ID: Constitution Party Protests Hindu Statue

From Boise Weekly:

Travel to Idaho's panhandle this weekend and you might pass a unique statue at the corner Sherman Avenue and Sixth Street in Coeur d'Alene. It's part of the city's ArtCurrents, a new art-on-loan program. The six-foot-tall statue is of the Hindu god Ganesha, with four arms and an elephant's head. But the Kootenai County Constitution Party is not happy, saying, "Christians of Kootenai County should be dismayed at the appearance of a Hindu demon." An official with the national office of the Constitution Party had no knowledge of the protest . . .

FL: Libertarian Party Chair Protests Real ID Act

From the Libertarian Party of Florida:

Libertarian Party of Florida Chairman Adrian Wyllie will surrender his driver’s license in protest of Florida’s implementation of the Real ID Act at noon on Tuesday, May 17 at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles office at 29399 Hwy 19 North in Clearwater (map). He has invited the public to witness the protest, and urges others to do the same.

Under the Real ID Act, state law requires that all applicants for a driver’s license or identification card submit an array of personal information, including an original birth certificate, social security card, marriage license(s), utility bills, and other documents. These documents are then scanned into an interstate database managed by the Department of Homeland security . . .

NY: Greens Join Occupation of State Capitol

From the Green Party:

Howie Hawkins, the recent Green Party candidate for Governor, applauded effort by a wide range of community and labor groups to occupy the State Capitol to protest the austerity budget agreed to by Governor Cuomo and state legislative leaders. Hawkins was in Albany to join in the protests.

"Wisconsin showed us that working people don't have to roll over and just take the attacks on their living standards from the two major parties. In Wisconsin, the Republican Governor led the attacks. In NY, it has been a Democrat Governor, who began attacking public workers and their modest pensions months before he was elected. It's time for New Yorkers to reject the misinformation peddled by the two major parties. Three decades on unrelenting bipartisan assault on the living standards of average New Yorkers have resulted in the worst Depression in 70 plus years, the greatest income inequality since 1927 and a massive budget deficit from huge tax cuts to the rich. The people of NY needs to rise up and say that this austerity budget will not stand," said Hawkins.

The wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers now get 35% of the state's income, up from 10% in 1980.

Hawkins said that while he supported continuing the so-called millionaires tax rather than giving the wealthy a $5 billion tax cut by ending it, far more fundamental reform of the state tax system was needed to make the wealthy provide their fair share, invest in needed programs, and provide fiscal relief to school districts and local governments. . . .

Strikes in Egypt: Egypt's Long Labor History

A number of independent trade unions in Egypt have launched strikes in solidarity with the nation's protest movement.  The Socialist Webzine provides a look at "Egypt's long labor history":

THE EGYPTIAN WORKING class is one of the oldest in the region, with a long history of internationalist solidarity. Egyptian loading and longshoremen workers in 1947, for example, boycotted the Dutch ship in Canal Suez in solidarity with the Indonesian people’s independence struggle. The union of the workers issued a statement against colonialism in general. They did not allow the ship to service or go through the Canal despite the resistance and efforts made by English and French administrators.  The early 20th century began with a wave of strikes, partly in reaction to discriminatory policies adopted by British colonial administrators who favored European over Egyptian workers . . . 

US Green Party Declares Support for Pro-Democracy Protest Movement

From the Green Party:

Green Party leaders in the US announced the party's support and encouragement for nonviolent protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, and other nations in the region who have taken to the streets in demand for an end to corrupt and oppressive regimes.

"The Green Party of the United States supports democracy, here and throughout the world. We hope that the protesters in Egypt succeed in deposing President Mubarak, and we're thrilled to see so many young people stand up against dictators. The best outcome would be for Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to improve economic conditions for their populations and embrace democracy, equal rights and protections for women and for ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities, and freedom of the press. We condemn the brutal responses to the protests, including police violence and the shutdown of the Internet," said Dr. Anthony Gronowicz, 2010 Green candidate for Congress in New York's 7th District and a member of the party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).

