St. Paul No Kings Rally

 St.Paul. No Kings Rally 

https://youtu.be/BY7bchcJ3p0?si=PzCYXHzDOEtUEwmE

Lessons from Minneapolis : Sanders

Sisters and brothers - 

The national TV cameras are largely gone from Minneapolis now. 

If the Department of Homeland Security keeps its word (maybe they will, maybe they won’t) the ICE army will soon be withdrawn from the city. 

But one thing remains certain. The pain and psychic trauma for that community continues.

Earlier this week, I met with a number of Minnesotans from different immigration activist groups in the state including teachers, union members and faith leaders.

They told me about the fear instilled in the children. Car windows being smashed by lawless ICE agents. Helicopters flying above creating a war zone environment. Hard-working parents being dragged off. Two innocent people murdered in cold blood.

I heard stories about masked federal agents kicking down doors without court orders and sending 5-year-old children to detention centers. 

I heard stories about people being picked out of their homes, their workplaces and their schools while people who tried to help were being stalked and threatened. 

I heard stories about children afraid to leave their houses and a school teacher who told me that kids are not showing up at school for fear of being detained. In fact, there are countless kids who went hungry as a result of missing school lunch programs. 

I learned that more than 3,000 people have been detained in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and many of their own families do not even know where they are.

That’s the very bad news created by Trump’s so-called “immigration policy” and implemented by his domestic ICE army.

The good news is that grassroots organizations in Minnesota came together with an extraordinary sense of solidarity, fought back and inspired the nation. They created a political reality which forced Trump (for the moment at least) to tone down his policies and his rhetoric.

Now, the brave people in the Minneapolis area are beginning to rebuild their lives and their communities. And these grassroots organizations, who have been on the front line fighting against Trump’s authoritarianism and brutality, need our help. 

So I am asking you to make a contribution to Friends of Bernie Sanders today. Every single dollar we raise from this fundraiser will be distributed to grassroots organizations in Minnesota who are fighting for justice and are helping the families impacted by Trump's raids - the hungry kids, the scared parents, and all those who are struggling at this difficult time.

If you've stored your info with ActBlue, we'll process your split contribution instantly:

CONTRIBUTE $27   CONTRIBUTE OTHER

What Trump has done in Minnesota is repellent to the American people in every single way. People in this country want democracy and justice, not authoritarianism.

People want investments in schools, education, and affordable housing -- not a domestic army invading and occupying cities across our nation. 

Now is the time to stand together with those in need and provide a helping hand. 

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

 

Sanders on Elections and Socialism : How We Win

Over the weekend, Bernie Sanders spoke to the How We Win conference, a gathering of democratic socialist elected officials and their staff in New Orleans sponsored by the Democratic Socialists of America Fund, Jacobin, the Nation, and other partners. Below is a transcript of his remarks.

Thank you for inviting me to say a few words. Let me begin by thanking all of you for having the guts to run for public office. It’s a lot harder to go out and knock on doors to represent constituents with the problems they face seven days a week. So I want to thank you very much for that. Despite the horror in the White House right now, they’re out there all across this country. We’re seeing strong progressive growth. It is not just Zohran Mamdani in New York or Katie Wilson in Seattle. From coast to coast, you are seeing progressive democratic socialists standing up, taking on the establishment and winning elections.

And one of the great secrets of the corporate media is that right now in the House of Representatives, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has about one hundred members, including dozens and dozens of very strong progressives. That is the result of the hard work all us have done over the last number of years.

I’ve been asked to give you some advice. What I’m gonna tell you is probably what you already know. Number one, here is a radical idea — do your job that you were elected to do. Now, I’ll tell you a story. Here is the story. I was elected to be mayor of Burlington, Vermont; won it by ten votes way back in 1981. We had a strong foreign policy. We had exchange programs. We dealt with national issues. But I’ll never forget there was an article in the local newspaper and the report asked some guy, “But what does it mean? What do you think about having a socialist as your mayor?” And the guy said, “Well, I don’t know much about socialism, but I do know they’re getting the snow off of the streets a lot faster than they used to.”

You gotta do your job. If you’re on the city council, the school board, the state legislature, you gotta do it. And if you do your job well, people will give you the latitude to talk about many, many other issues. But don’t lose focus regarding the job that you are elected to do.

