Human Rights Day: Another Long List of Violations in 2008

From: Bill Hilty [mailto:Rep.Bill.Hilty@house.mn]
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 4:34 PM
To: Alan Maki
Subject: Your msg: Big Bog State Rec Question

Alan,

The Big Bog State Recreation Area received $1,600,000 in the bonding bill this year (CH 179, Sec. 7, subdivision 23). The amount was for "improvements at the Big Bog State Recreation Area, including betterments to the contact station and forest restoration."

Let me know if you need anything else.

Rebekah Smith
Legislative Assistant


Request for further information and action---

Rebekah Smith and Representative Hilty;

Thank you for this information you have provided.

I write you today on the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights because the issue at hand is of great relevance to our celebrating this document as we work to assure its full and complete implementation.

I need not lecture you because you know and understand all to well the severe abuses of human rights First Nation Peoples have been subjected to... the issue of peat mining in the Big Bog is just one more in a long line of these human rights abuses which seems to be unending when it comes to the plight of First Nation peoples.

In fact, the human rights abuses faced by the peoples of the Red Lake Nation for centuries are well documented and if there is a text-book case to be made for the violation of the sovereign and human rights of a people it is the history of the shameful and despicable treatment of the people of the Red Lake Nation by the state and federal governments and a myriad of state agencies and bureaucracies not to mention the daily racist indignities the people of the Red Lake Nation are so often subjected to as they seek a better life and an improved standard of living.

Nor do I have to explain to you the complexities of a people striving to survive cooperatively as dog-eat-dog system of "free enterprise" thwarts and stymies all initiatives taken by the people of the Red Lake Nation to survive--- over the years, the people of the Red Lake Nation have endured insults from right-wing conservative politicians who view their sovereign nation derogatorily and derisively as "a welfare state," "a small socialist island in the north woods of Minnesota," and "America's little Cuba," etcetera--- depending on the mood of these racist bigots and to what self-serving political ends they can twist their bigoted musings and stupid racist mutterings.

The examples of Mr. Tony Cornish and Mr. Jim Abeler in the current period are only a few such examples of such backwards and racist thinking reaching into the Minnesota legislature. Of course, Mr. Abeler apologized; and Mr. Cornish never even has had the common human decency to apologize. Perhaps if the Indian Nations were represented in the Minnesota State Legislature and on Minnesota's Congressional delegation this racism and indifference to racism would be corrected. Shameful as it is that there is not one single Native American in the Minnesota State Legislature or among our Congressional delegation in spite of the large Native American population whose needs go unmet and unrepresented in spite of the existence of such atrocious problems and important documents like the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human calling for full representation and participation of all members of society.

I think you will agree with me that if Minnesota had just one single Native American sitting in the Minnesota State Legislature the permit to mine peat in the Big Bog which threatens the very existence and survival of the Red Lake Nation and its people would never have been issued; now would this racist boondoggle have ever seen the light of day.

More information is required; and I would like to advise you of a new dimension and concern regarding this project of peat mining in the Big Bog. As you are fully aware, the fate and the very existence of the Red Lake Nation and its people are intricately, inseparably connected, woven and tied together. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. The United Nations has for a long time recognized the plight of peoples as connected to the ecosystems that support their continued existence as sovereign nations.

Today is the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even a school child reading this Declaration and then learning of the "permitting process" authorizing this peat mining in the Big Bog can understand the flagrant and intentional violations of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights taking place here in North Minnesota.

We had a meeting in Red Lake last night, initiated by the people of Red Lake who are growing increasingly concerned that their tribal officials and state officials along with the Upper Red Lake "Friends of the Big Bog" and federal public officials and governmental agencies have excluded them from the decision-making process as to the future of the Big Bog which has been scientifically established in the most definitive scientific work on the Big Bog in the "Patterned Peat Lands of Minnesota" edited by Wright, et. al. and used in every college and university course on natural resource management contains an entire chapter on the relationship of the Big Bog to the very survival of the Red Lake Nation and its peoples.

To make matters worse, the letter you have seen allegedly authored by then Chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun, which I obtained from Pegg Julson--- then head of the MN DNR Littlefork Forestry Division (she was demoted for providing me a copy of this letter from Gerald "Butch" Brun; a letter I then publicly distributed--- a letter immediately and publicly repudiated by the Red Lake Nation Tribal Council after I gave the Council the letter which made the position of the Red Lake Nation very clear as stated through resolution and letter as being the exact same position as was articulated in the "Patterned Peat Lands of Minnesota" which used a statement from then Chairman of the Red Lake Nation, Roger Jourdain, who clearly and forcefully articulated this position on behalf of the Red Lake Nation for over fifty years which remains the guiding position to this very day.

A now retired Red Lake Tribal administrative bureaucrat who was part of the Administration of Gerald "Butch" Brun was at the meeting last night and speculated based on the fact he would have seen this letter had it gone through the proper channels as required by the Rules and Laws and Procedures of the Red Lake Nation and is very familiar with Gerald "Butch" Brun's handwriting, could not say for certain if the signature was the handwriting of Gerald "Butch" Brun. As you are aware, Chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun suffered a severe stroke during his brief tenure which could account for the handwriting ambiguity; however, as I have long thought based upon the reaction when I first confronted Chairman Brun in his Red Lake office concerning this "letter" and given his enraged denial in writing the letter... it is now speculated that another individual, namely Roger Head, may have written this letter and forged Chairman Brun's signature to it.

At this point, this is speculation as to what happened; however, given that ALL SCIENTIFIC DATA then, and presently available--- including ALL data from the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (which hid very important data that the Black River was already contaminated with mercury before the permit to authorize this peat mining was authorized; including concealing this fact during the EIS process)... but, most importantly, the people of the sovereign Red Lake Nation and their Tribal Government who have a long-standing opposition to peat mining in the Big Bog which is well documented and well known to every single politician in the State of Minnesota, they were not consulted with as required by state and federal laws or the intent of those laws; I am therefore, again, requesting that you broach this issue with the entire MN DFL Legislative caucus at the federal and state level--- both representatives and senators, and in light of the new concerns raised over the "letter" from Red Lake Nation Chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun which "dropped" Red Lake's historic opposition to peat mining in the Big Bog" which we ALL know was the ONLY reason this racist and environmentally destructive project was ever permitted in the first place.

Without this "letter" from Red Lake Nation Chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun this permit to mine peat in the Big Bog never would have been authorized; you know this; I know this; every single politician in this state knows this.

Someone in government, upon receiving this "letter" from Chairman Brun had a responsibility to go before the Red Lake Nation Tribal Council, the sovereign government of the sovereign Red Lake Nation; and knowing of this historic opposition should have asked what was going on.

In fact, everyone in government, instead of demonstrating a proper degree of concern and a questioning attitude, tried to hide and conceal this very important "letter."

Had it not been for the diligence of one single person employed in the bureaucracy of Minnesota government, namely, Pegg Julson--- who lost her job because she took her job and the responsibilities of her job seriously--- still today, we would never have known about the existence of this "letter" even though I requested this letter from United States Congressman James Oberstar, United States Congressman Colin Peterson, Gene Merriam who at the time was Commissioner of Natural Resources, the Koochiching County Commission and from Paul Nevanen, Director of KEDA, who we now know removed this "letter" , now allegedly, from Red Lake Nation Chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun from the file before providing me access to the casino and peat mining venture files... an illegal act on the part of KEDA Director Paul Nevanen which leads me to think he was probably mired in the scheme to embezzle public funds, too.

I am firmly convinced that the sloppy and shoddy record keeping systems of both the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners and the Koochiching Economic Development Authority are intended, not only to keep important records out of the hands of citizens so they can be an educated part of the decision-making process as called for by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights; but, such shoddy record keeping is done in order to cover up embezzlement and other criminal wrong-doing.

It is frequently the case where attacks on democracy go hand-in-hand with governmental corruption... so frequent in fact that it is safe to say that corruption and anti-democratic measures are integrally fused and connected with the result ending up as a racist attack on people of color--- as is the case here.

To add to all of this, former Commissioner of the MN DNR--- Gene Merriam (a former state senator), to this very day--- denies ever authorizing this peat mining permit. Worse yet, he claims no knowledge of peat mining in the Big Bog even though the permit to mine this peat claims that he authorized it.

So, we have here on the one hand, a very suspect "letter" from a very important Tribal government official is now dead who, while living, became enraged when asked why he signed this "letter;" and, we have a still living former Commissioner of Natural Resources, Gene Merriam, who, according to this permit authorized it but steadfastly claiming any and all knowledge of anything to do with this peat mining and adamantly states he did not authorize the permit!

And, in face of these two very important facts, and entire state legislature and the governor are allowing peat mining in the Big Bog to proceed as if they are completely oblivious to the consequences.

This permit to mine peat in the Big Bog in the Pine Island State Forest to the huge Canadian multi-national corporation--- Berger, Ltd.--- should be immediately revoked; the sheer corruption this project is mired in requires no less; respect for the human rights of the people of the Red Lake Nation requires this revocation of the permit.

The terms of the permit are such, and specifically stated that the Minnesota Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources has the discretionary authority to revoke this permit up until the time the first building foundation has been poured.

