Benton Harbor municipality in Michigan is under an unelected fascist regime [link]
"Benton Harbor has the most corrupt police department in the nation, lead by Det. Wes Smigielski"
2014-01-20 from Rev Edward Pinkney [http://www.bhbanco.org] [blogtalkradio.com/revpinkney] [269-925-0001]:
Former police officer Andrew Collins has planted drugs on more than 200 citizens of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Presently, we no longer have Andrew Collins; but now have Wes Smigielski, who is known for his open practices of racism in Benton Harbor.
Three bodies have been found floating in the river, and we believe that the police have something to do with these apparent murders. Benton Harbor citizens are constantly harassed by the police. Thus, when we speak of a police state, we are describing the horrible daily reality in Benton Harbor.
Friends and family of a Benton Harbor man found dead in the snow on Jan 1,2014, asked City Commissioners Wednesday, to help them find answers to how and why their son had died.
Nonetheless, without the bother of a persistent, thorough and open investigation, Benton Harbor city police said they do not believe foul play was involved in the death of 18 year old Karrington Penny Morrow, who was found unresponsive in the front yard of 420 Empire Ave, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. His parents Kimberly Penny Word and Robert Morrow, want someone to be held accountable for their son's death.
The family wants a thorough and independent investigation conducted in order to answer their questions.
"There is more to this than what we're being told" said Penny Word, who spoke to the Benton Harbor commissioners during the city Legislative Committee meeting, "and the very manner that we were told was wrong in itself,...
Det. Smigielski kept saying there was no foul play."
Yet, serious questions remain unanswered.
The Parents gave a copy of the text and Facebook message to the commissioners that they said, demonstrates that something else was going on and that the Benton Harbor police department may be part of the cover-up.
Penny Word said that persons who were with her son that night indicated that someone slipped a "molly" [an illegal street drug] to her son in a drink and she wants that person held accountable, further stating that "he [their son] would have been in school in two weeks...and was already enrolled in Lansing Community College."
Penny Word said when she got the phone call at her Mississippi home, she was told that her son had died and no foul play was suspected. Despite the fact that three dead Black bodies have been found floating in the river, the police [also in these cases] amazingly continue to say that there was and is no foul play.
Penny Word said, "I can't fathom there not being any foul play or even making that statement within two minutes of talking to me. My child is dead."
Moreover, in a blatant display of racist insensitivity, Det. Smigielski wanted to know why she [Penny Word] was "so upset."
The parents of the deceased 18 year old said that they were told their son was drinking alcohol at a fair plan house, though he was underage; and that the alcohol was furnished by an "adult" woman at the house.
The obvious question is, who was Karrington with? In the words of Penny Word, "If this adult served my child alcohol, and why can't she be charged with murder or wrongful death? If this person would have been black she would be under the jail and charged with murder. Apparently somebody at her home slipped a molly into my son Karrington's drink."
Ms. Word further said that Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Septic told her that if the
woman is charged with anything, it be would be a "misdemeanor."
"He's deceased!" Ms. Word said, "and I can't see that being a misdemeanor."
The parent said further that Det. Wes Smigielski is trying to cover up any foul play, because he has a relationship with the white woman who was mixing the drinks. Det. Smigielski is known for covering up crimes in against blacks in Benton Harbor by white people.
Smigielski said the case is "closed" and it is apparent that he is trying to protect his white friends.
Deputy Chief Dan McGinnis said Karrington was identified by his wallet. However, the wallet was not found in his pocket.
This is yet another lie by our Benton Harbor police Department.
Deputy Chief McGinnis said Karrington's father has asked the public safety department at lease twice not to press charges against the adult woman who was serving drinks to a minor. However, Karrington's father said he never said anything like that. This is another lie...
Benton Harbor, Michigan has the worst police department in the nation. A city with a 94% black population and yet the police department is 95% white and do not support the community.
As corruption rolls on in the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan; we should be thinking about dissolving the Benton Harbor police department. Wes Smigielski is a lying hood and a criminal terrorist pig.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
White Supremacist Police killing Black folks in Benton Harbor: Some examples
Benton Harbor municipality in Michigan is under an unelected fascist regime [link]
"Warning, Black People! Do Not go near the Lake: Benton Harbor Police are in the area"
2014-01-26 from Rev. Edward Pinkney [banco9342@sbcglobal.net]:
In southwestern Michigan, the St. Joseph River enters Lake Michigan between the towns of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. White people live in St joseph, which is modestly prosperous, and black people live in Benton Harbor, which is a devastating city.
The body of a 16 year old boy was recovered from the river. His name was Eric McGinnis, and he had lived in Benton Harbor with his mother. Eric McGinnis was dating a white girl and was being chased by a group of white people. The white police Chief said he fell into into Lake Michigan and drowned. There were no Foul play according the white police Chief.
Timothy (Bulldog) Allen body was recovered from Lake Michigan with his penis cut off.
Two white police officers was the last to see him alive. The White police Chief stated No foul play.
A group of amateur scuba divers found the body of 34 year-old Dewayne Flowers in Lake Michigan St. Joseph River side. The Berrien county Sheriff Department dive team was sent to the site in the 400 block Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor, after the Michigan Underwater Diver Club reported seeing Flowers' body around noon November 30. He was weighted down with weights. The Sheriff department stated no foul play.
Body found on beach. It still isn't known how the man ended up in Lake Michigan and how he died, due to the condition of the remains officials may never be able to determine the cause of death. Mr. William Edward Hurse death was ruled no foul play.
Body Found in St. Joseph River. Deangelo Stockstell said the body, that was found is my father Toby Williams: He was loved so much. The death was ruled no foul play.
Terrance Shure was murdered by the police. He was bumped by a police car on his motorcycle. Justified Homicide the police stated.
Arthur Partee chocked to death by two white police officers, Justified homicide.
Young Man crashed into fence, police killed him....... no foul play according to the police.
Karrington Penny found in the snow dead, someone slipped a molly into his drink. Police stated no foul play. The people in the community are being killed and the police say no foul play.
No investigation!
Police Officer Andrew Collins planted drugs on over 300 hundred residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Wes Smigielski have violated more than two hundred citizens of Benton Harbor, Michigan.
The Benton Harbor Police Department and Sheriff Department will go out and investigate a recall petition, but will not investigate a black man who was murdered by a police officer.
The Sheriff department and the Benton Harbor police department just raided 5 locations
(drug houses) and netted 5- dime bags of dope, but refuse to investigate all the murders in our community.
When will the people take a stand against the police brutality. We much say enough is enough.
We want a complete investigation of the murder of Karrington Penny, and Detective Wes Smigielski removed from the Police Department! Call and Demand it!
"Warning, Black People! Do Not go near the Lake: Benton Harbor Police are in the area"
2014-01-26 from Rev. Edward Pinkney [banco9342@sbcglobal.net]:
In southwestern Michigan, the St. Joseph River enters Lake Michigan between the towns of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. White people live in St joseph, which is modestly prosperous, and black people live in Benton Harbor, which is a devastating city.
The body of a 16 year old boy was recovered from the river. His name was Eric McGinnis, and he had lived in Benton Harbor with his mother. Eric McGinnis was dating a white girl and was being chased by a group of white people. The white police Chief said he fell into into Lake Michigan and drowned. There were no Foul play according the white police Chief.
Timothy (Bulldog) Allen body was recovered from Lake Michigan with his penis cut off.
