Tucson ISO

A Weekend of Solidarity

2011-02-26T10:44:00.002-07:00

Yesterday two events happened that celebrated the efforts of the people of Madison and protested against the continued attacks against the people of Arizona. Legislation is in the works that would drastically cut funding to public universities, cut individuals' access to health benefits, outright attack undocumented workers and their children, and more.

These events continue today with two rallies happening at noon:

Rally at the State Capital in Phoenix, Arizona.

Rally at the corner of Broadway and Campbell in Tucson, Arizona.

And for a live feed of the occupation of the Capital building in Madison check out USTREAM.

Turnout tomorrow to support Madison!

2011-02-24T08:39:00.002-07:00

Please forward this event as widely as possible - to your teachers, coworkers, students, classmates, family, and friends.

Facebook Event: Solidarity with Madison

This is a great opportunity to show our support for the people of Madison, who are battling it out against just one of the latest and severest attacks on the rights and livelihood of workers. Let's stand with them and against the continued use of austerity measures.

Today's editorial from Socialist Worker "Time to show our power" highlights some of developments in this battle against austerity measures, which put the burden on workers.

THE BATTLE for Wisconsin's future has come to a crossroads--and the movement that has electrified the country with its opposition to Gov. Scott Walker's anti-labor assault needs to step up the fight to win.
Last week, the capitol building in downtown Madison took on the spirit and feel of Cairo's Tahrir Square as growing numbers of workers and students, first from Madison and then from around the state and the country, occupied the building and took over the grounds around it.
Their determined spirit--and action--pressured Senate Democrats to boycott a session where Walker and the Republicans were ready to ram through a proposal that would effectively cut state workers' wages by 5 to 7 percent and cripple public-sector unions by virtually destroying collective bargaining.
Check out the rest of the article at Socialist Worker.

Solidarity with Madison!

2011-02-22T15:10:00.004-07:00

Revolts in Tunisia to Egypt to Libya to... Madison???

That's right. The people of Madison, Wisconsin have been protesting the recent legislation by Gov. Walker that would drastically cut employees' union bargaining rights as well as massive cuts to health care and income.

Let's show our support for the people of Madison, and all peoples who fight against oppression, violence, and exploitation.

Join us for a sign making party Thursday night at 8pm in the Gender and Women's Studies Building (925 N. Tyndall Ave).

Questions? Call 520.302.4476 or email TucsonISO@gmail.com

Coffee with the Socialists

2011-01-17T20:23:00.002-07:00

Join us for weekly political discussions including reviews of Socialist Worker and International Socialist Review articles.

Starting this Monday the 24th at 4pm at Espresso Art Cafe. Meet us in the back!

For more information email us or give us a call at 520.302.4476.

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Socialism 101: This isn't Obama's type of socialism!

2010-10-26T09:21:00.004-07:00

You hear that Obama is a socialist, that people are rioting in France over pensions, that the Democrats are going to lose jobs because they want to raise taxes and that the Republicans will tank the economy because they do not want to tax the rich. Who is defending who? How are we to make sense of all of the rhetoric while we struggle everyday to pay our bills and go to work or school? Would a world where resources were shared based on need and not on a profit model be so bad? Would free education and health care destroy the moral fabric of our society? Wouldn't improving infrastructure and public transportation create jobs, improve our economy, and overall improve the quality of all of our lives?

Join us for our Socialism 101 meeting. Learn about what socialism really is and what people are doing around the globe to fight for a better world.

This isn't Obama's type of socialism!

When: November 11th, 7:30pm

Where: UA Main Library, A105 (group study area)

Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization.

Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six

2010-10-26T09:16:00.004-07:00

The COMMUNITY AND RESISTANCE tour seeks to communicate about current struggles for justice and liberation, from nooses hung in the northern Louisiana town of Jena to women organizing inside prisons, from resistance to school privatization to disability organizing and cultural resistance. The tour also seeks to connect communities of liberation, and to build relationships between grassroots activists and independent media.

This tour is for anyone interested in issues of health care, education, criminal justice, housing, or the ways in which systems of racism, patriarchy and other forms of oppression intersect with these struggles.

Sponsored by Haymarket Books, PM Press, Left Turn Magazine, Community Futures Collective, PATOIS, and other radical and independent media projects from around the US, the COMMUNITY AND RESISTANCE TOUR is an exciting movement-building opportunity. Beginning August, 2010, the tour will bring performances, workshops, and inspiration to towns and cities in across the US.

Speakers for the Tucson event are Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Jordan Flaherty. See below for bios.

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Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a Worcester raised, Toronto matured, Oakland-based queer Sri Lankan writer, performer and teacher. She is the 2009-10 Artist in Residence and part-time professor at UC Berkeley’s June Jordan’s Poetry for the People and the co-founder and co-artistic director of Mangos With Chili, North America’s only touring cabaret of queer and trans people of color performing artists. She is a commissioned performer with Sins Invalid, the national performance organization of queer people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Her one woman show, Grown Woman Show, has toured nationally, including performances at the National Queer Arts Festival, Swarthmore College, Yale University, Reed College and McGill University.

The author of Consensual Genocide, her writing has appeared in the anthologies Yes Means Yes, Visible: A Femmethology, Homelands, Colonize This, We Don’t Need Another Wave, Bitchfest, Without a Net, Dangerous Families, Brazen Femme, Femme and A Girl’s Guide to Taking Over The World. She writes regularly for Bitch, Colorlines, Hyphen, Left Turn and Make/Shift magazines. The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities, which she co-edited with Ching-In Chen and Jai Dulani, will be published by South End Press in March 2011. Her second book of poetry, Love Cake, and first memoir, Dirty River, are forthcoming.

Victoria Law is a writer, photographer and mother. After a brief stint as a teenage armed robber, she became involved in prisoner support. In 1996, she helped start Books Through Bars-New York City, a group that sends free books to prisoners nationwide. In 2000, she began concentrating on the needs and actions of women in prison, drawing attention to their issues by writing articlesand giving public presentations. Since 2002, she has worked with women incarcerated nationwide to produceTenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison andhas facilitated having incarcerated women's writings published in larger publications, such as Clamormagazine, the website "Women and Prison: A Site forResistance" and make/shift magazine. Her bookResistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women (PM Press 2009) is the culmination of over 7 years of listening to, writing about and supporting incarcerated women nationwide and resulted in this former delinquent winning the 2009 PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award.

In 1995, she became involved with ABC No Rio, a collectively-run arts center on New York's Lower East Side, a move that resulted in changing her lifestyle from delinquency to social justice with an arts focus. In 1997, she organized a group of activist photographers to transform one of No Rio's upstairs tenement apartments into a black-and-white photo darkroom for community use. She has also participated in and curated numerous exhibitions at No Rio's gallery, many with themes addressing social and political issues such as incarceration, grassroots efforts to rebuild New Orleans, Zapatista organizing, police brutality and squatting.

In 2003, she collaborated with China Martens to createDon't Leave Your Friends Behind, a workshop addressing the specific (and often unacknowledged) needs of parentsand children in radical movements; and has co-facilitated discussions in Baltimore, New York City, Providence, Montreal, Minneapolis, Detroit and Boston. They are editing a handbook for allies of radical parents by the same name.

Jordan Flaherty is a journalist and community organizer based in New Orleans. He was the first journalist with a national audience to write about the Jena Six case, and played an important role in bringing the story to worldwide attention. His post-Katrina writing in ColorLines Magazineshared a journalism award from New America Media for best Katrina-related coverage in the Ethnic press, and audiences around the world have seen the news segments he’s produced for Al-Jazeera, TeleSur, GritTV, and Democracy Now. His new book, FLOODLINES: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Sixwill be released this summer from Haymarket Press. For more information on the book, see floodlines.org.

Jordan has appeared as a guest on a wide range of television and radio shows, including CNN Morning, Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Headline News, Grit TV, and both local and nationally-syndicated shows on National Public Radio. He has been a regular correspondent or frequent guest on Democracy Now, Radio Nation on Air America, News and Notes, and many other outlets. As a white southerner who speaks honestly about race, Jordan Flaherty has been regularly published in Black progressive forums such as BlackCommentator.org andBlack Agenda Report, and is a regular guest on Black radio stations and programs such as Keep Hope Alive With Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Jordan is an editor of Left Turn Magazine, a national publication dedicated to covering social movements. He has written about politics and culture for the Village Voice, New York Press, Labor Notes, Radical Society, and in several anthologies, including the South End Press books Live From Palestine and What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race and the State of the Nation, the University of Georgia Press book What is a City, and the AK Press book Red State Rebels.

Anger builds over Arizona law

2010-04-24T10:12:00.004-07:00

Angela Stoutenburgh reports from Arizona on the impact of a sweeping new anti-immigrant law--and the response it provoked from opponents who believe that "no human being is illegal."

April 26, 2010

Protesters march against SB 1070 outside the Arizona Capitol Building in Phoenix (Art Foxall | UPI)

WITHIN HOURS of Arizona's racist immigration bill being signed into law on April 23, thousands of people across the state began taking to the streets against SB 1070--the strictest immigration law in the country.

Phoenix, the state's capitol, saw several demonstrations over April 23-25, as hundreds--and in some cases, several thousands--of immigrant rights defenders turned out against the new law. As many as 2,000 students walked out of several Phoenix high schools in protest. Other demonstrations occurred in cities across the state, and furious immigrant rights supporters around the U.S. met and organized a response to this latest assault.

Ramon Garcia, an activist who traveled to Phoenix from Tucson to take part in a rally of several thousand on April 24, told Reuters, "I feel very strongly that the law is extremely unconstitutional and racist, and it violates both human and civil rights."

Another 3,500 protesters turned out the following day in Phoenix. Wearing T-shirts that read "Legalize Arizona" and carrying signs saying "We are human" and "We have rights," protesters called for the Obama administration to block the law by passing federal immigration reform, and for activists to carry out civil disobedience, if necessary, to oppose the unjust law.

