People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (11-00) Online Edition

People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (11-00) Online Edition
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11-00 PT Index
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

Editorial
1. THE MORNING AFTER THE 2000 ELECTIONS: FUNDAMENTAL DIRECTION OF
AMERICA IS STILL IN QUESTION

News and Features
2. ELECTIONS REVEAL THE NEED TO DEVELOP INDEPENDENT POLITICS
3. RESPONSE TO NADER CAMPAIGN SHOWS THIRST FOR CHANGE
4. CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN TO BE HONORED ON DECEMBER 2, 2000
5. OAKLAND'S FUTURE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
6. PALESTINIAN WOMAN DESCRIBES ROOTS OF MIDEAST UPRISING
7. LESSONS OF THE FORD/FIRESTONE SCANDAL: PROFIT MOTIVE TURNS
CONSUMERS INTO ROAD KILL
8. INTERVIEW: A DAY LABORER'S LIFE
9. NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST W2 AGENCIES' WELFARE FRAUD

Spirit of the Revolution
10. SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION: THE BIBLE STANDS FOR SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC JUSTICE

From the League
11. CALL TO LRNA 4TH CONVENTION
12. REVOLUTIONARY TIMES CHALLENGE US TO REVOLUTIONARY ACTION
13. NEW, IMPROVED LEAGUE WEB SITE

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TOPIC
11-00 Edit: The morning after the 2000 elections
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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1. EDITORIAL: THE MORNING AFTER THE 2000 ELECTIONS - FUNDAMENTAL
DIRECTION OF AMERICA IS STILL IN QUESTION

Now that the elections are over, we'd like to talk about "the
morning after." The fundamental questions Americans know they must
answer still exist. Let's look at the morning after the 2000
elections.

We think it's important to talk about what will happen to the
women and children who have borne the brunt of the full-frontal
attack of "welfare reform." We know that the top 10 percent of the
population still owns more wealth than the bottom 60 percent of
the population. There are no independent citizen review boards
throughout the country addressing police brutality and misconduct.
We've got to look at the morning after the elections to try to
figure out how we can bring this mighty system under our control.

To address these questions, we think it's important to look at
what's growing in America. What's interesting about this year's
presidential elections, first of all, was not who won and who
lost, but how much people's allegiances, illusions and ideas are
all being broken loose from that which held them together before.
Secondly, as people search for explanations and solutions, they
are finding that the two major parties are making less and less
sense for today's problems and challenges. People are beginning to
recognize that at the core of these parties, the basic premise is
to protect private property relations for that very small 10
percent of the nation's population.

A broad feeling has been developing in intensity around a good
part of the country. People thought about the scandals of the
health-care management organizations and the so-called safety
regulations of big corporations as exposed through Ford/Firestone.
The intensity of emotion was seen at the Seattle protests against
the World Trade Organization in 1999, as well as through the
Campaign for Economic and Human Rights. People are dissatisfied
with the two major political parties and they are outraged with
those who would protect profits at the people's expense.

In the wake of the elections, talk will turn back to problems with
health care, education and police brutality. How we go about
taking down this profit-driven system; how we are going to replace
it with one stripped of the profit motive and reconfigured on the
basis of human need is coming to the fore.

Revolutionaries must stand up, educate and deepen this new
awareness. It is time to proceed to establish a new kind of
morality. This morality puts the people's needs ahead of corporate
greed. As we fight on the Morning After, we can proclaim that the
private-profit status quo is deadly and dangerous and cannot be
permitted to remain in place.

FOOTER
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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 Elections reveal the need to develop independent politics
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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2. ELECTIONS REVEAL THE NEED TO DEVELOP INDEPENDENT POLITICS

It is a time-honored statement that elections are held to test the
mood of the people. In this election, as the one before, a huge
bloc of people yawned and said, "I'd rather be fishing." True,
voting was up from the last election, when over half the voters
"went fishing." The increase from 49.1 percent to 50.7 percent
was due to "the Nader factor," an attempt to bring issues into an
election that swirled around media hyped personalities.

Elections are the democratic mask that hides the reality of class
dictatorship in America. This mask was ripped to shreds in the
November election. It showed that elections, criminal injustice,
mob control of politicians, and corporate control of all of it is
one can of worms. For example, the disenfranchisement of some 1.8
million African Americans (13 percent of black men) because of
felony convictions is part and parcel of crippling the political
clout of the generally progressive African American vote. There
was a time when it was understood that a person released from
prison had repaid his or her debt to society. These felony
convictions are mainly linked to the war on drugs (read: war on
the ghetto) which is linked to the mob, which is linked to city
hall and higher. If anyone has any doubts, look into how the mob
delivered the vote to elect John Kennedy. It should be noted that
several thousand Florida residents were struck from the voters
list because they were mistakenly identified as ex-felons.

Both sides have called for increased "bipartisanship." There was a
time when such "unity" was restricted to foreign policy. Today it
includes domestic policy. If the parties are to unite after the
election, why did we have the election? Small wonder the people
went fishing. Both of these candidates are necessarily committed
to the ongoing globalization of the economy with all its
consequences. No matter who finally prevails, the attack on our
standard of living will continue and increase. The courts and
government will continue to erode our rights. The number one job
of the next president will be to force the American worker either
to be more competitive with the workers of the so-called third
world, or see jobs continue to flow out of the country.

The ruling class owns the press, the movies, the television. They
give out the information and misinformation that controls not
only elections, but the general political activity of the mass of
people. The ruling class picks two of its representatives and
gives you the privilege of voting for one of them.

In China, the American embassy held classes to teach the Chinese
how American democracy allows everyone to vote for whoever they
please. In America, the reality was that candidates were spending
as much as 60 million of their own dollars to get into the U.S.
Senate. The American people are quite sure that such spending
isn't done in order to serve the people. It would be simpler if
the various corporations just announced their candidates. Then we
would know who to hold responsible.

While the world shakes its head in bewilderment, Mitch Ceasar,
head of the Democratic Party in Broward County, Florida, says
that over 6,000 votes in his Democratic-dominated county have not
been registered and may need to be counted. A smiling Fidel
Castro calls for the United Nations to send a team to monitor the
U.S. election. Fraud, plus deceit and bribery -- and a disgusted
America stayed home and watched television.

However, elections are real things and are considered mandates
from the people to direct the country. If Bush is elected, it
will be the swing votes from Gore to Nader that allowed for it.
Faced with this reality, were we and others correct in calling on
people to vote for Nader? We stand by our decision. The eight-
year Democratic administration did almost everything the
Republican "opposition" demanded. At best the differences between
the Democrats and Republicans are and have been in degree rather
than kind. The reason for the almost 50/50 vote is the people see
precious little difference between the candidates.

