Are we sticking with the Democrats in 2010 and 2012?

I hope people will distribute this widely for discussion in spite of its controversial aspects.

This is an interesting article below for discussion by Howie Hawkins.

I would like to point out two major problems in this article:

First; the Green Party while somewhat of an alternative to the two-party trap; it hardly qualifies, in most areas, as a "left" alternative. .. it is actually mostly a junior Democratic Party with some of the same anti-labor biases. There are some very notable exceptions, like in Michigan; but, the pathetic Minnesota Green Party is not one of these notable exceptions... in fact, the Green Party in Minnesota of which I am most familiar is comprised of many racist bigots and anti-labor members whose anti-communist, anti-socialist positions are well documented. Many members of the Minnesota Greens have quit in disgust over various issues--- some moving left, others, unfortunately looking for a quick fix by making alliances with the supporters of John Birchers Rand and Ron Paul; and most members of the Minnesota Green Party wouldn't lift a finger to help Cynthia McKinney's very excellent and noteworthy campaign centered around a very progressive and decidedly progressive-left agenda which included her very pro-labor agenda including her support for saving, through public ownership, the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant, some 2,000 good union jobs.

Second; this statement from this essay is factually incorrect:

"As the Works Progress Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, and the Social Security Act were enacted that year, the third party movement subsided."

In fact, it was mainly socialist Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson's untimely death that served to hold back the growing momentum for a National-Farmer Labor Party similar to what was so successful in Minnesota combined with the refusal of the Socialist Party to become part of this "people's front" movement on the political scene. The Trotskyites, although quite insignificant, also played a very divisive role in trying to forge a national Farmer-Labor Party. 

In my opinion; liberals, progressives and the left would do well to consider a national ticket headed up by Cynthia McKinney and Cindy Sheehan coupled with people running for congress and the senate and state legislatures.

I think the majority of the American people would love to see a ticket focused on real health care reform paid for with peace dividends derived from ending these dirty imperialist wars. What is needed is some kind of "Declaration of Independence" from the Democratic and Republican Parties aimed at accomplishing and building such unity.

Why even bother to quibble over other differences when we have two important unifying issues--- peace and health care--- bringing all of us together?

We now have tens of millions of people in this country who, from the very beginning, saw right through the farce we call Obama and now there is a growing segment of Obama supporters who have already jumped ship with many more about to take the plunge... fertile ground for building the base of a true anti-monopoly worker based, progressive political party.

For the most part these aren't rats jumping from Obama's sinking ship--- except of course those like Tom Hayden and some of his followers.

For the most part those jumping from Obama's sinking ship are jumping into rough, choppy cold waters because there are no life-boats--- an alternative progressive/left/liberal political party--- in sight.

It is rather obvious that many, many people in this country are just plain "fed up."

Up here in northern Minnesota we held a meeting this afternoon which included four DFL county chairs from around the state and a number of Obama supporters... all fed up and ready to bolt the Democratic Party except there is not yet any other place for them to go.

Reports are now coming in that people are telling the DFL candidates running for governor they want no part of any of their campaigns because these eleven politicians have not demonstrated any concern for their problems. The same problem has surfaced with Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party precinct caucuses now less than a month away--- people who turned out in droves just two years ago are refusing to participate; making it clear they are "fed up" with the Democrat's and Obama's betrayals on peace and health care reform. People--- from all walks of life--- all over the state of Minnesota are asking, "Where's the change?"  

Being able to build a political party capable of robbing the Democrats of an unearned and undeserved victory, even if the Republicans win, is an important component in building a real people's alternative to the present Democratic Party.

We shouldn't buy into this crap and nonsense that we need to continue supporting the Democrats because they are the only team in town capable of "winning."

It is possible to build a progressive political party which even if defeated at the polls simultaneously carries the struggles of the people into the streets, and just as important, into the mines, mills, factories and schools which is capable of winning major UNIVERSAL reforms making life better for most people.

It seems to me we really need to take note that much of the confusion around what Obama represents-- - Wall Street's interests--- stems from people not being able to understand the difference between reforms which help segments of society instead of UNIVERSAL reforms which make life better for everyone. Obama and the Democrats have played this lack of understanding about reforms to the hilt in dividing the people--- the struggle for health care reform being the primary example where we see union "leaders"--- as distinct from the rank-and-file--- coming in and crippling, then killing the single-payer movement to come back and object to Obama and the Democrats wanting to tax health insurance benefits and then being so stupid to think that people are going to jump to support a narrow segment of the working class which receives adequate health care benefits after betraying the entire working class--- most of which has little to no health care benefits. This is the epitome of what has been passed off on working people as union leadership in this country since about 1947… and with such union “leadership” working people have suffered defeat after defeat.

We see all the union pork-choppers lined up behind these kinds of very selfish and short-sighted policies based upon the sell-out ideas of those like Walter Reuther and George Meany--- John Sweeney and Richard Trumpka, while pushing a line using different words still have the same class collaborationist mind-set holding back, thwarting and trying to prevent the working class from moving outside of the two-party structural trap built by big-business using the imperialist ideology of "pragmatism. "

Fear of a Republican victory at the polls is no excuse for continuing to support and vote for a bunch of pathetic Dumb Donkeys; but, it is important that people understand that it is necessary to build this alterative around a PROGRESSIVE AGENDA because we don't want to confuse the fascist movement like that which sprang up around Huey Long with an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

The populist right-wing movement that was the base of Huey Long should not be confused in any way with the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party of Floyd Olson, Elmer Benson and John Bernard... that Howie Hawkins has sown such confusion as to lead people to assume that Huey Long's movement is an alternative to the Democrats is an unacceptable analysis which could lead to all kinds of problems, including leading people to think that there might be some benefit in linking up with Birchites Rand and Ron Paul who peddle a fascist message very similar to that of Huey Long.

At some point progressives are going to need some kind of list serve that allows the freedom to thrash out these problems hindering and retarding the development of an alternative to the two-party trap... an alternative to the Democrats is never going to happen without some kind of liberal-progressive -left unity which eluded the movements of the 1930's and 1940's.

Now is as good as time as any we will ever have with the Democrats having so openly betrayed the American people on everything from health care reform to escalating these dirty wars.

As liberals, progressives and leftists we have every right--- and responsibility- -- to take full advantage of the opportunities that have opened up before us as Obama and the Democrats plunge in the polls.

Make no mistake; the Democrats are a racist, anti-labor, warmongering political party looking after the big-business interests of Wall Street and Barack Obama has facilitated this big-business agenda.

We see the desperation growing in the Democratic Party all over the United States where the wealthy leaders, led by such noteworthy but disgusting elements like those associated with major support for Barack Obama like the law-firm/lobbyists--- Brownstein/Hyatt/Farber/Schreck, which is not only the lawfirm/lobbyist of choice of the mobsters in the casino industry, but of much of corporate America… working overtime with the likes of wealthy corporate  lawyers like Brian Melendez and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association to silence, badger and bully progressives into silence inside the Democratic Party. Because we are for breaking with the Democratic Party is no reason not to continue pushing forward with a progressive agenda inside the Democratic Party even as we prepare to break with it.

Progressives should be bringing forward resolutions as well as challenging the big-business interests controlling the Democratic Party in order to get discussion going which encourages people to re-think and think about what it will take to turn this country around placing people before profits.

We would all do well to consider, that even on this issue of affirmative action in hiring, Barack Obama and the Democrats along with the AFL-CIO and Change To Win who cried racism as they decried the lack of support Obama was getting from working class voters and no matter what is said about Obama’s supposed popularity, the Democrats had many non-voters in 2008 among the working class and it looks like left to Obama and the Democrats without a progressive third party formation, even fewer working people will bother making the trip to the polls in 2010 and 2012… that those who screamed “racism” at the lack of support Obama was receiving, these same people like Richard Trumka and Leo Gerard, have not lifted one finger or raised their booming voices to demand full implementation of affirmative action guidelines and policies in hiring women and people of color even when huge public funding is being used on huge public projects.

Those middle class intellectuals associated with the Century Foundation and its “partners” have steered the labor “leadership” on a course where the only important thing is electing Democrats even when it means betraying working people on peace, affirmative action and health care reform. This is what has to end.

Spread the word:

No peace; no votes.

No real health care reform; no votes.

No enforcement of affirmative action; no votes.

The time has come to declare our independence from the Democrats (working people have long ago declared their independence from the Republicans).

