for the Republicans, the anti-war movement in Minnesota is strong and well-organized. Groups like the Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness and others have been doing amazing work for years. And when people heard that the RNC would be held in Minnesota, the anti-war movement and the left sprung into action right away.

The Protest RNC 2008 coalition has been building a broad-based movement to protest the RNC. Part of this effort is the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, which is planning for a massive march on the first day of the RNC, September 1, 2008. The goal is for this march to be as big as possible - tens of thousands, maybe more. On the first day of the RNC 2004 in New York City, 500,000 people marched against the Republicans and against the war. St. Paul is not NYC, but the Twin Cities are generally progressive, and the vast majority of people who live here are against the Republicans and against the war. We just have to figure out how to get a big chunk of them into the streets on September 1, 2008. There will also be tends of thousands of people coming from around the Midwest and the rest of the country.

For the anarchist-inclined out there, you may also want to hook up with the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist grouping that is planning their own series of actions against the RNC. The various forces in the Minnesota left are working together to overshadow the Republicans during their convention, in front of the eyes of the world. We will not be divided between "good" and "bad" protesters, or whatever else the powers-that-be are trying to come up with to divide the movement and diminish the crowds. A very good article, Unlikely as it might seem, mainstream media lies, was recently written by Jess Sundin from the Anti-War Committee, in response to the police and mass media's first real attempt to divide protesters. This kind of principled solidarity is key to having a big, diverse and effective movement.

Organizers are encouraging everyone to come to Minnesota to protest the RNC, no matter where you live. The first day of the RNC, September 1, is Labor Day, so for many people it's a 3-day weekend. Come enjoy your 3-day weekend in scenic and beautiful Minnesota! Especially if you're in the Midwest, start planning now to bring busses, carloads, trains full of people.

The planning for the march on the first day of the RNC has already begun, and the Protest RNC 2008 coalition has been fighting with the city for months already to get permits in place to march in front of the Xcel Center where the convention will take place, which of course the government is coming up with every excuse possible not to grant. That struggle continues, but the march on September 1, 2008 will be happening regardless of how long St. Paul's bureaucrats dawdle. Start making plans to come.

And everyone is encouraged to come help plan the protests. There will be a national organizing conference for that purpose on February 9-10, 2008 at the University of Minnesota. Check out the info about it here, and register online for the conference here.

Lets make 2008 a year that will be remembered for decades to come for the anti-war movement and the left in the U.S.

National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian nuclear weapons: intelligence failure?

2007-12-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last week it was revealed that a national intelligence estimate compiled by the country's 16 intelligence agencies, released in July, found that Iran had ceased efforts to produce nuclear weapons in 2003. Of course, the rhetoric that had been coming from the Bush regime did not match this estimate. Warnings of an Iranian nuclear threat have streamed from the regime right up untilthis past week. In fact, the regime still insist that Iran poses a significant threat to US national security. These claims have fueled endless amounts of fear mongering on the part of the mass media and others such as the religious right about the perceived threat Iran posses to the US, Israel and even western civilization as a whole.

Without hestitation the conservative hardliners were out in full force to attempt to deny this revelation. Reportedly Dick Cheney attempted to block the release of the report, claiming that it cannot be valid. This is the same man who still insist stock piles of weapons of mass destruction are still present in Iraq.

In their twisted world, where reality is seemingly always blinded by ideology, conservatives have come to believe that the dilemna in this episode, just as in the justification to invade Iraq, is that the intelligence did not refelct the claims made by the Bush regime, therefore the intelligence was flawed, it was an "intelligence failure." How could Bush and friends be wrong after all? Of course, all rational people know that the dilemna is the fact that the regime knowingly made claims that ran contary to what intelligence actually revealed to be true, in order to further their militant agenda.

Once again, we have seen that the Bush regime is willing to decieve not only the citizens of the US, but the world in order to pursue its objectives. Nor has the regiem relented in its rhetoric and push against the "Iranian nuclear threat." Condoleeza Rice was in Europe this week in attempt to muster support for new sanctions against Iran, despite the revelation that Iran had actually stopped its nuclear weapons four years ago! This time around the world must take a stand and not allow these hard line ideolouges to decive the world in order to push their agenda.

Venezuela's Referendum Results and the Struggle for Socialism

2007-12-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Following is a presentation which I wrote for a Party for Socialism and Liberation Branch Meeting digging into the reasons why the December 2nd reforms failed in Venezuela, and what it means for the movement; and intensification of the tightening of the struggle for socialism

On December 2nd, Venezuela’s bolivarian revolution faced its first real setback since the US backed counter-revolutionary coup of 2002. 69 constitutional reforms proposed by Chavez in order to solidify the revolution in Venezuela further were defeated by barely more than 1% of the vote. The next day as results of the referendum hit the press, Chavez boldy conceded defeat, “for now”, promising that the struggle was far from over and Venezuela would continue on the road to socialism.

Venezuela’s bolivarian revolution has been a process which began back in 1989 with the Caracazo where the people took to the streets rebelling against neoliberal reforms which had stripped them of basic social services. The uprising was suppressed, but the impoverished living conditions of the vast majority of people in Venezuela as a result of the neo-liberal reforms did not stop, thus the struggle for change would continue. In 1992, Chavez and the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement led a military uprising which was defeated. Chavez was then imprisoned however he became a national hero when he appreared on air after he was captured to tell the revolutionary forces to stand down... “for now.” While in prison people started organizing in their communities and neighborhoods in support of Chavez throughout the country. When he was finally released Chavez had massive support and decided to run for president in 1998. Chavez didn’t win the election because he had the most money and corporate funding as past Venezuelan presidents had, but because of his intense popular support. Since the revolution has achieved state power and consolidated itself more and more there have been massive gains for the working class from healthcare and housing in the barrios, to free university education for working class students and communal councils that empower the people. But with every inch gained by the working class, the old ruling class has fought back

In the old Venezuela, the capitalist class had complete control. This means that the US and European oil barrons and a few wealthy landowning families had complete control of Venezuela, its economy, and its oil wealth leaving the millions and millions of Venezuelans who actually produced the wealth living in dire impoverished conditions. A class with that much power is not going to give up without a fight. The loss of the Referendum is due to a variety of reasons but it stems from this class struggle between the working class, the vast majoirty of society, and the capitalist class, and in every fight or struggle, even the best fighter will take a hit. Venezuela’s revolution is no different, and socialist revolutions in the past from Russia to Cuba and China to Korea have been no different.

