This afternoon, January 6, racist and reactionary supporters of President Trump followed up a rally at the White House by marching and seizing the U.S. capitol building. Egged on by Trump, they brought to an end to the congressional certification of the election. An armed standoff took place outside the House chamber. The media has been filled with images of Trump supporters occupying offices of congresspeople. New developments are taking place with the passage of every hour.

There is no doubt that capitol police and security forces allowed the reactionary mob to take over the building – and that if it were the case of protesters under a “Black lives matter” banner, or revolutionaries, doing the same thing, police would have unleashed a bloodbath. The reason these racists got a far as they did was because they had support from the White House and many others in power.

The racist and fascist grouping had made it clear that they were coming to DC from across the country at Trump’s request. They joined the “Save America” rally and brought their guns with them. Any time these racist and reactionary forces show themselves they need to be opposed. This scum represents anti-democratic and determined advocates of racist discrimination. They think their votes should count, but not those African Americans and other oppressed nationalities – who were crucial to Trump’s defeat at the polls.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization has been helping to organize and build the movement against Trump since day one. We helped to lead the mass march on his nomination at the Republican National Convention in 2016, and we have been helping to spearhead opposition to his agenda every step of the way. Trump should be removed from power. Now. And everything he does should be opposed until that happens. We also need to be alert to any attempt to use these events to curtail our democratic rights, including those guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

This attempt to keep Trump in power says a lot about the direction this country heading in. The U.S. empire is eroding, and monopoly capitalism is a sick and dying system, and its failed political representatives were front and center in Washington DC today. It is imperative that all of us who yearn for better future act. We need to stay in the streets and fight for an agenda that represents the interests of the people. The road ahead will be a difficult one, but the future is bright!

#UnitedStates #DonaldTrump #DumpTrump

Chicago, IL – A wave of early voting is underway. Mostly, these are “no” votes in the referendum on the Trump presidency. Of course, Trump knows this and has openly declared his intention to refuse to count all the votes.

All across the country, in addition to getting out the vote, activists are preparing to resist any attempt by Trump to refuse to leave office after a loss. Suspected Trump tactics include: Trump stopping the counting of votes; Trump declaring himself the winner; Republican state governments throwing out state election results and deciding the elections, or getting the Supreme Court to decide the elections.

In Chicago, many organizations are meeting to plan a protest November 4, the day after election day, at 5 p.m. at the Daley Plaza. Groups involved include United Working Families, Indivisible, the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and Black Lives Matter (BLM). Their main objective is to oppose the threat by the administration in Washington to refuse to concede. Plans are in place to continue mobilizing until all votes are counted.

The Chicago Alliance, BLM, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and the Black Abolitionist Network, along with other allies, are also demanding an end to police crimes, for community control of the police, and defunding of the police.

In addition, City Councilmember Carlos Rosa has stated, “President Trump and the Republicans are actively seeking to steal this election and disenfranchise Black, brown and working class voters across our nation. Trump has signaled he will seek to throw out votes and call on the Supreme Courts and Republican state legislatures to annul the results. If Trump tries to stop a transition from power in the face of a loss, I will submit a resolution to the Chicago City Council calling for non-recognition of an illegitimate Trump regime. We must protect the democratic will of the people.” Rosa believes that others in the council will join him to get the city to pass the resolution.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #DumpTrump

A statement issued by organizers says in part, “The people of the Twin Cities are deeply opposed to Trump’s policies of racism and division, whether it’s his attacks on migrants or refugees or his not-so-veiled racist attacks on all Black and Brown people. We gather on October 10 to protest the racism, Islamophobia, and white supremacy that Donald Trump plans to whip up when he visits the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.”

Groups opposing Trump’s hate agenda include activists from youth, labor, religious, student, peace, justice, immigrant and indigenous rights, LGBTQ, environmental and other movements.

“We encourage all Minnesotans to join us downtown in a mass mobilization of solidarity and support,” said Meredith Aby-Keirstead, representative from the Anti-War Committee who has been attending organizing meetings for the protest.

The statement issued by organizers continues, “We say no to racism, white supremacy, war, bigotry and the unscientific denial of climate change. Among the groups calling for the October 10 protest are those that work to defend immigrant and workers’ rights, those that are demanding the closing of refugee detention camps, those who speak out against the prison industrial complex and demand an end to police brutality and those who work against war and for peace and justice.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #DumpTrump

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Students for a Democratic Society (National).