As Dr. Warren Stewart, pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church, told the crowd, "Some of us may have to go to jail if all else fails. Let's fill up and overflow [anti-immigrant Maricopa County] Sheriff Arpaio's jail. Overflow it with those for righteousness and for justice."

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon told the crowd: "We'll go to court. We'll go to the state courts, we'll go to the federal courts, and we'll go all the way to the Supreme Court. The law is unconstitutional, the law makes it unsafe for everyone and the law will harm us economically. Most importantly, it is just plain wrong."

SB 1070 was signed on April 23 by Gov. Jan Brewer. Brewer claims the law is a necessity because of a supposed "crisis" of undocumented immigration that, she says, "the federal government has refused to fix."

The law makes it a crime for immigrants to fail to carry identification papers. It also "requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state or a county, city, town or political subdivision...if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.," according to a state government fact sheet.

In other words, Arizona police are now required to check the immigration status of anyone "suspected" of possibly being undocumented (although the law fails to specify exactly what a "reasonable suspicion" is). If police or other state officials don't follow up, the law also allows Arizona residents to sue the state for failing to abide by the letter of the law.

In addition, the new law makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to work or solicit work in Arizona or to pick up a day laborer for work if the vehicle impedes traffic. It also makes a day laborer subject to criminal charges if he or she is picked up, and the vehicle involved impedes traffic.

After signing the bill into law, Brewer claimed that its critics were "overreacting." But when asked what reasonable criteria could used to establish suspicion of someone's legal status, Brewer answered, "I don't know. I do not know what an illegal immigrant looks like."

That's precisely the problem. The law is an open invitation to racial profiling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ACTIVISTS ARE not sitting back while the law goes into effect. This legalized bigotry is prompting a groundswell of protests across the state and the country in defense of immigrant rights.

In Tucson, for example, two rallies took place just on the day the law was signed. Motorists downtown watched as students walked out of their schools and down Congress Street to congregate outside the Federal Building in the morning. Activists from the Coalicion de Derechos Humanos (Coalition of Human Rights) said that this protest was "no one group; it was everybody."

More than 500 people, mostly students, came out with signs and bullhorns, despite the fact that the call for a protest did not go out until 10 a.m. Many of the protesters had not even been aware of the demonstration until they received a text or a Facebook invitation, or heard that their classmates were going.

As students sang "Sí, se puede, sí, sí, se puede!" motorists in the streets honked their horns in rhythm to the beat, and students responded with loud cheers. Local Tucson police scuttled around in an attempt to redirect morning traffic.

One participant said that she was "glad to catch them by surprise." As one organizer told the crowd, "We will not let them take this moment away." As the students, some as young as middle school, cheered with their hands in the air, their voices were drowned out by passing city busses honking their horns in support.

Later the same afternoon, protestors rallied at Armory Park and marched to the Federal Building with students from Tucson High. Nearly 600 people marched down Congress Street, protesting Brewer's signature on the bill.

As organizers reminded participants to stay on the sidewalks, one shouted into a bullhorn, "We are not criminals. We are a community that demands respect! They hope that 1070 will divide our community. They are wrong. We are connected in ways they will never understand."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

COMMUNITY GROUPS, students and activists have been rallying and organizing against SB 1070 since the law was first proposed. One of the most visible protests occurred on April 21 as a group of nine students chained themselves to the Capitol building and were arrested.

Another protest took place at the Capitol building a day later, and many smaller ones have happened across the state, and even outside of the state. Many more are scheduled in the days and weeks ahead.

SB 1070 does not go into effect for 90 days after the legislature closes sessions. Activists must now keep up the pressure against the state as schools close for summer.

On April 25, the Rev. Al Sharpton, announced that his National Action Network would organize "freedom walkers" to challenge the Arizona bill, just as freedom riders challenged segregation decades ago. "We will go to Arizona when this bill goes into effect and walk the streets with people who refuse to give identification and force arrest," Sharpton said Sunday in New York.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is also calling on businesses and groups looking for convention and meeting locations to boycott Arizona--a call that is being taken up by many activists across the U.S.

The furor over the bill pressured President Barack Obama to criticize the law. He called it "misguided" and said that it threatens to "undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans." Obama promised to use the federal government's power to take on SB 1070.

But we can't wait on the federal government to challenge a law that will destroy lives from the day it goes into effect. This racist attack must be met with continued resistance locally and nationally. SB 1070 can become a lightning rod for building an immigrant rights movement that is already beginning to gain energy and momentum.

My letter to Obama

2010-04-06T09:49:00.001-07:00

Dear President Obama,

I was thinking back to your State of the Union address and remembered how much you liked referencing the letters you received, so I thought I would give it a shot. Let me get something straight though. I did not vote for you.

“Why are you writing me a letter,” you might ask, “if you did not even vote for me?”

Because it’s six in the morning and I cannot stop crying and I don’t know what else to do.

But to answer your question a little bit more sophisticatedly maybe I did not vote for you because I was one of those disenfranchised youths that had the first opportunity to vote between George W. Bush and the pro-war, “anti-war” democratic candidate John Kerry? I think I threw my vote to the Green Party that year. Maybe I did not vote for you because I knew that you only represented corporate interests. And please, don’t tell me that you don’t. I am tired of the talk about Wall Street working for the sake of Main Street; all I know is that on my Main Street there are homeless people, and on your Wall Street there are some fat, and I mean fat, fat cats. How much money did you get from corporations that usually give money to the Republicans? A lot. But you’re right; you did get a lot of money from regular people. And if not their money then their time, their energies and their hopes. People really did believe in you and many of them still do. But you continue to peddle to the interests of big business, big pharma, and continued US military “might” and people are, honestly, becoming disillusioned in you.

And me? Well, I just didn’t think you’d be so good at what you do – that is, supporting the corporate class. I just didn’t think you would fail us so hard. Yes us, your constituents, even the ones that didn’t vote for you. I include myself amongst so many that were and are invested in you because they are just like me. I am just like them. We are all in debt, all broken hearted, all confused over the rhetoric of hard work and American Dreams, which contradict our daily experiences. It really does seem like our parents had it easier. That are grandparents seemed to travel the world a lot more. And not because they served in the military and stationed in Hawaii or Korea, but because they had the time and the means to go to Italy or San Francisco for fun. I can barely afford to watch a movie because that is ten dollars that I could use to pay for some groceries. Yeah and I get that it is not your fault that movie theaters are trying to make a profit in these “tough times.” I am just letting you know by an example what type of economic choices we make every day.

It might be worth it to tell you why I am crying this morning. I woke up to a text message from my father in law telling me that he and my mother were too swamped in debt to pay the monthly payment on a student loan that we took out years ago. I would have to work with my bank to figure out how to pay it off. It was no longer their responsibility. Okay. So maybe it isn’t their responsibility since it is a student loan my mother took out for me. But if you give me a chance I can explain why I had to take out that loan, as well as others.

I went to a top ranked private university. I got in with scholarships, grants, and loans. I was doing pretty well. Both my mom and grandma were working, well, until my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, and then my mother was “let go” because her employer did not want to renew her contract. Mom and grandma could not help me out anymore but that was okay because there were resources for kids like me and my university seemed interested in having me. Okay, well at least for the first two years, when I got sizeable financial aid packages. Think of it like those teaser rates that mortgage companies speak so highly of. You get a good chunk of money the first year, pay a little bit here, work a part time job there, but you make it work. Next year maybe you work two part time jobs and take out a loan. Why? Because your university increased its cost of tuition six to seven percent, along with hikes in the fees and room and board. And then the state and federal financial aid ran out because as a Junior and Senior in undergraduate school you get less, if any, financial support. Maybe all that happened to you every year for four years and you graduated from a fine upstanding university with two bachelors and over fifty thousand dollars in debt. That’s what happened to me.

“Wow, two degrees. You must be smart. I bet you could have applied for outside grants,” you might admonish me.

Sure, I could have tried. But outside grants and scholarships are not based primarily on financial need. I was told point blank that my 3.6 GPA was not high enough to even try applying for grants by my financial aid counselor because those organizations or groups did not even start considering you until you had at least a 3.75.

Fannie Mae did not have a minimum GPA requirement. But she does have a 10-12% interest rates on personal student loans.

So sure Mr. Private Benefactor if you want to give your money to people who are deserved academically I salute you. But I cannot apply for your grant because I only have a 3.6 and I can’t get it any higher because I work two jobs and take five classes. Oh and by the way, the federal government refuses to allow me to work more than twenty hours a week because it would be unfair. Unfortunately, they do not seem to get that having to take out personal loans is unfair. This is a debt I may live with for the rest of my life.

I am in graduate school at another top ranked university, this time state. I’m not making that same mistake of going to a private university. But this University is in Arizona whose state legislature has a keen interest in cutting funding to all public education. I could trouble you with numbers and figures of what departments have been cut, whose paychecks have been slashed, how much the tuition has increased, and how long it takes students to actually graduate from this “four year” university. But you are a busy man and I am tired of looking at those numbers. If you would be so kind as to believe me when I say that it’s a lot then we could move forward.

One of your recent accomplishments was to get the health care bill passed. The right is telling me to fear you and the left is telling me to praise you. I’m sorry but I’m too busy worrying about what is going to happen when my department (hell, even the university) no longer has the money to pay for my health care as is guaranteed to me by contract. In the coming years my department will have to decide on whether or not to pay me or pay for my health insurance. And I, well I’ll probably have to take out more loans. But what if somehow I make it but I had to give up my health insurance? According to this new bill I would have to pay a fine for not having health care. What is it, a fine of $750? That’s how much my rent is. Would this then imply that paying a fine for not having been able to keep my health insurance is equivalent in cost and importance as keeping a roof over my head? Surely that is not what you and the other legislators had in mind. Or was it?

