New
Ground 103
November - December, 2005
Contents
Labor as Party
The Lisa Fittko Internship
American and Vietnamese Agent Orange
Victims Tour the United States
New Ground
103.1 - 11.29.2005
New Ground
103.2 - 12.10.2005
New Ground
103.3 - 12.17.2005
New Ground
103.4 - 01.05.2006
Everybody
In! Nobody Out!
by Bob Roman
In contrast to some previous years,
the Campaign for Better Health Care's (CBHC) annual meeting was
a robust affair. Held at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza in Chicago
this past November 10, it brought together nearly 400 participants
from around the state. While there was some mainstream press
coverage, it was mostly in the context of the keynote speaker,
Governor Rod Blagojevich, and his "Kids Care" program
and his administration's suspect hiring and contracting practices.
The reason for the increased interest
by health care activists and the reason for journalistic neglect
is fairly similar: the Health Care Justice Act. To
recap, the Health Care Justice Act sets up the "Adequate
Health Care Task Force" that will draft legislation dealing
with the health care crisis for the state legislature to consider
next year, the goal being to have the legislation in effect by
2007. Depending upon what the task force recommends, this may
(or may not) be a major, radical change in health care in Illinois.
So why is Kids Care a story and Health
Care Justice not? Part of it is that anything talked up by a
bunch of politicians is considered news. Then too, Kids Care
comes in the context of conflict: a looming election contest,
threatening criminal prosecutions. But while the implications
of the Health Care Justice Act could be radical, no one really
knows at this point. It's all just possibilities; it's all just
complicated ambiguities. Nobody knows who the winners and losers
will be. Thus there is no overt conflict thus no drama thus no
story.
"Everybody In! Nobody Out!"
the crowd at the meeting enthusiastically chanted in a ritual
not unlike singing "Solidarity Forever" at union events.
But if the actual implications of the Health Care Justice Act
are presently ambiguous, this year's CBHC annual meeting was
also a study in ambiguity. The meeting was a careful balancing
act between maintaining interest and enthusiasm for the process
of the Health Care Justice Act and a studied openness as to the
specifics of the Task Force's product. After all, if no one knows
who the winners and losers will be, it's hard to organize opposition
to the process.
For example, one of the major presentations
at the meeting was by Larry Boress of the Midwest Business Group
on Health. It was a Power Point slide show entitled "Affordable,
Accessible Health Care: A Smart Business Decision". Much
of this dealt with educating "consumers" about health
issues and providing what might be called "transparency"
regarding the quality and price of the services available. Some
of this would be of interest in any health care system. But the
thrust of this presentation was to explore ways of making health
care an interchangeable commodity, a necessity if "consumer
based" (which is to say "free market") approaches
to health care have any chance at universal application.
Boress' presentation was politely received.
The CBHC also included, in the meeting
packet, an answer to Boress' presentation in the form of a reprint
of a New Yorker article from August 29, 2005. "The
Moral-Hazard Myth: The Bad Idea Behind Our Failed Health-Care
System" by Malcolm Galdwell examines the assumptions
made by ideologues obsessed with supply and demand curves and
the gruesome consequences in real life.
Another major part of the program was
a reprise of last year's panel discussion about the Health Care
Justice Act. This year the panelists included Mark Blum (Executive
Director, America's Agenda), Kao-Ping Chua (Jack Rutledge Fellow,
American Medical Students Association), Rachel Rosen DeGolia
(Operations & Organizing Director, UHCAN), and Steve Scheer
(Principal, Health Management Associates). The panel's topic
was to be rather broader, but moderator Elizabeth Brackett (The
News Hour with Jim Lehrer) found the process and the prospects
of the Health Care Justice Act to be more interesting. While
Mark Blum had a great deal to contribute, Steve Scheer was perhaps
more interesting. Evidently a longtime campaigner for universal
health care, he has reached the point where he has become a somewhat
dogmatic advocate of incremental reforms. In light of the long
and disappointing history of efforts toward universal health
care in this country, Scheer's attitude is understandable. But
such a promiscuous love of tinkering is unwarranted. There are
worthy incremental reforms that make significant improvements
to the lives of a large constituency, such as Medicare and (to
a lesser extent) Medicaid. Then there are reforms that are incremental?
The keynote address by Governor Rod
Blagojevich largely concerned his new Kids Care program. Quite
possibly this program qualifies as a worthy incremental reform;
it covers a significant constituency for whom it will make a
real difference. On the other hand, it is to be paid for, in
part, by placing Medicaid recipients into "managed care"
programs. In the context of private, for-profit insurance, "managed
care" becomes shorthand for rationed care with an additional
cut removed for profits. Does this "incremental reform"
amount to spreading thin services even thinner? One has to sympathize
with Republican whining about vagueness.