Second of all, establishment Democrats have the brilliant idea that the only people they can talk to are establishment Democrats. They literally have lists of people: “Don’t knock on this door; don’t knock on that door. Only on these.” I strongly disagree with that suggestion. Knock on every door in your district. And what you’ll find when you do that is you’ll have the right-wing people slam the door in your face. You’ll have some unpleasantness. But by and large, what you’ll find is that there is a lot more commonality of interest than you might have appreciated. In my view, the reason Donald Trump is president of the United States today is not because people voted for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for the 1 percent or massive cuts in health care. He is the president of the United States because of Democratic establishment candidates’ failure to provide a real analysis and agenda that meets the crises that we face today.

Establishment Democrats believe that you can tinker around the edges, you can tell the world how terrible Donald Trump is, and that’s fine. But right now, what the American people understand is that übercapitalism — an oligarchic form of society, which is what we have today — is a disaster for the working class of this country. We don’t have to tinker around the edges. We have to create a very new form of society.

So for just your average person out there, you are in many cases going nowhere in a hurry. You understand that with real inflation accounted for, wages are basically the same as they were fifty years ago, despite a huge increase in worker productivity as a result of all of the expansion of technology. And almost all of the gains of that new technology have gone to the 1 percent. And ordinary workers know that there’s something wrong with 60 percent of our people living paycheck to paycheck while Elon Musk owns more wealth himself than about the bottom 52 percent of American society. They know that.

Here is a radical idea — do your job that you were elected to do.

They know that there’s something wrong when we have a campaign finance system that is totally corrupt and allows billionaires in both political parties to buy elections. That’s a broken system. I say these things because you’re gonna have Republicans who understand this as well. They understand if you look at the basic necessities of life — just think for a moment: you’re living in the richest country in the history of the world, and it cannot even provide the basic necessities of life for working people.

Just take a look at the health care in your community. Talk about health care. Everybody will tell you that despite spending twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation, the health care system is totally broken. Everybody knows that. The educational system is largely broken, and the childcare system is a disaster. Kids can’t afford to go to college, or they’re leaving school deeply in debt. Public schools are under enormous pressure. Teachers are underpaid. They’re dealing with all kinds of disciplinary issues, kids who come from troubled families or are acting out in school. We are dealing with a situation where our food system, just nutrition . . . we are the most obese and unhealthy nation on Earth because you have a food industry that makes huge profit by selling our kids crap, and the price of groceries is soaring.

People understand that. I flew in from the National Airport in Washington; there was a four-hour delay because they couldn’t figure out how to de-ice the plane. All over the country you are looking at basic problems people are struggling with. The system is failing. Our job is not to run away from that reality but to offer a real alternative. Because in my view, what the future is gonna be about isn’t establishment Democrats. All over Europe, for example, the establishment parties are fading away. The struggle is going to be between the Trumpists of the world — right-wing extremism — and a democratic socialist alternative, which recognizes the problems that we face and provides concrete and real and bold solutions for working families.

So what Donald Trump does is go, “Yeah, we got a lot of problems. And the problem is undocumented people, the problem is the trans community, the problem is that we have Somalians who are ‘garbage.’” That’s what demagogues do. They take the problems that we face — often that they cause — and then you blame a powerless minority. Our job is to recognize the problems are real and to put the finger on the real cause of the problem, which is the greed of the oligarchs in this country. So that’s where we’re at now. And it ain’t gonna be easy. Especially with Trump in the White House.

To summarize, the American people know the system is broken. They are hurting. They can’t afford groceries. They can’t afford health care. They can’t afford education. They can’t afford a lot of things. And at the same time, the billionaire class has never had it so good. The establishment Democrats cannot talk about these things because, very often, they’re getting funded by the billionaire class. So what we have gotta do right now is get out into the streets. We gotta talk to our people — allpeople, not just people within our zone of comfort. And we’re gonna be providing real solutions to the crises that we face. So once again, what you have done is extraordinary. I thank you so much and congratulate you for getting out on the streets, for winning elections, and for standing up for working people.

• Bernie Sanders
• socialist elected officials

 

36,000 Join Sanders and AOC in Los Angeles Today; Fight Oligarchy Tour

 This movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests; it's about class solidarity.

