Click on the title to link to an "American Left History" blog entry, dated March 16, 2009, and titled "A Short Note on History and the Individual- A Tale of Sorts".
Markin comment:
Over the past several years that this blog has been running I have had, on a fair number of occasions, an opportunity to write entries that link my current radical political preoccupations with some aspect of my earlier political development, or the effect of some earlier development on my subsequent attitude toward the struggle for our communist future. Nowhere is that link more apparent that in my current, revived struggle to generate support for the creation of anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees (hereafter solidarity committees) as we gear up our opposition to Warmonger-in-Chief Obama’s provocative Afghan War troop escalation.
Literally, my baptism of fire as a radical (although not then as a communist) is directly related to my personal involvement in the military, the struggle against the military while I was in it during the Vietnam War period, and the conclusions that I drew thereafter about the imperial nature of modern American capitalist society and the a lifelong need to oppose it as a result of that experience. However, today I am not interested in rehashing those events, per se, so much as to draw attention to some lessons and some anecdotal evidence for the importance of creating those solidarity committees. For those who want to read more specifically about the contours of my own political trajectory I have placed a linked article above from an “American Left History" blog entry, dated March 16, 2009, and titled "A Short Note on History and the Individual- A Tale of Sorts".
First things first, though. Prior to the later stages of the anti-Vietnam War movement, there had been no serious thought, at least that I was aware of, given to directly link up the student-based civilian anti-war movement to the emerging anti-war sentiment INSIDE the military. That sentiment was building, especially in the draft-based army the was fighting the war and taking a serious psychological, if not physical beating, as the Vietnamese liberation forces proved tougher than expected. Those soldiers, at least some of them, also in the end got caught up in the anti-war fervor that was building up at home, and around the world.
Finally, significant numbers of civilians, and not just young people, although they were well represented, began looking to find a way to express their anti-war sentiments in a more fervent and effective way that through the electoral process, or its extension, the seemingly endless mass demonstrations created mainly to put pressure on those politicians to end that war. Those militants found a ready, if somewhat less politically sophisticated, audience willing to listen. An unusual moment in American history, to be sure.
Of course, we now know, at least those of us who looked into the matter, then and later, that there were a whole lot of prior experiences that in some cases, especially on the part of the American Socialist Workers Party, were willfully ignored about the earlier efforts to link up with soldiers struggles. In the SWP’s case that included their class struggle fight against World War II for while many members and supporters were sent to jail under the Smith Act, the fight for faster troop demobilization immediately after World War II and in their lonely struggle against the Korean War. Moreover, we of the left were left woefully ignorant of the most important example of anti-war military work in history, the Bolshevik anti-war program against the carnage of World War I, encapsulated in the slogans “the main enemy s at home” and "not one penny, not one man for the war", that was also a critical factor in the later success of the October revolution. I could also add to the list the struggle of French leftists of various political tendencies to aid the Algerian national liberation struggle by trying to break the rank and file soldiers of the French army from its murderous course. There are other examples, too few to be sure, but the lesson to be drawn and the point to be made here is that the core of the support started from civilian political organizations outside the military.
And that, of necessity, becomes the central point. Even under conditions of relative bourgeois political normalcy the ruling class gets very touchy about people, in or out of the military, fooling around with their military (and their police, prisons and courts, as well). They will forgive many things but not that. To insure that bourgeois stability today, especially in light of the lessons that THEY have learned from the Vietnam War experience where, arguably, their army toward the end almost fell apart as an effective fighting force, they have curtailed or restructured the democratic rights of those in the military that we civilians take for granted. Thus issues like: when and where and how service personnel can use their political rights, including their right to demonstrate; who they can talk to and when: and, the use or non-use of the uniform are all very much issues that those of us on the outside do not directly confront. I will not bore you with tales of the gross curtailment of justice meted out under military law, except to paraphrase something the great sardonic comic and social critic, Lenny Bruce, said - “in the hall of (military) justice, the only justice is in the halls”.
If those adverse conditions are part of the obstacles that we face today in organizing support for anti-war G.I.’s then you get a small sense of what it was like for soldiers in the Vietnam era (and before) to express their political opposition to that war, and more importantly, to organize their fellow soldiers around the struggle against it. And that is where the personal part of this entry really begins. I have already mentioned in previous postings that in 1968 I went from pillar to post in bourgeois politics trying to defeat Richard M. Nixon, rightly seen as the most visible political villain of that time. I worked, exhaustively, for Bobby Kennedy and after his assassination, holding my nose, for Hubert Humphrey. (Excuse me one moment: I am still blushing over that one). Thus, I knew how to get thing done, or get advice on how to get things done, in bourgeois politics.
