****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 24 No. 3/ March, 1997 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: pt@noc.org ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html +----------------------------------------------------------------+ INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 24 No. 3/ March, 1997 Page One 1. AMERICA'S FUTURE? Editorial 2. POVERTY HAS MANY COLORS: ALL ARE UNDER ATTACK Spirit of the Revolution 3. EASTER: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW News and Features 4. WHETHER YOU'RE IN PHILADELPHIA, MIAMI, CHICAGO OR IOWA CITY, THE POLICE HAVE THE SAME MOTTO ..."WE SERVE AND PROTECT [OURSELVES]": ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE 5. CLINIC VIOLENCE PAVES THE WAY FOR FASCISM 6. A LATINO LEADER SPEAKS ON THE LABOR PARTY: 'WE HAVE TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT' 7. WITCH-HUNT AT CLEMENTE HIGH: COMMUNITY CONDEMNS DISTORTIONS BY CHICAGO NEWSPAPER 8. AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR FELLOW TEACHERS: COMMUNITY COLLEGES UNDER ATTACK IN BALTIMORE 9. CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND TO HOLD CONFERENCE: LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND! 10. GUESS WHO IS LOSING THE NUMBERS GAME? CHILDREN AT WORK Focus on March 8 -- International Women's Day 11. THE EQUALITY OF WOMEN AND THE FIGHT FOR A NEW SOCIETY 12. BOOK REVIEW: 'FOR CRYING OUT LOUD: WOMEN'S POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES' 13. WOMEN CRUSADING FOR A NEW AMERICA: A NATIONAL SPEAKING CAMPAIGN Women and Revolution: Visions for a New America 14. 'IT IS THE CAPITALISM THAT FRUSTRATES ME' American Lockdown 15. 'DEATH BLOSSOMS': THE LONG ODYSSEY OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL >From the League 16. GLOBALIZATION DEMANDS CLASS UNITY ****************************************************************** We encourage reproduction and use of all articles except those copyrighted. Please credit the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated. For free electronic subscription, send a message to pt-dist@noc.org with "Subscribe" in the subject line. For electronic subscription problems, e-mail pt-admin@noc.org. ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** 1. PAGE ONE: AMERICA'S FUTURE? Prisoners chained up in the blazing sun all day for refusing to work. One child in four living in poverty. More than 1.6 million people in jail, double the number behind bars in the mid-1980s. This isn't a "developing" country we're talking about. It's America. Where are we headed in this country? What future do our children have? The Alabama prison inmate pictured on this page is handcuffed to an outdoor "hitching post." His offense? Refusing to work as a slave. Alabama started this barbaric practice over a year ago after reviving the infamous chain gang. Prisoners who refused to work on the chain gang were chained up outside all day. The practice is now being challenged in court, but just the fact that there has been an attempt to revive this kind of barbarism in America should scare anybody. Where are we headed? The "get-tough" state laws that have choked the prisons with new inmates, the laws and court decisions restricting civil liberties, the rise in censorship, the frightening increase in police violence and brutality -- clearly, where we're headed is a police state. Look at it from the perspective of this country's wealthy ruling class: the standard of living of most Americans falling, and perhaps 80 million people already in poverty; millions of people homeless and unemployed; advancing technology and the resulting corporate "downsizing" throwing thousands more out of work every month. From the ruling class's point of view, something has to be done to control the growing mass of poor people. A police state is their only option. Now look at it from the perspective of the rest of us: We live in a world where 358 billionaires have a net worth equal to the combined incomes of the poorest 45 percent of the world's population (2.3 billion people). Clearly, there is plenty of wealth, but it is in too few hands. A new class of poor people is being forced to fight for a new society; a society where the people own and control the technology, and use it to guarantee that no child is poor, that no one is homeless, that all of us have the opportunity to contribute our fullest to the common good. Such a society is possible today, and it becomes more possible with every advance in technology. These are the two possible Americas -- a police state holding sway over a mass of poor people, or a country where the product of our collective labor is distributed according to need. How it goes is up to us. The key is to unite around the needs of the new class of poor people. This is the key to victory. ****************************************************************** 2. EDITORIAL: POVERTY HAS MANY COLORS: ALL ARE UNDER ATTACK The new class of poor people who are being thrown out of this economy is under attack, and that includes especially the African American people. Whether you talk about the homeless, welfare reform, or crime, the ruling class has focused upon the African American. However, the other side of that coin is that you cannot attack the African American proletariat without attacking the class as a whole. This is a precondition for laying the basis for unity of the class. When we speak of globalization and the fact that worldwide the value of labor is reduced to zero by electronics, what better example than the colonial Black Belt South? A recent study conducted in the face of welfare reform in Alabama showed that there are 20 counties, mostly in the West Alabama Black Belt, where there are more people on welfare than there are jobs available. The conclusion was that when all these people are cut off welfare they will have no choice but to move to the cities in search of work. In Hale County, for instance, the heart of Alabama's catfish industry, there are 205 families on welfare, but only 11 jobs available. Losing $139 a month for a mother and child does not seem like a lot except when it is the only means of survival. Another study of Southern prison populations shows that in Georgia 68 percent are African American, 77 percent in Louisiana. Fifty- eight percent of all prisoners in this country are African American. Is it any wonder that the politicians want to throw away the key, while at the same time instituting policies that daily become more harsh and repressive? A recent interview with historian C. Vann Woodward by the Atlanta Constitution reveals some helpful insights. He has identified the civil rights movement of the 1960s as a second Reconstruction, which has now suffered defeat, as did the first, which followed the Civil War. One example is the rolling back of affirmative action and the rise of states' rights. Woodward says that turning over welfare administration to the states can only mean the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands, black and white. Even in the matter of the vote, he feels that if left up to the states, they would go back to their old tricks. He definitely sees that we are in a period of political reaction, and sees the need for a third Reconstruction. The final point that must be emphasized is that while the ruling class bases its whole strategy upon securing control of the African American and consequently the South and the whole country, it is at the same time their Achilles' heel, their weakest link. The political parties of the new class in process of formation must grasp this link as the key to the unity of the class and the key to the revolutionary strategy for the rise to political power of the new proletariat. [The editorial above was written by John Slaughter, the author of New Battles Over Dixie: The campaign for a New South. He is available for speaking engagements through the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau.] ****************************************************************** 3. EASTER: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW By David Zink [Editor's note: Below we print the latest contribution to our regular column about spirituality and revolution. We encourage readers to submit articles to this column and to comment on what appears here.] Relax. Let your mind flow back toward earlier times. ... Easter comes to us from the roots of human settlement of northern Europe. In those days, people lived in much more intimate contact with nature than we do. Winter was often a dark and fearful time of uncertainty, scarcity, and hunger. With each passing day, the food supplies dwindled, the sun gave less warmth and light. In an especially rough winter, despair would set in. What if the sun continued to go away, never to rise again? Finally, things started to warm up. The snow melted, and the air grew fragrant as the forests and fields started to flower. Spirits