tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90355991800964945502024-03-13T15:14:11.365-07:00Lexington Socialist Student UnionA blog for the *University of Kentucky Socialist Student Union* and the *Bluegrass Community and Technical College Student Socialist Union*Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-14051184922273205622012-10-18T18:51:00.000-07:002012-10-18T18:51:45.354-07:00Upcoming Event: Jeff Freyman on The American Empire TodayDr. Jeff Freyman will speak at the UK Student Center, Room 113, at 7pm on Wednesday, October 24. The topic is "The American Empire Today," and the event is co-sponsored by the UK SSU and CCDS and Friends. Talk will be followed by time for Q&A and information discussion. All are welcome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-52816355596854406232012-10-18T18:49:00.001-07:002012-10-18T18:49:11.511-07:00Occupy is a seed: Dr. Betsy Taylor's talk from the Lexington Occupy AnniversaryBetsy Taylor gave an impassioned speech at the celebration of the anniversary of Occupy in Lexington a few weeks or so ago. I asked her if I could share her speech, and she agreed. Here, anyway, are some of her notes for the talk:<br />
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* * *<br />
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Some people have asked me recently<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What happened to Occupy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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Here's what I say:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
say – 12 months ago, 10 months ago, 8 months ago – <b>Occupy was a flower, a
beautiful, astonishing flower</b> that sprang up – when almost noone thought it
could grow – out of the hard, cold ground of these Hard Times we are in...<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
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But now, now I say <b>Occupy is a seed</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, I say to them – only fools underestimate
a seed. Many inside the Occupy movement are discouraged, some outside the
Occupy movement are mocking – they say 'has Occupy died?'.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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Last year, I believe, the work of Occupy was to show itself,
to express very powerful truths about what democracy is, to witness to the
terrible destructiveness of our current system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I would arrive at this site last year, it was like walking into a
miracle – a beautiful garden that had sprung up out of nowhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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But, there are stages in revolutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, living flowers <u>must</u> turn into
seeds to grow & thrive & spread (look out 1% this is our expansion
phase!).<o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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Now I have a question for you – when a seed is under the
ground, can you see it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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But, I ask you, when a seed is under the ground, is it weak?<o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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I heard something both true and beautiful last weekend, at a
reading at Joseph Beth by author Janisse Ray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She said “there is no despair in a seed!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's <u>when</u> a seed is invisible, that it
is doing it's most important, its most potent, its most precious, its most
unique work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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Now, I admit, this can be scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seed's journey underground is a dangerous
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who are cultivating & loving a
seed, BUT ABOVE GROUND, it is easy to lose hope, to get cynical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All that suffering you did in the bitter cold
& downpours of rain, round the clock, in tents, for days & nights &
months – last year?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What came of
it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it <u>does</u> makes one worry
– because when a seed is underground there IS nothing to see!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
But, if one has turned from a flower to a seed – what should
one be doing to make sure one grows back and multiplies – <b>what are the
POLITICAL tasks of the ripening seed?<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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What are the three big secrets to the successful seed?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Liberation Serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Liberation Serif";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b>Water – nourishment.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feed yourself emotionally &
intellectually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't burn out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start reading groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Read political economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spend
time with your family & friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Liberation Serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Liberation Serif";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b>Soil – finding the right place to put
down roots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Liberation Serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Liberation Serif";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b>Timing – when come back out from
underground <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<b><o:p> </o:p></b><br />
<br />
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To answer these last two challenges – I believe we face the
greatest dangers & confusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
know our economic & political systems are rotten almost to their core.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, how do we know when we're making basic, <b>revolutionary
change</b> to fix these systems, and when we are merely tinkering with <b>reforms</b>
that will consume our time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Mere
reform is the same as walking north on a south bound train.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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In the seed-time of Occupy – I believe that we should be
obsessed with this question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
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I'm wrestling hard with this question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is keeping me sane is a crucial insight
into the American economy which comes from the great radical, democratic
Populist movements of the 1870s thro 1900s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They distinguished between two levels of the US economy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>On one level was the level of direct producers
& reproducers – people who actually made things & cared for things
& people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Small farmers, homemakers,
neighborly social work & mutual care societies, artisans, skilled
crafts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This level was where Adam Smith
ideas of free markets & private ownership & voluntary do-gooderism
would mostly work just fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's an
economic & civic system that fits with deep cultural values in America, of
liberty AND neighborliness and care for others<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>the second level is what some used to call the
Cooperative Commonwealth – those are things like banks, roads, trains,
education, water, and, now energy and health and military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are areas of work & caring – where
free markets do not work well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are
things that provide infrastructure & support to the first level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are natural commons (like air and water
– that shouldn't be privately owned because everyone depends on them) or public
goods & services (the COMMONWEALTH) to which there should be universal
access.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p>The horror of the 20<sup>th</sup> century is that this
second level – the level of the Commonwealth – became dominated by two systems
that became more & more undemocratic:<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>huge & ever more monopolistic corporations
