U.S. and the rest of the world must cooperate for the benefit of all

Friday, April 07, 2017

[mpen-dayton] FW: "Conferences on Implicit Bias" & "US launches airstrikes on Syria" & "Social Security expansion bill" & " The Opioid Crisis" & "Get Bill O'Reilly fired" and more

FYI.  Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' added to the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.

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  • FW: Conferences on Implicit Bias
  • FW: Breaking: US launches airstrikes on Syria: Military fires more than 50 Tomahawks on Homs airfield
  • FW: The biggest Social Security expansion bill yet
  • FW: Adidas is bringing shoe production back to Germany from Asia.
  • FW: Please Post #Stopgorsuch meme
  • FW: The Opioid Crisis
  • FW: Resist, Persist, Rise Up
  • FW: Get Bill O'Reilly fired
  • FW: "These unofficial channels are desirable precisely because they are deniable"
  • FW: Sign the petition to stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All
  • FW: MLK and Barack Obama: Diametrically Opposed Legacies

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From: Danielle Smith; NASW Ohio Chapter, dsmith.naswoh@socialworkers.org
Subject: Spread the word- conferences on implicit bias


Brainy Practitioner: Focus on Implicit Bias


We are holding them this Friday in Columbus, April 21st in Cleveland, April 28th in Cincinnati, May 5th in Akron, May 12th in Toledo, and May 19th in Dayton.
The cost is $100 for NASW members, $140 for non-members, and $50 for anyone who needs a lower rate to be able to attend. 6 CEUs including supervision and ethics for social workers.


The "Brainy" Practitioner:
Integrating Neuroscience into Practice, Focus on Bias

Click for More Info


This conference focuses on the intersection of neuroscience and practice with a focus on bias.

According to the OSU Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, "implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual's awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness."

Implicit biases can cause differential health care treatment, disproportionate contact with the corrections system, and community disparities. To understand implicit bias, we must understand the brain.

The trainings will each provide six CEUs including three hours of supervision and ethics from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The cost is $100 for members, $140 for non-members.

  • Friday, April 7 in Columbus
  • Friday, April 21 in Cleveland
  • Friday, April 28 in Cincinnati
  • Friday, May 5 in Akron
  • Friday, May 12 in Toledo
  • Friday, May 19 in Dayton

 

 

From: CLG_News
Subject: Breaking: US launches airstrikes on Syria: Military fires more than 50 Tomahawks on Homs airfield

 

News Updates from CLG on 06 April 2017 http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news


Breaking: US launches airstrikes on Syria: Military fires more than 50 Tomahawks on Homs airfield just hours after Trump said 'something should happen' following gas-attack atrocity --The military fired more than 50 Tomahawk missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield --Secretary of state Rex Tillerson said earlier today that the U.S. was already exploring the enlistment of an international coalition to oust [aka an illegal coup against] Assad | 06 April 2017 | America has launched airstrikes against a Syrian air base. The US military fired more than 50 Tomahawk missiles at the al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs on Thursday. Officials confirm that no fixed wing aircraft were involved. The move comes just hours after President Trump denounced this week's horrific chemical weapons attack [due to the US-backed 'rebels' storing such chemicals] as an 'egregious crime', saying 'it shouldn't have happened. And it shouldn't be allowed to happen.' Russia now has more than 30 helicopters operating in Syria, including a fleet of around eight Mi-28N Night Hunter and Ka-52 Alligator gunships stationed at its Shayrat airbase southeast of Homs city, according to satellite images posted online by IHS Jane's analysts.

U.S. strikes Syrian military airfield in first direct assault on Bashar al-Assad's government [following US-backed 'rebel' chemical false flag] | 06 April 2017 | The U.S. military launched approximately 50 cruise missiles at a Syrian military airfield late on Thursday, in the first direct American assault on the government of President Bashar al-Assad since that country's civil war began six years ago. The operation, which the Trump administration authorized in retaliation for a chemical attack killing scores of civilians this week, dramatically expands U.S. military involvement in Syria and exposes the United States to heightened risk of direct confrontation with Russia and Iran, both backing Assad in his attempt to crush his opposition.

