President Obama, Pardon Pvt. Manning

Because the public deserves the truth and whistle-blowers deserve protection.

We are military veterans, journalists, educators, homemakers, lawyers, students, and citizens.

We ask you to consider the facts and free US Army Pvt. Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning.

As an Intelligence Analyst stationed in Iraq, Pvt. Manning had access to some of America’s dirtiest secrets—crimes such as torture, illegal surveillance, and corruption—often committed in our name.

Manning acted on conscience alone, with selfless courage and conviction, and gave these secrets to us, the public.

“I believed that if the general public had access to the information contained within the[Iraq and Afghan War Logs] this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy,”

Manning explained to the military court. “I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan were targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare.”

Journalists used these documents to uncover many startling truths. We learned:

• Donald Rumsfeld and General Petraeus helped support torture in Iraq.

• Deliberate civilian killings by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan went unpunished.

• Thousands of civilian casualties were never acknowledged publicly.

• Most Guantanamo detainees were innocent.

For service on behalf of an informed democracy, Manning was sentenced by military judge Colonel Denise Lind to a devastating 35 years in prison.

Government secrecy has grown exponentially during the past decade, but more secrecy does not make us safer when it fosters unaccountability.

Pvt. Manning was convicted of Espionage Act charges for providing WikiLeaks with this information, but  the prosecutors noted that they would have done the same had the information been given to The New York Times. Prosecutors did not show that enemies used this information against the US, or that the releases resulted in any casualties.

Pvt. Manning has already been punished, even in violation of military law.

She has been:

• Held in confinement since May 29, 2010.

• Subjected to illegal punishment amounting to torture for nearly nine months at Quantico Marine Base, Virginia, in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Article 13—facts confirmed by both the United Nation’s lead investigator on torture and military judge Col. Lind.

• Denied a speedy trial in violation of UCMJ, Article 10, having been imprisoned for over three years before trial.

• Denied anything resembling a fair trial when prosecutors were allowed to change the charge sheet to match evidence presented, and enter new evidence, after closing arguments.

Pvt. Manning believed you, Mr. President, when you came into office promising the most transparent administration in history, and that you would protect whistle-blowers. We urge you to start upholding those promises, beginning with this American prisoner of conscience.

We urge you to grant Pvt. Manning’s petition for a Presidential Pardon.

FIRST& LAST NAME _____________________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE & ZIP _____________________________________________________________

EMAIL& PHONE _____________________________________________________________

Please return to: For more information: www.privatemanning.org

Private Manning Support Network, c/o Courage to Resist, 484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610

Six Ways To Support Freedom For Chelsea Manning- President Obama Pardon Chelsea Manning Now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.

The Struggle Continues …

Six Ways To Support Heroic Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Chelsea  Manning

*Sign the public petition to President Obama – Sign online http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/chelseamanning  “President Obama, Pardon Pvt. Manning,” and make copies to share with friends and family!

You  can also call (Comments”202-456-1111), write The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, e-mail-(http://www.whitehouse.gov’contact/submitquestions-and comments) to demand that President Obama use his constitutional power under Article II, Section II to pardon Private Manning now.

*Start a stand -out, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, in your town square to publicize the pardon and clemency campaigns.  Contact the Private Manning SupportNetwork for help with materials and organizing tips http://www.bradleymanning.org/

*Contribute to the Private  Manning Defense Fund- now that the trial has finished funds are urgently needed for pardon campaign and for future military and civilian court appeals. The hard fact of the American legal system, military of civilian, is the more funds available the better the defense, especially in political prisoner cases like Private Manning’s. The government had unlimited financial and personnel resources to prosecute Private Manning at trial. And used them as it will on any future legal proceedings. So help out with whatever you can spare. For link go to http://www.bradleymanning.org/

*Write letters of solidarity to Private Manning while she is serving her sentence. She wishes to be addressed as Chelsea and have feminine pronouns used when referring to her. Private Manning’s mailing address: Bradley E. Manning, 89289, 1300 N. Warehouse Road, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304. You must use Bradley on the address envelope.