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Check out my blog:
http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

--- On Tue, 1/5/10, Rick Kisséll wrote:

From: Rick Kisséll
Subject: [progressivesforoba ma] "2010: Third party time for progressives and independents? " by Howie Hawkins
To: "Progressive Wisconsin list"
Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 3:53 AM

 Slightly edited...

2010: Third party time for progressives and independents? by Howie Hawkins December opened up with another escalation in Afghanistan. Then there was the sabotage of binding carbon reductions in Copenhagen. On Christmas Eve, there was the Insurance Company Entitlement Act masquerading as health care reform. By the end of the month a sharp debate had broken out in the progressive media and blogosphere. The number of progressives airing their nagging doubts about the wisdom of putting all their eggs in the basket of the Democrats reached a critical mass. It is not enough to say that Obama and the Democrats have betrayed progressives, or that, as always, the path to change begins with grassroots mobilization. A critical part of the solution is a progressive third party. Without the political independence of progressives, both major parties ignore progressives who are left holding their nose and voting for the Democrats as the lesser evil. All the doubts in the back of progressives' minds are coming into sharp focus. The recycled Bushies and Clintonites appointed by the administration. The trillions for war and Wall Street while unemployment, foreclosures, and economic stagnation deepened. Single payer "off the table." Card check union recognition abandoned. Complicity in Bush-era war crimes by refusing to "look back" and prosecute. New crimes committed with the continuation of extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, torture by proxy, targeted assassinations, indefinite detention, habeas suspension, state secrets, military commissions, and warrantless wiretapping. Tacit support for the Honduran military coup. "Secret" wars in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. The list goes on. We shouldn't be surprised. History shows that for more than a century the Democrats' role in the two-party system of corporate rule has been to co-opt, absorb, weaken, and defeat movements for progressive change. Right now, the evidence for this corporate function of the Democratic Party is as stark as it has ever been. The Democrats swept the election and the corporate agenda swept the Congress. Most progressives spent the 2000s working to put the Democrats back in charge of Congress and the White House. They can't blame the Republicans now. The Democrats have the power. Progressive Democrats got what they wished for, but what do they have to show for it? It's a year later and their mandate for change is fast eroding. Democratic politicians and progressive leaders were merely cheerleaders who never made demands and backed them up with action. The Democrats' corporate backers weren't so naïve. They demanded and received their IOUs. The Democrats are pursuing corporatist policies across the board, using big government to subsidize big business in return for big campaign contributions. It's just a rebranding as Democratic of Republican policies of corporate welfare for the rich, which is supposed to "trickle down" as jobs and income for working people, but never does. Even before the election, it was the Democratic leadership in Congress, with Obama's outspoken support, who pushed through the $700 billion TARP bailout for Wall Street just days after it was at first defeated in the face of popular outrage. The Democrats are not only alienating voters on the Left, but also independents in the Center. Polls now indicate that these independents are swinging back to the Republicans as the lesser evil because their small government rhetoric at least promises to cut taxes. Many voters realize they are being ripped off by both major parties. They correctly understand that Democratic power brokers don't look out for the little guys anymore than Republicans do. If the Left doesn't offer a progressive alternative to the Democratic corporate liberals, the Republican corporate conservatives will be the only alternative that angry voters will have in 2010 to get back at the party in power. It could have been different. When the Democrats swept into power, they had a mandate for bold progressive change. They could have enacted, with broad Center-to-Left popular support, a Green New Deal to address the interrelated crises of energy, climate, and economic depression. Instead of bailing out the big banks and automakers, they could have nationalized them on the cheap when they were insolvent. Public banks could have then restructured millions of mortgages on affordable, long-term, fixed-rate terms for homeowners facing foreclosure. The automakers could have been retrofitted to produce electric cars, mass transit, wind turbines, and solar panels just as the federal government had them make tanks, trucks, and airplanes for World War II. With investments from public banks and federal infrastructure spending guaranteeing a market for a green reconstruction of the nation's energy and transportation systems, US manufacturing, jobs, and the whole economy could have been renewed on a sustainable basis. It could have been different. But what to do now? Some progressives are rallying to the defense of the Democrats, defending the indefensible as the lesser evil to Republican reaction. They want to "save the Obama Presidency" no matter what he does. This approach will only discredit the Left and demoralize its voters, who will sit out the 2010 elections in large numbers. It will also lose much of the independent Center, which will swing back to the Republicans if only in disgust and protest. Other progressives say it's time to challenge conservative Democrats in the primaries. But it was the progressive Democrats in office who never planted their flag or refused to compromise any further while Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress made one concession after another to Republicans and Blue Dogs on the stimulus bill, health care, labor law reform, global warming, and the wars. Progressive Democratic politicians went along with the concessions because they know, as well as conservative Democrats know, that the Left has nowhere else to go with their votes. Another school of progressives says it is time to build protest movements that can make the Democrats live up to their reform promises, citing how the labor movement pushed through New Deal reforms in the 1930s. These progressives forget that the impact of the labor movement was multiplied tremendously by the election of many third party progressives as Representatives, Senators, and Governors. By early 1935, Floyd Olson, the Farmer-Labor Governor of Minnesota, Robert La Follette, Jr., the Progressive Governor of Wisconsin, and Huey Long, the "Share Our Wealth" Democratic Senator from Louisiana, were all potentially powerful populist third party presidential candidates. Democratic National Committee polling found such an electoral challenge might cost Franklin Roosevelt the election in 1936. This third party electoral threat played a major role in instigating the more progressive Second New Deal of 1935. As the Works Progress Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, and the Social Security Act were enacted that year, the third party movement subsided. No doubt social movements and protest demonstrations are needed. But without an independent progressive electoral alternative, the Democrats know they can take the votes of progressive social movements for granted. Witness the failure of the massive anti Iraq war demonstrations in early 2003 to move the Democrats to take an antiwar stand. The Democrats voted funding for Bush's war throughout three national election cycles because they knew the peace movement would support them anyway. What is missing is the political independence of progressives. Progressives need to build independent social movements, not movements dependent on electing and lobbying Democrats. And the independent social movements need their own party to exercise their own independent power. With a powerful party on the Left, the Democrats will no longer be able to take progressive movements and votes for granted. The Left will be able to speak directly to the people with its own voice, for its own program, on its own power, without having their progressive demands mistranslated and watered down by Democratic politicians who appeal to their Right while they count on their captive voters on the Left. A strong Left party would also win over many independents in the Center, the largest bloc of voters. Polling shows these independents would prefer a Green New Deal of public jobs, health care, and enterprise to the Democrats' tribute payments to big business and the Republicans' domestic spending cutbacks that will devastate public services and worsen the interrelated crises of energy, climate, and economy. It is time for progressives to face the reality of a two-party system of corporate rule where competing coalitions of corporate investors in the political process fundamentally agree on a bipartisan consensus for empire abroad and anti-worker policies at home. Democrats and Republicans limit their advertised competition mainly to liberal vs. conservative approaches to cultural issues. The Democrats are more beholden to campaign contributions from Big FIRE (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate) than they are to their voters. The main financial base of the Republicans is Big Fossil (Coal, Oil, Gas), hence their anti-scientific denial of climate change. When Big FIRE vs. Big Fossil dominates politics, the ordinary people get screwed. The best way to fight the Right is to build an independent party of the Left. The Right we have to fight is the corporatist bi-partisan consensus for empire and exploitation. The corporate bosses have two parties. It is time that working people built one of their own. Yes, the American electoral system of winner takes all in single member districts is stacked against third parties. But that system did not stop progressive third parties from realigning the party systems in Mexico and New Zealand to the point where they could institute more democratic electoral systems based on proportional representation. Almost all of the few remaining countries that don't have proportional representation have still been able to create major third parties, notably Canada and the UK. Because these countries have independent leftwing parties based on labor and other progressive movements, they have won standards of workers' rights, public services, social welfare, corporate regulation, environmental protection, and defense-oriented militaries that are far more progressive than US standards. While the electoral system presents serious obstacles, the far bigger obstacle in the US has been the unwavering commitment of the leaders of labor, peace, and environmental organizations to the Democrats who consistently betray their progressive goals. We can end these self-inflicted defeats through independent political action. It is the grassroots organizers and activists who will have to lead the break out. Most of the leadership and staff of these organizations are too tied to Democratic politicians and operatives through patronage, grants, jobs, and their social class, status, and networks. The Green Party has been organizing toward an independent progressive alternative for years. The Greens have won hundreds of local elections throughout the country in recent years, almost a third of those they enter. Their percentage of votes in state and national legislative elections has steadily climbed, often to double digits. These results indicate the potential. But it will not be realized until a critical mass of progressive organizers and activist break with the Democrats. The Democratic Party has been the graveyard for every broad progressive movement since the Populists more than a century ago. 2010 should be the year when progressive movements finally break their dependence on the corporate-sponsored Democrats and present their programs directly to the voters through their own independent candidates and party. Let's make the choice in 2010 between a Green New Deal and the corporatism of the two old parties. Howie Hawkins is a Teamster who unloads trucks at UPS in Syracuse, New York. He has been an organizer in peace, justice, labor, and the environmental movements since the late 1960s and was a co-founder of the Green Party in the United States.