There has to be and is a motion away from the "evils" and toward
independent political activity. There is no better time to take
that step than now. This situation shows that the impulse toward
a "third party" is only the beginning of the struggle. A third
party is an opposition to the two-party monopoly. It necessarily
is still within the arena of ruling class politics. A clear line
must be drawn between the needs of the people and the needs of
the corporations. This can only be done by stabilizing and
broadening the Labor Party. We believe that path is now open. We
were correct and we intend to stay our course.

Elections are only one aspect of politics, and not the most
important one. More important are the daily struggles of the
people. We participated in the election, knowing that both major
candidates represented the interests of the corporate power that
rules America. We did so in order to redouble our efforts after
the election to unite the people around the practical demands of
the poor. We did so to bring the people a vision of a world free
from the leeches that continue to blind and rob them through such
farcical elections as the one we just endured.

FOOTER
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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
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TOPIC
11-00 Response to Nader campaign shows thirst for change
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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3. RESPONSE TO NADER CAMPAIGN SHOWS THIRST FOR CHANGE

By Sheilah Olaniran

[Editor's note: To get a better picture of the Nader campaign, the
People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo covered his rally in Chicago
on October 10. The following article was written before the
election.]

CHICAGO --Ralph Nader's rally on the evening of October 10, 2000
drew over 10,000 people to the Pavilion at the University of
Illinois-Chicago. The audience, enthusiastic and eager, was
galvanized by every word and emotion. More than anything, the
audience connected with Nader's description of the growing
division between wealth and poverty and the stark picture of
grinding poverty and homelessness. They eagerly absorbed the
details that Nader provided of the criminal activities that
corporations commit while millions of Americans languish in prison
simply because they are poor, are of color, or both.

Nader shared his vision of an America free from corporate tyranny.
He invited Americans to think about what their actions today to
become part of a movement to fight for democracy might mean for
their children and grandchildren tomorrow.

I want to briefly describe what Nader's vision is and why. His
candidacy represents a juncture, of sorts, in working Americans'
movement toward greater political awareness.

Nader's platform includes many issues that reflect the growing
crisis in our country and the fact that many of the basic
necessities of life should be a right and not something connected
to a well-paying job. His platform addresses the concern that
while corporations reap all the benefits of the booming economy,
working people are left begging at the door of the corporation for
their very survival, or -- in far too many cases -- simply left to
beg.

Nader's platform includes the Labor Party's demand for universal
health care as a right and not a condition of employment. Nader
describes a close relationship with the Labor Party and expressed
tremendous respect for the meticulous work that went into drafting
the universal health care platform.

In addition to his position on universal health care, Nader's
platform reflects a commitment to working Americans and their
concern about their increasing inability to eke out a living in
the current "booming economic climate." Nader supports a living
wage, abolishing poverty, civic curriculum, labor-friendly laws,
an end to racial/ethnic profiling, preservation of rural life,
providing our own media, and withdrawal from the World Trade
Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Nader's Chicago speech was one part political polemic (with a
graphic description of the ravages corporations have made on
American democracy) and one part foot-stomping, soul-stirring
church revival. Again and again, the audience was called upon to
consider their humanity and the humanity of future generations as
reason enough to become involved in the political life of their
communities.

Ralph Nader's candidacy has motivated hundreds of young people to
become organizers for his campaign. Nader-campaign headquarters
have sprung up on hundreds of college campuses across the country.
His rallies have attracted tens of thousands of Americans who
willingly pay the money requested to hear him speak.

In a rousing climax to his speech in Chicago, Nader concluded: "I
am for a youth culture, a people's culture that is not just
produced. I am opposed to corporate greed over people's need. In
the words of John Adams over 200 years ago, 'Our generation had to
be composed of politicians and statesmen in order for our children
to become scientists and doctors.' How far are we from that dream?
Why ... in the face of unprecedented economic wealth and
prosperity do working parents with children not even make a living
wage, while top corporate executives make $50,000 a day? All of
this greed and theft spells misery, hurt, pain and anxiety. Money
is not the most important thing, but it becomes so when this sort
of grinding poverty exists."

Ralph Nader articulates our fears about where America is headed
and why so many are locked out of the prosperity we read and hear
so much about every day. His campaign represents a growing
political and social awareness about gross income inequalities.
His candidacy represents a political awakening of sorts, a
recognition that the stakes have been raised, and we can no longer
just be spectators in the unfolding drama of history. Nader's
campaign engages us in the political debate at a little higher
level -- at least a level higher than that set by the Democrats or
Republicans.

Indeed, Nader's ability to paint such a stark picture of the greed
of the capitalist class sent Al Gore scurrying to pull out
populist rhetoric in an effort to appeal to the mass of working
Americans. George W. Bush has done the same. But, in the end,
neither Gore nor Bush will deliver, and Americans will face the
same choices in the next presidential campaign.

Nader has a long history as a champion of workers' health and
safety, and a fighter for consumer protection. He has won many
battles for better environmental pollution standards. By his own
admission, all those gains have been watered down or are under
attack -- just as affirmative action, a woman's right to choose,
workers' rights, and many other reforms are under attack. What
Nader is asking is that we engage in another round of reforms.

For many, that may represent the beginning of political awareness.

However, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that reforms
under capitalism only lead us back to a situation where we have to
demand those same reforms again and again.

Nader's candidacy comes on the heels of decades of disinterest and
apathy about what the two parties have delivered and can deliver
to the majority of those locked out of the economic boom. His
candidacy sparks the imagination and presents such a broad pull
that perhaps many who have not participated in the electoral
process will do so -- if only to flex a sense of independence from
the two main parties.

As has been stated in an earlier article in the People's
Tribune/Tribune del Pueblo ("What to do on Election Day .. and
beyond," October 2000), it is only with the development of class
consciousness that Americans will be able to shake off the rule of
this tiny, wealthy ruling class and build an America that reflects
the true spirit of the American people, a cooperative society
where prosperity is achieved and no child goes to bed crying in
hunger

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
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TOPIC
11-00 Captain John Brown to be honored
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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4. CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN TO BE HONORED ON DECEMBER 2, 2000

By Ya'qub H. McAteer, Ph.D.

As president of the John Brown Legacy Association, I am very
excited about the upcoming December 2 program to be held in
Baltimore. We hope that readers of the People's Tribune/Tribuno
del Pueblo will be able to offer support by attending the event.
May 9, 2000 was the 200th anniversary of the birth of abolitionist
and revolutionary John Brown, who gave his life for the cause of
justice and equality on December 2, 1859. His leadership at
Harper's Ferry, in what is now West Virginia, played a significant
role in changing the consciousness of enough people to get the
wheel moving in the historic struggle. As W.E.B. Du Bois noted,
without his efforts we probably would not have seen the
emancipation of the slaves, and Brown's mission continues to
inspire the grass-roots to fight against oppression.

