Video: Interview with PA's Norman Markowitz

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  • We can only agree with you brother Joel Wendland that brother Professor Markowitz did a" good" job(take it to excellent).
    I cannot and will not speak for our professor,brother Markowitz,but I can almost totally agree with his "bad marriage" metaphor.
    The capitulation to war of the Obama administration,is analogous to the capitulation to violence and battering of women in many,many bad marriages.
    Violence is "practical"it is,"realistic"it is "factual". It is what will "decide"issues-as the war in Afghan will-according to president Obama-and he owns this war-by his own admission.
    Brother Joel Wendland you have,in these windows stressed that president Obama has a "plan" to withdraw from this sinister,failed in fact,and insidious war.
    However,it has been pointed out again and again,that this plan is weak,and impractical,having no teeth.
    Far from being the only aspect of this "bad marriage"this war is glaring.
    Labor,and activists like Harry Belafonte cannot support the war "realism" of president Obama's peoples' bludgeoning by war budgeting(women's bludgeoning by men in bad marriages)Afghan's and America's economies.
    It flies in the face of Jobs,Jobs,Jobs and squanders billions and billions of dollars which could be used to both employ the 60 % unemployed youth,fund a ruined housing market and structurally destroyed economy,with no credit for workers,but payday loans,bad checks,empty lottery scams. Extorted unemployment,(thanks to Republicans and tea partiers)and machete chopped state,county and municipal budgets,with no school boards,health depts.,fire depts.,or police depts.,or protections against even more fascistic measures.
    The homelessness,unemployment,imprisonment,and naked oppression especially of minorities by the practices and policies of our present economic,social, political,and capitalist economic structure has to change if we would have progress.
    If we would have progress,the Obama administration would "start",as professor Markowitz says,to ally itself with labor in a better,truer way,abandoning Holder v Humanitarian,reactionary stances on immigration law,stopping its policies of compromising with the right to find a "happy"middle.
    The dangers of this onslaught were demonstrated on 2 Nov 2010,and are great for the workers,both national and international,and professor Markowitz alludes to just this.
    The fascistic nature of these movements is clear for the entire working class and it is heavy on us to help with the fightback against these movements,helping to forge an Obama administration which heals this "bad marriage" wherein war and oppression,violence and anti-immigrant stances are capitulated to threatening American civilization and all human civilization.

    Posted by E.E.W. Clay, 11/08/2010 11:53pm (13 years ago)

  • Good job Norman. You look good on camera too!

    In my opinion, one issue I might take is that I think the metaphor of the bad marriage between the labor movement and the Dems is off a little.

    Why such a metaphor? I don't know how far you are willing to go with that metaphor. Is it an abusive marriage or one in which the husband refuses to to do housework under the supposed notion that it is woman's work and beneath him? Is he deserving of a "burning bed" or divorce or couples therapy?

    Obviously the bad marriage metaphor is designed to appeal to an idea of inequality between labor and capital in the Dem Party, but why such a metaphor?

    Labor has the power to make social change happen, now and in the future. It has the power, with a broad coalition of democratic forces, to make a presidency, like the one in office now, possible. It has the power to win the hearts and minds of the people against the great odds you describe in this piece.

    Anyway, just my quick response.

    Posted by Joel Wendland, 11/08/2010 4:42pm (13 years ago)

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