Execution by a lack of compassion

I read that a 7 year old child died Wednesday while in custody of Border Patrol.....a 7 year old. The girl and her father had apparently been detained by Border Patrol 8 hours prior for "illegally" crossing the border. She and a group of 163 refugees from Guatemala had arrived at the border Dec. 6. They approached agents and simply turned themselves in, there was no violence, they didn't angrily demand entry, they just turned themselves in with the hopes that they would be given the opportunity to become citizens here. These people flee the desperate conditions they live in in their home countries, countries that ironically enough had events transpire in them that was spurred by our country, and several decades later the result has been economic and social conditions so horrid that millions every year flee their countries to escape the suffering.

This poor child died from a combination of shock and dehydration, and had been in custody for at least 6 hours prior to her death. It was learned the she had not eaten or had water to drink for several days, which begs the question were these people even offered anything? Are they simply being rounded up like cattle and locked away? How desperate are these people that they willingly travel thousands of miles, at times without food or water for potentially days? They're willing to sacrifice their lives for a better life for themselves and their children here. Just as any one of us who is a parent desires better than what we had for our children, they desire the exact same. The striking difference is that they've become so desperate from suffering in their home countries that they're willing to risk everything they love and hold dear.

A child...just a year younger than my older daughter, a year older than my younger. I can't imagine the pain felt by her father let alone imagine his pain if that's his only child. The main reason he risked everything is now gone, it's heartbreaking to me, and I don't know of any person who has the slightest inkling of compassion that wouldn't feel the same. Has the light that was a beacon of hope for the tired, poor, and huddled masses faded?

Richard Trotsky

Just a note

Hello.
Been overwhelmed with job applications, interviewing, etc.

This should  be over soon & i will get back to the blog.
Tons to write.
Need the time.

Thank you.

Update Dec 14 2018

If all goes well I will have a new position on Monday.

Backmto cranking out the commentaries soon thereafter.

New Era, same old problem

New Era, after being in WNY for so many years, is taking a hike down south, Miami specifically.  Don't like the snow? Wait for the first hurricane. Or the rising water from climate change.  Buffalo snow & winters will seem like a breeze.

They are departing for whatever reason they gave.  It deals with capitalism - the need to make more profits from the working class.  Never mind the taxes that they didn't have to pay because the working class was picking them up through tax breaks.  The wages for the workers were too much,  so the factory had to go. Northern union wages that made the  ompany what it was were too high,  so the jobs had to go.  Prices for their products won't go down though.  As always,  they will remain the same and the excess profits will go into the CEOs pockets, as well as upper management, while the workers get scraps. 

Items will come from 3rd world countries and will be fully assembled in the new factory.  This will satisfy the "Made in America" terms of their contract with the major sports leagues.  And that is a joke. But it is the way it is with everything else.  Parts of cars are made all over the world, shipped into the USA and the final
product is assembled.

Trump's tariffs had nothing to do with this, supposedly.  But the bigger issue is the CWA union workers that are losing their jobs and benefits tomthe non-union labor down south. 

Remember - if the quality of the work goes down, those union workers aren't going down south to fix things up.  
Experience and quality comes with a price.
And the working class paid that price already.

And capitalism plays the same old song and dance.

Buffalo Parking Doom & Gloom

As Buffalo grows and develops,  parking is turning into an ever growing crisis.  Too many people,  not enough spots for the cars that inevitability will come.  Especially with people commuting to jobs in the medical  corridor.

Of course lip service is paid to the idea of more public transit.  It needs to be more than lip service.  The article in the November 23, 2018 Buffalo News outlined the problem,  and gave almost no room to the solution.  It did talk about " green development" and development along the bus routes, but not u til the end and only a few measly paragraphs.

Improving on public transit needed to be the prime thrust of the article.  More busses and an improvements to the NFTA rail line needed to be the primary focus of the article.  It did point out a few issues with the  soon to be private public owned parking.  It also pointed out the "prophets of doom" that mentioned this problem before the development boom,  but too much was spent on this.

Buffalo needs to invest more in the NFTA and improve the lines,  get more busses & more types, as well as expand the Metro Rail.  This needed to be the gist and thrust of the article,  not the minor lip service that it received.

Growing the discussion

Crystal Peoples Stokes held a forum on Monday (November 19 2018) in Buffalo on the process forward for the legalization of marijuana.  She was seeking input from interested parties on how NY should move forward with the process.  Based on how I read the language,  it's not a matter of "if" anymore.  It's when.  And NY can learn from the process that other states went through to make the development of policy easier and better.

And the discussion moved beyond the use of marijuana for recreational use,  though many adults are interested in that.  Also the issue of retroactively cleaning up records and convictions of those who were arrested in the past came up.  That will be important.  I understand people's concerns about it as a gateway drug, however if we treated it like the Europeans treat wine and alcohol, the "glory" of it would be gone.  And we also need to see the drug problem as a symptom of the failure of capitalism to "satisfy peoples' souls" as frie d of mine puts it. (A digression that will be treated in a later post.)

We must become aware of other uses for the marijuana/hemp plant though that could help NY agricultural industry and be ome a major profit ce ter and spark new developments for farmers.

Beyond the use of THC to catch a buzz, is CBD.  CBD is a naturally occurring pain killer in hemp that can be made available in a wide variety of strengths.  I have a cream that has 150 MG  of CBD and it works wonders on sprains.  I have heard of it in concentrations of up to 2500 MG.  The great part about CBD is that it is a non addicting pain killler that works as good or better tha  the synthetic heroin known as opiods.  It could be used to help people deal with opiod addiction at a much lower cost than other corporate pharmaceuticals. 

Next comes the food properties. I have a quart of hemp milk in my refrigerator.  And hemp seeds that i use in smoothies and  snack bars that i make.  Highly nutritious and full of fiber.  Relatively inexpensive and tasty.  And hemp oil has cooking uses and was used in industrial purposes before the Marijuana Laws of the 1930s.  Want to get off of petroleum? This could be a way.

Then there are the fibers.  The Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and for that matter pretty much anything written on paper in Colonial times, was written on hemp paper.  It takes how many years to grow a tree for use in paper? Hemp grown in 5 months.  Beyond paper,  I have seen clothing made from hemp fibers. Not just the coarse Guatemalans that the so-called counterculture likes to wear. If you didn't know it was hemp, you'd swear it was cotton or silk.  It just depends upon how it was processed. 

And hemp does not need the chemical pesticides and fertilizers that cotton requires.  That's a huge money saver for farmers that are losing money hand over fist to corporate America.  All these farmers losing money on soy that we are not selling to China in this stupid trade war could go to hemp and  grow a plant that has many uses beyond sitting back and getting stoned. (No different to me than a drink of beer, wine, or hard cider. Personally I like the hard cider, but that's a different post for another day.)

We need to move beyond marijuana and hemp as a drug and look at all possible uses and how it can (literally and pun intended) grow a new economy.

Black Friday 2018

Tomorrow is Black Friday, when the masses become mindless and go into a mindless spending frenzy buying items to celebrate the birth of a dark skinned Middle Eastern Jew born sometime around 6 BCE.  Yeshua, also known as Jesus, was not a white skinned European. Time for a reality check people.

And it is called Black Friday because it is when stores actually turn a profit.  This bat crap crazy spending spree is what brings corporations into profitability.  And workers will be up early manning  (and womaning and whatever other derivatives you can come up with) the cash registers to collect the money and crexit cards.

Why are people buying like crazy? It's Christmas  (or whatever you call it) and you are supoosed to buy gifts, blah blah blah. Capitalist programming.

Reason number two: Look at the prices.  They are reduced, in some cases as much as 70%. And the stores make money selling the overproduction  at a "loss." 

Or are the prices too high the previous 11 months of the year?

What if these so called sale prices are the actual prices that the items could be sold at?  What if we are being ripped off all the other months of the year?

WTF.

Second thouht on this time of the year:  It is time for the working class to seize its power and not buy anything. It is time for the working class to become "fiscally conservative" and say, if we can' t pay cash and have no debt, we can' t afford it. Sorry, we have too much credit card debt and need to practice Dave Ramsey personal economics and get down to only one credit card that is paid off in full every month and whatever else he speaks about.

Yes, it is time for the  working class to become fiscally responsible and say what the power elite has been saying to them all these years right back at the power elite.  Let's play their game.

And we can watch the 1% sustain the economy.  They will of course go around and spend all that mo ey that they are sitting on a d sustain the economy.
In a pig's eye. Apologies to the pig.

We, the working class have the power to bring down the system.
All we have to do is flex our muscles.
What can they do?  Cancel Christmas?
That'll go over well with a certain vocal group of people.
And they aren't big enough or rich enough to sustain the system on their own either.

