Category: Power to the People

Russ Feingold

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

A politician who not only didn’t cash in, he’s taking it to the people:

WASHINGTON — When some senators retire, they decide to take lucrative lobbying jobs. Others go straight to Wall Street. But Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, who lost his re-election bid in November, is continuing on his principled — and often lonely — path by starting an organization to combat corporate influence in politics, an effort he hopes will spark “a new progressive movement” that will truly hold elected officials accountable.

Launching on Wednesday, Progressives United is an attempt to to build a grassroots effort aimed at mitigating the effects of, and eventually overturning, the Supreme Court’s infamous Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates to corporate spending in the U.S. electoral system. In addition to online mobilization, the political action committee (PAC) will support progressive candidates at the local, state and national levels, as well as holding the media and elected officials accountable on the group’s key priorities.

“In my view — and the view of many people — it’s one of the most lawless decisions in the history of our country,” said Feingold of Citizens United in an interview with The Huffington Post. “The idea of allowing corporations to have unlimited influence on our democracy is very dangerous, obviously. That’s exactly what it does … Things were like this 100 years ago in the United States, with the huge corporate and business power of the oil companies and others. But this time it’s like the Gilded Age on steroids.”

Police state

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Sounds like every cop in Wisconsin’s at the Capitol today. From Uppity Wisconsin:

An anonymous State Patrol officer cited Wisconsin State Statute 110.07(2m) which says in part that, “No state traffic officer shall be used in or take part in any dispute or controversy between employer or employee concerning wages, hours, labor or working conditions… .”

Aware of this, many of the state troopers who were ordered to mobilize this week in response to protests at the Capitol reportedly voiced strenuous objections to their managers. They were ordered to deploy regardless, without any rationale being offered for why the statute might not be applicable in this instance.

But what are a few violations of state law here and there when you’re a besieged governor trying to undo the peoples’ work?

More Wisconsin

~ susie

Because damn it, this makes me hopeful that we’re not going to hand our country over to these bastards!

This union-busting strategy was planned by the Republican Governors Association, of which the corporate media seems oddly unaware:

MADISON, Wis. — Thousands of public employees and supporters converged at a hearing at the capitol here that ran into the wee hours of Wednesday morning to voice their objection to a proposal to cut their benefits and remove most of their unions’ ability to bargain.
Related

Wisconsin May Take an Ax to State Workers’ Benefits and Their Unions (February 12, 2011)
The show of anger was powerful. Madison schools were closed on Wednesday after scores of teachers called in sick and appeared headed to lobby exhausted-looking lawmakers, who had heard more than 17 hours of comments in a public hearing that began on Tuesday morning. More buses of public workers from other parts of the state were still pulling up near dawn on Wednesday.

The target of their fury was a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican elected in November, to press through a “repair bill” that would help solve the state’s $137 million budget shortfall by requiring government workers to contribute significantly more to their pensions and health care, while limiting collective bargaining for most state and local government employees to the issue of wages, excluding an array of issues like health coverage and vacations.

A letter from Cairo

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Wael Khairy to Roger Ebert:

To express the widespread rapture, euphoria and excitement is impossible. Every single Egyptian in Cairo at one point or another must have left his or her home and gone to celebrate in Tahrir square. Women, children and men of all ages were chanting in joyfulness. I saw so many of my friends and cousins randomly. Without the exchange of words we rushed towards each other and hugged in celebration. People then started hugging each other regardless of being related or knowing one another. Strangers took strangers into their arms and congratulated one another.

Cars were honking their horns all over the city, and as I walked back home with my brother I met two friends. We told them how amazing it was in Tahrir Square as told them to go there faster when suddenly the sound of a car crashing into a civilian alarmed everyone standing. We all gathered around the young man who smashed into the window of taxi, flipped into the air and landed on the street. For a moment everyone was silent. I thought he was dead and the taxi driver rushed out his seat to make sure the young boy was fine. After laying still for a moment or two, he looked up and shouted “Unfortunately I’m not a martyr but EGYPT IS FREE!” Everyone laughed and cheered. The taxi driver carried him and drove him to a nearby hospital; both were smiling as they left. That’s how happy everyone was – broken bones weren’t enough to kill the bliss of the night.