Not so when I tried to do essentially the same thing (merely to exercise my democratic right to organize) anti-war opposition in the military. First off, I had not links to any radical groups to fall back on. I was, in any case, at that time leery of most of them. Moreover, one of the bases that I was at was in the Deep South and out in the boondocks (and today the location of key military bases, like Fort Drum in rural upstate New York, home of the heavily-used 10th Mountain Division continues that trend) , and a Yankee to boot, put me at a severe disadvantage. So whom did I turn to? Well, who is more against war that the Quakers, at least in the popular imagination. Even I knew that much at the time. So I ran to the Quakers, or rather their outreach branch, the American Friends Service Committee.
Of course they were mainly set up to counsel individual resisters, military of civilian, at that point. No question, however, that they did yeoman’s work in assisting and supporting various efforts that were undertaken by my military friends and me (and, not so strangely, today they still do that same work). Today in light of my political perspective I might not be able to make a righteous united front with them or join with them in their contingents in anti-war marches because the pacific slogans they would be able to support and the explicit anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist slogans called for by today’s political situation are counter-posed but I have always had a soft spot for their steadfastness, and that, my friends, is a rare commodity. That said, I kept those experiences in mind, especially the need to broaden the scope of the anti-war work to a more explicitly left-wing political level when I was "discharged" from the service (nice term, right?).
If I was not familiar, in the early of stages of my military ‘career’, with the G.I. anti-war coffeehouse movement that was starting to blossom at such places as Fort Hood (the legendary “Oleo Strut”, whose history I have placed a link to on this site recently) and Fort Ord (California) I was totally immersed in the literature after my discharge. I immediately got involved in an anti-war G.I. coffeehouse in the Northeast with some other radicals that I was familiar with (and, more importantly for organizing purposes, who knew some soldiers at the base). Many of the things that I learned about extra-parliamentary organizing came out of that experience. Although it was relatively shorted-lived (a couple of years, off and on) as the war in Vietnam dwindled down, the draft ended, and soldiers, especially drafted soldiers who were easier to approach, stopped showing up it became time to move on. An invaluable experience though.
Is anti-war G.I. work hard? It is nothing but tough work, believe me. The above-mentioned restrictions on military personnel’s political activities. The, frankly, low political consciousness of the rank and file soldier. The, usually, tough personal circumstances that drive an individual soldier to seek relief outside the military chain of command. The very real problem of spies, finks, and informers, military and civilian, in the small town environment where the work has to get done. Hell, sometimes the gap between the obvious up-front political goals of the civilian support group and the soldiers’ lesser demands. All those militate against success. Ya, it’s tough. But hear me out.
How good does it feel, as I have felt, to be in an anti-war demonstration INSIDE a military base with soldiers (out of uniform, of course) calling for an end to the Vietnam War. That will trump a thousand marches in Washington, D.C. Or of holding anti-war demonstrations right outside the gates of some boondocks fort, staring down a company of military police at the ready, to let one and all know the struggle continues and the anti-war soldiers inside do not stand alone. Or, to get back to the history of military anti-war work mentioned above, to savor the Bolshevik experience, if for now only second-hand. That is music for the future. Now though create, or start to think about creating, those solidarity committees. And emblazoned on their banners- Obama- Immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all U.S./Allied Troops and mercenaries from Afghanistan and Iraq. Hands off Pakistan and Iran.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
*Labor And The Struggle Against Obama' s Afghan War-"Hot Cargo Military Supplies"
Click on the title to link to an article from "The Internationalist" concerning the issue of "hot-cargoing" military supplies to Iraq- This same issue will come up more centrally as the military supplies increase to Afghanistan, as well. The manner of implementing the "hot-cargo" policy to land-locked Afghanistan may be different but the political necessity is the same in both cases.
The following is a repost from an earlier entry on this issue in this space during the height of the still continuing Iraq war.
COMMENTARY
‘HOT CARGO’ MILITARY SUPPLIES TO IRAQ
Over the past year or so I have been propagandizing for the creation of anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees as a practical organizational vehicle for implementing the Immediate Unconditional Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Iraq slogan. I have dealt in an earlier post with the fact that I have taken flak in some quarters for a ‘military deviation’ on anti-war strategy. This charge comes mainly from people who have advocated, and continue to advocate for, the manifestly dead-end strategies of reliance on parliamentary procedures or organizing ever more mass peaceful protest in the streets. I will not re-fight that issue here.
However there is, on reflection, a kernel of truth to the ‘military deviation’ argument of my opponents. I have always conceptualized the committees as a stopgap measure to reach our political goal of immediate withdrawal in the face of the obvious lack of class struggle by working people in America in the present period. In better political times we would be calling not for action by the troops to end the war but for labor strikes and other militant actions by the working class to slow the war machine down. We will know that we are in a very different political time when the labor movement strikes not only for its necessary wage and benefits packages but also against the Iraq war. Today, however, that is the music of the future.
