Unite for peace to win jobs and end poverty: March and rally October 2 in Washington D.C.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Unite for peace to win jobs and end poverty

Alan L. Maki
‎

So far I haven't seen where there has been a focus on how Obama's wars kill jobs just like they kill people. To build a movement concerned with getting America back to work requires explaining all the reasons why the jobs are disappearing... I won't repeat what I have written elsewhere on this site... anyone interested can check out the discussion:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/OneNationWorkingTogether?v=wall&story_fbid=146419565395492

and here:

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages#!/OneNationWorkingTogether?v=wall&story_fbid=159898937360567&ref=notif&notif_t=like

It makes no sense to me to rally behind supporting a President and a Democratic Party whose very policies are killing jobs.

Starbucks is now a "partner" in promoting this October 2 march and rally... Is it a goal to get everyone a job like people have at Starbucks where people get fired for union organizing to free themselves from poverty wages and poor working conditions?

Yesterday the big news was that there has been a sharp increase in poverty in this country... what is not being said is that most of the people living in poverty are EMPLOYED people with poverty wage jobs... like those people working at Starbucks--- people who get fired for trying to organize for real living wage jobs.

Any school child understands that if people are paid poverty wages these workers will be living in poverty.

The Democrats, through clever "Compacts," created over two-million jobs for people in the Indian Gaming Industry at loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos where poverty wages are enforced because none of these two-million workers have any rights under state or federal labor laws or the NLRA... and even the Employee Free Choice Act will not protect us.

Is the enforcement of affirmative action part of the "jobs" agenda agreed to by organizations endorsing this march and rally... I don't see the enforcement of Executive Order #11246 mentioned anywhere in any of your materials.

People have been trying to get these questions and concerns answered for months with NO responses from anyone; now the excuse for not answering these questions is "we have to go all out to mobilize we don't have time for these kinds of discussions--- interestingly enough, the same logic being shoved at us about the elections coming up on November 2.

Now this march is apparently turning out to be a mobilization to "get out the vote for Obama and the Democrats" rather than a march to serve notice on Obama and the Democrats, that in return for our votes, we expect: jobs at real living wages created from funds obtained by ending these dirty wars and taxing the rich--- not merely ending the tax-cuts on the rich... there is going to have to be a very hefty tax increase on the rich to pay to put America back to work.

I am not bringing forward any kind of "side issues" to the jobs issue central to the October 2 march and rally; these are issues very important to the jobs issue. It is these kinds of very issues involved in the jobs issue that make it possible for all these organizations to really unite.

Political Debate: A cornerstone of democracy... why is United States Congressman Keith Ellison afraid to debate his opponent Michael Cavlan

We received the following e-mail this morning from the Cavlan for U.S. Congress-5th District Campaign Committee.

This is not an endorsement of Michael Cavlan since neither of us, nor the Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council, support candidates for any political office from any political party unless they have made concrete written proposals and/or major public statements supporting the rights of casino workers.

The only candidates, to date, running in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan or Iowa meeting our criteria for endorsement are the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's nominated candidate for Governor, Mark Dayton, who has stated publicly at a press conference that he is in favor a state-owned, state-operated casino that would be smoke-free and provide employees jobs under union contract with the protection of all rights under state and federal labor laws and Greg Paquin and Nicole Beaulieu of the new Warriors for Justice Party running as write-in candidates for Minnesota Senate District 4 and Minnesota House District 4-A, respectively.

In front of 180 people and media representatives from television, radio and the press assembled at the American Indian Center at Bemidji State University for a Minnesota Governor Candidates forum on Native American Indian issues, Mark Dayton profusely apologized for his lack of attention to the plight of casino workers, and pledged, now, to do what is right in return for our support, for not taking up the plight of Minnesota's 40,000 casino workers while he was the Democratic United States Senator from Minnesota, and pledged that he would do everything possible to correct the injustices Minnesota's 40,000 casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry are being subjected to which includes being forced to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights protected like all other workers under state and federal labor laws.

We look forward to working with Governor Mark Dayton in resolving these issues. Mark Dayton is the one and only politician since Governor Rudy Perpich and the Warriors for Justice who have been willing to take a stand for justice on this issue.

We would look forward to working with Michael Cavlan as a United States Congressman were he to support a similar position as that taken by Mark Dayton.

However, who we support and endorse is not the issue here.

At issue is the very heart and substance of what democracy is all about because the Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council would like the opportunity to publicly ask Keith Ellison and Michael Cavlan their positions in relation to the plight of casino workers and our struggle for justice.

We note that Keith Ellison takes very substantial campaign contributions from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and its member casino managements while remaining silent as hundreds of his own constituents are employed under the most Draconian conditions at the huge and fabulously wealthy Mystic Lake Casino empire employing over 5,000 workers in its casino and related hospitality industry operations who are FORCED to sign statements, in complete violation of all state, federal and international laws and accepted rights and standards, stating that they understand that if they engage in union organizing to protect their rights and their livelihoods and in an effort to gain a voice at work they will immediately be terminated.

Keith Ellison has personally told us on at least three occasions while a state representative and twice while a member of the U.S. Congress when asked about this most deplorable situation regarding the plight of Minnesota's more than 40,000 casino workers: "I don't have time to talk to you right now; make an appointment to come talk to me in my office." Phone calls, letters and e-mails have all gone unanswered for such a request to talk about these problems with Keith Ellison in his office.

Quite frankly, we hope that Keith Ellison is defeated because he is completely dishonest and refuses to represent the best interests of his own constituents in favor of taking bribes from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association which is nothing but a front for mobsters and organized crime who own the slot machines and table games and operate the illegal prostitution, loan-sharking, gambling (sports wagering--- including in addition to professional sports, college and high school sports and horse racing) not to mention the drug trade.

This Indian Gaming Industry in Minnesota which takes tens of billions of dollars out of Native American Indian communities every single year is directly responsible for the continued shameful poverty and violence plaguing Native American Indians who are predominantly working class and for whom these poverty wage jobs without any rights assures nothing but a life of rapidly expanding and growing poverty while being forced to work in smoke-filled casinos assures illness from cancers and heart and lung diseases--- among the most painful of all human diseases and the most expensive to treat for which there are seldom cures.

Congressman Keith Ellison, like other Democrats and Republicans and the rest of Minnesota's politicians, including the Green Party and other "alternative" parties and their candidates, have the most shameful record when it comes to casino workers' rights.