Hillary Clinton calls for U.S. to bomb Syrian air fields
| 06 April 2017 | In her first interview since her stunning presidential election defeat by Republican rival Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for the United States to bomb Syrian air fields...Asked whether she now believes that failing to take a tougher stand against Syria was her worst foreign policy mistake as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Clinton said she favored more aggressive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

ISIS group releases 'kill list' with the names and addresses of over 8,000 Americans including President Trump for lone wolf gunman to target in attacks
| 03 April 2017 | A group of hackers with ties to the Islamic State has released a list of Americans they want to see killed by lone wolf gunman. The Pro-ISIS United Cyber Caliphate posted a video over the weekend in which they threatened both the United States and President Donald Trump while also revealing their new 'kill list.' The list included both the names and addresses of 8,786 Americans. 'Kill them wherever you find them,' said the UCC in their message according to SITE Intelligence Group.

Secret Service Employee Suspended After Reports of Pence Agent Charged With Solicitation
| 05 April 2017 | The Secret Service told NBC News on Wednesday that it has suspended an employee following news reports that an agent on Vice President Mike Pence's detail was charged with soliciting a pr-stitute. A Secret Service spokesperson would say only that the employee, who was off duty at the time, was placed on administrative leave and stripped of his security clearance and access to Secret Service facilities pending "disciplinary actions."

Muslim teenager repeats #Blacklivesmatter 100 times on Stanford application and is accepted
| 04 April 2017 | When Ziad Ahmed was asked on his Stanford University application "What matters to you, and why?", his answer was clear. He wrote: "#BlackLivesMatter", repeating the hashtag exactly 100 times to highlight the excessive use of police force which disproportionately kills black men and women. The practising Muslim senior high school student in New Jersey has since been accepted to the prestigious University...The Bangladeshi-American has already attended the White House Iftar dinner, a religious observance of Ramadan, and in 2016 he interned for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Gender non-binary Billions star asks the Emmys to reconsider their 'actor or actress' categories and decides to compete as an 'actor'
--Showtime approached Dillon about which Emmy category to submit their name | 06 April 2017 | The breakout star of the hit Showtime series B-llions has so impressed viewers and critics that there is already buzz about a possible Emmy Award nomination. But for Asia Kate Dillon, who self-identifies as gender non-binary in real life and also plays one on the show, there was question as to which award category would be most suitable. Would Dillon, who was born legally a female, be classified as an actor or an actress? Showtime approached Dillon about the issue, and Dillon got to thinking, according to Variety.

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News Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2017, Citizens for Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.

 

 

From: Michael Phelan, Social Security Works
Subject: The biggest Social Security expansion bill yet

Since its inception, conservatives and Wall Street bankers have been attempting to destroy Social Security. They think that by dividing us up―working people, retirees, and people with disabilities―they can erode confidence in the system and eliminate Social Security's universality.

Today, Representative John Larson (D-CT) introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, a bill that has something for everybody. It expands Social Security's modest benefits, extends the lifespan of the trust fund by 75 years and protects the most vulnerable.

Right now, the Social Security 2100 Act has 157 co-sponsors. This is incredible news—that's over 80% of the House Democratic caucus, considerably more supporters than any Social Security expansion bill has had before.

Now, let's get to 100%. Join Social Security Works in calling on all Democrats in the House of Representatives to become a co-sponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act today.

In recent years, you have moved the national conversation around Social Security away from cuts and toward expansion. You're the reason why the movement to expand Social Security is stronger than ever.

The Social Security 2100 Act has several key factors:
    

  • This bill increases the benefits of all Social Security recipients and increases Social Security's minimum benefit so that those who work a lifetime at low wages will not retire into poverty;
  • The bill adopts a more accurate cost of living increase so that Social Security's modest benefits don't erode with each passing year;
  • The bill protects the most vulnerable populations ensuring that increases in Social Security benefits do not result in a reduction in SSI benefits or loss of eligibility of Medicaid or CHIP;
  • The bill ensures the top 0.4% of wage earners pay their fair share into Social Security;
  • And the bill extends the lifespan of the trust fund by at least 75 years―ensuring that today's workers, including those just entering the workforce, can rest assured that they will receive all of the Social Security benefits they are earning with every paycheck.


