[ Reader Comments: NBA Strike for Justice and Black Lives Matter
Inspires Country; Organizing on Local Issues; No Problems with Mail-in
Voting in Mass. Primary; Policing Debate; Tribute to Essential
Workers-Labor Day Weekend; Resources; Announcements;]
[[link removed]]

TIDBITS - SEPT, 3, 2020 - READER COMMENTS: NBA STRIKE FOR JUSTICE AND
BLACK LIVES MATTER; ORGANIZING ON LOCAL ISSUES; NO PROBLEMS WITH
MAIL-IN VOTING IN MASS. PRIMARY; POLICING DEBATE; TRIBUTE TO ESSENTIAL
WORKERS-THIS WEEKEND; RESOURCES; ANNOUNCEMENTS  
[[link removed]]

 

September 3, 2020
xxxxxx

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ Reader Comments: NBA Strike for Justice and Black Lives Matter
Inspires Country; Organizing on Local Issues; No Problems with Mail-in
Voting in Mass. Primary; Policing Debate; Tribute to Essential
Workers-Labor Day Weekend; Resources; Announcements; _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Announcements, AND cartoons -
Sept, 3, 2020, xxxxxx

 

Re: With Their Wildcat Strike, NBA Players Have Pointed the Way
Forward (Randall Lewis; Lynn Pacione-Holman; Jon Zerolnick)
Believe me, he says. He has ‘Latino Vote’ locked up  --  cartoon
by Lalo Alcaraz
Re: Digging in on Issues at the Local Level Works! (Maggie Meehan;
Leanna Noble; Terry Reed)
Re: Work Stoppages for Black Lives (Jay Schaffner)
Re: Professional Athletes Are Showing America Just How Powerful Labor
Really Is (Judy Atkins)
Terrorists Thrive  --  cartoon by Tom Tomorrow
Re: In Massachusetts, An Unprecedented Primary Day Awaits (Christine
Pepin)
Re: A Boon to Disaster Capitalism: Puerto Rico’s Perpetual State of
Emergency (William Leffingwell)
The Word Is Systemic (Seymour Joseph)
Re: Health insurance and the COVID-19 shock (Cornell University Press)
Re: The Contours of Atlanta’s Policing Debate (Robert Supansic)
Re: 'The US Is Nowhere': As The Political Crisis In Belarus Deepens,
America Is Conspicuously Absent (Dan Morgan; Joe Jamison)

 

RESOURCES:

New and Free Social Justice Books (Social Justice Books)
Islamophobia Reporting App (Islamophobia Research & Documentation
Project)
Teaching the Vietnam War 75 Years After Vietnam's Independence (Zinn
Education Project)

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Tribute to Essential Workers - Labor Day Weekend - September 6
The Political Economy of the COVID Pandemic - September 10 (CUNY
School of Labor and Urban Studies)
“Climate Justice Through Racial Justice” March - New York -
September 20 (Peoples Climate Movement-NY)
SpeakOut Youth Summit with Angela Davis and Mariah Parker - October 3
(SpeakOut - The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture)

 

RE: WITH THEIR WILDCAT STRIKE, NBA PLAYERS HAVE POINTED THE WAY
FORWARD

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

Thank you so much, NBA and NBA Superstar ?? LeBron James and all of
the NBA players. You are good and decent people.

Randall Lewis
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

If this awful year has shown us anything, it's that the WORKERS hold
the POWER. If we could ever unite, GOOD sh!t would get done in this
country! But we let the corporations, the politicians, the media, the
law (all financed and bought by the RICH) control us. Bread and
Circuses, as the Romans called it.

Lynn Pacione-Holman
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

It seems wildly irresponsible to pass judgment on the recent NBA
strike and what it means about "the way forward" without even
acknowledging the concrete victory the players won from the owners:
use of the stadiums for voting.

Why do you pass along this garbage? I sometimes wonder if you even
read what you send out or if you're just taken by a headline.

Jon Zerolnick

 

BELIEVE ME, HE SAYS. HE HAS ‘LATINO VOTE’ LOCKED UP  --  CARTOON
BY LALO ALCARAZ
 

Lalo Alcaraz
September 1, 2020
Pocho
[[link removed]]

 

RE: DIGGING IN ON ISSUES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL WORKS!
 

I am also sharing. This is a powerful example of positive energy in a
challenging time.

This is detailed and balanced writing.

My congratulations to the people of western Massachusetts.

It's long but very good reading.

Maggie Meehan
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

I am sharing this GREAT example of justice organizing with as many
folks as possible -- hope all readers will also share -- to make sure
we all have examples of what WE can do with our neighbors in this
fight for justice & peace NOW!