Trump has recognized the self-appointed presidency of the Venezuelan right-wing opposition leader, Juan Guaido. SDS denounces this move of aggression and says, “Hands Off Venezuela!”

This is a clear violation of the democratic process and sovereignty of Venezuela. The US has a long history of backing right-wing coups, dictators and dirty wars in Latin America, in order to keep the region subjugated by US multinational businesses. Recently Venezuela has been a major target, facing debilitating sanctions and US-backed coup attempts, from violence in the streets to armed robbery to drone bombings.

Tens of thousands of Maduro supporters are rallying in the streets right now in a show of support for Venezuelan sovereignty and for Maduro's administration. His administration has thus cut off relations with the White House.

Trump and Pence have no interest in human rights in Venezuela, but are hoping to gain control to privatize industry and resources and exploit the Venezuelan people. For this reason we oppose intervention in Venezuela and call for the end to all sanctions.

#HandsOffVenezuela #StopTrump #DumpTrump #USHandsOff #NoWar #AntiWar #FuerzaMaduro #FuerzaVenezuela

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #US #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #NicolásMaduro #DonaldTrump #JuanGuaidó #HandsOffVenezuela

Minneapolis. MN – With only 24 hour’s notice, Minneapolis peace groups organized an emergency response protest against the use a massive U.S. bomb in Afghanistan.

Over 60 people joined the protest held on Friday, April 14. Several people just walking by or waiting for their bus stopped and joined the protest. People in cars, trucks and buses passing by waved and honked in support of the anti-war message.

On Thursday, April 13, it was reported that the Trump administration and the Pentagon unleashed the most powerful U.S. bomb – the 20,000 pound GBU-43, referred to as the ‘mother of all bombs.’ The weapon was used in Afghanistan.

Twin Cities anti-war groups saw this as a major escalation of the U.S. wars and consulted quickly to call an emergency protest against this latest U.S. military move.

Organizers also raised the alarm about the growing danger of a new U.S. war in Korea. News reports had indicated that the Trump administration had plans for an imminent attack on Korea.

The protest was in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis. The neighborhood has many Somali immigrant families.

Participants held signs and banners to make an urgent anti-war statement in the face or what one organizers called “a terrifying event.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, of the Anti-War Committee told the crowd, “We need to build a movement to stop Trump. Today's protest isn't just about saying no to the use of this new mega bomb in Afghanistan. We are pushing back and demanding that it never be used again. We are concerned that the Trump administration is planning on using this weapon against North Korea. We cannot let Trump think that he is having foreign policy 'wins' in Syria, Iraq and Yemen because this will embolden him to attack North Korea and endangers Iran.”

The bomb, officially called the Massive Ordinance Air Blast (MOAB), was used against Islamic State targets in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. The MOAB has a blast radius of one mile.

The MOAB is said to be the largest non-nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. The chance of civilian casualties is high.

The protest was called by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC).

A statement issued by organizers says in part, “This latest U.S. military escalation by the Trump administration follows the escalating attacks in Yemen, missile attacks on Syria last week, sending thousands of additional U.S. troops to Iraq, Syria and Kuwait, and an increase in the number of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria from U.S. bombings.”

The statement also points out that “The U.S. has also sent a Naval Strike Force to Korea.”

There is speculation that the use of this weapon in Afghanistan is also intended as a threat to North Korea.

The April 14 protest was organized under the call of, “Enough of the endless wars! Enough of escalation after escalation! No new wars – hands off Korea!”

Chants included “Out of Afghanistan, out of Iraq, hands off Korea and don't come back.”

The protest was endorsed by Anti-War Committee, Mayday Books, St. Joan of Arc Peacemakers, St. Paul Eastside Neighbors for Peace, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace and Women Against Military Madness.

“People should be alarmed by this latest escalation, people must speak out against these endless wars,” said one protest organizer.

#MInneapolisMN #MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #AntiWarCommittee #DumpTrump

Tampa, FL – On the morning of April 7, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Syria, firing over 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian government targets near Homs, Syria’s third largest city. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that only 23 of 59 missiles struck intended targets, with the majority assaulting nearby villages. Syrian media sources are reporting at least nine civilians died in the attack, including four children.