dominate first energy (especially oil & coal) and transport (especially
railroads)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sectors – bankrolling a very
sophisticated & bogus campaign to claim constitutional rights – so they
could dominate over small businesses<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>other public services & goods – like
environmental commons & health – became dominated by a top-down
bureaucratic govt regulatory apparatus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Far Right has been very successful in nurturing legitimate anger at
top-down govt bureaucracy – turning that old 19<sup>th</sup> democratic Populist
energy into reactionary Far Right so-called populism<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
In the last several decades these two anti-democratic forces
have merged into a <b>corporate state. </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The large corporations have captured much of
the regulatory agencies – banking, environment, health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially since about the 1980s, corporate
investment capital has fallen into a self-destructive pattern of increasing
profits through mechanization, and outsourcing jobs through globalization –
creating fewer & fewer jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
means that globally we have a jobs crisis that will just get worse &
worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are structural reasons why
the American Dream is dying – our corporate-dominated is now an inherently <b>job-shedding
economy.<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
But, even more dangerously, corporate monopolies are
shifting from profit-making at the first level – the level where things are
actually made & sold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
increasingly trying to burrow into the Cooperative Commonwealth – to make
profits from privatizing health, military, education, even govt clerical work,
etc. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
The good news is that this new corporate-dominated global
economy is incredibly fragile & ineffective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point, if the 1% stops creating jobs,
they will not be able to con the 99%.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
It is Mother Nature who always bats last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, climate change is already starting to
force limits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As droughts spread, we are
going to HAVE to change our agriculture and water systems.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
All around the world, people are developing wonderful,
creative new ways to organize that second level – the level of the Cooperative
Commonwealth.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
In southwest Va, there is a terrific organization
called<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rail Solution doing grassroots
organizing for a new passenger / freight railroad from Harrisburg PA, looping
around central Appalachia – that could provide the infrastructure for a
non-corporate, small scale, sustainable farming & small manufacturing
regional economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is exactly the
democratic system for long term planning of the Commonwealth that Populists
were HOPING that we could start a century ago.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
We should all study the public bank of North Dakota – which
provides a model for profit generating, democratically controlled financial
system.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
In this seed-time of Occupy – if we all keep studying these
new experiments in reclaiming the COOPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH, I believe, that
when THE TIME IS RIGHT – we can emerge with effective & tested new ideas
for democratic reorganization of the commanding heights of our political
economy.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-4796064448393763562012-09-14T13:12:00.002-07:002012-09-14T13:15:33.614-07:00Solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7j2u1ZLV6i8/UFOPlH3gteI/AAAAAAAAAKw/JZTJtRw7Qnc/s1600/ctu+solidarity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7j2u1ZLV6i8/UFOPlH3gteI/AAAAAAAAAKw/JZTJtRw7Qnc/s400/ctu+solidarity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
U.K. Socialist Student Union members and friends share their support for the striking Chicago Teachers Union.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-14379066907447040112012-05-26T21:08:00.000-07:002012-05-26T21:09:50.619-07:00We Can't Afford No Education!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;"><em>Guest post from Charles Terrano</em> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">$1,004,595,916,213.00. That’s a
pretty staggering number and no, that’s not the current national deficit. It’s
actually the total amount of student loan debt as of the time of this writing. </span><a href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloandebtclock.phtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">One trillion dollars</span></a><span style="color: black;">. That is nearly 200
billion dollars more than the total amount of outstanding credit card debt in
America. Two-thirds of students graduate with student loans and they carry an
average of </span><a href="http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">$25,000</span></a><span style="color: black;"> in debt. With this record level of
debt students are graduating into the worst job market since the Great
Depression. It should be no surprise than that student loan default rates have
spiked dramatically, jumping to a record </span><a href="http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">8.8%</span></a><span style="color: black;"> as of 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">Defaulting on student loan debt can
hurt you more than defaulting on other types of debt like credit cards because
student loan debt is the hardest type of debt to get out from under. It is the
only debt type that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Can’t find a job? Lost
your job? Became sick of disabled? Sorry, there’s no bankruptcy option to get
away from that crushing debt…. Hope you enjoy having your pay garnished and
your bank accounts levied. As Elizabeth Warren </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-26/obama-relies-on-debt-collectors-profiting-from-student-loan-woe.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">said</span></a><span style="color: black;">: “Student-loan debt collectors have power that would make a
mobster envious.” In short, we have record student loan debt, record student
unemployment, and record student loan defaults. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">Oh, and just to make the
debt issue even worse…. According to an ACT study only </span><a href="https://www.noellevitz.com/documents/shared/Papers_and_Research/ACT_Data/2011%20ACT%20Retention%20tables-web.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">46%</span></a><span style="color: black;"> of students who start
college wind up graduating with a degree. Cost is cited as the number one
reason why so few graduate. But of course even if you don’t get a degree you still
have to pay those student loans! </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">To top it off we also
have an issue of unequal access. According to the </span><a href="http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=51" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">National Center for Education Statistics</span></a><span style="color: black;"> among
those who graduated high school the college enrollment rate <span style="background: white;">from low-income families was 55%, 29 percentage points
lower than the rate of high school completers from high-income families (84%). With
the latest spending (austerity) bill making it harder to qualify for
needs-based Pell Grants – you can only get the full grant if your highest
annual income was $23k or less, reduced from $30k and the maximum amount of
time you are allowed to receive grants has been reduced as well - higher
education becomes prohibitively expensive for a huge number of people. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">Oh yes,
and let us not forget that in the last 30 years the average cost of higher
education has risen </span><a href="http://www.finaid.org/savings/tuition-inflation.phtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">twice as fast as inflation</span></a><span style="color: black;">. So let’s see,
record costs, record defaults, record cost increases, unequal access,
reductions in aid programs, pathetic graduation rates…. to call this a system
in crisis would be an understatement. As is typical the ones who are hurt the
most are the ones who can least afford it; the ones who are most vulnerable. It
is the students who suffer while the schools make money hand over fist.
