“CBS: Corporate Bull Sh*t?”
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

“We celebrate the ability of all women to make decisions about health care,
their families, and their future – whatever that decision might be. But Focus
on the Family is using the over $2.5 million ad to shame those women who
might decide to terminate a pregnancy. And the possibility that executives
at a major network participated in shaping this ad is simply appalling.”

– Terry O’Neill, NOW President, February 3, 2010

NEW YORK — On February 4 the World Can’t Wait organized a lunch hour demonstration in front of the CBS headquarters at W. 52nd Street and 6th Avenue in NYC to protest the CBS decision to show an anti-abortion ad during the Super Bowl. In doing so CBS is changing their long standing policy that states their intention not to air an ad that “touches on and/or takes a position on one side of a current controversial issue of public importance” during the Super Bowl. About 25+ people came – they represented World Can’t Wait, the National Organization for Women (NOW), CodePink, and the Women’s Media Center.

Several people spoke. Shelby Knox from the Women’s Media Center spoke of the needs of young women. She said they needed proper sex education and they needed to be able to choose an abortion if they believe that is what would be best for them. Knox is originally from Lubbock, Texas, a self-described “Southern Baptist girl” who attended a school that taught abstinence as the only form of sex education. Like many of the young women there she too made an abstinence until marriage pledge. When she was 15 she learned that Lubbock had some of the highest teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates in the state. She became a very active advocate for comprehensive sex education. Debra Sweet, Director of World Can’t Wait, said that the participants standing on that street with her in front of CBS represented more than one half of humanity, and care about the interests of women. The ad being shown is dangerous. It promotes the killing of women because it implies that women should have no choice, even when their life is threatened.

“Christian Broadcast System”?
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Sunsara Taylor of World Can’t Wait and Revolution said that according to Focus on the Family women can only redeem themselves by having babies and obeying their husbands. They are not pro-family, they are anti-women. Women are only valuable as breeders or incubators. If we have to risk our lives to do it, then so be it. The fact that CBS can air a, “Christian fascist ad tells us something about what has become mainstream in this country”. Obama calls himself the president of common ground. This morning he attended a prayer breakfast with Tim Tebow, but “there is no common ground on abortion. There’s one side who wants women to have babies against our will, who is willing to kill doctors, who is willing to blow-up clinics, who is willing to open fake clinics that traumatize women, who is willing to strip sex education from the schools. And there’s another side who actually view women as human beings, as fully capable of participating in every realm of human society, and are not reducers to breeders or incubators. There is no common ground.”

A teacher passed by with a large group of teenagers out on a class trip. They looked curiously at the group on the sidewalk as several participants explained to the class why they were there and what the issues were. The class listened attentively and asked questions, which were answered.

Sunsara Taylor
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

More than 210,000 protest messages were collected by Credo Action and the Women’s Media Center. They were neatly boxed and an attempt was made to deliver them, but before the group could reach the door a man came running out of the building saying, “Private property, private property. Get back on the sidewalk. Private property. You have no business here.” The group said that they did have business there – the rights of women. They said that they wanted to deliver the petitions. They had called in advance to try to make an appointment to deliver them, and if they couldn’t bring them in, could somebody come down to accept them? The response was a resounding NO, and if anyone wanted to deliver anything they could bring it to the delivery entrance. Everyone should leave or risk arrest. The participants were leaving the “private property” as the police arrived less than a minute later. The police took no action.

Protesters at CBS
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

CBS treated the demonstrators disdainfully. One of the participants made the point that CBS accepted, and is airing an advertisement from a Christian fascist organization but they are refusing to accept petitions from people who represent and care about women. Another said that we are in a dangerous situation in this country when a major mainstream institution is in league with a blatantly fascist organization that is sexist, homophobic, and calls gay people an abomination. Not so long ago a group like Focus on the Family was considered on the lunatic fringe. Today they’re mainstream and Obama and Hillary Clinton go to their prayer breakfast.

In his column (2/2/10), Edge of Sports, Dave Zirin wrote:
“We should reject the utter hypocrisy on display by CBS in airing this ad. The network has long stated that it has Super Bowl rules against ‘advocacy ads’. In 2004 the network rejected a Super Bowl ad from the United Church of Christ in which a church is shown opening its doors to a gay couple. The network has also refused ads from PETA, MoveOn.org, and many others. This year, it even rejected a humorous commercial from a gay dating site called mancrunch.com. And yet, the network takes money from Focus on the Family – which, according to People for the American Way, is ‘anti-choice, anti-gay and against sex education curricula that are not strictly abstinence-only.’

Focus on the Family’s guru is the infamous and recently retired James Dobson. Dobson is a frightening fellow, choosing the second night of Passover last year to say ‘The biggest Holocaust in world history came out of the Supreme Court’ with Roe vs. Wade. Dobson’s other pet project, the Family Research Council, has connections to white supremacist organizations like the Council of Conservative Citizens. In 1996, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins paid former Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,000 for his mailing list.
The idea that this organization is acceptable to CBS – while MoveOn or PETA or the United Church of Christ are too radical – actually adds up to a right-wing assault on free speech.”

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On February 2 the Center for the Humanities of the City University of New York Graduate Center and the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics co-sponsored a forum on the subject of the Media and Domestic Terrorism Trials. Moderated by Jeanne Theoharis, Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, the panelists were Petra Bartosiewicz, independent journalist and author of a forthcoming book about the Justice Department’s post 9/11 trials, Lisa Graves, Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy, and Shayana Kadidal, senior managing attorney of the Guantanamo Global Justice initiative at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Professor Theoharis began by saying that civil rights and civil liberties in terror cases are issues that are not being examined by the media. The position of the Bush administration, and now continuing under Obama, was that in order to protect American citizens they have to go outside the law. The media examines, to some small degree, what is happening at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Abu Graib but, by ignoring it, leaves the impression that in the federal courts in the US the rule of law is intact.

In 2006, when Fahad Hashmi, Theoharis’ former student, was arrested in England the story broke on TV in a very frightening, flashy way – Terrorist caught! Connected to Al Qaida! Then the story disappeared. When he was brought back to the US in 2007 there was another frightening, flashy story. And then it disappeared again. Theoharis searched the web for news and discovered that he is being held under conditions of the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) and then she had to do more research to find out what they were. The effect of the SAMs is to completely seal the prisoner and his lawyer off from the outside world. Evidence against the prisoner is considered secret and cannot be shared with the prisoner and only part of it is made known to the lawyer. Clearly, secret evidence is a factor in terror trials within the US, not just off shore. Any constitutionally protected statements Hashmi made, including in his writing going years back, can be used against him.

Theoharis shared this information with her colleagues who were completely unaware. Some became involved, including prominent academicians, but they couldn’t get media coverage for the case or for the trampling of the civil rights issue. The NY Times buries trials in the Metro Section and terror trials are no exception. They don’t look at the wider issues or see the trends because they are covered as episodic moments.

