Portside

I’m very concerned that while we should focus on the Russian hacking, but that we’re missing that the greatest hacking of our system was racialized voter suppression. Let me give you some numbers for your audience.

Reader Comments: Whither the Resistance - Senate Dems Need Spine; Open Letter to Historic Women's March; And this is Just the First Two Weeks; Readers respond to Bhaskar Sunkara, "Our Alternative"; Union Membership Continues Decline, Building Trades Leadership Makes Deal, Undercuts Rest of Labor; Resources - How to Resist, What to Do;Announcements - Vito Marcantonio Forum; Igniting the Socialist Resistance Against Trump; Never Forget the Japanese Internment; and more..

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Reader Comments: Ethel Rosenberg Celebrated in New York City; Elizabeth Warren and #BlackLivesMatter; The Obama Presidency - Afghanistan; Arne Duncan and 'Educational Reform' - Not; Racist Violence-Kansas; Syriza and its 'Left' Critics;

One can delude one's self into believing that race can be avoided; but at the most awkward moments, it rears its ugly head and tears movements apart. In fact, it is the #BlackLivesMatter movement that has elevated this question to a national discussion point. There is an important segment of the progressive movement who strongly believe that economic injustice and a narrowly defined version of class can and must serve as the unifying feature of a progressive movement.

Reader Comments: Kalief Browder and Criminality of Prisons; Fight for $15; Edward Snowden - Hero; Ronnie Gilbert; Walmart Anti-Labor Activity; Suicide in Young Women; The Audacity to Win - Left Strategy Needed; Recommended Books - By non-white authors; Announcements: 62nd Memorial of the Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg; Brooklyn Peace Fair

This paper was submitted to portside by the Left Strategy Collective Members: Rishi Awatramani, Jake Carlson, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jon Liss, Garry Owens, Biju Mathew, Merle Ratner, Claire Tran, Helena Wong. The Left Strategies Collective was founded to create conversation within the Left around strategy development.

Syriza opened itself to the social movements that emerged to challenge austerity and has become their political voice. It did what parties are supposed to do. It's appropriate to be inspired. Podemos - the new left-wing party in Spain is shaking things up there. Spain's elections are in the fall. Spain has a much bigger economy than Greece, so the prospect of an anti-austerity, anti-oligarchs party in power there is an even deeper challenge to the economic status quo.

Previously Portside posted the 'Draft Proposal' - Think Paper by Bill Fletcher, Carl Davidson and Pat Fry. This has generated some discussion in progressive, left and socialist circles in our country. Here are some of the comments made by Portside readers. At the bottom are links to the related posts that have appeared on Portside in the past.

"Alexis Tsipras stated it correctly. Greece won a battle - perhaps a skirmish - and the war continues. But the political sea-change that SYRIZA's victory has sparked goes on. Greece has already changed; there is a spirit and dignity in Athens that was not there six months ago. Soon enough, new fronts will open in Spain, then perhaps Ireland, and later Portugal, all of which have elections coming. It is not likely that the government in Greece will collapse." *