Leanna Noble
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

Organizing around issues and policies that put people before profits
requires staying on issue not identity while clarifying policy not
personality

Terry Reed
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: WORK STOPPAGES FOR BLACK LIVES

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

Last week’s actions by professional athletes in the NBA, WNBA, NFL,
MLB, and professional tennis are a call to action for all of the labor
movement. 

ADD YOUR NAME
[[link removed]] 

 

Jay Schaffner
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES ARE SHOWING AMERICA JUST HOW POWERFUL LABOR
REALLY IS
 

There is power in a union. And it’s the power together to withhold
labor together.

Judy Atkins
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

TERRORISTS THRIVE  --  CARTOON BY TOM TOMORROW
 

In Trump’s America, Domestic Terrorists Thrive

White terrorism only inspires more white terrorism, and the cops
welcome it.

Tom Tomorrow
September 1, 2020
The Nation
[[link removed]]

 

RE: IN MASSACHUSETTS, AN UNPRECEDENTED PRIMARY DAY AWAITS
 

And look! Most ballots were mail in and there were ZERO problems.

Christine Pepin
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: A BOON TO DISASTER CAPITALISM: PUERTO RICO’S PERPETUAL STATE OF
EMERGENCY
 

This is a typical compilation of half truths from off-island media.
There have been missteps, errors, and yes some corruption, but Puerto
Rico’s record against COVID-19 is much better than the vast majority
of states’.

William Leffingwell
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

THE WORD IS SYSTEMIC
 

Every so often a word that’s been mostly sequestered in the medical
community becomes prominent in everyday usage. Today the word is
systemic. The demonstrations shaking the country from coast to coast
— and have taken hold abroad — have brought that word front and
center as it relates to racism.
Is racism systemic to our society or is it confined, as some would
have it, to a few “bad apples”? A cursory look at 400 years of our
history indicates that there’s something rotten in the whole damn
orchard. Thus the word systemic.
As if the recent rash of police killings weren’t enough to indicate
the scope of the problem, investigations by the Southern Poverty Law
Center have revealed the existence of hundreds of racist and
anti-Semitic groups throughout the country. And their activities are
not only verbal but often weaponized. That, to me, is more than
sufficient evidence to justify the label systemic.

Seymour Joseph

 

RE: HEALTH INSURANCE AND THE COVID-19 SHOCK
 

"Because the large majority of nonelderly U.S. households rely on
employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) to pay for health care, any
economic shock that destroys #jobs also destroys access to health
coverage. The COVID-19 crisis is one such shock..."

Read more with author Josh Bivens and Ben Zipperer on xxxxxx
[[link removed]] 

Cornell University Press
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: THE CONTOURS OF ATLANTA’S POLICING DEBATE
 

Real police reform will take place only when a credible program that
people can readily understand is put forward. The issue is not police
procedures, police training, chokeholds, “bad apples,” or even
racism. The issue is power. Forty years ago, I concluded that the
police departments in every major city were out of control. Nothing I
have seen since has changed that opinion. Indeed the rise to
prominence of Trump’s I.C.E. – probably the worst of them – has
only made the issue more graphic. One of the emblematic moments came
when the audience turned their backs on New York Mayor Bill deBlasio
at a Police Academy graduation. Just weeks ago the Kenosha police
waved at the young murderer of two protesters while shackling to his
hospital bed the man they had just shot nine times. These are pure
demonstrations of police power over elected officials and the rest of
us. And yet we continue to think that pressuring mayors and city
council members will solve the problem.

A shield covers the police, protecting them from all outside
influence. Politicians routinely appear smiling in photos with police
officials, even when they are perfectly aware of how little control
they have over them. (Consider how often police “:forget” to wear
required body cams or “forget” to turn them on or how departments
refuse to release footage when available.) The police jealously guard
investigations of police corruption as an “internal matter.”
Prosecutors are reluctant to file charges against police. In one
shooting incident after another, police unions stonewall criticism, no
matter how outrageous the behavior. The media downplays charges of
police misbehavior and, in the case of protests that turn
“violent,” rarely question who is responsible for the violence.
Juries refuse to convict police of even the most repellent
misbehavior. In my (admittedly limited) experience arbitrators called
in to settle contract disputes with municipalities generally side with
the police. Indeed, the collective bargaining process is often used as
a mechanism for insulating the police from outside scrutiny. The
findings of civilian review boards are regularly ignored. At the same
time, money and equipment is poured into increasingly militarized
police departments. By what logic on God’s green earth do we need to
send in a SWAT team over a domestic dispute? I know that such
incidents are especially dangerous – but a SWAT team?

