Public Ownership and Socialism

And, the writer forgot to mention SMUD.

Thomas M. Hanna
December 10, 2018
Jacobin

The US has a surprisingly large amount of public ownership. But in order for it to truly serve the social good, it must be expanded — and democratized.

Socialism in the United States is making a comeback. Socialists are winning elections at the local, state, and federal levels; the membership of Democratic Socialists of America stands at a record fifty-five thousand; and polling consistently finds that younger Americans have relatively positive opinions of the concept.

While the term “socialism” means different things to different people, for the vast majority in the burgeoning movement it suggests the promise of a very different kind of system — one that is far more equitable, democratic, and ecologically sustainable than both capitalism and past experimentation with its alternatives. This system, though qualitatively different from the current order, won’t be conjured out of thin air. It will have to be constructed, at least partially, from existing institutions and arrangements.

In the economic realm, one such approach is expanding public ownership — enterprises, services, assets, and other entities owned and operated by the state at various levels. When done the right way, public ownership can create more equitable distributions of wealth and power and can be a mechanism for addressing vital social needs.

Trump's Wall

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s televised badgering of Sen. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi was made for cable television, which predictably looped it over and over again on Tuesday and assembled “panels” of “experts” solemnly to parse Trump’s insane meanderings, Schumer’s hamming it up for the cameras, and Pelosi’s pitifully forlorn call for a “fact-based” discussion.

Less was said by cable news about the substance of the main point of debate, which is that Trump, having bankrupted the government with massive tax cuts for his billionaire cronies last February, now wants to increase government spending by spending $5 bn for a border wall. Although they initially thought they might throw Trump a bone (a mere $1.6 bn?), the wave of anger and indignation this mealy-mouthed approach provoked among the Democratic faithful appears to have put some iron in their spines. Pelosi told Trump to his face that he wouldn’t be able to find a majority in the House for such spending.

Here are the top 6 reasons the Democrats shouldn’t spend a cent on Trump’s vanity project of a border wall:

1. Trump’s conviction that there is a crisis of illegal border crossings in the Southwest shows that he is stuck in the 1980s and 1990s. The problem has plummeted in significance in the past decade and a half, according to The Center for Migration Studies. The Border Patrol is only arresting about 1/4 the number of those attempting to come in without paperwork as was true in the 1990s. And, in 2014 only one tenth as many people even tried to come in illegally as in 2005. (Taken together, these two statistics show that Border Patrol’s efficiency in apprehending undocumented entrants has increased substantially). 

Young Girl from Guatemala Dies in ICE Custody

antiracismdsa: Young Girl from Guatemala Dies in ICE Custody: 7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies From Neglect In ICE Custody Jakeline Maquin  NBC News A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who crossed th...

Sanders- Oppose War in Yemen

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time in the history of the United States, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution I sponsored along with Mike Lee of Utah and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, withdrawing the United States Armed Forces from an unauthorized and unconstitutional war.

The margin was 56 to 41 in support of ending our involvement in the war in Yemen. That is, in my view, a number of “yes” votes that most people would have believed unthinkable even just a few weeks ago.

I’ve written to you a lot about my work to put an end to this moral and humanitarian catastrophe, so today I want to update you on what happens next, and then I am going to ask you to take action in support of that work.

In order for this bill to get to President Trump’s desk, it must pass the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Speaker Paul Ryan has effectively disallowed a vote on the resolution, despite the fact it would pass with bipartisan support.

Oppose Nafta 2.0

better deal, please sign on here.  Thanks!  — Arthur

Early next year, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will publish a formal report on expected impacts from the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) revision.  This report will be used by Congress to make decisions about whether to support NAFTA 2.0 as written or to demand further changes.

TAKE ACTION: Please join us in urging that the official report on NAFTA 2.0 highlight its failure to include critical changes needed to protect jobs, raise wages and promote healthy communities.

Each week, NAFTA continues to destroy livelihoods across the continent.  Unfortunately, the revised NAFTA deal currently on offer would continue to facilitate the outsourcing of jobs, the suppression of wages and the dumping of toxins.  Among other problems, it also takes big steps backwards on access to medicine.

We need Congress to insist on substantive changes to the proposed text before there’s a real NAFTA replacement that working people can be happy about.  An accurate USITC report would help bolster that effort.

The USITC is now accepting official public comments on the NAFTA proposal.  Please sign onto our commentsurging the USITC to explicitly acknowledge that:

• NAFTA 2.0’s lack of strong, easily-enforced labor and environmental standards has a real cost. Without such provisions, the revised NAFTA will continue to help big corporations move good-paying jobs to Mexico to take advantage of sweatshop wages, ongoing worker rights abuses and the ability to pollute with impunity.  

Conference on Building an International Left

It was a small conference with big ideas and a deep sense of urgency. "We need to do it all," said one attendee. "We just simply need to do it all."

by

Julia Conley, Jake Johnson, and Jon Queally

 14 Comments

Attendees of The Sanders Institute Gathering that took place from November 29 thru December 1, 2018 in Burlington, Vermont. (Photo: © Will Allen 2018 / @willallenexplore)

It was a small and relatively intimate event—this small conference described as a "gathering of minds to envision the world we want"—that took place over three days as last month ended and December began in Burlington, Vermont.

No, it wasn't a "hootenanny." The serious topics discussed in detail and with passion were poverty, inequality, human rights, the climate crisis, racism, war, peace, refugees, workers, healthcare, housing, civil rights, independent media, corporate power, criminal justice reform, international solidarity, civil rights, voting rights, the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, immigration, democracy, economics, politics, organizing, and ultimately about how all of these issues can never be adequately understood or addressed in isolation.