With this is mind, its easier to really understand why the referendum lost so narrowly. The first major reason goes back to what Russian Revolutionary Vladmir Lenin stated a little over a century ago. In order for the working class to make a revolution, it needs a party to unite itself. This party needs to lead the people to taking power and in order to do so, it naturally needs experience. In Venezuela, the “vanguard party” as Lenin called it, is the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The party is brand new, forged out of the leftist parties which backed the bolivarian revolution and out of the struggle that defines Venezuela today. When the party was formed, corporate media all over the world was alarmed calling the formation a totalitarian move and other nonsense. The reality was that they were scared of the people uniting under one party and of the left uniting, for them, it could only spell trouble. Yet some of the groups which had supported Chavez decided to go down a road of opportunism. They took this opportunity to publicize themselves by breaking off with the movement and attempting to split the left for their own ends. Groups like Podemos campaigned for the “No” vote to the referendum under the banner of 21st century socialism, confusing supporters of the bolivarian revolution. This as well as General Baduels’ defection to the opposition make up the “fifth column” of the Venezuelan Revolution. They are liberal elements which as the struggle sharpens are begining to fade out. They’re the careerists, the bureacrats, and the liberals and they’re presence has been crushing to the Chavista movement. It is this segment of the movement which has held back socialism and the referendum’s failure should be an awakening to Venezuelans who want to see real change. It was Fifth column bureacrats who failed to organized succesful pro-si campaigns in communities and districts all over Venezuela while the opposition went door-to-door threatening working class Venezuelans and claiming the government would take their car, house, and children away if the reform was passed.

This leads to the Second major reason the referendum failed. It wasn’t just that the non-revolutionary wing of the movement and party essentially worked against the reforms confusing people by claiming to be for socialism but in fact aiding capitalis, it was the vicious campaign of the ruling class against campaign. In Venezuela there have been alot of gains for the people but the bourgeoisie still control the media. Newspapers throughout Venezuela ran editorials which spread disinformation on the nature of the reforms and ads which made outrageous claims showing supposedly Cuban butcher shops which were empty and claiming that this was Venezuela’s future if the reforms were approved. Bourgeois democracy is all based on money and corporate investment. While the Si campaign was funded grassroots from the people, the no campaign was funded by corporations, oil barrons, landlords, and business federations. A few days before referendum Venezuela uncovered CIA documents in support of the No campaign which advocated a campaign of destablization to stop the reforms. With the backing of the corporations and US imperialism the “No” campaign was able to get its message out far easier than the “Si” campaign based in the support of the working class in the barrios which have gained so much from the revolution. Thus the reality is that until capitalism is fully overthrown, there can be no real democracy just democracy of the rich.

The failure of the reforms simply serves as a reminder that socialism cannot be built just through the ballot box, it comes from the streets, from popular struggle. In Venezuela the bourgeois still have power and until they are fully expropriated and the people gain control of everything for their benefit and use, they will continue to spread their misinformation and lies. Through their wild campaign of deeming Chavez a “dictator” they scared some 2.5 million voters who had voted for Chavez and Socialism in the past away from the voting booth. The opposition gained only a small number of votes, a fraction which led them to barely win, it was the misinformation spread on individual reforms of the 69 proposed and the failure of the Bolivarian movement to respond to these lies because of the opportunist wing of the movement and their sabotage which led to the defeat.

In short, the loss of the referendum will be wake up call for the revolutionaries in Venezuela, people who have seen the benefits of the revolution and want to see it defended and progressed will now tighten up, they will correct the mistakes pointed out, and the struggle in Venezuela will only intensify. The reality is that the people are on the side of the revolution. Over 5 million people have signed to the PSUV, now its time for the PSUV to step up and lead this revolution. Revolutionaries in Venezuela will now turn to more intense struggle to defend the revolution and advance it so that Venezuela can finally be free from US imperialism.

Remembering Our Revolutionary Heroes: Fred Hampton

2007-12-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

Rise! Resist! Revolt! will begin to run monthly pieces on different revolutionary figures in history, their accomplishments for the people, and their meaning for people in the struggle today. The first installment of "Remembering Our Revolutionary Heroes" will be about Fred Hampton in honor of the 40th anniversarry of his murder today, December 4th.

December Fourth is a day of great loss as well as a day to pay respect to a great revolutionary leader; Fred Hampton. On this day Forty years ago Fred Hampton was murdered in a rain of bullets by Chicago police who kicked down his door. Hampton didn't resist, he didn't even have time too because the cops were there to kill him.

How things went down

Hampton had taught a political education on the evening of December third. Him and his fellow panthers retired to his apartment after, as was customary. At 4:45 in the morning, The police busted down the door. firing automatic rounds throughout the house. The following transcript was heard by Hamptons comrade who was "sleeping" when the raid happened.

"That's Fred Hampton."
"Is he dead?... Bring him out."
"He's barely alive; he'll make it."
(Two Gun Shots)
"He's good and dead now."

The Next day the pigs claimed they had taken out a "extremely vicious" cell of the BPP. They were later praised for their "bravery" (killing unarmed people while they sleep takes courage of course) and their "restraint". Soon however the truth leaked out it was found that police had fired 98 shots while the panthers fired 1.

Why it matters today

The important lesson from the murder of Fred Hampton is that contrary to whatever the capitalists may say about this country being a "democracy" with "free speach", Fred Hampton is one of the most blatant examples of how this is no democracy, it is a dictatorship of the ruling capitalist class which brutally suppresses people who really speak up and challenge things and gain a following.

Revolutionaries and progressive people need to recognize this, and take security precautions so that in a future revolutionary situation, we do not make the same mistakes of allowing the police to know our location and kick down our doors at will.