I have often wondered how this happened. One explanation I have heard
– in my own community as well as from the media – is that the
police are a powerful voting bloc. This is not true because their
numbers are relatively small and in many communities, members of the
police do not even live in the communities they police. More relevant
is the fact that the police can readily create incidents that
embarrass local elected officials, even those who largely support
them. But their ultimate power is the threat that they will withhold
their labor allowing criminals to run free, a form of terrorism
directed at the community at large. This is made all the more
effective by those stoking fears in the population at large. You know:
“American carnage.”

Perhaps the most fundamental explanation is the historical role of the
police in suppressing class and racial threats to the existing order
and in the protection of private property. In the name of law and
order they have regularly intervened with force against strikes,
antiwar, civil rights, immigration, and environmental protests—and
whatever else you’ve got. Consider the red squads, the anti-Muslim
surveillance units. Consider the murder of Fred Hampton. For this
reason, the prevalence of extreme right wing politics among those
assigned to “Serve and Protect” all of us is generally ignored.

Let me also say something in defense of the police. Like teachers –
they are left to deal with all of the social problems that “we
can’t afford to deal with.” This outrage has, for example, turned
the Los Angeles County Jail into the country’s largest mental
hospital. Some have called transferring part of police budgets to
programs designed to deal with these problems. But here again, the
media has freely allowed the right to characterize “Defund the
Police” into a call for abolishing the police.

I do not know how to fix this problem of police power. But I do know
we will not fix it until we recognize what the real problem is.

Robert Supansic

 

RE: 'THE US IS NOWHERE': AS THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN BELARUS DEEPENS,
AMERICA IS CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT
 

This is a joke? The National Endowment for Democracy (ie US State
funding) lists spending of $1,744,000 to groups in Belarus in 2019
alone. If that spend (along with much else no doubt) is successful,
Belarus can expect wholesale privatisations, factory closures,
unemployment and cuts in social spending. See the article from Jacobin
posted last week.

Dan Morgan
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

What is going on in Belarus is obviously an attempted "color
revolution." It was disappointing to see Aug. 26 article by
Christopher Miller re-posted at xxxxxx pining for deeper US
involvement . Even more dismaying, Miller's article cites views of
arch-imperialist, arch-militarist John Bolton with seeming approval.
One expects from xxxxxx a high level of understanding of US
imperialism's "soft power" political technologies. xxxxxx is
valuable service to progressives . But xxxxxx editors should know
better than this. 

Joe Jamison

 

NEW AND FREE SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOKS (SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOKS)
 

[[link removed]]

Click here [[link removed]]

[[link removed]]

We need to clear out of our storage unit, so we are offering these
books to you for free – just pay the price of shipping.

If you are in the D.C. area, pick them up at our office.

Suggestion: Order a box and place copies in Little Free Libraries.

More Free Books

* Caribbean Connections: Jamaica - Box Set of 52
[[link removed]]
*  
* Caribbean Connections: Overview of Regional History - Box Set of
32
[[link removed]]
*  
* La Republica Dominicana: Student readings in Spanish - Box Set of
50
[[link removed]]

Teaching for Change [[link removed]]
PO Box 73038
Washington, DC 20056

 

ISLAMOPHOBIA REPORTING APP (ISLAMOPHOBIA RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
PROJECT)
 

From Europe to India, Islamophobic tropes have been splashed across
the pages of publications such as The Economist and The Hindu that
portray Muslims as a threat to the world much like the COVID-19 virus,
as well as mobilizing the familiar tropes of Muslim terrorists and
radical Islam.

Polemics and polarization in a time of a pandemic can be violent and
deadly.

Islamophobia Reporting App: August 2020 Reported Data

[[link removed]]

Click here to report [[link removed]]

Our mission is to develop a sustained response that both examines the
roots of Islamophobia, & provides the empirical data to quantify the
problem. Only then can we develop the tools required to educate
policymakers on how best to counter Islamophobia.

_The Islamophobia Studies Center is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization_

[email protected]

 

TEACHING THE VIETNAM WAR 75 YEARS AFTER VIETNAM'S INDEPENDENCE (ZINN
EDUCATION PROJECT)
 

 

Seventy-five years ago, September 2, 1945, marked the official end to
World War II, with the surrender of Japan. It is also the date of the
Declaration of Independence of a united Vietnam
[[link removed]] —
free of Japanese occupation and French colonialism.

At that moment, President Harry S. Truman was faced with an historic
choice: recognize Vietnamese independence or support France in the
reconquest of its colony. Ultimately, the United States chose
colonialism over freedom — and that choice led to the deaths of
millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians; and tens of
thousands of U.S. soldiers.

