What kind of "labor solidarity" rally has been planned by the AFL-CIO in the name of "Hands Across Borders?"

A letter to a Canadian trade union friend.

There are all kinds of ironies in life.

Here is one of these ironies---

The International Labour Council will be meeting at the scab Grand Portage Lodge & Casinoin Grand Portage Minnesota July 15 thru 17th holding a "Hands Across the Border" international labor solidarity rally in a non-union facility rented by a leader of the United Food and Commercial Workers union who doesn't care about the Draconian conditions casino workers are forced to work under.

I wonder if Canadian labour leaders understand that the workers at Grand Portage Lodge & Casino in Grand Portage, Minnesota are forced to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws without protections and rights extended to all other workers under the National Labor Relations Act as a result of "Compacts" explicitly created to deny workers their most basic human rights in the so-called Indian Gaming Industry where not one single slot machine is owned by any Native American or Tribal Council?

Does Ken Georgetti know that U.S. labor "leaders" secured this scab facility? Does Ken Lewenza know? Does Kevin Rebeck, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour know what he is being dragged into? Does Sid Ryan understand what is taking place here?

I remember when some people invited me to speak at a meeting at the Wheels Inn in Chatham, Ontario. Upon getting to the motel I found CAW pickets. I didn't speak at the meeting and I didn't cross the picket line. Later I participated in a demonstration organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour at the Wheels Inn.

I hope you Canadian trade unionists are going to be asking questions about why U.S. labor leaders see fit to rent the scab facilities of the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino in Grand Portage, Minnesota for a "labour solidarity action."

It is disgusting and shameful, but not atypical, for U.S. union leaders to have no sense of solidarity with workers struggling to organize and this is why labor membership in the United States is at an all-time low.

The blatant racism in using this scab facility knowing the conditions workers are forced to endure is most shameful and disgusting.

The International Labour Council President, Jim Gleb from United Food and Commercial Workers, rented these scab facilities. His number is 218-728-5174. How does Jim Gleb explain inviting Canadian trade unionists to such a scab facility under the theme "Hands Across the Border." Would Jim Gleb rent facilities from any of the scab hotels/motels on Canal Park in Duluth?

One can't help but ask why Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson did not inform Jim Gleb of the consequences of such action.

And what about Richard Trumka, the big-mouth who heads up the AFL-CIO?

And what about Leo Gerard, the USW President with the potty mouth?

All these U.S. labor leaders who talk about "solidarity" are now using the dues of their members to rent the scab facilities of the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino and dragging Canadian trade unionists into a dirty, racist, anti-labor activity in the name of cross border labor solidarity. Why hasn't Jim Gleb apprised Canadian trade unionists of the most Draconian conditions the workers at the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino are forced to work under and endure without any voice or rights at work?

Did Jim Gleb tell Canadian trade unionists of the dirty relationship between the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association?

I would suggest that this "Hands Across the Border" solidarity action be moved to a public facility where workers are union members working under a union contract--- like a Minnesota State Park; but, then again, AFSCME members might not have a contract, right?

I wonder if the banners for this "solidarity rally" will be printed by the same outfit who printed James Oberstar's yard signs and other campaign material--- by John McCarthy's "Tony Doom Enterprises?" John McCarthy is the racist rich white man who heads up the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. John McCarthy hands out campaign contributions on behalf of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and then with his other hand takes this money back through his business, "Tony Doom Enterprises." 

It's no wonder the United Food and Commercial Workers haven't been able to organize Wal-marts with staff people like Jim Gleb.

In a phone conversation I had this morning (6/24/2011) with Jim Gleb he told me he is not aware of the Draconian working conditions imposed on casino workers through these "Compacts" created by the Democrats in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions. Like we say here in Minnesota, "Ya, sure; you betcha." 

Yours in struggle and solidarity,

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

Slow economic recovery hurting Obama politically as re-election campaign begins

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/apArticle/id/D9O166OG1/

Published Wednesday, June 22, 2011

AP-GfK poll: Slow economic recovery hurting Obama politically as re-election campaign begins

By JIM KUHNHENN and STACY A. ANDERSON Associated Press , The Associated Press - WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama speaks to supporters at a campaign rally in Miami, in this photo taken June 13, 2011. Mired in a stubborn economic slowdown, Americans have grown gloomier about the direction of the country and more displeased with the performance of President Barack Obama, stripping away the gloss that he briefly enjoyed after last month's killing of Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Mired in economic worry, Americans are growing gloomier about where the country is headed and how President Barack Obama is leading it. Opinions of the economy are at the lowest of the year as high gas prices, anemic hiring and financial turmoil abroad shake a nation's confidence.

