Dialogue & Initiative 2012 The new annual edition of our journal of discussion and analysis is now out. More than 130 pages, it includes 13 articles related to the Occupy! movement, as well as seven others vital to study in this election year. Cost is $10 plus shipping. Or get one by becoming a new member or sustainer. Click the title to buy it directly.
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Blog of the Week: A Magajine of Culture & Polemic
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Lost Writings of SDS..
Revolutionary Youth the the New Working Class: The Praxis Papers, the Port Authority Statement, the RYM Documents and other Lost Writings of SDS
Edited by Carl Davidson 
Changemaker, 273pp, $22.50
For the full contents, click the link and view 'Preview' under the cover graphic.
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By Randy Shannon, CCDS
"Everyone has the right to work, to free of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment."
- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948
I. Introduction
The "Great Recession" that began in 2007 has caused the greatest percent of job losses since the Great Depression of 1929. This crisis is the end of an era of unrestrained 'neo-liberal' capitalism that became public policy during the Reagan administration. The crisis marks a new level of instability with the growth of a global financial elite that targeted US workers and our trade unions after World War II.
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...In a new and updated 2nd Edition
Capitalism may well collapse under its own excesses, but what would one propose to replace it? Margaret Thatcher's mantra was TINA...There Is No Alternative. David Schweickart's vision of "Economic Democracy" proposes a serious alternative. Even more fundamentally, it opens the door to thinking about alternatives. His may or may not turn out to be the definitive "successor system," but he is a leader in breaking out of the box. |
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Shades of Justice
An antiwar political history
by Paul KrehbielAutumn Leaf Press
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Carl Davidson's Latest Book:
New Paths to Socialism
Essays on Mondragon, Marx, Gramsci and the Green and Solidarity Economies |
Solidarity Economy:What It's All About
Edited by Jenna Allard, Carl Davidson and Julie Matthaei
Buy it here...
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An Invitation to CCDSers and Friends...
 Shaping New Tactics for 2012 Battles!
We're the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism...Do you have friends who should see this? Pass it on...Do you have a blog of your own? Others you love to read every day? Well, this is a place where you can share access to them with the rest of your comrades. Just pick your greatest hits for the week and send them to us at carld717@gmail.com!
Most of all, it's urgent that you oppose austerity, make solidarity with the Occupy! movement and end the wars! We're doing more than ever, and have big plans. So pay your dues, make a donation and become a sustainer. Do it Now! Check the link at the bottom...
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Occupy Wall Street vs Spring99% Co-optation?
by Frank Gormlie
Ocean Beach Rag
April 13, 2012 - There is a debate going on right now within certain progressive activist circles and communities around the country. It's a debate generally between Occupy Wall Street activists and supporters with those individuals and groups that have coalesced around a loose network called Spring99%.
There are accusations from Occupy folks that Spring99% is trying to co-opt the OWS movement. That MoveOn is a front for the Democratic Party. And there are denials both from activists within the Spring99% network and members of the Occupy movement itself. It is a needed debate, even though it's probably under the radar for many progressives and irrelevant for mainstream politics - except for the accusations that Spring99% is a front for the Obama re-election campaign. Meanwhile, paranoia of being co-opted has been a mainstay within the anti-Wall Street movement for months.
Here are half a dozen or so articles from various sources that either address or explain two of the sides of this debate. Following these articles, is another piece about local trainings and a link to sign-up:
#1.) Who Is Spring99%? An Open Letter to America
By 99%Spring
The 99% Spring was launched February 15 with the following letter signed by over 40 movement leaders and organizations.
Things should never have reached this point.
Every day, the American Dream seems a little farther away. More of our grandparents are being thrown from their homes. Our mothers and fathers can't retire because their pension funds tanked. Our brothers and sisters are burdened by student loan debt. For our children, budget cuts have resulted in crumbling schools, skyrocketing class sizes, and teachers being denied the supports they need to do their best. Our friends and family are being denied collective bargaining rights in their workplaces and are falling further and further behind. Our neighbors are being poisoned by pollution in our air and water.
For the remainder of this article, please go to 99%Spring.
#2.) 99%Spring is a bust at co-opting Occupy Wall Street
by resa / Daily Kos
Everyone knows that I'm a big fan of Van Jones, and it's not just because he's hot. That's not why I chose to participate in 99% Spring, however.
I'm not one of those people who goes around worrying allot about co-option. I assume that if we all have the same goals, it doesn't matter much. [I was looking forward to non-violent training. I like the idea that there might be a more structured option that allows individuals to engage with the 99% movement. I went into this with an open mind.] I didn't think that 99%Spring was out to co-opt Occupy Wall Street.