According to the Office of Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the loudest
voices in Congress against the for-profit school system, the for-profit schools
enjoy a profit margin of </span><a href="http://harkin.senate.gov/help/forprofitcolleges6.cfm" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">30-40%</span></a><span style="color: black;">, that makes the for-profit college industry
one of the most profitable industries in the country! As is the norm for our
market-driven capitalist system the industry makes money without caring about
the human cost of their practices. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
Socialists we reject the debt driven higher education system that harms the
poor while further enriching the wealthy. We call for tuition free
higher-education for all. Higher education should be funded 100% by tax revenue
ensuring that every single American who wants to go on to college can without
concern about cost or debt. If a student is smart enough to get into Harvard
and that’s where they want to go they should be able to do just that
irrespective of whether that person is the child of a multi-billion dollar CEO
or a welfare recipient from the inner city. Intelligence, not money, should be
the sole determining factor for what colleges and universities a student can go
to. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;">A
system of public higher education can work quite well. We know this because
there are several countries that currently do offer 100% tuition free higher
education. As an example Denmark offers education straight through the graduate
level </span><a href="http://studyindenmark.dk/study-in-denmark/tuition-fees-and-scholarships" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">100% free</span></a><span style="color: black;"> to anyone who a
Denmark Citizen, permanent resident, or from anywhere in the EU or Switzerland.
Denmark even goes one step further, a student will receive a stipend, called </span><a href="http://www.su.dk/SU/Sider/default.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">SU</span></a><span style="color: black;">, from the government to cover cost of living
while they are in school. Denmark believes that paying students while they are
in school is important to ensure that the students can focus on their studies
as opposed to trying to pay the rent. Most importantly, free education does not
mean substandard education. Denmark ranks </span><a href="http://www.universitas21.com/RelatedFile/Download/280" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">fifth</span></a><span style="color: black;"> in the world overall for quality of higher
education and several of its universities rank among the world’s </span><a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world?page=3" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">best</span></a><span style="color: black;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Free
high quality education for all plus a stipend for living expenses, this is a
model that we need to emulate here in America. This would allow everybody true
equal access to higher education. This would allow students to focus on their
studies without having to worry about how they are going to pay for it. This
will allow students to go to whatever school they qualify for, not just
whatever school they can afford. This will allow students to get out from under
the onerous burden of student loan debt. This will ultimately help the entire
country. We call upon our government to end the unjust debt-driven higher
education system and replace it with a fair 100% tuition free system funded by
tax dollars. People are the most precious resource that we as a country possess.
