Seniors Tell Bloomberg and Cuomo - "Hands Off Our Centers!"

Mar 18, 2011

Hundreds of senior citizens crowded the steps of New York City Hall today. Cries of "save our centers" rang out over and over again as speaker after speaker protested plans by Governor Cuomo and Republicans in the state legislature to enact savage cuts that would close dozens of centers throughout our city. The cuts are part of Cuomo's budget to reduce the deficit on the backs of New York's working families while sparing his wealthy backers from any increase in their taxes. And he shamelessly calls that "shared sacrifice!"

The solution to the crisis is twofold -- one lies in a return to fair taxation, meaning the wealthy will pay their fair share of revenue. From Eisenhower onwards, the super rich have been paying less and less of the tax burden in this country. In the 1950's, hard as it is to believe, the very wealthiest Americans paid taxes at 91% of their income. Today it stands at a paltry 35%, a shocking decrease that explains why the disparity between the super-rich and the rest of us is the greatest it's ever been: the top 400 wealthiest Americans own more assets (have more wealth) than the bottom 150 million Americans combined! Take a look here to see how higher tax rates would lead to a better America for all our citizens.

The other part of the solution lies in curbing the bloated Pentagon budget and putting an end to the costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - the wars alone have cost us over a trillion dollars since 2001! And the military budget consumes close to a trillion dollars per year -- year in and year out. Those misdirected priorities produce a terribly lopsided budget, one that neglects education, health, infrastructure, environment, mass transit -  that is, the well-being of our country and its people while it doles out larger and larger expenditures for endless wars and bigger and more destructive weapons. To see what that money could be used for in NY City for example, take a look here.

A huge crowd at City Hall today. Hey, Bloomberg and Cuomo --  Don't mess with the seniors!

Wisconsin was the opening shot in a coordinated war on Americans by the corporations and their servants in Congress and the state houses. As Democrat Cuomo has demonstrated, this war is being carried out by the extremists in the GOP but is not necessarily exclusive to them. Hand in hand with draconian cutbacks to social services is an unprecedented attack on trade unions that, if successful, would take us back to the 1920's when employers ruled over the work place - long hours, horrible and dangerous working conditions, child labor were the order of the day. This is the 100th anniversary of the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire - a tragedy that led the way to better conditions and yes, unions, for many American workers - unions that fought and won decent  and fair treatment and better conditions for working people. It was the unions that won the quality of life that today we refer to as the "great American dream" -- the 8 hour day, weekends, paid vacations, health benefits, pensions, seniority and so on. And it was the union movement that was the vessel that raised the standard of living of all Americans, union and non-union, as a result of struggles on behalf of their own members.

Elected officials, (l-r) Senator Velmenette Montgomery, Congressmember Yvette Clarke and Senator Eric Adams, standing up for senior citizens.

Council Member Tish James - "Let Wall Street, who brought on this crisis, pay their share to solve it."

That dream is what's at stake today in Wisconsin and in many states throughout our land. Whether it's unions fighting for their very existence in Wisconsin or senior citizens struggling to keep their centers open in New York - the fight is the same: a struggle for a decent America that takes care of its people...all of it's people, not just the top one per cent.  It's a good fight and one worth fighting for. Else we won't recognize this country a few years from now. As Michael Moore said recently, now's the time to get up off your couch and stand and be counted. If not now, then when?

- Matt

P.S. You can take action. Here's how:

The senior centers are asking concerned people to call Gov. Cuomo's office 516-474-8390 and tell him that you want him to stop the Title 20 cuts to the senior centers.

To see all of today's pictures, just CLICK HERE.
or enjoy a slide show right below.....

In Sheepshead Bay - Standing Up For Democracy And Justice.

Dozens of decent Brooklyn residents stood on Voorhies Avenue on a cold and blustery Sunday morning in front of a construction site. Across the street, hatred was being preached. We were there to defend traditional American values that were under attack - notions of democracy, justice, freedom to worship -- all were being dragged in the mud and it didn't take much to imagine that if people were silent then those values, which were being so seriously threatened today, could be gone tomorrow.