At $1.59 million per missile, the attack cost the U.S. government $93.81 million. But it also instantly added nearly $5 billion to the collective stock value of big American corporations that make missiles and weapons, including Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The Trump administration’s bloated military budget is money robbed from crucial social programs such as education and healthcare, which face significant cutbacks. Trump’s racist attacks on the Syrian people are therefore also an attack on the rights of workers and oppressed people here, and only benefit the wealthiest 1% of corporate owners.

Trump’s attacks are a dangerous escalation of the six-year-long U.S. war on Syria, as it is the first time that Washington is openly announcing military strikes aimed at the Syrian government. Such attacks could create a deadly confrontation between two nuclear powers: the U.S. and Russia. Russia has been assisting the Syrian government against U.S.-funded proxies dominated by al-Qaeda. For years, the U.S. government has spent over $1 billion per year funding and arming right-wing proxy forces that have ripped the country apart, creating millions of refugees. In 2016 alone, the U.S. military dropped 12,192 bombs on Syria, destroying the country's infrastructure and killing thousands. Economic sanctions have strangled the Syrian economy, resulting in massive inflation and poverty. The Syrian health service, one of the best in the Middle East before the U.S. intervention, is now close to collapse.

Bomb first, investigate later: U.S. policy in the Middle East

The U.S. government claims their vicious attack against a sovereign country in the Middle East was punishment for a recent poison gas explosion in the town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed 70 people, which U.S. blamed on the Syrian army. In Hillary Clinton’s first interview since her presidential election defeat, she eagerly united with Trump’s plan, encouraging the U.S. to bomb Syrian airfields mere hours before the attacks started.

The corporate-owned media immediately began parroting these war-hungry claims, without any independent investigation, even though the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice just two months ago publicly boasted on NPR, “We were able to get the Syrian government to voluntarily and verifiably give up its chemical weapons stockpile [in 2014].” This is the same racist media that demonize Black and Latino youth as ‘criminals’ in order to justify mass incarceration in for-profit prisons and police murders.

In 2003, the U.S. government used fabricated ‘proof’ of weapons of mass destruction owned by the Iraqi government to publicly defend their invasion and occupation of Iraq. No such weapons even existed, yet the war raged on. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died, tens of thousands of American troops suffered life-changing injuries or were killed, and al-Qaeda (a right-wing fundamentalist group, founded by Osama bin Laden and other forces that were funded and trained by the U.S. government in the 1980s to overthrow Afghanistan’s left-wing secular government) in Iraq became ISIS.

U.S. government confirms, ISIS empowered by U.S.-led ‘war on terror’

A recently declassified Defense Intelligence Agency document written in 2012 exposed plans by Western powers and their regional allies to facilitate the rise of ISIS in order to “isolate the Syrian [state].” The document is confirmation from the highest level of U.S. intelligence that they see ISIS as a tool for overthrowing the Syrian government, and it acknowledges that al-Qaeda dominates the anti-government forces in Syria. Trump’s recent attack targeted a Syrian army base at odds with ISIS, allowing ISIS to launch an offensive on Syrian troops in the area.

It has long been the strategy of the U.S. government to fund right-wing proxy groups to weaken or overthrow governments which do not fully align with U.S. corporate interests. The ‘war on terror’ is effectively a war on the nations and liberation movements that oppose the foreign domination of their country’s land, labor and resources.

Hypocritical lies pave the way for endless U.S. wars

The U.S. government itself is guilty of the same crime against the Syrian people, as well as the Iraqi people, which they claim that the Syrian government committed. In Iraq, the U.S. military has littered the environment with thousands of tons of munitions made from depleted uranium, a toxic and radioactive nuclear waste product. As a result, more than half of babies born in Fallujah from 2007-2010 were born with birth defects. Under the Obama administration, the U.S. military fired thousands of rounds containing depleted uranium in Syria, after they vowed not to. According to weapons experts, the use of depleted uranium is a war crime and an act of genocide, because the civilian population’s exposure to it causes cancer, birth defects, immune system damage and other serious health problems.

During the 2003 U.S. war on Iraq, American soldiers and their contractors also sodomized Iraqi prisoners with broom handles and chemical lights. Furthermore, wherever the U.S. military and their bases are, it is well documented that massive prostitution and sex trafficking follow.

