AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Sick of media's anti-Bernie, pro-Biden spin? RootsAction Team

Corporate media coverage has continued to hype Joe Biden -- and put Bernie Sanders in a negative light -- without revealing much about their actual records and policy positions. We can help fill the gaps! Please share some of the important articles listed below under “Background.” If you forward links to friends via email and share your favorite pieces on social media, our combined efforts can reach literally millions of people. RootsAction.org needs your support to be able to inform the public of key facts routinely missing in mainstream media. We depend on the generosity of people who value what RootsAction is doing. Unlike Joe Biden’s campaign, RootsAction’s political work doesn’t get subsidized by wealthy executives from Comcast -- or from any corporate interests. We depend on small donors, and actually right now we’re several weeks behind in paying our bills. If you believe we should continue with emails like this one to share such vital information, please click here and throw a few dollars (or more) in the hat. We’d sure appreciate a donation of whatever you can afford. Thank you! -- The RootsAction.org Team Background: >> Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Propose 15% Cap on Credit Card Interest >> Bernie Sanders Takes on Monsanto, Big Ag Monopolies With Plan to “Revitalize Rural America” >> Why So Many Journalists Are Clueless About the Bernie 2020 Campaign >> Biden vs. Bernie: the 1994 Crime Bill (Video) >> Biden Says He’s the Workers’ Candidate, But He Has Worked to Cut Medicare and Social Security >> Joe Biden is Railing Against Hedge Fund Managers, But He Has a Long History of Courting Them >> Comcast-Owned MSNBC in the Tank for Joe Biden’s Presidential Run >> Joe Biden Wants Us to Forget His Past. We Won’t. >> Pointing to Disastrous History of U.S. Intervention, Sanders Warns Against Military Action in Venezuela >> Bernie and Biden: A Foreign Policy Analysis

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Exiting the Venezuelan Embassy- letter from Embassy Protectors to State Dept. Michael Heichman 5/13/2019 6:44 PM Via bmdc-request To Coweatman (via bmdc Mailing List) Quick reply allReplyForwardDelete FYI from Mike Heichman From: "Kevin Zeese" < kbzeese@gmail.com > Sent: Monday, May 13, 2019 12:42:16 PM Subject:Exiting the Venezuelan Embassy To: US State Department Venezuelan Foreign Ministry From: Embassy Protection Collective Re: Exiting the Venezuelan Embassy Date: May 13, 2019 This is the 34th day of our living in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC. We are prepared to stay another 34 days, or however long is needed to resolve the embassy dispute in a peaceful way consistent with international law. This memo is being sent to the US and Venezuela as well as members of our Collective and allies. We are encouraging people to publish this memo as a transparent process is needed to prevent the US from making a unilateral decision that could impact the security of embassies around the world and lead to military conflict. There are two ways to resolve the issues around the Venezuelan embassy in DC, which we will explain. Before doing so, we reiterate that our collective is one of independent people and organizations not affiliated with any government. While we are all US citizens, we are not agents of the United States. While we are here with permission of the Venezuelan government, we are not their agents or representatives. We are here in the embassy lawfully. We are breaking no laws. We did not unlawfully enter and we are not trespassing. 1. Exiting with a Protecting Power Agreement The exit from the embassy that best resolves issues to the benefit of the United States and Venezuela is a mutual Protecting Power Agreement. The United States wants a Protecting Power for its embassy in Caracas. Venezuela wants a Protecting Power for its embassy in DC. Such agreements are not uncommon when diplomatic relations are severed. A Protecting Power Agreement would avoid a military conflict that could lead to war. A war in Venezuela would be catastrophic for Venezuela, the United States, and for the region. It would lead to lives lost and mass migration from the chaos and conflict of war. It would cost the United States trillions of dollars and become a quagmire involving allied countries around the world. We are serving as interim protectors in the hope that the two nations can negotiate this resolution. If this occurs we will take the banners off the building, pack our materials, and leave voluntarily. The electricity could be turned on and we will drive out. We suggest a video walk-through with embassy officials to show that the Embassy Protection Collective did not damage the building. The only damage to the building has been inflicted by coup supporters in the course of their unprosecuted break-ins. 2. The United States violates the Vienna Convention, makes an illegal eviction and unlawful arrests This approach will violate international law and is fraught with risks. The United States would have to cut the chains in the front door put up by embassy staff and violate the embassy. We have put up barriers there and at other entrances to protect us from constant break-ins and threats from the trespassers whom the police are permitting outside the embassy. The police's failure to protect the embassy and the US citizens inside has forced us to take these actions. The Embassy Protectors will not barricade ourselves, or hide in the embassy in the event of an unlawful entry by police. We will gather together and peacefully assert our rights to remain in the building and uphold international law. Any order to vacate based on a request by coup conspirators that lack governing authority will not be a lawful order. The coup has failed multiple times in Venezuela. The elected government is recognized by the Venezuelan courts under Venezuelan law and by the United Nations under international law. An order by the US-appointed coup plotters would not be legal. Such an entry would put embassies around the world and in the United States at risk. We are concerned about US embassies and personnel around the world if the Vienna Convention is violated at this embassy. It would set a dangerous precedent that would likely be used against US embassies. If an illegal eviction and unlawful arrests are made, we will hold all decision-makers in the chain of command and all officers who enforce unlawful orders accountable. If there is a notice that we are trespassing and need to vacate the premises, please provide it to our attorney Mara Verhayden-Hilliard, copied on this memo. We have taken care of this embassy and request a video tour of the building before any arrests. We hope a wise and calm solution to this issue can be achieved so escalation of this conflict can avoided. There is no need for the United States and Venezuela to be enemies. Resolving this embassy dispute diplomatically should lead to negotiations over other issues between the nations. The Embassy Protection Collective May 13, 2019