We point out that Ralph Nader has also been shamefully silent concerning the plight of workers in the Indian Gaming Industry so his endorsement of Michael Cavlan does not impress us.

Again, our concern in having received this letter from the Cavlan Campaign organization is for the well-being of democracy which we know for a fact to be at an all-time low simply because casino workers have been denied their rights and a voice at work through the connivance and scheming of mainly Democratic Party politicians who have seen to it that the mobsters operating these casinos were provided the right to oppress and exploit under "color of law" through the creation of "Compacts" creating this most hideous, racist and anti-labor Indian Gaming Industry... there has never been, in the history of the world, such undemocratic and corrupt connivance and scheming between politicians and the managements of any other corporations and industries even though there have been some real doozies.

We look forward to hearing the views of Michael Cavlan and Keith Ellison on this particular issue during a public debate.

But, alas, we casino workers know from our attempts to simply convey our views to him, that Democrat Keith Ellison is nothing but a big-mouth con-man who is a chicken shit opportunist politician looking to fatten his own pocket-book.

We further understand what many people apparently do not, that if United States Congressman Keith Ellison refuses to accept his responsibility in standing up against the injustices of casino workers taking place right under his nose in his own community, he cannot be relied upon to seek an end to injustices anywhere on any issue--- not in Palestine and not here in Minnesota.

And we further note that in spite of all of Keith Ellison's fancy sounding rhetoric, if casino workers cannot count on him and rely on him to be a voice for these most basic and fundamental human rights and worker rights--- no working people can count on him for anything when they encounter problems.

Of course, we always welcome any and all politicians to change their views taking our injustices into consideration as Mark Dayton has done.

Mark Dayton found out what it was like to be encountered in public with our problems and concerns; so did the other candidates running for Governor--- they failed to address our concerns, and they lost; Mark Dayton went on to win the Primary against an opponent supported by the well-heeled elements in the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's "Business Caucus" and the Summit Hill Club who had repeatedly spurned us--- Dayton, with our support, won; Margaret Anderson-Kelliher lost.

We are going to do everything we can do to make sure that Mark Dayton becomes Minnesota's next Governor.

We helped to support Mark Dayton from the minute he held a press conference on the steps of Minnesota's State Capitol announcing his support for a state-owned and operated casino in the Twin Cities, to as he said, "Compete with the Mystic Lake Casino."

Of course we applaud Mark Dayton's stand in support of single-payer universal health care based on the Canadian model--- we too have supported single-payer universal healthcare as a first step towards a national public healthcare system; his stand in condemnation of racism and in defense of affirmative action--- this has been our stand from the time we organized; his stand in support of teachers and all public employees who have become targets for other politicians seeking to use them as scapegoats for our many problems--- our Organizing Council and Organizing Committees across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa have repeatedly been involved in campaigns of solidarity with other workers, including teachers and public employees; and, of course, we admire and support Mark Dayton for having the courage to take up the struggle where Floyd Olson, Elmer Benson and Rudy Perpich left off with a call to "tax the hell out of the rich"--- we have called for peace and an end to these dirty wars and the redistribution of the wealth in this country that can only come from "tax the rich" governmental policies.

We believe it was because of the support Mark Dayton received from the Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council and the Warriors for Justice in his very narrow Primary victory that Mark Dayton is now in the running to be Minnesota's next Governor and we don't intend to let Mark Dayton or any other politicians forget this.

In closing, we would just like to note that when workers are deprived of their voices and rights at work, they have no voices or rights in the communities or states or nations where they live. Because, as we have seen over and over again with workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry, as soon as they speak out in their communities on issues like the need to raise the minimum wage to a real living wage, they are fired... or, they are fired simply for writing "letters to the editor" which are not approved of by these casino managements and they are even fired for simply "blogging" their views.

Scores of casino workers have been fired for "blogging."

Like Keith Ellison's refusal to debate Michael Cavlan... these are all attacks on the basic and fundamental democratic principles upon which our Nation was founded... Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Crispus Attacks and Tom Paine and that great debater and emancipator, Abe Lincoln, would be rolling and thrashing in their graves if they knew what the democracy they struggled so hard to create has degenerated into.

We want to know, and voters have a right to know, where Michael Cavlan and Keith Ellison stand in relation to the plight of so many of the casino workers who reside in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District--- one of the most impoverished areas of Minnesota.

While we are impressed that Cynthia McKinney, who has taken a very bold, strong stand, both as a Democratic member of the United States Congress and as the Green Party's candidate for President, in support of the rights of casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry to organize unions to protect their rights and their livelihoods... we are unimpressed with Cavlan's endorsement from Ralph Nader who has refused, for many years, to articulate a position in support of casino workers.

Nor do we share Michael Cavlan's complete rejection of Democrats, seeing as how we have found one decent Democrat among those in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa in Mark Dayton... we are sure there are a few more, but a three-fingered man would have difficulty counting them all on his fingers.

Maggie Bird
President,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

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

Brenda Long
For the Minnesota Coordinating Council
of Casino Workers Organizing Committees
of the Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
and resident of the 5th Congressional District

Subject: RE:  For Immediate Release - Nader Endorsement

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RALPH NADER ENDORSES MICHAEL CAVLAN FOR CONGRESS

NATION'S FOREMOST PROPONENT FOR POLITICAL CHANGE SAYS

 VOTERS SHOULD DEMAND THAT CAVLAN BE INCLUDED IN DEBATES WITH THE TWO CORPORATE OWNED CANDIDATES

For Immediate Release: September 8, 2010 

For Further Information: Dori Ullman (612) 414-9528

September 8, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS – The Michael Cavlan for Congress Campaign is extremely happy to announce that consumer advocate and three-time Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader has endorsed Independent Congressional Candidate Mike Cavlan for House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th district.

Mr. Nader contacted the campaign writing:

“Michael Cavlan – so knowledgeable, so perceptive, so committed to a deliberative democracy – is the Congressional candidate to support inthe 5th district if you want “people” and “justice” to have a chance. Demand that Michael Cavlan participate in the debates with the other candidates. You'll see for yourself that he is truly of, by, and for the people.”

Cavlan said, "We are deeply honored to have Ralph Nader give us such a powerful endorsement”. Cavlan has a history of being a hard-hitting, no holds barred champion of working men and women and said, “We are committed to living up to Ralph Nader's endorsement, his words will be a source of inspiration to all of us working  to improve the conditions not only in the 5th District but in our entire nation”.

