I responded to a discussion taking place about how democracy is the victim of AIPAC's bribing U.S. politicians and perverting dialog, discussion and debate.
It isn't only on this issue of Israel and Palestine that dialog, discussion and debate is being stifled but it is around this issue that the methods of stifling democracy seem to be getting honed with a much more intense kind of McCarthyism.
The only anti-dote is that we who are for peace, equality, social and economic justice become more engaged and outspoken.
There really hasn't been what could be described as a healthy democracy in this country since Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
This "lesser evilism" used to elect Harry "Atom Bomber" Truman, one of the most evil monsters to ever walk the face of the earth, instead of Henry Wallace is also a major part of the problem and we see this brought to new levels today in the way the supporters of Obama and Hillary Clinton are trying to stifle and thwart democracy to prevent the voices of the people from being heard.
In 2008, when I posted as an elected member of the Minnesota Democratic Party's State Central Committee that all funding for the "Israeli killing machine must cease" in response to the Gaza pogrom; a sitting judge here in Minnesota responded, on the DFL listserve, and I quote, "You must be fucking an Arab bitch."
Obviously such an incredibly racist statement coming from a judge from whom one expects a standard of racial fairness, was intended, not so much to intimidate me since these people know I can't be intimidated, to silence others; no one wants to be talked to like this from a person in such a position of authority from whom one expects tolerance and fairness.
A couple years later, the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's Progressive Caucus unanimously voted for a resolution calling on all Minnesota public institutions to divest from Israel. Again, the State Chair of the Minnesota DFL, Brian Melendez--- a die-hard Zionist--- stepped in and instructed the Progressive Caucus to rescind its resolution or loose standing as an official DFL caucus. Without consulting the rest of us, the Chair, a party hack named Steve Linnerooth, arbitrarily "rescinded" the resolution so it would not be brought before the MN DFL State Convention.
I could go on and on with other examples, including the extreme measures that were taken to remove me from the MN DFL's State Central Committee but I think many other people have similar examples of how democracy is being thwarted and stymied in the most disgusting and malicious manners.
It is rather ironic that we see the same supporters of the discriminatory and murderous genocidal policies of Israel now coming to the defense of these fascists in the Ukraine who are goose-stepping in the footprints of Hitler espousing the same kind of anti-Semitism as they shut down elections and opposition parties, loot and burn the homes of opposing politicians and ransack the offices of opposing parties and organizations--- all organized and coordinated by those working for Obama, a "constitutional attorney" who has violated Article I of the United Nation's Charter in calling for sanctions against Russia because the people of the Crimea voted to become part of Russia.
It is okay and approved by the ruling Wall Street imperialist circles in this country for South Sudan to secede from Sudan through a questionable election and a bloody civil war but it becomes inappropriate for the people of Crimea to become part of Russia in a peaceful manner to escape being drawn into this fascist violence and the civil war now certain to take place in the Ukraine as anti-fascist Ukrainians, whom we are not supposed to know exist, stand up to bring these fascists down--- are we seeing a repeat of the events that led to World War II with the anti-fascists attempting to fight off the fascists in Spain? In my opinion, this is exactly what we are witnessing before our very eyes.
The United States government has been coddling and training fascists to take over in country after country ever since the end of World War II. Nazi war criminals were provided with fake new identities by Nazi sympathizers working for the OSS and CIA; ilk like Herbert Romerstein who went from giving these fascist bastards new identities to live amongst us and he was then hired to "investigate" Communist activity in the labor, peace and civil rights movements until today this two-bit, half-assed fascist bastard has gone to work for the billionaire "philanthropist" Richard Mellon-Scaife who funds every right-wing organization from the KKK, John Birch Society, Accuracy In Media to this sinister outfit called KeyWiki which has set for itself, under the tutelage of Herbert Romerstein to fabricate a vast international Communist conspiracy sweeping in anyone and everyone tagged with the labels of liberal, socialist and Communist.
"It can't happen here;" better think again.
It is happening right here; fascism has once again raised its ugly head in a very big way--- not in Spain but in the Ukraine... supported fully by Wall Street's Military-Industrial Complex. But wasn't it this same class of bankers, industrialists and financiers who bankrolled Hitler to power?
Maybe its time to organize some study and discussion groups around William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and Georgi Dimitrov's "United Front Against War and Fascism."
Perhaps right now we are seeing the actual end of the "Cold War" and the beginning of another world war--- World War III?
The Obama administration has struck the match in a world living atop a powder keg... the problem is, the "powder keg" consists of two huge nuclear arsenals.
I think it is very dangerous for those of us in the peace movement to be siding with the fascists in the Ukraine posing as a "popular uprising" or the imperialist Russian government comprised of a bunch of mobsters; we certainly shouldn't be supporting the Wall Street government of Barack Obama... we should be looking for allies among the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist movements in these other countries--- especially in the Ukraine, Russia and Crimea... people who understand fascism and war provide no answers to the serious problems humanity faces together--- from hunger, poverty and global warming and climate change to homelessness and unemployment and lack of health care. Wars will never solve these problems... only peace will.
Wall Street has been running our country for well over one-hundred years with war after war, growing poverty and human suffering... now is the time to create a huge anti-monopoly coalition of some kind to challenge Wall Street for political and economic power--- we certainly don't want to be making such a challenge "living" in the ruins of World War III.
Minnesota's socialist Governor, Elmer Benson, warned that if Hitler wasn't defeated in Spain his fascist hordes would run roughshod over Europe; Benson was right.
The fascists who have come to power in the Ukraine must correctly identified as such, and they must be defeated not given support as the Obama Administration is doing.
Sanctions against Russia as being advocated by Obama are an act of war in complete violation of international law and the United Nation's Charter.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
And one of the founders of:
Minnesotans for Peace and Social Justice
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell: 651-587-5541
Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com
Blog: http://
