Thanksgiving is upon us. It is a national holiday with the core idea of trying to make pretty the genocide of native nations and make normal the quest for empire. There is nothing to celebrate in the origins of Thanksgiving.

You can say a lot about the holiday. Nonetheless, the fact is, that despite the capitalists’ best efforts, many of us still have the day off. That makes it a great day to get together with family, friends and comrades and be thankful for another year of surviving and struggling.

While the times have been lean, many people splurge on food for Thanksgiving dinner and if you want to do that, it can be fun. It is also possible to do Thanksgiving dinner for eight people for around $40 if you get a supermarket turkey. A market in my area is offering a turkey for around 58 cents a pound when you buy $25 of groceries.

If you have more to spend, a locally grown, sustainably raised turkey will taste better and not be shot full of artificial brine solution, but this is Thanksgiving and eating home-cooked food wherever you can get the ingredients from is the most important thing.

There are many recipes online for the all of basics of Thanksgiving dinner. Rather than going into recipes, I’d like to share some tips. Remember, recipes, like movements, are not written on stone tablets. Read a recipe through for the techniques and then improvise based on what you have. A stuffing made with dry bread, celery, sage, oregano and garlic is very tasty and much cheaper than one with exotic mushrooms and walnuts.

Buy 2 pounds of turkey per person eating; that way you’ll have leftovers and can make soup the next day from the turkey carcass, carrots, celery and noodles to bring down to your local Occupy.

Make sure your turkey is thawed all the way through before you put it in the oven. You can do that in cold water in the sink.

Roll up your sleeves and get inside the cavity – get the giblets out and rub the turkey down with oil or melted butter and season with salt inside and out.

Don’t stuff the turkey. Bake the stuffing separately using vegetable stock for the liquid – not only is it vegetarian friendly but stuffing in the turkey can make for unpredictable cooking times.

A turkey over 8 or 10 pounds won’t roast in a cake pan. Spring for one of the aluminum roasting pans and aluminum foil from the grocery store if you don’t have a roaster. No roasting rack? Wad up aluminum foil into a rope, lay it in the bottom of the pan and oil it before you set your turkey on top. It’s important to let the juices collect at the bottom of the pan without the bird sitting in them.

When your turkey comes out of the oven let it rest for a good 15 minutes before cutting it.

When the turkey is out of the pan, make gravy from the drippings. Put flour in a smallish jar with some water and shake it hard (Food science moment: always add a solid to a liquid and not the other way around). Make the slurry well ahead and let the flour really absorb the water. It should be the consistency of wheat paste.

Pour the drippings into a sauce pan and add the thickener to the drippings. Boil for 15 minutes to cook the flour.

Prepackaged bread for stuffing can be overpriced. Go by the bakery and get a day old loaf. Tear it in small pieces and dry it out in a 170 degree oven. Just make sure it’s cooled before assembling the stuffing.

The co-op or any store with a bulk section is a great place to go for some ingredients, even if $3 per pound turkey is out of your league. For example, if your recipe calls for a tablespoon of sage, buy a tablespoon of sage rather than a whole jar.

For a quick and cheap veggie stock, note that many co-ops have day old veggie bins. Grab anything but peppers or vegetables from the cabbage family (like broccoli). Simmer them in a pot with water to cover until the vegetables have no flavor to make a quick and cheap veggie stock.

Make your vegetarian friends feel welcome at the table by cooking up ½ cup of any whole grain (brown rice, wheat berries, quinoa) and ½ c. of French lentils (these have a great texture and are worth the extra cost for a holiday meal). Season this mixture with celery, onion and carrots sautéed in a little oil and any herbs you have on hand. Moisten with a little veggie stock and stuff it into a green or red pepper, top with bread crumbs or cheese and bake at the same time you bake the sweet potatoes.

Enjoy your dinner, build your friendships, rest up and get ready to hit the streets.