For the remainder of this article, please go to Daily Kos.
(Click title for several more articles)
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Democrats Must Fight for the 99% to Win in 2012
Photo: USW President Leo Gerard and Rep. Mark Critz at union campaign kickoff in Beaver County
By Randy Shannon
Beaver County Blue
The labor movement's campaign to oust Democratic Congressman Jason Altmire in the new 12th Congressional District is an important push against the bankers' foothold in the Democratic Party. United Steelworkers Union President Leo Gerard kicked off a one week labor campaign to mobilize union voters behind their endorsed candidate, Democratic Congressman Mark Critz, who succeeded John Murtha to represent the old 12th District.
Altmire is a former lobbyist for the health care industry and in his six years in Congress worked diligently to undermine the single payer movement, led the attack on the public option, and finally voted against the Affordable Care Act.
More importantly Altmire runs the Keystone Fund, which washes lobbyist money that is flowing into Democratic Congressional campaigns. This money flow to Democrats through Altmire's Keystone Fund buys votes to prevent national healthcare, to hold back jobs programs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and to approve any and all military spending and bank bailouts.
Meanwhile the 1% is paying the lowest tax in modern history while scheming to liquidate Social Security. Altmire's Blue Dog strategy helps depress the vote by demoralizing voters. Altmire and the Blue Dogs are helping the Republicans from inside the Democratic Party. A recent investigation showed that Altmire's phone bank and fund raising campaign is being run by a Republican consultant firm in Washington, DC.
At the rally to mobilize the union vote in the April 24 Democratic primary, President Gerard aimed his remarks at Altmire. "He was a lobbyist." Someone in the crowd shouted: "He still is" to nods all around.
Pres. Gerard was making it clear that Altmire was not representing the voters of his district but the agenda of the corporate lobby. As Congressman he has the means and the obligation to serve the needs of his constituents. He has done this only in the narrowest sense, providing a reasonable standard of constituent services and aid, but at the same time voting for wider policies that undermine the living standards of all Americans.
President Gerard stated: "We need real Democrats in Congress, not fake Democrats who vote more with the GOP than their own party...It's not that Altmire is just out for himself and not us. Altmire is working for those who are paying him, and always paid him, the health insurance lobby. He does their work rather than ours." (Click title for more)
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Participatory Democracy Still Vibrant 50 Years Later
 | | SDS Founder, Tom Hayden on Participatory Democracy: Port Huron to Occupy Wall Street |
Democracy Now Interviews Tom HaydenWe speak with Tom Hayden, principal author of the Port Huron Statement 50 years ago, the founding document of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
The Statement advocated for participatory democracy and helped launch the student movement of the 1960s. Tens of thousands of copies of the 25,000-word document were printed in booklet form.
"It must have been something in the air, something blowing in the wind, and we wanted to write an agenda for our generation," Hayden says. The youth-led movement changed the very language of politics, and its impact is still being felt today.
"The logic of an occupation, I think, is if you feel voiceless about a burning issue of great, great importance, and the institutions have failed you, the only way to get leverage for your voice is to occupy their space in order to get their attention," Hayden says. "This goes way back to occupations of factories in the '30s. ... Occupy Wall Street is only the latest stage."
Full Transcript:
JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, today we look at the birth of an earlier political movement, known by three short letters. This youth-led movement changed the very language of politics, and its impact is still being felt today. It might sound like a description of Occupy Wall Street, but over two generations ago, growing out of a very similar demand for change, emerged SDS, or the Students for a Democratic Society.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1962 Port Huron Statement, the founding document of SDS. The Statement advocated for participatory democracy and helped launch the student movement of the 1960s. Tens of thousands of copies of the 25,000-word document were printed in booklet form.
AMY GOODMAN: The Statement began with this famous line: quote, "We are people of this generation, bred in at least modest comfort, housed now in universities, looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit." It ended with these words: quote, "If we appear to seek the unattainable, it has been said, then let it be known that we do so to avoid the unimaginable."
We're joined by Tom Hayden, one of the founders of SDS, principal author of the Port Huron Statement. Tom Hayden has been deeply involved in social movements for the past half a century. He was a Freedom Rider in the Deep South, helped create a national poor people's campaign for jobs and empowerment in the early '60s, helped lead the anti-Vietnam War movement, and was indicted with seven others after the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. In 1982, he was elected to the California State Assembly. He now runs the Peace and Justice Resource Center, and he's written a cover story for The Nation magazine called "Participatory Democracy: From Port Huron to Occupy Wall Street."
Tom Hayden, welcome back to Democracy Now!
