Progressive Calendar 05.13.10
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu)
Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 15:01:56 -0700 (PDT)
            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R   05.13.10

1. Eagan peace vigil 5.13 4:30pm
2. Northtown vigil   5.13 5pm
3. Jobs/revenue      5.13 5pm
4. Ed listening      5.13 7pm
5. Immigration       5.13 7pm

6. RNC 8 courtwatch  5.14 9am
7. Palestine/Nakba   5.14 4:15pm
8. Capitalism y/n    5.14 7pm
9. Marv/Carol        5.14 7pm

10. Lance Freeman - America - the grim truth
11. William Blum  - Terminally stupid people - Teabaggers' forerunners

--------1 of 11--------

From: Greg and Sue Skog <family4peace [at] msn.com>
Subject: Eagan peace vigil 5.13 4:30pm

PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest corner of
Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs and
candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends south
of the river speaking out against war.


--------2 of 11--------

From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 5.13 5pm

NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy
10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine.

Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View,
New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park,
Fridley, and Coon Rapids.  We'll have extra signs.

For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or
email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com.


--------3 of 11--------

From: Andy Hamerlinck <iamandy [at] riseup.net>
From:    ActionAlert [at] afscmemn.org
Subject: Jobs/revenue 5.13 5pm

Hundreds of AFSCME jobs are at risk with only four days to go before the
legislative session must end May 17. We need to raise revenue fairly to
balance the nearly $3 billion budget deficit to protect public services
and AFSCME jobs at the state, counties, cities and everywhere else in
Minnesota.

Please call your state legislators immediately. Urge them to raise revenue
fairly to protect public services. To reach your senator, call
651-296-0504 or toll free 1-888-234-1112. To reach your representative,
call 651-296-2146 or toll free 1-800-657-3550.

Join us at the State Capitol (75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.,
St. Paul) on Thursday, May 13 at 5 p.m. to push for revenue. We'll gather
outside the House Chamber on the 2nd floor and stay as long as it takes.
The stakes are high. If the Legislature fails to raise revenue, it means
job losses, service cuts and higher property taxes.

--
From: Julie Johnson <jjohnson [at] mhponline.org>

It's been an amazing week. Yesterday, the legislature passed a progressive
tax increase as part of a balanced approach to the state's budget
shortfalls. But that's not the end of the story. The Governor vetoed the
bill, so more negotiations are needed before a final decision will be
made. We must act now to demonstrate our support for revenue raised fairly
as part of the final budget deal.

On May 13th, join faith, labor and nonprofit organizations from around the
state to show our support for fair revenue increases at the Capitol. Join
us to say that when it comes to crafting budgets that protect the poor and
vulnerable, revenues should be part of the solution.

The time is now to stand together and support a balanced approach for
fixing Minnesota's budget problems.

This Thursday evening, legislators are likely to face a critical vote
which could determine whether or not Minnesota takes a balanced approach
to addressing budget shortfalls. Join us as we demonstrate our support for
legislation that includes revenue raised fairly.

JOIN US:
YOU, nonprofits, faith communities, labor unions, concerned citizens
A rally and action to tell legislators it's time to put revenues on
the table for protecting programs that serve the poor and vulnerable.
Minnesota State Capitol, 2nd floor 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd., St. Paul
This Thursday, May 13, Gather outside House chambers beginning at 5
p.m. - Come when you can, stay as long as you can!

When you join us, you'll be able to:
* Pick up talking points and signs
* Ask legislators to support revenue raised fairly
* Hear a brief program at 6:30

If you have questions, contact Leah Gardner at 651-757-3063 or leah [at] 
mncn.org.
More information and resources are available at www.investinmn.org.
Invest in Minnesota unites faith, labor and nonprofit organizations around
raising revenue fairly.
Thank you for all you're doing for justice.

What: An evening of action at the Capitol
Where: Outside of the House chambers, on the second floor of the Capitol 
building
75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Junior Blvd; St. Paul
When: Gathering at 5:00 p.m., program at 6:30 p.m.
Why: To demonstrate our support for revenue raised fairly at a decisive moment.

Please spread the word, contact me with any questions and join us in
standing united on Thursday!


--------4 of 11--------

From: Anne R. Carroll <carrfran [at] qwest.net>
Subject: Ed listening 5.13 7pm

Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education invites community to upcoming
Listening Session

The Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education will hold a Listening
Session Thursday, May 13, 2010 from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Neighborhood
House. The Listening Session, part of the Board's community engagement, is
designed to allow participants the opportunity to speak with Board members
in an open forum with no pre-determined topics. The session is similar to
town hall meetings held by state legislators to connect with constituents.