#UnitedStates #US #thanksgiving

Chicago, IL – Despite being the target of a major political attack by the U.S. government, Rasmea Odeh continues to work for the Palestinian people. This is why the 22nd Annual People’s Thanksgiving Dinner, held in Chicago Dec. 8, honored her with the “Nelson Mandela Award: Opposing Israeli Apartheid is not a Crime.”

70 people gathered to recognize her and a number of other important activists. They met at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, despite an early blizzard that made getting to the church hazardous.

In presenting the award, Muhammad Sunkari of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network referred to the late leader of the national liberation movement in South Africa. “When Ted Koppel interviewed him after his release from prison, Mandela defended the ANC’s [African National Congress] ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization. He called the Palestinians, ‘comrades in arms.’ I would say that a great example of a comrade of Mandela is Rasmea Odeh.” In accepting the award, Odeh was in good spirits. She thanked everyone, saying, “I need your support, and we all need each other’s support to stand strong and continue.”

The event is held annually by Fight Back! news and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The dinner raised over $3000 for Odeh’s defense campaign, as well as $1000 to help continue the work of Fight Back! news.

Another emotional moment in the dinner was an award presented to Pete Camarata. Camarata was a co-founder of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). His award, entitled the “Big Bill Haywood: Class Struggle Award” was presented to him by Richard Berg. Berg, a long time reformer in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), has known Camarata for 25 years.

The framed award, reading, “For his lifelong dedication to the liberation of the working class,” was accepted by Camarata’s stepson, Jackson Potter. Potter is the staff coordinator of the Chicago Teachers Union. He explained that Camarata couldn’t attend the dinner because he is fighting cancer. A statement from Camarata read in part, “I thank FRSO for the award, and I accept it with the knowledge that my activism belongs to the movement and the brave people who built TDU, the movement in this country and around the world.” Awards were also presented to Sarah Simmons and Newland Smith, both activists in the Anti-War Committee-Chicago and to Michael Sampson, a Dream Defender from Tallahassee, Florida.

Joe Iosbaker of FRSO spoke to the crowd. He noted that last year’s event celebrated the successful defense of Carlos Montes. “Next year, we plan to be back here to celebrate with Rasmea for a victory over this new attack!” Iosbaker put the defense of Odeh in a broader context, including the ongoing investigation of 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists by the U.S. attorney. “Our advances can be quickly taken from us by the likes of Mayor Emmanuel or President Obama or Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas.”

Citing the many crimes of the U.S. empire at home and abroad Iosbaker continued, “We in FRSO have come to the conclusion that the existing order of things is unacceptable. For that reason we have decided to build a revolutionary organization.” Summing up, Iosbaker said, “Whenever we celebrate the advances made in the struggles we are part of, FRSO always names the way of life that is better than capitalism – that way of life is called socialism. We know a big change will take a lot of work, but we do think it will happen.”

#ChicagoIL #InJusticeSystem #Palestine #PeoplesThanksgiving #thanksgiving #PoliticalRepression #JoeIsobaker #Tallahassee #RasmeaOdeh #MichaelSampson

Tampa, FL – The U.S. prides itself in having a day to ‘give thanks.’ They call this, ‘Thanksgiving’ and it's supposed to be a time when the family unites and shares a home-cooked meal. This tradition, however, is not always shared by immigrant communities.

For Alicia, a member and founder of Raices en Tampa, this year she will not be celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. Alicia's family is split apart between two countries.

In the fall of 1998, Hurricane Mitch swept through the Atlantic Ocean. The rainfall that fell during Mitch's travel through Honduras flooded over 2 million homes and killed about 11,000 people. The U.S. permitted the entry of some Hondurans during this time. Among them were Alicia and her other four family members: her father, mother and one older and younger brother. They arrived in Naples, Florida that year and attempted to rebuild their lives.

Many Hondurans arriving at this time were extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is much like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which was given to young undocumented immigrants in June of 2012. TPS is only available for two years and those who have it must reapply, while paying hundreds of dollars for new applications while losing all of their documentation in the meantime. They can face harassment, stalking, arrests and even deportations while they wait for their renewal request for TPS to be approved.

