Are these wars killing the economy the same way they are killing jobs and people?
Something to think about and discuss around the kitchen table as we move closer to Election Day.
Alan
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
We need to push Barack Obama aside to make way for a real peace candidate in 2012...
I think Reaganomics definitely pushed this country into darkness... however, it was the defeat of George McGovern that set this country on the steep slippery slope to perdition.
Liberals, progressives and the left should now begin looking for a real honest-to-goodness progressive like George McGovern to run in 2012... Obama is a loser and if he doesn't resign he should be either "primaried out" or face a real progressive running independent of the Democrats and Republicans; its time, long over-due, to finally set this country on a progressive course that will benefit, not only our own country, but the entire world.
It was the same warmongering Wall Street backed Democrats now backing Barack Obama who betrayed George McGovern and the peace majority of this country by with-holding their support from McGovern who now tell us we need to vote for them out of fear of the Republicans when it was these very sell-out Democrats who gave us Richard Nixon... and the rest is history.
Liberals, progressives and the left should drive Barack Obama from office the same way we drove Lyndon Johnson from office for expanding the war in Vietnam.
There is no way liberals, progressives and the left should tolerate being intimidated into voting for candidates who are for these dirty wars and who keep supporting the Israeli killing machine.
I will be traveling across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan discussing with working people seeking real change how we might come together and be a catalyst for a progressive agenda challenging Wall Street wars abroad and austerity at home... it's time to tighten the belt of people's unity around the coupon clippers making profits from poverty, racism and war.
We need a real "party of no;" no to the military-financial-industrial complex.
On Election Day, November 2, 2010---
Liberals, progressives and the left need to take a stand:
No peace; no votes.
No jobs; no votes.
No real healthcare reform; no votes.
No childcare; no votes.
No enforcement of affirmative action; no votes.
Wall Street got what it wanted in return for its money...
We are entitled to peace and social & economic justice in return for our votes.
How is Obama's and the Democrats' war economy working for you?
Wars are killing our jobs just like they are killing people.
As I travel, I look forward to meeting with you and sharing your concerns and ideas around the kitchen table.
Yours in the struggle,
Alan
Liberals, progressives and the left should now begin looking for a real honest-to-goodness progressive like George McGovern to run in 2012... Obama is a loser and if he doesn't resign he should be either "primaried out" or face a real progressive running independent of the Democrats and Republicans; its time, long over-due, to finally set this country on a progressive course that will benefit, not only our own country, but the entire world.
It was the same warmongering Wall Street backed Democrats now backing Barack Obama who betrayed George McGovern and the peace majority of this country by with-holding their support from McGovern who now tell us we need to vote for them out of fear of the Republicans when it was these very sell-out Democrats who gave us Richard Nixon... and the rest is history.
Liberals, progressives and the left should drive Barack Obama from office the same way we drove Lyndon Johnson from office for expanding the war in Vietnam.
There is no way liberals, progressives and the left should tolerate being intimidated into voting for candidates who are for these dirty wars and who keep supporting the Israeli killing machine.
I will be traveling across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan discussing with working people seeking real change how we might come together and be a catalyst for a progressive agenda challenging Wall Street wars abroad and austerity at home... it's time to tighten the belt of people's unity around the coupon clippers making profits from poverty, racism and war.
We need a real "party of no;" no to the military-financial-industrial complex.
On Election Day, November 2, 2010---
Liberals, progressives and the left need to take a stand:
No peace; no votes.
No jobs; no votes.
No real healthcare reform; no votes.
No childcare; no votes.
No enforcement of affirmative action; no votes.
Wall Street got what it wanted in return for its money...
We are entitled to peace and social & economic justice in return for our votes.
How is Obama's and the Democrats' war economy working for you?
Wars are killing our jobs just like they are killing people.
As I travel, I look forward to meeting with you and sharing your concerns and ideas around the kitchen table.
Yours in the struggle,
Alan
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Water map shows billions at risk of 'water insecurity'
While most of humanity places fresh water as a premium natural resource to be protected and used very wisely, Minnesota Democrats are engaged in the wanton destruction of the Big Bog in Northern Minnesota.
The Green Party remains silent in the face of this destruction and its candidate for governor omits any mention of what is taking place while Democratic Party stooges like Doris Marquit manipulates the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom here in Minnesota to evade discussion of what is taking place in the Big Bog while pretending to educate people on the threats to our water.
The League of Women Voters, always fronting for big-business interests and the DFL "Business Caucus," has refused to place any questions about peat mining in the Big Bog for candidates.
Here in Minnesota, the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) which is manipulated and controlled by big-business interests is engaged in destroying the largest freshwater aquifer in the Lower Forty-Eight by permitting peat mining to take place in the Big Bog.
Berger Peat, a multinational corporation out of Canada comprised of Canadian, U.S. and French "investors" who have made huge campaign contributions to United States Congressman James Oberstar and bribed the Minnesota Commissioner of Natural Resources and gave former Attorney General Mike Hatch expensive gifts along with making huge campaign contributions to Roger Moe, is now going to be requesting a permit to expand the peat mining from the original permit which allowed peat to be taken from a one-square mile area to over 14 square miles.
The reason for the expanded operation is that this peat will be used to clean up oil spills and once the peat soaks up the oil it will be used to fuel bio mass operations to generate electricity.
Roger Jourdain, the long-time former Chair of the Red Lake Nation described the Big Bog's freshwater aquifer as "the life-blood of my people and our Red Lake Nation." The present Red Lake Nation Tribal Council, whose primary interests are profiting from casinos and profiting from the drug trade, has refused to take action to save the Big Bog.
There has not been one peep of protest against this destruction of one of the world's last remaining pristine freshwater aquifers from "environmental organizations" like the Audubon Society or the Sierra Club.
After issuing the first permit which enabled Berger Peat to get its foot into the door and begin draining the bog so the peat can be mined here in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources spent millions of dollars for a one-mile aluminum raised "Bog Walk" for tourist to understand the importance of this huge bog to the ecosystems!
Ironically, this Big Bog Boardwalk was raised at tremendous cost to tax-payers, some three feet off the ground, because "human footsteps would irreparably damage sensitive ecosystem of The Big Bog."
No wonder the Minnesota Supreme Court made its racist and undemocratic decision to deny the Warriors for Justice ballot status... saving the Big Bog and its very important ecosystems is one of their goals and objectives.
So far DFL candidate for governor Mark Dayton has refused to address the issue of saving and protecting the Big Bog.
Not one single scientist can be found to support peat mining in the Big Bog--- even the scientists employed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers came out in complete opposition to peat mining in the Big Bog. The heads of both agencies said they had their "arms twisted" by United States Congressman James Oberstar who threatened to use his powerful influence in Congress to cut funding to their programs if they did not issue permits. Oberstar is one of the most corrupt members of the United States Congress who has become fabulously wealthy taking bribes from the mining industries and road engineers and contractors--- so far, tax-payers have spent over twenty-million dollars building a road out into this pristine peat bog for Berger Peat and its investors to truck away the profits.
Other Democratic Party politicians who have reaped huge campaign contributions for supporting the destruction of the Big Bog include Rod Skoe, Brita Sailer, Mary Olson and John Persell. Dave Olin, the former prosecutor of Pennington County who publicly admits that he knew about the drug trade taking place for years in Red Lake Gaming Enterprises' three Seven Clans Casinos but did nothing to stop the drug trade, has received huge help in his campaign for re-election from the peat mining associations; this crooked and corrupt politician first took pay-offs from the drug dealers to allow their dirty, sleazy business to continue unhindered by law enforcement as he hypocritically prosecuted teenagers for using drugs these mobsters sold them, and now he is enabling the largest freshwater aquifer in the Lower Forty-Eight to be destroyed--- again, of course, for bribes. Democrat Dave Olin is the same politician who stood up in anger and lashed out against affirmative action--- now this racist slime-ball is receiving political and financial support, along with its endorsement, from the National Rifle Association.
United States Congressman James Oberstar boasted that this peat mining would create jobs in this economically depressed area where Marvin Windows and Doors, Polaris, Arctic Cat and casinos employ people at poverty wages; when asked by the news media how many jobs this operation was going to create for Minnesotans, Oberstar who is known for his great skills as an orator learned in over 40 years practicing deceit, hemmed and hawed and stuttered. His staff later said about thirty jobs would be created. When asked how much these jobs would pay they refused to comment. Months later it was announced that the jobs would be non-union per the agreement reached in then Attorney General Mike Hatch's office and the jobs would pay "up to $8.00 an hour. Berger Peat, operating out of Quebec, has said it has made arrangements through a Catholic church group to "help out some poor people from Ecuador to do most of the work on a seasonal basis."
Now, read this article and learn how stupid the big-business dominated, manipulated and controlled Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party and its willing accomplices are.
United States Congressman James Oberstar boasted that this peat mining would create jobs in this economically depressed area where Marvin Windows and Doors, Polaris, Arctic Cat and casinos employ people at poverty wages; when asked by the news media how many jobs this operation was going to create for Minnesotans, Oberstar who is known for his great skills as an orator learned in over 40 years practicing deceit, hemmed and hawed and stuttered. His staff later said about thirty jobs would be created. When asked how much these jobs would pay they refused to comment. Months later it was announced that the jobs would be non-union per the agreement reached in then Attorney General Mike Hatch's office and the jobs would pay "up to $8.00 an hour. Berger Peat, operating out of Quebec, has said it has made arrangements through a Catholic church group to "help out some poor people from Ecuador to do most of the work on a seasonal basis."
Now, read this article and learn how stupid the big-business dominated, manipulated and controlled Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party and its willing accomplices are.
Alan L. Maki
29 September 2010 Last updated at 13:01 ET
Researchers compiled a composite index of "water threats" that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution.
The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people.
Writing in the journal Nature, they say that in western countries, conserving water for people through reservoirs and dams works for people, but not nature.
They urge developing countries not to follow the same path.
The analysis is a global snapshot, and the research team suggests more people are likely to encounter more severe stress on their water supply in the coming decades, as the climate changes and the human population continues to grow.
They have taken data on a variety of different threats, used models of threats where data is scarce, and used expert assessment to combine the various individual threats into a composite index.
The result is a map that plots the composite threat to human water security and to biodiversity in squares 50km by 50km (30 miles by 30 miles) across the world.
Changing pictures
Water map shows billions at risk of 'water insecurity'
The study maps water availability and quality down to the regional level
About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis.
The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people.
Writing in the journal Nature, they say that in western countries, conserving water for people through reservoirs and dams works for people, but not nature.
They urge developing countries not to follow the same path.
