Making Sense of the Jan. 6 Committee Investigation

The “Stop the Steal” riot in the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, did little to break the hold Donald Trump has on the Republican Party or his base. The “Select Committee to Investigate the Attack on the United States Capitol” (the J6 Committee) was formed against opposition from Trump’s key supporters in Congress, with only two GOP Representatives choosing to participate, Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

The right has used the lack of GOP participation in the committee as a talking point to attack the legitimacy of any investigation of the Capitol riot, while the Democrats have mainly stage-managed the investigation to underpin their mid-term election strategy of using the attack, and the rise of the far right, to scare working and oppressed people into voting, once again, for the “lesser evil.”

Indigenous Liberation, Decolonization and Socialism

It has been almost seven years since Justin Trudeau was elected prime minister on a vaguely progressive sounding platform of proportionate representation, climate change legislation, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. He went on to abandon all three as soon as it became convenient. The full weight of the federal government has been thrown behind the construction of environmentally disastrous fuel pipelines and related “development” through Indigenous land as they sic the RCMP on anyone who resists. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars fighting against Indigenous peoples’ rights in courts, as well as against restitution to Indigenous children harmed by the welfare system. Indigenous over-representation in prisons has grown over the past seven years, and the murder of Indigenous people—particularly women—continues apace. All the while, Trudeau has waxed poetic about Canada taking responsibility for “the mistakes of the past.”

The West Bank Is a Specially Oppressed Zone — Free All of Palestine!

A crisis is occurring in the northern West Bank. Since April, Israel has made constant military raids, especially into the cities of Jenin and Nablus, arresting over 2,000 Palestinians. On September 28, Israeli soldiers entered the Jenin refugee camp with dozens of armored SUVs and killed four men.

Teamsters Vote to Stike at UMD!

Teamsters Local 320, who represent service workers at the five University of Minnesota campuses (including Duluth), have voted to authorize a strike. The date has yet to be set, but we'll keep you posted. Workers are demanding that the university give its lowest paid workers a living wage.

Lessons From the Vietnam Anti-War Movement

Fred Halstead: “Out Now! A Participant’s Account of the Movement in the U.S. Against the Vietnam War” (Pathfinder Press, New York) 1978, 1991, 881 pages.

Peter Camejo: “Liberalism, Ultra-leftism, or Mass Action” (Pathfinder Press, New York) 1970, pamphlet.

The U.S. emerged from World War II as the most powerful imperialist country the world had ever seen. American imperialism had unsurpassed military, diplomatic, and economic power, which it used aggressively in every corner of the globe. Its enemy was the world revolution, as rebellions accelerated rapidly after World War II. The U.S. war against Vietnam stands as a particularly grisly example of the application of these powers against an impoverished people trying to escape from colonialism.

Who Gets to Define a Recession?

Pundits are asking, “Is the economy in recession?” Regardless of definitions, working people are hurting, with pandemic aid programs evaporating and inflation eroding wages. Big business uses the threat of recession to its advantage, pleading for public handouts to bolster profits, or as now, encouraging a downturn in order to neutralize growing worker power by increasing unemployment.

Current conditions in the U.S. economy are not normally found in a recession. Corporate profits are surging, and inflation is at near record levels. Lingering supply-demand imbalances are unique to the pandemic. There’s a tight labor market and workers have gained some leverage in the last 18 months or so due to their own increased militancy.

Nurses Three Day Strike Concludes

The 3 day nurses' strike ended this evening with a rally at Essentia and then St. Luke's. Ten minutes into the rally at Essentia, the building right behind us went up in flames. Luckily everyone was able to successfully evacuate the rally site, and after regrouping on the other side of St. Mary's Hospital, we marched to St. Luke's for a powerful wrap-up rally. 

Thank you to strike captains and leaders who ushered everyone to safety during the fire. And thank you to all of the nurses who stood up against Essentia and St. Luke's with this strike. The struggle isn't over! The Minnesota Nurses Association will be going back to the table to negotiate.  It remains to be seen if there will need be further actions to make the hospitals move.

 Stay tuned in the days and weeks ahead for further updates on the nurses struggle for safe staffing and a fair contract!