Center for Puerto Rican Studies' Edwin Melendez discusses the current amount of federal aid needed for Puerto Rico.
Source: C-SPAN
Friday, September 29, 2017
Black Lives Matter Is a Movement That Can’t Be Sued, Judge Says
BATON ROUGE, La. — Black Lives Matter is a social movement, like the
tea party or the civil rights movement, and therefore can't be sued, a
federal judge ruled Thursday.
A police officer anonymously sued Black Lives
Matter and DeRay Mckesson, a prominent activist in the movement, after
being injured by a rock thrown during a protest over a deadly police
shooting in Baton Rouge last year.
But U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson
dismissed the officer's suit and ruled that Black Lives Matter is not an
entity capable of being sued.
"Although many entities have utilized the
phrase 'black lives matter' in their titles or business designations,
'Black Lives Matter' itself is not an entity of any sort," Jackson wrote
in his 24-page ruling.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Focus Group Reveals Democrats ‘Have a Lot of Work to Do’ With Black Millennials
PHILADELPHIA — “Angry," "exasperated," "worried," "stressed" and
"scared" were the responses from back-to-back focus groups here of a
combined 20 African-American millennials, who were asked to describe how
they feel about American politics.
These young voters from a key 2016
battleground state also expressed deep pessimism about the political
process and their voices in it.
"I feel like I can't make the impact I want," said a 25-year-old man who recently got his college degree.
"I'm outnumbered," said a 33-year-old female payroll analyst.
"I feel like Trump is tearing everything down," added a 24-year-old woman who's a front desk supervisor.
"I don't think what I have to say really
matters," said an 18-year-old community college student. "I am a
minority," the woman added.
“Our votes don’t really count,” said a 24-year-old professional dancer.
Click here for the full article.
Air Force Academy Head Tells Racists to ‘Get Out’ in Impassioned Speech
The head of the Air Force Academy gathered 5,500 cadets, faculty,
staff and cadet candidates Thursday to deliver a powerful message after
racial slurs were found written on message boards at the academy’s
preparatory school.
“If you can’t treat someone with dignity and
respect, then get out,” Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria told the group at the
culmination of a forceful five-minute lecture on the “power of
diversity.”
Five black cadet candidates at the Academy’s
Preparatory School woke up Monday morning to messages saying “go home”
followed by an anti-black slur, according to a statement released by the academy.
Click here for the full article.
This One Word Is Worth $500 Billion as Congress Debates Tax Cuts
WASHINGTON — Policy.
That word could be worth $500 billion to
congressional Republicans as they try to play down the effect of
President Donald Trump's tax cut proposal on the nation's debt.
They're eyeing a switch in the standard
Congress uses to measure the cost of tax cuts — from the "current law"
baseline to a "current policy" baseline. The switch would mean that the tax cuts would appear to have far less impact on the long-term debt.
Here's how it's worked in the past:
Congressional budget experts measure the deficit impact of new
legislation against current law. If, for example, a tax break on rum is
set to expire in two years, the experts assume that the government will
collect more revenue in the third, fourth and fifth years because the
tax rate on rum will have gone back up after the break has expired.
But the "current policy" baseline assumes that
every law now in effect would continue in perpetuity, even if the law
has a sunset date. Republicans like the "current policy" baseline
because it means that projections of future government revenue are lower
— and, as a result, tax cuts look smaller compared to current policy than they do compared to current law.
Click here for the full article.
Feds Demand Facebook Share Information on Anti-Trump Protesters
The Justice Department is demanding that Facebook turn over
information from three accounts that could provide access to the
personal details of thousands of activists who expressed interest in
anti-Trump rallies.
The department obtained search warrants
targeting three Facebook accounts that were used to organize
Inauguration Day protests against Donald Trump, the ACLU said late
Thursday. But accessing those accounts would provide information on
thousands of other users who "liked" an anti-Trump Facebook page, the
group explained.
The ACLU’s Washington, D.C., office said in a statement it would fight the enforcement of the search warrants.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
U.S. Plans to Withdraw Diplomats from Cuba
This report was broadcast on September 28.
Source: CBS News
The Travel Ban is Still a Muslim Ban, and the Press Should Say So
By Jon Allsop
The inclusion of North Korea
and Venezuela in President Trump’s latest border security directive has
reignited a debate in the media: When does a Muslim ban stop being a
“Muslim ban”? The latest round of coverage shows reporters and editors
have hedged their bets.