It is a choice young people need to study.

The Zinn Education Project features numerous resources to help our
students probe the roots of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and the impact
of the Vietnam War — which the Vietnamese rightly call “The
American War” — and resistance to the war.

Teaching the Vietnam War: Beyond the Headlines
 

In a collection of eight lessons, students learn about the roles of
presidents, generals, journalists, whistleblowers, and grassroots
activists in the Vietnam War.

This 100-page teaching guide, prepared by the Zinn Education Project
for middle school, high school, and college classrooms, enhances
student understanding of the issues raised in the
award-winning film, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel
Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.

The guide uses role play, critical reading, discussion, mock trial,
imaginative writing, small group work, and personal narrative.

Learn More and Download Unit
[[link removed]]

If We Knew Our History

CAMOUFLAGING THE VIETNAM WAR: HOW TEXTBOOKS CONTINUE TO KEEP THE
PENTAGON PAPERS A SECRET

By Bill Bigelow

In the Academy Award-winning documentary Hearts and Minds, Daniel
Ellsberg, who secretly copied and then released the Pentagon Papers,
offers a catalog of presidential lying about the U.S. role in Vietnam:
Truman lied. Eisenhower lied. Kennedy lied. Johnson “lied and lied
and lied.” Nixon lied.

The Pentagon Papers that Ellsberg exposed were not military secrets.
They were historical secrets — a history of U.S. intervention and
deceit that Ellsberg believed, if widely known, would undermine the
U.S. pretexts in defense of the war’s prosecution.

Textbooks resist telling students that the U.S. government
consistently lied about the war. . . Teaching students a deeper, more
complete history of the American War — as it is known in Vietnam —
is not just a matter of accuracy, it’s about life and death. . . .

Continue Reading
[[link removed]]

Teach the Vietnam War with Film

During the COVID-19 crisis, we share this annotated list of more than
100 films. It has always been a good idea to use "films with a
conscience
[[link removed]],"
but films may now be an even more accessible "text" we can use to help
young people think deeply about the world. Many of these films alert
students to how individuals and social movements have tried to make
life better.

The list includes six films about Vietnam War
[[link removed]].
Many are available to stream online for little or no cost.

Learn More
[[link removed]]

Zinn Education Project [[link removed]]
_A collaboration between Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change_
PO Box 73038
Washington, D.C. 20056
Phone: 202-588-7205 | Email: [email protected]

 

TRIBUTE TO ESSENTIAL WORKERS - LABOR DAY WEEKEND - SEPTEMBER 6
 

JOIN US [[link removed]] (VIRTUALLY) IN HONORING
ESSENTIAL WORKERS:

Join us this Labor Day weekend to pay tribute to the lives and work of
essential workers. On Sunday night, September 6th we’ll come
together to watch performances, hear stories, and honor the lives of
working people who continue to sacrifice daily for our nation’s
safety and wellbeing.

Together we’ll issue a powerful call for transformation in honor of
the people that we’ve lost and to fight for the working people who
are essential to our economy and society. These essential workers are
disproportionately Black and other women of color, immigrant, and
other communities in the margins. We have a responsibility and
opportunity to create an inclusive future that ensures that everyone
is treated with dignity and respect–through raising pay and
workplace standards, improving safety, and increasing worker power in
the workplace.

Our Partners

* National Domestic Workers Alliance
* AFGE Local 704
* AFL-CIO
* Amalgamated Transit Union
* American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
* American Federation of Teachers
* Brave New Films
* Center for Biological Diversity
* Center for Popular Democracy
* Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
* Color of Change
* Community Catalyst
* Daily Kos
* Democracy Green
* Democracy Initiative
* Demos
* eQuality HomeCare Inc.
* Fayetteville PACT
* Green America
* Greenpeace USA
* Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
* Her Justice
* Jobs with Justice
* Justice for Migrant Women
* Labor Education Action Research Network
* Labor Network for Sustainability
* Masks For America
* McCarren Gathering
* Miami Workers Center
* MomsRising
* MoveOn
* National Council for Occupational Safety and Health
* National Education Association
* National Women’s Law Center
* NC Black Alliance
* NextGen America
* Nuestras Manos
* Onward Rides
* Paid Leave for All
* People’s Action
* Poor People’s Campaign of the Shenandoah Valley
* Resistance Revival Chorus
* ROC-United
* Service Employees International Union
* Super Majority
* Tax March
* The ICAN OUTREACH COMMUNITY ORG.
* The Oakland Institute
* TIME’S UP Foundation
* UAW
* UltraViolet
* United for Respect
* Valley Protein Blue Collar Workers Organizing Committee
* Women’s March
* Women2Women
* Working Families Organization

 

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE COVID PANDEMIC - SEPTEMBER 10 (CUNY
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND URBAN STUDIES)
 

The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies is launching a series of
web interviews on Covid Capitalism: Pandemic, Recovery and Rebellion.