No ban! No bombs! No sanctions!

The U.S. war on Syria is not about ‘democracy’ or ‘humanitarianism,’ especially not after the Trump administration closed its doors to Syrian refugees and enacted two Muslim bans. Rather, it is about the imposition of an economic and political order which protects the interests of Western powers and their regional allies. Syria is a passageway of important oil and gas pipelines, while the U.S.-backed state of Israel perceives the Syrian government as a threat due to its support for resistance against the Israeli occupation of Arab lands across the Levant. Trump’s attacks have allowed Israel to accelerate its drilling of oil and gas from the Golan Heights in Syria, an area which has been under Israeli military occupation for the past 50 years.

It is the duty of all freedom-loving people in the U.S. to organize and mobilize the broadest number of people against all U.S wars. To defend the interests of workers and oppressed people in the U.S. is to demand the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Syria, as well as an end to the bombings and killer sanctions on the Syrian people.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #Syria #HandsOffSyria #AntiSyriaIntervention #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump

On Thursday, April 6, the Trump administration launched air strikes against Syria government military facilities. These strikes, carried out in response to allegations of Syria chemical weapons use, only make the world a more dangerous place.

Per a statement from protest organizers, “U.S. military intervention is not intended to help people, or to resolve internal conflicts of small nations in a humanitarian manner. U.S. intervention only serves the interests of the U.S. elite, who care nothing of Syrian people or the people of the Middle East.”

The statement continues, “The U.S. government has carried out an endless series of wars and interventions for 14 years in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. This new escalation will only lead to more dead, injured and displaced.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #MinnesotaPeaceActionCoalitionMPAC #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump

In addition, this executive order called for the expansion of the 287(g) program, the so-called “Secure Communities” which would be used to authorize the National Guard to round up immigrants for deportation. The executive order also called for a crack-down on local institutions that are considered sanctuary cities or on colleges that state that they will not act on the behalf of ICE.

The use of the National Guard, a domestic military force, would be a form of military occupation of the historic territory of the Chicano nation. In the Southwest, the descendants of Mexican settlers and immigrants have evolved into a nation that shares a common culture, economy and land in southern and central California, southern Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, and southern and western Texas – the areas targeted by the proposed mobilization of the National Guard.

For more than a century immigrants from Mexico, driven by poverty resulting from the U.S. domination of Mexico, and drawn by American farms and businesses seeking cheap labor, have been coming to the American Southwest, strengthening the Chicano population and nation. More recently, growing numbers of immigrants from Central American have joined in the migration to the U.S.

The liberal wing of the ruling rich wants to both divide (through deportations) and incorporate (through legalization) Mexican and Central American immigrants and guarantee a continued supply of cheap temporary workers through Comprehensive Immigration Reform. However the right wing, represented by President Trump, is growing more fearful of the ‘Browning of America’ and wants to both deport the undocumented immigrants as well as cut back on legal immigration. A military deportation force of National Guard would do both by deporting millions of undocumented while terrorizing the legal immigrants and citizens who are the family, friends, neighbors and co-workers with the undocumented.

The editors of Fight Back! urge all our readers to oppose any Trump plans for mass deportations. We see the struggle of Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans – as well as other oppressed nationalities such as African Americans, and indigenous people – for full equality as revolutionary movements, and we support the right to self-determination, up to and including independence from the U.S. for the Chicano and other oppressed nations in the U.S.

#WashingtonDC #immigrantRights #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump #NationalGuard

Washington DC – Speaking to a protesters assembled in Columbus Circle, Jan. 20, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization Political Secretary Steff Yorek said, “We need to stay in the streets the entire four years opposing Trump and making the country ungovernable.”

Protests coinciding with the inauguration of Donald Trump are taking place accosts the U.S.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #DumpTrump

Washington, DC – Protesters are gathering early morning, Jan. 20, at Columbus Circle to protest the Trump agenda. Tens of thousands of people will particulate in Washington DC protests today, the day of Trump’s inauguration.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #DumpTrump

The Progressive Student Union organized an anti-trump protest at the University of Texas at Arlington, Nov. 13. About 30 people marched throughout campus shouting chants such as, “Trump, you bum, we don't want your nazi scum,” and “Hands too small, can't build that wall.” The Progressive Student Union was one of the many student groups who responded to the National Student for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for action following the election of Donald Trump.