Cavlan has also been endorsed by peace activist Cindy Sheehan, former Presidential candidate Representative Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, former US Senate candidate Brother Ray Tricomo as well as the Kalpulli Turtle Island Organization which is committed to creating a more sustainable and equitable nation.

Cavlan repeated his call to the people of Minnesota's 5th District saying: "The Two Party System is the war machine. It's actions are accelerating the decline of our nation's greatness. It is time for officials in both parties  to end the lies. Help rather than hinder the American people in creating a new vision for our nation and our offspring."

The Cavlan Campaign is issuing a call to action. Call the offices of Congressman Keith Ellison. Demand that there be debates and that Michael Cavlan is included in them.

Keith Ellison's Office numbers are

Minneapolis (612)522-1212

Washington DC (202)225-4755

###

My first Sunday morning sermon...

Sunday, September 12, 2010

My Sunday morning FaceBook "sermon:"





The extremely wealthy stay in the background as they financing and fueling campaigns of hate in the name of religion…

It always amazes me how much hate takes place in the name of religions all claiming to have a moral compass for humankind... one reason why I am adherent of modern scientific materialism.

Personally, I would rather see public day care centers, public schools and public health care centers going up instead of churches, synagogues or mosques... all of which we have plenty of in this country and most of these buildings just set idle most of the time except when people are being taught to be intolerant of one another or when the ministers, rabbis and imams aren't giving their blessings to go out and kill one another.

But, with this said; we all know there wouldn't have been a peep from anyone if a church or synagogue was being built instead of a mosque, don't we?

And the result has been a very typical good old American despicable display of plain old racist bigotry towards Muslims that is now tearing away at our social fabric feeding the two-bit half-assed fascist bastards in the Tea-bagger movement financed by the Koch family--- a movement that is riddled with John Birchers and KKK'ers who have been looking for a way to spread their message of hate... with a bunch of Republicans pathetically drooling, like a dog waiting to be tossed a bone, over the opportunity to clean up at the polls on November 2.

The only good thing about any of this "mosque controversy" is that most Americans are very good people who would never indulge in crimes of hate, and in response to this kind of bigotry there always arises a movement to combat these campaigns of hate... just as movements for peace arise to oppose unjust imperialist wars for occupation and movements arise in opposition to poverty.

Unfortunately, since these movements in opposition to racism and bigotry always come from the grassroots working class people, it sometimes takes a little longer to get organized and going because of lack of funds while these movements based upon hate are always funded by the extremely wealthy... maybe since these wealthy people have so much money to spare to finance racist bigotry and hate we should just consider relieving them of a substantial portion of their wealth by taxing the hell out of the rich to pay for things like public healthcare and public childcare and public education.

My response to Eliot Seide

Letter to the editor/opinion piece submitted for publication, exclusively, to the Duluth News tribune:


I read with interest the puff piece by Eliot Seide, “Union’s view: What does organized labor want;” Duluth News-Tribune September 6, 2010. {See below}

Seide presents a very important list of what labor wants; unfortunately this essay omitted more than a few important items at the top of the “wish list” of most working people.

First on this list is the desire for peace and an end to these dirty wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seide, in typical liberal tradition like Samuel Gompers, is content to let Democrats establish his agenda so he says nothing about the need to end these dirty wars.

I would like to share a left-wing working class socialist perspective with readers in the interest of dialog, discussion and debate.

The most fundamental and important question every union leader and all rank-and-file workers should be asking in relation to Labor Day: How is this war economy working for you?

How is the WAR ECONOMY working for YOU?

A vitally important question for Labor Day because we can’t pump trillions of dollars into wars and occupations while expecting to solve our own social/economic problems.

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world; the problem is a few people own and control most of this wealth.

This wealth created by working people is being squandered on fighting two wars, financing the Israeli killing machine and funding over 800 U.S. military bases on foreign soil protecting Wall Street's greedy interests--- instead, what we need is a public health care system of 800 primary care facilities serving as bases of support for over 30,000 neighborhood public health care centers spread out across the United States providing free health care for all Americans which would create around ten-million new, good-paying jobs with affirmative action enforced.

We wouldn't trust a private-for-profit free enterprise system to teach our children to read and write so why would we continue to rely on this failed private-for-profit health care system? Public education provides quality education for our children and a public health care system will provide us with a world-class health care system.

As for anyone concerned about the high cost of health care; VA, the Indian Health Service and the National Public Health Service have all proven we get the best health care at the best price through public health care.

Elected public officials should be able to comprehend the benefits from peace and a public health care system. Look at unemployment; workers in our country and our state need jobs, not wars. Solving the problems of working people is what creates real jobs. We should be discussing a national public child care program, too--- this would create millions more jobs. We should be looking at reducing the age of retirement not making people work until they drop dead; lowering the retirement age to 60 would put millions of people to work while in the final analysis the solution to solving any problems relating to Social Security is a full employment economy… everyone pays in--- can capitalism deliver full employment? If not, socialism can.

By ending these dirty wars, implementing Mark Dayton’s call to “Tax the Rich” and the reforms cited above we can get America back to work.

In order to turn this country around, we are going to have to rebuild the historic coalition of liberals, progressives and the left; the only coalition which has ever won real progress for working people.

How is the WAR ECONOMY working for YOU? Does it make you sick?

Let’s talk about the politics and economics of livelihood for real change on this Labor Day not the mere “wish list” Eliot Seide has provided; no doubt Eliot Seide still has high hopes for Barack Obama even though Obama is dashing the hopes of working people for jobs, health care and child care in wars.

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

40,000 Minnesotans go to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws.




58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell Phone: 651-587-5541

E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net





http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/178155/group/News/

Published September 06 2010

Union’s view: What does organized labor want?

The answer to what organized labor wants is simple and timeless. We want what most workers want. We want a better life for ourselves and for our families. We want to unite and change the things that oppress most workers today. By: Eliot Seide, Duluth News Tribune

 

The answer to what organized labor wants is simple and timeless. We want what most workers want. We want a better life for ourselves and for our families. We want to unite and change the things that oppress most workers today.

We want respect and dignity. We don’t want bad employers who kick their workers around during the recession, forcing them to work longer, harder and cheaper while executives line their pockets with gold.

We want secure jobs with good wages and benefits. We don’t want to continue working harder while earning less. We don’t want to be slaves to Wal-Mart and Wall Street. We don’t want St. Paul’s Ford plant to close and shove its workers into the scrap heap. We don’t want bankruptcy courts to permit employers to walk away from pension and health-care obligations to their workers.

