August 25, 2023

Imagine stars, burning, and the shadows they cast — what happens when political networks die? In Cosmonaut, local member Sam D assesses the role played by a now-dead caucus on the structure and character of the local DSA.  

Our comrade David Schwartzman published “Nuclear Power, Degrowth and the Working Class” at Historical Materialism. 

Underpaid and overlooked, migrant labor provides backbone of Maryland Eastern Shore’s local economy

Blue-crab feasts represent one of Maryland’s most iconic tourist draws — but, as The Conversation reports, the industry’s “workforce consists of mainly female migrant workers from Mexico who do the grueling job of picking crab for eight to nine hours a day, from late spring to early fall. They make on average of US$2.50 to $4.00 for every pound of crabmeat they pick.”

Dems get blindsided by faux cultural populism (with a soundtrack)

“Over the past week, Oliver Anthony’s video of his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” has gone viral, clocking more than 20 million views on YouTube,” as Robert Reich notes. “As it’s risen to the top of the streaming charts, it’s also become a theme song for reactionary conservatives. Because cultural populism’s underlying political agenda is white male Christian nationalism[, it] aims to resurrect the social and racial hierarchy that dominated American life before the 1960s.” The song ignores the “massive transfer of wealth” that has put Anthony’s victims of “wokeness” behind the 8-Ball, Reich argues. Thanks to our comrade Dave R for circulating this.

The hidden costs of flooding in DC’s poorest wards

“… residential flooding problems throughout the District will require costly and complicated solutions, with residents living in D.C.’s poorest wards bearing a disproportionate burden.” Read Washington City Paper and Hola Cultura‘s first in a series on flooding in the District — and the populations that flooding — due to increase as climate breakdown continues — impacts the most.

Red for Ed — students protest massive budget cuts at West Virginia University

The red-shirted student protesters want an independent audit of the budget and big cuts in the bloated administrative sector instead of losing faculty and departments. From Popular Resistance. Another explainer from the NYT.

In Failing To Strike at UPS, the Teamsters Missed a Big Opportunity, writes Sam Gindin in Jacobin. “The five-year period of ‘peace’ in reality strengthens the ability of the capitalists to wage class war, while severely limiting the leverage of workers because of the no-strike clause in effect for the contract’s duration.” However, “Measured in conventional union terms, the Teamsters-UPS contract seems a clear Teamster victory,” Gindin acknowledges. The New York Times reports that “The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said that its UPS members approved the five-year contract with more than 86 percent support.”