Again on voting for Biden – there is also a 'moral hazard.' It has been said (by Zinn?) that voting is a very easy action people can take, not to replace other forms of activism, but if voting for the president is seen as important and high value, it seems like a person would feel the need to justify their vote to themselves. They would have to think that Biden does xyz, or neglects to do something, but is still better than Trump. Biden's 'good' points come with total support for Israel, war in Ukraine, moves towards war with China, hostility to free speech opposed to his foreign policy, hostility to TikTok (over Gaza?), etc. A peron might need to defend their choice to others. I'm justifying right here. They might start identifying as members of the Democratic Party's "coalition." It seems like voting for Biden to stop Trump could be a slippery slope to voting "Blue No Matter Who" every four years, like the CPUSA advocates. They always say something like defeat the ultra-right, but they have also said that voting for the Democrat brings influence. Why have a "Communist Party?" I don't think there is even a call to support a left Democrat in primaries, just vote for the more rightist Democrat who inevitably wins. When Democrats say "Vote Blue No Matter Who," does that include voting for a Bernie Sanders type Democrat, if one were ever allowed to win the primary? In a different sense, FRSO seemed to expect influence with the grassroots after supporting Obama, and instead they were targeted by Obama's government. I think it has been claimed that people come to identify with the candidate they intend to vote for, so voting might not be just a simple action taking a few seconds. I could vote for Biden-Harris in 2024, but then what? I haven't heard much election strategy from the left recently, or I've been missing it (Counterpunch?), but I'm not aware of any plan or campaign to do things differently if Biden gets a second term. Vote Biden, despite what he represents, carry on in the same way for another four years, vote for the next 'dismal Democrat' (Harris? in Charlotte, NC today) and so on, until an apocalypse comes about, maybe due to the actions of those Democrats. "Reject Fascism," object to/impeach Trump from inauguration, but I haven't seen a national campaign to reject Biden and Co'.s warmongering and attacks on those who dissent, other than very limited campaigns like Vote Uncommitted. There was something about economic warfare (only counting Trump's term in office?) having killed something like 40,000 Venezuelans, and Biden is getting up there in the Middle East. Around 2020 someone said vote for Biden now, and we can work on creating a better choice for 2024. The Biden administration is 'frustrated' and 'concerned' about Israel's actions, but they still give Israel everything it wants. Pressure the Democrats to change and condemn their policies, but then support them no matter what they do, when their power is under question. Maybe people take their votes lightly. I sometimes forget whether I voted for a politician in a lower office, but I remember my presidential votes. Maybe there isn't much point in discussing the election. I admire and respect academics, except that many academics rightly condemn the actions of the Democratic Party, and then vote for them and discourage attempts to create an alternative. They might also use the Democratic Party's language and slogans, as much of the media does. Notice the positions of radical and not so radical academics on Counterpunch, etc.
[4/16 -- I was thinking of a few authors on Counterpunch, but here is "Words and History: The Trouble with 'Genocide Joe,'" [ portside.org/2024-04-15/words-and-history-trouble-genocide-joe or stansburyforum.com/2024/04/14/words-and-history-the-trouble-with-genocide-joe ] by anti-Stalin left academic Fred Glass, in the hierarchy of the California DSA, re-posted by Portside, from the Stansbury Forum. I thought Portside was left, or at least left of the Democratic Party. "....the personalization takes our eyes off the prize, which is the structure of imperialist oppression, on the one hand, and building the broadest possible movement to fight it, on the other." Building a movement with Biden or his help? With the pro-Democratic Party union leadership? What, if anything, was done to get a Democrat other than Biden to be the nominee this year? Biden is 'frustrated' with the Israeli government, but still gives them everything they need. Maybe Biden would stop if Israel were to use its undeclared nuclear weapons or began mass execution of civilians (or has Israel already started executing large numbers of civilians at hospitals and in free-fire zones?), but not short of that point. "...in 2003, a massive but brief anti-war movement crashed and burned against the brick wall of the right-wing Bush administration." If there had been a Democratic administration? Biden helped George W Bush launch the Iraq War and in each election a pro-war Democrat ran against Bush. Many have traced the de-mobilization of the anti-war movement to the rise of the Obama campaign and administration, and then the wars continued in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the addition of Libya and the proxy wars in Yemen, Syria, etc., though Obama might have been better regarding Cuba and Iran than Biden has been. The Democratic Party today might be the party of George W Bush. "When the next Gaza arises—and given American imperialism, it will—the space for a mass movement to oppose it will be tightly constrained and likely violently crushed by the repressive force of a police state under far-right Republican control." More than in the UK and Germany there is "space" here to protest the wars, but it doesn't have much of an effect. Democrats cracked down on FRSO, the APSP, and Occupy, etc. and