TOM HAYDEN: It's an honor to be here. Good morning.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, it was quite something to go down last night, near midnight, to this New York Stock Exchange. And it's interesting, because in the ground it says something like, "In 1903, this building, the original Stock Exchange, occupied this space." And right across the street are scores of people who are, well, doing what they did in Zuccotti Park.
TOM HAYDEN: Very good.
AMY GOODMAN: You write about the early movement, and you write about today, the significance of the power of these movements. Talk about where you were in 1960, 1961, when you wrote the Port Huron document.
TOM HAYDEN: I was the editor of the Michigan Daily in Ann Arbor. I had read "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg and On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and I was a big fan of James Dean and Rebels Without a Cause and looking for my cause. And I met the young black students from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and I fell in love with them. And it was because the-they were the alternative to the life of apathetic absurdity that faced those of us like myself, and they were doing something that they believed in at the risk of their own lives and careers and reputations. And I had never met people who were willing to make that risk. And that was it.
I was gradually converted to becoming an activist. It was not an overnight Saint Paul kind of conversion; it was slow. But I came to realize, just as I think Juan did, that you can be a writer, a journalist, an autonomous person, and be deeply engaged and not a propagandist. You begin to see things, see realities, by being involved....(Click title for more)
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21st Century Socialism: Complexities
of Constructing the Alternative
By Steve Ellner
Links
April 2012 - Michael Lebowitz has drawn on the diverse experiences that led to the failure of socialism in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and elsewhere, and those in Venezuela where he has resided for nearly a decade, to bolster his thesis on the need to place the transformation of values at the centre of socialist construction.
 In his emphasis on consciousness, Lebowitz follows the tradition of Georg Lukács, Karl Korsh and Che Guevara, while rejecting the determinist notion of the superstructure as an appendage of the structure lacking in autonomy. In The Socialist Alternative (2010) and his previous Build It Now (2006), as well as talks in Venezuela and elsewhere, Lebowitz frequently cites President Hugo Chávez along with the Chavista constitution of 1999 on the importance of humanistic objectives, and particularly "human development" (p. 56). The constitution, for instance, calls for arrangements that promote solidarity among workers "to ensure their complete development, both individual and collective" (as quoted on page 60).
The central concern of The Socialist Alternative is the process of transformation from the initial appearance of socialism, which is infused with the old values of capitalism, to the establishment of socialism in its pure form "economically, morally and intellectually" (p. 91). This advanced state of socialism is synonymous in many ways with "communism". Lebowitz recalls that capitalism was also initially imperfect and only gradually evolved into an all-encompassing "organic system" (p. 95). In both cases, the state plays a key role in the achievement of the authentic model of the new system, but progress is not irreversible. Throughout the book, Lebowitz points to the characteristics and modalities that form part of the "organic" socialist system and are, according to the author, interdependent: worker solidarity and sense of community; equality; distribution of goods according to need; worker management; and elimination of material incentives, exchange relations, the market economy, competition among workers, and the division between mental and physical labour.
Stages
Lebowitz claims that his view of socialism is an ongoing process of transformation rather than a stage coincides with Marx's writing, but not that of Lenin. According to Lebowitz, Lenin's postulation of socialism as a "stage" prior to the achievement of communism "distorts" (p. 107) Marx's "dialectical understanding" (p. 108) of the steady ripening of conditions leading to pure socialism. The distinction between the two conceptualisations is hardly academic. The concept of socialism as a stage implies a static strategy and the acceptance of certain practices that are open to criticism but are compatible with existing subjective or objective conditions during a given historical period. Furthermore, the more ambitious goals that underpin "organic socialism" tend to be subordinated (if not completely brushed aside) to the objectives corresponding to the current stage. [1] (Click title for more)
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Barghouti: Nonviolent Resistance is More Effective
 Palestinian politician on his version of events from Land Day, the ineffectiveness of the United States and why Israelis themselves will not be free until the Palestinians are free.
By Elsa Rassbach
972mag.com
On March 20th, I interviewed Dr. Mustafa Barghouti about the plans for a new international initiative for Land Day, March 30th: a Global March to Jerusalem, to bring together in one nonviolent action all of the Palestinian political parties and civil society organizations in historic Palestine as well as in the diaspora, with supporting actions around the world.
Then on March 27, Mustafa's distant cousin, Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, issued a letter from the Israeli prison where he has so far served ten years of five life sentences. In it, Marwan Barghouti called on the Palestinian Authority to end peace negotiations and all coordination with Israel, to institute a total boycott against Israel, and to turn to the UN General Assembly to advance the bid for statehood. He also called on the Palestinian people to begin a new a popular nonviolent uprising in the spirit of the Arab Spring: a third intifada. As punishment, the Israelis put him in solitary confinement.