The addition of two
non-Muslim-majority nations doesn’t make the directive any less of a
Muslim ban, as recent stories have noted. But the same reports struggled
to capture that impression in headlines and shorthand descriptions.
Leads in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, and Reuters
variously called the new directive a “travel ban” and “travel
restrictions,” and retroactively applied the same antiseptic language to
the policy’s previous—more overtly anti-Muslim—incarnations.
The Times:
President Trump on Sunday issued a new order indefinitely banning almost all travel to the United States from seven countries, including most of the nations covered by his original travel ban, citing threats to national security posed by letting their citizens into the country.Click here for the full article.
Source: Columbia Journalism Review.
U.S. Army Takes Over Massive Mission to Save Puerto Rico
More than a week after Hurricane Maria, the response is finally being federalized as the island struggles to distribute supplies and restore power.
By Ingrid Arnesen
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—The U.S. Army will take over recovery operations in Puerto Rico,
Col. Jorge Santini of Puerto Rico's National Guard state command told
The Daily Beast. The announcement is expected Thursday afternoon.
U.S.
Northern Command appointed Army Brig. Gen. Richard Kim on Wednesday to
oversee operations. The Army will oversee every facet of the massive
mission and coordinate with the National Guard, FEMA, and Gov. Ricardo
Rossello’s office, Santini said. Approximately 2,600 U.S. military
personnel and Guard members are currently involved in Hurricane Maria
relief efforts, the Pentagon said.
"We
need more manpower, more resources, more help, quickly and
efficiently," Santini said. "We needed to federalize the recovery plan."
Ret. Gen. Russel Honore, who led the military effort in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, told NPR on Thursday morning and far more troops are needed.
“Puerto
Rico is a bigger and tougher mission than Katrina,’ Honore said, adding
20,000 federal troops and 40,000 National Guard were under his command.
Honore said twice as many are needed for Puerto Rico.
“We started moving about four days too late,” Honore said.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
Crime Map Reveals Most Dangerous Places in New York City
By
Rudy Giuliani did so much to help New York City move on from the days when fear and crime ruled.
Manhattan is a much safer place now than it was a decade ago — but
there’s still a lot of work to be done, judging by these maps.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) crime locators reveal the most dangerous parts of the city.
The department offers three choices of map: precinct, crime location
and heat. All show where cops received reports of crime across
Manhattan.
Click here to review maps.
Source: metro.co.uk (via The Empire Report)
Introducing 'Crain's' 100 Best Places to Work in New York City in 2017
Perks can
be vital for recruiting top talent, especially in industries like tech
and engineering, but 100 New York companies go above and beyond to
nurture inspiring and supportive workplaces. Crain's 2017 list of Best Places to Work in New York City recognizes the firms that went the extra mile for their employees.
This year's
champions of office culture, named alphabetically below, represent a
variety of industries throughout New York, from financial technology to
construction to socks—yes, socks.
Come celebrate with these companies at our awards luncheon on Dec. 1, when Crain's
will announce the rankings for the 2017 Best Places to Work list. The
definitive rankings will also be published online and in the Dec. 4
issue of Crain's New York Business.
Click here for listing.
Source: Crain's New York Business (via The Empire Report)
City & State: Winners and Losers, 9/29/2017
Rob Astorino
Washington
may have a monopoly on government dysfunction, but New York isn't
giving up in the competition to be the most scandal-plagued place in the
country. In the space of a couple days, a man who might have been New
York City's mayor was sentenced for his sleazy online behavior and yet
another former legislative leader had his corruption conviction
overturned – at least for now. But how do they stack up among this
week’s Winners & Losers?
WINNERS
Rob Astorino – Last month, the
Republican Westchester County executive vetoed a bill intended to
protect undocumented immigrants, saying the legislation would threaten
access to federal funding. On Monday, county legislators came one vote
short of overriding the veto,
meaning that Westchester will not become a so-called "sanctuary county"
– although Astorino did issue an executive order directing county
officers not to inquire about immigration status.
Click here for the full listing.
Source: City & State (via The Empire Report)
Army's Position on Fort Drum Soldier: It's OK to Be a Communist
By Mark Weiner
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Army officials say soldiers like the one at Fort Drum
who shared photos of himself with pro-communist messages under his
uniform have the right to join political parties and engage in speech
that many Americans may find offensive.
