People’s investigation of Fort Hood shootings needed

By Greg Butterfield

The shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, which left 13 people dead, have brought into bold relief the terrible strains on soldiers and their families as we enter the eighth year of the “war on terror.”

Washington politicians and Pentagon brass are exploiting the deaths for political gain. A Senate committee headed by Joe Lieberman seeks to conflate the desperate outburst of the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, with a new “terrorist threat,” and to intensify racial profiling inside and outside the military.

Police agencies are exploiting the shooting to obtain more repressive powers. Meanwhile, the corporate-owned media are attempting to implicate Yemeni Imam Anwar al-Aulaqi and the Muslim community as a whole.

But in fact, as ABC News reported Nov. 16, Hasan was repeatedly rebuffed and ignored by his superiors when he sought prosecution of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan that were brought to his attention by Army personnel in psychiatric counseling.

An unnamed federal investigator told ABC, “The Army may not want to admit it, and you may not hear much about it, but it was very big for him.” Hasan was also about to be deployed to an overseas combat zone.

Now Hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder. Army prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty. It is obvious that in a military court he cannot receive a fair trial. Will such a trial allow his defense to include information about U.S. war crimes committed against the people of Afghanistan?

The scapegoating of Muslims that has already accompanied this traumatic event presents a real danger of new violent attacks on Arab, South Asian, Black Muslim and other communities. This danger will grow and intensify as the military case against Hasan proceeds.

It comes as Washington is undertaking a new campaign of repression against Muslims and those who dare to defend them, including the FBI assassination of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah in Detroit, the seizure of four mosques in New York allegedly linked to Iran, and the revocation of bail for civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart.

Fort Hood deaths on war-makers hands

Today millions of military families are struggling to make ends meet. The suicide rate in the U.S. Army will hit an all-time high this year. Workers in the U.S. face the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.
Yet the priority of government and military officials is to make scapegoats while continuing their “endless war.”

The real criminals are those who profit from Pentagon wars and their political mouthpieces who block every attempt to bring the troops home. The deaths at Fort Hood are on their hands, along with the thousands of U.S. soldiers’ deaths and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere.

It is both appropriate and necessary for labor, community and anti-war organizations to call for an independent people’s investigation of the Fort Hood tragedy; one that takes into account the suffering of Nidal Hasan and other soldiers faced with being killed or killing their sisters and brothers in racist wars for profit and domination.

It is urgent to raise the demand that Washington stop scapegoating Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities and bring all the troops home now.

http://www.workers.org/2009/us/fort_hood_1210/

Obama between a rock and a hard place

Pity President Obama. It can’t be much fun to be him these days. Under the glam Camelot trappings, he is a prisoner of forces beyond his control.

Obama’s announcement escalating the war in Afghanistan by sending 30,000 more troops has met with two general responses from his backers: disappointment that he is “just another politician” whose campaign promises mean squat; or pleas that we should go easy on him because, after all, he cannot be expected to clean up the previous administration’s mess in a year’s time.

There is a little truth, and a lot lacking, in both of these views.

Obama is a Democratic Party politician, a loyal representative of capitalism, albeit a very gifted one. His promises of “change we can believe in” were never meant to be more than cosmetic.

But that isn’t the whole story, of course. His election as the first Black president was an historic milestone for Black people and for all workers and oppressed people in this country, especially given who sat in the Oval Office for most of the decade.

As the first Black president, he faces extraordinary challenges.

The perspective of Democratic Party leaders and a decisive grouping in the U.S. ruling class, which allowed Obama to become the front-running candidate and eventually president, had two aspects related to the capitalist economic crisis: First, that Obama would make a great “populist” face for the Democrats to regain power in Washington at a time of painful economic upheaval; and second, as a Black man, he could easily be made a scapegoat and dismissed if everything went south.

It’s easy to say that Obama was naïve to get himself into this position. We may never know if he actually believed his own hype a year ago. But he’s no dummy, and he is now undoubtedly aware of the very precarious position he is in.

* He is a Black president who cannot speak up for African Americans in even the mildest terms without being pushed back, as witness the debacle following Henry Louis Gates’ arrest.