The overwhelming majority of Americans―Democrats, Republicans and Independents―support expanding, not cutting Social Security's modest benefits. Now, so do the overwhelming majority of House Democrats. We need to build on our momentum and get that number to 100%.

The best defense is a good offense. That's why the best way to protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts under the Trump administration is to keep fighting for Medicare for All and expanding Social Security.

Sign the petition calling on all Democrats in the House of Representatives to become a co-sponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act today.

Together we're telling our elected officials exactly where the American people stand: Expand, don't cut Social Security!


Paid for and Authorized by Social Security Works

 

 

From: LinkedIn
Subject: Adidas is bringing shoe production back to Germany from Asia. One catch: The workers are robots. This is a trend.


Adidas is bringing shoe production back to Germany from Asia.

One catch: The workers are robots. This is a trend.

Susanna Koelblin, Market Development @ Eastman | Apparel, Fashion, Textile Marketer



220 people are talking about this

 

 

From: Dr. Jerome L. Reide; Regional Field Director, NAACP Midwest Region III
Subject: Please Post #Stopgorsuch meme


OPPOSE THE GORSUCH NOMINATION TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

http://www.naacp.org/latest/oppose-gorsuch-nomination-u-s-supreme-court/
NAACP | OPPOSE THE GORSUCH NOMINATION TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
www.naacp.org

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational,
social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.


It is vitally important that we take to the phones, emails, and faxes and urge every Member of the U.S. Senate to vote "no" on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court, and to use every procedural tool available to them to stop it.  We must also urge all Senators to oppose changing the confirmation rules of the U.S. Senate just to get him confirmed.

Please take a minute to review the attached Action Alert, which in addition to the usual information also contains:
   

·              A list of Senators who have publicly declared opposition to the Gorsuch nomination (we should not forget to thank them!);

·              Additional pages of talking points in opposition to the Gorsuch nomination;

·              A list of over 200 national organizations which are working in coalition with the NAACP, in the event there is a branch or chapter nearby with which you can work; and

·              A list of some of the organizations with which the NAACP works very closely, in the event you wish to activate your local branch.

 

 

From: Thomas Scott
Subject: The Opioid Crisis
    

 

 

From: Juanita Monsalve, Reform Immigration FOR America
Subject: Resist, Persist, Rise Up

Since the election, I've received messages from advocates like you with one question: "how can I do my part?" That is why we've organized Rise Up, a nation-wide day of action for immigrants and allies to stand together and resist. On May 1st, instead of shopping, going to school, or going to work, thousands of immigrants and allies across the country will march, resist, and rise up. So, will you Rise Up?

You can Rise Up on May 1st by:
   

  • Becoming a torchbearer! Torchbearers believe that any attack on immigrants is an attack on all of us. Together we can shine a light on the path to freedom and end the cruelty against immigrants and refugees.
  • Getting your friends and family to become torchbearers too! In order to resist the anti-immigrant agenda, we must be united and the best way is to tell your friends why this fight is so important to you.
  • Getting your Rise Up t-shirt! Support our cause and show your support for immigrants on May 1st by buying a shirt today. We have different styles and even kid sizes for the torchbearer-in-training!


Thanks for taking action to protect immigrants and refugees. We need you here with us more than ever!

 

 

From: Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kaili, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Megan, Libby, and Emma, the UltraViolet team
Subject: Re: Get Bill O'Reilly fired

BREAKING: Over 20 companies have pulled their ads from The O'Reilly Factor since it came to light that Fox News paid to silence at least five women who had been sexually harassed by host Bill O'Reilly.1

Last time Fox News was under the spotlight for sexual harassment, we forced out then-CEO and serial harasser Roger Ailes--now we have another chance to hold an abuser accountable. Will you join over 38,000 UltraViolet members and demand Fox fires O'Reilly?

