Concerned Families of Westchester Newsletter
February 14, 2021
Hello All – With the (not surprising) failure of the impeachment trial to convict former president Trump, we can resume our work of trying to push a progressive agenda in Congress, in Albany, and in the streets. Yet in the aftermath of the impeachment trial we are more aware than we might have been that we are faced with a large and armed rightwing movement that is attempting to take over the Republican Party. And so far they are succeeding; and in the days following the impeachment trial it is evident that Trump supporters will seek to punish and drive out of politics those Republicans who are not loyal to Trump. This civil war among Republicans will be part of the political terrain for many months – perhaps years – and will inevitably shape the prospects of success for progressives and their causes.
The work of analyzing our situation should not be minimized. Some would frame the Trump movement as "fascist" or "neo-fascist." Another framing would be "authoritarian." But choosing a label is less important clarifying who are Trump's followers and why they follow (indeed, obey) him. Is it sufficient to say that they are racists, driven by their belief that white supremacy is in jeopardy, under attack? Why do so many believe that Trump won the election, or follow the QAnon movement? If we focus on the role of the rightwing media, we also have to ask what is it about these media and their messages that are so attractive to so many people.
On the basis of the evidence so far available, it seems like only a small fraction of the Trump following might be lured by a social democratic program like that advanced by Bernie Sanders. For the rest, they are out of reach in a world of echo chambers and conspiracies. Yet there is no reason to think that the 30+ million hard-core Trump supporters will be incapable of capturing many state Republican parties and perhaps a majority of Republican seats in Congress, and developing social movements that will compete with our own progressive social movements. Here are a few good/useful readings put out this week that can be part of our analysis.
How to Understand the Rage Economy
By Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept [
---- The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 underlined a disturbing phenomenon that has become undeniable at this point: the fragmentation of the American public into a multitude of angry factions, radicalized in different ways online and holding completely different baseline perceptions of reality. The problem of deliberate misinformation undermining democracy has received lots of attention, but in many ways, the power of fantastic lies to grab people's allegiance is also a byproduct of a deeper problem: extreme polarization driven by news media monetizing anger in order to survive. [Read More]
Why Conspiracy Theories Are So Alluring
By Richard A. Friedman, New York Review of Books [February 12, 2021]
---- In the face of complicated events, bewildering new technologies, and sometimes contradictory information, the explanatory power of some occult yet totalizing narrative easily overmasters more prosaic explanations of the world. …And still others, such as the belief that climate change caused by human activity is a hoax, to which 13 percent of US respondents subscribe, threaten the very planet. But there is nothing new, or uniquely American, about conspiracy theories. They have been so widespread throughout history and across different cultures that it invites the question: What makes humans so vulnerable to these often outlandish explanations of everyday experience? [Read More]
Donald Trump's Impeachment Legacy: Violent Extremism
---- Robert Pape, a specialist in political violence at the University of Chicago, analyzed the backgrounds and statements of nearly 200 Capitol attackers. His analysis found that most were middle-aged and middle class or wealthier. Many had good jobs. Nearly all — 89 percent — had no apparent affiliation with any known militant organization… There is some indication that such violent acts have support among some Americans, particularly within the Republican Party. [Read More]
How Digital Fascism Works
By Thomas Klikauer and Norman Simms, ZNet [February 12, 2021]
---- Perhaps one of the most stunning victories of digital fascism – and this is quite unlike classical fascism – lies in the fact that its sympathisers and supporters use online platforms to manipulate themselves by posting right-wing conspiracy fantasies and disinformation. Digital fascism is no longer a top-down organisation with a Führer on the top and serried ranks of followers on the bottom, but a flattened one-dimensional affair consisting of a patchwork of different right-wing ideologies. Digital fascism no longer has any use for people like Joseph Goebbels and it certainly does not need a Ministry of Propaganda. There is no central organisation, no élite surrounding the Führer, no party machine, and no militia camp for war games. … Undetected, the radical right brigade of digital fascism circumvents the legitimate institutions of an open society, such as online platforms, in order to destroy liberal society. [Read More]
News Notes
The last newsletter linked an insightful article by Harsha Walia in The Intercept called "Confronting the Long Arc of US Border Policy." The article is based on her new book, Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism. Last week Harsha participated in a imo fascinating webinar, along with historian Robin D. G. Kelley, discussing her ideas. It's about an hour; check it out here..