Sheepshead Bay, like many neighborhoods, is changing - becoming more diverse as new families move in; families looking for a good place in which to live and love and bring up their kids and simply go about the business of life. Included in that changing demographic are new Muslim families - perhaps 200 families in the area by some estimates. And so, like many others, they want, and need, a place to worship. Brooklyn has always been known as the Borough of Churches and Sheepshead Bay, like all Brooklyn neighborhoods, has its fair share of churches and synagogues. But it also needs a place for people of the Muslim faith to gather, pray and simply belong.  Sadly,  for some in this neighborhood it's quite okay for Christians and Jews to have their houses of worship but not acceptable for Muslim families to have theirs where they can come together and pray. Under the guise of preventing heavy traffic and other technical reasons, an unsavory and ugly movement has been growing in this part of Brooklyn. But it's not only there - similar protests have been festering in other parts of the city - Staten Island and downtown Manhattan - where right-wing forces have been inciting hatred and division to score points and whip up fear and bigotry.

Good people defending against hatred and intolerance.

It's tragic -- facing severe cuts to services with massive layoffs of teachers and exponential growth of class sizes you'd think there would be massive, united opposition to this attack on all of Sheepshead Bay's families. Instead, the opposition is diluted and weakened as anger is diverted with appeals to racism, fear and hate. Nobody wins except those at the top who can then cut away  with impunity. What a waste!

A father and son against whom, among others, a campaign of hate and lies are being spread.

A fight back has begun as people are saying no to this fear mongering and out-and-out racism. The wise words of the German Protestant minister, Pastor Martin Niemöller, should resound in the hearts and minds of any and all Americans who cherish our democracy and who believe in equal opportunity and justice for all. Niemöller, originally a supporter of  Hitler but later a fierce opponent, was imprisoned and sent  to a concentration camp. He later deeply regretted not having spoken out early on in opposition to the poisonous hate of the Nazis. His statement is a clarion call against the dangers of political apathy in times of great moral crisis. Certainly, we are living in just such a time. We must not be silent.

Divide and conquer - these people should be protesting school cuts that affect them and their neighbors.

First They came... - Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the communists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

To see all my photos from this civil rights protest --

• Go here for a Gallery.

• Go here for a Slide Show 

- Matt
Mar 15, 2011

What's Wrong With This Picture?

The New York Times published the results of a poll showing large majorities of Americans supporting collective bargaining for public worker unions. They are also opposed to cutting the benefits and wages of government employees, feeling that the amount of salary public workers receive is “about right” or “too low” for the work they do.

In these times of total corporate control of our media and the constant bashing of public workers as the root cause of our economic difficulties, this poll was astonishing. The truth shall be known and the American people are seeing through the lies.

The poll said -- "Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent. While a slim majority of Republicans favored taking away some bargaining rights, they were outnumbered by large majorities of Democrats and independents who said they opposed weakening them.

"Those surveyed said they opposed, 56 percent to 37 percent, cutting the pay or benefits of public employees to reduce deficits, breaking down along similar party lines. A majority of respondents who have no union members living in their households opposed both cuts in pay or benefits and taking away the collective bargaining rights of public employees."

Solidarity with Wisconsin public workers - NY City Hall, February 26, 2011. Click photo to see the rest of my photos.

As the cries of the workers in Wisconsin and throughout our country ring out: "This is what democracy looks like," I nod my head in complete support, admiration and agreement. Democracy is not about merely winning at the polls especially when victory comes through corporate-funded campaigns, trickery, outright lies and demagogic pandering. It   is about public servants doing their sworn duty to support the well-being and the values of the overwhelming majority of our people. The GOP shills who were elected last year on the back of the Supreme Court decision declaring corporations to be "persons" are doing the bidding of the Kochs, the banks and the corporations. That is emphatically not democracy but it's opposite: taking us down the road to corporate despotism. This trend must be stopped - in the ballot box but also in the streets and capitol rotundas of our state and federal governments.

This is our American moment - our uprising. Unions, love 'em or hate 'em (and I love 'em) are the last organized obstacle capable of standing up to corporate control of our government. That is why the business class is so intent on crushing them. It's time to take back our government of, by and for the people. (and the corporations, the Supreme Court notwithstanding, are not people). Tomorrow might be too late.

-Matt
Mar 1, 2011