It is about the thousands of people who came out in Los Angeles today to stand together and say our lives deserve dignity and our work deserves respect.

We can either have extreme wealth inequality with the toxic division and corruption that it requires to survive—or we can have a fair economy that guarantees health care to all, for working people, along with a democracy and freedoms that uphold it.

Oligarchy or democracy, but we cannot have both. I've made my choice.

We must fight the oligarchy that has created this nightmare. And that is why I have never taken money from lobbyists or corporations, and it's why I never will.   AOC. 

Venue Change: Sanders and AOC in Folsom California

TPlease be advised that there is a venue change: we will now be at the Folsom Lake College Athletic Track in Folsom, CA.

Here's everything you need to know:

Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Folsom
With Special Guest Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Tuesday, April 15
3:30pm PDT Doors Open
6:00pm PDT Speaking Program Starts
Folsom Lake College Athletic Track

10 College Pkwy, Folsom, CA 95630 

Trump and the Big Lie

The Big Lie

Bernie Sanders 

We are living in a pivotal moment in our country's history. And how we respond to this moment will impact not only our lives, but the lives of our kids and grandchildren. 

As you heard last night, President Trump has been very effective in creating a parallel universe. A set of ideas that either have no basis in reality, or are nowhere near the most important concerns of the American people. 

He does it through the concept of the BIG LIE, and boy did we hear that last night. He says something that is grossly false, says it over and over again, and has right-wing social media blast it out endless times until people believe it. 

The purpose of all of these lies is not just to push his hateful right-wing ideology. It is a masterful effort to deflect attention away from the most important issues facing the people of this country — issues Trump and his billionaire friends do not want to address because it is not in their financial interests to do so. 

Trump spoke for almost 100 minutes and he almost completely ignored the issues keeping working people up at night as they worry about how their families are going to survive during these tough times. 

100 minutes and he did not have one word to say about the economic realities facing 60 percent of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck. 

100 minutes and not one word to say about our broken, dysfunctional and expensive health care system that has left 80 million Americans uninsured or underinsured or why we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and 1 out of 4 Americans are unable to afford the medicine their doctors prescribe. 

100 minutes and not one word to say about the major housing crisis in America that has left 800,000 Americans who are homeless and the millions who spend more than half of their limited income on housing. 

100 minutes and not one word to say about the massive income and wealthy inequality that has 3 Americans owning more wealth than the bottom half of our society. 

100 minutes and not one word about a corrupt campaign finance system that allows a handful of billionaires to buy elections. 

100 minutes and not one word to say about the fact that our life expectancy is 4 years lower than other wealthy countries, and the bottom 50 percent of this country live on average 7 years shorter life than the top 1 percent. In other words, being poor in this country is a death sentence. 

100 minutes and not one word to say how we are going to address the planetary crisis of climate change. 

And the reason he had very little to say about the crises working families are facing is because he has no plan or desire to address them. Despite some of his rhetoric, Trump and his billionaire friends could not care any less about the concerns of the working people of this country. 

He did urge Congress to pass his big beautiful budget... 

But he left out the part that that budget would cut Medicaid by $880 billion. 

According to one estimate, it means up to 36 million Americans including millions of children would be thrown off the health care they gave. Think about it — we're talking about people who own their own spaceships who are trying to take away health care from millions of kids. It's a disgrace. 

A 100 minute speech, not one word about that. 

I guess he forgot... 

Friends, let me be direct: 

At this particular moment in history, despair is not an option. None of us have the privilege of hiding under the covers. Let us never forget that real change only happens when ordinary people stand up — by the millions — against oppression and injustice. 

I am going to do my part, and I need you with me. 

We just had two large and successful rallies in Iowa and Nebraska recently. Thousands of people turned out. 

This weekend, I'll be going to Michigan and Wisconsin where thousands more have already RSVP'd to attend those events. 

But that is not all. I'm going to continue running around the country talking to people about what Donald Trump is trying to do — and to talk about our vision for an agenda that works for the many and not just the few. 

We can win. We will win. But only if we go forward together. 