Fred Hampton and the Movement

Fred Hampton, represented one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party who was in it until the end. When he was martyred he was a primiere leader in the party. This was important because it was largely due to him, and others like him, that the most successful revolutionary vanguard in US history was built. Fred Hampton understood Revolution

A lot of people get the word revolution mixed up and they think revolutions a bad word. Revolution is nothing but like having a sore on your body and then you put something on that sore to cure that infection. And Im telling you that were living in an infectious society right now. Im telling you that were living in a sick society. And anybody that endorses integrating into this sick society before its cleaned up is a man whos committing a crime against the people.

He also understood community organizing and appealing to the people's needs. Because of this, him and his fellow cadre were able to build a fighting party which was armed, educated, and providing for the masses. The importance of Fred Hampton to Revolutionaries today is immense as his example is one for everyone trying to build a movement in the "belly of the beast" to build on and learn from.

Giving the means to an end (of capitalism)

2007-12-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

Greetings comrades! This is ahab writing to you directly from the belly of the beast! In this day and age dissension has never been more evident, class awareness and the idea of revolution is as prominent as its ever been, maybe even more so as we deal with our modern day hitler and his gestapo. The purpose of me writing to you is to raise awareness and prepare you for the future. We are the working class, the working men, woman and children of the world. We are the blood that pumps through the economic and social body, we are the heart and soul of it. It is up to us to change our lives and the future lives of our children.

None of us know when revolution will spring, but preparing yourself for it is a necessary task. Not just physically and mentally, but socially, we need to prepare ourselves. We are in the technological age, information about anything is at our finger tips, and spreading information is just as easy as finding it. Our culture, especially the youth, is seriously misinformed, as we know, about a lot of things socialist, communist and anarchist. The only way to raise insurrection is to inform the public of their exploitation and the evils of capitalism, to reveal it's true nature. We all know this is not an easy task, everyone has different opinions and, thanx to history class, communism and anarchism have been portrayed as evil and murderous, and anyone tied to either ideology is sold as barbaric and nieve. But do not fear comrades, because just as marx said "The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles" so, as we know, near the end people will realize for themselves the atrocities of the capitalist machine. So either through bloody or democratic revolution, our dream of utopia will one day be realized.

BUT

In the instance of bloody and violent revolution (which personally I see is the only way capitalism can and will fall) I want to introduce to you the D.I.Y. culture, a long tradition of commies and anarcho's alike. During the revolution you will need to know how to take care of yourself and others, either with first aid or weapons knowledge, its essential to the survival of guerilla's to know how to fight, kill and survive. So amongst other things I want to share educational knowledge of how to survive in an urban combat environment. That is why I joined this multi-blogger blog. We are the product of our environment, and we can change that environment to whatever we want.

So First lets start with something easy. My personal favorite and the weapon of choice of rioters, the molotov cocktail.

The molotov cocktail is a simple yet effective tool against ground troops and light vehicles, its method of preperation is simple and is as follows:

1 glass bottle or lightbulb
1 rag
1 part gasoline
1 part motor oil

-OR-

1 glass bottle or lightbulb
1 rag
1 part gasoline
1 part roofing tar
melted wax

Now like I said, this and any other recipe for disaster I share is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY! They are dangerous and WILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE! So save it for when you need it ;).

Thats it for me today, I've spent enough time on here and am going outdoors lol peace and remember LIVE ABOVE THE LAW.

Some cool sites to check out:
My Blog
http://positivedissension.blogspot.com/

RevolutionaryLeft.com
http://revleft.com/

Instructables
http://www.instructables.com/home

Also in memory of Fred Hampton, my favorite video of him:

Call for a December 4 Day of Blogging Inspired by Fred Hampton

2007-11-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

This is my first post here at Rise! Resist! Revolt! blog. I go by the web-name of Left Spot, for the unoriginal reason that I do a blog called Left Spot blog. I would like to thank LeftyHenry for inviting me in as a participant on Rise! Resist! Revolt!. I see it as a good experiment in grouping together a number of bloggers from the Marxist-Leninist milieu of the blogosphere.

Over the past couple of years there have been a number of blogs started by Marxist-Leninist or Maoist bloggers. Unfortunately almost none of the bloggers have been able to maintain a steady stream of new content on as much of a regular basis as we would like. I'm still doing Left Spot blog, but it seems like a good thing to also participate in this multi-blogger blog to see if through 'collectivization' we can get more regular content churning out and inspire each other to write more and better things.

That idea flows nicely into the actual content of this post. Having a multi-blogger blog is one great way to make us more than the sum of our parts within the blogosphere. Another way is to have a group of bloggers all write about a similar theme at the same time. This creates a dialogue across blogs that gives a broader reach than any individual blogger would have. So in that spirit, I am putting forward this call to write and post something inspired by Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton on December 4, the day he was assassinated in 1969. Read on for details, and leave a comment if you plan to participate. Thanks! --Left Spot

On December 4, 1969, Chicago Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton was assassinated as part of the U.S. government's campaign to neutralize the Black Panthers' growing revolutionary influence. Hampton was one of the most dynamic and politically on-point leaders in the Black Panther Party. His death was a huge loss to the BPP, to the Black Liberation Movement, the communist movement and to the revolutionary movement overall in the U.S. Since December 4 is approaching, I'd like to propose that bloggers who are interested should take that day to write and post something inspired by the legacy of Fred Hampton.

It could be something about the politics and legacy of the Black Panther Party; something about Fred Hampton specifically; something about the history or the current state of the Black Liberation Movement or the revolutionary movement in the U.S. in general; Something about how the Black Panthers tried to apply Marxist-Leninist or Maoist politics to the conditions in the U.S. and take out revolutionary politics around mass issues in a way the masses would understand and embrace, etc. Or just make up your own topic.

Almost a year ago (seemingly eons ago in internet-time) way back in January 2007, there was an interesting attempt to have a Blog Against White Supremacy Day on Martin Luther King Day. About 12 or 13 leftist bloggers participated in that and some good and interesting things were written.

I've always been frustrated that Fred Hampton is not better known and that the date of his assassination isn't more widely recognized or commemorated. I don't anticipate that there will be tons of participants in this blogging day, but if even just a few people write something, I think it will be a successful contribution toward the popularizing of Fred Hampton and his outstanding revolutionary spirit.

If you plan to participate, leave a comment here to let folks know.

¡Si, Con Chavez, Con la Reforma!