Tre Jonas, a member of the Progressive Student Union, said after the march that it was important to protest Trump and the system that is placing him in power. Mark Napieralski, president of Progressive Student Union, reaffirmed that protests like these will be the foundation to create a mass movement to defend the communities that Trump and his administration will be threatening in the four years to come.

#ArlingtonTX #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #AntiTrump

The Progressive Student Union organized an anti-trump protest at the University of Texas at Arlington, Nov. 13. About 30 people marched throughout campus shouting chants such as, “Trump, you bum, we don't want your nazi scum,” and “Hands too small, can't build that wall.” The Progressive Student Union was one of the many student groups who responded to the National Student for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for action following the election of Donald Trump.

Tre Jonas, a member of the Progressive Student Union, said after the march that it was important to protest Trump and the system that is placing him in power. Mark Napieralski, president of Progressive Student Union, reaffirmed that protests like these will be the foundation to create a mass movement to defend the communities that Trump and his administration will be threatening in the four years to come.

#ArlingtonTX #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #AntiTrump

The Progressive Student Union organized an anti-trump protest at the University of Texas at Arlington, Nov. 13. About 30 people marched throughout campus shouting chants such as, “Trump, you bum, we don't want your nazi scum,” and “Hands too small, can't build that wall.” The Progressive Student Union was one of the many student groups who responded to the National Student for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for action following the election of Donald Trump.

Tre Jonas, a member of the Progressive Student Union, said after the march that it was important to protest Trump and the system that is placing him in power. Mark Napieralski, president of Progressive Student Union, reaffirmed that protests like these will be the foundation to create a mass movement to defend the communities that Trump and his administration will be threatening in the four years to come.

#ArlingtonTX #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #AntiTrump

On Wednesday, Nov. 23, 5 p.m., immigrants and supporters who are vowing to fight against President-elect Donald Trump and his anti-immigrant agenda will gather at the corner of Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. After a short rally, the crowd will march down Lake Street. The event is being organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee’s “No More Deportations” campaign.

The call for the rally includes the slogan, “United against Trump's agenda! Solidarity with Immigrants!” Many local organizations have endorsed the event since the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee’s MIRAC called for it late last week. The latest list of endorsers is listed on the Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/199733550476396/ .

#MinneapolisMN #ImmigrantRights #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump

On Nov. 20, roughly 300 people packed All People’s Church on Milwaukee’s north side to attend the first public meeting of the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump (MCAT). The Coalition’s mission is to “build a broad and organized resistance led by a coalition of grassroots organizations to Stop Trump and his hateful agenda.”

The Coalition was founded by five organizations that have been leading the resistance to Trump in Milwaukee since his election – the Young People’s Resistance Committee (formerly Youth Empowered in the Struggle), Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the United Workers Organization.

Energy was high throughout the night. Isa Cortes from the Young People’s Resistance Committee spoke on what brought everyone to the room — the election of Trump and the 3500-strong march led by the coalition the previous week. She also discussed how this work did not begin on election night: “What’s crazy is that exactly a year ago [on November 10, 2015], some of the same organizations organized an action outside of the GOP debate where we rallied against Trump’s hateful rhetoric and showed him that he is not welcome in our city. Never did we think that exactly one year later we would be rallying against the openly racist, sexist, fascist, xenophobic man the electoral college declared our president.”

Judy Kattan of SJP walked everyone through MCAT’s mission statement and points of unity, which are based on the Saint Paul Principles of the 2008 RNC demonstrations. She opened the doors for others to get involved, saying, “If you organization would like to join the coalition, please bring up our platform and our points of unity with your members, discuss and debate, and let us know. United together, with respect and love for all of our people, we can win.”

Sean Orr of FRSO, the emcee for the night, announced the coalition’s goal – to plan 100 days of resistance to the Trump agenda during the first 100 days of his presidency, starting off with a mass march in downtown Milwaukee on inauguration day, Jan. 20. The coalition then led a number of breakout groups to brainstorm events and activities for these 100 days. The breakout groups came back together, and the creativity and commitment coming through in the report backs continued to drive the high energy of the night.

