Archive for category: FIGHTING WORDS

By Abayomi Azikiwe

It has been over a month since the police execution of Jayland Walker, 25, in Akron, Ohio on June 27.

After public outrage over the death of Walker, who was shot 46 times by a group of eight law-enforcement officers, Mayor Daniel Horrigan declared a state of emergency. Numerous people have been arrested and charged with serious crimes for merely exercising their democratic rights.

Tensions remain extremely high in Akron due to the continuing anger and disgust of the shooting death of Walker. During the July 4 holiday weekend, people poured into the streets prompting police reactions which led to arrests and minor incidents of property destruction.

Nonetheless, over the last month there are lingering fears of further social unrest and violence in Akron. A National Night Out event which was scheduled in several districts of the city for August 4 had been canceled in at least four areas.

The event scheduled to be held in Akron’s Goodyear Heights, Highland Square, Middlebury and Kenmore neighborhoods will not take place. Event planners and officials are claiming that safety concerns and potential demonstrations could occur resulting in the disruption of the celebrations.

Every municipal ward sponsors the annual gathering which is initiated by community leaders or a council member. Ostensibly the campaign is designed to facilitate police and community relations with an underlying theme of crime reduction.

In Ward 10, Councilwoman Sharon Conner made the decision to cancel the event. She indicated that everyone had a right to protest although she was concerned that many people living in the district were gun owners. Conner was concerned about a possible adverse reaction by some residents to demonstrations demanding justice for Jayland Walker.

Earlier on July 29, a car caravan designed to build support for the termination of employment and prosecution of the police involved in the brutal shooting, moved its way through several neighborhoods in Akron slowing down and blocking traffic in some instances. This action represented a form of civil disobedience which could not be ignored by the city administration and the general public.

There were dozens of vehicles which participated in the demonstration on July 29. Obviously, the protest was becoming quite effective, prompting the police to use forceful tactics to put the action to an end.

An article published by the Akron Beacon Journal described the situation as follows:

“The caravan formed at about 7:30 p.m. near Inman Street and Archwood Avenue, according to police, who said the protesters blocked intersections as they moved through the city. The group traveled to a neighborhood in Kenmore, then to Lock 3 and around Main Street, according to police Lt. Michael Miller. ‘Members of the group reportedly began chanting and intentionally disturbing citizens who were downtown to enjoy the entertainment at various venues,’ Miller said in a news release.”

Therefore, according to this police version of events reported by the local media, the disruption of the entertainment areas could not be tolerated by the local authorities. Rather than risk a repeat of the police attack and arrests on July 29, the August 4 National Night Out events would pose a risk to the normal operations of the city.

This same report from the Beacon Journal continued by noting that:

“Protesters later demonstrated near the Akron Police Department on South High Street, moving south to the Polsky Building. A vehicle trying to leave the Polsky parking deck collided with a protester’s vehicle at the site, police said. Protesters said on social media that the driver of the exiting vehicle intentionally slammed into them; police say the person was attempting to get out of the parking deck.”

The names of the three people arrested had not been released by the police according to press reports. Despite these demonstrations, Mayor Horrigan and Police Chief Stephen Mylett have failed to make any public statements specifically related to the case. Eight of the officers involved in the firing of more than 90 shots have been placed on administrative paid leave pending the completion of an investigation.

City Administration and Police Have Refused to Issue an Apology to the Family of Walker

On July 15, a preliminary autopsy of Walker was released to the public by Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler. The report indicated that Walker had sustained numerous serious wounds which could have resulted in his death.

Kohler said that she could not determine the number of shots fired by the eight officers who discharged their weapons. She said that 46 bullets either struck or grazed Walker during the incident.

Walker was unarmed at the time of the police shooting. Officers claim that Walker had fired at them during a chase which lasted for several minutes. Walker exited the vehicle attempting to flee from the police when he was gunned down. Police then claimed that a handgun was found in the vehicle which Walker was driving.

Walker’s family has expressed extreme skepticism over this version of the killing articulated by the police. The family and its lawyer point to the fact that Walker was fleeing unarmed and consequently posed no threat to the police.

Moreover, the administration and the police have refused to publicly apologize to the Walker family for the circumstances surrounding the death of their loved one. Such a posture has created an atmosphere in Akron which has eroded even further the general attitude among African Americans towards the mayor and the police chief.

Akron lawyer for Jayland Walker family.

The lawyer representing the family of Walker, Atty. Bobby DiCello of the Dicello, Levitt, Gutzler firm, emphasized in the aftermath of the statement by the medical examiner that the city administration is doing more to protect the police rather than the family of the deceased. DiCello said:

“If [city leaders] were focused on protecting Jayland, they wouldn’t have to protect anyone right now. Because nothing was found in his system, it underscored the senselessness [of his killing]. He panicked and paid for it with his life. They could have released the autopsy and an apology, but they didn’t. The reason why is because they are afraid of the courtroom process. The subject needs to be: Where is the public apology? Enough of the quiet nice words. We are not interested in secret concern. We are interested in a public apology for taking a life that was not necessary. … At the end of the day, there shouldn’t have been a single bullet fired.”

United Nations to Investigate the Police Killing of Jayland Walker

A recently created United Nations Human Rights Council division has expressed an interest in investigating the police killing of Jayland Walker. This was revealed when the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement contacted the law firm representing the family of Walker.

This UN project was officially established during 2021. It represents an outcome of the mass demonstrations which swept the United States and the international community during mid-2020 in the aftermath of the brutal police and vigilante killings of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, George Floyd in Minneapolis.

George Floyd’s brother Philonise makes appeal to the UN Human RIghts Council in Geneva on June 17, 2020.

The UN Human Rights Council convened a full session during the summer of 2020 on the racial profiling and murders of African Americans by law-enforcement in the U.S. The hearing took place at the UN offices in Geneva, Switzerland. One of the brothers of George Floyd, Philonise, addressed the hearing on June 17 asking for the assistance of the international community in bringing justice to African Americans subjected to racial discrimination.

Several African Union (AU) member-states, including Botswana, motivated the convening of the UN Human Rights Council hearing two years ago. The hearing was based upon a resolution passed at the aegis of Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik Shabazz) during the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit held in July 1964 in Cairo, Egypt. The OAU, founded in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was transformed into the AU in 2002. At the time, Malcolm X was the leader of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), which was patterned to a significant degree on the OAU formed one year before.