At least two Board of Education members will participate in the session to
listen and talk about topics and issues participants choose to address. The
Listening Session is in addition to, and less formal than, public comment
session held each month during regular Board of Education meetings. They are
not Board meetings, but will be hosted and facilitated by Board members who
are looking forward to hearing what people have to say.

Board members participating in the Listening Session will share discussion
from the session with Board colleagues at the earliest opportunity following
the listening session.

For more information about the Listening Session, please call 651-767-8149.
To request a Hmong, Spanish, or Somali interpreter for the session, please
call 651-767-8320.

Neighborhood House is located at 179 Robie Street East, Saint Paul, MN
55107.

This update is a service of the Office of Community Relations of Saint Paul
Public Schools. Please direct questions or comments to
community.relations [at] spps.org or by phone to 651-767-8110.


--------5 of 11--------

From: Women Against Military Madness <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Immigration 5.13 7pm

Immigration in Our Community

Thursday, May 13, 7:00 p.m. Parish Community of St. Joseph, 8701 36th
Avenue North (corner of Boone), New Hope. The evening will feature a panel
of Latino speakers and will include a discussion of immigration issues, a
dialogue to promote understanding, action steps to move forward
immigration reform, and ways that Latino immigrants are uniting in this
action. Hosted by: Northwest Neighbors for Peace. Presented by: the
Resource Center of the Americas and Latino Voices. Endorsed by: the WAMM
Immigration Committee. FFI: Call Linda Thomson, 763-478-4956.


--------6 of 11--------

rom: Michelle Gross <mgresist [at] visi.com>
Subject: RNC 8 courtwatch 5.14 9am

Courtwatch for RNC 8
Thursday, May 13
Friday, May 14
9:00 a.m. each day
Ramsey County Courthouse
15 W Kellogg, St. Paul

Carpools leave each morning at 8:00 a.m. from Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave
S, Minneapolis This is the second week of pretrial hearings in the RNC 8
case.  Last week's hearings were on whether there is even a basis for the
charges against the 8 and from the pathetic testimony of the cops, the
bogus nature of this prosecution is becoming more apparent.  For great
coverage of last week's hearings, see reports on Twin Cities Indymedia.
Chris Dugger, who spied on the RNC Welcoming Committee in exchange for a
job as a Ramsey County Sheriff's Deputy, will testify next.  This should
be really exciting.


--------7 of 11--------

From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net>
Subject: Palestine/Nakba 5.14 4:15pm

The weekly vigil for the liberation of Palestine continues at the
intersection of Snelling and Summit Aves in St. Paul. The Friday demo
starts at 4:15 and ends around 5:30. There are usually extra signs
available.

--
From: sarah martin <scsrn [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Nakba commemoration friday; distribute widely

Al Nakba Commemoration
Friday May 14 @  4:15-5:30
Corner of Snelling and Summit, St. Paul

May 15 is the annual observance of Al Nakba (the catastrophe), the
expulsion from 1947-48 of 750,000 palestinians from their homes and the
destruction of over 400 palestinian villages.  Despite U.N. resolutions
guaranteeing the right of return, Israel with full and unconditional U.S.
backing has never allowed one Palestinian to go back.  Come to stand in
solidarity with Palestinians for their right of return and in opposition
to U.S. funding of Israel's illegal occupation of their lands.

Free Palestine
End U.S. Aid to Israel


--------8 of 11--------

From: jtmiller jtmiller <jtmiller [at] minn.net>
Subject: Capitalism y/n 5.14 7pm

Friday May 14, 7:00 pm, MayDay Bookstore
Working Democracy Book Club
"Reform or Revolution," by Daniel De Leon
A provocative look at "working within the system" vs. working to
create a new system. Includes: the reason for the state; science and
morality; the demoralizatin of the workers by political charlatans -
and more more.

--
From: Tom Dooley <fellowcommoditydooley [at] gmail.com>

In the Great Depression of the 1930's, unemployment hit 25%, banks and
businesses were closing, it was tough times. Pres. Roosevelt initiated
Social Security and numerous other relief programs. Some capitalists
called him a Communist. Many workers called him their saviour, a saint. He
saved capitalism! REFORM IF YOU WOULD PRESERVE! Revolution avoided.
 - NOTHING IS TOO GOOD FOR THE RICH!

