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Socialist Wins Historic 27% Against WA House Speaker — Sawant to debate Frank Chopp and call for left challenge to Democrats in Seattle’s 2013 elections

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:08:49 -0600

Socialist Wins Historic 27% Against WA House Speaker — Sawant to debate Frank Chopp and call for left challenge to Democrats in Seattle’s 2013 elections:

Socialist Alternative candidate Kshama Sawant received over 10,000 votes for WA state house of representatives while running against Frank Chopp, the sitting speaker of the house and one of the most powerful politicians in Washington State. In this press release, we call for a united slate against democrats in Seattle, and call for challenges nation-wide.

Socialist Minnesota conference draws 150 to discuss way forward in fight against capitalism

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:06:31 -0600

By Ginger Jentzen

On October 27th Socialist Alternative hosted the Annual Socialist Minnesota conference, including sessions co-hosted with the Green Party and the Public Education Justice Alliance of Minnesota (PEJAM). During the course of the day, at least 150 people attended sessions where the impressive line-up of panelists fueled discussion on fighting the far right and revitalizing the left against both corporate and political pressures of austerity on working people’s lives.

Many people in the crowd voiced the need for solidarity on the left to more effectively challenge the two corporate parties. With the election just ten days after the conference, a central theme was how to grow visibility of socialist ideas after the election and the urgent need to build a working class political alternative.

Topics included resisting voter suppression, labor in politics, marriage and LGBT liberation, the Chicago Teacher’s Union after the strike, amongst others. Also, Stephan Koch gave an exciting account of the revolt against capitalism in Europe. He spoke on behalf of the Committee for a Workers International, the global socialist movement with supporters in 45 countries, to which Socialist Alternative is affiliated.

When asked for highlights at the conference’s close, attendees commented again and again on Glen Ford’s presentation of Obama’s corporate education agenda. Glen Ford is the Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report and spoke vehemently against the on-going attack on public education carried out by politicians of both parties, championed by front groups with misleading names like “Students First,” and funded by billionaire philanthropists, hedge-fund managers, and corporate foundations.

Ford explained, “Obama has advanced the corporatization of the public schools beyond Bush’s wildest dreams, methodically constructing a national, parallel system of charter schools that, in practice, undermine and subvert the traditional public schools. In some places, they have replaced, or soon will replace, the public schools. The hedge funds and billionaires are ecstatic!”

Cheri Honkala, the Green Party’s Vice-Presidential candidate running with Jill Stein, closed the day’s sessions with a talk on the myths of lesser-evilism and the need to break from both corporate parties. She spoke casually with the crowd and highlighted her impressive record of direct action, including over 200 arrests, in defense of welfare and housing rights.

The discussions highlighted capitalism’s inability to supply lasting solutions for the most basic problems that working people face today. Flowing from this, many participants spoke of the urgent need for a socialist transformation of society. Discussion also centered around the need for cooperation and solidarity on the left, and building mass campaigns on the pressing issues facing the working class, including the creation of a strong political alternative to the two corporate parties. We are optimistic that, in the aftermath of the conference, many in attendance will be inspired to join Socialist Alternative.

Thanks to PEJAM and the Green Party for helping to make Socialist Minnesota a successful conference!

And the winner is...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:11:12 -0500

And the winner is...:

October has seen a tightening of the US presidential race. The Republican candidate Mitt Romney has gained support by exploiting the deep disappointment with Barack Obama and the still dire state of the US economy.

This polarisation is simultaneously increasing the ’lesser evil’ support for Obama as many are reluctantly prepared to vote for him, mainly as a way of stopping the right wing Republicans.

(Read more…)

Media Advisory: “Socialist Minnesota” Conference Will Bring Impressive Line-up of Left Leaders to the University of Minnesota

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:31:00 -0500

Media Advisory: “Socialist Minnesota” Conference Will Bring Impressive Line-up of Left Leaders to the University of Minnesota:

MEDIA ADVISORY
10/22/2012

Contact: Peter Randol | 952-237-4698 (cell) | rando048@umn.edu

On Saturday, October 27th, just ten days before the elections, progressive activists from across the the region will gather for Socialist Alternative’s annual conference to discuss how to revitalize the Left in American politics.