On the UN Human Rights Council website there is language which describes the mandate for the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement. The document reads:

“The Expert Mechanism’s mandate is detailed in resolution 47/21. It is established ‘in order to further transformative change for racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement globally, especially where relating to the legacies of colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade in enslaved Africans, to investigate Governments’ responses to peaceful anti-racism protests and all violations of international human rights law and to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.”

This development represents the continuation of the legacy of Pan-Africanism and Internationalism within the African American struggle in the U.S. As Malcolm X emphasized during the last year of his life (1964-65), the plight of Black people in the U.S. must be brought before the UN and other global bodies in order to expose the human rights violations and crimes against humanity suffered by now more than 40 million people of African descent.

GABRIELA USA Press Release

GABRIELA USA joins Filipino women across the country in protest to reject the inauguration of both Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte. Marcos Jr. took over the Presidential office in the Philippines after one of the most fraudulent elections in recent Philippine history. The return of the Marcos dynasty to power comes as a result of their decades long campaign of historical revisionism and whitewashing of their plunder and crimes against the Filipino people. GABRIELA USA calls on all freedom and democracy loving people to join local protest actions to reject the inauguration of the illegitimate Marcos-Duterte regime.

“Marcos Jr.’s inaugural speech was full of empty promises for the Filipino people,” said Terrie Cervas, Secretary General of GABRIELA USA. “As an overseas chapter of GABRIELA, established in 1984 during the time of Martial Law and Marcos, Sr.’s dictatorial rule over the Philippines, we will never forget the plunder of the nation’s wealth and human rights violations committed by the Marcoses. We will not stand idle to the continued revision of history spewed by the Marcoses, but we will continue the fight for national democracy and genuine liberation of the Philippines.”

The Filipino people can expect that Marcos Jr. will follow in the footsteps of his dictator father. According to data from Amnesty International, 72,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed under Marcos Sr.’s Martial Law. Just like his father, Marcos Jr. plans to continue to terrorize the Filipino people, as he committed to ensuring additional funding for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)–the government agencies responsible for terror tagging and carrying out counterinsurgency operations against the people.

One week ago the National Telecommunications Commission blocked the websites of various alternative media and people’s organizations, and just yesterday news website Rappler was ordered to shut down. The current attacks on press freedom repeat the same tactics that Marcos Jr.’s father used during Martial Law. Through various means, the mass media is prevented from performing their work of reporting the truth. Marcos’ officials drown out and shut down mass media, while amplifying their own government backed media and social media trolls, who spread lies about the supposed achievements of the Marcos dynasty, while covering up their crimes against the Filipino people.

Just as Filipino women participated in the people’s struggle against Marcos Sr.’s Martial Law, so will we continue the struggle in the face of the new Marcos-Duterte regime. We have faced down a dictatorial regime in the past and persevered until its defeat. We will take our lessons from all those who struggled against dictatorship and fascism in the Philippines and we will carry the torch forward to victory!

Reject and Fight the Marcos-Duterte Regime!

Makibaka! Huwag Matakot!

Abante Babae! Palaban Militante!

Ecuador rebellion by Indigenous communities, June 2022

By Abayomi Azikiwe

An alliance of Indigenous organizations in Ecuador has held daily demonstrations after sharp increases in the costs for fuel and food.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) began their general strike actions on June 13 after huge price hikes crippled the capacity of rural and urban communities to access transportation and food for their households.

In response to the demonstrations and an assortment of other forms of resistance, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a state of emergency in several provinces of the South American state. The order reads in part: “To declare a state of exception due to serious internal commotion in the provinces of Azuay (south), Imbabura (north), Sucumbios (east) and Orellana (east).”

Although the Indigenous organizations sparked the mass demonstrations which in some cases have turned violent, other key sectors of the population such as students and workers have joined in the nationwide protests. Conservative President Guillermo Lasso has failed to meet the demands of CONAIE and other organizations.

CONAIE has put forward ten demands to the government of President Lasso which calls for additional fuel subsidies, the reversal of plans to privatize state assets and a moratorium on the development of any new oil and mining projects. In the recent period inflation has swept through many countries in South America and across the world.

Many have suggested that the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic related to supply chain bottlenecks and the failure of various capitalist governments to implement policies aimed at controlling prices, as being major triggering factors in the rapid increase in commodity prices and shortages. In Ecuador, demonstrators are blocking roads to prevent transport trucks from reaching their destinations. The military leadership of the country has committed to reopening the highways in order for commerce to resume.

The turmoil inside the country has impacted the political stability of the Lasso administration which recently survived an impeachment attempt by the parliament. Lasso came into office one year ago promising to create a more business-friendly atmosphere for foreign investment.

Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza is a 66-year-old veteran businessman-banker and right-wing politician. He has served as the 47th president of Ecuador since taking office on May 24, 2021. The ascendancy of Lasso represented the first time in two decades that there has been an ideologically conservative head-of-state.

The president had previously served as the Governor of Guayas during 1998-1999. Later in 2003, he was appointed as an Itinerant Ambassador of Ecuador during the administration of Lucio Gutierrez. As a businessman, he is the previous CEO of Banco Guayaquil. When the left-wing government of Rafael Correa was in power, Lasso was a fierce critic of his policies.

Lasso was also appointed as the CEO of operations for Coca-Cola corporation in order to rebuild the company in the face of its bankruptcy in Ecuador. He has held seats on the Board of Directors Guayas Transit Commission and the Andean Development Corporation.

Later in 2012 he founded the Creating Opportunities Party and then ran for president the following year against Correa, when he lost by a landslide. In 2017, Lasso again failed to win the presidential election by a very narrow margin against Lenin Moreno. In 2021 he won the presidency and immediately imposed neo-liberal economic policies.

A report published by Bloomberg on June 29 described the current crisis saying:

“Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso survived an impeachment vote late Tuesday (June 28) after a hard-left opposition party failed to rally other smaller groups in congress to oust him as his government moved to make concessions to defuse the political crisis. With only 80 of 137 lawmakers voting to remove Lasso, the impeachment attempt failed to clear the 92-vote hurdle needed to remove the president from office. Another 48 lawmakers rejected the motion, with nine abstaining after a session that lasted about 12 hours and included three voting attempts.”

Developments in Ecuador can be viewed as a harbinger of the political mood throughout the South America, Central America and Caribbean region. In 2019, similar demonstrations led by the Indigenous communities erupted over the neo-liberal policies of former President Lenin Moreno.

