Tidbits – Dec.19 – Reader Comments: Pardon Leonard Peltier; Fighting Deportations; Members of Congress Descendants of Rich Slaveholders; Readers Debate: Liberation in Syria; Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing– Virtual Training; More…

Reader Comments: Pardon Leonard Peltier; Trump Does Not Have Mandate; Fighting Deportations; Members of Congress Descendants of Rich Slaveholders; Readers Debate: Liberation in Syria; Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing-- Virtual Training; more....

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Tidbits - Reader Comments, Announcements AND cartoons - Dec.19, 2024,Portside

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Dear President Biden: Pardon me /signed/ Leon Peltier  --  Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz
 

Lalo Alcaraz
December 15, 2024
https://www.pocho.com

 

Re: Trump Does Not Have Mandate
 

Newspaper headlines have called Donald Trump’s victory “decisive,” “massive,” “resounding,” “historic,” and “sweeping.” None of those things are true. Recent public opinion polls reveal that Trump’s professed policy agenda is very unpopular.

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Trump’s electoral triumph, and the Republicans’ control of both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, certainly puts them in a position to make significant changes. But in terms of the overall vote, as well as public sentiment, Trump and the GOP have no mandate.

Lynn Hamilton
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Knowing Fascism Requires Understanding Economic Forces
 

Behind the confusion and debates about fascism lies a simple truth: it’s a power game driven by economic elites. Communists recognized that fascism’s form is shaped by class dynamics — an insight we shouldn’t forget. 

Jose Luis Medina
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: A Working-Class History of Fighting Deportations
 

The US working class has a long tradition of standing up against immigrant repression. This history is a reservoir of inspiration and strategic thinking — and it can help immigrant workers and communities confront Donald Trump’s promised wave of repression.

Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: What Is the Progressive Working-Class Policy on Immigration?
 

A good answer to this question is found in Liberation Road's Adelante #4. Go here: https://roadtoliberation.org/adelante-exciting-new-publications-from-the-mexico-solidarity-project/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHLi49leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfsWLZpEebF3LuU3FzwVa1ny5IjigxWzYI2vQcbBQAYvXdGlMJqENMKDEg_aem_OJW9XHgSx4pxAcNwq17h5g

Carl Davidson
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: The Moral Shame of US Foreign Policy
 

Thank you for this refreshing read.  Mr. Mark Harris obviously sees things as they are and is reporting them accordingly -straightforwardly and honestly.  

Still, what we need is an explanation of why the Harris campaign, knowing that a majority of citizens wanted a stop to arms supply to Israel, did not propose to stop it, but continued to support it.

It was a grand read and it is encouraging to know there are others out there who oppose supporting an oppressive, depraved and nasty state.

Please share my message with the author.

Marina Coblentz

 

Re: Pete Hegseth Is a Terrible Choice To Head the Pentagon
 

But he’s what republican voters, voted for.

Norman Gill
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Hospitals Gave Patients Meds During Childbirth, Then Reported Them for Positive Drug Tests
 

What happened to Salinas and Villanueva are far from isolated incidents. Across the country, hospitals are dispensing medications to patients in labor, only to report them to child welfare authorities when they or their newborns test positive for those very same substances on subsequent drug tests, an investigation by The Marshall Project and Reveal has found.

The positive tests are triggered by medications routinely prescribed to millions of birthing patients in the U.S. every year. The drugs include morphine or fentanyl for epidurals or other pain relief, anxiety medications, and two different blood pressure meds prescribed for C-sections.

In a time of increasing surveillance and criminalization of pregnant women since the end of Roe v. Wade, the hospital reports have prompted calls to the police, child welfare investigations and even the removal of children from their parents.

Dave Lott
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

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If more proof is needed about the general societal hatred of women, these are the relevant kinds of example. Hospital gives you illegal medication and then has you arrested for using the medication.

Arlene Halfon

 

Re: Many Wealthy Members of Congress Are Descendants of Rich Slaveholders - New Study Demonstrates the Enduring Legacy of Slavery
 

In a new study,  we found that legislators who are descendants of slaveholders are significantly wealthier than members of Congress without slaveholder ancestry.

Ebony Wallace
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

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Sadly, I am not actually surprised.

Nancy Kern
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

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Y’all waste money on things African American people have been telling you for free for decades. Rich European Americans wouldn’t be where they are if it had not been for slavery. Neither would are working class and poor ones for that matter(indentured slaves).