Two white police officers was the last to see him alive. The White police Chief stated No foul play.
A group of amateur scuba divers found the body of 34 year-old Dewayne Flowers in Lake Michigan St. Joseph River side. The Berrien county Sheriff Department dive team was sent to the site in the 400 block Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor, after the Michigan Underwater Diver Club reported seeing Flowers' body around noon November 30. He was weighted down with weights. The Sheriff department stated no foul play.
Body found on beach. It still isn't known how the man ended up in Lake Michigan and how he died, due to the condition of the remains officials may never be able to determine the cause of death. Mr. William Edward Hurse death was ruled no foul play.
Body Found in St. Joseph River. Deangelo Stockstell said the body, that was found is my father Toby Williams: He was loved so much. The death was ruled no foul play.
Terrance Shure was murdered by the police. He was bumped by a police car on his motorcycle. Justified Homicide the police stated.
Arthur Partee chocked to death by two white police officers, Justified homicide.
Young Man crashed into fence, police killed him....... no foul play according to the police.
Karrington Penny found in the snow dead, someone slipped a molly into his drink. Police stated no foul play. The people in the community are being killed and the police say no foul play.
No investigation!
Police Officer Andrew Collins planted drugs on over 300 hundred residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Wes Smigielski have violated more than two hundred citizens of Benton Harbor, Michigan.
The Benton Harbor Police Department and Sheriff Department will go out and investigate a recall petition, but will not investigate a black man who was murdered by a police officer.
The Sheriff department and the Benton Harbor police department just raided 5 locations
(drug houses) and netted 5- dime bags of dope, but refuse to investigate all the murders in our community.
When will the people take a stand against the police brutality. We much say enough is enough.
We want a complete investigation of the murder of Karrington Penny, and Detective Wes Smigielski removed from the Police Department! Call and Demand it!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Benton harbor police terrorism: the case of Karrington Penny Morrow
Benton Harbor municipality in Michigan is under an unelected fascist regime [link]
(2014-02-03 message) Rev Pinkney need your help to bring justice to the Karrington Penny family. CALL THE PROSECUTOR AND DEMAND JUSTICE... CALL THE PROSECUTOR AND FORCE MICHAEL SEPIC TO ARREST THE PEOPLE WHO MURDERED KARRINGTON PENNY AT 269-983-7111- IN BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN. THE TEXT MESSAGE TELL WHO KILLED KARRINGTON AND THE PROSECUTOR HAVE THEM!
"Benton Harbor police dept. - most corrupt in US?"
2014-01-23 from Rev Edward Pinkney [banco9342@sbcglobal.net] :
A Benton Harbor, Michigan man was found dead in the snow on Wednesday, January 15. Friends and family asked city commissioners to help them find answers to how and why their son died.
Benton Harbor police said they do not believe foul play was involved in the death of 18 year old Karrington Penny Morrow. He was found unresponsive in the front yard of 420 Empire Ave, Benton Harbor on January 1. His parents, Kimberly Penny Word and Robert Morrow, want someone to be held accountable for their son's death.
The family wants a thorough and independent investigation.
"There is more to this than what we're being told," said Penny Word, who spoke to the Benton Harbor commissioners during the city Legislative Committee meeting, "and the very manner that we were told was wrong in itself. Detective Smigielski kept saying there was no foul play." Yet, serious questions remain unanswered.
The parents gave a copy of a Facebook message to the commissioners. It shows that something else was going on, and that the Benton Harbor police department may be part of the cover-up. Police told Ms. Word not to share this message until the investigation is over.
Penny Word said persons who were with her son that night said someone slipped a "molly" (illegal street drug) into her son's drink, a drink served by the mother in the home Karrington was visiting. Penny Word wants that person held accountable, further stating that he would have been at Lansing Community College in two weeks.
Ms. Word said when she got the phone call at her Mississippi home, she was told that her son had died and no foul play was suspected. Despite the fact that three Black bodies have been found floating in the river, the police amazingly continue to say there was and is no foul play. In all the cases.
Penny Word said, "I can't fathom there not being foul play, or even making that statement within two minutes of talking to me. My child is dead."
Moreover, in a blatant display of racist insensitivity, Det. Smigielski wanted to know why she (Ms. Word) was "so upset."
The parents of the deceased 18 year old said they were told their son was drinking alcohol though he was underage, and that the alcohol was furnished by an adult woman at the house.
The obvious question is, who was Karrington with? Ms. Word said, "If this adult served my child alcohol, why can't she be charged with murder or wrongful death? If this person would have been black she would be in jail and charged with murder. Apparently, someone at her home slipped a molly into my son Karrington's drink."
Ms. Word said Berrien county prosecutor Mike Septic told her that if the
woman is charged with anything, it be would be a "misdemeanor."
"He's deceased!" Ms. Word said, "and I can't see that being a misdemeanor."
The parent said that Det. Wes Smigielski is trying to cover up any foul play, because he has a relationship with the white woman who served the drinks. Det. Smigielski is known for covering up crimes in against blacks in Benton Harbor by white people.
Smigielski said the case is "closed." It's apparent to Benton Harbor residents, familiar with police dept. activities, Smigielski is again protecting his white friends.
Deputy Chief Dan McGinnis said Karrington was identified by his wallet. However, the wallet was not found in his pocket. It was found in his car 2 days after the media announced his death. (Another lie by BHPD.)
McGinnis also said Karrington's father has asked the public safety dept. at least twice not to press charges against the adult woman who was serving drinks to a minor. However, Karrington's father said he never said anything like that. Another BHPD lie.
Benton Harbor, Michigan has the worst police department in the nation. A city with a 94% black population and yet the police department is 95% white and does not support the community.
As corruption rolls on in the city of Benton Harbor, we should be thinking about dissolving the BHPD. They continue to support the likes of Wes Smigielski and Dan McGinnis.
(2014-02-03 message) Rev Pinkney need your help to bring justice to the Karrington Penny family. CALL THE PROSECUTOR AND DEMAND JUSTICE... CALL THE PROSECUTOR AND FORCE MICHAEL SEPIC TO ARREST THE PEOPLE WHO MURDERED KARRINGTON PENNY AT 269-983-7111- IN BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN. THE TEXT MESSAGE TELL WHO KILLED KARRINGTON AND THE PROSECUTOR HAVE THEM!
"Benton Harbor police dept. - most corrupt in US?"
2014-01-23 from Rev Edward Pinkney [banco9342@sbcglobal.net] :
A Benton Harbor, Michigan man was found dead in the snow on Wednesday, January 15. Friends and family asked city commissioners to help them find answers to how and why their son died.
Benton Harbor police said they do not believe foul play was involved in the death of 18 year old Karrington Penny Morrow. He was found unresponsive in the front yard of 420 Empire Ave, Benton Harbor on January 1. His parents, Kimberly Penny Word and Robert Morrow, want someone to be held accountable for their son's death.
The family wants a thorough and independent investigation.
"There is more to this than what we're being told," said Penny Word, who spoke to the Benton Harbor commissioners during the city Legislative Committee meeting, "and the very manner that we were told was wrong in itself. Detective Smigielski kept saying there was no foul play." Yet, serious questions remain unanswered.
The parents gave a copy of a Facebook message to the commissioners. It shows that something else was going on, and that the Benton Harbor police department may be part of the cover-up. Police told Ms. Word not to share this message until the investigation is over.