[If you've had it with Obama, the "two party system", capitalism,
liberals, the ruling class, Dem apologists, hope-filled gasbags,
pusillanimous pussyfooting, and slave-ready Americans, this is the place
for you. -ed]


--------9 of 11--------

From: Women Against Military Madness <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Marv/Carol 5.14 7pm

Marv Davidov and Carol Masters Reading: You Can't Do That
Friday, May 14, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, 6666
East River Road, Fridley.

Activist Marv Davidov and his biographer Carol Masters discuss his
biography, You Can't Do That: Marv Davidov, Non-Violent Revolutionary. "In
this full-length biography, we follow the career of Marv Davidov from his
years in the Army (he received an honorable discharge 'for the good of the
army'), living among the Beats on the U of M campus, participating in the
Freedom Rides that helped bring racial integration to the American South,
and on to the rallies, conferences and demonstrations in Minnesota,
serving to raise public awareness of locally-manufactured bombs and
weapons designed to kill and maim. 'I write good letters from prison,'
says Davidov, who has been arrested 50 times for acts of civil
disobedience'" - book description. Biographer Carol Masters is a long
time anti-war activist and writer and serves on the Board of WAMM.
Endorsed by: WAMM. FFI: Visit www.banfill-locke.org.


--------10 of 11--------

America - The Grim Truth
By Lance Freeman
Information Clearing House
5-2-10
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info

Americans, I have some bad news for you:

You have the worst quality of life in the developed world - by a wide
margin.

If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you'd be rioting in
the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or
Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the
typical American white-collar worker.

I know this because I am an American, and I escaped from the prison you
call home.

I have lived all around the world, in wealthy countries and poor ones, and
there is only one country I would never consider living in again: The
United States of America. The mere thought of it fills me with dread.

Consider this: you are the only people in the developed world without a
single-payer health system. Everyone in Western Europe, Japan, Canada,
Australia, Singapore and New Zealand has a single-payer system. If they
get sick, they can devote all their energies to getting well. If you get
sick, you have to battle two things at once: your illness and the fear of
financial ruin. Millions of Americans go bankrupt every year due to
medical bills, and tens of thousands die each year because they have no
insurance or insufficient insurance. And don't believe for a second that
rot about America having the world's best medical care or the shortest
waiting lists: I've been to hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Europe,
Singapore, and Thailand, and every one was better than the "good" hospital
I used to go to back home. The waits were shorter, the facilities more
comfortable, and the doctors just as good.

This is ironic, because you need a good health system more than anyone
else in the world. Why? Because your lifestyle is almost designed to make
you sick.

Let's start with your diet: Much of the beef you eat has been exposed to
fecal matter in processing. Your chicken is contaminated with salmonella.
Your stock animals and poultry are pumped full of growth hormones and
antibiotics. In most other countries, the government would act to protect
consumers from this sort of thing; in the United States, the government is
bought off by industry to prevent any effective regulations or
inspections. In a few years, the majority of all the produce for sale in
the United States will be from genetically modified crops, thanks to the
cozy relationship between Monsanto Corporation and the United States
government. Worse still, due to the vast quantities of high-fructose corn
syrup Americans consume, fully one-third of children born in the United
States today will be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their
lives.

Of course, it's not just the food that's killing you, it's the drugs. If
you show any sign of life when you're young, they'll put you on Ritalin.
Then, when you get old enough to take a good look around, you'll get
depressed, so they'll give you Prozac. If you're a man, this will render
you chemically impotent, so you'll need Viagra to get it up. Meanwhile,
your steady diet of trans-fat-laden food is guaranteed to give you high
cholesterol, so you'll get a prescription for Lipitor. Finally, at the end
of the day, you'll lay awake at night worrying about losing your health
plan, so you'll need Lunesta to go to sleep.

With a diet guaranteed to make you sick and a health system designed to
make sure you stay that way, what you really need is a long vacation
somewhere. Unfortunately, you probably can't take one. I'll let you in on
little secret: if you go to the beaches of Thailand, the mountains of
Nepal, or the coral reefs of Australia, you'll probably be the only
American in sight. And you'll be surrounded crowds of happy Germans,
French, Italians, Israelis, Scandinavians and wealthy Asians. Why? Because
they're paid well enough to afford to visit these places AND they can take
vacations long enough to do so. Even if you could scrape together enough
money to go to one of these incredible places, by the time you recovered
from your jetlag, it would time to get on a plane and rush back to your
job.