Blagojevich, or his speechwriters, have
apparently been reading Jim Wallis and listening (though not
too closely) to George Lakoff. The Governor spent much of his
speech proclaiming his budget as a "moral document",
a testament to family values, etc. All of which might sound convincing
if Blagojevich had taken any risks in the budget's composition.
The lack of overt, active opposition
to the Health Care Justice Act process does not preclude the
possibility of sabotage. Or is it incompetence? The past President
of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Doug Dority,
spoke to the meeting, briefly, in his capacity as the President
of America's Agenda.
He condemned the performance of the Illinois Department of Public
Health in arranging the hearings mandated under the Health Care
Justice Act. The first hearing at Trinity UCC Church in Chicago
was well attended. (The UofC Young Democratic Socialists worked
with other campus groups to bring students to the hearing. Over
500 people attended.) But the venues for subsequent hearings
were finalized at the last minute, often with no more than a
week's advance notice. Chicago DSA has been sending postcards
advertising the hearings and the opportunity to testify to our
database in the zip code(s) surrounding the hearing sites, but
it's not clear how useful this is if recipients only get three
or four days notice.
It is possible to submit comments (that
is, to testify) by mail and email. You can mail your written
testimony (typed, double-spaced, 8.5" x 11" paper)
to Tracy Morgan, Illinois Department of Public Health, Division
of Health Policy, 525 W. Jefferson St., Springfield, IL 62761.
Or you can email your comments to hcja@idph.state.il.us.
For more information, go to http://www.idph.state.il.us/hcja/
CBHC is also working on getting legislators
in the Illinois House and Senate to endorse health care reform.
Among other things, the pledge insists "that efforts cannot
stop with covering all children in Illinois we must cover
all Illinoisans!" and commits the individual to attending
a public hearing of the Adequate Health Care Task Force. For
more information, call the CBHC at 312.913.9559 or go to http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm.
These are interesting times for health
care politics in Illinois. The coming year will be when we decide
if it is a time of meaningful change or meaningless hot air.
CBHC has drafted a set of criteria by which to judge whatever
the Adequate Health Care Task Force produces. Viewed through
ideological eyes, it's easy to imagine that only a universal
("single payer") solution would adequately address
the criteria. But in fact, they are mostly vague enough to encompass
any number of approaches. And the criteria are broad enough that
any given solution to health care in Illinois is likely
to shortchange some aspect of them. The criteria are not useless
as a tool for judgment, but the range of possible solutions makes
it likely CBHC will be in trouble with some part of its constituency
when it has to decide.
Other
News
compiled by Bob Roman
Labor as
Party
One of the more obscure political meetings
in Chicago this fall could turn out to be one of the more earthshaking
events in Chicago politics in maybe the past fifty years. Or,
then again, it may not. This past September, the Chicago
Federation of Labor called together several dozen local union
leaders and union political directors to discuss labor's participation
in municipal politics.
The motivation for this increased interest
is directly related to the protracted negotiations between the
City and its unions, negotiations that took years. The Chicago
Federation ultimately did a smart thing: it organized a series
of hearings across the city to which local aldermen were invited.
It forced the aldermen to confront the issue as one affecting
their very own electorate, their very own neighbors, instead
of as some abstract legal process. In the Rogers Park hearing,
it was an interesting sight to see: otherwise "liberal"
aldermen squirm as they admitted there was no money in the current
budget for raises.
Chicago Federation President Dennis
Gannon is quoted as speculating, "If we have just a handful
of union members serving as Chicago aldermen in our wards, we
probably would not have had to wait an agonizing 28 months to
get a city contract for our 30,000 unionized municipal employees.
We probably would not have to fight so hard for the passage of
a privatization accountability ordinance."
One hopes that it would be so easy.
There's at least one alderman who was
an union officer, in SEIU, and it hasn't been unusual for
various city politicians to maintain union cards. At least some
of the City Council support for the privatization ordinance,
a major labor legislative priority, was motivated by the inability
of aldermen to place workers with private contractors when city
work had been outsourced (translation: no patronage!). And when
city employees do owe their jobs to the local alderman,
who will be in charge politically: the alderman or the unions?
