Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Please note I have a new phone number...

512-517-2708

Alan Maki

Alan Maki
Doing research at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

A program for real change...

http://peaceandsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-progressive-program-for-real-change.html


What we need is a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would make it a mandatory requirement that the president and Congress attain and maintain full employment.


"Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens"

- Ben Franklin

Let's talk...

Let's talk...

Monday, April 20, 2020


Trump fascists.

I have been told by several people that it isn’t right for me to call all of these people now engaged in “protests” in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Texas and across the country “gun-toting fascists.”


People tell me some of these people are just “confused people.”


This might be, but so were the Germans who formed fascist gangs which eventually brought Hitler to power... and we know how this ended up.


Let’s not make excuses for these fascist bastards.

House Democrats have introduced legislation that would expand the federal government’s coronavirus relief cash payments to $2,000 a month until the economy recovers

(Please note: per suggestions I have added a few things; I welcome further suggestions and discussion)


I’m going to keep re-posting (I call this digital leafleting and you can help leaflet [share]) this from time to time because people keep asking if they can share it... you can share anything you want from my page:


Republicans and Democrats in Congress backed and bribed by Wall Street are making the decisions affecting working people and working class families without any input from us; this is in no way acceptable. We must let them know by way of asserting ourselves that this is unacceptable. As working people we are entitled to a seat at the decision-making table- this is our lives we are talking about.


It is not right or just or acceptable in any way, shape or form that only our employers have a seat at the decision-making table.


How do we get a seat at the decision-making table when we are arrogantly excluded from the process by politicians who have the unmitigated gall to help our Wall Street employers, bankers and vulture capitalists before helping those of us who create the wealth? We need to raise so much hell until we get a seat at the decision-making table.


Think about this:


Usually a government professing to be democratic will invite all concerned and affected parties to fully articulate their problems through a series of hearings held in locations convenient for many people to attend.


Conclusion:


That this has not been done because the wealthy in power would be embarrassed to hear that they have been selfishly hoarding for themselves the wealth we have created and they don’t want this very fundamental and basic injustice of the capitalist system to be exposed lest they be forced to turn this wealth over for the common good of all in order to prevent mass misery and suffering of those of us who have created this wealth.


We must never forget that it is we, the working class with no small amount of help from Mother Nature who create ALL wealth and we must constantly remind these politicians of this because they would rather all of this not be publicly discussed...


Out of sight is out of mind!


As workers we must never forget this and we must assert our views and our demands for justice...


Right now at this moment of crisis with the capitalist economic system in a state of collapse exacerbated by this coronavirus pandemic we must insist our livelihoods and our rights be protected...


First and foremost this requires every adult be provided by the government with two-thousand dollars a month and every child in the family be provided for with five-hundred dollars a month at least as long as this crisis continues... and, by rights, justice requires this be made permanent.


Let us state in no uncertain terms that we as working people bear no responsibility for the economic crisis or the coronavirus crisis since we have had no seat at the decision-making table when it comes to economic policy or health care policy and this has to change and it needs to change now in order to avoid mass suffering and despair... democracy and the most basic and fundamental rights require no less... so let’s have an end to this hypocrisy of the wealthy few making all the decisions in this country.


Any thinking person, except for the most ethically and politically corrupt, can see and understand there is something drastically wrong with denying the majority of the people- those of us who create ALL the wealth- a seat at the decision-making table.


We also need legislation to be advanced for a National Public Health Care System...


Publicly funded.


Publicly administered.


Publicly delivered...


Based on the model of public education.


We should probably be thinking in terms of building some kind of huge massive “people’s lobby” in order for us (working people) to become participants in the decision-making process.


We should be thinking in terms of a huge Peace Dividend to pay for it all along with a very hefty progressive tax on the rich.


As for the National Public Health Care System, the present Medicare payroll tax will more than pay for this.


Maybe we should consider a really novel idea.


Something like a “We the People” kind of government?


Perhaps we need some kind of “people’s lobby” to push this through to reality:


https://www.facebook.com/100002118322023/posts/3139513512795895/


Not that I want to be accused of inciting revolution like Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson did.