Petra Bartosiewicz, the next speaker, said that the mainstream press doesn’t cover terror trials that take place inside the country. They may cover those of Guantanamo prisoners that are coming to the US for trial. Those cases are usually tried in the press. Because everything in terror trials is secret the lawyers aren’t allowed to speak to the media to help them gain insight. In trying to cover the trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, Bartosiewicz was not allowed into the courtroom because she did not have the official NYPD issued press pass, only 4 or 5 seats were reserved for people with that pass, and the names of everyone being allowed into the courtroom, press and observers, were taken by court employees.

Shayana Kadidal, who has worked on several Guantanamo cases, said that the government response to terror is mass detention (seen after 9/11 when so many Muslim immigrants were arrested), torture, and wire tapping. All of these are maximally coercive and they don’t work. The fact that they are not effective is not reported. Effective measures that do work are also not reported. The media, along with elected officials, give the market responses – tell the public what we think they want to hear. Facts that run counter to the government narrative are simply left out. The government wants the enemy, those accused of being terrorists, to appear very threatening and the government wants to appear omnipotent – they can stop the terrorists. Most of the policies are aimed at immigrants, giving the impression that the foreigners / immigrants are the problem. There is no coverage of domestic terrorists (like Timothy McVeigh) and now there is no more coverage of torture (which continues).

Lisa Graves said that 9/11 turned the rules upside down – there is now a presumption of guilt, not innocence. We also have to look at who the commentators on the news programs are. All the “talking heads” present the government’s point of view. They are prosecutors or work for government agencies. Government press releases become news and are reported without fact-checking. The White House press corps are more like stenographers than reporters because they assume that whatever they are told is true.
She also pointed out that there are now 30,000 less reporters because so many have recently lost their jobs. So there is more happening with less reporters to cover it. Graves concluded her remarks by saying that secrecy was the enemy of democracy.

All panelists agreed on a final point, that trading civil rights for safety doesn’t work. It is ineffective. According to Kadidal, people are less frightened now because they are more focused on the wars and on the economy. They have become distracted by what they perceive to be more immediate problems. We are told that repression works because, look, there has not been another attack on US soil. But, he added, repression does not work. There is absolutely no connection between the repressive measures and there not being another attack. And, he advised, we should make every effort to make that point understood.

George Galloway
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On Sunday evening, January 31, the Widdi Hall in Brooklyn was packed with people who had come to hear British M.P. George Galloway speak about the Viva Palestina convoy of over 520 people from 17 countries who brought 250 trucks and ambulances full of humanitarian supplies like generators, baby milk, medicine, medical equipment, and toys to the people of Gaza last month. Most of the people in the hall appeared to be Palestinian. Whole families were there with babies and there were many teenagers. The meeting opened with a color guard, young people carrying large Palestinian flags through the hall as the people sang the Palestinian national anthem. Lamis Deek of Al-Awda acted as MC and kept the program moving. Many leaders of the Arab-American community spoke about the need to renew a commitment for action to support a people who “seek freedom and justice for all”. There was poetry, both original and by Mahmoud Darwish, the renown poet of Palestine, and an excellent documentary on the Viva Palestina convoy that brought aid to Gaza last summer. It also showed the devastation created by the Israeli assault last year. Several people that were on that convoy reported on their experiences. Bill Doars of Al-Awda, one of the participants, said that Gaza is the heartbeat of the resistance – the struggle for freedom and the right of return. They are being blockaded and bombed because they refuse to say that what happened 61 years ago is OK. 85% of the people there are refugees who were expelled from their homes when Israel was established as a state and they want to go home. Gaza is a symbol for oppressed people all over the world. Another member of last summer’s convoy said he saw that, despite what they endured, the people there retained their humanity, which he referred to as a very high form of resistance.

When Galloway entered the room surrounded by the color guard, he received a long standing ovation. Then, except for an occasional cry from a baby, the room fell silent. Galloway began by saying that he had just returned from a Palestinian refugee camp where he delivered the humanitarian aid that Egypt did not allow him to bring into Gaza. Alluding to the trouble that the Egyptian government gave him in getting the convoy into Gaza, he said he loved the Egyptian people – his quarrel was with their “tin pot dictator”, Hosni Mubarak. He said he is frequently asked why he, with a Scotch-Irish background and coming from thousands of miles away, has spent 35 years fighting for the Palestinian cause. His response was that Che Guevara was not Cuban, yet he fought for the freedom of Cuba. Che was not African, yet he fought beside Lumumba for freedom in Africa. Che was not Bolivian, yet he gave his life’s blood in their mountains. “I march behind the banner of Guevara”. Che said that, “A man who is not capable of trembling with indignation at any injustice anywhere, he is not a real man”.

He continued, we are not here to say a word against the people of the US and we are not here to “harm” the US. We are not giving material aid to terrorists. We are here to raise funds for a people under siege. We are organizing to raise funds for victims of terror. Israeli terrorism has persisted for over 60 years. He said he spoke in Lyon, France last week at a rally for Palestine and there were thousands of people there of every religion and background. One of the Palestinian resistance leaders called and spoke to the crowd. Galloway realized that in another time it could have been a voice from occupied France, Nazi resistance was very strong in Lyon, and the next day that voice may have been stilled. The world would know that the voice represented resistance, and the people that killed him were the criminals occupying his land. The unkindest cut of all is that the victims of terror in Palestine are called terrorists, and the terrorists are called victims of terror.

At this point Galloway asked if the FBI agent in the room would care to identify himself?

He pointed out that the planes, helicopters, tanks, warships, and weapons were all paid for by the US government – it is funding Israeli state terrorism. But, he added, we are not fighting the US government, we are fighting the policy of that government. This is a free and democratic country and we have every right to fight that policy, not just because it harms the people of Palestine, but because it harms the interests of the people of America. The unlimited weaponry given to Israel is making hundreds of millions of people hate the USA – and some become ready to harm Americans. Galloway once spoke to Obama and urged him to change that policy in the interests of his own people. He had hope after hearing Obama speak in Cairo. Obama gave 300 million Arab people hope. But his actions do not match his words. The course he is on can only mean disaster for the world and for his presidency. The “settler state of Israel” shows contempt for US foreign policy. As soon as George Mitchell flew out of Israel Netanyahu was planting trees on the West Bank declaring that Israel will never leave that land. It is land stolen in 1967 and held in defiance of international law. Galloway posed a question for Obama, “Are you going to tolerate what you said is intolerable?”

The siege on Gaza was imposed for no other reason than that, in a free election, the Palestinian people voted for a party that Israel and America didn’t like. And because it was clear that the people who won the election weren’t prepared to impose the policies of the people that they defeated in the election. Galloway said that he doesn’t support Hamas, but only the Palestinian people are entitled to choose their leadership.