Private Manning cannot receive stamps or money in any form. Photos must be on copy paper. Along with “contraband,” “inflammatory material” is not allowed. Six page maximum.

*Call: (913) 758-3600-Write to:Col. Sioban Ledwith, Commander U.S. Detention Barracks 1301 N Warehouse Rd
Ft. Leavenworth KS 66027-Tell them: “Transgender rights are human rights! Respect Private Manning’s identity by acknowledging the name ‘Chelsea Manning’ whenever possible, including in mail addressed to her, and by allowing her access to appropriate medical treatment for gender dysphoria, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).” (for more details-http://markinbookreview.blogspot.com/2013/11/respecting-chelseas-identity-is-this.html#!/2013/11/respecting-chelseas-identity-is-this.html

 *******                                                

Send The Following Message (Or Write Your Own) To The President In Support Of A Pardon For Private Manning

To: President Barack Obama
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

The draconian 35 years sentence handed down by a military judge, Colonel Lind, on August 21, 2013 to Private Manning (Chelsea formerly known as Bradley) has outraged many citizens including me.
Under Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution the President of the United States had the authority to grant pardons to those who fall under federal jurisdiction.
Some of the reasons for my request include: 

*that Private Manning  was held for nearly a year in abusive solitary confinement at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, which the UN rapporteur in his findings has called “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”

*that the media had been continually blocked from transcripts and documents related to the trial and that it has only been through the efforts of Private Manning’s supporters that any transcripts exist.

*that under the UCMJ a soldier has the right to a speedy trial and that it was unconscionable and unconstitutional to wait 3 years before starting the court martial.

*that absolutely no one was harmed by the release of documents that exposed war crimes, unnecessary secrecy and disturbing foreign policy.

*that Private Manning is a hero who did the right thing when she revealed truth about wars that had been based on lies.

I urge you to use your authority under the Constitution to right the wrongs done to Private Manning – Enough is enough!

Signature ___________________________________________________________

Print Name __________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________

City / Town/State/Zip Code_________________________________________

Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.

Socialist Victory in Seattle! Build the campaign for 15 Now Socialist Alternative captured the attention of thousands of working class people across the country by running Kshama Sawant for City Council in Seattle and winning with over 90,000 votes. We ran an openly socialist and working class campaign without a dime of funding from big business or the political establishment. This victory is a warning shot to big business that working people are fed up with poverty wages, budget cuts, student debt, tax cuts for the wealthiest 1%, and endless recession with no recovery in sight. But now that we've won this victory, many people are asking what does this mean for working people in New England, and how to we carry this momentum forward? In Seattle, Kshama Sawant and Socialist Alternative have used this victory to launch the 15 Now campaign, calling for a $15/hr minimum wage for all workers. This campaign won't be build by cutting deals in the halls of power, we are going to build this campaign at the grassroots level in the communities that need it most. Socialist Alternative is having a sweep of meetings across New England to discuss the victory in Seattle, the 15 Now campaign, and how people can plug in to this historic movement. Join us at a public meeting in your area! Northeastern University, Boston MA Thursday, January 30th 7p, Curry Building, Room 340 (near the Ruggles Station on the Orange Line) Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams MA Wednesday, February 5th 7p, Room TBA University of Southern Maine, Portland ME Thursday, February 6th Time and room TBA Middlesex Community College, Lowell MA Friday, February 7th 1p, Room TBA New Cafe, Worchester MA Satuday, February 8th 4p, New Cafe Conference Room U Mass, Boston MA Wednesday, February 19th 1p, Room 2545, 3rd Floor Campus Center If you want more info about these meetings, or if you have questions about the 15 Now campaign or joining Socialist Alternative, please email us at boston@socialistalternative.org, and an organizer will get back to you right away.