Greens noted that the threatened regimes, especially Egyptian President Mubarak's administration, were propped up by the US for the purpose of serving US interests such as access to oil and other resources, the maintenance of military bases on foreign soil, and unequivocal support for Israel's brutal occupation and apartheid system. . . .

An Open Letter from the Left to the Liberal Democratic Establishment

From Protest Obama,"An Open Letter to the Left Establishment," calling for organized opposition to the Obama administration.  Via Green Party Watch:

This letter is a call for active support of protest to Michael Moore, Norman Solomon, Katrina van den Heuvel, Michael Eric Dyson, Barbara Ehrenreich, Thomas Frank, Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jesse Jackson Jr., and other high profile progressive supporters of the Obama electoral campaign.

With the Obama administration beginning its third year, it is by now painfully obvious that the predictions of even the most sober Obama supporters were overly optimistic. Rather than an ally, the administration has shown itself to be an implacable enemy of reform.
It has advanced repeated assaults on the New Deal safety net (including the previously sacrosanct Social Security trust fund), jettisoned any hope for substantive health care reform, attacked civil rights and environmental protections, and expanded a massive bailout further enriching an already bloated financial services and insurance industry. It has continued the occupation of Iraq and expanded the war in Afghanistan as well as our government’s covert and overt wars in South Asia and around the globe.

Along the way, the Obama administration, which referred to its left detractors as “f***ing retarded” individuals that required “drug testing,” stepped up the prosecution of federal war crime whistleblowers, and unleashed the FBI on those protesting the escalation of an insane war.

NYC: Greens Lead Protest of Deal on Schools Chancellor

From the Huffington Post:

Now that the waiver has been granted that will allow Cathie Black to be Chancellor of New York City schools, there is a vacancy at the Hearst Corporation for a chairperson of the publishing giant. A group of teachers, retired teachers, and parents affiliated with the New York State Green Party thought it would be a good idea to apply. They did not think their lack of qualifications would be a drawback since the business community had rallied to support Clueless Cathie's appointment as school head. The five Green Party members staged combined protest with theater at the Hearst headquarters in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday November 30.

NYC: Reverend Billy Leads Buy Nothing Day Parade of Angels

Social activists Reverend Billy is a former Green Party candidate for mayor of NYC.  Today, he is leading a "parade of angels" in support of Buy Nothing Day:

REVEREND BILLY’S BUY NOTHING DAY ANGEL PARADE
Join The Life After Shopping Singers, Preachers and Angels!
Friday, November 26, 3 – 4 PM
Start from Columbus Circle East, near the angel statue
All trains to 59th Street

Along our parade route bank branches are everywhere: Chase, Citi, B of A, HSBC, Barclay’s, Amalgamated, TD, UBS, and Chase again. A pack of Demons! The marketing techniques of retail banking resembles any corporate consumer campaign, the same smiling actors with their promises of happiness, power, youth… The big banks also move hundreds of millions to super malls and chains, overwhelming neighborhood and community shops. Some of the banks, UBS especially – finance such earth-abusive activities as “Mountaintop Removal.”

Anarchists Shut Down Neo-Nazi Rally in Des Moines, Iowa

From Info Shop News:

More than sixty anarchists, antifascists, catholic workers, communists, and everyday people from Iowa City, IA; Des Moines, IA; Omaha, Nebraska; and elsewhere converged in Des Moines on Saturday, November 20 to protest a scheduled ¨White Pride Day¨ rally organized by the American National Socialist Party based in Chillicothe, Ohio. Although a few suspected white nationalists were seen driving around the perimeter of the Iowa state capitol, where the fascist rally was supposed to be held, none apparently had the guts to get out of their cars and risk a confrontation with the large mob of antifascists.

You can see the announcement and poster for the Nazi rally here.  As of this writing, I have yet to find any reports on this rally and counter-protest in the mainstream and corporate media. 