The siege of Gaza isn’t only an Israeli siege, it is an Arab siege also. Israeli Consular propaganda in NYC said that the recent Viva Palestina convoy was treated badly by Egypt because they didn’t follow the Egyptian orders properly. But, he said, the other 2 Viva Palestina convoys were treated badly too. On the 1 year anniversary of the assault on Gaza Egyptian police were clubbing and pulling the hair of freedom marchers in Cairo. “Mubarak’s is as stupid a regime as there is anywhere in the world”. At a time the world should have been focused on what happened in Israel a year ago the world’s negative attention was on Egypt. The Arab media was asking why Egypt was stopping humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.

Many people in the convoy were from Turkey. Galloway said that Turkey gave the convoy enormous support, both material and diplomatic. The convoy couldn’t have taken place without them. 55 convoy members entered Gaza still bandaged and bleeding from being assaulted by Egyptian police in the Egyptian port city of Al Arish. The people of Gaza kissed their bandages and some got marriage proposals. “Gaza is the only prison in the world where people are fighting to get in”. The convoy was thanked by the people of Gaza “But”, he said,”it is we who should be thanking you for the example of resistance that you have displayed to the whole world”. “Gaza is the only part of Palestine which is free and liberated and dignified and Arab”.

While in Gaza Egypt sent word to Galloway that he would be arrested when he left Gaza. Rather than risk the convoy members fighting such an action and possibly being fired upon by the Egyptian police or military, Galloway turned himself over to the Egyptian security in the dead of night before the scheduled departure. He was violently forced into an unmarked van and taken to the Cairo airport where he was put on a plane, declared persona non grata, and told that he cannot return to Egypt again. Galloway told the crowd that he will return to Egypt to celebrate in the streets of Cairo with the Egyptian people when Mubarak and his torturers are gone.

The Egyptian government said that land convoys to Gaza will not be allowed through Egypt ever again. What then are our options, Galloway asked. The next convoy was going to be led by Hugo Chavez this spring. A non-option is allowing the people of Gaza to face their suffering alone. Answering his own question he said, “The sea is open for those who have the coverage to take to it. We do and we will”. Negotiations are now going on with Turkey. A convoy of ships from all over the world, South Africa, Malaysia, Venezuela, and, hopefully, the US, will sail from Turkey with the blessing of the Turkish government. “We will sail under Turkish flags from wherever we came”. There will be a huge flotilla filled with aid, including a cargo ship filled with building supplies that Israel has not allowed into Gaza. There will be cement, tools, nails, and glass for the 48,000 broken windows in Gaza. Israel will try to stop it. But if we have enough ships, enough publicity, and enough V.I.P.s on board we can’t all be rammed or turned back. We’ll get there. If the Israeli navy doesn’t let us into Gaza then we’ll remain at sea. Let the whole world see what Israel is doing. We’re sailing to Gaza! And if you can’t go there with us then you have to help us raise money.

At that point a collection was made and pledge cards were distributed. The night before American Muslims for Palestine raised $130,000. People in the hall were giving checks and pledging thousands and thousands of dollars. It was clear that the contributions coming from the US would fill more than one ship with aid for the besieged men, women, and children of Gaza.

View Photos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

"If 9/11 never happened this whole series of
 events would never have happened.  This
 was an experiment that failed.  It is a shame
 and a legacy that will follow (the United
 States) in its' history."
                            -- Yvonne Bradley
                            McClatchy Washington Bureau
                            February 13, 2009

NEW YORK — On the evening of January 28, at the Revolution Bookstore in the Chelsea area of NYC, people filled the store to hear 2 of the lawyers defending detainees at Guantanamo tell their client’s stories which are in the book, The Guantanamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison, Outside the Law, edited by Mark P. Denbeaux and Jonathan Hafetz.

Andy Zee of Revolution Books addressed the group first. He pointed out that we can only hear the stories of the prisoners from their lawyers because the prisoners are not allowed to speak. Torture is still dangerous now because it is being denied, it is being codified, and torturers are not being indicted. He asked, what kind of system does this to people? Zee also mentioned the huge loss of Howard Zinn, the people’s historian, who had died the day before.

The 2 lawyers that told their client’s stories were Mark P. Denbeaux and Yvonne Bradley. Denbeaux is a professor of law at Seton Hall Law School and the Director of the Seton Hall Law School Center for Policy and Research. The center is particularly known for it’s reports on the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. Denbeaux represented 2 detainees there. He said that the stories of prisoners at Guantanamo were being told through the lens of their lawyers. The lawyers are verbal, articulate, and collected the stories for history.
The stories give a voice to those going through a nightmare.

Yvonne Bradley
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Yvonne Bradley began practicing law 20 years ago in the Air Force, after which she worked in a federal public defenders office representing people on death row in Pennsylvania. She continued serving in the Air Force Reserve. In 2005 she was asked by the chief defense counsel for Guantanamo Bay inmates to defend one of the detainees, Binyam Mohamed. Bradley began by saying that what she was about to express were her own opinions, she was not speaking for the military. It was very painful for her to read the entire book but it showed her that she wasn’t alone in what she experienced. And what she experienced shattered all her beliefs and values concerning her government. Bradley was a “lifelong Republican” and a “true believer” in America’s war on terror.

Her client, Binyam Mohamed, was picked up in an airport in Pakistan on his way home to London. He was born in Ethiopia and emigrated to England as a teenager. He had gone to Pakistan because he was developing a drug problem in England and wanted to find his way back to being a righteous person again. While in Pakistan he converted to Islam. When he was arrested US officials thought that he’d trained with Al Qaida and was planning to attack the US with a radioactive dirty bomb. After being interrogated by the FBI he went through extraordinary rendition, being taken first to Morocco, then to the Prison of Darkness in Kabul (which is run by the CIA), then Bagram in Afghanistan, and finally Guantanamo. He was drugged and he was severely and sadistically tortured at all of these places. Among other things, was cut with a razor on his chest and genitals, and he was hung by his wrists and left in that position for weeks.

When Bradley went to Guantanamo for the 1st time she was afraid to meet him. She had been warned that he was the “worst of the worst”, and she truly believed that. But after talking to him for 3 hours she realized that everything she was told about him was untrue. Leaving his cell that 1st time she thought to herself, if he is the worst of the worst, then we have the wrong people here. She also came to realize that much of the information that she had been given on the war on terror was a lie.

Mark Denbeaux
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Denbeaux said that his clients were lost souls. Some were selling drugs in their country and traveled to Muslim countries to find God, get off drugs, and become good Muslims. This is not uncommon, he added, it is referred to as a Muslim 12 step program. He said that Guantanamo was a political mistake. It was a “giant perp walk” meant to show that we’re winning the war on terror. It is a particular evil, part of a much bigger evil – the whole detention system made up of black holes, Bagram, extraordinary rendition, and the Prison of Darkness. Guantanamo isn’t the worst place. The black hole in Morocco does the most physical damage, but the Prison of Darkness does the most psychological damage.

Denbeaux also described the international human rights network, whose skills could compete with the best intelligence agencies. They search out and find the families of detainees. The defense lawyers contact the families and bring messages to the prisoners. This gives them the heart to survive and also helps them trust their lawyers, who they are skeptical of. They are very reluctant to trust any American after years of being tortured by them.

