The Mason Missile, September 29, 2022

Greetings, Americans! The New Year 5783is upon us, and we celebrated Rosh Ha-Shona, the New Year, on September 25-27, and the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur October 4-5. I wish everyone all the best this new year. The idea of the New Year is that you’re no longer bound by your past; you can learn from it, so you can plan better for the future, but you can’t continue to dwell there. That would require new ways of thinking, to challenge ideas in the air that would keep you helpless and powerless. Yes, reality can be pretty bad—I’ve had my share of bad news—and it HAS to be confronted, but by the very fact that you ARE confronting the bad news therefore changes the situation to your favor. I proudly joined other Philadelphia area trade unionists for the Tri-State Labor Day Parade on September 5, which started with a rally at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall, 1301 South Columbus Boulevard; down Columbus Boulevard; and into Penn’s Landing for the Celebration. Our movement is something to celebrate, with its worthy goals and achievements (in spite of all opposition, and with its recent campaigns—the organizing drives for employees at Amazon and Starbucks, the organizing work of employees at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-museum-of-art-strike-union-contract-20220916.html), and the tentative contract for railway workers, averting a strike (https://www.npr.org/2022/09/15/1123289508/a-look-at-the-tentative-deal-between-freight-railroads-and-rail-workers-unions) . but more work remains to be done, since we’re up against powerful corporate interests who would take back everything we’ve campaigned for over the decades. From Reagan (curse his name!) to this day, the economic orthodoxy has been a warmed-over attempt to re-impose the classic liberal model of “free trade” and deregulation of industry practices (no matter how shady and dangerous to the public) with some corporate welfare, fully confident that prosperity would flow. but the prosperity flowed all the way to the top, economically depressing the working class and narrowing the middle class (do these categories mean anything now?), so that we are, with all the “democratic” trappings, a fall-blown oligarchy. We don’t have to accept this as the only way for the nation to do; all of the Labor organizing activity shows that the system is under scrutiny, and under challenge. Donald whatshisface went on Hugh Hewett’s program to complain about (what else?) the investigations he’s under, like for the documents he stole and stashed at Mar-A-Lago, and his role in the January 6 coup attempt. Believing he’s above the law (which he thinks is just another commodity), t---p bragged, “I think you’d have problems in this country the likes of which perhaps you’ve never seen before. I don’t think the people of the United States would stand for it.” He also said, “I think they’d have problems. Big problems. I just don’t think they’d stand for it. They will not.” (https://www.alternet.org/2022/09/donald-trump-warns-big-problems/) (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-public-wont-stand-for-charges-mar-a-lago_n_6323a055e4b046aa023d6f90?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Email%209-16-22&utm_term=us-morning-email) This statement has been interpreted as a call to t---p’s followers to get violent in case he’s formally tried and convicted. Would that happen? Lately, there has been talk about another Civil war in this country, bandied about by the loonier elements of the right. You remember what t---p’s followers did on January 6, stampeding through the capitol, ready to kill members of congress, shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” and erecting a gallows to put him on. This November 8, we have an opportunity to deal a blow to this rise of fascism in America, that has Donald t---p as their avatar. We CAN and MUST vote for pro-worker, pro-woman, pro-people of color, pro-education, pro-LGBTQ+ candidates—and vote out the republican Party, root and branch, as it is now. It is no longer the party of Lincoln, or TR, or Eisenhower, or event Nixon; it’s the roost of white nationalists, Christian chauvinists, conspiracy worshipers, willful ignoramuses who want everyone else to be unlearned, gun bullies, and plutocrats who want working and low-income people out of decision-making in society. The stakes are high, Americans, let’s get serious about this—as serious as the danger. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America WILL be free! Bye!