Big problems in the working class movements continue to surface but there are also beacons of hope.

In Canada, the Liberals work for Bay Street and Wall Street, just like the Democrats here, which means they are willing accomplices to these dirty Wall Street wars and the militarism of these merchants of death and destruction in quest of greater profits. Not only this, but the Liberals continue to see oit Canadians by allowing U.S. (and other) multi-national corporations to rape the land of natural resources while using Canadians as a source of cheap labor in the process--- what the Liberals essentially do is get a second and third mortgage on the country and its people every single time they get in office. With only sightly more than thirty-million people and its enormous holdings of natural resources and highly skilled labor, Canadians could be living extremely well with a very good standard of living if not for the fact of its participation in these dirty U.S. imperialist wars and foreign capitalists rapping the land and exploiting the people.


Hopefully, those on the left in Canada will stop attacking the New Democratic Party, focus on correcting the problems created by this small group of social democrats and democratic socialists who are afraid of socialism, and provide the kind of working class leadership capable of taking on the Liberals and Conservatives who are nothing but pawns of Wall Street and its junior partner, Bay Street in a struggle for political and economic power.


Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch have taken to lecturing the U.S. left about how we need some kind of special socialist party whose goals and objectives remain very vague while they have attacked the NDP in Canada while getting little to no response from workers for their call for such an undefined new socialist party in Canada when they have the NDP right under their noses. and then instead of supporting the most popular working class Communist Party in Greece (the KKE) they support Syriza which much worse than the NDP.


With the NDP, the good solid labor movement Canadian workers have built up, and with a much larger Communist Party of Canada, Bay Street and Wall Street wouldn't stand a chance against the Canadian people... and this is the kind of organized might we should be looking to build here in the United States... but, at the present time the U.S. working class lacks its own political party like the NDP, lacks a solid trade union movement and has a Communist Party USA in complete shambles with "leaders" hand-picked by the FBI to serve the interests of U.S. imperialism.


And Canadian workers have an excellent newspaper in The People's Voice; something else we lack here in the United States.


There is something to be learned from the current struggles of the Greek people, especially the Greek working class who have in very large numbers sorted through all of the confusion being tossed at them and taken up with the KKE--- http://inter.kke.gr/en/firstpage/


I will never understand why people as smart as Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch refuse to push for solidarity with P.A.M.E. and the KKE... perhaps for the same reason they shun the NDP instead of focusing on bringing left-wing working class leadership into it?


Until working people are willing to struggle for beating swords into plowshares I really doubt workers anywhere in the world will make much headway against Wall Street's thoroughly reactionary neo-liberal imperialist agenda intended to save capitalism at great expense to the rest of us. Here again, the Greek KKE stand out in the forefront of the struggle for peace as it fights to free Greece from the clutches of the greedy bankers and the multi-national corporations.

Communist Party of Greece - KKE

Communist Party of Greece

inter.kke.gr

Some thoughts about the anti-monopoly struggle... the Greek Communist Party says this stage of struggle is not needed; not needed in Greece or just not needed anywhere?

I don't think any of the Communist Parties support the idea that there are "intermediate systems' although they do bring forward the concept of an anti-monopoly government being an intermediate, albeit probably very brief, stage of government during which time the working class can catch a new breath to continue on with the struggle for socialism through which many of the anti-monopoly allies will be won to supporting socialism.


What would you see as an "intermediate system?" Capitalism and socialism are "systems." Anti-monopoly and democratic are stages, not systems.



I think it is up to Communists to be creative... whatever works to get the working class on the road to socialism.


I don't think any Communists have ever said that we "must" take the anti-monopoly struggle to a "stage."


Most Communist Parties around the world are much weaker in influence among the working class than is the KKE. If Greek workers don't need this intermediate stage we refer to as the "anti-monopoly" stage all the more power to you. Why go backwards in struggle when the trend of the struggle in Greece is for making the transition from capitalism to socialism?


On the other hand, where working class struggles are not so advanced other industrialized capitalist countries, I don't see how the working class can avoid the anti-monopoly stage.


Wall Street (and its many junior partners around the world) is the common enemy of workers, and most other people, in every single country. My personal opinion is that the Communist Parties should be working together to advance a common anti-monopoly struggle against Wall Street by encouraging mass struggle for the implementation of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights in every country--- the task is to take the words of these hypocritical liberals from a piece of paper to make these words a reality for everyone.


I should think the KKE would understand the need for a global and international anti-monopoly struggle like this? And such a struggle would help Greek workers in their struggle for socialism.


I think we need to be thinking in terms of Wall Street (and its numerous junior partners around the world) is our common enemy, anti-imperialist struggle, anti-monopoly struggle combined with the struggle for socialism.


Viewing the class struggle in this way would lend support to the struggle for socialism in Greece, would it not?


Is not the Communist movement flexible enough to take into consideration how all of this fits together internationally?