To: US State Department

Venezuelan Foreign Ministry

From: Embassy Protection Collective

Re: Exiting the Venezuelan Embassy

Date: May 13, 2019

This is the 34th day of our living in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC. We are prepared to stay another 34 days, or however long is needed to resolve the embassy dispute in a peaceful way consistent with international law.

This memo is being sent to the US and Venezuela as well as members of our Collective and allies. We are encouraging people to publish this memo as a transparent process is needed to prevent the US from making a unilateral decision that could impact the security of embassies around the world and lead to military conflict.

There are two ways to resolve the issues around the Venezuelan embassy in DC, which we will explain.

Before doing so, we reiterate that our collective is one of independent people and organizations not affiliated with any government. While we are all US citizens, we are not agents of the United States. While we are here with permission of the Venezuelan government, we are not their agents or representatives.

We are here in the embassy lawfully. We are breaking no laws. We did not unlawfully enter and we are not trespassing.

1. Exiting with a Protecting Power Agreement

The exit from the embassy that best resolves issues to the benefit of the United States and Venezuela is a mutual Protecting Power Agreement. The United States wants a Protecting Power for its embassy in Caracas. Venezuela wants a Protecting Power for its embassy in DC. Such agreements are not uncommon when diplomatic relations are severed.

A Protecting Power Agreement would avoid a military conflict that could lead to war. A war in Venezuela would be catastrophic for Venezuela, the United States, and for the region. It would lead to lives lost and mass migration from the chaos and conflict of war. It would cost the United States trillions of dollars and become a quagmire involving allied countries around the world.

We are serving as interim protectors in the hope that the two nations can negotiate this resolution. If this occurs we will take the banners off the building, pack our materials, and leave voluntarily. The electricity could be turned on and we will drive out.

We suggest a video walk-through with embassy officials to show that the Embassy Protection Collective did not damage the building. The only damage to the building has been inflicted by coup supporters in the course of their unprosecuted break-ins.

2. The United States violates the Vienna Convention, makes an illegal eviction and unlawful arrests

This approach will violate international law and is fraught with risks. The United States would have to cut the chains in the front door put up by embassy staff and violate the embassy. We have put up barriers there and at other entrances to protect us from constant break-ins and threats from the trespassers whom the police are permitting outside the embassy. The police's failure to protect the embassy and the US citizens inside has forced us to take these actions.

