Part One:
“CLASS WAR” EPITHET? OR REAL DISPROPORTIONATE SUFFERING, BASED ON ONE’S CLASS?
We speak with Norm Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction and Director of The Institute of Public Accuracy, about his fabulous article entitled “Class War – Not The Media Hokey Pokey – Is What It’s All About.”
As Solomon writes: “A few months into 2020, capitalism is running amok in tandem with the coronavirus, like some headless horseman, galloping over dead bodies.”
Meanwhile the US news media, accustomed to covering far-away disasters – focused on the easy or sensational stories close to home – turns the page on deaths, increasingly presenting them as mere numbers. As Norm writes, sadly but accurately: “An anesthetizing pall of acceptance is descending on us. … Already we’re supposed to accept.”
News coverage has scant content. It tells us about “victims without victimizers,” suffering without causes, descriptions of chaos without mentioning who is supposed to be leading us through this crisis.
“Maybe you don’t want to call it class war. But whatever you call it, the system always makes a killing.”
Part Two:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES – IGNORED AGAIN.
We again welcome Bob Hennelly, who writes for the Chief Leader, a news service for public service workers in NYC and @stucknation. Across the country, thousands of essential workers have died from COVID-19 serving others. Many more will suffer the rest of their lives with disabling health complications.
Just as Congress passed the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, in recognition of how much our heroes suffered during the 9/11 disaster, likewise Congress should now enact the proposed Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act to support the essential workers and their families who make our protected existence possible while we are sheltering against COVID-19.
Instead, what are Republican “leaders” in DC doing? At this historic time, are they standing up to the despot-in-chief? Are they drawing a line in the sand between dictatorial injustice and the welfare of the American people? No, they are simply obsequious, profiles in non-courage.
What kind of leaders do we need in these times? Whom do we look to, in history, whom we can admire during crucial times like this/turning points in history. We need leaders who will answer the call, who will speak truth to power. People like the resistance in Denmark during World War II, like the righteous Schindlers hiding Jews at risk to themselves. Even if they lose in the short term, or even die, they are the ones whom history admires for doing the right thing.
E.g., JFK signed order allowing federal employees to bargain collectively. Public employee unions were formed, including AFGE, the largest union representing federal government workers. Except for Pres. Reagan who meanly destroyed PATCO (the air traffic controllers union), all presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, respected civil servants and bargained with them as they tried to improve their working conditions.
In contrast, Donald Trump went to war with the federal unions immediately after he was sworn in. He supported big corporations’ efforts to bust unions, and he demonized working people who tried to negotiate better wages and working conditions.
During the current pandemic, Trump ignored requests for PPEs for civil servants, such as TSA inspectors and other essential workers. In contrast to Great Britain which acted quickly to protect its union workers, Trump refused to agree until May 7. Even today, TSA refuses to provide tests for its workforce in order to protect their (and the public’s) health. Trump’s administrators at the Bureau of Prisons and at the VA made the same irresponsible decisions. We are not just looking at Trump’s past crimes. This is a crime in progress.
Meanwhile, who is holding the administration accountable on these public health issues. The media continues to ignore the role of the federal government as an employer, despite their significant numbers and their important work (e.g., meat inspectors).