We should invest in those people; not exploit them. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="yiv1480986252apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: black;"></span></span><br />
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<br />(Sorry some of the text looks kind of highlighted-looking. I can't figure out how to make that go away. --JB)</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-10176962874854456592012-05-21T23:00:00.003-07:002012-05-21T23:01:49.647-07:00<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sanitation Worker Solidarity at the Peace Fair</span><br />
<br />
We had a table and a film screening at the BCTC Peace Fair. We gathered signatures on a call for the city of Lexington to support the rights of public employees to organize, and we screened the short film <em>Justice Delayed</em>, and the struggles of Lexington's sanitation workers. Everyone was really supportive and happy to sign in support of the current unionization effort of the sanitation workers. And as always, the Peace Fair was a lot of fun (thanks to awesome peace studies prof Rebecca Glasscock)!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u69b-PySGZo/T7sqcrd-u3I/AAAAAAAAAKI/y1_XV9kZFHE/s1600/peace+fair+tabling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u69b-PySGZo/T7sqcrd-u3I/AAAAAAAAAKI/y1_XV9kZFHE/s320/peace+fair+tabling.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here is a recent update on the sanitation workers, shared with the SSU by <span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">local AFSCME union organizer Richard Becker:<br /><br /> "On April 4th of this year, the employees of Lexington's Division of Waste Management submitted petition signatures from nearly 70% of the employees asking the city to allow them to hold a union representation election. Just this week, the city responded: there will be an election. The workers do not know when the election will be held, but they are confident that they will successfully vote in a union to correct the many longstanding problems they have faced, some of which this film highlights."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">If you'd like more info, you can contact Richard Becker at <a href="mailto:rbecker@afscmecn62.org">rbecker@afscmecn62.org</a>. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-31175156234949818182012-02-25T20:45:00.015-08:002012-02-25T21:04:16.207-08:00Regional Left Convergence: Presenters<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nCnjicYLIzk/T0m7fc8uk8I/AAAAAAAAAJU/li8ap_6T26Y/s1600/media%2Bpanel.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713303751317427138" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nCnjicYLIzk/T0m7fc8uk8I/AAAAAAAAAJU/li8ap_6T26Y/s400/media%2Bpanel.jpg" /></a> Left to right: Danny Mayer, Michael Benton, Andres Cruz, Teri McGrath<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VzqFrPxcgAQ/T0m7an4rHeI/AAAAAAAAAJI/CUNBRZOweVU/s1600/enku.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713303668353867234" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VzqFrPxcgAQ/T0m7an4rHeI/AAAAAAAAAJI/CUNBRZOweVU/s400/enku.jpg" /></a> Enku Ide presents on academia, capitalism, and tuition struggles<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kOlRuSn5O-E/T0m7VGBIJQI/AAAAAAAAAI8/ythYTpRvOAQ/s1600/occupanel.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713303573363172610" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kOlRuSn5O-E/T0m7VGBIJQI/AAAAAAAAAI8/ythYTpRvOAQ/s400/occupanel.jpg" /></a> Occupanel: Brandon Absher, April Browning, Ian Epperson, Steven Burt<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Y56zXyF0A/T0m7PZPVw1I/AAAAAAAAAIw/r8iUNWzJmQo/s1600/janet%2Band%2Bramona.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713303475443843922" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Y56zXyF0A/T0m7PZPVw1I/AAAAAAAAAIw/r8iUNWzJmQo/s400/janet%2Band%2Bramona.jpg" /></a> Janet Tucker, at right, presented the concluding film and discussion on Anne Braden. (Ramona Waldman, on left, is filming; we'll post her film when she's done with the editing.)</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-48591273626488654472012-02-21T15:23:00.003-08:002012-02-24T19:50:40.856-08:00Regional Left Convergence<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a4X-ItcjGYo/T0hadvNi40I/AAAAAAAAAGs/RedUcvm2yiE/s1600/regional%2Bleft%2Bconvergence%2Brevised.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 309px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712915594255459138" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a4X-ItcjGYo/T0hadvNi40I/AAAAAAAAAGs/RedUcvm2yiE/s400/regional%2Bleft%2Bconvergence%2Brevised.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div>We're very excited about the Regional Left Convergence this Saturday. Come check it out! We predict a good turn-out locally as well as visitors from Louisville and from West Virginia and Ohio. Here's the latest schedule of events:<br /><br />10am--Coffee and refreshments, introductions, ice-breaker<br /><br />11am--Social/Media Panel, chaired by Craig Crowder<br />*Michael Benton, a humanities and film studies professor at Bluegrass Community and Technical College and a regular contributor to <em>North of Center</em><br />*Andrés Cruz, editor and publisher of <em>La Voz de Kentucky</em><br />*Danny Mayer, publisher of <em>North of Center</em> and an instructor at BCTC.<br />*Teri McGrath, writer, teacher, and activist in Lawton, Oklahoma and regular contributor to the <em>Okie Magazine</em>.<br /><br />1:00--Lunch (free cajun food, including vegan option)<br /><br />2:00pm--Fifteen-minute film presentation and discussion on historic civil rights struggles, chaired by Janet Tucker<br /><br />3:00pm--Panel and break-out sessions on the struggle for affordable tuition, chaired by Enku Ide<br /><br />4:00pm--Occupy Panel, chaired by Joan Braune<br />*Brandon Absher<br />(Brandon Absher teaches Philosophy at Indiana University Southeast and received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2010. Brandon is a member of the NO BORDERS Collective in Louisville, KY and was involved in the early days of Occupy Louisville.)<br />*April Browning<br />(April Browning is a political activist and a member of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth as well as several other community based organizations. She is an active member of Occupy Lexington since Sept 29th 2011.)