Obama has hit new highs he'd like to avoid _ in public disapproval over his handling of the economy in general and unemployment in particular _ according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. In addition, more disapprove of his handling of health care and the federal budget deficit than in the past.
The poll shows that four out of five people now believe the economy is in poor shape. And, separately, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that some causes of the slowdown, including a depressed housing market, could persist into next year. Bernanke said the Fed believes growth will pick up going into 2012 but at a slower pace than expected.

How slow is a matter of high interest at the White House. A little more than 16 months before the November 2012 election, the public is split on whether the president deserves a second term.

For the first time this year in AP-GfK polling, respondents who say Obama deserves re-election have fallen below 50 percent into a virtual split of 48-47 in favor, a demanding challenge for him. Economic concern has quickly stripped away the gloss he briefly gained after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Obama's re-election team is no doubt concerned as well. The president has been traveling every week for months to campaign battleground states to promote job initiatives. He acknowledges the sluggishness of the recovery, illustrated by May's uptick in unemployment.

The price of gasoline at the pump has declined a bit recently though it is still nearly 90 cents higher on average than a year ago. White House officials are also monitoring the precarious fiscal situation in Greece where a default by the government could send damaging financial tremors across world markets.

Obama's overall approval rating fell to 52 percent in the new poll, in line with his ratings before the daring raid in Pakistan by U.S. commandos last month that killed bin Laden.

The erosion of approval is primarily among women. Last month, 57 percent said they felt he deserved re-election, a figure that dipped to 48 percent this month. The decline came almost entirely among white women, just 37 percent of whom say Obama deserves re-election in the new poll. He also lost support among self-described independents, from 62 percent approval last month to 43 percent now, his lowest since June 2010.

"I just think that he's not doing his job the way he should be," said Mary Perrine, a grandmother of three from West Lafayette, Ind., who said she has had to struggle to pay her bills.

Obama faced 59 percent disapproval on his handling of the economy and on unemployment. The steepest decrease was among respondents with incomes above $50,000. In May, 53 percent approved of his efforts to fight unemployment; in June 36 percent approved.

Still, the poll also showed the public to be conflicted about the president. And their perceptions about the national economy were often at odds with their own personal experiences.

More people _ 56 percent of respondents _ had a favorable impression of Obama himself than approved of his performance. Moreover, about three-quarters of the survey participants said it is unrealistic to expect noticeable results on the economy in one term.

And despite the overwhelming sentiment that the national economy is in poor shape, more than three of five of those polled rated the financial situation of their own households as good. While glum about the current state of the economy, one-third said they expect it to get better over the next year. Less than a third said it would get worse, and the remainder said it would remain the same.

In another consolation for the president, he rates far better than Congress with the public. Congressional job disapproval climbed to 76 percent in the poll, a new high.

"I kind of sit on the fence about it," Paul Fenger, a Cottonwood, Minn., farmer said about Obama's job performance.

"I think he is trying to do a good job, but the information isn't getting out, and Congress_ the Republicans and Democrats_ aren't working together."

Obama may have to count on the likes of John Holdnak, a Florida Department of Education administrator, who didn't vote for him in 2008 but believes "he has really stepped up to do this job."
Does Obama deserve re-election? "I don't know yet. A lot of things can happen now and between the election that could be his fault. At this particular juncture, he hasn't done anything in my mind not to be re-elected," said Holdnak, one of the survey participants.

The poll was conducted June 16-20 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
___
Associated Press Polling Director Trevor Tompson, Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

Online:
http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

Netroots Nation 2011

The Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council extends a progressive welcome to bloggers from across the country and from around the world as you gather in Minneapolis-St. Paul for Netroots Nation 2011.

Welcome to Minnesota where the state government is about to shut down!

Welcome to Minnesota!

Minnesota is the home of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party that elected two socialist governors--- Floyd Olson and Elmer Benson--- and a Communist Congressman from the Iron Range--- John Bernard.

Minnesota is a state where historic working class struggles have taken place on the Iron Ore Range, on the docks of Duluth, in the northern region's forests, the great 1934 Teamster Strike in Minneapolis, the struggle to organize the UAW at Ford in St. Paul and struggles of family farmers against big agri-business.

Today, casino workers are fighting for their rights and union recognition.

We ask you not to patronize any casinos  during your stay in Minnesota.

41,000 thousand Minnesotans are forced to work in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without a voice at work and without any rights under state or federal labor laws under the most Draconian working conditions imposed by a bunch of mobsters who own the one-armed bandits.

These mobsters working through the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaign coffers of the Democrats to make sure it all stays this way with the profits going out as the workers are impoverished and the already impoverished Indian Nations are pushed further into poverty as the people are used and abused as a pool of cheap labor for these casino managements.

Casino workers are forced to sign statements contingent upon being hired that they will not engage in union organizing all in complete violation of international labor laws and all human rights standards.