Quite frankly, I think the international Communist movement has, collectively, done a very poor job in taking issue with the Communist Parties, like the CPUSA which have gone completely astray to the point of siding with the enemies of the working class and sabotaging international working class solidarity including attacking the KKE.


I believe the CPUSA leaders like William Z. Foster, Gus Hall and Henry Winston were correct in advocating the building of a massive all peoples anti-monopoly front as a "stage" in the struggle (here in the United States) as the road to socialism just as the KKE is probably correct in assessing there is no need for this anti-monopoly stage of struggle in Greece.


I think the NDP in Canada is a good example of anti-monopoly struggle, too. The NDP for all practical purposes is the anti-monopoly coalition... although I understand there are those who would disagree with this and they think the anti-monopoly struggle can be by-passed... but, here again, Canada is not Greece.

Why no discussion about the need to enforce Affirmative Action?

Not one single one of the presidential candidates, in spite of a lot of talk about racism, has had the moral or political courage to call for the strict and strident enforcement of Affirmative Action where public funds are involved pursuant to Federal Executive Order #11246 signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson even though the enforcement of Affirmative Action is the only known mass remedy to racist discrimination in employment.


Why isn't there the demand that a rider be attached to every single piece of local, state and federal legislation proving Affirmative Action has been enforced before public funds can be allocated for any project?

Why are racists and bigots of every stripe being allowed to squash any mention of Affirmative Action enforcement?


And, why have ALL the foundation-funded outfits refused to call for the enforcement of Affirmative Action as the way to achieving full equality in employment in this country?


Probably for the same reason these foundation-funded outfits refuse to address "standard-of-living," "cost-of-living," the need for peace, making the politicians who talk about "jobs, jobs, jobs" legislatively accountable for attaining and maintaining full employment and why they refuse to take up the need for a National Public Health Care System and a National Public Child Care System both of which would be publicly funded, publicly administered and publicly delivered just like public education.


We have allowed, through our failure to struggle against the reactionary ideas of the neo-liberals who see freedom of the capitalist markets to take over every facet of our lives to dominate the political discussion in this country through bullying, name-calling, intimidation of all forms, to dominate the political life of what is supposed to be "our" country and "our" government.


And it is time to speak up and challenge all of this.

Are you satisfied with getting your problems solved on the "lay away plan?"

My answer to a FaceBook friend who claims the time is not right to solve the problems of working people and is tired of hearing about working people and then claims there is too much confusion to find solutions to problems:

There are many solutions to the problems working people are experiencing and every single one of the solutions can be put in place just as quickly as the government moved to bail out Wall Street.

Working people, the working class, is the largest and only productive class in society and includes most seniors, most refugees and starving children. We have a right, as workers, to have a say and participate in the decision-making process in a way intended to resolve and solve our problems--- today, not later. We have created the tremendous wealth now being horded by the selfish and greedy wealthy few and we are entitled to have that wealth put to work solving our problems.

The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights was brought forward in 1948 and the vast majority of working people in this country and around the world do not have these rights beyond the piece of paper they are printed on.

You may be "waiting" for this election to be over but your fellow human beings, mostly workers, need to eat every day, need medical care when they are sick and not according to your "formula" of "baby steps" and "incremental change," workers need jobs at real living wages to survive and can't wait decades to get a real living wage job.

Tell me how long should a hungry child have to wait to eat? Until "after the election?" How long should an unemployed worker have to wait for a job? How long must someone go with a toothache before they get dental care?

For the working class and all working people there is only one formula that determines when working people have ever had their problems solved and it is spelled: S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E.

Working people will only get in the here and now what we demand and fight today.

We are not talking about luxuries like the latest style clothes and designer jewelry, vacations at luxury resorts in the Caribbean (although a week or two in Cuba would be nice), going to Disneyland every year.

Read the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and you will understand what working people want and expect, right now, from government and an economic system that truly works for the people, all the people--- including working people who create ALL the wealth along with quite a little help from Mother Nature.

This is all we want and expect and struggle for right now--- not in "baby steps," not "incrementally," not on the "lay-away plan" promised by a bunch of crooked, corrupt, lying Wall Street bribed politicians looking for votes in order to try to put a shine to a "democracy" that is in rapid decay and only works for the parasitical wealthy few: http://unudhr.blogspot.com/

There are solutions today and among finding those solutions in many other places, I bring forward these solutions every single day.

The solution to a child being hungry is to feed them.

The solution to poverty wage jobs is to pay a real living wage based upon the real and actual cost--of-living.

The solution to a toothache is providing access to dental care.

Let us not play games here; there isn't one single reason the problems of working people are not being solved and that is because solving all these problems would cut into the profits of the Wall Street exploiters and the entire business (capitalist) class.

Every single day in the United States more food is thrown away than what it would take to feed every single hungry child in the world yet you don't want to get specific about who is dumping this food.

Every single day some worker suffers a toothache while a dentist refuses care because he/she is on strike against the "low" fees the State of Minnesota will pay but chooses instead of helping someone to be out playing golf.