A recent attempt by the administration of President Joe Biden in the United States to host a Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles was marked by controversy and boycotts. The Los Angeles gathering clearly illustrated the decline of U.S. hegemony over the Southern Hemisphere.

Colombia Elects a Left-leaning President

Results of the national elections in Colombia were announced on June 19 resulting in the ascendancy of a left-wing administration headed by Gustava Francisco Petro Urrego as president and Francia Elena Marquez Mina as vice-president. Marquez is the first Colombian of self-identified African ancestry in its two centuries of independence.

Colombia President Gustavo Petro and VP Francia Marquez

Marquez is a longtime environmental activist, feminist and human rights lawyer. She, along with Petro, became a part of the Historic Pact for Colombia Coalition which consists of several other political parties.

Petro was the founder of Humane Colombia political party in 2011. He is a former guerrilla fighter with the 19th of April Movement which demobilized and became the M-19 Democratic Alliance party. A split within M-19 led to the creation of Humane Colombia.

Some analysts have viewed the overall economic crisis in the oil-producing state as prompting the recent national results. There are a host of burgeoning problems stemming from a failed peace agreement with the armed revolutionary movement of FARC, the persistent impoverishment of millions inside the country and the inflation which has plagued the entire capitalist world.

One policy shift announced by the incoming Petro government is the re-opening of the border with the neighboring Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Relations between Colombia and Venezuela became extremely strained after repeated attempts by the U.S. to foment a pro-imperialist coup in Caracas.

A report on the elections published by Telesur on June 25 welcomed the initiative by Petro. The article emphasized:

“The contact held with the Venezuelan government shows the political will of president-elect of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, for opening the binational border, Tachira´s governor, Freddy Bernal, acknowledged. In statements to Union Radio, the Venezuelan western state´s highest authority said that the formal opening of the border crossings between the two countries will bring huge benefits to the economy of the region. For the last two years -he recalled- contacts have been maintained with the authorities of the Colombian department of Norte de Santander; the border remained closed ‘only and exclusively’ by instructions of the outgoing president, Ivan Duque, Bernal said.”

Nonetheless a separate article also published by Telesur seeks to draw a distinction between the South American governments which came to power during the late 20th and early 21st century, and the current wave of administrations. In Venezuela, since the time of the late President Hugo Chavez, the objective of government policy under the United Socialist Party has been non-capitalist development. President Nicolas Maduro has been unwavering in the government’s solidarity with Cuba and other socialist and anti-imperialist states.

Since February 24, when the Russian special military operation began in Ukraine, Venezuela, although having been approached by the U.S. State Department, has expressed its solidarity with Moscow and emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution to the war. Venezuela understands clearly that the expansion of NATO membership and military bases would be an existential threat to all peace and freedom-loving peoples throughout the world.

In a news analysis commentary published on June 24, Telesur notes:

“However, some characteristics of the new progressive wave differ to a certain extent from the first one. Whereas all the progressive governments have as their main concern the social problems and the well-being of the lower social classes, who have been impoverished and marginalized by the liberal policies historically applied in Latin America, the political narrative and ideological orientation are divergent when comparing both waves. The new wave of progressivism aims to change the society but not the system, as the intention to impart justice and redistribute wealth is carried out within the rules of capitalism. Thus, the aspiration to transform Latin America under the model of the ‘Socialism of the 21st Century’ has been lately forgotten. Without mincing my words, it seems socialism as a feasible society in the narrative of the progressive leaders died with Hugo Chavez and is no longer a benchmark for the current wave of governments. All in all, only time will tell which of the two waves obtain greater results regarding the implementation of people’s rights.”

However, the intervention of the masses as in Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and other states could portend much for a sharper turn to the Left in regard to socialist-orientation and anti-imperialism. What is clear is that Washington cannot provide an alternative to the leftward political trajectory in South America and the Central America-Caribbean region. The social contradictions prevalent in the U.S. have exposed the inconsistent foreign and domestic policies of Washington and Wall Street. The question is whether the rise in inflation and repressive state measures will spark discontent in the U.S. aimed at addressing the central concerns of workers and oppressed peoples.

Chad declares food emergency during June 2022

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Two of the major agencies affiliated with the United Nations are warning of the potential for widespread hunger and famine in several geo-political regions of the world.

The World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) have identified numerous states warranting immediate attention as the problems of climate change, internal conflict, economic downturns and the continuing war in Ukraine are exacerbating the current crisis.

In the Sahel region of Africa, the nation of Chad, is challenged by grain supplies which have dropped to dangerous lows forcing the transitional military-dominated government to declare a food emergency requesting that aid be sent into the country to avoid further food deficits. Chad has been severely impacted by drought leaving large areas of farmland unproductive.

A landlocked country in Central Africa consisting of 16.4 million people, historically the former French colony has suffered from political instability engendered by its ongoing dependency on Paris and the United States for economic assistance and military involvement. Successive military regimes have thwarted any semblance of democratic practice despite the country’s leaders being beholden to the imperialist countries in Western Europe and North America.

A decree signed by Chad’s interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby declaring a food and nutrition emergency was issued on June 2. “This decision follows the constant deterioration of the food and nutritional situation this year and taking into account the growing risk to populations if no humanitarian aid…is provided,” the statement said.

Chad, along with neighboring Niger, are facing similar shortages of grain as well as fertilizer which have increased exponentially in prices. These levels of inflation are being experienced throughout the entire world where capitalism remains the dominant mode of production and exchange. Farmers, small business owners and workers are being forced to reduce their food intake on a daily basis. These factors are placing millions in danger of malnutrition, particularly children.

UN officials are saying that 5.5 million people living in Chad, more than one-third of the population, are in need of food assistance. Out of this figure of 5.5 million, 2.1 million have fallen into the category of acute lack of nutrition, imperiling a huge segment of the people inside this country, one of the most underdeveloped states internationally.

Chad remains a largely rural country dependent upon agricultural and livestock production which includes cotton for export to western countries. Natron, a mineral utilized in the manufacturing of soap and medicine, is also a source of economic livelihood. With the drought worsening, larger swaths of land utilized for planting, harvesting and animal husbandry are no longer suitable for production.