Nancy Pelosi threatened to have send the FBI after pro-Palestinian protesters. Vote for Hubert Humphrey in 1968, to stop Nixon? No blame for the SPD in Weimar German politics? In addition, the SPD had an armed wing it didn't use in the 1930's, probably because the Nazis gained power through the system. What about the rest of the government, and the "international community?" Full-blown Nazism, or a Pinochet or Franco-type regime will be instituted if we don't given Biden an undeserved second term in November? -- www.californiadsa.org/news/2024-the-fascist-danger What about the anti-democratic actions by the Democratic Party and its media? People couldn't even vote against Biden in the primary here and NPR's 1A has a special one hour anti-Trump program each week with Todd ~Zwilick, as if NPR isn't on pro-Biden all day long. Zwilick is on at least twice this week. Biden is sacrificing his re-election chances for war in the Middle East, and both Trump and Biden are interested in having a war with China and deepening the proxy war with Russia. Give Biden control of Congress, and maybe the Democrats will safeguard abortion, though they could have done it before. Under either party, the government is interested in cracking down on anti-war protesters. Ban TikTok to stop online opposition to the current wars. Biden might be the 'lesser evil,' but the US left in general has no other plan than to vote for Biden Democrats forever. Why have a communist party, or even the Democratic Socialists of America, if the plan is to Vote Blue No Matter Who, forever? I don't want to be ageist, but on the left it often seems to be former Vietnam War opponents who say that the choice is Biden or the Apocalypse this fall. Even in 2004 and 2008 people were saying it was elect the Democrat or it will be the end of the world. There was a novel around 2004 called 2014 [America 2014: An Orwellian Tale, by Dawn Blair, 2004}, and here we are. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm not inclined to vote for Biden and the Democratic Party is carrying out the same nasty campaign as in previous elections. How dare I not turn my vote over to them, so they can go start some wars, crack down on online speech, monitor citizen communications, fund Elon Musk, prepare the ground for an impending war to take down China, etc! Harass voters and use any legal or extra-legal means to prevent third party or independent opposition. If the Republicans represent fascism, why stop at legal means? On the other hand, power alone might be enough motivation. And there is the question from before, after all of this talk, what if Trump wins 'fairly,' under the rules of the system? They could have tried to change the rules for the better, though they also want to rig the system for the two major parties. NPR, etc. act like it isn't "democracy" unless there are repeated term limits on a country's chief executive, though that only started here to prevent popular Democrat FDR from winning again. I remember what I was doing the morning of 9/11/2001, but not really on "J6." Maybe if I had been in or near Washington, DC. People were prepared to protest and impeach Trump upon inauguration, but probably few will do anything if Biden does win the election and it won't be newsworthy [for the mainstream media, so few would see it, though maybe angry protesters for Palestine would 'crash' a second Biden inauguration in large numbers or do something very attention-grabbing]. "Refuse Fascism," though that isn't what they called it in January 2017, and add "Russiagate" russophobic allegations, but give Biden a chance for four more years, and then vote for the next no doubt pro-war, pro-Israel, russo- and sinophobic, anti-populist "national security state" Democrat. After 2016 they dropped "free trade." Why open that Portside article?] [There is stansburyforum.com/2024/03/31/uncommitted-is-the-antiwar-movement-breaking-into-mainstream-u-s-politics ]
NPR on Treasury Secretary Yellen's visit to China: China is "overproducing clean energy products." I thought climate change was a massive, WWII-level problem. What happened to bashing China about burning coal?
[A YouTube video and text of the ICSS talk on "Paul Robeson, Stalin, and the History of the Soviet Union" by Grover Furr March 31st has been posted:
"The text is now available as a web page:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsuweb.montclair.edu%2F~furrg%2Fresearch%2Fantistalinism_talk_033124.html&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cfefd45ca6fe04c4823e908dc534b821d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638476831011438076%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=U8rOIxngakCKBu9K8ESNP5UhxtsH8XcrRS7IeuAcqng%3D&reserved=0
It is also linked at the top of [Grover Furr's] Home Page:
I received this translated article, not related:
En Marcha #2088, April 3-9, 2024 [ www.pcmle.org/EM/spip.php?article13056 ?]
Central Organ of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador
There is a risk of the generalization of the war in Europe
The popular adage says that no one wins from war, but that is not true. Arms companies are the main beneficiaries; with the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and the genocide in Palestine, these transnationals have increased their profits by 35%.
In 2022, the arms industry already accumulated €12 billion in turnover and now has more growth prospects due to intensifying conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. Honeywell International, RTX Corporation, Safran SA, BAE Systems, Thales, Rheinmetall, Dassault Aviation, Leonardo, Kongsberg, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Corporation, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies and Huntington Ingalls Industries are the 14 largest companies benefiting from this escalation.