You might buy diamond and gold jewelry on "the lay-away plan" but working people can not continue to accept a kind of politics that puts our problems on the "lay-away plan;" especially when this "lay-away plan" is only phony campaign promises never intended to become reality as the wealth of our Nation is either horded by the rich or squandered on dirty imperialist wars while you await some kind of special time to beat swords into plowshares--- again, the peace dividend promised decades ago by the Democrats, has never materialized for working people.

And you might not want to hear about working people or the working class--- but might I suggest you wouldn't be able to survive one single day without this class.

There is a great deal of confusion but that confusion is intentionally being sown in order to try to disorient the working class and prevent the solidarity and unity in struggle required to take on our Wall Street enemies.

Conditions getting so bad for working class families has never been a catalyst for action.

I don't think the so-called liberals, phony progressives or the fake leftists supporting Hillary Clinton will be any more likely to struggle against Trump than they have been with Obama or would be with Hillary Clinton.

To back this up, I would point to their failure to participate in struggles to end the dirty war in Vietnam, they ducked out the movement to impeach Nixon, failure to participate in the struggle to prevent the war in Iraq, they abandoned the struggle to impeach Bush and Cheney and their failure to participate in struggles to try to stop plant closings back in the 1970's or during the present time; or their undermining the rank-and-file initiated struggles in Wisconsin against Scott Walker and Snyder in Michigan or their attitude towards police killings in which they call for "letting justice take its course" in place of militant mass mobilizations of the people.

I would also point out they cheered when John Conyers had Cindy Sheehan arrested just because she went to John Conyers' office insisting he come through with his promise to push for the impeachment and arrest of Bush and Cheney.

Just look at what Bernie Sanders' campaign consisted of; mostly phone-banking with mass support in the form of demonstrations against injustice being undermined and actively discouraged except to demonstrate against Trump.

I don't think we should plan on things getting so bad that it will move people into action because moving masses of people into united action always entails grassroots and rank-and-file activities including:

Education.

Organization.

Leading to united mass action in the streets, in the workplaces and at the ballot box.

Now, if you see anyone from among this grouping now supporting Obama and Hillary Clinton who will help initiate these kinds of struggles, even if Trump is elected, lets identify these people right now and ask them to participate in a campaign for a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would make it legislatively mandatory that the president and Congress attain and maintain full employment... after all, they are campaigning on the promise of "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.;" certainly this isn't an extreme position to ask of anyone campaigning on the promises of, "Jobs. Jobs. Jobs."

Let's not shirk our own immediate responsibility to organize a vast national effort in establishing a network that will be a catalyst for action.

We can only rely so much on masses of people moving spontaneously into action no matter how bad conditions get.

We need to vigorously participate with real left wing and socialist ideas in order to try to prevent further mass confusion intentionally disseminated in order to prevent working class unity.

We have allowed Bernie Sanders and his gaggle of Democratic Party hacks to set the terms of debate for way too long and we shouldn't tolerate their passing off ambiguities for solutions to the problems being experienced by the working class.

We need to concern ourselves with building a campaign for a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" not wasting our time supporting the campaigns of corrupt Wall Street warmongers like Hillary Clinton.

I have heard the excuse over and over again from the liberals, progressives and leftists supporting the corrupt Wall Street Warmonger Hillary Clinton that we need to withhold our thoughts about what constitutes real reforms when it comes to health care, child care, the Minimum Wage and Social Security because talking about the specific real reforms required would divide Democrats leading to the election of the evil Donald Trump.

And, of course, once again we hear, as we did with Obama, how these people intend to "hold Hillary Clinton's feet to the fire." This is all part of the Big Lie.

My position is this:

We need to initiate a national dialog about the need for:

* Peace and disarmament; conversion--- beating swords into plowshares.

* A National Public Health Care System.

* A National Public Child Care System.

* Adequate Social Security for all retirees based on what a real living income in line with the actual cost-of-living is.

* Elimination of all student debt; not renegotiating the terms of this debt.

* A real living Minimum Wage based on the actual cost-of-living scientifically arrived at and not some figure pulled from a hat that these morons find acceptable even when it won't be implemented for many years to come.

We should not accept any talk of piecemeal reforms when living a decent life with a decent standard of living requires implementation now.

In my opinion, all of this should be brought together as a package of legislation called the "21st Century Full Employment Act For Peace and Prosperity" that would make the president and Congress legislatively responsible for attaining and maintaining full employment--- anyone who wants a job gets a job at real living wages.

We need to organize and fight for such an agenda in our neighborhoods and at work.

Educating through "Letters to the Editor;" FaceBook posts, leafleting in our communities, teach-ins, forums, discussions, picket lines and massive demonstrations all bringing people together in a huge electoral coalition to get our country on track--- not "back on track" because it has never been on track.