"What we're able to outline is a planet-wide pattern of threat”
Instead, they say governments should invest in water management strategies that combine infrastructure with "natural" options such as safeguarding watersheds, wetlands and flood plains.
They have taken data on a variety of different threats, used models of threats where data is scarce, and used expert assessment to combine the various individual threats into a composite index.
The result is a map that plots the composite threat to human water security and to biodiversity in squares 50km by 50km (30 miles by 30 miles) across the world.
Changing pictures
"What we've done is to take a very dispassionate look at the facts on the ground - what is going on with respect to humanity's water security and what the infrastructure that's been thrown at this problem does to the natural world," said study leader Charles Vorosmarty from the City College of New York.
"What we're able to outline is a planet-wide pattern of threat, despite the trillions of dollars worth of engineering palliatives that have totally reconfigured the threat landscape."
Those "trillions of dollars" are represented by the dams, canals, aqueducts, and pipelines that have been used throughout the developed world to safeguard drinking water supplies.
Their impact on the global picture is striking.
"What we're able to outline is a planet-wide pattern of threat, despite the trillions of dollars worth of engineering palliatives that have totally reconfigured the threat landscape."
Those "trillions of dollars" are represented by the dams, canals, aqueducts, and pipelines that have been used throughout the developed world to safeguard drinking water supplies.
Their impact on the global picture is striking.
Natural
However, when the impact of the infrastructure that distributes and conserves water is added in - the "managed" picture - most of the serious threat disappears from these regions.
Africa, however, moves in the opposite direction.
"In fact we show them benefiting less than a billion people, so we're already excluding a large majority of the world's population," he told BBC News.
"But even in rich parts of the world, it's not a sensible way to proceed. We could continue to build more dams and exploit deeper and deeper aquifers; but even if you can afford it, it's not a cost-effective way of doing things."
According to this analysis, and others, the way water has been managed in the west has left a significant legacy of issues for nature.
Whereas Western Europe and the US emerge from this analysis with good scores on water stress facing their citizens, wildlife there that depends on water is much less secure, it concludes.
Concrete realities
Looking at the "raw threats" to people's water security - the "natural" picture - much of western Europe and North America appears to be under high stress.
Managed
However, when the impact of the infrastructure that distributes and conserves water is added in - the "managed" picture - most of the serious threat disappears from these regions.
Africa, however, moves in the opposite direction.
"The problem is, we know that a large proportion of the world's population cannot afford these investments," said Peter McIntyre from the University of Wisconsin, another of the researchers involved.
"But even in rich parts of the world, it's not a sensible way to proceed. We could continue to build more dams and exploit deeper and deeper aquifers; but even if you can afford it, it's not a cost-effective way of doing things."
According to this analysis, and others, the way water has been managed in the west has left a significant legacy of issues for nature.
Whereas Western Europe and the US emerge from this analysis with good scores on water stress facing their citizens, wildlife there that depends on water is much less secure, it concludes.
Concrete realities
One concept advocated by development organisations nowadays is integrated water management, where the needs of all users are taken into account and where natural features are integrated with human engineering.
One widely-cited example concerns the watersheds that supply New York, in the Catskill Mountains and elsewhere around the city.
That threatened to change in the 1990s, due to agricultural pollution and other issues.
The city invested in a programme of land protection and conservation; this has maintained quality, and is calculated to have been cheaper than the alternative of building treatment works.
Mark Smith, head of the water programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) who was not involved in the current study, said this sort of approach was beginning to take hold in the developing world, though "the concrete and steel model remains the default".
"One example is the Barotse Floodplain in Zambia, where there was a proposal for draining the wetland and developing an irrigation scheme to replace the wetlands," he related.
"Some analysis was then done that showed the economic benefits of the irrigation scheme would have been less than the benefits currently delivered by the wetland in terms of fisheries, agriculture around the flood plain, water supply, water quality and so on.
"So it's not a question of saying 'No we don't need any concrete infrastructure' - what we need are portfolios of built infrastructure and natural environment that can address the needs of development, and the ecosystem needs of people and biodiversity."
Dollars short
One widely-cited example concerns the watersheds that supply New York, in the Catskill Mountains and elsewhere around the city.
"We would argue people should be even more worried if you start to account for climate change and population growth"Peter McIntyre University of Wisconsin
Water from these areas historically needed no filtering.
The city invested in a programme of land protection and conservation; this has maintained quality, and is calculated to have been cheaper than the alternative of building treatment works.
Mark Smith, head of the water programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) who was not involved in the current study, said this sort of approach was beginning to take hold in the developing world, though "the concrete and steel model remains the default".
"One example is the Barotse Floodplain in Zambia, where there was a proposal for draining the wetland and developing an irrigation scheme to replace the wetlands," he related.
"Some analysis was then done that showed the economic benefits of the irrigation scheme would have been less than the benefits currently delivered by the wetland in terms of fisheries, agriculture around the flood plain, water supply, water quality and so on.
"So it's not a question of saying 'No we don't need any concrete infrastructure' - what we need are portfolios of built infrastructure and natural environment that can address the needs of development, and the ecosystem needs of people and biodiversity."
Dollars short
This analysis is likely to come in for some scrutiny, not least because it does contain an element of subjectivity in terms of how the various threats to water security are weighted and combined.
"This study, for the first time, brings all our knowledge together under one global model of water security and aquatic biodiversity loss."
For the team itself, it is a first attempt - a "placeholder", or baseline - and they anticipate improvements as more accurate data emerges, not least from regions such as Africa that are traditionally data-scarce.
Already, they say, it provides a powerful indicator that governments and international institutions need to take water issues more seriously.
For developed countries and the Bric group - Brazil, Russia, India and China - alone, "$800bn per year will be required by 2015 to cover investments in water infrastructure, a target likely to go unmet," they conclude.
For poorer countries, the outlook is considerably more bleak, they say.
"In reality this is a snapshot of the world about five or 10 years ago, because that's the data that's coming on line now," said Dr McIntyre.
"It's not about the future, but we would argue people should be even more worried if you start to account for climate change and population growth.
"Climate change is going to affect the amount of water that comes in as precipitation; and if you overlay that on an already stressed population, we're rolling the dice."
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Developing countries are urged to think carefully about "concrete and steel" solutions
Nevertheless, Mark Smith hailed it as a "potentially powerful synthesis" of existing knowledge; while Gary Jones, chief executive of the eWater Co-operative Research Centre in Canberra, commented: "It's a very important and timely global analysis of the joint threats of declining water security for humans and biodiversity loss for rivers."This study, for the first time, brings all our knowledge together under one global model of water security and aquatic biodiversity loss."
For the team itself, it is a first attempt - a "placeholder", or baseline - and they anticipate improvements as more accurate data emerges, not least from regions such as Africa that are traditionally data-scarce.
Already, they say, it provides a powerful indicator that governments and international institutions need to take water issues more seriously.
For developed countries and the Bric group - Brazil, Russia, India and China - alone, "$800bn per year will be required by 2015 to cover investments in water infrastructure, a target likely to go unmet," they conclude.
For poorer countries, the outlook is considerably more bleak, they say.
"In reality this is a snapshot of the world about five or 10 years ago, because that's the data that's coming on line now," said Dr McIntyre.
"It's not about the future, but we would argue people should be even more worried if you start to account for climate change and population growth.
"Climate change is going to affect the amount of water that comes in as precipitation; and if you overlay that on an already stressed population, we're rolling the dice."
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Friday, October 8, 2010
Rasmussen Poll: Dem Mark Dayton Ahead By Two Points In MN-GOV
Rasmussen Poll: Dem Mark Dayton Ahead By Two Points In MN-GOV
Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton
The new Rasmussen poll of the Minnesota gubernatorial race has Democrat Mark Dayton taking a narrow lead against Republican Tom Emmer.
The numbers: Dayton 40%, Emmer 38%, and 15% for Independence Party nominee Tom Horner. The survey of likely voters has a ±4% margin of error.
The TPM Poll Average has Dayton ahead with 38.9%, Emmer at 34.8%, and Horner with 15.2%.
In the previous Rasmussen poll from two weeks ago, Emmer had 42%, Dayton 41%, and Horner 9%.
However, this was in part because Rasmussen at the time used its standard model of asking undecided voters and supporters of third-party candidates a follow-up question, to try to push them into a major-party column. This time, they have stopped doing that -- because in Minnesota, unlike the normal course of things in other states, support for a third-party candidate doesn't necessarily collapse in the voting booth.
As the pollster's analysis explains: "In the Minnesota governor's race, Rasmussen Reports has made a decision not to use our traditional leaners model. Normally, that model shows support falling off for a third-party candidate. However, in Minnesota, third-party candidates often defy that trend, and a look at the initial preference data suggests that may be happening this year."
For more of an apples-to-apples comparison, the poll from two weeks ago before the follow-up question had Emmer leading with 36%, Dayton had 34%, and Horner 18%.
The numbers: Dayton 40%, Emmer 38%, and 15% for Independence Party nominee Tom Horner. The survey of likely voters has a ±4% margin of error.
The TPM Poll Average has Dayton ahead with 38.9%, Emmer at 34.8%, and Horner with 15.2%.
In the previous Rasmussen poll from two weeks ago, Emmer had 42%, Dayton 41%, and Horner 9%.
However, this was in part because Rasmussen at the time used its standard model of asking undecided voters and supporters of third-party candidates a follow-up question, to try to push them into a major-party column. This time, they have stopped doing that -- because in Minnesota, unlike the normal course of things in other states, support for a third-party candidate doesn't necessarily collapse in the voting booth.
As the pollster's analysis explains: "In the Minnesota governor's race, Rasmussen Reports has made a decision not to use our traditional leaners model. Normally, that model shows support falling off for a third-party candidate. However, in Minnesota, third-party candidates often defy that trend, and a look at the initial preference data suggests that may be happening this year."
For more of an apples-to-apples comparison, the poll from two weeks ago before the follow-up question had Emmer leading with 36%, Dayton had 34%, and Horner 18%.
Racist and undemocratic Minnesota Supreme Court ruling denies Warriors for Justice ballot status while exposing the undemocratic nature and trap of the two-party system
Warriors for Justice, a new political party in Minnesota calling for an end to racist poverty and unemployment--- victim of Democratic and Republican party fears that the people are fed up and will be looking for real change...
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled, ridiculously in a racist and undemocratic manner, that the double-standard between requirements for registering to vote and signing a petition to place a new political party on the ballot is appropriate.
Read the article from the Bemidji Pioneer newspaper below.
This Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is based on the fear that people are going to find their own way to express their anger with Democrats and Republicans who continue to ignore their problems.
Not one single Native American Indian is sitting among the more than 200 Minnesota State Legislators and anyone who has followed the struggles for justice undertaken by Nicole Beaulieu and Greg Paquin understand why this is.
The irony to all of this is that a racist, rich white-man named John McCarthy doles out political campaign contributions to racist white politicians on behalf of the Indian Gaming Industry for the purpose of ignoring the shameful and disgraceful poverty plaguing the Indian Nations in order to maintain a pool of cheap labor for casino managements while the mining and power generating industries are robbing the people blind as their living environment is ruined as the rape of the land takes place.
From the article in the Bemidji Pioneer, below:
Nicole Beaulieu, Candidate for Minnesota House District 4A
Greg Paquin, Candidate for Minnesota Senate District 4
Published October 08 2010
Link:
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100022572/
By: Brad Swenson, Bemidji Pioneer
The Minnesota Supreme Court, in an opinion filed Thursday, said Beltrami County Auditor-Treasurer Kay Mack properly denied Senate 4 candidate Greg Paquin’s nominating petition for the Nov. 2 ballot.
“We … hold that in denying Paquin's nominating petition for lack of sufficient signatures, the County Auditor did not violate Minnesota law and did not violate Paquin’s constitutional rights,” the court ruled in an unsigned opinion.
The Supreme Court denied Paquin’s appeal to be on the Nov. 2 ballot in an Aug. 24 order, but the opinion describing why wasn’t filed until Thursday.
Greg Paquin and Nicole Beaulieu filed petitions as members of the Warriors for Justice Party, with Paquin seeking the Senate 4 seat held by Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, and Beaulieu for the House 4A seat held by Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji. Both needed 500 valid signatures to gain the ballot.
Both had earlier been denied endorsement by the DFL Party and filed as a new party, Warriors for Justice.
Mack denied both petitions, claiming neither contained the needed 500 signatures when names with only post office box numbers were eliminated.
Paquin claimed that someone in the Secretary of State’s Office had advised him that it was OK to use just P.O. box numbers, and Paquin later claimed that state civil regulatory law doesn’t apply on the reservation, where P.O. box numbers are commonly used as residence addresses.
Paquin also claimed that Mack allowed voter registration with only P.O. box numbers and that he was discriminated against by her not allowing P.O. boxes on nominating petitions.
The Supreme Court noted that state law requires that nominating petitions must contain the residence address of the signers so that they can be verified that they live in the district for which the candidate seeks office.
“Upon receipt of a nominating petition by the appropriate election official, the petition is to be inspected ‘to verify that there are a sufficient number of signatures of individuals whose residence address as shown on the petition is in the district where the candidate is to be nominated,’” the court said, citing state law.
Of 557 signatures, 44 were found defective for various reasons and were not disputed by Paquin. Of the 513 remaining signatures, 166 listed a post office box number as “residence address.”
“Paquin argues that respondent Mack should have determined from other sources the residence address of these signers,” the court said in the 13 page opinion. “For example, Paquin suggests, respondent could have contacted the post office to determine the residence address of the holder of the indicated post office box, or could have reviewed voting records from previous elections to confirm that the signature on the petition belonged to someone living in the district.”
But the court notes that federal law prohibits post office workers from divulging information about post office box holders and state law doesn’t provide for the county auditor to investigate further than what is written on the petition.
State law “requires the inspection of a nominating petition ‘to verify that there are a sufficient number of signatures of individuals whose residence address as shown on the petition is in the district where the candidate is to be nominated,’” the opinion states “Nothing in [state law] requires or even authorizes a county auditor (or the Secretary of State’s office, if that is where the petition is filed) to consult other documents to confirm that the signer is a resident of the district.”
The court also ruled that the post office box number alone is insufficient because it doesn’t prove that the signer physically lives in the Senate 4 district.
“Paquin has the burden to prove that leaving his name off the ballot is an error that must be corrected,” the court said. “Paquin cannot meet this burden unless he shows that the petition signers whose signatures were rejected for lack of a residence address provided information on the petition sufficient to establish that the signer lived within the legislative district.”
Public Law 280 establishes that state governments cannot apply state civil laws to American Indians living on the reservation, but the Supreme Court ruled that the state does have jurisdiction with election laws as legislative districts surpass reservation boundaries.
“Public Law 280 does not bar assertion by the state of jurisdiction over activities of Indians ‘going beyond reservation boundaries,’” it said. “Running for state legislative office and signing a nominating petition for state legislative office are activities ‘going beyond reservation boundaries.’ In seeking to become a candidate for state legislative office, and in signing the nominating petition, petitioner and his supporters are subject to state election laws.”
In dismissing charges of discrimination, the court said that state laws differ in required information for registering to vote and in nominating petitions.
“We understand Paquin’s reply to argue that Mack’s strict enforcement of the residence address requirement with respect to his nominating petition violated his right to equal protection under the law,” said the court.
“The language of the voter registration statutes and the statute governing nominating petitions differs. The statute governing nominating petitions requires signers to provide ‘the signer’s residence address including street and number, if any, and mailing address if different from residence address.’ No statute governing voter registration uses this language to describe the information that a prospective voter must provide in order to register to vote.”
Further, “even if the language of the voter registration and nominating petition statutes were the same, it would not be enough for petitioner Paquin to prove that respondent Mack has differed in her enforcement of the residence address requirement over time; he must also prove that such differences were the result of intentional discrimination. Paquin has not made such a showing.”
Both Paquin and Beaulieu pledge to run write-in campaigns for the two posts.
“It gets rather frustrating when ignorance becomes blatant and obnoxious, we need real representation, someone with compassion, and solidarity for their fellowman, not these status quo wannabe politicians that have made reputations of working in the interests of capitalism,” says Beaulieu’s campaign manager, Curtis Buckanaga. “People’s discontentment with these two parties is becoming more common, although she was denied ballot status.”
Buckanaga blasted both Republicans and Democrats for not paying heed to Indian Country needs.
“Both of these parties are constantly undermining and taking advantage of the situation of my people by over-exaggerating on their supposed competency of resolving matters in the interests of all citizens, which they are trying to be appointed to office by gaining the favor of the majority of the consensus to represent our communities at large, except the Indians,” he said.. “Our basic human needs are constantly ignored, neglected, undermined, belittled and cast aside to make way for the overindulgent excessive necessities of our non-native brethren.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled, ridiculously in a racist and undemocratic manner, that the double-standard between requirements for registering to vote and signing a petition to place a new political party on the ballot is appropriate.
Read the article from the Bemidji Pioneer newspaper below.
This Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is based on the fear that people are going to find their own way to express their anger with Democrats and Republicans who continue to ignore their problems.
Not one single Native American Indian is sitting among the more than 200 Minnesota State Legislators and anyone who has followed the struggles for justice undertaken by Nicole Beaulieu and Greg Paquin understand why this is.
The irony to all of this is that a racist, rich white-man named John McCarthy doles out political campaign contributions to racist white politicians on behalf of the Indian Gaming Industry for the purpose of ignoring the shameful and disgraceful poverty plaguing the Indian Nations in order to maintain a pool of cheap labor for casino managements while the mining and power generating industries are robbing the people blind as their living environment is ruined as the rape of the land takes place.
From the article in the Bemidji Pioneer, below:
Both Paquin and Beaulieu pledge to run write-in campaigns for the two posts.
“It gets rather frustrating when ignorance becomes blatant and obnoxious, we need real representation, someone with compassion, and solidarity for their fellowman, not these status quo wannabe politicians that have made reputations of working in the interests of capitalism,” says Beaulieu’s campaign manager, Curtis Buckanaga. “People’s discontentment with these two parties is becoming more common, although she was denied ballot status.”
Buckanaga blasted both Republicans and Democrats for not paying heed to Indian Country needs.
“Both of these parties are constantly undermining and taking advantage of the situation of my people by over-exaggerating on their supposed competency of resolving matters in the interests of all citizens, which they are trying to be appointed to office by gaining the favor of the majority of the consensus to represent our communities at large, except the Indians,” he said.. “Our basic human needs are constantly ignored, neglected, undermined, belittled and cast aside to make way for the overindulgent excessive necessities of our non-native brethren.”
Nicole Beaulieu, Candidate for Minnesota House District 4A
Greg Paquin, Candidate for Minnesota Senate District 4
Published October 08 2010
Link:
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100022572/
Minnesota Supreme Court denies candidate Greg Paquin ballot access
The Minnesota Supreme Court, in an opinion filed Thursday, said Beltrami County Auditor-Treasurer Kay Mack properly denied Senate 4 candidate Greg Paquin’s nominating petition for the Nov. 2 ballot.By: Brad Swenson, Bemidji Pioneer
The Minnesota Supreme Court, in an opinion filed Thursday, said Beltrami County Auditor-Treasurer Kay Mack properly denied Senate 4 candidate Greg Paquin’s nominating petition for the Nov. 2 ballot.
“We … hold that in denying Paquin's nominating petition for lack of sufficient signatures, the County Auditor did not violate Minnesota law and did not violate Paquin’s constitutional rights,” the court ruled in an unsigned opinion.
The Supreme Court denied Paquin’s appeal to be on the Nov. 2 ballot in an Aug. 24 order, but the opinion describing why wasn’t filed until Thursday.
Greg Paquin and Nicole Beaulieu filed petitions as members of the Warriors for Justice Party, with Paquin seeking the Senate 4 seat held by Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, and Beaulieu for the House 4A seat held by Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji. Both needed 500 valid signatures to gain the ballot.
Both had earlier been denied endorsement by the DFL Party and filed as a new party, Warriors for Justice.
Mack denied both petitions, claiming neither contained the needed 500 signatures when names with only post office box numbers were eliminated.
Paquin claimed that someone in the Secretary of State’s Office had advised him that it was OK to use just P.O. box numbers, and Paquin later claimed that state civil regulatory law doesn’t apply on the reservation, where P.O. box numbers are commonly used as residence addresses.
Paquin also claimed that Mack allowed voter registration with only P.O. box numbers and that he was discriminated against by her not allowing P.O. boxes on nominating petitions.
The Supreme Court noted that state law requires that nominating petitions must contain the residence address of the signers so that they can be verified that they live in the district for which the candidate seeks office.
“Upon receipt of a nominating petition by the appropriate election official, the petition is to be inspected ‘to verify that there are a sufficient number of signatures of individuals whose residence address as shown on the petition is in the district where the candidate is to be nominated,’” the court said, citing state law.