I have some questions about your other “achievements” as well. For instance, why does my partner, who served his four years in Iraq and Afghanistan and just recently finished his eight year contract with the US Marines Corp, not have dental? Why does he have to prove that his teeth grinding has something to do with his PTSD just so that he can get a referral to go to a dentist? You are committed to the war in Afghanistan, that “good war” that it is, and yet you seem not overly concerned with the welfare of those who come back. Your fiscal measures to stop overspending did not include the military budget but that did not translate to veterans receiving more benefits, getting bigger GI Bills. The VA did not even have enough money to give all the veterans who wanted to go to school their fair shares. They literally had to cut checks for the veterans to pick up at their local VAs. But I guess that does not concern you because your priorities, Mr. President, are being tough on terrorism. Could I be so bold as to tell you that your policies, national and abroad are terrorizing your constituents and the people internationally?

Even if you were keeping me safe from terrorism, which I don’t think you are, you are not keeping me safe from the credit card collectors, the predatory lenders. That me, again I remind you, is a we.

We are not being bailed out, the banks are. We are not getting improved health care benefits; the insurance companies are getting millions of new customers. We are not fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; nor are we invested in your war on terror because we have nothing to do with the people over there. And neither should you. The people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti, they deserve more than your National Guard and predator drones. And I do mean yours; you are the Commander in Chief after all. You did decide to increase the troops to Afghanistan and you did tell us that you would end the war in Iraq. Further, our representatives do not have to choose between different health care packages, we do. They already have guaranteed health insurance. Something akin to Medicare if I remember correctly. The CEOs of Chase, Citibank, General Motors did not have to pick between their bonuses or their companies. They got to keep both. But the workers, no, they saw their coworkers laid off, their unions busted, their health plans attacked. We get to watch as the fat cats consolidate and congratulate – that is get richer and richer as we get poorer and poorer.

And what about me? Well I get to watch as the students I teach begin to learn the meaning of debt. I get to watch as their backs start to hunch, their smiles fade away as their parents are laid off, their departments are done away with, their subtle hopes and dreams bloom into fantasies because opportunities are no longer theirs. I can’t tell them that it is worth it to work hard because we are competing in a race to the bottom. I cannot tell my friends when they ask me what this health care bill means anything more than we are going to get less that costs a lot more because you wanted to be bipartisan. You wanted to keep corporate interests at heart while we just wanted to not fear being sick. I cannot tell my partner to just go back to school because he only gets one GI Bill and it would be a waste to go back to school if you don’t know what to study. What would you suggest? Business? Or maybe law?

I suggested marketing because under capitalism there is never a shortage of selling something. Sure there is a shortage of buying, although your mainstream economists don’t seem to get that. But there is a never a shortage of selling, like when you sold us your tune about repealing Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell or ending the Defense of Marriage Act. Or that other diddy about how you’d end the war in Iraq and bring our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters home. Too bad that even if they did come home, they’d come home to a system that tells them that they must be sick in order to deserve attention.

It is without a doubt that you came in during a huge crisis and it is not your fault. But you sure are not helping. And the fact that you did get in was because people believed that you were different, that yes we can change the world in which we live. And people took that to heart. They took it to their school boards, to their town halls, to their workplaces, to the streets. They took it to D.C when 200,000 people marched for federal equality rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgenders. They took it to D.C. again when another 200,000 marched for immigrants rights. These people are not selling you a song, they are telling you: we want change.

The change they want is the change I believe in. But they change you want, does not seem to be change at all. Maybe that’s why I didn’t vote for you.

Sincerely,

Angela S.

Check out our virtual library

2010-03-15T18:59:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Library Thing we are able to show you our selection of Haymarket Books. We have multiple copies of each book and are happy to work with you to get the book to you.

If you do not see a book from Harmarket that you are interested in, send us an email and we can add it to our collection. But please do not hesitate to place your order at Haymarket Books!

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/tucsonISO

Reorganizing

2010-03-15T10:45:00.002-07:00

The Tucson Branch of the International Socialist Organization is reorganizing itself for the Spring. Check back for updates on meeting times and events. Or contact us with questions..

More than an earthquake: a brief history of Haitian resistance and imperialist exploitation

2010-01-18T11:29:00.004-07:00

The current crisis in Haiti is on everyone's minds with millions of Americans showing their support through vigils, sending aid or donations to relief projects on the ground. But behind the genuine efforts of people trying to help people we see the limp attempts of the American government, which promised only 100 million in aid to Haiti, and peace keeping organizations such as UN. The people of Haiti are without water, shelter, food, and medical supplies. Individuals are searching for their loved ones as makeshift clinics try to treat the wounded with bed sheets and broken furniture. Meanwhile there is no shortage of armed forces in Haiti. But the people of Haiti need food, not weapons. As Jess Hagopian said in an interview on Socialist Worker, "Emphasizing troops over aid creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that will lead to serious bloodshed."

Join us as we discuss the history of Haitian resistance and the economic policies, which have made this natural disaster into a catastrophe. Reading materials are available through Socialist Worker and the Tucson ISO branch.

Thursday January 21st 7:30pm

Main Library

University of Arizona

Meaning of Marxism Schedule (changed)

2009-12-30T10:03:00.005-07:00

Since we've been so busy it's been hard to finish Meaning of Marxism by Paul D'Amato. But reading this has reminded us of the need for further reading. It's time we finish the book so that we can begin our next. Everyone is welcome to join us. We can cover in discussion some of what you may have missed if you did not read the previous chapters. Copies of the book are available from the Tucson ISO branch.

Sunday, January 3rd at 7pm

6. Democracy, Reform, and Revolution

7. The Need for Socialist Organization

pages 87-119

Sunday, January 17th at 7pm - postponed till 24th

8. Russia: The God That Failed?

9. Imperialism, Nationalism, and War

pages 120-159

Sunday, January 31st at 7pm

10. Marxism and Oppression

11. Capitalism and the Environment

pages 160-189

Sunday, February 14th at 7pm

12. But What about...? Arguments against Socialism

13. Can It Happen Here?

14. Imagine ... The Future Socialist Society

Conclusion: The Point Is to Change It

pages 190-221

Meetings will be held in the Main Library at the University of Arizona.

From the decade of

2009-12-30T09:51:00.001-07:00

From the decade of “possibilities” to a decade of resistance

Posted using ShareThis

Answering Obama's Afghanistan Deceptions

2009-12-09T10:10:00.005-07:00

I would recommend Eric Ruder's article from Socialist Worker to anyone, who is trying to rationalize Obama's foreign policy regarding Afghanistan. On December 1st Obama gave a formal speech in front of the men and women of West Point. His speech resonated with the rhetoric of the Bush administration, utilizing fear, the war on terror, and the integrity of America's and its "allies'" security. Sounds like saving face to me.

Obama called for 30,000 more troops and also said that troops would be withdrawn by July of 2011. All of this sounds familiar.

Check out Eric's full article on Socialist Worker.

Donate to Socialist Worker

2009-12-07T08:11:00.005-07:00

Help us bring you more left news and views every day with our daily website Socialistworker.org and with our biweekly print edition. Make a donation to Socialist Worker today. Without your readership and support we would not be the source of radical politics you have come to expect.

http://socialistworker.org/give-a-gift

Just in time for the holidays: A Radical Book Club!

2009-12-06T11:55:00.005-07:00

If you are wondering what to get, or what to ask for!, your friends and family for the upcoming holidays, Haymarket Books has a suggestion: A radical book club. For a minimum donation of $25 a month members of the Haymarket Book Club get 1 new book a month and 20% off purchases on Haymarket.org. This is a great way to build your personal library with inspiring and radicalizing literature and theory.

Go online at www.haymarketbooks.org or visit us at our next meeting to fill out an application for a this book club.

Boycott Frys and Safeway!

2009-11-12T22:15:00.003-07:00

The workers of Fry and Safeway have called a strike that begins tomorrow Friday 13th at 6pm. The workers of Fry and Safeway have the same union and while Fry's met their workers' demands in the contract negotiations, Safeway did not. The workers have asked their community to boycott both Fry's and Safeways until Safeway agrees to meet the demands of their union.

Join us this Saturday too as we bring the workers coffee and donuts at the Broadway and Campbell Fry's. Their fight is our fight.

Response to a Wildcat article

2009-11-07T08:38:00.005-07:00

The editorial from the Arizona Daily Wildcat featured a discussion on the recent results in the Maine election. An Arizona grad student, and member of Tucson Equality Movement, responds to the editors' critique with one of her own.

I agree with the authors that there is an uphill battle for the LGBTQ community to win equal rights. However, I am not surprised by the election, although it is clearly not the conclusion I wanted. Consider the statistics, as usual the Conservative Right had a decent turn out and voted consistently within the party line. The Democrats and left of centers did not have a sizeable turn out. Why exactly would that happen? Well why wouldn't it when there is no consistent, outright support from the Democrats in favor of state and federal legislation that would grant LGBTQ community members equal access to rights and benefits within the law? Why would the same people who turned out in record numbers mobilize again in any great capacity when President Obama makes a statement that the White House is committed to maintaining Don't Ask Don't Tell during the so called "LGBT Pride Month"? People are tired of the rhetoric, tired of the relentless deceit and it's no wonder fewer people would come out to vote.

Further, a fight to get access to equal rights for the LGBTQ community is going to be 50x harder than a fight to get access to rights at the federal level. Do the math: either 50 governors sign a bill or President Obama does. And even if we do get the states' full support, that does not guarantee the 1,100 rights granted by the Federal government. The organizers and participants of the National Equality March, which saw over 200,000 people walk through the streets of D.C. demanding full and equal protection and rights under the law, know that.

The fight is on the streets, not in the ballot box. But if Democratic, or Republican, congresspeople want to join the fight, then let them in. But we sure should not wait around for them to get their act together. The strategy now is to continue the grassroots movement that is growing across the nation. First we marched to protest, but now we're marching to organize.

It's time to build strategies for a new LGBTQI movement in Tucson. If anyone is interested in working with the Tucson Equality Movement, you should come to our panel discussion this Friday the 13th at 6pm in the Diamondback Room of the PSU.

Angela Stoutenburgh is a graduate student at the University of Arizona and a member of the International Socialist Organization. To read the editorial go to their website.