This is what will make America great because we will be living at peace with the rest of the world and have a network of public health care centers dotting our country providing the American people with free health care instead of having over 850 U.S. military bases dotting the globe protecting Wall Street's interests and since Wall Street's Military-Industrial Complex is the number one contributor to global warming and climate change we "kill two dirty birds--- war and unemployment--- with one stone."

Twelve-million new jobs will result from a National Public Health Care System--- publicly financed, publicly administered, and most importantly, publicly delivered--- no more controversial than the concept of public education. The same applies to a National Public Child Care System.

We need to stop getting trapped in the conversations about "affordable" health care and "affordable" child care. "Affordable" is just a code word for "profits" that has been conveniently inserted into the conversation by slick Democratic Party hacks looking out for the interests of their Wall Street bosses.

As we have seen from Obama's "Affordable Care Act" it has turned out to be nothing hut the "Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bailout and Profit Maximization Act of 2010" and has taken us far away from the needed reform which is a National Public Health Care System: no fees; pre-natal through burial; everything covered from general medical to dental, eyes, ears and mental; everyone in, nobody out. The cost would be far less than all this insane militarism and these dirty wars.

The Wall Street bankers got what they wanted when they wanted it and we are entitled to these most basic and required reforms fully implemented now not in "baby steps" or "incrementally" on the "lay-away-plan."

The next time you hear someone talk about how advancing these ideas and reforms is going to hurt Hillary Clinton's chances to be elected president of the United States ask them about your right to a decent life and livelihood in the here and now.

We need to concern ourselves with building a campaign for a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" not wasting our time supporting the campaigns of corrupt Wall Street warmongers like Hillary Clinton who can't distinguish a lie from the truth.

When truth is trouble and lies get votes...

The number one national disgrace is not even talked about at election time (actually it is never talked about):


Statistics for Indian Reservations are not even included when poverty and unemployment are talked about because the intentional, vile and pernicious nature of the racism involved would be seen for the national disgrace that it is and universally condemned by the international community.


It is only by intentional racist neglect and the corruption spun by local, state and federal governments that such widespread poverty could continue to exist on the Indian Reservations.

Corrupt local, state and national politicians have corrupted tribal politics to the extent that even when millions upon millions of dollars are allocated towards what is supposed to be the elimination of poverty these funds never get used for their intended purposes but end up in the hands of corrupt tribal politicians with a bunch of wealthy white mobsters bleeding the Indian Reservations to death through casino gaming enterprises which force Native Americans into poverty wage jobs without any rights in unhealthy smoke-filled casinos... of course, for the politicians all this money accumulated by the corrupt few makes a very lucrative stash of campaign contributions.


So much poverty causing misery side by side with so much wealth... and so it goes... on and on, with the only end in sight being when people take power away from the greedy few.


Does any "economist" dare to say that there is near full employment on any of the Indian Reservations?


What are the current unemployment and poverty figures for large Indian Reservations in Northern Minnesota right now while the "economists" are making the political boast that the Nation is "near full employment" right now? Reservations like White Earth, Red Lake, Leech Lake.


I called my Congressman (really American Crystal Sugar's and big agribusinesses' Congressman) Democrat Collin Peterson's office to ask this question this morning and his assistant responded: "You are just trying to cause trouble; I'm not discussing this with you."


So, getting to the truth is "causing trouble."

There is no business quite like the arms business from which the Wall Street merchants of death and destruction reap tremendous super-profits at the expense of social and human needs and yet this doesn't merit a national discussion, dialog and debate as part of the political process? This silence, like this squandering of our Nation's wealth on militarism and these dirty wars so very few profit from, is complete insanity and detrimental to democracy. Any real program for change should be formulated around the struggle and fight for peace.

Mistakes. Do we all make "mistakes?" Are politicians just "human" so they make "mistakes" like the rest of us do?

Politicians get let off the hook for all their dirty deeds by these dirty deeds being attributed to "mistakes."


All a politician has to do come Election Day is claim they made "mistakes" in voting this or that way or taking this or that position.


Hillary Clinton is the epitome of a politician constantly "apologizing" for past "mistakes." She attributes her vote to support Bush and the Iraq War to a "mistake."


Hillary Clinton attributes her attempt to cover up her crimes in defense of U.S. imperialism by using a private e-,mail server to a "mistake" when everyone knows it was all done very cleverly to evade responsibility and accountability... but Bernie Sanders brushes this off as nothing but a little thing some Republicans are making a big thing about when what the Republicans are making a big thing about is the wrong thing when the real thing is even bigger.


We are supposed to overlook all the wrong-doings by Obama simply as "mistakes;" from his drone wars to Obamacare which is really far from "affordable health care" and nothing but the "Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bailout and Profit Maximization Act of 2010"--- such evil and pernicious legislation doesn't get enacted by "mistake" any more than do these dirty wars happen by "mistake."


So we just attribute all the problems like wars, lack of health care, unemployment, failure to enforce Affirmative Action, bailing out Wall Street to "mistakes?"


Is funding Israel to carry out genocide against the Palestinian people simply attributable to "mistakes?"
"Mistakes" or carrying out Wall Street's reactionary agenda?