Or is it? I bring to your attention the following. In mid-May a group of anti-Iraq war protesters organized as an ad hoc Port Action Committee demonstrated in front of the ship terminals in Oakland, California and asked the longshoremen there not cross their lines. In response the longshoremen honored the line and no ships were unloaded that day. Bravo. The ships in port at the time were not, however, loading or unloading military cargo. Moreover, the longshoremen did not themselves initiate the action. Nevertheless this exemplary labor action is just a taste of what working people could do to bring this damn war to an end. I note that the West Coast-based International Longshoreman’s Union has a long history of respecting picket lines for political purposes and has been a haven for left-wing political activities since the days of the San Francisco General Strike in 1934. This event points to the way we have to be thinking strategically these days. Linking up labor’s untapped power to slow down the war machine with the political fight in the barracks to end the war. That is the ticket.
An appropriate call today by militant unionists in the affected unions is the call to ‘hot cargo’ military shipments to Iraq and Afghanistan. That call is particularly important in the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports that do the bulk of the maritime transport to the Middle East. And as this call is raised other militant unionists and their unions must be ready stand in solidarity. Raising this tactic should, moreover, finally get me out from under the ‘military deviation’ charge. Right? LABOR ‘HOT CARGO’ MILITARY SHIPMENTS TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
The following is a repost from an earlier entry on this issue in this space during the height of the still continuing Iraq war.
COMMENTARY
‘HOT CARGO’ MILITARY SUPPLIES TO IRAQ
Over the past year or so I have been propagandizing for the creation of anti-war soldiers and sailors solidarity committees as a practical organizational vehicle for implementing the Immediate Unconditional Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Iraq slogan. I have dealt in an earlier post with the fact that I have taken flak in some quarters for a ‘military deviation’ on anti-war strategy. This charge comes mainly from people who have advocated, and continue to advocate for, the manifestly dead-end strategies of reliance on parliamentary procedures or organizing ever more mass peaceful protest in the streets. I will not re-fight that issue here.
However there is, on reflection, a kernel of truth to the ‘military deviation’ argument of my opponents. I have always conceptualized the committees as a stopgap measure to reach our political goal of immediate withdrawal in the face of the obvious lack of class struggle by working people in America in the present period. In better political times we would be calling not for action by the troops to end the war but for labor strikes and other militant actions by the working class to slow the war machine down. We will know that we are in a very different political time when the labor movement strikes not only for its necessary wage and benefits packages but also against the Iraq war. Today, however, that is the music of the future.
Or is it? I bring to your attention the following. In mid-May a group of anti-Iraq war protesters organized as an ad hoc Port Action Committee demonstrated in front of the ship terminals in Oakland, California and asked the longshoremen there not cross their lines. In response the longshoremen honored the line and no ships were unloaded that day. Bravo. The ships in port at the time were not, however, loading or unloading military cargo. Moreover, the longshoremen did not themselves initiate the action. Nevertheless this exemplary labor action is just a taste of what working people could do to bring this damn war to an end. I note that the West Coast-based International Longshoreman’s Union has a long history of respecting picket lines for political purposes and has been a haven for left-wing political activities since the days of the San Francisco General Strike in 1934. This event points to the way we have to be thinking strategically these days. Linking up labor’s untapped power to slow down the war machine with the political fight in the barracks to end the war. That is the ticket.
An appropriate call today by militant unionists in the affected unions is the call to ‘hot cargo’ military shipments to Iraq and Afghanistan. That call is particularly important in the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports that do the bulk of the maritime transport to the Middle East. And as this call is raised other militant unionists and their unions must be ready stand in solidarity. Raising this tactic should, moreover, finally get me out from under the ‘military deviation’ charge. Right? LABOR ‘HOT CARGO’ MILITARY SHIPMENTS TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
*The Latest On The Mumia Abu-Jamal Case- From The International Committee Of Concerned Friends And Family Of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Click on the title to link to a "Boston Indymrdia" entry from Pam Africa of the International Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal concerning the latest round in the legal battle over this innocent man.
Markin comment;
As always, and now more than ever- Free Mumia Abu- Jamal!
Markin comment;
As always, and now more than ever- Free Mumia Abu- Jamal!
*From The "SteveLendmanBlog"- On The Massachusetts U.S. Senate Election Results
Click on the title to link to a "Steven Lendman Blog" entry that deals with the fall out from the recent special election in Massachusetts to fill the unexpired term of the late Democratic Senator, Edward Kennedy.
Markin commnet:
I leave it to ace commentator Steve Lendman to do the bang-up job of analysis of this benighted bourgeois special election. Thanks, Steve.
Markin commnet:
I leave it to ace commentator Steve Lendman to do the bang-up job of analysis of this benighted bourgeois special election. Thanks, Steve.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
*Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Blind Alfred Reed's "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live"
Click on the title to link to a "YouTube" film clip of Bruce Springsteen performing Blind Alfred Reed's "How Can Poor man Stand Such Times And Live".
In this series, presented under the headline “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
In this series, presented under the headline “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
*Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Dave McCarn's "Cotton Mill Colic"
Click on the title to link a "YouTube" film clip of a performance of Dave McCarn's "Cotton Mill Colic".