Rally against the TPP & Corporate Globalization

When: Friday, January 31, 2014, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Where: Massachusetts State House • Park Street • Boston Common • Boston

What is the TPP? Trans Pacific Partnership is the worst trade deal you may not have ever heard of. And that is exactly what the corporations want. The TPP is going to exploit you. Nothing is secure, not your job, not your environment, not your health, not your internet.Under TPP, corporations can undermine your city and state laws legally, for their own profit.
Only corporations will benefit from TPP. These corporations want Fast Track. Fast Track is when Congress passes legislation that allows little debate, no amendments, and no final say about the Trans Pacific Partnership.
If you want to avoid this disaster, come to the rally on January 31st.
Sponsored by MoveOn
 

United for Justice with Peace is a coalition of peace and justice organizations and community peace groups in the Greater Boston region. The UJP Coalition, formed after September 11th, seeks global peace through social and economic justice. Help us continue to do this critical work! Make a donation to UJP today.
info@justicewithpeace.org	617-383-4857	www.justicewithpeace.org

Upcoming Events: 

FILM: "Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars"	Thu Jan 30	7:00pm	Robbins Library - Arlington	Arlington

Alfred,

Observing tonight's messages from the President and several Republicans providing what we are told is the "other" side, we ought to step back, look at this as the outsiders we are, and ask questions:

? Why should Edward Snowden, who did humanity the service of exposing the vast surveillance of the NSA, be subject to threats of assasination by US intelligence officials, while the President asserts his intention to continue the programs?
Ray McGovern Discusses Threats to Edward Snowden
Full interview with Snowden on German TV
The US Government: "Everyone's a Suspect"

? Why should the people of Afghanistan, and those refugees along the border of Pakistan, who form one of the poorest populations on the globe — after 12 years of U.S. occupation — be subjected to another twelve years of U.S. miltiary occupation?  Is the new agreement primarily to provide secure bases for U.S. secret black ops and targeted assassinations via drone?
More Than 2,400 Dead as Obama’s Drone Campaign Marks Five Years
Afghanistan Exit is Seen as Peril to C.I.A. Drone Mission

? Why should the men held already for twelve years in the torture camp at Guantanamo be held any longer without knowing if they will ever see their loved ones again, as the U.S. extends its need for a place it can openly flaunt international law on the rights of prisoners?
DOJ: Feinstein’s Committee Controls Torture Report; Has Final Say Over Public Release

There are many more questions to ask by people who are concerned about humanity and the planet. The Obama administration has its social media apparatus highly geared up tonight; certainly the Fox News crew will do the same. Undoubtedly, they'll direct people to think only very narrowly about what is in their interests.

We should use our energies and experience to ask the right questions, loudly, and challenge the government as we find the answers.

---

Smedleys & Friends

 

"My Old Brown Earth", sent around by Paul Winter - the jazz version of Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger wrote this song for a friend who had passed away and sang it at his funeral.

How fitting to send this around in honor of Pete. Click on the link below, words are at the bottom.

Pat

Having trouble reading this email? View it on your browser. Find us on Facebook.

Dear James, Our long-time friend and mentor, Pete Seeger, passed away on Monday. I was privileged to meet Pete at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, and he then gave me encouragement as I was creating a new ensemble that became the Paul Winter Consort. In the early 90s, sensing that Pete's recordings were not being heard by younger generations, I suggested to him that he record an album of his Earth songs. He said, "My voice is shot, but if we can have a chorus to carry the melodies, I could sing along." My Living Music colleagues and I produced the album Pete in 1996. It won a Grammy, Pete's first. The final song, "To My Old Brown Earth" (lyrics below), is one Pete had written for a friend's funeral. It's the most moving "goodbye song" I've ever heard. We'd like to offer it as a free download for anyone who would like to hear it. And please feel free to pass it along to your friends. To My Old Brown Earth To my old brown earth And to my old blue sky I'll now give these last few molecules of "I" And you who sing And you who stand nearby I do charge you not to cry Guard well our human chain Watch well you keep it strong As long as sun will shine And this our home Keep pure and sweet and green For now I'm yours And you are also Mine — Words and music by Pete Seeger, 1958 About the song, Pete wrote: "In 1958 I sang at the funeral of John McManus, co-editor of the radical newsweekly, The Guardian, and regretted that I had no song worthy of the occasion. So this got written." With gratitude, For living music, Paul