Tonight's Meeting Agenda

2009-11-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

Tonight, Thursday Nov. 5th @ 7pm

Bookend Cafe, Main Library

University of Arizona

CERSC Fundraiser Party Report Back (5-10 mins) --> Daniel B.
"After the NEM" Panel Progress Report (5-10 mins) --> Angela S.
LA Regional Conference (20 mins) --> Bryan C.

Motivation (5)
Registration
Logistics

Educational Routine (25 mins) --> Kat S.

Motivation (5)
Discussion (20)

This meeting is open and anyone is invited to participate.

After the National Equality March

2009-11-04T10:43:00.004-07:00

The first week of November marks the "Week of Initiative" called for by the organizers of the National Equality March. Students and grassroots activists around the nation are building their local chapters through organizing, outreach, and action. Questions are being asked, "Where do we go from here? What do we do next?" Answers are found in action and collaboration. Here in Tucson University of Arizona students, who attended the National Equality March, have formed a group. This group, Tucson Equality Movement, is hosting a panel discussion this coming week that addresses precisely these questions. This panel will reflect the different communities fighting for LGBTQI rights: student, community, and national.

The time is now to fight for equal rights, with new faces, new methods, and renewed energies. It is time we get together and build strategies for a LGBTQI movement here in Tucson!

Friday, November 13th
6pm 13th Diamondback Room
Park Student Union
615 N. Park, Tucson, AZ 85721

Paul LeBlanc: Why I'm joining the US ISO

2009-10-30T07:34:00.002-07:00

Paul LeBlanc, author of Lenin and the Revolutionary Party, decided to join the International Socialist Organization at this year's Northeast Socialist Conference. We're excited to welcome him and we're sure it's not just because we read his book!

Check out his post on Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal.

If you are interested in learning more about the ISO check out our "Where We Stand" at the bottom of the page, or contact us via email, phone, or facebook.

Tonight's Meeting Agenda

2009-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Meeting: Bookend Cafe, University of Arizona, at 7pm

Agenda:

CERSC Fund drive
LGBTQ Organizing on campus
LA Regional Conference
Announcements

Please make sure to read the notes send out on Monday, October 26th.

If you need a ride to the meeting place be sure to call someone ahead of time.

SW Article: Has Feminism Made Women Unhappy?

2009-10-28T13:28:00.005-07:00

This is a great article that takes on some of the recent pundits' responses to a survey on men's and women's happiness.

Considering the impact of Arizona's cuts to education and health care on women especially we thought it appropriate to post. Check it out!

HERE WE go again. Another study is out to show how the women's movement ruined women's lives.

This time it's called "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness," and it's being used by self-help guru Marcus Buckingham to claim--over three decades after the height of the women's rights movement--that "though women now have the liberty to choose whichever life they'd like, many are struggling in their pursuit of a happy life."

The survey by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers at the Wharton School is an analysis of General Social Survey data, which attempts to track Americans' feelings. Each year since 1972, the U.S. General Social Survey has asked 1,500 men and women, "How happy are you, on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being very happy, and 1 being not too happy?"

The study concludes that "women in the 1970s typically reported higher subjective well-being than did men. These declines have continued and a new gender gap is emerging--one with higher subjective well-being for men."

Check out the rest at Socialist Worker.org.

Fundraising for CERSC

2009-10-26T17:50:00.003-07:00

One of the most important aspects of building a revolutionary socialist organization is getting those ideas out to a greater audience. In order to do so, we look to resources such as International Socialist Review and Haymarket Books. These two publications are the projects of the Center for Economic Research and Social Change, a not for profit 501(c)(3).

Here in Tucson, we are building our branch and building our presence. Help us raise money for this organization, so that it can continue publishing progressive authors such as Amy Goodman, Arundhati Roy, and Wallace Shawn. In the face of capitalism's great resources it is vital that we cultivate our own.

Our goal is $500. Help us meet our goal and to go beyond it!

There will be a fundraising party this Saturday for Halloween at 9pm. It's a costume-if-you-want-to party; $3 at the door, $5 solidarity for beer, entertainment, political discussion, and radical ideas. Contact us for directions!

Meaning of Marxism (rescheduled)

2009-10-13T08:37:00.004-07:00

Join us for our next installment of the Meaning of Marxism discussion. We will be meeting at Coffee Xchange on the corner of Campbell and Grant Ave at 8pm, this Thursday October 22nd. Bring a friend and your questions.

We will be discussing Chapters 5 and 6: "No Power Greater -- The Working Class" and "Democracy, Reform, and Revolution".

Chapter Five. “No power greater – the working class”

1. What is the “working class”? Is it anyone that works?

2. What gives wage workers more potential power than slaves or peasants?

3. What did Marx learn from the Paris Commune of 1871?

4. Why do socialists support unions? Are unions enough to fight for socialism?

5. How can workers who today accept life under capitalism come to challenge it?

Chapter Six. “Democracy, Reform, and Revolution

1. We learn in school that the state balances between competing interests. What is the role of the state under capitalism?

2. How democratic is democracy under capitalism?

3. The left calls the Democratic Party the “graveyard of social movements.” What does this mean?

4. Can elections bring socialism?

5. What is the difference between a coup and a revolution?

Sexuality and Socialism

2009-10-13T08:25:00.004-07:00

Sexuality and Socialism (or Sociality and Sexualism according to CNBC!) is a great resource for anyone interested in getting involved in LGBTQ rights organizing. Members of the International Socialist Organization attended the National Equality March over this weekend, including a member here in Tucson along with other community activists.

The time is ripe for a discussion on to organize in Tucson. This means that we need to know our stuff and be prepared to answers that will come our way as we make our demands for fully equality. The Tucson Branch would like to host a study group using Sherry Wolf's Sexuality and Socialism. More information can be found at Haymarket Books' website. We have copies of the book for $12.

If you are interested in joining our discussion send us an email and we will reserve a copy for you.

We Demand Full Equality

2009-10-13T08:15:00.003-07:00

It's been a while since the Tucson Branch has thrown something up here but there is nothing better than picking back up the pace with an article by Eric Ruder. "We Demand Full Equality" is Ruder's report back on the National Equality March, which happened over the weekend from Friday to Sunday with a full line up of talks, lectures, workshops, marches and rallies. Associate Press claims 300,000 thousand, which is fine by us! But, more conservative estimates put the attendance at around 200,000. And yet, no matter how you cut it, the march reached a number that organizers never expected. This is truly the beginning. Check back for more soon.

Read Ruder's article here on Socialist Worker.

Univ. of Arizona against the cuts

2009-09-21T13:07:00.003-07:00

By Angela Stoutenburgh | September 21, 2009

TUCSON, Ariz.--More than 50 graduate students, faculty and staff met on September 15 at the Old Main Fountain on the University of Arizona (UA) campus to discuss an action planned against ongoing budget cuts.

These cuts include merging the College of Engineering and the College of Architecture at the university.

Also of concern to university employees is House Bill 2013, which was signed into law on September 4 and, according to the Arizona Daily Wildcat, "will prevent state-employed, same-sex domestic partners from claiming state benefits for their partners as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, children of domestic partners, full-time students over the age of 22 who are claimed as dependents and disabled adult dependents."

This rally-turned-organizing meeting, called on by a number of graduate students in the Geography Department, broke into four planning groups--education, publicity, communication and action. Each group is taking on different aspects of organizing for a rally on the main UA quad on September 24. The rally is in solidarity with a walkout scheduled that day at the University of California.

These grassroots collective efforts are precisely the struggle that we need to keep the Arizona state legislature from balancing the budget on backs of workers and students.

"Univ. of Arizona against the cuts" was originally published in Socialist Worker. Angela Stoutenburgh is a graduate student at the University of Arizona and a member of the International Socialist Organization.

Meaning of Marxism Ch. 4

2009-09-18T12:46:00.002-07:00

This week's discussion from Meaning of Marxism is going to be on Marxist Economics. This is chapter four of the book. We'll start out with a presentation and then open it up for discussion. Questions will be provided but your own questions from the text are welcome!

See you then!

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

9pm at Coffee Xchange

Corner of N. Campbell and Grant

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Campus Wide Rally Against Budget Cuts

2009-09-18T12:42:00.002-07:00

The following is the formal press release from graduate students at the University of Arizona. There will be a rally today at 2pm at the Old Main Fountain in protest of the budget cuts. Considering the 6% tuition increase, the absurd "Economic Recovery Surcharge" that all students have to pay, and the new House Bill 2013 (more information here), it is time that students and workers take action.

UA Job-Loss/Unionizing Campus-wide assembly 9/18, 2pm

BUDGET CUTS AFFECT US ALL!
600 UA JOBS LOST ALREADY!
Join a group of concerned faculty, students and staff to learn about how budget
cuts will affect us and help plan a university-wide day of action to let state
law makers and university administration know we won?t stand by as higher
education is dismantled.

When: Friday, Sept 18 @ 2:00pm
Where: Old Main Fountain
Goals: (1) Establish a unified voice amongst those concerned about budget cuts
to higher education at the UofA. (2) Plan a university-wide day of action in
solidarity with the faculty, staff and students of the UC system, who are
staging a walkout on September 24th.

...

more info:

At the University of Arizona we are facing the most dramatic budget cuts
and restructuring of the University in a generation. These cuts will
affect every aspect of the University system – from the quality of
education available to students, to the conditions of our labor as
researchers, teachers, administrators and staff.

The administration is pursuing a strategy designed to weaken our capacity
for collective action, our ability to protect our interests and
participate in the budget and restructuring process.

In some departments, Graduate Teaching Assistants, already working for
poverty wages, have seen their salaries slashed. In others, course loads
have been expanded overnight, with little explanation and no
accountability. Faculty have been furloughed in a way that minimizes
disruption to teaching, and maximizes the possibility that they will
continue working without pay. Hiring freezes and layoffs are undermining
the integrity and functioning of departments and spreading work around to
already over-burdened faculty and staff. And the decisions about whose
budget is cut, by how much and why have been anything but transparent and
accountable, let alone "participatory". All of this while new fees and
"tuition surcharges" reduce access to and affordability of higher
education, redistributing the burden of budget shortfalls onto the backs
of students.