In solidarity, 

Bernie Sanders 

 

---

 

The Battle We Face

Will Defeating the Oligarchs Be Easy? Of Course Not Bernie Sanders December 31, 2024 Common Dreams If there was ever a moment when progressives needed to communicate our vision to the people of our country, this is that time. Despair is not an option. Elon Musk speaks with Donald Trump at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, November 19., Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS   As we enter this new year, it’s important to reflect upon the reality that we are living in a pivotal and volatile moment in American history. Within that context our job is not only to understand what’s happening all around us, but to determine the best way forward to create a nation and world that benefits all people, not just the wealthy and powerful few. And right now, the defining issue of our time is that we are moving rapidly toward an oligarchic and authoritarian society in which billionaires not only dominate our economic life, but the information we consume and our politics as well. Today, we have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had. Today, we have more concentration of ownership than we’ve ever had. Today, we have more corporate control of the media than we’ve ever had. Today, we have more billionaire money buying elections than ever before. Today, we have a president-elect who is a pathological liar, who has little regard for the rule of law, who is suing media outlets that criticize him and threatening to jail his political opponents. A manifestation of the current moment is the rise of Elon Musk, and all that he stands for. Within the last two years alone Mr. Musk, the richest man in the world, has used his wealth to purchase the largest media platform on the internet, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect a president and give Republicans control of the House and Senate, was nominated to fill an unelected, non-confirmable position in charge of making huge budget cuts, succeeded in getting Congress to abandon a bill he didn't like, and then threatened to unseat elected officials if they did not follow his orders to shut down the government during the holidays. He is also forging alliances with autocrats throughout the world, and supporting a far-right party in the coming German elections. But it’s not just Musk. Billionaire owners of two major newspapers overrode their editorial boards' decisions to endorse Kamala Harris, while many others are kissing Trump’s ring by making large donations to his inauguration committee slush fund. In the midst of all this, a simple question must be asked. What do Musk, Bezos and the other billionaires want? What is motivating them? What kind of nation and world are they trying to create? While it would take a book to answer that question, let me jot down a few obvious observations. They do not believe in democracy—the right of ordinary people to control their own futures. They firmly believe that the rich and powerful should determine the future. Left alone, they will dominate both major political parties and, through their media ownership, control the flow of information. They do not accept what most major religions, in one form or another, have historically taught us to be ethical behavior: to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. They believe that greed, and the accumulation of wealth and power is a virtue, and that the strong should dominate the weak. Their vision is one where the government serves the rich at the expense of working families and the poor. It is a vision where breaking unions and exploiting workers is good, making huge profits off human illness is good, monopolization of the economy and the media is good, racism, sexism and xenophobia is good, producing carbon emissions and destroying our planet is good, providing tax cuts for the richest Americans is good, making money by putting poor people into prisons is good, and on and on it goes... That is what the oligarchs want. We, as progressives, have a vision that is radically different. Can we create an economic system based on the principles of justice, not greed? Yes, we can. Can we transform a rigged and corrupt political system and create a vibrant democracy based on one person, one vote? Yes, we can. Can we make health care a human right as we establish a system designed to keep us healthy and extend our life expectancy, not one based on the profit needs of insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry? Yes, we can. Can we, in the wealthiest country on earth, provide free quality public education and job training for all from child care to graduate school? Yes, we can. Can we combat climate change and protect the very habitability of our planet for future generations, and create millions of jobs in the process? Yes, we can. Can we make certain that artificial intelligence and other exploding technologies are used to improve the quality of life for working people, and not just make the billionaire class even richer. Yes, we can. And even though we are not going to succeed in achieving that vision in the immediate future with Trump as president and Republicans controlling Congress, it is important that vision be maintained and we continue to fight for it. As part of that effort, we’ve got a lot of strategizing and work in front of us. For example, how do we effectively communicate our ideas to the vast majority of Americans who are with us, even while the billionaire class of this country controls so much of the media. How do we leverage our collective power to elect progressives to local, state and federal positions while a small number of billionaires and their super-PACs are buying elections. How do we mobilize the working class around the day to day issues which impact their lives: building the trade union movement, health care, housing, education, family based agriculture and so much more. How do we fight back, on a day to day basis, against the reactionary policies of the Trump administration? Will this effort be easy? No, of course it will not. Can it be done? We have no choice. If there was ever a moment when progressives needed to communicate our vision to the people of our country, this is that time. Despair is not an option. We are fighting not only for ourselves. We are fighting for our kids and future generations, and for the well-being of the planet. Thank you for standing with me in that fight. Let’s go forward together. Bernie Sanders.

