Category: Civil Liberties

How to fight Trump? Defeating Democratic Party strategy is key

By MARK UGOLINI Donald Trump, a pompous real-estate mogul and multi-billionaire, has taken the White House while surrounded by billionaire cabinet appointees who have a combined net worth greater than one-third of the United States. An Ivy-League-educated bigot, who from childhood has become accustomed to an opulent lifestyle, including a Manhattan “grand penthouse mansion” with … Continue reading How to fight Trump? Defeating Democratic Party strategy is key →

Say no to discrimination against Muslims!

By KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL To respond to the incoming Trump administration—overflowing with Islamophobes—will require a strategy for challenging Islamophobia on several levels. The first thing to note, however, is that Islamophobia, defined as the irrational fear and hatred of Muslims, is not technically the correct term for the oppression that Muslims are increasingly confronting. It is … Continue reading Say no to discrimination against Muslims! →

Somali youth sentenced in ‘Minneapolis Terror Trial’

By KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL MINNEAPOLIS—The show trial dubbed by our local capitalist media, “Minnesota’s Terror Trial,” ended in November with the sentencing of the nine young men (eight Somali and one Oromo) who pled to or were convicted of charges relating to alleged attempts to join the “designated foreign terrorist organization” ISIS (the Islamic State). The … Continue reading Somali youth sentenced in ‘Minneapolis Terror Trial’ →

Supreme Court dashes immigrants’ hopes

By GRACE MONTESI On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court tied 4-4 regarding an immigration action taken by President Obama in 2014. The decision left in place a lower court’s ruling that had blocked implementation of the program. Officials in our so-called democratic system have once again disregarded the immigrant rights movement and let down … Continue reading Supreme Court dashes immigrants’ hopes →

N.Y. assault on Palestine solidarity

By MARK UGOLINI As part of a major multi-country assault designed to outlaw advocacy of boycotts of Israel, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on June 5 signed “Executive Order No. 157,” instructing state agencies to divest from companies and institutions that participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In the tradition of McCarthyism, the … Continue reading N.Y. assault on Palestine solidarity →

Stop persecution of Muslims & immigrants!

By KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL Beginning in early January, Socialist Action joined with many other organizations for a series of conference calls on the need for united action to more effectively combat the rising tide of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant and anti-refugee hatred in this country. The ad-hoc coalition that was formed took the name Stand Together Against … Continue reading Stop persecution of Muslims & immigrants! →

Friedrichs: Threat to public worker unions

BY JEFF MACKLER Under capitalist law what was legal yesterday, indeed for the past 40 years, can become instantly illegal today. Such will likely be the outcome with regard to the lawsuit that guts public-employee union rights, which was filed by Los Angeles school teacher Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other California teachers. Friedrichs v. California … Continue reading Friedrichs: Threat to public worker unions →

Harper Lee’s discarded leftovers

By JOE AUCIELLO Harper Lee, “Go Set A Watchman,” (New York: HarperCollins, 2015), 288 pp., $27.99. Why throw away the Christmas turkey after it’s been eaten? It can still be used. Take the carcass, simmer with water, and the bones make a good stock for soup. Take the carcass of a popular novel—its discarded rough … Continue reading Harper Lee’s discarded leftovers →

Mumia’s fight for medical treatment

By RACHEL WOLKENSTEIN Below are excerpts from a report by attorney Rachel Wolkenstein on the fight of Mumia Abu-Jamal to obtain necessary medical treatment. Mumia, a noted political commentator and innocent political prisoner, was convicted in 1982 of killing a Philadelphia police officer. He received the death penalty, a sentence that was later reduced to … Continue reading Mumia’s fight for medical treatment →

Paris attack leads to crackdown on rights

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER In the space of less than two weeks, the world recently witnessed three massacres outside the home base of the Islamic State (ISIS) for which the jihadist group took credit. On Oct. 31, a homemade bomb brought down a Russian airliner over the Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. On Nov. … Continue reading Paris attack leads to crackdown on rights →