Orr closed the evening with a call for people to be in this for the long haul, “If we are serious when we say that Trump is not our president, that we will not sit down and allow his administration to wage campaigns of terror on women, workers, Muslims and immigrants, then we must be willing to make this country ungovernable. For the sake of our planet and all oppressed peoples in it, we must do everything we can to drown the Trump administration.” The evening ended in a standing ovation and a chant of “The people, united, will never be defeated!”

A link to the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump’s inauguration day march can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/974219202684309/

#MilwaukeeWI #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump

We are circulating the text of Frank Chapman’s Nov. 19 speech at Chicago’s 25th annual People’s Thanksgiving event, hosted Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Frank Chapman is a veteran of the Black Liberation Movement. He was a victim of wrongful imprisonment as a young man, and then, like Malcolm X, George Jackson and others, became politicized in prison. His release was won through a political struggle led Angela Davis. From 1981 through 1989, Frank was the executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. In the past five years, he’s returned to that work, leading the campaign of the Chicago Alliance to win an elected, civilian police accountability council.

This past Thursday U.S. Senator Corey Booker, a Black American Democrat from New Jersey wrote: “This is not a time to curl up, give up or shut up. It is a time to get up; to stand up, to speak words that heal, help and recommit to the cause of our country…the searing heart reveals what we are made of.”

We can see that the people are taking to the streets and they are saying “not our president,” which is an expression of defiance, an uprising happening before our very eyes. Senator Corey may not see this uprising but we see it because we are a part of it.

The election of Donald Trump raises far more questions than it answers and given the subjective nature of politics too many people have too many answers based on the proposition that white people, and not just white workers, bought into Trump’s racist, scapegoating rhetoric. What was the message that Trump kept hammering home? It was that he would make America great again by ending all those policies of government that favor Black people, Latinos, Indigenous people, Arab and Muslim Americans, women, and the LGBTQ community. He promised that there would be mass deportations, especially of the immigrant Mexican people, and a ban on Muslim immigration. He also promised he would bring back jobs by making deals with international capital and focusing on rebuilding our country’s infrastructure.

Of course these are all lies perpetrated by Republican right-wing extremists for more than three decades now. But they are lies that speak to the fact that capitalism/imperialism in its present advanced state of decay is incapable of providing long term political policies addressing persistent economic decline for all working people, the nationally oppressed and the still colonized people of the world. Trump’s so-called populist politics is rooted in deceiving the white working class majority, and everyone else hard hit by the present economic crisis into thinking that the enemy is the poor welfare recipients, the Black and brown urban proletarians, the indigenous people, women, the LGBTQ community and the physically and mentally challenged.

Therefore, what can we expect from a Donald Trump in the White House? Well the first thing he said he will do is mass deportations, and there is no doubt in the immigrant communities that he is hell-bent on doing just that. Trump wasted no time in sending a clear message to Black people in that he has already appointed Jeff Sessions, a reputed racist and enemy of civil rights to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

We can expect more vicious attacks on the working class by attempting to pass national right to work legislation, oppose all efforts to get a minimum wage laws passed, get rid of the consumer protection act, further deregulate Wall Street, repeal Obamacare and lift the restrictions on medical prescriptions, cut taxes for the rich, etc. Under Trump’s rule, i.e. the rule of a rogue Wall Street baron, we can expect the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. And all this could be enforced by a kind of political thuggery that was only glimpsed during Trump’s campaign for president.

We can expect Trump to escalate racist and political repression to unprecedented levels. The overriding character of all his policies is complete, utter contempt for civil liberties and civil rights. He is 100% in backing police tyranny in our communities. Whereas now we see mainly the killing, beating, arresting and torture of Black and Latino people, Trump will probably apply all these same brutal practices to his political enemies. In fact during his campaign Trump encouraged beating and arresting protesters at his rallies.

We could go on with these dismal expectations but we will not. We are not waiting on Trump. We have been fighting back and we will continue to fight back but even more so. Now more than ever we must wage a relentless struggle for the freedom of Rasmea Odeh and continue our unconditional support for the liberation of Palestine; now more than ever we must build our solidarity with the Filipino people in their struggle against U.S. imperialism. We must make new strides in building our solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux and other indigenous Americans in their courageous struggles against the oil companies. Now more than ever we must continue to fight for trade union democracy – as we have seen recently with the Teamsters, and greater class consciousness in the trade union movement.