Penny Word said persons who were with her son that night said someone slipped a "molly" (illegal street drug) into her son's drink, a drink served by the mother in the home Karrington was visiting. Penny Word wants that person held accountable, further stating that he would have been at Lansing Community College in two weeks.
Ms. Word said when she got the phone call at her Mississippi home, she was told that her son had died and no foul play was suspected. Despite the fact that three Black bodies have been found floating in the river, the police amazingly continue to say there was and is no foul play. In all the cases.
Penny Word said, "I can't fathom there not being foul play, or even making that statement within two minutes of talking to me. My child is dead."
Moreover, in a blatant display of racist insensitivity, Det. Smigielski wanted to know why she (Ms. Word) was "so upset."
The parents of the deceased 18 year old said they were told their son was drinking alcohol though he was underage, and that the alcohol was furnished by an adult woman at the house.
The obvious question is, who was Karrington with? Ms. Word said, "If this adult served my child alcohol, why can't she be charged with murder or wrongful death? If this person would have been black she would be in jail and charged with murder. Apparently, someone at her home slipped a molly into my son Karrington's drink."
Ms. Word said Berrien county prosecutor Mike Septic told her that if the
woman is charged with anything, it be would be a "misdemeanor."
"He's deceased!" Ms. Word said, "and I can't see that being a misdemeanor."
The parent said that Det. Wes Smigielski is trying to cover up any foul play, because he has a relationship with the white woman who served the drinks. Det. Smigielski is known for covering up crimes in against blacks in Benton Harbor by white people.
Smigielski said the case is "closed." It's apparent to Benton Harbor residents, familiar with police dept. activities, Smigielski is again protecting his white friends.
Deputy Chief Dan McGinnis said Karrington was identified by his wallet. However, the wallet was not found in his pocket. It was found in his car 2 days after the media announced his death. (Another lie by BHPD.)
McGinnis also said Karrington's father has asked the public safety dept. at least twice not to press charges against the adult woman who was serving drinks to a minor. However, Karrington's father said he never said anything like that. Another BHPD lie.
Benton Harbor, Michigan has the worst police department in the nation. A city with a 94% black population and yet the police department is 95% white and does not support the community.
As corruption rolls on in the city of Benton Harbor, we should be thinking about dissolving the BHPD. They continue to support the likes of Wes Smigielski and Dan McGinnis.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Conservative celebrity complains about "blacklisting", while not suffering actually being blacklisted
Letter by Julian Grant of San Francisco to the editor of the “San Francisco Chronicle”, posted 2014-01-30 [http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/letterstoeditor/article/Letters-to-the-editor-Jan-31-5191120.php]:
It's not blacklisting -
Does the resignation of an actress from a local theatrical production because of a threatened boycott constitute "blacklisting" ("Conservative Latinas need not apply here," Debra J. Saunders, Jan. 21 [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/01/21/conservative_latinas_need_not_apply_here_121295.html])?
According to the columnist, it does. However, the actress in question, Maria Conchita Alonso, freely chose to use her celebrity to bring attention to the GOP gubernatorial candidacy of an "anti-immigrant" politician, Tim Donnelly, by appearing in a video with him.
Similarly, the producers of a play such as "The Vagina Monologues" can freely cast, dismiss or accept the resignation of an actor or actress when a controversy threatens to overshadow the production and, perhaps, its financial prospects.
Alonso has not been "marginalized" or "blacklisted" because of her actions. No one has taken away her rights of free speech, association or employment. She has simply learned, as we all do, that the choices we make in life have consequences.
---
Letter by Kevin Padian of Kensington to the editor of the “San Francisco Chronicle”, posted 2014-02-02
[http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/letterstoeditor/article/Letters-to-the-Editor-Feb-2-5194175.php]
Beating the blacklist -
When Sen. Joe McCarthy and his Red-baiters got the late Pete Seeger blacklisted from recording and performing in major venues during the 1950s, he was often reduced to earning a few bucks playing for elementary and middle-school students, teaching them the songs of harmony, peace and justice that he'd written and learned from Woody Guthrie and countless others. In time those kids grew up, sang his songs at summer camp, invited him to their college campuses, and rallied around his causes.
In the end, he may have done as much to raise the consciousness of social injustice among the American middle class as anyone since Martin Luther King. McCarthy and his goons never saw that coming. But no one did. All that with a five-string banjo and a bunch of kids' songs. Imagine.
It's not blacklisting -
Does the resignation of an actress from a local theatrical production because of a threatened boycott constitute "blacklisting" ("Conservative Latinas need not apply here," Debra J. Saunders, Jan. 21 [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/01/21/conservative_latinas_need_not_apply_here_121295.html])?
According to the columnist, it does. However, the actress in question, Maria Conchita Alonso, freely chose to use her celebrity to bring attention to the GOP gubernatorial candidacy of an "anti-immigrant" politician, Tim Donnelly, by appearing in a video with him.
Similarly, the producers of a play such as "The Vagina Monologues" can freely cast, dismiss or accept the resignation of an actor or actress when a controversy threatens to overshadow the production and, perhaps, its financial prospects.
Alonso has not been "marginalized" or "blacklisted" because of her actions. No one has taken away her rights of free speech, association or employment. She has simply learned, as we all do, that the choices we make in life have consequences.
---
Letter by Kevin Padian of Kensington to the editor of the “San Francisco Chronicle”, posted 2014-02-02
[http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/letterstoeditor/article/Letters-to-the-Editor-Feb-2-5194175.php]
Beating the blacklist -
When Sen. Joe McCarthy and his Red-baiters got the late Pete Seeger blacklisted from recording and performing in major venues during the 1950s, he was often reduced to earning a few bucks playing for elementary and middle-school students, teaching them the songs of harmony, peace and justice that he'd written and learned from Woody Guthrie and countless others. In time those kids grew up, sang his songs at summer camp, invited him to their college campuses, and rallied around his causes.
In the end, he may have done as much to raise the consciousness of social injustice among the American middle class as anyone since Martin Luther King. McCarthy and his goons never saw that coming. But no one did. All that with a five-string banjo and a bunch of kids' songs. Imagine.
Pastor Robert Jeffress: "Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)" is preparing people for the Anti-Christ
More about Christian Dominionism [link]
Pastor Robert Jeffress, who preaches against public healthcare, is one who believes that the current private healthcare system is best, despite the private death-panels which target the poor, the elderly and dependent with death if they have no money for healthcare, and the addictive narcotics produced for profit.
"Pastor tells Fox News: Obama’s getting us ready to embrace the anti-Christ"
2014-01-21 by Travis Gettys from [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/21/pastor-tells-fox-news-obamas-getting-us-ready-to-embrace-the-anti-christ/]:
(video-still showing Pastor Robert Jeffress)
Fox News gave a platform to a Texas megachurch pastor who predicts that President Barack Obama is paving the way for the anti-Christ [http://www.mediaite.com/tv/pastor-tells-oreilly-how-obama-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-anti-christ/].
Fundamentalist Christian pastor Robert Jeffress appeared Monday night on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss his new book, Perfect Ending, which suggests the president’s policies were conditioning Americans to rely on the government and make them vulnerable to the satanic political figure foretold in the Bible.
“What I’m saying in the book, Bill, is there’s going to be a future world dictator before Christ returns who’s going to usurp people’s personal feelings, uh, rights,” Jeffers told host Bill O’Reilly.