2007-11-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Now that the privledged upper class students who surrounded pro-chavez students in Caracas' university of social work recieved the reaction they asked for from pro-chavez workers who obviously will not tolerate an attempt at another 2002-style coup and will defend the gains of the revolution that has pulled hundreds of thousands if not millions out of poverty and given the people power. Now that the corporate media uproar against Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution to a opposition instigated situation has calmed down here, I think its important to analyize what's going on in Venezuela and why every one who wants to see a world without poverty, exploitation, and oppression needs to show solidarity with the Revolution in Venezuela.

The biggest question people have to be asking is what are these reforms which people are ready to violently fight back to defend?

1.) Institutionalization and switch of Federal money from bureacratic state & local governors to the Communal Councils. After Chavez's initial election and even before leading up to the 1998 election, councils and groupings started to form in Venezuela all over the countries. When Mao Tse-tung, leader of the Chinese Revolution, said "A Single Spark can light a prarie fire" he wasn't kidding. What started off as a few councils to support Chavez have ignited into nationwide people's cells of power in almost every neighborhood where people decide how to use funding for their communities and how to rule collectively. The constitutional reforms being voted on December 2nd will increase funding to these bodies where everyone can join in and excercise their power. Critics claim that taking money away from the local governments and giving them to these community councils is dictatorial because these councils are a base of support for the Bolivarian Revolution. The truth is that the state governments are bureacratic and remnant of the old order. Ruling class corporate sponsored politicians are in charge in the state governments while its the people who are in charge in the communal councils. Critics in the US corporate media are simply scared of real people's democracy being legitimized in Venezuela because it means that the same type of corporations which fund these news outlets are gonna be losing power in Venezuela. Everyone who believes in real democracy needs to support this reform

2.) Lowering the amount of hours in the work day from eight to six. Venezuela has alredy garunteed all its people pensions, raised the minumum wage to the highest in the region and in general taken big steps to protect working people's rights. Lowering the amount of hours in the work day is another big step. It means working people will have more time to relax, spend time with their family, and in general enjoy life. This reform in particular has scared the US government and corporate media because it represents everything the US government stands against. People's rights? Worker's rights? This means that US corporations in Venezuela will be less profitable and more humane, something corporations are modeled to be the polar opposite of. This reform is an example of Venezuelan workers taking their country out of US corporate hands and Venezuelan robberbaron hands and putting it into their own.

3.) Lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. The prospect of a larger amount of youth and young people getting involved in the political process is a scary thought to the rulers of the US because the youth have always been the ones who are ready to change shit, they are the most progressive sector of society and they have the longest time to live in this world of any other sector of the population, thus logically they will vote based on what they think is the best for humanity in the long term rather than what's gonna get them lower taxes and out of paying for things like young peoples pensions and education like the older generations tend to vote based on. In any case this is a very democratic no matter what because its simply allowing more of the Venezuelan population into the political process. Not suprisingly, US corporate media tries its best to ignore this part of the new reforms and continues to call Chavez a evil dictator.

4.) Abolishing Term Limits. As you can probably imagine the US corporate media jumped like heroin fiend at this part of this reform using it as alledged proof that Chavez is the evil dictator ready to destroy the world and create a breeding ground for terrorism in Venezuela. What the corporate media ignored however, was the fact that countries deemd "beacons of democracy and liberty" throughout Europe have no term limits! Also the US itself has no term limits in its house and many states have no term limits for their governors. On the contrary, have no term limits is more democratic. The Bolivarian Revolution has a bold leader, so why should he go if the people don't want him too?

5.) Nationalize the Central Bank. The last major reform being proposed is taking the central bank out of the hands of the rich and wealthy bankers and putting it in the hand of the people so that any surplus value made will go to funding people's needs like healthcare and education rather than a new yacht or golf course for some banker. The corporate media reports this as Chavez the dictator taking control of the bank, but the truth is that it is not Chavez who will benefit from this, it is the working people of Venezuela.

In Summation, all progressive people need to stand with these reforms despite the widespread campaign by corporate media to spread disinformation about them. Anyone who supports real democracy should be behind Venezuela's Socialist process going on right now. It's because of this that I encourage everyone in the New York City Area to come out at 1 PM on December 1st to the Venezuelan Consulate located on 7 East 51st Street (between 5th Ave. and Madison Ave.) You can take the E, the V, or the 6 train. The ANSWER Coalition along with other organizations are calling for a emergency picket in support of the reforms which will be voted on the next day. Bring your friends, bring family, and be loud!

A Day To Give Thanks?

2007-11-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

The following is a piece written by Ward Churchill on Thanksgiving and the genocide of Native Americans it celebrates. Ward Churchill is a prominent political professor at the University of Colorado who has faced a large amount of political persecution being the central target of neo-conservative witchunt against professors in Universities who speak out and challenge the ruling classes version of history and current events. Horowitz, who believes black people are indebted to America for slavery, once said that there is one Ward Churchill but there are many like him all over the country and that they must all be denied tenure and essentially fired, as Ward Churchill has been. With that said, Churchill is in my view, a symbol of academic dissent against the ruling class. His piece basically addresses everything that is important to remember as you enjoy your Thankstaking.

Thanksgiving is the day the United States celebrates the fact that the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony successfully avoided starvation during the winter of 1620-21.

But from an American Indian perspective, what is it we're supposed to be so thankful for?

Does anyone really expect us to give thanks for the fact that soon after the Pilgrim Fathers regained their strength, they set out to dispossess and exterminate the very Indians who had fed them that first winter?

Are we to express our gratitude for the colonists' 1637 massacre of the Pequots at Mystic, Conn., or their rhetoric justifying the butchery by comparing Indians to "rats and mice and swarms of lice"?

Or should we be joyous about the endless series of similar slaughters that followed: at St. Francis (1759), Horseshoe Bend (1814), Bad Axe (1833), Blue Water (1854), Sand Creek (1864), Marias River (1870), Camp Robinson (1878) and Wounded Knee (1890), to name only the worst?

Should we be thankful for the scalp bounties paid by every English colony -- as well as every U.S. state and territory in the lower 48 -- for proof of the deaths of individual Indians, including women and children?