P.S. Here's the original email we sent:

Fox News is unraveling. First, decades-long CEO Roger Ailes was ousted for sexual harassment. Now, host Bill O'Reilly is named in another lawsuit--and by fellow host Andrea Tantaros.2

The details of the lawsuit are nauseating. O'Reilly tried to lure Tantaros into his home and kept asking her to show him her "wild side."

There's more: Tantaros revealed that the brand new CEO, Bill Shine, knew that O'Reilly and Ailes harassed her but told her to shut up about it.

Fox News is once again dealing with a public relations nightmare. We can push them to get rid of O'Reilly and Shine--like we pushed them to fire Ailes--if enough of us speak out.3 Will you add your name?

Tell 21st Century Fox: Clean up the disgusting culture of sexual abuse at Fox News. Start by firing Bill O'Reilly and Bill Shine.

Tantaros points out that Ailes did not act alone. She named several male Fox News contributors in addition to O'Reilly and Ailes and claimed executives helped cover the abuse up. Every top Fox News executive she came forward to ignored her complaints--and took her off the air.4

When former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes was slapped with a lawsuit, 50,000 UltraViolet members spoke out and successfully forced Fox to get rid of him. Now, with another lawsuit naming Bill O'Reilly, who hosts the most popular show on Fox News, and new CEO Bill Shine, who was very carefully chosen to replace Ailes following the scandal, Fox is once again dragged into the spotlight for endangering women in the workplace.

A few weeks back, UltraViolet members forced Ailes out of Fox News when it came to light he has harassed countless women while he was CEO. Getting rid of Ailes was a crucial step in stopping sexist abuse at Fox. But sexual harassment at Fox News won't stop until everyone who participated and covered it up is held accountable--and we can make sure of that if we all speak out again.


Can you demand Fox fix its sexual harassment problem?


Sources:

  1. 22 companies pull advertising from 'The O'Reilly Factor', ABC, April 4, 2017
  2. The Explosive New Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Bill O'Reilly, Detailed, ThinkProgress, August 23, 2016
  3. Fox News chief Ailes resigns after sexual harassment claims, Reuters, July 22, 2016
  4. Andrea Tantaros of Fox News Claims Retaliation for Sex Harassment Complaints, New York Times, August 22, 2016


Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

 

 

From: Eric Kramer
Subject: "These unofficial channels are desirable precisely because they are deniable"

"I wouldn't be surprised at all," said Barry Faure, the Seychelles secretary of state for foreign affairs. "The Seychelles is the kind of place where you can have a good time away from the eyes of the media. That's even printed in our tourism marketing. But I guess this time you smelled something."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html?tid=ss_fb-bottom&utm_term=.e936557278c7

In case you weren't aware, Michigan boy, Eric Prince, is the founding CEO of the notorious paramilitary, mercenary-providing 'security firm', Blackwater, which made a princely fortune (pardon the pun) on the Bush/Cheney outsourcing of much of their misguided invasion if Iraq.  He also just happens to be the brother of our uber-wealthy, yet seriously unqualified current Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos.

I can't wait to see how this all plays out.....    -  E

 

 

From: Murshed Zaheed; Political Director, CREDO Action from Working Assets
Subject: Sign the petition to stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All

 

CREDO action

Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All.

Petition to Congress:
"The problems with American health care are caused by predatory insurance companies and monopolies, not the Affordable Care Act. It's time to expand the most popular and efficient health care program in the country by passing legislation to provide Medicare to all Americans. "

Add your name:

Sign the petition ►

 

Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All.

In the wake of recent defeat of Trumpcare, Sen. Bernie Sanders is going on offense.1

Trumpcare may have died in Congress, but that does not mean Republicans have given up on destroying the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. Trump's cronies in the administration will do everything possible to sabotage it. And Big Pharma and predatory insurance companies will use the chaos to push "fixes" that further entrench their power over life-and-death medical decisions.

To fight back, Democrats need to unite behind a bold and clear alternative like Medicare for All, also known as "single payer" health care. Within hours of Trumpcare failing, Sen. Sanders announced he will introduce a new Medicare for All bill in the Senate – and now we need to show just how many Americans support this simple and commonsense alternative.

Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All. Click here to sign the petition.