Jeffers, pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, said the anti-Christ would wage war against Christians and change religion-based laws.
“He’s going to do it without any opposition, and my question was, how is he going to be able to pull that off?” Jeffers said. “My thesis is, people will have been conditioned long before the anti-Christ comes to accept governmental overreach, and that’s what you’re seeing with President Obama.”
He said the end times were predicted in the Old Testament Book of Daniel and the New Testament Book of Revelations.
“Even Jews look forward to it,” Jeffers told O’Reilly.
The pastor said he’s based his conclusions on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which has extended health care coverage to millions of Americans, and the mandate requiring health insurers and employers who offer health insurance to cover some contraception costs.
“President Obama is without apology the most pro-abortion president in history, but what’s even worse, Bill, is we are being conditioned to accept that government has the right to persecute people of faith,” Jeffers said.
He said that Obama had targeted Christians and other religious people for his support for same-sex marriage, which the pastor said was destroying family life.
“Whenever you counterfeit something, you cheapen the value of the real thing, and I believe one reason for the disintegration of the family and marriage is we’re counterfeiting it, and last year the U.S. had the lowest marriage rate in its history,” Jeffers said. “Whenever you say that marriage is whatever you want it to be — two men, two women, a man and a woman – people say, ‘Why bother to get married at all?’”
Despite his lengthy indictment, Jeffers pooh-poohed the notion that Obama could be the satanic figure predicted in scripture.
“I’m not saying President Obama is the anti-Christ — in fact, I’m sure he’s not — because the anti-Christ is going to have higher poll numbers, according to the Bible, at least in the beginning,” Jeffers said. “But I believe he is conditioning people to accept governmental overreach, which they will finally give into when this final dictator comes, whether that’s 10 years from now or 1,000 years from now.”
Pastor Robert Jeffress, who preaches against public healthcare, is one who believes that the current private healthcare system is best, despite the private death-panels which target the poor, the elderly and dependent with death if they have no money for healthcare, and the addictive narcotics produced for profit.
"Pastor tells Fox News: Obama’s getting us ready to embrace the anti-Christ"
2014-01-21 by Travis Gettys from [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/21/pastor-tells-fox-news-obamas-getting-us-ready-to-embrace-the-anti-christ/]:
(video-still showing Pastor Robert Jeffress)
Fox News gave a platform to a Texas megachurch pastor who predicts that President Barack Obama is paving the way for the anti-Christ [http://www.mediaite.com/tv/pastor-tells-oreilly-how-obama-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-anti-christ/].
Fundamentalist Christian pastor Robert Jeffress appeared Monday night on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss his new book, Perfect Ending, which suggests the president’s policies were conditioning Americans to rely on the government and make them vulnerable to the satanic political figure foretold in the Bible.
“What I’m saying in the book, Bill, is there’s going to be a future world dictator before Christ returns who’s going to usurp people’s personal feelings, uh, rights,” Jeffers told host Bill O’Reilly.
Jeffers, pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, said the anti-Christ would wage war against Christians and change religion-based laws.
“He’s going to do it without any opposition, and my question was, how is he going to be able to pull that off?” Jeffers said. “My thesis is, people will have been conditioned long before the anti-Christ comes to accept governmental overreach, and that’s what you’re seeing with President Obama.”
He said the end times were predicted in the Old Testament Book of Daniel and the New Testament Book of Revelations.
“Even Jews look forward to it,” Jeffers told O’Reilly.
The pastor said he’s based his conclusions on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which has extended health care coverage to millions of Americans, and the mandate requiring health insurers and employers who offer health insurance to cover some contraception costs.
“President Obama is without apology the most pro-abortion president in history, but what’s even worse, Bill, is we are being conditioned to accept that government has the right to persecute people of faith,” Jeffers said.
He said that Obama had targeted Christians and other religious people for his support for same-sex marriage, which the pastor said was destroying family life.
“Whenever you counterfeit something, you cheapen the value of the real thing, and I believe one reason for the disintegration of the family and marriage is we’re counterfeiting it, and last year the U.S. had the lowest marriage rate in its history,” Jeffers said. “Whenever you say that marriage is whatever you want it to be — two men, two women, a man and a woman – people say, ‘Why bother to get married at all?’”
Despite his lengthy indictment, Jeffers pooh-poohed the notion that Obama could be the satanic figure predicted in scripture.
“I’m not saying President Obama is the anti-Christ — in fact, I’m sure he’s not — because the anti-Christ is going to have higher poll numbers, according to the Bible, at least in the beginning,” Jeffers said. “But I believe he is conditioning people to accept governmental overreach, which they will finally give into when this final dictator comes, whether that’s 10 years from now or 1,000 years from now.”
Friday, January 10, 2014
Benton Harbor Mayor advocates tax-free municipality for private employers, more public debt for the working-class residents
Benton Harbor, a town in Michigan under an executive dictatorship [link]
“Black Minister's support the suffering of Benton Harbor residents”
2014-01-10 by Rev Edward Pinkney [bhbanco.org] (Pinkney to Pinkney show, [blogtalkradio.com/Rev Pinkney], every Sunday at 5 pm eastrn time):
Mayor James Hightower of Benton Harbor, Michigan says the Whirlpool Corporation should not pay taxes - only the residents of the city of Benton Harbor should foot the bills. Whirlpool Corporation's profit last year was more than ten billion dollars, and it paid no taxes to the city of Benton Harbor where the headquarters resides.
Mayor James Hightower and the Whirlpool Corporation fought extremely hard to defeat the city income tax which would have provided $3.5 million dollars the very first year and every year after. Residents and those who work in the city would pay the income tax. Corporations would, too.
Mayor Hightower wanted a debt consolidation loan. He said the loan would not add to the debt, but eliminate it. How stupid does the mayor and Whirlpool Corporation believe the residents of Benton Harbor are?
Commissioner Marcus Muhammad, who supports the residents and fights for all of us, said he remains unconvinced that the loan is a good idea. Commissioner Muhammad remarked, "You cannot cut your way out of debt, or borrow your way out of debt. These are just two basic principle of finance. Commissioner Bowen said, "Without the loan the city will still pay off it's debt, it will just take longer. I don't see what's the rush."
The commissioners question why Mayor Hightower didn't mention the need for a loan in his State of the City address on October 15, 2013 - before the November 5, 2013 election when the city income tax was defeated. It would have provided $3.5 million every year. There would be no need for a loan. He said the city was in the black, and now he wanted to take out a $2.3 million dollar loan (on the backs of the people.)
If the people had known about the loan they would have approved the city income tax, which called for residents and businesses to pay 1% income tax and non-residents 0.5% city income tax. Non-residents are over 90% of the people who work inside Benton Harbor.
Hightower is being recalled for voting "no" on the city income tax. Because of him the residents are forced to take out a loan for $2.3 million dollars. We must remove the Mayor from office.
“Black Minister's support the suffering of Benton Harbor residents”
2014-01-10 by Rev Edward Pinkney [bhbanco.org] (Pinkney to Pinkney show, [blogtalkradio.com/Rev Pinkney], every Sunday at 5 pm eastrn time):
Mayor James Hightower of Benton Harbor, Michigan says the Whirlpool Corporation should not pay taxes - only the residents of the city of Benton Harbor should foot the bills. Whirlpool Corporation's profit last year was more than ten billion dollars, and it paid no taxes to the city of Benton Harbor where the headquarters resides.