Alan L. Maki

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell phone: 651-587-5541

E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

Check out my blog:

Thoughts From Podunk

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

Racist Bemidji City Planner and Public Official--- Rita Albrecht--- cries over the elimination of her position

Racist Bemidji, Minnesota public official and city planner, Rita Albrecht,  in her own blog posting, vows revenge for the elimination of her position as Bemidji, Minnesota "City Planner" as she states her intent to remain on unemployment compensation for its full duration in clear violation of Minnesota laws and statutes... According to Minnesota unemployment law and statutes, anyone not seeking employment should not receive unemployment compensation so why is Dan McElroy, the head of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development paying unemployment compensation to this racist bigot who only wants to remain unemployed out of revenge from her justified removal from public office? Everyone knows that Rita Albrecht's friends like racists John McCarthy and racist and corrupt Minnesota State Senator Tom Bakk can find her employment just like they did for her daughter who is employed by Senator Tom Bakk.

The City of Bemidji hopes to escape long, costly litigation over racist hiring practices in construction of the Bemidji Regional Event Center resulting from failure to implement the affirmative action policies of the City of Bemidji by eliminating the position of "City Planner" the only way they could find to fire Rita Albrecht without facing more costly litigation from her... as is typical, to protect the "good ol' boys club," they had to "throw the baby out with the dirty bathwater" by eliminating the position of "City Planner" in order to avoid explaining why they tolerated and allowed Rita Albrecht to work with one-hundred million dollars of tax-payer funds in such a racist manner intended to exclude intentionally impoverished Native American Indians from bettering their lives through employment opportunities.   

I attempted to post this comment on Rita Albrecht's blog posting on her blog--- Albrecht has refused to post my comment to her blog posting on her blog--- Bemidji Bits--- which can be read here:

http://bemidjibits.blogspot.com/2010/01/last-days-of-community-development.html

I invite Rita Albrecht to respond to my comment and I will post her response to my blog.

Rita Albrecht claims in her blog profile:

I am passionate about promoting civic engagement and hope that discussions on this blog will spur readers to get involved. I hope you will comment on my posts--whether you agree with me or not! Thanks for reading my blog.

Apparently her invitation to comment extends only to those with her like-minded bigoted and racist views since she has refused to allow my comment to be posted... like affirmative action, democracy is something to be "on the books" but not practiced. 

Here is the comment I attempted to post in response to Rita Albrecht's blog posting lamenting the elimination of her position as if she ever did anything for the community she was hired to be a "community planner" for--- not working people nor people, like Native American Indians who have faced racist abuse for the better part of the last one-hundred and fifty years or longer in northern Minnesota, most notably in and around Bemidji--- but for the lily-white racist establishment of the forestry, banking and mining industries along with the foundation flowers of the Northwest and Blandin foundations who try to eliminate poverty by giving poverty new, more acceptable names:



Rita Albrecht;

Getting rid of you was the best decision the City of Bemidji ever made.

I am sure you can find employment with the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association; or, like your daughter, a job with one of the racist and corrupt politicians in Minnesota.

I think it is terrible you intend to milk the unemployment compensation system for everything you can get out of it as part of your campaign for revenge just because you are upset your position was eliminated when you know darn well you have many jobs just waiting for you among the politicians who have been bribed by your good friend John McCarthy and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association.

That you did nothing to implement, let alone see to it, that affirmative action policies assuring Native American Indians the right to training and employment in the construction of the Bemidji Regional Event Center is shameful; this is not the hallmark of a good city planner; but, rather, that of a die-hard racist bigot.

You obviously are not suited for public employment; you belong employed among the corrupt politicians in the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party who are responsible for keeping Native American Indians out of the decision-making process for so long--- including as participants in the Minnesota State Legislature.

That you demonstrated such deep concerns for the shrubbery to be planted around the BREC in an attempt to hide and obscure the racism without demonstrating one iota of concern for affirmative action enforcement is testament that you acted in your capacity of a "city planner" committing the most atrocious and egregious racist acts rising to "malfeasance" and "misfeasance" on the part of a public official that has now resulted in the City of Bemidji, Kraus Anderson Construction and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development being dragged into costly and expensive litigation simply because you chose to push your bigoted and misguided racist views as public policy.

And the very worst part of all of this is that even when it was pointed out that you had acted illegally and improperly in such a racist manner, you did nothing in your capacity as a public official to make sure that existing affirmative action guidelines would be enforced in hiring the maintenance and service staff of the completed BREC with workers receiving real living wages instead of the sub-poverty level wages for which the hospitality industry, including the Indian Gaming Industry, is so nefariously and infamously known for in Minnesota and across the country of which VenuWorks--- the private firm hired to manage this public facility, the Bemidji Regional Event Center in quest of huge corporate profits--- is a party to... one more favor you did for the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and your friend John McCarthy along with local tribal leaders who fear real living wages being paid to Bemidji Regional Event Center employees will push wages at their casinos up.

Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

Note: The minute Rita Albrecht cashes her first unemployment check she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law which requires she be seeking gainful employment.

Through her own blog posting, Rita Albrecht has stated her intent to violate the law in collecting unemployment compensation as a form of revenge against her former employer, the City of Bemidji--- there simply is no other way to read Rita Albrecht's very own blog posting. Unemployment compensation is intended to help unemployed workers through tough and troubling times and economic hardship... not for racist public officials who have been terminated for their racist crimes in failing to implement affirmative action policies in hiring as a way to combat the racist, intentionally maintained poverty of communities of people of color.

Native American Indians living in the City of Bemidji, comprising 25% of that city's population suffer over 70% unemployment and over 80% live in conditions of the most deplorable and disgraceful poverty with three large Indian Reservations near-by suffering the same kind of racist induced debilitating and shameful poverty which is the intentional creation of a racist, corrupt and rotten-to-the-core political, social and economic system where Native American Indians are now seen by a bunch of mobsters as the base and foundation for cheap labor in their Indian Gaming Industry.

Rita Albrecht knew exactly what she was doing, and who she was doing her dirty deeds for, in failing to implement the City of Bemidji's affirmative action policies in the construction of the Bemidji Regional Event Center...

Rita Albrecht was doing a political favor for her friends John McCarthy and Minnesota State Senator Tom Bakk...

McCarthy whose clients, members of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association profit from cheap labor...

and Tom Bakk, the golden boy of the historically and presently racist building and construction trades unions who wanted to make sure that Native American Indians would not make it into the ranks of the building trades unions while working in constructing the Bemidji Regional Event Center...

for the racist Tom Bakk, it is all he can stomach that a handful of Native Americans are already members of the building and construction trades unions--- the racist Bakk, now a MNDFL candidate for Minnesota governor, can't stand to see any more Native American Indian members among his union members.

It is no accident that Tom Bakk has been one of the major benefactors from the bribes handed out by John McCarthy and the mobsters comprising the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association.

These mobsters and the politicians like Tom Bakk they pay off and the public officials these elected politicians appoint, like Rita Albrecht; are content to reap the exorbitant profits in billions upon billions of dollars from the Indian Gaming Industry as they turn a blind eye to the poverty this Indian Gaming Industry has helped to create and maintain.

As any school child understands: When you pay workers poverty wages; poverty for them, their families and the communities they live in will be the result.

One only has to ask one very simple question to see the hypocrisy in all of this:

How is it that the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association has spent millions of dollars for campaign contributions in Minnesota; yet, not one dime of this money has been used to elect Native American Indians to the Minnesota State Legislature where they could be part of the decision-making process? This is the trillion dollar question that John McCarthy and Mr. Stanley Crooks need to answer.

Why tribal elected officials and Shar Knutson of the Minnesota AFL-CIO are not asking this trillion dollar question also needs to be answered. The head of the "Summit Hill Club," Brian Melendez, who also heads up the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, refuses to tolerate any discussion pertaining to this question.