We want safe working conditions. We don’t want workers killed or injured on the job. We don’t want more mining and environmental disasters when employers like Massey Energy and BP put profits and production ahead of worker safety and public health. And we certainly don’t want those industry officials put in charge of government oversight programs.

American workers have endured enough. They know they deserve better. Now the labor movement is evolving to meet the challenges of our age. Unions will reach out to all who need fair wages, real health care, a dignified retirement and respect on the job. As union membership swells, workers will build more bargaining and political power. Together, workers will turn their adversity into strength, as they have throughout history.
Bad bosses beware. That’s our union’s message this Labor Day. Wherever workers are screwed, they multiply and fight back. They unite for better solutions.

Tired workers, rejoice. Enjoy a well-deserved day of rest this Labor Day. Then join the labor movement to stop the erosion of workers’ rights.

Never forget that unions have made life better for all working Americans. Unions brought workers the weekend and the 40-hour week. We helped pass laws to end child labor and protect workers’ safety and health. We won battles for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and the minimum wage. We fought for health care, sick pay and pensions that brought workers more security. We stood for equity in pay and treatment.

Workers rise or fall together. That’s why my union advocates for all workers — not only our members. We believe all labor should be rewarded with wages that can raise a family, health care if people get sick, and a retirement that’s dignified.

AFSCME Council 5 salutes Minnesota workers and our predecessors who won the rights we now enjoy. As Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor said, “Where trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of the people most respected.” We continue the fight for prosperity and opportunity for all.

Eliot Seide is director of AFSCME Council 5, a union of 43,000 public and nonprofit workers in Minnesota.

How is the WAR ECONOMY working for you?

My thoughts for the day...










How is the WAR ECONOMY working for you? 

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world.

This wealth created by working people is being squandered on fighting two wars, financing the Israeli killing machine and funding over 800 U.S. military bases on foreign soil protecting Wall Street's greedy interests--- instead, what we need is a public health care system of 800 primary care facilities serving as bases of support for over 30,000 neighborhood public health care centers spread out across the United States providing free health care for all Americans which would create around ten-million new, good-paying jobs with affirmative action enforced.

We wouldn't trust a private-for-profit free enterprise system to teach our children to read and write so why would we continue to rely on this failed private-for-profit health care system? Public education provides quality education for our children and a public health care system will provide us with a world-class health care system.

As for anyone concerned about the high cost of health care; VA, the Indian Health Service and the National Public Health Service have all proven we get the best health care at the best price through public health care.

Even a Dumb Donkey should be able to comprehend the benefits from peace.

How is the WAR ECONOMY working for you? Does it make you sick?

Getting Americans back to work is easy but the dumb donkeys don't know what to do...

What we need to do in order to put America back to work is create even larger government jobs programs than what we have with the largest government jobs program to date: the military which is our largest employer and least productive.

To start with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the WPA programs should be started up again on much larger scales than the military--- we should be looking at around 15 million jobs between these two programs.

Then we should place the more than 3,700 closed and idle mines, mills and factories under public ownership and bring them back into production producing what society and people require to live better lives.

Third, we need a national public health care system which would create up to ten-million new, good-paying jobs providing the American people with free health care. We already have three very good socialized health care programs of a similar nature in this country which work very well: VA, Indian Health Service and the Public Health Service and I have yet to hear any of the Tea Baggers suggesting we close down any of these socialized health care systems.

Anyone with an ounce of common sense can understand that there is no way under current economic conditions that we will ever have anything close to a full-employment economy if we leave job creation to the "free-market, private sector" of Wall Street coupon clippers and parasitic vultures.

Any country that can afford to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and maintain over 800 foreign military bases scattered around the globe protecting cheap resources and cheap labor markets for Wall Street certainly can find the financial resources to implement these kinds of public works programs.

The way to create jobs is to look at what society and people need to live better lives and what is required to solve our problems... putting people back to work by solving our social problems is the only way to go about getting out of this economic mess we are in.

Another suggestion that would solve a very pressing problem for most working class families would be a national system of public day care and pre-school centers... this would create well over four-million new jobs.

I find it interesting these politicians working for Wall Street's merchants of death and destruction have no qualms about spending more and more on these dirty imperialist wars of Obama's and the Democrats initially begun by George Bush; but, when it comes to spending on what working people need to live better lives there is always this concern about "fiscal responsibility" and "where the money is going to come from.

Well, if we don't have the required funds to do all of this after ending these dirty wars, then just tax the hell out of the rich to pay for it all--- this is what redistribution of wealth is all about. Tax the rich until they squeal like the big fat pigs they are. Tax the hell out of their income and tax them to beat hell on their property and mansions.

WE need to break the back of institutionalized racism if Minnesota is going to move forward…

  By: Alan L. Maki

The business interests controlling the MN DFL refused to allow a full discussion of the issues confronting Minnesotans at the State Convention in Duluth... Mark Dayton was nominated from the floor by Greg Paquin a Native American Indian union pipefitter and Melendez, completely ignoring Robert's Rules of Order, refused to allow his nomination to stand. If delegates wanted the right to vote for Dayton at the convention this was their right and no one else's.

Mark Dayton was not even allowed the courtesy of entering the convention even though he was nominated and there were hundreds of seconds to the nomination.

Both Kelliher and Entenza have a proven track record of the inability to stand up to the Republicans and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association which forces more than 40,000 Minnesotans to work in smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws and the union bosses who are completely out of touch with the rank-and-file of their memberships work in cahoots with the Democrats and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association to perpetuate these injustices and the Minnesota AFL-CIO works in league with the racists who control the MN DFL preventing the enforcement of affirmative action on public works projects... these union bosses are now split between supporting Entenza and Kelliher who have not lifted one little finger in opposition to this institutionalized racism while Mark Dayton has stepped forward and stated in no uncertain terms that he will push ahead with a state-owned casino challenging the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association's injustices towards all working people including Native American Indians who suffer most at the hands of these casino managements. Dayton has also made it clear that affirmative action is the law of the land and he will see to it that all Minnesota Departments and agencies enforce its implementation... neither Entenza nor Kelliher have had the moral or political courage to do this while the DFL State Central Committee held its meeting in Bemidji, Minnesota where the largest public works project, the Bemidji Regional Event Center, is going up without the implementation of affirmative action while a notoriously racist, anti-labor, union busting outfit, VenueWorks, has been hired to manage the facility, again without implementing affirmative action.