The program will be held from 2 until 3:30 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt
Library on Cathedral Street in Baltimore. City Councilman Dr.
Norman A. Handy and Harper's Ferry Mayor Kip Stowell will be among
the speakers. Mayor Stowell plans to issue a citation honoring
John Brown as a national hero. Dr. Frank Katz will also offer a
presentation on the impact of white supremacy as a sickness in
American society and strategies on eliminating this sickness. Dr.
Handy will share his thoughts on the relevance of John Brown for
current issues at the grass-roots level. We hope to see the
solidarity of enough people in attendance to support the cause of
giving due honor and recognition to Captain John Brown.

As Malcolm X said so well, it is time to get new allies and move
in a new direction!

[For more information, please call the John Brown Legacy
Association at 410-318-1060 or e-mail [email protected]]

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 Oakland's future in the global economy
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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5. OAKLAND'S FUTURE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

By Steve Miller

[Editor's note: Below we print the second part of an article which
was developed from discussions in the Fruitvale Chapter (in
Oakland, California) of the League of Revolutionaries for a New
America.]

In the last 40 years, every country in the world has developed
communications systems that were owned and organized by the
national governments. They were not under direct private control.
In 1997, the World Trade Organization, in one of its first acts,
forced governments to open up their telecommunications systems to
up to 100% private investment. U.S. firms in particular -- all
world leaders in cellular technology, teleconferencing, satellite
access and long-distance telecommunications -- are surging into
these markets to buy up the once government-owned networks. The
privatizing of publicly owned telecommunications systems is one of
the greatest redistributions of wealth in human history. Resources
worth over $600 billion in annual revenues have been shifted from
public to corporate control, usually without any compensation
whatsoever.

This relentless wave of transformation is reorganizing California
and the rest of the country, just as it is melding the world into
a global economic system. Some of the first victims of global
privatization, of course, are those who had stable jobs and
unions. Today in California only one worker in three has the
traditional 40-hour work week with benefits. We are witnessing a
complete reorganization of how work is done. This is a worldwide
phenomenon. Because electronic technology is so productive,
regular employees are being replaced by contract workers,
temporary workers and even people like prisoners who work for no
wages at all! The result is the destruction of the quality of
life. There are many examples of this, but one stands out. In the
U.S. in 1997, for example, there were 19,000 murders, but there
were 30,000 successful suicides and 500,000 attempts! This is not
the future we want for our children.

"In capitalism, capital counts. I can't repeal that law" -- Jerry
Brown (San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 1, 1999)

From a global perspective, then, the "10K" schemes are designed to
renovate the city for the Electronic Age, not to "revitalize" it.
Certainly, money is going to flow and entrepreneurs are going to
get rich. But the marginalization of human labor by electronics is
a global process and cannot be stopped. We will see some chic
boutiques and glitzy restaurants opening, but for the poor -- over
half of Oakland's population -- the city is taking its place as
part of the global Calcutta. By pandering to global capital,
Mayor Jerry Brown's vision is for Oakland to join the global race
to the bottom.

In this day and age, there can be no excuse for the existence of
privilege along side suffering -- precisely because new technology
produces such an abundance. Therefore, the ideas, the morality and
the laws that justify either pole must be cast aside. Such
antiquated concepts of right and wrong, good and bad are legion.
However, in the end, they all wind up justifying the private
ownership of the tools of society.

Never in history have people been able to resist the destruction
of their lives as long as they shared the moral assumptions of
their enemy. This is the meaning of Isaiah, writing over two
millennia ago, "Without a vision, the people will perish."

The great social movements of history have always posed new moral
questions that have defined their age. Such movements occur when
new technology is introduced and social crisis follows. People see
new directions and profoundly new possibilities for human
potential. Then they reframe the age-old human issues of fairness,
equality and justice in new ways that challenge society to take
another step forward. Such a time is now. A new vision of humanity
is not only possible but necessary. Our very survival as a species
depends on it. We can link morality to economic justice.

One hundred and sixty years ago, unfettered private ownership of
the instruments that produced society's wealth was challenged by a
new morality. The moral quest that became the Civil War expressed
the reality of the time: Free labor in the North would inevitably
be replaced by slave labor. The final defense of slavery was that
slaves were private property. Thus the slaveholders supposedly had
an unlimited and unchallenged right to do what they wanted with
the productive forces they owned.

Twenty years of social upheaval lead to the Civil War, as people
asserted a greater law, and fought for their future by waging war
to dispossess capital of their property in slaves. In sheer terms
of dollar figures, this was perhaps the largest dispossession of a
ruling class in history.

Today free labor throughout the world is again being threatened
and replaced by the private ownership of the producers of wealth.
This time it's electronic technology. Once again, the final
defense is that electronic technology should be controlled as
private property -- even if this leads to the unjustifiable
destruction of the lives of millions upon millions of human
beings.

Could this possibly happen if there were genuine, democratic,
public control of this technology? In that case, as always, the
owners would divert this marvelous power to their interests.
Except then the owners would be the public and all society would
benefit. Electronic technology demands social ownership to unleash
its incredible productive potential. Equally, it demands the
distribution of its abundance by need, rather than money. Anything
less is a crime.

The incredible misuse and social destruction of the application of
electronic technology by global capital stands as its greatest
condemnation. How could something that offers such opportunities
for human communication and cooperation be so incredibly twisted?!
Corporations have shown us what they will do with it. They don't
deserve to own it.

Public control of all technology, both hi-tech and every other
kind, demands a new morality. This morality is forged in practical
struggles. It is based on a program that leaves no one out, that
fights forward for the justice and equality that finally realizes
our human potential, not backwards to the old world of begging for
privileges. The program is simple. Every human needs and deserves
adequate food, shelter, education, health care, culture and access
to all the benefits of technology -- whether they can pay for it
or not.

Isn't it time we sit down as class equals -- the toilers and the
dispossessed of the Electronic Age -- and make some plans to take
the offensive? Global Oakland is our future unless we take
control. We can already see the writing on the walls. This time
it's all of us -- or none of us!

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 Palestinian woman describes roots of Mideast uprising
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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6. PALESTINIAN WOMAN DESCRIBES ROOTS OF MIDEAST UPRISING

By Sandra Reid

[Editor's note: The People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo
interviewed Rasha Salti, a Lebanese citizen of Palestinian descent
who now lives in California, about recent events in the Mideast.
Below are excerpts from the interview.]

PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE: Could you talk about the history of the events
unfolding in the Middle East today?

RASHA SALTI: What is happening today is being described as a
second Intifada, the first being the uprising in 1987 of
Palestinian refugees within Israel and within the occupied
territories. The people there have been struggling for over 50
years. 1948 marks the declaration of the establishment of the
state of Israel and that's when official history records the
beginning of the struggle.