<br />*Steven Burt<br />(Steven Burt is a political science student at bctc and founder of bctc ssu. He is an occupy activist since september 29th.)<br />*Ian Epperson<br />(Ian Epperson is author of Love Songs for the Apocalypse and founder of Lexington Sustainability Fund. Occupy activist since Oct. 6th)<br /><br /><br />Spread the word and come when you can--this will be a fantastic event! It's free and open to the public--you don't have to be a student or a socialist to attend.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who helped us put this together, and a special thanks to the Committees of Correspondence's Fund for Intergenerational Dialogues, whose generous grant to make this event possible.<br /><br />Flier design: Clayton Brown</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-88970675533767291682012-02-03T21:22:00.000-08:002012-02-03T21:27:43.115-08:00Latest organizingThe semester is off to a great start for the U.K. SSU. We've already had a couple of planning meetings, and planning is in full swing for the Saturday, February 25 Regional Left Convergence. We are looking forward to gathering together with activists from around the region to discuss a range of topics, from the Occupy movement to the Immokalee workers, from learning from the history of the civil rights movement to contributing to struggles for affordable tuition. We are especially looking forward to meeting some activists with whom we have not been in touch as much as we'd like and sharing our stories of what organizing projects have worked for us, and possibly finding ways to collaborate in the future. It will be a great time--stay tuned for updates. If you haven't joined the Facebook group yet, please check it out: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/10175332735/">http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/10175332735/</a>. You can also contact me at <a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a> for more info. --JoanUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-59615676095690602512011-12-14T18:46:00.001-08:002011-12-14T18:49:55.172-08:00SSU mtg and Lexington-area socialism study groupThis Friday (12/14/11) at 7pm in the University of Kentucky Student Center, room 228:<br /><br />The U.K. Socialist Student Union will be holding a quick, half-hour planning meeting to discuss the opportunity to get some grant money to organize a big convergence of socialist student organizers from around the region this spring. After the quick meeting, we're joining the Lexington-area Socialism Study Group (a collaborative effort of the U.K. SSU, CCDS and Friends, and others) to continue our study of Antonio Gramsci. Enku Ide will present on his research on Gramsci, followed by discussion, then food and festivities near campus for anyone who would like to stick around. As always, this is open to the public.<br /><br />Please help spread the word!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-58193685024137728042011-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:002011-09-20T20:21:54.499-07:00Tabling for Farmworker Justice<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uOTormSnJt8/TnlXy1XgofI/AAAAAAAAAEw/u6G6d1dpd-k/s1600/immokalee%2Btabling.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MTR4mWFc7lM/TnlXB4NVx0I/AAAAAAAAAEo/XeCtbv0-4J4/s1600/immokalee%2Btabling.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 120px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654646496920192834" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MTR4mWFc7lM/TnlXB4NVx0I/AAAAAAAAAEo/XeCtbv0-4J4/s200/immokalee%2Btabling.jpg" /></a> Joan Braune and Clayton Brown tabling on Thursday last week behind the UK Student Center, for the U.K. SSU and gathering signatures on postcards asking Kroger to agree to the demands of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Six UK students were involved with tabling for the SSU over the course of the week, and we have a great response and some great discussions throughout the week.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-80423858361587222172011-09-20T10:55:00.000-07:002011-09-20T11:03:20.174-07:00Next UK SSU meeting: Thursday, Sept. 22The next UK SSU meeting will be this Thursday, Sept. 22, at 8pm at the Commonwealth Building, at 226 E. Maxwell St. (If you are used to attending our meetings, please note that this is a change from our usual meeting location.) As always, all are welcome.<br /><br />Agenda includes:<br />*Event planning in solidarity with the farmworkers of Immokalee, Florida<br />*Upcoming "Funk the War" concert<br />*Our new reading group<br />*A carpool to big national antiwar demonstration<br />*Planning a gathering of students and groups from around the region to discuss socialist/left organizing on campuses<br /><br />We had some great tabling on campus over the course of the last week and had a presence at a UK Greenthumb gathering of local groups involved in environmental justice/sustainability issues. Thanks to everyone who helped make that possible, or stopped by our table to say hi!<br /><br />I'm looking forward to meeting Thursday! Please spread the word to others who may be interested.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-49339548351520681252011-09-08T21:24:00.000-07:002011-09-08T21:30:22.336-07:00Protest, Concert, Teach-in, and MoreOur second meeting of the semester was as productive as the first, with ten people in attendance yet again and lots of good planning. Some stuff upcoming:<br />*A carpool to the <a href="http://october2011.org/">October 6 protest in Washington, DC</a>.<br />*Anti-war "Funk the War" concert on October 14 at Al's Bar<br />*A teach-in on the Immokalee Workers campaign for early November<br />*A meeting of various organizations from around the region about socialist/left organizing on campuses, tentatively scheduled for the weekend of November 11<br />*A socialist reading group is being formed! <br />Please feel free to contact us (<a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a>, or the Facebook group, "U.K. Socialist Student Union") for more information or to get involved!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-7912857107737400252011-08-29T20:06:00.001-07:002011-08-29T20:09:51.597-07:00U.K. Socialist Student Union mtg ThursdayThe next meeting of the U.K. Socialist Student Union is this Thursday (Sept. 1) at 7pm at Common Grounds Coffee House (343 E. High Street, Lexington). All are welcome.