Minnesota has a large Native American Indian population and there isn't one single Native American Indian among the more than 200 state legislators and the leadership of the Minnesota DFL has enforced this racism through its undemocratic control and manipulation... both Kelliher and Entenza have been a party to this institutionalized racism in their "leadership" capacities. This institutionalized racism has prevented a progressive blooming that Minnesota is known for. Anyone who challenges this institutionalized racism deserves to be elected. This institutionalized racism has created the fertile ground for the most reactionary politics--- in both the Democratic and Republican parties to thrive--- thus leaving us saddled with the mess we are in where our public institutions are literally crumbling, falling apart... and in the case of the I-35 Bridge, falling down. Racism helps breed the kind of corruption that has taken hold over the years.

If Dayton doesn't win in the primary I'll look for a principled minor party candidate to vote for--- unfortunately the Green Party has shown itself to be just as racist as the leadership and most of the politicians in the Minnesota DFL--- we saw this with Rhoda Gilman's racist attacks on Jeff Hayden, and her racist attacks on Jeff Hayden helped set the stage for affirmative action not getting enforced in Minnesota because Jeff Hayden has been one of the few state legislators trying to push this issue forward with no support from Margaret Anderson-Kelliher or Matt Entenza.

Even the Communist Party USA has dirty hands when it comes to institutionalized racism in Minnesota as its National Committee member, Mark Froemke, working at the behest of the AFL-CIO pushed the vile racist Collin Peterson down the throats of 7th Congressional District Delegates by preventing Curtis Buckanaga from being nominated by 7th Congressional District delegates to challenge Collin Peterson who is getting away with boasting that he is "more conservative than my Republican opponent."

The Minnesota DFL, the Minnesota State Legislature and obviously the Republican Party is mired in a cesspool of institutionalized racism and if Mark Dayton can lead the way out of this swamp as the only thing he does it will have been worth it to elect him.

Vote for Mark Dayton in the MNDFL Primary.

Alan L. Maki

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell Phone: 651-587-5541

E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

Please check out my blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

I'm supporting Mark Dayton in the Primary Election

Saturday, July 31, 2010

I support Mark Dayton for Governor in the Democratic Party primary election…

Alan L. Maki

Mark Dayton is the only candidate for Governor among the Democrats who has responded with advocating real solutions to problems so many people are experiencing.

You can't even get a straight answer on anything out of Kelliher or Entenza.

If... you try to talk to Matt Entenza about problems of racism here in Minnesota he starts talking about how he helped Indians in Wisconsin years ago.

If you ask Kelliher what she is going to do to enforce affirmative action on public works projects she starts talking about how some of her best friends are black.

Ask Mark Dayton what he intends to do about affirmative action and he tells you, "I'll enforce it."

I figure if a candidate is willing to stand up in opposition to institutionalized racism in a state like Minnesota where institutionalized racism has been allowed to run rampant for political expediency by politicians seeking suburban votes, that such a politician will be open to any other ideas when he/she can be convinced something is good for the majority of the people.

All we are getting from Kelliher and Entenza is never-ending high-priced fancy campaign brochures delivered to our mail-boxes that are filled with platitudes saying absolutely nothing.

I will vote for a minor party candidate instead of Kelliher or Entenza if this is my only choice.

It is very sad if Insight News, according to some accounts, based its endorsement on which candidate (Entenza)  is spending the most advertising dollars with them... I expected much more integrity from Insight News.

NAACP takes lead on Oct. 2 jobs march

Note: this article has been slightly condensed for length.

NAACP takes lead on Oct. 2 jobs march

by: Pepe Lozano

July 27 2010


Mobilization is under way for a massive national march and rally Oct. 2 in Washington, where tens of thousands will demand jobs, immigration reform and full funding for public education and health care.

The demonstration is being organized by a wide coalition of civil and immigrant rights organizations, labor and faith-based groups and community leaders. Leading groups include the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO and the United States Student Association. Nearly 200 groups have endorsed the event.

The march is in part a response to the tea party movement's extreme racism.

NAACP President Ben Jealous (pictured above) is calling the march "One Nation" with the tag line "Working Together." It will be a mass gathering of civil and human rights organizations, but also grassroots citizens from every walk of life, religion and race, he said.

"If any of us are going to get our agendas through, if we're going to get the rights for workers down South to organize by passing the Employee Free Choice Act, if we're going to get jobs created, if we're going to get real resources for schools and teachers' jobs around the country, if we're going to get comprehensive immigration reform through, then we've got to all work together, all for one and one for all," he told the Charlotte Post.

Organizers say it shows that even during hard economic times, civil rights groups, student activists and union members can rally together and make up the winning formula to pressure Congress to pass major reforms that benefit working people.

But it has also became increasingly clear that racist attacks have escalated.

And joblessness continues with no letup, hurting all Americans and hitting communities of color especially hard. The jobless rate for African Americans is 15.4 percent and 12.4 percent for Latinos, compared with 8.6 percent for whites, they note. (For Native American Indians in Minnesota unemployment is exceeding 65% with many people demanding to know why Obama and the Democrats refuse to enforce affirmative action. A.L.M.)

"This is why we are calling for a great march on Washington," Jealous told the recent NAACP national convention. "The NAACP, along with allies and partners, will show America that the solid majority of this nation is ready and willing to fight back and ensure that all of the change that we voted for becomes a reality for all of our children. That ‘America the Beautiful' belongs to us. And that justice and freedom keeps moving forward."

Organizers say the Oct. 2 demonstration will focus on pressing for more government spending on job creation. They hope it will be a show of force to remind lawmakers and the White House that people demand economic recovery and real change.

"People are very excited," said Jealous. "The march is part of a broader civic engagement strategy to make sure we hold the people that they've elected accountable and making sure we get all the change that we voted for."

Jealous said the march will also be a rallying force aimed at encouraging voters to make their voice heard at the ballot box come November.

"We will be in Washington on October 2 and we will be at the ballot box on November 2," he said.

Photo: NAACP President Benjamin Jealous addresses a press conference during the NAACP convention this month. (NAACP)

Two important marches for peace, jobs and justice... August 28 & October 2

1.The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the United Auto Workers (UAW) have invited peace organizations to endorse and participate in a campaign for Jobs, Justice, and Peace.   We endorse this campaign and plan to be a part of it.  On August 28, 2010, in Detroit, we will march on the anniversary of that day in 1963 when Walter Reuther, president of UAW, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders joined with hundreds of thousands of Americans for the March on Washington.  In Detroit, prior to the March on Washington, 125,000 marchers participated in the Freedom Walk led by Dr. King. At the march, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time before sharing it with the world in Washington. This year, a massive march has been called for October 2 in Washington.  Momentum to build the Washington March will begin in Detroit on August 28th. 