Speakers will include nationally known progressive leaders including Cheri Honkala, the Green Party’s V.P. candidate, Glen Ford, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report, Michael Brunson, a leader of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Stephan Koch, elected to the International Secretariat of the Committee for a Workers’ International, a global socialist network with groups in 45 countries.

“The corporate control of the two parties and the media means real political debate in America is stifled and the voices of ordinary people are not heard. That’s why we are so happy to host such an impressive line-up of progressive voices on our campus,” said Peter Randol, a junior at the U of M and member of Socialist Alternative’s student group there.

WHAT: Socialist Minnesota, an annual conference hosted by Socialist Alternative
WHEN: Saturday, October 27th, 11am - 6pm
WHERE: University of MN, Carlson School of Management, Room L-110, 321 19th Ave S, Mpls

Full conference schedule and more details HERE.

Socialist Minnesota will feature discussion on numerous topics, including: Obamaʼs corporate education agenda, voting outside of the two party system, struggles against austerity in europe, voter suppression, LGBT issues, women challenging patriarchy, and the 99% in politics.

Socialist Alternative is a community organization in the Twin Cities, and a student group at the University of Minnesota. We are part of an international democratic socialist movement, the Committee for a Workers International, with groups in 45 countries. In Minneapolis we fight on the behalf of ordinary people including campaigning against foreclosures, budget cuts, union busting, attacks on LGBTQ people, women’s rights, and other oppressed communities. We fight for a socialist world where working people democratically control the wealth we produce.

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Socialist Alternative Newsletter, Oct 20th 2012

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 19:22:48 -0500

Socialist Alternative Newsletter, Oct 20th 2012

SOCIALIST MINNESOTA: Conference Hosted by Socialist...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:32:00 -0500

SOCIALIST MINNESOTA: Conference Hosted by Socialist Alternative

FEATURED SPEAKERS
** CHERI HONKALA, Green Party vice presidential candidate, on challenging the two-party system
** GLEN FORD Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report, on Obama’s corporate education agenda
** STEPHAN KOCH, Committee for a Workers International, London office, on the revolt against capitalism in Europe
** MICHAEL BRUNSON,Chicago Teachers Union, Recording Secretary, on their historic strike to save public education

OTHER TOPICS INCLUDE
** Resisting Voter Suppression ** Marriage & LGBT Liberation ** Labor in Politics ** Women Fighting Back

$5 - $10 sliding scale donation requested. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Sat, October 27th, 11am - 6pm
University of MN, West Bank
Carlson School, Rm. L-110
321 19th Ave S, Minneapolis

SCHEDULE for SOCIALIST MINNESOTA
** Join us all day or for whichever sessions interest you

11:00am: HOW to FIGHT the RIGHT
Panel discussion featuring TEDDY SHIBABAW on resisting voter suppression, KELLY BELLIN on women fighting back, NICK SHILLINGFORD on marriage & LGBT liberation, RYAN TIMLIN on stopping the assault on labor

1:00pm: RESISTING the CORPORATE EDUCATION AGENDA
** GLEN FORD Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report, on Obama’s corporate education agenda
** MICHAEL BRUNSON, Chicago Teachers Union, Recording Secretary, on their historic strike to save public education
** This session organized in coalition with Public Education Justice Alliance of Minnesota (PEJAM)

3:00pm: REVOLT AGAINST CAPITALISM in EUROPE
** STEPHAN KOCH, representative from the Committee for a Workers International, London office, reporting from the mass workers struggles against austerity and capitalism in Europe

4:30pm: CHALLENGING the TWO PARTY SYSTEM
** CHERI HONKALA, Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate, and veteran community organizer for welfare and housing justice.

Interview with Kshama Sawant in Seattle — Socialist Candidate Making a Big Impact

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 11:16:40 -0500

Interview with Kshama Sawant in Seattle — Socialist Candidate Making a Big Impact:

By SocialistAlternative.org

Kshama Sawant, a Socialist Alternative candidate in Seattle, is challenging Democratic House Speaker Frank Chopp in the general election for Washington’s 43rd Legislative District. Sawant achieved unprecedented primary election results that had her winning second place in both Positions 1 and 2 of the district. She took some time out from campaigning to talk to Justice newspaper.