We are. 

Complaining about contributions

The  November 21 2018 Buffalo News has an article that complains about the working class unfairly influencing the NY State elections in 2018.  It's called "After heavy spending, donors seek returns." 

The group that they take their biggest swipe at is the unions. Specifically NYSUT - NewYork State Teachers United) and the the CWA (Communication Workers of America).  The article does list some other big spenders, but as a whole,  it takes a big swipe at NYSUT.  It's this side of a hit piece, if not an outright hit piece.  The only thing that "mitigates" that in any way is the part about Airbnb.)

And they have the complaints from the Republicans that they were out spent.  It wasn't  "Blue Wave." It was green and it had strings attached,  which is wrong for the working class but ok for the 1% and Republican donors?

Teachers want classroom evaluations done fairly. That's fine.  And they do not want the Federally mandated tests to be used punitively against them. Good.  I'm still waiting for someone, anyone to show me a peer reviewed study that shows that all this testing improves  teaching and learning.

Crickets.

And that is all we will hear on that issue because there is no proof that any of this testing works. 

The big problem is that the members of the working class unitied together and fought to elect politicians that would pass legislation that would benefit them as a whole and screw over the 1% is somehow a crime.

The Buffalo News  eeds to realize that if the working class cancelled its subscription to the paper it would fold tomorrow.  Warren Buffet is not going to investin something that does not make him money.  As long as the News is a cash cow for him,  they have his finances.  Which means that the News needs to look at its readership and start reporting stories that reflect the interests and needs of the working class. 

I read plenty of criticisms about unions and issues involving unions.  I do not remember the News writing anything recently about money from donors outside of NYS influencing elections.  If David & Charles Koch had donated millions to NY Republicans and they were elected, would that be a  issue? Probably not.

We need campaign finance reform, to be sure.  But it should not target the working class memebers of the state uniting together to fight back against corporate control.  The News needs to recognize this and get in the correct side of history.

Workers are the bottom at Tops

As Tops "emerges" from bankruptcy, more like managing its debt load to satisfy its debtors, there is one debtor that will not be paid back - the workers and the retirees.  The men and the women who made Tops what it is - the stockers, the cashiers, the service desk workers, the warehouse workers, the truck drivers, and ....who am I missing?

All the people that work day in and out to make the company great are losing out while management missed its responsibilities.

And let us remember - the problems were not created by the workers.  The warehouse workers paid the money that they were responsible for in the retirement fund.  It was management that mismanaged the funds and the situation.  And yet the workers have to pay the price.

Now retirees are losing out on what they faithfully paid for and into while management is waiting for bonuses that they do not deserve because of the crisis they created.  But the retirees and workers are getting? What exactly? Other than screwed?

This is wrong and needs to be changed.

No bonuses for management until the retirement fund is fully funded.  And no raises either.  The people on the floor did not create the crisis and should not have to suffer for the lack of leadership. 

The "emergence" should not be an emergency for the working class.
What the workers need to realize is that those in charge have no clue what they are doing and want to be rewarded for it.

Anti-Social Media and the First Amendment

I could have titled that anti-socialist media, or other words to that effect.

The First Amendment reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

So when Congress called a hearing on "fake news" and hauled Facebook & Google in front of their technically illiterate members, the results were less than stellar. To say the least.

Project Censored had several podcasts/radio shows on this debacle.  While many cheered the ending of Alex Jones on Twitter,  they were unaware that the adjustments to the algorithms in Facebook & Google, et al meant that left wing news sources and independent news sources were, for all practical intents and purposes, effectively blacklisted from the results, had accounts closed, or were put so far down the search results page that no one would find them.

And this is not censorship?  It's not direct government censorship.  It's censorship by private platforms that do not have to comply with citizen's First Amendment rights.  Remember the Amendment (read LAW) says that "Congress shall make no law..."  So when Congress called the tech giants in front of them and asked them to do something about so called "fake media,"  non-corporate sources took a big hit in hits and funding.  Mint Press News, Truthout, TruthDig, and others took major hits while the corporate media sat back and reaped all the rewards.  

Never mind that the corporate media was wrong about Iraq, Afghanistan, deregulation, Trump, and the laundry list goes on.  Because they are corporate owned and support the corporate power structure,  they are given a free pass.  Meanwhile,  those that go through the dirty work to uncover the truth about what is really going on are mislabeled and driven further into the underground.

So, what are we to do about this corporate stranglehold on media power?  what do we do if the powers that be decide to remove this account or others that it does not like?

We need alternate sources for social media that we can turn to and build upon now,  before the hit happens.  When faced with competition,  the response of capitalism is to crush it.  When facebook was threatened with Instagram,  it bought it.  What search engine do you use the most?  Bet it's Google.  Why?  

We need to find other avenues now.  While Congress can not censor us,  the capitalists  can.  And what do we do then?  

Interviews worth listening to:

Social Media Censorship in the Era of So-called Fake News (as we approach midterm elections)

The Censorship of Youtube and Facebook with David Pakman and Andrew Austin

Abby Martin, Mike Prysner, and Kevin Gosztola

 

A Spectre is Haunting Capitalism

Pardon the paraphrase.

A specter is haunting America — the specter of socialism. All the powers of old capital have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this specter: Religious and Politician, Trump and Koch, Democrats and the FBI spies


Where is the party in opposition that has not been decried as socialist by its opponents in power? Where is the opposition that has not hurled back the branding reproach of socialism, against the more advanced opposition parties, as well as against its reactionary adversaries?


Two things result from this fact:

I. Socialism is already acknowledged by all capitalist powers (Both Democrats and Republicans, as well as Independent and other 3rd party powers) to be itself a power. 

II. It is high time that Socialists should openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims, their tendencies, and meet this nursery tale of the Specter of Socialism with their explanation of socialism.

Why the paraphrase?  Trump & other capitalists came up with their little report on their version of socialism and then proceeded to attack it.  Not what Socialists call socialism, but what the capitalists call socialism.  Usually it is a version of Stalinism.  Then they claim that capitalism is democratic and the only way to run a society, blah blah blah.

Seriously? Capitalism is democratic?  When the two faces of the capitalist parties collude to exclude Socialist candidates from the ballot? (Read about Fred Linck and his experiences in Connecticut.)  Or work to disenfranchise voters because they do not like their skin color? (Read: They are not white, so they do not deserve to vote. Read Greg Palast for more on this.)

So, I am going to explore what the real and working choices are to this failed capitalist social and economic state.  I will give real examples of socialism that are working within this corrupt system that we live under.

There are many viable socialist options out there that capitalists would want to choose IF they only knew about them and how much better (and more affordable) they are.

My goal is to post the socialist option once a week.

NY is going for Pot

Status Cuomo ordered a study on the legalization of marijuana and the impact that it would have on NY State.
Forgot a word there. Finances.
Seriously.  How much money would NY make if it legalized and taxed pot.
Secondly, how much would it save if pot were legalized. Savings as in court costs, prison costs, etc.
I'm sure somewhere in there is how much can NY make off of traffic tickets for driving under the influence.

The only way to change a capitalist's mind on an issue is to show him how much money he can make off of it.  Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, and now Canada being the examples. Might as well jump on the boat early. 

And there's a face saving component for the Democrats here.  If pot is legalized,  it gives them a back door way to end the racist Stop & Frisk policy in NYC. Seriously. If NYC wanted to get drugs off of the street they'd go after white people. A study of Stop & Frisk statistics showed that whites carry more illegal drugs and more dangerous weapons than minorities.

Marijuana should never have been illegal in the first place.  It should have been regulated like alcohol and tobacco products.  Making it illegal was just another way for the state to oppress the poor.

With this legalization, supposedly pot related offenses will be dropped from peoples' records. Also people serving time for pot possession will be freed or have that time dropped from the sentence the state imposed upon them.  No mention of an indemnity paid by the state to the victims of this useless law that should never have been written.

And this is only a state law.  It does nothing to the federal statute against marijuana possession.  It just says that the state will not prosecute or persecute you for possession of small amounts.

The other side of the coin is that it will drive out of business the small producers that can not comply witht the laws that the stage will write. Production will  go to big businesses that can afford the fees & licences that will certainly be a part of this effort by Cuomo.  I will need to find the article I read on how when California made the changes to its law, that was the side effect. Small producers were crushed.

So, while this is an interesting turn of events for Cuomo,  I wonder what his real motivation is. He announced it during an election year, so I am suspect.

But as I said before, follow the money.

December Socialist Action Newspaper

It's out & it's written by socialist activists for those that want a socialist point of view.

There are articles on the migrant caravan and migrant issues.
The election is over. What has trump had tonsay about them? Nothing. It was a scare tactic to rile his base up.  What he won't do is address the issues that make the caravan a possibility: And that is US corporate dominance of the region.  It's the next version of the Monroe Doctrine. Sad to say.