2.Endorse, promote and mobilize for the Saturday, October 2nd "One Nation" march on Washington, DC initiated by 1199SEIU and the NAACP, now being promoted by a growing coalition, which includes the AFL-CIO and U.S. Labor Against the War, and civil rights, peace and other social justice forces in support of the demand for jobs, redirection of national resources from militarism and war to meeting human needs, fully funding vital social programs, and addressing the fiscal crisis of state and local governments.  Organize and build an antiwar contingent to participate in the march. Launch a full-scale campaign to get endorsements for the October 2 march on Washington.

A suggestion: Hold a discussion in your neighborhood, where you go to school or where you work on the books "Getting America Back To Work" by Stewart Acuff and Richard Levins; "Always Bring A Crowd, the story of Frank Lumpkin, steelworker" by Bea Lumpkin; "Working Class USA, the power and the movement" by Gus Hall. Study/discussion groups using these three books will help people better understand the issues and problems and bring them into activities and action.

Education. Organization. Unity. Action. 

Warriors for Justice forces racist Minnesota Public Radio to start addressing the problems in Minnesota's Indian Country

 

Nicole Beaulieu and son, Curtis... Nicole is a spokesperson for Warriors for Justice and Minnesota State House 4-A candidate on the Warriors for Justice ticket; listen to her on the Minnesota Public Radio interview on "All Things Considered:"

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/06/28/native-american-indian-politics/

 

Note: Tom Robertson has been the MPR lead in shoring up institutionalized racism for many years as he has refused to cover the problems of Native American Indians. Here, Tom Robertson makes the racist assertion that the Warriors for Justice haven't made any progress among Native American Indians when the facts are such that until now, Robertson has refused to report on any of these struggles for justice and he has refused to report on MPR that over 60 million dollars of public funds has been spent on the Bemidji Regional Event Center where public officials have refused to enforce affirmative action and local and state agencies have refused to even enforce non-discrimination in hiring and in the workplace on this project. Robertson then goes on to allow a racist, anti-labor, crooked, corrupt and undemocratic Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party hack like Michael Meuers to speak for his own racist positions.  For years, Minnesota Public Radio, just like the MN DFL, has taken funds from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and its members as a payoff for refusing to report on the conditions under which casino workers are forced to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws and ignored the fact that these casinos are being constructed with non-union labor when DFL politicians have lied about this by claiming these casinos are "union constructed." Robertson has never asked DFL politicians or the leaders of the building trades unions to produce the signed union contracts on any of these casino construction jobs that are in fact the product of racist, anti-labor and illegal deals between corrupt politicians, tribal governments, labor leaders and racketeers. So, for years now, the problems of Native American Indians--- with racist unemployment which spins off deep-seated and pervasive racist poverty--- goes ignored by politicians whose goals and objectives are to accumulate larger and larger campaign funds as the problems of all working people go without being resolved. With the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association being a major contributor of campaign contributions to the MNDFL and it and its members being among the largest purchasers of media advertising and underwriting, democracy is being perpetually undermined making citizen participation in the political process more difficult and then "reporters" like the racist Tom Robertson turn around and mock Native American Indians and other working people who are trying to bring forward real solutions to racism, institutionalized racism in all its ugly forms and workers' rights across the board.

How is it that a sign with this message is erected in Squaw Lake, Minnesota; but, its message is ignored by the media as far as casinos are concerned even though some 40,000 casino workers are forced to endure and suffer from the effects of second-hand smoke every single day of their working lives without mention by Tom Robertson and those in the media?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While a lecture and book-signing about "getting America back to work" at the Duluth Labor Temple doesn't address affirmative action and Executive Order #11246 and "reporters" like Tom Robertson let this over-site go without bringing in anyone from the Democratic Party's coalition partner--- the AFL-CIO--- to raise questions?

An all white audience at the Duluth Labor Temple in Duluth, Minnesota listens to Stewart Acuff suggest how to get America Back to work... Acuff in his book (page 83) calls upon all working people to become "warriors for justice." Perhaps the Warriors for Justice should have been invited to this talk and book signing?

 

 

 

 

 

MPR could have had a reporter on hand to ask Stewart Acuff questions about what the AFL-CIO intends to do about lack of enforcement of affirmative action but chose not to be on hand to ask this question... but, Tom Robertson goes on to mock the Warriors for Justice as not having the support of the Native American Indian communities in northern Minnesota... perhaps Tom Robertson and Minnesota Public Radio are so racist and such an integral part of institutionalized racism which yields such hefty profits, that it never crossed Mr. Robertson's mind to go out among the people in Native American communities like Leech Lake, Red Lake, White Earth, Bois Forte and Fond du Lac to ask people how they feel about being denied jobs at the Bemidji Regional Event Center and other public works projects, and whether or not they think affirmative action should be enforced... since the Warriors for Justice are the only politicians advocating the enforcement of affirmative action on public works jobs, the results of such a survey by Tom Robertson would give us a much better indicator of the support that the Warriors for Justice have. Tom Robertson is obviously educated enough to understand that even though many smaller parties may not be successful at the polls, they are successful in bringing forward issues and problems in a way that requires the parties in power to right the wrongs and injustices.

As for Sally Fineday, she has been a shill for the John McCarthy and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association for years--- obviously John McCarthy, the rich white man who heads up the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, has a need for an Indian serving at his every beck and call on the county board of commissioners--- just as his DFL candidates Mary Olson and John Persell do in the Minnesota State Legislature. Of course, for John McCarthy, the more candidates he has out raising campaign contributions, the more he stuffs his own pockets after assuming ownership of Tony Doom Enterprises which produces campaign advertising for candidates.

It is fortunate that we have the Warriors for Justice "railing against institutionalized racism" and the poverty it breeds along with all kinds of other social ills because, if not for the Warriors for Justice, institutionalized racism would not be a topic during this election cycle. Already, Warriors for Justice has forced even gubernatorial hopeful  Mark Dayton to condemn the failure of Minnesota departments to enforce affirmative action and he has called for the state to go into the casino business where anti-discrimination and no smoking would be enforced. I find it very informational that Tom Robertson in his report here aired twice on Minnesota Public Radio would not mention these facts... but, the, again, this is very institutionalized racism which has propelled concerned people to organize the Warriors for Justice, isn't it?