"What do we need to do to improve the quality of life of our citizens of the world?" 
—Jane Sanders, The Sanders Institute"I think it's important that we realize the intersectionality of the issues," explained Jane Sanders, who along with executive director David Driscoll founded The Sanders Institute and organized the Gathering. "I mean environmental sanity has to do with income inequality and so many things. And that's why we intentionally do things more comprehensively because we don't want to say, 'We're having an environmental conference,' or 'We're having a housing conference.'"

The conference, she said in an interview with Common Dreams, was one that wanted to ask: "What do we need to do to improve the quality of life of our citizens of the world?"

Class and Gender in Democratic Socialist Activism- Maria Svart

The Global Left

Progressive International from MEANS OF PRODUCTION on Vimeo.

Defend Immigrants' Rights

For the past several weeks and months, families have been fleeing Honduras and Central America, desperately trying to make a better life. From a mother carrying her baby in her arms to children choking on tear gas sprayed by border patrol agents, the consequences of a broken immigration system, militarism, and endemic poverty are clearer than ever.

While politicians use the suffering of these refugee families to stoke a fear of who is coming towards our border, we are brought closer together in common suffering and hope. 

On December 9 and 10, The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Kairos Center and Repairers of the Breach will join the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego and hold an interfaith service, calling on faith leaders, poor people and all people of conscience to take action together. With December 10 being International Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we will demand the demilitarization of border communities and the absolute protection of migrants seeking refuge.

Sign our petition to stand with migrant families and demand Congress overhaul our immigration system and demilitarize the U.S.-Mexico border and interior to ensure all communities can thrive in this country.

Free Screening of "HOME ALONE" & Holiday Gathering -- Thursday (12/6) Friday (12/7)

Sunday, Dec 9, 12:30pm, Central American Refugee Caravan: How do we ensure a moral and lawful response? Dr. Duane Campbell and Cori Ring-Martinez provide caravan updates and background on the root causes of the refugee crisis, followed by discussion of our individual, collective, and national responsibility to asylum seekers based on human rights and international law. Refreshments. First United Methodist Church, 2100 J St. Sacramento. FMI: 916-225-8511

Trump's Use of Force is Illegal

he Posse Comitatus Act forbids the willful use of “any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws.” It has been applied as well to the Navy and Marine Corps.






A military serviceman stands guard on the US side of the US-Mexico border fence as seen from Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, on November 16, 2018., Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s decision to send thousands of troops to the US-Mexican border to intercept migrants who intend to apply for asylum is not just a bald-faced political stunt — it is also illegal.


Passed in 1878 to end the use of federal troops in overseeing elections in the post–Civil War South, the Posse Comitatus Act forbids the use of the military to enforce domestic US laws, including immigration laws. For this reason, Trump’s decision to deploy the military to the border to enforce US immigration law against thousands of desperate migrants from Central America — who have undertaken the perilous journey over 1,000 miles through Mexico to the US border in order to apply for asylum — is an unlawful order.


Kathleen Gilberd, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force, told Truthout, “The deployment of US troops to the Southern border is an illegitimate political ploy and a serious misuse of the military. This action casts shame on a government that treats refugees seeking asylum as enemies.”



The illegality of Trump’s order to the military opens the door to the possibility that service members will resist it: Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Nuremberg Principles and Army Field Manuals, service members have a duty to obey lawful orders and a duty to disobey unlawful orders.

Family Separation: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Demand Sheriff Accountability/Transparency!

Tuesday, December 4
9:30 am
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
700 H Street, Sacramento, CA
Here's how you can demand Sheriff accountability & transparency in Sacramento County in 2018
Tuesday, December 4:Sheriff accountability and transparency are on the agenda at the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting the morning of Tuesday, December 4. We expect community members will be making public comments for most of the morning so please come and add your voice. RSVP for more info before the event at https://go.peoplepower.org/event/action_attend/18196
Monday, November 26:Although you are not required to attend on November 26 to attend the December 4 event, at our monthly chapter board meeting on Monday, November 26 at 5:45 pm, we will discuss several issues including strategizing our message for Sheriff accountability and transparency. If you would like to attend this meeting, you can get more details and RSVP at https://go.peoplepower.org/event/action_attend/18195

Details of ACLU Problems with the Sacramento Sheriff's Accountability/Transparency:You can see the latest statement of the ACLU position and details about the current need for Sheriff accountability and transparency in Sacramento County by reading this week's Sac Bee Op-Ed from the new senior staff attorney in the ACLU of Northern California's new Sacramento litigation office, titled "Jones wants democracy without transparency. That’s not how it works" at https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article221802185.html

Take Over P G & E

The potential bankruptcy of the California utility whose negligence likely plays a role in California’s wildfires is an opportunity for the public to gain control of the state’s energy destiny

Cal Fire found that three separate wildfires across the state in 2017 were caused by PG&E, and the utility could be liable for up to $12 billion in damages from more than 800 civil lawsuits., Mario Tama/Getty Images

There is strong evidence that the wildfires raging through California right now—killing at least 80 people, with at least an additional 1,000 missing as of November 18—have been sparked at least in part by the large investor-owned monopoly utility, PG&E. Further, PG&E’s apparent negligence and its consequences aren’t new. Cal Fire found that three separate wildfires across the state in 2017 were caused by PG&E, and the utility could be liable for up to $12 billionin damages from more than 800 civil lawsuits. With that backdrop, PG&E teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, and the California Public Utility Commission is now thinking of breaking up the utility. But the commission shouldn’t stop at breaking up PG&E. The public should take it over.