lifted. People celebrated the triumph of the sun over the forces of darkness. They held joyful festivals. The "spring fever" we feel after a long winter is only a shadow of how it felt to our ancestors! The name "Easter" comes from the Scandinavian "Eostur" which means the season of the growing sun and a new birth. "Eostre" or "Ostara" was the name of a primordial goddess of springtime worshipped by the Anglo-Saxon tribes, and is the root of such terms as "estrus" and "estrogen." When the Christian missionaries brought their religion to northern Europe, they soon found that it was good policy to take over existing holidays and make them their own -- even if this meant adjusting the dates a little. Today, the renewing life-support system that we and all living things depend upon, the source of our Easter customs and celebrations, is in trouble. Due to the burning of fossil fuels on a huge scale, carbon dioxide is being dumped into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. Trans-national corporations roam the world seeking the cheapest labor and the laxest regulations. States and countries compete against each other by offering giveaways and lowered environmental standards to lure corporations. Decisions of what's to be produced, how, and by polluting what, are typically made in corporate offices far away from industrial operations. The bosses' government will tell you that there's no money for public works programs, no money to protect the environment, or any of the long list of unmet needs of this country. Yet the government will find the money to spend on welfare to dependent corporations. The military-industrial complex gladly spends our tax dollars on adventures abroad to break down the barriers to capital penetration and protect foreign investments of the transnationals. Imperialism, pure and simple. American workers have much more in common with workers in Mexico or Indonesia than we do with the corporate, owning class that lives behind the walls of gated, guarded communities. When we support the rights of workers in the Third World to organize, we help empower ourselves and slow what Jeremy Brecher calls the "global race to the bottom." Time after time, capitalism has proven itself to be unsustainable. A corporation must grow, die, or be gobbled up by another corporation. Transfer of wealth from the poor and working people to the wealthy is impoverishing the majority. The environment of crime and greed we live in is caused by the permeation of our society by the corporate ethic. This distorts human nature, discourages compassion and cooperation, and encourages competition and violence. But we can live in harmony with nature, and each other. For proof of that, we can look to indigenous, communal peoples from the Arctic to the tropics. Under capitalism, technological progress, which allows for a higher productivity of labor, is something feared by many. And for good reason. Advanced computer technology and robotics in corporate hands mean more wealth and power for the elite, but lay- offs, unemployment, and insecurity for the majority. It doesn't have to be this way! In the hands of worker-owned, and worker-controlled business in a democratic system, technological innovation would be seen very differently than it is today. It would free us of boring, repetitious, and dangerous tasks, and free up more time for volunteerism and recreation. Nature and labor create all wealth. The working class has the right to the full amount of the wealth it produces. We must take back our country, its land and resources, its factories, offices, and farms from those who are abusing her. If ever there was a satanic system, capitalism is it. It's time we put this old nag of a system out to pasture. We need a social rebirth, before Mother Earth's natural cycles of renewal are compromised beyond the point of recovery. Shall we continue an alienating, destructive relationship with the earth, or build a relationship based upon sustainability, respect, and stewardship for our home, this island in space, and each other? Isn't it about time we straightened out this country's priorities? How can we best assist coming generations into a new creative period? How can we leave a better world to our children? How best to respond to the devastation to nature and to the soul caused by corporate power? When we free ourselves from the cold, clammy hand of capitalism and America is no longer the center for world reaction, a reawakening will begin. In harmony with the earth, we will finally be able to start building a better world. We must take the message and symbolism of Easter to heart. Social revolution in America will be like springtime. Liberated from its capitalist shackles, America will be the light of the world. The problems are huge. Where can we start? We have three inter-linked priorities: education, agitation, and organization. It's high time we refused to allow our differences to divide us, and started working together toward our common goals. No matter what color, age, or religion we are, we all need clean air and safe drinking water; we all want a better life for our children. Seize every opportunity to bring the truth about capitalism and the message of liberation to as many as you can. When the inevitable crisis begins, and the old system goes into its death agonies, people will reach out for answers as never before. The corporate elite will push for a fascist solution. Organization is the single most important defense we have. Without it, there is no hope for a better future. But with revolutionary consciousness, solidarity, and a lot of determined work, we can change the world! The revolution, when it comes, will feel like an incredible case of spring fever. After a long winter of soul-deadening, nature- killing capitalism, it will be a jubilee. We have our work cut out for us. There's lots to do, and you can make a difference. Join the League of Revolutionaries for a New America: The best is yet to come! [This article is an abridged version of a longer piece. To obtain a copy of the complete text, write to the People's Tribune.] ****************************************************************** 4. WHETHER YOU'RE IN PHILADELPHIA, MIAMI, CHICAGO OR IOWA CITY, THE POLICE HAVE THE SAME MOTTO ... "WE SERVE AND PROTECT [OURSELVES]": ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE +----------------------------------------------------------------+ SYSTEM #1 THE POLICE ARE PROTECTED FROM PROSECUTION BY THE GOVERNMENT What happened to Eric Shaw could happen to you. Eric was a gifted young sculptor who lived in Iowa City, Iowa, home to the University of Iowa and a strong community of artists and writers. On August 29, Shaw was talking on the phone to a friend at his father's place of business. Suddenly the police came through the door and shot Shaw to death. Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie of the Iowa City police department pulled the trigger. Everyone in the small college town agrees this should not have happened. Finding justice has been a bitter and frustrating battle for the family and friends of Eric Shaw. The stories told by the police officers who were there keep changing. Had Officer Gillaspie mistaken the telephone in Eric's hand for a gun as an early statement suggested, or did Gillaspie flinch, causing the gun to go off? The police and other local authorities are thwarting a thorough investigation, even suggesting to the grand jury members that they should leave this case alone. They had expected to get at what really happened. The arm of the state once again is drawing a cloak of secrecy around facts that could damage them. Desperate to close this case, the city council decided not to even reprimand the chief of police or city manager. Instead, they want to portray this as a sad accident. The Eric Shaw case is an outrage. It is part of a national pattern of corruption, intimidation, and murder that is going on in police departments coast to coast. The cover-ups and codes of silence are firmly in place. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ SYSTEM #2 CIVILIANS ARE TORTURED BY POLICE OFFICERS But what happens if the suspected killer is not a cop? Violation of civil rights at the hands of police is rising at a fearful rate. Cops are taking the law into their own torture chambers, and God help you if you hurt one of them. Many have heard of the infamous Jon Burge case. He was a Chicago police commander who regularly carried out torture of those accused of crimes. In 1982, Andrew Wilson was arrested in the shooting of two Chicago cops. Using an electric generator attached to Wilson's genitals, Burge and his fellow police buddies extracted a screaming confession from Wilson. Only the most determined community pressure removed the sadistic Burge from the force, but you can believe his cohorts are still in their jobs and the torture of suspects still goes on, only more covertly. Proven victims of torture and all types of other illegally obtained "evidence" are now on Death Row in Illinois: Madison Hobley and Aaron Patterson are among 10 victims of police torture there right now. The "justice" system works particularly well this way if the accused is poor. Over and over, judges have ignored appeals by the torture victims who have spent years on Death Row hoping to be redeemed. But some may be executed for crimes they did not commit, like others before them. The People's Tribune stands with those who refuse to accept the use of police terror as the answer to the unemployment and increasing poverty the American people are faced with. ****************************************************************** 5. CLINIC VIOLENCE PAVES THE WAY FOR FASCISM By Brooke Heagerty Once again, violence against reproductive health care clinics is in the news. These attacks appear to be simply struggles over the question of abortion. This could not be further from the truth. These attacks are not only about denying women reproductive health care, or driving them back into a barbaric past or even preventing what some consider to be an immoral act. These attacks are about the ruling class helping to create and to manipulate diverse social forces to further its own economic and political interests. Today, labor-replacing technology is eliminating the need for labor and with it the need for the ruling class to pacify or protect any section of the workers. Indeed, to protect its interests today, the ruling class must inevitably deprive the growing millions of poor of the weapon of "democracy" and more importantly, their constitutional rights. As the struggle unfolds, broader sections of society are inevitably being affected. This changed reality -- the chaos and destruction throughout American society and the rulers' need to contain the developing response to these conditions -- is shaping every social struggle today including that of "abortion politics." WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE The violence against reproductive health care clinics is far more widespread than the media would have us believe. Almost 50 percent of clinics experienced violence of some kind last year. Between 1990 and the end of 1996, there were more than 1,200 incidences of violence directed at clinics and their staff. Five people have been murdered, 13 people have been the target of attempted murder, more than 200 people have received death threats and almost 350 have reported incidences of stalking. This, combined with the nearly 3,000 reports of hate mail and bomb threats, 14,800 incidences of picketing (sometimes daily for weeks) and the more than 87,000 arrests for clinic blockades, has created an environment in which clinic personnel and their clients fear for their lives. Despite this, a survey of clinic violence published this year by the Feminist Majority revealed that the overwhelming majority of law enforcement did little to prevent violence or to act on it when it occurred. We would be mistaken to view clinic violence as simply the work of "extremists," however. The perpetrators of this violence form the shock troops of a much broader social and political motion which, from a variety of angles and in a variety of ways, is directed toward restructuring society along fascist lines. This process has been underway for some years and has advanced as the social conditions have worsened for growing sections of the American people. Through a sustained campaign of lies about "the black underclass," "predator youth" and "welfare queens," the ruling class has expanded the power of the police, multiplied the number of prisons, undermined a whole range of protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and set the conditions to turn workers into slaves through the use of prison labor and the passage of the new welfare bill. In the name of fighting "terrorism," laws have been passed which directly affect Americans' political rights. Witness the Terrorism Prevention Act, which by granting "unfettered and unappealable power to label groups as 'terrorist' " (Covert Action Quarterly, Summer 1996) expands the power of the government to prosecute groups which do not agree with its policies; the FBI's greatly expanded legal use of wiretapping; and the attempt to stampede the American people into even more draconian legislation in the wake of last year's crash of TWA Flight 800 and the Olympics bombing in Atlanta. Faced with escalating violence and the consistent refusal of law enforcement to protect clients and staff, some clinic providers and women's groups turned to the time-honored tactic of appealing to the federal government for assistance. They demanded that Congress pass new restrictive legislation that would limit protesters' access to the clinics and through federalizing existing crimes increase the penalties for those convicted. These groups began to label clinic violence "domestic terrorism" and demanded that the ATF and the FBI give it the same attention as other "terrorist attacks." Such appeals increasingly found favor. In 1994, the courts upheld the constitutionality of the use of "buffer zones" to control protest against the clinics. The passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) federalized a range of crimes which stiffened the penalties on crimes already on the books and imposed heavy fines for those convicted. In the same year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law (RICO) did not have to be confined to the "economic enterprises" for which it was originally written. The Court's decision has opened the door for this law to be used against all manner of groups, including what it termed "ideological" or "protest organizations." RICO is a powerful and dangerous legal tool originally created to prosecute organized crime. Critics have pointed out that it is so broadly written that almost any activity or any group of individuals could be charged under its provisions (hence the Supreme Court decision). It grants the state unlimited power to seize documents, force testimony and to freeze assets. And because all members of the "criminal enterprise" are open to conviction, it allows for prosecutors to cast a wide net without necessarily specifying individual illegal acts. It is not difficult to see what a dangerous precedent has been set with this ruling. Even Supreme Court Justice Souter warned that the Court should "notice that RICO actions could deter protected advocacy and to ... bear in mind the First Amendment interests" at stake. We can see how the struggle between the different forces in the battle over women's reproductive rights is becoming another means for the ruling class to strengthen its hand against an increasingly restless and discontented people. In their own version of "bad cop" -- refusing to act to prevent or prosecute crimes such as murder and bombings for which there are already established penalties -- and "good cop" -- passing restrictive legislation, facilitating the use of repressive laws and helping to establishing case precedents -- they are setting the legal foundation to crush any organized challenge to the economic system and their privilege and power. Make no mistake: Clinic violence is very real and very dangerous. Hundreds of clinic staff, their clients and their supporters live in fear for their lives. Those who perpetrate the violence represent a real threat, not just to the clinics, but to all of society. That threat is not confined to "extremists," but rather extends all the way up and into the halls of power -- the capitalist ruling class and its representatives. They are more than happy to paint clinic violence as the work of "extremists" because it allows them to deflect attention from the overall drive toward fascism taking place at the highest levels. CHANGED ENVIRONMENT A war is going on in America. That war is over the future of democracy. Today, key battles are being fought on the frontlines of the struggle for reproductive rights. To win what we are all ultimately fighting for -- true democracy -- we must understand the profoundly changed environment, the full range of forces arrayed against us and the nature of the terrain on which we fight. The ruling class has its own interests, it has assessed its strengths and weaknesses and made its plans. We must do the same. This means we must break with the belief that any section of the ruling class will make common cause with our fight. We must of course call the government to account and make it enforce the laws which already exist to prosecute these violent crimes. We must fight every step of the way for every concession we can wring from them. At the same time, we must align our strategies with reality as it actually exists. For the first time in human history the world of which we have dreamed lies within our grasp. Our strength lies in the growing millions who