A Socialist Workers Party Member in Los Angeles
When I first registered to vote, I became a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). When I moved to California I was recognized as SWP on my ballot. The state of California years ago decided I could not be recognized as an SWP voter but chose to classify me as an undeclared.
Everything (with) the POTUS along with Bolton and the convict of Nicaragua and the Iran Contra affair and death squads of Central America is wrong for the world and the U.S.A. The war-mongering and threat of stealing Venezuelan wealth from their oil reserves is unconscionable. The freezing of assets abroad does not make a country poor. The theft of a nation’s assets and restrictions of trade for a sovereign nation constitutes war.
Bolivar!
Mark A. Nelson, San Pedro
CADEM 70th AD Election Results
Seven hundred and twenty one district voters turned out on January 12 for the CA Democratic Party State Central Committee election which brought us to VICTORY. Our Blue Revolution slate swept it again winning 11 of the 14 seats, one seat higher than the last election. I truly appreciate those of you who took time out of your day to drive many miles in the hazardous rain and bridge construction to vote for me and our slate.
Here are the unofficial results: asterisk * denotes Blue Revolution slate members.
Self-identified Female: Vandearlynn Voss (406), Pedora Keo* (342), Shannon Ross* (278), Naida Tushnet* (266), CARRIE SCOVILLE* (261), Alexa Victoriano* (261), and Tonia Reyes Uranga (255). Runners up were our own Allison Miller* (254), and Dr. Sabrina Sanders (248).
Male/Other than Self-identified Female: Jerry Garcia* (259), Christopher Duvali* (253), Chris Robson* (243), Conner Lock (230), Steve Askin* (227), Ben Hauck* (229), and by a coin toss Andrew Swetland* (226). Runners up were Chris Chavez (226) and Wayne Chaney, Sr. (223).
The Executive Board seat went to Tonia Reyes Uranga (395) over our own Shannon Ross* (267). One other candidate filed but did not qualify.
Note: A delay in reporting occurred due to the discovery of untallied ballots after the election volunteers were released. A complete recount took place in Sacramento a few weeks later.
Congratulations to all the winners and to those who will be a resource for the new term. This body will be electing a new Party Chair in May and will determine which candidates and ballot initiatives earn the support of the Party in 2020.
My sincere thanks and appreciation go out to all who came and voted, and to all who showed your support. I hope to continue to earn yours.
Carrie Scoville, San Pedro
Trump Should Come With a Surgeon General’s Warning
I had the stomach flu last week. Last night, I watched the State of the Union address. These two experiences had similar effects. Trump should come with a surgeon general’s warning.
Beyond any immediate physical agony the speech may have provoked, though, this president’s danger to the bodies and lives of many millions of people is real and lasting. The speech showcased this violence, too.
Even amid the choreographed pomp of the SOTU, the brutality of this administration’s oppressive agenda could not be hidden. After Trump congratulated himself for his involvement in extremely tepid prison reforms, he ranted full-bore about the need for more walls, more cages and more violence against immigrants. After a moment of condemnation for “endless wars,” Trump celebrated vicious sanctions and an incendiary stance toward Iran, as well as his withdrawal from a key treaty standing between us and the threat of nuclear war.
While using Holocaust survivors as political props, Trump barreled forward with white supremacist statements about the border wall. While vaguely gesturing toward fighting childhood cancer, he urged the denial of reproductive health care to millions.
Taken together, Trump’s statements —and more importantly, his policies —comprise a recipe for poison.
There’s no one antidote to this administration’s lethal agenda. But a good place to start would be the truth. And by truth, I don’t simply mean fact-checking the president’s specific statements, although that’s an important project. I also mean speaking out about the actual state of the “union:” its cages, its walls, its poverty, its violence, its failure to address the most basic needs of its people — and also the movements of resistance and transformation that are propelling us forward and giving us hope.
Maya Schenwar, Editor and Chief of Truthout