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Monday December 2nd 2024

Posts Tagged ‘Raise Your Voice’

Raise Your Voice: Contradictions within the popular front

Raise Your Voice: Contradictions within the popular front

By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Readers will recall that, owing to internal contradictions, everything exists in motion, both coming and going; changing under the influence of external factors. Our “popular front” form of resistance is no exception to the rule. Yes, indeed: “the lesser of two evils sometimes rises to the level of a necessity.” But, given the opposing camps within the Democratic Party, we must reckon with certain consequences of our actions. Positively speaking, though, we of the fifth district should feel very proud for having elected Ilhan Omar to the U.S. Congress. Already, Ilhan has achieved a degree of planetary fame, for having slapped the face of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (and all Trump supporters) who are hell-bent to destroy our country by dividing us. And now, from within the Progressive Caucus, Ilhan has joined hands with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in support of a Green New Deal. Should we all join hands to preserve [...]

State Fair Angst

By Peter Molenaar “Angst” is a German word which has achieved vernacular status in the contemporary English.  It means:  anxiety with a little depression thrown in.  For our purposes, the word connotes an omnipresent but less than full-blown anxiety, which normally remains repressed by the requirements of daily living. To the discerning eye, an under-current of angst was revealed among the gathered “masses” at this year”'s State Fair.  We are the masses.  Unfortunately, our angst has become a playground for dishonest politicians. So, the annual reaffirmation of Minnesotan identity has passed.  The cow barn displayed again the Jersey Cow with beautiful eyes and baby face.  The sheep were proudly groomed, snow-white and alert.  Even the hogs were giddy. (more…)

Pull Together

By Peter Molenaar Given the unprecedented economic, political and military power of the U.S. ruling class, it may seem like a pipedream to believe that we “ordinary” folks can advance socially even by small increments. But when the foundations of this colossal power are examined, definite weaknesses are revealed. First, the system of corporate-capitalism is malfunctioning big time. Witness: the Wall Street meltdown, massive unemployment, stagnant wages, fruitless wars, and the developing life-threatening environmental crisis. Second, only 1% of the population now owns over half of all stocks and bonds and the richest 5% holds 60% of all our country”'s wealth. In reality, there are a few thousand families with hundreds of billions in assets who control the main financial, manufacturing, extraction, media, communications, transport, aerospace and real estate corporations. Clearly, the wealth behind the power is concentrated in the hands of an extremely tiny [...]

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