Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Please note I have a new phone number...

512-517-2708

Alan Maki

Alan Maki
Doing research at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

A program for real change...

http://peaceandsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-progressive-program-for-real-change.html


What we need is a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would make it a mandatory requirement that the president and Congress attain and maintain full employment.


"Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens"

- Ben Franklin

Let's talk...

Let's talk...

Monday, March 9, 2020


Image may contain: people standing, possible text that says 'TRUMP BRAND LYING SACK OF SHIT'

Besides Marxism, there is something very fundamental the working class in this country has yet to grasp...

There is something in this country the working class has never really grasped like workers in other countries such as in the Scandinavian countries have... especially like in Finland:


Once reforms have been won these reforms must be constantly and forever defended and the movements to defend these reforms must constantly push to broaden and improve the reforms.


But, workers in these Scandinavian countries also have their own political parties ranging from the social democratic parties to the Communist parties.


Bernie Sanders likes to point to the Scandinavian countries as examples of his “democratic socialism” but he doesn’t want to talk about how these reforms have been won through difficult struggles because the workers have parties that take up their struggles with employers at the ballot box, too.


To think that workers can make any headway in a party like the Democratic Party that is being controlled and manipulated by the very bosses who exploit us on a daily basis is just sheer nonsense and the Scandinavian example proves this.


It becomes dishonest to use the reforms of the Scandinavian countries as examples without explaining that these reforms exist mostly because the working class continues its struggles at the ballot box through its own parties.


And it is time for Bernie Sanders’ supporters to help get this message through to him: help start a new working class based people’s party... this is what one would expect any kind of socialist to do.


And we need not look to the Scandinavian countries for examples of working class parties that work; we have a perfectly good example of such a Party right here in the United States that was extremely successful in the old socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party because in this party we had a working relationship between liberals, progressives and leftists with both the Socialist Party and the Communist Party fully cooperating for the common good of all who labor for a living.


Of course, if one is going to engage in the bosses’ game of anti-Communist red-baiting you can’t build such a successful working class based people’s party.


And the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party understood differences of opinion would arise between its various constituencies who had a little different point of view because of people’s positions in life so they had this very unique Farmer-Labor Association which handled debates to iron out problems in a civil way.


There are those on the left (most of the left in this country who are content to remain in their own little sects) who are too sectarian to handle being involved in such a party so as a result this history is ignored so the working class does not learn. This is unfortunate.


I urged Bernie Sanders to come into Minnesota to bring forward the example of the old socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party... he refused to entertain such thinking. This is unfortunate...
unfortunate for him and unfortunate for the working class. And it is unfortunate most of the left in this country, all of whom claim to be the voices of the working class, are so dishonest in their narrow sectarian views that they will refuse to bring forward the history of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party... the most successful third party movement ever in this country.


But if Bernie Sanders wants to continue to be infatuated solely with the advances made in the Scandinavian countries like Denmark and Finland he should at least be forced to acknowledge their reforms are the result of vigorous class struggle with the working class having its own political parties albeit not as united as the the old socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party was.


In fact, had Bernie Sanders taken my advice and come into Minnesota declaring himself to be working towards the goals and objectives that were brought forward by Minnesota’s two socialist governors still held in the highest esteem, Floyd Olson and Elmer Benson, he would have walked away with a victory over Joe Biden.


There is no escaping the fact that the working class in this country will not advance without its own political party to do battle with our Wall Street enemy.

Is the anti-monopoly struggle the basis for all-people's unity at the ballot box?

Bernie Sanders says he is a “democratic socialist” and as such he says he isn’t opposed to capitalism except in its monopoly form.


Elizabeth Warren says she is for capitalism but not in its present monopoly form.


Most Americans are opposed to Wall Street monopolies.


Okay, so we can’t all agree to get rid of capitalism and replace it with socialism...


Let’s at least take a step to curb the power of the Wall Street monopolies and their domination over our lives, our society and the economy.


A Sanders-Warren ticket against the Wall Street monopolists would be acceptable to most people in this country; and, within this anti-monopoly electoral coalition we can continue to have a civil discussion about capitalism versus socialism.


Make monopoly the issue in this election and make the socialist alternative to capitalism the issue in the next election.


How is that for a compromise?


Create an anti-monopoly party now and then let the people decide democratically if they want to transition the party into an anti-capitalist party for socialism.


After all, half the people in this country say they are willing to consider the socialist alternative to capitalism... aren’t we entitled to have a voice and a vote?


We really can’t skip the anti-monopoly stage in the struggle for socialism anyways.


Take this idea and spread it around to find out what others think and if this kind of discussion goes viral it just might force Sanders and Warren to realize their responsibility to the American people if they are sincere in wanting to get rid of Trump in a way that leaves us in the strongest position to fight for the kind of reforms we require to solve our many pressing problems.


Maybe we could all sign an open letter to Sanders and Warren telling them we want them working together on this?

People wait in long lines for hours to vote... and they find out their vote wasn't counted.

Come to find out, some of the people who waited the longest in lines to vote in Texas, their votes didn’t even get counted because the votes from over forty of these precincts in Dallas County alone were not counted because the jump drives the votes were on were “misplaced” and never counted.


The Dallas County Clerk should be forced to resign for malfeasance and misfeasance.


This is a County Clerk who is always talking about how voters need to educate themselves.
All of this corruption is just discouraging people from voting...
So much for “every vote counts.”

Are you getting anything for your vote?

In my opinion people are making a big mistake getting caught up in supporting these capitalist candidates to the extent they get angry with people who differ with them.


As working people we need to be more focused on coming together in movements supporting solutions to our problems.


Something is real out of kilter in politics today where politicians think they have the right to trick us out of our votes using nice sounding properly framed progressive policy directives created by over-paid party hacks with the intent of making fools out of us by tricking us out of our votes when they have no intent of giving us anything in return for our votes.


This is all a part of the rigged corrupt political process being passed off as democracy.
Do these politicians work for us or do we work for these politicians...


Look at your paycheck and see how much is being deducted and then consider what you are getting in return and you will figure out that we are being played for fools.

A thought about politics today.

I think one of the real problems with the way capitalist politics has developed is that none of these politicians are willing to sit down and carry on a conversation with anyone unless you come bearing large campaign contributions.


You used to be able to sit down and discuss things with politicians; even those with whom there were disagreements.


I could sit with politicians like Jerry Ford, George McGovern, George Romney, Coleman Young and even George Bush Sr. and have a conversation... now even a lowly member of city council won’t give you the time of day unless you come bearing a big campaign contribution.


Even Tim Pawlenty would welcome a discussion.


All of this openness is gone from politics. Even the recipients of the philanthropists’ donations who head up the foundations have taken to this same approach of shutting out the people.

Is fascism in our future?

One trait of fascism often not talked about is unfettered corruption in every area of life.

The economy... on verge of collapse?

Trump’s great economy... has the economic collapse begun or is this just part of the instability that will lead to the next crash?


“U.S. stock market trading was temporarily halted after a 7% fall triggered a “circuit breaker.” If the brutal selling in the Dow and broader market continues, trading may be briefly halted again after a 13% drop. If the market falls 20%, all trading will be closed for the rest of the day.”