Which begs another question: Why?

In addition, there is another, final question, begging for an answer from State Senator and wannabe Minnesota Governor, Tom Bakk who complained in opposition to the "Freedom To Breath" legislation requiring all workplaces--- except for casinos to be smoke-free; that the Minnesota State Legislature had created an "unlevel playing field" for the rest of Minnesota's hospitality industry. Well, we now need to ask Tom Bakk why it is he isn't calling for "leveling the playing field" for the rest of the hospitality industry in Minnesota by taxing the Indian Gaming Industry when, in fact, taxing the Indian Gaming Industry at the same rate as the rest of the hospitality industry and other businesses in Minnesota would immediately solve all the financial problems of the State? A little detail and fact that tax-payers might want to ponder and consider as they head for the polls is 2010.

Rita Albrecht in her blog boasts of being a listener and supporter of Minnesota Public Radio... is it any wonder that the major "advertisers" on Minnesota Public Radio are the members of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and so conveniently none of these topics or subjects are ever broached by Minnesota Public Radio?

It is interesting that "reporters" like Tom Robertson always manage to cover the events sponsored by the members of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association but have not once since this casino industry has existed for well over twenty years in Minnesota, have Robertson and his "newshounds" at Minnesota Public Radio ever deemed it appropriate to explain to Minnesotans the fact that more than 40,000 Minnesotans are employed in these smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws.

For anyone seeking an answer as to why tribal officials who are so quick to point out the many violations of human rights under the the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights one has to wonder why Tom Robertson and his "newshound" colleagues of Minnesota Public Radio have never ventured to ask those like Leech Lake Band Tribal Attorney--- Frank Bibeau--- why these Draconian conditions in employment exist in the Indian Gaming Industry.

For that matter, one has to wonder why local public radio station KAXE, funded principally by the members of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and the racist, anti-labor Blandin Foundation has never dared to touch any of these issues? Now, there is some grist for State Senator Tom Bakk and Minnesota Governor wannabe to choke on.

A point of interest:


No one can argue that Bemidji City officials, including Rita Albrecht or the Mayor, that they are unaware of the racist poverty afflicting their community because the Bemidji Food Shelf is directly across the street from the Bemidji City Hall and the offices of the Headwaters Regional Planning Commission.  

Note, Albrecht says in her blog post:

"The City will pay me about $585 a week to stay home until I find a new job (or for 72 weeks, whichever comes first)."

What an interesting figure... most casino workers are lucky if they get paid this much working 50 hour weeks six days a week in smoke-filled casinos--- apparently heart, lung and cancer are their bonuses for working long hours.

Stanley Crooks forces all of his 5,000-plus employees at the majestic money-making Mystic Lakes Casino to sign a statement as condition of employment, declaring they know they will be fired for participating in union organizing activities which is in complete violation of the National Labor Relations Act... and, when fired for union organizing, the State of Minnesota refuses to pay casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry unemployment benefits to which they are legally entitled by statute. Rita Albrecht gets paid $585.00 sitting home doing nothing as part of her act of revenge while casino workers get heart and lung diseases and cancers along with a life of poverty---

America!

America! Land where the Indians died on every hill and mountain side... my country 'tis of thee...

America! Ain't it great!

This is all part of what the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party and its partners, the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and the National Indian Gaming Association, refer to as "economic opportunity" and "community development."

Most people with a sense of justice just call it exploitation, racism and poverty.

.

 

Are you fed up?

I sent out this e-mail to several hundred people this morning in response to an e-mail I received about aggressive moves by Obama towards Venezuela:

Subject: RE: US Military Aggression against Venezuela escalating... we need a Declaration of Independence from the warmonger in the White House...

I think this is very credible that Obama plans military action against Venezuela.

Obama is a demonstrated warmonger in every sense of the word; his objective from day one has been to seamlessly assure that the United States government will not deviate from Wall Street’s imperialist agenda which is very unpopular among the American people who have yet to figure out how to stop this increasing drive towards expanding and escalating the existing wars and preventing new wars from starting as their standard of living rapidly declines as a result.

Complicating this further is the economic mess with capitalism on the road to oblivion putting us all on the bumpy, curvy, deep-rutted, and dangerous road to perdition without any stop-over in purgatory as Wall Street continues to try to profit by charging us an exorbitant price for this ride to hell while making us think we are on some kind of luxurious excursion offered by Carnival Cruises.

In my opinion, the only way we are going to halt these wars and prevent new wars is if we issue a Declaration of Independence from both the Democratic and Republican parties… especially the Democratic Party since Bush and Cheney already did a pretty good job of discrediting the Republican Party.

The only way we are going to have enough power to turn this country around is if progressives are willing to “bundle” their issues in much the same way Democrats and Republicans now bundle their campaign contributions.

We can’t afford the luxury of all these different movements for peace and social and economic justice, for civil rights and civil liberties, for protection of our living environment and halting global warming to be separate and divided and often at odds with one another.

We need to craft a progressive agenda we can all unite behind and issue a Declaration of Independence from the Democrats and Republicans and make it very clear to them and the country that we understand the direct relationship between Wall Street’s military-financial-industrial complex getting whatever it wants from their well groomed and financed politicians and the suffering and misery of the people.

What kind of rotten government keeps pumping money into wars and military bases all over the world and then denies its own people health care?

And what kind of government goes to Copenhagen and lies about global warming to the entire world and doesn’t have the honesty or decency to acknowledge that the largest carbon footprint of all has been created by this military-financial-industrial complex? Apparently most in the peace and environmental movements haven’t even taken the time to figure out just how huge is the carbon foot-print of the military-financial-industrial complex because they are still so mesmerized with Al Gore’s “inconvenient truth” urging them to change out their incandescent light bulbs.

I don’t understand it… where are outfits like the Union of Concerned Scientists when it comes to explaining the “carbon footprint” of the military-financial-industrial complex?

Barack Obama and the Democrats working the Century Foundation have turned have stripped all the mass organizations of their power and relegated these organizations--- from the labor unions to civil liberties and civil rights organizations to environmental, peace and health care organizations to little more than the conveners of press conferences making noises about doing something when they know full well that when these press conferences end there will be no ongoing organizing or actions.

The Republicans haven’t offered the American people anything except misery from the day Lincoln was assassinated… the Democrats have never come forward with any needed social changes unless the country was on the verge of mass upheaval heading towards revolution--- the 1930’s and the 1960’s are the examples.

The organization, Progressives for Obama, has become such an oxymoron they have had to change their name as most of those among their members are now “jumping ship” because they have lost all credibility by associating themselves with Barack Obama… one of the few clinging to Obama is Carl Davidson who previously destroyed this country’s best independent progressive newspaper--- The National Guardian--- and defended the mass murderer Pol Pot and his side-kick Tom Hayden who was the “poster boy” for the Israeli pogroms against the Palestinian people who Barack Obama rehabilitated to do his dirty work in progressive circles.

Barack Obama is by far the biggest hoax ever perpetrated upon the American people--- bar none.

We need a Declaration of Independence from the Democrats and Republicans---

No more phone-banking.

No more contributions or fundraising.

No more leafleting the neighborhoods, mines, mills or factories.

We need to serve notice on Barack Obama and the Democrats the same way the sheriffs continue serving eviction notices after home foreclosures:

No peace; no votes.

No progressive health care reform; no votes.

This is about accountability; the most basic and fundamental aspect of democracy that has been evaded behind this facade and fallacy of voting for "the lesser-evil."

By declaring our independence from the Democrats and Republicans and formulating a real progressive agenda for peace and social & economic justice we can begin to run our own candidates for public office… until this is done, we can only anticipate and expect more wars while the needs of the people go unmet.

First step:

We need a new Declaration of Independence that includes appending the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights to our Bill of Rights--- this should be high on our progressive agenda… say good-bye to the right-wing Tea-baggers and Barack Obama and the Democrats whose agendas are actually very similar to one another and that of the Republicans… no one should find this surprising since they all serve the same Wall Street interests putting corporate profits before the human needs of people when any sane, sensible and civilized government and economic system would put people and peace before profits.

We need a new organization to push forward a new Declaration of Independence…

It wouldn't  hurt to have a new progressive political party, either.

How about making the name very simple:

We Are Fed Up!

Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell phone: 651-587-5541
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

Check out my blog:

Thoughts From Podunk

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

We need a new Declaration of Independence...

From the Democratic and Republican parties.