NJ: Libertarian Party Plans Airport Protest on Opt-Out Day

From the NJ Libertarian Party:

The NJ Libertarian Party is joining We Won't Fly by organizing the National Opt Out Day demonstration at Newark Airport. On Wednesday, November 24th we urge all travelers who are "selected" to undergo the intrusive full body scanning to Opt Out. Instead they will be forced to participate in the more time consuming and humiliating enhanced "pat downs". The pat downs include moving hands up legs until contact pressure is made with genitals.  We are meeting on November 24th at 6:00 PM at the bar of Chile's Too in terminal B. Demonstrations will start at 6:30.  Our goal is to raise awareness among travelers over this new TSA procedure.

Broad Political Opposition to Full Body Scanners: Greens, Libertarians, Constitution Party, Pirate Party United in Opposition

With opposition to the Transportation Security Administration's newest "security" measures growing by the day, it is worth noting that there is broad political opposition to the false choice between strip search and sexual assault.  Full body scanners are notably opposed by Ralph Nader and Matt Drudge, and opposition to the new procedures has received a significant boost from both Prison Planet and Reddit.  Third party and independent activists are also vocal opponents of the new devices as well as "enhanced pat-downs."  For instance:

• Constitution Party activists have long been opposed to full body scanners on the grounds of privacy and health risks, not to mention their constitutional qualms. 

• Libertarians are vocal opponents of "abusive TSA strip-search machines."

• The Pirate Party warned two months ago that local law enforcement and agents of the national security state have plans to roll these machines out from the airports and into our city streets. 

• At On the Wilder Side, Independent Green activist Kimberly Wilder has been leading the call for a passenger revolt against full body scanners since the new machines and measures were unveiled by DHS/TSA late last month. 

Over the last month, numerous citizens' groups have been founded in opposition to the newest outrage from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Agency.  Among them are Fed Up Flyers, We Won't Fly, and Opt Out Day, which are organizing a national day of resistance against invasive strip searches and state-sponsored sexual molestation on one of the most hectic travel days of the year: November 24th.

Socialists Report Back on One Nation March: La Botz Leads Socialist Contingent

From Billy Wharton at The Socialist Webzine:

Amid the hundreds of thousands of working people gathered in Washington, DC on Saturday for the much heralded “One Nation” march there was a small group looking for more than just turning the voting lever for a Democrat in November. The newly minted “Socialist Contingent” made its presence felt at this massive march as hundreds of eager supporters carried signs calling for jobs for all and an end to the wars. Call it a small step forward for a socialist movement usually racked by internal divisions.

The One Nation march was a joint project of the AFL-CIO and NAACP and aimed to counteract the recent Glenn Beck rally by acting as a left pressure bloc on the sagging Obama Presidency. Organizers presented a post-ideological description of the event that relies on the “hope” language long abandoned by Democratic Party candidates.

Yet, the newly formed “Socialist Contingent” offered a far more radical vision of what October 2nd could be about. They were FOX News’ nightmare brought to life - Socialists! Hundreds of them! Armed with a message that we may be living in a country with two nations - the rich and the working people - instead of one.

The Contingent grew out of the insurgent Ohio Senate campaign of veteran labor activist Dan LaBotz. LaBotz accepted the challenge of becoming the Socialist Party USA candidate in that region and has converted his quest into a broader left campaign. Radical activists of different stripes have supported him and, in the process, gotten to know one another through engaging in grassroots struggle.

Socialist Contingent Will Join Oct 2nd March and Rally in Opposition to the Two-Party State

A press release from Dan Labotz, Socialist Party candidate for Senate in Ohio:

Dan La Botz, the Socialist Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, will join hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C. on October 2 in a rally for jobs, peace, and justice. The Cincinnati school teacher, however, will be marching to the rally with a Socialist Contingent sparked by his campaign and endorsed by other socialist organizations as well as prominent activists and intellectuals throughout the country.

La Botz’s call for his Ohio supporters to join him in Washington sparked the Socialist Contingent subsequently joined by many other groups and prominent individuals from around the country. Among the endorsers of the Socialist Contingent is Cindy Sheehan . . .