Today we issue an international call for Spring Days of Action – 2014, a coordinated campaign in April and May to:

          End Drone Killing, Drone Surveillance and Global Militarization
The campaign will focus on drone bases, drone research facilities and test sites and drone manufacturers.
The campaign will provide information on:
1. The suffering of tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza who are under drone attack, documenting the killing, the wounding and the devastating impact of constant drone surveillance on community life.
2. How attack and surveillance drones have become a key element in a massive wave of surveillance, clandestine military attacks and militarization generated by the United States to protect a global system of manufacture and oil and mineral exploitation that is creating unemployment and poverty, accelerating the waste of nonrenewable resources and contributing to environmental destruction and global warming.
In addition to cases in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, we will examine President Obama's "pivot" into the Asia-Pacific, where the United States has already sold and deployed drones in the vanguard of a shift of 60% of its military forces to try to control China and to enforce the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership.  We will show, among other things, how this surge of "pivot" forces, greatly enabled by drones, and supported by the US military-industrial complex, will hit every American community with even deeper cuts in the already fragile social programs on which people rely for survival.  In short, we will connect drones and militarization with "austerity" in America.
3. How drone attacks have effectively destroyed international and domestic legal protection of the rights to life, privacy, freedom of assembly and free speech and have opened the way for new levels of surveillance and repression around the world, and how, in the United States, increasing drone surveillance, added to surveillance by the National Security Agency and police, provides a new weapon to repress black, Hispanic, immigrant and low-income communities and to intimidate Americans who are increasingly unsettled by lack of jobs, economic inequality, corporate control of politics and the prospect of endless war.
We will discuss how the United States government and corporations conspire secretly to monitor US citizens and particularly how the Administration is accelerating drone surveillance operations and surveillance inside the United States with the same disregard for transparency and law that it applies to other countries, all with the cooperation of the Congress.
The campaign will encourage activists around the world to win passage of local laws that prohibit weaponized drones and drone surveillance from being used in their communities as well as seeking national laws to bar the use of weaponized drones and drone surveillance.
The campaign will draw attention to the call for a ban on weaponized drones by RootsAction.org that has generated a petition with over 80,000 signers
http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6180
and to efforts by the Granny Peace Brigade (New York City), KnowDrones.org and others to achieve an international ban on both weaponized drones and drone surveillance.
The campaign will also urge participation in the World Beyond War movement.
The following individuals and organizations endorse this Call:
Lyn Adamson – Co-chair, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Dennis Apel – Guadalupe Catholic Worker, California
Judy Bello – Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones & End the Wars
Medea Benjamin – Code Pink
Leah Bolger – Former National President, Veterans for Peace
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Sung-Hee Choi – Gangjeong Village International Team, Jeju, Korea
Chelsea C. Faria – Graduate student, Yale  Divinity School; Promoting Enduring Peace
Sandy Fessler – Rochester (NY) Against War
Joy First
Bruce K. Gagnon - Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Holly Gwinn Graham – Singer/songwriter, Olympia, WA.
Regina Hagen - Darmstaedter Friedensforum, Germany
Kathy Kelly – Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Malachy Kilbride
Marilyn Levin and Joe Lombardo – Co-Coordinators, United National Antiwar Coalition
Tamara Lorincz – Halifax Peace Coalition, Canada
Nick Mottern – KnowDrones.org
Agneta Norberg – Swedish Peace Council
Pepperwolf – Director, Women Against Military Madness
Lindis Percy, Coordinator, Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases  CAAB UK
Mathias Quackenbush – San Francisco, CA
Lisa Savage – Code Pink, State of Maine
Janice Sevre-Duszynska
Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck- Friedenswerkstatt Mutlangen, Germany
Cindy Sheehan
Lucia Wilkes Smith – Convener, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) – Ground Military Drones Committee
David Soumis – Veterans for Peace; No Drones Wisconsin
Debra Sweet – World Can’t Wait
David Swanson - WarisACrime.org
Brian Terrell – Voices for Creative Nonviolence
United National Antiwar Coalition
Veterans for Peace
Dave Webb – Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
Curt Wechsler – Fire John Yoo! (a project of World Can’t Wait) – San Francisco, CA
Paki Wieland, Northampton (MA) Committee to Stop War(s)
Loring Wirbel – Citizens for Peace in Space (Colorado Springs, CO)
Women Against Military Madness
Ann Wright – Retired US Army colonel and former diplomat
Leila Zand - Fellowship of Reconciliation