If you think I'm making this up, check the stats on average annual
vacation days by country:

Finland: 44 Italy: 42 France: 39 Germany: 35 UK: 25 Japan: 18 USA: 12

The fact is, they work you like dogs in the United States. This should
come as no surprise: the United States never got away from the
plantation/sweat shop labor model and any real labor movement was brutally
suppressed. Unless you happen to be a member of the ownership class, your
options are pretty much limited to barely surviving on service-sector
wages or playing musical chairs for a spot in a cubicle (a spot that will
be outsourced to India next week anyway). The very best you can hope for
is to get a professional degree and then milk the system for a slice of
the middle-class pie. And even those who claw their way into the middle
class are but one illness or job loss away from poverty. Your jobs aren't
secure. Your company has no loyalty to you. They'll play you off against
your coworkers for as long as it suits them, then they'll get rid of you.

Of course, you don't have any choice in the matter: the system is designed
this way. In most countries in the developed world, higher education is
either free or heavily subsidized; in the United States, a university
degree can set you back over US$100,000. Thus, you enter the working world
with a crushing debt. Forget about taking a year off to travel the world
and find yourself - you've got to start working or watch your credit
rating plummet.

If you're "lucky," you might even land a job good enough to qualify you
for a home loan. And then you'll spend half your working life just paying
the interest on the loan - welcome to the world of American debt slavery.
America has the illusion of great wealth because there's a lot of "stuff"
around, but who really owns it? In real terms, the average American is
poorer than the poorest ghetto dweller in Manila, because at least they
have no debts. If they want to pack up and leave, they can; if you want to
leave, you can't, because you've got debts to pay.

All this begs the question: Why would anyone put up with this? Ask any
American and you'll get the same answer: because America is the freest
country on earth. If you believe this, I've got some more bad news for
you: America is actually among the least free countries on earth. Your
piss is tested, your emails and phone calls are monitored, your medical
records are gathered, and you are never more than one stray comment away
from writhing on the ground with two Taser prongs in your ass.

And that's just physical freedom. Mentally, you are truly imprisoned. You
don't even know the degree to which you are tormented by fears of medical
bankruptcy, job loss, homelessness and violent crime because you've never
lived in a country where there is no need to worry about such things.

But it goes much deeper than mere surveillance and anxiety. The fact is,
you are not free because your country has been taken over and occupied by
another government. Fully 70% of your tax dollars go to the Pentagon, and
the Pentagon is the real government of the United States. You are required
under pain of death to pay taxes to this occupying government. If you're
from the less fortunate classes, you are also required to serve and die in
their endless wars, or send your sons and daughters to do so. You have no
choice in the matter: there is a socio-economic draft system in the United
States that provides a steady stream of cannon fodder for the military.

If you call a life of surveillance, anxiety and ceaseless toil in the
service of a government you didn't elect "freedom," then you and I have a
very different idea of what that word means.

If there was some chance that the country could be changed, there might be
reason for hope. But can you honestly look around and conclude that
anything is going to change? Where would the change come from? The people?
Take a good look at your compatriots: the working class in the United
States has been brutally propagandized by jackals like Rush Limbaugh, Bill
O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Members of the working class have been taught
to lick the boots of their masters and then bend over for another kick in
the ass. They've got these people so well trained that they'll take up
arms against the other half of the working class as soon as their masters
give the word.

If the people cannot make a change, how about the media? Not a chance.
>From Fox News to the New York Times, the mass media in the United States
is nothing but the public relations wing of the corporatocracy, primarily
the military industrial complex. At least the citizens of the former
Soviet Union knew that their news was bullshit. In America, you grow up
thinking you've got a free media, which makes the propaganda doubly
effective. If you don't think American media is mere corporate propaganda,
ask yourself the following question: have you ever heard a major American
news outlet suggest that the country could fund a single-payer health
system by cutting military spending?

If change can't come from the people or the media, the only other
potential source of change would be the politicians. Unfortunately, the
American political process is among the most corrupt in the world. In
every country on earth, one expects politicians to take bribes from the
rich. But this generally happens in secret, behind the closed doors of
their elite clubs. In the United States, this sort of political corruption
is done in broad daylight, as part of legal, accepted, standard operating
procedure. In the United States, they merely call these bribes campaign
donations, political action committees and lobbyists. One can no more
expect the politicians to change this system than one can expect a man to
take an axe and chop his own legs out from underneath him.

No, the United States of America is not going to change for the better.
The only change will be for the worse. And when I say worse, I mean much
worse. As we speak, the economic system that sustained the country during
the post-war years is collapsing. The United States maxed out its "credit
card" sometime in 2008 and now its lenders, starting with China, are in
the process of laying the foundations for a new monetary system to replace
the Anglo-American "petro-dollar" system. As soon as there is a viable
alternative to the US dollar, the greenback will sink like a stone.