Of 557 signatures, 44 were found defective for various reasons and were not disputed by Paquin. Of the 513 remaining signatures, 166 listed a post office box number as “residence address.”
“Paquin argues that respondent Mack should have determined from other sources the residence address of these signers,” the court said in the 13 page opinion. “For example, Paquin suggests, respondent could have contacted the post office to determine the residence address of the holder of the indicated post office box, or could have reviewed voting records from previous elections to confirm that the signature on the petition belonged to someone living in the district.”
But the court notes that federal law prohibits post office workers from divulging information about post office box holders and state law doesn’t provide for the county auditor to investigate further than what is written on the petition.
State law “requires the inspection of a nominating petition ‘to verify that there are a sufficient number of signatures of individuals whose residence address as shown on the petition is in the district where the candidate is to be nominated,’” the opinion states “Nothing in [state law] requires or even authorizes a county auditor (or the Secretary of State’s office, if that is where the petition is filed) to consult other documents to confirm that the signer is a resident of the district.”
The court also ruled that the post office box number alone is insufficient because it doesn’t prove that the signer physically lives in the Senate 4 district.
“Paquin has the burden to prove that leaving his name off the ballot is an error that must be corrected,” the court said. “Paquin cannot meet this burden unless he shows that the petition signers whose signatures were rejected for lack of a residence address provided information on the petition sufficient to establish that the signer lived within the legislative district.”
Public Law 280 establishes that state governments cannot apply state civil laws to American Indians living on the reservation, but the Supreme Court ruled that the state does have jurisdiction with election laws as legislative districts surpass reservation boundaries.
“Public Law 280 does not bar assertion by the state of jurisdiction over activities of Indians ‘going beyond reservation boundaries,’” it said. “Running for state legislative office and signing a nominating petition for state legislative office are activities ‘going beyond reservation boundaries.’ In seeking to become a candidate for state legislative office, and in signing the nominating petition, petitioner and his supporters are subject to state election laws.”
In dismissing charges of discrimination, the court said that state laws differ in required information for registering to vote and in nominating petitions.
“We understand Paquin’s reply to argue that Mack’s strict enforcement of the residence address requirement with respect to his nominating petition violated his right to equal protection under the law,” said the court.
“The language of the voter registration statutes and the statute governing nominating petitions differs. The statute governing nominating petitions requires signers to provide ‘the signer’s residence address including street and number, if any, and mailing address if different from residence address.’ No statute governing voter registration uses this language to describe the information that a prospective voter must provide in order to register to vote.”
Further, “even if the language of the voter registration and nominating petition statutes were the same, it would not be enough for petitioner Paquin to prove that respondent Mack has differed in her enforcement of the residence address requirement over time; he must also prove that such differences were the result of intentional discrimination. Paquin has not made such a showing.”
Both Paquin and Beaulieu pledge to run write-in campaigns for the two posts.
“It gets rather frustrating when ignorance becomes blatant and obnoxious, we need real representation, someone with compassion, and solidarity for their fellowman, not these status quo wannabe politicians that have made reputations of working in the interests of capitalism,” says Beaulieu’s campaign manager, Curtis Buckanaga. “People’s discontentment with these two parties is becoming more common, although she was denied ballot status.”
Buckanaga blasted both Republicans and Democrats for not paying heed to Indian Country needs.
“Both of these parties are constantly undermining and taking advantage of the situation of my people by over-exaggerating on their supposed competency of resolving matters in the interests of all citizens, which they are trying to be appointed to office by gaining the favor of the majority of the consensus to represent our communities at large, except the Indians,” he said.. “Our basic human needs are constantly ignored, neglected, undermined, belittled and cast aside to make way for the overindulgent excessive necessities of our non-native brethren.”
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Presentation to Minnesota's Legislative Commission on poverty: The Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force
Ms. Amy Brenengen,
Please include these comments in the minutes of your "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" meeting.
Thank you.
Alan
I am often asked when I speak to groups across Minnesota:
What would you do to end poverty?
Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
Real living wage jobs!
The point of having a job is so you don't have to be poor; anyone without a job is pretty much guaranteed of being poor.
Every job an employer requires to be done, the worker doing that job should be paid a real living wage and this should be required, by law: every employee must receive a real living wage--- no exclusions.
We need to tax the rich, and end these wars so we have money to solve the problems of people and society which will create jobs. This is a most basic and fundamental concept that politicians don't seem to grasp:
Solving the problems of people and society is what creates real jobs paying real living wages.
A national public health care system would create around ten million new jobs and a national public child care system would create millions of jobs more--- putting people to work solving our problems creates jobs and ends poverty.
Government has a responsibility to create jobs; private industry has failed. That small business creates jobs is just plain bunk; there is no substance to this myth. Small business creates poverty wage jobs. No one goes to work to stay poor.
Also, we need a minimum wage that is a real living wage based on all cost of living factors where adjustments are made quarterly to keep up with cost of living increases which continue to rise as big-business strives to make greater profits in the midst of this very serious economic crisis which will have no end for working people.
The minimum wage should be a real living wage based upon, and legislatively tied to, the scientific calculations as tabulated by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
These wars are making us poor as individuals and as a Nation. Peace is pretty much a requirement for creating jobs and ending poverty.
Universal social programs aimed at solving each of the points of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights is required in order to end poverty... mere words on pieces of paper cannot be eaten by hungry children.
There is no reason why in the wealthiest country in the world every school child shouldn't be receiving a free breakfast and free lunch in our public schools; especially in a state like Minnesota where farmers profit by keeping valuable crop lands out of production and the grain companies and dairies have tremendous "waste." Put people to work growing food to feed school children and make waste of food by corporations a crime.
Poverty can not be fought or stemmed as long as working people are losing jobs to plant closings. Whether mines, mills or factories, the state should take over under public ownership any closing operations like the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant.
Anyone with the least little bit of common sense understands that when working people are not working wealth is not being created. Tremendous wealth is going to be required to solve the problems associated with poverty, and ending poverty.
We need to recognize that these wars that are costing us so much financially are at the same time killing jobs the same way they kill people... these wars make us poor.
This "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" has a responsibility to place this question before all Minnesotans:
How is the war economy working for you?
Let me remind the members of this "Task Force" that many Minnesotans have, literally, been driven into poverty by this private, for-profit health care system which is also responsible for many people losing their homes because they are not able to pay health care costs.
Finally, let me remind the members of this "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" that you have intentionally placed over 200,000 Minnesotans, some 40,000 families, in poverty by approving the "Compacts" creating the Indian Gaming Industry in a way that has, in violation of all international labor standards and norms and in complete violation of what the entire world recognizes to be human rights, FORCED over 40,000 casino workers here in Minnesota to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at POVERTY WAGES where the minimum wage is not enforced by either the Minnesota Department of Labor or the United States Department of Labor and where these casino workers are denied ALL other protections under state and federal labor laws. If the government of Minnesota hasn't created a recipe for poverty while enabling the owners of the slot machines and table games to amass tremendous wealth than what would you call this? In fact, people like John McCarthy of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association who has bribed many of you on this "Task Force" to turn a blind eye to these injustices has amassed fabulous wealth as a direct result of how the Indian Gaming Industry has led to a deepening of poverty on Indian Reservations. I further note, that in violation of all labor laws and human rights standards, right under your noses, the huge Mystic Lake Casino operation forces each and everyone of its more than 5,000 employees to sign statements as a condition of their employment that they understand that they will be immediately terminated from employment should they engage in union organizing activities. To these ends, of denying casino workers the right to organize collectively and to engage in collective bargaining--- we all know that a good union contract is better than any government anti-poverty program or what the philanthropists fund through foundations--- tens of millions of dollars are being spent at this time by the casino managements in Minnesota to hire union-busting outfits like USIS/Altegrity in order to keep working people poor. I would further note that poverty is being imposed on the Indian Nations in the most racist manner in order to maintain a pool of cheap labor for these casino operations.
Women, people of color and young workers suffer the brunt of the poverty created by the Indian Gaming Industry in Minnesota while growing numbers of senior citizens are now forced to take jobs in these casinos because the economic collapse has robbed them of their retirement savings and impoverished them.
Might I remind you that the health problems casino workers incur from second-hand smoke are among the most costly to treat--- heart and lung problems and cancers; and, people with such illnesses usual end up in deeper poverty than what their poverty wage jobs working under these conditions force upon them.
Which brings me to my conclusion:
Not one member of this "Ladder out of Poverty Task Force" nor any member of the Minnesota State Legislature ever come forward insisting affirmative action be enforced in Minnesota. Quite literally, it is criminal that state departments like the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Department of Transportation have refused to enforce affirmative action as intended by federal Executive Order #11246 even though most large state projects like the Bemidji Regional Event Center receive substantial federal funds, too.
There is a certain sad and sick irony that the Minnesota State Legislature establishes a "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" while government works behind the scenes under the cover of darkness and "under the color of law" to create poverty because those providing you with lucrative campaign contributions get wealthy because they keep so many people poor.
Keep in mind when discussing poverty that behind every single statistic is a living, breathing human being living in poverty.
Playwright Bertolt Brecht said is best:
"The rich create the poor but cannot stand to look at them."
I would also note that the poorest amongst us, Native American Indians, don't have one single seat in the Minnesota State Legislature. Deprivation of democracy is, also, apparently, the cost of being poor in Minnesota... just like casino workers who have no rights at work have no rights in the communities where they live... something you might not understand--- or not want to understand--- but might want to think about.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
Quoting Amy Brenengen :
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:
http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/
Please include these comments in the minutes of your "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" meeting.
Thank you.
Alan
I am often asked when I speak to groups across Minnesota:
What would you do to end poverty?
Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
Real living wage jobs!
The point of having a job is so you don't have to be poor; anyone without a job is pretty much guaranteed of being poor.
Every job an employer requires to be done, the worker doing that job should be paid a real living wage and this should be required, by law: every employee must receive a real living wage--- no exclusions.
We need to tax the rich, and end these wars so we have money to solve the problems of people and society which will create jobs. This is a most basic and fundamental concept that politicians don't seem to grasp:
Solving the problems of people and society is what creates real jobs paying real living wages.
A national public health care system would create around ten million new jobs and a national public child care system would create millions of jobs more--- putting people to work solving our problems creates jobs and ends poverty.
Government has a responsibility to create jobs; private industry has failed. That small business creates jobs is just plain bunk; there is no substance to this myth. Small business creates poverty wage jobs. No one goes to work to stay poor.
Also, we need a minimum wage that is a real living wage based on all cost of living factors where adjustments are made quarterly to keep up with cost of living increases which continue to rise as big-business strives to make greater profits in the midst of this very serious economic crisis which will have no end for working people.