The Palestinians who are demonstrating are represented as an
angry, frustrated mob, but the reasons behind their frustrations
are not clearly expounded. They are extremely poor people, they
are unemployed, they are hungry, and they see very few positive
prospects for the future.

Perhaps two of the most difficult issues are the fate of Jerusalem
and the question of the refugees. The Oslo Accords in 1993
stipulated that these would be the last issues to be discussed,
along with Palestinian statehood.

The question of the refugees is perhaps the more pressing question
to me because it involves the lives of so many people. One million
people were expelled from Palestine in 1948. They have been
scattered around the world. Some have been able to get a life
someplace, get citizenship, as in the Palestine diaspora in North
America, Latin America, Australia, western Europe or Africa.

But huge camps remain within Jordan, Lebanon and Syria where
people live under very difficult conditions. In Jordan and Syria,
the Palestinian refugees have been given documents so they can
move about. They have civil rights. They are allowed to work and
to buy property and build. In Lebanon, the refugees have
absolutely no civil rights.

This has been made worse by the Madrid Conference and Oslo Accords
which diverted all international funds that had been allocated to
alleviate the plight of these refugees to Palestine to assist in
building the region under the authority of the Palestinian self-
rule. As a result, the life for those in the camps has only grown
worse.

[Israeli Prime Minister] Barak appears to be a good guy who is
ready to sit at the table, but in truth his policies are extremely
harsh. The Barak government has, for example, increased by 50
percent the amount of illegal settlements on land that is supposed
to become part of Palestinian authority. This has brought a
greater Israeli presence and more Israeli security forces to
protect it. This has made it much more difficult to imagine a
future territory that would be autonomous under Palestinian rule.

The Barak government has also staunchly pursued a campaign of
"Jewish labor only." Palestinians living in the occupied
territories under the authority of the Israelis have provided a
tremendous reservoir of cheap labor for the Israeli economy. The
Jewish labor-only campaign has cut off a source of livelihood for
them, and they have become poorer, hungrier and even more angry.

The Barak government has consistently restricted people's
movements. Sure, Yasir Arafat was given territory and authority,
he has police and he is trying to build public institutions, but
the territories -- Gaza and West Bank -- are disconnected and
access from one to another has been increasingly difficult. Simple
tasks like going out to buy something have become almost
impossible. You don't even know if you're going to get back;
people are stopped, randomly questioned, humiliated.

PT: People are going to have to live together, and in fact, have
lived together. Could you comment on that history?

RS: Palestine has hijacked the political imagination of all Arabs.
.. It has become a symbol of everything that we fight for --
democracy, justice, an equitable and fair society. For Arabs from
the outside, imagining cohabitation is often impossible. That's my
first instinct because I've never lived in Palestine. I was in
Beirut when the Israelis invaded Lebanon and besieged Beirut. They
have been our enemies.

Yet, it is also arrogant on my part to presume that the people who
have lived in Palestine would have the same opinion. They see that
it is possible to live with their Israeli neighbors. There have
been many solutions proposed, such as two independent states
living in a neighborly way with accords to regulate their
relationship, or the creation of one large state.

Twenty percent of Israel today is made up of Palestinians who live
in areas that in 1967 became consolidated as Israeli legitimate
territory. It is estimated that by 2005 they will be the largest
voting bloc in Israel. Already in the past election they had a
candidate for prime minister. They have been able to negotiate for
rights within the Israeli system.

The work of the Communist Party is another example. The Communist
Party always has been a party for both Arabs and Jews. The
relation between Jews and Arabs as workers has often been covered
up. The Communist Party was a forum for them to see their common
interests. ... [The party] has produced a number of people who
have become leading progressive political figures who are working
for an equitable and fair solution.

Jews and Arabs have a history of living side by side. ... Under
the rule of the Muslims, Jews and Muslims lived very well together
for a very, very long time. Under the rule of the Ottomans, which
lasted 500 years, Jews were considered regular citizens. They were
not discriminated against as they were in Europe ... They were
prominent actors in society. Like every society, there were always
tensions. But these were generally class tensions. They were
tensions that were linked to every locale and its history, the
struggle over power and control, and resources.

People can live in peace, have lived in peace. People can still
remember a time when they lived in peace. Yes.

PT: You are aware of the growing poverty in the U.S. Could you
comment on the parallels that you see between the Palestinian
people and all the peoples of the world and the people of the
U.S.?

RS: America resembles a Third World nation in many ways. I have
never seen a more dense concentration of wealth in my entire life
than in California, and I come from the Third World where that can
happen.

The primary difference between you and us is that we are unable to
mask social classes, social antagonisms, social indifference. We
live with our poor, we can't ignore them. You have developed
astounding ways of sealing yourselves off from the ugly, the
dysfunctional, the too dark, the too yellow.

This summer I was part of a delegation that went to Chiapas. There
were several [American] university students in the group. ... They
wept when they saw the refugees in Chiapas. ... I tried so hard to
tell them, "You have 30 percent poverty in your own country, just
go down to Appalachia." I don't think they were able to see that
the problems in their own country are just as pressing, and that
helping to solve problems at home can only help solve problems
elsewhere.

In Chiapas there was one moment when my knees became very weak and
my throat very tight and tears were just streaming down my cheeks.
The Chiapas indigenous populations have been driven from one place
to the next. ... They have to constantly invent names for
themselves, create their history. I was so touched when I met the
group that called themselves "Palestina." When you sense that
people all over the world share that sense, well, it's just great.

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
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TOPIC
11-00 Lessons of the Ford/Firestone scandal
TEXT
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7. LESSONS OF THE FORD/FIRESTONE SCANDAL: PROFIT MOTIVE TURNS
CONSUMERS INTO ROAD KILL

By Anthony D. Prince

The year was 1981, the case was encaptioned Grimshaw v. Ford Motor
Company and at issue was the auto giant's liability for
permanently disfiguring burns and other severe injuries sustained
by a 13-year-old boy named Richard Grimshaw who barely escaped a
flaming Ford Pinto with his life. The driver, Mrs. Lilly Gray, was
dead within days of the fiery rear-end collision. A California
jury subsequently returned a $126 million civil judgment for young
Richard; the Pinto was seared into the national consciousness as a
symbol of corporate greed in America.

Rejecting safety designs costing between only $1.80 and $15.30 per
Pinto, Ford had calculated the damages it would likely pay in
wrongful death and injury cases and pocketed the difference. In a
cold and calculating "costs/benefits" analysis, Ford projected
that the Pinto would probably cause 180 burn deaths, 180 serious
burn injuries, 2,100 burned vehicles each year. Also, Ford
estimated civil suits of $200,000 per death, $67,000 per injury,
$700 per vehicle for a grand total of $49.5 million. The costs for
installing safety features would cost approximately $137 million
per year. As a result, the Pinto became a moving target, its
unguarded fuel tank subject to rupture by exposed differential
bolts shoved into it by rear-end collisions at speeds of as little
as 21 miles per hour. Spewing gasoline into the passenger
compartment, the car and its passengers became engulfed in a
raging inferno.