I am requesting that you gather together legislators without haste to determine what needs to be done to right this grave injustice now rising to the level of violating the human rights of the people of the Red Lake Nation.

I am sure Minnesota legislators, federal and state, will now be hearing from the grassroots peoples of the Red Lake Nation in support of their Tribal Governments resolution to state and federal public officials and government agencies and bureaucracies.

The head of the MN DNR Little Fork Forestry office tells me that full-scale land clearing is to commence right now. This must be halted; the government officials at all levels responsible for the corrupt manner in orchestrating this dirty racist deed must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law with full restitution of all tax-payer expenditures and those funds from the taconite tax be fully repaid.

As you are aware, this peat mining was first conceived as a "deal" concocted behind closed doors as an "exchange" for the Red Lake Nation receiving favorable consideration for building and operating a casino in International Falls and Koochiching County being able to promote economic growth and jobs. No matter how this peat mining is viewed, from the perspective of those wanting to mine the peat to those who initially pushed the idea of a casino... both projects are now exposed as the fiasco they were right from the start... the casino deal has fallen through (for whatever reason--- ostensibly the overwhelming majority of the people of International Falls and Koochiching County are opposed to the casino while Red Lake the majority of the people of the Red Lake Nation and most all Minnesotans are opposed to this peat mining boondoggle proceeding in the Big Bog in the Pine Island State Forest.

Further, I remind you that tax-payers and the taconite tax fund have been swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars--- many of those dollars attached to this peat mining project--- in the now fully exposed theft of public funds through the Koochiching Economic Development Authority by one Brenda Long. I would point out the Director of the KEDA systematically fought all of my requests to examine KEDA documents pertaining to this peat mining for casino venture.

Had I been allowed to examine these documents as requested, including requests made through the Data Practices Act and FOIA, hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars and taconite tax funds could have been saved and used for real socially needed and necessary programs and projects including alleviating the deplorable poverty of people living on the Red Lake Nation Reservation.

To think that what is perhaps a continuing multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme was going on, undetected, almost from the very beginning of this peat mining for casino project when I first sought access to these files until the permit to mine peat was authorized is nothing short of deplorable and shameful.

In denying citizens access to important information required to oppose the permitting process--- including access to the letter allegedly submitted by Red Lake Nation Chairman Gerald Butch Brun and the finances of this project. I would further note, that even after I won the right to access to KEDA files, Director Nevanen withdrew the Brun "letter" and financial information from KEDA files and the Secretary of the Koochiching County Board in complete complicity with all members of the County Board with-held this information from me and added further to the complexities of this case as they brought in the office of the Koochiching County Sheriff to threaten me with arrest as I attempted to deliver a written request for these records under the Data Practices Act and the FOIA.

(And it was not just I be denied this important public information, because, as you are fully aware, I shared all information on this dirty racist deal with everyone in a way that has empowered them to fully participate in the decision-making process--- something state legislators should have been doing in accordance with the fiduciary responsibility that comes along with being elected to serve the people. Just as I shared this information you provided with people already at Red Lake and beyond.)

I don't think you will find anyone who really believes that the Koochiching Economic Development Authority's Brenda Long acted alone in swindling tax-payers and the taconite-tax fund in this embezzlement scheme. It was only she and Director Paul Nevanen working in the small two-person operation in a very small two-room office where anyone with the least little bit of business acumen and basic understanding of accounting practices with a third grader's knowledge of addition and subtraction concerning a mere handful of transactions would have, and should have, been able to stop this criminal embezzlement scheme for which tax-payers and the taconite-tax fund have not, and probably never will be, reimbursed.

In addition, I call to your attention the fact that at one point, in the records of KEDA (from the minutes as recorded by none other than swindler and embezzler extraordinaire Brenda Long), these perpetrators of this very racist peat mining for casino scheme lament the fact that "only" $350,000.00 dollars was spent on one of the infra-structure projects on initial upgrading on the road to the peat mining site and that they had another $150,000.00 to spend out of the $500,000.00 allocation for straightening out a few curves in a gravel road and even after the straightening of the curves took place and the "improvements were completed per the requirements of the Koochiching County Engineer, further work was supposedly done on these curves to spend the rest of the allocation!

And we wonder why Minnesota is in debt up to its eye-balls to the tune of billions of dollars! With swindlers and embezzlers like Brenda Long having access to public funds it is no wonder no one can come up with a full accounting of our State's real debt.

Again, I implore you to step in and put an end to what can only be described as a racist boondoggle and a fiasco financed unwittingly by Minnesota and federal tax-payers.

I would also call to your attention the United States Congressman James Oberstar is denying his involvement in this racist peat mining boondoggle even though the head of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in St. Paul, Mr. Robert Whiting, will tell you he authorized this permit to mine peat only as a result of "congressional arm twisting." Robert Whiting identifies Congressman James Oberstar as the "congressional arm twister."

I need not remind you of the pernicious and racist role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vis-à-vis their activities regarding Red Lake and the Red Lake Nation and the associated ecosystems over many decades; the environmental damage the done by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to this important ecosystem is well documented on their own web site and tax-payers are now footing the bill to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to remedy the destruction to an ecosystem which was being protected well by the people of the Red Lake Nation until U.S Army Corps of Engineer intervention... this, coupled with the depletion of walleye and other fish stocks and now the massive timber harvests laying vast areas of the Red Lake Nation to waste as corporations plunder in quest of greater profits while Red Lake's schools deteriorate, the housing question persists, people cannot afford to heat their homes and joblessness on this reservation is a complete disgrace as drug pushing and casinos create problems... it is with this entire scenario in mind that it is on this day in which we exhorted to foster the goals of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that I implore you, once again, to do something to get this permit to mine peat revoked by discussing this issue with your colleagues, who, on this issue the MN DFL should be in complete control as far as getting the permit to mine peat revoked, if not permanently, than at least on a temporary basis until all of this can be examined fully with proper input from the people of the Red Lake Nation... respect for human rights, and the dignity of the people of the Red Lake Nation and their future existence requires no less.

Again, if you could provide me with the complete expenditure allocated by the State of Minnesota for the establishment of the Big Bog State Park, the Big Bog Beach and the Big Bog Interpretive Center including the Boardwalk, this would be appreciated; including all pertinent legislative actions by name and statute number.

We really need to know the complete expenditures made by the tax-payers of Minnesota for the complete project because this project has been carried out with the stated intended purpose of educating the public on the need to protect the Big Bog and, supposedly, to educate Minnesotans and visitors to our state on the importance of the people of the Red Lake Nation in protecting the Big Bog for centuries and the importance of the Big Bog to the continued existence of the Red Lake Nation and its people. An interconnection established and confirmed by the people of the Red Lake Nation and confirmed by scientists at every level of governmental bureaucracy then rejected for political expediency serving corporate interests.

Once again we see the threats to democracy when the Minnesota Legislature sits in silence and turns a blind eye to this kind of racist injustice embodied in this peat mining for casino venture. Everyone loses except the Canadian corporation which will truck away the profits compliments of Minnesota and federal tax-payers.

Please confirm that you have received this e-mail.

Again, thanking you for your assistance in this matter;

Sincerely,

Alan L. Maki
Writing on behalf of "Save Our Bog"

President-elect Barack Obama asked to resolve injustices of casino workers

President-elect Barack H. Obama;

I write to you on behalf of the workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry at the suggestion of a number of concerned labor and human rights activists.

Some two-million Americans work in smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state, federal or tribal labor laws in the Indian Gaming Industry as a result of the "Compacts" creating this industry.

What do you intend to do to correct this injustice?

Sovereignty is NOT an issue. There are around 200 sovereign nations in the world today and none of these sovereign nations are without any rights for working people.

In fact, these "Compacts" allow for state and FBI enforcement of state and federal statutes involving criminal activity.

In fact, these "Compacts" allow for state regulatory agencies to assure that slot machines are in compliance.

But, when it comes to protecting the rights (human rights) of workers there are no provisions in these "Compacts" to protect the rights of workers.

There are now over 450 such gaming establishments (casinos/resorts/restaurants/hotels/motels/amusement and theme parks) comprising the Indian Gaming Industry.

Congress and the Department of Interior along with various other state and federal governments and agencies are involved.

If "sovereignty" was the reason for the federal and state governments remaining aloof from protecting the rights of these workers there would be no need for the state or federal governments and various state and federal agencies to be involved in the Indian Gaming Industry because Indian Nations would not be coerced to come to state and federal governments for approval vis-a-vis these "Compacts" in the first place.

I would call to your attention that the Provincial government of Manitoba, Canada remedied this very easily by telling tribal governments that unless they made their casinos smoke-free the government would not consider any further approval for new casinos or casino expansions.

The United States government could very easily do the same thing and insist that before any further "Compacts" are entered into they would have to include smoke-free provisions and provisions that all state and federal labor laws would be adhered to and state and federal departments of labor would be responsible for enforcement.

That some two-million workers (not including those who quit or get fired which comprises many more workers because of the huge turn-over) are employed under such draconian conditions in the United States of America is shameful.

