Pushing the healthcare debate to the left

I happened to be biking by Oregon’s Capitol yesterday and was struck by all the commotion. At the steps of the building were anti-healthcare reform advocates. (And “anti-healthcare” seems fitting.) They were sporting messages such as “no Obamacare” or “no government run ‘socialist’ healthcare.” Little did they realize that Obama wants to keep healthcare fundamentally the way it is, i.e. in the hands of big business. Fortunately there was a counter-protest across the street that appeared to be organized, at least in part, by Physicians for a National Health Program, as well as Move-On, Mad as Hell Doctors, and Willamette Reds. The doctors and other allies I talked to seemed to have their facts straight. Even as the most advanced industrialized nation we don’t have National Healthcare, unlike other countries, and yet we pay the highest taxes for healthcare, double the cost of other wealthy countries. It doesn’t seem to make sense until you realize that healthcare in the U.S. is a multi-billion dollar industry run merely for private profit, not public need. Pre-existing condition? Sorry, you’re fucked.

Being the good socialist that I am I tried to inject my radical ideas into the movement. I brought up the need not just for a single payer system, which itself would be a big improvement, but for healthcare as a whole to be nationalized under workers’ control. That’s right, all the healthcare companies. And since both of the twin parties of the ruling class are in bed with the corporations, nothing less than people mobilized in the streets can make this a reality. The capitalists won’t give anything up without a fight!

Refreshingly, my ideas were warmly received for the most part. Aside from a closet socialist who demeaningly believed the masses “are not ready for socialism,” and wants to run for office as a green instead of raising revolutionary consciousness, like a principled leader, and a self-declared “capitalist” it was a rewarding exchange of ideas and very educational. For many, an anti-capitalist program was the order of the day. (I wish I responded to the “capitalist” by clarifying with “you mean you are a proponent of capitalism. Or do you own a big business like Bill Gates?”)

There was one nutty person who tried to engage with counter-protesters one-on-one. He even tried to enter one of the activist’s RV. While I was there I instinctively put my back to him and kept him away from the line of people, who generally did not want to be confronted and debated by the other side (assuming he was a right-winger). Anyone want to organize security? This type of thing isn’t uncommon.

It was a relatively truncated experience because I am a busy man but it felt good to be myself around other activists and know that that revolutionary spark is alive.

For more on this issue please check out http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/232

U.S. military: destroyer of the environment

A radical alliance of anti-war and green activists could shut down the Pentagon


It's no secret that Planet Earth is wading into heavier environmental disaster by the hour. Be it deforestation, pollution, climate changing greenhouse gas emissions, or species extinction, the global ecosystem has been significantly altered. What's too often not discussed is that world military activities are a huge source of this ecological degradation. Imagine advancing life by dismantling the militaries!



Not surprisingly, the United States military bears the biggest responsibility for military-caused environmental deterioration. This includes burning fossil fuels and poisoning the land.



Take oil for example. The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of energy in the world, three-quarters of which comes from petroleum. Each day this country's military burns 340,000 barrels of oil. Half of this oil is used in jet fighters. Taxpayers foot the Pentagon's oil bill to the tune of $20 billion per year.



If the U.S. disbanded its armed forces, like Costa Rica and a few other countries, the fuel saved could run every mass transit system. Can there be any contest between the usefulness of free mass transit and a fighter jet?



How about toxic waste? The U.S. Department of Defense also tops the list on producing this deadly garbage. Even the top three international chemical companies combined do not surpass the 750 million tons of toxic waste that the Pentagon generates per year. This has created over 20,000 hazardous sites in the U.S. And our military still has 25 million acres of land at its disposal.



Besides bombs and bullets, global militarization also kills humans and other life through nuclear contamination. Radioactive fallout from nuclear testing has caused an estimated 150,000 premature deaths and 86,000 birth defects worldwide.



The military indirectly worsens our natural habitat as well. Factories produce the weapons and vehicles that militaries consume. The electrical energy currently required to make these products comes primarily from, you guessed it, fossil fuels. Industrial production for warfare activities is very high, sometimes surpassing what's manufactured for civilian use.



There is a solution. A demilitarized planet. This would significantly reduce the total environmental degeneration. It would also save $1 trillion in global resources, which could provide generous human services, and help smooth the transition to an existence sustained by renewable clean energy.



A world without standing armies and air forces and navies and marines can only be achieved under a socialist, democratically planned economy, which serves human needs and sustains a healthy habitat. With this as the foundation, creative progressive environmentalism would be unleashed.



What can we do? Work together to make the revolution happen sooner rather than later. The damage that's already been done will only be mitigated through sane environmental policies.



With a commitment to being stewards of the planet, and with a scientific understanding of the delicate balance of life, we could even revitalize our environment.



The fate of the world really is in our hands!