It's possible that the Chicago Federation
is looking to Los Angeles as its inspiration, and one certainly
hopes so. Chicago has over 250,000 union members, not including
retirees and family, so the potential is certainly there. But
it will require a major change in how labor does business in
politics. The protracted contract negotiations and lack of aldermanic
enthusiasm for keeping Wal-Mart out of Chicago have left many
steaming; there is indeed interest in change. On the other hand,
without having made a formal endorsement, the Chicago Federation
recently recommended to its friends and members a Lisa Madigan
fundraiser. 2007 could be a very interesting year in Chicago
politics. Or not.
The Lisa Fittko Internship
When veteran Hyde Park activist and
author Lisa Fittko died this past March at the age of 95, her
friends decided to honor her memory by establishing an internship
program with the Crossroads
Fund in her name. Fittko lived a rather remarkable life before
settling down to life of activism in Chicago. She wrote two books
about her experiences: Escape Through the Pyrenees and
Solidarity and Treason: Resistance and Exile 1933 1940.
In 1998, a documentary film was made of her life: Lisa Fittko:
But We Said We Will Not Surrender.
The organizers are celebrating Ms. Fittko
and the inauguration of the internship program with an event
on Saturday, December 10, 3 PM to 5 PM, at the First Unitarian
Church at 5650 S. Woodlawn in Chicago. Contributions should be
made to "Crossroads Fund: Lisa Fittko Internship" and
mailed to Crossroads Fund, 3411 W. Diversey, Chicago, IL 60647.
For more information, call 773.324.1507.
American and Vietnamese Agent Orange
Victims Tour the United States
Wars do not end when the bombs stop
falling and the fighting ceases. The devastation continues long
after, in the land and in the minds and bodies of the affected
population. As part of healing the wounds of war, Vietnamese
survivors of Agent Orange, who still seek justice more than 30
years after the end of the war, will be coming to the United
States to meet us.
The meeting will take place Wednesday,
November 30, 6 PM at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan 2nd
Floor Congress Lounge, in Chicago. This meeting, organized in
Chicago by the Vietnam Veterans
Against the War, is part of a 30 day tour of the United States
organized on behalf of Vietnamese exposed to Agent Orange. While
U.S. veterans have received some measure of compensation, after
years of struggle, Vietnamese victims have not received a single
cent of compensation or humanitarian aid from the U.S. government
or the chemical manufacturers. Vietnamese citizens have filed
a lawsuit to hold the chemical companies responsible for the
manufacture of Agent Orange and to achieve justice.
Chicago DSA is among the cosponsors
of this meeting.
For more information about this campaign,
go to http://www.vn-agentorange.org.
For more information about the lawsuit, go to http://www.ffrd.org/Lawsuit/Lawsuit.htm.
To sign a petition in support of this effort for justice, go
to http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN
The alderman I had in mind is, of course,
Ted Thomas. But of course, he had not been an officer in SEIU
but rather in Chicago ACORN. Now it is true that Chicago ACORN
rather intimately shares office space with SEIU Local 880, but
from a distance they are two very distinctly different organizations.
Begging your pardon. RR
|
New
Ground #103.1
11.29.2005
Contents
0. DSA News
Socialist International Meetings
New Ground 103 Erratum
1. Politics
Stealing Elections
Protest America's 1,000th Execution
Illinois Health Care Referendum
2. Upcoming Events of Interest
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DSA News
Socialist International Meetings
The Socialist International, the world-wide
organization of social democratic, socialist and labour parties,
will elect its President at the upcoming meeting of its Council
to be held in Athens on January 30 - 31 of next year.
http://www.socialistinternational.org/main.html
The meeting will be preceded by a meeting of the Socialist International
Women Bureau on the 27th and 28th, also in Athens.
http://www.socintwomen.org.uk/CONTENTS/ENGLISH.html
The International Union of Socialist Youth will be having its
26th World Congress in Esbjerg, Denmark, on January 13 through
15 of 2006.
http://www.iusy.org/index2.php
New Ground 103 Erratum
What? A mistake other than a typo? Yes!
Write in haste, repent at leisure. If you're curious, go to:
http://www.chicagodsa.org/ngarchive/ng103.html#anchor133268
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Politics
Stealing Elections
Among lefties, it is almost
an article of faith that the 2004 election in Ohio, among other
places, was stolen. Now the Government Accounting Office, as
requested by Representative John Conyors, completed an investigation
on the use of electronic voting machines in the Ohio 2004 election.
The results are not encouraging for honest elections. To obtain
to report, go to
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf
Much of the concern regarding the 2004
election was based on the discrepancy between exit polling and
the election count. What you may not have heard is that it happened
again in the 2005 election in Ohio. For more about this, for
an "executive summary" of the report, and for other
juicy and dismaying information, go to DSA member Bob Fitrakis'
Columbus Free Press web site:
http://freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1529
For other developments regarding electronic
vote fraud, go to
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
Protest America's 1,000th Execution
As you read this, the United States
is close to carrying out its 1,000 execution since the reinstatement
of the death penalty in this country in the 1970's. The current
death penalty system is marked by racial discrimination, wrongful
convictions, arbitrariness and the politicization of capital
punishment.