 

Democrats Must Choose: The Elites or the Working Class

  

 

Editors’ note. 

As a first step. Note.  74,118,950 people in the US voted for our positions. They voted for a continuation of democracy. That is an incredibly strong force to work within.  In California 9, 036, 667 voted against the Trump campaign and 5,220, 663 voted in favor. 

 

Certainly the left lost.  And, some in the left contributed to the loss including the elected leadership of DSA. That issue requires some deep thinking. 

 

Democrats Must Choose: The Elites or the Working Class

Bernie Sanders.  November 12, 2024.

 

The results of the 2024 election have confirmed a reality that is too frequently denied by Democratic Party leaders and strategists: The American working class is angry — and for good reason.

They want to know why the very rich are getting much richer, and the CEOs of major corporations make almost 300 times more than their average employees, while weekly wages remain stagnant and 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

They want to know why corporate profits soar while companies shut down factories in America and move to low-wage countries.

They want to know why the food industry enjoys record breaking profits, while they can’t afford their grocery bills.

They want to know why they can’t afford to go to a doctor or pay for their prescription drugs, and worry about going bankrupt if they end up in a hospital.

Donald Trump won this election because he tapped into that anger.

Did he address any of these serious issues in a thoughtful or meaningful way? 

 

Absolutely not.

What he did do was divert the festering anger in our country at a greedy and out-of-touch corporate elite into a politics that served his political goals and will end up further enriching his fellow billionaires.

Trump’s “genius” is his ability to divide the working class so that tens of millions of Americans will reject solidarity with their fellow workers and pave the way for huge tax breaks for the very rich and large corporations.

While Trump did talk about capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, and a new trade policy with China, his fundamental explanation as to why the working class was struggling was that millions of illegal immigrants have invaded America and that we are now an “occupied country.”

In his pathologically dishonest world, undocumented immigrants are illegally participating in our elections and voting for Democrats. They are creating massive amounts of crime, driving wages down, and taking our jobs. They are getting free health care and other benefits that are denied to American citizens. They are even eating our pets.

That explanation is grossly racist, cruel, and fallacious. But it is an explanation.

And what do the Democrats have to say about the crises facing working families? What is their full-throated explanation, pounded away day after day in the media, in the halls of Congress, and in town meetings throughout the country as to why tens of millions of workers, in the richest country on earth, are struggling to put food on the table or pay the rent? Where is the deeply felt outrage that we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care for all as a human right while insurance and drug companies make huge profits?

How do they explain supporting billions of dollars in military aid to the right-wing extremist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has created an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza that is causing massive malnutrition and starvation for thousands of children?

In my view, the Democrats lost this election because they ignored the justified anger of working class America and became the defenders of a rigged economic and political system.

This election was largely about class and change and the Democrats, in both cases, were often on the wrong side. As Jimmy Williams Jr., the president of the Painters Union, said, “The Democratic Party has continued to fail to prioritize a strong, working-class message that addresses issues that really matter to workers. The party did not make a positive case for why workers should vote for them, only that they were not Donald Trump. That’s not good enough anymore!”

As an Independent member of the US Senate, I caucus with the Democrats. In that capacity I have been proud to work with President Biden on one of the most ambitious pro-worker agendas in modern history.

Celebration of Labor Day

As we celebrate Labor Day, 2024, there is some very good news. 

Bernie Sanders 

 

Public approval of labor unions, at 70%, is higher today than it has been in decades. Over the last year major unions like the UAW have won some highly publicized strikes, while many other unions have negotiated trail-blazing contracts for their members. Young people at Starbucks and on college campuses are now more involved in labor organizing than ever before. And, for the first time in American history, a president of the United States, Joe Biden, walked a picket line with striking workers.