Shooting by Chicago cop stirs protests

By ADAM SHILS — CHICAGO — On Oct. 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald, 17, was fatally shot by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. McDonald, who had been suspected of stealing car radios, was only armed with a knife. The police car dash-cam video shows McDonald some yards from the police officers and not moving toward them … Continue reading Shooting by Chicago cop stirs protests →

LCR-SAP denounces lockdown in Belgium

The Ligue communiste révolutionnaire-Socialistische Arberjderspartij (LCR-SAP), the Belgian section of the Fourth International, issued the following statement on the third day of the "Brussels lockdown," as the government’s "level 4” alert was known. BRUSSELS— The LCR/SAP has sounded the alarm over the anti-democratic procedures that have been introduced in the name of the fight against terrorism. … Continue reading LCR-SAP denounces lockdown in Belgium →

‘Justice for Jamar!’ Minneapolis cops clear protest camp

By KAREN and JOHN SCHRAUFNAGEL “To us, he was a loving young man. America has a criminal record. Minnesota has a criminal record against Black people. So if we are judging people against their past, let us start at the head.” —Kenya McKnight, spokesperson for Jamar Clark’s family, Nov. 17, 2015. — MINNEAPOLIS — UPDATED REPORT, … Continue reading ‘Justice for Jamar!’ Minneapolis cops clear protest camp →

Women protest attacks on Planned Parenthood

By CHRISTINE MARIE  On Tuesday, Sept. 29, women in at least 90 cities around the United States demonstrated in defense of the health provider Planned Parenthood. “Pink Out Day,” the organizers state, provided the opportunity to say: “Listen to over a million Americans who are sick and tired of the relentless attacks on reproductive health … Continue reading Women protest attacks on Planned Parenthood →

Joe Johnson: Man without a country

By BILL ONASCH  Joe Johnson passed away Aug. 5 in Chippewa Falls, Wis., at age 84. His long life was marked by resolute opposition to war, local and national leadership in the Socialist Workers Party, government persecution, an exceedingly frugal life style, and from middle age, devoted care to his mother during her final years. … Continue reading Joe Johnson: Man without a country →

Snowden exposes new NSA spying

By JEFF MACKLER Edward Snowden, renowned for his 2013 exposure of all pervasive U.S. government Internet and telephone spying on virtually all Americans, if not the entire world (no exaggeration), has once again blown the cover off corporate America’s collaboration with the nation’s top super-spy entity, the National Security Administration (NSA). Snowden’s most recent revelations—once … Continue reading Snowden exposes new NSA spying →

Cops dispense racially defined “justice”

By JOE AUCIELLO “In my career, my only training in the Constitution was how to get around it,” (Sue Rahr, former sheriff, executive director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, and member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing). Drivers on their way to work, zipping by one of the predominantly … Continue reading Cops dispense racially defined “justice” →

Dominican gov’t expels Haitians

By MARTY GOODMAN In a clear attempt at ethnic cleansing, hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent have been rendered stateless under Dominican law. A series of racist court rulings on immigration in 2004, 2010, and 2013 paved the way for a dragnet based on race that might result in mass expulsions. A 2013 … Continue reading Dominican gov’t expels Haitians →

Outrage in Baltimore over Gray murder

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER Baltimore has become a symbol of rebellion against the rampant police brutality, racism, and poverty that pervades America’s cities. In late April, Maryland’s governor called in the National Guard, and Baltimore’s mayor imposed a “state of emergency” over the city as protesters clashed with police. Outraged citizens, mainly youth, filled the streets … Continue reading Outrage in Baltimore over Gray murder →

The American gulag: A call to action

By RALPH SCHOENMAN The following talk was given via Skype at a Feb. 20 meeting at St. Peter’s Church in New York City, called to celebrate the first anniversary of the release of civil-liberties attorney Lynne Stewart from prison. Ralph Schoenman is the past general secretary of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and a frequent … Continue reading The American gulag: A call to action →