Q: Why are you running as a socialist?
I believe that if we’re going to effect change, we have to be bold. That means not hiding behind false labels. More and more people, when asked, will tell you that they prefer socialism over capitalism. And it is obvious why: Capitalism has failed the 99%, whereas socialism stands for genuine democracy and equality. A better world is possible!

That better world starts with the working class, the 99%, realizing that we are powerful! I am running as a socialist to show that there are alternatives to the Republicans and Democrats, both of whom represent the interests of the giant corporations. I’m calling for independent candidates of the 99% to run against the corporate politicians in every race! This is just the first step for us in a process of building movements challenging the power of the 1%.

Q: What does a socialist candidate offer that a Democratic Party candidate does not?
I will be a voice for everyday people in Olympia. Unlike my Democratic opponent, I will put the interests of the 99% first. Look at the money. My campaign is completely funded by ordinary people; meanwhile, my opponent has received tens of thousands of dollars from corporations and the super wealthy. After seeing where his money comes from, it is no surprise that he has consistently voted to slash the budget for social programs like health care and education. I will not only fight to reinstate and expand programs such as Basic Health, but I will also make sure that true single-payer health care is on the agenda in Washington.

I will fight to make a quality education available to all, not just to those who have the means to afford it. I will make expanding mass transit and green energy a priority. Unlike the Democrats, I will fight for taxes on corporations and the very wealthy in Washington, who currently benefit from the most regressive tax code in the country. With this revenue, all of these programs can be easily funded.

Another difference between myself and the Democrats is that I strive to help build movements. As an Occupy Seattle activist I worked to do just that. History shows the only way real change has been achieved is when people work together to make it happen. The Democratic Party functions to stifle these movements. We’ve seen it time and time again, with the antiwar movement of the early 2000s to the labor union struggle in Wisconsin last year.

Q: What do you say to those claiming you can’t change anything through corporate-dominated electoral systems?
I don’t think history shows that to be correct. Look at how the Canadians won universal health care. Canadian workers began running independent candidates and eventually built the New Democratic Party. The party grew in popularity, threatening big business and Canada’s main political parties. It became clear that for the ruling class to retain their electoral power, they’d need to give some concessions, in this case universal health care.

Ultimately, it’s mass movements that bring about fundamental change. During a presidential election year, many more people are paying attention to politics. Running in elections allows us to reach more people with our ideas and effectively build the movement, particularly when there is such anger with both the Democrats and the Republicans.

Examples from history show that it is possible to build working-class parties that do not function as electoral machines like the two major corporate parties. Instead, they are parties that work for the interests of ordinary people, fighting for jobs that pay a living wage, for free, universal health care, for affordable housing, defending pensions and protecting the environment. We need a party of working people, and running candidates that challenge the corporate politicians is the first step toward building that party.

Q: What is the most important message you want to give to others thinking of challenging the two main parties?
Now is the time! There is increasing support for breaking from the two-party system. This anger at the Democrats, in particular, is evident in the strong showing for our candidate in the primary elections earlier this month. We won over 9% of the vote against a well-liked Democrat, Jamie Pederson, in position 1 and over 11% o f t he vote in position 2 as a write-in candidate against the more vulnerable Speaker of the House, Frank Chopp. These votes show how people are angry at the two corporate parties and are looking for an alternative to challenge the status quo in electoral politics.

Winning both races, itself, has increased the media attention and the number of people wanting to get involved with the campaign. The unusual election result gave our campaign the opportunity to switch races and run against the second most powerful Democrat in Washington State. Running against the House Speaker will provide our campaign with a larger platform from which we can inject our ideas into the stale debate on how to address the economic crisis gripping the state.

When I’m out talking to people in the 43rd District I ’m hearing that working people, the unemployed, youth and the elderly are increasingly finding that capitalism isn’t working for them. After hearing me loudly proclaim, “Stop the budget cuts; elect a socialist candidate,” one guy told me, as he backtracked to our table, “Budget cuts are a ***! I NEED one of those [leaflets].”

