Re: "The Yanks Are Coming!" - Obama Orders Greatest Redeployment to Germany in a Quarter Century

 

US-NATO 'Buildup on Russian Border Could Lead to Nuclear War' - Nobel Laureate

 

US political leaders have falsely accused Moscow of threatening NATO member states while the alliance aggressively builds up military forces on Russia's border, Nobel Peace Prize winner and global peace activist Helen Caldicott told Sputnik.

 

Bruce Gagnon

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

I am just shaking my head as I read this.

 

James Prigoff

 

    ====

 

Just what they wanted.

Another enemy to keep us scared and consuming.

More bucks for the war machine!

 

Howie Leveton

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

Re: Dr. Martin Luther King TODAY: Collection of Articles

 

A very good read! Be great for FREEDOM SCHOOL! ORGANIZE!!!

 

Curtis Muhammad

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

Murdered for being a pacifist and a dream that has not yet come true.... the land of the free lol I piss on their freedom to kill and wipe out the world's population

 

Wilfredo Yanez

Caracas, Venezuela

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

Re: Obama Commutes Sentences of Oscar Lopez Rivera and Chelsea Manning

 

Commute Leonard Peltier NOW!

 

David Kutzik

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

Very good news - but have signed petitions and written letters re pardons for political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier for years. Two more days........

 

Lucy Lewis

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

Joyful X 2! 

 

Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

Re: The Audacity of Obama's Farewell Address

 

When it comes to audacity, Jack Rasmus takes the cake. His view of Obama's presidency, much less his farewell address, was astounding. I really had no idea that Barack Obama was the worst president ever. At least, that's the impression I got from reading his diatribe. Forget the economic mess Obama was handed when he came into office, forget that he inherited two wars, forget that more jobs were created during his tenure than under the past two presidents combined, forget that he managed to bring us a health care act which, despite its shortcomings, was a historic breakthrough toward universal coverage, forget that for eight years he confronted a hostility by Republicans unmatched in my lifetime. I suggest that Rasmus become a speech writer for Donald Trump < or is he already?

 

Seymour Joseph

 

    ====

 

Damned well said 

 

Mike Liston

 

    ====

 

Amid the congratulatory back-slapping, a sober assessment of the Obama years. The Democratic Party is a shambles, key legislation such as the Affordable Care Act is likely to be repealed promptly, and key appointments to the courts are to be filled by Republican nutjobs. Not a great legacy, regardless of the good that was done.

 

 

Andrew Dettmer

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

About a net loss of 300,000 manufacturing jobs as well

 

Kos Samaras

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

"But he did end the great recession for the wealthy and their corporations. Corporations have distributed more than US$5 trillion in stock buybacks and dividends to their shareholders since 2010, as corporate profits more than doubled, as stock and bond markets tripled in value, and as more than US$6 trillion in new tax cuts for corporations and investors (beyond the US$3.5 trillion George W. Bush provided) were passed on Obama's watch. Not to be outdone by Obama and the Democrats, Trump and the Republican Congress are now about to pass another US$6.2 trillion for investors and businesses, to be paid for in large part by tax hikes for the rest of us and the slashing of education spending, Medicare, Medicaid, health care, housing, and what's left of the U.S. social safety net."

 

Richard Rosa

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Trump's constitutional crisis

 

In 4 days, Donald Trump will violate the U.S. Constitution--unless he sells his company and places his assets in a blind trust.

 

Tell Trump: Sell your assets immediately and place them in a blind trust.

 

Today, we're celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion of racial and economic justice.

 

Despite the ways in which our country has fallen short, Dr. King called us to live up to the ideals on which this nation was founded: democracy, equality, freedom. In the coming days and years, we must recover those values and go back to what King called the "great wells of democracy."[1]

 

We can start by resisting Trump's attempt to undermine our Constitution.

 

The Constitution prohibits all government officials--including the President--from taking gifts or money from a foreign government. Sometimes referred to as the "Emoluments Clause," this provision was intended as an anti-corruption measure.[2]

 

Following the Constitution on this point isn't about being conservative or liberal. It's about whether our President serves the people or exploits his power for profit.

 

Tell Trump he's not above the law:

 

In December, ethics lawyers from both the Bush and Obama Administrations, together with a constitutional law professor at Harvard, authored an academic brief on the issue. According to them, Trump appears to be on a "direct collision course" with the US Constitution.