Is the Truth out there? According to a Harvard astrophysicist, an alien space probe is traveling through our solar system. It has been dubbed Oumuamua, a Hawaiian word meaning "scout." While many scientists dispute the claim that the object is other than space junk, the argument for "intelligence" behind this object are pretty interesting. Check out a user-friendly article here.
"Racial capitalism" is being used by many people to describe the economic system that we live in. The late Cedric Robinson, in his several books, is credited with giving the term a persuasive analysis. And so on Monday at 7 pm the Westchester chapter of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) and the Lower Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America will join to discuss "racial capitalism" and DSA's "Tax the Rich" campaign. This looks pretty interesting, and you can join the discussion via Zoom.
CFOW Nuts & Bolts
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. Taking the Covid Crisis into account, we meet (with safe distancing) for a protest/rally on Saturday in Hastings, at 12 noon at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) Another vigil takes place on the first Monday of the month (March 1st, etc.), from 5 to 5:30 pm, in Yonkers at the intersection of Warburton Ave. and Odell. In this time of coronavirus, we are meeting by Zoom conference; if you would like to join one of our Zoom meetings, Tuesday and Thursday at noon and/or Saturday at 4 pm, please send a return email. Our weekly newsletter is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com/; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook page. If you would like to support our work by making a contribution, please send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks!
Rewards!
As today is Valentine's Day, stalwart readers might want to take a break and watch the most romantic film ever, "In the Mood for Love" (Hong Kong), from the great director Wong Kar-wai. For a preview, check out some of the film's soundtrack. Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
FEATURED ESSAYS
Evolution Doesn't Give a Damn About Us, or the USA [Stopping Covid-19]
By Gregg Gonsalves, The Nation [February 11, 2021]
---- In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species. At the end of the book, there is this wonderful passage about the power of natural selection. Darwin writes: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." The fact that you are reading this now is a product of billions of years of evolution, no small miracle in and of itself. … What we are now seeing with SARSCoV2's variants emerging around the world is evolution in action. Although SARC0V2 has a proof-reading enzyme—which slows the accumulation of mutations compared to other viruses (e.g., HIV)—over the past year, we've seen the virus adapt to its surroundings. All SARSC0V2 wants to do is to find a home, a host, and share the same place with us to reproduce. [Read More]
Amid the Wildfires: Mike Davis's forecast for the left.
By Micah Uetricht, The Nation [February 9, 2021]
---- Davis is a scholar who digs deep into the historical archives and weaves his findings together in astonishingly original and compelling syntheses. But one of his strengths has been his ability to anticipate the future: Many of his books are monograph-length warnings of nightmares yet to come. Even his works of history are implicit or explicit arguments for public action against ongoing or impending disasters.. … But even as he retains all of his signature uncertainty, he has also found a new sense of hope. Old Gods, New Enigmas and Set the Night On Fire mark a clear departure from his nearly four decades as the bearer of extremely bad news. One cause for this change may be that Davis has been joined by a new generation of radicals. Since the financial crash, socialism has been reborn in the United States. [Read More]
The complex politics, geopolitics of the Myanmar coup [The US and China]
February 11, 2021]
---- On February 1, Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, invoked Article 417 of the 2008 constitution, dismissed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and arrested her and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. … Within Myanmar, protests against the coup continue. Tens of thousands of people, many wearing red (the color of the NLD), have taken to the streets across the country, not only in the more congested cities but also in the countryside, to protest the coup. … Washington's attempt to push China out of Myanmar had no bearing on the February 1 coup; both the military and NLD are committed to the strategic link with China. But it does not help that this "new cold war" has deepened the instability that has marked Myanmar's history since 1962. The people are on the streets now in the midst of what they are calling a "drum revolution." With each passing day, more and more people are joining the call for a return to civilian rule, even if this means going back to the status quo, with the military pulling the strings in the background. [Read More]
WAR & PEACE
Will the Nuclear Powers Ever Be Willing to Forgo Their Nuclear Weapons?