The 1,000th execution is expected to
take place in either late November or early December. The Illinois
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP) is marking the
shameful milestone with a vigil on the afternoon of day after
the execution to protest the ongoing use of capital punishment.
The vigil will take place between 4:30
- 5:30 p.m. at the Federal Plaza at Dearborn and Adams Streets
in Chicago. ICADP will send out an e-mail alert to notify you
of the date of the vigil. If you are already receiving the ICADP
e-newsletter, you will get the notice. If not and you would like
to receive our newsletter and notice, please sign up at the ICADP
web site:
http://www.icadp.org.
Illinois Health Care Referendum
"Shall the State of Illinois
provide all state residents with full prescription benefits and
the right to choose one's own doctors under a publicly financed
comprehensive health insurance system?"
Illinois Health Care Referendum 2006 is attempting to put this
question on the November, 2006, ballot. It would be an advisory
measure, only, but the timing would be useful to help pass whatever
the Adequate Health Care Task Force recommends as legislation.
For more information (and to download a petition with instructions
on how to gather signatures) go to:
http://www.illinoishealthcarenow.org/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Upcoming Events of Interest
Events listed here are not
necessarily endorsed by Chicago DSA but should be of interest
to DSA members, friends and other lefties. For other events,
go to http://www.chicagodsa.org/page9.html.
Tuesday, November 29, 2:20 PM
Dominican University Hosts Consul
General of Venezuela in Chicago
Fine Arts Building, Eloise Martin Recital Hall, 7900 W. Division
Street, River Forest
Martin E. Sanchez, Consul General of the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela in Chicago, will discuss democratic initiatives
and social change in Venezuela in a lecture. The Sanchez lecture
will be followed by the screening of the film The Revolution
Will Not Be Televised at 7:00 PM. in the recital hall.
Both events are free. For more information about Martin Sanchez
lecture or the free screening of The Revolution Will Not Be
Televised, call Dr. Christina Perez, assistant professor
of sociology, at (708) 524-6693.
Wednesday, November 30, 6 PM
Vietnamese
Victims of Agent Orange Need Justice
Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan 2nd Floor Congress Lounge,
Chicago
This meeting, organized in Chicago by the Vietnam Veterans Against
the War, is part of a 30 day tour of the United States organized
on behalf of Vietnamese exposed to Agent Orange. While U.S. veterans
have received some measure of compensation, after years of struggle,
Vietnamese victims have not received a single cent of compensation
or humanitarian aid from the U.S. government or the chemical
manufacturers. Vietnamese citizens have filed a lawsuit to hold
the chemical companies responsible for the manufacture of Agent
Orange and to achieve justice. Chicago DSA is among the cosponsors.
Thursday, December 1, 7 PM
Life & Debt
ACME Artworks, 1741 N. Western Av, Chicago
The feature length documentary that addresses the affect of the
IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and
current globalization policies on a developing country, specifically
Jamaica. Presented by the Open University of the Left, tuition
$5 but no one turned away.
Thursday, December 8, 4:30 PM
Labor Rally to Restore Workers'
Freedom to Form Unions
Haymarket Square Memorial, DesPlaines and Randolph, Chicago
Join the Chicago Federation of Labor (http://www.cflonline.org)
for a mass rally on International Human Rights Day to demand
workers are guaranteed a fundamental human right: the right to
have a union voice on the job. Come hear about the obstacles
workers face when seeking to join a union at work and about the
strategies for overcoming those obstacles.
|
New
Ground #103.2
12.10.2005
Contents
0. DSA News
Young Democratic Socialists: Turning
the Tide Toward Freedom
The Socialist International Consults on Kosovo
1. Politics
Labor Rights Are Human Rights
Health Care in Illinois: Is Massachusetts Our Future?
Melissa Bean Does It Again
Mumia Abu-Jamal
2. Democratic Socialism
The New Cooperative Movement in
Venezuela
Taxing Wealth Swedish Style
3. Upcoming Events of Interest
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DSA News
Young
Democratic Socialists: Turning the Tide Toward Freedom
The Young Democratic Socialists (YDS)
are hosting a national conference in New York City on February
17-19 (President's Day weekend), called "Turning the Tide
Towards Freedom: Building the Youth and Student Movement for
Justice". The conference will bring together activists from
across the country for workshops, trainings, great speakers,
and more to reanimate the struggle to build a better future!
