I hope this will be circulated far and wide… if you know any of the “Progressives for Obama” pass this on to them for their comment and consideration.Can a movement be built around “We are fed up!”?
We are fed up! Stop the robbery at the pumps!
If progressives can’t build a grassroots movement around stopping the robbery at the pumps now taking place, I question whether or not “progressives” have the ability to build any kind of grassroots movements in this country anymore.
The outfit called “Progressives for Obama,” from Tom Hayden and Carl Davidson to Katrina vanden Heuvel and Emanuel Wallerstein to Bill Fletcher---and, well, look at this list…
Initiators:
Barbara Ehrenreich
BIll Fletcher, Jr.
Danny Glover
Tom Hayden
Signers:
Sean Ahern
United Federation of Teachers
Jean Alonso
Dorchester-Roxbury Labor Committee
Fran Ansley
University of Tennessee
David E. Apter
Yale University
Barbara Aguirre
AFL-CIO
Rosalyn Baxandall
American Studies SUNY Old Westbury
Daniel Bourke
National Lawyer Guild
E. Richard Brown
Public Health, UCLA
Paul Buhle
Writer and Historian
Anna Burger
Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU
Paul Burke
Sacramento Progressive Alliance
Malcolm Burnstein
Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Duane Campbell
Sacramento Progressive Alliance
Jim Campbell
CC-DS, Nat'l Co-chair
Jeff Chang
Author, 'Can't Stop, Won't Stop'
Frank Christopher
Crosskeys Media
Steve Cobble
Progressive Democrats of America
Barry Cohen
NJ Institute of Technology
Carl Davidson
SolidarityEconomy.Net
Laurie Davidson
SEIU, NYC
John Delloro
Dolores Huerta Labor Institute
Ariel Dorfman
Chilean Playwright
Peter Dreier
Occidental College
Thorne Dreyer
MDS Austin, Texas
Terry DuBose
VetSpeak.org
Andrea Dupree
Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Carolyn Eisenberg
Hofstra University
Eddie Eitches
President, AFGE Local 476
Daniel Ellsberg
Writer, Military Analyst
Jane English
Plymouth UCC Board of Social Action
Diane Fager
Public School Administrator
Margaret 'Julie' Finch
Progressive Democrats of America
Mickey Flacks
Housing Advocate
Richard Flacks
Santa Barbara County Action Network
Jane Fonda
Writer, Actor
Rev. John C. Forney
Progressive Christians Uniting
Aviva Futorian
Long Term Prisoner Policy Project
Christine George
Researcher and Unversity Teacher
António Geraldo Dias
INDEG/ISCTE
The Rev. John-Mark Gilhousen
Progressive Democrats of Oregon
Todd Gitlin
Columbia University
Danny Goldberg
Gold Village Entertainment
Jorge Gonzalez
Cuba Journal
Thomas Good
Next Left Notes, Editor
Van Gosse
Franklin & Marshall College
Ellen Gurzinsky
Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues
Paul Haggis
Producer
Nancy Hall
City Life/ Vida Urban
David Hamilton
MDS, Austin Texas
Lionel Heredia
Freedom Media
Jim Hightower
Radio Commentator
Adam Hochschild
Author, 'Breaking the Chains'
Sharron Howard
Lafayette Area Peace Coalition
George Hunsinger
Princeton Theological Seminary
David Jacobs
Americans for Democratic Action
Steven Jacobs
Rabbi, Progressive Faith Foundation
Harold Jacobs
SUNY New Paltz
Michael James
Heartland Cafe, 49th Ward Democrats
Zenobia Johnson-Black
Nat'l Org of African-Americans in Housing
Earl Katz
Public Interest Pictures
Marilyn Katz
Founder, Chicagoans Against War on Iraq
Stephen R. Keister M.D.