Hundreds of casino workers have been fired for the very reason why all of us a gathering here for this Netroots Nation national convention in Minneapolis--- blogging.

Fired for blogging about their living and working conditions.

The State of Minnesota routinely denies unemployment compensation to these casino workers fired for blogging.

Please don't patronize any of the casinos in Minnesota while enjoying your stay in the "land of ten thousand lakes" where every single one of these lakes is contaminated and polluted by the mining companies, big agri-business and bad forestry harvesting practices.

While visiting the Twin Cities, consider having your picture taken at the bronze monument of socialist Minnesota governor Floyd B. Olson just outside of the Capitol Building in St. Paul.

Portraits of both socialist governors--- Floyd B. Olson and Elmer Benson--- hang in the Minnesota State Capitol Building, another great photo opportunity--- great photos for your blogs!

You also don't want to miss out in visiting the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant. If the Ford Motor Company, Democrats and Republicans have their way, this historic manufacturing facility which operates from the clean green hydro produced electricity from the adjacent dam on the Mighty Mississippi River will be bulldozed over with 2,000 jobs lost just a few months from now to make way for up-scale apartments and condominiums.

Allow me to explain how politics works in Minnesota...

The head of the Minnesota Indian Gaming association is a racist rich white man, John McCarthy, whose personal wealth is derived directly from the impoverishment of Indian people used as a pool of cheap labor by the casino managements.

The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association then receives a portion of these profits to distribute as campaign contributions.

Not one single Native American Indian sits among Minnesota state or federal legislators.

John McCarthy, as head of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association with one hand he  hands out tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions on behalf of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association to Minnesota Democrats.

John McCarthy, the head of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association and the owner of Tony Doom Enterprises then with his other hand takes back these campaign contributions from these Democrats as they purchase their campaign materials from Tony Doom Enterprises.

Quite the set-up, eh.

Ethics?

Morality in politics?

Not in Minnesota.

Something to think about:

Minnesota legislators banned smoking in all workplaces in Minnesota but intentionally excluded the casinos from this ban in spite of the fact that workers in no other industry suffer the wide-spread health consequences as Minnesota's more than 40,000 casino workers.

Please don't patronize any casinos in Minnesota.

Listen to what Minnesota's Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's politicians will be telling you about how "progressive" they are; you are best letting what they say go right out the other ear until you can check out the truthfulness of what they tell you because the truth and the facts seldom jibe with their high-sounding words.

Thanking you in advance for your solidarity,  

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

I will be at Netroots Nation 2011 and look forward to discussing these concerns with you; feel free to contact me: 651-587-5541


How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?
 

The question we need to keep asking...

As liberal, progressive and left working class activists we should strive to make sure the entire politics of this country begins to revolve around how the American people answer this one basic and fundamental question:

How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?

- Ask this question in letters to the editor.

- Post it on your refrigerator, on bulletin boards at work, in churches and community centers.

- Use it on protest signs at vigils and demonstrations.

Most people will tell you that this economy is not working very well for them. After finding out why it isn't working very well for them we can begin to put together a program to turn this country around in creating the kind of country we really want.

This is such a basic and fundamental question as we approach the 2012 Elections that it is dishonest to be engaged in politics not asking this question of the American people.

--

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell: 651-587-5541

Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com

Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

The question we need to keep asking...

As liberal, progressive and left working class activists we should strive to make sure the entire politics of this country begins to revolve around how the American people answer this one basic and fundamental question:

How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you?

- Ask this question in letters to the editor.

- Post it on your refrigerator, on bulletin boards at work, in churches and community centers.

- Use it on protest signs at vigils and demonstrations.

Most people will tell you that this economy is not working very well for them. After finding out why it isn't working very well for them we can begin to put together a program to turn this country around in creating the kind of country we really want.

This is such a basic and fundamental question as we approach the 2012 Elections that it is dishonest to be engaged in politics not asking this question of the American people.

--

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell: 651-587-5541

Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com

Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

How the big-money of the Indian Gaming Industry controls the media and places profits above human health

I sent "Letters-to-the-Editors" to over 100 newspapers in response to the Walk Across America promoting awareness of diabetes in the Native American communities.

My letters concerned the fact that it was being omitted from this awareness campaign that the primary offenders when it comes to the relationship between diabetes and second-hand smoke are the casinos of the Indian Gaming Industry.

Not one single newspaper out of more than 100 printed my "letters-to-the-editors" yet all health professionals and scientists state that there is a direct link between second-hand smoke and diabetes.

Not coincidentally, all of these newspapers run very lucrative advertising from casinos in the Indian Gaming Industry.

When newspaper revenues and profits are involved human health doesn't matter.

