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The way into the future
Submitted by Alan Maki on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 10:21.There is a way into the future.
The "red" Finns of the Iron Range took up the struggle for this future many years ago as they successfully took on the mining and forestry bosses to organize unions and establish the network of "red" Finn Co-operatives and Mesaba Co-operative Park while bringing forward an alternative to the two parties of big-business with the pro-people, environmentally friendly, pro-peace, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party.
The "red" Finns and their friends were instrumental in electing two socialist governors, Floyd Olson and Elmer Benson, along with the Communist Congressman from Eveleth, John Bernard.
It was a terrible mistake to merge the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party with the Democratic Party because, today, the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party is a very corrupt, anti-labor, anti-environmental political party controlled from top to bottom by the very mining and forestry bosses along with the power generating and banking industries that the socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party fought for so many years.
Socialism, not capitalism, is the way into the future.
Our country and specifically our state and most especially the Iron Range was plunged into political darkness as first the very corrupt Harold Stassen, and then Joe McCarthy plied their dirty brand of anti-communist politics which hit Minnesota especially hard. If we are going to move into a future where there is a respect for labor and Mother Nature we are going to have to once and for all break free from the darkness of anti-communist politics in Minnesota and get back on track from where Floyd Olson, Elmer Benson and John Bernard left off with democracy being suffocated by the corporations and the politicians they hire to protect their profits.
The Iron Range has been one big "money pit" for the Wall Street coupon clippers and this must end.
Also, no one wants to talk about the fact that a very large portion of the iron ore mined and the taconite being processed has gone, and continues to go, into building up this insane military-financial-industrial complex in militarizing our country and fighting these dirty wars. We need to ask: How much has been taken from these iron ore pits for this senseless killing and destruction which kills and destroys so much as the wealthy few profit? The "red" Finns of the Iron Range had the moral and political courage to ask these questions and so should we.
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Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
Phone: 218-386-2432