“Sometimes when I go to renew, if the person in Naples does not know what they are doing or if they want to be nasty, they will take my license and cut it in half,” says Alicia.

Alicia's family has each had their fair share of bad experiences while in the U.S. Alicia's mother Irene was pulled over for driving without a license and the police officer threatened to jail her and have her deported. Knowing her responsibility as a mother to two minor children, Irene decided to never drive after that arrest. This quickly became a setback because, even to do a simple task like shopping for groceries, Irene had to ask someone to provide her with transportation.

“As an immigrant and one with such a temporary status, you grow up quickly and learn that the law is used to terrorize us,” says Alicia.

Irene was so afraid to drive that, in October this year, she decided to self-deport back to her native Honduras along with her youngest daughter. Irene put everything she had accumulated in 15 years up for sale. That which she did not sell she gave away to Alicia or friends and neighbors. In a week, everything this family had built with their own work, tears and struggles was only a distant memory.

“I want President Obama to know there are over 2 million deportations, now. All of this is happening without him really caring or even trying to stop them from happening. During his Thanksgiving, I hope Obama thinks about all of us undocumented immigrants who are torn apart from our families and can't share anymore meals with our families,” says Irene.

Raices en Tampa, which is group in Tampa, Florida that Alicia help found, has decided to push for a way to stop these attacks on the approximately 1.5 million undocumented immigrants in the state of Florida. So far, DREAMers Moms Orlando and United Families in Miami have endorsed the action and many others are beginning to express support.

Alicia is positive her work with Raices en Tampa will succeed. “No one deserves to be torn from their home or family for simply driving to work or going to school. We all need jobs, but how are we supposed to drive without a driver’s license? Florida should not deport anymore immigrants for driving without a license. Licenses for all now in the state of Florida!”

Raices en Tampa is collecting public support for their campaign, “Driver's Licenses for All Undocumented – Florida”. They ask that you take a picture of yourself with a sign that reads, “I support driver's licenses for all in Florida! #DL4ALLFL!” and that you email it to raicesentampa@gmail.com.

Marisol Márquez is a member of Raíces en Tampa

#TampaFL #Honduras #deportations #thanksgiving #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #DriversLicenses #ImmigrantsRights #RaicesEnTampa

Chicago, IL – Community advocates from Chicago’s West and South Sides delivered a petition with 1000 signatures to the office of Governor Quinn in the State of Illinois Building, Nov. 27. The petition calls for shorter sentences and justice for prisoners in Illinois. In a statement read by Curly Cohen of Affordable Power & Justice, the group asked, “What kind of Thanksgiving is this, with 50,000 in Illinois prisons, and 10,000 in Cook County Jail?”

Anabell Perez was there on behalf of her imprisoned son, Jaime Hauad, who was tortured by the Chicago Police Department. Darlene English came out for her nephew, Jason Samuels, to ask for a reduction of his 23-year sentence.

The group also read the names of homicide victims in Chicago, including those killed by the police. They put the blame for the crisis in Chicago on the authorities, including the mayor.

The lack of decent paying jobs, the closing of public schools and deportations breaking up families, combined with police violence and an unjust prison system, are tied together in the eyes of the activists. As Cohen said, “Is the only choice for Chicago youth either to be dead before they reach 21 or to spend 20 years in prison?”

#ChicagoIL #thanksgiving #InjusticeSystem #AffordablePowerJustice #prisonIndustrialComplex

Thanksgiving is upon us. It is a national holiday with the core idea of trying to make pretty the genocide of native nations and make normal the quest for empire. There is nothing to celebrate in the origins of Thanksgiving.

You can say a lot about the holiday. Nonetheless, the fact is, that despite the capitalists’ best efforts, many of us still have the day off. That makes it a great day to get together with family, friends and comrades and be thankful for another year of surviving and struggling.