While the United States was running up crushing levels of debt, it was
also busy shipping its manufacturing jobs and white-collar jobs overseas,
and letting its infrastructure fall to pieces. Meanwhile, Asian and
European countries were investing in education, infrastructure and raw
materials. Even if the United States tried to rebuild a real economy (as
opposed to a service/financial economy) do think American workers would
ever be able to compete with the workers of China or Europe? Have you ever
seen a Japanese or German factory? Have you ever met a Singaporean or
Chinese worker?

There are only two possible futures facing the United States, and neither
one is pretty. The best case is a slow but orderly decline - essentially a
continuation of what's been happening for the last two decades. Wages will
drop, unemployment will rise, Medicare and Social Security benefits will
be slashed, the currency will decline in value, and the disparity of
wealth will spiral out of control until the United States starts to
resemble Mexico or the Philippines - tiny islands of wealth surrounded by
great poverty (the country is already halfway there).

Equally likely is a sudden collapse, perhaps brought about by a rapid
flight from the US dollar by creditor nations like China, Japan, Korea and
the OPEC nations. A related possibility would be a default by the United
States government on its vast debt. One look at the financial balance
sheet of the US government should convince you how likely this is:
governmental spending is skyrocketing and tax receipts are plummeting -
something has to give. If either of these scenarios plays out, the
resulting depression will make the present recession look like a walk in
the park.

Whether the collapse is gradual or gut-wrenchingly sudden, the results
will be chaos, civil strife and fascism. Let's face it: the United States
is like the former Yugoslavia - a collection of mutually antagonistic
cultures united in name only. You've got your own version of the Taliban:
right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of
secular Constitutional government. You've got a vast intellectual
underclass that has spent the last few decades soaking up Fox News and
talk radio propaganda, eager to blame the collapse on Democrats, gays and
immigrants. You've got a ruthless ownership class that will use all the
means at its disposal to protect its wealth from the starving masses.

On top of all that you've got vast factory farms, sprawling suburbs and a
truck-based shipping system, all of it entirely dependent on oil that is
about to become completely unaffordable. And you've got guns. Lots of
guns. In short: the United States is about to become a very unwholesome
place to be.

Right now, the government is building fences and walls along its northern
and southern borders. Right now, the government is working on a national
ID system (soon to be fitted with biometric features). Right now, the
government is building a surveillance state so extensive that they will be
able to follow your every move, online, in the street and across borders.
If you think this is just to protect you from "terrorists," then you're
sadly mistaken. Once the shit really hits the fan, do you really think
you'll just be able to jump into the old station wagon, drive across the
Canadian border and spend the rest of your days fishing and drinking
Molson? No, the government is going to lock the place down. They don't
want their tax base escaping. They don't want their "recruits" escaping.
They don't want YOU escaping.

I am not writing this to scare you. I write this to you as a friend. If
you are able to read and understand what I've written here, then you are a
member of a small minority in the United States. You are a minority in a
country that has no place for you.

So what should you do?

You should leave the United States of America.

If you're young, you've got plenty of choices: you can teach English in
the Middle East, Asia or Europe. Or you can go to university or graduate
school abroad and start building skills that will qualify you for a work
visa. If you've already got some real work skills, you can apply to
emigrate to any number of countries as a skilled immigrant. If you are
older and you've got some savings, you can retire to a place like Costa
Rica or the Philippines. If you can't qualify for a work, student or
retirement visa, don't let that stop you - travel on a tourist visa to a
country that appeals to you and talk to the expats you meet there.
Whatever you do, go speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as you can.
Find out exactly how to get on a path that will lead to permanent
residence and eventually citizenship in the country of your choice.

You will not be alone. There are millions of Americans just like me living
outside the United States. Living lives much more fulfilling, peaceful,
free and abundant than we ever could have attained back home. Some of us
happened upon these lives by accident - we tried a year abroad and found
that we liked it - others made a conscious decision to pack up and leave
for good. You'll find us in Canada, all over Europe, in many parts of
Asia, in Australia and New Zealand, and in most other countries of the
globe. Do we miss our friends and family? Yes. Do we occasionally miss
aspects of our former country? Yes. Do we plan on ever living again in the
United States? Never. And those of us with permanent residence or
citizenship can sponsor family members from back home for long-term visas
in our adopted countries.