 

These experts say that, under the Emoluments Clause, it is "totally irrelevant" whether someone else is running the Trump Organization day-to-day. So Trump's announcement that he will hand over management of the business to his sons is meaningless. Scholars say that the only "true solution" is for Trump (and his children) to fully divest from the business and place their assets in a blind trust.[3]

 

We've created a petition with MoveOn to demand Trump do just that. If you add your name, Friend, we will be sure Trump gets the message.

 

Stop Trump's Corporate Coup. Tell him to sell his assets.

 

Forward for justice,

 

Jacob Swenson-Lengyel, Libero Della Piana, and the People's Action team

 

 

[1] "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Martin Luther King, April 16, 1963.

 

[2] "What is the Emoluments Clause?" The Economist, December 4, 2016.

 

[3] "The Emoluments Clause: It's text, meaning and application to Donald J. Trump." Brookings Institution, December 16, 2016.

 

 

 

 

Re: Supreme Court to Decide: What Level of Education Do Public Schools Legally Owe to Students with Disabilities?

 

The fact that it's even a question is fucked up! And says: We're fucked!

 

William Proctor

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: What Americans Really Believe

 

The only sense I can make out of this is: if the Democrats had nominated Bernie Sanders, we wouldn't be saddled with Trump.

 

Pam Wright

 

 

 

 

Re: Meryl Streep Calls Out Trump: Having Bully-in-Chief Coarsens Whole Culture

 

How about let's recognize the broadening range of people ready to speak out against Trump and his bullshit and utilize our allies understanding their limitations. Might lead us to important conversations privately and publicly that can build stronger unity. Attack the ENEMIES!

 

Leanna Noble

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

I think we need the broadest front in opposition to Trump. Some who disagree with one or another of Trump's positions, may have (will have) backward views on something else. Let's take people where they are, and work with them, as part of the opposition to Trump.

 

There is a little bit of snarky attacks on Meryl Streep and others, IMHO (or a lot depending on who your FB friends are).

Criticism is that she is elite, not oppressed, speaking to well-paid actors and actresses, and the Hollywood foreign press.

 

I think this criticism misses the point.

 

The audience at the Golden Globes was not the physical audience of those in attendance, or of the television and film industry.

 

The audience were the millions were at home watching the Golden Globes. The audience were the additional millions that would hear about it, watch it on social media and television, and read about.

 

Meryl Streep did what any wonderful actor should do - she gave the performance of her life, to the audience of her life. Without mentioning once the name of the horrible who stole the election, she addressed the fears of millions, and the hopes and aspirations of those millions who want something better for our country and themselves.

 

Meryl Streep well understood the stage she was speaking from and the audience that she had, and she was wonderful. I am inspired by the Meryl Streep who took the stage in Angels in America in the role of Ethel Rosenberg.

 

I will take Meryl Streep, whose politics I do not entirely share, and work with her and the millions of other Meryls in our country against hatred, racism, war and Trump.

 

Jay Schaffner

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: The Cherokee Nation Is Entitled to a Delegate in Congress

 

This is an interesting notion, I read this article a couple of times to see why the Cherokee's have never sent a representative, but I couldn't find an answer, not one that I could understand, though, maybe it's too early in the morning for me. Even if they did, the representative could be either democrat or republican so taking on Trump might not happen, but should. The article points out that "in 1990s, Trump employed overt racism in order to battle Indian casino's by questioning tribal ancestry due to skin color and paying for racist advertisements that portrayed tribal citizens as drug dealers and gangsters". The writer further says this energized white nationalists in his favor, a group that he was reluctant to disavow in his presidential bid. Interesting.

 

Ollie R. Jefferson

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

CHEROKEE PEOPLE belong to a nation with our own laws...for Cherokee Nation to collude with the USA by being apart of the USA, an artificial Nation, would be giving up our sovereignty, no matter how entrenched it is already with the USA, sending someone to USA Congress would completely lose the little relationship, nation to nation per treaty agreements.

