Current Issues

Since the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration and its supporters in the media have been working overtime perpetuating an old myth that protesting a war is unpatriotic and against our troops whose lives are on the line. Nothing could be further from the truth. The U.S. people have a patriotic duty to object to the rogue-nation policies of George W. Bush and his “Republican Guards.”

WASHINGTON – Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told a protest rally in San Francisco a few weeks ago that George W. Bush has “awakened a sleeping giant,” the worldwide movement to stop his doctrine of unilateral, preemptive war on Iraq.

With layer upon layer of misrepresentation, exaggeration, and outright lies, George W. Bush and his war cabinet have recklessly flung our nation into an illegitimate, illegal, and unnecessary war.

We are at a rare moment in human history. Politics has become the overriding passion of hundreds of millions and the halls of political power have been transformed into sites where vast political and social forces collide in a battle over the future. As an activist in the trade union movement said to me only a few days ago, “The world has become politicized.”

For the past seven months, the United Nations Security Council has been proceeding on the assumption that its sole objective was to disarm the Iraqi regime of weapons of mass destruction, not to overthrow it.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that the crew on the space shuttle Columbia enjoyed listening to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Looking at our beautiful and fragile planet from space must evoke a deep feeling – a feeling that Imagine captures so poignantly – of the oneness of life and the overarching necessity of safeguarding world peace.

NEW YORK – The Bush administration faced a widening credibility gap in its efforts to convince the world that a war to remove Saddam Hussein is imperative even if 100,000 Iraqis die in the Pentagon’s “Shock and Awe” war scenario.

A lot has happened in the world since the last time we had a major discussion of the labor movement in the National Board. In preparation for our National Convention in 2001, we had quite an extensive and lively discussion of a new Labor Program for our Party.

At the beginning of the 2002 election cycle, we set three inter-related goals for ourselves: 1) to play a part toward defeat of the ultra-right; 2) to build political independence; and 3) to build the Communist Party at the grass roots.

On December 14, 2002 thousands of youth will hit the streets of Harlem and Washington Heights to let our voices be heard. Uptowh Youth for Peace and Justice recognizes the urgency of opposing this war, which would represent not only an attack on the innocent people of Iraq, but also on our communities at home.

Come hear Luis Fernandes', of the Communist Party of Brazil, analysis of what Lula's victory represents, the alliance that made it possible, and his projections of what comes next!

Baltimore, MD Monday, December 9 Stony Run Friends Meeting House 5116 N. Charles St.
Cambridge, MA Tuesday December 10, Cambridge YWCA in the Silva Room 7 Temple Street Central Square.
Chicago, IL Thursday, December 12, Hot House 31 E. Balbo.
Oakland, Ca Friday, December 13, YWCA of Oakland 1515 Webster St.
Los Angeles, CA Saturday, December 14, Los Angeles Workers Center 1251 S. St.
Andrews Place
New York, NY Sunday, December 15, Martin Luther King Labor Center Auditorium,
310 w. 43rd st.

After months of intense activity, a broad people’s movement came up just a little short at the ballot box on November 5. What would have been a breathtaking victory, especially given the unfavorable political atmosphere and circumstances, turned into a victory for the Bush administration and the Republican Party.

Three weeks ago the Bush administration announced a new strategic-military
policy, titled, “The National Security Strategy of the United States,” which,
to put it bluntly, is a promissory note for unending and calamitous war.

The results of the 2002 elections are not in the bag for the Bush Republicans. It would be a fatal mistake to come to that conclusion at this critical moment, six weeks before Election Day. The Bush Republicans are engaging in tactics of desperation. This election is too close to call as of today.

Pledge to ‘link arms’ vs. Right

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The nearly 1,000 delegates and guests to the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) annual conference, held here June 21-23, are united to make a difference in the 2002 elections, at the ballot box and in the streets. The participants, who came from 42 states and the District of Columbia, agreed that the 2002 elections are the main arena for the defense and advancement of women’s equality.

This report will focus on our three-part strategy in this year's election: to defeat the Republican ultra-right; to build political independence; and to make a turn in the Party so that building the clubs is at the center of our work.

CRYSTAL CITY, Va. – The Bush administration is moving with lightning speed to expand FBI spying and intimidation using the “war on terrorism” as a pretext, civil liberties leaders warned last week. They urged a grassroots campaign to defend Constitutional rights.

Defenders of the Bill of Rights charged this week that Attorney General John Ashcroft’s new FBI guidelines, announced May 30, open the door for wider FBI spying on law-abiding people, spreading fear and intimidation while doing nothing to curb terrorism.

The U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons treaty, signed May 24 with much fanfare in the Kremlin, actually moves the world closer to nuclear weapons use, peace activists warn. Pentagon warhawks are the main beneficiaries of the agreement, Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, told the World. “We should not be fooled by this treaty,” he said.

NEW YORK – AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told reporters that the May 22 decision of the federation’s General Board to increase financial support for the federation’s Labor 2002 election campaign is propelled by the issues facing working families. “Real life examples of the last year – the Enron scandal, the squandering of the federal budget on a tax cut for the rich, the President’s plan to privatize Social Security, his drive to expand trade negotiating authority and historic unemployment – are proof that working people need a strong voice in politics to shift the balance of power in Washington away from business and back to workers,” said Sweeney.