In closing, I want to remind you of something: unless you are an American
Indian or a descendant of slaves, at some point your ancestors chose to
leave their homeland in search of a better life. They weren't traitors and
they weren't bad people, they just wanted a better life for themselves and
their families. Isn't it time that you continue their journey?


--------11 of 11--------

Terminally Stupid People Have Always Been With Us
We've Seen the Likes of the Teabaggers Before
By WILLIAM BLUM
May 13, 2010
CounterPunch

If you shake your head and roll your eyes at the nonsense coming out of
the Teabagger followers of Sarah "Africa is a country" Palin and other
intellectual giants like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh ... If you have
thoughts of moving abroad after the latest silly lies and fantasies like
"Obama the Marxist" and "Obama the antichrist" ...  If you share Noam
Chomsky's feeling: "I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime.
... keep in mind that the right wing has long been at least as stupid and
as mean-spirited.  Consider some of the behavior of the same types for
half a century during the Cold War with its beloved -- albeit imaginary --
"International Communist Conspiracy".

 * 1948: The Pittsburgh Press published the names, addresses, and places
of employment of about 1,000 citizens who had signed
presidential-nominating petitions for former Vice President Henry Wallace,
running under the Progressive Party.  This, and a number of other lists of
"communists", published in the mainstream media, resulted in people losing
their jobs, being expelled from unions, having their children abused,
being denied state welfare benefits, and suffering various other
punishments.

 * Around 1950: The House Committee on Un-American Activities published a
pamphlet, "100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A".  This
included information about what a communist takeover of the United States
would mean:
Q: What would happen to my insurance?
A: It would go to the Communists.
Q: Would communism give me something better than I have now?
A: Not unless you are in a penitentiary serving a life sentence at hard
labor.

 * 1950s: Mrs. Ada White, member of the Indiana State Textbook Commission,
believed that Robin Hood was a Communist and urged that books that told
the Robin Hood story be banned from Indiana schools.

 * As evidence that anti-communist mania was not limited to the lunatic
fringe or conservative newspaper publishers, here is Clark Kerr, president
of the University of California at Berkeley in a 1959 speech: "Perhaps 2
or even 20 million people have been killed in China by the new [communist]
regime".  One person wrote to Kerr: "I am wondering how you would judge a
person who estimates the age of a passerby on the street as being 'perhaps
2 or even 20 years old.'  Or what would you think of a physician who tells
you to take 'perhaps 2 or even twenty teaspoonsful of a remedy'?.

 * Throughout the cold war, traffic in phoney Lenin quotes was brisk, each
one passed around from one publication or speaker to another for years.
Here's U.S. News and World Report in 1958 demonstrating communist
duplicity by quoting Lenin: "Promises are like pie crusts, made to be
broken".  Secretary of State John Foster Dulles used it in a speech
shortly afterward, one of many to do so during the cold war.  Lenin
actually did use a very similar line, but he explicitly stated that he was
quoting an English proverb (it comes from Jonathan Swift) and his purpose
was to show the unreliability of the bourgeoisie, not of communists.

 "First we will take Eastern Europe, then the masses of Asia, then we will
encircle the United States, which will be the last bastion of capitalism.
We will not have to attack.  It will fall like an overripe fruit into our
hands".  This Lenin "quotation" had the usual wide circulation, even
winding up in the Congressional Record in 1962.  This was not simply a
careless attribution; this was an out-and-out fabrication; an extensive
search, including by the Library of Congress and the United States
Information Agency failed to find its origin.

 * A favorite theme of the anti-communists was that a principal force
behind drug trafficking was a communist plot to demoralize the United
States.  Here's a small sample:

Don Keller, District Attorney for San Diego County, California in 1953:
"We know that more heroin is being produced south of the border than ever
before and we are beginning to hear stories of financial backing by big
shot Communists operating out of Mexico City".

 Henry Giordano, Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 1964,
interviewed in the American Legion Magazine:   Interviewer: "I've been
told that the communists are trying to flood our country with narcotics to
weaken our moral and physical stamina.  Is that true?"

Giordano: "As far as the drugs are concerned, it's true.  There's a
terrific flow of drugs coming out of Yunnan Province of China. ... There's
no question that in that particular area this is the aim of the Red
Chinese.  It should be apparent that if you could addict a population you
would degrade a nation's moral fiber".

 Fulton Lewis, Jr., prominent conservative radio broadcaster and newspaper
columnist, 1965: "Narcotics of Cuban origin -- marijuana, cocaine, opium,
and heroin -- are now peddled in big cities and tiny hamlets throughout
this country.  Several Cubans arrested by the Los Angeles police have
boasted they are communists".