Katrina exposed the realities of American
injustice to a wide audience, but we must move forward to change
and to challenge not only the Bush administration, but the entire
systems of inequality and oppression that led to the disaster.
The current international uproar about the CIA's use of "rendition"
(secretly outsourcing torture of prisoners to other countries)
has fanned the flames of an already swelling anti-war movement
at home. The weak response from official Democratic party leaders
to new evidence showing the racist, sexist and homophobic beliefs
of Bush's Supreme Court Justice nominee, Samuel Alito, has spurred
grassroots activism to simultaneously pressure and support progressive
Democrats. Right wing attempts to slash the funding of vital
programs for social uplift are provoking a backlash from communities
that refuse to take it anymore.
It is time to renew our energies, build
community, and remember to keep our eyes on the prize. We are
not only fighting against injustice, but for liberty and equality.
Young people can and must turn the tide towards freedom, for
in the timeless words of Frederick Douglass, "power concedes
nothing without a demand."
Workshops and panels will feature organizers
and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist, youth, queer rights,
trade union, and anti-war movements, as well as noted activist
scholars and voices from the democratic left.
We are still developing the program,
but the preliminary list of featured speakers includes:
- Bill Fletcher Jr., President of TransAfrica Forum, former co-chair
of United for Peace and Justice, founder of the Black Radical
Congress, as well as longtime trade union activist and former
Education Director of the AFL-CIO;
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities
and Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Society
at Columbia University, author of Can the Subaltern Speak?, noted
post-colonial theorist, and longtime activist in the international
women's movement;
- Frances Fox Piven, distinguished sociologist at the Graduate
School of the City University of New York, author of The War
at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush's Militarism; Poor People's
Movements, Why Americans Don't Vote; and The New Class War, as
well as Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America;
- Steve Max,
former leader of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), longtime
activist in civil rights, labor and community movements and Midwest
Academy trainer and designer of its economic education program;
- Stephen Eric Bronner, Professor of Political Science and Comparative
Literature at Rutgers University and author of the new book:
Blood in the Sand: Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions,
and the Erosion of American Democracy, and Socialism Unbound;
- Clark Herndon
and Tessa Garcia, campus anti-oppression activists, Program
Director and Associate Program Director of the International
Institute for Sustained Dialogue;
- Joseph Schwartz, Chair, Department of Political Science, Temple
University and Chair, Steering Committee of the Democratic Socialists
of America;
- Hector Soto,
Director of Policy and Advocacy, Children's Defense Fund.
- Corey D. B. Walker, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and
African American Studies at the University of Virginia, author
of the forthcoming study, "The Freemasonry of the Race":
The Cultural Politics of Association and the Struggle for Democracy
in America, now working on a new book project entitled Between
Transcendence and History: Theology, Critical Theory and the
Politics of Liberation, and also a member of the National Political
Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America
Conference sessions will cover critical
topics, such as:
- combating racism, sexism, and homophobia
- fighting the prison-industrial complex
- ending the wars abroad and in our own
communities
- exposing the realities of the low wage
economy
- building a vibrant democracy
- engaging in anti-corporate campaigns
and student-labor solidarity
- linking struggles through multi-issue
organizing
- learning the nuts and bolts of grassroots
activism
- building activist chapters
- and more
Come pick up:
- a vision of the better world we are
struggling to create every day
- valuable skills and resources for campus,
high school and community organizing
- a deeper understanding of systems of
oppression and exploitation
- strategies for combating the right-wing
agenda of endless war, corporate greed, intolerance and deep
cuts to needed social programs like college loans, affordable
housing and Medicare
To learn more and sign up for YDS email
updates, including conference info, check out www.ydsusa.org,
or contact our national office at yds@dsausa.org
or call 212 727 8610 ext. 24.
The Socialist International
Consults on Kosovo
The Socialist International
conducted a round of consultations on the future of Kosovo in
Sofia at the end of November. While the statement coming out
of the meeting was mostly pleasant platitudes, the Socialist
International once again provided a venue for more or less like-minded
players from various sides of the conflict to learn more about
one another and to discuss the issues. For somewhat more detail,
go to:
http://www.socialistinternational.org/main.html
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Politics
Labor Rights Are Human Rights
For the past several years, the AFL-CIO
has been celebrating Human Rights Day, making the point that
the United States does not live up to its signed commitments
under international law, particularly with respect to the rights
of workers to organize. The "celebration" is the occasion
for demonstrations, rallies, and meetings all across the nation.
