Phyllis Bennis wrote this:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/one-nation-uniting-for-jobs-not-war
Here is my response
Phyllis Bennis raises a most important point here yet she still fails to clearly see how the issue of unemployment and war are interconnected.
And, why must anyone walk a tight line fearing offending Barack Obama or any of these Dumb Donkeys?
The real shame came when Richard Trumka refused to address how Obama's wars kill jobs just like they kill people. It was Richard Trumka who should have posed the question from the speaker's podium to the American people:
How is Obama's war economy working for you?
Not only was the question of war and jobs not brought forward as they are connected; but, the issue of real health care reform and the very important issue of the need for a national public child care system was not even so much as mentioned.
In fact, Obama's wars and occupations are making us all poor and impoverishing our entire nation because spending our taxes and and wasting our resources on war and militarism is tantamount to dumping our resources into the ocean.
We need to unite the American people behind real calls for change.
Solving the urgent and pressing problems of working people is what creates real, long-lasting employment.
Instead of wasting money and resources on war and military bases all over the world protecting Wall Street's profits; what we need is a national public health care system with neighborhood clinics in every community providing the American people with free health care in the same way we have public schools. This would create around ten-million new, good-paying decent jobs.
Establishing a similar network of public and free child care centers would create many millions of jobs more.
We have a right to expect that the national president of the AFL-CIO advocates such a real progressive agenda for real change by serving notice on Barack Obama that come Election Day there will be no votes for him and these other Dumb Donkeys if they don't move in this direction.
I don't think Phyllis Bennis is right that it is because of workers in the war industries that Richard Trumka is refusing to bring forward these issues. I think this kind of thinking is a slap in the face to working people who would rather be manufacturing the requirements of a nation at peace solving the problems of the people.
I think Phyllis Bennis has taken a very cowardly stance in providing an excuse for this unconscionable behavior of Richard Trumka in first, not even stating his name as being one who did not raise the question of the need to end these dirty wars; but, Bennis then goes on to make this cowardly excuse for Trumka that insults working people when she knows full well that it is not because of workers in the defense industry Richard Trumka didn't broach this issue but because Trumka is wedded to the warmongering Democratic Party which is willing to sacrifice the needs of working people for health care and child care on the alter of Wall Street's quest for greater profits.
It is the "leadership" of the AFL-CIO which presents the problem not workers in the war industries who would be thrilled to have jobs manufacturing what is required to solve the problems of working people rather than implements of war.
William Winpisinger pointed out the fallacy of this well-heeled, upper-middle class mentality which blames workers instead of labor's mis-leadership for remaining tied to the war machine.
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
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