 We were also told that along with drugs another tool of the commies to
undermine America's spirit was fluoridation of the water.

 * Mickey Spillane was one of the most successful writers of the 1950s,
selling millions of his anticommunist thriller mysteries.  Here is his
hero, Mike Hammer, in "One Lonely Night", boasting of his delight in the
grisly murders he commits, all in the name of destroying a communist plot
to steal atomic secrets.  After a night of carnage, the triumphant Hammer
gloats, "I shot them in cold blood and enjoyed every minute of it.  I
pumped slugs into the nastiest bunch of bastards you ever saw. ... They
were Commies. ... Pretty soon what's left of Russia and the slime that
breeds there won't be worth mentioning and I'm glad because I had a part
in the killing.  God, but it was fun!"

 * 1952: A campaign against the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization because it was tainted with "atheism and communism",
and was "subversive" because it preached internationalism.  Any attempt to
introduce an international point of view in the schools was seen as
undermining patriotism and loyalty to the United States.  A bill in the US
Senate, clearly aimed at UNESCO, called for a ban on the funding of "any
international agency that directly or indirectly promoted one-world
government or world citizenship".  There was also opposition to UNESCO's
association with the UN Declaration of Human Rights on the grounds that it
was trying to replace the American Bill of Rights with a less
liberty-giving covenant of human rights.

 * 1955: A US Army 6-page pamphlet, "How to Spot a Communist", informed us
that a communist could be spotted by his predisposition to discuss civil
rights, racial and religious discrimination, the immigration laws,
anti-subversive legislation, curbs on unions, and peace.  Good Americans
were advised to keep their ears stretched for such give-away terms as
"chauvinism", "book-burning", "colonialism", "demagogy", "witch hunt",
"reactionary", "progressive", and "exploitation".  Another "distinguishing
mark" of "Communist language" was a "preference for long sentences".
After some ridicule, the Army rescinded the pamphlet.

 * 1958: The noted sportscaster Bill Stern (one of the heroes of my youth)
observed on the radio that the lack of interest in "big time" football at
New York University, City College of New York, Chicago, and Harvard "is
due to the widespread acceptance of Communism at the universities."

 * 1960: US General Thomas Power speaking about nuclear war or a first
strike by the US: "The whole idea is to kill the bastards!  At the end of
the war, if there are two Americans and one Russian, we win!"  The
response from one of those present was: "Well, you'd better make sure that
they're a man and a woman."

 * 1966: The Boys Club of America is of course wholesome and patriotic.
Imagine their horror when they were confused with the Dubois Clubs.
(W.E.B. Du Bois had been a very prominent civil rights activist.)  When
the Justice Department required the DuBois Clubs to register as a
Communist front group, good loyal Americans knew what to do.  They called
up the Boys Club to announce that they would no longer contribute any
money, or to threaten violence against them; and sure enough an explosion
damaged the national headquarters of the youth group in San Francisco.
Then former Vice President Richard Nixon, who was national board chairman
of the Boys Club, declared: "This is an almost classic example of
Communist deception and duplicity.  The 'DuBois Clubs' are not unaware of
the confusion they are causing among our supporters and among many other
good citizens".

 * 1966: "Rhythm, Riots and Revolution: An Analysis of the Communist Use
of Music, The Communist Master Music Plan", by David A. Noebel, published
by Christian Crusade Publications, (expanded version of 1965 pamphlet:
"Communism, Hypnotism and the Beatles").  Some chapters: Communist Use of
Mind Warfare ... Nature of Red Record Companies ... Destructive Nature of
Beatle Music ... Communist Subversion of Folk Music ... Folk Music and the
Negro Revolution ... Folk Music and the College Revolution

 * 1968: William Calley, US Army Lieutenant, charged with overseeing the
massacre of more than 100 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai in 1968, said
some years later: "In all my years in the Army I was never taught that
communists were human beings.  We were there to kill ideology carried by -
I don't know - pawns, blobs, pieces of flesh.  I was there to destroy
communism.  We never conceived of old people, men, women, children,
babies."

 * 1977: Scientists theorized that the earth's protective ozone layer was
being damaged by synthetic chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons.  The
manufacturers and users of CFCs were not happy.  They made life difficult
for the lead scientist.  The president of one aerosol manufacturing firm
suggested that criticism of CFCs was "orchestrated by the Ministry of
Disinformation of the KGB".