No one knows what will happen next and it feels so good. I’m sick of the predictability of the regime and at last we are in charge of our own destiny. I’m so proud to be Egyptian. I’m proud of my people and my country. I’m proud of the support from all the foreigners I know. We made it, not through violence but through unity, harmony and peace. May the rest of the world act the same way and remember that we’re all human beings longing for happiness regardless of religion, race or nationality. I’ll go to bed now so I can wake up early and clean the streets with my fellow countrymen. Egypt is reborn. Good night. At last I’ll sleep knowing I’ll wake up a free Egyptian.

How To Help Egypt, For Americans

~ Natasha ~ 2 Comments

It’s awesome to see people rise against their oppressors, more awesome to see them succeed, as Egyptians have done today. Though since this is far from over, I expect to continue to hear a lot of talk about what Americans’ role, or the role of our government, should be.

Other than being aware of what the people there are doing and cheering them on, I think the best thing any American, or American politician, or group of Americans who aren’t of Egyptian descent could do for people in Egypt and the cause of freedom generally is this:

Mind our own damn business.

Because the business of the American people has long been neglected. Sure, we can pull together a great candlelight vigil for other people, in other countries, or march on their embassies. We can weep for forests and environments destroyed on continents we will probably never visit. All good. All fine steps towards broadening our empathy and expanding our compassion. But mostly, we’re leaving our power on the table when our first concerns are the problems of other countries.

We, US citizens, vote here. We pay taxes here. We live here. There is no country on the planet over whose policies we can have more influence as private citizens than ours. There is also no other country on the planet more broadly influential or more generally impervious to outside pressure.

Want to advance the cause of freedom? Advance it here, for our fellow citizens. Set an example.

In 2009, the 74 top income earners in America made as much as the 19 million lowest paid workers. That is our business.

The US’ poorest residents, and its most historically disadvantaged residents, are forced to live next to our worst polluters and bear the largest share of health and early mortality costs from our fuel and chemical habits. Which is our business.

The mortgage and investment banking industries destroyed our economy by committing epic fraud. Instead of being sent to jail, they were appointed to run the *ing Treasury department and the Federal *ing Reserve. This is our business.

The US government trained Mubarak’s torturers, and torturers for vile regimes all over the world. The US government used that network of torturers, in acts of extraordinary rendition, to brutalize people who were never charged with any crime. The US government tortured people in Iraq, and still in Guantanamo, and still in our domestic prisons, and with high voltage Tasers in broad daylight on our own *ing streets, sometimes to the point of death. That, goddamnit, is Our. Motherf*cking. Business.

Among other things.

You may recall that the Egyptian rallies were inspired in part by the Tunisian rallies. The Egyptians aren’t holding solidarity rallies for the Tunisians. The British aren’t holding solidarity rallies for either of them, they’re demanding that their own corporate crooks pay up.

If we, Americans, would rattle the bars of our own cages, if we would insist that our freeloading billionaires start paying for the fine business climate, security protections, roads and educated workers they enjoy here, I think that would help the people of Egypt. If we, Americans, would stand to protect each other’s interests so that the wealthy couldn’t pay us enough to turn us against each other, I think that would help the people of Egypt. If we, Americans, would sharply limit our country’s exports of both pollution and Mephistophelean misanthropes high as kites on their own unspeakable power, I think that would help the people of Egypt.

That would put fear in the heart of every dictator and plutocrat in the world. That would tell people everywhere who long to be free that, yes, we are with you, we get it. We’re in this sh*t together and sweet Jeebus, we want out, too.

Anyway, if there’s anything we can do to help, I think that would be it. Because sure as anything, no one wants us to ride to their rescue on a desert camo armored personnel carrier wrapped in a fugue of righteous helpfulness.