Only months before, an Elkhart, Indiana County prosecutor had, for
the first time in history, filed homicide charges against Ford
Motor Company for the deaths of three Indiana girls in another
Pinto rear-end collision. Ultimately, however, District Attorney
Michael Cosentino, whose entire budget for the prosecution was
$20,000, was no match for millions of dollars worth of corporate
legal talent brought in by Ford. Cosentino could not even prevent
the trial-court judge from systematically excluding Ford crash-
test films and other inculpatory evidence. Yet, while an acquittal
was a foregone conclusion, a precedent was established for
criminally charging a product manufacturer in the death of a
consumer.

As the Ford SUV/Firestone-Bridgestone tire scandal continues to
dominate the headlines 20 years after Grimshaw and the People of
Indiana v. Ford Motor Company, the only law to which these
corporate giants seem beholden is the "law of maximum profits." At
last count, more than 100 deaths worldwide have been directly
attributed to Firestone tire failures and dozens more to fatal
rollover accidents involving the top-heavy Ford Explorer, one of
the best-selling vehicles in history.

As the finger pointing and cross-allegations continue between the
two corporations, elected officials are running to catch up with
the public outcry against the shameless cover-up. Attorneys
General in several states are threatening criminal charges. The
U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation and United
States Senator Arlen Specter has declared that Ford's and
Firestone's behavior may have amounted to "murder." As a former
Pennsylvania prosecutor, Specter ought to know; a charge of murder
properly lies where an individual or a corporation engages in
conduct with a reckless disregard for the high probability of
death or great bodily harm. But whether or not high-sounding
declarations from "outraged" public officials actually result in
grand-jury indictments is another matter. So far not a single
corporate official has been arrested or formally charged.

In the wake of the scandal, talk has turned to "problems" with the
design of the Ford Explorer and other sport utility vehicles. Last
month, a national technical conference of tire makers in Akron,
Ohio addressed issues of "tread separation" and tire-pressure
warning systems. But the issue isn't the redesign of a tire or a
car; the issue is the redesign of how products ought to be
manufactured in the first place. Far from being the exception,
Firestone and Ford are only the most recent examples of the rule.

The list is long and not pretty. In the 1970s, the Dalkon Shield,
A.H. Robbins' toxic intrauterine device, cut a swath of death and
injury to the reproductive systems of tens of thousands of women.
In the 1980s, the carcinogenic poisoning of Woburn, Massachusetts
was still a buried secret until Jonathan Harr's book "A Civil
Action" and the subsequently released movie starring John Travolta
told the sordid story of W.R. Grace Corporation's thirst for
profits at the expense of children's lives. Add to the list of
victims the millions of asbestos insulators, coal miners, textile
workers and addicted cigarette smokers whose life-breath is choked
off every minute of every day all in pursuit of the almighty
dollar.

No corporate official has ever spent a single day in prison for
these crimes. No legislative effort has ever sought to tear out by
the roots the profit motive that puts the unsuspecting consumer in
harm's way. The unrestrained thirst for maximum profits has
characterized the capitalist system since it first appeared and
will continue until we reconstruct the entire production process
along the lines of human health and safety. How we do this is a
matter upon which we may disagree; that it must be done is beyond
dispute. This is the lesson of the Ford/Firestone scandal. Twenty
years after a California jury found for 13-year-old Ford victim
Richard Grimshaw, it's time for the American people to return
their own verdict on these merchants of death and the criminal
system of which they are a part.

[Anthony Prince is an Oakland, Calif. product liability attorney
and former union safety committeeman.]

FOOTER
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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
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TOPIC
11-00 Interview: A day laborer's life
TEXT
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8. INTERVIEW: A DAY LABORER'S LIFE

[Editor's note: The following is excerpted from a recent interview
on Atlanta's WFRG Radio. Host Ebon Dooley interviewed community
activist Robert Farrell about day laborers and efforts to organize
them. The full interview was also aired on PT Radio. For more
information on PT Radio, call 800-691-6888 or visit
www.lrna.org/ptradio]

ROBERT FARRELL: First of all, what happens is you show up at an
office or a hall around 5 a.m. and you sit there and you wait for
jobs to come in or someone to dispatch you to a job.

EBON DOOLEY: So you work on Monday but there's no guarantee that
you will be getting a job on Tuesday.

RF: That's why they call it day labor. You work that day and you
get paid at the end of that day. There's no guarantee that you'll
work the next day or whatever day. It also depends on how friendly
you are with the dispatcher or if you might be passing the
dispatcher something.

ED: Lets talk a little bit about how much people are paid, how the
system works, and all of that. You go out on a job, you work that
day, what happens at the end of the day?

RF: Nine times out of 10, most jobs that go through day labor pay
minimum wage. ...

Normally, the labor pool will have a van that will take you to
that job. Now, they are going to charge you anywhere from two to
three dollars to take you to that job, sometimes more, and then
they're going to charge you again to pick you up and bring you
back. All this comes out of your check before you get your money.
Nine times out of 10, if they're using vouchers or whatever type
of pay their using, be it checks, you can go somewhere, usually
it's a liquor store and you can get your check cashed whether you
have ID or not. Then they're going to charge you again, charge you
to cash the check and plus you have to buy so much. So they keep
you in this circle, you keep coming back daily.

ED: Now if you work all day, you have to eat. Where do you get
your lunch? Do they take that out of your check too?

RF: If you've been there since 5 a.m., you haven't had a chance to
go to one of the soup kitchens and eat. So they provide you with a
bologna sandwich and maybe a carton of juice for three dollars.
That also comes out your check. By the time you get your check --
your check might have been $40 -- by the time you get your check,
you're down to $25, $28. That's not enough to provide yourself
with housing.

ED: A lot of people have the impression that homeless people are
unemployed. From what you have just described most of the people
who work day labor are also homeless. So you have a situation of
people who are homeless but who try to work everyday.

RF: Exactly. Contrary to what we believe, all homeless people are
not lazy and all lazy people are not homeless. We have homeless
people who work very hard. In the city of Atlanta, you go down and
look at the Peachtree One building, you look at the Georgia Dome,
Turner Field, we've had homeless who worked out of labor pools who
did this construction. Then you go back and look at how they've
been treated even by the very entities and the very people that
use these elaborate places. It's funny that I can go and build
something like the Taj Mahal, but I can't go back in and see it.

ED: Also the impression is given that the day-labor workers are
only used by the lowest level of the employers and that the big
corporations always use full-time, unionized workers with
benefits. But that, too, is a myth. Tell us something about the
kinds of organizations that utilize the day-labor workers.