Soldiers are permitted to be members of the Community Party, American Nazi Party, or in the case of Army 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, a supporter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
But Rapone, assigned to Fort Drum's 10th Mountain
Division, may have crossed a line for acceptable conduct this week when
he tweeted photos of himself in his dress uniform to make a political
statement.
That's why Fort Drum commanders launched an investigation into Rapone
that could result in administrative or punitive action, said Tonya
Stokes, speaking for the Northern New York military post.
Click here for the full article.
Source: syracuse.com (via The Empire Report)
It's True: A Lot of People Are Leaving New York
By Dan Clark
New York state’s population declined last year for the first time in a decade.
State Republican Chairman Edward F. Cox blames the drop on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Cuomo's economic policies make it hard for employers to add jobs,
especially in upstate New York, so residents are leaving the state for
better employment opportunities elsewhere, he said.
"We have the biggest outmigration of citizens of any state," Cox said.
Click here for the full article.
New York Won’t Require Union Jobs As Part Of Amazon Package
By Ryan Whalen
From the Morning Memo:
Amazon is planning to build a new headquarters somewhere in the U.S.
in the near future, potentially adding up to 50,000 jobs at whichever
lucky location – or locations – get chosen.
Like so many other states across the nation, New York is pushing hard to win this contest.
While metro regions like Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and New York City
are putting together the most attractive incentive packages they can, a
large portion of what’s being offered will come from the state, and
Empire State Development President Howard Zemsky said the package will
be basically the same for any region that applies.
They have not decided on final numbers yet, but ESDC officials follow
metrics based on the number of positions a company promises to bring
and how well those jobs pay.
Click here for the full article.
Source: State of Politics
Actually Gov. Cuomo, You're Not an Immigrant
By Chris Churchill
Albany, N.Y.- There's something about me you don't know. I was raised by a pack of wolves.
I've hesitated to mention this before because it isn't actually true.
But it is increasingly obvious that anyone can claim to be whatever
they want, as evidenced by something the governor claimed this week.
"I am an immigrant," Andrew Cuomo said on MSNBC, while discussing hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico.
The timing was odd, given that Puerto Ricans are Americans. When they move to the mainland, they are not immigrants.
But Cuomo has made this claim before.
"You want to deport immigrants?" the Democrat asked last year in a
speech directed at Donald Trump. "Start with me because I am an
immigrant."
Cuomo was born in Queens. His parents were also born in New York. He is not, therefore, an immigrant.
Click here for the full article.
Source: timesunion.com (via The Empire Report)
Rohingya Crisis: 'Kutupalong Camp is Going to Be One of the Biggest Refugee Camps in the World'
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Eye on Africa: Kenya's Ruling Party Moves to Amend Election Law Ahead of Presidential Re-Run
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Thursday, September 28, 2017
LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the NAACP and CBC File Briefs in Support of TENNY Lawsuit
New York City - LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the NAACP and the Citizens Budget Commission each filed Amicus Curiae briefs this week in support of Tax Equity Now New York’s (TENNY) lawsuit seeking reform of New York City’s property tax system. TENNY is a coalition of homeowners, renters, rental property owners, civil rights and social justice organizations, that filed suit in April 2017 seeking reform of the New York City property tax system on the grounds that it is irrational, and unfairly burdens low income & minority neighborhoods. Despite widespread support for property tax reform in New York, the City and State are currently fighting the suit.
“We have brought together a diverse coalition of voices to help people understand the property tax system and to fight for change to a regressive, opaque and irrational system,” said Martha Stark, Director of Policy for TENNY. “Because the political will required for change has been lacking, we filed suit and are seeking justice through the court system. LatinoJustice, the NAACP and the Citizens Budget Commission are formidable allies in our cause for reform, and their supporting our lawsuit is a testament to the strength of our case. With organizations like these by our side, we will finally force policy-makers to find a solution and right a serious injustice.”
“LatinoJustice is committed to the protection of civil and human rights within Latino communities,” said Juan Cartagena, President of Latino Justice. “We are very pleased for the opportunity to support TENNY’s efforts to reform NYC’s property tax system by submitting an amicus curiae brief in support of their lawsuit. We look forward to supporting their continued efforts fighting for reform of New York City’s broken property tax system alongside this diverse and broad coalition.”
Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference said, “New York City’s property tax system is aggressively regressive, shifting tax burdens away from the wealthy and onto the backs of minorities and lower income property owners and tenants in underserved communities throughout the City. We were among the first supporters of TENNY, and proud to submit briefs in support of the lawsuit, because it is long past time that this institutional racial injustice come to an end.”
Carol Kellermann, President of the Citizens Budget Commission said, “The City gets more than $24 billion in revenue from property taxes and we need to make sure the system is fair and transparent. For more than three decades we’ve been waiting for the City and State legislatures to address the inequities and economic inefficiencies in the design and administration of property taxes. We’re supportive of this action and believe that when the data that TENNY has assembled is presented in court, it will help foster a comprehensive restructuring of the system. It’s long overdue.
Judge Jonathan Lippman, Of Counsel at Latham & Watkins and attorney for TENNY, said, “Our case for reform is only made stronger by LatinoJustice , the NAACP and CBC joining our lawsuit. Our complaint makes clear that the longstanding and stark inequities in the current system are not just unfair, they are unlawful—violating provisions of the New York State Constitution, New York’s real property tax law, and federal law that require property taxes to be imposed uniformly and rationally. We look forward to seeking justice via the court system with these critical allies on our side.”
For decades, political leaders and independent analysts have decried New York City’s property tax system as unfair, antiquated, and outdated, and acknowledged that it imposes unequal tax bills on property owners that bear little relationship to their properties’ actual value. The system is regressive, and shifts the onus from wealthy Manhattan co-op and condo owners to renters and homeowners in the outer boroughs, disproportionately burdening neighborhoods primarily populated by racial and ethnic minorities and lower income families least able to afford it. The broken system also discourages the construction of rental housing, and is unfair to countless communities across the City.
The system’s problems are widespread and insidious: data shows that racial minorities are particularly harmed. According to recently released data from the New School Center for New York City Affairs, the inequities in the system “have a marked class and race dimension. The median income of renters is only half that of home and apartment owners, and racial minorities account for three-quarters of renters, but are slightly fewer than half of home and apartment owners.”
Higher assessments lead to higher taxes in minority-majority neighborhoods across the City. People of Color constitute a minority of the population in the 15 community planning districts in which condos, coops, and rental properties are taxed at the lowest effective tax rates. By contrast, People of Color constitute 72% of the 15 community planning districts in which those properties are taxed at the highest effective tax rates.
Over twice as many African-Americans and almost one-third more Latinos live in the 15 community planning districts in which one, two, or three-family homes pay the highest effective tax rates than the 15 community planning districts in which such properties are taxed at the lowest effective tax rates. Disparities between individual properties are often even starker. A home sold in 2015 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn for $150,000 has the same exact property tax bill ($4,297) as one that sold the same year for $9,000,000 in Carroll Gardens, even though the latter property was 6000% times more valuable.
Moreover, the effective tax rate paid by homeowners in community planning districts with a population that is greater than 60% Latino is 20% higher than in districts that are more than 60% white. In other words, the taxes for Latinos per $1 million of market value is more than $8,600 compared to just $7,200 in districts that are white.
“We have brought together a diverse coalition of voices to help people understand the property tax system and to fight for change to a regressive, opaque and irrational system,” said Martha Stark, Director of Policy for TENNY. “Because the political will required for change has been lacking, we filed suit and are seeking justice through the court system. LatinoJustice, the NAACP and the Citizens Budget Commission are formidable allies in our cause for reform, and their supporting our lawsuit is a testament to the strength of our case. With organizations like these by our side, we will finally force policy-makers to find a solution and right a serious injustice.”
“LatinoJustice is committed to the protection of civil and human rights within Latino communities,” said Juan Cartagena, President of Latino Justice. “We are very pleased for the opportunity to support TENNY’s efforts to reform NYC’s property tax system by submitting an amicus curiae brief in support of their lawsuit. We look forward to supporting their continued efforts fighting for reform of New York City’s broken property tax system alongside this diverse and broad coalition.”
Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference said, “New York City’s property tax system is aggressively regressive, shifting tax burdens away from the wealthy and onto the backs of minorities and lower income property owners and tenants in underserved communities throughout the City. We were among the first supporters of TENNY, and proud to submit briefs in support of the lawsuit, because it is long past time that this institutional racial injustice come to an end.”