The Embassy Protectors will not barricade ourselves, or hide in the embassy in the event of an unlawful entry by police. We will gather together and peacefully assert our rights to remain in the building and uphold international law.

Any order to vacate based on a request by coup conspirators that lack governing authority will not be a lawful order. The coup has failed multiple times in Venezuela. The elected government is recognized by the Venezuelan courts under Venezuelan law and by the United Nations under international law. An order by the US-appointed coup plotters would not be legal.

Such an entry would put embassies around the world and in the United States at risk. We are concerned about US embassies and personnel around the world if the Vienna Convention is violated at this embassy. It would set a dangerous precedent that would likely be used against US embassies.

If an illegal eviction and unlawful arrests are made, we will hold all decision-makers in the chain of command and all officers who enforce unlawful orders accountable.

If there is a notice that we are trespassing and need to vacate the premises, please provide it to our attorney Mara Verhayden-Hilliard, copied on this memo.

We have taken care of this embassy and request a video tour of the building before any arrests.

We hope a wise and calm solution to this issue can be achieved so escalation of this conflict can avoided.

There is no need for the United States and Venezuela to be enemies. Resolving this embassy dispute diplomatically should lead to negotiations over other issues between the nations.

The Embassy Protection Collective

May 13, 2019

How you can respond to attacks on abortion rights BernieSanders.com

BernieSanders.com<info@berniesanders.com>

5/15/2019 4:12 PM

To alfred johnson

In just a minute, I am going to ask you to make a donation to organizations that help low-income women pay for reproductive healthcare. Let me first explain why.

Late last night, the Alabama legislature passed a bill that would outlaw 99% of abortions. No exemptions for rape or incest. No rights for women who don’t want to be pregnant. Doctors who perform abortions could be imprisoned for 99 years.

Georgia passed its own bill last week that would ban abortions after six weeks — before most women know they’re pregnant. Last month Ohio signed its own version into law. And Mississippi passed its own abortion ban the month before that.

Politicians should not be getting in the way of a woman and her medical decisions. These are difficult family decisions that governments should not interfere with. These bills and laws are outrageous assaults on women’s rights that have a singular goal: forcing the Supreme Court to take up a case that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

One of the most powerful actions that we can take in response to these bans is to fund local groups that help provide access to clinics for low-income women. These are organizations on the front lines of abortion rights making sure that women who need an abortion can afford to pay for one.

That’s why I’m asking you today:

Will you split a contribution to three abortion support networks in Alabama, the Southeast, and across the country so that low-income women can get abortions and reproductive care? Your donation will send a powerful message in support of abortion rights.

If you've saved payment info with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately, split evenly between Yellowhammer Fund, Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, and the National Network of Abortion Funds

EXPRESS DONATE: $1000

OR DONATE ANOTHER AMOUNT

These groups provide direct service to women who need abortions but can’t afford the medical costs, transportation, or lodging required to actually get the abortion, due to the burdensome restrictions put in place by bills like this. They are always in need of additional funding, doing the critical work of caring for women who are in desperate need of help.

These are the groups we are asking you to support today:

Yellowhammer Fund is a group in Alabama that provides funding for medical costs, transportation, and lodging for women who get abortions at any of Alabama’s three abortion clinics. Fifty-nine percent of women in Alabama don’t have an abortion clinic in their county, and Yellowhammer Fund does all it…

Access Reproductive Care-Southeast is a group that provides financial and logistical support for women and their families who want abortions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. They help women plan for their abortions, and help cover the costs associated with ac…

The National Network of Abortion Funds is an umbrella organization for local abortion groups throughout the United States — groups like Yellowhammer and Access Reproductive Care-Southeast. They connect people with their local funds, and provide support to the groups themselves.

When fundamental human and constitutional rights are under attack, we must respond and do the most good that we can. That starts with helping low-income women get support for the abortions they need.

Please donate to these abortion support networks today.

Thank you for standing with women and for abortion rights.

In solidarity,

Team Bernie

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Sign my petition: tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

A war in Iran would make the Iraq war look like a walk in the park. It will be an unmitigated disaster.