 

Hacha C Norris

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

Re: Cuban Medical Internationalism: Fidel Castro's Legacy Lives On

 

Little is mentioned in the major media about the huge role Cuba has played internationally in primary and acute care, treatment and prevention. One of the largest medical schools in the world is the Latin American Medical School that is international reaching out to many nations including USA. It provides scholarships so that many students can attend for free. Read this article for more details. And pass along especially to young people looking forward to a career in medicine. I spent some time during both of my visits to Cuba observing and interacting with the medical community and remain impressed with their quality of work and achievements.

 

Carole Kennerly

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: All Women Deserve Access to Tampons, Period

 

Last time I was in Russia (1980), these were still not available, nor were any other form.

 

James H. Williams

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Privatization Articles

 

A few articles we've written (that may have already been shared - I miss some days) that are relevant right now.

 

Thanks.

 

Donald Cohen

Executive Director, In the Public Interest

 

Facebook

Twitter: @PubInterest

 

 

 

 

Re: How to Repeal and Replace ObamaCare Today? Use Medicare

 

Don't repeal. Turn it to Universal Healthcare. Better than Medicare.

 

Claire Carsman

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: AFSCME To Accept Wage-Freeze, Higher Health Costs

(posting on Portside Labor)

 

 

The state should serve the public interest. When the US Congress abolishes the $118K cap on social security taxes, social security will be secure for 75 years and public spirit or trust between the generations will be restored. Until then, the "millionaires' club" confuses self-interest with public interest and the social contract with promoting Al Capone and King Midas!

 

Marc Batko

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: Puzder Confirmation as Labor Secretary Pushed Back after Worker Protests Ignite

(posting on Portside Labor)

 

 

When WE THE PEOPLE FIGHT---We WIN!!!

 

Lydia Howell

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

Thanks for posting ... Keep up the fight!

 

"As labor secretary, Puzder would be charged with upholding many of the labor laws and regulations CKE routinely violated during his time as CEO," Fight for $15 declared. It said that in 60 percent of Department of Labor investigations since 2009, CKE restaurants and franchises were found to have violated wage and hour laws. Since Puzder became CEO of CKE in 2000, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the DOL, has found 98 safety violations at Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations, with 36 of them capable of causing death or grave physical harm."

 

Anna Haley-Lock

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: Workers Say Trump's Labor Secretary Nominee Is a Habitual Violator of Labor Law

(posting on Portside Labor)

 

 

Puzder PREFERS ROBOTS TO HUMAN workers & OPPOSES ALL Labor laws--min.wage, overtime, health & safety & of course, the right to organize unions--which he has regularly VIOLATED

 

Lydia Howell

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

 

 

 

Re: Israel's Covert UK Campaign: An Insidious Threat To Be Feared

 

This conspiracy mongering report is on the order of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion--there was no Israeli plot, just a low ranking employee blowing off steam.  Al Jazeera here is acting like James O'Keefe's dishonest attacks on Acorn & Planned Parenthood and Portside shouldn't be spreading this manure.

 

See this.

 

Stan Nadel

 

    ====

 

In light of Trump inviting the "Settlers" association to the inauguration it would be appropriate for ALL the Muslim countries to boycott!

 

Aaron Libson

 

 

 

 

Re: Rodrigo Duterte: A Fascist Original

 

Authoritarianism and fascism are growing problems internationally which deserve attention. In this article, Bello argues that strongman Duterte in the Philippines came to power due to the failures of international neo-liberal policies. 

 

"Duterte's ascendancy cannot be understood without taking into consideration the debacle of the EDSA liberal democratic republic that was born in the anti-Marcos uprising of 1986. . . . EDSA's failure was a condition for Duterte's success. What destroyed the EDSA project and paved the way for Duterte was the deadly combination of an elite monopoly of the electoral system and neoliberal economic policies with the priority placed on foreign debt repayment imposed by Washington."

 

John Jernegan

Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

    ====

 

Walden Bello is apparently a Filipino academic with strong ties to the US.  He got his PhD degree at Princeton.  He has a history as a human rights activist and left wing politician.  His vituperative essay "Rodrigo Duterte: A Fascist Original" begs for some kind of an answer.

 

The CIA frequently dresses in lamb's clothing as human right champions.  They are using all their assets to vilify Duterte. The Obama/Clinton "Pivot to Asia" depends upon it.