We need a new Declaration of Independence from the Democratic and Republican parties because we need peace in order to achieve real health care reform and many other reforms beneficial to working people that we just aren't going to get from either of these two big-business controlled political parties.

We ned to begin declaring our independence by telling the Democrats and Republicans:

No peace; no votes.

No real progressive health care reform; no votes.

In the tradition of the American Revolution of 1776 we need to insist upon "accountability" from all politicians because accountability is the fundamental basis of all democracies.

Voting out of fear for the "lesser of two-evils" destroys accountability

We need to tell the Democrats and Republicans they will get:

No campaign contributions.

No phone banking.

No working the neighborhoods and mines, mills and factories.

We need to make it very clear:

We are fed up!

Stephen Hemsley home demonstration for single-payer universal healthcare

This important notice was posted to David Shove's "Progressive Calendar:"


From:

Roger Cuthbertson

Subject:

Hemsley home demo 12.19 10am



This Saturday morning (tomorrow) at 10AM there will be a protest on the
ice of Lake Minnetonka in front of the $7.8 million stone mansion of
Stephen Hemsley.

Featured speakers will be Elizabeth Frost, MD, and Joel Albers,
Pharmacist. Please come. Dress warmly. Plan to hike .7 mi to the mansion
and .7 mi back on the ice. Don't worry. The ice is 6" thick. We will
walk pretty close to shore. People are out on the ice fishing already.

Stephen Hemsley is the CEO of the largest health insurance company in the
United States, United Health Group, headquartered in Minnesota.

Hemsley (I am not going to say, earned) was paid a salary of $3.2 million in 2007,
which is nothing to sneeze at. But his estimated $3/4 billion in stock
options in United Health Group nearly rivals the stunning figure of $1.6
billion of Hemsley's predecessor, William McGuire. McGuire left in scandal
after it was found out many of his stock options were improperly back
dated. Now we find that Hemsley might have had something to do with back
dated stock options, too.

No wonder United Health Group's premiums are so high! No wonder so many
people in this country cannot afford health insurance. Who profits? Who
dies? Help us hold our 5 large banners that say, "DOWN WITH HEALTH
INSURANCE COMPANIES!", "SINGLE PAYER MED CARE FOR ALL!", "HEALTH IS A
HUMAN RIGHT!", and "HOME OF INS. BANDIT, S. HEMSLEY!" Or, bring your own
sign or banner.

By 10AM we will be parked on Ferndale Road, West at the junction with
Shoreline Drive in Orono, just west of Wayzata, MN. For those who would
prefer an escort to this spot, some of us will meet at the Wayzata Beach
parking area, just a short block west of the depot in Downtown Wayzata at
9:45 and caravan to the Ferndale Rd/Shoreline Drive meeting place.

At 10 AM we will begin our hike. Not far from the cars there is a place
where we can get on the lake where we will not be trespassing. The
mansion will be easy to locate. It is on Ferndale Road West, 6 houses
west of the outlet of Peavy Lake, which is just west of Lookout point on
the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata, near the border with Orono.
The total time for this protest will be 2 hours, including hiking time.

We hope you can join us. This event is sponsored by UHCAN-MN.ORG . For
more information, call Roger Cuthbertson, 952-474-2476, or Elizabeth Frost
at 612-724-3995 or UHCAN-MN.ORG at 612-384-0973

More about this event from Elizabeth Frost:

Dear all:

I think most people can now see that health care reform has been hijacked
by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries to further their own agenda
- meaning profit. In the past year the industry has spent something like
600,000 dollars per day in Washington, lobbying for their interests. This
is not OK.

This evening I was feeling depressed and dejected by all the bad new
coming out of the senate regarding health care reform (although I can't
say I am surprised by anything) until I got a phone call from activist
Roger Cuthbertson. He is taking matters into his own hands and protesting
the health care reform fiasco across the Twin Cities, including banner
dropping over highways.

This Saturday I plan to join him in trip to Lake Minnetonka to protest by
the mansion of America's greatest crook - United Health Group CEO Stephen
Hemsley. We plan to bring banners and walk out onto the ice and spend an
our our two showing him how we feel about health care reform.

Please join us! We will have banners available. It will be from
approximately 10am-12pm. Please let me know if you are interested! I
plan to bring snacks and hot chocolate to help make it a good time. There
are ice fishermen on the ice already, and we plan to keep a legal
distance. If not, please keep an eye on the evening news.

Questions? Call me at (612) 724-3995
Elizabeth Frost


This is a very important demonstration and I would encourage the broadest possible participation. More demonstrations of this kind are needed.

In Minnesota a number of phony healthcare schemes are coming out of the State Legislature all aimed to bolster the political fortunes of the Republican and Democratic candidates running for governor--- none of these proposals would solve this healthcare mess.

What we need in this country is a no-fee/no-premium, comprehensive, all-inclusive universal healthcare system which incorporates a single-payer universal healthcare system based upon the Canadian healthcare system together with a vastly expanded national public healthcare system combining the best features of VA, the Indian Health Service together with a vastly expanded Public Health Service. The single-payer system would be publicly funded through an employer/employee payroll tax just like Social Security, publicly administered with continued private delivery of healthcare services until a fully public health care system could be phased in. The public healthcare system would complement the single-payer system but would immediately make free healthcare available to the forty-five million Americans presently without health insurance because they can't afford the high price of healthcare insurance or without adequate access to healthcare... this National Public Healthcare would be publicly financed, publicly administered and publicly delivered just like the Indian Health Service and the National Public Health Service.

Any country that can afford to fight wars in three countries, maintain over 800 military bases dotting the globe in over 150 countries can afford to provide healthcare for its own people.

We need to serve notice on Barack Obama and the Democrats:

No peace; no votes.

No real progressive healthcare reform; no votes.

This is about accountability which is fundamental to democracy and the American people have spoken in one very clear voice over and over again:

We want healthcare not imperialist wars.



A little dope on Stephen Hemsley from Forbes:

http://people.forbes.com/profile/stephen-j-hemsley/82872

Stephen J. Hemsley

Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
Minnetonka , MN
Sector: HEALTHCARE / Health Care Plans
Officer since January 1997
56 Years Old
Mr. Hemsley is President and Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealth Group and has served in that capacity since November 2006. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since February 2000. Mr. Hemsley joined the Company in 1997 as Senior Executive Vice President. He became Chief Operating Officer in 1998, was named President in 1999, and served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1999 to November 2006.
Forbes Rankings
269th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2009
UnitedHealth Group - 104th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2009
346th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2008
UnitedHealth Group Forbes 400 Best Big Companies in 2008
UnitedHealth Group - 111st on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2008
See All Rankings >
Compensation for 2008
Salary $1,300,000.00
Bonus $0.00
Restricted stock awards $0.00
All other compensation $119,023.00
Option awards $ $0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation $1,822,019.00
Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings $0.00
Total Compensation $3,241,042.00
Options Granted
Grant
Date All other stock awards (# of shares of stocks or units) Number of securities underlying options Exercise
or base
price Percent of total options granted in fiscal year Grant date fair value of stock and option awards See More
01/31/2006 - - $59.42 0% $3,054,000.00
05/02/2005 - 250,000 $47.34 1% $ -


Expiration date 05/02/2015
Value of options potential value 5% $7,442,968.00
Value of options potential value 10% $18,861,942.00



Another story:


UnitedHealth Group's Stephen Hemsley - CEO Compensation
May 14, 2009 — 4:11pm ET | By Dan Bowman

Stephen Hemsley
CEO compensation
UnitedHealth Group
UHG
Stephen Hemsley - UnitedHealth Group

Total Compensation: $3,241,042

Details: An $895 million class-action lawsuit over stock-option back dating aside, Hemsley still manages to make the cut for this list at No. 10. The UHG CEO's base salary was $1.3 million in 2008, to go along with a non-equity incentive plan compensation worth just over $1.8 million and "other compensation" amounting to slightly more than $119,000.

Hemsley's other compensation was a combination of the company matching his contributions under the 401(k) plan and the company matching contributions under his executive savings plan. According to the SEC, "in May 2006, the amount of Hemsley's supplemental retirement benefit was frozen based on his current age and average base salary and converted into a lump sum of $10,703,229." Because of this, "there was no increase in the benefit payable to Mr. Hemsley under his supplemental retirement benefit" in 2008.



Read more: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/unitedhealth-groups-stephen-hemsley-ceo-compensation/2009-05-14#ixzz0a9AVhdF7

Some thoughts about Copenhagen and global warming...