Again, I ask, why didn't MPR's Tom Robertson ask MN DFL party hack Michael Meuers to address the issues that accumulated under his watch rather than be allowed to belittle the Warriors for Justice?

Nor does Tom Robertson note that it was Michael Meuers who was the primary backer of the crook, Skip Finn who fleeced Indian people and is back into DFL politics, again... this time trying to help Michael Meuers, Sally Fineday and John McCarthy minimize the impact of the Warriors for Justice who, contrary to Michael Meuers' claims that the Warriors for Justice are irrelevant; the very fact that he has to be on radio refuting their impact speaks volumes.

Alan L. Maki

 

Civic participation on the rise in Indian Country

by Tom Robertson, Minnesota Public Radio

June 28, 2010

LISTEN here:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/06/28/native-american-indian-politics/


St. Paul, Minn. — Civic participation in Indian Country appears to be on the rise.

In Bemidji, there are Native American candidates running for the state Senate and House of Representatives. A Native American is running for Bemidji City Council and another is seeking a seat on the county board.

Among the candidates is Nicole Beaulieu, a 23-year-old member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She's challenging state Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji in House Distict 4A.

"There's a huge gap from the poor people and the people up here that have all the cash and all the money and all the clout, political clout," Beaulieu said. "And that really needs to be changed." 

Beaulieu has teamed up with Red Lake Band member Greg Paquin, who is running against State Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, in Senate District 4.

The two challengers share some common interests. They support using affirmative action policies to create more jobs for Native Americans. They rail against what they call "institutional racism."

Native Americans have historically been among the least likely groups to participate in politics. They've only had the right to vote in the United States since 1924. 

Historically, Native Americans have aligned themselves with the Democratic Party. On the Red Lake Reservation, for example, close to 90 percent of voters cast ballots for DFL candidates.

But Beaulieu and Paquin are challenging DFL incumbents. When they failed to win the party's endorsement at its local convention, they decided to form their own party. They call it Warriors for Justice.

Nicole Beaulieu

Both the House and Senate districts include parts of the Red Lake or Leech Lake reservations. Beaulieu said the DFL takes Native American voters for granted.

"They take our votes and they forget us after Election Day," she said. "That's why we started this Warriors for Justice. Because we can take this Native American vote and everybody who feels neglected from the DFL party, and we can put it towards a candidate and a party that's going to actually represent the hardworking people."

It doesn't appear Beaulieu and Paquin are drawing large support from the Native American community. And DFL supporters don't seem worried about a challenge from the fledgling new party.

Michael Meuers, former chairman of the Beltrami County DFL, thinks the party's stronghold in Indian Country is pretty much in tact. Meuers said Native Americans are deeply involved with the DFL party and have held top party leadership posts. He said it's clear the Indian community is becoming more active in politics.

"The Beltrami County DFL gets nine delegates to the state convention, and a majority were Indian this year, which I've never seen before," Meuers said. "They're active, they're showing up, they're casting their votes and they're getting very politically sophisticated."

Meuers said the trend started about 20 years ago, when local Indian reservations recognized they had some potential political power in their voting block.

In 1990, voters in District 4 elected Harold "Skip" Finn to the state Senate, making him one of only a few Native Americans to serve in the Legislature. Finn, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, resigned in 1996 for stealing about a million dollars from the Leech Lake band through a self-insurance scheme.

In 1996, a strong turnout on the Red Lake Reservation helped elect the first Indian county commissioner in Minnesota. That Beltrami County seat is still held by an Indian, largely because of the Native vote.

Since then, voters elected an Indian as county sheriff. They elected an Indian to the school board. In Cass Lake, they elected that city's first Indian mayor.

The key to the new-found political clout in Indian Country has been a very deliberate effort to get tribal members to the polls, said Sally Fineday, executive director of the Native Vote Alliance of Minnesota. The non-profit organization aims to empower Native Americans through civic engagement.

Fineday is also running for a seat on the Beltrami County board. She said reservations in northern Minnesota have discovered they are significant swing voters.

"We're beginning to understand that, you know what? If we actually do this, holy cow, we actually have people that are coming to us and they want to know what are our opinions about our community," she said. "We are definitely increasing Native Americans' interest, and we're definitely engaging Native American communities in rural areas to become more actively involved."

The Native Vote Alliance of Minnesota works with most Indian reservations in the state, helping them organize voter registration drives, get out the vote rallies and non-partisan door-to-door campaigns.

Nationally, the National Congress of American Indians is pursuing similar goals.

There's also a partisan group called the Indigenous Democratic Network, commonly known as INDN's List. Kalyn Free is president of the Oklahoma-based organization, which got its start in 2005 and sponsors annual camps to teach Native American candidates how to win elections and raise funds.

Free said the network aims to increase the number of American Indians running for and winning elected offices at the local, state and national level. The organization primarily supports Democratic candidates.


"Since we started, we have helped elect 45 Indians to state and local office across the country," Free said. "We have a 70 percent win rate and, although we're never satisfied, we're very pleased with what we've done in the last election cycle. This election cycle we have a little over 50 tribal members that we are monitoring across the country."

Free thinks Indian Country is in the midst of a political awakening as voter participation and candidate interest increases.

She credits President Barack Obama for helping spark more political interest within Indian communities. In 2008, then-candidate Obama campaigned heavily for the Indian vote and visited several Indian reservations.
Obama's administration has placed tribal members in key positions and has been open to hearing from tribal leaders about Indian concerns, Free said.

"I think that is very inspiring to Indian Country, to say, 'Okay, we can rise to the highest levels by flexing our political muscle,'" Free said. "But we still need, we still have so far to go. I think there's 37 states in the country that don't have a single tribal member serving in the state Senate or the state House. Wisconsin is one of those. Minnesota is one of those." 

There are roughly 35,000 eligible American Indian voters in Minnesota. But there are few statistics for how many of them actually show up at the polls. Several Native organizations are working to compile those numbers.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 06/28/2010, 3:54 p.m.
• All Things Considered, 06/28/2010, 5:24 p.m.