Carol Kellermann, President of the Citizens Budget Commission said, “The City gets more than $24 billion in revenue from property taxes and we need to make sure the system is fair and transparent. For more than three decades we’ve been waiting for the City and State legislatures to address the inequities and economic inefficiencies in the design and administration of property taxes. We’re supportive of this action and believe that when the data that TENNY has assembled is presented in court, it will help foster a comprehensive restructuring of the system. It’s long overdue.
Judge Jonathan Lippman, Of Counsel at Latham & Watkins and attorney for TENNY, said, “Our case for reform is only made stronger by LatinoJustice , the NAACP and CBC joining our lawsuit. Our complaint makes clear that the longstanding and stark inequities in the current system are not just unfair, they are unlawful—violating provisions of the New York State Constitution, New York’s real property tax law, and federal law that require property taxes to be imposed uniformly and rationally. We look forward to seeking justice via the court system with these critical allies on our side.”
For decades, political leaders and independent analysts have decried New York City’s property tax system as unfair, antiquated, and outdated, and acknowledged that it imposes unequal tax bills on property owners that bear little relationship to their properties’ actual value. The system is regressive, and shifts the onus from wealthy Manhattan co-op and condo owners to renters and homeowners in the outer boroughs, disproportionately burdening neighborhoods primarily populated by racial and ethnic minorities and lower income families least able to afford it. The broken system also discourages the construction of rental housing, and is unfair to countless communities across the City.
The system’s problems are widespread and insidious: data shows that racial minorities are particularly harmed. According to recently released data from the New School Center for New York City Affairs, the inequities in the system “have a marked class and race dimension. The median income of renters is only half that of home and apartment owners, and racial minorities account for three-quarters of renters, but are slightly fewer than half of home and apartment owners.”
Higher assessments lead to higher taxes in minority-majority neighborhoods across the City. People of Color constitute a minority of the population in the 15 community planning districts in which condos, coops, and rental properties are taxed at the lowest effective tax rates. By contrast, People of Color constitute 72% of the 15 community planning districts in which those properties are taxed at the highest effective tax rates.
Over twice as many African-Americans and almost one-third more Latinos live in the 15 community planning districts in which one, two, or three-family homes pay the highest effective tax rates than the 15 community planning districts in which such properties are taxed at the lowest effective tax rates. Disparities between individual properties are often even starker. A home sold in 2015 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn for $150,000 has the same exact property tax bill ($4,297) as one that sold the same year for $9,000,000 in Carroll Gardens, even though the latter property was 6000% times more valuable.
Moreover, the effective tax rate paid by homeowners in community planning districts with a population that is greater than 60% Latino is 20% higher than in districts that are more than 60% white. In other words, the taxes for Latinos per $1 million of market value is more than $8,600 compared to just $7,200 in districts that are white.
Link to Court filings:
Case number: 153759/2017
Tax Equity Now New York is an association of New York City homeowners and renters, civil
rights and social justice organizations, and real estate leaders, with
the support of civic leaders, committed to exposing, educating, and
correcting the current, antiquated and inequitable New York City
property tax system. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are not seeking financial
remuneration – but simply to ensure that New York City has the best and
fairest property tax structure in the state and
country. For more information and get a better understanding of the
problem and find specific information about your own properties please
visit:
www.taxequitynow.nyc.
Source: Mercury
Trump Is Nobody's Fool
The president's latest "travel ban", which still primarily impacts Muslims, is politics and deception in its fullest form.
By Nida Khan
One of the biggest critiques we hear about President Donald Trump is
that he is crazy, unhinged – even mentally deranged. Cable news networks
have done entire segments about his mental stability (or lack thereof)
and fitness for office, with journalists, pundits and analysts sitting
around playing the role of psychologists. When it comes to this
president and this administration, one thing everyone should keep in
mind is that despite the outbursts, offensive statements, ridiculous
tweets and antics, he isn't some clown. Rather, he and his team are a
cold, calculating and opportunistic bunch that have perfected the art of
deception while quietly mastering the political game behind-the-scenes.
The latest example of this dichotomy is no other than the newly revised
travel ban.