We expect that the Employee Free Choice Act will be written to include these workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry before you sign it.

We further expect that you will address the issue of the need to rescind "at-will hiring, at-will firing" legislation in some twenty-eight states which as it stands would render "card check" useless.

Right now there is the "Gun Lake Casino Compact" pending in the Michigan Senate, having been approved by Governor Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan House with the full knowledge by Governor Granholm and each member of the Michigan Legislature that this was one more "Compact" which would deny basic and fundamental human rights to another two-thousand casino workers. Since you have such a chummy relationship with Governor Granholm and David Bonior who is supposed to be a champion of labor rights you should have no problem convincing Governor Granholm that she should request this "Compact" be withdrawn for approval pending the suggestion that the rights of casino workers must be included... this would set a precedent that would be difficult for future "Compacts" to ignore.

Also, you should be aware that second-hand smoke in the workplace has been designated as one of the primary health concerns by the American Cancer Society and the Heart and Lung Foundation. Further, many casino workers are women of child-bearing age, pregnant women and nursing mothers for whom the health hazards and dangers of second-hand smoke are known to be very vulnerable.

Two issues are involved with the problem of second-hand smoke for casino workers.

First is the obvious direct health factor.

Second, is the fact that you have talked a great deal about cutting health care costs. Common sense dictates that millions, if not billions, of dollars can be saved in health care costs by eliminating smoking in the Indian Gaming Industry.

Scientific figures are not available for second-hand smoke related health care issues and costs in the Indian Gaming Industry because these casino managements have refused to participate in the collection of data by state and federal agencies and the American Cancer Society and Heart and Lung Foundation which raises another grave concern related not only to worker health in the place of employment, but the human rights of workers to be made aware of the health dangers in the workplace.

In short, workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry have no rights at work; they have no voice at work. Workers employed under these conditions have no rights and no voice in the communities where they live lest the employer finds out about activities considered to be inappropriate.

At the largest casino operation in Minnesota, and one of the largest in the Indian Gaming Industry in the United States of America employing over 5,000 workers... Mystic Lake Casino/Resort/Hotel/Restaurants... workers are forced to sign a statement acknowledging that they will be terminated from employment if they engage in any form of union organizing activity which includes signing a union card.

As the world is about to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 2008--- each and everyone of the rights articulated in this important Declaration are being denied over two-million workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry.

Many of these workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry are people of color which raises the question of racism.

Many of these two-million workers are very young workers for whom this will be their first job under these atrocious working conditions, thus creating other obvious problems.

In addition, these casino managements are employing thousands of undocumented workers making for an even more complex situation. Imagine, if you will, working in a place of employment where even those around you have no rights!

I call to your attention that Amy Berglund, the Regional Assistant to United States Senator Carl Levin claims to know nothing about this disgraceful and shameful situation workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry even though, right under her nose, workers are being fired left and right by the Island Casino management.

I would also call to your attention that most of these casinos are managed by non-Native American firms such as the Fertitta's "Station Casinos." I trust you know the history of Frank Fertitta and his involvement in gaming. I doubt that you would want one of your own children growing up having to work for such an employer while being denied of all rights.

Perhaps we should get together to discuss these concerns. Two-million Americans being intentionally and systematically denied their human rights is no small matter; especially with the sensitivity across the globe there is to human rights issues. We hope that with your election these injustices will come to an end... this is the change casinos workers seek from your election.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by e-mail or by letter--- U.S. Post.

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

Cc:

President Maggie Bird, Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm

David Bonior

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

Representative Keith Ellison, Minnesota

Minnesota State Representative Tom Rukavina

Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni

Amy Berglund, Regional Representative for U.S. Senator Carl Levin

Elizabeth Reed, Staff Assistant, U.S. Senator Carl Levin

Guy Ryder, General Secretary, International Trade Union
Confederation

President Benjamin Todd Jealous, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Idled workers occupy factory in Chicago

More info and what you can do here:

http://laborjournal.blogspot.com/2008/12/workers-occupy-factory-in-struggle-for.html

By RUPA SHENOY, Associated Press Writer Rupa Shenoy, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO – Workers laid off from their jobs at a factory have occupied the building and are demanding assurances they'll get severance and vacation pay that they say they are owed.

About 200 employees of Republic Windows and Doors began their sit-in Friday, the last scheduled day of the plant's operation.

Leah Fried, an organizer with the United Electrical Workers, said the Chicago-based vinyl window manufacturer failed to give 60 days' notice required by law before shutting down.

Workers also were angered when company officials didn't show up for a meeting Friday that had been arranged by U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, she said.

During the peaceful takeover, workers have been shoveling snow and cleaning the building, Fried said.

"We're doing something we haven't since the 1930s, so we're trying to make it work," Fried said.

Union officials said another meeting with the company is scheduled for Monday.

Representatives of Republic Windows did not immediately respond Saturday to calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said authorities were aware of the situation and officers were patrolling the area.

Crain's Chicago Business reported that the company's monthly sales had fallen to $2.9 million from $4 million during the past month. In a memo to the union, obtained by the business journal, Republic CEO Rich Gillman said the company had "no choice but to shut our doors."

Bailout the Big Three?

This Letter to the Editor was submitted to the Minneapolis Star Tribune for publication; writer granted the Editor the right to edit as seen fit. The letter was not published... so much for "freedom of the press."

Note: Since this letter was submitted to the Editor for publication, the UAW leadership of Ron Gettelfinger has joined with the CEO's of the Big Three in forming a "united front" seeking a tax-payer bailout. Gettelfinger has agreed to more plant closings, more layoffs and more job losses and cut-backs to unemployment benefits and delayed payments to health and union pension funds... but, Barack Obama is still not satisfied, he wants auto workers to give up even more... the "thanks" auto workers get for laying out hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of woman/man volunteer hours in efforts for his campaign for the presidency. Also, the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant has been unexpectedly idled for months leaving many employees without any income from SUB benefits or state unemployment benefits.

And, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the huge GM Stamping Plant will be permanently closed throwing over a thousand workers into the street as Michigan's Democratic, labor-backed Governor--- Jennifer Granholm, and David Bonior have encouraged these auto workers to take up training for employment in the Gun Lake Casino where they will be subjected to second-hand smoke day in and day out while receiving poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws. Each employee will have to sign a statement pledging not to engage in union organizing as terms of their employment just as workers employed by Stanley Crooks at the huge Mystic Lake Casino and Resort employing over 5,000 in its operation have to do... so much for the Employee Free Choice Act.


November 12, 2008

First Wall Street Bankers. Now the Big Three automakers. Who is coming for a handout and free lunch next? The lobbying industry or the health insurance companies?

The government is prepared to let the St. Paul Ford Twin City Assembly Plant and two-thousand jobs go down the river because there was no money to save this one plant and now tax-payers are being told, not even asked, that they will be bailing out the entire auto industry.

Obviously free enterprise has failed. Why should tax-payers bailout the Big Three when in a few months the price of each of the Big Three's stocks should be less than one-dollar a share.

Tax-payers will have the opportunity to purchase the entire automotive industry for a real bargain for far less than what the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing us.

A board consisting of all the stake-holders could be brought together and we could finally produce quality products which are environmentally friendly... not to mention affordable.

Capitalism hasn't worked; socialism will.

The Big Three cry poverty after they have taken the wealth created by North American workers and invested that wealth in quest of cheaper labor and resources overseas.

I don't believe politicians would even consider turning over one penny to these greedy corporations without even having had the opportunity to see their books... all the books, including their international operations.

What tax-payers finance, tax-payers should own.

Nationalization under public ownership is the solution to the problems of the auto industry.

The time has come to put People, Jobs and the Environment Before Corporate Profits!


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

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

Check out my blog:

Thoughts From Podunk

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona for Secretary of Interior?

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona is being mentioned as a potential Obama appointment for Secretary of Interior.

It is interesting that "progressives" and "environmentalists" would be jumping on the band-wagon in support of Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona without scrutinizing his dismal record regarding human rights abuses in the Indian Gaming Industry who would have a direct conflict of interest in his appointment to this position which would be a great set-back to the struggle for justice and dignity by two-million casino workers employed in the more than 450 loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos in this country at poverty wages and without any rights... largely because Congressman Raul Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona has been a primary backer of the "Compacts" creating the Indian Gaming Industry; "Compacts" which sow racism, sexism and a myriad of injustices.

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona has distorted and twisted the meaning of "sovereignty" and "Indian Law" to mean the right of the Indian Gaming Industry to mercilessly and shamefully exploit casino workers while destroying their health.

It is ironic that environmentalists and progressives would turn their backs on the plight of working people while claiming that Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona would be one of the better choices among Obama's cabinet selections.

What this points out is just how terrible and reactionary the rest of the Obama team actually is.

And, furthermore, it points out what a flim-flam man and con-artist Barack Obama really is; worse than this, it points out just how screwed up and twisted middle class intellectuals who consider themselves "progressives" really are without any class analysis and a complete disregard for the rights of working people as they pit the plight of casino workers to be employed in healthy working environments against protection of Mother Nature and they can't even think clearly enough to understand the complete immorality in pushing someone forward for a cabinet post as important as Secretary of Interior who has direct ties and links to an industry that has demonstrated no more respect for Mother Nature than it has for the rights of working people.