Mayor James Hightower and the Whirlpool Corporation fought extremely hard to defeat the city income tax which would have provided $3.5 million dollars the very first year and every year after. Residents and those who work in the city would pay the income tax. Corporations would, too.
Mayor Hightower wanted a debt consolidation loan. He said the loan would not add to the debt, but eliminate it. How stupid does the mayor and Whirlpool Corporation believe the residents of Benton Harbor are?
Commissioner Marcus Muhammad, who supports the residents and fights for all of us, said he remains unconvinced that the loan is a good idea. Commissioner Muhammad remarked, "You cannot cut your way out of debt, or borrow your way out of debt. These are just two basic principle of finance. Commissioner Bowen said, "Without the loan the city will still pay off it's debt, it will just take longer. I don't see what's the rush."
The commissioners question why Mayor Hightower didn't mention the need for a loan in his State of the City address on October 15, 2013 - before the November 5, 2013 election when the city income tax was defeated. It would have provided $3.5 million every year. There would be no need for a loan. He said the city was in the black, and now he wanted to take out a $2.3 million dollar loan (on the backs of the people.)
If the people had known about the loan they would have approved the city income tax, which called for residents and businesses to pay 1% income tax and non-residents 0.5% city income tax. Non-residents are over 90% of the people who work inside Benton Harbor.
Hightower is being recalled for voting "no" on the city income tax. Because of him the residents are forced to take out a loan for $2.3 million dollars. We must remove the Mayor from office.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Boeing Corp., with over $6 Billion in profits during 2012, demands financial sacrifice from it's workers
"Solidarity with Boeing Workers!"
2014-01-01 from "Labor Fightback Network" [laborfightback.org] :
On November 13, more than 31,000 Machinists, all members of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), rejected by a 2-1 margin the concessionary contract put forward by Boeing Corp. Six weeks earlier, the company had demanded a re-opener of the contract -- which expires in 2016 -- and new contract language as a condition for manufacturing and assembling the new 777X wide-body jetliner in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
"Failure by the Machinists to accept the terms of the contract extension," said Ray Conner, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial aircraft division, "would leave us with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X." Conner went on to explain that Boeing was considering 21 alternative sites across the United States for the production and assembly of the 777X should the Machinists reject the company's demands. (Seattle Times, November 13)
When they went to the polling booths in their union halls on November 13, the Local 751 Machinists were fully aware of the company's attempt to whipsaw Machinists in Washington state against their counterparts in Utah, California, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina and other states. For weeks the company's spokespersons, the local newspapers, and the state politicians -- including Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee, both Democrats -- had been urging the workers to vote YES on the new re-opener and contract, warning that a NO vote could mean a loss of up to 56,000 jobs in the industry and a crippling blow to Washington state's economy.
But the workers were mad as hell that a company that was enjoying record profits ($6.3 billion reported in 2012), record stock prices, and near-record backlogs was demanding a contract extension till 2024 with a whole list of unacceptable takeaways. Boeing's decision in October to reward executives with huge bonuses and shareholders with a $10 billion stock buy-back and a 50 percent dividend increase only added insult to injury.
The new contract terms and concessions demanded by Boeing include the following:
* Language that gives Boeing the ability to outsource 777X work packages "in whole or in part" for any number of reasons, plus a refusal to use current Local 751 wing-line mechanics to build 777X wings;
* Freezing workers' pensions and eliminating them for new Machinists;
* Destruction of workers' retirement security, with proposals that would decrease Boeing's contributions to employee retirement plans by two-thirds if a worker is at maximum pay in a given labor grade -- and more if a worker is still in progression;
* Sharp increases (up to $4,000 yearly) in workers' health-care contributions, including 10 percent annual increases in health-care insurance premiums (triple during contract), deductibles and co-pays that double -- with new contract language that would give Boeing the "flexibility" to cut workers' health-care benefits in the future, without negotiations; and
* Guaranteed wage increases that average 0.5 percent over the life of the proposal -- which works out to less than 15 cents an hour for the average District 751 member -- and locking in current starting pay rates until 2024, when thousands of Boeing jobs would be below minimum wage.
After the vote totals were announced on the evening of November 13, with 67 percent opposing the Boeing takeaways, workers interviewed by the Seattle Times expressed the anger of the majority of the union's rank and file over the company's blackmail and union-busting tactics.
Robley Evans, a forklift driver in Auburn, Wash., who helped lead the VOTE NO push, said, "I couldn't be more proud of my brothers and sisters. We stood against the wall. We won. We saved our union tonight. That contract would have destroyed our union."
Hazel Powers, a tooling inspector in Auburn, said she voted NO to defend the pension and to save new hires from a reduced wage structure. "I'm not going to sell out," Powers said.
IAM Leadership Orders Contract Re-vote -
Apparently displeased with the results of the November 13 vote, the IAM International leadership announced on December 21 a re-vote on January 3 of a contract-extension proposal made public by Boeing on December 12 that is almost identical to the one that District 751 members had rejected in November.
The website of District 751 informed its members that, "International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger ordered the vote over objections of District 751's elected officials . . . and announced the January 3rd vote to the Seattle Times." The local union's leadership and membership only learned about the re-vote from the media.
The local leadership objected to rushing a vote at a time when roughly a third of the union members are on vacation -- and thus unable to get the information and discussion necessary to be able to cast an informed vote. Their stand resulted in the IAM International leadership's agreement to allow a one-time-only absentee ballot process so that workers on vacation could cast their vote in a mail ballot.
District 751 Leaders Call on Members to Vote NO!
But, unlike the vote on November 13, where the District 751 leadership had taken a neutral stand on the company's proposed re-opener and contract, this time the District 751 leadership is strongly urging a NO vote.
The editorial in the December 2013 "Special Contract Vote Edition" of Aero Mechanic, the monthly newsletter of District 751, quoted IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski as saying that "the District 751 leadership is united in emphatically recommending that members again say NO to Boeing and reject the offer." Wroblewski explained that despite some minor modifications by the company to its initial contract proposal, "the fact is that Boeing's offer is still a bad one that would impose drastic concessions on retirement and health-care benefits and limit future wage growth."
In a separate statement published in this special issue of Aero Mechanic, Wroblewski also addressed the confusion caused by the December 26 Letter to IAM District 751 members by IAM International President Buffenbarger urging members to ratify the contract.
Wroblewski stated, "I'm sure that it is confusing to receive two separate mailings from the same union, one encouraging members to vote YES on the proposal and the other urging members to vote NO. It is confusing and unfortunate. . . .
"International President Buffenbarger believes a YES vote is the only way to win 777X jobs for Washington state. While he certainly has the right to his opinion and the right to share it with our members, our elected District 751 representatives here in Seattle disagree with his analysis.
"We don't feel the changes Boeing has made to its offer since November are significant and they don't address the major issues that members found objectionable in the first vote. We also believe that the promises Boeing is making about the 777X are too sketchy, with too many big loopholes, to be counted on."
Wroblewski concluded his statement on a militant note: "We can prevent Boeing from ripping away benefits and pay that we have earned with our performance, today and over the past 78 years, and we can do that by rejecting the Boeing offer on January 3."
Wroblewski and the District 751 leadership were joined in their denunciation of Boeing's latest contract offer by Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council who, in an article published in the special issue of Aero Mechanic, called Boeing's latest offer "a slap in the face of the Washington state workforce."