 

Dr. Bello omits the role of "human rights" activists in the recent lawsuit filed by Liberal Party Senator Leila De Lima against Rodrigo Duterte alleging "extrajudicial killings".  In fact, the powerful De Lima, her key role in both the Philippine drug scourge, and her attacks on Duterte are not mentioned in Dr. Bello's essay.  Her name does not appear.  I would like to fill in some blanks.

 

Another aspect glossed over in Dr. Bello's essay is the millions of people ensnared by the drug habit, many too poor to pay without resort to crime.  The losses caused by drug use adversely affect the prosperity of the nation.  The effects are endemic and pervasive.

 

At least an order of magnitude more drug pushers and kingpins have surrendered to authorities than have died in gun battles with police (many also died in the process - human rights people don't care about them).  Some of the deaths have been turf wars between rival drug gangs and the silencing of those who might squeal. Some are vigilante killings by outraged community members taking the law into their own hands - an unfortunate practice (denounced by Duterte) from times when the government was too weak to properly combat crime, especially at the barrio level. Human rights activist questioning of extrajudicial killings rarely arise during a war between the US and their enemies de jour - no judicial trial is held before the killing begins - but in a real drug war (much more serious than any in the US), should a jury trial be held during a gunfight?  What kind of thinking must we expect from our deliriously free country?  It is not even a signatory to the International Criminal Court. Could the US not wish to be called to account for its own actions?

 

The pot calling the kettle black?  No, a case of the stove calling the kettle black.  Where does the heat really come from?

 

Casual killing by Duterte of simple drug users is a vicious canard. End users are given treatment; rehab centers are rapidly setting up all over the country.  A Pinoy grocer in Massachusetts tells us that he had a nephew who was addicted and is now being treated at government expense.  He is grateful to Duterte for saving his life. My wife Cosy's relatives report that life is better in the short time Duterte has been in power.  He has expanded and improved PhilHealth, a rough equivalent to Medicare here.  Cosy's brother Lucio had laser cataract surgery on both eyes and didn't pay a cent. Positive anecdotes keep rolling in from relatives and former classmates.

 

Half the police force has been sacked, and those remaining are having their pay doubled.  Police have been poorly compensated; this is a step to curb rampant bribery and other corruption associated with law enforcement.  In the same vein, many officials and politicians have been purged or are awaiting trial.  People report a new spirit not seen before in this poor country dogged by corruption and squalor (on average, one lived no better here than in Bangladesh).  The crime rate has plunged and public safety is now more than a hope.

 

With over 80% popularity rating, who in the Philippines dislikes Rodrigo Duterte?  They may be found among the misnamed Liberal Party, former president Fidel Ramos, Senator Leila De Lima, drug lords still on the loose, and sections of the upper classes.  It is true that some are concerned that relations with the US may sour. Duterte has declared his intention to maintain traditional friendship with the US, but not as their neocolonial asset.  A good part of this will be up to the US.

 

An example.  One of these very powerful politicians, Leila De Lima, as former Secretary of Justice and subsequently Senator, brought a suit against Duterte and even invited the ICC (International Criminal Court) to join in on the issue of "extrajudicial killings" as a result of his administration's war on drugs.  Cosy watched the televised trial for days.  De Lima produced one pathetic witness, a convicted criminal (murderer and kidnapper Matobato), who constantly contradicted himself. He was being openly coached by "human rights activists" supplied by the UN or the US.  He became the laughing stock of the nation.  It was disclosed during the trial that De Lima had two clandestine lovers serving as drug money conduits in the prison system which, as Secretary of Justice, were under De Lima's jurisdiction.  She received millions of pesos from this prison drug trade with which to finance her election to the Senate.  It was shown that the former president, Begnino Aquino III, turned a blind eye to all these shenanigans (unlike Duterte, he is a scion of incredibly wealthy families, and fawned over here for his connections to US policy).  I watched some hearings with Cosy, as much of it was in English.

 

The situation was so bad that drug labs were set up within De Lima's prisons to manufacture drugs.  One of De Lima's drug conduit lovers was rewarded with two mansions, the other one got a fancy motorbike - either he did not play as big a role as bagman or he wasn't a very accomplished "lover"!  As a result of these revelations, beyond the imagination of any US soap opera script, Leila De Lima was relieved of her post as chair of the Congressional Committee of Human Rights and was due to go on trial herself.  There are three lawsuits against her so far. However,De Lima has been rated by Forbes as the richest person in the Philippines, and the 12th richest in the US, where she has a second home.  She left the Philippines and entered the US, presumably plotting against Duterte.  She has received accolades here and awarded by Forbes magazine for "standing up to an extremist leader".  De Lima subsequently returned to the Philippines.  What does it mean?