There is real openness to socialist ideas. Many youth and workers have said, “Socialism, YES!” when they meet us on the streets. So, it’s obvious that ordinary people are energized by a campaign that isn’t beholden to corporate America and is speaking out for the needs of the 99%. We need to build a mass movement, independent from both big business parties, as an initial step to break corporate control of U.S. politics and to start transforming the country and the world!

(Read more…)

Quebec Students Fight Tuition Hikes

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 11:11:08 -0500

Quebec Students Fight Tuition Hikes:

By Joshua H. Koritz

Tuition fees, society in Quebec has been shaken to the core by four months of student strikes, which have garnered support from trade unions and been linked to far-reaching anti-austerity demands. At the movement’s peak, the demonstrations turned out an estimated 310,000 students: three out of every four students in Quebec.

CLASSE (the main radical student union) put out the call last autumn for strikes starting on February 13 of this year. The first major actions took place February 16, when students joined together with workers and activists to blockade the streets surrounding stock market buildings, demanding no increase in tuition fees, no increase in electricity charges, and no to all fees for health services.

In line with this strategy, the ruling Parti Libérale du Québec (PLQ) pushed through the repressive anti-protest Bill 78, targeting the political rights of the demonstrators. Far from curtailing protests or breaking up the movement, however, the law has stirred up even more outrage in broader layers of society; the protests in defiance of the law were the largest yet, with up to 500,000 marching in Montreal, the largest ever in Quebec Province.

(Read more…)

One Year Since Occupy Shook the World

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 11:08:47 -0500

One Year Since Occupy Shook the World:

By Greg Beiter, Seattle Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 Shop Steward

Only one year ago, the Occupy Wall Street movement began its encampment of Zucotti Park in New York City. A mere two weeks later, the movement exploded to hundreds of cities in every state across the U.S., spreading the struggle against massive wealth inequality in society.

A year later, despite the movement’s decline, it transformed consciousness among the broad mass of workers and young people. It brought tens of thousands into action, many for the first time, giving them a taste of their collective power.

Many lessons can be learned from the movement, from both its successes and its later decline. And though Occupy today isn’t a mass force in the streets, its early days last year foreshadowed the even bigger struggles that will emerge in the near future.

(Read more…)

Syria: Is there an alternative to the developing civil war?By...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:36:07 -0500

Syria: Is there an alternative to the developing civil war?
By Niall Mulholland, CWI
Full Article: http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5884

Video and Analysis: Police Brutality and Community Rage in Anaheim - The Real World outside Disneyland

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:09:47 -0500

Video and Analysis: Police Brutality and Community Rage in Anaheim - The Real World outside Disneyland:

Last weekend, the police killed two more men within a span of 24 hours in Anaheim, California, home to Disneyland: Manuel Diaz, 25, and Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21. On July 21, Manuel Diaz reportedly ran away when a group of police confronted him in the street. He was shot first in the back of the legs, and later he was shot in the back of his head, as though he were undergoing an execution.

After many people in the courtyard of a building complex observed this abuse of power by the police, the community demanded answers by taking to the streets. Yet the police proceeded to attack the residents, in a scene reminiscent of Bull Connor’s police force in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. The Anaheim police attacked protesting women, men, children and babies with rubber bullets, tear gas and dogs.

(Read more…)

Four-Minute Late Phone Call to Bank Could Cost Anita Her Home

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:32:45 -0500

Four-Minute Late Phone Call to Bank Could Cost Anita Her Home:

Anita Reyes-LeRey’s phone call to the Vice President at Woodlands National Bank, was four minutes late, and as a result, the Native American might lose the south Minneapolis home for which she and the Occupy Homes MN movement have fought.

Reyes-LeRey has owned her home for 17 years and has $50,000 in equity. She endured a series of financial and health setbacks when her job hours were cut and vertigo prevented her from making the 100 mile, one-way drive to work, prompting her to fall behind on her mortgage payments. Anita tried to negotiate a new mortgage with Woodlands National Bank in Onamia, Minn., which holds the mortgage, but was unable to do so.