"In this re-opener," Johnson continued, "Boeing is demanding unprecedented takeaways for their workers at a time when the company is making unprecedented profits and sales and giving out huge executive bonus packages. This is a case of a company that is flush with cash, orders and profits not only refusing to maintain its workforce's existing wages and benefits, but also demanding that they give up their pensions under the threat of moving work elsewhere."
United We Stand, Divided We Beg!
Boeing's threat to move production to one of the 21 states on its bidding list is posing a major challenge to the entire labor movement as unions are being pressed to back city and state legislatures in their quest to offer huge tax write-offs to Boeing to woo them to their state. Many of the incentive plans include "no-strike pledges" during the life of the contract. And, to be expected, the right-to-work (for less) states are touting their union-free workforces, low taxes and lack of regulations.
With workers hungry for jobs across the country, the pressure to give in to the corporate whipsawing strategy, which only pits workers against each other in a race to the bottom, is intense.
Yet despite these pressures, the voice of solidarity has not been drowned out.
Gordon King, the president of the Machinists union in St. Louis, Mo., dashed off an angry letter to the press to answer a false statement by the state's governor, Jay Nixon, who claimed that the Boeing Machinists in St. Louis would accept a contract like the one the Washington Machinists had defeated in November.
"This is totally false," King said, insisting that he would not even present to his members the contract Boeing offered machinists in St. Louis. Not only that, King said that the 777X should be built in Washington. "My brothers and sisters in Seattle are the most qualified and experienced to perform that work," King said.
Another example of the kind of labor solidarity that is needed to defeat the corporate divide-and-rule strategy was expressed by Erin McGee, president of the South Carolina AFL-CIO. (South Carolina is a right-to-work [for less] state, where Boeing is building its new 787 Dreamliner thanks, in part, to the big tax-incentives package provided by the state legislature.)
Sister McGee put it this way in a statement dated December 30:
"In 2012, the CEO of Boeing made 793 times more than the average worker. In 2013, in South Carolina the value of subsidies that Boeing received was $120 million. So the average worker making around $35,000 is helping to subsidize a CEO who makes over $27 million and a company that collects billions of dollars in subsidies nationwide.
"The Machinists in Washington state will vote again on a contract this week. There is a lot at stake in this vote, not only for the workers in Washington state but for workers all over this country -- both union and non-union. As Boeing and other large corporations try to break unions and our Governor Nikki Haley says that unions are not needed or wanted, what does that really mean? Does it mean that workers in South Carolina deserve less?
"It means that instead of a United States of America, we are heading more toward the Divided States of America, as each state gives out more subsidies to the corporations and asks for less for its workers. It means an America that will continue to see wages and benefits go down while the costs of goods, health care, and education go up.
"It means a country where someone arrested for a crime has more rights than an employee does on his job. The jobs we have enable us to support our families. Do we want their opportunities in life to go down? We have been complacent for too long, and we must remember the age-old union slogan: 'United We Stand, Divided We Beg.' Now is the time to stand in solidarity with our union sister and brother Machinists in Washington state!"
Learning the Lessons of Past Defeats -
The year was 1981. The Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) went on strike to protest poor working conditions and win higher pay and a shorter workweek. The Reagan administration took steps to fire the strikers and bust their union. This posed a critical choice for the rest of the labor movement: either sit back, do nothing and allow the federal government to get away with union busting; or demonstrate solidarity with PATCO and bring the full power of labor to bear in PATCO's support. Unfortunately, it was the former course that was chosen, and the union went down to defeat with its leaders led away in chains. And after it was over, many trade union leaders exclaimed, "We made a big mistake. We should have shut the country down and defended our brothers and sisters." But it was too late for that.
The year was 2011. Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker was hell-bent on severely cutting public workers' wages, benefits and working conditions, and destroying their unions' bargaining rights. Again the rest of the labor movement faced a critical choice: either divert the massive mobilizations that were taking place into electoral channels and get the workers off the streets; or declare a crisis warranting building ever larger mobilizations of trade unionists and our allies from around the country and defeating Walker's union-busting campaign. Unfortunately, the dead-end electoral strategy was the one pursued and the workers went down to defeat.
There have been other tests and crises for labor both before and after 2011, notably the $85 billion bailout of the auto companies while Detroit's public workers' benefits are being slashed to the bone. Again, united labor action and mobilization were critically needed to avert this outcome, but again it was not forthcoming.
Now we have another watershed moment involving Boeing's demanding horrific concessions from its Seattle workers under threat of packing up, leaving the area and eliminating their jobs. Isn't it time to draw lessons from past defeats? Isn't it high time for labor in concert with its allies to draw a line in the sand and beat back this union-busting attack by this multi-billion dollar corporation?
Isn't it the responsibility of the entire labor movement, beginning with the labor movement in Washington state, to pledge their full support to a massive mobilization campaign to prevent Boeing from transferring production out of state should the Boeing workers vote down the company's offer?
District 751 workers should know that there are plenty of us out there who have their back and will do everything possible to build broad support for their struggle. A defeat for Boeing workers would mark a tragic setback not only for the labor movement but for the working class as a whole. Labor must not allow Boeing to prevail here! If ever there was a time to give meaning to labor's clarion call for SOLIDARITY FOREVER, this is it!
So how would a solidarity campaign work? That would depend on what the IAM District in Washington state wishes to do. Here are some ideas that might be worth considering for starters:
- Establish teams of Boeing workers who could travel the country addressing local unions' membership meetings, delegate assemblies, executive boards, central labor councils, regional and state bodies, etc.;
- Draft a model resolution calling for support for Seattle Boeing members that labor and community groups would be asked to adopt;
- Petition campaign;
- Letters to the editor campaign;
- Media campaign;
- Solidarity rallies and demonstrations;
- Labor/community campaigns discouraging any site that Boeing was talking to regarding relocation to oppose stealing jobs of Seattle workers, citing the statement of Missouri IAM leader Gordon King.
2014-01-01 from "Labor Fightback Network" [laborfightback.org] :
On November 13, more than 31,000 Machinists, all members of District 751 of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), rejected by a 2-1 margin the concessionary contract put forward by Boeing Corp. Six weeks earlier, the company had demanded a re-opener of the contract -- which expires in 2016 -- and new contract language as a condition for manufacturing and assembling the new 777X wide-body jetliner in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
"Failure by the Machinists to accept the terms of the contract extension," said Ray Conner, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial aircraft division, "would leave us with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X." Conner went on to explain that Boeing was considering 21 alternative sites across the United States for the production and assembly of the 777X should the Machinists reject the company's demands. (Seattle Times, November 13)
When they went to the polling booths in their union halls on November 13, the Local 751 Machinists were fully aware of the company's attempt to whipsaw Machinists in Washington state against their counterparts in Utah, California, Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina and other states. For weeks the company's spokespersons, the local newspapers, and the state politicians -- including Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee, both Democrats -- had been urging the workers to vote YES on the new re-opener and contract, warning that a NO vote could mean a loss of up to 56,000 jobs in the industry and a crippling blow to Washington state's economy.
But the workers were mad as hell that a company that was enjoying record profits ($6.3 billion reported in 2012), record stock prices, and near-record backlogs was demanding a contract extension till 2024 with a whole list of unacceptable takeaways. Boeing's decision in October to reward executives with huge bonuses and shareholders with a $10 billion stock buy-back and a 50 percent dividend increase only added insult to injury.