While the times have been lean, many people splurge on food for Thanksgiving dinner and if you want to do that, it can be fun. It is also possible to do Thanksgiving dinner for eight people for around $40 if you get a supermarket turkey. A market in my area is offering a turkey for around 58 cents a pound when you buy $25 of groceries.

If you have more to spend, a locally grown, sustainably raised turkey will taste better and not be shot full of artificial brine solution, but this is Thanksgiving and eating home-cooked food wherever you can get the ingredients from is the most important thing.

There are many recipes online for the all of basics of Thanksgiving dinner. Rather than going into recipes, I’d like to share some tips. Remember, recipes, like movements, are not written on stone tablets. Read a recipe through for the techniques and then improvise based on what you have. A stuffing made with dry bread, celery, sage, oregano and garlic is very tasty and much cheaper than one with exotic mushrooms and walnuts.

Buy 2 pounds of turkey per person eating; that way you’ll have leftovers and can make soup the next day from the turkey carcass, carrots, celery and noodles to bring down to your local Occupy.

Make sure your turkey is thawed all the way through before you put it in the oven. You can do that in cold water in the sink.

Roll up your sleeves and get inside the cavity – get the giblets out and rub the turkey down with oil or melted butter and season with salt inside and out.

Don’t stuff the turkey. Bake the stuffing separately using vegetable stock for the liquid – not only is it vegetarian friendly but stuffing in the turkey can make for unpredictable cooking times.

A turkey over 8 or 10 pounds won’t roast in a cake pan. Spring for one of the aluminum roasting pans and aluminum foil from the grocery store if you don’t have a roaster. No roasting rack? Wad up aluminum foil into a rope, lay it in the bottom of the pan and oil it before you set your turkey on top. It’s important to let the juices collect at the bottom of the pan without the bird sitting in them.

When your turkey comes out of the oven let it rest for a good 15 minutes before cutting it.

When the turkey is out of the pan, make gravy from the drippings. Put flour in a smallish jar with some water and shake it hard (Food science moment: always add a solid to a liquid and not the other way around). Make the slurry well ahead and let the flour really absorb the water. It should be the consistency of wheat paste.

Pour the drippings into a sauce pan and add the thickener to the drippings. Boil for 15 minutes to cook the flour.

Prepackaged bread for stuffing can be overpriced. Go by the bakery and get a day old loaf. Tear it in small pieces and dry it out in a 170 degree oven. Just make sure it’s cooled before assembling the stuffing.

The co-op or any store with a bulk section is a great place to go for some ingredients, even if $3 per pound turkey is out of your league. For example, if your recipe calls for a tablespoon of sage, buy a tablespoon of sage rather than a whole jar.

For a quick and cheap veggie stock, note that many co-ops have day old veggie bins. Grab anything but peppers or vegetables from the cabbage family (like broccoli). Simmer them in a pot with water to cover until the vegetables have no flavor to make a quick and cheap veggie stock.

Make your vegetarian friends feel welcome at the table by cooking up ½ cup of any whole grain (brown rice, wheat berries, quinoa) and ½ c. of French lentils (these have a great texture and are worth the extra cost for a holiday meal). Season this mixture with celery, onion and carrots sautéed in a little oil and any herbs you have on hand. Moisten with a little veggie stock and stuff it into a green or red pepper, top with bread crumbs or cheese and bake at the same time you bake the sweet potatoes.

Enjoy your dinner, build your friendships, rest up and get ready to hit the streets.

#UnitedStates #thanksgiving #CooksForACause #cooking #turkey

Thanksgiving is upon us. It is a national holiday with the core idea of trying to make pretty the genocide of native nations and make normal the quest for empire. There is nothing to celebrate in the origins of Thanksgiving.

You can say a lot about the holiday. Nonetheless, the fact is, that despite the capitalists’ best efforts, many of us still have the day off. That makes it a great day to get together with family, friends and comrades and be thankful for another year of surviving and struggling.