Unfortunately, some Democratic leaders do not share Sen. Sanders' vision. At a town hall meeting, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi insisted that those who support single payer should focus on state options instead.2 Sen. Chuck Schumer even recently repeated an offer to work with Trump to "fix" Obamacare. In contrast, Sen. Jeff Merkley immediately pivoted to the possibility of Medicare for All in the wake of Trump's humiliating health care failure.3 Progressives know that we could solve today's problems by expanding a program that is already up and running – and working.

The real problem is not the modest but still life-changing reforms of the Affordable Care Act. Millions of people have already been helped – people with pre-existing conditions, young adults who get to stay on their parents' plan, beneficiaries of the Medicaid expansion and those who would have faced lifetime caps on coverage. American health care costs so much and heals so little in part because predatory insurance companies and Big Pharma stand between people and their doctors and use monopoly power to rob us blind.

Medicare for All would leave the medical system in place, but replace the for-profit insurance companies that drive up costs without making us any healthier. So it's no wonder that most Americans – including 41 percent of Republicans – support Medicare for All.4 We need to put pressure on Democrats to be bold and put Republicans on the record opposing a universal health care plan with broad support.

Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All. Click here to sign the petition.

Medicare already covers 40 million Americans over the age of 65, providing quality care at prices that are much lower than the private market. If we start by lowering the Medicare eligibility age, it will provide competition to bloated predatory insurance companies and bring us closer to the day when people are covered from birth.

Medicare and Medicaid are our nation's most effective and efficient health care programs, but right-wing Republicans have long had their sights set on dismantling our social safety net. Their ultimate goal has been to end Medicare as we know it and cause skyrocketing premiums and loss of coverage for nearly 57 million of us.5 We cannot fight back with half-hearted, corporate solutions. We need to show the millions of Americans who love Medicare that progressives have an alternative vision to make it available to all.

Stand with Sen. Sanders: We need Medicare for All. Click below to sign the petition:

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/sanders_medicare?t=7&akid=22504.10312106.Fj_HOL


Add your name:

Sign the petition ►

  1. Daniel Marans, "Bernie Sanders, Top Progressives Announce New 'Medicare For All' Push," The Huffington Post, March 25, 2017.
  2. Marissa Lang, "Pelosi, Speier greet hundreds at Balboa High town hall meeting," SFGate, March 26, 2017.
  3. Marans, "Bernie Sanders, Top Progressives Announce New 'Medicare For All' Push."
  4. Philip Bump, "Poll: Most Americans want to replace Obamacare with single-payer — including many Republicans," The Washington Post, May 16, 2016.
  5. Allegra Kirkland, "Bonus! GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill Depletes Medicare Trust Fund Faster," Talking Points Memo, March 10, 2017.

 

 

From: Judy Burnette
Subject: Black Agenda Report l "MLK and Barack Obama: Diametrically Opposed Legacies" by Glen Ford
Truthdig
truthdig.com/report/print/mlk_and_barack_obama_two_diametrically_opposed_legacies_20170405


MLK and Barack Obama: Diametrically Opposed Legacies

Posted on Apr 5, 2017

By Glen Ford / Black Agenda Report


A collage with juxtaposed images of Malcolm X, Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. (Black Agenda Report)


The following is an edited version of remarks delivered by Glen Ford at a panel discussion organized by World Beyond War, April 3, at New York University, titled: "Remembering Past Wars and Preventing the Next." A video of the entire event can be seen here.

When we invoke the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, it is usually in the context of "civil rights" and "human rights." Today, it is in the context of peace.

I like to think of Dr. King's work as part of the civilizational project of humanity—that is, how human beings construct a world in which they can coexist and thrive in the bosom of nature.

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The civilizational project is a justice project. Civilization is not just about technology. It is not just about wealth and the accumulation of surplus. It's about what people collectively do with that surplus. It's about justice.

The Black Radical Tradition is about justice; it is a civilization-building tradition. Justice is the measure of civilization, and there can be no peace without it.

Of necessity, the Black Radical Tradition speaks to the broad sweep of human historical development. There is nothing narrow or parochial about it.