In this series, presented under the headline “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
COTTON MILL COLIC
(DAVE McCARN) (1926)
Any copyrighted material on these pages is used in "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s)
McCarn wrote this song in 1926. Released on record in August 1930, it was soon being sung by striking Piedmont mill workers. It was collected by Alan Lomax in 1939 and appeared in FOLKSONGS OF NORTH AMERICA and OUR SINGING COUNTRY. It's recording history is long and includes versions by Lester Pete Bivins (Decca), the Blue Sky Boys (Capitol) and both Pete & Mike Seeger (Folkways). Probably it is McCarn's best composition; revealing with wry humour the often grim situation of the millhand unable to get straight financially.
Mike Paris, liner notes for "Singers of the Piedmont," Folk Variety/Bear Family Records 15505. 1970s.
Recorded May 19, 1930, Memphis, TN (Vi 40274).
Lyrics as reprinted in liner notes for "Singers of the Piedmont," Folk Variety/Bear Family Records 15505, 1970s.
When you buy clothes on easy terms,
Collectors treat you like measly worms.
One dollar down, then Lord knows,
If you can't make a payment, they'll take your clothes.
When you go to bed you can't sleep,
You owe so much at the end of the week.
No use to colic, they're all that way,
Pecking at your door till they get your pay.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
When you go to work you work like the devil,
At the end of the week you're not on the level.
Payday comes, you pay your rent,
When you get through you've notgot a cent
To buy fat-back meat, pinto beans,
Now and then you get turnip greens.
No use to colic, we're all that way,
Can't get the money to move away.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
Twelve dollars a week is all we get,
How in the heck can we live on that?
I've got a wife and fourteen kids,
We all have to sleep on two bedsteads.
Patches on my britches, holes in my hat,
Ain't had a shave, my wife got fat.
No use to colic, everyday at noon,
The kids get to crying in a different tune.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
They run a few days and then they stand,
Just to keep down the working man.
We can't make it, we never will,
As long as we stay at a lousy mill.
The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer,
If you don't starve, I'm a son of a gun.
No use to colic, no use to rave,
We'll never rest till we're in our grave.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
In this series, presented under the headline “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
COTTON MILL COLIC
(DAVE McCARN) (1926)
Any copyrighted material on these pages is used in "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s)
McCarn wrote this song in 1926. Released on record in August 1930, it was soon being sung by striking Piedmont mill workers. It was collected by Alan Lomax in 1939 and appeared in FOLKSONGS OF NORTH AMERICA and OUR SINGING COUNTRY. It's recording history is long and includes versions by Lester Pete Bivins (Decca), the Blue Sky Boys (Capitol) and both Pete & Mike Seeger (Folkways). Probably it is McCarn's best composition; revealing with wry humour the often grim situation of the millhand unable to get straight financially.
Mike Paris, liner notes for "Singers of the Piedmont," Folk Variety/Bear Family Records 15505. 1970s.
Recorded May 19, 1930, Memphis, TN (Vi 40274).
Lyrics as reprinted in liner notes for "Singers of the Piedmont," Folk Variety/Bear Family Records 15505, 1970s.
When you buy clothes on easy terms,
Collectors treat you like measly worms.
One dollar down, then Lord knows,
If you can't make a payment, they'll take your clothes.
When you go to bed you can't sleep,
You owe so much at the end of the week.
No use to colic, they're all that way,
Pecking at your door till they get your pay.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
When you go to work you work like the devil,
At the end of the week you're not on the level.
Payday comes, you pay your rent,
When you get through you've notgot a cent
To buy fat-back meat, pinto beans,
Now and then you get turnip greens.
No use to colic, we're all that way,
Can't get the money to move away.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
Twelve dollars a week is all we get,
How in the heck can we live on that?
I've got a wife and fourteen kids,
We all have to sleep on two bedsteads.
Patches on my britches, holes in my hat,
Ain't had a shave, my wife got fat.
No use to colic, everyday at noon,
The kids get to crying in a different tune.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
They run a few days and then they stand,
Just to keep down the working man.
We can't make it, we never will,
As long as we stay at a lousy mill.
The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer,
If you don't starve, I'm a son of a gun.
No use to colic, no use to rave,
We'll never rest till we're in our grave.
I'm a-gonna starve, and everybody will,
'Cause you can't make a living at a cotton mill.
*Say It Isn't So, Joe- Obama Seeks More Dough For His Wars
Click on the title to link to an "Associated Press" article detailing the latest Obama request for additional, additional (the word is used twice intentionally)money for his little war projects in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Markin comment:
The article speaks for itself but I thought all that extra war dough thing went out with Bush/Cheney. Oh well, we know what to do. NO on the war budget (big or small)!
Markin comment:
The article speaks for itself but I thought all that extra war dough thing went out with Bush/Cheney. Oh well, we know what to do. NO on the war budget (big or small)!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
*As The 2010 Anti-War Season Heats Up- A Note On "The Three Whales" For A Class Struggle Fight Against Obama’s Wars
Click on the title to link to a recent example from Fort Hood, Texas of the third point that is mentioned below, about the value of anti-war G.I. work.