The UA budget has been cut as much as possible under the current
stimulus  package. If it is cut any more, we will lose our stimulus
funding. The 2010 state budget will not include any stimulus money, and
state  revenues are already coming in under projection. We will have
no protection from further dramatic cuts after this fiscal year.

By subjecting the budgetary restructuring to an arbitrary and subjective
process whose impact is felt differentially, we remain divided and pitted
against each other, rather than capable of uniting around our common
interests. As long as we remain divided in our individual colleges and
departments we will have no power or voice as our colleagues lose their
jobs, as the conditions of our labor and the quality of our institution
deteriorates, and as the legislature and administration continue to pull
the rug out from under our feet.

For these reasons, we invite graduate assistants, faculty and staff to a
meeting on Friday September 18 at 2pm on the fountain in front of Old Main
organize an action in solidarity with the faculty, staff and students of
the UC system.

Over 183 Desert Deaths

2009-09-02T10:18:00.004-07:00

The Coalición de Derechos Humanos released a press release earlier this week noting the number of remains that have been found in the deserts of Arizona. According to the press release, 183 remains have been found; this number exceeds that of last year's and there is still more time left in the fiscal year. Identification of these bodies proves difficult as many are just skeletal remains and DNA testing is too costly to afford families the opportunity to know the whereabouts of their loved ones. This is another example of the horrible effect that the oppressive and unjust immigration policies of the United States has.

The Coalición de Derechos Humanos argue in their press release that, "The dramatic increase in unknown gender cases is a clear indicator of what happens as border enforcement strategies push migrants out into more and more isolated areas, making rescue and detection less likely and the likelihood of death more certain."

Unless we work together to fight against the growing use of militarization and violence at our borders more people will die. And unless we speak out against the lies targeted at immigrants, rich in racism, sexism, and classism, these walls, checkpoints, deportations, and stricter "immigration policies" will continue to be used as a force against working class people in all countries.

The full press release can be found at their website.

Unemployment Isn't Getting Any Better in Arizona

2009-09-01T20:02:00.002-07:00

The national average for unemployment in America is 9.7%. With 304,059,724 people in America that means that there are 29,493,793 people unemployed. This already stark figure is even more horrific when we look at the specific demographics of unemployment.

The worst city in the United States to be in right now for unemployment is El Centro, California. There the unemployment rate is 30.2%. Following close behind is our very own Yuma, Arizona at 26.2%.

Check out the entire article on the Huffington Post .

Arizona Students Charged Surprise Fee

2009-09-01T19:45:00.002-07:00

Students in Arizona's state universities may be surprised when they see their Bursar's bill. The fee is called the "Economic Recovery Surcharge" and ranges from school to school. At the Arizona State University the Sucharge is $510 for residents and $710 for non residents. The University of Arizona in Tucson is charging their students $766, $966 for non residents. These surcharges, which were announced last spring, are still a shock to students who are trying to figure out where they are getting the money for school.

As more and more departments are watching their Fall and Spring budgets slashed students are receiving less financial aid, locally and federally, and programs are forced to cut corners. But it is not as if departments have to choose between fresh milk or non-dairy creamer. Instead, departments have to choose how many students they accept into their programs, which classes they can teach, and how many hours their faculty can work (assuming not everyone is tenured). These budget cuts hurt students, faculty, and staff. And as much as the Universities -- not just in Arizona but nationally -- tout being conservative with their expenses students recognize that it is not always clear that the supplemental fees are supporting their and other's education.

As one student told a reporter for News Channel 5, "I don't know where it's going; none of that."

Site Rearrangements

2009-08-30T09:19:00.004-07:00

Now that the school year is here it's time to change the functionality of our website. From now on you will see our "Next Meeting" up at the top of the blogspot. You will be able to click on it to get more information about the meeting, such as directions, reading materials, and topics. Also, our "Where We Stand" will no longer be updated on Sundays but will be a static part of our sidebar.

Lastly, if you are interested in contributing to the website, please contact us.

Meaning of Marxism

2009-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Book Discussion

Saturday, September 5th

8pm at Coffee Xchange

Join us for our next book discussion as we read Paul D'Amato's Meaning of Marxism, an in depth and accessible study of Marxist theory.

Our first meeting will discuss:
Introduction: The Relevance of Marxism
Chapter 1: From Millenarianism to Marx
Chapter 2: Marx's Materialist Method
Chapter 3: The Marxist View of History

Everyone is welcome to join. There will be discussion questions and a small presentation to start us off. Books are $12 and can be purchased from the Tucson ISO Branch.

RSVP to our facebook event!

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It's not an "option" if you have no choice

2009-08-26T07:18:00.004-07:00

Obama's ratings are going down as people are none too thrilled about his Bush-like policies on health care reform, Afghanistan, and the economy. As Obama and his action team sit in backrooms deciding how to split up the bounty that is health care, millions are watching.

Right now there are nearly 50 million people in America, who are not insured. Those uninsured range from students, single moms, low income, middle class, employed and unemployed. Regardless of the reason why, the fact remains that a significant portion of American citizens are uninsured. Not to mention how many are underinsured!

With "promises" such as health insurance co-ops it is not surprise that people are growing tired of the same old from Washington. For instance, private health insurance companies will receive government subsidies to help pay for low income recipients. The list goes on of backtracking on crucial health care reform, like dropping the percent of expenses that insurance companies have to pay for low income people from 80-90 to 65. Big Pharma too gets a sweet deal, with 10 years to drop off $80 billion from prices.

It is no wonder that people are not satisfied as the Obama administration surrenders to the status quo.

United Way (too much money)

2009-08-25T08:10:00.003-07:00

Ed Parker, who served as president and chief executive director of the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona chapter was paid a $180,000+ yearly salary, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

The United Way has been a stable force in charitable works in the last few decades. Started in 1887 by "a priest, two ministers, and a rabbi" United Way has been fighting to improve people's lives by mobilizing community support. And no, this is not the beginning of a really bad joke to share at the bar, but was an effort dedicated to gathering community support for the welfare problem in Denver.

There are three "building blocks" for a good life that the United Way focuses on, namely education, income, and health. Maybe we could surmise that the president of the local chapter here would feel comfortable retiring, knowing that he worked for a coalition so dedicated to the well being of sick, uninsured, and elderly.

Rather than going through United Way's bank book and mocking their fiscal and public "responsibility", let's just consider what $180,000 could have gotten Tucson residents:

6.38 people paid the average Tucson salary of $28,194.00
90 in-state resident's tuition and fees at Pima Community College (estimated ~$2,000/yr)
23 out of state resident's tuition and fees at PCC (estimated ~$7,700/yr)
21.9 months of potable water at 12 inches per month

With residents of Tucson struggling to send their kids (or themselves) to college and paying their bills like electricity, gas, and water as unemployment nears double digits, Ed Parker's $180,000 yearly salary is a kick in the face. His is yet another example of how national "charities" are guilty of being very self-charitable, while the communities that need help are left in the dust.

How much debt to you have?

2009-08-23T15:05:00.003-07:00

Recently a group of us got together to have dinner and as conversations go these days we all started talking about how much debt we have. It seemed like a good idea at the time to add it all up and see what the sum total of our financial woes was.

The dinner party included six people with an accumulated debt of $125,000. This number included both school loans and credit cards.

Surprisingly, credit card debt was pretty low amongst the crowd. It seemed everyone had taken an active role in keeping their credit card debt low. On the other hand, no one was able to avoid the ridiculous amount of student loans necessary to get through school. At least one could say that it was worth the debt for the opportunity to finish school and work in the field for which you studied.

That would be true if everyone had finished school and/or had a job they were trained for. One person had finished school but could not land a job, so now works in retail. Another could not complete schooling because funding for the field of study had been cut and no programs are hiring students. Two students went to both community colleges and private universities trying to offset the cost of their education, but neither were finished with their degrees.

The cost of education, private and public, is one that impacts nearly everyone. We have become a debter's nation, with significantly higher percentages of recent graduates with higher credit card and student loan debts -- not to mention higher percentages of graduates unemployment or employed outside of their area of study.

It is time that we start knocking at the doors of the administration, of the Sallie Mae's and JP Morgan Chase's and tell them that we have the right to an education. No more should we drown ourselves in debt to become baristas and shop clerks.

Tucson ISO Hotline

2009-08-19T19:31:00.003-07:00

Our apologies for the lack of posts the last week or so. It's a busy time as we get ready for the new school year. In an effort to be as accessible as possible we have set up a phone number so that if email is too impersonal, Twitter off the mark, or you just want some person to person time, you have the opportunity to do so!

Consider it our Tucson ISO Hotline!

520.302.4476

We'll be back up and running with a modified blogspot including meeting times, educational events, and of course, your daily dose of political discussion to spark your interest in what it is that we are fighting for: a better world.

Pay to Get Organized

2009-08-07T12:26:00.004-07:00

According to an article in today's Tucson Citizen community members in the Tucson area can attend a 17 week long class to learn how to be a community organizer. For only $75 attendees can take the course, earn a certificate of completion, and 3 credit hours at the Pima Community College. While $75 is not a high price for 3 credit hours, I think the premise is a little shady and misses the point of community organizing.

What this course is basically saying to those who are interested in organizing in their communities is that you have to pay to get organized. It is true that community organizing is not something we inherently know, but I would disagree that one has to give it the "college try" to learn how.

For example, the course will teach students how to create a community vision. Why must you go through 17 weeks to learn how to "create" one when you could just ask? Another thing that is taught in the course is how to engage your neighbors. Again, another valuable lesson to learn but one that would be best taught in the streets, or "door to door" than in a classroom.

The millions of workers and students who came together to pass around voter registration cards and help Obama get elected probably did not go in with a 17 week course. They learned in interacting with other organizers, with their community. Such a course, while addressing a real interest and need in the community, makes community organizing into an abstraction. In other words, rather than engaging in the struggles at hand (meaning in your neighborhood or workplace or town), interested parties are told to take 4 months off to learn how.