It is not an accident as to why we are now seeing more militancy and growth in the labor movement. The working people of our country are increasingly aware of the unprecedented level of corporate greed and power we are now experiencing, and the outrageous level of income and wealth inequality that exists. They understand that never before in American history have so few had so much, while so many continue to struggle. And they are fighting back. They know that workers in unions can negotiate contracts that give them better wages, working conditions and benefits than non-union workers. They appreciate that when you’re in a union you have some power against the arbitrary decisions corporate bosses. 

Working people today are more than aware that, over the last 50 years, there has been a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. They are disgusted that, despite huge increases in worker productivity, real inflation-accounted for wages for the average American worker are lower now than they were over 50 years ago as 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. They are insulted that CEOs of major corporations make almost 350 times as much as their average employee. They are concerned that the American dream is ending and that their kids may have an even lower standard of living than they do. And they worry that with the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence and robotics, they have no power as to what will happen to their jobs as the economy undergoes major transformations.

The average American worker also understands that his/her political power has been significantly diminished as billionaires pour huge amounts of money into both political parties as they undermine our democracy. It is no great secret as to who now has the clout in Congress. It is the billionaires, the corporate CEOs, the campaign donors and their well-connected lobbyists.

Purchase affordable magnetic Harris/Walz bumper stickers (2 for $5) and give them to other volunteers.

Purchase Harris/Walz window decals for car/home and give them to other volunteers. 

Sanders: We must have the guts to take on and defeat a powerful and greedy ruling...

Bernie: | Episode 1 - The Political Revolution

Sanders: Justice for Palestine : Security for Israel

 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/opinion/bernie-sanders-israel-gaza.html?

Gaza needs a humanitarian pause.

 Gaza needs a humanitarian pause. Then we need a vision of where we go from here

One thing is clear: there cannot be a return to the status quo that existed in Gaza before the war

Bernie Sanders
Wed 1 November 2023

The situation in Gaza is a disaster. Congress must take action. The administration must take action. The world must take action.

Today, three weeks after Hamas’s barbaric attack against civilians in Israel, which began this war, many hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza are facing catastrophe.

Over the past three weeks, it is estimated that some 8,000 people have been killed in bombings – including more than 3,000 children – and far more have been wounded. More than one million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes and some 670,000 people are sheltering in UN installations, where they are down to one liter of water per person, per day. These people lack sufficient food, water, medical supplies and fuel. The hospitals and medical facilities are in nightmarish conditions, with hundreds of babies in incubators and patients on life support at risk of death, should the generators that sustain them run out of fuel. Corridors are lined with injured and displaced people, and overwhelmed doctors must turn patients away or operate without anesthesia or antibiotics.

The humanitarian crisis is dire and getting worse by the minute. The US Congress must join many in the international community in demanding a humanitarian pause, now, so that sufficient supplies – food, water, medicine, fuel – can reach the people of Gaza. If not, thousands more will die needlessly. A stop to the bombing is critical to save innocent lives and secure the safe return of the hostages.

Let us never forget: the lives of all children are sacred, whether they are Palestinian children, Israeli children, or American children, and we must do everything we can to protect them.

But if we’re going to make any real progress in addressing this never-ending conflict between Israel and Hamas – there have been five wars in the last 15 years – we need to understand the current political realities in the region. If peace is ever to come to the Middle East, and if the Palestinian people are going to be able to enjoy lives of security and dignity, we will also need a vision of where we go from here.

And one thing is clear. There cannot be a return to the status quo that existed in Gaza before the war. Let us never forget that the living conditions there were horrific and inhumane. Before this present war began, nearly 80% of people in Gaza lived in poverty, and two-thirds were reliant on humanitarian assistance. Almost half the population, and 70% of young people, were unemployed. Electricity was intermittent, with 11- to 12-hour blackouts every day. Water and sanitation systems were inadequate, and there were constant shortages of all sorts of essential goods. Gaza was mostly cut off from the world, with Israel and Egypt severely limiting the number of people and the types of goods that could go in or out. In fact, many observers described Gaza as “an open-air prison”. That was the situation before October 7, and if we are serious about bringing freedom and dignity to the Palestinian people, that is the situation that cannot be returned to. The Palestinian people are entitled to much more than that.