Speaking of elections:  Fred Linck, writes about his experiences as a candidate for the Senate in Connecticut. Nothing like a first hand accout of the way that capitalists (who control the majority of the media in this country) work to suppress a working class candidate.  Learn the lessons and we will be more successful next time.

And elections 2018 take 2- a critique of the so called "Blue Wave."  What was achieved and should socialists collaborate with a capitalist controlled party?

Results on ballot results in Oregon are given a clip.   Sometimes the correct side wins.  Citizen education is a key.

In this wonderful booming economy, why is NYC homelessnes on the rise?  And what is the impact on students & their achievement in school?

LGBTQ News: Trump tramples trans rights & a Rally against Erasure.  Is the LGBTQ  Community just a pawn for the Democrats,  or do they need more tha  just lip service from politicians?

As long as we are talking about trump,  we might as well write about a group of his supporters, the proud boys, who really have nothing to be proud of.  Seriously. Living in fear of others is an issue.  We receive an account of fascist violence and state support of it.  We need a united front against the fascists.  This is one group to be aware of.  Don't count on the police for protection.

And is criticism of the Zionist state equal to anti-semitism? Why is this a question we have to answer in a country with freedom of speech? Unless you u derstand the control the zionist regime has over Congress.

In Canadian News - Can Canadian Socialists count on the NDP Leadership to represent the interests of the planet & the people?  
Trade deals - big brother trading away your your rights.
And can Toronto afford Doug? Why is he winning?
And what can Toronto Pride be proud of in a sellout?
Quebec: What happened in the last election and how will it affect the working class.

In a country where the capitalists control the media,  you need to inform yourself.
Click here to subscribe to a great  newspaper. Subscribe her!

Also, sign up for the weekly e-mail updates.

And if you want to change the world, JOIN.

Stock in Deception

After reading an article about Amazon this morning it became clear to me many have no idea on the deception present when large corporations are written about. The very way they're described when referring to the stock market is a significant source of hypocrisy. The description of a company being "publicly traded" is only a partial truth. In order to understand why we much first understand the concept of "publicly traded". Is simply means that shares of the company's stock can be purchased by the general public. At first glance, one would think nothing of the description of these companies and assume that the description is accurate, but let's analyze that a bit further.

While some of us may be enrolled in retirement savings plans endorsed by employers, these only utilize small amounts of stock in companies, perhaps as little as several shares. Furthermore, the average worker simply cannot afford to retain a significant amount of shares in any company due to the cost of each individual share, as some can cost as high as over $100 per share. So for us, a single share of one of these companies would be anywhere up to a quarter of our weekly paycheck. Our only hope with investing in the stock market is to retain the stock long enough for it to increase in value over the course of several years then sell for a small profit. This can take several years, as values fluctuate depending on success of the individual business. This is why so many investment advisors advocate for long term holding of stock shares.

The reality is the huge number of shares that get traded on a daily basis do not come from the working class in any way, shape, or form. How can it since we don't have the means to buy and sell in such volume? It comes from the elite, who have considerable sums of money invested in these companies and corporations. There may a small percentage of trading that does, but this is miniscule in comparison to the amounts that the 1% control. This is where I'll draw attention to another disturbing aspect of corporate interconnectedness, the way individuals are "elected" to boards of directors of these very companies and corporations.

There is no democratic process of voting as would indicate by the terminology used. It's simply a clever play on words to make us believe there is some form of domocratic method utilized for the process. The way it works is this, one share of stock of the company that is owned is equal to one "vote" to be "elected" to the board. The more shares of stock one owns in the company, the more votes he or she will garner. It essentially means that the common workers will most likely never assume positions on these boards as they make approximately 230 times less than executives. There is realistically no way what so ever for average workers to come into positions of significant influence within these companies and corporations. The prospect to participate in their process is wrought in futility as we have to spend the majority of our incomes on our survival. We cannot assume control of these companies, the means of production, through their process.

Even more disturbing, individuals that retain positions on the board can actually hold positions on several different boards. This allows for concerted effort amongst different companies to significantly manipulate the processes of production and profit generation. What do we suppose would be the result when you have one individual, or perhaps several, who have positions on several boards of companies that have a connected business relationship through the manufacturing and distribution process? It places them in unique positions to exert significant control over aspects of profit.

The unfortunate reality is the elite control the economy, and we suffer on account of it. We're forced to endure ever increasing workloads, being told we must be available for our corporate masters even when we're not physically doing our jobs, their bidding for their lust for profit. We are the slaves of the elite, the servants of the 1% and they continue to squeeze us to obtain every ounce of profit potential from us for their benefit. It's time we show them the true power that we have as those who keep their companies in business, those who perform the day to day tasks and jobs that they see as beneath them. Without us, they have noting, and we need to realize the tremendous power that we truly have.

Richard Trotsky

News Fail for Democracy

I, for one, am tired of the media failures involving elections.  I can go on about their failure to analyze policies, political statements,  blah blah blah.

I am most tired of the horse race coverage and declaration of a winner before the vote is certified by the State.

Did the State announce a winner between Collins & McMurray? No! Why? All the votes were not counted.  There are 15,000 mail in ballots waiting to be counted.  This race is still open.  What is the media thinking?

I know.  It's a horse race to see who can project a winner first.
But what if the media is wrong? 
What is the consequence?

No one should be wasting their time on prognostications. The media needs to  focus on the issues, fact finding, fact checking, holding candidates accountable, etc.  And cover all the candidates for the race.  I heard nothing about Howie Hawkins, Larry Sharpe, or Stephanie Miner. It is not up to the media to decide that they do not  have a chance.  It is up to the media to educate us about all the candidates and then the voters decide on  election day.   

Yes,  i know that was a bit off topic  from Collins- McMurray, but it's a part of the media failing democracy.  We can look to Georgia and Florida for other media fails.

I am sick of this horse race to be number one in reporting winners.
If the media is wrong in any of these races, they won't be ahead by a nose.
They will be  bringing up the rear and be looking like a horse's.....

Creative corruption

Tom Precious wrote today (Creative maps let State Senate's GOP keep power,  Nov 12 2018)  in the Buffalo News about about how the Republican Party maintains power in the NY Senate despite being a minority power.  And  y minority I mean that there are not enough of the statistically to justify the power and influence that they have in the Senate.

It's a creative process called gerrymandering.   Basically,  they drew the district lines for the Senate in such a way that makes it harder to vote them out of office and diminishes the power of their opponents.  Ridiculous. And illegal. And still done.

As a result we receive the crap for politics that we have today for New York. And the Republicans throw the blame on the Democrats and complain about it.

The article is great in its analysis but offers no solution to the corrupt and stale two party crisis that we  face in NY.  Seriously.  No solution is offered.  It's like going to a doctor and talking about a bad cough, scratchy throat, and shortness of breath and the doctor does not tell you to quit smoking cigarettes.

The solution is simple: Eliminate the districts and go to proportional representation.  A party's representative strength in the Assembly and Senate is  dependent upon the percentage of the popular vote that it wins.  A party must receive 5% of the vote in order to receive seats.  We can look at how the Europeans, Canadians, and other countries use the system and adopt what is proven to work.

There is one more benefit :  Parties receive money from  the state and they must use it to help citizens register to vote and civic education.  If they fail to do this,  they face consequences.  A former student of mine from Germany described how it works i  their country and they have voter participation rates much higher than we have.  The forst time President Obama was elected we were happy with a 60% turnout.  The German election at that time had a 74% turnout.  And their pundits were complaining that turnout was down.

The system we have is broken and it is up to us to demand a solution.
The more democratic solution is proportional representation.
The sooner we get it,  the better.
 

The Other November 11th

While we are pondering Veteran's Day,  we need to remember the other November 11th: The Treaty of Canandaigua between the United States Government and the Haudenosaunee /Iroquios Confederacy.  It is also known as the Pickering Treaty after the official that negotiated it. 

For what it is worth,  we owe much of how our government is structured and run to this Confederacy.  I've read a bit about it and the British model falls short.

The US government under Geoge Washington negotiated this treaty to bring peace between the two nations.  The US was young and experiencing many problems and troubles.  Peace with the Iroquois Nation was a welcome victory to this fledgling nation.

In this treaty the US and Iroquios nations made many agreements over land, annuities, and many other legal issues.  And the US and NY governments have worked to twist the reading of the Treaty to suit the purpose of the government at that moment in time.

Never mind that the Constitution sets a treaty as a law.  The US and NY governments are not known for upholding the law when it suits their purposes.

I cite the disaster known as the Buffalo Creek Treaty. The Seneca Nation was lied to badly about that and many other agreements.