Both Barghoutis are calling for increased Palestinian popular resistance, which is an implicit criticism of the old-guard Fatah leadership. Both Barghoutis have called for unity between Fatah and Hamas and all other Palestinian parties, yet the two might well compete against each other in a new Palestinian election: Marwan as leader of the more activist second generation Fatah activists and Mustafa as leader of the Palestinian National Initiative party (Al-Mubadara). During the 2005 elections, as candidate for president of the Palestinian Authority, Mustafa Barghouti won 19 percent of the vote. The Israelis thereupon banned him from entering Jerusalem, where he was born and had worked as a medical doctor for fifteen years.
In the Global March to Jerusalem this year, Palestinians and their supporters planned to march as close to Jerusalem as they could get: whether at the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, at the checkpoints in Gaza and in the West Bank, or at Israeli embassies around the world. The closest point Mustafa Barghouti could reach was the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah, where he now resides, and Jerusalem. At Qalandia he was injured and brought to a hospital, amid conflicting reports regarding the cause of his injury.
Reports on the success of the Global March to Jerusalem were also mixed. Far fewer demonstrators amassed on the borders of Lebanon and Jordan than had been predicted by some, and, as far as is known, no one attempted to cross over into Israeli controlled territory. Yet the organizers have stated that they had achieved their most important goals.
I recently spoke with Mustafa Barghouti again by Skype.
What was your response to the call that Marwan Barghouti issued from prison?
I agree with him that Israel is trying to make the Authority a security sub-agent while Israel continues occupying and oppressing us. Thus all this coordination with the Israelis should stop. I think we also share the same opinion about popular nonviolent resistance. That's what we've been working on for the last ten years. And I am personally proud and happy that now all political forces that in the past did not consider nonviolent resistance effective are recognizing it and adopting it. This is the biggest success that can happen. And I believe that this is now a good opportunity for all of us to conduct a unified struggle.
Did this nonviolent approach arise from the villages in the West Bank and their struggle?
Already back in 1936 there was in Palestine a nonviolent resistance movement, a strike which went on for six months. There is a tradition, and the best example is the first intifada. But the new nonviolent resistance in its most purified form started in villages like Budrus and Safa, then moved to Bil'in and then Nil'in and then to other villages, then to Jerusalem, then to Hebron and now it's spreading everywhere. If you go back to statements we made three or four years ago, we were anticipating that this nonviolent resistance would spread. People believe in it now for three reasons: first of all, the total failure of the so-called peace process, which became nothing but a substitute to peace and a cover for Israeli expansionist policies; second, because many people understand and realize now that nonviolent resistance is much more effective than military actions; and third - and this is very important - it is a very good way of linking the Palestinian struggle to international solidarity with a clear aim, which is to change the parameters of the struggle and of the conflict and change the balance of power. We believe that so far the Israeli occupation has been profiting from occupying us, and this popular nonviolent resistance is going to make the occupation costly. The nonviolent resistance takes multiple forms, and that is good. One of the most important acts we did was to try to break the siege on Gaza: I remember in 2008, when we went in a small boat and managed to break the siege, how much this affected many leaders in Gaza regarding their belief in and acceptance of nonviolent resistance. But there are many more forms: hunger strikes, demonstrations, and the very important form of boycotting Israeli products, which we are planning to increase in the coming weeks.
Why is nonviolence more effective?
It works better because it allows everybody, and not just a small group of people, to participate. It works better because it does not allow the Israelis to claim that they are victims in this conflict. It reveals and exposes them as they are in reality: the oppressors, the occupiers, and the creators of an apartheid system....(Click title for more)
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Woody Guthrie's Los Angeles
 By Peter Dreier
Hollywood Progressive
April 10, 2012 - Woody Guthrie - who wrote more than 3,000 songs and is best known for "This Land Is Your Land," often considered America's alternative national anthem - had his first big break and taste of success while living in Los Angeles from 1937 to 1940. His experiences in South California during the Depression inspired his radical views about social and political conditions.
He wrote songs about families facing foreclosure by unscrupulous banks, migrant Mexican farm workers exploited by agribusiness, and politicians who turned a blind eye to the widespread suffering - topics that unfortunately still resonate today. He also penned patriotic songs about America's promise and its natural beauty, and angry songs encouraging Americans to organize unions and protest against injustice.
On Saturday, Los Angeles will celebrate Guthrie's life and legacy, part of a nationwide year-long series of conferences, concerts, and museum exhibits sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum and the New York-based Woody Guthrie Archives. The local events include a day-long conference at the University of Southern California and a concert at Club Nokia at LA Live with Jackson Browne, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Tom Morello, Dawes, Kris Kristofferson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and the duo John Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody's granddaughter).