Over the last two decades, the discovery and exploitation of oil resources has become the largest source of national income. The oil resources are located in areas north of Lake Chad and are estimated to be the tenth largest reserve on the African continent totalling 1.5 billion barrels of proven supply as of 2018. In excess of 140,000 barrels per day were being generated as of 2020. Although oil is the mainstay of the economy, around 90 percent of production is exported.

G5 Sahel founding meeting in Paris during 2017

Nonetheless, the existence of the G5 Sahel Joint Force since 2017 has not curbed the internal security problems in the West and Central Africa regions. This grouping consists of five African states: Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mauritania. Operation Barkhane, which overlaps with the G5 Sahel Joint Force, is largely coordinated by France with the assistance of Washington and other NATO states. At the founding meeting of the G5, the U.S. pledged $60 million under the guise of providing support for the military conflicts with Islamic jihadist organizations which have escalated their attacks throughout Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

G5 Sahel Joint Force map

With the links between the NATO countries and the jihadist armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS long confirmed, there is a growing awareness in Mali and other member countries of the inability of the western states to effectively curb deadly attacks against governments and civilians in the West Africa region. Mali, which has undergone two military coups since 2020, announced its withdrawal from the G5 Sahel Joint Force in early 2022 placing the future of this tenuous alliance in jeopardy. Relations between Mali and France have deteriorated over the last two years prompting Bamako to demand the departure of all military and diplomatic personnel from the former colonial power to leave the country with immediate effect.

Chad, the Sahel and the World Food Crisis

The WFP website published an article on June 6 saying of the international threat of food insecurity and famine that:

“According to the May 2022 Hunger Hotspots report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome class since the previous hotspots report in January 2022. These countries all have segments of the population facing IPC phase 5 ‘Catastrophe’ – or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions, with a total of 750,000 people already facing starvation and death in Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan.”

Food insecurity global map

Although this UN humanitarian agency issued this most recent warning, most of the focus within the western corporate and government-controlled media is on the crisis in Ukraine where the Russian Federation has engaged in a special military operation aimed at de-militarizing Kiev, removing the far-right Neo-Nazi elements from authority and protecting the Russian-speaking minority in the eastern Donbass region. Almost all of the news reports emanating from “official” sources within the capitalist states categorically blames the Russian government for the war in Ukraine as well as the burgeoning global food insecurity impacting billions within Africa and Asia.

Unprecedented sanctions leveled against the government of Russia has hampered the capacity of Ukraine and Moscow, two of the world largest producers of grain, wheat and other agricultural products along with inputs such as fertilizer, to conduct trade in countries in Africa and Asia. Previous methods of payment and shipping are being blocked due to the sanctions implemented by the administration of President Joe Biden and the European Union (EU). Russia has denied that the problems of ports being closed in southern Ukraine is at the aegis of its government. Turkey has recently expressed an interest in mediating some type of humanitarian corridor to facilitate the export of food.

The same WFP report issued on June 6 goes on to note:

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the Sahel region, the Sudan, and Syria remain ‘countries of very high concern’ with deteriorating critical conditions, as in the previous edition of this report – with Kenya a new entry to the list. The report finds that – alongside conflict – climate shocks will continue to drive acute hunger in the outlook period from June to September 2022 and we have entered a ‘new normal’ where frequent and recurring droughts, flooding, hurricanes and cyclones decimate farming, drive displacement and push millions to the brink in countries across the world. Sri Lanka, West African coastal countries (Benin, Cabo Verde, and Guinea), Ukraine and Zimbabwe have been added to the list of hotspots countries, joining Angola, Lebanon, Madagascar, and Mozambique which continue to be hunger hotspots.”

Imperialism Remains at the Core of the Global Food Crisis

Leading up to the February 24 Russian intervention in Ukraine and over more than three months since the war began, the Biden administration has not only instigated and expanded the fighting, they have systematically sabotaged efforts to reach a ceasefire and peace settlement. The western media has conveyed that at least $55 billion in direct assistance to Ukraine has been awarded by Washington to continue the clashes in a failed attempt to weaken Russia and its current government headed by President Vladimir Putin.

This sponsoring of a conventional war in Eastern Europe has aggravated the already economic difficulties engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Runaway inflation is not only negatively affecting states in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The working-class people in western capitalist countries are also suffering from ever-increasing prices for fuel, food, rents and other commodities.

The governments of the UK and the U.S. are losing the confidence of their electorates. In Britain, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson was subjected to a vote of no-confidence on June 6 where a sizable minority of the Conservative Party wanted to eject the current leader from office.

In the U.S., President Biden and the Congressional Representatives of both ruling parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are polling very low among the electorate. A Gallup Poll result for May rated Biden at only 41% of approval from U.S. voters. The president has not articulated any policy initiatives that would curb inflation and provide a road to economic recovery for the workers, oppressed and impoverished masses inside the country.

The basis for unity within the U.S. Congress and the administration is to continue and intensify the war in Ukraine. Once the people realize that the Pentagon budget and imperialist war can only lower their living standards while placing the globe under threat of famine along with a nuclear conflagration, a genuine antiwar movement can arise which could force the government to end its imperialist agenda and place the needs of the majority of people at the center of domestic and foreign policies.

A civil war is a class war. Capitalists are few in number but have gathered substantial forces to fight for them. Photo: Neil Jamieson / Forbes

By David Sole

Around the first anniversary of the violent attack on the United States there have been endless commentaries about the continuing “threat to democracy” here in the U.S. Those in the mass media that decry the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021 generally are sincere liberals who are unable to do more than expose the very real dangers of the ultra-right. However, they fail to shed any light on why this danger occurred, why it persists, what class forces give it strength and, most importantly, how to fight it.

The events of January 6, 2021, and the entire Trump presidency, shattered the illusion that bourgeois democracy is unshakeable. What is called “Democracy” is a “form of government in which people choose leaders by voting” (Merriam-Webster.com). But underneath this complex system of government is the foundation of capitalist production. For the capitalist class of billionaires, bankers and corporate bosses the type of government they operate under is subordinate to their goal of always increasing and protecting their profits.

It is now out in the open that the norms of democratic government are not permanent or secure. The clearest warning came out on December 18, 2021 when the Washington Post printed an opinion piece signed by three retired U.S. generals titled “The military must prepare now for a 2024 insurrection.”

The three authors of the warning were Paul D. Eaton and Antonio M. Taguba, who are retired major generals of the Army, while Steven M. Anderson is a retired Army brigadier general. They point out that 124 other retired military officers signed a pro-Trump open letter “attacking the legitimacy of our elections” back in May 2021.

