This was originally posted on the J20action list. ------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 16:36:27 -0500 From: "Naomi Cohen Goldstein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: J20, Peltier, and Beyond I'm glad that in the midst of celebrating the wonderful outpouring of protest against Bush on Jan.20, many activists have noted with bitterness and anger the continued incarceration of our Native leader, Leonard Peltier. After more than a quarter century in U.S. dungeons, Leonard is still a political prisoner, as is Mumia Abu-Jamal, and so many others. This should be a lesson to those who still put their faith in the Democratic Party and the racist, oppressive, corporate-owned leaders it holds out for us--like Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Even as we protest the right-wing Bush administration that took office this weekend, and even as we fight the reactionary and hateful appointments like that of John Ashcroft to the Department of Justice, we cannot forget that under the Clinton-Gore administration the Effective Death Penalty Act was passed, speeding up the process of executions and denying death row prisoners habeas corpus rights of appeal. This is one of the reasons why Mumia Abu-Jamal is still on death row after over 18 years. We cannot forget that while Clinton-Gore pretended to be advocates of women's rights, they sponsored the end of welfare payments to millions of poor women and children, and forced on them the so-called Workfare system of semi-slavery. They and their Justice Department, headed by Janet Reno, did nothing to safeguard women's clinics from continued bombings and terrorist attacks and did not stop the assassinations of many of our doctors and healthcare workers who were brave enough to continue to provide abortion services to women who needed them. We cannot forget that after promising to champion gay/lesbian rights, Clinton supported the "don't ask, don't tell" policy which has only deepened the oppression of gay, lesbian, bi and trans people in the U.S. military. He also opposed legislation to help gay and lesbian couples gain many of the rights accorded to married couples. Under his watch, hate crimes like the murder of Matthew Shepherd increased. Even as we protest against the militarization of the government under Bush, we cannot forget that the Clinton-Gore administration continued the murderous sanctions against Iraq, which have killed over 1 million people in that country, due to lack of food and medicine. They have continued, too, the criminal blockade of Cuba, and have laid the basis for a major war against a genuine liberation movement in Colombia, calling the people fighting for freedom from U.S.-imposed puppets, "narco-terrorists." Our movement will never get anywhere if we tie our fate and our struggles to the likes of Clinton-Gore. Even as the corrupt political machine in Florida disenfranchised tens of thousands of African-American voters, Gore didn't have the guts or the will to address the real issue of racism in the voting process--not even to win the White House. And when the Congressional Black Caucus got up in Congress to protest the certification of the Florida electors, NOT ONE Democratic Senator (there are no African-American senators, 140 years after the Civil War) had the guts or the will to stand with them and give them the right to speak. With friends like these, who needs enemies? Our movement will only grow strong in the struggle against the corporate-owned politicians who dominate BOTH the Republican and Democratic Parties. We can't rely on them to free Leonard Peltier, or Mumia Abu-Jamal. Only the people will do that. Let's organize an independent, anti-capitalist movement for social justice at home and against U.S. militarism abroad. Naomi C. International Action Center _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