The minimum wage should be a real living wage based upon, and legislatively tied to, the scientific calculations as tabulated by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
These wars are making us poor as individuals and as a Nation. Peace is pretty much a requirement for creating jobs and ending poverty.
Universal social programs aimed at solving each of the points of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights is required in order to end poverty... mere words on pieces of paper cannot be eaten by hungry children.
There is no reason why in the wealthiest country in the world every school child shouldn't be receiving a free breakfast and free lunch in our public schools; especially in a state like Minnesota where farmers profit by keeping valuable crop lands out of production and the grain companies and dairies have tremendous "waste." Put people to work growing food to feed school children and make waste of food by corporations a crime.
Poverty can not be fought or stemmed as long as working people are losing jobs to plant closings. Whether mines, mills or factories, the state should take over under public ownership any closing operations like the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant.
Anyone with the least little bit of common sense understands that when working people are not working wealth is not being created. Tremendous wealth is going to be required to solve the problems associated with poverty, and ending poverty.
We need to recognize that these wars that are costing us so much financially are at the same time killing jobs the same way they kill people... these wars make us poor.
This "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" has a responsibility to place this question before all Minnesotans:
How is the war economy working for you?
Let me remind the members of this "Task Force" that many Minnesotans have, literally, been driven into poverty by this private, for-profit health care system which is also responsible for many people losing their homes because they are not able to pay health care costs.
Finally, let me remind the members of this "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" that you have intentionally placed over 200,000 Minnesotans, some 40,000 families, in poverty by approving the "Compacts" creating the Indian Gaming Industry in a way that has, in violation of all international labor standards and norms and in complete violation of what the entire world recognizes to be human rights, FORCED over 40,000 casino workers here in Minnesota to work in loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at POVERTY WAGES where the minimum wage is not enforced by either the Minnesota Department of Labor or the United States Department of Labor and where these casino workers are denied ALL other protections under state and federal labor laws. If the government of Minnesota hasn't created a recipe for poverty while enabling the owners of the slot machines and table games to amass tremendous wealth than what would you call this? In fact, people like John McCarthy of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association who has bribed many of you on this "Task Force" to turn a blind eye to these injustices has amassed fabulous wealth as a direct result of how the Indian Gaming Industry has led to a deepening of poverty on Indian Reservations. I further note, that in violation of all labor laws and human rights standards, right under your noses, the huge Mystic Lake Casino operation forces each and everyone of its more than 5,000 employees to sign statements as a condition of their employment that they understand that they will be immediately terminated from employment should they engage in union organizing activities. To these ends, of denying casino workers the right to organize collectively and to engage in collective bargaining--- we all know that a good union contract is better than any government anti-poverty program or what the philanthropists fund through foundations--- tens of millions of dollars are being spent at this time by the casino managements in Minnesota to hire union-busting outfits like USIS/Altegrity in order to keep working people poor. I would further note that poverty is being imposed on the Indian Nations in the most racist manner in order to maintain a pool of cheap labor for these casino operations.
Women, people of color and young workers suffer the brunt of the poverty created by the Indian Gaming Industry in Minnesota while growing numbers of senior citizens are now forced to take jobs in these casinos because the economic collapse has robbed them of their retirement savings and impoverished them.
Might I remind you that the health problems casino workers incur from second-hand smoke are among the most costly to treat--- heart and lung problems and cancers; and, people with such illnesses usual end up in deeper poverty than what their poverty wage jobs working under these conditions force upon them.
Which brings me to my conclusion:
Not one member of this "Ladder out of Poverty Task Force" nor any member of the Minnesota State Legislature ever come forward insisting affirmative action be enforced in Minnesota. Quite literally, it is criminal that state departments like the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Department of Transportation have refused to enforce affirmative action as intended by federal Executive Order #11246 even though most large state projects like the Bemidji Regional Event Center receive substantial federal funds, too.
There is a certain sad and sick irony that the Minnesota State Legislature establishes a "Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force" while government works behind the scenes under the cover of darkness and "under the color of law" to create poverty because those providing you with lucrative campaign contributions get wealthy because they keep so many people poor.
Keep in mind when discussing poverty that behind every single statistic is a living, breathing human being living in poverty.
Playwright Bertolt Brecht said is best:
"The rich create the poor but cannot stand to look at them."
I would also note that the poorest amongst us, Native American Indians, don't have one single seat in the Minnesota State Legislature. Deprivation of democracy is, also, apparently, the cost of being poor in Minnesota... just like casino workers who have no rights at work have no rights in the communities where they live... something you might not understand--- or not want to understand--- but might want to think about.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
Quoting Amy Brenengen :
Meeting dates and times have been posted for the Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force: See below and posted here: http://www.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/ladder/meetings.html
###
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Asset Development Work Group
Thursday, October 21, 2010
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Room 112, State Capitol
Agenda: To be announced
Financial Literacy Work Group
Friday, October 22, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Agenda: To be announced
Community Supports Work Group
Meeting Date: To be announced (This meeting will occur the day following the special session)
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room: To be announced
Agenda: To be announced
Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force (Full Task Force Meeting)
Co-Chairs: Rep. Morrie Lanning and Sen. Michael Jungbauer
Thursday, November 18, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Agenda: To be announced
Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force (Full Task Force Meeting)
Co-Chairs: Rep. Morrie Lanning and Sen. Michael Jungbauer
Monday, June 13, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Room: To be annouced
Agenda: To be announced
Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force (Full Task Force Meeting)
Co-Chairs: Rep. Morrie Lanning and Sen. Michael Jungbauer
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Room: To be announced
Agenda: To be announced
Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force (Full Task Force Meeting)###
Co-Chairs: Rep. Morrie Lanning and Sen. Michael Jungbauer
Monday, December 5, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Room: To be announced
Agenda: To be announced
Alan L. Maki
Amy Brenengen
Director, Office on the Economic Status of Women
LCC Staff Liaison, Ladder Out of Poverty Task Force
651-296-0711
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:
http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/
One Nation rally: Is the message being sent to the wrong person?
I don't get it... why is this rally being pawned off by the primary organizers themselves as a response to Glenn Beck, which has prompted the media to hone in on this?
Why isn't this rally being touted by the organizers as a caution to Barack Obama and the Democrats to do what they promised or they aren't getting the votes of liberals, progressives and the left?
Aren't the organizers of this rally the same ones who said, "Vote for
Obama and the Democrats and we will hold their feet to the fire?"
Now, here we are, two years later and these party hacks like Leah Daughtry say they are sending a message to Glenn Beck!
Glenn Beck isn't the president of the United States--- the message needs to go to Barack Obama and the Democrats who apparently didn't listen very well to Harry Belafonte's speech.
Why isn't this rally being touted by the organizers as a caution to Barack Obama and the Democrats to do what they promised or they aren't getting the votes of liberals, progressives and the left?
Aren't the organizers of this rally the same ones who said, "Vote for
Obama and the Democrats and we will hold their feet to the fire?"
Now, here we are, two years later and these party hacks like Leah Daughtry say they are sending a message to Glenn Beck!
Glenn Beck isn't the president of the United States--- the message needs to go to Barack Obama and the Democrats who apparently didn't listen very well to Harry Belafonte's speech.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I loathe Republicans... but---
I loathe the Republicans but they don't scare me; neither will calls pandering to fear scare or intimidate me into voting for worthless Democrats who are no better than Republicans.
I keep getting asked: Who are you voting for?
Here in Minnesota I will be voting for Democrat Mark Dayton for Governor and I will be voting early. I only wish I could vote often like they do in Chicago :)
I will vote for Mark Dayton but for no other candidates in this Election.
I will vote for Mark Dayton because he has stated... he will not attack public employees and use them as scapegoats for Minnesota's financial problems created by those representing the well-heeled and wealthy few of the Summit Hill Club who created the mess we are in.
Mark Dayton has brought forward into the political arena a real solution to this financial and economic mess we are in: Tax the rich. This makes perfectly good sense to tax those who made huge profits while creating this economic mess. "Tax the rich" is the primary way for us to begin the redistribution of wealth in our state as we defend and protect out social programs so many people require to survive.
I will vote for Mark Dayton for Governor of Minnesota because he has stood up and called for the creation of a state-owned and managed casino industry to compete with the thoroughly crooked and corrupt Indian Gaming Industry where over 40,000 Minnesotans are now forced to work in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws as the non-Indian owners of the slot machines run off with the wealth leaving the Native American people to languish in shameful poverty without one single representative in the Minnesota State House or Senate even though the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association spends tens of millions of dollars bribing politicians to maintain the injustices of this status quo.
More than anything I respect Mark Dayton's stand for equality for all peoples and the stand he has taken in defense of the strict enforcement of affirmatve action which will break the back of institutionalized racism in Minnesota once and for all.
Mark Dayton won a narrow primary victory over a run-of-the-mill big-business supported Democrat who was no different than any Republican, and he is in a tough race against two very pathetic politicians pandering to bigotry and fear using lies and deceit rather than any meaningful approach that includes real solutions to our many problems.
I would encourage every voter in Minnesota to take the time to listen to this brief speech Mark Dayton made before the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's State Central Committee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlipIaVskPc
I will not be voting for any other candidates--- Democrats or Republicans; I would never vote Republican unless Abe Lincoln were to rise from the grave. I will not vote for any of the other Democrats who will be on my ballot because they are no better than their Republican counterparts when it comes to solving the problems working people are experiencing--- in fact, they are part of our problem.
The one thing I would hope to see from Mark Dayton which he has remained silent on, is that he stands up and speaks out loudly and clearly in defense of democracy against these horrible raids and the issuance of subpoenas to peace activists ordering that they appear at a Grand Jury inquisition to answer questions one would expect from goose-stepping quislings of some two-bit, half-assed fascist dictatorship because our democracy is very fragile as it is after years of Pawlenty and Bush--- our democracy likely cannot survive being plunged into another era of McCarthyism.
Hopefully, Mark Dayton will be calling for the disbanding of the "Red Squads" in Minnesota which are destroying our most basic and fundamental human and constitutional rights by infiltrating organizations in order to thwart citizen participation in the democratic process that is basic and fundamental to democracy.
As for all of you pushing people to vote without thinking, here is something to consider:
If I were to vote for Democrat Collin Peterson for Congress I would be voting for a candidate more reactionary than any Republican because these are Collin Peterson's own words to the media:
"I am more conservative than any Republican."
I keep getting asked: Who are you voting for?
Here in Minnesota I will be voting for Democrat Mark Dayton for Governor and I will be voting early. I only wish I could vote often like they do in Chicago :)
I will vote for Mark Dayton but for no other candidates in this Election.