The three generals conclude that there is

“the potential for a military breakdown mirroring societal or political breakdown…” They “are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk….it is not outlandish to say a military breakdown could lead to civil war.”

The warning by these high ranking U.S. military officers should not be discounted because they are loyal participants in an imperialist military machine which has ruthlessly carried out invasions, wars and genocide on behalf of the capitalist class.

Their solution to the very real dangers they expose is that the military apparatus can solve the problem within its own ranks. Putting faith in that would be disastrous.

Civil war, in this era, is class war. It is the expression of the intense and irreconcilable tensions between the broad, exploited working class and the exploiting capitalist class. In the current United States arena it has emerged sharply with the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election and all the lies and propaganda following. It reached the very halls of Congress on January 6, 2021. Rather than subsiding, the conflict is being vigorously pursued by right-wing forces in every state, city, town and rural enclave.

Voting rights, women’s rights, environmental protection, health and science are just some of the issues that are under attack. As in all civil wars the exploiters (the capitalists) are a small minority. According to Forbes Magazine, there are just 724 billionaires in the U.S. They would pose little problem for the workers and oppressed except for their ability to utilize their enormous wealth to mis-educate and misdirect segments of the population to fight for them.

The very existence of the small but powerful capitalist class, along with the very real fears and problems for the many layers of the working class and the middle class, guarantees that white supremacist , right-wing tendencies will continuously be regenerated.

If there were a leadership in the U.S. that put forward and fought for a popular program to solve the problems of working class and middle class people, right-wing support would disintegrate. The Democratic Party often raises popular issues verbally but does not deliver on them – precisely because they are tied firmly to the Wall Street capitalist class.

Just look at the passage of the 1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill signed into law November 15, 2021. This finances big construction projects and swells the profits of big business interests. But so far Biden and the Democrats are unable to pass the 1.9 trillion dollar Build Back Better bill which has appropriations for many programs to benefit poor and working people. Wall Street does not want to raise the expectations of the masses.

Voting rights, an issue fundamental to the very definition of “democracy,” is also not secure. The capitalist class does favor “democracy” as a way to control the masses by letting them think they have a say in how they are governed. But Wall Street also worries that voting might get out of their control as economic conditions worsen, threatening their profits and their hidden rule. In that case the super-rich would rather encourage and finance those who are keen on curbing voting by African American and other progressive forces.

It is often said that the whip of reaction drives the revolution forward. Only under intense blows will the illusions of the masses in the United States be shattered, will new, more radical leadership emerge and a strong counter-offensive develop. This is what is necessary to drive back the reactionary forces of racism and oppression. It can also move the struggle forward to overthrow the capitalist class and their system of exploitation.

Graphic by Cassandra Devereaux

By David Sole

The very real danger that former President Donald Trump would attempt a violent coup to stay in power following his electoral defeat has been confirmed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.

Milley is quoted extensively by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker in their new book “I Alone Can Fix It.” Milley was appointed to the nation’s highest military position by Trump and sworn in on September 30, 2019.

CNN.com reviewed an advance copy of the book on July 14. Some of the revelations follow:

“Milley was so shaken that … Trump and his allies might attempt a coup or take other dangerous or illegal measures after the November election that Milley and other top officials informally planned for different ways to stop Trump…

“Milley and the other Joint Chiefs discussed a plan to resign, one-by-one rather than carry out orders from Trump that they considered to be illegal, dangerous or ill-advised.

“Milley viewed Trump as ‘the classic authoritarian leader with nothing to lose,’ the authors write, and he saw parallels between Adolph Hitler’s rhetoric … and Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

“’This is a Reichstag moment,’ Milley told aides …. ‘ The gospel of the Fuhrer.’

“Ahead of a November pro-Trump ‘Million MAGA March’ to protest the election results, Milley told aides he feared it ‘could be the modern American equivalent of ‘brownshirts in the streets,’ referring to the pro-Nazi militia that fueled Hitler’s rise to power.

It was clear that Trump was building up momentum for months prior to the November election to challenge what was becoming clear – that he would lose to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. General Milley only confirms what many feared, and some progressives tried to prepare for, the possibility of a violent overthrow of the capitalist “democratic” government.

As early as September 30, 2020 the online newsletter Fighting-Words.net printed “A Call to Create People’s Committees to Defend Democratic Rights” in the spirit of a united front against fascism. The proposal specifically called for labor unions to start popularizing the idea of a General Strike and the formation of units prepared to confront fascist bands in the streets.

In the following weeks several central labor bodies (Rochester, NY, Seattle, WA among others) did call for a general strike if Trump tried to seize power. This did get some notice in the national media. However the highest levels of the American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) refused to support the local calls. In Michigan a leading member of the state AFL—CIO told this writer “we don’t want to anger the Republicans in Lansing with that kind of talk.”

And where was the leadership of the Democratic Party during all of this? They certainly were aware of Trump’s threats to overturn the election by force, but prepared no mass action in case Trump carried out his threat, which he did on January 6th. They then responded with the Constitutional impeachment framework, which they knew was futile.

Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Benny Thompson then launched legal suits against Trump using the “Ku Klux Klan Act”, enabled by Section 3 of the Reconstruction era 14th Amendment.. These lawsuits would prevent Trump and other “insurrectionist” politicians from continuing in office and ever holding office again. But Pelosi and Schumer have offered no support at all to their efforts.

A grass-roots community organization based in Detroit, the Moratorium Now Coalition, picked up the idea and mass distributed a “Call to Organize People’s Committees … to Defeat Trump’s Plan to Steal the Election.” Even in this group a struggle broke out with ultra-left forces who thought it didn’t matter what happened between Trump and Biden as it was “just a squabble among the ruling class.” The majority of the organization, while not giving support to Biden, did believe that confronting a fascist threat did matter, that Trump’s campaign to disregard the votes of millions of oppressed and working people would lead to the destruction of all the hard-won gains of the union and Civil Rights struggles.

Moratorium Now later issued a “Call to U.S. Military Personnel to Refuse Illegal Orders.” This leaflet was ready to distribute in case Trump sent troops into cities to back a coup.

Progressive forces in Michigan did unite in the formation of Michigan Action Councils that met through October online (the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing). Eighteen Action Councils were established around the state which discussed opposing Trump’s threat to not abide by the election if he were defeated.