The peoples’ movement is growing and has been growing for years and will grow even more. But in this period the social movements driven by class struggle, the fight against racism and national oppression and the world-wide struggles against imperialism are about to explode. The period of gradual development characterized by piecemeal reforms and endless concessions to the capitalist bosses and their lackeys is over and will be quickly followed by a more radical movement demanding systemic changes that will empower the people. We see manifestations of this qualitatively new revolt in all the various strands of the peoples’ movements. We see it in Standing Rock with the indigenous people, in Chicago with the Chicago Teachers Union, we see it in the Airport workers of O’Hare getting ready to strike, and we see it most of all in the new upsurge in the Black liberation movement which is rising up and demanding power so that we ourselves can put an end to our oppression.

It is in this spirit of rebellion that we will be marching on the Magnificent Mile to Boycott Black Friday. We have been engaged in this city for decades fighting for community control of the police. For Black and Brown people the police are the cutting edge of mass incarceration. We have lived under police-state-like conditions for decades being killed, tortured and wrongfully convicted with impunity. Even before Trump got elected we drew this line in the sand, making it absolutely clear that we will fight until we are free.

Trump hopes to reduce us to a level where we just fight to exist.

Accommodation means fighting to merely exist under the regime of oppression. Taking the path of rebellion and revolution means fighting to exist in order to resist and overthrow your oppressors. The first is the lowest level of political consciousness and the latter is the highest level of political consciousness.

As revolutionaries and organizers we believe in the power of the people and the working class in particular to bring about radical change. We believe in the power of the people to not only overturn the existing order of things, but to create a new order without class exploitation, sexual oppression and racial and national oppression.

We face this current attempt by the enemies of the people to destroy our movement not with fear and trepidation but with iron clad determination to agitate, educate, organize and fight back!

#ChicagoIL #US #PeoplesStruggles #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump

Lufkin, TX – Students for a Democratic Society at Angelina College held an anti-Trump rally on Nov. 15. Chants of “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, President Trump cannot stay!” rang out, catching the attention of other students and school administrators.

“Trump represents nothing but hate, bigotry, fear. With that in mind, we are here today to stand against the rapist Donald Trump and all the anti-people policies he brings with him,” said Katlynn Oleinik, a member of Students for a Democratic Society, who opened the event.

Angelica Hernandez, also of SDS, said “Donald Trump ran his campaign by spreading hatred and fear of the Chicano people, by scapegoating all Muslims as terrorists and by supporting imperialist interests in the Middle East and around the globe.”

After the rally the students marched through campus chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!” and “Hey Trump! You liar! We’re here to say you’re fired!”

The march caused a ruckus on campus as students and professors came out of classes to see what was going on. The march ended with a student speakout.

#LufkinTX #StudentMovement #SDS #DumpTrump #AngelinaCollege

Primero, Trump ha prometido eliminar la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia o DACA. Bajo este programa alrededor de 750,000 jóvenes indocumentados traídos desde pequeños, han podido trabajar, obtener licencias de conducir y vivir sin miedo de ser deportados. Este programa ha mejorado drásticamente las oportunidades de trabajo y de ingresos para los jóvenes indocumentados. Mientras que Trump todavía no ha confirmado ni ha dicho cuándo comenzarán las deportaciones, hay que alertar que el gobierno tiene la la información personal de estos jóvenes, y que estos perderán sus trabajos y licencias de conducir, obligándolos a regresar a vivir en las sombras.

Segundo, Trump prometió remover entre dos y tres millones de indocumentados con antecedentes criminales. En realidad, el total de esta cifra es mucho menor, e incluso hay estudios que demuestran que es menos probable que un inmigrante sea condenado por crímenes en comparación con los norte-americanos nacidos en el país. Como ocurrió con la administración de Obama, que también se enfocó en deportar a los indocumentados con antecedentes criminales, es muy probable que otros grupos de indocumentados también sean deportados.

Aunque Trump no lo ha mencionado específicamente, es probable que su administración aumente las redadas de ICE en los lugares de trabajo. La administración de Trump puede afirmar que los trabajadores indocumentados son criminales, reafirmando la acusación que los inmigrantes le roban el trabajo a los americanos. Esta sería una manera pública de promover los sentimientos anti-inmigrantes.