The Socialist Contingent, says La Botz, will be carrying signs calling upon Congress to create “Good Jobs for All,” “Tax the Rich,” “Fight the Right,” and “End the Wars: Out Now.” And, unlike the organizers of the rally, says La Botz, he and the others in the Socialist Contingent won’t be calling on people to vote for the Democratic Party on November 2. “The Democratic Party’s national, state and big-city leadership and its neoliberal policies have betrayed the Democratic Party rank and file,” said the longtime activist.

Green Party Endorses Oct. 2 Labor Rally

From the Green Party:

The Green Party of the United States has endorsed the One Nation Working Together march and rally in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 2 for "Jobs, Justice and Education" (http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/content/main).

Theresa El-Amin, national co-chair of the Green Party, will serve as the party's representative on the national steering committee of One Nation Working Together. The Green Party's liaison to the Peace Table will be George Martin, Wisconsin Green, member of the Green Party Black Caucus, and former national co-chair of United for Peace & Justice.

A Socialist Take on the 9/11 Protests

From Billy Wharton via the NYC Local of the Socialist Party:

Street politics arrived on September 11th this year. Every year since 2001, the focus of the day had been placed on the ceremonial commemoration of those killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. This year, dueling demonstrations for and against the construction of the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center turned Downtown Manhattan into a contested political zone. Only a massive police presence prevented the two demonstrations from clashing as passions ran high. It was as though nine years of pent up collective psychological repression had been unleashed in a few hours . . . The End of Consensus . . .

CA: Nazi Rally Disrupted by Counter-Protesters in LA

From Worker's World:

On April 17, the openly Nazi group NSM held a rally at Los Angeles City Hall. Many groups, including socialist, anti-war and anti-racist organizations, mobilized to challenge their so-called right to free speech that motivates violence, racism and genocide against non-European peoples and the LGBTQ community.

The anti-fascist demonstrators, numbering about 1,000, were also protesting the city government’s decision to allow the Nazis the use of public property and resources, especially the hundreds of police, who threatened protesters while serving as bodyguards for the Nazis as they tried to incite the largely Latino/a crowd by stepping on the Mexican flag.

Libertarian Favored by Tea Party Protesters

From Libertarian Republican:

The poll conducted by Politico (via Rightosphere), asked a myriad of questions to Tea Party rally attendees in Washington, DC April 15.  Of particular interest, those surveyed were asked to identify the one political party most closely aligned with the beliefs of the Tea Party. The Libertarian Party was way out ahead. The Republican Party did moderately well. The Democrat Party did poorly.

Green Party to Join Marches Against War, for Immigration Reform

From GPW:

Many Greens are planning to march against US wars in Washington DC on 3/20/10, but not all may be aware that a march for immigration reform is planned for the very next day in DC. Participants in Sunday’s March for America will be marching for “Immigration reform for new American families and economic justice for all American families”.

CA: Socialist Party to Join Demonstration in Support of Public Education

From Philly IMC, by Stewart Alexander:

During the month of December, the California Socialist Party USA endorsed the March 4^th national demonstrations to defend education; demonstrations will occur nationwide to protest escalating tuition fees, layoffs, cuts and attacks on education.   Stewart Alexander, the California SPUSA State Chair says, “March 4^th is a day of solidarity with students, teachers, parents, workers, unions and organizations to unite against the attacks on education.”  Alexander, a Candidate for California Governor, has spoken against the drastic tuition hikes that were recently approved by the University Of California Board Of Regents; the Regents approved a 32 percent increase in tuitions.

NY: SP-NYC to Join Demonstration in Support of Public Education

From the Socialist Party of New York City blog:

On Thursday we will participate in the National Day to Defend Education demonstration. This is an important demonstration because it will bring together students from throughout NYC, as well as public workers such as the Transit Workers' Union and United Federation of Teachers. In addition, this local action is connected to a series of demonstrations, take-overs, and action of civil disobedience throughout the country.