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the Indian Gaming Industry. The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for overseeing the "Compacts" creating casinos in the Indian Gaming Industry.

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona has been silent when it comes to the health and rights of casino workers in the Indian Gaming Industry.

It is pathetic that "progressives" and "environmentalists" now give Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona their "nod of approval" for the position of Secretary of the Interior.

This proves that there is no clear direction when it comes to a continuity and unity based on progressive values in this country... it is this very same misunderstanding that led so many liberals and progressives to support Barack Obama along with so many other dumb donkeys and continues to hinder the development of a truly progressive constituency in this country capable of being part of the decision-making process and places progressives on the periphery of electoral politics.

Ironically, we now hear the same pathetic excuses used in pressuring and coercing liberals and progressives to support Obama that we now see being used to bully and intimidate people into supporting Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona for Secretary of Interior who is completely unacceptable to casino workers employed in the Indian Gaming Industry... not that our opinion matters to the likes of Carl Pope or other environmentalists, progressives and middle class intellectuals working in smoke-free environments usually with very good pay-checks, too.

It's all about as hypocritical as United States Senator Carl Levin waving around his little UAW membership card as he has voted to allow dozens of these casinos to come into existence while sitting in the U.S. Senate for years ignoring the trampling of rights of casino workers.

What is really the epitome of hypocrisy is that many progressives tout Obama's victory as being a new stage in the struggle for "equality" when many thousands of these casino workers employed in these smoke-filled casinos without any rights under state or federal labor laws are women of color of child-bearing age!

When one thinks about this entire situation it is really very sad to see such shallow and uncaring attitudes spun by progressives who would call themselves "environmentalists" while not giving two-hoots about the working environments of some two-million working people.

Even more sad is the fact that those calling themselves "progressive" would shamefully look the other way as racism and sexism go without challenge and the plight of working people is ignored.

Interesting how outfits like the Progressive Democrats of America who claim to be for health care reform would endorse Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona with the full knowledge he is one of the primary supporters of the Indian Gaming Industry. I would think Norman Solomon, Tim Carpenter and Donna Smith would have the intelligence to see just a little contradiction in supporting Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona for the Department of Interior knowing the consequences of second-hand smoke to human health. But alas, the PDA is about to "compromise away" single-payer universal health care in the name of not wanting to become alienated from Barack Obama the great progressive, who from among millions of Americans, can only find Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona and his ilk to be qualified to serve in his cabinet along with the entire bunch of reactionaries who are so reactionary a crooked, corrupt and uncaring politician like Congressman Raul Grijalva a Democrat from Arizona actually looks good.

Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona for Secretary of Interior? Real progressives say "NO."

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

The Republicans and the Democrats have lied to us about the serious economic problems

First Bush lied to us about the war in Iraq; and the Democrats acquiesced and followed Bush to war.

Now both the Republicans and the Democrats have lied to us over and over again about the seriousness of the economic mess we are in.

Barack Obama obviously has known for a very long time, at least two years if not longer, that the economy was going to hell in a hand basket during the entire time he was campaigning for president; and, he never even broached the seriousness of the situation until problems became so out of hand they could no longer be kept hidden.

While the "officials" still don't dare use the "D" word--- depression--- they now admit that this "isn't your 'garden variety' downturn." So, we have gone from speculating that this is probably a minor "blip" to acknowledgment of being in the midst of a recession, to "this isn't your 'garden variety' downturn."

I suppose we should appreciate the current candor since we know that it is so difficult for these people in high places to tell the truth about anything.

The seriousness of what lies ahead changes everything and the way we view problems and look for solutions to existing problems which we all know are only going to get worse as the economy sinks deeper and deeper into troubled waters where humans have never been before.

Dilly-dallying with minor and incremental reforms is only going to make matters worse; Franklin D. Roosevelt found this out.

Wealth re-distribution--- major, major wealth re-distribution--- is the only way to head off complete chaos and mass suffering at this point.

Saving the capitalist system is not even an option to consider; I doubt it can be saved, and only those who have profited from the creation of the present crisis would want to save it.

The main thing is saving people--- keeping people working, in their homes, fed, clothed, going to school, and in good health.

Health care is a prime example of where immediate action to bring health care to millions presently without access to health care can prevent millions more suffering the same fate as we take steps to re-distribute the wealth in this country--- a process that should have begun over seventy years ago in order to prevent where were are today.

Barack Obama and those muddle-headed middle class intellectuals pushing alternative schemes to single-payer universal health care in the form of tinkering with a completely broken and unfixable system blew their wad when they lied to the American people by with-holding important facts about the economy.

Obama was afraid of offending those people in high places he used to get to the presidency.

Congress twiddled their thumbs as the economy spiraled downwards out of control, refusing to enact single-payer universal health care legislation in the form of H.R. 676.

Now it is too late for even H.R. 676.

It is time for all of us to act responsibly and take a fresh new look at what is required given the dire economic straights we have found ourselves in due to nothing of our own making and which was intentionally made completely out of our control. The American people, the working class had no say in anything... we worked and we worked and we created massive, unimaginable, great wealth... wealth that was stolen which has now come back to haunt us all and society requires this wealth be returned as a prerequisite to getting us out of this mess. Not returned in small increments but in massive amounts; and real fast if we are going to avoid mass misery unknown in modern human history.

Solving the health care mess is part of solving the economic problem because no matter what, there needs to be an immediate massive redistribution of wealth in order to stave off mass misery for the working class and there is no better way to quickly redistribute wealth than to take the profit-gouging insurance industry completely out of the picture.

In my opinion, Congress has waited far too long to implement health care reform.

Single-payer universal health care as in H.R. 676 is a "no-show" and would now be too little, too late; completely unworkable with no way to continue funding the kind of high profit margins required by greedy doctors, HMO's, hospitals, nursing homes and private for-profit in home care and the health care industry. Simply taking the insurance companies out of the picture still leaves these others sucking massive wealth out of the system that we can no longer afford the luxury of.

Given the very serious and deep economic depression we are into, nothing short of full-scale socialized health care will have any impact on the economic side.

Of course, single-payer universal health care would still alleviate the problem of access to health care for millions of people... but the enormous profits still being sucked from society simply is too much to bear.

President Franklin Roosevelt learned the hard way that when you dilly-dally as the economy crumbles you waste time and end up with an even bigger mess by trying to appease big-business with incremental-ism.

Now is no time to worry about appeasing the American Medical Association and these others who have had their greedy fingers in the pie for so long.

There is only one pie and when it is gone, it is gone. Our economy has had the ingredients to bake another completely depleted so we have to carefully share what is left for the time being.

There are those who argue that such massive redistribution of wealth through universal social programs like socialized health care will lead to people demanding more socialism to solve their other problems as capitalism is on the skids to oblivion while dragging us all down the road to perdition.

We need to answer them firmly: So what? Whatever works best to maintain the best quality of life and standard of living for the working class and Obama's cherished middle class is simply what needs to be done.

Single-payer universal health care would have only been an incremental step towards socialized health care anyways; an incremental step to appease the American Medical Association and big-business along with muddle-headed liberals afraid to challenge the status quo even though they know capitalism is falling apart at the seams as the entire foundation crumbles.

Obviously, none of the other health care schemes are even worth considering given what we now know about the current state of the economy.

Those pushing anything other than full-scale socialized health care today do so for selfish political reasons and society can no longer afford to indulge these self-centered individuals. We now need to look at the common good; the health of everyone and the economic well-being of our Nation.

Let's hope and pray Barack Obama and those who have been desperately trying to derail the single-payer universal health care movement in favor of all these incremental reforms will now see and understand the error of their ways... hopefully Obama will have the courage to socialize the entire health care system very quickly, within days of taking office... delaying weeks or months could further drag us all down to a place none of us want to be in.

We need a far ranging and deep discussion of this now so there is momentum pushing and prodding Obama to do what is right... obviously, he, like Bush, has lied to the American people about the depth and dire consequences of the economy that is far from merely faltering for a few months as Bush lied to the G-20; capitalism is failing and we can't allow its failure to drag all of us down with it.

Instead of the present fifty-million people without access to health care, failing to socialize health care during this kind of economic crisis and disaster will leave over 150 million people in this country without access to basic health care.

Figure it out, as unemployment mounts these workers will not be able to afford to pay any insurance premiums as they struggle to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads; and the very last thing we need is for the government to be subsidizing the profits of this health care industry--- not the insurance companies, not the doctors or HMO's or hospitals who have been gouging us for so long.

The Republicans obviously used up any goodwill they might have had with their lies about Iraq; people are fed up that the Democrats acquiesced to these crooked and corrupt Republicans for eight long years. Now we have had Democrats and Republicans tell us lie after lie after lie about the economy--- we simply can't get any straight answers based on hard facts and scientific data about what is going on... the people like Bush and Obama who know what is going on are still stuck in a mode of playing word games about the nature of this crisis so they have used up any goodwill they might have had with the American people.