* He can’t withdraw from Afghanistan because the ruling class desperately hopes, despite all evidence to the contrary, that more war will revive their crumbling profit system.

* The far-right is mobilized (and armed), while Obama’s supporters are confused or still hoping he is going to solve all of their problems for them.

The administration’s “Jobs Summit” in Washington Dec. 3 produced nothing but the usual sops: more tax breaks for businesses and a few crumbs for bridge and road construction.

The country’s infrastructure – much of which dates from the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration and, to a lesser extent, the 1960s Great Society programs – is crumbling. So why doesn’t Obama propose a new WPA-style program to put people back to work, using the money to rebuild instead of sending tens of thousands more young working-class people to war?

Obama is often compared to other “populist” Democratic presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Let’s see how these comparisons stack up.

When FDR went to bat for the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, the workers’ struggle was growing rapidly. FDR acted to forestall revolution and save capitalism. And he did so from his position as a member of a ruling class family. Even then, he was very nearly overthrown by a military coup.

And we all know what happened to JFK, the scion of another wealthy family, for much lesser offenses to capitalist sensibilities.

Clinton, like Obama, doesn’t come from a ruling class family. Even though he dutifully followed orders for eight years -- starving Iraq, dismantling welfare, and bombing Yugoslavia and Sudan, among other atrocities -- he still faced impeachment.

Obama knows that if he steps out of line, at best he will be ruined and disgraced – at worst, killed. These are his only options – within the framework of U.S. two-party capitalist politics.

There is something else Obama could do. But it would require him to step out of that framework.

He could call upon the masses to take the streets and assist him in pushing back the right wing.

He could urge them to come to Washington and surround the Capitol until Congress passes legislation enacting a new comprehensive jobs program and laws guaranteeing the right to a job or income, healthcare and housing for all.

He could order the troops to come home and, as Commander In Chief, empower rank and file soldiers to enforce the order on their superiors.

He could call out the fascists, war-mongers and racists by name and ask the masses to protect him and his family.

Whether or not Obama would ever do such things isn’t really the issue.

The masses of people – unemployed, organized, unorganized, queer and straight, of all nationalities – need to enter the arena of struggle. Until that happens, there will be no reason for the ruling class to grant concessions to the workers, even if Obama was inclined to ask for them.

To raise these ideas – to point out what someone in Obama's position could do with mass support – is a way to mobilize people around positive demands and empower them to raise their voices, without putting the Left in the position of seeming to attack the first Black president as the racist right-wing is doing.

It is also an educational process to expose the limits of what is possible under capitalism and help people transcend Obama altogether.

This is the goal of the Jobs March in Washington on April 10, 2010, the 75th anniversary of the WPA, called by the Bail Out the People Movement. The organizers are strategically invoking the image and statements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to show solidarity with African American and other communities where Obama is especially popular, while also showing why the people themselves must take action.

To read the call for the Jobs March, go to: http://www.bailoutpeople.org/april10call.html

redguard, 12/4/09

Further reading:

Fred Goldstein: The Crisis and the Prospects for Resistance: An Outline
http://www.workers.org/2009/us/crisis_1210/

More on 'Thanksgiving'

Below is my reply to a post over on Tumblr. I thought it might be of interest to Absent Cause blog readers.

On Tumblr, junglejustine wrote:

If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I honestly think you are in no position to say anything about the holiday. Simply because people are announcing they are thankful for something today, doesn’t mean they’re not thankful for it everyday. It doesn’t mean someone is ungrateful though it may seem that way to people that haven’t celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving from childhood.

Everything isn’t a debate, especially a holiday. Thanksgiving holds a different type of significance for everyone. It’s not just “some” holiday.

And I replied:

I respect your opinion, but have to disagree. I think people can and should celebrate if they want to, but they should also be informed of the reality behind the cultural mythology of Thanksgiving — just like Columbus Day, slave-owner Washington’s birthday — even, dare I say it, Christmas (*cough* pagan solstice).

Everying in society is a debate, because our cultural instutions are shaped by one class to hold down another — even holidays.