And the Oil Springs flooding for a canal system that was defunct shortly after it was inaugurated.

I cite land seizures, such as the Kinzua Dam and NY Thruway through the Cattaraugus Territory.  Neither gave the Nations affected appropriate compensation.  Also the Route 17 conversion to Federal Route 86.

I  cite the Casino Compact with the payments that expired and NY's violation of the treaty with private Upstate casinos.

There are many more violations that the Iroquois Confederacy and Seneca Nation can attest to. I'm sure the Tuscarora can contribute as well. And the other Nations too. I am focusing here on Western NY.

We need to remember this Treaty and honor it by coming to a common understanding of the language and what it means.  Not the twisted lawyer speak thatit has been turned into,  but as a Treaty of Peace and Understanding with responsibilities for both sides.

And it would be nice if the US and NY governments stopped twisting the words and trying to terminate the Nations that helped us win independence from England. 

Read the Treaty and honor it.
Take some time to visit Ganondagan in Victor and the Seneca Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca.
Learn about the people whose kand you now live on.

Thoughts on Veteran's Day 2018

On this Veteran's Day, let us remember those that served our country.
And then wsk why they served.

There were more "honorable" wars, like World War 2, which put an end  to Nazism in Germany, ended the death camps, and put an end to militarism in Japan and the brutality that the Japanese inflicted upon Asia. I've read of some very horrible atrocities that they committed.

There was the Civil War, which ended slavery in  the US.  Slavery was reframed into various forms of debt bondage and servitude and the prison system.

Then there were the lies.

The Mexican American War.  We overstepped our boundaries and it led to a slaughter.

The "Indian" Wars, where we worked to steal the land away from the First Nations Peoples  because we did not want to jo or treaties that the government made.

The Spanish American War. We alll know that this was premised on a lie.  The Spanish had nothing to do with the sinking of the Maine. It was a poorly built ship that sank from a coal fire that ignited gun powder. And the wars against the Cuban people and Filipinos that wanted to be free from control by both the Spanish and American governments.

World War I.  Americans voted in 1916 to stay out. As a result of a massive propaganda effort by the governmentbecause the banks and military manufacturers stood to make a profit,  the "Four Minute Men" convinced Americans to got to war. With help from the sinking of the Lusitanania. History now shows us that the ship was loaded with passengers and munitions. Another series of lies led us into that war. It gets to be a pattern.

I'm still trying to fugure out Korea.  It wan ended with an Armistice, so technically the war is still going on. Why have we not made peace?

Vietnam. We had no reason to be there in the first place. Over 1 million Vietnamese people died (direct action) and many more suffered from US landmines and  chemical warfare (Agent Orange). Then there are thr 58,000+ soldiers (men and women) that died in theatre and the many more that died from Agent Orange poisoning, suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, and homelessness.  For what? What threat was Vietnam to us? And we now know that the Gulf on Tonkin Incident did not happen as we reported it. The North Vietnamese Navy was nowhere around the US fleet.

Anf then Afghanistan. The Graveyard of Empires. Supposedly we invaded because of 9/11. We are still there because of $1 trillion of mineral wealth. The heroin trade was nearly wiped out  and as a result of   the US led war, it came back with a vengeance.  The Taliban wanted no part of a war with us and offered to surrender Osama bin Laden to the US with terms.  The Bush administration said surrender or else. There we still are and the Taliban has more control in the country than we do.

An Iraq. Another war pacaged and delivered in too many lies to list.  More soldiers have died from  suicide then died in actual combat operations. And the fighting still goes on. Over oil. It's what we were really after.

I wish i had a list of all the interventions by the US in Latin and South America.  But the violence committed against those people was not in the name of protecting democracy, but in keeping democracy from the people. Instead of allowing the people to control their countires,  American soldiers trained locals to oppress their own so that American and multi national corporations could control their countries and economies.  Pick the country, it's the same sad story. Guatemala,  Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Columbia, Brasilia, Chile, Argentina, and all the nations that I can not remember. Research Operation Condor.

And the soldiers come home to empty promises. An underfunded and understaffed VA system.  Families and friends that are unprepared to deal with the horrors of war. And so much more.

We remember the veterans.
We need to learn why we fought these wars and look at the price that is paid in destroyed lives.
PTSD is a life sentence with deadly consequences.
     

The more things change, they don't

Change.....almost all of us want it. We're promised it every time elections come about by both parties, but how much have we really been given? How much better have things gotten in the past 2 years, in the past 6, in the past 10? We continually get promised things will get better by voting for one candidate or another, or a particular party of their 2 party system, and what good does it do us? What good did it do the scores of elderly that had to turn to employment at fast food restaurants to be able to survive on their fixed incomes? What good did it do for the millions of college graduates who work multiple jobs to be able to live and pay down their student loan debt? What good did it do for the teachers who had to turn to public assistance programs to be able to feed themselves when teaching was once a sustainable career field? What good did it do for the common workers who may have full time employment, but are worked to the bone day in and day out without regard for their physical and mental health? What good did it do for any of us?

We've been continually promised change, yet time and time again we've been given just a taste of it. We've been given just enough to give us the illusion that things will truly get better. We've been given just enough to pacify us when we come together and demand something better. We've been promised genuine change through retaining faith in a system that has given us more than enough reasons to completely walk away from it. It's been shown that the vast majority of Americans are in favor of allowing a third party to their current two party system. Some may say there are already alternate parties, but how true can this be if any one of these much smaller parties never truly stand a chance in the political arena when pitted against their ruling class counterparts? What's more, many of these substantially smaller parties actually receive contributions and funding from either one of the two parties of the ruling class. In that context, can they accurately be considered alternatives?

What potential for change do we then have if we have no true alternative? Must we continue to endure the endless shallow promises of change that flow so readily from the establishment parties? Will there be a candidate who is given the opportunity to represent the will of the masses in whole heartedness and be allowed to participate? Will there ever be a candidate who can stand with the common worker, who can stand with the educators, who can stand with the poor and marginalized? The answer is no, if you seek such a candidate from either of the ruling class' parties. There will be none since they all have significant affiliations with those parties themselves. They all stand on their soap boxes and preach to the workers and the poor, but at the end of the day go home to their posh houses and enjoy luxuries few of us have the privilege of enjoying.

I am a worker, I am among those who long to enjoy a life of comfort and not have to rely on public assistance programs to be able to feed my children and my family. I am among those who are considered the working poor, I am among those who toil with the hopes and dreams of seeing true change come about in their lifetimes. I am a radical, radical in the sense that my perception of social issues is so drastically different than what's presented by those of the 2 party system it cannot be comprehended by them. I am a revolutionary, in that being my view of capitalist social structure is one that is detrimental for society as a whole. My view is far apart from the norm, and something unknown to many and as such it is revolutionary. Does me being a radical revolutionary serve as a threat to any? In short the answer is no, it has no affiliation with any religious belief or any concept or perception that can be used in the oppression of the masses or any one particular group, ethnicity, or faith.

My view brings questions to the elite that they have no true answer for, and highlights problems that they cannot provide solutions for. They may have presented temporary solutions to a limited few of the issues that millions face, but these solutions are simply temporary, and have come at significant cost to institute. Let's take for example the illusionary perception that due to the tax legislation passed there have been thousands that have regained their employment since the economy has revitalized a significant degree. This is only partly true, as the legislation simply allowed businesses more profit to be retained after the passage of it. They had been given the ability to put more cash in their pockets, and for that reason, and that reason alone, allowed workers that had been laid off to return to work. Do we really believe that had they not been allowed to keep more for themselves they would have let the workers come back to work?

They don't care about us, and it makes no difference on which side of the political spectrum you fall, we're seen as beneath them. We're viewed with such contempt that we're seen as disposable sources of labor and profit for them. They try to relate to us however they can simply so we pull the lever, or click the choice onscreen and keep them in their positions. When was the last time you had any candidate from either party, whether Democrat or Republican ask any one of us in what areas we were struggling in? Have any of them held town hall meetings to hear what we needed, what areas we hoped and wished would get better for us? They only want to hear our voice when we show them that we're dissatisfied with something, or a significant aspect of one of the many social issues becomes too much for us to bear. That's the only time they truly want to hear us and that's simply to make us believe they'll work for a solution to the issue we aren't pleased with. Even then, after those times have they actually given us a solution that significantly makes a legitimate difference in the long run, and is a completely viable solution for the issue we have become incensed about?

They have no solutions, they have no ideas that can benefit us as a whole, and to me, that makes them in no way capable of being adequate representatives of the people. What we need are those who understand how the workers struggle because they struggle the exact same way, what we need are those who go through the same trials and tribulations as those who work multiple jobs to survive, who have to rely on public assistance programs to be able to feed their families. We desperately need a genuine and legitimate voice that understands all the issues we face and speaks for us all collectively.