Obama, the new kid on the block when it comes to wealth and power, now finds himself trapped between the grassroots people who gave him their votes and the wealthy Wall Street crowd who provided him the money to put on his show; he is now caught with no friends real friends that he can trust in high places while quickly losing any and all respect from those who gave him their votes.

But, Obama's problems are of his own making and we shouldn't allow those now pulling his strings to destroy us all.

As liberals and progressives, what many call "the left;" we have some very serious work and choices to make.

Health care is one of the choices we need to take a stand on.

The choice we make in health care reform must now consider not only what will best serve the health care needs of the people; but, the economic health of the Nation.

People before profits.

Massive redistribution of wealth is required and socialized health care is one of the ways to do this.

Socialized health care must be part of a larger project of redistributing the wealth which must include drastic cuts in military spending including ending these senseless wars for oil and drugs in Iraq and Afghanistan... let Bin Laden rot in his cave in Pakistan; we need to drastically raise the minimum wage to a real living wage. There needs to be a moratorium on all home foreclosures and evictions and all student loans should be forgiven as paid in full... if need be, let everyone who owes on student loans work it off for three months in the soup kitchens and food shelves.

This is the kind of emergency program required to stave off massive human misery in the days ahead and will allow the economy to muddle along as we figure out how to finally get rid of this rotten capitalist system which has now become such an enormous burden on us all.

That Barack Obama and his surrogates in the blogging world are still hard at work trying to derail the single-payer universal health care movement as so much more--- socialized health care--- is now needed, is the epitome of pathetic. While destroying the health of the people Obama is slitting his own throat because the rich and the powerful in high places who paid for his way to the presidency are going to be falling right along with their crumbling system.

Barack Obama now has some serious thinking of his own to do. He might want to keep in mind that Franklin D. Roosevelt faced an organized coup attempt when he started tinkering with incremental-ism instead of bringing on massive redistribution of wealth programs at the time they were most needed.

Perhaps Barack Obama is such an opportunist he doesn't even understand what is at stake and the seriousness of the situation... all the more reason for those who were deluded into supporting him better find a way to get past Rahm Emanuel for a serious talk with him.

What the heck made these dumb donkeys and dumb clucks think they could get away with telling lies about the economic problems like they lied about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan... perhaps we give them reason to think we are stupid?

Alan L. Maki

Capitalist sooth-Sayers finally admit: "This is no 'garden variety' downturn"

The capitalist sooth-Sayers have finally acknowledged what most working people knew long ago, "This is no 'garden variety' recession."

For once we get an once of truth with the tons of lies from the Wall Street government passing itself off as the "world's greatest democracy."

The associated press reported:

The raft of grim economic news prompted Sandra Pianalto, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, to say in a speech Friday that the data to date "tells me that the economy is now in a recession."

"At the moment, the signs point to a recession beyond just a 'garden variety' downturn," she said. "The length and severity of the recession will depend on how quickly credit markets return to normal."

How can credit markets be returned to "normal" by loaning more money to banks and businesses that can't even pay back what they owe because between the Wall Street coupon clippers and the crooked and corrupt CEO's who looted their own businesses and banks, they failed in the first place?

What is really mind-boggling is that the Wall Street bankers remain in charge of trying to solve this problem.

A problem they are still trying to tell us stems from problems relating to credit... on top of telling us the problem stems from a credit crisis (which is an outright lie) these bankers are telling us they intend to solve this problem by making it easier for those who cannot now repay loans to get even bigger loans!

Does anyone really believe a credit crisis which is claimed to be responsible for plunging the world economy into what is "not your typical 'garden variety' downturn" is going to be cured by providing further credit at tax-payer expense to failing banks and industries?

If anyone really believes this, I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn I would like to sell you.

Even though the capitalist sooth-Sayers have gotten around to admitting this isn't your "garden variety downturn," these capitalist sooth-Sayers cannot get the word "depression" off their tongues and through their lips because the word "depression" is an admission that the capitalist system has failed and the economy is in a complete shambles with none of these blowhards knowing what to do to solve the problem.

This is no problem of failure of "economic philosophies" as Barack Obama claims. This is a failure of the system... economic depressions are part and parcel of the capitalist economic system--- one of the primary reasons the system needs to be replaced with socialism.

We are now supposed to trust Barack Obama and a bunch of dumb donkeys to be able to get us out of this "not your typical 'garden variety' downturn" when they haven't even been able to stop wars that they never should have allowed to start... and, they turn to the very Republicans who got us into the wars and lied about the state of the economy the same way they lied about the wars... with Colin Powell deciding to lie about the economy to make amends for telling lies that led our country into wars for oil and dope. And this is what we are supposed to accept in the name of bi-partisan unity...

These greedy parasites really expect working people to grab a six pack, settle into the easy chair and watch the Super Bowl.

There are solutions to be found for the depression we are in... an economic depression from which there is no way out if the capitalist road is taken because capitalism is on the skids to oblivion and as long as we remain on this road we are on the road to perdition.

As working people we have some serious choices to make.

Do we allow the Wall Street coupon clippers of the military-financial-industrial complex to continue to do our thinking for us and drag us along down the road to perdition? Or, do we say, "Enough!"

The country is going to hell in a hand-basket and the only solution these people can think of is to give the same banks and industries that have already robbed us blind more credit at our expense... isn't it nice they continue to be so generous with our tax-dollars and the wealth we have created?

It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that funneling the wealth of our country to the greedy few will only intensify already serious problems that only the redistribution of wealth to the working class can begin to address.

After all, we are talking about the wealth we have created which has been stolen from us by the Wall Street crowd in the first place.

There is only one course of action that will get us out of this mess.

We need to consider an anti-capitalist, socialist course of action.

George Bush begged the G-20 governments not to give up on capitalism simply because there are a few problems for a "couple of months."

Bush's lies are going to continue without let-up right to the end and even his capitalist partners from around the world are not buying into his "couple months of economic problems" scenario.

Every course of action we allow these dumb donkeys and dumb clucks to take in the name of "bi-partisan unity" will plunge our nation and the world deeper and deeper into crisis which we all know means more human misery; as if we haven't had enough the last two-hundred years.

Below are some suggestions; read it over and talk with your family, friends, neighbors and fellow workers:

There is broad consensus among labor unions and progressive organizations, economists and politicians that we need a bottom-up solution to the economic crisis. That is, the priority should be fixing Main Street, not Wall Street. The main immediate proposals include:

1) A moratorium on home foreclosures, and giving bankruptcy courts the power to renegotiate mortgages.

2) Extend unemployment benefits and increase funding for food stamps, heating assistance, and other survival programs for the duration of this economic depression.

3) Aid to state and local governments so they can avoid layoffs and reductions in vital services.

4) Rebuilding the infrastructure of America: clean energy, roads, bridges, water systems, schools, and housing, providing good-paying jobs.

5) Increase the minimum wage to a real living wage based upon the calculations of the United States Department of Labor and its Bureau of Labor Statistics with the minimum wage legislatively mandated to be continually adjusted based upon all--- and real--- cost of living factors.

6) Forgive student loan debts.

7) Forgive all health care related debt and implement socialized health care.

8) Save jobs through public ownership of closing plants and nationalization of failed industries. What tax-payers finance, tax-payers should own.

9) Drastically slash the military budget and reorder priorities to meet human needs. The military-financial-industrial complex has robbed society of the resources needed to create a decent quality of life for all people.

Bailing out Wall Street without fixing Main Street is like fixing the cracks in the wall while your foundation is crumbling. The measures listed above, as well as more basic changes, are necessary. But with more than 100,000 families losing their homes each month, I would like to focus on one critical part of the foundation -- stopping foreclosures and keeping families in their homes.

The root of the crisis is that working families have been squeezed from all sides, especially since the recession of 2001. Household income has been falling behind the increasing cost of necessities. The squeeze has been aggravated by the decline of medical coverage and retirement plans, shifting these costs, along with soaring costs for education, food and energy, onto over-strained family budgets.

Many have dealt with this strain by going into debt. They were pushed deeper by the mortgage brokers, real estate agents, appraisers, and credit card vendors, who piled on fees, charges, and hidden interest rates, often based on wildly inflated housing prices. Even when this debt was not the result of outright fraud and conspiracy by the financial and real estate industries, it was in violation of any reasonable banking standards. Financial institutions, staffed by MBAs, PhDs and other highly-trained experts, made loans that no first-year economics student should have approved.

The immediate cause of the financial crisis on Wall Street is this mountain of debt smothering people on Main Street. In simplified form, here is what happens.

● Hard-pressed families fall behind on their mortgage and credit card payments.

● When homeowners can't make payments, the banks foreclose, but the home frequently stands empty and the bank is unable to recover much of the outstanding loan.

● The bank, with less money coming in, has trouble paying other banks and investors that it borrowed money from.

● Those other banks and investors have trouble paying banks and investors they borrowed from.

● Banks, investors, and ordinary businesses are afraid to lend money to other banks, investors and ordinary businesses.