How might we best show our appreciation of the order issued by Lord Jeffrey Amherst in 1763, requiring smallpox-infested items be given as gifts to the Ottawas so that "we might extirpate this execrable race"?

Is it reasonable to assume that we might be jubilant that our overall population, numbering perhaps 15 million at the outset of the European invasion, was reduced to less than a quarter-million by 1890?

Maybe we should be glad the "peaceful settlers" didn't kill the rest of us outright. But they didn't really need to, did they? By 1900, they already had 98 percent of our land. The remaining Indians were simply dumped in the mostly arid and unwanted locales, where it was confidently predicted that we'd shortly die off altogether, out of sight and mind of the settler society.

We haven't died off yet, but we comprise far and away the most impoverished, malnourished and disease-ridden population on the continent today. Life expectancy on many reservations is about 50 years; that of Euroamericans more than 75.

We've also endured a pattern of cultural genocide during the 20th century. Our children were processed for generations through government boarding schools designed to "kill the Indian" in every child's consciousness and to replace Native traditions with a "more enlightened" Euroamerican set of values and understandings.

Should we feel grateful for the disastrous self-concept thereby fostered within our kids?

Are we to be thankful that their self-esteem is still degraded every day on cable television by a constant bombardment of recycled Hollywood Westerns and television segments presenting Indians as absurd and utterly dehumanized caricatures?

Should we tell our children to find pride in the sorts of insults to which we are subjected to as a matter of course: Tumbleweeds cartoons, for instance, or the presence of Chief Wahoo and the Redskins in professional sports?

Does anybody really believe we should feel honored by such things, or by place names like Squaw Valley and Squaw Peak? "Squaw," after all, is the Onondaga word for female genitalia. The derogatory effect on Native women should be quite clear.

About three-quarters of all adult Indians suffer alcoholism and/or other forms of substance abuse. This is not a "genetic condition." It is a desperate, collective attempt to escape our horrible reality since "America's Triumph."

It's no mystery why Indians don't observe Thanksgiving. The real question is why do you feast rather than fast on what should be a national day of mourning and atonement.

Before digging into your turkey and dressing on Nov. 23, you might wish to glance in a mirror and see if you can come up with an answer.

Putting Reparations on the Socialist Agenda

2007-11-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

According to the International Monetary Fund(IMF), in 2006 the United States of America had a GDP of more than $13 trillion and thus ranking it as the largest national GDP in the world. GDP, or gross domestic product, is the value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given time period. Yet, this wealth is becoming gradually concentrated as yearly statistics show. According to State of Working America, in 2004, 12.7% of the population, 37 million persons, were considered poor. Not only is wealth in America unequally distributed, but poverty is as well also, with 30 percent of Blacks being poor, 20 percent of all Hispanics, but only 9 percent of Whites. How did America generate and continue to generate this vast amount of wealth and is there a connection between that process and it's disproportionate allocation?

Slavery and Primitive Accumulation of Capital

Primitive, or "original accumulation", refers to the initial process that led to a 'critical mass' of accumulation that enabled capital to be set in motion. It's a concept developed by Karl Marx to explain how the capitalist mode of production came into fruition. Marx says we must envision an accumulation of capital that was not a consequence of capitalist production but was the starting point of capitalist production. He called this "primitive accumulation of capital".

So what is this primitive or original/previous accumulation of capital? According to Marx it was the,

discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the indigenous population of that continent, the beginnings of the conquest and plunder of India, and the conversion of Africa into a preserve for the commercial hunting of blackskins, are all things which characterize the dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief moments of primitive accumulation. [Marx 1977, p. 915]

Capitalist development was due to the brutal exploitation of Blacks and indigenous people as consumers and workers. African slaves were forced to perform free labor for almost 250 years. Karl Marx notes,

Direct slavery is just as much the pivot of bourgeois industry as machinery, credits, etc. Without slavery you have no cotton; without cotton you have no modern industry. It is slavery that has given the colonies their value; it is the colonies that have created world trade, and it is world trade that is the pre-condition of large-scale industry.
-The Poverty of Philosophy: A Reply to M. Proudhon’s Philosophy of Poverty, New York, International Publishers, n.d., pages 94-5.

This constant expropriation of surplus value, at a high rate of exploitation, was the driving force behind capitalist development, as well as the underdevelopment of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Where did the reproduction and growth needed for capital investment come from after the abolishment of slavery?

Abolition and Permanent Accumulation of Capital

After the abolishment of the slavery mode of production in the South, the United states still continued to generate wealth. Rosa Luxemburg proposes that the cause of this continual generation of wealth is due to what is called, permanent accumulation of capital. The difference between Marx and Luxemburg is that, for Marx, primitive accumulation is the starting point for capitalism proper, whereas for Luxemburg it is an ongoing process. Even after Black Americans were "freed", they still were subject to economic exploitation and political disenfranchisement. This was accomplished by the racist/capitalist state through, but not limited to, Black Codes, convict lease, peonage, Jim Crow laws as well as institutional racism. The rate of exploitation was higher for black workers than white workers, allowing capitalists to accrue higher profits from black workers than their white counter-parts. This discrepancy still occurs today, according to State of Workign America, "For every dollar of whites’ income, minorities receive only 56 cents. For every dollar of networth that whites control, minorities control only 27 cents."

A Call for Reparations

The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America(NCOBRA) views reparations as a "process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights by governments or corporations. Those groups that have been injured have the right to obtain from the government or corporation responsible for the injuries that which they need to repair and heal themselves. In addition to being a demand for justice, it is a principle of international human rights law. As a remedy, it is similar to the remedy for damages in domestic law that holds a person responsible for injuries suffered by another when the infliction of the injury violates domestic law". Economist Larry Neal, estimates that unpaid net wages to blacks before emancipation amount to $1.4 trillion today. While, University of California at Berkeley calculated the gains of whites from labor market discrimination from 1929 to 1969 to total $1.6 trillion. In total, there are estimates that blacks are owed up to 10 trillion by the US government. Yet, through all of NCOBRA's legal routes and tribunals , blacks have yet to receive any compensation. Nor, is it for certain that the government ever will as history has shown in the promise of '40 acres and a mule'.