Each month one of our faculty members will conduct a live interview
with organizers and movement scholars.

The first installment will be THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 12 - 1 PM

"The Political Economy of the COVID Pandemic" 

with:

LEO PANITCH - Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy
and Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science - York
University 

SAMIR SONTI - Assistant Professor of Urban Studies - CUNY School of
Labor & Urban Studies 

Register in the link below. It is free to participate.
[[link removed]]

Join us to examine the impact of the COVID pandemic on the U.S. and
global economy. Professors Panitch and Sonti will contrast the current
crisis with previous periods of economic crisis, as well as discuss
the possible consequences of this crisis for global capitalism.

CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies [[link removed]]
25 West 43rd Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(646) 313-8300

 

“CLIMATE JUSTICE THROUGH RACIAL JUSTICE” MARCH - NEW YORK -
SEPTEMBER 20 (PEOPLES CLIMATE MOVEMENT-NY)
 

The cry for justice is being heard in every corner of the country. The
painful realities of the COVID-19 crisis, the economic disaster, and
the horrors of racism/white supremacy are moving people into action in
unprecedented ways. These last 6 months have shed a new light on the
ways these issues are all connected. Now is the time to take the next
step. 

On Sept. 20th we are marching because we know that addressing the
climate crisis effectively rests in our commitment to racial justice.
This isn’t the first march calling for climate justice and racial
justice, and we know it won’t be the last. This march will kick off
and set a tone for Climate Week by prioritizing Black, Brown, and
Indigenous peoples, making clear the intersection between climate
justice and racial justice. 

Building movements for racial, economic, and climate justice in NYC
requires using every tool we have available – voting, completing the
census, holding elected officials accountable, and mobilizing mass
actions. One thing is clear - we cannot achieve climate justice
without racial justice. 

Make plans now to march with us on Sept. 20. More information about
the Climate Justice Through Racial Justice March can be found here
[[link removed]]. 
And please take a moment to fill out this form
[[link removed]]
to let us know how you will help get the word out and build the march
on Sept. 20. 

Finally, we urge you to make a donation
[[link removed]]
today. Your financial support will make it possible to provide face
masks and hand sanitizer, will let us get materials needed for art
builds, and will help cover the other costs related to this effort.
Please make a generous donation right now. 

We hope to see you on the streets on Sept. 20th. 

PCM-NY Admin Team

Leslie, Kei, Nancy, Marilyn, Laurel, and Allen

The Peoples Climate Movement-NY is proud to be one of the groups that
initiated the Climate Justice Through Racial Justice March on Sept.
20. The other groups include: Action Corps NYC, American Indian
Community House, Bronx Climate Justice North, Climate Reality Project
NYC/Metro Chapter, Corporate Accountability, Extinction Rebellion NYC,
March for Science NYC, North Bronx Racial Justice, Plus1Vote,
Schaghticoke First Nations, Sustaining All Life - NYC, United
Confederation of Taíno People

We invite your organization to co-sponsor and support us
[[link removed]]
with these actions! We will be listing all co-sponsors on our website.

 

SPEAKOUT YOUTH SUMMIT WITH ANGELA DAVIS AND MARIAH PARKER - OCTOBER 3
(SPEAKOUT - THE INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION AND CULTURE)
 

Registration for the SpeakOut Youth Summit 10/3
[[link removed]]:

These two scholar-activists come together, across generations, to talk
about art, politics, and how we can change the world.

ANGELA DAVIS is an iconic activist, scholar, and author who, over the
past 5 decades, has been at the forefront of our nation’s quest for
social justice. Her work as an educator – both at the university
level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the
importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial,
and gender justice.

MARIAH PARKER is a queer hip-hop artist and PhD candidate in
linguistics at the University of Georgia. She was also elected County
Commissioner at age 26, as part of the new wave of young women of
color entering politics nationwide.

We’re coming together for an empowering day curated by SpeakOut
[[link removed]] - The Institute for Democratic
Education and Culture.

A day-long virtual summit for students and young people (35 and under)
on racial justice, leadership development, and radical imagination.
Over 15 workshops, inspiring keynotes, panels, and performances.

Visit www.speakoutnow.org [[link removed]] for more info.
 

*
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*
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*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

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