And sometimes, the Black Radical Tradition finds that perfect voice, at the pivotal time. On April 4, 1967, that was Dr. King's voice, when he told his audience at Riverside Church that their country was "the greatest purveyor of violence" on Earth, and that there was a damnable system in place that had created this nightmare, and that righteous men and women had no choice but to oppose it.

READ AND LISTEN: MLK's 'Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence' Speech

Dr. King spoke of the Triple Evils: racism, militarism and materialism—meaning, in contemporary society, capitalism.

The sum total of these evils is U.S. imperialism, the global system that was committing the violence he came to that church to oppose—the system of capitalism as it actually exists, that is headquartered in the United States, and whose violence is the greatest obstacle to the construction of a humane civilization.

When Dr. King said that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," he was expressing confidence that humanity would throw off—overthrow—these evil systems.

That did not sit well with the captains of imperialism, and Dr. King was dead exactly one year later.

But, that did not silence the voices of Black anti-imperialism. Those voices, including Dr. King's own, had gotten even louder and more defiant after the assassination of Malcolm X, three years earlier.

The Black Panther Party's appeal was so compelling that its chapter infrastructure could not absorb the tens of thousands of Black youth that wanted to join.

SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which some folks thought of as the children of Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were agitating against the war and the draft years before King. They had taken up the anti-imperialist banner in the years after the exile of W.E.B. Du Bois and the erasure of Paul Robeson from public life—men who were giants of anti-imperialism.

When Dr. King was shot down, there erupted the greatest wave of Black rebellion in the history of the United States. That rebellion fueled the explosive growth of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, whose appeal was so compelling that its chapter infrastructure could not absorb the tens of thousands of Black youth that wanted to join.

It was a revolutionary Black nationalism that was profoundly anti-imperialist—proudly and loudly socialist—a movement determined to join with a world that was up in arms against the empire.

It was Malcolm's child – out to avenge Dr. King.

Therefore, it had to be crushed by the massive repressive forces of the State, in a dirty war that reached its most savage peak in 1969 with a merciless campaign of political imprisonment and assassination, including the murder of Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark by Chicago police and the FBI.

The Party was driven into retreat, back to its founding turf in Oakland, California.

However, the decisive blow to the Black movement for self-determination and against U.S. imperialism was delivered by forces internal to the Black community. It came from a class that had not been concerned about justice in any civilizational sense, but only about getting rid of Jim Crow—American apartheid—so that they could also walk the halls of the empire and live the corporate life.

Their vehicle—the only one that was open to this Black aspiring class—was the Democratic Party, because the other party was busy transforming itself into the White Man's Party.

With very few exceptions, this was a class for itself, consumed by a mission of "representationalism." They wanted no part in social transformation; they wanted only to be represented in the upper echelons of corporate, governmental and symbolic media power.

Their agenda was solely concerned with their own upward mobility. They were not about justice or peace.

Here are two examples—founding members of this new, Black Misleadership Class:

Carl Stokes, the first Black big city mayor, elected in Cleveland, 1967. The first thing he did was to appoint a Black retired general as police chief, and the first thing the general did was to arm the cops with hollow point bullets.

Maynard Jackson, the first Black mayor of Atlanta, elected in 1973. Four years later, he fired 1,000 striking sanitation workers – the same folks that Dr. King had gone to Memphis to support nine years earlier—and died trying.

The rise of a selfish, servile, corporate ass-kissing Black class, combined with murderous application of state power, snuffed out the Black Liberation Movement, which was anti-imperialist at the core.

There was a brief resurgence of Black "movement" politics with the campaign against South African apartheid. But, only briefly.

The rise of a selfish, servile, corporate ass-kissing Black class, combined with murderous application of state power, snuffed out the Black Liberation Movement.

For two generations, Black movement politics was smothered by the hegemonic power of the Democratic Party, whose tentacles strangled the militancy out of virtually every Black civic organization. The churches, the fraternities, the sororities—all behave like annexes of the Democratic Party.

They invoke Dr. King's name, and use the word "justice" a lot—and the word "peace" every so often—but justice and peace cannot possibly find a home in one of the two parties of war.