Woodland’s National Bank Vice President Cindy Koonce, told Reyes-LeRey that she would do everything she could to help the homeowner. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson offered to look over Reyes-LeRey’s loan documents for the bank. She returned to work and earned more than enough to afford her mortgage. But to Reyes-LeRey’s shock, on the end date of her redemption period, Koonce called and told her she needed to leave her home.

With the help of Occupy Homes MN, Reyes-LeRey began building a public pressure campaign, including call-ins and a petition for Woodlands National Bank to renegotiate her mortgage and keep her in her home. The bank tentatively offered to rent her the home and, after two years, prepare a new mortgage so she could buy it back. The deal required an up-front $2,100 payment — an amount that Reyes-LeRey was uncertain she could raise the money but nevertheless did. But her phone call was four minutes after noon, and Koonce told her the deal was off.

A video from Occupy Homes MN shows a bank official confirming the deal was off because Reyes-LeRey called in “after noon.”

Libor banking scandal exposes rotten system

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:23:00 -0500

Libor banking scandal exposes rotten system:

By The Socialist, Socialist Party England and Wales

For nationalisation of banks and financial institutions with democratic public ownership

Editorial from The Socialist, weekly paper of the Socialist Party (CWI England and Wales)

If the recent appearance of Bob Diamond, the head of Barclays Bank, before the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee was intended to demonstrate some kind of public accountability of bankers before parliament then it dismally failed.

It served merely to emphasise the timid approach of establishment capitalist politicians towards the top bankers.

Apart from a little populist bluster, Diamond, who personified over a decade of greed and fraud at Barclays and Barclays Capital, came away without a glove being laid upon him over the Libor fraud.

Even one of the leading MPs on the committee admitted “it’s fair to say we were useless”.

Now it seems likely that Diamond will still come away with a multi-million pound pay-off as compensation for his sacking on top of the £100 million he has been paid since 2005.

Ordinary people are demanding that these gold-plated cheats like Diamond are jailed.

(Read more…)

Women Bearing the Burden of Austerity

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:21:11 -0500

Women Bearing the Burden of Austerity:

By Frantz Serge

In this global economic crisis, there is again an opportunity for political representatives of capital to radically reconfigure class relations. To manage this systemic global economic downturn, which includes a crisis for labor (long periods of unemployment), crisis of accumulation (loss of profits), governments had to find a way to deal with the massive amount of commercial and financial debt in the system.

At the same time that governments began socializing banking and corporate debt (through bailouts and quantitative easing), unemployment rose and government revenue crisis (sovereign debt crisis) began. An effect of the global economic crisis has been that much more people have been left in precarious situations and need to depend on social services, putting additional strain on government budgets. Economic and political leaders have attempted to ‘renew prosperity through austerity’. Instead of prosperity, the cuts to social services, wages, and public sector and social programs have put additional burden on women as families step in to fill the gap.

This attack on the public sector and social services is not new, but has emerged as an economic ideology emerging from the 1970’s global economic downturn. As the global economic stagnation of the early 1970s hit, neo-liberalism, which aimed particularly at what was left of the ‘welfare state’ and public services, attacked the public sector by either completely dismantling; privatizing, or de-funding public services. Because child and elderly care are no longer ‘socialized’ it has meant that it has once again shifted back to millions of women in the home. While at the height of the growth of social democratic and labor governments in the Post-World War II period, political parties along with militant work forces were able to expand the public sector and provide equitable employment opportunities for women and racial minorities; and social welfare programs like subsidized family maintenance care.

(Read more…)

OccupyHomesMN: The Battle of 4044 Cedar Ave.

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:48:29 -0500

By Ginger Jentzen and Ty Moore

“What is unusual, in fact to our experience utterly unprecedented, is the level of aggression and defiance of the law by these activists.” – Brad German, spokesperson for Freddie Mac.

The battle over the Cruz family home, nestled in a well-kept working class neighborhood in south Minneapolis, emerged in May and June as the central struggle in the burgeoning nationwide anti-foreclosure movement.