While everyone's attention was focused on the Graham/Cassidy bill,
Republicans' latest failed effort to repeal Obamacare, Trump's
outrageous comments about athletes who exercise their First Amendment
rights, the tragedy in Puerto Rico and other stories, this president
quietly signed a new executive order, adding additional countries to his
banned list. Sunday's order bans most people from Syria, Yemen,
Somalia, Chad, Libya, Iran and North Korea, as well as some Venezuelan
government officials and others. It conveniently came as provisions of
the previous ban expired, and right before the Supreme Court was set to
hear the case next month. By adding countries like North Korea and
Venezuela, the Trump administration has cleverly thrown a monkey wrench
into the argument that this is a Muslim ban. But let's not be fooled by
the political games: This was, is and will still be an initial ban on
millions of Muslims entering the United States.
The Supreme Court this week removed two cases from their oral argument
calendar following this latest executive order: Trump v. International
Refugee Assistance Project and Trump v. Hawaii. The parties fighting
against Trump's ban have long maintained that it violates the
Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from favoring one
religion over another.
Click here for the full article.
Source: U.S. News & World Report
Bronx Organizations to Launch Relief Drive for Puerto Rico and Mexico
What You Should Know
By Senator Rev. Rubén DÃaz
32nd Senatorial District
You should know that here in Bronx County they are several organizations that are coordinating a humanitarian relief effort to collect and sends aid to the victims in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria and the victims of the Earthquake in Mexico.
By Senator Rev. Rubén DÃaz
32nd Senatorial District
You should know that here in Bronx County they are several organizations that are coordinating a humanitarian relief effort to collect and sends aid to the victims in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria and the victims of the Earthquake in Mexico.
As we all know, Hurricanes Irma
and Maria have wreaked havoc on the island, leaving much destruction, floods
and thousands of families helpless and with urgent needs for help.
On the other hand, our brothers
and sisters in Mexico have been visited by a tremendous earthquake of 7.1
on the Richter scale.
This earthquake in Mexico has destroyed
thousands of homes and buildings causing the loss of life of hundreds of
people and hundreds of others hospitalized homeless and without shelter.
It is for this reasons that, The
New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, the Christian Community Benevolent
Association, Radio Vision Cristiana Internacional, and Radio Cantico Nuevo,
have organized this humanitarian relief effort, and they have been supported
by elected officials such as Bronx Borough President Rubén DÃaz Jr, Senator
Rubén DÃaz Sr., Assemblymen Marcos Crespo, Luis Sepulveda, and Councilman
Rafael Salamanca.
We must all answer the call at
this time when Puerto Rico and Mexico need our help. Water, canned
foods, medicines, pampers, infant formula, first aid articles, batteries
and flashlights, and other aids will be received at this humanitarian relief
effort.
I am Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz and
this is what you should know.
Future Hope Columns: Religion and Revolution, Part Two
By Ted Glick
In my first column on this topic on September 16, I referenced my intention via study and discussions with others, “to try to pinpoint what is at the root of the failure, by and large, of both organized religion and organized Marxism/socialism to do what Marx called for in words inscribed on his grave: ‘The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.’”
I’ve done some thinking about this as I’ve been moving forward with this personal project. Believing that input and constructive criticism from others is always a good thing, I’m going to share my current thinking and invite others to respond.
After reading my father’s Bible from beginning to end a number of months ago, I re-read Foundations of Christianity, a Marxist analysis of Christianity by Karl Kautsky written in 1908. Kautsky at the time was one of the leading theoreticians of the European socialist movement and a leader of the German Social Democratic Party.
There were many things I appreciated about Kautsky’s analysis, but there were aspects of it that have not held up as human history has unfolded, in particular, Kautsky’s view of religion as a “backwards” thing of the past of no use for those interested in forward progress.
Here’s a sentence which sums up this view of religion: “the religious mode of thought was superseded by the methods of modern science, with the result that it [religion] is cherished only by backwards classes and strata of the population, or backward regions, and may not in any manner continue to serve as an envelope for new social goals.” (p. 171)
Tell that to Pope Francis! Or even Fidel Castro, if he was still alive [see part one].
So one candidate for the root of our desperate civilizational crisis in this time of climate disruption and massive inequality is the historic antagonism between religion and scientific socialism.
But there has been a change over the years. For decades, since the 60’s at least, there have been substantive interactions between religionists and socialists, and there is much more appreciation by both sides of the need for unity in action, if not ideological or theological unity, in the struggle against injustice and for a new world.