Richard Trotsky

Understanding Motivation

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post in light of yet another tragedy. This time it wasn't a white supremacist, or neo-fascist, it was a former member of the military. A 29 year old former Marine took the lives of at least 12 people, with his final act being taking his own life. Before any rush to judgement, we need to examine this completely preventable tragedy in it's entirety. This young man saw combat in Afghanistan as a machine gunner for the Marine Corps after he enlisted in 2008. He was only 19 years old upon his enlistment, and his intentions for enlisting are yet unknown to me, but a good majority of individuals who enlist at a young age do so due to the promise of having access to education, the potential to gain their citizenship, or simply because they desire to do good in a country that's promoted as oppressive to it's people or a threat to the United States. I have several friends who were in the Marine Corps, and there's a credo they have which is "first to go, last to know". It essentially means they're the first to be sent into harm's way at behest of their superiors. Marines are trained to be physically resilient, to be able to endure conditions that civilians would never be able to survive in. However no amount of training can prepare one for the horrors of combat.

No training, regardless of how thorough, can prepare anyone for the immense mental toll it takes not only while deployed, but also after the deployment is over. Many have returned from combat with physical scars, but the mental scars can be much more devastating. The inability to tolerate significant sized crowds without anxiety, the constant jumpiness to any sudden loud sound, the nightmares that are experienced night after night while sleeping which make sleep almost unwelcome. I've not had the experience that these individuals have had, but I've spoken with former members at length, I've heard the suffering that they endured after their combat is over. For them, it never truly ends, they carry it with them every single day.

They pay a very heavy toll for something they truly don't benefit from in any way, shape or form. Most have noble intentions but are sent to their potential deaths for the advancement of the wealthy's interests in continually reaping enormous amounts of money. This is done through various methods including rebuilding efforts, or being given access to previously unavailable economies due to the previous government's control of them and their respective country's economy, and access to natural resources. Members of the military are sent to fight and potentially die for the rich, and when they return with their physical and mental scars, are almost entirely disgarded by the very ones they were ordered to further the interests of. They and their families suffer potential tremendous loss, and the elite reap the rewards.

They are willing to sacrifice their very lives for what they are told will be helping those in foreign countries, and when they return, they return to a veteran's healthcare system which in almost every aspect fails them entirely. I've heard of instances where veterans have returned from a combat tour and sought prosthetis, and have been forced to wait so long that when the prosthetic arrives, it no longer fits properly. Many of them suffer in silence, as they have no outlet to express their deep emotional and mental turmoil. I ask before any critisize veterans returning from combat tours, take the time to learn their motivations for enlistment. We have true comrades amongst them, and some of the most resolute of comrades come from within their ranks. To those who have seen the horrors of combat, I urge you when the dark times fall upon you, reach out to those closest to you. Your actions in no way impact only yourself, but those who love you as well.

Richard Trotsky

BAK-rupt in Buffalo

BAK has gone bankrupt and has closed its doors.  They will, short of a miracle, never open again to manufacture low cost tablets and laptops.  The Buffalo News did a decent job outlining the problems that the company faced.  All young companies face problems and BAK was no different. They probably could have been overcome except for one thing.

The Trump Tariffs. The nail that sealed the casket closed was Trump's wild trade war that he thought would be "easy to win."  Well,  as Harley Davidson showed him so well,  they are very easy  to lose. 800 jobs gone there. They won't come back.  And Buffalo lost BAK, an business that helped low income workers learn skills and make a decent wage at the same time.

Republicans can't touch this. They like to put the blame on Democrats for high taxes, etc. The owners made it clear that it was the tariffs that did them in. 

Democrats have not made an issue of this? Why not? Given how the tarrifs have hurt manufacturing and farmers, this is a  gift.  The loss of manufacturing jobs is only going to climb.  And the problems farmers, particularly soy bean growers, are having selling their products is astounding.  Of course trump is addrezsi g the farmers with a bailout funded by  floating bonds on the market and borrowing money. Most likely from China. (China is loaning us money when we could just get it by dropping the tarrif and selling them soybeans? Boggles the mind.  Then again, that would mean that trump would have to admit to losing. Fat chance. Ask one of his creditors after a bankruptcy hearing.)

Amd the media failed to make trump's economic policy the issue either. Then again, sharks rarely attack their own.

So 100 workers are out of a job and are now looking for something new.  I am not confident that they will fit in at Solar City, which isn't even operational yet. Still. And there are no other electronic manufacturers in WNY that I am aware of.

So ends another bright idea that ended at the hands of an incompetent businessman in the wrong place.
The White House.
I believe that BAK could have succeeded and that the workers could have eventually bought the company and turned it into a coop.
Just not with a failure in the White House.

Election 2018. What has really changed?

The results are coming in.  Some races are very close and others, as expected are blow outs.

Some successes:  The first Native American and Muslim women have been elected.   As I recall, there are a large number of women that ran and won.   And the House of Representatives is "Blue." More on that.

Failures: The capitalist class is still in power.  I have not heard of any Third Party victories yet.

The Democrats are celebrating the victory in the House.  This puts some sort of check on Trump and the Republicans. 

Honestly: I'm not expecting much.  If Nancy Pelosi is in charge.  She did nothing for the working class when President Obama had full control of the House and Senate. And she has openly stated that  Progressive agenda would not be brought forth to the floor.

So, what's the difference between her and the Republicans? Seriously? She is a pawn of the DNC, which Hillary Clinton famously said was  established as an Eisenhower Republican organization. And we all remember how they sabotaged the 2016 Democratic Primary.  Not that I was a big Bernie fan. He had good points, but reforming capitalism never sticks. 

So, what really changed?
The location of the deck chairs on the Titanic?

The working class needs its own party independent of the Democratsand their capitalist owners.
Until then, the band will keep playing on.

Election Day Endorsements 2018

It's Election Day and, supporting democracy, I encourage everyone to vote.

Eugene V Debs famously said that "It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it."

Having had an opportunity to meet with representatives form the Green Party of NY yesterday at the Eugene V Debs Initiative celebration at the Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle, I feel confident in supporting the following people for elected office in NY State and in local elections.

Locally: I had an opportunity to meet with Green Party candidate Wade VanValkenburgh.  He is running for the Mayor's Office in Lockport, NY.  Wade was very interesting to speak with and listen to as he spoke about his campaign.  In our conversation he spoke of his interest in socialism as the solution to the capitalist crisis. "It is the only solution" and how he was gaining support from many different directions as people are getting sick of "politics as usual" and wanted new ideas and insights.  I had the opportunity to listen to him explain socialism to people at the event and he spoke with them & to their questions.  He never  put them down or became condescending.  He was positive, uplifting, and encouraging.  Having experience in green energy and a variety of social issues involving youth, I believe he will be a strong voice for change in Lockport.

Check out Wade's campaign on his Facebook page.

For the State level,  we are offering support to the Green Party candidates. 

Howie Hawkins, candidate for the Governor's Office, openly identifies as a socialist and has a platform that we can support, not limited to environmental justice, proper support for education, a single payer health plan, and a Green New Deal to address the climate crisis that our current leaders are sleep walking us into. Running for Lt. Governor is Jia Lee and supports these initiatives.

Michael Sussman is running for the Attorney General's Office and has experience as a civil rights lawyer and will pursue corporate criminals.

Mark Dunlea is running for Comptroller and will divest from fossil fuels.

To my knowledge there are only corporate controlled candidates running for other positions and therefore we will not endorse them.

We believe that it is important to vote and participate in the system to the extent that we are able to.  We recognize that a capitalist controlled democracy will never serve the will or the needs of the people.  We use this opportunity to point out the differences between us and the capitalists and the bankruptcy and corruption of the capitalist controlled democratic system.

There is more that I can say on this issue, however, being on cold medication right now and feeling it, I choose to keep this post simple and to the point.

Sounds of Socialism

Tomorrow at this time I am looking forward to being at the Adam Mickiewicz Library & Social Circle at a local Eugene V Debs celebration.

For those that do not know. Debs was an American Socialist that ran for President 4 times, the last time from  prison , and worked to advance the need sof the working class in the halls of power.

We rarely read about him in textbooks because the capitalist class owns the textbook publishers. And they control the people that write curriculum for the schools.  So, he is an unsung working class hero that is going to get his due in  Buffalo tomorrow.

The event will include: a fair that is open to progressive causes, a presentation on Buffalo Labor & socialist history, and a screening of Bernies Sanders' film on Eugene Debs.

The capitalist class likes to make socialism look like something that is foreign to the US instead of the organic movement that it was.