Bradley said that she always thought that military law was very “civilized”. Military attorneys, both defense and prosecution, are offended by the injustice of the military commission trials. Military lawyers take a pledge to defend the US Constitution. They see the contradiction between that pledge and the unjust treatment of their clients. Military lawyers often pay a price for zealous advocacy – at the least they are not promoted. At one point when Bradley, in defending Mohamad, had an ethical conflict which she brought to the attention of the judge, she was threatened with a court martial.

Eventually, because of her very hard work she managed to get Mohamad released about a year ago. But not before he went on a hunger strike (and was force fed), his chief prosecutor resigned citing the unfairness of the system, and she went to London to press British politicians into demanding his release. Denbeaux also got his client released fairly recently.

Faisl Hashmi
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

At this point Faisl Hashmi, the older brother of Syed Fahad Hashmi, joined the 2 speakers. He said that there is a Guantanamo in NYC at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. He explained how his brother was being kept there in extreme solitary confinement (see Next Left Notes, “On MLK Day – Free Fahad” January, 2010). He briefly explained that Fahad is charged with giving and conspiring to give material aid to Al Qaida in the form of waterproof sox and ponchos. Fahad was arrested in 2006, 2 years after the arrest of an informant who was bargaining for a reduced sentence. Fahad was a vigorous opponent of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and of Guantanamo. Faisl said that the government has spent $5 million on Fahad’s case. It is not about sox and ponchos, it is about terrifying the Muslim community in order to silence them.

There were several interesting points made during the Q and A period. Andy Zee said that torture is a political instrument, it is used to terrify the entire population. Yvonne Bradley said that labeling was an important tool used by those in power. If someone is labeled a terrorist people think that it doesn’t matter what you do to them. She added, if an American was water-boarded we would be outraged but when it is done to a Muslim most people are unconcerned.

One person asked Denbeaux about the article in Harper’s Magazine by Scott Horton (January, 2010) concerning the deaths of 3 inmates at Guantanamo in June, 2006. At the time Rear Admiral Harry Harris, the Commander at Guantanamo, called them a suicide and “an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us”. A Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report essentially whitewashed the event. In December, 2009 the Seton Hall Law School Center for Policy and Research, directed by Denbeaux, issued a highly critical analysis of the NCIS report on the 3 alleged suicides. According to the government the prisoners were found hanging in 3 separate cells and autopsies indicated that they were hanging there for at least 2 hours. Five guards with video monitors observed the prisoners in their cells which had the lights on 24 hours a day. According to the Seton Hall study, the hanging men would have had to make a noose by tearing up their bedding or clothing and braiding it, create dummies of themselves to make it look like they were in their beds, block the view of the cameras by hanging sheets in their cells (against the rules), tie their own hands together, tie their feet together, stuff rags down their throats, hang the noose in the cell, climb up, put the noose around their neck, and then release their weight accomplishing their strangulation. And then hang there for 2 hours unnoticed. Denbeaux said that no guards were disciplined for failing to notice any of the above. There was no explanation in the NCIS report as to how this was possible.

When the lawyers began their talk they said that they were only interested in telling their clients’ stories, not their own. But their stories, while not a tale of absolute horror, are also important because they are examples of decent human beings acting with a strong sense of justice, decency and honor. In his autobiography, You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train, Howard Zinn wrote:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history of not only cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

View Photos From The Event…

Ed Hedemann outside Grand Central Station — before his arrest
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK — February 1, 2010. Ed Hedemann didn’t get the apology he felt the Police Department owed him, but he did walk out of court with a victory.

On October 7, 2009, War Resisters League organizer Ed Hedemann was arrested during a protest at Grand Central Station. The occasion was the eighth anniversary of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Hedemann was grabbed after he unfurled a banner that said “Afghanistan.” Hedemann’s banner draped one side of the Vanderbilt Avenue balcony in the terminal — on the opposite side activist Carl Lindskoog unrolled a banner that said “Enough!”

Shortly after the banners were unfurled, police handcuffed Hedemann but allowed the second activist to leave. As MTA police carried Hedemann head first down a set of stairs into the police substation, activist Eric Laursen and several others followed. Police then arrested Laursen for “disorderly conduct.”

Hedemann was also charged with disorderly conduct — and resisting arrest.

Watch A Video Of The Arrests
(Video: Thomas Good / NLN)

Hedemann, a well known nonviolent activist and author, spoke to NLN after the arrest, indicating that he planned to fight the charges as he was not engaged in civil disobedience or doing anything illegal when he was arrested. Hedemann said that he was merely exercising his right to peacefully protest. Previously, MTA police had allowed activists to display banners — but on this occasion they apparently overreacted. Hedemann speculated that the reaction was due to a lack of proper training or inexperience in dealing with protesters. He also said that he felt the police owed him an apology for violating his civil rights.

A few days after the arrests, Laursen received a notice in the mail saying that the District Attorney had dismissed the charges against him.

Hedemann, however, had to appear in court three times before the State acknowledged they weren’t ready to go to trial — a defacto admission that Hedemann had done nothing other than engage in First Amendment protected activity — exercising his right to Free Speech. At his final court apearance, on February 1, Hedemann’s case was dismissed.

Looking back, Hedemann has no regrets.

“I dislike being in jail as much as the next person but I’d rather be locked up for doing what I thought was right than to be free with my mouth shut,” Hedemann said.

“Despite the risks of enduring the ‘hospitality’ of the city, I find it essential to challenge manipulative police directives against handing out leaflets, holding signs, and unfurling banners rather than cave into their ‘crowd control’ demands. It seems that our speech is free as long as no one can hear it,” he said.

Activists in Grand Central Station protesting the U.S. war in Afghanistan
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

New Yorkers are continuing the struggle for health care…in the streets
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On January 19th, at Beth Israel Hospital in NYC, Physicians for a National Health Program held a meeting to evaluate the movement for health care reform and to decide where to go from here. The lecture hall was packed to capacity with about 150 veterans of the health care reform struggle. Dr. Carmelita Blake from NYU was the moderator. The panel was made up of Christopher Blair, Katie Robbins, and Len Rodberg, all health care reform activists, and Donna Smith who spoke to the group by phone. She might be remembered as the person in “Sicko”, Michael Moore’s film, who, along with her husband, had to move into her daughter’s basement after she was financially wiped-out by medical expenses. Ms Smith is now a dynamic organizer for single payer – Medicare for all – Everybody in, Nobody out health care reform. She is part of the California Nurses Association which, having merged with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, represents 150,000 nurses. She said that thanks to the recent campaign everyone knows what single payer means. Assuming that the current bill under discussion passes it is now the job of the movement to clearly explain why they are so opposed to parts of the legislation. Since it won’t take effect for about 4 years there is time to try to improve it. If it doesn’t pass, she added, our job is not very different. She noted that the Democrats took a beating at the polls in Massachusetts because they squandered political capital. They didn’t stand strong on the issue, they handled it very foolishly. We relied on them and they failed us.