I'm curious; is there any industry that contributes more to global warming than Wall Street's military-financial-industrial complex as it profits from preparation for wars and wars?

If so, which ones?

I find it interesting environmentalists do not even mention militarization and the preparation for wars and fighting wars as a contributor towards global warming during this climate change debate even though this militarization consumes huge amounts of power, huge amounts of natural resources and requires an unbelievable amount of production from the very industries that are the primary contributors to global warming.

All those bombs "bursting in air" and exploding killing people must contribute some to global warming, too.

If we can't stop wars because they kill people and other living things; perhaps we should consider stopping wars because they contribute to global warming.

Maybe we should compare the benefits of peace to changing light bulbs and dotting our shorelines with windmills? How is it neither Barack Obama or Al Gore talk about the role of militarization and wars while talking about global warming and climate change?

Obama will join the leaders of these other countries in a final push for a remedy to global warming in keeping with his Wall Street views on health care "reform;" I hear he intends to go from this Copenhagen Conference to rally support for his escalation of the war in Afghanistan...

I never heard anyone talk about this before... perhaps someone would like to nominate me for some kind of Nobel Prize... of course, not the Nobel Peace Prize; that is now awarded to a warmonger who is escalating the war in Afghanistan which environmentalists don't want to figure out how much such a war contributes to global warming.

You know, it must take quite a little bit of industrial production rebuilding after the devastation of wars, also; is there any reason this wouldn't be a contributor to global warming, too?

Several professors tell me that somewhere between 30% to 50% of all industrial production in the United States is related to militarization and wars... related to this are huge amounts of mining, chemical production, power generation, etc.

I realize I'm no mathematician and no physicist... but, common sense tells me you are overlooking a major factor in global warming--- among all you environmentalist that have left wars out of your equations, you might want to go back to Al Gore and see what he has to say...

Might there be an "inconvenient truth" to what I have to say about preparation for wars and wars being a major contributor to global warming?

Marx might have had it right when he said when a nation spends its resources on preparation for wars and fighting wars it is like dumping those resources into the ocean... I wonder how Karl Marx would have viewed the contribution of militarism and wars to global warming?

You know, Wall Street might really be ours and the environment's main enemy.

Maybe we can't even solve this problem of global warming under capitalism with its wars especially if Barack Obama is going to be escalating these imperialist wars.

I'm wondering; Can Capitalism Be Green? Or, do we need a "red" socialist economy to become "green?"

Oh, well; what's missing a few minor questions that might embarrass our Number One health insurance salesman.

Just thought I would give you a little something to think about.

Give this some thought... we might be best off giving peace a chance before we change out all our light bulbs.

Alan L. Maki

Obama pressures peace movement through dirty e-mailing campaign to soften its resistance to his escalation of the war in Afghanistan

The Obama administration is stooping to the exact same dirty tricks used by Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in trying to undermine the efforts of the peace movement... from circulation of letters like the one below I have responded to, to getting outfits like the Huffington Post and Campaign for America's Future to censor and silence critics through deleting comments being made to postings.

This "Letter from the road #38" by Rabia Elizabeth Roberts has been making its rounds through a variety of peace organizations... this particular one comes to me from members of the West Michigan Justice and Peace Coalition.

In my opinion, while this "letter" tells us a lot about what the Afghans require, it is quite dishonest in that it, like most of the information, coming out of peace organizations these days which are dominated by pro-Obama "leaders" usually employed by the organizations as staff whose salaries are paid for through "philanthropic" foundation grants, intentionally ignores the past history of Afghanistan, especially the history of the last thirty to forty years and the role of the CIA and other U.S. government agencies and the U.S. military operations.

Not once have I read or heard any discussion about the only democratically and fairly elected governments of Afghanistan... the last of which came to an end with the President, Najibullah, a Marxist, having his head severed, impaled on a pole with his penis cut off and left hanging from his mouth which was ordered by the C.I.A. so as to "remind" the people of Afghanistan what they would get should they continue to seek democracy and freedom through socialism.

For some strange reason it is difficult to find a photo of Najibullah's head impaled on a pole with his penis hanging from his mouth... a very important part of Afghanistan's history... and our own history since the United States government ordered and managed this grotesque and gory dirty deed which for some strange reason they don't want the American people to see.

This is my response to this "letter" now being circulated trying to get the peace movement to soften up its opposition to Barack Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan... one more dirty imperialist war with the objective of control, manipulation, domination and occupation.

Let us be honest here; the only good, honest government the Afghan people have ever experienced was while the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was in power. Previous to this were the feudal lords; what followed were the corrupt dope-dealing governments maintained in power by the C.I.A. and the U.S. military in the name of "free markets." Dr. Najibullah's popularly elected democratic government of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan provided the Afghan people the chance to democratically govern themselves for the first time in hundreds of years.

The grisly, gory and brutal murder of D. Najibullah was not unlike the grisly, gory and brutal murder of Ernesto Che Guevara... another of a long line of murders carried out by the U.S. C.I.A. on every continent, often with the help of the AFL-CIO with silence from the same elements who now are trying to get the peace movement to "soften" its present struggle to stop Barack Obama's savage and bestial escalation of this dirty imperialist war in Afghanistan which is directly targeting the same progressive forces which were headed up by Dr. Najibullah before he was so brutally murdered.

Now, since my original response to this "letter" from Rabia Elizabeth Roberts went out, I have been inundated with e-mails and phone calls asking me why I have been so obscene and vulgar in the way I described the execution of Dr. Najibullah.

I find this very interesting since these people who are accusing me of being obscene and vulgar have nothing to say about the barbaric, grisly murder of Dr. Najibullah carried out upon the orders, directions, supervision and direct participation of the American C.I.A. and military intelligence by the very drug-pushing sadistic killers who Barack Obama hugs today.

Now, if someone can explain to me how any government installed by a bunch of thugs employed by the C.I.A. who commits such horrendous crimes against its political opposition can ever have any kind of "legitimacy" I would like to hear the explanation.

Thursday, December 10th marks the 61st Anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights... on the occasion of this important date, peace activists might want to display photos of Dr. Najibullah with his severed head impaled on a pole with his penis hanging from his mouth.

By the way... these blood-thirsty, deranged butchers cut off Dr. Najibullah's penis prior to dragging him naked, still alive, through the streets until they severed his head while he was still alive and jammed his penis into his mouth as they they begin the intentionally very slow process of severing his head before impaling it on a pole where Dr. Najibullah's head was displayed like this for weeks.

If anything is gross and obscene it is what passes for "U.S. foreign policy"--- the policies of U.S. imperialism which, under Barack Obama have not changed.

In fact, from the tone and tenor of the e-mails and phone calls I have been receiving, it seems some Obama supporters would like to do the same to me.

In fact, just moments ago as I was writing this blog post, I got a phone call from a woman who said her name was Michelle Harris calling from phone number 866-932-6801; who stated: "...Maki, someone should cut off your dick and shove it in your mouth before they chop off your fingers so you can't write before they cut off your head. I voted for Barack Obama and I'm proud of it... just shut the fuck up about Barack Obama."

Nothing like the good old U.S.A.

I did send my e-mail below to Rabia Elizabeth Roberts to get her response; I even had to go through her ritual of having to prove I wasn't "spamming" her--- which I did. Should she respond I will publish her response here... in the interest of fairness and democracy.

Anyways, read the "letter" below and my response here:


Subject: RE: [WMJPC] Fwd: Fw: LETTER FROM THE ROAD #38 - VOICES FROM KABUL

I think this perspective being put forward by Rabia Elizabeth Roberts is exactly the message Barack Obama and the Democrats want to have coming out of the peace movement in order to justify their position which is an open imperialist position designed to make the occupation of Afghanistan palatable to the American people.

First, this is an imperialist war. No imperialist war is ever just.

Second, the war is being conducted in a way that is setting the country up for very long-term occupation.

Third, the United States had not one iota of business seeking to defend its “national interests” in Afghanistan because it has no legitimate national, or any other, interests in Afghanistan.

Fourth, the Soviets were working with the progressive Afghan government that had the support of the majority of the Afghan people. Everything this writer (Rabia Elizabeth Roberts) says is being done by good people helping the Afghan people on a very small scale right now was being done on a huge, gigantic scale by the Soviets.

I have pictures around someplace of Mohammad Najibullah (not sure of spelling) with his head impaled on a pole by the very corrupt, dope-peddling present government the CIA brought to power that Americans are dying for and paying to protect.