Also of concern is the fact that casino managements played a major role in funding and supporting this Walk Across America to create diabetes awareness thus assuring the connection between second-hand smoke, diabetes and casino workers didn't become an issue because as the Indian Health Service has acknowledged, it is the second-hand smoke in these casinos presenting the greatest problem when it comes to the relationship between second-hand smoke and diabetes along with cancers and heart and lung problems.

So, why was there no emphasis on the need to end smoking in the casinos of the Indian Gaming Industry? It's all about money trumping human health.

Out of one-hundred plus newspapers I monitored for reporting on the Walk Across America to create awareness of diabetes among Native American Indians, not one single reporter asked a question about the relationship between second-hand smoke and diabetes in the Indian Gaming Industry which is the major employer of Native American Indian workers. This is more than coincidental if you ask me given the direct link between second-hand smoke and diabetes since the Indian Gaming Industry is the major employer of Native American Indians and these newspapers receive major revenue from the advertising of the Indian Gaming Industry.

Here is a link to an e-mail exchange between myself and Dr. Nathaniel Cobb, MD--- a high-level official in the Indian Health Service--- quite some time ago so it wasn't like no one was aware of this issue:

http://laborjournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/letter-to-dr-nathaniel-cobb-indian.html


And here is another more recent article:

Secondhand smoke linked to diabetes

By Leigh Krietsch Boerner

NEW YORK | Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:21pm EST
 

(Reuters Health) - Cigarette smoke is tied to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, both for smokers and the people around them, a new study shows.

And the more secondhand smoke people are exposed to, the greater their risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the paper in Diabetes Care.

The potential risks of diabetes from being exposed to secondhand smoke weren't previously known, said Dr. David Nathan, who heads the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and is a professor at Harvard Medical School.

"This just reinforces the lesson from a public health point of view that we've been stressing for decades," which is to limit exposure to cigarette smoke, Nathan, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health.

For the new research, Dr. John P. Forman at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and colleagues looked at the responses of more than 100,000 women to questionnaires they had answered in 1982.
The women -- all nurses participating in a national study that would last several decades -- provided information about how much time they spent around cigarette smoke.

During the next 24 years, about one in 18 women were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Overall, about one in 13 people in the U.S. have this disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Type 2 diabetes, in which the body can't process sugar properly, usually develops in adults. Sometimes it can be controlled by diet and exercise, but advanced cases require insulin treatment and can have life-threatening complications.

Forman's group found that women who smoked more than two packs a day had the highest odds of developing diabetes. For every 10,000 women in the study, about 30 of the heavy smokers got diabetes every year, compared to about 25 women who didn't smoke and didn't spend time exposed to other people's cigarette smoker.

The risks were actually higher for ex-smokers and for women exposed to second-hand smoke. In both of these groups, about 39 of every 10,000 women developed diabetes each year. However, once the researchers took things such as weight status, age, and family history of diabetes into account, the ex-smokers had a 12 percent higher risk of diabetes compared to women who were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

Even though the smokers had a lower risk of developing diabetes in this study, that doesn't mean it's better for them to continue smoking, Nathan said.

In this study, nearly all the women were white, but type 2 diabetes affects men and women fairly equally, Nathan said.

"There's no a priori reason to think that this wouldn't apply to men as well," he told Reuters Health, since the risk factors for the disease are the same for both sexes.

Nathan said no one knows why smoking and type 2 diabetes are linked, but inflammation may play a role in both.

Forman and his team did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

Nathan noted that the study can't prove that smoking causes diabetes. It just shows they are associated with each other.

But "did we need another reason not to smoke? I don't think so," he said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/i1whLA Diabetes Care, online February 25, 2011.

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

A guest blog: Save the Penokees

(Posted as a guest blog on request by the author who would like this to receive the widest circulation possible. Alan L. Maki)

By Nick Vander Puy 

June 7, 2011 

Dear Editor: After a boiler explosion on a steamer in the anti-lynching novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Aunt Sally asks, "Good gracious! Anybody hurt?" Huck says, "No’m. Killed a n----." Aunt Sally responds, "Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt."

Which is exactly what courses through my mind when I read the pro-mining propaganda saturating our media around Wisconsin supporting the http://madisle.info/2011/06/03/gogebic-taconite-asks-for-public-support-in-hurley-meeting-last-night/#axzz1OcDEmcAE Penokee mountaintop removal project near Mellen. The downstream tribe is never acknowledged. Some people will get hurt more deeply by this iron mining project. And they are the Bad River Ojibwe and ultimately the rest of us in the downstream plume on Cheqaumegon Bay and Lake Superior.

According to our water hydrologist friend Jamie Dunn, who grew up hunting and fishing in the Penokees and was mentored by conservationist Martin Hanson, we can expect the mining "reform" bill will pass right through the Legislature. The Fitzgerald brothers will suddenly announce the introduction of the streamlined iron mining bill, which will lower well water protection standards and deny us the due process right to contest the mine permit.