The Detroit Action Council had many meetings of over 100 progressives from many organizations, including several unions. Rallies and marches were held. These demonstrations, however, were always scheduled far from the site of ballot counting in downtown Detroit where ultra-rightwing Trump supporters gathered and threatened to disrupt the official count in the days following November 3.

A demonstration was held on November 7 when it was clear that Biden won the national election, as well as Michigan. The Detroit Action Council didn’t meet again or prepare further mass actions after this, revealing that the top leadership did not really grasp the threat. It was precisely in the months following November 3 that Trump and his minions amplified their false claims and presented the greatest fascist danger. This peaked in the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

So what did prevent Trump’s coup from succeeding? This question is important. For no one should believe that the racist, fascist, anti-union forces have been decisively defeated in the United States. It isn’t just a matter of Trump, the individual, but broad sections of the populace as well as military and police forces and ruling class elements who have no hesitancy to impose a fascist-style regime.

Perhaps General Milley and others in the top ranks of the armed services did plan some forms of resistance. But the snail pace response of the National Guard and other Pentagon brass to the seizure of the Capitol on January 6 shows that many at the top would just as well go along with Trump and a coup.

During the Vietnam War there were organizations inside the military and veterans organizations that had mass support of the rank and file soldiers who opposed the war. This ultimately made it impossible for the military machine to continue the imperialist aggression. This does not exist today.

The trade union leadership has deteriorated to the point where it can barely protect the living standards of its own membership. With notable and laudable exceptions, the union movement did not step forward to utilize its still considerable strength to stop Trump and his forces.

The Black Lives Matter movement, which rocked the country for over a year after the brutal police murder of George Floyd has mainly focused on local issues of police misconduct. It has not, as of yet, come together as a nationwide political force.

The socialist and revolutionary parties did not play much of a role to mobilize resistance to a fascist Trump threat. In the past even small militant revolutionary groups have played a role much greater than their number would suggest possible.

Trump’s success before, on and after January 6 broke on several fronts. First, Donald Trump himself was a coward. He had been slinging bombastic lies to his followers for months. They gathered around him in Washington, D.C. on January 6. He whipped them up and called on them to march on the Capitol with him. Then he ran and hid inside the White House, leaving them to their fate.

This might not have been fatal to the coup. But Trump’s supporters were and are a diverse crew. They have no unified program or organization. Even the most military minded of them are in different organizations. They were not able to coordinate decisively on the ground, even though they did come close to seizing the Senators and Representatives.

Most of all, an overthrow of the government was not welcomed by the largest sections of the ruling class. Wall Street bankers and corporate heads have been getting much of what they want in the way of tax breaks, relief from environmental and safety regulations and military support for their imperialist interests overseas. They were not facing a crisis in class relations where their class interests could only be saved by brutal military means. The political system has been working quite well for the rich and powerful. Trump’s adventure was not attractive to them, at this time.

The CNN book review did, however, make one mistake. They wrote “… for the first time in modern US history the nation’s top military officer … was preparing for a showdown with the commander in chief because he feared a coup attempt …” This statement is inaccurate.

In the political crisis of the U.S. Civil War, General George McClellan who served as head of the Army secretly plotted with others to oust President Lincoln in a coup. This did not take place, and McClellan was replaced.

In 1933 retired Marine Corp General Smedley Butler testified before a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that Wall Street businessmen had approached him to lead a coup to oust President Franklin Roosevelt. The mass media dismissed this and no one was ever prosecuted.

More recently there was a fear that President Richard Nixon would try to use the military to stop his impeachment. It was later revealed that the Secretary of Defense notified all military commanders to refuse orders from their Commander in Chief if those orders were not co-signed by the Secretary. This was not legal, but the ruling class was making sure that Nixon would not be able to stay in office via a coup.

This “democratic” government (what Marxists call “bourgeois democratic” because it is run by and for the capitalist class with only the thin trappings of rights for the masses) is based on exploitation and oppression of hundreds of millions of people in this country and billions more abroad.

Defending the few “democratic rights” granted to the masses is necessary but only insofar as it gives us some room to build a revolutionary movement that can and will overturn the capitalist economic system, end exploitation and institute a socialist system. Then the vast wealth of this country and the world will be used for the benefit of the many instead of enriching the few.

Widespread public support for GIs who refused illegal orders during the Vietnam era. | Photo: Vietnam Full Disclosure

By Moratorium Now! Coalition

At some point, Trump may declare the 2020 election to be “null and void”. He would then order you, U.S. servicemembers, into cities and towns across the country, to suppress the millions of people who pour into the streets to protest his illegal coup d’état. Are you ready to shoot down civilians, just to keep Trump illegally in power despite the election outcome?

Union locals and labor councils across the country are already preparing for a national general strike if Trump refuses to recognize the people’s decision and overturns the election. Are you ready to bayonet workers standing up for our democratic rights?

Some 42 percent of U.S. soldiers are people of color. Are you willing to kill for this racist bigot as he tries to hold his grip of power and unleashes bloody revenge on any who oppose him?

The first thing that Donald Trump did after the 2020 election results showed that he lost by five million votes and the more than necessary 270 electoral votes was to fire his Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Esper had opposed Trump using the 1807 Insurrection Act to place thousands of federal troops in U.S. cities as a show of force, to suppress the Black Lives Matter protests of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others.

National Guard and U.S. military helicopters and chemical sprays were used on June 1st against peaceful protestors in Washington D.C. for a photo op showing Trump holding a bible in front of a church. This was clearly a dress rehearsal for Trump using the military to stay in power. Both Esper and Pentagon Chief General Milley condemned this as interference in U.S. politics. Of course, this enraged Trump.

So now Esper is out. Trump replaced a whole slew of top Defense Department civilian officials with his own cronies, ready to order your commanders to disregard the people’s vote and impose martial law, clearly a violation of the Constitution.

You do have a choice. We know that you have been told over and over again that you must follow orders. Trump may be for now the Commander-in-Chief, but you swore an oath to defend the Constitution, not Donald Trump. Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice dictates that you must follow only lawful orders.

You know that if Trump seizes power by using the military against the people, that would break the law. And “just following orders” would be no excuse.

If that day comes and Trump orders you to attack the people, stand down! Tell your commanders that you will not enable Trump to overturn the will of the people. Join with the people in the streets and help uphold all our democratic rights!

