The Wealthy Like Redistribution-If the Money Goes Into Their Pockets
by John M Repp Published on Sunday, December 02, 2012 by Common Dreams, edited by the author in 2021. Republicans and the corporate media are always saying that taxing the rich is “redistribution of wealth”. As if the capitalist economy is not itself a great redistribution engine! In its normal workings, capitalism redistributes the money and labor of poor and working people to the rich. As John Ruskin wrote in Unto the Last in 1862, rich and poor are relative words like north and south. Gandhi read Ruskin’s book and he said that it changed his life. Most people think of wealth as an absolute and too many also think that everyone could become wealthy with the right application of…
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by James Manista (edited by John M Repp) The military can no more forsake newer costlier weapons than flies above a summer pasture can avoid fresh cow flop. Whether it is iron over bronze for spearheads, steel over iron for cannons, titanium over aluminum for jets—despite the cost, the new is better and required. No surprise. New weapons are like new toys to their minds, not shiny new—more likely black and drab. Yet except for a few old school hardliners, experts have agreed there are some weapons which—however technically perfected—should just stay banned. Not everyone agrees. In recent memory Saddam Hussein used poison gas on his Iraqi countrymen. Syrian factions (they keep blaming each other) have barrel-bombed their helpless counterparts…
9to5: The Story of a Movement
by Cindy Cole “9to5: The Story of a Movement” is a new documentary celebrating the building of a feminist organization for better pay, respect, and good working conditions. 9to5, the Association of Working Women, began at Harvard University when a few secretaries began organizing clerical workers. In the early 1970s the workplace for women was quite different from today. Even college educated women were expected to type, and if they got a job, it was most likely as a secretary and, of course, the goal was to marry a good man. There was little chance of advancement in the workplace and the pay was low. However, women had the pill and were coming into the workforce in greater numbers. Office…
Homo sapiens: A Good and Friendly Species
A book review of Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (New York: Little Brown, 2019) by John M Repp The book is a delight to read and sorely needed at this time, after the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Bregman tells us many stories to pose the question: what is the nature of human beings? Are we “sinful” and “willful” as the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis tells us? Are we primarily “self-interested” as many social scientists tell us? Or are most of us “pretty decent”? Bregman uses much post-1960’s science to make his case. Let me introduce Homo puppy (p. 65ff.), the name Bregman gives to our species to explain his theory of evolution. Homo puppy…
IS TALK RADIO THE TRUMP/REPUBLICAN SECRET?
By John M Repp, WWFOR Pacific Call Editor Asking the question “how did Trump get 74 million votes?” requires a look at the mass media in the United States. Many know about the FOX news channel on television, but too often overlooked is conservative talk radio. There are two recent books out about talk radio as well as articles by the book’s authors. (Paul Matzko The Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement (2020) and Brian Rosenwald Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States (2019) Many white collar workers are not aware of talk radio’s existence because they do…
The American People Are United on Key Policy Goals
The American People are United on Key Policy Issues by John M Repp There has been so much corporate media commentary lately about the huge divisions running through our political landscape. Republican, Democrat; conservative, liberal; urban, rural; black, white; high-school educated, college-educated; male, female; coastal, heartland and more. There is an element of truth to all this. What is left out is what many Americans agree on. Americans agree that we should tax the wealthy. Americans agree we need Medicare for All. Americans agree we need a Green New Deal.The legislation to enact a Green New Deal includes the right to a good, living-wage, union job with full benefits. In the last forty years, with neoliberal policies, unions have been…
What are we going to do about those 74 million people who voted for Trump?
by Jean Gant Delastrada WWFOR Fall Retreat Coordinator This question came up over and over at the WWFOR 2020 Fall Retreat – What’s Next? Moving Into the Great Turning Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson, the Executive Director of FOR-USA, emphasized that people need to talk about the hard issues with others in their communities and in their families, regardless of their politics. Bill Moyer, from the Backbone Campaign, talked about new ways for activists to impact our society, beyond holding up signs saying what we want and believe in. Dr. Karen Johnson, equity and social justice consultant from Olympia,asked “Are You Next?”, and gave a dynamic call for us all to work together with Black Lives Matter for racial justice.…
Celebrating a Historic Step Toward the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
by Mona Lee This is a historic time of celebration for Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action and other organizational members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). On October 24, 2020 Honduras became the 50th nation to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Note: it was passed in July). With that, the treaty will enter into force on January 22, 2021. Ground Zero will celebrate this event during its annual Martin Luther King birthday weekend activities January 15-17. The passing of this Treaty marks a significant milestone in a long effort to abolish nuclear weapons. 75 years ago, in response to World War II and the horrific nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and…
Why We Should Care About Yemen
by Mary Anne Mercer Basic facts: Yemen is a country of some 30 million people, located at the heel of the boot of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s a country with a rich cultural and religious history. For over 2000 years, what is now Yemen was the center of a series of powerful kingdoms that controlled commerce in the luxury goods of the time —frankincense, myrrh, and spices. The first cup of coffee was brewed in Yemen, and the port of Mokha was once the center of the coffee trade. As described in both the Bible and the Quran, the famed Queen of Sheba ruled the area nearly 1000 years BCE, at the time of her famed visit to the wise…
Why We Should Care About Yemen
by Mary Anne Mercer Basic facts: Yemen is a country of some 30 million people, located at the heel of the boot of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s a country with a rich cultural and religious history. For over 2000 years, what is now Yemen was the center of a series of powerful kingdoms that controlled commerce in the luxury goods of the time —frankincense, myrrh, and spices. The first cup of coffee was brewed in Yemen, and the port of Mokha was once the center of the coffee trade. As described in both the Bible and the Quran, the famed Queen of Sheba ruled the area nearly 1000 years BCE, at the time of her famed visit to the wise…