Was it simply a "mistake" when Hillary Clinton not only supported, but advocated, for a Wal-mart policy of firing pregnant women while on Wal-mart's board?


Is it simply a "mistake" that Bernie Sanders voted, over and over again, to approve "Compacts" creating the Indian Gaming Industry which has forced some two-million casino workers to be employed in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos trapped in poverty wage jobs without any rights under state or federal labor laws?


Has it been simply "mistakes" that have caused both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to turn their backs in indifference to millions of workers who have been swindled out of their pension funds by Wall Street "investors" and "pension fund advisors" and looked the other way as millions more are cheated out of Social Security they are entitled to but denied because these politicians have refused to put in place the monitoring of what employers do with the money they withhold for Social Security but keep for themselves instead of paying into the Social Security Trust Fund making workers responsible for policing the employers themselves knowing that any questioning of employers will most likely lead to termination?


Is it simply a "mistake" that neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton who both claim to be such good friends to workers and unions remain completely silent when it comes to "At-Will Employment" legislation which allows an employer to fire workers without just cause? This is the main impediment to union organizing in this country.


I'm not buying this stuff about these politicians making "mistakes."


It is simply impossible for politicians to make so many "mistakes" that hurt so many people while these same "mistakes" further enrich so few people.



The evil and pernicious intent is present when these Wall Street bribed politicians make these decisions--- all of them.


So now Sanders' supporters claim he has no doing or responsibility with Hillary Clinton making him part of her "team." Just one more Clinton "mistake" and one more time Bernie Sanders has made a "mistake" by not speaking up that Hillary Clinton is being deceiving. Give me a break; it's all part of Wall Street's grand plan.


When was the last time you made a "mistake" that determined how many people would die in a war or be denied a job or health care?


Should we just cut these politicians a little slack and surrender our precious votes to them in spite of all the "mistakes" they have made?


When is enough really ENOUGH?

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The most notable thing about the struggles around the Democratic Party Platform is that the big business interests in control of the Democratic Party through a bunch of ruthless anti-democratic and arrogant well-heeled upper-middle class party hacks led around by the anti-Communist George Lakoff, is that there is no toleration of progressive solutions to the problems of working people and zero tolerance for anything promoting peace and beating swords into plowshares as they push this insane drive for more militarism and more war while feeding the illusion we can have jobs, an economy that works for everyone while fighting these dirty imperialist wars on every continent with increased militarism and allocating the Nation's wealth created by labor for maintaining U,S. military bases all over the world while stubbornly fighting against a National Public Health Care System which would provide everyone with free health care through a network of community and neighborhood health care centers.

It is truly unfortunate so many well-meaning supporters of Bernie Sanders who thought they were seeking socialist oriented solutions to our problems by supporting Bernie Sanders have failed to look beneath the surface in understanding the capitalist source of our problems while failing to understand that Wall Street is our common enemy needing to be defeated not regulated.

You can lead a Dumb Donkey to water but you can't force it to drink... or think.

There should be a struggle for progressive solutions to our problems inside the Democratic Party just like in any other kind of organization but this doesn't mean one should succumb to the illusion that the Democratic Party can, or will be, the catalyst for the kind of change we need.

The good thing is that far more people refuse to participate in the Democratic Party than those who participate--- in the larger scheme of things how many people have ever been to any kind of Democratic Party meeting just to see what really goes on? Very few. Actually, if more people would go see how the Democratic Party actually functions through dictate rather than democracy people would receive a good strong dose of why we need a new political party in this country.

Bernie Sanders himself is the epitome of arrogance in that he shuns discussion, dialog and debate as if these very virtues of democracy are some kind of pernicious disease. Anyone who has tried to engage him in a discussion where there is disagreement quickly finds this out... but, here again, his supporters have been such a loyal cult-like following they are not capable of thinking for themselves to the point where they might actually begin to develop questions or concerns because so many of Bernie Sanders' die-hard supporters are from the well-heeled middle class whose most distinguishing of features is selfishness as seen by their intransigent position that people who are suffering should not be demanding immediate solutions to their problems because this would shake up their own little world where so many of these people rely on Wall Street and the foundation funding from Wall Street for their own livelihoods and they aren't about to bite the hand feeding them... they are secure in their own little world as long as real socialist revolution doesn't upset their sweet little arrangement serving Wall Street's interests while pretending to be concerned about humanity... but, they are willing to keep the greatest threat to humanity--- war--- out of the political and intellectual discourse because they know peace is the Democrats' Achilles Heel.

It would seem as if it would be so simple to have the Democratic Party bring forward a Platform calling for a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" if there was any kind of majority in the Democratic Party for justice... but, when your primary goal is acknowledged to be saving capitalism it is just pretty darn hard to come to grips in finding real solutions to the problems working people are experiencing from poverty wages and unemployment to lack of access to health care to expensive university educations to this whole "Cost-of-Living Crisis" every single working class family is caught up in to finding peaceful solutions to problems instead of wars after war simply because every single real solution brings one into direct confrontation with Wall Street and capitalism in its imperialist stage of rapid decay.