Smith said that the job of the movement now is to fight for single payer state by state. California passed it twice but Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it. But he won’t be there forever.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The movement should also work to elect single payer candidates. Put all the energy into 1 or 2 races. As for the politicians that said they would support the single payer fight but did not do so, efforts should be made to see that they are not reelected.

Evaluating the movement, Smith said that it did an excellent job. It included many doctors and nurses and had energized the population. She added, “we are in a marathon, not a sprint.” We will keep going, encouraging each other, bringing divergent groups together, celebrating the different contributions – both quiet advocacy and civil disobedience. Doctors should continue to show courage within the medical community by pushing for single payer. She concluded, “I’m sure we will have Medicare for all in our time – within 15 years.”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Then the panel spoke with Katie Robbins of Healthcare Now being the first. She said that Healthcare Now voted unanimously to oppose the current bill because it “is not universal and without barriers.” As a result of our struggle the NY Times now runs a single payer blog. She added that community hospitals all over are closing and the single payer proponents should be reaching out to work with people opposing the closings of community hospitals.

Katie Robbins at Beth Israel
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Len Rodberg was the next speaker, He said that if something passes we won’t see changes for 4 years because there are no savings in the current bills, and congress has to raise the money to pay for them. The only way to save money will be to have Medicare for all. Health care costs are rising – the current bills won’t change that. The new plans are full of holes and will cost people between 15% and 20% of their income. The penalty for not buying insurance will be 1% to 2% of a person’s income. Rodberg believes that many will opt to pay the penalty rather than buy inferior insurance. It is estimated that the prices paid to coops will rise 6% a year, at twice the rate of inflation. By the time the bill takes effect (4 years) the cost will be 24% higher than it is now. The crisis that led to the debate will continue. The only thing that can resolve the problem is single payer because it will save money.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Christopher Blair said that the problem is not big government but big insurance. We are just funneling money through useless middlemen.

During the question and answer period, which included Donna Smith, several important points were raised. Establishing single payer in 1 state could serve as a shining example to the rest of the country. Many states may welcome it because they are having financial problems. There should be a branding campaign using the Medicare for All slogan. People like and respect Medicare. Adding young people would be a major money saver because the young are usually healthier and, therefore, will not be costing the plan a lot of money. At the AFL-CIO convention, representing 11 million workers, Resolution 33 passed – the union will work for single payer for all.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Several people complained about “the total sell out of the Democrats.” Another spoke of there being no social solidarity in the country. It was said that the health care reform movement must not allow itself to be isolated – it should build bridges to other progressive movements like jobs and housing. The fight for decent health care should be linked to the fight against Wall Street. People could be convinced to hate big insurance more than they hate big government. Finally, the lack of health care should be tied to the billions being spent on wars. The dots should be connected by health care reform advocates by pointing out to the public that if our government has money to kill people, then they have to have money to cure people.

Moveon.org has just announced a rally for health care reform at Senator Gillibrand’s office this week. The struggle continues.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

View Photos From The Struggle For Health Care Reform…

“Solitary Confinement Is A Form Of Torture”
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

"When the Nazis came for the communists
I did not speak out;
As I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I did not speak out;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
There was no one left to speak out."
               Rev. Martin Niemoller
               1892 - 1984

NEW YORK — On Martin Luther King Day, January 18th, about 200 people gathered outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) at 150 Park Row in Manhattan for the 12th vigil for Syed Fahad Hashmi. It marked his 1,322 day in detention and his 812th day under the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs). There were people there from the CUNY Law School, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, the Muslim Justice Initiative, Brooklyn for Peace, and the Hashmi family and friends. Syed Fahad Hashmi is an American citizen of Muslim descent. He came to this country with his family, from Pakistan, when he was 3 years old and became a naturalized citizen when he was 11. He is being held at the MCC while awaiting trial for 2 counts of providing and conspiring to give material support to Al Qaida and 2 counts of making and conspiring to make a contribution of goods and services to Al Qaida. The goods in question are waterproof sox and ponchos which Hashmi claims he knew nothing about. He is facing 70 years in prison.

Under the SAMs, imposed by the Attorney General, Hashmi is in extreme solitary confinement. He sees no other prisoners, he is monitored by camera constantly (including when showering or using the toilet), he can see a member of his immediate family for an hour twice a month and these visits are frequently cancelled by the prison. This extreme sensory deprivation is recognized as psychological torture because it destroys people mentally and emotionally. He has no access to news. He also cannot know what the case against him consists of, making it impossible to participate in his own defense. His lawyer, Sean Mahr, has some of the information but he is not allowed to discuss it with Hashmi.

Pulitzer prize winning journalist and author, Chris Hedges wrote (Truthdig 12/28/09):

…his plight illustrates that the gravest threat we face is not from Islamic extremists, but the codification of draconian procedures that deny Americans basic civil liberties and due process. Hashmi would be a better person to tell you this but he is not allowed to speak.

This corruption of our legal system, if history is any guide, will not be reserved by the state for suspected terrorists, or even Muslim Americans. In the coming turmoil and economic collapse, it will be used to silence all who are branded as disruptive or subversive. Hashmi endures what many others, who are not Muslim, will endure later. Radical activists in the environmental, globalization, anti-nuclear, sustainable agriculture and anarchist movements – who are already being placed by the state in special detention facilities with Muslims charged with terrorism – have discovered that his fate is their fate.

The vigil began with a dramatic presentation by members of Theaters Against War (THAW) performing in an original skit illustrating the history of civil rights and liberties in the US. This was followed by a speech by Prof. Jeanne Theoharis, a scholar of the civil rights movement, who taught Hashmi at Brooklyn College. She said that it was very appropriate that we were meeting on King’s birthday outside the MCC because this is where civil rights violations are happening today. King did not shrink from unpopular causes. In 1967 he spoke at Riverside Church in NYC opposing the Vietnam war. Before doing so he was warned by his allies that he would lose friends and access to politicians – including the President. He said he had to speak because fundamental rights were at stake. The day after the speech he was condemned in the press and he was never invited to the White House again. Prof. Theoharis ended by leading the group in a chant using Dr. King’s words, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The next speaker was Chris Hedges. He said that the current presentation of King is frozen in 1963. In the last year of his life he spoke more like Malcolm X, saying that many people carry within them an “unconscious racism”. This has led to a stripping of civil liberties because we see others as less than human. And it will not stop there. There is likely to be another terrorist attack because there are people in the Middle East who hate us because we are killing them. Stand up now because if you don’t you may not be able to do so later.

Tony award winning actor, Bill Irwin, who has appeared at several vigils, also read from King’s 1967 Riverside Church speech. King states that he was saddened by his associates questioning him about the wisdom of being on the path of both peace and civil rights – saddened that they did not see the connection.