The greatest successes in our history and the moments that taught us the most were those of great social upheaval and amidst large scale struggle. As more and more people are coming together around the war, LGBT rights, Palestine, the economy and healthcare the best classrooms are not the classrooms, but the town halls, public libraries, and street corners.

Homeless in Pearland, TX

2009-08-05T13:18:00.006-07:00

For a week now, I have been visiting family in Pearland, Texas, a largely suburban city outside of Houston. Each day I can drive for miles and see brand new identical housing on one side and brand new identical franchises on the other. It’s almost blissful here, manicured lawns, community pools, and enough restaurants and fast food chains so you never have to cook. There are cameras at every intersection to catch those reckless drivers speeding through red lights and surprisingly little litter. It appears a safe, clean, and thriving community.

It doesn't seem possible in these times of economic hardship. And it’s not. Yesterday at the grocery store I saw an older woman with a Chihuahua nestled in a blanket among the few groceries in her cart. Making idle conversation I said, “Oh I didn’t see any of those for sale!” The woman tiredly explained to me that it was too hot to leave the little dog in the car. In this 90 degree weather I was not surprised, but when she continued I stopped and listened.

The woman was living in her car with her Chihuahua because she had no home. First she was foreclosed on, so she moved into an apartment. Then she got sick for three weeks and her boss fired her. She was forced to move out. Now she lives in her car going in and out of stores with her dog so that it does not die in the unbearable heat.

I asked her if there is any place that she can go and she said flatly, “No.”

When I came home I saw a house two doors down that I learned has been vacant for a year. Why should this woman have to live out of her car, going from store to store to keep her pet from dying, when there is an empty inhabitable place down the street? Too many people have lost their homes or are denied homes because they “can’t afford it.” With so many empty homes and too many people living in tents (or cars) in cities around the country I think it’s high time we start taking what is owed to us.

According to an article in Time magazine “The State of Homelessness in the U.S.,” only five states contribute to more than half the number of homeless on a given night; Texas was number four with 40,190. Unemployment is at 8% in Harris County (with a population of 3,984,349 that means over 318,000 unemployed) and predictions for 2009 job losses are anticipated in many of the staple industries of Texas: real estate, transportation, and construction. This means that we can only anticipate more homeless in the coming days and months. Veterans, mentally ill, and minorities make up a significant number of the homeless in America. Here in Texas you can add victims of the hurricanes to that list too.

As Petrino DiLeo points out in his article “The other real estate bubble” it is estimated that 3.2 million homes will foreclose this year. Last year there were 3.1 million. If over six million homes will by foreclosed on by the end of 2009 is it surprising that there are currently 18.7 million empty houses in America? In the Houston Business Journal Jennifer Dawson cites that between July 2008 and June 2009 there were 51,866 independent filings for foreclosure. This works out to about 142.1 a day just in Houston alone. And while the rate of foreclosure in Houston is less than the national average, these numbers have gone up since last year. And what is keeping people out of these houses? A system that makes the natural right to and human necessity of adequate housing a reckless gamble for profit.

During the Great Depression homeowners and renters were physically evicted from their homes and their belongings thrown out to the curb. The Communist Party helped organize response teams, which helped the evicted break back into their homes and move their stuff back in. Such rapid and persistent responses helped many get their homes back and kept the police at bay. Much like the Communist Party during the Great Depression we too can organize and move the homeless into empty houses now in this Great Recession.

Homelessness is getting worse around the country and the suburbs, as tranquil as they may seem, are no exception. Millions are losing their homes because of job loss or unfair mortgage rates. And while many still have hope that the new administration will tackle this economic crisis more and more are losing hope as all that they have worked for is taken away from them. Now more than ever we need the collected, grassroots struggle that is a real tradition here in America to fight for what over three million Americans need: a place to call home.

"Homeless in Pearland, TX" was contributed by Angela Stoutenburgh, a member of the International Socialist Organization and graduate student at the University of Arizona.

Budget Cuts with Messed up Priorities

2009-08-04T10:51:00.008-07:00

This may be old news to many of you but I thought to carry on the theme from earlier regarding budget cuts. (see our previous blog about Capitol "for sale") It is a common theme, actually, making headlines from Newsweek to the New York Times, from Facebook to real books?

The point is, everyone understands that now is the worst economic crisis practically anyone has ever seen, especially those of us in younger generations. For students it's the "tuition increase"; for teachers it's the "raise freeze". For workers it's the "unpaid overtime"; for the unemployed it means longer lines at the unemployment office. For patients it means "preexisting condition;" for physicians it means fighting the health insurance giants. For the majority it means paying more and getting less and coming to your whit's end trying to pay the bills; for the selected few it means massive bailouts, huge bonuses, and dinners at the White House.

So today's example of messed up priorities around budgets cuts is something close to home: the Arizona Water Institute. For those of you, who do not know, it closed as of July 1st, due to budget cuts. Rather than realizing the long term significance of water research (in a state that is mostly desert!), the entire budget was cut. Only two of their projects remain and information can be found on their website regarding both of these projects: AHIS and EWSR.

But such extremes do not go without other examples of the other side of a messed up system. An article from Socialist Worker, which talks about the bottled water industry is appropriate here. "Profit in a Bottle" written by Dahlia El-Shafei talks about the documentary "Tapped." According to El-Shafei, this documentary, although sharp with its criticisms and statistics, leaves the viewer much more empowered than one would anticipate. That's quite a change of pace from some of the usual suspects.

The bottled water industry is notorious for threatening the water supply. With such brutal facts as "it takes 17.5 kilograms of water just to produce one kilogram of plastic used to make the bottles" it's truly a wonder that they have not been stopped sooner.

At a time when our natural resources are being consumed without restraint and our environments are on the bring of collapse it seems that an easy solution to "Enhancing Water Supply Reliability" would be to get big corporations like Nestle and Coke out of natural water supplies and out of the bottled water industry!

The myth of scarcity

2009-08-03T09:50:00.005-07:00

Paul D'Amato wrote a great article for Socialist Worker this week that takes on the arguments of scarcity and overpopulation. These arguments are often toted as justifications for why we must continue to live in a world where the wealth and abundance so easily produced in a capitalist economy are unjustifiably distributed to the few and not the many. We have heard it before, I am sure, when our mothers, fathers, or grandparents told us to finish up everything on our plate because there are children starving in Africa. And I feel confident that many probably went in their head, "But how would this food get to the children of Africa if I didn't eat it?"

It may have been more useful if our parents or guardians just told us things like, "I spent a lot of money buying groceries and cooking dinner and I don't want to see you gorge yourself on Cheetos."

And yet these arguments abound all around us, from conservative to liberals, from schools to workplaces. Americans notably are admonished for their gluttonous lifestyles. But even those arguments are ill placed. When we produce enough in the world to provide over 2,500 calories a day, and yet six million children die each year from malnutrition we have to admit recognize that the problem is not scarcity but distribution.

Paul D'Amato's article for Socialist Worker is a great break down of the arguments of scarcity and overpopulation and shows that they are truly problems of imbalanced distribution. D'Amato explains, as the title argues, there is enough to go around.

Where We Stand 1.3

2009-08-02T08:55:00.002-07:00

Revolution

As Socialists we support the right of workers and all the oppressed to struggle against their oppression. Reforms may improve the living, working, and social conditions of workers and the oppressed. But capitalism endangers these reforms, and without replacing capitalism with socialism, oppression and exploitation will remain.

The government now was created and is maintained as an instrument of the ruling class; it is there to protect their interests. Therefore, workers need a completely different government, one that democratically represents their interests -- that of the majority. We do not endorse capitalist parties such as the Democrats or Republicans. We support true left wing candidates and direct political action. We must work to break down the capitalist, two party system that strangles true democracy.

What will state governments do to "fix" the budgets?

2009-08-01T10:18:00.004-07:00

I'll tell you one thing they won't do: tax the rich.

Two recent events this last week really expose the degeneracy of some of our elected leadership. Firstly, earlier this week California congressmen came out triumphantly after a 20 hour deliberation on a new budget. Secondly, Arizona state lawmakers found a way to balance their own budget: put a for sale sign on the Capitol's lawn.

The great bipartisan compromise between Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majority State Assembly amounts to nothing more than a big "screw you" to Californians, who need help the most: elderly, sick, children, workers and students. Jerald Reodica writes for Socialist Worker that the bill totaled a "staggering 15.5 billion" in cuts. In a time when unemployment is reaching new highs, with millions more losing their jobs each month, the bipartisan dream team agreed to cut $528 million from CalWORKS, the state's welfare program. And, continuing on in California's fashion, $6.1 billion is being cut out of funding for public education K-14. Community colleges and the state universities are not spared from these budget cuts either.

Economists are already coming out with projections that the budget will fall short. And of course we can make our own projections; when the budget falls short it will again be the workers, students, elderly and sick who have to make sacrifices. Once again the social welfare system takes the hit and not Big Business. Time and time again industries such as Apple and Warner Brothers can enjoy tax breaks while working class people have to figure out how to make ends meet.

As for Arizona, it is not as if anyone is sad to see the face of government sold off to the highest bidder. Well maybe, there are some. But, the fact remains that in order to balance the budget Arizona is going to start planting some "For Sale" signs on their front lawn. According to Howard Fischer with Capitol Media Services the Arizona Capitol is going on the market for $18 million. Through some convenient loopholes in legislation, the government can sell property, then lease it back. There is even an option to "own it outright," explains Fischer.

In an interview Kirk Adams, the House Speaker, admits that there is "always a cost to borrowing money." But when he says "we'll pay that cost as well," it is clear that he has forgotten, who will really front that bill. It is not the state's lawmakers but the state's citizens. Much as the federal bailouts of Big Banks has been passed on to American citizens, so will the cost of borrowing money (against their own property no less).