RF: That's what makes getting the word out and organizing day
laborers so hard. The very people that you're talking to use day
laborers, the city of Atlanta, they use day laborers, the Journal-
Constitution, who you want to get the word out through, they use
day laborers; one of the biggest users of day laborers in the
area. Even big respected institutions such as Emory University use
day laborers. They say that they don't, but indirectly they do and
they know it.

ED: One of the things that is so positive about the efforts that
you are putting forth is that you are breaking that silence and
letting people understand and know what really is going on with
the labor-pool workers. Even if we wanted to, we can no longer use
ignorance for not doing anything about the situation.

RF: We have to learn that even while we're not in that situation
we have to be conscious of that situation, we have to learn more
about it and we have to help people who are in that situation get
out because we're headed for that same situation. When our job is
no longer needed, we'll be that person who is working out of the
labor pool, who used to work 30, 40 hours. I've known people out
on the street who used to make $60,000 a year and now they're on
the street.

ED: That's one of the characteristics of this new economy that
we're in. As a result of electronics and robotics, people are
losing jobs and being permanently kicked outside the regular
economy and finding themselves scuffling. There are some people
who have never entered the regular economy who find themselves in
that same situation.

RF: We could take one-day labor service, for example. Go back and
try to find out who owns that particular day-labor organization.
You'll find some of the most prestigious companies there are who
pay these ridiculous wages, actually to keep people in bondage,
really. That's what they're doing, because they want you there
when they need you.

ED: Atlanta has always promoted itself as a big international city
and recently we have seen a big wave of immigration into the
metropolitan Atlanta area. And I know that many of the immigrants
find themselves working for the labor pools and the day-labor
services.

RF: Definitely so. Anytime you have a place such as Atlanta that
is thriving on construction and building and is growing, there is
always a tendency to bring in the cheapest labor they can. What
better way than to bring in immigrant workers? They want to bring
in what they call illegal immigrant workers and then there's no
complaints. Secondly, when they want to get rid of them they call
INS and they get rid of them. They don't have to fire anybody.
They don't even have to pay them that last pay check because they
were here illegally.

ED: That just shows you that when it comes to exploiting workers
and making a big profit, the whole thing about human rights means
nothing. As long as they can extract that labor, make that profit
that's all they're concerned about. And it's a shame that the
government, knowing these conditions, turns that over to the
growers and says, "You're responsible for these people," but yet
won't do anything to make sure that the law is enforced and their
conditions are maintained.

RF: These workers are actually on their own as far as health care
is concerned. As far as care period is concerned, they are on
their own. You can't wait for the grower to look out for you. His
only interest is getting that crop done.

ED: I know we've had many campaigns in terms of boycotts and
things of that nature and it seemed to me that it's having some
effect in terms of the agricultural worker, but when we come back
to the urban scene and we talk about the day laborer and the
contingent worker in the urban scene we don't have that same level
of consciousness of applying pressure to the labor pool operators
and the various companies that use them in order to make some
change in the conditions. And I'm hoping that programs such as
this will awaken people to the terrible conditions and galvanize
people so they will take some action in order to prevent these
atrocities.

RF: We're doing our best to get the word out about what's really
going on as far as contingent workers are concerned. You never
know when that contingent worker may be you. It behooves every
person who works for a living to be involved because you can't
just stick your head in the sand and think it will go away because
it's not. It's getting worse every day.

ED: This condition that we are seeing is a permanent thing. This
situation of workers who find themselves on the fringe of the
system or outside the system, some people not even ever getting
involved in the economic system. We're rapidly facing a situation
where if we don't do anything about it, since we find ourselves
not getting any reform under capitalism, we are going to have to
institute another kind of system so people can enjoy the fruits of
their labor.

There is no excuse for us to have to have contingent workers, to
have people outside the economic system when we have the capacity
to make a plentiful world for everybody. The only thing that is
preventing that from happening is the fact that you have a handful
of very rich people who are controlling the resources and creating
artificial scarcity so the rest of us live in misery. So we really
do have to fundamentally change the way this system works and go
to a new system where everybody gets to reap the benefits of this
wonderful new technology.

RF: It's very true. It's amazing how you can sit back and look at
the psychology of people. Businesses pay people to determine this
every day. How is Joe Blow going to act if I give him this kind of
information? When you can create an artificial panic, it's a known
fact you can almost make people do what you want them to do. We
the people we have to learn not to believe all these things, to
look beyond what the mainstream media is saying, to check things
out for ourselves, and to find out is this the real situation or
is it not.

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
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TOPIC
11-00 No criminal charges filed against W2 agencies' welfare fraud
TEXT
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9. NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST W2 AGENCIES' WELFARE FRAUD

By Pat Gowens

Maximus and Goodwill, the two largest W2 welfare agencies in
Milwaukee, have admitted to "improperly spending" hundreds of
thousands of welfare dollars on projects in other states --
parties, promotional schemes, meals and concerts. Maximus admits
to "inappropriately" billing the state $411,000 while the
Legislative Joint Audit found an additional $1.6 million that
wasn't "well documented." Goodwill's Employment Solutions
"mistakenly billed" the state for $143,000.

Maximus spent Wisconsin welfare money in New York to secure a
welfare contract ($51,000), on "disallowed meals" ($17,358), on
social activities and a holiday party for staff ($35,000), on a
fatherhood summit by the Hudson Institute conservative think tank
($10,000), on a stage at a French festival ($5,000), on
promotional items and publicity to advertise their company logo
($184,000), and on a performer for a party for staff and 12
program "graduates" ($23,000). Goodwill, which is still under
investigation, admits to spending $143,000 on travel, meals,
housing and salaries in Arizona to secure a welfare contract
there. (All figures from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

To date there is no move to terminate either corporation's current
or future W2 contracts (Goodwill: $102 million; Maximus: $58
million). Nor has the district attorney filed criminal charges
against either agency.

When millionaire agencies bilk the state of hundreds of thousands
of dollars both the state and the media label their massive
welfare fraud as merely "inappropriate" and "improper spending."
Yet a single mom on welfare who "improperly" or "inappropriately"
reports income is charged with felony welfare fraud and prosecuted
criminally. Neither the state, the district attorney, nor the
media take pity on the desperate mom with euphemistic language
like "improper" or "erroneous" reporting. She is labeled, charged,
prosecuted, convicted and sentenced as a criminal. And yes, she
also has to repay the state.

The wealthy W2 agencies insist that they were "unaware" of their
billing-reporting "errors." Somehow they did not know they were
committing welfare fraud when they spent Wisconsin W2 funds in New
York and Arizona. Perhaps that is why the district attorney has
not brought criminal charges against them. Yet if a mother on
welfare is "unaware" of reporting "errors" (even if she doesn't
report income because only her children are on welfare, not
herself), ignorance of the law is no defense. How then can
millionaire agencies with high-paid lawyers and accountants plead
ignorance and avoid prosecution?