If you are a socialst, come on down, up, or over & rub shoulders with fellow Reds.
If you are curious, stop on in.   Learn about socialism from real socialists, not the caricatures of the media and textbooks.

And wear red. Because you can.

Be there.

Caravan Concerns

Trump made it an issue and so the media covers it: the caravan of immigrants heading for the US southern border.
He's stoking up all the fear he can and the media is not telling us the full story of why these people are fleeing their countries.

To understand why they are fleeing,  we must look at US policy towards these countries.

We must look at how the US intervenes in their internal politics and over throws democratically elected governments and puts in puppets that do what the US & and its corporate masters want them to do.

We have to look at the US trained, armed, &  backed death squads that act with impunity throughout their countries. We need to look at the countless number of murderered innocent people that haunt the memories of their families. 

We need to look at the US firms that throw farmers off their lands. Where are these people to go and what are they to do?

They all try to come here because we bill ourselves as the land of opportunity. The land of the free and the  home of the brave. And you know all the propaganda.

The media fail us that they look at the caravan as a cause. Just like trump wants them to.

They need to see it as an effect of US foreign policy.
But that would be biting the hands of the corporations that buy advertising in their organizations.
You know the rule: Money talks. Too loudly.

Dig into Democracy Now, the Real News Network, and other indie news meida to find out the truth.
Read Open Veins of Lati  America and many  other books on the topic.
Learn about Operation Condor.

Educate yourself on the truth because the media won't.

And then you will see the caravan as what it really is: a group of victims of US foreign policy  demanding justice.

Election misdirection

I swear the news media gets off making this election a rederendum on Trump.  They go off on his Tweets, mis-statements to the press, and whatever else they can come up with.

To me, their question is: Can we trust this man (Donald Trump) to be the face of the ruling elite and of capitalism?
And the mid term elections are going to be that.

They are not making a big deal about how the tax cuts that the Republican Party pushed throuh, along with an unnecessary increase to the military budget,  have increased the defecit and now the Republicans are talking about cutting Social Security, Medicare and other social welfare programs that help the 99%.  By the way, Social Security and Medicare are self funding through taxes. The reason that they are running short is that the money is swept out of the fund and used to "balance the budget."  More like imbalance it.

They are not making a big deal about how Trump said that he would "drain the swamp" and then packed the government with industry insiders and other hihly incompetent people. Betsy DeVos in charge of Education? She isn't even a certified teacher. Zinke?  Pruitt? And so on.

They are not tzlking about Trump's disastrous pull out from the Paris Climate Accords (as weak as they were) or the US-Russia Intermediate Missile Treaty. Climate change will be a disaster fornthe USA. The coasts are in danger.  The  old confederacy will be severely flooded out.  And the Army Corps of Engineers will have a devil of a time trying to control floodi g on the Mississippi.  And all the internal migration that is already occurring because of the effects that we are suffering now.  And the droughts in California and the Mid West.

God help us if someone pushes a button and launches  a nuke.

Then there are the issues facing minorities, non-Judeo Christian faiths, LGBTQI individuals, and so many more issues.
None of which the media covered in any real way and refuse to cover.

The media missed the point(s) for the last two years and now are trying to make a circus out of a clown act.

I'm not buying it.
Neither should you.

Let's make this election a referendum on capitalism and its failures.
And let the media and politicians know that.

Manipulating the Masses

This morning I heard a particular troubling comment from our illustrious president in regard to the coming mid term elections. I'll quote verbatim. "A blue wave would equal a crime wave, very simple. And a red wave equals jobs and security." This was stated to the crowd at a recent Indianapolis rally. Let's analyze this statement a bit shall we? So far this "red wave" has given us alarming increases in racially motivated incidents. It has bestowed upon us an individual who while perusing and being entirely engrossed in the hate freely flowing from the president, sent explosive devices to numerous individuals, and even one individual who is simply a supporter of Democrats. It had blessed us with an individual who, due to subscribing to the anti-Semitism that permeates the political landscape of the Republican establishment, went on a murderous rampage in a Pittsburgh Synagogue. It has given us an increase in anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia, sexism, and utter disdain for any who would make attempts to emigrate here for the prospect of a better life for themselves and their families. It has virtually turned back the social moral clock of our nation by easily 50 years. We have seen innocent people murdered, we have seen individuals beaten by those who subscribe to neo-fascist ideologies, we have seen a dramatic rise in racist incidents. It seems to me, at least, that this existing "red wave" has contributed significantly more to the detriment of our society.

I'm in no way alluding to the Democrats being the source of our salvation, as truth be told they are beholden to corporate interests, and can truly provide no alternative to the struggling and oppressed masses. The alternative lies within those struggling and oppressed masses themselves, and their ability to remain independent of the elite who retain control. The alternative lies with those who strive to educate the oppressed to the truth behind the illusions of democracy presented by the ruling class.

Then in astonishment I read another statement made, that of "I love women! More than I love men". Have we forgotten the brazen comment made and recorded on the campaign bus in regard to women? A comment so crude and unacceptable that I shan't say it again. I ask how can such a comment come from one who claims to love women so much? Have we forgotten the myriad other comments made in regard to women that have been significantly disrespectful and offensive? The record speaks for itself with an unparalleled clarity, can there be any clearer display of blatant hypocrisy? The true test of an individuals merit comes not only from how they conduct themselves behind closed doors, but also how they conduct themselves in public. This especially holds even truer for those in positions of leadership and significant influence. We have seen the complete and total failure of this test time and time again.

Once again, the attempted manipulation of the masses is occurring, and it becomes clear that we are seen as not intelligent enough to discern what is truth, and what is absolute falsity. I ask will we allow ourselves to be painted as mere simpletons who cannot see deception when it's presented to us, or will we choose to be heard in our united chorus of declaring that we won't be deceived by the falsehood?

Richard Trotsky

Holding Center Hell

Twice now we have received news stories about the deplorable treatment that individuals taken to County Holding Centers have received.
In the cases of India Cummings and DeJuan L Hunt III, their lack of treatment lead to their deaths, according to State investigations.

According to both State reports,  the victims died because of a lack of medical treatment.  In both cases,  the need for treatment was obvious based on video and examination records. 

And we are going to get nothing but deflection from those in charge of the Holding Centers.

We will be told stories about understaffing and overtime costs.  From a pure logic point of view - hire more staff.  The costs of wages and benefits must be less than that of the lawyers, investigations, and court settlements.  No price can be put on the cost of bad publicity. 

Also, the injuries in both cases appear to be inflicted by staff. Intentional or unintentional  (I'll give the benefit of the doubt).  Clearly the staff needs better training in handling people in situations of distress.

And necessary medical records were not available. Accessible? Yes. Available to those that needed them? No.  This crisis of communication and lack of information led to the deaths of India and DeJuan.  Had their conditions been known,  they could and undoubtedly would have received different and better treatments. 

And both would be alive today.

In India's case, she would have been  better of in the care of a psychiatric institution for her condition.
DeJuan needed better medical care from the start.

There are also issues about how both were kept in the Holding Centers - clothing, physical treatment, observation by medical personnel, and many more issues. 

In either case,  I doubt the Sheriff in charge would want to be treated the way those two individuals were.
Especially with the results.

We need more accountability and oversight of the Holding Centers.

Being sent there should not be a death sentence.

Failing Democracy

It's election time and the capitalist press -the Buffalo News, et al - has done what they see as their duty of endorsing the candidates that they believe will best serve the interests of the capitalist class.  Not the working class. The capitalist class.  Then again, who owns the Buffalo News but one of America's biggest capitalists: Warren Buffet.  He makes his billions off the stock market backing monopolies while the rest of us struggle to make him money and take care of ourselves.  The broadcast media is also overwhelming owned by corporations from outside of WNY as well.  Aside from a few low power AM & FM stations, everything you hear is corporate. 

And all the candidates endorsed are either Democrats or Republicans.  What do you expect when the 1% owns both?

The responsibility of the media is to inform and educate the voters on the candidates and issues, not program us.

Nowhere was their any coverage of 3rd party candidates at all.  If they were covered, it was incidental or accidental. Never in any depth. This is intentional.

While I am unaware of any socialists running for the position of Governor in NY,  the News could have provided some coverage to Howie Hawkins of the Green Party.  In the last election he scored 3rd place with ~175,000 votes. All things being equal,  that's pretty good for a third party candidate in a state with little to no state wide independent media and little to no coverage from the corporate owned media. 

The Libertarians are running a candidate, as is the Save America Movement. The responsibility of the press & media is to cover them. I will not spend any time giving pro-capitalist  candidates coverage.

