Well spoken Steve. If Reaganomics with trickledown economics is the celebration that Mr. Strom believes is so visionary...give me a Floyd B. Olson any day. Floyd B. Olson represents a strong historical past in Minnesota, it's people and the fight for the common labourer. (Don't forget the strikes with Woolworth in Duluth along with Minneapolis truckers strikes) Abolition of wage-slavery, protection of children, the right to gather and speak freely, the eight hour day, and unemployment insurance are just a few of the gains from this "failed path of Socialism." Defining Socialism is not a definition of the Socialist Party but I would gather that would be overlooked by the Taxpayers League. To see what was gained in the 20-30's and to see what is eroding in present day is alarming.
Anyone interested in history of IWW; www.lucyparsonsproject.org She was a black woman at the turn of the century who was a great writer, a better orator and very involved in achieving equality for the working class. Keep Olson Memorial Highway as named and keep the ketchup dribble/drivel away from it. Dorie Rae Gallagher Nokomis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Nelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> In his article about the petition drive by the Taxpayers League, Conrad Defiebre quotes the Taxpayers League president David Strom as saying, "It is finally time to put official celebration of socialism and communism firmly in the past," he said. "Floyd B. Olson represents the failed path of socialism. It is ridiculous that we still celebrate his vision while not properly honoring Reagan's visionary leadership that liberated so many." Liberated? Reagan's greatest achievement was in liberating corporations from any responsibility for their actions--other than making the most money as fast as possible. It was under his leadership that we began to hear about how government was bad and corporations were good. All our woes would be solved if we would just free up our corporations from silly regulations like the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts and stop taxing them so they could create jobs. Of course, we aren't supposed to remember how the corporations used these windfall profits to buy out their competition and shut down competing businesses. Or how they dumped all their workers who had livable wages and benefits and then turned to temp agencies to hire them back at low wages and no benefits. That was real liberating. And the art of the hostile takeover was perfected leaving many small towns and cities devastated when their major employers were taken over by corporations with no stake in the community and sold off to create boosts in the next quarters profits. Who was it that Reagan liberated? Corporations and the wealthiest individuals in our country who liberated from their fair share of our tax burden and from having to have any kind of social conscience at all. Let's not forget that the homeless man sleeping on the heating grate on a cold winter's night is there because he wants to be! And remember how school kids all over the country worshipped at Reagan's feet when they didn't have to eat those awful vegetables! All they had to do was put plenty of ketchup on those hamburgers because that was reclassified as a vegetable for school lunch programs. Oh, yes, this is a great man to name a road after in Minnesota. After all, what did Floyd B Olson do except introduce public unemployment insurance, old age pensions, a mortgage moratorium on farms, and a progressive income tax, which he managed to get passed in the middle of the depression by dedicating it solely to education for its first 20 years. He also helped to establish cooperative business enterprises because he believed some things belonged to the people and needed to be managed by the people. Of the people, by the people, for the people--what a terrible anti-liberation concept that must be for the Taxpayers League. Let's honor Reagan and our national slide into a government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations. That definitely deserves a monument so let's save it for our first privatized toll road and leave the Olson Memorial Highway alone. Steven M Nelson Willard Hay http://citizenshipchronicles.blogspot.com/ Get UP! Get OUT! & GET INVOLVED!!! REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