<br />
<br />Items on the agenda include:
<br />
<br /><ul>
<br /><li>Campaign for justice for Immokalee farmworkers (Kroger campaign)</li>
<br /><li>"Funk the War" concert</li>
<br /><li>Further action in solidarity with international struggles for affordable tuition?</li>
<br /><li>Carpools to the School of the Americas protest and/or other big national protest</li>
<br /><li>Recruitment and getting the word out about the SSU</li>
<br /><li>Connecting with the BCTC SSU and other campus socialist groups in the region</li></ul>
<br /><p>It should be a great meeting! Please spread the word and come if you can.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-81587114168134675552011-07-17T09:44:00.000-07:002011-07-17T10:11:23.388-07:00An Upcoming Tuesday Protest, and a Quick Update(1) This isn't an official SSU event, but a comrade has asked us to spread the word: Louisville Jewish Voice for Peace is organizing a protest in Lexington for <strong>Tuesday, July 19, at 4pm at the TIAA-CREF office at 2365 Harrodsburg Road/South Creek Park</strong>. It is part of a national day of action sponsored by a range of organizations, calling on TIAA-CREF to divest from companies that are producing weapons and military surveillance technology for the Israeli military. All are welcome; please spread the word. For more information about the local protest, contact Russ Greenleaf at 256-525-5290 or e-mail <a href="mailto:russgreenleaf@yahoo.com">russgreenleaf@yahoo.com</a>. For more information about the national campaign, visit <a href="http://wedivest.org/">http://wedivest.org</a>.<br /><br /><div><br /><div></div><br /><div>(2) A quick update on the campaign for justice for the Florida tomato pickers: a few weeks ago, three SSUers went up to Cincinnati for a protest at the national office of Kroger, at Kroger's annual shareholders' meeting. We met with some activists from Ohio Fair Food campaign, the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center, and a delegate from a Florida group that's been working with the Immokalee Workers. Although Kroger is still recalcitrant, a Kroger representative did tell the activists' delegate at the shareholders meeting that Kroger knows there are customers concerned about the issue and that they are watching, keeping track of how much concern customers are showing. Let's keep the pressure on! Many thanks to the Lexington chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth for getting lots of postcard signatures in support of the campaign! It's been a pleasure collaborating with KFTC and other organizations to build a multi-organization campaign for farmworker justice!</div><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-27118758055577918932011-04-29T23:29:00.000-07:002011-04-29T23:38:58.320-07:00Protesting ALEC in Cincinnati<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ApkMvHfECB8/TbustFqT4yI/AAAAAAAAABU/zqdMi4YCOM0/s1600/DSCF0011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601260452179075874" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ApkMvHfECB8/TbustFqT4yI/AAAAAAAAABU/zqdMi4YCOM0/s320/DSCF0011.JPG" /></a> On Friday, April 29, a delegation of five SSUers and friends joined over two hundred people in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio at a protest against ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful right-wing think tank. ALEC has pushed anti-union laws in the Midwest, the infamous anti-immigrant S.B. 1070 in Arizona, the Voter ID act that makes it more difficult for students and others to register to vote, and a host of other horrible pieces of legislation that prioritize profit over people. ALEC has many powerful corporate members, including private prison companies that profit from draconian immigration policies.<br /><br />Left to right: Joan Braune, Greg Capillo, Matt Heil, John O'Shea, Enku Ide<br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-1809906428399930712011-04-19T20:30:00.001-07:002011-04-19T20:54:27.384-07:00Rand Paul, our schools are not for sale!<div>Senator Rand Paul, Tea (Party) connoisseur and apparent enemy of social services, paved roads and other nice things made possible by government funding, was in town on Monday, giving a speech at a fancy luncheon and book signing hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Paul has been calling for <em>an end to all federal education funding, privativization of all schools,</em> and even the abolition of the Department of Education. This would be devastating for students, teachers, and staff, with tuition already sky-rocketing and wages/salaries declining. So we found it a bit ironic--to say the least--that the Paul event was sponsored by (amongst other organizations and corporations) the <em>University of Kentucky</em> and <em>Bluegrass Community and Technical College</em>. We didn't feel that Rand's policies represented us. <br /><p>The BCTC and UK SSUs quickly organized a protest:<br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597505559187371506" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwGRzsGFG9g/Ta5VpjOjNfI/AAAAAAAAABM/YCWdcqpSiek/s320/rand%2Bpaul%2Bprotest.jpg" /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><p>We received many wonderful honks of support from passing drivers! We were also interviewed by the <em>Lexington Herald-Leader</em>, but they did not mention the protest in their article about the event in today's paper, which stressed Paul's plan to run to President (ahhh!). An annoyed letter-to-the-editor might be in order. </p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-63525342924669049222011-04-15T19:36:00.000-07:002011-04-15T19:56:36.586-07:00From the Lexington Courthouse Plaza to Cincinnati!