The Military Task Force established by the National Lawyers Guild has set up a system for free, confidential telephone consultations with attorneys to discuss possible illegal orders and related issues. Servicemembers can call the MLTF, at 619-463-2369, for referral to a volunteer attorney. In addition, the Task Force has now posted legal resource material for servicemembers, attorneys, legal workers and law students on this website. An audio Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar presented by MLTF attorney James Branum is available on the website. A comprehensive legal memo is included as part of the CLE which discusses the law regarding illegal orders and alternative methods of avoiding compliance with such orders.

Issued by the Moratorium Now Coalition – Detroit; Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement; Peoples Alliance – Bay Area

Migrant children at a shelter and processing center in Deming, N.M., in May. | Photo: Adria Malcolm/Reuters

By Chris Fry

From the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:

Article 6 Genocide

For the purpose of this Statute, “genocide” means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

In mid-September, the Guardian newspaper published an article that stated:

An ICE detention center in Georgia is reportedly the site of a mass involuntary sterilization project. A whistleblower report published by the non-profit Project South alleges that large numbers of migrant women held at the Irwin county detention center, a privately run facility that imprisons undocumented immigrants, received hysterectomies that they did not want and which were not medically necessary…

[Congresswoman] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: “It’s astounding that after a massive family separation operation, mass sexual assault of detainees, trapping immigrants in Covid-infected detention centers, and now reports of mass hysterectomies (which the US has done before), abolishing ICE is controversial. Where’s the line?”

After the story was published, congressional Democrats called for an investigation. But since then, the corporate media largely dropped the story.

That is, until October 19th, when a new report by the LA Times newspaper revealed that 19 migrant women came forward saying how they had been sterilized against their will. An Oct. 23 story in The Cut Magazine titled “19 Migrant Women Say They were Victims of ‘Uterus Collector’”, gives some of the details of that report:

The immigrants, most of whom are Black and Latina, allege that Dr. Mahendra Amin, the primary gynecologist at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia, coerced them into having “overly aggressive” or “medically unnecessary” surgeries — in most cases without their consent…

One woman, who the Times identified as Amanda, said she woke up from a surgery chained to a hospital bed. Amin had given her a dilation and curettage — a surgery to scrape tissue from her uterus — without her consent. Before she was sedated she says Amin had told her he was draining an ovarian cyst, and that if she refused care it would affect her access to future medical treatment…

The new report, which was written by nine OB/GYNs and two nursing experts, builds on a whistleblower complaint Project South released in September, in which a former ICDC nurse details the same pattern of medical abuse. Nurse Dawn Wooten called Amin a “uterus collector” because many women had told her about being forced into having their uteruses or Fallopian tubes removed without proper explanation. (In the complaint, one immigrant called the situation “an experimental concentration camp. It was like they’re experimenting with our bodies.”)

Many of the victims of these atrocities were then quickly deported so that they could not testify as to what happened to them.

Eugenics: White supremacy’s atrocity against oppressed women

Forced sterilizations have a long history in the U.S as the Daily Beast reports.:

America’s sterilization laws, accepted by the Supreme Court, variously targeted Black, Native, Latina, and Puerto Rican women for over a century as more than 60,000 people were forcibly sterilized under legislation originally and broadly dedicated to the eradication of “feeblemindedness,” but which ultimately served as a means to racial extermination.

The world’s first compulsory sterilization legislation, passed in 1907, was enacted in Indiana, followed in 1909 by the “Asexualization Act” in California. Those two laws heavily informed The Third Reich’s 1933 “Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases.” [The Nazis sterilized more than 400,000 people under this law – cf]

California would ultimately perform one-third of all U.S. mandatory sterilizations, more than any other state. Latina women, mostly those of Mexican descent, were sterilized at 59 percent higher rates than non-Latinas. Researchers Nicole L. Novak and Natalie Lira reviewed medical records that showed “doctors who performed sterilizations would label Latinas as “sex delinquents” whose “sterilizations were described as necessary to protect the state from increased crime, poverty and racial degeneracy.”

The program was officially terminated under the law in 1979, but unwanted sterilizations would continue to be performed in California, with an estimated 1,400 incarcerated women subjected to unwanted and illegal hysterectomies between 1997 and 2013 by “doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.” The eugenicist reasoning for these human rights violations remained the same as ever, based in social control and the “breeding out” of defective traits. Survivors of the program “maintain that prison medical staff coerced the women, targeting those deemed likely to return to prison in the future.”

The lost 545 children

An October 21 article in the Guardian newspaper, along with many other corporate media outlets, reported that federal court appointed lawyers from the ACLU, after months of intensive efforts, were still unable to find the parents of 545 children separated under Trump’s infamous “zero tolerance” policy. Executed by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions and white supremacist Trump advisor Stephen Miller, this policy aimed to deliberately tear children, even infants, from their parents:

Family separation was one of the most visceral results of the Trump administration’s ruthless assault on illegal border crossing. The goal of the zero-tolerance policy was to criminally prosecute every migrant who entered the US without authorization – irrespective of the consequences to their families including their children.

An October 6th article in the New York Times revealed that Trump and his henchmen let no sense of compassion stand in their way to cruelly separate families at the border:

But the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, made it clear what Mr. Trump wanted on a conference call later that afternoon, according to a two-year inquiry by the Justice Department’s inspector general into Mr. Trump’s “zero tolerance” family separation policy.

“We need to take away children,” Mr. Sessions told the prosecutors, according to participants’ notes. One added in shorthand: “If [parents] care about kids, don’t bring them in. Won’t give amnesty to people with kids.”

This policy was only stopped when world-wide outrage spurred court rulings that put an end to it, as far as we know. But the parents of at least 545 children, who were deported without their children, have yet to be found. The failure of ICE and the Border Patrol to track the parents of these children, locked up in cages in corporate-run detention centers, has caused these kids to be placed in foster care. They face permanent separation from their families.

During the Trump regime, more than seven migrant children have died while in U.S. custody.

Trump and his gang must face justice

An October 28th article in the Guardian finds that Trump advisor Stephen Miller intends to “intensify” these racist anti-immigrant policies in Trump’s second term:

Jean Guerrero, author of the Miller biography Hatemonger, told the Guardian: “There’s a number of things they have been cautious about because of the legal and political risks in the first term and I think that in a second term you would see Stephen Miller get much freer rein when it comes to his wishlist of items.”