I will vote for Mark Dayton because he has stated... he will not attack public employees and use them as scapegoats for Minnesota's financial problems created by those representing the well-heeled and wealthy few of the Summit Hill Club who created the mess we are in.
Mark Dayton has brought forward into the political arena a real solution to this financial and economic mess we are in: Tax the rich. This makes perfectly good sense to tax those who made huge profits while creating this economic mess. "Tax the rich" is the primary way for us to begin the redistribution of wealth in our state as we defend and protect out social programs so many people require to survive.
I will vote for Mark Dayton for Governor of Minnesota because he has stood up and called for the creation of a state-owned and managed casino industry to compete with the thoroughly crooked and corrupt Indian Gaming Industry where over 40,000 Minnesotans are now forced to work in these loud, noisy, smoke-filled casinos at poverty wages without any rights under state or federal labor laws as the non-Indian owners of the slot machines run off with the wealth leaving the Native American people to languish in shameful poverty without one single representative in the Minnesota State House or Senate even though the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association spends tens of millions of dollars bribing politicians to maintain the injustices of this status quo.
More than anything I respect Mark Dayton's stand for equality for all peoples and the stand he has taken in defense of the strict enforcement of affirmatve action which will break the back of institutionalized racism in Minnesota once and for all.
Mark Dayton won a narrow primary victory over a run-of-the-mill big-business supported Democrat who was no different than any Republican, and he is in a tough race against two very pathetic politicians pandering to bigotry and fear using lies and deceit rather than any meaningful approach that includes real solutions to our many problems.
I would encourage every voter in Minnesota to take the time to listen to this brief speech Mark Dayton made before the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party's State Central Committee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlipIaVskPc
I will not be voting for any other candidates--- Democrats or Republicans; I would never vote Republican unless Abe Lincoln were to rise from the grave. I will not vote for any of the other Democrats who will be on my ballot because they are no better than their Republican counterparts when it comes to solving the problems working people are experiencing--- in fact, they are part of our problem.
The one thing I would hope to see from Mark Dayton which he has remained silent on, is that he stands up and speaks out loudly and clearly in defense of democracy against these horrible raids and the issuance of subpoenas to peace activists ordering that they appear at a Grand Jury inquisition to answer questions one would expect from goose-stepping quislings of some two-bit, half-assed fascist dictatorship because our democracy is very fragile as it is after years of Pawlenty and Bush--- our democracy likely cannot survive being plunged into another era of McCarthyism.
Hopefully, Mark Dayton will be calling for the disbanding of the "Red Squads" in Minnesota which are destroying our most basic and fundamental human and constitutional rights by infiltrating organizations in order to thwart citizen participation in the democratic process that is basic and fundamental to democracy.
As for all of you pushing people to vote without thinking, here is something to consider:
If I were to vote for Democrat Collin Peterson for Congress I would be voting for a candidate more reactionary than any Republican because these are Collin Peterson's own words to the media:
"I am more conservative than any Republican."
Monday, September 27, 2010
Who gave the orders for these raids and issuance of subpoenas to appear at an inquisition if not Barack Obama?
President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, CIA Director Leon Panetta, National Security Administration Director General Keith B. Alexander and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have worked in collusion in these raids against peace and international solidarity activists with their subpoenas summoning them to a Grand Jury investigation in Chicago known for its corrupt courts including the Federal Judiciary to supposedly find out what connections exist between peace activists, international solidarity activists and the victims of U.S. imperialism's oppression and wars.
How do we know there has been this collusion between Obama's White House and these other agencies? Because we know from what has been released in the joint report from the FBI and CIA--- "Family Jewels"--- that this is the way these agencies collude and cooperate.
We also know from the long-running COINTELPRO operations that they work in this manner.
What is even more interesting is that the organization under attack right now were Obama supporters in 2008.
First came attacks by Obama's White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs who tried to badger and bully the opponents of these dirty wars into silence. No one was bullied... in fact this plan backfired on Obama and the Democrats.
Then came Obama himself, this time with an attack trying to silence his growing liberal critics. Again, this didn't work too well for Obama.
So, out comes the Obama Administration in full force against a tiny left-wing cultish grouping pulling together supporters of Mao--- an organization which had been vigorous supporters during the 2008 Election Campaign and beyond. Even now while under attack, this little group has managed to avoid using Barack Obama's name. Why? To shield the Democrats in the November Election?
Where are the Democratic Party members of Congress insisting that these subpoenas be withdrawn? Where are Democratic Party officials in the local communities? Why are they not condemning these raids and subpoenas? Is it because local law enforcement and in the case here in Minnesota, that the Public Safety Commission is all part of this "network of cooperation" established with help from Humbert Humphrey known as "Red Squads" created under the Communist Control Act which Humphrey was its principal author? At the time, Humphrey used this most anti-democratic legislative initiative to help him destroy the last remaining influence of the Communist Party's activities in the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were murdered by this exact same kind of collusion between these government agencies operating like sewer-rats under the cloak of darkness.
The Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union which is nothing but a front group for the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, has remained completely silent about this fascist-like cabal that has been operating out of Washington for years which is now headed up by Barack Obama.
This closed-door Grand Jury inquisition must not be allowed to proceed. We know from our history that this is the way the infamous and destructive anti-democratic Dies Committee got off the ground in 1938 and in 1947 Joe McCarthy began his anti-Communist crusade in the same secretive manner behind closed doors... even when the American people clamored against these closed door hearings... McCarthy stacked the hearing rooms with his anti-Communist, racist, anti-Semitic and fascist supporters while Hubert Humphrey entered the picture and made it possible for these agencies to collaborate behind closed doors in organizing its attacks on Communists, peace activists, labor and civil rights activists. Our country has never fully recovered from the "Red Scare" and now Barack Obama is launching us into another round of political darkness with these raids and subpoenas to a secret Grand Jury.
All those who have been issued subpoenas should refuse to show up for this Grand Jury inquisition they are calling an "investigation"... they should seek refuge in a church and they should receive the support required from the liberal, progressive and left communities in this country with a bona fide and legitimate defense committee established, not their stupid little front groups the FRSO is known for, since there are no organizations at present willing to fight this case as it should be fought--- including making Obama and the Democrats pay on Election Day... how much more of this crap are people going to put up with from this Wall Street health insurance salesman who is nothing but a flim-flam man and con-artist extraordinaire who told us all in his essay written exclusively for Foreign Affairs Magazine, Renewing America's Leadership, exactly what his neo-liberal Wall Street agenda was going to consist of: wars abroad and austerity at home which anyone with an ounce of common sense knows requires political repression.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization, while claiming some kind of "vanguard" status sure didn't do its job in educating people about Obama's real Wall Street agenda--- but we shouldn't hold this against them as we build a network to defend democracy because we all know that this has been in the works for many months, if not for two years because this kind of government operation requires the expenditures of hundreds of thousands of dollars with massive paper-work and "investigative" work for any government to frame people as democracy is smothered.
One would hope that here in Minnesota, Mark Dayton would have the moral and political courage to add the abolition of Minnesota's "Red Squads" to his agenda of reform which includes taxing the rich to pay for public education and healthcare; establishing a state-owned and managed casino and enforcement of affirmative action... which, by-the-way, Obama has never instructed Attorney General Eric Holder to pursue with the same zeal he is now trying to persecute, intimidate, badger and likely begin prosecutions of peace activists. After all, if the intent of these raids and subpoenas and a Grand Jury inquisition is not to prosecute anyone, what is this massive governmental bureaucracy and cabal doing?
Really, doesn't anyone find it strange that the Office of the Attorney General of the United States would not go after state, local and federal agencies along with huge contractors and engineering firms stuffing their pockets with "stimulus funds" while refusing to enforce affirmative action as required by Executive Order #11246? Again, like the push for more involvement in these dirty wars, Obama's and the Democrats' priorities are all screwed up.
How do we know there has been this collusion between Obama's White House and these other agencies? Because we know from what has been released in the joint report from the FBI and CIA--- "Family Jewels"--- that this is the way these agencies collude and cooperate.
We also know from the long-running COINTELPRO operations that they work in this manner.
What is even more interesting is that the organization under attack right now were Obama supporters in 2008.
First came attacks by Obama's White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs who tried to badger and bully the opponents of these dirty wars into silence. No one was bullied... in fact this plan backfired on Obama and the Democrats.
Then came Obama himself, this time with an attack trying to silence his growing liberal critics. Again, this didn't work too well for Obama.
So, out comes the Obama Administration in full force against a tiny left-wing cultish grouping pulling together supporters of Mao--- an organization which had been vigorous supporters during the 2008 Election Campaign and beyond. Even now while under attack, this little group has managed to avoid using Barack Obama's name. Why? To shield the Democrats in the November Election?
Where are the Democratic Party members of Congress insisting that these subpoenas be withdrawn? Where are Democratic Party officials in the local communities? Why are they not condemning these raids and subpoenas? Is it because local law enforcement and in the case here in Minnesota, that the Public Safety Commission is all part of this "network of cooperation" established with help from Humbert Humphrey known as "Red Squads" created under the Communist Control Act which Humphrey was its principal author? At the time, Humphrey used this most anti-democratic legislative initiative to help him destroy the last remaining influence of the Communist Party's activities in the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were murdered by this exact same kind of collusion between these government agencies operating like sewer-rats under the cloak of darkness.
The Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union which is nothing but a front group for the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, has remained completely silent about this fascist-like cabal that has been operating out of Washington for years which is now headed up by Barack Obama.
This closed-door Grand Jury inquisition must not be allowed to proceed. We know from our history that this is the way the infamous and destructive anti-democratic Dies Committee got off the ground in 1938 and in 1947 Joe McCarthy began his anti-Communist crusade in the same secretive manner behind closed doors... even when the American people clamored against these closed door hearings... McCarthy stacked the hearing rooms with his anti-Communist, racist, anti-Semitic and fascist supporters while Hubert Humphrey entered the picture and made it possible for these agencies to collaborate behind closed doors in organizing its attacks on Communists, peace activists, labor and civil rights activists. Our country has never fully recovered from the "Red Scare" and now Barack Obama is launching us into another round of political darkness with these raids and subpoenas to a secret Grand Jury.