By Lawrence Wittner, ZNet [February 13, 2021]
---- Two related events—the 75th anniversary of the January 24, 1946 UN General Assembly Resolution 1 (which established a commission to plan for the abolition of nuclear weapons) and the January 22, 2021 entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (designed to finally implement that goal)—should be a cause for worldwide celebration. In fact, however, they are a cause for shame. The nine nuclear powers have refused to sign the treaty and, instead, today continue to engage in a nuclear arms race and to threaten nuclear war—a war capable of destroying virtually all life on earth. This reckless pattern characterized the nuclear arms race that emerged out of World War II and continued for decades. … The prospects for changes in nuclear policy seem particularly promising in the Biden administration. As a long-time supporter of nuclear arms control and disarmament agreements—as well as a sharp critic of the Trump administration's nuclear policies during the 2020 presidential campaign—the new U.S. president will probably advance measures dealing with nuclear issues that differ significantly from those of his predecessor. Although his ability to secure U.S. ratification of new treaties will be severely limited by Senate Republicans, he can (and there are indications that he probably will) use executive action to re-sign the Open Skies Treaty, block the U.S. production and deployment of particularly destabilizing nuclear weapons, and reduce the budget for nuclear "modernization." He might even declare a no first use policy and unilaterally reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal. [Read More]
Into the weeds with nuclear weapons – "Why is America getting a new $100 billion nuclear weapon?" by Elisabeth Eaves, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [February 8, 2021] [Link]; and "Air Force prepares for budget battle over nuclear weapons" by Bryan Bender, Politico [February 11, 2021] [Link].
Biden's Half Measures to End the War in Yemen are Not Enough
---- January 25, 2021 was a Global Day of Action that saw thousands marching across the world demanding an end to the war in Yemen by halting arms deals with Saudi Arabia.
Ten days later in a major speech on foreign policy, President Biden announced the United States will be playing a more active and engaged role to bring an end to this conflict through diplomacy. President Biden committed the US to the following:
1. Support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels, and restore long-dormant peace talks.
2. Appoint a special envoy to the Yemen conflict.
3. End all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.
While these steps have the potential for ending the war in Yemen, a lot is missing in the President's announcement. The US is not just an outside observer of the war. Huge profits that the US military-industrial complex has reaped from this war have made the US an active participant in it. Moreover, President Biden made no mention of withdrawing US military forces from Yemen. [Read More]
Deeper into the war in Yemen - "Ending the Other War in Yemen" by Brian Terrell, ZNet [February 11, 2021] [Link]; "The Suffering Underclass of War-Torn Yemen" by Nicolas Niarchos, The Nation [February 10, 2021] [Link]; "Yemen: UN expects over two million children to go hungry or starve in 2021," from Middle East Eye [February 12, 2021] [Link]; and "Yemen conflict: Will Biden's approach finally end the war?" by Ali Harb and Umar A Farooq, Middle East Eye [February 2021] [Link].
THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Will the Biden Plan Prevent Climate Catastrophe?
By Patrick Bond, The Analysis [February 12, 2021]
---- The Guardian headline said, "Dizzying pace of Biden's climate action sounds death knell for era of denialism." The Sunrise movement statement said they, quote "celebrated major climate victories as President Joe Biden announced monumental climate executive actions to begin a society-wide mobilization to stop climate change, create millions of good jobs, and roll back centuries of systemic racism." … With a more skeptical take, the Indigenous Environmental Network says, quote, "We stand by our principles that such justice on these stolen lands cannot be achieved through market-based solutions, unproven technologies, and approaches that do not cut emissions at source. Climate justice is going beyond the status quo and truly confronting systemic inequalities and colonialism within our society." The plan Biden announced is certainly a radical departure from four years of climate denial. But does it go far enough and fast enough to be effective in preventing warming from reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures? [Read More]
$1 Trillion in Oil and Gas Pipelines Worldwide Could Become Stranded Assets, New Report Warns
By Sharon Kelly, DeSmogBlog [February 4, 2021]
---- Financial observers have been watching the Dakota Access pipeline [DAPL] closely — and a new report warns that DAPL is hardly alone in the oil and gas pipeline industry in facing major financial risks linked to projects' environmental impacts. … But as consequential as the DAPL fight — which has raged for roughly a half-decade — might be, Dakota Access is just one of hundreds of pipelines worldwide that a new report finds are at risk of early abandonment because they're "on a collision course" with climate agreements. The report, titled "Pipeline Bubble 2021" and published by the climate data nonprofit Global Energy Monitor, warns that pipeline construction projects worldwide have put $1 trillion worth of pipeline investment at risk of being rendered obsolete by the energy transition away from fossil fuels. [Read More].