Why are so few Democrats backing this? Where is the movement being organized to get behind this legislation?

House Democrats have introduced legislation that would expand the federal government’s coronavirus relief cash payments to $2,000 a month until the economy recovers.On Wednesday, Americans who qualify started getting one-time checks from the Treasury Department of up to $1,200 per adult depending ...

thehill.com

House Democrats propose $2,000 monthly payments to Americans
House Democrats have introduced legislation that would expand the federal government’s coronavirus relief cash payments to $2,000 a month until the economy recovers.On Wednesday, Americans who qualify started getting one-time checks from the Treasury Department of up to $1,200 per adult depending ...

We need an accounting for all of this bailout money.

We need to demand and accounting of every cent in that $2 trillion bailout

nypost.com

Over 43,000 US millionaires will get ‘stimulus’ averaging $1.6 million each
At least 43,000 American millionaires who are too rich to get coronavirus stimulus checks are getting a far bigger boost — averaging $1.6 million each, according to a congressional committee.

Party hacks.

I find it interesting how many of these Democratic Party hacks aren’t capable of putting together original thoughts of their own so they circulate all these articles from the mainstream media highlighting problems but then they resent others who use their posts by bringing forward solutions as comments even though they preach to us how we should support a bunch of worthless Dumb Donkeys and they tell us we need to hold these politicians feet to the fire as they just keep posting article after article from publications owned by those who are our exploiters.

Sectarianism, an obstacle to unity.

You know, it never fails; when I post anything about a Democrat doing something good or participating in helping to build some movement or supporting some Democrat who is on the side of the people or when a Democrat proposes some legislation that benefits the people, I start getting these very sectarian responses from those who seem to think the only path to progress is through their own little sectarian cult and anything related to a Democrat must be bad. How stupid can people be? When building movements to win reforms we work with anyone willing to work towards our goals and objectives... it’s called unity.

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The capitalist economy was collapsing long before the coronavirus.

Trump was no surprise; he is part of Wall Street’s plan to manage (in a dictatorial authoritarian way) a collapsing capitalist economy.


The economy was collapsing long before there was a corona virus.


In fact, Wall Street is using this corona virus as an excuse for government intervention on the side of Wall Street to manage the collapsing capitalist economy.


In fact, without the current government intervention, albeit too little too late and giving money to the rich instead of the poor, this capitalist economic collapse would probably be even worse than it is now... as hard as it is for anyone to admit that Trump’s intervention may have softened the collapse in the very short term. Trump was no surprise; he is part of Wall Street’s plan to manage (in a dictatorial authoritarian way) a collapsing capitalist economy.


Trump needed an excuse for government intervention because none of the capitalist economists would have agreed to this massive government intervention in trying to prop up a capitalist economy on the skids to oblivion.


Now, what Trump is doing is totally stupid because he is stealing the wealth created by the working class and funneling even more money through this stimulus bullshit to the richest of the rich and what are these people going to do with these trillions of dollars?


There was only one way to stop this slide into an economic abyss; and this would have been to tell the truth about the capitalist economic collapse and announced that trillions of dollars were going to be transferred from the rich back to working people who produced this wealth in the first place so they could start buying the necessities of life and this would have primed the economic pump and helped prevent the kind of misery Wall Street has decided to put the people through.


We have very stupid people blinded by their greed managing this collapsing capitalist economy (people who believe government has no business managing the economy but who are so damn greedy they are going to take advantage of their power to grab even more for themselves).


The coronavirus has very little to do with what is going on with the economy... it is the excuse they use because these people in power refuse to admit their capitalist system is in big trouble and none of these people in power are competent to bring us out of this crisis... they even lack the competence to save their own rotten system.


Every single economist said we were into a recession long before anyone ever heard of the coronavirus...


And what did those in power do to try to dig us out of this economic mess?


Just what they did to try to protect us from the coronavirus...


They lied and deceived...


The economy was just fantastic.


There was nothing to worry about with the coronavirus.


Are you getting it yet?


These goddamn politicians and pundits and professors don’t give a flying fuck about you....
Yet you listen to them and you vote for them.


They have so overwhelmed you with blaming everything on the coronavirus that you can’t even think.