<p>Our antiwar rally at the courthouse and subsequent SSU meeting last Saturday were well-attended, lively, and three people even came in all the way from Louisville! We also got some press coverage from the local ABC affiliate. It was be out on the streets as thousands were marching all over the country for an end to the wars abroad and for prioritizing human needs over the burgeoning U.S. defense budget. <br /><p><strong><em>Coming up:</em></strong> Our next major effort is a carpool from Lexington to Cincinnati on Friday, April 29 to attend the big national rally against ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a right-wing think-tank whose shenanigans recently became public thanks to a Wisconsin professor (whose private e-mails the GOP demanded to see, in retaliation). ALEC has pushed union-destroying anti-labor laws in the midwest and anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona (the famous SB 1070, which encouraged racial profiling by police and led to the movement to "Boycott Arizona"). If you're interested in joining the carpool, either hitching or offering rides, please contact me at <a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a>, and let me know. <br /><p><strong><em>Stay tuned for updates about </em></strong>our participation in a growing Kentucky movement in solidarity with the immigrant farmworkers of Immokalee, Florida (about the Immokalee Workers, visit: <a href="http://www.ciw-online.org/">http://www.ciw-online.org</a>. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-16464397686325404682011-04-05T22:26:00.000-07:002011-04-05T22:36:53.983-07:00Rally: "Fund Our Future, Not the Wars!"As the war in Iraq drags into its ninth year, a new military intervention is launched into Libya, and the rights of U.S. workers are under attack, we join together to demand real change. Billions of our tax dollars are spent on war, while many of us struggle with joblessness, foreclosure, and rising tuition costs, as we struggle to make ends meet. Let's tell our leaders... <span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><p>"...Fund Our Future, Not the Wars!"</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Saturday, April 9,</span> <span style="font-size:130%;">3 pm</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Cour</span><span style="font-size:130%;">house plaza (Main and Limestone, across from public library),</span> <span style="font-size:130%;">Lexington, KY</span> </p><br /><p>Speakers, music, march, and (optional) die-in! Some signs provided, but bring your own if you like. All are welcome; please spread the word! <br /><p>Organized by: Bluegrass Community and Technical College Student Socialist Union (BCTC SSU), University of Kentucky Socialist Student Union (UK SSU) <br /><p>Co-sponsors include: BCTC Students for Peace & Earth Justice, Kentucky Unified National Antiwar Committee, Socialist Action </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-2160683411394634512011-03-31T11:24:00.000-07:002011-03-31T11:40:35.610-07:00UK SSU Forum on the War on the Working Class<p>Join the UK Socialist Student Union on Monday, April 4, at 7pm in Room 228 of the UK Student Center on Euclid Avenue, for a forum about the War on the Working Class! All are welcome. <br /><p>We will be discussing the current attacks on the rights of labor (in Wisconsin and elsewhere) and U.S. involvement in wars abroad. We'll be showing a short clip from a recent documentary about the immigrant farmworkers organizing in Immokalee, Florida, and will have a speaker or two. Stay tuned for updates! <br /><p>There's a war on the working class going on right now in this country, and workers are fighting back. Meanwhile, our country's leaders are more intent than ever upon cementing the power of the capitalist class abroad through military force, as the Iraq war drags into its ninth year and an intervention is launched into Libya (but not, note, into neighboring countries whose governments are allies of U.S. imperialism, but which are are also slaughtering demonstrators). Come and discuss! <br /><p>Monday, April 4 is a national day of action for the rights of labor this year. It was chosen since it is the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, who was fighting for the rights of Memphis sanitation workers at the time of his death. We want to keep his struggle alive. <br /><p>There's also a rally in the works for later in the week, for the rights of workers and against U.S. imperialism; more info on that coming soon! </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-62048275963252369732011-03-21T21:25:00.000-07:002011-03-21T21:33:55.262-07:00Great rally and meeting, and more in the works!The antiwar war rally on Sunday, organized by the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, was well-attended, with about 100 people and lots of energy.<br /><br />Afterwards, thirteen of us gathered at Third Street Stuff for a lively U.K. SSU meeting. It was a really great planning meeting. We've decided to organize a forum for April 4, which is a national day of action on labor issues and the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. The forum will link labor rights issues to the problem of war, addressing the ongoing war on the working class, from the "shock doctrine"-style (cf. Naomi Klein) attack on collective bargaining rights in the midwest, to the exploitation of immigrant farmworkers in Florida, to the continuation of U.S. imperialist war. If you'd like to help with organizing the forum, please get in touch: <a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a>. We need all the help we can get to make this a successful event!<br /><br />Thanks to all who were able to attend the rally and/or the meeting. More to come!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-40578551981631644922011-03-18T22:33:00.000-07:002011-03-18T22:46:23.330-07:00UK SSU mtg Sunday at 3, after the antiwar rallyHi all! There will be a short U.K. Socialist Student Union meeting on Sunday (March 20) at **3pm at Third Street Stuff coffeehouse** on Limestone and 3rd. All are welcome.<br /><br />This Sunday is the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. There's an antiwar rally--"Invest in Peace, Not in War"--at 2pm, sponsored by the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, in front of the courthouse on Limestone and Main (across from the main public library). After the rally, which should last about an hour, there will be a quick U.K. SSU meeting at the nearby coffeehouse.