In Gaza, Hamas, an authoritarian terrorist organization, has ruled by force, stockpiling arms and war material, taxing the desperately poor population and stealing resources to build tunnels and rockets. Hamas was elected with a minority vote in 2006 – when most of the people alive in Gaza today were not even born or were children and could not vote. Hamas has not allowed for elections since. Several months before the war, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza courageously took to the streets to protest Hamas rule before they were dispersed by force. Further, there should be no mistaking the reality that Hamas is single-mindedly devoted to destroying the state of Israel and killing Jews. They also advance a fundamentalist ideology which treats women as second-class citizens and threatens to kill people who are gay. Hamas is an authoritarian nightmare, repressing dissent and stealing from Gazans not just the basic materials of life they need, but the dream of a better future.

That was the situation in Gaza before October 7.

And what was the political situation in Israel before Hamas’s terrorist attack? That country had the most rightwing government in its history, a cabinet that included outright racist ministers who consistently dehumanized the Palestinian population. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, has been under indictment for a litany of corruption charges, and many believe Israel’s intelligence failures on October 7 had much to do with his government’s preoccupation with his political problems.

Before the war, this rightwing governing coalition had systematically undermined the prospects of peace. Netanyahu and his extremist partners had worked to marginalize Palestinian voices committed to peace, pursued settlement policies designed to foreclose the possibility of a two-state solution, stymied economic development in Palestinian areas, and passed laws that entrench systemic inequality between the Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.

This year saw record Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank, where more than 700,000 Israelis now live in areas the UN and US agree are occupied territories. Despite that, the Israeli government authorized thousands of new homes for settlers and opened up new areas to construction, while bulldozing thousands of Palestinian homes and schools and further restricting Palestinian movement. Legal experts agree these policies constituted illegal annexation.

These policies also greatly increased tension and violence in the West Bank. Before October 7, 179 Palestinians had been killed in 2023, which made it the deadliest year in two decades. Since October 7, 121 more Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including some by settlers. These tensions were part of why so much of the IDF was deployed in the West Bank, rather than the border with Gaza.

Then came the October 7 Hamas atrocities that began this latest war.

The Hamas attack was unspeakable. Over 1,300 innocent men, women and children killed. About 240 Israelis and Americans taken hostage, including young children and grandparents. Hundreds of Israeli youth were gunned down in cold blood at a music festival, babies and older people were brutally murdered in their homes. And let’s remember that Hamas did not primarily target the military. They intentionally targeted innocent civilians. Their attack was designed to provoke a response. In that they succeeded.

The people of Israel were horrified and outraged by this attack. Understandably, many wanted to strike back forcefully. Rage and revenge, however, do not often make effective policy. The United States’s response to September 11, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, offer a cautionary tale that all countries should learn well. Overreaction too often makes a bad situation even worse. Killing innocent Palestinian women and children in Gaza will not bring back to life the innocent Israeli women and children who were killed by Hamas.

Like any other country, Israel has the right to defend itself and destroy the Hamas terrorists who attacked them. But it does not have the right to kill thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza. It does not have the right to endanger the lives of millions of Palestinians – half of whom are children – by shutting off water, food, fuel and electricity. That type of action against a helpless and impoverished population is morally unacceptable and in violation of international law. Recently, Israel struck the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp and killed a Hamas commander. But they also killed some 50 other people and injured hundreds more. Alongside innocent Palestinian men, women and children, many aid workers are being killed. Up to this point, some 67 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) workers have been killed and 44 facilities damaged.

An immediate humanitarian response is vitally important, but it is equally important for Israel to have a political strategy. It cannot bomb its way to a long-term solution. Such a strategy must include, as minimum first steps: a clear promise that Palestinians displaced in the fighting will have the absolute right to safely return to their homes; a commitment to broader peace talks to advance a two-state solution in the wake of this war; an abandonment of Israeli efforts to carve up and annex the West Bank; and a commitment to work with the international community to build genuine Palestinian governing capacity.

The United States, which provides $3.8 billion a year in military aid to Israel, should make it clear that these are the conditions of our solidarity. Just as we want Israel to be a vibrant democracy, safe from terrorist attacks, we also want justice and dignity for the Palestinian people. That’s not going to happen with Hamas running the Gaza Strip. It is also not going to happen with continued Israeli domination of Palestinian life.

Palestinians need a state of their own, contiguous, with the freedom of movement and access that can sustain a vibrant economy. Palestinians need a democratic society in which they can elect their leadership and express their views.