Special Book Signing with Stewart Acuff and Dick Levins

Special Book Signing with Stewart Acuff and Dick Levins

Time	Thursday · 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Location	Duluth Labor Temple - Wellstone Hall, 2002 London Rd
Created By	North East Area Labor Council
	America works, but only for the Financial Elite. In Getting America Back to Work, America’s best known and foremost union organizer and an award-winning University economist show how to put money and power back into the hands of working families. Dr. Richard Levins shows how “money talks” -- no, screams -- in Washington and on Wall Street. Stewart J. Acuff shows how organized people can get America back to working for ordinary Americans. Stewart Acuff was the longtime AFL-CIO Director of Organizing and is now the chief of staff for Utility Workers President Mike Langford. Richard Levins is an Economic Professor at the University of Minnesota and authored "Middle Class: Union Made."     A book review...     Getting America Back to Work by Stewart Acuff and Richard A. Levins Featuring the Editorial Cartoons of Steve Sack Tasora Books, Minneapolis, 2010 The authors of Getting America Back to Work do more than explain how to create jobs. They also propose some basic reforms that would fundamentally alter how America works, greatly improve the standard of living of working families, and shift power and privilege from what they call the financial elite to the vast majority of working families. Stewart Acuff is the former national organizing director for the AFL-CIO and currently works as chief of staff for the Utility Workers Union of America. Richard A. Levins is a professional economist. Their book is concise and readable. It explains the causes of the Great Recession that began in 2007 and provides a clear road map to a better working economy and a more democratic society. Though brief, it is an excellent guide to strategic thinking about practical solutions for the current economic crisis. The authors show, step by step, how the financial elite and their corporate-funded political allies caused the Great Recession. First, beginning in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan, there came the drive to weaken unions, push down wages, and roll back worker protections and benefits, all of which created serious financial and political problems for the working class. To boost profit margins, company executives fought to shift costs to workers, to make taxpayers bear the risks and costs of crisis and privatize profit and benefits. Working families found themselves increasingly struggling to make ends meet. But now when they were forced to turn to the public sector in search of a safety net, they found that anti-government politicians were working to unravel that as well. Under the guise of relieving the "tax burden," right-wing politicians pushed for cuts in public education, health care funding, job-training and other basic necessities that have traditionally kept working families from hitting rock bottom in times of trouble. In describing this course of events, Acuff and Levins effectively debunk the claim that reducing taxes for the richest Americans leads to greater investment in the economy. It simply doesn't happen. Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy just give them more money to hoard or pay out in dividends to shareholders. In addition, the financial elite pushed a so called "free trade" agenda that opened the flood gates for the flight of manufacturing jobs out of the country in pursuit of the cheapest labor markets. While supporters of the move insisted this plan was good for business and therefore good for America, they cannot provide a satisfactory defense for the devastating harm it has caused working families and the thousands of communities that depend for their survival on a strong manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, corporate executives and the very wealthy have gotten even richer. Their incomes have grown, while their share of taxes has fallen and their influence over government has increased. Today, a veritable army of lobbyists swarms over Capitol Hill to protect their interests against the very different needs of working families. As a result, even though productivity and profits have soared in the decades following the Reagan years, wages and benefits have flat-lined. In fact, since 2000, most working families saw losses in their take-home pay. Anti-government, pro-big-business politicians, almost exclusively Republicans, have fought to dismantle the regulatory power of government as well. Under the Bush administration the general rule was to put former corporate executives in charge of the very agencies that regulate their industries – and then look the other way. Financial deregulation has allowed the big banks and brokerage firms to swindle working Americans out of their homes and retirement savings for years. Environmental and safety deregulation facilitated the corporate crimes that caused the loss of life at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine and BP's Deepwater Horizon rig, followed by the unprecedented ecological and economic catastrophe that has struck the Gulf States. There are countless other examples of what deregulation has wrought in terms of food safety, clean water standards, and workplace accidents and deaths. Only when the crash of 2007 hit, sounding the death knell for the Bush regime and Reaganomics, did the government finally move into action. Not for working families, of course, but to help prop up the banks and financial institutions that had caused the disaster in the first place. Meanwhile, the needs of the millions of workers who had lost their jobs in the previous seven years were ignored. This underscores one of the biggest ironies – hypocrisies really – of the right-wing ideological machine. Its theorists demand that the federal government refrain from any interference in the economy and keep out of people's affairs. But when big banks or big oil companies are in trouble, they are the first to demand that taxpayers foot the bill for a big government role in solving the crisis. But when the crisis has abated (for the banks and big corporations, at least) they act as if neither they nor the American people have learned anything from their reckless and criminal practices, and quickly revert to demanding that the government stay out of their affairs. Simply put, they want "government socialism" to protect them when they are in trouble, and unrestrained capitalism when times are good. As for working families, they're always on their own. Acuff and Levins offer a realistic alternative to this schizophrenic system. Instead of "free trade" policies, they say, let's invest in manufacturing in the US, especially in the emerging "green economy," to build the products and create the jobs we desperately need here at home. Millions of jobs could be created and many communities revitalized by such a simple step. Instead of viewing taxes as a "burden," they add, we should view them as the best means to provide meaningful and useful public services – things like affordable health and educational systems, infrastructure repair, environmental defense, workplace safety, and police and fire protection. The rich, especially, have a responsibility to pay their fair share. Above all, as Acuff and Levins point out, building a bigger and stronger labor movement is essential to improving the lives of working families. Laws that protect the right of workers to join or organize unions and win better wages and benefits need to be on the books and actively enforced. Congress therefore needs to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. When it becomes the law of the land, EFCA will give workers the power to decide which organizations they want to join and reduce the illegal interference and harassment employers use to block unionization. As Acuff and Levins note, from the 1950s to the late 1970s, about one-in-three workers were unionized. This meant that working people held more power in the workplace, in their communities, and in the country at large. During this period the economy, for the most part, was robust, and American workers made the things we used – and there was no NAFTA to promote the shipping of American jobs to cheap-labor markets overseas. In those days, when economic crises occurred, most union working families had some savings, the prospect of returning to work, good pension plans, quality health benefits, and a strong social safety net to fall back on in tough times. Today, as 90 percent of workers lack union protections and the safety net has been gutted, when the latest crisis struck on Bush's watch in 2007, it quickly became the worst recession since the Great Depression. We have a choice. We can continue to submit to the will of the financial elite and their political allies in a long and steady decline, or, as Acuff and Levins write, "we can bargain our way out of poverty, we can bargain the meanness out of work, we can bargain for wages that restore our buying power, and we can once again have an economy that works for ordinary Americans." Such a change requires a major shift in values, so that "our values, not the values of greed and short-term profits, can once again guide our country."