In Chicago, the Chicago Federation of Labor held its event at
Haymarket Square. Despite a snow storm (very pretty in the bright
lights), nearly 200 people showed up for what was very wisely
a brief event.
American Rights at Work, a labor supported group advocating labor
law reform, commissioned UIC's Center for Urban Economic Development
to do a study of Chicago area organizing campaigns and the effect
current labor law (and the lack of compliance to it) has on successful
outcomes. The study gained rather more press than the rally (see
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/chicago/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=851561
for example). For copies of the report, "Undermining the
Right to Organize: Employer Behavior During Union Representation
Campaigns", and other materials regarding labor rights as
human rights, go to:
http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/
or http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/uicued/
The United Electrical Workers joined the celebration of Human
Rights Day by filing a complaint with the United Nations International
Labor Organization (ILO) charging the State of North Carolina
and the United States government with gross violations of worker
rights. This is with regard to the State of North Carolina's
failure recognize and bargain with UE Local 150. Public employees
in the state are still prohibited, by state law, from collective
bargaining. To learn how you can help, go to:
http://www.ranknfile-ue.org/dec10.html.
Health Care in Illinois: Is
Massachusetts Our Future?
The Adequate Health Care Task Force
will recommend, next year, legislation to deal with the health
care crisis in Illinois next year. Whatever the opinions of task
force members, the recommendations will be strongly influenced
by what the task force feels is likely to pass the Illinois General
Assembly. Massachusetts is about a year ahead of Illinois in
dealing with the health care issue. Can the Massachusetts experience
shed some light on what to expect in Illinois?
With some caution, perhaps. Massachusetts does have a different
political culture, among other things being a heavily Democratic
Party state. While there is a Republican Governor, the General
Court is overwhelmingly Democratic: the Senate 33 Democrats to
6 Republicans and the House 126 Democrats to 23 Republicans and
1 independent.
This supermajority does not seem to have had much effect. MassCare,
the local equivalent to Illinois' Campaign for Better Health
Care, had a "single-payer" bill, S 755, that was apparently
reported favorably from the appropriate Senate committee. As
near as I can gather, it was "disappeared" by a legislative
maneuver that produced instead a bill that only covers about
half the uninsured. For a precis by the health industry press,
go to:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=33684
Information about MassCare's single-payer proposal can be found
at:
http://www.masscare.org/legis.htm
The Massachusetts House passed a bill that covers all the uninsured:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=33594
The major difference being that the House was willing to impose
payroll taxes to pay for it. Both essentially rely on private
insurance, using Medicaid as a safety net for others.
Massachusetts does have the option of passing legislation by
referendum. And in fact there is a proposal that is likely to
be on the November, 2006, ballot. This seems to be an additional
step beyond the House proposal toward a single-payer system,
but only a step. For more information, go to the "MassAct"
web-site:
http://www.massact.org/
Health Care for All Massachusetts also maintains a blog useful
as an introduction to the players and issues:
http://www.hcfama.org/blog/index.htm
Melissa Bean Does It Again
U.S. Representative Melissa
Bean, allegedly a Democrat, fouled her pants again. The first
time was her vote in favor of CAFTA. The immediate consequence
was an immediate disinvitation to a Northeastern Illinois Federation
of Labor banquet. Now truly a woman of no expectations, she has
fulfilled voting for the Republican tax cut:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll621.xml
For a survey of this atrocity, check out the Economic Policy
Institute:
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_20051207
Mumia Abu-Jamal
In a startling new development,
the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has agreed
to hear arguments on three claims by Pennsylvania death-row prisoner
Mumia Abu-Jamal that his 1982 trial and state appeal were tainted
by constitutional violations. Any one of those three claims,
if upheld by the three-judge panel, could lead to a new trial
for one of America's most famous and long- standing death row
prisoners. For more information, go to:
http://www.counterpunch.com/patrick12072005.html
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Democratic Socialism
The New Cooperative Movement
in Venezuela
Under President Chavez, the number of
cooperatives in Venezuela has exploded by orders of magnitude.
Does this represent a viable new sector of the economy or is
it an exercise in political manipulation? In "The New Cooperative
Movement in Venezuela's Bolivarian Process", Camila Pineiro
Harnecker provides an outline of how the Venezuela's economy
is changing, asks some interesting and difficult questions though
she does not necessarily provide the answers:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/harnecker051205.html
Taxing Wealth Swedish Style
Sweden has abolished its estate tax,
true, but that's not the whole story... See John Miller's article
in Dollars & Sense:
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/0905miller.html
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Upcoming Events of Interest
Events listed here are not
necessarily endorsed by Chicago DSA but should be of interest
to DSA members, friends and other lefties. For other events,
go to http://www.chicagodsa.org/page9.html.