All those who have been issued subpoenas should refuse to show up for this Grand Jury inquisition they are calling an "investigation"... they should seek refuge in a church and they should receive the support required from the liberal, progressive and left communities in this country with a bona fide and legitimate defense committee established, not their stupid little front groups the FRSO is known for, since there are no organizations at present willing to fight this case as it should be fought--- including making Obama and the Democrats pay on Election Day... how much more of this crap are people going to put up with from this Wall Street health insurance salesman who is nothing but a flim-flam man and con-artist extraordinaire who told us all in his essay written exclusively for Foreign Affairs Magazine, Renewing America's Leadership, exactly what his neo-liberal Wall Street agenda was going to consist of: wars abroad and austerity at home which anyone with an ounce of common sense knows requires political repression.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization, while claiming some kind of "vanguard" status sure didn't do its job in educating people about Obama's real Wall Street agenda--- but we shouldn't hold this against them as we build a network to defend democracy because we all know that this has been in the works for many months, if not for two years because this kind of government operation requires the expenditures of hundreds of thousands of dollars with massive paper-work and "investigative" work for any government to frame people as democracy is smothered.
One would hope that here in Minnesota, Mark Dayton would have the moral and political courage to add the abolition of Minnesota's "Red Squads" to his agenda of reform which includes taxing the rich to pay for public education and healthcare; establishing a state-owned and managed casino and enforcement of affirmative action... which, by-the-way, Obama has never instructed Attorney General Eric Holder to pursue with the same zeal he is now trying to persecute, intimidate, badger and likely begin prosecutions of peace activists. After all, if the intent of these raids and subpoenas and a Grand Jury inquisition is not to prosecute anyone, what is this massive governmental bureaucracy and cabal doing?
Really, doesn't anyone find it strange that the Office of the Attorney General of the United States would not go after state, local and federal agencies along with huge contractors and engineering firms stuffing their pockets with "stimulus funds" while refusing to enforce affirmative action as required by Executive Order #11246? Again, like the push for more involvement in these dirty wars, Obama's and the Democrats' priorities are all screwed up.
Free Kittens... a must read
This comes from my friend in Canada, Howard Pawley... who included a brief note:
For a Laugh or two!
Tommy Douglas would tell this story.
Howard
Tommy Douglas would tell this story.
Howard
Note: Howard Pawley is writing a book about his life which will include his time as the New Democratic Party (NDP) Premier of Manitoba Canada.--- A.L.M.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tell Barack Obama: Stop the FBI attacks on our movements in solidarity with FARC-EP in Columbia
| By Alan L. Maki - Sep 25, 2010 3:45:52 PM ET |
Some background info on FARC-EP:
The United States and the Colombian ruling oligarchy have, since the 1960s, repeatedly implemented socioeconomic and military campaigns to defeat the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del P...ueblo, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC–EP). However, this offensive, whose main purpose is to maintain capitalist accumulation and expansion, has resulted in an embarrassing setback for U.S. imperialism and the Colombian ruling class. In a time of growing and deepening U.S. imperialism, it is important to examine this failure. Over the past four decades, despite U.S. efforts, support has risen for what has been the most important continuous military and political force in South America opposing imperialism. I examine how the FARC–EP has not only maintained a substantial presence within the majority of the country but has responded aggressively to the continuing counterinsurgency campaign. I also show as false the propaganda campaign of the U.S. and Colombian governments claiming that the FARC–EP is being defeated. This analysis provides an example of how a contemporary organic, class-based sociopolitical movement can effectively contend with imperial power in a time of global counterrevolution....
read on:
http://www.monthlyreview.org/0905brittain.htm
The United States and the Colombian ruling oligarchy have, since the 1960s, repeatedly implemented socioeconomic and military campaigns to defeat the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del P...ueblo, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC–EP). However, this offensive, whose main purpose is to maintain capitalist accumulation and expansion, has resulted in an embarrassing setback for U.S. imperialism and the Colombian ruling class. In a time of growing and deepening U.S. imperialism, it is important to examine this failure. Over the past four decades, despite U.S. efforts, support has risen for what has been the most important continuous military and political force in South America opposing imperialism. I examine how the FARC–EP has not only maintained a substantial presence within the majority of the country but has responded aggressively to the continuing counterinsurgency campaign. I also show as false the propaganda campaign of the U.S. and Colombian governments claiming that the FARC–EP is being defeated. This analysis provides an example of how a contemporary organic, class-based sociopolitical movement can effectively contend with imperial power in a time of global counterrevolution....
read on:
http://www.monthlyreview.org/0905brittain.htm
Friday, September 24, 2010
The FBI and "Red Squads" have raided the homes and offices of peace activists... no doubt the terrible liberals and "professional leftists" Obama has been ranting about...
I read the articles about these raids on peace and solidarity activists who work like I do in solidarity with the Palestinian people struggling against the barbaric Israeli killing machine. If the FBI should be going after anyone, and they shouldn't be going after anyone for the reasons being given in the newspapers, they should be going after President Jimmy Carter since he has had more contact with all of these organizations than anyone.
The worst part of all of this is not even the raids--- as heinous as they are; but, what has the FBI been doing in order to obtain these kinds of search warrants and issuing subpoenas like this... how many phones of how many people have been tapped? How many e-mails have been intercepted? How many demonstrations have been spied on where photos of everyone were taken and then the people investigated?
We are talking about FBI agents spending thousands upon thousands of hours, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and probably conducting surveillance and investigations into the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people... and, now, with the confiscation of computers and photographs they probably have the names of thousands of people more who they will be "investigating."
This is the same FBI that can't catch a bunch of drug peddlers working through Minnesota's casinos.
In fact, if "terrorists" wanted to get into the country all they have to do is purchase a $25.00 ticket on one of the many "casino" excursion buses coming from Canada and they would never be detected because Homeland Security has strict orders not to bother these casino patrons lest they chase business away.
I wonder how the apologists for the Israeli killing machine from the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party will spin blame for this on George Bush and the Republicans?
Like Mark Twain, the pre-eminent American anti-imperialist used to say, "Democracy is always the first casualty of war."
The worst part of all of this is not even the raids--- as heinous as they are; but, what has the FBI been doing in order to obtain these kinds of search warrants and issuing subpoenas like this... how many phones of how many people have been tapped? How many e-mails have been intercepted? How many demonstrations have been spied on where photos of everyone were taken and then the people investigated?
We are talking about FBI agents spending thousands upon thousands of hours, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and probably conducting surveillance and investigations into the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people... and, now, with the confiscation of computers and photographs they probably have the names of thousands of people more who they will be "investigating."
This is the same FBI that can't catch a bunch of drug peddlers working through Minnesota's casinos.
In fact, if "terrorists" wanted to get into the country all they have to do is purchase a $25.00 ticket on one of the many "casino" excursion buses coming from Canada and they would never be detected because Homeland Security has strict orders not to bother these casino patrons lest they chase business away.
I wonder how the apologists for the Israeli killing machine from the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party will spin blame for this on George Bush and the Republicans?
Like Mark Twain, the pre-eminent American anti-imperialist used to say, "Democracy is always the first casualty of war."
These raids are Barack Obama's raids.
The FBI is investigating and harassing peace activists when they should be arresting war criminals in the highest places of power in our country.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Immigration, A Perennial Issue Of Concern In The U.S.
Note: This is a guest blog by Brian McAfee of Muskegon, Michigan. I note the "Dream Act" is referenced at the end... I want it understood that I do not support the "Dream Act" in its present form because its primary intent is to bolster and strengthen the United States military... as far as I am concerned, the "Dream Act" is one more Obama fiasco that serves to divide people by including something that is helpful into a piece of legislation that is mostly an attack on the working class... I invite any and all responses for publication including from Brian. Other than the Dream Act, I share Brian's concerns about immigration which I think he has an excellent take on this issue. Alan L. Maki
(Please note: Brian has asked me to include here that he only supports the Dream Act without the inclusion for the military, and this is my position, too. Alan L. Maki)
Brian submitted this response to my "note" above:
I also support the passage of the DREAM act:
During the first six years, the immigrant would be granted "conditional" status, and would be required to graduate from a two-year community college or complete at least two years towards a 4-year degree, or serve two years in the U.S. military. After the six year period, an immigrant who met at least one of these three conditions would be eligible to apply for legal permanent resident status. During this six year conditional period, immigrants would not be eligible for federal higher education grants such as Pell grants, but they would be able to apply for student loans and work study.[11]
If the immigrant did not meet the educational or military service requirement within the six year time period, their temporary residence would be revoked and they would be removable. They also must not commit any crimes other than those considered non-drug related misdemeanors, regardless of whether or not they have already been approved for permanent status at the end of their six years. Being convicted of a major crime, or drug-related infraction would automatically remove the six year temporary residence status and they would be subject to deportation.[citation needed]
If the immigrant met all of the conditions at the end of the 6-year conditional period, they would be granted permanent residency, which would eventually allow them to become U.S. citizens.
An estimated 65,000 immigrant students[12] graduate from high school each year.[13] However, it is not known how many of those were eligible go on to complete the further requirements. It is estimated that currently only 7,000–13,000 college students nationally can fulfill the further obligations, a drastic drop from the already limited pool of those initially eligible.[14]
The bill also restores the option for states to determine residency for purposes of higher education benefits by repealing Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623).[9] The majority of states interpret this provision as disqualifying unauthorized students from certain higher education benefits such as in-state tuition rates.[15] Some states have enacted laws aimed at making unauthorized state residents eligible for in-state tuition rates without violating this IIRIRA provision.[16] However, some students paying out-of-state tuition have filed lawsuits in these states, claiming state education officials violated this federal law.[17] Repealing this provision would provide states the ability to choose their own residency requirements for higher education benefits.
MYTH #1: Illegal aliens take American jobs.
FACTS: For the most part illegal aliens work jobs Americans simply do not want. They are farm workers, janitors, chambermaids, busboys, dishwashers, gardeners, nannies, and household domestics. Those are not the careers most Americans seek. The jobs immigrants perform in the U.S. are usually minimum wage with no benefits. They do the lousy, back-breaking work Americans can but refuse to do.
MYTH #2: Illegal aliens don't pay taxes
FACTS: The majority of illegal aliens pay the exact same taxes you and I pay. Most illegal aliens work for employers who don't know they are illegal or, possibly suspect they may be illegal but don't want to know for sure. As a result, the typical employer of an undocumented worker deducts all the federal income and other taxes from all his employees -- legal and illegal alike.
MYTH #3: Illegal aliens don't learn English or assimilate
FACTS: The typical Mexican who grew up in Mexico attended school there for only 3 to 6 years. As a result, most of the older Mexicans who are here only speak their native language at a basic level. As a result, it is tremendously difficult for many of those adults to learn fluent English. The children of those older immigrants, however, go to school in the U.S., are immersed in English-speaking American culture, and virtually all speak English. Those second-generation Mexicans speak English and assimilate into U.S. culture the same way the Irish, Italians, Japanese, and every other group of new immigrants have in the past.