Tercero, Trump comenzará la construcción del muro fronterizo con México. Aunque Trump ha retrocedido un poco su posición, admitiendo que en algunas partes de la frontera será una cerca, el muro será el símbolo más visible de un incremento en la militarización de la frontera. La construcción del muro va mano a mano con su promesa de construir más infraestructura, y aunque puede ser que no se finalice, comenzar la construcción del muro beneficiará su imagen pública.

Cuarto, trump se ha comprometido trabajar junto al congreso para incrementar las sentencias mínimas obligatorias, para las personas indocumentadas detenidas en los EE.UU. después de haber sido deportadas. Esto es parte de un amplio esfuerzo para criminalizar a los indocumentados, quienes luego serán señalados para ser deportados. Esta iniciativa de criminalización servirá para que la policía estatal y local se involucren en aplicar las leyes migratorias.

Quinto, Trump ha prometido eliminar todo financiamiento federal a las ciudades que funcionan como santuario. Existen alrededor de 30 ciudades en los EE.UU., incluyendo las más grandes del país (New York, Chicago y Los Ángeles), que han prohibido que sus trabajadores públicos y su policía municipal actúen como agentes federales de inmigración. El impacto que esto tendrá todavía está por verse, ya que muy poco del financiamiento federal va directamente a las ciudades. La gran mayoría del subsidio federal va directamente al gobierno estatal para programas de salud (Medicaid), programas de asistencia económica (TANF, o SSI), y transporte. También hay subsidio federal para la educación, pero este se le entrega directamente a los distritos escolares y a las universidades, no a las ciudades.

Sexto, por último, Trump ha dicho que suspenderá la inmigración de las regiones afectadas por el terrorismo, donde no se puede llevar acabo procedimientos de investigación. Esta medida probablemente se aplicará arbitrariamente, dependiendo sobre cual país se decida enfocar la administración de Trump. La realidad es que los refugiados de países como Syria ya duran más de un año en procesos de investigación. Además, no se han mencionado políticas para negarles visas a Arabia Saudita, país aliado de los EE.UU., a pesar de que la mayoría de los agresores del atentado del 11 de septiembre del 2001 provenían de este país.

El programa de inmigración de Trump, es muy similar a la propuesta de ley Sensenbrenner HB4437 del 2005. Al igual que Trump, esta propuesta proponía la criminalización de los indocumentados y construcción de un muro fronterizo. Más de un millón de personas se movilizaron en las calles alrededor de todo el país el 1 de mayo del 2006, para protestar este proyecto de ley. Muchas de las ciudades presenciaron las marchas más grandes de su historia, como ocurrió aquí en San José donde se movilizaron más de 125,000 personas el 1 de mayo.

En el 2006, el movimiento pudo derrotar a la propuesta de ley Sensenbrenner, después de haber sido aprobada por la Cámara de Representantes controlada por los Republicanos. Necesitamos un gran movimiento popular para protestar contra Trump el día de su inauguración, el 20 de enero del 2017, luego hay que continuar esa movilización masiva cien días después, el 1ero de mayo del 2017.

¡Defender DACA! ¡Legalización no deportación! ¡No al muro fronterizo con México!

Traducción: Edward C. Tolentino

#EstadosUnidos #US #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #Immigration #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump

Thousands of students, community members and activist gathered and marched, Nov. 15, to protest President-elect Donald Trump on the University of Arizona campus.

Before the march, about 20 speakers denounced the racist, anti-women, xenophobic and alt-right agenda of the soon-to-be president.

After the speakers, the people took the streets and marched down through the university into the neighborhoods surrounding the campus and rallied in a nearby park to continue their message of progress against the platform of hate advocated by Trump.

More protests are expected in Tucson.

#TucsonAZ #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump

The protest started with speakers. Representatives from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) UWM, United Worker’s Organization and African Student Association UWM gave impressive, emotionally charged speeches. An undocumented student spoke and led chants in both English and Spanish. Then there was a two­mile march around Milwaukee’s downtown area, ending with another rally and an open­mic speaking session.

The public reaction was extremely positive, and organizing groups have received dozens of messages from interested community members looking to become active.

#MilwaukeeWI #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump #DonaldTrump