Add your name by emailing it to: nickmottern@earthlink.net and watch for updates at http://KnowDrones.org

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Asylum in Brazil for courageous Edward Snowden! Asilo no Brasil para o corajoso Edward Snowden! More than 1 million people have already signed!

Dear friends  Please sign these petitions requesting asylum in Brazil for whistleblower Edward Snowden, exiled in Russia for revealing massive spying by US and UK governments agencies NSA & GCHQ. His disclosures were widely covered by The Guardian – its readers voted him Person of the Year 2013. Sign David Miranda*'s petition : here The petition says: [translated from Portuguese] Edward Snowden gave up everything to bring to light the operation of mega espionage by the U.S. against Brazil and the rest of the world. His passport was revoked by his own country and now he's stuck in a legal limbo in Moscow, with a visa for just one year. Brazil, one of the main targets of espionage, should provide shelter to someone who opened our eyes to the indiscriminate U.S. surveillance globally. It's time to offer Edward Snowden immediate asylum in Brazil!

To sign, go here, enter your email/details and press on (If asked for your name and country: EUA (USA), Reino Unido (UK) etc)

("sign")

	* David Miranda is a Brazilian gay man, who was detained on 18 August 2013 for nine hours under Section 7 of Terrorism Act because he was carrying Snowden’s files from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro for his partner, investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald. He is taking the UK Home Office to court.
Sign petition from Avaaz (in English) here    Circulated by: Payday men’s network  payday@paydaynet.org US:  215 848 1120 / UK:  020 7267 8698 Queer Strike  queerstrike@queerstrike.net US:  415-626 4114  / 020 7482 2496

FILM: "High Power" Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Cambridge Peace Commission has invited nuclear engineer-turned-environmentalist Pradeep Indulkar to show his film High Power Thursday February 6 at 6:45PM   At Cambridge Main Library , Community Room, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA. The film is free. The film is open to the public. Please circulate widely to interested people. High Power, a 27-minute documentary about the health issues faced by residents of Tarapur, a town in Maharashtra, and home to the 50- year-old Tarapur nuclear power plant, recently won the Yellow Oscar in the short film category in the Rio de Janeiro leg of the Uranium Film Festival.  “The government was showing a very rosy picture of Tarapur on TV, so a few of us thought of going there and interviewing the people...That material was very strong, people were talking from their heart, and instead of showing it on a news channel, I thought it could be made into a documentary,” says Indulkar. After the film, Indulkar will describe the passionate anti-nuclear movement in India and their request for support from the global anti-nuclear movement, particularly from those countries whose nuclear industries are building plants in India.  Indulkar’s film tour in the western MA occurs at a time that the US has agreed to a deal in which India buys 6 nuclear power plants from Westinghouse – a boon for the industry that is going bust in the United States.  India reprocesses nuclear power waste into nuclear weapons and, thus, more nuclear power translates into greater weapons capability.  The US-India agreement will require that India accept liability in case of a nuclear accident, a tragic undermining of the post-Bhopal Indian law that placed liability on the shoulders of the industry selling the equipment.   United for Justice with Peace is a coalition of peace and justice organizations and community peace groups in the Greater Boston region. The UJP Coalition, formed after September 11th, seeks global peace through social and economic justice. Help us continue to do this critical work! Make a donation to UJP today. info@justicewithpeace.org 617-383-4857 www.justicewithpeace.org