Pick any problem you like and the primary obstacle to its solution is capitalism so under these circumstances it becomes very difficult for one to do anything except what the reactionary anti-Communist George Lakoff has taught these Democratic Party hacks to do so well: talk about progressive policy directives but never, ever becoming engaged in a discussion about any specific solutions to any problems--- just pretend the best you can that you sympathize and empathize with people and their problems but run and hide from the people if they demand actual solutions in the here and now.

Do what all these politicians have learned to do so well when confronted by a constituent demanding a solution to their problem/s--- tell them to come see you in your office and if by chance you happen to be in your office when the constituent takes you up on your offer you have your legislative assistant tell them you are not in your office even if you are.

This is the framework Bernie Sanders works from; this is the framework most of his cult-like and die-hard supporters have worked from.

The time has come for a new kind of politics originating at the grassroots and rank-and-file level with working people coming together seeking real solutions to our problems.

We need a new kind of politics where people come first.

Let's talk about the politics and economics of livelihood for a change.

The legacy of the Progressive Party.

Writing in a formerly left-wing revolutionary Marxist working class publication, the People's World---now, unfortunately gone bad and a cheerleader for the Democratic Party, a writer after telling about the Progressive Party holding its convention in Philadelphia like the Democrats will be doing soon... concludes his article with this falsification and outright lie:


"...Many of the goals of the Progressive Party, therefore, remain unfilled to this day. Rising anger against the decline in working class living standards has reached its greatest level in the 2016 election. Progressives, such as the Bernie Sanders delegates to the Democratic National Convention, need to continue the fight against economic inequality, racial injustice, political corruption, and climate change. If successful, they might just bring to fruition the work of the Progressive Party in Philadelphia nearly seventy years ago."

In fact, all the goals of the Progressive Party remain unfulfilled beginning with the quest for peace and disarmament--- beating swords into plowshares and reordering the priorities of this country away from militarism and war and meeting the needs of the people in a way making the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights a living reality for all people rather than remaining obscure words on a yellowing piece of paper.


It is the epitome of intellectual, ideological and political dishonesty to suggest that it might be possible to bring to fruition the work of the Progressive Party through the Democratic Party.


In fact, the Chair of Henry Wallace's campaign, the former socialist governor of Minnesota elected on the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party ticket--- Elmer Benson, wrote this:


http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/47/v47i04p154-161.pdf


What we need in this country, and there isn't a working class in any country in the world that doesn't need this, is a strong, united progressive party with a working class base that is anti-monopoly/anti-imperialist with a platform committed to real reforms aimed--- not at trying to solve capitalism's problems because those problems are inherently unsolvable--- but aimed at solving the problems of working people with a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would create jobs at real living wages with Affirmative Action strictly and stridently enforced with wages in line with the actual "cost-of-living" through the creation of a National Public Health Care System (nothing in common with single-payer, the fraud of Obamacare or Bernie Sanders' fraudulent scheme together with a National Public Child Care System--- both publicly funded, publicly administered and publicly delivered.... nothing at all controversial but like public education.

Such a party would have the stated goal and objective of challenging Wall Street for political and economic power... not simply regulating Wall Street as Bernie Sanders suggested.

And the big banks need to be nationalized and placed under public ownership and democratic control not busted up as suggested by Bernie Sanders and his small sectarian grouping of "democratic socialists."

We need a new kind of people-centered politics.

We don't need single-payer; we need a National Public Health Care System

Doctors are opposed to private, for-profit health insurance but these greedy doctors sure want to keep the profit in the system for themselves:

http://pnhp.org/blog/2016/06/27/bcbs-of-minnesota-dumps-broad-networks/

What we need is a National Public Health Care System--- public financing, public administration and public delivery... everyone in, nobody out; pre-natal to burial... general health care, eyes, ears, dental. A national network of health care centers in every community and neighborhood.

The cost would be a small fraction of what these dirty imperialist wars are costing us and over twelve-million people would be employed at good-paying jobs.

Put the doctors on the public payroll just like teachers and other public employees.

How do we get such a world-class system if the existing political political parties won't enact a National Public Health Care System?

We do what working people have always had to do when this rotten government refuses to provide for human needs--- we build a grassroots and rank-and-file movement and fight like hell for it... and we create a working class based political party that places peace and health care at the very top of its agenda.

Why should we waste our time and resources fighting for a single-payer system that is just going to keep a bunch of greedy doctors rich?

Socialized health care is the only way to go.


Single-payer is private delivery and mostly private administration with public financing.


Socialized health care operates just like public education--- public funding, public administration and public delivery.

Is fear of Donald Trump the basis for electoral unity?

All the foundation-funded Democratic Party front groups have come out on cue warning Bernie Sanders not to take trying to push the Democratic Party Platform too far to the left--- as if he needs any such warning.