 * 1978: Life inside a California youth camp of the ultra anti-communist
John Birch Society: Five hours each day of lectures on communism,
Americanism and "The Conspiracy"; campers learned that the Soviet
government had created a famine and spread a virus to kill a large number
of citizens and make the rest of them more manageable; the famine led
starving adults to eat their children; communist guerrillas in Southeast
Asia jammed chopsticks into children's ears, piercing their eardrums;
American movies are all under the control of the Communists; the theme is
always that capitalism is no better than communism; you can't find a
dictionary now that isn't under communist influence; the communists are
also taking over the Bibles.

 * The Reagan administration declared that the Russians were spraying
toxic chemicals over Laos, Cambodia and Afghanistan - the so-called
"yellow rain" - and had caused more than ten thousand deaths by 1982
alone, (including, in Afghanistan, 3,042 deaths attributed to 47 separate
incidents between the summer of 1979 and the summer of 1981, so precise
was the information).  Secretary of State Alexander Haig was a prime
dispenser of such stories, and President Reagan himself denounced the
Soviet Union thusly more than 15 times in documents and speeches.  The
"yellow rain", it turned out, was pollen-laden feces dropped by huge
swarms of honeybees flying far overhead. [Communist honeybees. -ed]

 * 1982: In commenting about sexual harassment in the Army, General John
Crosby stated that the Army doesn't care about soldiers' social lives -
"The basic purpose of the United States Army is to kill Russians," he
said.

 * 1983: The US invasion of Grenada, the home of the Cuban ambassador is
damaged and looted by American soldiers; on one wall is written "AA",
symbol of the 82nd Airborne Division; beside it the message: "Eat shit,
commie faggot." ... "I want to fuck communism out of this little island,"
says a marine, "and fuck it right back to Moscow".

 * 1984: During a sound check just before his weekly broadcast, President
Reagan spoke these words into the microphone: "My fellow Americans, I am
pleased to tell you I have signed legislation to outlaw Russia, forever.
We begin bombing in five minutes".  His words were picked up by at least
two radio networks.

 * 1985: October 29 BBC interview with Ronald Reagan: asked about the
differences he saw between the US and Russia, the president replied: "I'm
no linguist, but I've been told that in the Russian language there isn't
even a word for freedom".  (The word is "svoboda".)

 * 1986: Soviet artists and cultural officials criticized Rambo-like
American films as an expression of "anti-Russian phobia even more
pathological than in the days of McCarthyism".  Russian film-maker
Stanislav Rostofsky claimed that on one visit to an American school "a
young girl had trembled with fury when she heard I was from the Soviet
Union, and said she hated Russians".

 * 1986: Roy Cohn, who achieved considerable fame and notoriety in the
1950s as an assistant to the communist-witch-hunting Senator Joseph
McCarthy, died, reportedly of AIDS.  Cohn, though homosexual, had denied
that he was and had denounced such rumors as communist smears.

 * 1986: After American journalist Nicholas Daniloff was arrested in
Moscow for "spying" and held in custody for two weeks, New York Mayor
Edward Koch sent a group of 10 visiting Soviet students storming out of
City Hall in fury.  "The Soviet government is the pits," said Koch,
visibly shocking the students, ranging in age from 10 to 18 years.  One
14-year-old student was so outraged he declared: "I don't want to stay in
this house.  I want to go to the bus and go far away from this place.  The
mayor is very rude.  We never had a worse welcome anywhere".  As matters
turned out, it appeared that Daniloff had not been completely pure when it
came to his news gathering.

 * 1989: After the infamous Chinese crackdown on dissenters in Tiananmen
Square in June, the US news media was replete with reports that the
governments of Nicaragua, Vietnam and Cuba had expressed their support of
the Chinese leadership.  Said the Wall Street Journal: "Nicaragua, with
Cuba and Vietnam, constituted  the only countries in the world to approve
the Chinese Communists' slaughter of the students in Tiananmen Square".
But it was all someone's fabrication; no such support had been expressed
by any of the three governments.  At that time, as now, there were few, if
any, organizations other than the CIA which could manipulate major Western
media in such a manner.

NOTE: It should be remembered that the worst consequences of
anti-communism were not those discussed above.  The worst consequences,
the ultra-criminal consequences, were the abominable death, destruction,
and violation of human rights that we know under various names: Vietnam,
Chile, Korea, Guatemala, Cambodia, Indonesia, Brazil, Greece, Afghanistan,
El Salvador, and many others.

William Blum is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA
Interventions Since World War II, Rogue State: a guide to the World's Only
Super Power. and West-Bloc Dissident: a Cold War Political Memoir.

He can be reached at: BBlum6 [at] aol.com


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   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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