Markin comment:
Yes, I know, the weather in the Midwest makes it likely that there will not be a thaw until July 4th. Washington, D.C., an anti- war protester’s Mecca, is paralyzed by a few inches of snow, as well as other little matters like the governance of the country. Florida is off-the-hook with its weather, and a winter vacation there is seemingly like going to North Dakota. All true but the hard days of January are none too early to began, at least in our heads, preparations for the anti-war offensive we desperately need to take flight this spring if we are to end these madnesses in Iraq and Afghanistan (for starters).
With that premise in mind I have, not unexpectedly, three suggestions that anti-war militants should at least think about now. These are just through into the pot for discussion at this point. They need to be flushed out and drawn up in greater detail. The three whales reference in the headline, by the way is not some symbolic cabalistic reference but is taken from the propaganda format of the Bolsheviks who tended to work with three points programs for ease of agitational effect. Ten Point, to speak nothing of Fourteen Point programs, are for political pros, for the rest keep it short, sweet and meaty.
One: Recruit and run independent labor-oriented candidates for any and all Congressional and Senatorial seats that are open in this 2010 election year cycle. This includes, horror of horrors, going out of our way to oppose so-called progressive Democrats, especially those like Nancy Pelosi who talk the talk, but refuse (or do not want to) walk the walk. I disagree with a lot of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's politics but one thing that she did do in 2008 was to run against Nancy Pelosi in her liberal San Francisco bailiwick. If they ask, as Pelosi did- why pick on little, old progressive me- here is your retort – Break with your party of war, imperialism and capitalist crisis, break with your Democratic Party. Then, maybe, we will support you.
The "Three Whales" of any electoral campaign can, and should, include: Immediate, unconditional Withdrawal of all troops AND a no vote on ALL military budgets; expropriation of the banks (and the myriad other such financial institutions that act like banks that have sprung up in late imperialist society) without compensation; and,the lynch pin, build a workers party that fights for a workers government.
Two: Gear up for this years struggle against the Afghan and Iraq war budgets. This is one of the only two ways we can end Obama’s wars. Cut off the funds now. Hold the feet of every politician right, left or center, over an open fire on this one. Vote NO on the Iraq/Afghan/Pak war budgets.
Three: As mentioned above in number two there are only two ways to end the wars, stop the money and stopping the supply of cannon fodder for the wars. A couple of years ago I, and my ad hoc group of anti-war militants, fought around a slogan calling for the creation of soldiers and sailors solidarity committees to reach out to the troops that were actual doing the fighting. This is tough, hard work, especially when the potentially explosive mixture created by of a draft army is not, currently at least, part of the equation, but it is not too soon to start making the links. I note that there is already some action on this front down at Fort Hood in Texas, a key transit area (as we learned tragically in November 2009). Today I have placed other blog entries about current anti-war G.I. efforts at military bases in this space.
More later….
Markin comment:
Yes, I know, the weather in the Midwest makes it likely that there will not be a thaw until July 4th. Washington, D.C., an anti- war protester’s Mecca, is paralyzed by a few inches of snow, as well as other little matters like the governance of the country. Florida is off-the-hook with its weather, and a winter vacation there is seemingly like going to North Dakota. All true but the hard days of January are none too early to began, at least in our heads, preparations for the anti-war offensive we desperately need to take flight this spring if we are to end these madnesses in Iraq and Afghanistan (for starters).
With that premise in mind I have, not unexpectedly, three suggestions that anti-war militants should at least think about now. These are just through into the pot for discussion at this point. They need to be flushed out and drawn up in greater detail. The three whales reference in the headline, by the way is not some symbolic cabalistic reference but is taken from the propaganda format of the Bolsheviks who tended to work with three points programs for ease of agitational effect. Ten Point, to speak nothing of Fourteen Point programs, are for political pros, for the rest keep it short, sweet and meaty.
One: Recruit and run independent labor-oriented candidates for any and all Congressional and Senatorial seats that are open in this 2010 election year cycle. This includes, horror of horrors, going out of our way to oppose so-called progressive Democrats, especially those like Nancy Pelosi who talk the talk, but refuse (or do not want to) walk the walk. I disagree with a lot of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's politics but one thing that she did do in 2008 was to run against Nancy Pelosi in her liberal San Francisco bailiwick. If they ask, as Pelosi did- why pick on little, old progressive me- here is your retort – Break with your party of war, imperialism and capitalist crisis, break with your Democratic Party. Then, maybe, we will support you.
The "Three Whales" of any electoral campaign can, and should, include: Immediate, unconditional Withdrawal of all troops AND a no vote on ALL military budgets; expropriation of the banks (and the myriad other such financial institutions that act like banks that have sprung up in late imperialist society) without compensation; and,the lynch pin, build a workers party that fights for a workers government.
