Memorial Day 2014—are you tired of worshiping “heroes” yet?

By Otto

I’ve grown really sick of all those ads and special events honoring those who fight for our right to steal people’s sovereignty and take their resources. We don’t fight for “our freedom” as many people want us to believe…our military fights for resources, such as cheap gas. The people of Afghanistan will never get to enjoy all the gasoline that lies under their land. It will all go to people here in the US. By honoring our troops in foreign lands, we encourage others to fight that same dirty war.

On Monday, most TV stations will run movies about the “good” wars our troops fought in, mostly World War II. They won’t show movies about Abu Ghraib (although none have actually been made yet). We may see plenty of movies with John “the Duke” Wayne. They might even use graphic tools and computer tricks to put the Duke in movies he wasn’t in. For example they might take the movie The Sons of Katie Elder and remake it to The Sons of Katie Somoza. In the remake, in which they resurrect John Wayne, Dean Martin and Dennis Hopper from the grave, Katie is the fictional wife of Anastasia Somoza, who lost Nicaragua to the Sandinista Rebels. The Duke and his friends help Somoza reclaim his rightful dynasty and kill off all those nasty terrorists (originally dubbed as freedom fighters).

The Duke always wins and we always knew who the bad guys were in one of his movies. The Duke and his Hollywood buddies were good at revising history. On the other hand we can thank a lot of Hollywood progressives for anti-imperialist themes for such movies as M*A*S*H (1970), Missing (1983), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Under Fire (1983).  There are some good people in Hollywood. 

Theee Duke!

Dead Kennedys - Rambozo the Clown

Marijuana debate to take place in Wichita

By Otto

Pro-marijuana legalization-activists will get a chance to question candidates for governor, Saturday, July 5 at the Sedgwick County Park, Shelter #4. The day’s events will include a debate and cookout. The meet will run from 12 pm - 5:00 pm and the debate will start at 2 pm. Four governor candidates have been invited to debate the issue and present their stands on marijuana.

Back in my high school days, 30 years ago, my friends and I really thought that marijuana would be legal by the time we turned 30. The prevailing ideology was liberalism and society seemed to be moving in a more progressive and sane direction. We imagined that we would be living under a more enlightened and advanced society where throwing people in jail for something as petty as marijuana possession would be a thing of the past. We were dead wrong.

Thirty years ago, most marijuana use was among younger people and hippie types who had a certain look to them. Today the users have become more mainstream. Now many older people use it and most of its users look like anyone else.

Then came the election of 1980—and the most backward and reactionary forces in the country came together to back Ronald Reagan for president. Once elected he pushed back abortion rights, labor union rights, and he put this country on a cold war/imperialist direction. Reagan came down hard on all drugs including marijuana.

Reagan, with the help of his wife Nancy, convinced many parents that smoking or possessing small amounts of marijuana contribute to big-time-drug dealers and the murderous activities they used to conduct their business. In the 1980s this country had a crack cocaine epidemic and it was used to scare a lot of people away from legalizing marijuana.

In the last few years there have been plenty of efforts to finally legalize marijuana in some places and decriminalize it in others.

As a young high school student I really liked to smoke marijuana. Today I don’t like it as well as I used to. For most of my life I have felt that punishing drug users with jail time made no sense. It becomes a matter of personal freedom. Why do government officials get to decide what I can put in my own body? I can see the government having the right to regulate products that are sold to us, but if a person has something they want to use, it should be a matter of personal choice. Our government and many of our leaders struggle to keep poor people from getting badly needed medical care. Why should these same leaders stop those of us who want to use some type of self medication? 

The history of marijuana prohibition has been fraught with racism and hypocrisy.  La Cucaracha, is a song about a pot smoking cockroach. It is evidence that marijuana smoking was prevalent among Mexican workers before the drug was banned here in the US.

Marijuana has become a part of US culture. There are songs about it. Many of our nations’ artists and writers have been influenced by it. From Cheech & Chong to David Peel and The Lower East Side marijuana is everywhere. Some celebrities, such as Louis Armstrong, used to smoked marijuana discretely.

It is my hope that marijuana will be legalized nation-wide and eventually the war on drugs will die out and get buried.