I have been having really interesting and intense discussions with my 5-year-old daughter about this for the past couple of weeks. She is a bi-racial African American child (her mother is Black, and I’m white). Most of the children in her Brooklyn public school are kids of color. I was sort of shocked to see how they make these children act out the Pilgrim myth, just as they did in my 99-percent white Midwestern school 30 years ago.

Ripley is very excited about school, about performing and being a good student, and I don’t want to interfere with that. But the kind of awful stuff they are teaching kids this time of year can’t go without some response.

When we had to do a family “thanksgiving” project, I listened to her ideas about turkeys and then suggested something different, to make something to honor people who fight for a better world and use pictures of her attending demonstrations and meetings. Since she’s been raised in an activist atmosphere, she got the idea immediately, and ran with it. She was very proud to bring it to her school to be hung in the hall and to talk about what it meant.

At the same time she was very excited to perform her lines as a pilgrim in her class’s play. We talked about what I thought were the problems with the skit, how it didn’t really represent the Native American’s point of view. And Ripley very correctly observed the lack of any women or girls in the skit.

Next year we are going to make the trip to Plymouth for the annual National Day of Mourning event held by the United American Indians of New England. Since she is already a critical thinker, I believe she’ll get a lot out of it.

A lot of people know better, but they are afraid to speak up — the teachers, the parents, the kids. The more of us stand up and make noise, the more others will feel able to take a stand.

Below is Ripley's school project, which she called "We are thankful for comrades and animals":

Lynne Stewart update

From: Freedom Archives

Lynne Stewart
53504-054MCC/NY
150 Park Row
New York, NY 10007

Hello All,

It's taken me a minute to report on Lynne because I have waited to talk to attorneys after they have visited with her first hand to discuss Lynne's situation, needs and other matters. Above is Lynne's mailing address. All mail (except legal mail) is subject to opening and reading by the institution. Legal mail must be opened in front of the inmate. Lynne will greatly appreciate getting beautiful cards and thoughtful letters. Please remember to write to her now and as time goes along.

Our main focus at this time is the next court date. Lynne has a 28 months sentence, if you have read the 2nd Circuit decision (and you can by going to the web site for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, look under decisions and you will find USA v. Stewart) you will find that the sentence that Lynne has received is threatened, meaning it could go higher. Our goal is to show the steadfast support that Lynne has from the community, to be vigilant, Lynne Stewart's good deeds throughout her life and the fact that she had been out since her arrest in 2002 with no incidents - her age, her health - all demand NO MORE TIME than she already has. Of course, we don't think that she should be doing any jail time at all, but we must be realistic and fight for attainable goals.

In light of this LET'S FILL THE COURTROOM AND MORE on DECEMBER 2, 2009 AT 10:30 A.M. JUDGE KOELTL'S COURTROOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, 500 PEARL STREET, COURTROOM 12B.

Lynne's attorneys will continue to fight her case all the way to the Supreme Court. That is our long term battle. Our short term battle is to fill that courtroom on each and every occasion there is court, to let the justice dept. know that there are many concerned people, and that Lynne is precious to us. We can protect her, when the eyes of many are on her and her situation.

We do not know how long Lynne will remain in MCC/NY. She has court appearances ahead and a resentencing, this could be a long time. She is required to make a visiting list, and there is a form to fill out, people will need to be approved and the list is not endless, so all may not have access to her. Attorneys of record can visit her, meaning those attorneys working on her legal case. But attorneys who cannot visit her can play an important role as attorneys, in standing by Lynne Stewart and thinking of ways unique to their profession to show the support Lynne dearly needs.

Lynne loves to read and it is important to note that all books and publications must come from the publisher and mailed directly to Lynne. I will be asking Lynne for a list of reading requests and if folks want to send her a book, let's coordinate our efforts so that she doesn't get more than 1 copy of the same book etc. Lynne will need commissary money. You can visit the website for the United States Bureau of Prisons (just type that in to your search engine) under "inmate matters" you will see the option telling you how to send money to an inmate. You can do it through Western Union, using their website or at a store, send what you can. If you would like to let me know by email that you are sending her this or that, so that we can coordinate things, I would be happy to help.