The new contract terms and concessions demanded by Boeing include the following:
* Language that gives Boeing the ability to outsource 777X work packages "in whole or in part" for any number of reasons, plus a refusal to use current Local 751 wing-line mechanics to build 777X wings;
* Freezing workers' pensions and eliminating them for new Machinists;
* Destruction of workers' retirement security, with proposals that would decrease Boeing's contributions to employee retirement plans by two-thirds if a worker is at maximum pay in a given labor grade -- and more if a worker is still in progression;
* Sharp increases (up to $4,000 yearly) in workers' health-care contributions, including 10 percent annual increases in health-care insurance premiums (triple during contract), deductibles and co-pays that double -- with new contract language that would give Boeing the "flexibility" to cut workers' health-care benefits in the future, without negotiations; and
* Guaranteed wage increases that average 0.5 percent over the life of the proposal -- which works out to less than 15 cents an hour for the average District 751 member -- and locking in current starting pay rates until 2024, when thousands of Boeing jobs would be below minimum wage.
After the vote totals were announced on the evening of November 13, with 67 percent opposing the Boeing takeaways, workers interviewed by the Seattle Times expressed the anger of the majority of the union's rank and file over the company's blackmail and union-busting tactics.
Robley Evans, a forklift driver in Auburn, Wash., who helped lead the VOTE NO push, said, "I couldn't be more proud of my brothers and sisters. We stood against the wall. We won. We saved our union tonight. That contract would have destroyed our union."
Hazel Powers, a tooling inspector in Auburn, said she voted NO to defend the pension and to save new hires from a reduced wage structure. "I'm not going to sell out," Powers said.
IAM Leadership Orders Contract Re-vote -
Apparently displeased with the results of the November 13 vote, the IAM International leadership announced on December 21 a re-vote on January 3 of a contract-extension proposal made public by Boeing on December 12 that is almost identical to the one that District 751 members had rejected in November.
The website of District 751 informed its members that, "International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger ordered the vote over objections of District 751's elected officials . . . and announced the January 3rd vote to the Seattle Times." The local union's leadership and membership only learned about the re-vote from the media.
The local leadership objected to rushing a vote at a time when roughly a third of the union members are on vacation -- and thus unable to get the information and discussion necessary to be able to cast an informed vote. Their stand resulted in the IAM International leadership's agreement to allow a one-time-only absentee ballot process so that workers on vacation could cast their vote in a mail ballot.
District 751 Leaders Call on Members to Vote NO!
But, unlike the vote on November 13, where the District 751 leadership had taken a neutral stand on the company's proposed re-opener and contract, this time the District 751 leadership is strongly urging a NO vote.
The editorial in the December 2013 "Special Contract Vote Edition" of Aero Mechanic, the monthly newsletter of District 751, quoted IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski as saying that "the District 751 leadership is united in emphatically recommending that members again say NO to Boeing and reject the offer." Wroblewski explained that despite some minor modifications by the company to its initial contract proposal, "the fact is that Boeing's offer is still a bad one that would impose drastic concessions on retirement and health-care benefits and limit future wage growth."
In a separate statement published in this special issue of Aero Mechanic, Wroblewski also addressed the confusion caused by the December 26 Letter to IAM District 751 members by IAM International President Buffenbarger urging members to ratify the contract.
Wroblewski stated, "I'm sure that it is confusing to receive two separate mailings from the same union, one encouraging members to vote YES on the proposal and the other urging members to vote NO. It is confusing and unfortunate. . . .
"International President Buffenbarger believes a YES vote is the only way to win 777X jobs for Washington state. While he certainly has the right to his opinion and the right to share it with our members, our elected District 751 representatives here in Seattle disagree with his analysis.
"We don't feel the changes Boeing has made to its offer since November are significant and they don't address the major issues that members found objectionable in the first vote. We also believe that the promises Boeing is making about the 777X are too sketchy, with too many big loopholes, to be counted on."
Wroblewski concluded his statement on a militant note: "We can prevent Boeing from ripping away benefits and pay that we have earned with our performance, today and over the past 78 years, and we can do that by rejecting the Boeing offer on January 3."
Wroblewski and the District 751 leadership were joined in their denunciation of Boeing's latest contract offer by Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council who, in an article published in the special issue of Aero Mechanic, called Boeing's latest offer "a slap in the face of the Washington state workforce."
"In this re-opener," Johnson continued, "Boeing is demanding unprecedented takeaways for their workers at a time when the company is making unprecedented profits and sales and giving out huge executive bonus packages. This is a case of a company that is flush with cash, orders and profits not only refusing to maintain its workforce's existing wages and benefits, but also demanding that they give up their pensions under the threat of moving work elsewhere."
United We Stand, Divided We Beg!
Boeing's threat to move production to one of the 21 states on its bidding list is posing a major challenge to the entire labor movement as unions are being pressed to back city and state legislatures in their quest to offer huge tax write-offs to Boeing to woo them to their state. Many of the incentive plans include "no-strike pledges" during the life of the contract. And, to be expected, the right-to-work (for less) states are touting their union-free workforces, low taxes and lack of regulations.
With workers hungry for jobs across the country, the pressure to give in to the corporate whipsawing strategy, which only pits workers against each other in a race to the bottom, is intense.
Yet despite these pressures, the voice of solidarity has not been drowned out.
Gordon King, the president of the Machinists union in St. Louis, Mo., dashed off an angry letter to the press to answer a false statement by the state's governor, Jay Nixon, who claimed that the Boeing Machinists in St. Louis would accept a contract like the one the Washington Machinists had defeated in November.
"This is totally false," King said, insisting that he would not even present to his members the contract Boeing offered machinists in St. Louis. Not only that, King said that the 777X should be built in Washington. "My brothers and sisters in Seattle are the most qualified and experienced to perform that work," King said.
Another example of the kind of labor solidarity that is needed to defeat the corporate divide-and-rule strategy was expressed by Erin McGee, president of the South Carolina AFL-CIO. (South Carolina is a right-to-work [for less] state, where Boeing is building its new 787 Dreamliner thanks, in part, to the big tax-incentives package provided by the state legislature.)
Sister McGee put it this way in a statement dated December 30:
"In 2012, the CEO of Boeing made 793 times more than the average worker. In 2013, in South Carolina the value of subsidies that Boeing received was $120 million. So the average worker making around $35,000 is helping to subsidize a CEO who makes over $27 million and a company that collects billions of dollars in subsidies nationwide.
"The Machinists in Washington state will vote again on a contract this week. There is a lot at stake in this vote, not only for the workers in Washington state but for workers all over this country -- both union and non-union. As Boeing and other large corporations try to break unions and our Governor Nikki Haley says that unions are not needed or wanted, what does that really mean? Does it mean that workers in South Carolina deserve less?
"It means that instead of a United States of America, we are heading more toward the Divided States of America, as each state gives out more subsidies to the corporations and asks for less for its workers. It means an America that will continue to see wages and benefits go down while the costs of goods, health care, and education go up.
"It means a country where someone arrested for a crime has more rights than an employee does on his job. The jobs we have enable us to support our families. Do we want their opportunities in life to go down? We have been complacent for too long, and we must remember the age-old union slogan: 'United We Stand, Divided We Beg.' Now is the time to stand in solidarity with our union sister and brother Machinists in Washington state!"