 

From the Philippine press - the US is unable to verify Philippine human rights abuses.

No US interviews (as I would expect), but watch this interesting Russian television interview with Duterte:

 

To see more from and about Duterte, a little search using Google will be rewarding.

 

There is much loose talk about foreign interference and fascism in US politics lately, and some may come from the CIA or its ventriloquist dummies in the media, both major political parties, and even on the left.  I concede the CIA knows foreign interference, having done it often in the past and now seeming to attempt it in the Philippines.  It could happen there.

 

But it can't happen here (apologies to Sinclair Lewis).

 

Or can it?

 

David Ecklein

Rumney NH

 

 

 

 

Henry Foner - Presente!

 

Our good friend and esteemed colleague Henry Foner kicked the bucket (as he would put it) on January 11, 2017 at the age of 97.  He will be missed by many. 

 

A memorial will be planned for the spring.  Meanwhile, we are collecting reminiscences to be published on LaborArts.   Send yours to info@laborarts.org.

 

 

 

 

A founder and director of LaborArts, Foner was president of the Fur, Leather & Machine Workers Union for 27 years before retiring in 1988. 

 

He served as president of the Paul Robeson Foundation, on board of Jewish Currents magazine and of the New York Labor History Association, and helped an impressive range of progressive organizations for at least eight decades.

 

Henry Foner was a member of the Teachers Union from 1940 to 1948, including his four years of military service in Italy and Austria in World War II, during which he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the military's fourth highest award and the Italian Military Valor Cross.

 

He taught stenography and type writing as a substitute teacher in a number of New York City high schools, including New Utrecht, Samuel J. Tilden and Prospect Heights. After passing the regular examination in that subject, he was denied a license as a result of the New York State Legislature's Rapp-Coudert Committee's investigations of so called "subversive activities" in the New York City colleges, which resulted in the discharge of his three brothers - Philip, Jack and Moe - from the staff of the City College - the first two as members of its History Department and the last as an employee in the college registrar's office.

 

They were among about fifty faculty members of the city colleges victimized by the Committee and the Board of Higher Education. In 1981, the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York unanimously adopted a resolution apologizing for the actions of its predecessor Board of Higher Education in discharging the teachers and pledging never to allow such a violation of academic freedom to reoccur.

 

Henry Foner's appeal from the denial of his regular teaching license was finally rejected by the State Commissioner of Education in 1948, and he was employed as Educational Director of the Fur Workers' Joint Board. In 1961, upon the death of the union's president, Foner was elected president of the union and served in that position until his retirement in 1988. During his presidency, his union grew to represent fur, leather and machine workers in five states along the Atlantic seaboard. In retirement, he taught classes in labor history at the Harry Van Arsdale School of Labor Studies, the City College Center for Worker Education, the Brooklyn College Institute for Retirees in Pursuit of Education (IRPE) and served for two years as president of the New York City Congress of Senior Citizens.

 

Composing a song or poem for every occasion, Henry would sing them at the drop of a hat.  Enjoy more songs in the LaborArts exhibits Thursdays Til Nine, the musical Foner co-wrote with Norman Franklin for the Department Store Workers in 1947, Play It Again, Sam.

 

 

 

 

Labor Arts

25 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10004

 

 

 

 

Travel from the US to Cuba grew 34 percent in 2016

 

 

 

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 13 (acn) Some 614 433 visitors arrived in Cuba from USA in 2016, representing a 34 percent increase when compared to the previous year, despite the fact that Americans are still unable to do tourism in Cuba because of the blockade.

 

According to Josefina Vidal, director general of the United States in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, 284 937 of them are Americans - 74 per cent more than in 2015 - who travel to the Caribbean island under the 12 general categories authorized by President Barack Obama.

 

In addition, 329 496 Cubans residing in that nation arrived in Cuba on direct flights, with a growth of 12 percent over last year, according to Vidal.

 

This increase in the statistics of 2016, when the Caribbean destination received four million international visitors, was mainly due to the restoration of regular direct flights between Cuba and the United States, suspended for more than 50 years.