are being marginalized and dispossessed by capitalism. With no work to do, no way to survive and no recourse open to them, they must turn toward revolution. What will be the outcome of this developing struggle for power? That depends on all of us, regardless of our views about abortion. One thing is clear: Only when society is reorganized to provide for all will we be able to guarantee true democracy -- where all are protected, nurtured and free to develop fully into their humanity. [Brooke Heagerty holds a doctorate in history, has been active in the women's movement for many years and has published on topics as diverse as midwifery, the new women's movement, welfare fraud prosecutions and the development of the police state in America. She is a member of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America. Dr. Heagerty is available for speaking engagements through the People's Tribune Speaker's Bureau.] ****************************************************************** 6. A LATINO LEADER SPEAKS ON THE LABOR PARTY: 'WE HAVE TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT' By Trinidad Rodriguez [Baldemar Velasquez, an Ohio farm labor organizer and prominent participant in the founding convention of the Labor Party in June of last year, recently spoke to our bilingual sister publication, the Tribuno del Pueblo, about the new party and why Latinos should help build it. Excerpts from his comments appear below.] TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO: Personally, why did you join the Labor Party? BALDEMAR VELASQUEZ: I don't see that the present two political parties, Republicans and Democrats, are ever going to deal with the real, concrete issues that marginalize Latinos and many other poor people in this country. I think that both parties sort of phrase the choices that we have [this way]: that if we don't become committed to the economic adventurism that the dominant, driving forces of our country are based on, then we don't have any other choice. So we either become part of the exploitive class or commit ourselves to their standards, or else we'll be marginalized and outside the system. TP: What would you say to Latinos who haven't heard of the Labor Party so that they consider it as an option? BV: I think we have to build something new, something different, if we're looking at a labor party here. The two dominant parties have us fighting over certain social issues that we're never going to agree on -- issues like abortion and gay rights and things like that; those are issues that are part of all our society's problems, but have nothing to do with the real issues of division and marginalization of people. That's really a class effort. Neither political party distinguishes interest on the basis of class -- to us, anyway. Instead, they promote it in terms of social issues. That's the main problem that I see. For example, you got a Latino who is a very devout Catholic or evangelical and believes very strongly in a pro-life position. So the Republicans come say "This is my position and you ought to be with me." They confuse us with these social issues. And you're going to have some blue-collar worker working in some factory who is very religious and says, "I'm going to vote Republican because this is my issue." Republicans only use the abortion issue as a ruse to take people away from the Democratic Party, which is not to say that the Democratic Party deserves them, because both parties are primarily governed by economic interests. TP: What can Latinos do to help build the Labor Party then? BV: We are building chapters across the country. The chapters will be given credentials to participate, depending on the number of members there are at the national convention [in two years]. So you build the local chapter, you recruit members, and you start building the internal infrastructure of a political apparatus nationally. Different chapters are building their base in different ways. Just use your own creativity in how to do that. You know your neighborhoods better than anybody else. The Interim National Council will be meeting soon to put together packets that will be helpful to people starting local committees. TP: What could you highlight about the Labor Party's program that clearly expresses to Latinos that it is a party for them? BV: More than anything, the issues of immigration. The party at this point doesn't have a particular program to offer. What it's got to offer is an openness and a forum to develop a program that is conducive to the rights and demands of a particular people. That's something that, when we go into these other conventions with the Republicans and Democrats, everything is preordained. We're not talking about that. We're talking about building a democratic, grassroots movement from the bottom. What is the Labor Party promise? It'll promise to work with you to develop the program that you feel is going to more effectively fight for the rights that you see coming from your area. And you merge that with interest groups from around the country, with other Latinos. As a matter of fact, at the last convention we created a Latino Caucus. At the next convention we're going to bring these groups together and form our own program in terms of what we'd like to see this party more specifically stand for in terms of program. ****************************************************************** 7. WITCH-HUNT AT CLEMENTE HIGH: COMMUNITY CONDEMNS DISTORTIONS BY CHICAGO NEWSPAPER By Rich Capalbo CHICAGO -- Roberto Clemente High School here became a center of controversy in February. The Chicago Board of Education removed the acting principal appointed by the Local School Council, criticized academic performance in the school and basically put it in receivership. This happened in an environment of sensationalism created when the Chicago Sun-Times printed stories about the school being a playground for Puerto Rican nationalists and pro-independence forces. The Sun-Times even dragged in the specter of "terrorism" with a lot of hearsay about influence by the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN) at the school. The red herrings introduced by the Sun-Times are "old news." They are stories that the newspaper itself printed months ago that led nowhere. Concerned parents, students and activists held a march and vigil on February 12 to protest the treatment by the Sun-Times and the school board. The participants stressed several points. First: Clemente is an inner-city school with typical problems, most resulting from lack of funds and neglect from the city and state government. However, over the last five years, under the Local School Council, Clemente has lowered the dropout rate by about 10 percent and raised reading and academic scores by more than 10 percent. Also, there are 25 schools in Chicago with worse records than Clemente. Second: Some of the teachers and cultural guests that the school has hired are interested in the issue of independence for Puerto Rico. They are also people with years of service to the community. They are some of the most dedicated teachers with the greatest ability to connect with and motivate the students. Third, and maybe most important: The actual, but hidden, issue here is real estate. Clemente High School sits on the dividing line between Humboldt Park -- one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city -- and Wicker Park, a center of "gentrification" and development. There are forces in the city and the area that have no use for a school that caters to its needy community. Everyone suspects that this is the motive for the hatchet job by the Sun- Times. The Puerto Rican community understands gentrification. Many Clemente area residents used to live in the Lincoln Park-De Paul University area near Chicago's lakefront. Years ago they suffered the gentrification of that neighborhood. They don't wish to be pushed out and ignored again. Besides the neighborhood issues involved, Clemente High School is suffering just as all public education for the poor is suffering. Government at all levels gives lip service to education but won't back it up. They point fingers at the students, the teachers and the parents. The truth is that they are not going to pay to train people for jobs that no longer exist. Whether in education, welfare, homes or health care, the people of this country are being cut loose -- and then being blamed -- for a system failure. ****************************************************************** 8. AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR FELLOW TEACHERS: COMMUNITY COLLEGES UNDER ATTACK IN BALTIMORE The community colleges in Baltimore County, Maryland, in a measure to reduce the county budget, have consolidated under one central administration system. Soon after, the board of trustees and the chancellor pushed to abolish tenure (the system of job protection) for new teachers, reduce wages (especially for the new teachers) and increase the workload. The board of trustees, the chancellor and the teachers are involved in a bitter and public dispute about all these issues that is compelling local political figures ranging from liberal state Senator Paula Hollinger to conservative County Councilman Lou Depazzo to take sides. This is a good thing. It can only mean some partial victory may be won in a battle where otherwise there were only defeats ahead. But neither the public bickering, nor the anti-education position of the board nor the firing of the board's former puppet, Chancellor LaVista, get to the heart of why the attack on education is taking place in the first place. Neither will any cosmetic disciplining of the board of trustees by the governor be anything more than a minor victory. To solve any serious problem, it is necessary to know what it is and where it comes from. The official explanation is that there is a shortage of money to pay for quality education. But when the rulers of this country decide they need more educated workers, they see to it that they are provided. Those who remember the GI Bill which provided money to educate millions of veterans after World War II or who know about the funding for education after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957 know better. These examples prove that when our rulers find it necessary to educate our youth, they do so. The present cutbacks in education prove that the opposite is also true: When they need fewer educated workers, they cut back. They will not pay to educate workers they do not need. Fewer workers are needed because there are fewer jobs. There are fewer well-paying jobs available to our students today because they compete against job-eliminating computers and robots in the marketplace. >From the standpoint of profit, since there is less demand for the moderately educated workers who come out of the community colleges, why give them quality education? Our rulers will not pay to educate people they will not hire. So they will not pay their teachers. That is why tenure is being eliminated and wages are being lowered while tuition is being raised at colleges in Baltimore County as well as across the United States. If we are to defend our students and ourselves, we need social and educational policies that put public well-being above the profit requirements of those who currently dictate public policy. This is a tall order. To accomplish it will take the united political activity of the millions of us who are under attack. We need a political party which can represent all of us, both employed and unemployed. Otherwise, we will continue to lose ground. In the local debates about the community colleges as well as in the recent national elections, it was hard to distinguish Democrat from Republican amid the right-wing rhetoric. It is obvious to us that something new is needed. Several so-called third parties have emerged recently. The one that seems most serious and potentially effective is called the Labor Party. It was formed last summer, mainly by delegates from local and international trade unions. It has the endorsement of nine international unions including the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers and the American Federation of Government Employees. We have joined and urge you to do so to help us create at least a level playing field for ourselves and our students. There are no instant cures, but this is a real start. Lastly, we want to assert our conviction that the downward trend in educational and social conditions is not inevitable. Together, we can reverse it. In spite of the claims by the politicians that all the downsizing and cutbacks represent popular will, our people want and are capable of creating a society where quality education, fulfilling work, and all the other requirements for a decent life are available to all. Michael Brand and Edward Zeidman Department of Mathematics, Essex Community College Baltimore County, Maryland [The Labor Party can be contacted at P.O. Box 53177, Washington, D.C. 20009] ****************************************************************** 9. CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND TO HOLD CONFERENCE: LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND! "We have been through one of the best and worst years for children," said Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund recently, in a statement. "It is now time to come together for fellowship and renewal, to celebrate our successes, and to plan strategies for the challenges we face in 1997," she declared. Edelman called on advocates for children from across the nation to gather on March 12-15, 1997, in Washington, D.C. at the Children's Defense Fund's national conference, whose theme is "Standing Strong and Together for Children: Leave No Child Behind." "More than 300,000 people came together in just four months to Stand For Children on June 1 at the Lincoln Memorial and in 133 local rallies around the country," Edelman pointed out. Edelman said that this "provoked an unprecedented coalition of 3,727 organizations across race, class, faith, and age." "The 60-year-old income safety net for poor children was abolished and $54 billion was cut mostly from poor working families and legal immigrants without requiring budget sacrifice from the non- needy and the Pentagon. Our task now is to look ahead and not back," Edelman emphasized. [For more information, contact the Children's Defense Fund at 202-662-3684.] ****************************************************************** 10. GUESS WHO IS LOSING THE NUMBERS GAME? CHILDREN AT WORK By John G. Rodwan Jr. The outrage of child labor exists on a massive scale in developing countries, where roughly 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work. Nearly 153 million child workers, or more than 60 percent, are in Asia alone. However, child labor also has been found in industrialized nations, including the United States. Working exposes children to crippling health hazards and deprives them of schooling. A study in India found that children who begin working when they're too young do not grow as tall or weigh as much as their counterparts in school. Children receiving less schooling as a result of employment is a problem especially for girls, who often work long hours in domestic service. Fifteen-hour workdays are not unusual for the world's child domestic workers, who are also vulnerable to mental, physical and sexual abuse. There are children today who are sold as slaves in Asia and Africa. Child prostitution is on the rise; 1 million children are victims of the sex industry in Asia alone. There are numerous international networks trafficking in children and at least one trafficking route leading from Southeast Asia to the United States. Children have been found at work in the most dangerous industries, such as agriculture, ceramics and glass work, matches and fireworks making, mining and deep-sea fishing. Agriculture is a common area of employment for child laborers, who are exposed to harmful pesticides and farm machinery. In this area and others, such as construction, children are often compelled to carry weights too great for their level of physical maturity. Work in factories can include exposure to extreme temperatures, toxic fumes and hazardous substances, excessive noise and numerous other health threats. Children as young as 3 years old have been reported in match factories in the poorest countries. The dangers relating to mining range from exposure to harmful dusts, fumes and gases to musculo-skeletal disorders and fatal accidents. Though child labor is more common in developing countries, it is found throughout the world. Moreover, in a world of global economic relations, the consequences of children's labor cross borders. The products of children's exploitation are exported. The rug beneath your feet may have been woven by a child slave. No matter whose name appears on its label, the shirt on your back may be the result of child labor. ****************************************************************** 11. THE EQUALITY OF WOMEN AND THE FIGHT FOR A NEW SOCIETY By R. Lee Those of us who are struggling for a society free of poverty and injustice have to unite in order to get the kind of world we want. Our strength is weakened when we are not united. Yet we can't unite unless we're equal. Men and women more and more are becoming economically equal -- equally poor and exploited -- and their common poverty is laying the basis for their political unity in struggle. This is especially significant given that women play a special role as leaders in the struggle today for a new America and world. The inequality of women manifests itself in a thousand ways. It shows up as the woman whose man does not allow her to participate in politics; in the fact that women are paid less than men; in the lack of child care for women; in