Learning the Lessons of Past Defeats -
The year was 1981. The Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) went on strike to protest poor working conditions and win higher pay and a shorter workweek. The Reagan administration took steps to fire the strikers and bust their union. This posed a critical choice for the rest of the labor movement: either sit back, do nothing and allow the federal government to get away with union busting; or demonstrate solidarity with PATCO and bring the full power of labor to bear in PATCO's support. Unfortunately, it was the former course that was chosen, and the union went down to defeat with its leaders led away in chains. And after it was over, many trade union leaders exclaimed, "We made a big mistake. We should have shut the country down and defended our brothers and sisters." But it was too late for that.
The year was 2011. Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker was hell-bent on severely cutting public workers' wages, benefits and working conditions, and destroying their unions' bargaining rights. Again the rest of the labor movement faced a critical choice: either divert the massive mobilizations that were taking place into electoral channels and get the workers off the streets; or declare a crisis warranting building ever larger mobilizations of trade unionists and our allies from around the country and defeating Walker's union-busting campaign. Unfortunately, the dead-end electoral strategy was the one pursued and the workers went down to defeat.
There have been other tests and crises for labor both before and after 2011, notably the $85 billion bailout of the auto companies while Detroit's public workers' benefits are being slashed to the bone. Again, united labor action and mobilization were critically needed to avert this outcome, but again it was not forthcoming.
Now we have another watershed moment involving Boeing's demanding horrific concessions from its Seattle workers under threat of packing up, leaving the area and eliminating their jobs. Isn't it time to draw lessons from past defeats? Isn't it high time for labor in concert with its allies to draw a line in the sand and beat back this union-busting attack by this multi-billion dollar corporation?
Isn't it the responsibility of the entire labor movement, beginning with the labor movement in Washington state, to pledge their full support to a massive mobilization campaign to prevent Boeing from transferring production out of state should the Boeing workers vote down the company's offer?
District 751 workers should know that there are plenty of us out there who have their back and will do everything possible to build broad support for their struggle. A defeat for Boeing workers would mark a tragic setback not only for the labor movement but for the working class as a whole. Labor must not allow Boeing to prevail here! If ever there was a time to give meaning to labor's clarion call for SOLIDARITY FOREVER, this is it!
So how would a solidarity campaign work? That would depend on what the IAM District in Washington state wishes to do. Here are some ideas that might be worth considering for starters:
- Establish teams of Boeing workers who could travel the country addressing local unions' membership meetings, delegate assemblies, executive boards, central labor councils, regional and state bodies, etc.;
- Draft a model resolution calling for support for Seattle Boeing members that labor and community groups would be asked to adopt;
- Petition campaign;
- Letters to the editor campaign;
- Media campaign;
- Solidarity rallies and demonstrations;
- Labor/community campaigns discouraging any site that Boeing was talking to regarding relocation to oppose stealing jobs of Seattle workers, citing the statement of Missouri IAM leader Gordon King.
Benton Harbor, Michigan, terrorised by outlaw Police
Benton Harbor municipality in Michigan is under an unelected fascist regime [link]
"One reason Benton Harbor residents live in fear"
2013-12-29 from Rev Edward Pinkney" [banco9342@sbcglobal.net], "Pinkney to Pinkney" show, Every Sunday 5pm ET [blogtalkradio.com/rev-pinkney] :
His name is Wes Smigielski. He's a cop who has been allowed to terrorize Benton Harbor for years.
Smigielski has been gunning for the Carter family for about five years. Why? His wife's sister has two children by a member of the Carter family, who happens to be black, and Wes isn't having it.
Here's the latest twisted and terrifying drama he created in this month of December 2013 for a Benton Harbor woman:
Upon answering a false alarm (attempted assault) call in the community, Smigielsi found that the alleged victim was the girlfriend of a Carter family member (brother of the man mentioned above.) He grilled her about the "assault" and kept hearing the opposite of what he wanted -- she insisted the call was a false alarm and nobody assaulted her.
Smigielski left the scene and called Child Protective Services resulting in the agency removing this woman's children from her home. NOT because she was a bad parent, NOT because her home was dirty, NOT because the children weren't fed - only because she didn't give him the answers he wanted which would enable him to send her Carter boyfriend to prison.
Smigielski forced this woman to testify in court about being assaulted by the Carter man and the court charged her with PERJURY. There was no perjury. She was so intimidated and afraid that she plead guilty to something that was not true. Smiglielski told her she would never see her children again unless she testified the way he wanted her to.
A code of ethics, if it is to be used for occupational purposes must set a standard above ordinary morality. Otherwise there's no need for a code of ethics at all.
This is especially relevant to police work where it takes more than just a commitment to being an ordinary decent human being. The ideal police system would be one with 100% integrity.
The Benton Harbor Police Dept. is without integrity. I, Rev Edward Pinkney, am a daily court-observer in the Berrien County, Mich. courthouse, and I witnessed the human tragedy Smigeilski created this month for an innocent woman.
Two months ago I went to Wes Smigielski and the BH chief of police to alert them about a minister who is molesting children. They refused to investigate.
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
Here is another story about this racist cop [www.bhbanco.org/2010/12/smigielski-manipulating-another-citizen.html].
"One reason Benton Harbor residents live in fear"
2013-12-29 from Rev Edward Pinkney" [banco9342@sbcglobal.net], "Pinkney to Pinkney" show, Every Sunday 5pm ET [blogtalkradio.com/rev-pinkney] :
His name is Wes Smigielski. He's a cop who has been allowed to terrorize Benton Harbor for years.
Smigielski has been gunning for the Carter family for about five years. Why? His wife's sister has two children by a member of the Carter family, who happens to be black, and Wes isn't having it.
Here's the latest twisted and terrifying drama he created in this month of December 2013 for a Benton Harbor woman:
Upon answering a false alarm (attempted assault) call in the community, Smigielsi found that the alleged victim was the girlfriend of a Carter family member (brother of the man mentioned above.) He grilled her about the "assault" and kept hearing the opposite of what he wanted -- she insisted the call was a false alarm and nobody assaulted her.
Smigielski left the scene and called Child Protective Services resulting in the agency removing this woman's children from her home. NOT because she was a bad parent, NOT because her home was dirty, NOT because the children weren't fed - only because she didn't give him the answers he wanted which would enable him to send her Carter boyfriend to prison.
Smigielski forced this woman to testify in court about being assaulted by the Carter man and the court charged her with PERJURY. There was no perjury. She was so intimidated and afraid that she plead guilty to something that was not true. Smiglielski told her she would never see her children again unless she testified the way he wanted her to.
A code of ethics, if it is to be used for occupational purposes must set a standard above ordinary morality. Otherwise there's no need for a code of ethics at all.
This is especially relevant to police work where it takes more than just a commitment to being an ordinary decent human being. The ideal police system would be one with 100% integrity.
The Benton Harbor Police Dept. is without integrity. I, Rev Edward Pinkney, am a daily court-observer in the Berrien County, Mich. courthouse, and I witnessed the human tragedy Smigeilski created this month for an innocent woman.
Two months ago I went to Wes Smigielski and the BH chief of police to alert them about a minister who is molesting children. They refused to investigate.
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
Here is another story about this racist cop [www.bhbanco.org/2010/12/smigielski-manipulating-another-citizen.html].