 

The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by authorities in Havana and Washington opened up the possibility of making up to 110 daily flights between the two countries, which began with 20 of them to the capital and 10 to each of the nine Cuban international airports.

 

Although not a single tourist on board, the cruise ship Adonia, belonging to the American company Carnival, first of that country to anchor in Havana in about four decades, also sails to Cuba.

 

The general licenses approved by the Obama administration include the possibility that Americans come individually, under the category of "educational trips for people-to-people exchange."

 

According to conservative estimates, once the current blockade prohibitions - which only Congress can eliminate - to be eliminated, Cuba would reach two million American tourists a year at first, a figure that would increase to five million in the medium term.

 

Llegaron más estadounidenses a Cuba, pero no para vacacionar

Abel González Alayón

Chief-Editor Language Department

Cuban News Agency

 

 

 

 

Infographic: 5 Labor Executive Orders on Trump's Chopping Block

 

By Bobbi Murray

January 9, 2016

Captial & Main

 

 

 

 

 

Download PDF version here.

 

 

 

 

New Journal of Working-Class Studies

 

The Working-Class Studies Association is pleased to announce The Journal of Working-Class Studies. JWCS is an online, open-access, interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal that brings together the work of scholars, writers, artists and activists who are committed to the study and representation of working-class life. We aim to publish writing about the global working class - a diverse group of people whose commonality is their position in classed societies.

 

If you are not a member of the Working-Class Studies Association or your membership has lapsed, we hope you will consider joining. Membership information is located in WCSA website. 

 

John Russo

Visiting Scholar

Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and Working Poor

Georgetown University

 

 

 

 

Who Stole My Religion? Revitalising Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperilled Planet

 

 

 

 

The recently published hard cover book, "Who Stole My Religion? Revitalising Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperilled Planet," by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., has the potential to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. It argues that Judaism has powerful teachings on pace, justice, compassion, sharing, environmental sustainability, and other issues that can be applied to reduce current threats, but most religious Jews, while doing commendable things on a personal level, are in denial about climate change and are often supporting conservative policies that are inconsistent with basic Jewish values. 

 

Because Schwartz believes  the book can help start respectful dialogues on current issues and that can be game changers, he is eager to send the entire text as a PDF to anyone emailing him at VeggieRich@gmail.com and requesting it.

 

 

 

 

Prestigious Whitney Museum Slams Trump With Free Inauguration Day `Diversity' Show

 

By Heat Street Staff

January 11, 2017

HeatStreet

 

The art world would surely make its most effective statement against Donald Trump by simply carrying on as normal and creating powerful political art.

 

Instead many artists, in the name of an `anti-fascist cultural front', are pledging to strike on inauguration day with museums, theaters, galleries and concert halls closing for the day. Prominent artists including Richard Serra and Cindy Sherman have signed the `J20 Art Strike Letter'. 

 

"We consider Art Strike to be one tactic among others to combat the normalization of Trumpism-a toxic mix of white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchic rule," the letter declares, adding: "It is not a strike against art, theater, or any other cultural form. It is an invitation to motivate these activities anew, to reimagine these spaces as places where resistant forms of thinking, seeing, feeling, and acting can be produced."

 

But over at the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art in downtown Manhattan, they have organized what might be the lamest, limpest protest yet against Trump. The Whitney isn't going on strike but instead promising `civic engagement and diversity' via a pay-what-you-can concept.

 

The museum pledges: "On January 20, the Whitney will be open all day on a pay-what-you-wish basis, and will offer programming that reflects the Museum's commitment to open dialogue, civic engagement, and the diversity of American art and culture."

 

What is intended as an anti-Trump gesture from the Whitney actually turns the inauguration into an advertisement for affordable art since the usual $25 admission charge doesn't apply.

 

The Whitney, à la Meryl Streep and Michelle Obama, can't even bring itself to name Trump by name. So much for "open dialogue".

 

 

 

 

January 20

Inauguration Day:

Pay-what-you-wish 10:30 am-10 pm

 

On Friday, January 20, Inauguration Day, the Whitney is open on a pay-what-you-wish basis all day to affirm our commitment to open dialogue, civic engagement, and the diversity of American art and culture. 