All that is left us to protect our motherland is that the Bad River Ojibwe won treatment as state status from the federal government, which allows tribal sovereignty to establish more protective water quality standards, and local opposition to the mine, which reflects the spirituality most Indians and many others feel about the water.

This proposed mine has put an assault rifle laser sight dead center on the hearts and minds of the Ojibwe people. https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epa.gov%2Fr5water%2Fwqs5%2Fpdf%2Fbadriver%2Fa%2520TAS%2520Supplemental%2520Letter_final_July232008.pdf&h=5c07a The Bad River people believe state and federal law is inadequate to protect this source of life.

We are adversaries to this proposed mountaintop removal. As the poet Dylan Thomas reminds us, we will not go gentle into that good night. We will rage, rage against the dying of the light. We invoke our grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ fierce tears.

And we will become more humble before Nokomis Aki, Grandmother Earth.

Nick VanderPuy

LaPointe

Gogebic Taconite asks for public support in Hurley meeting last night | Apostle Islands Navigator

madisle.info

HURLEY — On Thursday, Gogebic Taconite officials asked for public support of legislation yet to be introduced in the Wisconsin legislature that would speed up the permitting process for their proposed iron mine.

Greetings from Walkerville

Greetings from Walkerville

Phil Neuenfeldt, Wisconsin State AFL-CIOpresident,  < http://www.wisaflcio.org/ > sends an update on the actions around Wisconsin’s Walkerville.

Day six of the Walkerville tent city protest has seen overwhelming support from Wisconsin workers, students and community members. Over the course of the week, thousands of Wisconsinites have gathered on the cement blocks lining the Capitol Square in order to call attention to Gov. Walker and his legislative allies’ destructive budget proposals—proposals which will cripple Wisconsin’s schools, health care system and communities.

Many have said that they are surrounding the Capitol to bear witness to their elected officials’ decisions and to let their Representatives know that the people of Wisconsin are preparing to take back their government back this summer.

“Walkerville is a way to focus the spotlight on Gov. Walker and Sen. Alberta Darling’s budget that will devastate higher education, public education and Wisconsin as we know it,” explained Michael Rosen, President of AFT Local 212, and professor at the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Rosen traveled to Walkerville on Wednesday to spend the night.

About 150 tents have sprung up around the Capitol since Saturday June 4, when the Walkerville tent city was erected.

Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, brought her son, Nicholas to Walkerville. “We are here to tell Scott Walker that his attack on Wisconsin’s unions, middle class, and communities will not stand.

The people are coming together here in Walkerville to fight for a just budget and for an economy that works for all.”

Each day in Walkerville has had a theme, complete with educational programs to inform citizens on the budget and how it will impact their everyday life. Public services, health care, education and higher education have all been a theme of the day. Many local musicians have taken to the stage on State Street to show their support for the protestors and entertain the family-friendly crowd.

“As Wisconsinites, we cannot standby in silence while our friends, family and neighbors suffer at the hand of Governor Walker’s bad choices for our state,” explained Dian Palmer, President of SEIU Health Care Wisconsin and a public health nurse from Milwaukee who has been spending multiple nights in Walkerville. “I am here because what I have heard from Governor Walker does not represent the Wisconsin that I believe in or that my fellow Wisconsinites believe in. And I am here to bear witness and ensure that our leaders do right by education, healthcare and programs for senior citizens.”

Walkerville Events

On Health Care Day, nurses and home care patients took on a mock Scott Walker in the fight for quality health care in a play boxing match. Candice Owley, President of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, took to the ring in order to ensure quality care for all of Wisconsin.

On Public Services day, state and county employees held a mock town-hall listening session

< http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2011/06/walkerville-mock-listening-session-.htmlwith > characters of Gov. Walker, David Koch, Sen. Glen Grothman and Sarah Palin. On Sunday, Wisconsin teachers held a citizen speak-out:

< http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2011/06/teachers-rally-walkerville.html >

Last Monday, fire fighters, farmers and cops lead a march of thousands to call for a fair and just budget. Read more about it here:

< http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2011/06/fair-budget-march-walkerville.html >

As the winds blew in last night Walkerville residence took refuge by patronizing local businesses as they waited out the storm. After the storm, Walkerville citizens returned to their tents, tucked-in for the night and continued to raise awareness of Gov. Walker’s bad budget choices.

More information on Walkerville

For pictures of Walkerville click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/

For Walkerville stories click here: http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/ 

To donate to help the Walkerville, tent city run click here:

http://wi.aflcio.org/statefed/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=8853d778-e839-4967-982e-c4ca49b2d26c

For live updates from Walkerville visit the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wisaflcio

Twitterpages: http://twitter.com/#!/wisaflcio

Press Clips From Walkerville

Wisconsin Protesters Erect ‘Walkerville’ Tent City To Protest Scott Walker’s Budget Cuts, Hufftington Post.