the statistics on rape and other violence against women; and it shows up in the blaming of women for society's problems (witness the attack on welfare mothers and teen-age mothers). In the United States, women historically were placed in a position of inferiority as a result of being forced to become economically dependent on men. Generally speaking, the women's movement in this country until recently was aimed at allowing women to break into the existing system -- to have jobs with equal pay, to own property and to control businesses. While not every economic barrier has fallen for every woman, in general the system has been opened up to women, in part as a result of women's struggles, and in part as a result of technological changes that let women enter the work force in large numbers. Today in the United States, even among mothers with infant children, the majority of women are in the paid labor force. This dramatic change has taken place mostly in the last 20 years. Still, even though some measure of economic independence has been gained by some women, many still lack that independence. Women are still largely denied social and political equality, and many are losing the relatively small economic gains they had made. But a new women's movement is arising based on new conditions. Electronic technology is revolutionizing the workplace, forcing millions of people -- men and women -- out of their jobs permanently. Tremendous wealth is being concentrated in a few hands, while the mass of society is steadily becoming poor. Poverty is growing by leaps and bounds, especially among women and children. (In 1993, 10 percent of U.S. men were poor, but 16 percent of women and 25 percent of children lived in official poverty. Indeed, women and children worldwide are the mass of the poor. And the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in the United States is women and children.) A whole new social class of people is being created -- people whose labor is no longer needed in the economy because of technological change. This new class of poor is forced to fight for a new society, one where food and housing and the other necessities of life are distributed according to need and not according to ability to pay. The women's movement of today is of necessity based in the new class of poor and its struggle for a new society. Women's demand for equality won't be realized under the existing system. The capitalist system needs the labor of fewer and fewer people, men or women. There is no longer an expanding economic system for women (or men) to fight their way into. And women, because they are the majority of the population and the largest section of the poor, are at the forefront of the struggle of the new class of poor. This is especially true of women of color. Whether it is the struggle of the homeless, the welfare recipient, the immigrant worker or nearly any of the numerous other currents that make up the fight of the new poor for a new society, women are leading or are among the leaders. The new class consists of men and women and children of every color and nationality who are united in their poverty. This economic equality is the essential condition for their political unity across lines of color and gender. Once they are politically united as a class around a program of struggle, they will be an unstoppable force. It is in the day-to-day fight for this class unity that the equality of women will be recognized and a force will be built that can overturn the system that is causing the poverty and injustice we see today. After all, poverty could end today. The same technology that is making us jobless and homeless can, if owned by the people, create a society of unlimited abundance for all. We are at the dawn of an age where inequality will be done away with; where no woman will have to rear her children in poverty, or fear violence; and where every woman will have the opportunity to develop her fullest potential. While the women's movement is a historic movement in its own right, today it is intertwined with, and is at the core of, the revolution for a new society that is developing in our country. That new society will at last liberate women, as it liberates all of humanity. ****************************************************************** 12. BOOK REVIEW: 'FOR CRYING OUT LOUD: WOMEN'S POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES' By Walda Katz-Fishman _For Crying Out Loud: Women's Poverty in the United States_, edited by Diane Dujon and Ann Withorn, 1996, South End Press, $22 (1-800-533-8478). _For Crying Out Loud_ is an inspiring and important collection of essays. It unites the voices of academics, activists, advocates and welfare mothers themselves to tell their own stories, their dreams and struggles -- which are also all our dreams and struggles, and to point the way to policy alternatives to the draconian welfare "reform" and a new social movement to abolish poverty itself. It is a book about courage, commitment and struggle; about the search for intellectual clarity in our rapidly changing world and for a new vision and strategy to guide the social and political organizing to end poverty and create the society we dream of. Dujon and Withorn introduce their collection: "[T]he first, and most overarching theme of this collection is that 'you're next.' ... [It] makes connections and shows the links between women on welfare and all women, between families seeking assistance and all families, between mothers working at home and all workers. We try not to threaten, but it seems to us only a short time before those who now think they will be secure when "welfare cheats are forced to work," will find themselves needing the very assistance that has been taken away" (p. 3). We are moved by the stories of "mother heroes," single mothers fighting for survival for their children and themselves. Dujon, a former welfare recipient, gets "out of the frying pan" not because of the welfare system but in spite of it. Walker, trapped between an abusive marriage and an abusive society, concludes: "[I]f we could, we would be somewhere else, believe me!" The women of the Roofless Women's Action Research Mobilization recount their descent down the slippery slope to homelessness, victims of a housing market driven by profit and a social service bureaucracy that is part of the problem. We are informed about the cultural, economic and political forces that shape poor women's lives and welfare policy. Poverty keeps women in battered situations and "bridefare" policies reward women for getting and staying married (James and Harris). The media lies about poverty and welfare (Flanders, Jackson and Shadoan) and the big lie of the "normal family" is used to culturally assault poor women who are not married (Cerullo and Erlien). The global and increasingly high-tech economy that sees 5 to 6 percent as the lowest possible "official" unemployment rate desirable and discrimination in a deteriorating job market are at the root of today's growing poverty and inequality (Stevenson and Donovan). Job and wage discrimination and lack of access to a college education for black and Latina women and for the men in their communities means that having a job and being married does less for these women than their white sisters in terms of keeping them from being poor (Catanzarite and Ortiz). Immigrant women, too, face deeper discrimination and poverty (Lee). Teen mothers need special social protections (Robinson) and all women need a welfare program that offers child care, health care, jobs and pay equity, acknowledges family obligations and the value of raising our children, offers affordable education and training, and a fair tax structure (Albelda and Tilly). We are inspired and challenged by the rising new movement in the streets and on the campuses to end poverty. The women of Survival News on the UMass/Boston campus struggled across race and class lines to create a voice for low-income women to tell their stories and learn skills and to inform the more academic side of the process (Cummings and Mandell). Welfare mothers of all ages found on that campus in the classes of Withorn and others a space where their experience was valued and they could, together, master new skills and begin building this new movement (Vides and Steinitz, Withorn, and Kates). Stevens, one of those students, was part of building Survival News and went on to run for governor of Massachusetts and is a leader in the National Welfare Rights Union (NWRU). Kramer, president of the NWRU, recounts her lifetime of welfare rights organizing -- from the early days of the civil rights movement in Louisiana to the National Welfare Rights Organization to the National Welfare Rights Union. In concluding, Dujon and Withorn, taking lessons from the abolitionist movement, point to the need to build a broad popular movement to abolish poverty, to build sanctuaries in our communities for the victims of poverty, to engage in popular education as we undertake militant action guided by a new vision of society. We must make this happen! [Walda Katz-Fishman is a professor of sociology at Howard University. She is a board member of Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide, a community-based popular education and action research organization.] [The editors of For Crying Out Loud, and some of the book's contributors, are available to speak through the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau.] ****************************************************************** 13. WOMEN CRUSADING FOR A NEW AMERICA: A NATIONAL SPEAKING CAMPAIGN Imagine a world without hunger and poverty, where men, women and children live in harmony. The People's Tribune Speakers Bureau promotes women who are in the forefront of the revolution that is changing the political landscape of America today. Our speakers come from a wealth of academic scholarship and organizing experience in the streets. They are shaping the thinking of America with their vision of a world of plenty and how to build the unity to achieve it. For a free listing of speakers, call 773-486-3551, write to P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654 or e-mail speakers@noc.org. ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ WOMEN AND REVOLUTION: VISIONS FOR A NEW AMERICA The purpose of this column is to open debate on all issues concerning women today. We see it as a place where women can discuss and debate strategies for winning women's equality and improving women's status. This is critical to our playing our historic role of leading in the building of a new America. Send your articles, 300 words or less, to People's Tribune Women's Desk at pt@noc.org +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 14. 'IT IS THE CAPITALISM THAT FRUSTRATES ME' [Anna Winkler wrote to the People's Tribune Women's Desk responding to our recent story on the arrest of 30 mothers in California on charges of welfare fraud. Below we print excerpts from her comments, and our response.] Dear People's Tribune: Thanks for the articles. They were interesting and informative. I am continually frustrated with our country's system for handling people who are poor and/or out of work. I guess it is the capitalism that frustrates me, when I think about it. I don't understand how it is some people actually earn millions in a year, but then other people earn a meager $5,000 to $10,000 for themselves and their family. I tend to think a lot of people are overpaid (the actors and athletes come to mind). ... The only problem is that better child care would have to be available. If we just have jobs without child care, that won't help the mothers who can't afford expensive care. I would rather live in this country than any other, but problems with welfare and child care seem so ominous. It seems like we aren't getting anywhere. And I can't believe so many people don't see it as a problem. -- Anna Winkler +----------------------------------------------------------------+ >From the People's Tribune Women's Desk: Thank you, Anna, for sending us your thoughts. So many Americans today are asking the same questions. Yes, we love our country. But we cannot accept an economic system that allows human beings to eat out of garbage cans. Especially when, as you say, some people make millions, even billions, while others make pennies. There was a time when society couldn't produce enough necessities to go around. One class of people could greedily seize more of society's wealth than they needed. But today, with the advent of production by electronics -- there is plenty of food, homes, heat, air conditioners, autos, education, health care, --- you name it -- for everyone to live like the rich and famous. But if you don't have money, you starve. We agree with you, Anna. Capitalism is frustrating. It is the problem. Under capitalism, the poor must work to eat. But, as you say, where are the good jobs? Our jobs are being downsized out of existence and they are not coming back. We are at the dawn of an age where we no longer need to work. But there are still things that need doing. In a new society, where wealth is distributed equally, and where the majority, rather than the minority, rule, each of us will have the opportunity to make a contribution. Imagine a world where each person can share the talents they have with society -- and where each of us receives from society the things we need to survive. People like yourself, all of us, need to join hands and bring the American people the truth. Join the League of Revolutionaries for a New America. Use the pages of the People's Tribune to educate the American people. ****************************************************************** 15. 'DEATH BLOSSOMS': THE LONG ODYSSEY OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL By Chris Mahin _Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience_ by Mumia Abu-Jamal. Plough Publishing House, Farmington, Pennsylvania $12. _Death Blossoms_ is a collection of short vignettes, reflections and commentaries by America's best-known political prisoner. The title fits. Each of the pieces represents a small flower growing in the darkness of Death Row. The author, Mumia Abu-Jamal, has lived in that darkness for almost 15 years. Born in 1954, Mumia grew up during the turbulent 1960s in "the peejays" -- the public housing projects of North Philadelphia, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. At the age of 14, he was beaten and arrested for protesting at a presidential rally for George Wallace. In the fall of 1968, he helped found the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party, where he was trained as a revolutionary journalist. In the 1970s, Abu-Jamal worked as a reporter for a Philadelphia radio station then known as WHAT (now WWDB). He stood out for his principled refusal to do what most Philadelphia journalists were doing -- slandering a group of naturalist revolutionaries called the MOVE organization. His unrelenting criticism of the city's siege of a MOVE house in 1978 earned him the hatred of the Philadelphia establishment. Ultimately, his advocacy cost him his job. In order to support his growing family, Mumia Abu-Jamal began driving a cab at night. Early on the morning of December 9, 1981, he was shot and beaten by police and charged with the murder of a police officer. Denied any chance to mount an effective defense while being tried before one of Philadelphia's most notorious judges, Mumia was convicted. He was sentenced to die. Mumia's case has become an international human-rights issue. Rallies demanding his freedom have been held all over the world. But Mumia Abu-Jamal is not just a photograph on a poster; he is a real, flesh-and-blood human being. This book lets us get to know Mumia the man. In the chapter entitled "Mother-loss," he tells us of his agony after the death of his deeply religious, Southern-born mother, a woman who "was like a lioness when one of her children was attacked." In "Father Hunger," he tenderly describes his father, who died when Mumia was 10, and reflects on how that loss prompted him to search for father figures elsewhere -- some of whom he found in the Black Panther Party. In other selections, Mumia recounts his youthful search for answers to life's spiritual questions, a quest which took him to a synagogue, a Catholic church, and a Nation of Islam mosque. He describes his work as a young member of the Black Panther Party and his first encounters with the MOVE organization, his respect for MOVE's founder, John Africa, and his growing realization that the MOVE members were not "crazies," but sincere human beings. When he is describing the brutal realities of prison, the author's eye for detail allows him to paint a harrowing picture. When he is reflecting (from inside his tiny cell) on the beauty and power of nature, _Death Blossoms_ can be very poetic. _Death Blossoms_ allows us to peer into both the head and the heart of Mumia Abu-Jamal. We find a lot in both locations. The man who emerges from these pages is a voracious reader and writer, a warm- hearted individual who is both thoughtful and militant. _Death Blossoms_ concludes with an interview which Allen Hougland taped with Mumia Abu-Jamal in February 1996. In that interview, Mumia declares, "Despite my penal status, I'm a writer, a journalist, a columnist, and a professional revolutionary." With his brave stand against the lynch-mob hysteria which was whipped up against MOVE in Philadelphia, his militant refusal to "go along to get along," his insistence on speaking out, on agitating, Mumia has lived up to the best traditions of both the journalist and the revolutionary. The publication of _Death Blossoms_ is particularly timely now. The same kind of lynch-mob atmosphere which was conjured up by the powers that be in one city (Philadelphia) in the '70s against one group (MOVE) is now being fomented by the powerful of the entire country against millions of people (all those being cast out by this economy). To respond to today's challenges, we need more journalists, more agitators, more professional revolutionaries, more Mumias. Buy this book, read it, and learn from it. To order a copy of _Death Blossoms_, contact the Plough Publishing House at 1-800-521-8011. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ DEFEND THE 'VOICE OF THE VOICELESS'; SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY! Mumia Abu-Jamal, a radio reporter and former member of the Black Panther Party, was known as Philadelphia's "voice of the voiceless" during the late 1970s, earning the hatred of the city's political establishment. He was accused of murdering a police officer and sentenced to die in 1982 after a trial marked by numerous irregularities. As we go to press, it appears that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will rule soon on Abu-Jamal's appeal for a new trial. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge has already indicated that if the court denies that appeal, he will sign a death warrant for Abu-Jamal, thus setting an execution date. So, it's time to get involved. Talk to people about this case. Write to your elected officials. Ask your local bookstore to carry copies of Abu-Jamal's new book _Death Blossoms_. Read _Death Blossoms_ and tell other people to read it, too! [For more information, contact Pam Africa of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal at 215-476-8812.] +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 16. GLOBALIZATION DEMANDS CLASS UNITY from the League of Revolutionaries for a New America Anyone interested in saving our country from the destructive havoc being wreaked upon it must deal with politics: who controls the United States, how do they do it, and what will it take for the majority of Americans to take over and run things in our own interest. The complete internationalization of the capitalist economy has transformed the role, powers and function of the "national" state apparatus. In the past, the main mission of the state was to guarantee a profitable environment for business, to be a loyal servant of the capitalist class. At times, this meant brutally suppressing the domestic population. At other times, it meant ensuring certain monetary or fiscal policies. In recent years, we have seen the internationalization of both these functions reflecting the internationalization of the economy. This is quite obvious when it comes to economic policies. What government would even attempt to adjust the value of its currency simply through its own central bank? Even the seemingly all-powerful, all-knowing Alan Greenspan was forced to admit that when faced with international currency traders, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has little power. International institutions are evolving to deal with the global economy. A supranational capitalist class is developing. These international organizations not only relate to economic matters, but are creating supranational governing bodies. National governments are sections of, and loyal servants to this new world order. Any deviations by national governments can lead to immediate and massive economic repercussions: a stock market crash, a currency collapse or outflow of investments. This supranational capitalist class has already used international armies, both through the United Nations and rogue mercenaries, to enforce its will. The main function of national governments has become to control and police their populations -- by any means necessary. The effects of the global economy are sweeping the world, driving all peoples, regardless of nationality, toward absolute poverty. A reign of terror will be the only method of control available to governments. While the forms will vary according to national history, the content will be "fascist." A huge sector of the supranational financial oligarchy is based in America. They own the political parties and consequently, they own the government. We should be clear that President Bill Clinton, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and the Democratic Leadership Council are the leading representatives of the new world order in the United States. Clinton's appeal for a "bipartisan" government is the form that the drive toward fascism is taking in this country. The Republican Party is an integral part of the process. The relationship between the two parties is similar to the "good cop-bad cop" scenario. However, the Republican Party plays an important and distinct role. In the history of the United States, the South has always been the key to controlling the country politically, and the base of political reaction for the ruling class. The 1996 elections strengthened the grip of reaction across the South. The Republicans were able to keep control of the Senate and the House because of their victories in the South. Republicans won Senate seats in nine of the 11 Southern states, including two previously held by Democrats in Alabama and Arkansas. Both these seats are now in the hands of extreme reactionaries. In the House, Republicans won half of the 18 open Democratic seats in the South. While some feared Bob Dole might be elected president, a more frightening situation is having Trent Lott of Mississippi replacing Dole as leader of the Senate. To fall into the trap of believing there are fundamental differences between the two parties would have disastrous results. The time is long past when the Democrats and Republicans represented different sections of the ruling class, or when the peoples' movements could rely on wings of these parties for even minor reforms. Both these parties are owned lock, stock and barrel by international financiers. It is critical that we understand the dynamics of the two-party system. The extreme economic polarization between wealth and poverty and the social destruction sweeping the country has lead to the beginnings of a political polarization. Growing numbers of people are coming to realize that we must separate ourselves from our enemies, that we must have our own political party in order to fight for what we need. A new kind of unity based on our common needs is developing. Increasingly, we are recognizing the necessity of putting aside minor differences so that we can fight as one. The threat of hunger and homelessness and the vision of the possibility of a decent and productive life is the basis for forging the unbreakable unity of our class. Revolutionaries are being challenged to devote all their energies to ensuring the political independence and unity of our class. As this movement grows more powerful, a class solidarity will emerge unlike anything this country has seen in the last 60 years. With the maturing of such a movement, revolutionaries will have fertile soil for the mass acceptance of the necessity for a cooperative economic system as the only solution to the greed and corruption of capitalism. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Now is the time to join the League of Revolutionaries for a New America Humanity is being reborn in an age of great revolutionary change. The tools exist to produce all that we need for a peaceful, orderly world. For the first time in history, a true flowering of the human intellect and spirit is possible. Our fight is to reorganize society to accomplish these goals. For more information, call 773-486-0028. Send the coupon to P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, Illinois 60647. I want to subscribe! _____ People's Tribune. $2 for four issues or $25 for a year. _____ Tribuno del Pueblo. $2 for four issues or $10 for a year. (You can also get bundles of 10 or more copies of the PT or TP for 15 cents per copy.) Name: Address: City/State/Zip: I WANT TO JOIN! _____ I want to join the LRNA. Please send information. _____ Enclosed is my donation of $_____ +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, published every two weeks in Chicago, is devoted to the proposition that an economic system which can't or won't feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of the millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Join us! Editor: Laura Garcia Publisher: League of Revolutionaries for a New America, P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 486-0028 ISSN# 1081-4787 For free electronic subscription, email: pt-dist@noc.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To help support the production and distribution of the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, please send donations, letters, articles, photos, graphics and requests for information, subscriptions and requests for bundles of papers to: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE P.O. 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