Thousands of progressive Afghans were murdered in the same grisly manner as Najibullah; this is why it is so difficult to get a good, honest government in Afghanistan today--- good, decent people don’t want to have their heads impaled on a pole with their penis cut off left dangling from their mouth.

There are no other alternatives to good and honest government than those who were working with Najibullah.

Mikhail Gorbachev can be thanked for this mess as much as the U.S. CIA… Soviet troops never should have pulled out of Afghanistan. Bin Laden would have been taken care of long ago and the World Trade Center would still be standing today had Soviet troops been allowed to complete their mission and there isn’t a single person who can say that the government of Najibullah was anything other than a decent, honest humanitarian government--- his “crime” was having been a “Marxist” … anyone is free to examine the accomplishments of the Najibullah government that, with Soviet assistance, was helping one of the poorest countries on this planet achieve decent livelihoods for the Afghan people… this fact is ignored by the letter writer below as it is ignored by most of the peace movement… in fact, I don’t know of anyone except myself who has even stated as much. But, the facts are there for anyone to see if they want to look.

The only thing the United States has to do now is pull all of its troops and contractor/mercenaries out of Afghanistan and the Afghan people will get the help they need from their friends in the region and around the world… in addition to pulling out the United States needs to agree to write the checks for rebuilding in the wake of the destruction and havoc it has created over the last three decades in Afghanistan… there is no replacing human life--- how does anyone ever apologize to the wife and children of Najibullah who Barack Obama should be hugging--- instead his hugs and kisses go to a dope-dealer pumping our children’s veins full of this poison.

In our small local newspaper that usually isn’t worth a darn… the lead Opinion/Editorial written for the Roseau Times-Region’s Jeff Olson states, now remember, this is no communist newspaper. The Roseau Times-Region is the largest circulation newspaper in northern Minnesota--- I quote, word for word, from the Saturday, December 5, 2009 Roseau Times-Region Editorial Page, page 4:

“Always, the Republicans have backed the rich the vested business interests, and not given a sweet damn about the poor.

You can see that in the national health care debate, which is becoming a debacle.

But forget about health care reform, which even Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon favored. It all came to naught. As will this opportunity.

But we’ve got bigger concerns: Fighting two wars.

On Tuesday, President Obama called for an additional 30,000 American troops to be sent to Afghanistan.

That’s in addition to the 20,000 American troops he ordered deployed to Afghanistan last March.

Mr. Obama should forget about the Nobel Peace Prize. He should also forget about showing up in Stockholm to receive it.

He’s a war president, not a peace-maker.

And this from a guy who voted for him.”

This commentary should be in a Communist newspaper; unfortunately it isn’t.

And, then, Jeff Olson goes on for another half page saying the “Congress deserves a good swift kick in the rump” for allowing this war to go on.

There is only one way to end these dirty wars and that is if the American people to send a strong, clear message to Barack Obama and the Democrats:

No Peace; No Votes.

And the peace movement should be gearing up to take this campaign to the American people so the Democrats feel the heat going into the 2010 Election. No one in the peace movement should be making any apologies or trying to skew the issues or confuse the issues with the intent of protecting Barack Obama and the Democrats.

We don’t owe the Democrats a darn thing… they owe us peace for putting them in full control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency.

The Democrats are responsible for their actions and in a democracy the voters are entitled to enforce accountability… no one voted for Barack Obama wanting more war… the entire reason for dumping the Republicans was because the American people were fed up with these wars and wanted real health care reform instead of war--- single-payer, to be exact.

How can Barack Obama and the Democrats bring democracy to Afghanistan when they don’t even respect the peace sentiments of the overwhelming majority who voted for them?

If the Democrats suffer a resounding defeat at the polls they deserve the trouncing. And no matter what; no leader of any peace organization should ever again be allowed by the members of the organizations to give their support to Barack Obama… he is nothing but a liar and a killer. Obama lied to the American people to get elected; Obama lies about the nature of this war now… who in their right mind uses over one-hundred thousand troops trying to chase down less than 100 criminals. Maybe if the FBI would stop tapping my phone and following me around they could catch Osama bin Laden… although they haven’t had much luck stopping organized crime in this country because half their F.B.I. “special” agents are “on the take” accepting bribes from drug lords while the other half of the F.B.I. is busy tapping our telephones and looking through our e-mails and monitoring our blog postings for signs of anti-imperialist peace sentiments.

I am sure the rest of the world will pitch in and help the people of Afghanistan just like they help so many other victims of war and natural disasters--- there is no need for any U.S. presence in Afghanistan… the people will get along just fine without the United States.

Barack Obama is a bigger liar than Richard Nixon… and that takes some doing.

I would rather lose an election supporting a real peace-loving candidate like George McGovern than win an election with a lying warmonger like Barack Obama and it sickens me to see someone suggest, while making a pretense of being for peace, when all they are doing is providing cover and deflecting criticism for Barack Obama as Rabia Elizabeth Roberts is doing here.

I would also point out that this bunch of corrupt, drug-dealing American puppets controlling the Afghan government right now destroyed the houses, schools and hospitals built with Soviet assistance because they wanted to eradicate any and all vestiges of what a progressive, anti-imperialist, socialist oriented government can do for the people. The grisly and barbaric murder of Mohammad Najibullah with his head impaled on a pole with his penis dangling from his mouth was meant to instill fear into a proud people who only want the right to live in peace with a standard of living befitting human beings.

Think about it… the Najibullah government was no different than the socialist oriented government in power in the Province of Manitoba right now whose former leader is now the U.S. Ambassador to the United States… Manitoba New Democratic Party leader Gary Doer.

I would be willing to bet that the writer of this letter will not be supporting the political friends of Najibullah coming back to power; and, I doubt she will join in calling for:

No peace; no votes because she supports Barack Obama.

I would like to hear what Rabia Elizabeth Roberts has to say in response to me on all counts.

It boggles my mind that the socialist oriented government of Najibullah was anathema to the United States, but Barack Obama can hug and kiss a bunch of murdering heroin dealers and this is acceptable.

By the way, I find it equally of interest that the “Progressives for Obama” is headed up by a guy named Carl Davidson who supported another butcher while he was conducting his killing spree--- Pol Pot; and he now adamantly refuses to disassociate himself from another killer, Barack Obama, by supporting: No peace; no votes. Stop the killing, U.S. out of Afghanistan now!

We need to dump Barack Obama the same way we dumped that warmonger Lyndon Johnson. Barack Obama should be forced to resign in shame just as Richard Nixon did… a killer is a killer and a liar is a liar; there is no reason why the American people should have to continue to put up with this killing in our name with our tax-dollars paying for this dirty war instead of real progressive health care reform right here in our own country. How dare any politician in this country squawk about the price-tag for real health care reform when they don’t bat an eyelash over funding this kind of dirty war.

Offer a trillion dollar reward to anyone who brings Osama bin Laden’s head impaled on a pole with his penis hanging from his mouth to Barack Obama and this will solve the matter and it will be a whole lot cheaper.

Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell phone: 651-587-5541
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

Check out my blog:

Thoughts From Podunk

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

[WMJPC] Fwd: Fw: LETTER FROM THE ROAD #38 - VOICES FROM KABUL


More from Peace Activist who was in Afghanistan

--- On Fri, 11/6/09, Rabia Elizabeth Roberts wrote
Letter from the Road #38
Rabia Elizabeth Roberts
November, 2009
Voices from Kabul

So ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
- Leonard Cohen

I recently returned from the Middle East and Afghanistan, and am surrounded by my journals, magazine articles, blog snippets, position statements from peace groups, everything written in the New York Times about Afghanistan, and copies of some of the more than 200 emails I received in response to my last Letter from the Road: Confessions of a Peace Activist. It looks like my old dorm room at term paper time.

All of this material confirms my impression that the debate about whether to “bring the troops home now” or “surge” with more troops is misleading the national conversation. They are easy slogans but both sides of the debate tempt us to believe there is a quick resolution to our involvement in Afghanistan.

I believe it is time to stop thinking of Afghanistan either as a war to be won or abandoned. Our foreign policies there do not exist in a vacuum. Instead we need to acknowledge the responsibility the United States has for bringing about the current situation and recognize that our role is now to cultivate a long-term healing relationship with Afghanistan - for the good of the Afghan people, the stability of the region, and for the long-term interests of the United States and the world as a whole.