This local embrace of Guthrie as a favorite son - where he developed his craft before becoming a national icon - is long overdue. The City Council even recently named the intersection of Fifth and Main streets in downtown LA not far from Skid Row as "Woody Guthrie Square."
 | | Woody Guthrie: Vintage Performance Footage |
Born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie joined the exodus of an estimated 400,000 farmers and jobless workers forced by drought, dust storms, and the Depression to head west in search of work. He hitchhiked and rode freight trains, earning money painting signs, playing guitar, and singing in the streets and saloons along the way, before arriving, broke, in Los Angeles in 1937.
While living at first in a quarter-a-night Skid Row hotel, and later with relatives in Glendale, Guthrie sang in the streets and bars, and took odd jobs, to make ends meet. He eventually landed a gig on a local radio station, KFVD, singing cowboy songs, hillbilly tunes, religious hymns, and old-time ballads. He initially performed with his cousin Jack, but found a larger audience - with two shows a day, six days a week - when he joined forces with Maxine Crissman, known as "Lefty Lou".
Guthrie gradually began adding his own compositions and political commentary. He sang and talked about corrupt politicians, lawyers, and businessmen. He praised the people who were fighting for the rights of migrant workers. Their radio listeners included many transplanted Texans and Oklahomans ("Okies") who were living in Los Angeles and in makeshift shelters in Southern California's migrant camps and enjoyed hearing songs and stories that reminded them of their homes. The station began receiving a steady stream of letters from listeners praising Woody and "Lefty Lou." Their on-air success led to bookings at local rodeos and other events....(Click title for more)
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Bonnie Raitt Is Back with 'Slipstream'
By Holly Gleason
Paste Magazine
It's been seven years since Bonnie Raitt released Souls Alike, and a lot of life has happened. Losing her parents, brother and a best friend has left the veteran blues/soul rocker with plenty to think about-and that pensiveness colors Slipstream with knowing acceptance, nuanced takes on loss and a grace that finds splendor in the raw places.
On the hushed, gut-string "What I Had To Do," there are amends being made, regret expressed. Her voice a muted ember, she owns her part of it, including the haunted recognition of knowing what's gone.
Seeking tempers Joe Henry's lovely "God Only Knows," a piano and voice reckoning of will and power in both large contexts and personal dynamics. With detail upon detail, the conflicted nature of humanity is considered-and finding beauty amongst the wreckage rises as the truth that will save you, or so her claret voice seems to suggest.
 | | Bonnie Raitt - Right Down The Line (Official Music Video) |
That same stoicism in the knowing ignites Bob Dylan's "Standing In A Doorway," the conflict between what is, what one wants and how one gets by. With a languid tempo, the pain of rejection ripples as the guitar offers a nonverbal witness to ache and quivering dignity.
Raitt knows about making things work. The quintuple-platinum, triple Grammy-winning Nick of Time arrived after she separated from Warner Brothers Records, her longtime home. With Slipstream, the acolyte of Sippie Wallace and John Lee Hooker takes her music to even more introspective places-and her assessments make this even more adult. "Marriage Made in Hollywood" tackles the hook 'em nature of the sensationalism and tragedy for profit mentality that sacrifices dignity and the indulged on an altar of hubris and entertainment.
Not that Slipstream is somber. There's "Take My Love With You," a silken affirmation of the heart that suggests "Nick of Time." Even in recognizing life and love's difficulties, there is the desire for abiding love. The same can be said for the staunch raver "Ain't Gonna Let You Go," which celebrates romance with an unlikely paramour.
Raitt brings a reggae undertow to the late Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down The Line." There's blazing blues on "Down To You" and "Split Decision," both bristling with the joy of electric guitar jammage between Raitt, George Marinelli and NRBQ mainstay Al Anderson.
Indeed, Raitt's musicianship roots are showing. Even Dylan's "Million Miles" finds a straight-up acoustic blues pocket that feels so good. Buoying the knowing, she takes what is for how it is, while acknowledging "I try to get closer, but I'm still a million miles away from you."...(Click title for more)
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Become a CCDS member today!
 The
time is long past for 'Lone Rangers'. Being a socialist by your self is
no fun and doesn't help much. Join CCDS today--$36 regular, $48
household and $18 youth.
Better yet, beome a sustainer at $20 per month,
and we'll send you a copy of Jack O'Dell's new book, 'Climbing Jacobs
Ladder,' drawing on the lessons of the movement in the South in the
1950s and 1960s.
Solidarity, Carl Davidson, CCDS |
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