Two: Gear up for this years struggle against the Afghan and Iraq war budgets. This is one of the only two ways we can end Obama’s wars. Cut off the funds now. Hold the feet of every politician right, left or center, over an open fire on this one. Vote NO on the Iraq/Afghan/Pak war budgets.
Three: As mentioned above in number two there are only two ways to end the wars, stop the money and stopping the supply of cannon fodder for the wars. A couple of years ago I, and my ad hoc group of anti-war militants, fought around a slogan calling for the creation of soldiers and sailors solidarity committees to reach out to the troops that were actual doing the fighting. This is tough, hard work, especially when the potentially explosive mixture created by of a draft army is not, currently at least, part of the equation, but it is not too soon to start making the links. I note that there is already some action on this front down at Fort Hood in Texas, a key transit area (as we learned tragically in November 2009). Today I have placed other blog entries about current anti-war G.I. efforts at military bases in this space.
More later….
* "Coffee Strong"- The G.I. Coffeehouse At Fort Lewis, Washington
Click on the title to link to the "Coffee Strong" Internet Web site for the "Coffee Strong" Coffeehouse at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Markin comment:
If Fort Drum stands for the hard fighting troops for Afghanistan and Fort Hood stands as a major transit point for the Mideast wars old Fort Lewis, as this writer well knows, was the major transit point for that Vietnam war of long ago. The dots all fit together on this one. Build anti-war soldier and sailor solidarity committees.
Markin comment:
If Fort Drum stands for the hard fighting troops for Afghanistan and Fort Hood stands as a major transit point for the Mideast wars old Fort Lewis, as this writer well knows, was the major transit point for that Vietnam war of long ago. The dots all fit together on this one. Build anti-war soldier and sailor solidarity committees.
*A Sign Of The Times- A G.I. Internet Cafe At Fort Drum
Click on the title to link to the "Different Drummer Internet Cafe" Web site (there is also I believe a 'real' cafe in Watertown, N.Y. where Fort Drum is located called "The Different Drummer").
Markin comment:
Sometimes technology is helpful and sometimes it gets in the way. An Internet cafe to 'speak' to G.I. is an excellent and helpful use of such technology. Fort Drum, by the way, is well known as the home of the 10th Mountain Division that has sen plenty of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will see more. No wonder the army is more than happy that it is located out in the boondocks of upstate New York.
Markin comment:
Sometimes technology is helpful and sometimes it gets in the way. An Internet cafe to 'speak' to G.I. is an excellent and helpful use of such technology. Fort Drum, by the way, is well known as the home of the 10th Mountain Division that has sen plenty of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will see more. No wonder the army is more than happy that it is located out in the boondocks of upstate New York.
*From The G.I. Anti-War Struggle Archives- Fort Hood's "Oleo Strut" Coffehouse In The Vietnam Era- A Guest Commentary
Click on the title to link to an "Under The Hood" (Fort Hood G.I. Coffeehouse)Web site online article about the "Oleo Strut" Coffeehouse, an important development in the anti-Vietnam War struggle. Hats off to those bygone G.I. anti-war fighters.
Markin comment:
Anti-war G.I. work is tough work, no question. However when the deal goes down and you want think seriously about how to end Obama's wars you have two avenues- stop the war funding and support the soldiers and sailors in their efforts to end the wars that they wind up fighting. In short to deny Obama the fighters. In the meantime think about the idea of building soldiers and sailors solidarity committees so we are ready.
Markin comment:
Anti-war G.I. work is tough work, no question. However when the deal goes down and you want think seriously about how to end Obama's wars you have two avenues- stop the war funding and support the soldiers and sailors in their efforts to end the wars that they wind up fighting. In short to deny Obama the fighters. In the meantime think about the idea of building soldiers and sailors solidarity committees so we are ready.
Monday, January 18, 2010
*Year I Of The Obamiad- A Very Unscientific, If Revealing, Poll- A Short Note
Click on the title to link to the "Daily Kos" home page. This site is valuable, mainly, to get the polls and other technical information that major party politics thrives on.
Markin comment:
Unlike the major political parties, academic institutions and think-tanks I have neither the time, financial resources nor inclination to take the pulse of the American electorate via some ‘quasi-scientific’ poll, and draw conclusions accordingly. Primarily, whatever the value of such polls as a general proposition, I do not, and those who are likewise struggling for a communist future should take note, do not need such general information. Our area of concentration, assuming that we are looking for such information, is that extreme left wing of the political population that is today sitting, for the most part, uncomfortably at the edges of the Democratic Party (and, perhaps, a little overflow into the Green party, but that is really the same thing for our purposes). And without the aid of reams of data, a slew of telephonic conversations, e-mailings and “exit” polls I am here with some information. Not all is well in Obama-land as Year 1 of his reign comes to a close. Here, my friends, is our opening and why.