Lastly, tonight, I want you all to know that your support over the years means the world to Lynne. I miss not talking to her every day, sometimes many times a day. It is important to me that we keep Lynne in the present with us every day, and that strategies and decisions are run by her first to the extent possible. All who want to continue to send out the word about Lynne to their own contingency should continue of course.

Stay tuned for future updates and developments.

Pat Levasseur

New zines! Frankenstein & Absent Cause

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'Thanksgiving' -- a national day of mourning

The History of National Day of Mourning

United American Indians of New England

In 1970, United American Indians of New England declared US Thanksgiving Day a National Day of Mourning. This came about as a result of the suppression of the truth. Wamsutta, an Aquinnah Wampanoag man, had been asked to speak at a fancy Commonwealth of Massachusetts banquet celebrating the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. He agreed. The organizers of the dinner, using as a pretext the need to prepare a press release, asked for a copy of the speech he planned to deliver. He agreed. Within days Wamsutta was told by a representative of the Department of Commerce and Development that he would not be allowed to give the speech. The reason given was due to the fact that, "...the theme of the anniversary celebration is brotherhood and anything inflammatory would have been out of place." What they were really saying was that in this society, the truth is out of place.

What was it about the speech that got those officials so upset? Wamsutta used as a basis for his remarks one of their own history books -- a Pilgrim's account of their first year on Indian land. The book tells of the opening of our ancestor's graves, taking our wheat and bean supplies, and of the selling of our ancestors as slaves for 220 shillings each. Wamsutta was going to tell the truth, but the truth was out of place.

Here is the truth: The reason they talk about the pilgrims and not an earlier English-speaking colony, Jamestown, is that in Jamestown the circumstances were way too ugly to hold up as an effective national myth. For example, the white settlers in Jamestown turned to cannibalism to survive. Not a very nice story to tell the kids in school. The pilgrims did not find an empty land any more than Columbus "discovered" anything. Every inch of this land is Indian land. The pilgrims (who did not even call themselves pilgrims) did not come here seeking religious freedom; they already had that in Holland. They came here as part of a commercial venture. They introduced sexism, racism, anti-lesbian and gay bigotry, jails, and the class system to these shores. One of the very first things they did when they arrived on Cape Cod -- before they even made it to Plymouth -- was to rob Wampanoag graves at Corn Hill and steal as much of the Indians' winter provisions as they were able to carry. They were no better than any other group of Europeans when it came to their treatment of the Indigenous peoples here. And no, they did not even land at that sacred shrine down the hill called Plymouth Rock, a monument to racism and oppression which we are proud to say we buried in 1995.

The first official "Day of Thanksgiving" was proclaimed in 1637 by Governor Winthrop. He did so to celebrate the safe return of men from Massachusetts who had gone to Mystic, Connecticut to participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot women, children, and men.

About the only true thing in the whole mythology is that these pitiful European strangers would not have survived their first several years in "New England" were it not for the aid of Wampanoag people. What Native people got in return for this help was genocide, theft of our lands, and never-ending repression.

But back in 1970, the organizers of the fancy state dinner told Wamsutta he could not speak that truth. They would let him speak only if he agreed to deliver a speech that they would provide. Wamsutta refused to have words put into his mouth. Instead of speaking at the dinner, he and many hundreds of other Native people and our supporters from throughout the Americas gathered in Plymouth and observed the first National Day of Mourning. United American Indians of New England have returned to Plymouth every year since to demonstrate against the Pilgrim mythology.

We Are Not Vanishing.

We Are Not Conquered.

We Are As Strong As Ever.

United American Indians of New England

http://www.uaine.org/

Lawsuit fights Congressional attack on ACORN

By Greg Butterfield
Workers World
Published Nov 20, 2009

On Nov. 12, the Center for Constitutional Rights brought a lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. CCR charged Congress with violating the U.S. Constitution when it recently voted to strip ACORN, its affiliates and allies of funding.

While the case seeks to bring immediate injunctive relief to stop the defunding of ACORN, it also aims to push back the tide of right-wing attacks on progressive non-profit organizations.

CCR hopes to educate activists and organizations about their rights under the law, particularly the constitutional prohibition against “Bills of Attainder,” which bars Congress from singling out an individual or group for punishment without an investigation and trial.

Read more here