Cindy Sheehan
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Then peace activist and Nobel prize nominee Cindy Sheehan spoke. She was wearing an “Arrest Bush” shirt and pointed out that King made that speech exactly a year before he was assassinated, and on the same date, years later, that her son Casey was killed in Iraq. She reminded everyone that in the same speech King called the US the “biggest purveyor of violence” in the world. She said that the “Patriot Act and the US Constitution cannot simultaneously exist” and we need, what King called, “a revolution of values”. She came to NY from Washington, DC where she protested the use of drones which are killing civilians in the Middle East. She added that things will not change until we recognize that other people’s lives are as important as ours and we all have the same existential right to exist.

The MC, Brian Pickett, then introduced Mohammad Siddiqui, the brother of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently on trial in NY for attempting to kill FBI agents while being held in a prison in Afghanistan. He said that she is not being held on terror charges, she is accused of wrestling 15 men for a gun which doesn’t have her finger prints on it. The trial is an orchestrated drama, he added. They are not speaking of her March ‘03 5 year abduction which included her 3 children, 2 of which are still missing. She is the symbol of a nation (Pakistan). He asked people to come and observe the trial.

The next speaker said that his uncle and cousin are both in prison on terror charges – one at Guantanamo and one at a supermax prison in the US. His uncle, he said, was badly tortured. He hoped that people would look into their case.

Dar Williams
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Folksinger Dar Williams then sang. She said that major movements can grow from small groups and she quoted Norman Mailer, “Democracy is fragile”.

The vigil ended with everyone spontaneously singing “We Shall Overcome”. The vigils will continue every other Monday night from 6 to 7 PM. The next one will be on February 8th, outside the MCC at 150 Park Row.

In discussing the case against Syed Fahad Hashmi, Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights said (Truthdig 12/28/09):

“The prosecutions case against Hashmi, an outspoken activist within the Muslim community, abridges his First Amendment rights and threatens the First Amendment rights of others. While Hashmi’s political and religious beliefs, speech and associations are constitutionally protected, the government has been given wide latitude by the court to use them as evidence of his frame of mind and, by extension, intent. The material support charges against him depend on criminalization of association. This could have a chilling effect on the First Amendment rights of others, particularly in activist and Muslim communities.”

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

Speaking Out For Gaza
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK –Within the past week there have been 2 reports from people that participated in the Gaza Freedom March that took place, so to speak, in Cairo a month ago. The first took place on January 14th and was sponsored by Brooklyn for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Peace and Social Action Committee of the Brooklyn Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and took place at their Meeting House. The purpose of the Gaza Freedom March was to bring Israel’s siege of Gaza, which is killing the people there, to the attention of the world, and in so doing, try to end it. It was also to be a show of solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Ted Auerbach from Brooklyn for Peace was the first speaker and he also presented a slide show. He said that all arrangements had been made to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza well in advance of the march. However, 3 days before Egypt announced that they wouldn’t allow them to pass through – the crossing was being closed. When the 1,460 marchers arrived in Cairo they spent the first few days trying to get Egypt to change their policy. When it became clear that Egypt would not relent, the people there dealt with the new situation with creativity, solidarity, and courage. Demonstrations are forbidden in Egypt but the participants, determined to make the world aware of the siege, braved the riot police and demonstrated all over Cairo. They were joined by brave Egyptians who faced arrest or worse. Hedy Epstein, an 85 year old holocaust survivor, went on a hunger strike along with 30 others. Several French delegates climbed up a pyramid and unfurled a huge Palestinian flag. When Egyptian security chased after them they escaped by climb up over the top escaping down the other side.

The second speaker, David Letwin, also from Brooklyn for Peace, gave an excellent report on the Cairo Declaration – the political document that was a product of the events in Cairo. The South African delegation sent out a call for people to gather and, by consensus and collaboration, came up with a political plan for the immediate future.

The Declaration first lists the grievances and injustices the Palestinians suffer at the hands of Israel: collective punishment, illegal occupation, the apartheid wall, the deep wall being constructed between Gaza and Egypt, war crimes, discrimination and repression against Palestinian citizens within Israel, and the exile of millions of Palestinian refugees. The repressive acts are, it says, based on the Zionist ideology. The Declaration then reaffirms a commitment to Palestinian self-determination, ending the occupation, equal rights for all within historic Palestine, and the full right of return for Palestinian refugees. To that end, the declaration calls for a global mass democratic anti apartheid movement to work in consultation with Palestinian civil society to implement the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This will include visits and speeches from South African and Palestinian trade unionists to unions all over the world. Participation in Israeli Apartheid Week (March 2010), a systemic unified approach to the boycott of Israeli products, developing the Academic, Cultural, and Sports boycott, and campaigns to encourage divestment of trade unions and pension funds from companies directly implicated in the occupation or in the Israeli military industries. There would be legal actions targeting the external recruitment of soldiers to serve in the Israeli military, and the prosecution of Israeli war criminals, coordination of Citizen’s Arrest Bureaus, support for the Goldstone Report, and campaigns against the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Individuals and organizations are invited to sign the declaration at http://cairodeclaration.org/lang/en-us/sign/

Letwin quoted Bishop Tutu saying, “We don’t want the crumbs from the table, we want the whole menu.” Letwin added, the civil rights movement in the US was not about getting a seat in the front of the bus. It was about ending white supremacy in the south. Operation Cast Lead was a result of the people of Gaza refusing to accept Israeli supremacy. The Cairo Declaration reflects what the Palestinian people want and is being highly praised by Palestinian civil leaders.

Letwin ended his report by saying that all movements start out with a small group sticking to their beliefs and turning it, in time, into a mass movement. He noted that truth goes through 3 phases: ridicule, attack, and self evident.

The final speaker was Adam Shapiro from the Free Gaza Movement. He announced that they will send several boats, at least 6, including a cargo ship, full of building supplies to Gaza from Cyprus in March. They are challenging the siege by sea. Israel must be directly confronted. He said that more people are getting involved than ever before and Free Gaza needs help and support from all of us. The ships will constitute a nonviolent confrontation. He praised the Gaza Freedom Marchers and the Cairo Declaration because it presented a plan for sustained direct action and it moves the plan away from peace and towards justice. He concluded by suggesting that when activists discuss the Palestinian/Israel issue with others they stick with the principles of human rights and international law.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The 2nd report was on January 21st at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. The huge space was filled beyond capacity. It was estimated that over 400 people were there. Much that was said there had already been reported at the meeting in Brooklyn. Jenna Bitar, from Hunter College High School, was in Cairo with her family. She learned a lot and was very excited by the international solidarity, and by being able to bring attention to the siege.

Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights was also there with his family. When they saw that they wouldn’t be allowed into Gaza they remained in Cairo for a few days participating in the intense demonstrations and then they flew into Israel to spend some time in East Jerusalem and on the West Bank. While in East Jerusalem, Section C, they saw how Palestinians are being evicted from their homes there and are living on the streets while Jews take over their houses. There is no legal justification for these evictions, he said. One elderly Palestinian man pointed to his former home and told Ratner that he was made a refugee twice. He was one of those evicted in Israel’s early history and again now. The Ratner family joined a march of Jewish Israelis opposing the evictions. Apples and water were thrown at them in West Jerusalem but they were welcomed in East Jerusalem. He said that there are very few Israeli Jews opposing the actions of their government – their numbers are small and are shrinking. When passing the Eretz crossing they saw 2 huge 15 foot photos of Shalit, the young soldier captured by Palestinians (and being held waiting for a prisoner exchange). At one point the Ratners were able to look across a valley on the West Bank. On the top of a hill they could see a settlement (colony) for 50,000 Jews. The scene made the “noxious architecture of apartheid” very clear. Visible was the dual system of roads, walls surrounding little Palestinian villages, or bantustans, olive trees uprooted, the open stealing of land. The Jewish colony was all lush and green, 400 year old olive trees were planted everywhere, and there was a huge swimming pool. Ratner said that his children were also stunned by the sight and asked how this could be going on and nobody is doing anything about it. They also visited a Palestinian family in Hebron. While on the roof of their house they were pelted by stones thrown by Jewish settlement children and were surprised by how empowered the children felt to throw the stones. The Ratners left the area with a sense that a terrible crime was going on and that changing the situation was in the hands of militant activists everywhere.

The final speaker was Ali Abunimeh, a Palestinian American, and co-founder of Electronic Intifada. Primarily he discussed the current situation in Gaza calling the 1.5 million people there “political prisoners.” They have no way of changing their situation. They are defenseless. He said that “terrorism is defined as violence against civilians to create change by non-state actors.” If the words ‘non-state’ were taken out it would describe what Israel was doing to Gaza. But the world is coming to see that the blockade of Gaza, and the attack on the area, targets the children there. Half the schools were bombed during Operation Cast Lead and 20% of the children suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with 90% of them having at least one criteria of PTSD. Israel is no longer able to present the image of itself as a liberal democracy. There is a severe and systemic repression against non-violent Palestinian protesters, and yet they continue to protest. Israel is not renewing visas held by international solidarity workers, in fact they are deporting them. Yet the worldwide movement against Israel’s policies keeps growing – rapidly. Abunimeh expressed optimism that the opposition shown by the Gaza Freedom Marchers in Cairo will grow and spread.

When the meeting concluded representatives of the many organizations opposing Israel’s policies came forward and introduced themselves and their organizations. They included AdalahNY, Brooklyn for Peace, CodePink, Jews Say No, Jewish Voice for Peace, Gaza Freedom March, Free Gaza, Wespac, Al-AwdaNY, Committee for an open Discussion of Zionism, Women in Black, and Middle East Crisis Response. Contact information was collected from all people attending the event and it will be used if there is another attack on the Palestinian people.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

Mike McMahon hears from a constituent
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — January 23, 2010. A crowd of 75 demonstrators demanding “health care for all” drew Rep. Mike McMahon out of his office to discuss the issue but it was legendary photographer Jim Romano, himself a progressive Democrat, who got off the most memorable comment: “It’s good to see so many people here — and nobody had to be subpoenaed.”

Fran Powers holds up his “McMahon = Traitor!” sign
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Flanked by cops from the NYPD’s Staten Island Task Force, a group of 75 demonstrators lined New Dorp Lane, across the street from Congressman Mike McMahon’s (D, NY-13) district office, on Saturday, January 23. Half an hour into the protest, McMahon emerged from his office and crossed the street to speak to with his constituents, many of whom were angry that the congressman had been slow to take a position on the health care reform issue — and voted against the House bill (HR 3962) in November.

One protester carried a sign that read, “McMahon = Traitor! Stop The Paranoia And Selfishness. Health Care For All.”

In the 2008 election that put McMahon in the Congress, a 47-year-old carpenter and punk rock musician was an also-ran. Francis M. “Fran” Powers, ran against Democrat McMahon — and his father too: Francis H. Powers, the GOP candidate. Francis senior died during the campaign but Fran carried on, attempting to secure the Libertarian Party endorsement. Ultimately Fran did not get the Libertarian nod and McMahon was nominated by the Richmond County Democratic Party in a convention that was marred by irregularities. McMahon went on to easily beat Republican Bob Straniere.

Fran Powers, who carried the handmade “McMahon = Traitor!” sign on Saturday, told NLN that:

It was great to see so many Staten Islanders at the protest today but I am a bit sorry we needed Manhattanites to fill out the crowd. What we need is people who are directly affected by lack of health care, and lack of politicians who give a toss, to show their passion about the process as much as these so-called “tea baggers”. Until the party leaders AND the general public know that the majority of people really do want health care for all nothing will happen. I am truly ashamed that civil workers, union members, congressmen and women, MTA workers and millions of others who have hit the insurance “jackpot” would say to everyone else “I got mine, it’s too bad you don’t have yours.” What happened to the compassion of the American people? All you have to do is go to any hospital emergency room in any city of America, in districts black and white, Hispanic, Asian, poor and wealthy, and all across the board, to see the outrageousness of the system we now have in place. I don’t know how these people can show their faces in their churches and synagogues, etc., and say they live a moral life with these actions.

Mr. McMahon responded to a protester about healthcare reform by saying “These things are hard.” Are you kidding me? We could have elected any idiot to say that. Is he telling me he has no clue and can’t even think of ONE thing to make this bill better instead of just voting no, no, no!!! What the heck has he been doing for the last year except for making sure his back is covered on the local political scene? I personally feel as I’ve been duped and I will do whatever I can to get him out including running for his office again.

***

Waiting for health care
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

McMahon is known for his reluctance to take a stand on controversial issues. His decision to vote against health care reform came only after he hosted two town hall meetings on the issue — and was announced just prior to the vote.

Some protesters, frustrated by the congressman’s hesitancy to take a leadership role in the process of initiating health care reform, had a chance to speak with him about it on Saturday.

One constituent asked McMahon, “And what about the moral issue?”

“There’s no question that we need to get health care for everybody, that is a moral issue. But if it’s a package that hurts the system more than helps it then that’s not a good idea either,” McMahon said.

The constituent carried on, determined to get a commitment.

75 protesters turned out – including some from Manhattan
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

“What about the fact that it can be tweaked, along the way? That you can pass a bill – because, if we lose this, how long is it going to take us, for another bill, how long?” she asked.

Apparently misunderstanding the question McMahon responded by saying that “It’s a bad bill, no question about it…I mean I can’t predict that but I’m not sure what this is right now, we’re waiting to see what the President says, and working with the leadership on both sides, trying to come up with a compromise.”

The constituent pressed McMahon on the issue, implying that he only cared about how the bill might affect the bottom line for large hospitals.

“So your entire issue is Richmond Hospital?” she asked.