All of these "leaders" of these foundation-funded outfits are claiming they have not been directed to caution Sanders by anyone in this way.


Kind of reminds me of all the prices of gas going up at the same time and we are told it isn't monopoly price-fixing.

We are in fact being scammed on the electoral front the same way we are being robbed at the gas pumps--- its all Wall Street's scheme to keep us under their thumb... and the profits flowing.


We are being played for suckers at the ballot box and at the gas pumps.


Polls are showing 22% of Sanders' supporters intend to vote for Trump; about 30% intend to follow Sanders' lead and vote for Hillary Clinton; and about 3% intend to vote for Jill Stein--- what do the remaining 45% intend to do--- I would like to hear from them. Would these millions of people not be able to organize a broad-based electoral front enabling us to break free from the two-party trap?


Oh, yes; Bernie has all their campaign contributions... but would it be too much to ask of these people to contribute another $27.00 to help us break free from this two-party trap?


Let's stop making excuses. The millions of us not going to vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump with liberal, progressive and left views would constitute a clear electoral majority--- if organized and united.


Put together a platform based on anti-monopoly and anti-imperialist unity for beating swords into plowshares and then select our candidates to carry the message to the American people.


Right now the votes are pretty evenly split and evenly splitting the votes three ways would be to our advantage--- we, the people's, advantage.


Let's not get sucked into being afraid of these warmongering corporate bullies like Trump or Clinton.


Quite frankly, in spite of what is said to the contrary by all the Democratic Party hacks with a clearly vested interest, I don't think voting out of fear of Donald Trump is a meaningful vote... when do we begin to vote for the kind of country we really want--- which Hillary Clinton is opposed to.

The Manitoba NDP lost an election but the struggle continues.

For all those leftists who attack the New Democratic Party (NDP) for not being socialist and then turn around and support Bernie Sanders, I will say this by way of voicing my opinion about the April elections in Manitoba where the Conservatives defeated the NDP and the leftists who have attacked the NDP support Bernie Sanders and even Hillary Clinton...

I do find it very strange that among some leftists in Canada who have such a problem working to build the NDP into a very strong working class-based socialist party but they have no problem working with "leftists" here in the pushing Bernie Sanders and even "leftists" who support imperialist Wall Street warmongers like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

One would be hard pressed to find many grassroots and rank-and-file working class activists and supporters of the NDP who don't view it as a socialist party and support it because it is a socialist party in spite of a few who opportunistically took the word socialism out of the platform to appease anti-Communists and red-baiters.

For all practical purposes the NDP is a working class based socialist party.

Get socialism put back into the platform; instead of using this as a position for attacking the NDP.

As far as Bernie Sanders goes, he is far, far to the right of the NDP.

No matter what kind of electoral system any country has workers still need their own mass political party--- Marxists understand this.

I think there is a lack of understanding in Canada about just who these "democratic socialists" associated with Bernie Sanders really are.

They are an actual organization working inside the Democratic Party aligned with the CIA front groups of the AFL-CIO; one of which is the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ITUC) which is also causing havoc inside the NDP--- sowing confusion and disorientation under the guise of claiming to be "social democrats" even though they have nothing to do with "social democracy," either.

Social democracy, as much as I as a Marxist disagree with it as a world view and ideology, is a very legitimate part of the working class movement as are many other varieties of socialism.

In fact, these "democratic socialists" have been holding clandestine meetings with their Canadian counterparts who are mostly affiliated with AFL-CIO unions although they have managed to suck in a few from UNIFOR under the guise of working towards cross-border unity when the only thing that unites them is making the NDP ineffective and a partner with the Democratic Party.

Previously the ITUC was called the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; their links with the CIA were exposed by Victor Reuther who admitted he and his brothers worked for the CIA through this outfit whose CIA fronts were organized by the Dulles brothers.

All of this is detailed in the Church Commission findings in a joint report about the CIA and FBI activities.

The primary thrust of this group of "democratic socialists" (their actual organization is the Democratic Socialists of America) has been to splinter working class movements through their use of red-baiting and anti-Communism.

All of this was exposed long ago by stalwart Canadian trade unionists like Ray Stevenson who is widely admired all across Canada and the United States and who worked closely with Howard Pawley, Jim Tester the Marxist labor leader from Sudbury and Al King who wrote the book "Red Bait!"

While most people supporting Bernie Sanders know nothing of the pernicious activities of this very small little group calling themselves "democratic socialists" this doesn't mean that this group and Sanders aren't up to no good... simply look for yourself and you will see what is going on.

A while back I exposed how this group was meeting clandestinely in northern Minnesota at the Grand Portage Casino and Resort and the leaders of the CLC and CAW didn't even know these people were meeting let alone for what purpose and that they were intentionally meeting in a non-union facility to try to thwart a union organizing campaign that they considered to be Communist influenced.