Physicians for National Health Care
Georgia Kelly
Praxis Peace Institute
Robin D.G. Kelly
Historian
Anne Lowry Klonsky
Education Writer, Chicago
Fred Klonsky
President, Park Ridge Education Association, IEA, NEA
Susan Klonsky
Education Writer
Michael Larkin
South Kingstown Peace and Justice Action Group
William Mandel
Journalist and Activist
Amy Manuel
Denton for Barack
Eric Mar
SF Board of Education
Jay Mazur
Working Families Party
John McAuliff
Fund for Reconciliation and Development
Joe Moore
49th Ward Alderman, Chicago
Ruth Needleman
Labor Studies, University of Indiana
Max Palevsky
Philanthropist
Robert Pardun
Writer & Producer
Patricia Paredes
Texas Campus Compact
Frances Fox Piven
Author, 'Poor Peoples Movements,' CUNY
Matilda Phillips
Progressive Democrats North Carolina
Brian Redondo
Asia-American Activist
Christine R Riddiough
Americans for Democratic Action
Constancia Dinky Romilly, RN
Civil Rights Activist
Mark Rudd
Writer, Organizer
Jay Schaffner
Local 802 American Federation of Musicians
Stanley & Betty Sheinbaum
Publisher
Jennifer Amdur Spitz
Amdur Spitz & Associates
Don St.Clair
GreenDemocraticAlliance.org
Andy Stern
President, SEIU
William Strickland
UMass, Amherst
Dan Swinney
Center for Labor and Community Research
Harry Targ
CC-DS, Purdue University
Jonathan Tasini
National Writers Union
John Trinkl
San Francsico for Democracy
Flo A Weber
Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
Immanuel Wallerstein
Yale University
Paula Weinstein
Producer
Cornel West
Author, 'Race Matters'
Mildred Williamson
CC-DS
Betty Willhoite
Living Wage Advocate
John K Wilson
Obamapolitics.com
Tim Wise
Author, Anti-Racism Educator
All of these “Progressives for Obama” continue to say that what we need is “grassroots organizations” and “movement building” to influence and keep pressure on Obama to force him to do what is right by the American people. We know Obama understands and appreciates mass movements because his mentor was Frank Marshall Davis… the journalist, poet and member of the Communist Party USA. Check out this excellent video:
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/HonoluluRecord1/Frankvideo.html
Two books by Frank Marshall Davis are well worth reading; I assume Barack Obama has read them both:
"Livin' the Blues"
"The Writings of Frank Marshall Davis"
Both books are available from your local socialist institution, more commonly known as the Public Library.
Plus, we know Barack Obama was a community organizer; so, we know Barack Obama will not only appreciate, but understand, the power of such a grassroots campaign with people marching and picketing across this country at Exxon/Mobil/Esso gas stations and convenience stores saying: We are fed up! Stop the robbery at the pumps! Tax oil company profits to pay for education, housing and health care! No more wars for oil company profits!
With obscene profits like Exxon/Mobil has reported this corporation can't even pay those employed in its gas stations and convenience stores real living wages... now, this is downright criminal.
Now, look at this list of “Progressives for Obama.” These people have the resources and the influence to roll out such a grassroots movement for change… if they can’t spark this kind of movement, they sure can’t be believed they are going to influence Obama and the Wall Street coupon clippers backing him. Make no mistake, Barack Obama is the candidate of choice for state monopoly capitalism in this country… his handlers are the foremost proponents of neoliberalism. Progressives will not get such a candidate’s attention to act on our concerns by whispering in his ear.
These people have control over tremendous movement resources… there is no way anyone can tell me that if this most impressive group of writers, newspaper and magazine publishers, union officials, philosophers, historians, ideologists, university professors, radio commentators, and activists from a variety of movements and organizations can’t come together around organizing a nationwide boycott of Exxon/Mobil--- a boycott which would include an educational campaign about the nature of imperialism and exploitation; more important, a grassroots action campaign aimed at demonstrating to Barack Obama and the Democratic Party that we mean business by flexing our collective, united progressive muscle for change as we bring Exxon/Mobil to its knees… if we can’t do this then there is something drastically wrong with “progressivism” in the United States.
Here we have the biggest rip-off in world history taking place, combined with massive seething public anger and we have this body of progressives coming together in support of Barack Obama while acknowledging that Obama is neither progressive or liberal and it will take grassroots organization to convince an Obama Administration to do what is right by the American people instead of going along with his “handlers” and the big-business interests backing him to the hilt and we keep hearing from Carl Davidson and Katrina vanden Heuvel that they are all for “grassroots movement building.”
A war for oil is being fought in Iraq… Exxon/Mobil is poised to reap the spoils of this war… its profits should be taxed to the hilt to pay for socialized health care, or, at least single-payer universal health care.
I don’t think anyone would mind if on each and every sign carried in front of an Exxon/Mobil/Esso gas station convenience store saying, “We are fed up! Join our boycott of Exxon/Mobil/Esso” would be this: “We are fed up! A united grassroots campaign for change initiated by: Progressives for Obama.”