We cannot ignore the facts that over the past three decades the U.S. armed Afghanistan’s fundamentalist war lords, ignored the huge build-up of its drug trade, failed to help rebuild the country after its invasion in 2001, tolerated Pakistan’s continued support for Taliban terrorists, and bombed its villages for the past eight years. If the U.S. turns its back on the Afghan people now it will not only bring about more violence and injustice but also betray the principles we hold most dear. We helped to break it and now we must help to mend it.

How can we do this? Here are a few central issues that I heard from Afghans during my visit:

The Builders

For guidance we must start by listening to the non-governmental organization (NGO) workers – especially the Afghans - who have been working for years to re-build the country. They are part of the culture, and are trusted. They are under daily threat of kidnapping and death and yet fear is not diminishing their determination. Unfortunately, they are rarely consulted by policy makers or military commanders. These are the people working in child welfare, teacher training, women’s empowerment, capacity building, civic education, agriculture development, and peacemaking. They understand all the dimensions involved in “human security,” which includes a military presence but in service to long-term non-military goals such as justice, jobs, health, and education.

The Women

As a woman from the U.N. Fund for Women (who asked to remain unnamed) told us, “This conflict has been waged on the backs of women – it is about control of women.” This is not a side issue. A frequently mentioned concern of women is that the Taliban will set a pre-condition for any potential talks that no women be allowed to participate. When our peace delegation asked what we might do, she said, “Keep asking ‘Where are the women?’

There is a recurring proposal that comes before the Afghan government at the behest of Taliban supporters to set up a “department of virtue and vice.” There is also the much talked about “Shia Family Law,” which among scores of other repressive rules, says there is no such thing as marital rape, that a woman is required to obey her husband in all his needs, and that she cannot go outside the home without a male family member. This law, which is being strongly contested by women’s organizations, is being promoted by fundamentalist Shia religious groups in Iran.

The women we spoke with kept reminding us: there will be no democracy if it only involves men. When asked if we western women may be forcing something on the women of Afghanistan that they don’t want, a UNIFEM spokeswoman said, “There is no one who, when asked, does not want freedom.”

The international community has an important role to play here. All negotiations, public policies, and foreign aid must include the women of Afghanistan. President Obama should lead the way here by asking, “Where are the women?”

The Aid

Reconstruction and development have to be at the top of the list of U.S. policy initiatives in Afghanistan. At present, for every American dollar that goes to Afghanistan as aid, 60% comes back to the U.S. in corporate contracts and high salaries. This can of course be reduced by seeing that most aid money goes to Afghans. But that is easier said than done – USAID, for example, doesn’t give funds below $25 million. This limitation, plus overwhelming reporting requirements, means that only larger international corporations can make use of this money.

With the use of so many large foreign independent contractors and subcontractors the public interest needs of the Afghan people and culture can get lost. Furthermore, between the emphasis on large private contractors and the problems of government corruption there is little money available to build up the effectiveness of government agencies and provide adequate pay to Afghan personnel.

Afghanistan needs schools, hospitals, clinics, roads, sanitation systems, wells - these must be built as much as possible by Afghans, or with Afghans and used as a means of investing them in the reconstruction effort.

The problem here is that the Taliban are against all efforts of capacity building and consequently rural Afghans are often afraid to join in the work of reconstruction. To overcome this resistance, aid must be combined with protection, and involve Afghans in the process from the ground up. Perhaps a way forward here is to concentrate on certain key areas in which progress can then function as a model for other regions.

The Government

By all accounts the weak and corrupt Karzai government contributed significantly to the growth of the insurgency. By definition weak states cannot meet the basic needs of their population. They cannot consolidate authority over all their territory and they don’t have the resources to provide security.

After 30 years of war the Karzai government was too weak from the beginning to survive without international support. We didn’t provide that support after the invasion. As a result over the years people have lost faith in the government being able to provide the essentials of social functioning. Since they identify America with the current national government we also are no longer trusted.

Failure of governance is also a problem at the provincial level. Professor Aram Mir Ahzar, director of the Independent Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, told us that one of the problems with getting the Taliban to put down their guns and join the government is because “We can’t keep them safe.” When a Taliban fighter comes in (and reportedly 8300 have joined the peace commission so far), he is given $200 to return to his village and a card from the national government saying he should be given a piece of land and helped to find work. However the governor of the province may be a former Northern Alliance commander, a drug smuggler, or simply unsympathetic to this process and either kills the person or “disturbs their family” instead. Not surprisingly Taliban have stopped coming in.

Restoring civil politics in a multiethnic state shattered by war is difficult because the years of war destroyed the possibility of cooperation. Provincial people keep their relationship with the Taliban or the Northern Alliance for security and for fear they may come back into governmental power. As long as we threaten to withdraw or give a timetable for withdrawal without an adequate Afghan army or police this dynamic will continue to undermine a viable national government.

The U.S., NATO, and the U.N. cannot ignore the corruption and poor planning in the Karzai government. It is causing massive discouragement among Afghans and feeding distrust in American involvement and intention. The U.S., NATO, and the U.N. must, as a condition of all military or economic aid, make purging the most egregious corrupt officials and their militias from the government a priority. This will go a long way in renewing respect for America amon g Afghans.

Safety

Most public discussion in the U.S. at the moment focuses on the important role of military forces in Afghanistan, but according to some of my informal conversations, while military and paramilitary forces play a key role in maintaining safety for society, the police are perhaps the most critical force in peoples everyday lives. According to General Stanley McChristal’s counter-insurgency strategy, the Afghan and international military forces may be able to penetrate and protect an insurgent area, and if well sustained with adequate troops may reduce guerilla activity. But as history shows, once a local situation becomes untenable for insurgents, the Taliban simply transfer their activity to another area and the problem remains unsolved. A viable indigenous police force with a permanent presence in urban and rural areas is a critical component of counter-insurgency in the long term.

At Camp Eggars I spoke with two British soldiers with NATO forces whose job was to train the police force in Kabul. How was it going? Well, it is complicated by the fact that Afghan police have not received formal training for two decades. The job of training was turned over to private contractors like DynCorp who were not up to the job. A real governmental strategy for training police did not exist until 2007, and the fact is most Afghans can’t read. “How can I train a policeman if he can’t write a police report?” It will take a decade to do this. A long time - and yet it needs to be done if people are to be safe after the international forces leave.

Getting It Right

Based on the above challenges and Afghanistan’s history, the U.S., NATO, and the U.N. need to work at multiple levels simultaneously to achieve security:
• learn from and partner with NGO’s and local entities in development;
• involve women in all aspects of rebuilding;
• confront corruption and build capacity in good governance;
• train an Afghan army and national police force;
. stop the flow of drugs and drug money;
• work diplomatically with regional partners to undermine the Taliban and Al Qaeda sanctuary in Pakistan.

Reading over these notes I admit the whole situation can discourage me at times. It is an interlocking puzzle of dysfunctional systems. So why not let the Taliban have the country? Or let the warlords “cut it up” as Thomas Friedman recommended in a recent New York Times article?

For me, these suggestions ignore the human costs involved. I can’t stop seeing the faces and hearing the stories of the people I met in Kabul. The “let them work it out” scenarios promise only more war, personal violence, and refugee displacement which could easily be worse than what is happening now. If the past is any guide this violence could go on for a very long time, further destabilizing the whole region, including the Pakistan-India stand off.

The people I met in Afghanistan do not want another civil war, a narco-state, or a repressive women-hating regime. Nor do they want a long-term foreign occupation - but they do want help in rebuilding a secure, functional country.

Walking away from Afghanistan now perpetuates the idea, to both U.S. citizens and the rest of the world, that all we are willing, and able, to do in a country is to destroy and kill, achieve our limited idea of “mission accomplished” and walk away. As we know this only increases recruitment for the growing global terrorist network. Reconstruction, education, jobs and development are our most powerful anti-terrorism tools. And Afghanistan is a place to demonstrate our commitment to these goals.

I continue to believe that international troops have a roll to play in protecting civilians and development efforts, securing roads, training an Afghan army and national police, and securing the border with Pakistan. It is hard for me to see how Afghanistan can achieve these goals without military support at this time.

I bow to my good friends in the peace movement who tell me our government is incapable of living up to our values and engaging in nation-building in a positive way. They have some history behind them and may prove to be right. However, I believe that everything outlined above is possible with long-term commitment and care. I hope my government and its allies are up to it for the sake of the Afghan people and the world.

This message was sent from Rabia Elizabeth Roberts to katrussell@att. net. It was sent from: The Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit, 2434 Mapleton Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304.