Revolution is the Solution

There is a direct correlation between the development of capitalism and the underdevelopment of Black America. The exploitation of blacks is the motor for the United States rapid accumulation of capital. The high rate of exploitation, combined with the expropriation of surplus value from black labor is not only the cause of America's vast amount of wealth, but also the reason why that wealth is disproportionately allocated. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the capitalist class to continue to accumulate profit through division of labor according to race. The legal route for reparations and the development of Black America is a dead end. The only solution is it's usage as a backbone of a political movement towards a socialist revolution.

In that sense, reparations for Africans and indigenous people must be included on the socialist agenda. The only way compensation and development will be achieved is through the destruction of the vary economic system and state apparatus that is the cause of the underdevelopment of Black America. One of the first tasks of a socialist society would not only to meet the basic needs of the people, but to develop historically oppressed communities. The socialist society will give preference to developing these areas not to recreate inequality, but to raise the standards of life for everyone in society. This task cannot be successfully done in a capitalist society, but only a post-revolutionary socialist one.

Cheers.
-blackstone

"Four hundred years the white man has had his foot-long knife in the black man's back - and now the white man starts to wiggle the knife out, maybe six inches! The black man's supposed to be grateful? Why, if the white man jerked the knife out, it's still going to leave a scar!"
-Malcolm X

Rise! Resist! Revolt! is Changing...

2007-11-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Comrades, RRR is changing as a blog. The main change that will take place is that its open to all Revolutionary Leftists now. Any Marxist who would like to post can feel free to contact me by dropping a comment or sending an email. Several comrades of mine from a good mix of political backgrounds have wanted to join the team. When I started this blog, I was hoping to update it more frequently, but alot of things have popped up making it harder too find the time, so I got the idea to try to get together a grouping of people who share a hatred of capitalism and all the problems it brings the world; Racism, Poverty, Oppression, War, Starvation etc.. and recognize the need for a revolution to establish socialism a system where the working class owns the means of production and the wealth created is used to benefit everyone. Blackstone, from the Power to the People! blog (check my blogroll), is the first comrade to join the team. Look out for his insightful and revolutionary commentary.

The California Wildfires and the Capitalist System

2007-10-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

It has all the signs of a deja vu. A natural disaster hits, masses of people are forced into a stadium, thousands are left homeless with no aid from the government. The devastation is immense. By now, everyone has heard about the wildfires raging in Southern California. When I say that it has the signs of a deja vu, I'm of course, refering to Hurricane Katrina where people were left for days without food or shelter to starve and die, and when they attempted to gather food, or too leave they faced a hail of bullets from cops who were given the order to "shoot to kill" in order to protect private property. A little more than 2 years later, the people of california find themselves in a similiar situation. The differences though are immense. Hurricane Katrina killed thousands and wrecked a entire city, its destruction was 10 times that of the wildfires. But the difference that is more important I think, is that unlike Katrina, the victims of this natural disaster are both wealthy and working class while the victims of Hurricane Katrina were almost completely working class. This explains the governments' more effective response, along with the fact that they want to avoid the anger, outrage and backlash of the masses that came after the government left the people of New Orleans stranded to die.

Yet despite the corporate media proclaiming a great recovery response, there have been the inevitable failures in the response that come from and imperial system only interested in profit and money not the people. The San Francisco Chronicle earlier this year reported on how the National Guard warned that the imperial occupation of Iraq would hinder a natural disaster response in California. Trucks, radios, generators, fuel, and other supplies are missing from the recovery effort as they are serving in Iraq. This goes to show where the interests of the system we live under are, in effectively exploiting and oppressing people in other countries rather than funding people's needs, not even in emergency situations. The system's attitudes towards its people is fuck 'em, they can live on the streets if it is profitable for us, if they can pay their own way; that's the only way we'll aid them. This is further proven by the fact that after Katrina and already starting now with the wildfires, insurance companies have used the disaster to cancel deals, yet another example of how privatization fails. When privatized, weither it be healthcare or insurance, companies act only when profitable, however under socialism it is the opposite as the system is not designed to serve profit but the people.

Fidel Castro on Yesterdays Municipal Elections

2007-10-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

From PSLweb: This first appeared Oct. 20 in Cuba's Granma Daily. Over 8.3 million Cubans will participate in municipal elections on Oct. 21, well over 90 percent of the eligible voters.

Our elections are the antithesis of those held in the United States, not on Sundays but on the first Tuesday of

November. Being very rich or having the support of lot of money is what matters the most there. Huge amounts are later on invested in publicity, specialized in brain washing and the creation of conditioned reflexes.

With honorable exceptions, no one can hope to be appointed to an important post without being backed by millions of dollars.

Being elected President in the U.S. requires hundreds of millions, which come from the coffers of big monopolies. Elections can be won by a candidate earning a minority of votes.

Less and less citizens are going to the ballots; there are many who would rather go to work or spend their time doing anything else. There is fraud, tricks, discrimination against ethnic minorities and even violence.

Having more than 90 per cent of all citizens voting in the elections and school children guarding the ballots is an unheard of experience; it’s hard to believe that this occurs in one of the "dark corners of this world," a harassed and blockaded country named Cuba. That is how we exercise the vigorous muscles of our political awareness.

Democrats Revealing Their True Colors

2007-10-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Its no secret anymore, the War on Iraq is a horrific crime. With over a million civilians dead, thousands of working class youth, forced into the army, because they have no other path, to kill other exploited and oppressed people, maimed and buried, with the largest refugee crisis in the middle east since the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948, with the country's infrastructure bombed to rubble, with people being deprived of basic needs like clean drinking water and electricity, and with kids afraid to go to school not because of bullies, but because they're afraid of being killed by the occupation, its hard to deem the War on Iraq and its consequences anything but the barbarism of an imperialist occupation and a crime against humanity.

Yet despite this, it didn't come as a suprise to me, when a week or two ago, top democratic candidates for the 2008 election refused to promise that they'd have the troops out of Iraq by 2013. It didn't suprise me that Clinton, Obama, and Edwards took the exact position that they were voted into power to act firmly and immediatly against. What did suprise me a little, I guess, was that they were honest that they would not end this colonial occupation and that they are truly not the anti-war party that they have framed themselves to be.