Sign my petition: Tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

ADD YOUR NAME

Alfred -

Here is a truth you don’t often hear in the newspapers, on television or in the halls of Congress, but it is a truth we must face, especially as the Trump administration appears to be marching us closer to armed conflict with Iran:

And that truth is that far too often American intervention and the use of American military power has produced unintended consequences which have caused incalculable harm.

Real American power is not demonstrated by our ability to blow things up, but our ability to forge international consensus around shared challenges.

A test of a great nation is not how many wars we can engage in or how many governments we can overthrow, but how we can use our strength to resolve international conflicts in a peaceful way.

And it is almost beyond impossible to imagine that after the horrors of the war in Iraq — a war that upended the regional order of the Middle East and resulted in an untold loss of life — that this administration would put us on such a dangerous path toward more war. But everyday we see a new story about how this administration is trying provoke conflict, like sending huge bombers to the region, or raising the possibility of sending more than 100,000 troops.

Apparently for some, almost two decades of constant war is not enough.

Well, unfortunately for this president and people like John Bolton who love endless wars, the constitutional authority for declaring war rests with the United States Congress — not the president –– no matter if that president is a Democrat or a Republican.

And it is long past time my colleagues in the Senate reassert that authority. That is something I tried to do with my colleagues to stop our involvement in the war in Yemen, and it is something we must do again as the president marches us toward war with Iran.

Please add your name if you agree:

Sign my petition: tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

One of the first speeches I gave in Congress was about the first war in Iraq in 1991; a war I voted against.

And what I said at the time was that our challenge at that moment was not simply to begin a war which would result in tremendous suffering and death, but that the real challenge was to address international conflict without war and bloodshed.

It seemed to me that it would be a terrible failing, and very ominous for our future, if we could not solve that problem non-violently when virtually the entire world was united against one small country. And that if we were not successful in that effort, all this world would have to look forward to in the future would be war, and more war, and more war.

There are a number of parallels to this moment in time.

Today, our most important allies are committed to preventing the possibility that Iran’s undemocratic regime could ever obtain a nuclear weapon.

That is what the Iran deal was all about. And that was why it was such a reckless mistake for Trump to withdraw from the Iran deal, as even his own top security officials said at the time. Rather than remain united with those allies, Trump's approach has actually isolated the United States from them, undermining the important consensus that the Obama administration helped forge, and raising the possibility of conflict.

And it seems to me that, once again, if we turn our backs on a non-violent solution in favor of more military conflict, that we will find ourselves in perpetual warfare. Mark my words. A war in Iran would make the Iraq war look like a walk in the park. It will be an unmitigated disaster.

So Congress must intervene and utilize its constitutional authority — before it’s too late.

And I hope you’ll make your voice heard if you agree:

Sign my petition: tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

Throughout the world today, hundreds of millions of people live in abysmal poverty while the arms merchants of the world grow increasingly rich as governments spend trillions of dollars on weapons and war.

Our job is to offer a different vision — a vision that one day human beings on this planet will live in a world where international conflicts are resolved peacefully, not by mass murder.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

ADD YOUR NAME

Paid for by Bernie 2020

PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402

Before you go about the rest of your day, help power our fight against the billionaire class by making a contribution today.

Submit this form to update your contact information.

Chelsea Manning, after being free for a week, was jailed yet again on Thursday. Before she entered the courthouse where she would refuse yet again to testify about WikiLeaks to a grand jury, she spoke about her reasons.

RootsAction Team<info@rootsaction.org>

5/17/2019 9:42 AM

To alfredjohnson34@comcast.net

Free Chelsea Manning One Last Time!

Share this action on Facebook

Share this action on Twitter

Chelsea Manning, after being free for a week, was jailed yet again on Thursday. Before she entered the courthouse where she would refuse yet again to testify about WikiLeaks to a grand jury, she spoke about her reasons.

Click here to watch the video and to demand that the prosecutor rescind the subpoena so that Chelsea can go free.

Chelsea Manning -- who, as punishment for her courageous whistleblowing, was locked up in sometimes brutal conditions for nearly seven years before her sentence was commuted -- continues to be targeted by U.S. prosecutors.

