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Dear Progressive Reader,
June 14 marked the 169th anniversary of the birth of our magazine’s founder Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette. As I noted ([link removed]) in a speech at his boyhood home in 2019, “Today, we are again faced with a great political crisis. With economic inequality rivaling the days of the robber barons, redistricting and voter ID laws impeding the ability of citizens to vote, and corporate influence skewing our electoral system with volumes of cash unimaginable in La Follette’s time, once again, people are calling for a return to a truly democratic system of governance ‘by and for the people.’ It is these struggles that we chronicle in our magazine today, these voices that we lift up—voices that are otherwise unrepresented in the media.”
It is worth a brief note that June 14 was also the birthday of another politician. Donald Trump marked seventy-eight years on Friday, and although he often criticizes Joe Biden for his age, the sitting President playfully took to X to post a birthday greeting to Trump. “Take it from one old guy to another: Age is just a number,” Biden trolled ([link removed]) . “This election, however, is a choice.”
The day before his birthday, however, Trump apparently reserved his criticism for the city that would host the upcoming Republican National Convention, calling Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a “horrible city” according ([link removed]) to Punch Bowl News. Responses from both friends and foes were rapid, with the best retorts coming from U.S. Representative Gwen Moore of the Milwaukee area and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. Moore tweeted ([link removed]) , “Once he's settled in with his parole officer, I am certain he will discover that Milwaukee is a wonderful, vibrant, and welcoming city, full of diverse neighborhoods and a thriving business community.” But Johnson may have delivered the most crushing response, saying ([link removed]) : “If Donald Trump wants to talk about things that he thinks are
horrible—all of us lived through his presidency, so, right back at you, buddy.” As Mike Ervin writes ([link removed]) on our website this week, following Trump’s continued mocking of people with disabilities, “What else would you expect from someone who hurls insults at anyone he does not know?” Ervin goes on to point out, “The more he insults you, the more it shows that he doesn’t think you stand for anything he stands for. And that’s an awfully nice thing to say about someone.”
Elsewhere on our website this week, Jeff Abbott reports ([link removed]) on the potential impact of Biden’s new Executive Order blocking asylum seekers from entry into the United States; Zach D. Roberts presents a photo essay ([link removed]) from the recent protest in Washington, D.C., calling on Biden to abide by his own proposed “red line” in Gaza; and Sylvan Bachhuber brings news ([link removed]) from Mexico about the election of that country’s first-ever woman president and its importance for the future of U.S.-Mexico relations. Also, inmate Demetrius Buckley looks at ([link removed]) the human cost of the use of tasers inside prisons; Jeff
Bryant examines ([link removed]) two different visions of “populist” education; and Anna Letitia Zivarts pens an op-ed ([link removed]) on “a future that isn't reliant on—or limited by—cars.”
Next Saturday, June 22, is the annual Energy Fair ([link removed]) in Custer, Wisconsin, sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. The thirty-three-year-old event showcases tools, technologies, and ideas for a renewable future. It features workshops, speakers, and a resource fair to connect attendees with the many alternatives available now to help sustain our climate and reduce the destructive effects of human-induced climate change. The Progressive will be there, as we are every year, giving out copies of the latest issue of the magazine and talking with friends, supporters, and other folks who may be just newly discovering our 115-year-old publication. If you are in or near Wisconsin next weekend, please join us!
Finally, we sadly note the passing ([link removed]) of the Reverend James M. Lawson Jr who died on June 9 at the age of ninety-five. Lawson was a teacher and mentor to countless civil rights activists in the methods of non-violence. As Peter Dreier wrote ([link removed]) for our website in 2020, “Lawson was a master strategist and careful planner. In his workshops, small groups of students, Black and white, engaged in role-playing exercises. Some played angry white racists pounding on protesters while calling them racist epithets. Lawson taught them to withstand the taunts, slurs, and blows of the segregationists and to protect themselves without retaliating.” In his July 30, 2020, eulogy for the late Congressmember and former SNCC leader John Lewis, Lawson urged ([link removed]) , “We
need the Congress and the President to work unfalteringly on behalf of every boy and every girl so that every baby born on these shores will have access to the tree of life.” Lawson’s voice and his wisdom will be sorely missed as we continue our struggle for a better, more just, and more peaceful world.
Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
P.S. – Don’t miss a minute of the “hidden history” of 2024 – you can still order The Progressive’s new Hidden History of the United States calendar for the coming year. NOW HALF PRICE – Just $7.50 plus $3.00 shipping. Just go to indiepublishers.shop ([link removed]) , and while you are there, check out some of our other great offerings as well.
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