This will be a long and difficult road. It will take concerted US and international support, and a doubling down of our political commitment to a two-state solution. We must begin this work with a new sense of urgency, the horrific disaster that has taken place in Israel and Gaza over the last three weeks has shown that the status quo cannot continue. For the sake of the Palestinian people, and for the people of Israel, we must create a process which ends the hatred, the cycle of violence, and allows all to live in peace and security.

Labor Wins The Big One - UAW

At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when real inflation accounted for wages for the average worker are lower today than they were 50 years ago, the UAW has won an extraordinary victory not only for their own members but for all of us. They took on a particularly ugly form of corporate greed in their industry, and they won. The lesson here is clear. When we stand together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

In a world where everything is connected to everything, it is often the struggles of the working class in one industry and community that ultimately determines the quality of wages, benefits, and the ability to retire with dignity in other seemingly unconnected industries and communities.

That is why the struggle of UAW workers standing up to corporate greed at the Big Three automakers is so important. 

Because the fight UAW workers have waged is not just about decent wages, working conditions, and pensions in the automobile industry, it is a fight against a corporate culture of arrogance, cruelty, and selfishness causing massive and unnecessary pain for the majority of working families throughout the country.

And I am pleased to tell you today — it is a fight they have won.

Just this morning, the UAW announced they have reached a tentative agreement with the third of the Big Three automakers — a historic victory that is not just a win for these autoworkers, but a victory that will resonate all across the economy, impact millions of workers from coast to coast, and help create a more just and equitable economy.

What these workers have won is historic, and all of us should take note. 

According to the UAW, their agreement with Ford is the most lucrative agreement per-member since Walter Reuther was president of the union decades ago.

Workers won a 25% wage increase over the life of the agreement, temporary workers will get raises of over 150%, there are increased retirement benefits, and they won the right to strike over future plant closures.

In other words, in addition to wage and benefit hikes, they sent a message to the Big Three that they can't keep closing plants and hurting our communities without consequences. 

I want to congratulate the UAW, its leadership, and especially its members for their historic tentative agreements with the Big Three. When workers fight back against corporate greed, they win.

In 1937, the UAW played a historic role in American history. The autoworkers of that time had the extraordinary courage to take on the greed and power of the auto industry and formed their union. Their successful sit-down strike in Flint, Michigan, ignited a grassroots movement across the country that helped create an American middle class which became the envy of the world.

Now in the year 2023 — 86 years later — the UAW, once again, is helping to lead the effort to rebuild and grow a middle class that has been beaten down by their corporate bosses for far too long.

Everyone, in every state in this country, owes them our thanks.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Sanders on the Continuing Violence in Israel and Gaza

 Sanders Statement on Continuing Violence in Israel and Gaza

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday issued the following statement on the continuing violence in Israel and Gaza following Hamas’ horrific attack on Saturday:

Hamas’ terrorist assault on Israel will have horrific short- and long-term consequences.

As a result of this attack, thousands of Israelis and Palestinians – including many women and children – have been killed and injured. That toll will rise. The gunning down of young Israelis at a music festival is an image the world will not soon forget.

Longer term, this attack is a major setback for any hope of peace and reconciliation in the region – and justice for the Palestinian people. For years, people of good will throughout the world, including some brave Israelis, have struggled against the blockade of Gaza, the daily humiliations of occupation in the West Bank, and the horrendous living conditions faced by so many Palestinians. For many, it is no secret that Gaza has been an open-air prison, with millions of people struggling to secure basic necessities. Hamas’ terrorism will make it much more difficult to address that tragic reality and will embolden extremists on both sides, continuing the cycle of violence.

Right now, the international community must focus on reducing humanitarian suffering and protecting innocent people on both sides of this conflict. The targeting of civilians is a war crime, no matter who does it. Israel’s blanket denial of food, water, and other necessities to Gaza is a serious violation of international law and will do nothing but harm innocent civilians. The United States has rightly offered solidarity and support to Israel in responding to Hamas’ attack. But we must also insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza and work to secure UN humanitarian access. Let us not forget that half of the two million people in Gaza are children. Children and innocent people do not deserve to be punished for the acts of Hamas.