Rustin

This is a loooooong article written by the legendary Bayard Rustin. As a historical document it is incredibly interesting and as a political-analytical undertaking its depth and method of analysis has much to teach us today. I remember reading this more than 50 years ago in a social democratic reader, and though I didn’t grasp some or much of what Rustin wrote, I found it so stimulating.

China

I wonder if China could fit into the category of authoritarian state with some socialist characteristics.

Support Ceasefire

Senators

Dick Durbin (IL)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Elizabeth Warren (MA)

Representatives

Alma Adams (NC-12)
Becca Balint (VT-AL)
Don Beyer (VA-08)
Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)

Cori Bush (MO-01)
Tony Cárdenas (CA-29)
André Carson (IN-07)
Troy Carter (LA-02)
Greg Casar (TX-35)
Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Judy Chu (CA-28)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10)
Debbie Dingell (MI-06)
Lloyd Doggett (TX-37)
Veronica Escobar (TX-16)
Maxwell Frost (FL-10)
John Garamendi (CA-08)
Jesús “Chuy” Garcia (IL-04)
Robert Garcia (CA-42)
Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)
Al Green (TX-09)
Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07)
Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Jonathan Jackson (IL-01)
Sara Jacobs (CA-51)
Pramila Jayapal (WA-07)
Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (GA-04)
Ro Khanna (CA-17)
Barbara Lee (CA-12)
Summer Lee (PA-12)
Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03)
Betty McCollum (MN-04)
James P. McGovern (MA-02)
Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
Ilhan Omar (MN-05)
Dean Phillips (MN-03)
Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Mark Pocan (WI-02)
Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Delia Ramirez (IL-03)
Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Rashida Tlaib (MI-12)
Paul Tonko (NY-20)
Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)
Nydia Velázquez (NY-07)
Maxine Waters (CA-43)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)

Women and children

Is there a better graphic demonstrating the inhumanity of Netanyahu and the IDF and the imperative of a ceasefire? I’m for an immediate ceasefire, but also for – not as a first choice – anything that will get us there. In any case, the staggering number of deaths of women and children (and others) should give urgency to this struggle. A simple thing to do is to call the office of your Senator and House member to thank them for supporting a ceasefire if they have or to urge them to do so if they haven’t.

Never fill an arena

I watched a few clips of the Oakland city council meeting last night during which a few speakers defended Hamas and considered the slaughter of 1400 innocent people an expression of resistance. Much could be said, but suffice to say (for now) that this peculiar brand of anti-imperialist politics with more than a dollop of antisemitism won’t travel well across the country and its diverse communities. It will attract an audience, but it will never fill an arena nor evolve into a political majority with the capacity to make progressive change.