In Wisconsin, Legislative Urgency as Recall Threat Looms, New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/politics/08wisconsin.html?_r=3

Friendly Spirit Prevails in Walkerville, Wisconsin State Journal:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_75c648fa-8f6e-11e0-a928-001cc4c03286.html

CNN in Walkerville:

http://www.criticalmention.com/ctv3-1/landing_email.php?type=email&video=true&random_string=67b2d92dedfb1f74df9b4c7a1e8950f9

Check out my blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

A thought...

I think it is becoming very obvious to many working people we can't afford to wait until the next election to begin turning this country around. These politicians can't possibly believe that they can tell us one thing to get elected and then once elected they do just the opposite while expecting  us to wait patiently for the next election as they carry out their dirty deeds.

New Democrats need to attack Tories on economic record, Pawley says

New Democrats need to attack Tories on economic record, Pawley says

Left-leaning federal parties like the New Democrats should take a page out of Howard Pawley’s book and mount a much stronger attack against the Harper government’s economic policies, says the former premier of Manitoba and professor emeritus at the University of Windsor.~

“They should go after them on the growing gap between the top one percent of the population in this country and the middle class and focus on the increasing levels of poverty,” said Pawley, who will read from his new memoir at a campus reception next Tuesday, the day after the federal election. “That’s the biggest economic issue we’re facing here.”

Keep True: A Life in Politics tells the life story of Pawley, focusing on how he was originally elected to the Manitoba legislative assembly in 1957, eventually became the premier in an upset NDP victory in 1981 and then lost in 1988 after a bitter and divisive campaign. Much of the book is devoted to his party’s re-election in 1986 and the battles over French language rights, public auto insurance and the Meech Lake constitutional accord.

When Pawley’s team was campaigning prior to its 1981 victory, he said, many advisors warned them against taking on then-premier Sterling Lyon’s Tories on their economic record and rather focus on more social issues. 

“We disagreed,” said Pawley. “We told them that we were going to fight them on economic issues. We accused them of reckless financial management.”

It was a strategy that paid off and one he suggested federal NDP leader Jack Layton should employ.

“I think the left fails to do that today,” he said.

Pawley left politics after his party’s defeat in 1988 and he took a position teaching political science and law at the university, a job he expected to last only for a year.

“The university has been very good to me,” said the 76-year-old Pawley. “I found that I loved teaching and I especially love interacting with the young people. Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol. I’m addicted to teaching.”

Pawley will read from his book on May 3 at 7 p.m. in the Katzman Lounge at Vanier Hall. Guest speakers will include Gary Parent, former president of the Windsor and District Labour Council and Robert Krause, retired head of the university’s political science department.

The event is open to the public and will include a book signing and light refreshments. For more information, contact Cheryl Miki at miki@cc.umanitoba.ca.

A FaceBook discussion with an Obama supporter

http://my.firedoglake.com/alanmaki/2011/06/05/a-facebook-discussion-with-an-obama-supporter/

A FaceBook discussion with an Obama supporter
By: AlanMaki Sunday June 5, 2011 5:17 am	Tweet6

Rob Schmidt

You can vote for whoever you want, but no one more liberal than Obama will be elected in 2012. Vote for Mickey Mouse if it makes you feel good.

Alan L. Maki

Rob; the problem is: Obama is a thoroughly reactionary neo-liberal like Ronald Reagan; not a liberal like Paul Wellstone.

I could understand you saying something like: No one less reactionary than Obama is going to be elected in 2012, which would be a more truthful statement— although, still, a third party challenge by honest liberals, progressives and leftists could very well deprive Obama the presidency in a closely contested election. I assume you know that a third party getting 5% to 7% of the vote could destroy any chance— which is slim to nothing— Obama has for a second term.

Being able to deprive a major candidate from public office is, in itself, power.

With Obama in the race and all the Republicans stating and declaring themselves to be Ronald Reagan clones, this gives the American people the choice of:

Ronald Reagan #1; or, Ronald Reagan #2.

I assume you saw the Time magazine cover with Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama as the best of chums with similar world views?

I do think it is very possible for Cynthia McKinney and Cindy Sheehan— or anyone of them with another popular peace activist on the ticket with a progressive program for real change— to get over 5% of the vote; and I think this really scares you Obama supporters who have nothing of substance to take to the voters as far as Obama’s “accomplishments;” among them: three wars with a big confrontation in the Philippines on the horizon and quite possibly in Puerto Rico with unmanned drone attacks and “kills” in Pakistan and Yemen; soaring prices of food, gas and home-heating fuels; massive unemployment; rising home foreclosures and evictions; and, the most “coveted” prize of all which everyone is coming to “love” so much the more they find out what it really is, the “Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bail-out and Profit Maximization Act of 2010″ which Obama and the Democrats like to call the “Affordable Health Care Act of 2010″ which is anything but “affordable” for most Americans.

