The Daily Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

Curated Links

Jacobin Group Featured in Daily Journal

· ·

jacobin-group-october-2017

Thanks to Allison Shapiro of the Daily Journal for her interest, and for presenting an accurate picture of who we are and what we’re trying to do.

Whether it left you thrilled or heartbroken, most of us agree the 2016 presidential election had a profound effect on our political landscape. Here, in Kankakee County, Jacobin Reading Group for the South Suburbs meets to discuss articles from Jacobin, the leading magazine of the far left, and to talk about what comes next.

Source: Socialist group plants seeds in Kankakee County | Local News | daily-journal.com

Refoundation

· ·

New Left Caucus Established

On April 29th of 2015, I became a member of the Left Caucus of the Democratic Socialists of America. The caucus had been established to push for a fairly specific program within DSA, many of which points were adopted at the organization’s Biennial National Convention this Summer (including withdrawal from the Socialist International and formal endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement).

Although the group was ultimately largely successful in accomplishing the goals it had established when first formed during the Summer of 2014, it was becoming clear for some months leading up to the convention that commitment of many long time members to the caucus beyond the accomplishment of those goals was beginning to fade.

I was delighted earlier this month to learn of a new group forming that proposes to be “The Radical Left Caucus of DSA” and after reading their points of unity and political program, I agreed wholeheartedly to an invitation to join the ranks.

The public announcement of the Refoundation Caucus was made today. You can learn more on the website.

DSA Refoundation Website

We are a caucus of revolutionary Marxists active in Democratic Socialists of America. We wish to see DSA grow, flourish, and become a mass, independent socialist party in the United States. The times demand it. With the massive growth of DSA over the past year and a half, we believe we have a unique opportunity to build a movement and a party that can fight for and win socialism in the United States. We cannot let this opportunity pass.

I would invite all to review the points of unity and political program of the group, and to keep an eye on the site for position papers and statements to come. To my DSA sisters and brothers who are interested in being part of a vital and vigorous self-conscious left wing, I urge you to consider joining us.

As to the comrades who have been working so hard to organize and develop this caucus, I thank you.

Read More: Refoundation – The Radical Left Caucus of DSA

Restorative Justice and Prison Abolition

· ·

I have recently become a member of an organization that seeks, among other policy goals, the abolition of prisons and policing in our society. A dear friend and I were discussing this, and he raised questions about how an alternative justice system might work. Is there a clear vision for a restorative justice system on a material level? What will the system look like? Who will be in charge of it?

As luck would have it, there was an excellent article at In These Times today about the need to rethink how we respond to violence. That led me to the Vera Institute website, and a very good report on the subject.

In the United States, violence and mass incarceration are deeply entwined, though evidence shows that both can decrease at the same time. A new vision is needed to meaningfully address violence and reduce the use of incarceration—and to promote healing among crime survivors and improve public safety. This report describes four principles to guide policies and practices that aim to reduce violence: They should be survivor-centered, based on accountability, safety-driven, and racially equitable.

You can read their fact sheet here.

Or download the full report below.

Accounting for Violence Report

Read More: Accounting for Violence | Vera Institute

Words of Inspiration

· ·


“We open our eyes and look unblinkingly at the world as we find it; we are astonished by the beauty and horrified at the suffering all around us; we dive into the wreckage and swim as hard as we can toward a distant and indistinct shore; we dry ourselves off, doubt that our efforts made enough difference, and so we rethink, recalibrate, look again and dive in once more. Organize, mobilize, agitate, resist, build the social movement, connect. Repeat for a lifetime.”

– Bill Ayers

Source: Weather Underground Members Speak Out on the Media, Imperialism and Solidarity in the Age of Trump

Solidarity Is More Than A Strategy

· ·

An editorial from Socialist Worker unpacks the concept of solidarity. It’s more than just a strategy for accruing power. It also transforms those who practice it.

THE CONCEPT of solidarity is based on the idea that people can unite across their differences not just because they are good people (or “allies”), but because they have a common interest in not allowing themselves to be divided and conquered. As the old Industrial Workers of the World slogan puts it: “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

Read More: Why solidarity can trump hate | SocialistWorker.org

What Happened?

· ·

dt-won

Like many Americans, I’m still trying to process the news. I won’t try to describe my thoughts or feelings at this point, but I wanted to share some links that have been helpful to me.

Thomas Frank writes for The Guardian: Donald Trump is moving to the White House, and liberals put him there.

From the folks at Jacobin: Politics Is the Solution

From Socialist Worker: How could this monster win?

Be kind to each other today, people.

The Trump Effect: SPLC Report

· ·

The Trump campaign is producing an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color and inflaming racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom. Many students worry about being deported, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

My own daughter has related that some of her classmates are worried about their families being deported.

Read More: The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on Our Nation’s Schools | Southern Poverty Law Center

Coming Soon to a City Near You

· ·

From aa440 Flickr
The Baltimore Police Department has secretly deployed a privately funded surveillance system using planes and powerful cameras that can continuously record 30-square-mile sections of the city at once. ACLU Attorney David Rocah had this to say.

The surveillance program itself is a privacy nightmare come to life and precisely what we have warned against for years. It’s the equivalent of requiring each of us to wear a GPS tracker whenever we leave our homes, something that would never be tolerated in the physical world.

Read More:

Police Secretly Put Large Part of Baltimore Under Constant Aerial Video Surveillance | American Civil Liberties Union

Baltimore Police Secretly Running Aerial Mass-Surveillance Eye in the Sky | ACLU BLog

Secret Cameras Record Baltimore’s Every Move From Above | Bloomberg Business Week

The Good Revolution

· ·

4th-of-july

Did you ever read in your school textbooks that there were times during our Revolution when there were more Americans enrolled in the British forces than under George Washington?

In 1962, for KPFA radio, Hal Draper revealed the facts behind the story of our nation’s founding.

Read the speech: Hal Draper: A Fourth Of July Oration (1962)

P.S.: “There has been only one revolution in the history of the world which took place after a registration of revolutionary sentiment by vote.” It wasn’t in 1776. It was in November of 1917.

Happy Independence Day!