While the daily media minimizes Maximus' and Goodwill's theft of
welfare funds, they also overlook the victims of this crime. These
state-funded welfare administrators stole cash not from a vague
"state," but from impoverished mothers, children and people with
disabilities who sought assistance and were illegally turned away,
sanctioned and terminated.

The examples are chilling. Goodwill denied Yvette Reeves the cash
support she needed to stay home during the summer to care for her
13 year-old-son, D'Andre, who had Cerebral Palsy and mental
retardation. When she asked for child care for her 13-year-old boy
in a wheelchair, Goodwill again denied her funds. When D'Andre
Reeves was scalded to death in his bathtub while being cared for
by a 14-year-old sibling, Goodwill offered no apologies and still
no money. Goodwill continues to deny funds to single mothers to
care for sick children, moms who are hospitalized or too sick to
do Goodwill's unwaged labor, and mothers who are facing eviction
and job loss.

While Maximus was embezzling $411,000, they denied single moms
like Tracy Jones, Alfreda Parks and Ethel Scott funds to tide them
over between jobs. Instead Maximus referred these women in crisis
to Maximus' Temporary agency, Max Staff, which sent them to do
part-time temporary factory work in a nearby town, charging them
$20 a week for van service from Maximus to the factory.

Max Staff paid the women $7.01 an hour while paying men on the
same job $8.14. By refusing to provide cash to these struggling
families, Maximus profited in four ways: temp-job profit, van
profit, discrimination profit and unspent funds! Quadruple-dipping
while unlawfully appropriating welfare funds for parties, trips
and New York outreach.

Ironically, sadly, both Maximus and Goodwill also stand to reap as
much as $4.4 million in performance bonuses for so effectively
denying and terminating W2 support for families (case reduction).
And the Private Industry Council, the agency who "earned" $1
million a year to monitor the W2 contracts, will again receive a
million dollars to "review W2 contracts," while providing no
financial oversight and no protection to W2's victims.

W2 "case reduction" and "improper spending" has resulted in a 37
percent increase in infant mortality in Milwaukee each year since
W2 began (Start Smart Milwaukee, 2000). While Goodwill and Maximus
enjoy lavish meals, trips, parties, and concerts, 30 more African
American Milwaukee babies under the age of one die unnecessary
deaths each year. Older children and disabled mothers who have
died as a result of W2's failed experiment are not included in the
study. Corporate welfare has never been so lucrative --or so
deadly.

[Pat Gowens is Milwaukee director of the Welfare Warriors and
editor of Welfare Mothers Voice, an international mothers'
publication.]

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
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TOPIC
11-00 Spirit: The Bible stands for social and economic justice
TEXT
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10. SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION: THE BIBLE STANDS FOR SOCIAL AND
ECONOMIC JUSTICE

By Liz Theoharis

I had the opportunity to visit 40 mainline Protestant churches
(Baptists, Methodists, United Churches of Christ, Presbyterians,
Lutherans, Episcopalians, African Methodist Episcopalians) all
around the country and, in particular, in Appalachia and the South
this past summer to learn and advise them in economic-justice
organizing.

The churches that I visited are all looking at the Bible passage
in Micah 6:8 that asks, "What does the Lord require of you?" In
the passages preceding this question are responses like "Should we
honor God by building temples and leaving offerings?" and "If we
follow all of the Jewish law, will we be saved?" But God's
response is, "Do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with
your God." More so than the morality of the Religious Right, this
Bible passage speaks to the morality of people who ask the
questions: "Why are people hungry when there is enough food?"; and
"How can we change the priorities of a nation from greed to
meeting human needs?"

The Religious Right defines morality as social and sexual
morality. Preachers from the Religious Right say that you will go
to Heaven if you give the most money to God (via them). But, in
fact, the majority of what the Bible talks about (and what Micah
6:8 talks about) are issues of poverty and justice.

The Bible's description of Heaven on earth is a cooperative
society. Like Acts 4:34: "There was not a needy person among them,
for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the
proceeds of what they sold. They laid it at the apostles feet and
was distributed to each as any had need." Or Isaiah 65:19 and 22:
"I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more
shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.
They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and
another eat."

I learned a lot about the role of the Church in building a new
society from the churches that I visited this summer. Churches are
doing some good work out there. One thing that struck me was how
proud people were of their history. Many of them had been
connected to the Underground Railroad, to the Civil Rights
Movement, to union work and are multiracial. These churches are
looking for a way to continue that work and asking how to do this
today.

History is also especially useful in contradicting people's
feelings of hopelessness -- of thinking that fundamental change
just isn't possible. Let's highlight periods in history where new
technologies and new social struggles combined to bring change and
show how it's possible today.

Facts about abundance challenge the underlying belief in scarcity
that's dominant in Christian thinking. Even the noble notion of
"living simply so that others may simply live" is predicated on
the belief that there's not enough to go around. Thus, the
solution is individual sacrifice. If only middle-class people
turned off their lights more, somehow there would be more
electricity left over for the poor. But the reality is that we
live in abundance, made possible by new technologies. None of us,
even good Christians, should feel obliged to go without. We all
deserve to live lives of dignity and prosperity.

But while there are lots of churches and Christians participating
in building a movement to end poverty, there are also roadblocks
to creating such a world. One of these blocks is the idea of the
separation of church and state. People think that the church isn't
supposed to be political -- even though the church is being asked
to take on society's responsibilities. The role of the church
could be to hold government responsible for the well-being of its
people.

The history of social services in this country has convinced the
American public that we will end poverty "one person at a time."
The church has backed up this view by saying personal faults and
individual misdeeds or sins will land you in hell. We must lift up
the stories in the Bible where society and greed has failed its
people. Let's talk about how to build Heaven here on earth where
all can live cooperatively.

There is a lot of hope of creating a society without poverty,
violence and oppression. But to do this, we need to reclaim the
use of the Bible and not be afraid to quote the Bible to support
our positions. We need to reclaim Jesus --the Jesus who lived with
the poor and was homeless himself. The Jesus who came to save the
poor and oppressed as a group of people, not as individuals. We
need to reclaim community, where people's needs are met and
questions answered.

We need to be building a social base like the Religious Right has.
And we need to reclaim morality. The Religious Right has justified
all of the recent attacks on the safety net, simultaneously
claiming and defining a Christian morality. But what kind of
morality is it that is concerned about whether someone is having
premarital sex and not about the conditions people are living in?