Yeshua Aaron Holiday
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Why Are Things So Expensive  --  Meme

 

 

Magazine Cover  --  Cartoon by Rob Rogers

 

Come on, Time Magazine. Really? Again?

Rob Rogers
December 13, 2024
TinyView

 

Re: Benjamin Netanyahu Is on Trial for His Political Life
 

The ICC’s arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of genocide has attracted global attention. But in Israel, he faces a trial for corruption to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars that could mean the end of his political career.

Gregory Kestel
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: ‘How Many Dead Palestinians Are Enough?’ The Unbearable Prescience of the Late Poet Refaat Alareer 
 

The author and academic was killed in an Israeli airstrike a year ago. A posthumous collection of his work, If I Must Die, tells the stories of Gaza in a plea for change 

Sancocho Nuyorquino
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Liberation in Syria Is a Victory Worth Embracing
 

[Translated by Google] When I hear some reporters talking about the head of HTS saying he still allowed people to smoke on the street!!!! They think it's a step forward towards democracy it reminds me of the Taliban who promised to improve the fate of women they always travel in the trunk of the car but they removed the spare wheel to make it less tight Bashar is gone and that's it good for Syrians but let's be careful about the new regime let's avoid jumping for joy the future will tell us

Felix Lechat
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

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Portside has gone full neocon! The "liberation" that you're "embracing" (alongside Netanyahu, Erdogan, and every reactionary warmonger in Washington) already includes pogroms against Syrian Christians and Alawites, a massive bombing campaign by Israel all over Syria, and Israel grabbing more Syrian territory. That's your idea of "liberation"? You are absolutely disgusting!

Alan Hart
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

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Yes for Turkey, Israel, Jihadists, and US oil companies. Whats wrong with you ?

Bernard Sampson
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

The Scent of Oligarchy…  --  Cartoon by Adam Zyglis

 

Adam Zyglis
December 13, 2024
The Buffalo News

 

Re: When Did Neandertals and Humans Interbreed? Genomics Closes In on a Date
 

Genomic sleuthing can determine how many generations have passed since a hybridization event. The oldest human genomes ever sequenced reveal that our Neandertal ancestry came from one “pulse” of interbreeding and pins down the timing. 

Benjamin Amos Gerber
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Mocking the Disabled Is Cruel and Immoral — Especially When the President Does It
 

That is what America has come to.

Nicholas Pappas

 

Modern Nativity  --  Cartoon by Steve Breen

 

Steve Breen
December 11, 2022; updated May 10, 2023
Tulsa World

 

Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing: an EWOC Training on How to Unite and Win  --  Virtual  --  Thursdays, January 9–30  (Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee)

 

Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing: an EWOC Training on How to Unite and Win (formerly known as Foundational Training Series)

Thursdays, January 9–30, 2024, 8–9:30 p.m. ET / 5–6:30 p.m. PT

In four 90-minute weekly sessions, you will learn how to approach your co-workers, build a team of organizers among them, and develop a campaign. You will meet other workers who are organizing and learn helpful tools, practices, and principles for winning workplace improvements and getting a democratic voice over your working conditions. We also welcome those who are interested in joining EWOC as a volunteer and supporting other organizing workers! Space is limited to 120 participants, so register here today!

https://workerorganizing.org/training/

Want to organize your workplace but don’t know where to start? How to talk to your coworkers? How to build a team of organizers out of your coworkers? How to build your campaign? What to do when the boss responds badly to your organizing?

In order to maximize your experience, registration is limited to the first 120 people who sign up.

Esta página también está disponible en español.

Week 1: Analyzing Your Workplace  --  Thursday, January 9
8:00–9:30 p.m. ET/5:00–6:30 p.m. PT

Week 2: Bringing Coworkers Together  --  Thursday, January 16
8:00–9:30 p.m. ET/5:00–6:30 p.m. PT

Week 3: Demands, Targets, and Escalation Tactics  --  Thursday, January 23
8:00–9:30 p.m. ET/5:00–6:30 p.m. PT

Week 4: Getting Over Fear and the Boss Campaign  --  Thursday, January 30
8:00–9:30 p.m. ET/5:00–6:30 p.m. PT

Register here https://workerorganizing.org/training/

info@workerorganizing.org

The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee is a project of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)