As a Marxist-Leninist, I've always known that the Democrats are a ruling class party. I've known that the democrats are complicit with the war. They are the ones who voted for it, fund(ed) it, armed it, and are now running it, but what's frustrating as a Anti-War activist and someone who has done a lot of organizing against the war, is seeing people continue to think that the democrats are going to end this occupation, like activists in the UFPJ continue to think despite all signs signaling the opposite. This position is detrimental. The fact of the matter is that the democrats are complicit in this war. They are a ruling class party and this war is key to their ruling class interests.

The ruling class in the US needs this war. Earlier this year, Bush toured Latin America. He went from country to country, town to town, and every place he went, he was followed by angry, militant, anti-imperialist working class protestors. The oppressed of Latin America poured out into the streets in opposition of the Bush agenda. It was a expression of the fact that the people of Latin America are tired of NAFTA and CAFTA kicking farmers of their land, they are tired of the brutal exploitation for low wages, and of the plunder of their countries' resources for private profit. The fact that so many people took action against Bush's tour is a reflection of why the War in Iraq is so crucial to the US. There is growing Anti-imperial sentiment in Latin America, headed by Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela alongside Cuba, but also with countries like Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia, US interests in Latin America are threatened like they haven't been since the Sandinistas and the July 26th Movement seized power in the height of the "cold war". But what's different today is that it is oil in particular that is threatened alongside other markets, while in the past in Cuba and Nicargua and Chile it was soley crops like sugar and bananas. The difference is that oil is what makes the system run, oil fuels everything. Oil equals your electricity, transporation, heating etc.. oil is energy. Sugar and bananas, while valuable, is far less important than oil. The Bolivarian Revolution everyday moves to deprive the US of imperial domination of the vast oil fields of Venezuela, a country which has always historically been a major exporter of oil to the US. The US ruling class has extracted a fantastic amount of surplus wealth/profit from Venezuela's oil industry over the years and put it in their pockets. But now with the oil industry nationalized and the wealth rather than going to corporate executives pockets, it is going to fund people's needs. Whats more dangerous, other countries are following Venezuela's lead! To the shock and horror of the wealthy elite in the US, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Bolivia have joined Venezuela (to different extents) and formed ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, a anti-imperialist trading bloc based on mutual benefit of oppressed Latin American countries, not on the robbery of one country by another. This alongside Iran's growing influence in the Middle East and its own deprivation of US imperialists of its oil fields, the US more than ever needs to secure oil markets. Iraq is just that oil market that needs to be secured.

Securing Iraq would mean that the US could clamp down on Venezuela and Iran, it could embargo left and right and take action to crush the rising Anti-US sentiments in Latin America. Pulling out of Iraq though, would mean the US loses that market, and it loses the potential of controlling the Middle East and its oil in the way that it finds ideal.

Thus its no suprise the democrats are hesitant to say they won't pull out Iraq by the end of their term limit, they hold just as much interest in staying there as the Republicans do!

Remembering Ernesto "Che" Guevara: Live for the People!

2007-10-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Last Monday marked the Fortieth Anniversarry of the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary who devoted his life to waging revolution to end the oppressive system of imperialism and unite Latin America. Forty years after his death in Bolivia while waging guerrilla warfare against the US back Bolivian puppet government and fighting off Green Berets for 12 months, Che Guevara still remains an international icon of revolution and liberation, a icon of hope for those oppressed and liberty from US imperialism. Che was born to a once wealthy, but now pauperized Argentinian family. Most of his childhood was spent impoverished. His father was out of job for most of his youth, so growing up he struggled, yet he managed to get a college education and become a doctor despite this. The most decisive factor in Che Guevara's shaping was his travels of Latin America. The book and now hollywood movie The Motorcycle Diaries illustrate his journey through Latin America with his best friend on a small, old, rusty, but mostly reliable motorcycle. While the journey was filled with stories which make you shake your head and say "those crazy kids", it was also a very lifechanging experience for Che. Che was able to experience first hand the horrors of imperialism. He saw the mass poverty, the diesease, multiple times Che tried to use his doctoring knowledge to help those who were denied healthcare for example, he also saw the oppression of governments on the working class as well as a seeing US intervention in Guatamala. Throughout all this Che Guevara grew more and more progressive, militant, and revolutionary until he met the young exile in Mexico, Fidel Castro. According to legend, Fidel and Che spent a whole night talking about the world, about poverty, and about Revolution. Fidel told Che of his plans for revolution on the little island of Cuba to overthrow the oppressive US backed Batista regime. Che immediately agreed to join him. Che would emerge as a leader during the revolution, after the revolution, he would be the most anti-imperialist, and the most militant. Che was a fighter though, and soon after liberation of Cuba, he felt he had to continue the struggle elsewhere throughout the world, something he would die doing.

Che is still an important figure today because he is a concentration of everything a revolutionary stands for. A comrade of mine recently said at a Public Party meeting that he is concentration of so much it is impossible for me to explain in a really concentrated way. However a couple days later, I think Fidel Castro came close:

I make a halt in my daily struggle to bow my head in respect and gratitude to the exceptional combatant who fell in combat on October 8th, forty years ago; for the example he passed on to us as leader of his Rebel Army Column, crossing the swampy grounds of the former provinces of Oriente and Camagüey, while being chased by enemy troops. He was the liberator of the city of Santa Clara and the mastermind of voluntary work; he accomplished honorable political missions abroad and served as messenger of militant internationalism in East Congo and Bolivia. He built a new awareness in our America and the world.

I thank him for what he tried and failed to do in his home country, because he was like a flower prematurely severed from its stem.

He left to us his unmistakable literary style. He was elegant, swift and true to every detail of whatever happened to cross his mind. He was a predestinate, but he didn’t know it. He still fights with us and for

How Capitalism is Destroying Our Planet

2007-10-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

In recent years, Global Warming has seen an incredible jump in attention recieved. Seeing as today is Blog Action Day for enviromental justice, I thought I'd post on what the real reason for why our planet is slowly rotting and what the solution is.