All members of the Cruz family work, and for years they paid their mortgage in full and on time. But when their online payment to PNC failed to go through due to a bank computer error, the bank unapologetically demanded two mortgage payments plus penalties. When they were unable to pay what PNC demanded in time, the house fell into foreclosure, and the mortgage was sold to Freddie Mac.

Sheriffs posted an eviction notice on Alejandra and David Cruz’s door in late April, and the Cruzes invited Occupy Homes MN to begin a 24/7 eviction blockade of their home. For a peaceful first month, the Cruz family home served as a community hub, hosting teach-ins, neighborhood barbecues, and Occupy Homes meetings. But the long-awaited battle eventually began.  

Wednesday, May 23
Hennepin County sheriffs made their first major eviction attempt. Several occupiers immediately hooked into concrete lock-box barrels to delay the deputies. A text alert went out, and 100 supporters arrived within a short period, blockading busy Cedar Ave during rush hour until the sheriffs retreated.

Friday, May 25
Deputies returned at 4am with a jackhammer and a battering ram. While sheriffs jackhammered through the concrete lock-box barrels to arrest the activists whose limbs were locked inside, the delay allowed 40 people to mobilize in the pre-dawn hour.

For the occupiers, the situation appeared desperate, until someone suggested flanking the sheriffs that were guarding the front of the house. Activists ran through the alley, jumped the back fence, and re-occupied the property. Faced with the audacity of the protesters, and fearing the political consequences of mass arrests, the sheriffs again retreated. Occupiers removed the flimsy plywood from the doors and reclaimed the Cruz home.

75 activists marched into the sheriffs’ headquarters, then the mayor’s office, presenting them with the Cruzes’ front door, mangled by the battering ram. Mayor Rybak pledged police would not take further action until the following Tuesday, and the five arrested in the morning raid were released on minimal bail.

Tuesday, May 29^thForty police swooped in, surprising activists. They rapidly cleared the home, arresting the one activist who managed to lock down. Dozens of Cruz supporters gathered, repeatedly rushing police lines. But with police securely holding the house, protestors marched down Hiawatha Ave., shutting down the major highway, then moved on to shut down a big intersection by a local police precinct.

 Wednesday, May 30^th 
With only three private security guards protecting the house, Occupy Homes again tested the Mayor’s statement that “the City is not in the foreclosure business.” Linking arms, over a hundred occupiers linked arms around the Cruz home, ignoring the security guards’ objections, and again removed the plywood over the doors.

By nightfall, police again amassed around the house, arresting 14. Confrontations continued into the night, with occupiers linking arms, pushing up against police lines, and sitting down around the paddy-wagon filled with arrestees.

Since that night, the house sits under constant police surveillance. Heavy metal barriers were put over the windows and doors. Protests, prayer vigils, and other actions continued.

Thursday, June 21^stAlejandra and David Cruz led a caravan to Pittsburgh and, alongside supporters there, they marched into PNC headquarters to demand a meeting with the CEO. Their requests for a real negotiation were still rejected.

A national day of solidarity called by Occupy Wall Street drew protests outside PNC bank branches in 19 cities. In Minneapolis, fifteen were arrested – including internationally famed rapper Brother Ali – for crossing police lines at the Cruz home. A national call-in campaign targeting the leaked cell phones of top PNC executives was unleashed, and a change.org petition is nearing 200,000 signatures.

Win or lose, the battle of 4044 Cedar Ave has already emerged as a national model for home defense, and exposed not only the profiteering of the banks but also the role of the sheriffs, police, and city officials as frontline defenders of the 1%.

Marine Veteran Arrested Standing with the Cruz Family

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:09:00 -0500

Annetta Carman is a Marine Veteran and member of Socialist Alternative living in Madison Wisconsin. She was among 13 arrested at the Cruz Family Home in Minneapolis during the #J21 Day of Action on PNC Bank. HERE is a video link which shows Carman giving a short speech (at 13:25) before her arrest at the event organized by Occupy Homes MN. Occupy Homes is a coalition of community members, faith groups, neighbors, homeowners, students and organizations standing together to stop foreclosures and evictions. For more information on the Cruz campaign, check out the Occupy Homes MN facebook page here. Socialist Alternative in Minneapolis has been participating in Occupy Homes work since it started last year.