You know, Rob; I really don’t know what would happen if you get a couple of honest and principled peace activists going around the country asking the American people:

How is Barack Obama’s Wall Street war economy working for you? Do you want to vote for more of the same?

I see all you sock-puppets for Obama are now claiming that the presidency isn’t all that important; it is, you claim, the make-up of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that matters the most— well, then, keep saying this and it might add another 10% to 20% to a “peace vote.”

After all, the American people just might be ready to say, “Give peace a chance” after looking over Ronald Reagan #1 and Ronald Reagan #2.

Quite frankly; voting for Mickey and Minnie Mouse makes a heck of a lot more sense than voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America's Future wrote me asking for suggestions for their upcoming conference...

Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America's Future wrote me asking for suggestions for their upcoming conference...

by Alan L. Maki on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 8:18am

This was my response---

On health care reform, I advised Robert Borosage:

The only solution to this entire health care mess is a National Public Health Care System-

* No fees/no premiums.

* Comprehensive, all inclusive; pre-natal to burial; including eyes, dental, mental.

* Universal- everyone in; nobody out.

* Publicly Funded and Financed.

* Publicly Administered.

* Publicly Delivered.

Pay for a National Public Health Care System by ending these dirty wars; taxing the rich; and, a pay-roll tax just like Social Security.

I asked Robert Borosage:

Why should we have to go through all of this incremental crap--- when Wall Street wants trillions of our tax dollars they insist on "getting it now?"

I told Robert Borosage:

The time has come for the working class to insist on "getting real health care reform now."

I explained to Robert Borosage:

Here we are living in the wealthiest country in the world with a President and Congress that think nothing of squandering our tax-dollars and the wealth of our Nation on dirty imperialist wars and millions of people lack access to health care with Obama delivering the "Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry Bail-out and Profit Maximization Act of 2010" and there are still liberals, progressives and leftists supporting this Wall Street health insurance salesman posing as a President.

For a real progressive alternative agenda, I proposed to Robert Borosage that the Campaign for America's Future discuss this:

A program for real change...

* Peace--- end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and shutdown the 800 U.S. military bases on foreign soil. 

* A National Public Health Care System - ten million new jobs. 

* A National Public Child Care System - three to five million new jobs. 

* Works Progress Administration - three million new jobs. 

* Civilian Conservation Corps - two million new jobs. 

* Tax the hell out of the rich and cut the military budget by ending the wars to pay for it all which will create full employment. 

* Enforce Affirmative Action; end discrimination. 

* Raise the minimum wage to a real living wage 

* What tax-payers subsidize in the way of businesses, tax-payers should own and reap the profits from. 

* Moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions. 

* Defend democracy by defending workers' rights including the right to collective bargaining for improving the lives and livelihoods of working people. 

* Roll-back and freeze the price of food, electricity, gas and heating fuels; not wages, benefits or pensions. 

* Wall Street is our enemy.

How is Barack Obama's Wall Street war economy working for you? 

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

I suggested to Robert Borosage he spend more time reading my blog instead of paying attention to all the studies from the "think-tanks" funded by Wall Street philanthropists who profit from the wars, the health care mess and all of our other problems:

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com

--

Alan L. Maki

Director of Organizing,

Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

 

58891 County Road 13

Warroad, Minnesota 56763

Phone: 218-386-2432

Cell: 651-587-5541

Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com

Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

A guest blog about the struggle against poverty in Latin America by Brian McAfee

Brian McAfee

2838 Mason Blvd.

Muskegon Hts., Michigan 49444

USA

(231) 737-8726

brimac6@hotmail.com


Ecuador's Increase In Social Spending Has Lifted Many Out Of Poverty

by Brian McAfee


Ecuador's social spending for the past four years, since President Rafael Correa took office, has quadrupled compared to the amount spent by his predecessors.

Prensa Latina reports that "Since President Correa took office four years ago, 15.851 billion USD has been invested in public works, 2.9 times more then during the three previous governments combined".

An important aspect of President Correa's policies has been a noticeable and ongoing reduction in poverty.

In 2009 38.3 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, in 2010 it was 35.1 and now in 2011 it is at 33.1 and is expected to continue declining. Public investment has been on the rise from 2.4 billion in 2007, 3.450 billion in 2008, 5.66 billion in 2009 and 5.331 billion in 2010.