Pix by www.colourbox.com.

Koch brothers and fracking blasted during Wichita Kansas rally

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner:

The Keystone XL Pipeline, fracking and the Koch brothers came under fire at a rally held in Wichita, Saturday afternoon. Activist from Kansas and Oklahoma came to address a crowd of about 75 people although that number changed from hour to hour.
“The Koch brothers are the two most dangerous people on the planet,” said Earl Hatley, Clean Energy Oklahoma, Native American Indian activist and Sierra Club member, who was one of the speakers Saturday. “Those two are cooking the planet. They’re getting filthy rich and that won’t help you when you’re dead.”
He added they can’t take it with them.
“We have to get on the Koch brothers,” Hatley said. “This isn’t politics. We have to take to the streets.”
He indicated he had little faith in the present political system for making change.
“Who cares who gets elected,” Hatley said. He added that people don’t have time to wait for politicians to get ready to care about the environment. The problem called for immediate action.
As Hatley spoke on, he mentioned the Greenland ice sheet and how fast it is presently melting.
“Some of these people (the Kochs and other conservatives) want to go there after the ice melts and look for minerals,” Hatley explained.
Other speakers followed raising a lot of points about the XL Pipeline and the tar sands that politicians are trying to allow to be piped from Canada to ports on the U.S. coasts of such states as Texas. The tar sands need to go through an extensive process before it can be used as fuel. Most of it will be turned into diesel and all of it will be sold in other countries. That is because it will be too expensive for the US markets.
“So far there have been no jobs created for the workers of Oklahoma,” said Yvonne Cather, chair of the Oklahoma, Sierra Club. “The Keystone XL Pipeline will create very few jobs.”
Other speakers also talked about fracking. According to the Ohio Environmental Council:
Relatively new drilling technology - high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) - now makes it possible to reach natural gas reserves…
Hydraulic fracturing is the use of sand, water, and chemicals injected at high pressures to blast open shale rock and release the trapped gas inside. Horizontal drilling (also called "directional drilling") is just like it sounds: after the well drill reaches a certain vertical depth in the ground, the well is then drilled horizontally.
“They are disturbing the land,” said Sue Morningstar, a Native American Indian, a warrior for mother earth. “I want a future for my children, their children, their children’s children and their children’s children.”
Although the crowd was smaller than expected, there was a lot of enthusiasm for those who poke. The environment is one of the most important issues of this time period.

NASA photos show how the Greenland ice sheet is melting.

Pompeo to get blood money for tankers for McConnell

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

US Rep. Mike Pompeo is very excited that he is bringing Boeing KC-46A tankers to McConnell Air Force Base. He seems to be taking the angle that this will bring jobs to his district, but it wouldn’t bring near as many jobs as it would have if he had gotten Boeing to build those planes in Wichita. They build them in Seattle. Most of the new jobs will be for military personnel. So maybe Pompeo figures those planes will help the economy as military people spend their money here in the Wichita area.
Pompeo really likes the military and military secrecy as he has blasted those as Edward Snowden and others who have provided information to the public as to what our military actually does in other countries. Pompeo has said that is treason.
I’m sure he doesn’t care that these planes will be used for foreign adventurism and not for defense.
In his e-mail he said:
”And, of course, a special thank you to the hardworking men and women of McConnell Air Force Base for continuing to demonstrate the kind of excellence that keeps America safe.”
Keep us safe? Hardly. These planes are designed to help in long distance attacks on other countries. They carry fuel on long distance flights so planes won’t need to land. They also carry personnel and equipment.
According to Boeing the planes have:
Enhanced Survivability -- New robust defensive systems and cockpit armor protection enhances KC-46 crew survivability.
Superior Situational Awareness – Large Boeing 787 15” displays allow KC-46 pilots to quickly optimize flight parameters for critical decision making and mission success.
Clearly they are not hiding the fact that this plane is designed for military mission far from our shores.
Today our military is involved in conflicts all over the Middle-east. We still have troops in Afghanistan, some in Iraq, some involved in the civil war in Syria, and some involved in Colombia. This is not about our “safety” as Pompeo said. It is about building up an empire in accordance with the “New American Century,” a bi-partisan policy of forcing other countries to accept US style government, culture and lifestyles. It is a clear attempt to set up the US as the major imperialist country in the world. This will be an empire carved in blood and we have already lost human lives to this idea.
It’s time to tell Pompeo we don’t need to trade blood for jobs.