Sunday, December 11, 6:00 PM
Light a Candle for Change at
Wal-Mart
1300 Des Plaines Ave. Forest Park,
IL
To reflect upon our values this holiday season, community, religious,
and labor leaders will be lighting candles in an action to bring
change to Wal-Mart. ACORN, Chicago Jobs With Justice, and Local
881 UFCW, will be hosting a candlelight vigil at the Forest Park
Wal-Mart. Please join us in the shared spirit of the holiday
season as we call on Wal-Mart to change for the better and to
embrace the best of what America has to offer.
Monday, December 12, 11:30 Am - 1:00
PM
Health Care Justice Coalition
membership meeting
Access Living, 614 W. Roosevelt Rd, Chicago
For information, call Megan Meagher at 312-913-9449.
Tuesday, December 13, 4 PM - 7 PM
Adequate Health Care Task Force
Hearing
Illinois Hospital Association, 1151 E. Warrenville Rd, Naperville
For more information, go to: http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm
Wednesday, December 14, 4 PM - 7 PM
Adequate Health Care Task Force
Hearing
Aurora Christian High School Auditorium, 2255 Sullivan Rd, Aurora
For more information, go to: http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm
Saturday, December 17, 2 PM
"The Corporation"
ACME Artworks, 1741 N. Western, Chicago
"The Corporation" is a meditation on the history, nature
and future of the dominant institution of our time, whose influence
extends from the halls of government to the most intimate details
of our lives. The documentary puts this "legal person"
on the couch, seeking to unlock the inner life of an entity whose
only goal is to maximize shareholder wealth. It concludes that
the typical limited liability corporation meets the diagnostic
criteria of a psychopath. (Color, 145 minutes) An Open University
of the Left event; $5 tuition but no one turned away.
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New
Ground #103.3
12.17.2005
Contents
0. DSA News
DSA National Convention Report
1. Politics
Congress Hotel Strike: 30 Months
and Counting
2. Democratic Socialism
Movement Toward Socialism in Bolivia?
3. Upcoming Events of Interest
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DSA News
DSA National Convention Report
The DSA 2005 National Convention was
in November, and all these weeks you've been wondering what happened.
No? Well, you are now! Go to:
http://www.dsausa.org/convention2005/report/convention.html
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Politics
Congress Hotel Strike: 30 Months
and Counting
While the members of HERE Local 1 had
won a tremendous victory in negotiations with the Chicago hotel
industry in September of 2002, one hotel, the Congress Plaza
Hotel, refused to go along with the industry settlement, insisting
on pay cuts and outsourcing. In June of 2003, the workers at
the Congress walked out. (One of the early job actions was at
our 2003 Debs - Thomas - Harrington Dinner, see http://www.chicagodsa.org/ngarchive/ng88.html#anchor1562616
.) They've been out ever since.
This late last Thursday afternoon, December 15, UNITE HERE Local
1 called its members and friends out for a special picket line
to protest the presence of the Midwest Band Clinic. About a hundred
people gathered in support of the strike.
At the end of the demonstration, Rev. Calvin Morris (Community
Renewal Society), Jane Ramsey (Jewish Council on Urban Affairs),
and William McNary (Citizen Action Illinois) spoke in support
of strikers. One of the striking Congress workers also spoke,
as did Henry Tamarin, President of UNITE HERE Local 1. Tamarin
noted that the scabs at the Congress are making 75% of what Local
1 members are making, and without benefits. The industry contract
that the Congress refused to accept is set to expire next September,
and the Congress is still talking pay cuts. Tamarin noted that
one local hotel executive told him that he'd love to pay his
workers what the Congress is paying, but not if it means having
Congress picket lines outside his door. For more information
on the strike, go to:
http://www.congresshotelstrike.info/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Democratic Socialism
Movement Toward Socialism in
Bolivia?
The Bolivian national elections are
hard upon us. If the leading candidate, Evo Morales, wins, will
he be allowed to govern? And, if so, what might be expected?
The International Relations Center examines these questions with
two recent articles.
In "So What If Morales Wins in Bolivia", Ronald Bruce
St John examines the possible consequences of a victory:
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2988
In "Two Opposing Views of Social Change in Bolivia",
Raul Zibechi interviews Movement Toward Socialism's Vice Presidential
candidate Alvaro García Linera, and explores the ambiguous,
conflicted attitude toward the role of the State as an instrument
of change among Bolivian leftists.