In 2001 50% of the GDP earnings was used to pay Ecuador's foreign debt. Today the Correa government pays 15% of the GDP to the foreign debt the majority of the rest of the balance going to investments in public and social work projects for the common good.

Similar Pro People programs are now at work in Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil's new President, Dilma Rouseff, and, perhaps, with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez. Also, Uruguay's President Jose Mujica.

A possible addition to Latin America's Leftist Presidents as Peru's June 5 election could result in the election of Ollanta Humala, another potential Leftist. 



I welcome any thoughts or comments contact me at: brimac6@hotmail.com

Brian McAfee

Rising prices of food and gas spell defeat at the polls for Obama and the Democrats

Two things that resonate with, and impact, almost every American--- except for the super-rich who profit from skyrocketing prices--- are the skyrocketing prices, with no end in sight, of food at the grocery store and gas at the pump. 

Democrats have failed to halt the rising prices and they will pay dearly for this inaction at the polls. 

It won't be long before the Tea Party and Republican demagogues use these issues and make use of popular prejudices and use false claims and promises in order to gain power if government action isn't taken to roll-back and freeze the prices of food and gas.

These rising prices turn everyday living into a crisis for most working class families.

Obama administration seeks to block legal challenges to Medicaid cuts

From New York Times

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/us/29medicaid.html

Obama Administration Opposes Challenges to Medicaid Cuts

By ROBERT PEAR

Published: May 28, 2011


WASHINGTON — Medicaid recipients and health care providers cannot sue state officials to challenge cuts in Medicaid payments, even if such cuts compromise access to health care for poor people, the Obama administration has told the Supreme Court.

Dennis Cook/Associated Press
Neal K. Katyal, the acting solicitor general, filed a brief with the Supreme Court.

States around the country, faced with severe budget problems, have been reducing Medicaid rates for doctors, dentists, hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes and other providers.

Federal law says Medicaid rates must be “sufficient to enlist enough providers” so that Medicaid recipients have access to care to the same extent as the general population in an area.

In a friend-of-the court brief filed Thursday in the Supreme Court, the Justice Department said that no federal law allowed private individuals to sue states to enforce this standard.

Such lawsuits “would not be compatible” with the means of enforcement envisioned by Congress, which relies on the secretary of health and human services to make sure states comply, the administration said in the brief, by the acting solicitor general, Neal K. Katyal.

In many parts of the country, payment rates are so low that Medicaid recipients have difficulty finding doctors to take them.

But, the Justice Department said, the Medicaid law’s promise of equal access to care is “broad and nonspecific,” and federal health officials are better equipped than judges to balance that goal with other policy objectives, like holding down costs.

The administration expressed its views in a set of cases consolidated under the name Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, No. 09-958.

In 2008 and 2009, the California Legislature passed several laws reducing Medicaid payment rates. Recipients and providers challenged the cuts in court, arguing that the California plan violated — and was pre-empted by — the federal Medicaid statute.

The law does not explicitly allow such lawsuits. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, said beneficiaries and providers could sue under the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which makes federal law “the supreme law of the land.” In reducing payment rates, the appeals court said, California violated the requirements of federal Medicaid law and threatened access to “much-needed medical care.”

California appealed to the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear oral arguments in the fall, with a decision by next spring.

Consumer advocates were dismayed by the administration’s position, which they said undermined Medicaid recipients’ rights and access to the courts.

“I find it appalling that the solicitor general in a Democratic administration would assert in a Supreme Court brief that businesses can challenge state regulation under the supremacy clause, but that poor recipients of Medicaid cannot challenge state violations of federal law,” said Prof. Timothy S. Jost, an expert on health law at Washington and Lee University, who is usually sympathetic to the administration.

Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, the senior Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee and an architect of Medicaid, said the administration’s brief was “wrong on the law and bad policy.”

“I am bitterly disappointed that President Obama would accept the position of the acting solicitor general to file a brief that is contrary to the decades-long practice of giving Medicaid beneficiaries and providers the ability to turn to the courts to enforce their rights under federal law,” Mr. Waxman said. He said that he and other Democratic lawmakers planned to file a brief opposing the administration’s view.

By contrast, many state officials agree with California and the Obama administration.

The National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures filed a friend-of-the-court brief endorsing California’s position that Medicaid recipients and providers could not sue.

In a separate friend-of-the-court brief, Michigan and 30 other states went further. “Allowing ‘supremacy clause lawsuits’ to enforce federal Medicaid laws will be a financial catastrophe for states,” they said.

Medicaid is financed jointly by the federal government and the states. The number of recipients and the costs increased sharply in the recent recession and will increase further with the expected addition of 16 million people to the rolls under the new federal health care law.

A version of this article appeared in print on May 29, 2011, on page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: Administration Opposes Challenges to Medicaid Cuts.