The Capitalist "laissez-faire" system, is a system which puts profit above all else. The economy is organized not according to what is best for the people, but what will make the most money. Because of this, there is little or no incentive for the people with power; wealthy politicians, corporations, executives, bankers and so on to do anything to care for our earth. The fact that Global Warming is also portrayed as a sort of mystical idea that won't affect us until later also helps further this because capitalism is a system which only works for the now, not for the future. This isn't a coincidence, it's the same people destroying the enviroment because it's profitable that are the ones funding the mainstream media, paying its bills with commercials. This is why you rarely hear about what kind of a danger global warming really is on CNN and FOX and other corporate media outlets, fear that car companies, for example, will pull their ads. The question still remains though how do these companies destroy the enviroment?

This question was really answered for me after I saw the film Who Killed the Electric Car? Basically, this movie was about how in the early 90s in California, new, sleek-looking, cars that produced zero carbon emissions and used no gas whatsoever hit the highways with long lists of people trying to get their hands on them. Ten years later, every single one of these cars had been impounded and destroyed. The movie explores how the companies quickly realized that these cars put gas guzzling cars in danger, and how gas company lobbies felt threatened. These two companies hold such a strong say in the government because they provide campaign funding for candidates in exchange for the candidates supporting their interests. These companies threatened the government if they didn't repeal the 1990 California law which required the companies to sell electric cars in the first place. Once the law was repealed the car companies essentially pigeon-holed this new car realizing that it would endanger the countless gas-guzzling car manufacturing plants they ran, but more importantly, that it was such a easy car with basically no matenance meaning that people would buy these cars and never need another car again.

This movie made me realize, what kind of incentive is there for companies to do enviromentally conscious things. Look at hybrids today for example, yes, they are a step up and its great that we have them, but look at how expensive they are compared to a regular car. Because of this people choose to buy things with in their budget, cars that are less expensive are worse for the enviroment, thus alot more focus is put on these cars by car companies.

This brings back to my point that things are done in this system for profit. Until we break out of that, and until we have a system -- socialism -- which puts people's needs and the earth the people live on first, there will be no significant enviromental change for the better.

Until the Jena 6 are Free, Neither are We!

2007-10-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

By now, most people have heard of the Jena Six. During the build up to September 20th, when 50,000 people from all over the country marched on Jena, as well as after the mass outpouring, the corporate media felt forced to address it. With every hotel booked to capacity in the week leading up to the demonstration within Fifty miles of Jena, it was an impossible thing to ignore. But for those who haven't heard, The Jena Six refers to a case which started last year in a small Louisiana town. Basically it all started when a new black student at the local high school decided to sit under a tree which only white students sat under. The next day, 3 nooses, symbolizing the KKK, lynching, etc.. were found hung on the tree, this sparked the black students in the school to protest by all sitting under the tree the day after, a clear stand against racism. As a result of this, the situation exploded, the system showed its true colors. The District Attorney called a schoolwide meeting in the school auditorium, and separated students based on race. Facing the black students directly, the District Attorney said "I can write your life away with the stroke of a pen." Later, one of the black students who sat under the tree was invited to a all white party, when he got there, he was beaten by racist white students at the party. When the police came by, they came only to tell the black student to get back to his side of town. The next day, the student was in a convenience store where he saw one of his attackers. Heated words led to the attacker pulling out a sawed-off shotgun on the black student. When he managed to wrestle it out of the hands of the white student, the police arrested him and charged him with theft! The systematic and institutionalized racism peaked when a white student provoked 6 black students by supporting the nooses, supporting lynching black people, and etc.. to beat him. Even though the student wasn't hurt, and it was just a schoolyard fight and the student went to a high school dance that night, the 6 black students involved were charged with all kinds of insane charges amounted from 15-20 years in prison.

The fact that a school yard fight has been used to throw away the lives of six promising young black students, all of them star athletes with a real chance to break out of the the dire exploitation and oppression black people all over this country face, while white students who did far worse have gotten off free is a reminder of what kind of system we live under, what the roots of this country and the capitalist system really is; white supremacy and national oppression.

Gloria La Riva, a leader of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and a videographer attended the September 20th demonstration in Jena, Louisiana and filmed a large portion. She put together this short video. In the video, a speaker comes onto the podium and remarks that the prosecuter told the masses not to come to Jena on the 20th, that the people don't know what goes on in Jena. She then said, well, we do know what goes on in Jena, because it goes on in DC, it goes on in New York, it goes on in LA and etc...

This is a reflection that the Jena 6 is just one of many, many examples of institutionalized racism. 50,000 people did not pour out into the streets of Jena because this case is so unusual, something out of the ordinary. 50,000 people showed up because this is the reality of this racist system. Weither it be the fact that in New York City, 86% of all people frisked are black despite making up less than half the city's population, or it be the consistant racist police killings and the terrorism against black communities weither it be Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, or the countless others killed.

Such a system which has racism so deeply rooted into it, cannot be ridded of racism. There will be racism no matter what type of reforms the people force out of the system. The only way to stop this from happening again, as we always claim after something like this happens (Never Again! was the rally call for Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo etc) is a socialist revolution. Only socialism puts people before profit, while capitalists attempt to profit off of racism.

Welcome to My New Blog; Rise! Resist! Revolt!

2007-10-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome, if you're reading this then you're reading the first post of my new blog. I am LeftyHenry, I am a Marxist-Leninist and a high school student in the Bronx, New York. My old blog was Word of the Left. I decided to abandon it and start a brand new blog because I wasn't able to update it as frequently as I liked, and I felt like I needed a fresh start. So this is my attempt at a brand new blog. The central theme of my blog will be political, revolutionary, and militant. The system we live under today; capitalism is useless, oppressive, exploitative, and in general a miserable system. All of the world's problems stem from this system, a system where wealth produced by working class people is stolen from them and controlled by a tiny percentage of bankers and capitalists to meet their needs; and endless pursuit of profit. Weither it be racism being profited off by capitalists who use police terrorism against black people and immigrants from Latin America in order to get them to work for less and keep them in a position where they have so many problems they don't bother to resist, or it is the military and economic rape of the third world by developed capitalist states in pursuit of natural resources and cheap labor. We need a system where the needs of the people are met, a system where the working class is in control of everything it makes and the economy is oreintated to meet the needs of the people, not profit. For me this blog is a way of expressing my thoughts, my anger with the system, as well as communicating with other people in the struggle. I hope you enjoy reading it : )