As readers of this space are aware, one of my interests is folk music, old- time music, roots music or whatever you would like to call it, as well as connecting that cultural strand in with our leftist heritage. Therefore, I attend more than my fair share of folk concerts, coffeehouse performances and “open mics” (ad hoc performances) in the local area. Once a year, usually around this time there is a grand gathering of devotees in the area in one place and for a long night of free-for-all singing and playing. (And maybe not so grand, as the numbers are beginning to dwindle as the old time devotees die off and are not replaced by Generation Xer’s, or whoever is not attached by the umbilical cord to some new technological device). The number this year was probably around one hundred and fifty to two hundred. Thus, a fair 'poll’ sampling for my purposes.
Those familiar with the devotees of the folk revival of the early 1960s know that this milieu was made up of, usually, highly educated, slightly radical (or at least left-liberal), kind of quirky types from good homes with some financial security who were not ready to march in step to whatever ‘vanilla’ commercial music was available to youth consumers at the time. The gathering I attended the other night was the ‘remnant’ of that folk revival crowd. Older, grayer, weaker, on the whole less driven by some political vision, although as they will be the first to tell you, their hearts are still in the right place.
Why is this important? Well, figure it out. This group and their kindred in little enclaves throughout the country, my friends, was one of the key early social bases from which the Obama drew in 2008 (and Hillary to lesser extend, but Obama was their real choice from the get-go). These are people who in their youth worked, one way or the other, in the civil rights campaigns, North or South and the Obama candidacy and then election were the epitome of what they fought for back then. Thus at the 2007 and 2008 (held just after the inauguration) gatherings the songs, the talk, the spirit in the air were all keyed to this changing of the guard under the guise of anybody-but-Bush. These last couple of years, I could hardly contain my anger at their naiveté, especially on the question of that pending Afghanistan escalation that Obama made no effort to hide as he campaigned.
Fast forward to this year (2010). For several hours of songs and other such doings, in contrast, not one political comment was made (except by me, of course), not one reference to anything political in song or presentation. Nada. This is important. Not, as one might think, because it is prima facie evidence that Obama is on the ropes with the left wing of the Democratic Party. Nor that there is to be a left -AARP (American Association of Retired People) uprising to throw the scoundrel out. No, what is important here is that these people have children, mainly college students now, or a little older. Just the kids who formed the shock troops for Obama. And these kids, unlike when we were kids in the 1960s, listen to their folks. That is where Obama’s trouble is going to come from. And I needed neither a crystal ball nor a “scientific poll” to come up with that wisdom.
What is more problematic is what we communists do about it. After all, one of the truisms of politics is that it abhors a vacuum (which may be one of the few true generalizations that you can make about the subject).
Some of Obama’s problems will come from the right: racial, political or just plain ornery, the Tea Party-crowd. But for us of the left, the communist left in particular, we might be able with some work pick up some of those left-liberal kids. Hey, where do you think the radicals of the 1960s, including this writer, came from? I will repeat what has become something of a mantra for this space. After Obama, Us. Or at least we better act that way.
Markin comment:
Unlike the major political parties, academic institutions and think-tanks I have neither the time, financial resources nor inclination to take the pulse of the American electorate via some ‘quasi-scientific’ poll, and draw conclusions accordingly. Primarily, whatever the value of such polls as a general proposition, I do not, and those who are likewise struggling for a communist future should take note, do not need such general information. Our area of concentration, assuming that we are looking for such information, is that extreme left wing of the political population that is today sitting, for the most part, uncomfortably at the edges of the Democratic Party (and, perhaps, a little overflow into the Green party, but that is really the same thing for our purposes). And without the aid of reams of data, a slew of telephonic conversations, e-mailings and “exit” polls I am here with some information. Not all is well in Obama-land as Year 1 of his reign comes to a close. Here, my friends, is our opening and why.
As readers of this space are aware, one of my interests is folk music, old- time music, roots music or whatever you would like to call it, as well as connecting that cultural strand in with our leftist heritage. Therefore, I attend more than my fair share of folk concerts, coffeehouse performances and “open mics” (ad hoc performances) in the local area. Once a year, usually around this time there is a grand gathering of devotees in the area in one place and for a long night of free-for-all singing and playing. (And maybe not so grand, as the numbers are beginning to dwindle as the old time devotees die off and are not replaced by Generation Xer’s, or whoever is not attached by the umbilical cord to some new technological device). The number this year was probably around one hundred and fifty to two hundred. Thus, a fair 'poll’ sampling for my purposes.
Those familiar with the devotees of the folk revival of the early 1960s know that this milieu was made up of, usually, highly educated, slightly radical (or at least left-liberal), kind of quirky types from good homes with some financial security who were not ready to march in step to whatever ‘vanilla’ commercial music was available to youth consumers at the time. The gathering I attended the other night was the ‘remnant’ of that folk revival crowd. Older, grayer, weaker, on the whole less driven by some political vision, although as they will be the first to tell you, their hearts are still in the right place.