The large profits of these trusts, as well as the contention for markets and the influence of imperialism, lead several world powers to make decisions that escalate the conflicts and may affect nearby territories such as Moldova or Belarus. Along these lines, the French National Assembly voted in favour of the bilateral security agreement between France and Ukraine, which provides for a reinforcement of military aid, in particular in the field of artillery and air defence, and positions itself in favour of Ukraine's integration into NATO and the European Union, a resolution that ratifies Macron's statements on sending French troops to Ukraine.
While the members of parliament in Paris supported the escalation of the conflict, NATO carried out military exercises involving 90,000 troops, as well as 1,100 armored vehicles, including 166 battle tanks, making it the largest military maneuver since the years of the "Cold War".
To these facts, the Russian president Putin pointed out that "...We have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory... All this threatens to [unleash] a conflict with nuclear weapons and thus the destruction of civilization," thus threatening the countries of Europe and the United States with a nuclear attack if the provocations continue.
As can be seen, the imperialist countries are not interested in peace or the lives of the workers and peoples of the world. It is their economic and political interests that take precedence over the interests of humanity, so it would not be surprising that acts such as the attack on the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow can become justifications to continue with the warmongering and expansionist attitude. Therefore, despite the fact that a wing of the infamous "Islamic State" was responsible for this fact, Putin and his government pointed out connections between this terrorist group and Ukrainian military forces, so they arranged a massive attack on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. So far, the policy of the United States and European powers to isolate Russia through a harsh scheme of economic sanctions has not had the expected results, so they are betting on an increase in military actions in Ukraine. It will take a few years until we know the true cost of this war, but in the short-term Russia has circumvented economic sanctions with relative success, largely due to its alliance with China which is growing thanks to the war economy. The current development of inter-imperialist contention leads us to believe that the imperialist powers may try to expand the Ukrainian conflict, whether in Europe or elsewhere in the world.
This is from the same issue of En Marcha: www.pcmle.org/EM/spip.php?article13051 I used Google's translation:
Music for the struggle
Art is a canvas where ideas of one kind or another are reflected, social inequalities and desires for change result in even commercial artists, moved by reality, feeling committed to denouncing it in their creations. And the music known as protest, rebellious, anti-imperialist, democratic, libertarian or revolutionary was not a construction that remained back in the era of the new song, the revolutions, uprisings and armed struggles of the last century, it is fully valid while the world be unfair.
In the link below, we share a compendium of 100 songs for social struggle, among the most listened to on Spotify, with genres such as pop, reggaeton, rock, rap, reggae, punk, cumbia and more, and contemporary artists...They have been chanted in the latest protests, they accompany the student marches, they have become the soundtrack for the rights of women and nature, they have been the frontal denunciation of the bourgeois governments in power, and the warm invitation to the fight for the revolution and a new world.
To listen to them, open this link and tap the first button or in the Spotify search engine, tap the camera icon and scan the image: linktr.ee/jre.ecuador
2022 NCGP ballot access lawsuit victory
A Jill Stein campaign fundraising email from the NC Green Party's 2022 Senate candidate, Matthew Hoh, with breaking (?) news that the Democratic Party has been fined for trying to deny the NCGP ballot access that year. Of course, the Democratic Party has 'deep pockets' and might have carried out its campaign to deny citizens their rights without fear of consequences. There were also accusations of illegal activity by State (Democratic Party-controlled) and a few county boards of election and Democratic Party-connected actors. In this election cycle the Democrats rigged or engineered their primary for Biden and are again trying to prevent voters from having any choices other than Trump and Biden. They are also again giving money to 'fringe' Republicans, thinking that they will be easy to beat, but what if it goes like 2016, when the Democrats reportedly preferred to run against Trump? –
I have great news for all of you who supported my campaign and the Green Party in North Carolina in 2022.
A US District Court just ruled in our favor and fined the Democratic Party for its failed attempts to keep us off the ballot in 2022.
The Court determined that the Democratic Party's efforts in federal and state courts were “frivolous” and “without foundation.”
That's what a court says when someone has been lying like the Democrats were when they falsely claimed we committed fraud in our ballot access drive.
We never committed any fraud, but the Democratic Party, one-half of the uni-party of War and Wall Street, was scared to death that there might be Green Party candidates offering voters a choice that was dangerous to their big-money donors.
So they slandered us and did everything they could to deny voters freedom of choice on the ballot.
Jill and her team were great supporters of mine in 2022. The Democratic Party will lie, slander and commit fraud against Jill just as they did to me. It's what they do when confronted with a threat to their power and their donors' profits.
So, as you supported me in 2022 and allowed us to defeat the Democratic Party in Court and receive the ballot access we deserved, I have to ask you to do the same for Jill.
Jill scares the Democratic Party AND the Republicans much more than I ever could because she has the support of millions of Americans who know that we can have the country and society we need.
We need to ensure she can be on the ballot as I was.
Please keep democracy moving forward and help Jill give working families a candidate for peace, planet and prosperity in November.
In solidarity,
Matthew Hoh
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