HONOR THE THREE L’S-LENIN, LUXEMBURG, LIEBKNECHT-Honor An Historic Leader Of The American Left-James P. Cannon

 

 

 

 EVERY JANUARY WE HONOR LENIN OF RUSSIA, ROSA LUXEMBURG OF POLAND, AND KARL LIEBKNECHT OF GERMANY AS THREE LEADERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS MOVEMENT. DURING THE MONTH WE ALSO HONOR OTHER HISTORIC LEADERS AS WELL ON THIS SITE.

 

Markin comment on founding member James P. Cannon and the early American Communist Party taken from a book review on the “American Left History” blog:

If you are interested in the history of the American Left or are a militant trying to understand some of the past mistakes of our history and want to know some of the problems that confronted the early American Communist Party and some of the key personalities, including James Cannon, who formed that party this book is for you.

At the beginning of the 21st century after the demise of the Soviet Union and the apparent ‘death of communism’ it may seem fantastic and utopian to today’s militants that early in the 20th century many anarchist, socialist, syndicalist and other working class militants of this country coalesced to form an American Communist Party. For the most part, these militants honestly did so in order to organize an American socialist revolution patterned on and influenced by the Russian October Revolution of 1917. James P. Cannon represents one of the important individuals and faction leaders in that effort and was in the thick of the battle as a central leader of the Party in this period. Whatever his political mistakes at the time, or later, one could certainly use such a militant leader today. His mistakes were the mistakes of a man looking for a revolutionary path.

For those not familiar with this period a helpful introduction by the editors gives an analysis of the important fights which occurred inside the party. That overview highlights some of the now more obscure personalities (a helpful biographical glossary is provided), where they stood on the issues and insights into the significance of the crucial early fights in the party.

These include questions which are still relevant today; a legal vs. an underground party; the proper attitude toward parliamentary politics; support to third party bourgeois candidates ;trade union policy; class war defense as well as how to rein in the intense internal struggle of the various factions for organizational control of the party. This makes it somewhat easier for those not well-versed in the intricacies of the political disputes which wracked the early American party to understand how these questions tended to pull it in on itself. In many ways, given the undisputed rise of American imperialism in the immediate aftermath of World War I, this is a story of the ‘dog days’ of the party. Unfortunately, that rise combined with the international ramifications of the internal disputes in the Russian Communist Party and in the Communist International shipwrecked the party as a revolutionary party toward the end of this period.

In the introduction the editors motivate the purpose for the publication of the book by stating the Cannon was the finest Communist leader that America had ever produced. This an intriguing question. The editors trace their political lineage back to Cannon’s leadership of the early Communist Party and later after his expulsion to the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party so their perspective is obvious. What does the documentation provided here show? I would argue that the period under study represented Cannon’s apprenticeship. Although the hothouse politics of the early party clarified some of the issues of revolutionary strategy for him I believe that it was not until he linked up with Trotsky in the late 1920’s that he became the kind of leader who could lead a revolution. Of course, since Cannon never got a serious opportunity to lead revolutionary struggles in America this is mainly reduced to speculation on my part. Later books written by him make the case better. One thing is sure- in his prime he had the instincts to want to lead a revolution.

As an addition to the historical record of this period this book is a very good companion to the two-volume set by Theodore Draper - The Roots of American Communism and Soviet Russia and American Communism- the definitive study on the early history of the American Communist Party. It is also a useful companion to Cannon’s own The First Ten Years of American Communism. I would add that this is something of a labor of love on the part of the editors. This book was published at a time when the demise of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was in full swing and anything related to Communist studies was deeply discounted. Nevertheless, for better or worse, the American Communist Party (and its offshoots) needs to be studied as an ultimately flawed example of a party that failed in its mission to create a radical version of society in America. Now is the time to study this history.