In fact, these millions of Americans who have come out supporting socialism as the reason they support Bernie Sanders could very well form the base for a new political party like the NDP but Sanders and his little band of "democratic socialists" are hard at work trying to head off such a political formation which should be enough to cause people to stop and think about Bernie Sanders' real role and motives in all of this... as anyone can now see, if Bernie Sanders was sincerely ever interested in actually being on the 2016 ballot he would have had to have done so as the candidate of a new party or some kind of broad-based electoral coalition; he never had a chance of obtaining ballot status as the Democratic Party nominee.

For the first time in many decades, after years of McCarthyite anti-Communist political repression, we now have millions of people here in the United States once again very publicly considering the socialist alternative to capitalism and this is what is most important, not what Bernie Sanders is up to as he tries to help make sure people don't free themselves from this two-party trap. It is of utmost importance that this public discussion about the socialist alternative to capitalism continues and gets directed into the formation of a people's party that is both anti-monopoly and anti-imperialist.

As for the problems in the NDP, especially in Manitoba which has been home to a number of very good socialist NDP governments--- the best, and most successful in terms of serving the interests of the working class and oppressed peoples, of which was the Howard Pawley led NDP government; I am confident Canadian workers will sort the problems out and with some help from Marxists the NDP will get on the road to a socialist Canada. Manitoba will continue to be the homebase for this struggle.

I had the opportunity to travel all across Canada and everywhere I went there was support for socialism among working people. There is really no reason, other than lack of well organized grassroots and rank-and-file initiative led by working class Marxists, that the NDP will not be the vehicle to get Canadians to socialism. If anyone thinks otherwise I would like to hear what they have in mind as an alternative to the NDP. Socialism is the goal and objective--- it really makes no difference what party the working class chooses to use.

I believe the NDP will respond very positively to united militant struggles of working people when these militants speak their minds within the NDP.

And the fact that the most organized workers in Manitoba have a great deal of confidence that the NDP is still their party as reflected in the Winnipeg and area votes bodes well for this.

When one looks closely at the April election results in Manitoba, most of the ridings the NDP lost were still very close.

The NDP was not trounced by the Conservatives in the April election as some leftists are claiming in order to support and defend their indefensible sectarian positions--- let these people unleash criticism where it is required, against those leftists supporting Obama and Clinton who have a great deal to do with Canadian politics as we can see from the interventions of the U.S. ambassador to Canada and the U.S. multi-national corporations.

The NDP remains very strong in Manitoba and it is unfortunate the working class will have to endure many setbacks under these thoroughly reactionary conservatives before the working class figures out what is happening and fights back. From a united militant fight back new leaders will come to the forefront in the Manitoba NDP and they will not be so shy in attacking capitalism while advocating the socialist solution.

My hunch is that a struggle over privatization of Manitoba Hydro will be the catalyst for this struggle.

I remember when the small Communist Club I was part of in Manitoba launched a petition campaign trying to save the dental program in the elementary schools that Gary Filmon and his very mean spirited conservatives attacked as one of their first orders of business after defeating the Howard Pawley government through a campaign of smears and lies.

Gary Filmon and his Conservatives moved very quickly once he got a whiff of the campaign that began building very rapidly in defense of the dental program.

The NDP and the labor movement--- as well as a very divided and confused Communist Party--- were very slow to respond to this attack on the dental program and Manitobans lost an important social program.

Manitobans also lost Manitoba Telephone because the fight back didn't materialize for many of the same reasons.

Manitobans need to assess what these Conservatives will now attack and organize a defense now, before the attacks occur, and the NDP and the labor movement need to be brought into this struggle immediately.

One way to do this is to establish organizations of concerned citizens--- don't wait for established organizations to act. Learn from the defeats suffered in the past with the dental program and Manitoba Telephone.

Manitoba Telephone was a provincially owned enterprise just like Manitoba Hydro--- a huge publicly owned provincial enterprise employing thousands and selling electricity across the border, too.

There is even talk from Manitoba Conservatives that they want to privatize the very lucrative Casinos in Winnipeg which are also provincial enterprises--- and smoke free.

You might want to ask Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party for their support since your primary opponents among the Conservatives are U.S. multi-national corporations: Wall Street and its junior partner, Bay Street.

Had the U.S. multi-national corporations and other multi-nationals not intervened in the April elections, the Manitoba NDP would still be in power instead of in opposition. This is a fact.

Much of the left in Manitoba is now going to have to reassess its very sectarian positions towards the NDP if the Conservatives are going to be stopped in their tracks. Again, this is a fact which proves the importance of the NDP to working people struggling to improve their lives and their livelihoods.

The work done by Manitoba Communists Jacob Penner and Joe Zuken should be considered when considering the attitude towards the NDP.

Canadian Communists, especially in Manitoba, would do well to heed the advice and lessons learned of the Finnish Communists:

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/class-struggle-on-pluralist-and.html

The NDP lost a very important election at a very critical time in Manitoba but it is far from dead as its enemies are declaring; we have heard such declarations before.