Consider this:

What will corporations do with six-trillion dollars of government bailout?

Think about this:

What would workers have done had each and every worker in this country received a check for $40,000.00 instead?

A question:

Is there any way for us to know what Wall Street is doing with this six-trillion dollars?

Conclusion:

We know what workers would have done with forty-thousand dollar checks... they would have spent this money for things they need to live better lives and this would really have stimulated the economy.

Never Joe Biden.

This is my answer to Democrats who say I need to vote for Biden to get rid of Trump and that I have to help keep people in the Democratic Party:


There are also very compelling reasons to think in terms of a new party which were stated very eloquently by Elmer Benson:

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

Joe Biden has taken a turn for the worse with his China bashing which is to the right of Trump and there has been no attempt by grassroots Democrats to push back in rejecting this China bashing... which is to the right of Trump.


I think we should support Democrats when they do what is right and oppose them when they are wrong.


But, I think many people, if not most people, resent being played for suckers and fools by Democrats who bring forward good reforms by way of legislation only when they know the legislation has no chance of passing and its used merely as election gimmickry per George Lakoff.


Democrats have introduced two very important pieces of legislation...


One to reform Social Security... which Joe Biden does not support.


Another to provide every adult with $2,000.00 a month until there is a full economic recovery... again, Biden opposes this.


My suggestion would be that movements should be created right now to support these two pieces of legislation and these movements should become so powerful Biden and the Democrats are forced to enact them.


Why is it people working together must hinge on what candidate or political party they support instead of what kind of world we all want to live in?


The biggest block of eligible voters in this country isn’t even voting and no one seems to even care enough to ask why this is...


But is it because these people do not feel politicians are relating to their life experiences and their problems?


As someone who has never been afraid to work in the Democratic Party and with Democrats, (pushing them to do what is right and supporting what they do when they are right and stating very publicly when they are wrong in order to try to force them to do what is right)... there is no way I will ever vote for Joe Biden. I don’t understand why Democrats, if they really want to beat Trump, would first saddle us with the likes of Hillary Clinton and now try to shove Joe Biden down our throats?


This is a problem for Democrats who are seeking enough votes to defeat Trump to deal with... get him off the ticket instead of berating people for not wanting to vote for him. If you run a loser expect to lose. It’s really this huge non-voting block of voters you need to convince before November not individuals like me who aren’t going to vote for Biden no matter what.


But, unity should be based on the the issues; solutions to problems working people are experiencing and for peace. This China bashing of Biden’s has to stop and it has to stop now and all of you supporting him have a special responsibility to send him a message that this is not acceptable... it’s not acceptable coming from Trump and Bannon, it’s not acceptable coming from Joe Biden. Most people in this country want peace... let’s remember, the most progressive president in the history of this country was Lyndon Johnson... and the people forced him to not seek re-election because he chose to continue the war in Vietnam instead of his war on poverty. There is a lesson here... and Democrats should heed this lesson... this is a cartoon on the wall in the LBJ Library and museum in Austin... the American people want an LBJ without war, we want a Claude “Red” Pepper fighting to defend Social Security, we want a Henry Wallace fighting for the Common Man, we want a Frances Perkins fighting for real reforms not as mere election gimmicks but as real solutions to our problems.


We want Democrats willing to work with an Emma Tenayuca.


This is a two-way street. We aren’t asking for too much... we just want something of substance in return for our votes and Biden does not offer that... and it is safe to say he never will... after half a century in politics beholden only to Wall Street’s interest he isn’t going to change... if he is going to change he needs to show it now and his rank animosity towards China certainly doesn’t show any breaking away from his politics of war, lies, deceit and corruption.


And I would love to be able to vote for a Democrat who could defeat Trump... but Biden never.


What I really resent is people who spend their time trying to bully and badger me into voting for a creep like Joe Biden but they won’t demand accountability from their own party to run decent candidates... this is the ultimate hypocrisy as far as I am concerned... get Biden off your ticket and then come back to me with a candidate for peace, social and economic justice; but you know your beloved Democratic Party will never run such a candidate for president... so you take out your frustrations trying to bully and badger people like me who want something of substance in return for our votes.