JANUARY 2012, VOLUME 39, NO. 1 DONATION $1 San Diego police haul off Occupy San Diego protesters as they remove tents and structures from the Civic Center Plaza in San Diego. photo/ GreGory Bull, AssociAted press INSIDE: Breaking Corporate Grip 2 Detroit Under Seige 4 DEMOCRACY Ohio Repeals Anti-labor Law 4 Occupy Wall Street 6-7 UNDER ATTACK BY West Coast Port Shutdown 8 Santa Clara Immigration Victory 10 CORPORATE POWER Benton Harbor School District Takeover 12 Read Story on Page 3 An economic system that doesn’t feed, clothe and house its people must be and will be overturned and replaced with a system that meets the needs of the people. To that end, this paper is a tribune of those struggling to create such a new economic system. It is a vehicle to bring the movement to- gether, to create a vision of a better world and a strategy to achieve it. Labor-replacing electronic technol- ogy is permanently eliminating jobs and destroying the founda- tion of the capitalist system. The people’s needs can only be met by building a cooperative soci- ety where the socially necessary means of production are owned by society, not by the corporations. We welcome articles and artwork from those who are engaged in the struggle to build a new society that is of, by and for the people. We rely on readers and contributors to fund and distribute this paper. The People’s Tribune, formerly published by the League of Revolu- tionaries for a New America, is now an independent newspaper with an editorial board based in Chicago. PEOPLE’S TRIBUNE EDITORIAL POLICY: Articles that are unsigned, such as the cover story and editorials, reflect the views of the editorial Breaking the Corporate Hold on America board. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors, and may or may not reflect the views of the money handing tax cuts to the rich ideological and political bonds people and the corporations have editorial board. EDITORIAL and bailing out the banks and other that hold them to the capitalists. separate interests. corporations. The people are ask- By a margin of about three to one, If the conscious revolutionar- Deadlines for articles and art: The ing, where is our bailout? Americans feel the country is on ies play their role as teachers and deadline for articles, photographs The American people are Labor-replacing electronic the wrong track. Other polls show point the way forward, sooner or and other art is the first of each month for the issue that comes out beginning to fight the corporate technology (the computer and the that eight out of ten Americans later an independent party of the at the beginning of the following takeover of our country. And they robot) is eliminating jobs and wip- mistrust the government, and a workers will be formed that will month. For example, the deadline are getting fed up with just about ing out the economic foundation plurality call themselves political represent the interests of the work- for the June issue is May 1. Articles every professional politician and of the capitalist system. This is the independents. ers versus the corporations. At should be as short as possible, both “major” political parties. The root of the crisis, and the basis of In the near future, we will see each step in the process, we have and no longer than 600 words. We government and both parties are the dissatisfaction that is sweeping one or more new “third” parties to act with the understanding that reserve the right to edit articles to more and more exposed as instru- the country. Over half of voters arise as alternatives to the Demo- we are fighting for the political conform to space limitations. ments of the corporations and of say a third party is needed. crats and Republicans. However, power to build a new society. a capitalist class that doesn’t give What is most significant is that some of these parties will in real- Either we take over the corpo- People’s Tribune Editor: Bob Lee a damn about the people’s needs more and more Americans have ity be bankrolled by the wealthy rations and run them in the inter- Editorial Staff: Bob Brown, Brett and is unfit to run this country. no reason to be loyal to a capi- as efforts to maintain the ties be- est of society, or they take over so- Jelinek, Shamako Noble, Chuck Something new is developing in talist system that cannot feed or tween workers and capitalists and ciety and run it in their interest. If Parker, Nelson Peery, Sandra Reid America. house them. The economic bond mislead the people. Revolutionar- they win, we will be living in pov- Congress and the president that holds the capitalists and the ies should nonetheless see them erty under corporate fascism. We People’s Tribune, P.O. Box 3524 collaborate on a plan to cut tril- working class together is being as an indispensable step along the are not fighting for more scraps Chicago, Illinois, 60654 lions of dollars in federal spend- shattered by falling wages, ris- path toward freedom. Nothing can from the table. We are not fight- e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 773-486-3551 ing on programs that the people ing unemployment and spreading be accomplished without breaking ing to reform the corporations. We Toll Free: 800-691-6888 depend on. Similar cuts are taking poverty. This, combined with the the bonds that tie the workers to are fighting for a new world where Fax: 773-486-3552 place at the state and local level. government’s obvious willing- the capitalists through the Demo- we, the people, have the power to Web: www.peoplestribune.org At the same time, over the past ness to serve the corporations at cratic and Republican parties. say what will happen. The future decade the federal government has the expense of the people, is forc- A third party will help develop is up to us. Publisher: People’s Tribune spent trillions of dollars in public ing workers to begin breaking the people’s understanding that the ISSN# 1081-4787 Reach us at: Chicago 773-486-3551 Why Revolutionaries Need A Press Ann Arbor, MI [email protected] From the Editors Atlanta, GA [email protected] We are sometimes asked “Why do revolutionaries need a press?” The answer has to do with this moment in history. People Carbondale,IL are struggling just to get the basic necessities of life. Historical forces beyond anyone’s control have set the stage for a new [email protected] Detroit, MI society to be built, but from this point on, how things turn out depends on what people think. This means that those of us who 313-438-6115 are seeking fundamental change are engaged in a battle of ideas, a struggle to win the hearts and minds of the people. If we Houston, TX don’t raise the consciousness of the people and unite them around a vision of a better world and a strategy to achieve it, then P O Box 231281, Houston, TX 77223-1281 we’ll fail in our effort to build a just and free society. To win the battle of ideas, we need a press. Los Angeles, CA 310-548-6491 Oakland, CA Visit us on the web at www.peoplestribune.org [email protected] 2 PEOPLE’S TRIBUNE | JANUARY 2012 www.peoplestribune.org DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK BY CORPORATE POWER COVER STORY American democracy is under the most serious attack since the Civil War. This may seem a bold statement given the history of vio- lent, anti democratic forces in our country. There has also been the shameful role of all three branches of government in the unending as- sault against democracy. Throughout our history the popular democratic forces have always beaten back the forces of slavery, reaction and fascism. Precisely because we have al- ways preserved some element of democracy, there is a dangerous complacency toward the qualita- tively different, dangerous attack now launched by corporate power against the people. Historically, democracy has been an elusive and ill-defined concept. It has been the politi- cal cover for slavery, for disfran- chisement of minorities, for the exclusion of women. The concept of majority rule has been used to justify the most violent attacks against the minority. Recognizing the contradiction between abstract concepts of democracy and the re- ality of our social-economic order, politicians coyly refer to “our way of life.” We are taught about the demo- cratic splendor of ancient Greece and the glory of Rome without cArtoon/Andy willis mention that their “democracy” Occupy Wall Street protester arrested by NY police. We, the people, must utilize every aspect of stood on the blood-soaked backs of democracy left to defend ourselves and advance our cause. photo/PalinopsiA Films slaves. Somehow or another Amer- ican historians have been able to ultimately their slave. How many simply will never submit to the racy remains to secure their exis- Sister/Brother, glorify the rise of our democracy American workers control access will of a propertyless mass. tence at the expense of this elite. can you spare $20? with barely mentioning the slaugh- to their food, shelter and clothing? Does this mean that there is The elite intends to prevent this. ter of 35 million indigenous peo- Democracy can never be less than no future for democracy? No. It The battle lines are drawn along The People’s Tribune ples, the horror of the African slave political independence based on means that if democracy is to live this front.