Why is this important? Well, figure it out. This group and their kindred in little enclaves throughout the country, my friends, was one of the key early social bases from which the Obama drew in 2008 (and Hillary to lesser extend, but Obama was their real choice from the get-go). These are people who in their youth worked, one way or the other, in the civil rights campaigns, North or South and the Obama candidacy and then election were the epitome of what they fought for back then. Thus at the 2007 and 2008 (held just after the inauguration) gatherings the songs, the talk, the spirit in the air were all keyed to this changing of the guard under the guise of anybody-but-Bush. These last couple of years, I could hardly contain my anger at their naiveté, especially on the question of that pending Afghanistan escalation that Obama made no effort to hide as he campaigned.
Fast forward to this year (2010). For several hours of songs and other such doings, in contrast, not one political comment was made (except by me, of course), not one reference to anything political in song or presentation. Nada. This is important. Not, as one might think, because it is prima facie evidence that Obama is on the ropes with the left wing of the Democratic Party. Nor that there is to be a left -AARP (American Association of Retired People) uprising to throw the scoundrel out. No, what is important here is that these people have children, mainly college students now, or a little older. Just the kids who formed the shock troops for Obama. And these kids, unlike when we were kids in the 1960s, listen to their folks. That is where Obama’s trouble is going to come from. And I needed neither a crystal ball nor a “scientific poll” to come up with that wisdom.
What is more problematic is what we communists do about it. After all, one of the truisms of politics is that it abhors a vacuum (which may be one of the few true generalizations that you can make about the subject).
Some of Obama’s problems will come from the right: racial, political or just plain ornery, the Tea Party-crowd. But for us of the left, the communist left in particular, we might be able with some work pick up some of those left-liberal kids. Hey, where do you think the radicals of the 1960s, including this writer, came from? I will repeat what has become something of a mantra for this space. After Obama, Us. Or at least we better act that way.
*From The "HistoMat" Blog- Solidartiy With The Haitian People
Click on the title to link to a "HistoMat" blog entry, "Solidarity with the Haitian People".
Markin comment:
The title of the blog says it all.
Markin comment:
The title of the blog says it all.
*From The "Green Left Global News" Blog- The Diaster In Haiti- Naomi Klein's View
Click on the title to link the "Green Left Global News" blog entry concerning Naomi Klein's view on the situation in Haiti.
*From The "American Insurgency" Blog- "Oh, Brother"- A Commentary On Pat Robertson
Click on the title to link to an "American Insurgency" blog entry of note.
*From The HistoMat" Blog- Hommage à Daniel Bensaïd (1946-2010)
Click on the title to link to a "HistoMat" blog entry concerning the passing away of a French labor militant and socialist-"Hommage à Daniel Bensaïd (1946-2010)"
*From The "HistoMat" Blog- "One-Dimensional Woman"- A Marxist Analysis
Click on the title to link to a"HistoMat" blog entry reviewing a book of Marxist analysis on the woman question, "One Dimensional Woman".
Sunday, January 17, 2010
*Those Who Fought For Our Communist Future Are Kndred Spirits- Honor English Revolutionary Leader Leveller John Lilburne
Click on the title to link to a "Wikipedia" entry for the English Revolution leader, the Leveller 'Party's' John Lilburne.
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
*Those Who Fought For Our Communist Future Are Kindred Spirits- Honor English Revolutionary Leader Oliver Cromwell
Click on the title to link to an "American Left History" book review entry for Oliver Cromwell.
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
*Those Who Fought For Our Communist Future Are Kindred Spirits- Honor Digger Leader Gerrard Winstanley
Click on the title to link to an "American Left History" blog review of "Gerrard Winstanley and the Digger Colonies In The English Revolution".
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
Every January, as readers of this blog are now, hopefully, familiar with the international communist movement honors the 3 Ls-Lenin, Luxemburg and Leibknecht, fallen leaders of the early 20th century communist movement who died in this month (and whose untimely deaths left a huge, irreplaceable gap in the international leadership of that time). January is thus a time for us to reflect on the roots of our movement and those who brought us along this far. In order to give a fuller measure of honor to our fallen forbears this January, and in future Januarys, this space will honor others who have contributed in some way to the struggle for our communist future. That future classless society, however, will be the true memorial to their sacrifices.
Note on inclusion: As in other series on this site (“Labor’s Untold Story”, “Leaders Of The Bolshevik Revolution”, etc.) this year’s honorees do not exhaust the list of every possible communist worthy of the name. Nor, in fact, is the list limited to Bolshevik-style communists. There will be names included from other traditions (like anarchism, social democracy, the Diggers, Levellers, Jacobins, etc.) whose efforts contributed to the international struggle. Also, as was true of previous series this year’s efforts are no more than an introduction to these heroes of the class struggle. Future years will see more detailed information on each entry, particularly about many of the lesser known figures. Better yet, the reader can pick up the ball and run with it if he or she has more knowledge about the particular exploits of some communist militant, or to include a missing one.
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