So, what are we to do?  
Get on the backs of the News  and other media to cover all candidates equally and fairly. 
I know many people that have dropped their subscription  and have turned off their radios & tvs because the coverage is predictable and tedious.
Give us more than just the 2 faces of capitalism and people might just get interested again.

Imagine that - capitalists meeting the interests of their communities.

Tom Reed's Greed

The Intercept, a semi- independent media organization founded with money from the owner of eBay, has done an expose on the involvement of Congressman Tom Reed and debt collection. This is not the Buffalo News or any local media outlet, but an out of state organization that is investigating a local politician.   I have not seen any coverage of this issue at all.   There is a reference to  Buffalo News investigation on his law practice. Nothi g on debt collection.  I do not expect to either given the amount of money they make off of his campaign for commercials during election time. 

The company that Tom Reed is accused of having a stake in is called RR Resource Recovery.  This company deals with collecting on  debts to medical institutions.  He owns the property where the business is headquartered and makes $100,000 in rent every year from them.

What I find troubling is that from his perch in power Congressman Reed has worked to undermine attempts to regulate debt collection and helath insurance reform that would protect the constituents he is elected to serve.  Attacks in the (weak) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau worked to weaken the agency so that it can not do the work it is required to do- protect Americans from abuse debt collection practices.

Furthermore,  Reed opposes a single payer or Medicare for all option that would address the medical- financial crisis that his constituents face.  Claiming that it would cost too much and would bloat an oversized government,  we do need to remember that he did vote to increase the funding for the world's most expensive military. Where does this money come from? And in all honesty,  that money only servrs to protect the profits of the military industrial complex and Wall Street. Neither really help Main Street.

Congressman  Reed needs to end this charade and remove himeself either from office or remove the business from the properties he owns. (Signing the properties over to his wife is a lame way around this.)  Furthermore,  the money made needs to be donated to the constituents in his district that need help with their medical bills.

On top of this,  we need real insurance reform.  Not the lame "Affordable Care Act" that forces Americans to buy insurance from private firms but a Medicare for All reform that can be funded by lifting the tax cap on Social Security.

The fact that this story is not all over local media shows us the shame of Buffalo & NY media in their coverage of issues that matter to the people of NY.

The fact that Reed is involved in this shows that he has no concern for his constituents either.

Tom Reed founded debt collection firm that harasses his own constituents

A Lake of Betrayal filled with Lies

I received a copy of Lake of Betrayal to watch from a friend.  It is a documentary that covers the Federal government's theft of land from the Seneca Nation

This is a must watch documentary that helps us understand some of the conflict and distrust between the Seneca Nation and the federal government.

The Kinzua Dam was built on the premise that it would help alleviate flooding of Pittsburgh.  To build the dam, the government  had to break federal law - violate the Treaty of Canandaigua  - and take treaty land away from the Seneca Nation.  Never mind that an alternative site for the dam was proposed that would have cost less and directed the water away from Pittsburgh.   This was all about taking land away from the Native Americans and forcing them into the hidden policy of termination.  This means that the Nation no longer exists and the government no longer has to abide by a treaty that they negotiated.

The government lied to the Seneca Nation and the American people in  many ways.
There was a better site for the dam and would have cost less money to build.
The dam was supposed to be used only for flood control and not electricity generation.
The government would provide fair compensation to those affected. (Eminent Domain dismisses any claims for fair compensation. )

The story is sad and tragic.
And the Seneca Nation is still here.

The documentary is going to be on PBS in Buffalo (Channel 17-1)  this Saturday (November 3rd  at 5:30 PM) and is well worth watching.

Caleb Abrams uses incredible cinematography in telling the story, with shots of the lake and historical footage from the time of the destruction of the land.
He also uses interviews from  people that suffered the tragedy to tell the story. Many powerful words are spoken from the heart.

And his use of irony is incredible.  I keep hearing about how we need to go back to when the church was more influential in society and he shows a scene of the Federal Government burning down  a church building that served the Seneca community. There is more.

There's so much more,  but you need to see it for yourself.
It's only an hour long.
I want to know what didn't get in. What's on the cutting room table.
Information like this should never be on the floor.

11/3/18 My apologies to getting Caleb's name incorrect in my original post. It is Abrams. Thank you for the correction.

Problems of Persuasion

Rod Watson penned a great article about the Democratic Tweet/textstorm that happened Monday night.  Democrats joined together  to contact people about why they should vote for Democrats. Simply put : they are not republicans.

Yes,  the Republicans are terrible for the working class.  The Democrats have a less than stellar record to run on.  Remember - the Democrats & Republicans are the 2 main faces of the capitalist class.  Both the DNC & RNC are owned and controlled by capitalists and their cash.  And we need to remember that back when  the DNC was created, Hillary Clinton said that she was not a Democrat but an Eisenhower Republican.  So at the top we have two faces of Republican leadership and a strong divide developing at the bottom.  Nancy Pelosi even stated that she would oppose any legislation that progressive  candidates put forward.

So, someone, anyone rell me why I want to vote for a Democrat?
Yes, trump and the Republicans are terrible, but with spineless leadership at the other end, what's the difference between the two groups of leaders?

President Obama could have led the charge on single payer or Medicare for All. I stead we received a law that forces us to purchase private health insurance. No victory there. And Medicare for all needed 2 words struck from the law ("under 65") and 100% of the population had health insurance.    And striking down the tax caps on Social Security ($116,000 for singles, $120,000 for couples) covers the costs.

Obama could have gone after the banks. We were forced to rescue them and countless people lost their homes.
And more failures than I care to list here.

The working class needs to liberate itself from the "navel-gazing intellectuals" of the Democratic party and embrace ideas and movements that fight for their rights and interests.

They won't find that in party leaders that are corporate controlled.

Pathetic & Predicted

The Catholic Church responded to the actions taken by Siobhan O'Connor in a predictable and pathetic way.

Nowhere in the response does it address the issues of child abuse and cover up in any substantial manner.  Instead, what we receive is a litany of emails between the Bishop and the Secretary where she essentially sings praises about working for him and under his (mis)leadership.

This is completely unacceptable.  The Bishop needs to explain why the Catholic Church has spent untold amounts of time and money covering up crimes and protecting pedophile priests and doing very little, if anything, to help the victims receive justice. The Bishop also needs to explain why the Church has refused to provide law enforcement with the information that it had as soon as it received it so that the perpetrators could be arrested and out in jail instead of being sent to a different  church where they could repeat their crimes. 

This whole situation /crisis is what arises when leadership is unaccountable to anyone.  The Church has long known of this crisis and has used its power to shield the criminals and persecute the victims. 

It is obvious that the unaccountable  patriarchy cannot be trusted to lead the Church anymore. 

This is one time that I believe that the FBI must assert its power and investigate the Church, arrest and charge those that committed the crimes and those that protected them. 

Furthermore,  the Church needs to change its leadership structure so that it is accountable to the congregations that they serve.

Siobhan did the right thing acting as a whistle blower and has helped point out the hypocrisy of the Church.
Now we need the Church to do the right thing and stop protecting pedophiles.

Turn over all the names now.
With all the files and information available.

Stand up for the victims of abuse instead of standing on them.

Why are we wasting money on sports?

During the economic crisis of 2008+ the high school sports schedules were cut back in order to save sports from being totally eliminated.
Now leaders fro  Section VI want to add games back to the schedule because the economy has supposedly turned around.

No it has not.
Workers' wages are still stagnant.
Inflation is rising faster than wages.
Plain and simple: the money is not there.

Look at schools that have consolidated.  They have grown class sizes by closing whole buildings and eliminating teaching staff.
Classes are using textbooks that needed to be replaced years ago.
I know of several schools that are sharing librarians rather than having a full time library in each building.

Addressing these problems will help with increasing student achievement.
Smaller classes - studies show that 15 students is the ideal clas size - increase attention to students & improves student - teacher relationships.

Newer textbooks keeps students up to date on recent trends in science and math, two areas that the USA lags behind the restof the developed world i .

A full time library with a budget of $20 per student fro  the state and more from the district will put materials in the students hands that they want to read.  If a student reads poorly, there goes their ability to achieve.

We don't need more time on the sports field.
We need better schools for students that address their learning needs.

This proposal for more sports is misguided and needs to be put on the shelf.
Spoets are fun, but they serve only an elite minority.

We needs schools that benefit everybody.

Cracking Criminal Catholic Corruption

Lord Acton famously stsed that "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."  We see this in so many ways.

Recently we had a whistle blower stand up and do tbe riht thing to help crack the wall of corruption. Siobhan O'Connor secured copies of confidential documents and gave them to the FBI i  order to expose the well known culture of corruption in the Catholic Church.  She needs to be both praised and protected for her actions.