MYTH #4: Illegal aliens don't contribute to the U.S. economy; they just come here to get on welfare.
FACTS: Illegal aliens contribute immensely to the U.S. economy. They work hard and perform the essential jobs that are vital to keeping the U.S. economy moving forward. They pay taxes and consume goods -- from cars and gas to groceries and houses -- and buy services which, in turn, benefit U.S. citizens selling those goods and services.
As for illegal aliens signing up for welfare, U.S. law strictly prohibits those here illegally from obtaining welfare, food stamps, or any other type of public assistance.
MYTH #5: Illegal aliens can and should apply to legally come in to work in the United States.
FACTS: Great idea, except it just happens to be impossible. The present system for employment-based immigration allows only 5,000 low-skill Green Cards per year for the entire United States.
MYTH #6: Illegal aliens are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of crime.
FACTS: Numerous reputable studies have shown that the problem of crime in the United States is not caused or even aggravated by immigrants, regardless of their legal status. Over the past few years, when someone is arrested the first question they are asked by the police after their name and address is, "Where were you born?" If the answer to that question is not "U.S.A." the Border Patrol is automatically contacted. The person, if undocumented, is immediately placed into the deportation process. As a result, undocumented individuals have a very high incentive to not break the law.
MYTH #7: Illegal aliens abuse the health care system.
FACTS: The general rule is that those who are here in undocumented status are not entitled to any taxpayer funded health care. The exception to that rule is that those here illegally can get emergency medical treatment. A recent RAND corporation study states as follows: "The foreign-born (especially the undocumented) use disproportionately fewer medical services and contribute less to health care costs in relation to their population share."
MYTH #8: Illegal aliens can and should be ferreted out and deported from United States.
FACTS: This solution is not likely. The estimated 11 million undocumented individuals in the United States is equivalent to the entire populations of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho combined. It would be impossible to locate and deport that many people. Besides, millions of those adults unlawfully here have an estimated 4 million U.S. citizen children who the government would be required to find foster parents for if their parents were deported. Finally, if a magic wand was waved and all undocumented workers were gone tomorrow, it is highly unlikely that native-born Americans would do the lousy, backbreaking agricultural and other minimum wage/no benefits work that the undocumented do in the U.S. economy.
MYTH #9: The illegal alien problem would be fixed if we just completed the fence along the southern border.
FACTS: For every 15-foot fence there is a 16-foot ladder or a shovel that can dig underneath it. Besides, 40 percent of those undocumented in the United States -- about 4.4 million -- entered legally and overstayed their visas. The fence may help but it alone will not solve our immigration situation.
MYTH #10: The proposed immigration reforms in congress are just another "amnesty."
FACTS: Amnesty is defined as "Forgiveness without penalty." All of the immigration reform proposals require payment of a fine (maybe $1000), learning some English, paying all back taxes (if any are owed), and going to the back of the line before obtaining Legal Permanent Residence status.
MYTH #11: Americans don't support immigration reform.
FACTS: When Americans are asked, "Do you support a legalization program that would allow those in the U.S. illegally to obtain legal status if they could meet the following requirements: a strong work history, no serious criminal convictions, no deportations, learn some English, pay all back taxes, pay a fine and go to the back of the immigration line," numerous polls have shown that 60 to 70 percent are in favor of such a solution to our immigration situation.
MYTH #12: Denying illegal aliens driver's licenses will help solve the immigration problem.
FACTS: That's crazy. The overwhelming reason why the undocumented are here is to work. Almost all workers in America need to drive to get to work. Workers, especially farm workers, typically must travel long distances to get to and from work. From the point of view of the public safety of U.S. citizens, it is much better if everyone driving on the highways has completed a driver's course and has qualified for a driver's license.
MYTH #13: If every employer was required to verify the social security number of every employee, we could solve our illegal immigration situation.
FACTS: Well, yes, sort of. A mandatory social security verification system is a good idea but only if there is an earned legalization program put in place simultaneously. Under current circumstances, requiring social security verification without earned legalization would create chaos in many sectors of the U.S. economy. It is estimated that 50 to 60 percent of farm workers are undocumented and the percentage of undocumented workers in many other low-skill, minimum-wage, no benefits jobs -- such as dishwashers, gardeners, dairy workers, janitors, chambermaids -- is also very high.
MYTH #14: A law like the new law in Arizona would solve our immigration situation.
FACTS: The Arizona law is an overreaction and can best be compared to how we overreacted in 1942 when the U.S. government placed all west coast Japanese in internment camps. Thirty percent of Arizona's citizens -- more than 2 million people -- are Hispanic and legal. The Arizona law is vague and invites discrimination against them.
MYTH #15: Those who are upset about the current immigration situation are racists.
FACTS: Of course, some racism does exist in this debate. But for the most part the American public is frustrated and angry that our elected officials prefer to play "gotcha" politics with this difficult and controversial issue rather than addressing it in a mature, common sense manner. Most Americans recognize that most of the people here illegally are working hard at low-end jobs, and they believe the politicians should find some rational solution to this very contentious matter.
The solution to our immigration dilemma will only come from comprehensive immigration reform. That reform must include four parts:
1) Secure the southern border
2) Allow those here to apply for earned legalization
3) Require all employers to verify the immigration status of their employees
4) Allow some flexible number of low-skill Green Cards in the future in light of the needs of the U.S. economy.
- Immigration can lead to an exchange of values, knowledge, expertise and perspectives. Because of immigration, people are exposed to diverse languages and cultures that are different from their own, adding to the richness of any given society.
The Economy
- Whether immigrants make up the brains behind research and technological development or help meet a country's demand for labor, they are often seen as a boon to the economy of the recipient nation. Many immigrants represent the most intelligent, hard-working and ambitious people of their native countries. Allowing them to bring their talents and skills to another country can be enriching for immigrants and the recipient nation. In addition, immigrants add to the country's consumer base, helping the economy.
Fighting Poverty
- While some believe that the jobs and wealth of a country are its own private property, others believe immigration is a key to opening the global market and spreading wealth into less-developed countries. Thus, immigration can be viewed as a valuable tool in combating world poverty.
Keeping it Legal
- Allowing for a steady flow of legal immigration minimizes the incentive for illegal immigration. By reducing or cutting off the flow of legal immigration, illegal immigration becomes more commonplace, leading to a range of problems from creating a drain on taxpayer services to an increase in crime rates.
Positive Image
- A welcoming nation that allows for reasonable immigration and treats immigrants fairly will more likely be known for such virtues and respected throughout the world.
Cultural Exchange
Immigration, A Perennial Issue Of Concern In The U.S.
By Brian McAfeeThe issue of immigration was brought to the forefront recently by Arizona’s discriminatory immigration law SB 1070, which would require police and other public officials to ask all or any Latino looking people to show their ID’s. This demonstrates an attitude oriented towards criminalizing immigrants in general and a hostile outlook towards Hispanics in particular. The anti-immigrant attitude was also evident in Utah a few months ago when a list was published and widely distributed with the names and personal information of 1,300 supposedly illegal immigrants concerning which some were actually born in the U.S., but happened to have Hispanic looking names. The people that created the list signed it “anonymous”, i.e.- cowards.
At the same time, many in the right wing of America are targeting the 14th Amendment, which states “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction there of, are citizens of the United States and of the states where in they reside.” They (the right) have dubbed them “anchor babies” and, in effect, wish to criminalize babies.
Understandably, there is a heightened climate of fear that many immigrants experience due to such extreme animosity being directed toward them. Yet, immigrants have nearly always been a perennial scapegoat of the right. Indeed, they make easy targets as they often have little or no political clout and generally cannot fight back through legal means.
Racism, I believe, is one of the fundamental components of the hostility towards immigrants. I don’t really like to use the word “race” or overly emphasize “racism” as a factor, especially as I believe that “race” is a misnomer in that all of us are of the same race, the human race. I use it only because it is in the common vernacular while often used to point out an imaginary great divide linked to ethnic variance and supposed negative traits that are assigned to people who superficially appear different.
My interest and activism on behalf of this and similar issues began about 1980 when I lived in California. Then I was involved with the anti-interventionist movement that was against U.S. policies of backing right wing dictatorships, and training militaries and death squads from El Salvador and Guatemala, as well as throughout much of Latin America. I was also active in CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador.
At the time, the group was opposed to U.S. operations that supported government leaders and armed forces involved in widespread imprisonment, torture and murder of innocent civilians to prop up a corrupt regime favoring U.S. business interests. Due to the resultant turmoil in their land, many Salvadorans, throughout the 80′s and into the 90′s, came north as refugees and were helped by the sanctuary movement that sheltered many of these illegal aliens.
Movement members understood that, if the refugees were deported to El Salvador, they would likely be found and killed by the Salvadoran government/death squads whose commanders the U.S. funded and trained at the School of the Americas in Georgia. In relation, El Salvador had 75,000 killed and, concurrently, Guatemala had 200,000 civilians killed in the 80′s and 90′s.
All considered, many refugees, aside from those from El Salvador, came to the U.S. during that period. Yet because of our government’s ratification of their nations’ brutal regimes, our public officials showed indifference to their story and hostility to their needs at the time.
Later on when Newt Gingrich and the Republicans introduced their Contract with America, many of us rejected its viewpoints. We noted, amongst other unacceptable positions, its ratification of a strong anti-immigrant stance, one that instilled a great deal of anxiety among many immigrants, including my wife who is from Thailand.
Understandably, many immigrants from all parts of the world feared deportation in relation to this ugly contract. So they worked to quickly obtain U.S. nationality and, representing a fairly common mix for that era, there were about 300 new citizens comprised of approximately 70% Latin Americans, 20% Asians, and 10% Europeans and Africans during one of the many citizenship ceremonies taking place then.
Meanwhile, I, as always, have a positive attitude about immigration and the ethnic mix of our country. I view both as a good occurrence, especially as newcomers and people with diverse cultural backgrounds bring a fresh perspective to many varied issues that concern us all. They also often provide valuable goods and services that vitalize the economy and strengthen community ties.
To learn more details about this topic, please refer to DREAM Act – Act On A Dream, Tom Roach’s Myths muddle the immigration morass | OregonLive.com, David A. Sylvester’s Reagan’s Refugees: Why Undocumented Migrants Have a Right to Work Here and Michael O’Brien’s Newt Gingrich Outlines New ‘Contract With America’.
I welcome any comments and can be reached at brimac6@hotmail.com.
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