After her release we asked Carmen to share with us why she chose to get arrested in solidarity with the Cruz family at Thursday’s action:

“I served 7 years in the Army overseas, to include one year as a combat medic in Iraq for 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (2003-2004), six months as a triage coordinator and nursing assistant in Pakistan for 212th M.A.S.H. (2005-2006), one year teaching combat first responder medicine to deploying soldiers in Kuwait (2006-2007), and 2 months stabilizing critically wounded soldiers in Landstuhl hospital, Germany (2009). I have received numerous decorations to include the Meritorious Service Medal, 3 Army Achievement Medals, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal to name a few.

Upon returning to the United States after 7 years of absence I found a nation without healthcare or education options for my countrymen while Washington continues to wage a war of aggression against the civilians of small countries half a world away. Tax monies are poured into a defense system whose activities are ironically compromising the national security of our civilians. The profits of a tiny group of corporate elite are protected by a military and police force who are now pushing our neighbors from their homes. My action at the Cruz home was not one of disobedience; I have sworn to protect my country from enemies both foreign and domestic, and challenging a stolen police state is obedience to this oath. I call upon my countrymen to address the corruption born of a society whose classes are so drastically separated, and I believe unionizing the working people of America in a Socialist, self-governing system to be an urgent matter of ethics and national security. My hope is that small-scale activist action will awaken the American giant in non-violent unity. We must take back control from the darkness that has driven our nation while we were sleeping. Solidarity.”

CeCe McDonald: A Victim of Racism and Transphobia

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:07:40 -0500

CeCe McDonald: A Victim of Racism and Transphobia:

The case of Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald, a 23-year-old African-American transgender woman who was attacked outside a bar in South Minneapolis, highlights both the abuse experienced as a way of life by many trans people and the all-too-prevalent official neglect they experience.

On June 5, 2011 CeCe, then a student studying fashion design at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, was walking to a grocery store with a group of LGBT African-American friends around 12:30 AM. As they passed a bar, the Schooner Tavern, they were spotted by a group of four older white bar patrons that appears to have been a group of white supremacists. This group included Dean Schmitz and Molly Flaherty. The group began hurling vicious racist and homophobic abuse at CeCe and her friends. CeCe approached them and told them that her group would not accept hate speech. Molly Flaherty said, “I’ll take you bitches on” and smashed a beer glass into CeCe’s face. She punctured CeCe’s cheek all the way though, lacerating her salivary gland.

CeCe said she tried to escape from the scene to get help for her injury and made it to a nearby intersection. Schmitz chased after her, and CeCe took scissors out of her purse to defend herself. CeCe claimed that Schmitz pulled CeCe towards himself. In the fight that followed, Schmitz (the attacker) ended up with the scissor in his chest. He later died from his wounds in the hospital.

When the police arrived, CeCe was the only person arrested, charged with two counts of second-degree murder. She was subsequently subjected to abusive treatment while in police custody. She was briefly taken to the hospital where she received 11 stitches in her cheek. She was left alone for hours and then interrogated. CeCe had to wait almost two months in prison for further medical treatment, during which time her cheek swelled into an extremely painful lump, creating headaches and pressure on her left eye and ear. CeCe was bailed out in October of 2011 on conditional release but was rearrested for an alleged violation of parole. Molly Flaherty, the woman who first assaulted CeCe, was not arrested or charged with anything.

(Read more…)

CLOTHING SWAP FUNDRAISER!Hosted by The Donut Cooperative and...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:19:48 -0500

CLOTHING SWAP FUNDRAISER!
Hosted by The Donut Cooperative and Socialist Alternative

THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 21ST 5PM - 9PM
@ 2929 E 25th St. MPLS

Bring your clothes! Bring your friends!
Invite your friends on facebook!

$10 donation at the door, then join us in digging for new threads and eat some treats. Fried goods, libations, sweets and more! Leave with a full belly, new clothes and new friends.