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2987
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Upcoming Events of Interest
Events listed here are not
necessarily endorsed by Chicago DSA but should be of interest
to DSA members, friends and other lefties. For other events,
go to http://www.chicagodsa.org/page9.html.
Wednesday, January 4, 4 PM - 7 PM
Adequate Health Care Task Force
Hearing
North Park Community Center - Center Place
Banquet Hall, 10040 Addison Rd, Franklin Park
For more information, go to: http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm
|
New
Ground #103.4
01.05.2005
Contents
0. DSA News
Chicago DSA Executive Committee
Meeting
Democratic Left
1. Politics
The State of Working Illinois
IVI-IPO USA PATRIOT Act Web Site
2. Upcoming Events of Interest
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DSA News
Chicago DSA Executive Committee
Meeting
The Chicago DSA Executive Committee
meets Tuesday, January 10, 7 PM at the Chicago DSA office. The
office is located at 1608 N. Milwaukee, Room 403, in Chicago,
at the three way intersection of Milwaukee, North, and Damen
avenues, just off the Damen Avenue Station on the CTA Blue Line
to O'Hare. It is business, but not particularly formal and all
DSA members are welcome to attend. What? You're not a member?
You can remedy that by going to:
http://www.chicagodsa.org/join.html
Democratic Left
The Fall, 2005, issue of Democratic
Left, DSA's national magazine, is in the mail and, if you
were a DSA member, the Post Office would be delivering it any
time now. On the other hand, you can also download or view or
print it as an Adobe Acrobat file at:
http://www.dsausa.org/dl/Fall_2005.pdf
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Politics
The State of Working Illinois
In keeping with our cultural obsession
with rolling odometers, it's customary to look back at the calendar
year just ended with the intent to summarize, learn from, or
whatever! While it is not web fresh as it was released
in mid-November, probably one of the better places to look at
the year's political economy (who got what) in Illinois is The
State of Working Illinois. A joint project of the Center
for Tax and Budget Accountability (http://www.ctbaonline.org)
and Northern Illinois University's Regional Development Institute
Office for Social Policy Research (http://www.rdiniu.org),
the study has its own web site at:
http://www.stateofworkingillinois.niu.edu.
The web site includes a PDF download
of the file and it includes much of the data in various formats,
including as Excel spreadsheets.
The report is especially valuable as
it not only presents data for the entire state but also subdivides
the state into ten regions, presenting the same series of data
for each. This also includes projections regarding job growth
in various occupations.
Much of the information in the report
will not be a great surprise to lefties, though you may find
some of the details of particular interest. For example, the
trend away from manufacturing and toward the service industry
is old news, nor will it be any surprise that education and training
are crucial for better paying jobs in that sector. While this
has been reported elsewhere, you may be surprised to learn these
better paying service jobs are disappearing (being exported)
as well.
This report is a great piece of work
and deserves more attention. Check it out.
IVI-IPO USA PATRIOT Act Web
Site
The Independent Voters of Illinois -
Independent Precinct Organization's National Affairs Committee
has set up a web site on the USA PATRIOT Act:
http://patriotact.homestead.com/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Upcoming Events of Interest
Events listed here are not
necessarily endorsed by Chicago DSA but should be of interest
to DSA members, friends and other lefties. For other events,
go to http://www.chicagodsa.org/page9.html.
Friday, January 6, 11 AM
PROTEST GEORGE BUSH!
Chicago Hilton Hotel, 720 S. Michigan Av,
Chicago
President Dubya is scheduled to speak before
(as usual) a hand-picked elite audience at the Economic Club
of Chicago. Join the hoi polloi, a veritable menagerie of lefties,
in protesting his visit.
Wednesday, January 11, 4 PM - 7 PM
Adequate Health Care Task Force
Hearing
Grove Junior High School, 777 Elk Grove
Blvd, Elk Grove Village
For more information, go to: http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm
Thursday, January 12, 7 PM
Winning Against Wal-Mart: Getting
Beyond Oppositionism
ACME Artworks, 1741 N. Western, Chicago
A presentation by Carl Davidson,
Executive Director of Networking for Democracy, arguing that
simply opposing Wal-Mart is not enough but that "high roaad"
structural reform alternatives have to be developed. For more
information, email oulchicago@yahoo.com
or call 773.384.5797.
Wednesday, January 18, 4 PM - 7 PM
Adequate Health Care Task Force
Hearing
Oakton Community Center, 4701 Oakton St,
Skokie
For more information, go to: http://www.cbhconline.org/HCJC/index.htm
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE
FORWARD
TO THOSE YOU THINK WOULD BE INTERESTED.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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