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 Call to LRNA 4th Convention
TEXT
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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11. CALL TO LRNA 4TH CONVENTION

The economic revolution is taking our country toward a critical
juncture. The social effects are manifesting themselves
politically and are calling for people to fight them out
consciously. The League of Revolutionaries for a New America
(LRNA) must take stock of this situation and adjust accordingly to
carry out our purpose.

Our bylaws call for a National Convention within three years of
our last convention. It is time for us to assess the situation and
stage of the revolution we are working in, sum up our experience,
and align our structure and work to the current situation.

Therefore LRNA's National Committee calls for a National
Convention on April 21-22, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois.

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 Revolutionary times challenge us to revolutionary action
TEXT
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People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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12. REVOLUTIONARY TIMES CHALLENGE US TO REVOLUTIONARY ACTION

Give a person a fish and all they can do is eat a meal. Teach a
person how to fish and they will eat for life -- so the saying
goes. As a society we now find ourselves in the throes of a social
revolution. What does this mean for America, and more importantly,
what does it mean for revolutionaries?

For America, it means confusion, disillusion and despair.
Confusion because there is so much in this world and, for some
that are working harder than ever, they have less and less to show
as the fruit of their hard labor. For others it means never even
touching what this world can offer because they've been shut out
by a system. To many, the world has become chaos with a show of
leaderless politicians, like clowns in a jester's court who serve
only the needs of a mighty king called capitalism.

On the other hand, for revolutionaries it means we have to
struggle to convince America that this confusion, disillusion and
despair does not have to be. It is the responsibility of
revolutionaries to develop the intellectual (political,
ideological, moral) side of the revolutionary movement. In the
League it is our task to reach millions with our estimate of the
situation and the possibilities that this historical movement
involves.

We reach people with our ideas and our propaganda tools through
many media forms (Web, radio, press). This costs money. Like the
rest of the world, our organization is in transition. We have the
tools to take our message of a cooperative society to the country,
but the challenge is -- do we have the wherewithal to accomplish
this historic mission? At this point we do not.

Like other organizations struggling in this period of time, we are
no exception as we strive to make our mark in history. We are
buckling at the seams, clear in our understanding but lacking the
financial stability necessary to complete our political task. We
need your commitment.

Commitment in a cause is expressed in many ways: financial
investment, fundraising efforts, the contribution of time and
ideas in the outreach and recruitment of future members. At an
organization's core, fundraising demonstrates the member's
confidence in its purpose and direction. We are creative in our
outreach efforts and we must also develop our creativity in our
fundraising efforts so as to not miss and actually maximize our
opportunities. Our propaganda serves as our weapon to empower the
new class to carry out this historic role.

It will take our individual participation in the political,
organizational, and financial direction of the League in order to
succeed in this new period and prepare for a successful
convention. To this end, we call upon each area to develop a plan
with a goal by the next Steering Committee meeting being held
December 1.

Begin now to send in press bill payments, dues, etc. to the
National Office. Some of you have already started this process
with efforts of the Propaganda Offensive and fundraising. But we
still have a long way to go. The National Office serves as our
center and requires that we all contribute financially to support
it. Follow-up by staff members in the National Office will be
necessary to assist in the fundraising ideas and opportunities.

We must resolve this challenge we are facing and take advantage of
the opportunities it brings. Use your creativity. We are
revolutionaries striving for the future of humanity and a society
free from want. Let's work together in the investment of our
future.

--National Committee, League of Revolutionaries for a New America

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 New, improved League Web site
TEXT
******************************************************************
People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

BODY
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13. NEW, IMPROVED LEAGUE WEB SITE

Nielsen/Netratings estimates that 146 million people used the
Internet in August, 2000. In just seven years, the World Wide Web,
newsgroups, chat rooms, streaming media and e-mail have emerged as
some of the most important tools in the revolutionary's propaganda
toolkit. Although the digital divide is a real thing -- Internet
usage is still skewed to the higher incomes -- households earning
less than $25,000 per year are the fastest growing segment of
Internet users, according to the Media Metrix.

To take advantage of this new media, the League of Revolutionaries
for a New America has redesigned its Web site at
http://www.lrna.org.

The new LRNA Web site provides one central place, open 24 hours a
day and seven days a week, to stay in touch with the League. From
the home page, visitors can view the current and back issues of
the People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo, hear the latest PT Radio
programs, access the People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo Speakers
Bureau, read the League's documents, reports and statements, and
search through over 1,200 files of League writings over its entire
history. We have also just recently added the ability to make
donations online to the League.

A Web site can be many things -- library, wall poster, storefront,
publisher, broadcaster, meeting room, and school to name a few.
The League Web site should be all of these things. In the near
future, we are planning to add forums where Web visitors can
discuss important issues. We will also be adding a special area
for League members, with online educationals, newsletters, and
other information to help sharpen our revolutionary skills, and
links to League area web pages as those become available.

The Internet will never replace the existing media of newspapers,
radio, and public forums, but it has quickly become a mandatory
part of the propaganda arsenal. Over 4,000 different visitors saw
the Web site in August, which is one of the slowest months of
Internet use. This number needs to grow, and we need your help in
publicizing the Web site. Be sure to include the Web address of
the home page in any material you produce!

The League's Internet Committee oversees the development of the
LRNA Web site. We very much want to hear your suggestions for how
we can improve the site, and make it an even more powerful
propaganda tool! E-mail us at [email protected].

-- the LRNA Internet Committee

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************

TOPIC
11-00 The Poor People's Movement and our future in a New America
TEXT
******************************************************************
People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
http://www.lrna.org

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14. THE POOR PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT AND OUR FUTURE IN A NEW AMERICA:
SPEAKERS FOR A NEW AMERICA

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Cheri Honkala, Director, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a
sponsor of The Poor People's World Summit to End Poverty in New
York November 15-18.

Ethel Long-Scott, Director Women's Economic Agenda Project,
sponsor of the Freedom Bus Tour: 2000. Beginning November 8, it
will tour California teaching that there can and should be a
national health-care system indifferent to profit that guarantees
coverage for all U.S. residents. Both the KRWU and WEAP are
affiliates of the Labor Party.

Richard Monje, Labor Leader and Editorial Board member, People's
Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo, the newspaper that gives the poor a
voice.

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HEAR OUR SPEAKERS ON PT RADIO

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

For information on bringing speakers on these events, call the
People's Tribune Speakers Bureau at 800-691-6888 or e-mail
[email protected]

Visit our Web site at http://www.lrna.org/speakers

For information on the World Summit to End Poverty, call 215-768-
3117; e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.kwru.org/

For information on the Freedom Bus Tour, call 510-451-7379 or e-
mail [email protected] or visit http://www.weap.org/

FOOTER
******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 27 No. 11/ November, 2000; P.O. Box 3524,
Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [email protected]; http://www.lrna.org
Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked as copyrighted. The
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO depends on donations from its
readers.
******************************************************************