May 1—Wichita Kansas—2014

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner;

This year’s May Day celebration, in Wichita Kansas, at the Peace and Social Justice Center, was not as well attended as past years have been. It is hard to say why the crowd was smaller, whether the time and date was bad, the format or just bad luck. Only about 20 to 30 people showed up. The Peace and Social Justice Center has been hosting these get-togethers for several years now.
May 1 is an international workers holiday that celebrates labor victories in the US. In early 1886 unions throughout the country fought for an eight hour work day. Work days could be 10 to 12 hours a day. By 1889 the various unions had won the fight for an eight hour day and a holiday had been established to celebrate this labor victory. Since that time workers around the world celebrate May 1 as an expression of their international solidarity and shared political aspirations for the freedom of working people.
Those in attendance, this year, were enthusiastic and took part in a round table discussion. Stuart Elliott, local writer and activist for Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) was the MC for this event. Elliott asked those in attendance questions for discussion.
The discussion:

Elliott: The first question is; what is your favorite labor song?
Rannfrid: Mine is a Norwegian song Take Each Other in the Hand and Hold On. It’s a simple labor song.
Kayla- Little Mouse Chewing Wire.
Janice: Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Bill: Union Maid.
Otto: Halleluiah I’m a Bum.

Elliott: Mine is Redwing. It is the original melody to Union Made from 1890.
Russ: Take This Job and Shove It.

Elliott: Which is more prevalent, wage theft or street crime theft?
(All those in attendance guessed it was wage theft.)
Elliott: Any questions about unions?
Rannfrid: Why can’t I just join a union?
(Several people pointed out that the Industrial Workers of the World will let almost anyone join.)
Bill: How did we get to the point where union officials make as much as CEOs.
Otto: I hear from a lot of people who complain that union people make too much money. They say it’s not fair that union members make more money than they do. I’d like to turn their arguments around and say “wouldn’t you like to make as MUCH as they do?”
Bill: It’s like the welfare argument that poor people get a free ride. They think union members don’t earn their money.
Janice: There has been a prison strike in Alabama, recently.
(RT-The strike was organized inside St. Clair County Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama by members of the Free Alabama Movement. The group – loosely made up of inmates at St. Clair and other Alabama penitentiaries – alleges that prison jobs initially designed to help fill convicts’ days and give them a sense of pride behind bars have effectively been turned into a kind of slave labor for Alabama officials.)
Bill: That’s right? The inmates get such a low wage that it is the equivalent to slavery. It’s a tiny fraction of the minimum wage. I wish more unions (their members) would get fed up with the treatment they get.
Jim: Labor membership has declined to about 11%. But the unions are not to blame. I think globalization has a lot to do with it.
Bill: Globalization has created a real cut throat mentality that people have today.
Rannfrid: Some students in Norway manage to get sponsors for a trip to some of the sweat shops that make such American clothing as the Gap. They went to Bangladesh were they had that big fire. They saw firsthand how those workers are treated. After they returned they were on a panel where a bunch of corporate big shots tried to argue them down. They had firsthand information on how people in those countries live as opposed to the lies perpetrated by the corporate big shots.
Otto: I wish we still had a news media that actually covers news like that. We used to have some real coverage. It seems we don’t get any real news anymore and a lot of international issues get ignored. I have to go to the BBC or RT TV to get any real and critical news.
(Others warned that the BBC is starting to get as bad as the US news media.)
Kim: Via Christi is contracting out their house keeping department so they can cut down on the wages they pay. The House keeping employees are getting a $2-an-hour decrease.

The evening rapped up with announcements of different political actions members of the Peace and Social Justice Center were involved with, such as a petition to remove criminal penalties for possession of Marijuana in the City of Wichita.
The May Day observance helps people here in Wichita feel a sense of solidarity with working people throughout the US and in other countries as well.