Wisconsin Recall: Democrats Paved the Way for Walker’s Victory — A party of the working class is needed to defend workers in Wisconsin and beyond

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:51:30 -0500

Wisconsin Recall: Democrats Paved the Way for Walker’s Victory — A party of the working class is needed to defend workers in Wisconsin and beyond:

By George Martin Fell Brown and Richard Payton

A little over a year ago, the working people of Wisconsin made history when they took to the streets in protest against the union-busting agenda of the right-wing governor Scott Walker. The mass popular uprising that shook the state in February and March of 2011 gave way to a massive recall campaign in which Walker became the third governor in U.S. history to face a recall. On Tuesday, June 5, a footnote was added to the pages of history when Walker became the first governor to survive a recall election, defeating his opponent Tom Barrett 54 percent to 46 percent, a wider margin than his initial election victory in 2010.

Many activists around the state are understandably disheartened by the fact that what began last year as a powerful mass movement involving rallies of tens of thousands, occupations and sick-outs, has in the end led to Walker remaining in office. The right will undoubtedly take the election results as a mandate for further attacks on working people. The blame for this lies with the leadership of the unions and the politicians of the Democratic Party, who diverted a mass movement of the working class into an electoral battle between the two parties of big business. To prevent future defeats, it is vital that workers learn the lessons of the Wisconsin recall and break from the two-party system.

The popular energy present last spring, both in Madison and all over the state, carried the potential for real, progressive change. Many of the protesters involved were experiencing their first taste of direct political activity, and countless Wisconsinites threw themselves into the grassroots, on-the-ground work of the recall campaign. At the time, the recall, which would not have been even a possibility without the protests of February and March, was presented by the union leadership and state Democratic politicians as the only way forward for the movement. These activists’ enthusiasm and zeal is evidenced by the nearly one million signatures supporting the recall of the governor gathered around the state in just a few months.

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Open Letter from Three Cruz Neighbors

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:16:06 -0500

Open Letter from Three Cruz Neighbors:

(For more information and updates on the Cruz home and all the exciting work of Occupy Homes MN, check out their facebook page. See also coverage on Huffington Post)

Dear fellow neighbors,

My name is Sasha, and I live on the 4000 block of Cedar Ave, where Occupy Homes MN protesters have been trying to prevent the eviction of the Cruz family from their home. I, like many of you, have concerns about this situation.

Mayor Rybak, the city attorney, and the chief of Minneapolis police have all declared that the city is not in the business of providing free private security for banking institutions. Their actions, however, speak louder than their words: there have been a total of five raids on the Cruz house in the last two weeks. Last Friday, I awoke to the sound of chainsaws and jackhammers as sheriff’s deputies hacked away at the concrete barriers that protesters had erected.

This same noisy scene was repeated on Tuesday afternoon. My neighbor was arrested because she walked outside of her house holding an Occupy Homes MN sign. The following evening, the entire block was shut down and there were at least 40 police officers present. One of these officers shoved me and threatened me with arrest for simply watching the goings on from my front yard.

Weeks before these raids occurred, two “occupiers,” Dan and Chris, knocked on my door to introduce themselves. They met with me and talked about what to expect at the Cruz house. They invited all of us on the block to their meetings to share our thoughts and voice our concerns. In contrast, the city never asked the neighbors what we wanted, nor did they invite me to offer advice or feedback on events in my neighborhood. Instead, they provided free private security for banking institutions.

As a local resident and not as a member of any group or organization, I am requesting that the city cease providing this type of security. What would happen if they did? The occupiers would be inside, quiet as mice - just like they were for four weeks before the police marched in. Freddie Mac would then have incentive to work with the Cruz family on modifying their loan. The occupiers would call it a day and go to sleep in their own homes. With the Cruz family back home, we’d have our stable community once more.

I urge the city of Minneapolis to serve the interests of its citizens - and not those of giant banking institutions. A first step would be considering the impact of the foreclosure crisis on our communities. This is what the occupiers have done, albeit in a somewhat spectacular fashion. By working with and advocating for homeowners facing foreclosure, they’ve done more to protect and serve their neighbors than any of our elected officials.

Sincerely,

Sasha Lindquist
Andrew Kersten
Mattie Weiss