So, the question becomes: Does two generations without a real peace and social justice movement in Black America mean that the Black Radical Tradition has been crushed? Have Black people, the historically most left-leaning constituency in the United States, shed their anti-imperialism and embraced war?

The most definitive answer that I have seen to that question came in a Zogby poll, conducted in late February, 2003. It was only a few weeks before George Bush crossed into Iraq—a war that everyone knew was coming. The Zogby poll asked a straightforward question. Here it is, verbatim:

"Would you support an invasion of Iraq if it resulted in the death of thousands of Iraqi civilians?"

A super-majority of white males said, "Hell yes, let's get it on." A bare majority of white females felt the same way. Sixteen percent of Hispanic Americans said they would invade, even if it meant killing thousands of civilians.

However, only 7 percent of Blacks agreed with that statement—meaning, only a marginal segment of Black America had any willingness to kill Iraqi men, women and children. This shows that the Black worldview is worlds apart from that of most white men and women. It's also very strong evidence that Black people remain anti-imperialist, despite two generations without a movement that was loudly and proudly and defiantly anti-imperialist.

But, then came the First Black President: Barack Obama.

We at Black Agenda Report feared, correctly, that a pro-war, Black Democratic president would have a profound effect on Black political behavior. We were very anxious about the rise of this guy who we knew would be a war president. We worried about the effect that his presence in the Oval Office would have on the Black worldview. We expected, and got, the worst.

We feared that Black people, for the first time in history, might begin to identify with U.S. national power if one of their number was the personification of that power. That is a very, very heady brew for a people who had been rendered invisible for most of their sojourn in North America.

There was never any question of how the Black Misleadership Class would react to having a Black Democrat in the White House. Their agenda is to stick as close to Power as possible, and to celebrate Blacks being represented in the halls of power, even if that person is engaged in crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. And so, the Black Misleadership Class did not surprise us in terms of their behavior under President Obama.

Back in 2002, when President George Bush was asking for War Powers permission to attack Iraq, only four members of the Congressional Black Caucus went along with him. But by June of 2011, when the United States and NATO were doing their regime change mission in Libya, more than half of the Congressional Black Caucus—24 members—gave their full permission and assent to Obama's continued bombing of Libya. And 31 of the 40 or so voting members of the Caucus opted to continue spending money on the Libyan operation. That number includes John Lewis, who tries to cloak himself in all the vestments of Dr. Martin Luther King. He also voted to continue funding for that war, AFRICOM's first war on Africa.

Keith Ellison called that war "a blow for freedom and self-determination."

But, what about the masses of Black people? There was some disturbing evidence of the effect that Barack Obama's presence in the White House was having on Black people's historical, bedrock anti-imperialism. Back in late August of 2013, Obama threatened to launch airstrikes against Syria. Polls showed that 40 percent of Black Americans would have supported such an airstrike, compared to only 38 percent of whites and a smaller percentage of Hispanic Americans.

It is true that only minorities of any American ethnicity supported Obama's threatened strike, but this was the first poll in the history of polling in which more Black people were for a warlike action than white people. Compare that to the only 7 percent of Blacks that supported an invasion of Iraq, a decade earlier. Obama has had his effect.

With the current hysteria about Russia, we see the entirety of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Misleadership Class badmouthing the Kremlin with the same intensity and insanity as their white counterparts. What really disturbed me, however, was a conversation I had with a brother who styles himself as a revolutionary. He's head of the Revolutionary Black Panther Party. I was interviewing him after the police "vamped" on some of their members in Milwaukee. All of a sudden, out of the blue, he starts talking about those damn Russians! And he's supposed to be a revolutionary Black Panther!

Dr. Gerald Horne speaks of the "Putin Derangement Syndrome" that afflicts the ruling circles in the United States, who fear the U.S. is losing its dominant position in the world. But, somehow, this insanity has filtered down, even to folks that call themselves Black revolutionaries.

The First Black President has left us with a deep and lingering problem. Even out of office, he packs a weaponized legacy.

Black Agenda Report executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

 

End of MPEN e-Newsletter

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