Families owe more on their mortgages and their credit cards than they can ever pay back. Add to this the incredible massive student loan debt and unpaid medical bills. The efforts of working class families to save their homes and meet creditors' demands is undermining their families, their neighborhoods and the local economy, as family members work multiple jobs and cut back on health care, local purchases, local taxes, utilities, and home maintenance while the robbery at the pumps continues and every trip to the grocery store finds rising prices.

The bailout package just approved by Congress doesn't address this problem at all. Homeowners and consumers still have the same debt, still face the same monthly payments. The only change is that the U.S. government has become a collection agent for the banks and investors.

The solution is to reduce the amount that working people owe. Reduce homeowners' and consumers' debt to the level it would be at if reasonable lending standards had been applied in the first place. Conservative practice is that families should pay no more than 25 percent of their income for housing. So a people's bailout plan would mandate that mortgages be reduced so that monthly payments will be 25 percent of household income. But in no case should the debt be for more than the real value of the house, as determined by historical price levels adjusted for inflation. Credit card debt, second mortgages, and home improvement loans, college loans, and medical debt could also be adjusted by similar calculations, to a maximum of 10 percent of household income.

This would not cost the government a penny -- it would force banks and investors to recognize the losses resulting from their own bad judgment and fraudulent practices. Millions of people would still be in their homes, and neighborhoods and local tax bases would be stabilized. And the financial system would be more stable because the banks could now be confident of receiving a steady stream of payments, even though these payments would be less than what they originally expected.

The proposals to revive the economy, listed at the beginning of this article, should still be adopted. The economic stimulus package that was blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster a few weeks ago included some of those provisions. And major reform and regulation of the financial industry is necessary; there are some excellent proposals to take over failing banks, regulate the financial industry, and tax financial transactions and exorbitant compensation to control speculation and help pay for the program. But until we clear up the massive, unfair, and often illegal debt that has been fastened on working families, it will act as an anchor dragging down the economy, and Main Street will be haunted by insecurity and misery.

Democratic leaders in Congress had a number of proposals that would have reduced the amount families owe on their mortgages. They were blocked by the Republicans, who don't support any meaningful relief for homeowners.

During the vice presidential debate, Senator Biden expressed support for bankruptcy reform to reduce the amount owed by homeowners, and said that he thought that McCain opposed it. Governor Palin said that Biden was wrong, implying that McCain also supports the measure, and said that McCain is on the side of the people against “the greed and corruption on Wall Street.”

There is a simple test to see if Palin's claim has any substance. Will McCain show leadership and bipartisanship by proposing that Senators Obama and Biden join him in pushing to pass this bankruptcy legislation immediately? The proposal was killed in the Senate last April after encountering “stiff opposition from many Republicans as well as the banking and mortgage loan industries,” according to the New York Times. (April 4, 2008) But with McCain's backing, there should be no problem getting this legislation through Congress now.

Wall Street bankers, financiers and industrialist profited; the working class has been left with the misery and the problems.

Write Barack Obama; tell him you support these measures:

http://change.gov/page/s/contact

Other suggestions:

* Print and Post this on bulletin boards in union halls, community centers, schools, churches on refrigerators.

* Give a copy to your friends and neighbors.

* Talk to local, state and federal public officials--- after talking to enough dumb clucks and dumb donkeys you might get lucky and come across someone reasonably intelligent. Finding a politician caring and compassionate to stand up and take action is another matter.

* Organize demonstrations and picket lines to call attention to the problem and the solution.

* Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, newsletters, and post a link to this on your blog or web site.

* We need to begin building grassroots and rank-and-file committees and organizations in every neighborhood, school and place of employment to begin putting together a massive all-people's united front type coalition so we have the strength and the power to stand up to these Wall Street parasites and vultures.

Just as this is no "garden variety recession," the web of control and corruption that has been spun by the military-financial-industrial complex is not your "garden variety" spider web erected to catch "garden variety" prey... YOU are the target, WE all are the prey.

State-monopoly capitalism has spun a powerful web of corruption and control, and it is going to require one heck of a fight and struggle to set us free.

People Before Profits!

Please distribute this widely.

Single-payer universal health care--- what is the compromise?

This was in the Progressive Democrats of America’s newsletter:

“We've just returned home from Washington D.C., where we attended a national conference with the leaders of other organizations working to pass H.R. 676 or some form of single-payer healthcare.”

The important point here is: “or some form of single-payer healthcare.”

I have repeatedly asked each of the groups named as part of this coalition if the “Minnesota Health Act” is single-payer universal health care. I asked the national Physicians for a National Health Program to declare whether the “Minnesota Health Act” constitutes their idea of single-payer universal health care.

I also put the same question to the Progressive Democrats of America.

After all, we have a right to know what those bargaining with Barack Obama over this health care issue have in mind.

All of these organizations have refused to answer this very simple question.

Even the Minnesota Green Party joined the Democrats in declaring they are for the “Minnesota Health Act;” even though anyone who takes the time to read the “Minnesota Health Act” readily finds that this is nothing more than a scheme to put a greater share of health care costs onto the backs of the working class while removing some of the burden of health care costs from middle class professionals and small and large business.

Since being challenged that the “Minnesota Health Act” is not single-payer universal health care, most of the supporters--- with the exception of the Green Party--- have dropped single-payer universal health care from their description of the “Minnesota Health Act;” acknowledging that it is merely a “cost saving” piece of legislation, but, again, no mention of who will be saving the 5% to 20% depending on who you ask.

Many of the organizations part of this “coalition,” which includes the Progressive Democrats of America, are still talking in terms of “affordable universal health care.”

As we are in the throes of a severe economic depression, one has to wonder what is affordable, and to whom, when millions of people are losing their homes to foreclosure, millions more are in default on student loans, millions can't afford the cost of heating the homes they still have for who knows how long, as millions join the ranks of the unemployed as entire industries are going bankrupt.

Really, one has to ask these "do-gooders" what is meant by "affordable" since they are not honest enough to say; and apparently too ashamed to answer when asked since their answers usually come in the form of name-calling usually expected only of the most reactionary members of the "ultra-right."

Again, from the Progressive Democrats of America web site, “All of these organizations of approximately sixty people representing over a dozen organizations and three members of Congress were in attendance. The agenda included a political overview, developing a legislative strategy, and alliance-building discussions. Among the represented groups were Healthcare-NOW!, the AFL-CIO, All Unions Committee for Single-Payer, American Medical Students Association, Rep. John Conyers, and aides from the offices of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.”

It would be nice if at some point the rest of the country could read just what these discussions consisted of; assuming the strategy is not secret.

I doubt any of these organizations have done the kind of canvassing we did in Roseau County, Minnesota to find out what people really want in the way of health care reform before we put together the resolution which unanimously passed the Roseau County DFL Convention which defined single-payer universal health care as:

“No-fee/no premium, comprehensive (pre-natal to grave), all-inclusive (eye, dental, mental health, physical therapy, prescription drugs) single-payer universal health care; publicly funded and publicly administered.”

The delegates to the Roseau County MNDFL Convention clearly stated that publicly funded meant in a manner like social security with profit gouging insurance companies and HMO’s completely removed from the picture.

A resolution in support of single-payer universal health care passed the MN DFL state convention in 2006; approved by 72% of the delegates… immediately, the DFL leadership went into a mode of denial… sending Amy “Republican Lite” Klobuchar out to try to head off the grassroots rallying around this by saying she did not support the resolution… then Senator John Marty, known as the friend of middle class professionals and university intellectuals together with small business ramped up support for his scheme: the Minnesota Health Act and with no shame tried to pawn this reactionary piece of legislation which would merely make the State of Minnesota the bill collector for greedy, profit-motivated doctors, HMO’s, hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers and pharmaceutical companies.

In fact, the Minnesota DFL until just recently only put on their website the fact that the DFL has a plank supporting single-payer universal health care in its “Action Agenda” which politicians and candidates say they pretty much ignore. But, the DFL also posted to its “Action Agenda” support for “affordable” health care which is a complete contradiction to single-payer universal health care.

When I asked those supporting this legislation if they had read the legislation, they ALL (with ONE Single exception) replied “NO.”

When I asked them why they had not read the legislation they all said: “It was too difficult to understand.”

When I asked them why they would support a piece of legislation they had not read, most all said, “Because the gurus of single-payer universal health care say it is what we need.”

Mind you, the Progressive Democrats for America now trot out Representative John Conyers as their guru on health care reform… this is the same Congressman Conyers who publicly proclaimed--- without any shame--- upon being asked if he had read the Patriot Act before supporting it, said, “No.”

This is the same Congressman Conyers who traversed the country talking about the need to impeach Bush and Cheney, then had Cindy Sheehan arrested when she paid him a visit at his office to discuss what concrete steps he intended to take when the election gave Democrats a majority in the House and Senate.

It is interesting to note, that all of the dozen or so organizations that have come together, all operate under the umbrella of the Democratic Party and in Minnesota, the Green Party generally acquiesce to the Democrats the way the Democrats have acquiesced to the Republicans.

As we all know, people for “change” who backed Barack Obama thinking he was sincere who were first told they had to leave their signs for “single-payer universal health care” outside the rallies for Obama as their price for admission, now find that even the more “progressive” voices in the Democratic Party are beginning to buckle in their support for single-payer universal health care by cleverly stating “we attended a national conference with the leaders of other organizations working to pass H.R. 676 or some form of single-payer healthcare.” With “or” being the all important word.