Just last week, Chelsea was released after 63 days in jail. She had refused to testify before a grand jury about her 2010 disclosures to WikiLeaks. Chelsea was released only because the grand jury expired. But now she is being subpoenaed to testify about the very same information before a different grand jury.

She has refused to answer the very same questions aimed at prosecuting, rather than rewarding and honoring, the exposure of egregious crimes and corruption.

Enough is enough! The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia can end this harassment by rescinding the subpoena. Click here to send that demand.

On Thursday, Chelsea took a principled stand, explaining to the judge: "The government cannot build a prison bad enough, cannot create a system worse than the idea that I would ever change my principles. I would rather starve to death than to change my opinions in this regard. I mean that quite literally."

Chelsea objects to -- and has made it clear that she will not cooperate with -- secret proceedings. Since further imprisonment will serve no coercive purpose, it has exceeded its lawful scope. The USAO’s hounding of Chelsea is an abuse of the grand jury process, designed to vindictively harass and retaliate against a courageous truth teller.

Click here to send a clear message.

Chelsea’s disclosures exposed the true nature of 21st-century asymmetric warfare and diplomacy. They served as the basis for stories in publications around the world, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and Al Jazeera. For the "crime" of alerting the public to government misconduct, Chelsea spent more time in prison than anyone ever before had for leaking information to the media.

It’s time to Leave Chelsea Alone!

After doing this action, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $3 now.

-- The RootsAction.org Team

P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Frances Fox Piven, Lila Garrett, Phil Donahue, Sonali Kolhatkar, and many others.

Background:
>> The Real News Network: Chelsea Manning Back in Prison After Refusing to Testify
>> BuzzFeed: Chelsea Manning Is Going Back To Jail, Saying She'd Rather "Starve To Death" Than Testify About WikiLeaks
>> Norman Solomon: Manning Is Guilty of “Aiding the Enemy”—If the Enemy Is Democracy

www.RootsAction.org

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SPREAD THE WORD: March for Bernie in the Dorchester Day Parade!

Hi Berners,

Apologies if you’ve already gotten this.

Our Bernie affiliate in Dorchester, Bernie Vision 20/20 Boston, has gotten a permit for us to march in the Dorchester Day Parade on Sunday, June 2!

With our numbers, we are hoping to show just how much support there is for Bernie in Massachusetts...so please spread the word to your members, friends and supporters. This parade gets a lot of local Boston TV coverage, giving us an opportunity to reach thousands.

We’ll hold banners and signs, pass out flyers, and talk to folks about the many issues to fight for in this election.

We’ll meet at 12:00 noon near CVS at the corner of Dorchester Ave and Richmond St in Lower Mills at 2235 Dorchester Ave..

The parade will kick off around 1pm and proceed 3 miles to Columbia Rd. We hope to see you there!

Please let us know you are coming: https://www.facebook.com/events/2259667427614658/

Post this link wherever you think it will be seen.

WHAT : March for Bernie in the Dorchester Day Parade WHEN : Sunday, June 2 at 12:00 noon WHERE : 2235 Dorchester Ave., corner of Dot Ave and Richmond St. BRING : Bernie shirts, hats, buttons, signs. A clip-board & pen. Water, snacks, appropriate clothing for the weather. RSVP: PLEASE…

Best,

Jordan & Robin

AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Sick of media's anti-Bernie, pro-Biden spin? RootsAction Team

Sick of media's anti-Bernie, pro-Biden spin?

Exiting the Venezuelan Embassy- letter from Embassy Protectors to State Dept.

How you can respond to attacks on abortion rights BernieSanders.com

How you can respond to attacks on abortion rights

Sign my petition: tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

Sign my petition: tell Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit military action against Iran without Congressional approval.

Chelsea Manning, after being free for a week, was jailed yet again on Thursday. Before she entered the courthouse where she would refuse yet again to testify about WikiLeaks to a grand jury, she spoke about her reasons.

Free Chelsea Manning One Last Time

SPREAD THE WORD: March for Bernie in the Dorchester Day Parade!

SPREAD THE WORD: March for Bernie in the Dorchester Day Parade!

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