Praised be cause she provided the evidence that the FBI needs to go after the Buffalo Diocese for its actions in covering up the sexual abuse of children and others by priests.  Bishop Malone needs to do the right thing and open all the files that the Church has on the priests accused of sexual abuse.   He needs to give names, numbers, documents - everything that the church has on this scandal to the FBI so that justice ca  be served.

Siobhan also needs to be protected - not because the Church has some sort of spiritual hit squad that will take her out. She needs to be protected so that other whistle blowers will come forward and give the public the information it needs to protect itself from other institutional criminals. Particularly corporate criminals. Yes,  the Church has shown itself to have few to no morals or guidance.  Corporations have even less. Remember Karen Silkwood? Do some digging on her. Brave woman. Gone.

The Church also needs open and public oversight.  This criminal behavior of moving pedophile priests around was wrong.  They needed to be put not in other churches, but behind bars.  The Church has shown that it can not be trusted with power and needs oversight beyond what it is willing to provide for itself.  What happened was the equivalent of having a fox watch the henhouse.  Epic fail.

The Church has the potential to do good.  I have been given a book on Liberation Theology and I look at what the ministers in Latin America are doing to help in the fight against exploitation.  For that they are being killed.   We need that type of leadership.

What we don't need is a criminal cover up.

And we now know why the Church fears women being in positions of power.
Siobhan is an example of what happens when a person with a conscience acts.

Heartless in the White House

After reading the latest headline to come from the white house, I was even more disheartened to hear that attempts to eradicate a significant aspect of the 14th Amendment were seriously being considered. Why does one hold so much contempt for those wishing a better life for themselves and their offspring? How can one individual truly hold that level of hatred within the confines of his heart, within his soul? That I cannot, and will never, be able to understand. They've been slandered as criminals, murderers, and rapists unjustifiably, and while a very small percentage may be from criminal street gangs that exist in the regions they are emigrating from, the vast and overwhelming majority, roughly 95% are comprised of those simply desperate for a better life, and a respite to the violence that plagues their home nations.

Even those who may have been involved in criminal activity in their home nations, have we truly examined the conditions that they endured in those nations? Have any considered the possibility that they were seeking an escape to the unfortunate lives they had become locked into? Perhaps they had grown weary of their way of life and the activity they had been involved in and truly desire redemption. Maybe, just maybe, there are those who grew tired of seeing death and suffering, and as I did sought an escape from a life of violence and pain. I'm sure many do not, but I simply refuse to believe there are absolutely none who indeed have. In regard to the conditions of their home nations, we must look closely at the horridness of them and how those conditions originated as there are very important lessons to be learned from them. We must learn exactly why individuals are forced into the conditions they must survive in.

Are we that callous and uncaring a nation that we would turn an deaf ear and blind eye to the suffering of the masses in other regions? I don't believe we are, I will not, and will never believe we are an uncaring and uncompassionate nation who only cares about itself. Some who lead us may attempt to drive us to those standards, but we must have the character and the integrity to stand opposed to that as a people united. For one to declare an attempt will be made to alter a significant document regarding the morality of our nation on his own accord are truly troubling. It shows the true measure of his motivations and insight into his aspirations. It shows that one individual truly believes that he has the power to dictate our morality as a whole, and this must be vigorously opposed. For to say on one hand he values life, and in one swift statement declare that only the lives within the confines of our national borders matter is a striking contradiction, and even then, which lives within our national borders really matter to him?

Richard Trotsky

What Price?

This morning I heard a rather disheartening statement about the aspect of hate winning the field on a particular day when senseless tragedies motivated by it take place. It was even said that perhaps hate had won, I beg to disagree. I disagree as I refuse to give up hope that humanity will bow to the will of hate. I refuse to believe there are none amongst us who will stand together united against it, I refuse to believe all hope is lost for humanity. What I do believe is that if we do not act and speak against it, then it will in fact prevail. There is a quote which sums up the fact quite pointedly, that quote is "It has been said that for evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing." There are truly evil men that dwell among us, men that harbor darkness within their hearts and evil in their souls. If we do nothing then these men will surely prevail.

What will be the alarm that truly wakes us from our lullabied slumber? There have been moments that we stir in our sleep, only to re-enter our deep sleep once more. Have we not witnessed enough injustice already? Have we not stayed blissfully ignorant long enough? How many more must perish before we declare an end to it? Will we be complacent and allow future generations to bear the burden that we refuse to resist? Will we allow our children, and our children's children to suffer even greater injustices than we have endured? I will not, I will stand in direct opposition to the aspect of hate, whether be it on my own accord, or with like minded comrades who would dare stand with me. Regardless the cost, I will not simply capitulate to the notion that we can do nothing. I will not surrender nor will I yield. I will never surrender the field to those who wield hate as their weapon.

We must ask ourselves what will be the price of inaction when faced with this prospect? Are not our children's futures and lives well worth the cost of engaging in this battle? This fight is not one primarily fought for ourselves, but for our collective futures, for the future of our children and grandchildren. This fight is fought for the betterment of all humanity, for the security of our future and for the generations to come. Is this not a noble enough cause for us to stand united? Is this not of such importance that we need to take up the cause of struggle? Is this of such little importance that the multitudes have little regard for it? I dare say not, for if they disregard it, those who will surely suffer even greater injustices will be future generations. Is this the legacy we wish to leave to our decendants? If our leaders will not speak against the growing darkness of hate that looms on the horizon, then it falls to us to take action against it.

By Richard Trotsky

A Better Debate

On November 1, 2018 the League of Women Voters will host a debate between the candidates running in the NY Governor's race.  In the debate will be:
   Marc Molinaro of the Republican Party
   Howie Hawkins of the Green Party
   Larry Sharpe of the Libertarian Party
   Stephanie Miner, running as an independent and on the Serve America Movement line.

Governor Cuomo has been invited but has not committed to the debate. I doubt that he will.  It took half of forever for him to consent to a 1 on 1 debate with Marc Molinaro for PBS. 

It is great that the LWV is sponsoring this debate, with or without Cuomo.  They are standing up to the bully in the pulpit and refusing to play his game.  I wish that they would have had more debates than just this one. It would allow the candidates to better spell out their plans for the state and address the issues that affect the different regions of NYS. 

However,  I welcome the opportunity to hear the different voices, opinions, and ideas that these candidates have to offer.

Last time we had this many candidates it wound up  with Cuomo and the Republican opponent arguing over corruption in Albany while the Green & Libertarian candidates offered ideas on how to address issues that affect NY.

I hope for democracy's sake, it' not a bash Cuomo event, but instead a discussion of ideas on how to fix this mess we are in.

I would like for a socialist to be in the debate. The Green Party is as close as we are going to get.

Get ready & hopefully it is on the web & radio for all to hear.

Chasing the money trail

The Buffalo News posted a story today about money in politics & how much is being poured i to the state Senate races.

And it misses the point. Much as I expected it would.

It made a bit of a squeal about NYSUT - New York State United Teachers, a working class union with questionable leadership - and the money  & SuperPAC that it has.

First: the membership of NYSUT is made of of mostly NYS citizens that can actually vote in NY elections.  I know that along the borders there are teachers that come in from Pennsylvania,  Connecticut,   Massachusetts, and Vermont. These are a minority.  The majority of the members of the union are citizens that can vote in the elections. No reason to attack them at all.  They should be praised for their political activism. 

Now I can criticize the leadership of NYSUT for always supporting the Democrats and other issues,  like selling out on contract  negotiations in a number of instances.  I will refrain from that.  These are members of the working class getting active and supporting  policies that the capitalist owner of the News does not like, such as privatization of schools and mandated tests. Two policies with little to no evidence to show that they improve instruction and learning for the students and teachers.  Those policies are about making money for the 1%.

Second: the News fails to talk about all the fundraising that the politicians do out of state. Cuomo should not be visiting California for his campaign cash. New York alone or no go. And if the ads on tv, radio, & newspapers are too expensive, use the mail. You would get the same number of people paying attention as do now. I mute the tv or change the station when an ad comes on. Cost? High. Effectiveness? 0.

More important - the News should be highlighting the out of state groups that are raising money from people that can not vote in the election.  That is the real issue.  I can go to Project Vote Smart's OnPoint App,  look up a politician and see where they are gettingtheir money from. The Koch family has no interest in NY politics & should not be donating to the campaigns of NY politicians. Same with the Walton family & others.

If the news wants to make an issue of "dark money" - it needs to make an examination first of out of state money and groups and highlight the politicians that are accepting that money.  It touches on this a bit in the last few paragraphs with a mention about a realtor association in Chicago donating money to a candidate in Long Island.

Too little. Too late.  THAT is what this article should have been about.
The Buffalo News, as usual, blows it.
Then again, look at who owns it & his political agenda.