You see, I do not think Tom Hayden and some of these other “progressives” are sincere. I think they have ulterior motives. I think they are intentionally trying to stymie real grassroots campaigns for change even as they repeatedly claim “movement building” as their intent. It would be easy as heck for this impressive group of “Progressives for Obama” to initiate a campaign: We are fed up!
If this headline: Exxon Mobil has biggest profit ever at $11.68B isn’t enough to spark a grassroots movement--- “We are fed up!”--- I don’t know what it will take. Perhaps Carl Davidson or Tom Hayden or Robert Borosage could provide us with an articulate explanation as to why they aren’t rolling out such a campaign. This campaign could be kicked off around the country on Labor Day… it is not like it takes a great deal of thought to pick up some heavy black markers and poster boards and walk in front of Exxon/Mobil/Esso gas stations and convenience stores. It is not like it takes book after book being written to explain to people that there is a robbery at the pumps taking place. I think most Americans will get the drift of what is going on, and why.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080731/D928R1GOG.html
Exxon Mobil has biggest profit ever at $11.68B
Jul 31, 8:28 AM (ET)
By JOHN PORRETTO
HOUSTON (AP) - Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results fell well short of Wall Street expectations and shares fell in premarket trading.
The world's largest publicly traded oil company said its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 40 percent to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
Excluding an aftertax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share.
Analyst on average expected Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Exxon shares fell more than 2 percent, or $1.88, to $82.50 in premarket trading.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080731/D928Q9PO0.html
Big prices for oil, record 2Q profits at Shell
Jul 31, 7:37 AM (ET)
By TOBY STERLING AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) reported a 33 percent jump in second-quarter profits Thursday, its biggest quarter ever at $11.6 billion thanks to high oil prices and the weak dollar.
The company earned $8.67 billion in the same quarter last year.
Shell said its selling price per barrel of oil was around $112, up from $64 a year earlier. That pushed earnings at its main exploration and production arm up 90 percent to $5.88 billion, despite a 1.1 percent fall in production to 3.05 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day.
Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer dismissed calls in Britain for a windfall tax on oil companies.
Britain's BP PLC (BP) reported this week that its profits jumped 28 percent to $9.47 billion in the quarter.
"If we do less investment there will be less supply for consumers" which would drive prices higher, Van der Veer said.
"The world needs energy."
He said the company was reinvesting profits and now expects capital spending of between $35 billion and $36 billion this year, up from the last previous estimate of $24 billion to $25 billion. That figure includes the company's $5.8 billion bid for Canada's Duvernay Oil Corp., launched earlier this month.
He said Shell was benefited from a strong operating performance as well as high energy prices, but said refining margins had weakened.
Refining profits rose 16 percent to $4.54 billion, but Shell said at the current cost of supplies - which strips out the impact of oil prices - refining earnings would have fallen by 63 percent to $1.08 billion, mostly due to weaker margins in the United States.
The company's net sales were $131 billion in the quarter, up from $84.9 billion.
The strong quarterly results had been widely expected and shares rose 1.2 percent to 23.63 euros ($36.77).
Petercam analyst Alexandre Weinberg repeated his "buy" recommendation, saying the company has been undervalued since 2004 when it was forced to restate its proven oil reserves in a major accounting scandal.
"Though the sentiment toward the majors (major oil companies) has weakened in the past weeks due to the oil price decline, we believe that Royal Dutch Shell will continue to generate massive cash flows," he wrote in a note on the earnings.
"The following 18 months should see significant production capacity increase," he said, citing a large project on Sakhalin island in Russia expected to begin production at the end of the year.
"The company still trades at a discount to its peers and we deem this unjustified."
There are some problems ahead for Shell, however.
In Nigeria's oil-rich delta region, the company had nearly 200,000 barrels per day of oil shut down during the quarter due to attacks by armed militias. The militias seek a share of oil profits now controlled by the national government.
Shell has been investing in deep-sea oil platforms in Nigeria to minimize the risk, but in June, its Bonga platform 75 miles from the coast was shut down briefly after an attack there.
"We had always right or wrongly thought that being that far away, an attack would be relatively unlikely," Van der Veer said.
"We will think through how we can better protect our facilities, I don't think we should publicize what we (plan to) do."
Alan L. Maki
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