 

Throughout the day, the Museum is offering special programs, including "My America" guided tours; a speak out convened by the artist collective Occupy Museums; and open discussions moderated by artists, critics and Whitney staff. All of these programs are free.

 

View All Programs for January 20

 

 

Whitney Museum of American Art

99 Gansevoort Street

New York, NY 10014

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Resistance from U.S. to Palestine - Southern California - January 21 - 23

 

 

 

 

 

A powerful speaking tour is heading to Southern California next Friday, Jan 20 - Mon, Jan 23. You don't want to miss it!

 

Combining grassroots community engagement with municipal boycotts, community actions, testimony, and education campaigns, the tour -- No Child Behind Bars: Living Resistance From the US to Palestine -- explores state violence, particularly the criminalization and detention of youth in Palestine and the US. The tour focuses on the interests and powers that reinforce these systems, with the goal of destabilizing them and breaking them down.

 

The tour is being organized by member organization Friends of Sabeel-North America with support from the US Campaign and other groups, and will feature three speakers:

 

Here are the details for each event in Southern California:

 

LOS ANGELES:

Saturday, January 21 -- 6:00 PM

117 S Bimini Pl

Los Angeles, CA 90004-5902

Facebook event page with more details

 

STUDIO CITY:

Sunday, January 22 -- 10:00 AM

Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City

12355 Moorpark St

Studio City, CA 91604

Facebook event page with more details 

 

RIVERSIDE:

Monday, January 23 -- 11:40AM-12:30PM

Regency University Village 10

1201 University Ave, Ste A

Riverside, California 92507

Facebook event page with more details

 

 

The national tour includes 18 cities over 3 weeks, from January 15 to February 9, 2017. The full list of cities can be found here.

 

Hope you can make it to one of these inspiring events!

The national tour includes 18 cities over 3 weeks, from January 15 to February 9, 2017.  You can also join the national tour event page on Facebook and help publicize to friends across the country.

 

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

P.O. Box 21539

Washington, DC 20009

(703) 312-6360

 

 

 

 

Trumpism: How Should the Left Respond? Join us January 25 in New York

 

On Wednesday, January 25, join Dissent contributors and editors for a panel discussion at the New School

 

Trumpism: How Should the Left Respond?

 

With Paul Berman, Nancy Fraser, Robert Master, Bhaskar Sunkara, and Deva Woodly, moderated by Michael Kazin

 

 

 

 

 

How should we confront the threat that the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress pose to the achievements and values of the American left? How can the left defend hard-won gains while building a viable opposition against Trumpism in the long term?

 

Join Paul Berman, Nancy Fraser, Robert Master, Bhaskar Sunkara, Deva Woodly, and Michael Kazin for a debate on how the left can fight-and defeat-Trumpism.

 

Wednesday, January 25 at 7 p.m.

 

Theresa Lang Hall, The New School

55 W. 13th Street, Room I-202

New York, NY 10011

 

Free and open to the public.

Recent issues of Dissent will be available.

 

 

Co-sponsored by: Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies, The New School

 

RSVP on Facebook

 

 

Dissent Magazine

120 Wall Street, 31st Floor

New York, NY 10005

 

 

 

 

Book Talk: Robyn C. Spencer - The Revolution Has Come - New York - January 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robyn C. Spencer will discuss her new book The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland (Duke University Press, 2016).

 

 

Tuesday, January 31 (4:30 PM) 

 

Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

70 Washington Square South · 10th Floor

New York, NY 10012

 

A reception with wine and cheese will follow the lecture. This event is sponsored by the Frederic Ewen Center.

 

Robyn C. Spencer is a historian at Lehman College - City University of New York, who focuses on Black social protest after World War II, urban and working-class radicalism, and gender. Her writings on the Black Panther Party have appeared in the Journal of Women's History, Souls, Radical Teacher and several collections of essays on the 1960s.

 

In 2016-17 she received a Mellon fellowship at Yale University to work on her second book project, "To Build the World Anew: Black Liberation Politics and the Movement Against the Vietnam War." Professor Spencer is a committed activist and participates in many community education initiatives aimed at bringing the history of the Black Power movement to community based spaces. 

 

Copies of The Revolution Has Come will be available for purchase.

 

RSVP: email tamiment.events@nyu.edu with guest name(s) & title of event.