We have to ask, “What is there in H.R. 676 they would agree to drop as a compromise in health care reform?”

What exactly is the “or some form of single-payer healthcare” they would be agreeable to?

We know in Minnesota the advocates of single-payer universal health care are willing to accept the Minnesota Health Act as “the compromise” in health care reform… and for a long period of time they were willing (some apparently still are) to call this bogus scheme “single-payer universal health care.” So, this question really does need to be answered though I doubt that it will.

Instead of being bailed out of this health care mess, the American people, in addition to carrying the burden of this economic depression by bailing out Wall Street, will now find themselves bailing out the American profit-gouging medical establishment.

It is far too much to expect from people who support a piece of legislation without reading it that they will read Karl Marx to understand what is happening in our country--- with health care or anything else… it is far easier to call names, spread lies and refuse to discuss these issues. Once again, we see where it is the great “liberals” in Hubert Humphrey tradition, who try to conceal their scheming and scamming behind anti-communist bigotry at the very time there is a pressing need to organize a united people’s front to push forward a much needed people’s progressive agenda for real social and economic justice centered around a call for peace to put an end to these dirty oil and dope wars.

Barack Obama and his Clinton-Republican baggage coming in under the guise of bi-partisan unity are using the health care issue as the issue to drive a wedge between progressives. If real liberals, progressives and the left are going to have any influence at all on the thoroughly reactionary plans of Barack Obama we are going to have to stand firm in defense of single-payer universal health care by refusing to budge and acquiesce to anything less than H.R. 676 when it comes to health care reform.

Look, the American people have spoken at the polls two times now. In 2006 and now in 2008 we voted to toss out of office the Clintons and the Republicans… the call was for “change;” and, here, we have Barack Obama bringing everyone the American people tossed out in through the back-door to make policy and for the explicit purpose of undermining the kind of real change people were expecting when they cast their ballots.

Single-payer universal health care is going to be the first victim; the rest will come.

There has been no recognition by Barack Obama and the Democratic Party of the overwhelming majority of progressive voters who gave him a mandate for “change” which includes the redistribution of wealth to finance legislation creating social programs for single-payer universal health care.

There is no compromise when it comes to health care reform; the American people, the overwhelming vast majority, have spoken in favor of "single-payer universal health care" and no organizations or individuals have a right to bargain this away through the flimsy premise of compromise with a flim-flam man and con artist who is preparing to make the working class bear the brunt of the problems of this country which stem from putting profits for a few before people when any thinking person with an ounce of common sense understands that it should be People Before Profits, most especially where health care is concerned.

Once again the wealthy big-business class has been allowed to get off with all the profits, leaving the working class all the problems and ill health.

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

Check out my blog:

Thoughts From Podunk

http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/

Citizens for Election Integrity

I was one of about 200 "auditors" recruited by Citizens for Election Integrity which works in cooperation with the League of Women Voters to assure election procedures are adhered to by those responsible for conducting elections here in Minnesota. After all, it does little good to vote if one's vote is not counted, or not counted for the candidate or issue the voter intends to cast their ballot for.

The "Audit."

As the law requires, two precincts in each county were selected by random draw at an earlier date to be counted by hand to make sure the machines are doing what they are intended to do: Count Votes.

Based on my observations the machines are very reliable provided voters do what the machines require: fill in the little oval with a black pen.













The big problem, in my opinion, as to why there are problems tabulating votes, is because Election Officials, mainly the Minnesota Secretary of State--- Mark Ritchie, has a very lax, cavalier and flippant attitude in enforcing voter education and insisting that Election Officials, beginning with the Head County Election Official does his/her job properly... which in my opinion in this case, borders on malfeasance on the part of the Head of Roseau County Elections based on what I observed as a trained auditor.

There really is no excuse for one single voter entering a voting booth not knowing the procedure and requirements for assuring one's vote is counted. The responsibility for this lies with the head County Election Official... there is no escaping this.

Yesterday (Thursday, November 19, 2008) at 9 A.M. I went to the Roseau County Courthouse up here in northern Minnesota to audit, observe and record my observations.

While I must point out that the only part of the electoral process I observed was the hand-counting of the ballots the "machines" are intended to do more efficiently--- and faster--- than humans are able to do the job; I was to observe that the auditing process was done according to procedure.

What I observed was all done correctly and according to the law, and the intent of the law--- with one important exception which I will get to further on because it was not the primary problem in my opinion--- but, rather, in my opinion there are two very glaring problems occurring.

For some unexplained reason--- and the head of Elections in Roseau County did not want to address my concerns even though she continually asked if we had any questions which I think was to her credit for doing so--- she refused to consider.

The first problem I see is integrally related to the second problem.

First. We need to understand that the voting machines become very unreliable if voters do not understand completely what is required of them to have their votes counted, and counted accurately.

For these vote counting machines to work instructions for voting have to be carried out exactly if the vote counting machines are going to do what they are intended to do: COUNT VOTES.

If every voter does exactly as instructed the machines will count every single vote as the voter intended to vote; if instructions are not followed THERE WILL BE PROBLEMS.

Is the PROBLEM to anyone's advantage? Probably so, I would argue; but this is not the point of this blog posting. I will be writing about this later. We need to address the PROBLEM first.

As I have stated, based upon my observations, the machines are apparently performing their very simple task, a task that is really not based on a very elaborate technology... computers have been "counting" since their invention some 60 odd years ago.

HOWEVER... and this is a very BIG however; however, when voters do not follow the procedures exactly as instructed (and this is the second part of the problem: the instructions and instructors) their votes are very likely not going to be counted at all; or, not counted as they intended to cast their ballot.

What is the requirement?

Voters have to use the black PEN--- not a pencil--- and fill in the little oval on the ballot.

It seems so simple, eh?

Well, apparently this is not so simple and Mark Ritchie the Minnesota Secretary of State bears full responsibility for the problems occurring.

In my opinion, if voters were fully educated on the need to fill in this small little oval on their ballots with the black ink pens provided in the voting booth there would be no problem.

The Head of Elections in Roseau County assured me that every single voting booth has a black ink pen.

OK, so why are two (actually three) problems (based on what I observed) occurring:

One. People are placing an "X" or a "check mark" in the oval... or, circling the oval.

Two. People are apparently taking pencils out of their pockets to mark their ballots and the scanners on the vote counting machines are many times not picking up these pencil marks.

Three. People are changing their minds after filling in the oval. And, make no mistake, people do have the democratic right to change their minds while in the privacy of the voting booth... as we all know, this is a very common practice and something that goes along with every single person's right to vote; anything restricting or thwarting this right should be frowned upon by anyone who believes in the very basic concept of democracy. The use of these vote counting machines is forcing--- and coercing--- people to give up this very important and very fundamental right, the right to change their minds while in the privacy of the voting booth. However, even here, Mark Ritchie, the Minnesota Secretary of State bears full and complete responsibility for this problem occurring.

Mr. Mark Ritchie called me on the telephone knowing I was a delegate to the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Convention and begged for my vote. Mr. Ritchie got my vote as a delegate to the MN DFL State Convention and as a voter... Mr. Ritchie need not ever ask or beg me for my vote ever again based upon what I observed as an Auditor from "Citizens for Election Integrity."

In fact, it is difficult to fathom and comprehend why the League of Women Voters and other organizations observing the election process in its entirety have failed so completely as advocates on behalf of voters when it comes to voter education.

Without voter education concerning the very simple act of how a ballot needs to be "marked" in order for the optical scanner on the vote counting machine to perform its function, voting becomes a farce, especially in a close election like the Coleman-Franken contest.

Personally, I could care less which one wins--- the choice is between a dumb cluck and a dumb donkey as far as I am concerned.

But, the question--- and the problem remains--- one of the integrity of the electoral process which is highly skewed because the Minnesota Secretary of State has failed so miserably in his duty of insisting that county and precinct election officials carry out their legislatively mandated duties of assuring that every single voter entering a voting booth understands the very simple, yet less than obvious requirement, of having to fill in that little oval with a black pen... and if they change their minds after having voted, the procedure of requesting a new ballot.

What would it take for the Election officials to show each and every voter how the oval has to be filled in at the time they come into vote?

The solution is so simple; yet the politicians are so insensitive and uncaring.

In my opinion, Mark Ritchie should resign as Minnesota Secretary of State as a result of this voting fiasco we are witnessing in this race between the dumb cluck and the dumb donkey.

One problem I observed which in this case presented no problem because it was very apparent everyone selected to do their job in the auditing process was very honest and very diligent and carried out their task knowing the importance of counting every vote.

I do think there was a problem that probably all of those counting the votes knew how many votes had already been cast and counted for president, senator and state representative--- I may be wrong, but this appeared to be the case from what I observed and heard.

The problem as I see it with people involved in conducting the audit knowing how many votes there already are, is that if there were those less than honest involved and motivated towards the bias for who they voted for, the auditing process could be severely compromised--- after all, we know that even jurors on occasion can be "bought." We all know the role "big money" now plays in elections and we also all know the kind of "games" politicians will engage in to win an election.