Those items are expected to include attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship, making the US citizenship test more difficult to pass, ending the program which protects people from deportation when there is a crisis in their country (Temporary Protected Status) and slashing refugee admissions even further, to zero…

Becky Monroe, director of the immigrant rights program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said white supremacy and white nationalism are not new to the US but Miller’s staying power underlined how accepted it is in the Trump White House.

The post-World War 2 trials in the German city of Nuremburg of Nazi leaders established the principle that government officials are not shielded by their position or their nation’s laws from prosecution for committing “crimes against humanity”, including the crime of genocide.

Trump’s depraved attack on migrants constitute such a crime, committed not only by him, but all his henchmen who implemented these policies. No matter what the outcome of the election, the workers and oppressed of the world demand justice!

Baltimore People’s Assembly leaflet

By Fighting Words Staff

On the evening of 10/28/20, 15 organizers who were affiliated with the Baltimore March and Car Caravan for November 4, had their Facebook pages disabled; all were administrators or editors on various Facebook pages that endorsed the action including: Peoples Power Assembly, Youth Against War & Racism, Prisoner’s Solidarity Committee, Women In Struggle/ Mujeres En Lucha, and Struggle La Lucha. This action effectively locked down all of these pages denying thousands of members their constitutional rights.

The Peoples Power Assembly page which has over 11,000 followers was shut down along with several other pages affiliated with the event.

Prior to this lockout, the Peoples Power Assembly’s main phone was barraged with harassing calls from Trump supporters and calls from the Department of Homeland Security connected to the Baltimore federal courthouse.

Some of the above groups including Struggle La Lucha and Women In Struggle are national and have been targeted.

It is important to note that the PPA in Baltimore has led protests of thousands of people since Spring demanding justice against racism and police terror. There can be no mistake that these actions are an effort to silence that movement.

Sharon Black, an organizer with the Peoples Power Assembly, stated:

We take these attacks very seriously, they are a violation of our constitutional rights and are a blatant attempt to shut down organizing for the November 4th march and car caravan in opposition to the possibility of Trump stealing the upcoming election.

It is also an attempt to silence a “Peoples Mandate” which calls for jobs or income now, stimulus for workers, not billionaires; and end to racism and police terror, community control now; health care for all; no evictions, foreclosures, or utility shutoffs; safe work conditions and hazard pay; no wars or sanction, feed the people not the Pentagon.

This unconstitutional and undemocratic attack on our movement is a threat to activists and the general community everywhere and we are monitoring this closely to see if these attacks become more widespread as we get closer to the election.

At present we will mobilize mass support both locally and nationally against these illegal attacks and also seek legal remedies.

Our movement is united and strong and will not be deterred or defeated.

The Peoples Power Assembly is calling a Press Conference, Friday, October 30, 2020, 12 noon outside of our offices in front of 2011 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, rain or shine.

The AFL-CIO labor federation, headed by Richard Trumka, is seeing the terms general strike and resistance against tyranny, bandied about.

By David Sole

With less than two weeks left before the November 3 U.S. elections there are signs that some sectors of the population are taking Donald Trump’s threat seriously to refuse to recognize an unfavorable outcome to the vote and are organizing for the worst.

Of course the main effort of those in and around the Democratic Party continues to be their “get out the vote” campaigns for their lackluster nominee, former vice-president Joe Biden. But a significant development has begun to emerge organizationally to deal with the possibility that Trump will carry out a “coup” in one form or another, creating a constitutional crisis. This current includes both supporters of Biden, but also forces that are not tied to the Democrats, including some socialist organizations.

Richard Trumka, president of the 12.5 million member AFL-CIO, warned in a speech on September 25 that the U.S. labor movement would take strong measures against any move by Trump to hold onto power should he lose the election. The Council of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.AFL-CIO published a statement on September 21 that “any attempt to obstruct, sabotage or otherwise undermine the integrity of the 2020 Presidential election” would result in “immediate collective action, by any means necessary, among our united membership.” But neither Trumka nor the D.C. body laid out any concrete program.

On September 30 an extensive article was published in the Fighting-Words.net online journal calling for the formation of “People’s Committees to Defend Democratic Rights” to start well before election day. The article warned that it would be foolish and dangerous to assume that the U.S. courts or military would protect the people against Trump or his right-wing minions. This article went into great detail on how labor and community groups ought to form united front committees and prepare for a possible General Strike if conditions necessitated such action.

On October 8 the Rochester (NY) Labor Council passed a powerful resolution denouncing the threats openly voiced by Trump. A long list first outlined the dangers posed by Trump, his administration and his “white supremacist and fascist militias” supporters and warned of the danger of “the potential rise of a tyrant Dictator.”

The resolution went further, however, in calling upon

“the National AFL-CIO, all of its affiliate unions, and all other labor organizations in the United States of America to prepare for and enact a general strike of all working people, if necessary, to ensure a Constitutionally mandated peaceful transition of power as a result of the 2020 Presidential Elections.”

During the past few weeks a number of radical and progressive groups have begun discussion designed to prepare for the possibility of united front actions that might be needed. The Freedom Socialist Party has been holding virtual meetings from around the country with the aim of a united front.

Activists in Baltimore put out a call to “Occupy the Streets” that also included reference to a possible general strike and a link to the Detroit Moratorium Now Coalition’s appeal. Their effort has garnered quite a few endorsements from the Baltimore area.

In Michigan united front type meetings have begun spearheaded by Detroit Will Breathe, the local leadership of mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Participating organizations include representatives of Democratic Socialists of America, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Moratorium Now Coalition, the General Baker Institute among others.

At the same time religious leaders gathered around the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Detroit have been building plans for daily demonstrations starting at the church the day after Election Day. The theme is for a “peaceful transition of power” in contrast to Trump’s threats of violence and refusal to recognize himself losing.

Most interestingly are efforts being carried out by labor and labor affiliated groups in Michigan. Aside from normal campaigning for their candidate, these forces report setting up “action councils” around the state in both urban and rural areas. They aim to ensure they have solid local leadership that are kept in touch statewide that could respond to local, statewide or national events. Activists from the other nascent coalitions are working to improve communications among themselves and also further reach out and unify with other like-minded forces that can be mobilized in a fascist-like crisis.

Perhaps sensing the movement on the ground, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a call for top union leaders to meet on October 23. NBCnews.com quoted AFL vice-president Tefere Gebre on October 21 that the labor federation was planning for any resistance to a peaceful transfer of power.

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