“It’s what you call a dis-reimbursement payments, and the elimination of Medicare Advantage, that’s a problem too. Forty percent of seniors in this district have Medicare Advantage, do you want me to tell the seniors that they’ve lost their coverage? I’m not quite sure.”

“That’s not my understanding of the bill — my understanding…” the frustrated constituent said.

“Well, that’s the beauty of our country, that great minds can think differently,” McMahon replied as he walked away.

***

Responding to another constituent who asked about the arcane congressional process, McMahon said, “I don’t want to be a wonk but…”

The congressman went on to say that rules about cloture, reconciliation — and other arcane congressional procedures — might prevent him from being as effective as he would like to be.

Kathleen Kelly meets face to face with her representative
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Kathleen Kelly, a MoveOn organizer who has met with McMahon several times to urge the congressman to support health care for all, told NLN that McMahon’s concern that seniors may lose their Medicare Advantage coverage is not a good reason to oppose reform.

“The Medicare Advantage policies, being run by insurance companies as a for-profit business, have higher premiums and provide less services than “straight” Medicare. That only only stands to reason because the broker fees, administration cost , marketing costs, and profit motive drive the cost up and the services down. Seniors will have better coverage, which will cost less money, under reform with government run Medicare,” Ms. Kelly said.

Regarding McMahon’s notion that “these things are hard” and arcane rules prevent him from promoting real reform, Kelly disagreed.

“Many discussions, and revisions of bills, have taken place prior to cloture — on several issues. Reconciliation is a majority vote. Rep. McMahon has participated in the conversations in Congress, more actively in the committees of which he is a part, and voted on the bills before the House. I don’t see how McMahon can argue that the processes used in Congress are a reason he is ineffective. As a mere constituent who has been involved in discussions about national issues, I feel that I have been effective,” Kelly said.

***

McMahon poses with his constituents
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

There was some comic relief during McMahon’s occasionally heated discussions with constituents. Renowned tabloid photographer Jim Romano, a progressive Democrat in his eighties who continues to shoot for a Brooklyn newspaper, showed up and immediately began demanding that McMahon and his constituents halt their discussion. Romano insisted that his subjects take the harsh winter lighting into account – and reposition themselves. The lighting was, after all, interfering with his shots. McMahon’s aid could not help laughing, and in the end, Romano prevailed and McMahon agreed to pose for a group shot with his constituents. Including Fran Powers who held up his “McMahon = Traitor!” sign.

Legendary tabloid photographer – and standup comedian – Jim Romano
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

After the group shot the crowd began to slowly drift away and McMahon returned to his office. Romano turned to this reporter and said, “It’s good to see so many people here — and nobody had to be subpoenaed! On a Saturday! Unbelievable! We have a lot of things to do here.”

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

A Wobbly picket outside Starbucks on MLK Day
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK — “To show solidarity with our fellow workers and send a clear message to the bosses that we stand united against all forms of slavery,” the New York City branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) held its third annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rally at the Union Square East Starbucks on January 18.

The union, joined by dozens of workers, community members and labor allies, called on the multibillion dollar company to commemorate Dr. King on this federal holiday by paying a holiday premium of time-and-a-half pay to baristas, just as the Seattle-based chain does for its baristas on five other federal holidays.

To press their demands for recognition of MLK Day, the “Wobblies” and their supporters gathered outside the Union Square East Starbucks at Noon as the sun began to break through the cloud cover.

Organizer Vance Hinton speaking outside the Union Square East Starbucks
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

A tall man with a booming voice stepped up and addressed his sisters and brothers.

“My name is Vance Hinton. I am an organizer,” he said.

“I’m glad to see all of you here today…I want to tell you that if you’re not in the IWW, then you’re missing something very important. I joined about a year and a half ago and I can’t tell you the friends and colleagues that I’ve made as a result of being in this union,” he added.

“If you’re here and you’ve never been to any of our functions before you’re going to have a great time today,” Hinton said with a grin.

Announcing that it was time to chant, Hinton issued lyrics sheets to the crowd, now 50 in number. As they chanted, the crowd formed a walking picket, under the watchful eye of an NYPD detective.

During the picket a Department of Sanitation garbage truck pulled up and two workers got out. The men were about to enter the coffee shop when they realized that they were crossing a picket line. They abruptly turned around and walked back to their truck — as the Wobblies cheered. The DSNY workers gave the Wobs a thumbs up and drove off.

The Rude Mechanical Orchestra added a festive feel to the rally
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

As the Wobs picketed, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra arrived and began to play. Wobblies chanted, “No union — No latte!” as the RMO provided a marching backbeat. Snare and bass drums, accompanied by a horn section, added a festive feel to the rally.

After the chanting, organizer Daniel Gross addressed the crowd.

Daniel Gross said 500 Starbucks workers have joined the union
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

“Starbucks is a poverty wage employer,” Gross said.

He went on to describe the insurmountable obstacle Starbucks workers face when trying to budget their money — the company does not provide consistent hours from week to week. With no set schedule, workers have no way to anticipate how much income they will take in. Because of the company’s labor practices the union has had considerable success in its organizing drive, begun in 2004, and Gross reported that Wobblies are actively organizing the coffee chain’s stores in New York, the Twin Cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Fort Worth, Texas.

“Over 500 workers at this company now march under the IWW banner,” Gross said.

Barista Liberte Locke is struggling for respect on the job
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Barista Liberte Locke also spoke — in front of the very store she works in.

“Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day,” Locke said, telling the crowd that it was her favorite holiday. “I’ve never to this day, worked on Martin Luther King Day but if I get time and a half next year — I will,” she added.

Locke described the goals of the campaign she is a part of: “For better wages, more consistent scheduling, better working conditions and especially more respect on the job.”

The Rude Mechanical Orchestra performed a spirited rendition of “We Shall Overcome” — playing the civil rights anthem with trombone and trumpet solos set to a marching beat — as the Wobblies prepared to march to the second rally of the day.

The Wobblies marched from Starbucks to Kmart
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Leaving Starbucks to digest their message, the Wobblies and their supporters marched down Broadway to the Kmart in Astor Place, where the union is demanding that the Sears Holding owned company drop Media Planning Group (MPG) as their media planning and buying agency and instead chose a socially responsible ad agency.

In April 2009, MPG cut 11 percent of its staff, or 50 workers, from its offices in New York, Boston and Chicago. The multimillion-dollar advertising giant only gave these workers a four-week severance package. In order to receive their severance pay, MPG required that the laid-off workers sign an “Agreement of Separation and Release,” which included the stipulation that the former employees would not “in any way denigrate any aspect of the company,” yet the company made no commitment not to denigrate its former employees.

The sacked employees are now demanding the severance pay they feel they are owed, and the IWW is asking Kmart to stop advertising with MPG until the ad agency negotiates a severance agreement that is acceptable to both sides.

As the winter sun warmed hearts and hands, the rally ended — and the Wobblies returned to their families, to their jobs, and to their organizing.

For more information on the IWW and its various organizing drives, please visit: www.wobblycity.org and www.iww.org.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…