Exactly how to resolve this problem, I don't know. It is kind of like an attorney asking a potential juror on the O.J. Simpson "robbery case" if they ever heard of O.J.'s murder trial... when you have election officials doing the audit you are probably going to get people who already know what the machines have counted for vote totals... kind of a common sense conclusion, but, politicians are making these laws to protect themselves, eh? Not exactly an unbiased process to begin with in such a thoroughly corrupt political process.

Even my own observations as an "Auditor" of the auditors and my opinions of the entire electoral process which are highly biased and difficult to overcome; but, overcoming our biases is not the issue at hand--- the integrity of the electoral process in Minnesota and the country is the issue involved.

I think that a little education of each and every voter entering the voting booth--- irrespective of our biases--- is in order.

One other small problem based on my observations as an "auditor." There was no vote counting machine available during the auditing process to try counting the ballots in question. Without trying to run the questionable ballots through a vote counting machine, we really aren't verifying anything, are we?

After all, we are not talking about anything that requires spending a single additional penny on... all that is required is a Secretary of State interested in defending democracy through a little education... it is not like we are asking that each and every voter be required to pass the Bar Exam.

And it is not like we are expecting every Election Official to be a university professor, although I understand some of the greatest problems are occurring where university professors are working as Election Officials in the precincts on Election Day... now, if these professors are having difficulty in teaching voters how and why the little "oval" needs to be filled in with ONLY the black ink pens supplied... I would suggest that this might be one reason why this country is so screwed up.

Why these problems, so simple to remedy, continue to occur after eight controversial years of election fraud and irregularities across the country is thoroughly bind-boggling.

Mind you, I only observed a few actual problems in the two precincts audited--- one precinct, from the City of Greenbush had about 370 voters, the other precinct was the Township of Juneberry which had 12 voters... however, considering there are over four-thousand precincts in Minnesota it becomes very obvious the potential for voter machine counting errors when voter education is so lackadaisical, especially in a close election.

Now, someone might ask, "What the heck are voters doing voting for "dumb clucks" and "dumb donkeys" anyways? Maybe the real voter education required goes far beyond filling in a little oval with a black ink pen?

Yes, you most likely did vote--- if you filled in the little oval on your ballot with a black ink pen properly.













Something to discuss and think about around the dinner table.

Alan L. Maki
Citizen "Auditor"
Citizens for Election Integrity, Minnesota
Roseau County, Minnesota

Will Barack Obama suffer the fate of Lyndon Johnson?

Barack Obama has pretty much sealed his fate before he enters the White House because the Democratic Party has learned nothing from the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon.

Contrary to popular belief, but, what every historian knows, the Democratic Party has long been the party of war and the mainstay of the military-financial-industrial complex in this country.

According to Minnesota's socialist Farmer-Labor Party Governor, Elmer Benson, Franklin D. Roosevelt could have prevented World War II had he listened to the advice of United States Congressman John Bernard and supplied assistance to the International Brigades fighting the fascist Franco in Spain.

Warmongers in the Democratic party wanted a big war in order to create a "bubble" to get the American economy going, which is what happened.

In fact, had it not been for World War II, capitalism would probably not have survived because the economic depression would have continued indefinitely--- just like the present economic depression is going to do--- and the massive movements and struggles for reforms by working people would soon have become a revolutionary tidal wave sweeping away capitalism and replacing the rotten system with a cooperative socialist system.

Obama, like Lyndon Johnson, is very likely destined to suffer Johnson's fate as he is intent on pursuing wars and bailing out Wall Street bankers, financiers and industrialists; thus doing the very two things sure to plunge the capitalist economy into the worst economic depression ever known to humankind. The Obama Administration is taking humanity into a place where everyone will have wished they have never been... the most ghastly, horrible death and destruction with an economy unable to sustain human civilization.

In fact, Obama will be fortunate to survive his first term, never mind a second term, because Obama is likely to be driven from office in disgrace before completing one full first term like warmongers Lyndon Johnson and is likely to suffer a fate similar to Richard Nixon.

Both Johnson and Nixon made the fatal mistake thinking that war and military spending would provide a boost and stimulant to the economy. Both were wrong! Unfortunately for the Vietnamese, they were dead wrong.

Johnson and Nixon had no clue as to the nature of the capitalist beast, which in spite of the capitalist sooth-Sayers who rail against the redistribution of wealth, wealth under capitalism is always being redistributed; the problem is, the wealth is always being distributed up towards the wealthiest which kills off the economy eventually every time because the majority of the population which creates all wealth can no longer buy back the goods it has produced.

One does not have to be a genius to figure out that the capitalist system--- given the cold hard facts--- can not help but be plunged into economic depression, which, in spite of the capitalist system's best apologists, has nothing to do with "oversight" or "regulation," and everything to do with what, at first glance, noting humanity being in need of so much, is in fact a crisis of overproduction.

John McCain and Sarah Palin, being defenders of the capitalist system, had good reason to fear socialism... where they were wrong is calling Barack Obama a "socialist" and "Marxist;" unfortunately for the American people and the peoples of the world Obama is nothing but a self-serving flim-flam man willing to allow those in power to pull the strings manipulating him as long as he, and he alone, climbs the ladder.

Liberals, progressives and those on the left can remain silent and motionless and let Barack Obama have a "honeymoon;" but, at the risk of very, very grave consequences.

We don't have to wait to see what is going to happen if Obama is given a chance; all we have to do is soberly analyze where we are at AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO.

We know we don't want more wars; we didn't want these wars we now have to begin with; we certainly don't want these wars expanded into other countries. As liberals and progressives who look left for solutions to our country's very serious economic problems we certainly don't approve of bailout to the wealthy.

The wars and economic bailouts of the wealthy are a recipe for complete and total disaster--- here at home and abroad... at least for the working class, and even for the much heralded and ballyhooed middle class which the politicians have pandered to.

Right now Obama is pushing for a bailout of the auto industry, an industry that has grown fat exploiting workers who have been forced to produce unwanted and unneeded as well as environmentally destructive automobiles along with its share of weapons of war.

This is an industry which took its profits--- the wealth created by auto workers here in this country--- and immediately started investing those profits in Canada... the rest is history as the American auto industry took the wealth created by U.S. and Canadian auto workers and began building plants all over the world in quest of ever cheaper resources and labor.

Now the Big Three cry poverty while holding the hands of corrupt and incompetent labor "leaders" tagging along behind who just forced the worst contract in labor history down the throats of auto workers in the United States.

Why should American tax-payers subsidize the Big Three with bailouts when the only thing the government has to do is patiently watch and wait for a few more months and tax-payers will be able to purchase the entire auto industry for fifty cents a share... and Warren Buffett said he got a good deal buying General Motors stock for $3.00 a share.

Why should American tax-payers be taken for a ride when we can get a real bargain and come out the owners of the entire industry for a fraction of what expanding the war in Afghanistan will cost?

Is this socialism? Well, dah! Not quite, but it is getting us there and that is the direction we need to go--- if we want jobs and peace with a healthy economy that puts People Before Profits!

Instead of doing what is right and just--- beginning to redistribute the wealth to the working people who created this wealth; just the opposite is being done.

We need peace.

We need socialized health care.

We need jobs.

We need an indefinite moratorium on all home foreclosures and evictions.

We need a minimum wage that is a real living wage.

We need an end to the robbery at the pumps and at the grocery store.

We need People Before Profits!

Obama doesn't need a "honeymoon" because he has been wedded to the military-financial-industrial complex for a long time--- that he has chosen Rahm Emanuel as his right-hand man only demonstrates the marriage was kept a secret; what Obama does need, like any other dumb donkey, is a good kick in the ass to get him going to do what people voted for him to do.

Of course, for a bunch of dumb donkeys and dumb clucks--- politicians--- who don't see anything wrong with approving "Compacts" creating the Indian Gaming Industry which has resulted in some two-million of their constituents working in more than 450 smoke-filled casinos strung out across this country without any rights at poverty wages with no protections under state or federal labor laws that are protecting all other workers... and for politicians who have refused to rescind the draconian "at-will hiring, at-will firing" legislation in twenty-eight states including Minnesota and Michigan who now turn around, and for political expediency, tout the Employee Free Choice Act as the bone they intend to throw to labor, we don't think these politicians will consider doing what is right by the American people because they are already busy soliciting their pay-offs from big-business, again.

I get a kick out of Barack Obama talking about "cost cutting" in health care when three times more than anything he intends to do could be saved--- not to mention the health of two-million workers--- by ending smoking in casinos... that these dumb donkeys and dumb clucks don't have the common sense to think of such solutions should tell us something about everything else they are doing.

Consider this: Homeowners could have been bailed out by the United States government buying up every mortgage in foreclosure and this still would have been a gift to the Wall Street Bankers.

Think about this: Where would the money going to purchase the mortgages have ended up? In the vaults of the very same bankers!

Now, do you really want to allow these dumb donkeys (Democrats) and dumb clucks (Republicans) to continue on the course they are headed.

We have two choices: capitalism or socialism; take your pick.

Goddamn it! Who is in trouble, and who needs the help?

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