American citizens have to fight back these injustices, both on a local and federal level. It should not be the sick, the young, the homeless, jobless, and overworked, who have to "balance the budgets" on their own backs. It should be the big corporations that have racked in big profits off of our labor.

To read Jerald's full article visit Socialist Worker Online.

You can check out Howard's full article here.

EFCA Compromise: Removing "Card Check"

2009-07-23T08:21:00.005-07:00

The latest and greatest "compromise" on the Employee Free Choice Act eliminates one of its best elements: the provision of "Card Check." Six Democratic Senators got together recently to put together a compromise to the already "treacherous" legislation that is EFCA. Tom Harkin (Iowa), Arlen Specter (Pa.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Thomas Carper (Del.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) all got together to draft an amendment that would remove card check from the table. This "compromise" is a great smack in the face of the labor movement.

The insistence of "legislative" measures by congress, lobbyists, and union heads alike all works against what has historically been that catalyst of major social reform: grassroots struggle. One spokesperson for AFL-CIO, Eddie Vale, event went so far as to cite Schoolhouse Rocks:

"As Schoolhouse Rock taught us, this is the normal process of how a bill becomes a law. We are very optimistic about passing the strongest labor law reform since the Wagner Act."

Adam Turl presents this frustrating "compromise" in his article for Socialist Worker, "Who killed EFCA?" You can find the entire article online.

We're getting our Lit together!

2009-07-21T15:03:00.015-07:00

Since one of the best ways to grow as an activist and revolutionary is to read up on what other activists and revolutionaries did and are doing, we thought it would make a lot of sense to get in on a sweet literature table. During times of economic hardship one of the best places to invest is in yourself, and what better way to pull yourself out of economic hardship than by taking control of the system that screwed it all up in the first place!

Haymarket Books, a not for profit publisher, is one of the greatest sources of progressive literature. They, along with the International Socialist Review are a project of the Center for Economic Research and Social Change. So it is no surprise that we would go to them to stock up on some great titles to fill our lit table!

Check out just some of the titles that we will be carrying below. Shoot us an email if you would like to preorder a book or two, or three!

And of course we want you to buy your next copy of Sexuality and Socialism or The Meaning of Marxism from us (how else do we get ready for a LGBT reading group without you!), but that does not mean you should not check out Haymarket's website for a complete list of titles!

Where We Stand 1.2

2009-07-19T16:23:00.002-07:00

Workers' Power

It is from the labor of the workers that wealth is created, but it is not the workers who own that wealth. The means of production are owned by the ruling class. Only when workers take control of the means of production and organize it democratically will a socialist society be possible. The workers make up the majority of society and it should be the majority that governs rather than a small minority.

Through the use of the strike and independent organizing from the union bosses can workers emancipate themselves. As such, we support trade unions, and the right of workers to unionize in an economy that constantly puts the capitalists' interests over those of the worker.

Because of workers' position as producers of social wealth they are the most capable of bringing down the capitalist system that continues to exploit and oppress.

ISO at University of Texas host forum over incidents in Iran

2009-07-17T06:34:00.003-07:00

The Austin Branch of the ISO hosted a forum on the incidents in Iran, last night. Far from being over, the people of Iran are still taking to the streets. Members of the Austin Coalition for Iran and the International Socialist Organization gave presentations on the history of struggle in Iran, backgrounds on the candidates, and the long standing conditions that gave impetus to today's upheaval.

Bobby Longoria wrote a piece for the Daily Texan summarizing the forum. You can find the full article on their website.

Update from Rochester activists on the Viva Palestina US Convoy

2009-07-15T19:09:00.002-07:00

One of our fellow comrades in the Rochester Branch of the ISO sent out an update after entering Gaza. After days of being held up by the Egyptian authorities for nothing more than fear of publicity the convoy was able to get in with a sizable portion of the medical supplies. Below is copied Brian Lenzo's email.

---------------------------------------------

hey everyone,

Ream and I are in Gaza with all of our delegation and all the medical supplies. Our trucks are still in Alexandria, so we came with about half the aid, but we will deal with that later.

We have 24 hours to see what we can and get out by 9:30pm our time tomorrow night. The Egyptian authorities delayed us till 9pm, even though we had everything in order for hours before that. The people of Gaza had been waiting, by the thousands on the streets for our arrival, and by 10pm tonight, many had indeed given up hope for us getting in and went home.

Its disgusting that the Egyptian government would delay desperately needed medical supplies to Gaza in order to ruin a photo op that might make the Palestinian cause look good and catch media attention.

my anger about this has been replaced with tremendous joy to watch families embrace for the first time in years, mothers hugging their sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, grand parents and grand children. Many broke into tears, including me.

So much to tell, but we need to be up early. But spread the news far and wide, WE HAVE BROKEN THE SEIGE AND WE WILL DELIVER OUR AID TOMORROW, AS PLANNED!!!!

---------------------------------------------

Our thoughts are with you and the families in Gaza, comrades! Great work!

Call for Protest: Go to your local Egyptian Embassy or Consulate

2009-07-14T08:16:00.003-07:00

Take to the streets TODAY Tuesday July 14th demanding that the humanitarian aid convoy Viva Palestina US be let through to Gaza.

The members of the Viva Palestina US humanitarian aid convoy are asking their supporters to protest at local Egyptian Embassies or Consulates. We must demand that the convoy be let through; they have pulled together so much in supplies and humanitarian aid and it must get through to the people of Gaza. There is no reason that a peaceful convoy should be denied access to Gaza.

Their official statement is copied here below:

Viva Palestina U.S. is calling on our friends and supporters to gather outside Egyptian consulates across the U.S. on Tuesday, July 14, as we make our way toward the Suez Canal and into the Sinai Peninsula to deliver humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the people of Gaza. We have met all the new bureaucratic requirements imposed by the Egyptian authorities, and we therefore have the right to expect a speedy passage to Gaza. However, we must prepare for unwarranted further attempts to frustrate us perhaps with a view to stopping such convoys in the future. Those individuals and groups gathering outside Egyptian consulates tomorrow will either be able to help us break through those blockages or be able to celebrate our overcoming them. We want to be on the border of Gaza on Tuesday night and in Gaza on Wednesday morning. Viva Palestina!

Let the Aid through!

Let the Covoy through!

Let the trucks through!

Stopped at the "Peace" Bridge

2009-07-13T08:09:00.002-07:00

Karen Burke and Brian Lenzo worked together to write a piece of Socialist Worker. It chronicles the trouble that the Egyptian authorities have caused for the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy not to mention the determination that the members have in continuing their trip to Gaza. The successive "reasons" given by the Egyptian authorities amount to nothing more than blatant attempts to discourage and stop the humanitarian aid mission. But with thousands of dollars in medical supplies, many of which are perishable, convoy members refuse to turn back.

The members of the convoy are asking their allies to send in faxes, phone calls, and emails to the Egyptian Embassy demanding that the convoy be let through. You can find out more information from their submission to SW online.

Check out the full article here: Stopped at the Peace Bridge

Testing Crosspost

2009-07-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

This is a one time cross post test. From Blogger to Facebook and Twitter.

Viva Palestina Convoy Update #3

2009-07-12T11:04:00.003-07:00

Here is the latest press release from the Viva Palestina convoy. It is copied below.

Viva Palestina Convoy update #3
July 12, 2009, 7 pm Cairo

The Viva Palestina members who spent the night in their buses at the Suez
Crossing after they were stopped by Egyptian authorities on July 11 are now
making their way to the nearby city of Ismailia and are preparing to resume
their travels toward Gaza imminently.

British Member of Parliament George Galloway, who has met up with former
U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in Cairo, was working with Egyptian and
U.S. authorities to expedite the passage of the convoy over the Suez Canal
and into Gaza.

New York City Councilmember Charles Barron, who led the group at the Suez
Canal, says, “Whether these requirements are genuine or not, we will get
around these obstacles. We are going to Gaza.”

Egyptian have held up the convoy on the grounds that it has not acquired the
necessary travel permits from U.S. officials in order to cross into Gaza.

“If the Egyptian authorities want us to jump through yet another hoop, we
will, even though their ambassadors in Washington, DC, London, and Tripoli,
Libya were already supplied with this information, at their request. The
U.S. embassy in Cairo was informed about the mission as was the Egyptian
Foreign Ministry.” said Galloway. “So now we expect that there should be no
further reasons for the delayed transportation of this urgently needed
relief to the people of Gaza. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of
medicine, which are time-sensitive and perishable and which need to reach
the children of Gaza.”

Another group of Viva Palestina delegates is in Alexandria to take
possession of 47 vehicles that will be used to drive the group’s
humanitarian and medical relief supplies through the Rafah border crossing.
A third Viva Palestina element is continuing to gather additional aid in
Cairo.

Tomorrow, Viva Palestina plans to gather all its forces in Ismailia, load
all of the collected aid on its vehicles, and make final preparations for
the drive through the Sinai.

The Viva Palestina convoy expects progress on all fronts tomorrow, but is
prepared to call for solidarity protests at Egyptian embassies and
consulates should that not materialize.

Where We Stand - The Politics of the ISO

2009-07-12T06:59:00.003-07:00

Part 1.1

In order that people who come across our page can learn more about us, we are putting up a series of posts titled "Where We Stand - The Politics of the ISO." Many of our posts come from Socialist Worker, our daily publication, or International Socialist Review, a bimonthly scholarly journal. But more could be said about the politics, perspective, and organization that is the ISO. Usually when we sit down with our contacts to talk over politics we bring along a copy of this packet. It is the simplest tool we have to introduce you to our project.

We will do abbreviated points every Sunday based on the information in the packet.

Socialism, Not Capitalism

The injustices of war, poverty, exploitation and oppression are a result of a capitalist system. This system puts the interests of a small minority above the interests of the rest, from whom the capitalists profit from their labor. A socialist society is the alternative where workers work, own, and govern collectively. Our tradition is founded in the works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, carried on in the works of Lenin, Luxemburg, and Trotsky.