While the times have been lean, many people splurge on food for Thanksgiving dinner and if you want to do that, it can be fun. It is also possible to do Thanksgiving dinner for eight people for around $40 if you get a supermarket turkey. A market in my area is offering a turkey for around 58 cents a pound when you buy $25 of groceries.

If you have more to spend, a locally grown, sustainably raised turkey will taste better and not be shot full of artificial brine solution, but this is Thanksgiving and eating home-cooked food wherever you can get the ingredients from is the most important thing.

There are many recipes online for the all of basics of Thanksgiving dinner. Rather than going into recipes, I’d like to share some tips. Remember, recipes, like movements, are not written on stone tablets. Read a recipe through for the techniques and then improvise based on what you have. A stuffing made with dry bread, celery, sage, oregano and garlic is very tasty and much cheaper than one with exotic mushrooms and walnuts.

Buy 2 pounds of turkey per person eating; that way you’ll have leftovers and can make soup the next day from the turkey carcass, carrots, celery and noodles to bring down to your local Occupy.

Make sure your turkey is thawed all the way through before you put it in the oven. You can do that in cold water in the sink.

Roll up your sleeves and get inside the cavity – get the giblets out and rub the turkey down with oil or melted butter and season with salt inside and out.

Don’t stuff the turkey. Bake the stuffing separately using vegetable stock for the liquid – not only is it vegetarian friendly but stuffing in the turkey can make for unpredictable cooking times.

A turkey over 8 or 10 pounds won’t roast in a cake pan. Spring for one of the aluminum roasting pans and aluminum foil from the grocery store if you don’t have a roaster. No roasting rack? Wad up aluminum foil into a rope, lay it in the bottom of the pan and oil it before you set your turkey on top. It’s important to let the juices collect at the bottom of the pan without the bird sitting in them.

When your turkey comes out of the oven let it rest for a good 15 minutes before cutting it.

When the turkey is out of the pan, make gravy from the drippings. Put flour in a smallish jar with some water and shake it hard (Food science moment: always add a solid to a liquid and not the other way around). Make the slurry well ahead and let the flour really absorb the water. It should be the consistency of wheat paste.

Pour the drippings into a sauce pan and add the thickener to the drippings. Boil for 15 minutes to cook the flour.

Prepackaged bread for stuffing can be overpriced. Go by the bakery and get a day old loaf. Tear it in small pieces and dry it out in a 170 degree oven. Just make sure it’s cooled before assembling the stuffing.

The co-op or any store with a bulk section is a great place to go for some ingredients, even if $3 per pound turkey is out of your league. For example, if your recipe calls for a tablespoon of sage, buy a tablespoon of sage rather than a whole jar.

For a quick and cheap veggie stock, note that many co-ops have day old veggie bins. Grab anything but peppers or vegetables from the cabbage family (like broccoli). Simmer them in a pot with water to cover until the vegetables have no flavor to make a quick and cheap veggie stock.

Make your vegetarian friends feel welcome at the table by cooking up ½ cup of any whole grain (brown rice, wheat berries, quinoa) and ½ c. of French lentils (these have a great texture and are worth the extra cost for a holiday meal). Season this mixture with celery, onion and carrots sautéed in a little oil and any herbs you have on hand. Moisten with a little veggie stock and stuff it into a green or red pepper, top with bread crumbs or cheese and bake at the same time you bake the sweet potatoes.

Enjoy your dinner, build your friendships, rest up and get ready to hit the streets.

#MinneapolisMN #thanksgiving #CooksForACause #cooking #turkey

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee at the governor’s mansion mock Minnesota’s Governor Pawlenty – who is portrayed as a king serving a holiday meal of budget cuts to the poor.

The WRC has announced plans to challenge the cuts to programs for the poor, which were pushed through during the last legislative session. The Committee will also promote legislation to close corporate tax loopholes and tax the rich.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #Pawlenty #thanksgiving