Another reason for our situation is the continuing, if weakening, hold of the worst cultural values of capitalism: individual advancement before the common good, greed and power-seeking, domination over others for private gain, selfish individualism, interwoven with and supporting white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism and other backwards ideologies and practices.
The fact that a person as retrograde as Donald Trump could be elected President is a sure sign, a maddening sign, that US culture, and the politics that come with it, are seriously infected with the worst aspects of capitalism.
However, there’s another side to this. Prior to Trump’s electoral college, not popular, victory, black man Barack Obama was President for eight years. Obama was not a socialist; he was a liberal, unapologetic backer of capitalism, and his overall record was very mixed. But the fact that he could be elected and then re-elected President in the United States of America was a sign that there are cultural and political changes happening at the grassroots.
Recent polling about attitudes toward “capitalism” and “socialism” reinforce this. The Washington Post reported on a poll in early 2016 which showed that, among the upcoming millennial generation, socialism is seen more favorably than capitalism by 43 to 32 percent. 30% of US Americans of all ages hold that view.
The fact is that a different kind of movement is building in the US and elsewhere for fundamental social change. And because the US is a wealthy society, it is practically possible for that movement, when it wins, to rapidly take steps toward a much more just distribution of wealth and power, much healthier social and economic relationships based on cooperation instead of individualistic competition, and protection for and healing of our threatened climate and environment as a top-level priority.
How are we going to win, and build upon that win to transform society?
There are many aspects of a winning strategy, but the one that I believe is most fundamental, the one that I have come to believe is the key link to the social transformation process so urgently needed, is this: building and deepening a way of working together and developing organizations which is collaborative, respectful, democratic to its core and which, as a result, is truly transformative, built to last.
I have been a community and political activist for over 49 years, and so many times I have experienced groups falling apart or blowing up because people just don’t know how to give good leadership, or how to work in a collaborative way, or how to submerge ego on behalf of the common good, or because of personal racism or sexism, all of which ultimately derail the best intentions. And since there is no hope, zero, for transformative change without effective organizations that are deeply rooted among our peoples, it is essential that we identify this problem as fundamental if we are to win.
That’s what I think, as of today, is the key to our making the kind of changes in our world that must be made if our children and grandchildren and those coming after them are to have a world worth living in and living for.
Do you agree?
Ted Glick was a draft resister during the Vietnam War who has been an activist and organizer on many issues since 1968. Past writings and other information can be found at https://tedglick.com, and he can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jtglick.
New York City Stands in Solidarity with Charter Workers
On Sept, 18, thousands of New Yorkers rallied in solidarity with the
1,800 New York IBEW Local 3 members who have been on strike against
Charter/Spectrum for six solid months. Their message: Charter workers
deserve a fair contract.
Source: IBEW International
Baltimore’s ‘Kushnerville’ Tenants File Class Action Against Landlord
Tenants
allege that a property management firm controlled by Trump son-in-law
Jared Kushner’s real-estate company has unjustly charged them fees and
threatened eviction to make them pay up.
Tenants of the Baltimore-area apartment complexes owned by Jared
Kushner’s real-estate company have brought a class-action lawsuit
against the firm’s property management arm over its aggressive pursuit
of tenants for allegedly unpaid rent.
The lawsuit,
filed Wednesday in Circuit Court for Baltimore City, alleges that the
management company and related corporate entities have been improperly
inflating payments owed by tenants by charging them late fees that are
often unfounded and court fees that are not actually approved by any
court. This, the lawsuit charges, sets in motion a vicious cycle in
which tenants’ rent payments are partly assessed toward the fees instead
of the actual rent owed, thus deeming the tenant once again “late” on
his or her rent payment, leading to yet more late fees and court fees.
Making matters worse, the 5 percent late fees are frequently assessed on
principal that includes allegedly unpaid fees, not just the rent
itself. Tenants are pressured to pay the snowballing bills with
immediate threat of eviction, the suit alleges.
Click here for the full article.
Trailblazers in Black History: Anthony Bowen
Anthony Bowen, a slave who purchased his freedom in 1830, made an
unprecedented impact by founding the first YMCA to serve African
Americans in the nation. Over the next century, this Y provided refuge
for young men in their pursuit of personal and professional growth,
including Poet Langston Hughes, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,
Dr. Charles Drew, NBA great Elgin Baylor and more.
Source: YMCAMetroDC
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