CIVIL LIBERTIES
Department of Justice says 'we are continuing our efforts to seek the extradition of Julian Assange'
By Andrew Buncombe, The Independent [UK] [February 9, 2021]
---- Media freedom groups and supporters of Julian Assange have asked the Biden administration to drop the US's pursuit of the WikiLeaks' founder, saying Donald Trump was opposed to the idea of a "free press". In their first appeal to the US government since Joe Biden became president less than three weeks ago, more than 20 groups working to promote human right and a free media, wrote to the department of justice, asking it to drop the case against Mr Assange, saying they were fearful "the way that a precedent created by prosecuting Assange could be leveraged". "The indictment of Mr Assange threatens press freedom because much of the conduct described in the indictment is conduct that journalists engage in routinely — and that they must engage in in order to do the work the public needs them to do," said the letter, signed by groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. [Read More]. Also useful is "The Biden Administration's Continued Push for Julian Assange's Extradition Is Bad News for Journalism" by James Risen, The Intercept [[Link].
THE STATE OF THE UNION
The "For the People Act" Would Make the U.S. a Democracy
By Jon Schwarz, The Intercept [
---- Since the 117th Congress was convened on January 3, over 2,000 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate. But the very first legislation proposed by the Democratic Party majorities in both chambers — making it both H.R.1 and S.1 — is the "For the People Act" of 2021. This is appropriate, because the For the People Act is plausibly the most important legislation considered by Congress in decades. It would change the basic structure of U.S. politics, making it far more small-d democratic. The bill makes illegal essentially all of the anti-enfranchisement tactics perfected by the right over the past decades. It then creates a new infrastructure to permanently bolster the influence of regular people. The bill's provisions largely fall into three categories: First, it makes it far easier to vote, both by eliminating barriers and enhancing basic outreach to citizens. Second, it makes everyone's vote count more equally, especially by reducing gerrymandering. Third, it hugely amplifies the power of small political donors, allowing them to match and possibly swamp the power of big money. [Read More]
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Ending progressives' Palestinian exception
ByFebruary 11, 2021]
[FB – This is a review of Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics, by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick.]
---- 2020 marked another year of righteous indignation for progressives in the Democratic Party. Justly outraged by the horrific death toll and economic devastation of COVID-19, the ongoing pervasiveness of white supremacist violence, and the Trump administration's deliberate failures with respect to all of the above, progressives had many reasons to be angry. Palestine, however, was not one of them, at least not according to mainstream progressive rhetoric. It is this contradiction that lies at the heart of Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. Delving into the phenomenon long-named in leftist circles as "Progressive Except for Palestine", Hill and Plitnick meticulously deconstruct progressives' neglect of the Palestinian cause. They explain the ways in which the singular exception of Palestine from demands for equal rights betrays not only Palestinians but the progressive movement itself. …Their argument is not that progressives should privilege Palestinian rights over those of Israelis, but rather that progressives' indifference toward Palestinian rights constitutes a profound departure from progressive values. Hill and Plitnick thus make a compelling case for the moral imperative of progressives to "fight for [Palestinians] on their own terms." [Read More]
OUR HISTORY
Malcolm's Ministry
By Brandon M. Terry, New York Review of Books [February 25, 2021 issue]
---- At the end of his remarkable, improbable life, Malcolm X was on the cusp of a reinvention that might have been even more significant than his conversion in prison from criminal predation to religious piety. Although he rose to prominence preaching the bleak, racialist metaphysics of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam (NOI), which depicted whites as "devils by nature," in March 1964 Malcolm defected from the Nation and converted to Sunni Islam. Charging Muhammad with the sexual exploitation of his teenage secretaries, and the NOI with corruption, criminality, and idolatry, Malcolm pushed a dangerous feud toward its deadly conclusion. … Malcolm's significance for Black dignity and self-respect is the driving force of a major new biography, The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne, an investigative journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work on the global heroin trade. The book, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction, is the result of a thirty-year labor of love and was heroically completed by Payne's daughter, Tamara, after his death in 2018. In Payne's rendering, the most fundamental impact of oppression is how it inculcates a sense of inferiority and "self-loathing" in its victims. This view, which the historian Daryl Michael Scott has disparaged as "damage imagery," is the cornerstone of Payne's analysis of the American race problem. [Read More]