Viva Palestina Activists Stopped at Suez Crossing by Egyptian Authorities

2009-07-11T18:02:00.003-07:00

Two ISO members joined the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy that left the US on July 4th. They flew in to Cairo to buy supplies and trucks to bring to Gaza. Today there were attempting to cross the Suez Crossing and were stopped by the authorities for reportedly not providing a list of names of those who were on the buses. However, this information was provided to the Egyptian Embassys and has been sent again.

The convoy's press release is copied in below.

Viva Palestina Convoy, July 12, 2009, 2:45 am Cairo

The 100 Viva Palestina humanitarian volunteers have decided to stay the night in their buses at the Mubarak Peace Bridge over the Suez Canal despite pressure from the Egyptian security officials to return to Cairo.

The official reason given at the checkpoint for refusing to allow them to cross is that the officials there did not have a list of the names of the members of the convoy. Such a list was, however, at the request of the Egyptian authorities before any of the convoy members set foot in Egypt sent to the Egyptian ambassadors to Washington, D.C., and London.

The US Embassy in Cairo has now stepped in to forward a newly provided list of those convoy members aboard the buses at the bridge to the Egyptian foreign ministry to clear the way for the convoy's passage.

Nancy Mansour Leigh, a spokeswoman for the Viva Palestina delegation at the Suez crossing, says, “It's going to be an uncomfortable night, but it's nothing compared with what the people of Gaza must live through every day. We've already succeeded in securing internet access and are negotiating other necessary facilities. But whatever facilities are provided or not, our determination will see us through the night and all the way to Gaza.”

New York City Councilman Charles Barron is on the scene at the Suez Canal and acting as chief negotiator with Egyptian security officials. “The Viva Palestina movement has had a great success this morning with our stand at the Suez crossing. We've now got an agreement for us to stay until the list of our convoy members reaches the foreign ministry. It shows what can be achieved with the determination and commitment of a collective body of people. We are determined to cross onto Gaza, and no matter what happens next, out of this first small confrontation, we've achieved a success for the movement in support of the Palestinian people. The convoy is going to move on, and we ain't gonna let nobody turn us around.”

British Member of Parliament George Galloway offered these words of encouragement for the delegation being held up at the crossing:“This is an American convoy. And Americans are used to refusing to give up seats on buses in the struggle for justice. I regard everyone who's putting themselves on the line tonight at the Suez Canal for the success of this humanitarian mission as nothing short of a hero.”

Kevin Ovenden
Viva Palestina coordinator

Find us on facebook!

2009-07-10T09:11:00.002-07:00

Hey we are on facebook now! Friend us to stay in touch, find out about upcoming events and to help us build a network in Tucson.

You can friend us on facebook by looking us up.

TucsonISO in the Tucson, AZ Network.

We'll set up our vanity soon.

Massachusetts Suing Federal Government over DOMA

2009-07-09T10:30:00.003-07:00

Massachusetts became the first state to sue the Federal Government over the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. This law prohibits the Federal Government from recognizing same sex marriage, even if it is recognized by a state government. However, since states are allowed to decide on same sex marriage laws independently of the Federal Government conflict arises over federal benefits.

The lawsuit claims that DOMA prevents the state from defining and regulating marriage, as is its right. The approximately 16,000 same-sex couples in Massachusetts have been denied equal access to federal benefits that are regularly given to heterosexual couples.

Read the New York Times article here.

New ISR Subscription for 2009

2009-07-08T09:46:00.004-07:00

The International Socialist Review Journal is offering a new deal for subscribers. If you have not had a subscription in the last two years, or this is your first subscription, you are eligible for:

One free back issue
One free book

ISR is offering a new selection of books and back issues to choose from as well. This is a great opportunity to get a new subscription to one of the leading left journals.

Check them out online at www.isreview.org!

Socialism Takes a Big Step!

2009-07-07T07:36:00.003-07:00

The San Francisco Socialism 2009 Conference was a tremendous success. Over 400 people pre-registered for the conference. But, by the end of the weekend, when the numbers were crunched over 900 people attended the conference. Rooms were packed with standing room only and many walked away inspired with a new sense of clarity on how to apply new ideas and understandings to struggle.

Alan Maass wrote a great article reporting back from the Conference. The organizers of the conference decided that this year would be different; it would be split into two different conferences, one in the midwest and one on the west coast. Well it looks like that decision really hit upon the next excitement and interest people have around socialism and the progressive left!

Read the full article on Socialist Worker.

Such success really exposes the growing opportunity that we have as activists, veterans, students, and socialists to build the left.

Environmental Policies that Put Profit before the Planet

2009-07-02T05:56:00.007-07:00

A little over a year ago Chris Williams gave a lecture at Columbia University regarding the global warming crisis. He had recently published his second installment in the International Socialist Review titled Hothouse Earth: capitalism and climate change. The first of two pieces of his article can be found on their website. You'll have to buy issue #64!

Part 1: Hothouse Earth
Part 2: Hothouse Earth

Chris Williams' most recent contribution is an article for SocialistWorker.org where he covers the new legislation making its way through Congress. To preface it, let's begin by looking back at President Obama's presidential campaign. A strong theme throughout it was his commitment to a "greener economy" even advocating for millions of new "green collar jobs." His campaign stood in such great contrast to the oil-frenzied battle cries of McCain and Palin's campaign. Anyone remember, "Drill, baby, drill"? I think someone made a t-shirt that was shall we say, NSFW.

President Obama has one of the greatest opportunities in our history to pass significant changes in regards to practically everything, really. One of them being measures to ensure a change to climate change. But of course his administration has proven yet again the they cater to Wall Street and Big Business.

Read Chris Williams' full article here at Socialist Worker.

Socialism Conference - San Francisco

2009-06-30T10:38:00.003-07:00

It is not too late to register for the Socialism Conference in San Francisco this weekend.

San Francisco
July 2-5
The Women's Building
3543 18th St. map

This Thursday, July 2nd come see David Zirin, Elizabeth Terzakis, and Dana Blanchard give a talk titled "Women in Sports: Fighting for Equality On and Off the Field" or Mike Davis and David Bacon give a talk titled "The Decline and Fall of California: How the Golden State Lost Its Shine."

And at 7:30 critically acclaimed actor Brian Jones is performing Marx in Soho, with an introduction by comedian and author Mark Steel.

This is all happening on just Thursday night. The schedule shows a whole weekend devoted to revolutionary politics, debate, and entertainment!

Cali Supreme Court Upheld Prop 8

2009-05-27T08:01:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court decided to uphold Proposition 8, which bans same sex marriage. However, they are allowing the existing marriages, estimated at around 18,000. While I am so happy for the couples that are already married, I share the grief many feel at the decision. A frequently heard remark is "liberty and justice for some." I think such a statement really hits the nail on the head. America is a land of opportunity, preferably if you are white, male, and at least middle class. Women are ok too, but you know, only if you marry men, give up your job in order to take care of your kids, give yourself freely sexually to your male counterparts but withstand the insults of being too sexual or not sexual enough. Oh, and people of color are ok too, as long as they "act white" and distance themselves from their "blackness" or "latinoness," nothing more than simply saying, "distance yourself from people and behaviors that are deemed not in line with the ruling class.

This is easily seen when politicians of color are seen blaming their brothers and sisters for their behaviors. They cite their own success and fortunes as proof that others can be just like them. But such success often comes at a price; fostering a sense of guilt and blameworthiness for being impoverished and abused by insitutions as a whole is just one of those sacrifices.

The battle for marriage equality, and civil rights!, is not over. This is a struggle that must be fought every day.

The road to Tent City

2009-05-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

John Green visits Tent City under a freeway in Fresno, Calif.--and finds a very different picture than the mainstream media paints.

THE LOCAL paper describes this place as "ground zero" for robbery, prostitution and intravenous drug abuse in Fresno, Calif., and that's enough to put outsiders on edge, walking alone into Tent City.

But spend an afternoon with the hundreds of homeless in this bleak, dusty strip of land under a freeway, and a different story emerges: Of winners and losers in the busted economy, and of the bonds of solidarity between everyday people.

Read the rest here: http://socialistworker.org/2009/05/05/the-road-to-tent-city

Race and racism under Obama

2009-04-30T07:38:00.002-07:00

Millions of people looked forward to Barack Obama's presidency with a sense of pride and hope. But Obama's first 100 days have raised critical questions about the limits of what we can expect from a Democrat in the White House--and what it will take to get the change we want.

What do you think of Obama's 100 days? And what does the left need to do now to move the struggle forward? We asked a group of writers and activists for their answers to these questions. This commentary is from Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an editorial board member of the International Socialist Review, where her recent articles include "New Orleans Since the Storm: An American Travesty."

Check out the full article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2009/04/27/race-and-racism-under-obama

Socialism 2009 Schedules Finalized!

2009-04-29T07:34:00.002-07:00

Check it out! The schedule for both conferences (Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA) are up! You can even click on specific topics you want to learn about and see which talks will be given and by whom.

http://socialismconference.org/schedule.php

Chicago
June 18-21
Wyndham Hotel
Near O'Hare airport map

San Francisco
July 2-5
The Women's Building

Socialism 2009

2009-04-28T07:56:00.002-07:00

The world economic crisis has shattered the free-market consensus that has dominated politics for the last generation. Meanwhile, the end of the conservative era and the election of the first African American president have raised expectations among working people that long overdue change is at hand. With capitalism in crisis, even some in the mainstream media are admitting that Karl Marx was right.

There has never been a better time for those who want to see fundamental change to get together to debate, discuss and organize for a new society—a society based on the needs of the many instead of the whims of a few. We need to organize a new left to meet the challenge of this new era.

That’s the purpose that Socialism 2009—expanded to two sites, Chicago and San Francisco, this year—has set for itself. Gather with activists from around the world to take part in dozens of discussions about changing the world: How can we end racism? What kind of organization do we need? What would a future socialist society look like?

Yes we can organize for socialism in the 21st century! ¡Sí se puede!

For more information, write to info@socialismconference.org or call us at 773-583-7884.