<br /><br />The main item on the agenda is the ongoing campaign to get the Kroger grocery store chain to agree to the demands of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, to provide a living wage for immigrant farmworkers in Florida who pick Kroger's tomatoes. We might also get an update from some folks who were recently in Wisconsin, joining in solidarity with protesters there defending collective bargaining rights. Ideas for further actions are welcome.<br /><br />A shout-out to our comrades in the BCTC SSU, many of whom are in Washington, DC this weekend at the big national antiwar march there. We'll miss them at this meeting but will catch up soon to strategize and find out how the DC march went!<br /><br />Looking forward to Sunday! Please help spread the word.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-30468738070670879022010-12-10T10:20:00.001-08:002010-12-10T10:38:13.196-08:00Students and Community Activists Deliver Letters to Kroger<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TmnPMPMczLE/TQJvpdT1oEI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/3bk_rmB4Kc0/s1600/Kroger%2Baction.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549120448907026498" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TmnPMPMczLE/TQJvpdT1oEI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/3bk_rmB4Kc0/s320/Kroger%2Baction.jpg" /></a> On Thursday, December 9, five UK students, two BCTC students, and three community activists delivered a total of 186 petition signatures to the management of the Euclid Avenue Kroger grocery store. We are asking Kroger to support just wages and humane working conditions for the immigrant farmworkers of Immokalee, Florida, by agreeing to pay one cent more per pound of tomatoes and to enter a code of conduct agreement opposing the sale of products made by victims of enslavement/human trafficking.<br /><br />The local manager took the signed letters from us and agreed to inform the national office of Kroger about our visit.<br /><br />In a local campaign initiated by the UK Socialist Student Union, 186 signatures were gathered in a single week at a variety of locations, including at the University of Kentucky Student Center, the Bluegrass Community and Technical College cafeteria, the Lexington Catholic Newman Center, and local meetings of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice and of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.<br /><br />This is just one step in an ongoing campaign demanding that the supermarket industry support "fair food" and negotiate with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) farmworkers in Florida. Look for more organizing on this issue by the SSU and other local activist groups in the spring, and please contact us if you'd like to be involved.<br /><br />KFTC has posted a nice blog post about the action: <a href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2010/12/09/students-and-kftc-members-demand-that-kroger-supports-workers-rights/weblogentry_view">http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2010/12/09/students-and-kftc-members-demand-that-kroger-supports-workers-rights/weblogentry_view</a>.<br />(Photo credit: Ondine)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-32765999626204836612010-12-07T11:49:00.000-08:002010-12-07T11:56:05.965-08:00Delivering Letters to Kroger for Farmworker JusticeThe U.K. SSU has now collected over 100 signatures on a letter asking Kroger to pay one cent more per pound of tomatoes and to enter a code of conduct agreement, to improve the wages and working conditions of immigrant farmworkers in Florida.<br /><br />On Thursday, December 9, at 12:10 pm, we will be assembling on the public sidewalk at 722 Euclid Avenue to debrief and then to deliver the signed letters to the management of the Euclid Avenue Kroger. All are welcome to join us in peacefully making known our concerns, as customers of Kroger, about the human rights of Florida farmworkers.<br /><br />For more information, contact <a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a> or check the Facebook event: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113124448757361&index=1#!/event.php?eid=113124448757361">http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113124448757361&index=1#!/event.php?eid=113124448757361</a>.<br /><br />If you have not yet signed the letter to Kroger, please sign the online version by Thursday: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fpetitions%2Fview%2Flexington_ky_asks_kroger_to_support_humane_treatment_of_farmworkers&h=0def3">http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fpetitions%2Fview%2Flexington_ky_asks_kroger_to_support_humane_treatment_of_farmworkers&h=0def3</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-15194132839525831212010-12-01T19:32:00.000-08:002010-12-01T19:45:52.496-08:0072 signatures so far, and more rolling in!UK SSU gathered 60 signatures tabling on campus on Tuesday, on the letter to the management of Kroger. <br /><br />People were really receptive. This is a cause that it is hard not to care about, considering that conditions for these Florida farmworkers are so bad that two of the employers have even been imprisoned for beating and enslaving workers.<br /><br />One student mentioned that she felt a personal connection to the issue because she had a family member who was a tomato farmer. Another student--yes, we asked her to sign up for the e-mail list, and she did--said in response to our spiel about exploited workers, "Figures. Capitalism [is the problem]!"<br /><br />Tonight I briefed the board of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice (<a href="http://www.peaceandjusticeky.org/">www.peaceandjusticeky.org</a>) about the issue, at their monthly meeting. They were happy to sign the letter and will help us to get more signatures.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9035599180096494550.post-16011731006797814312010-11-27T13:08:00.000-08:002010-11-27T13:20:59.158-08:00Tabling Tuesday for Farmworker JusticeThe UK SSU will be tabling on the first floor of the UK Student Center on Tuesday (11/27), from 10am to 2pm. We'll be near the Student Government office.<br /><br />Please stop by to sign a letter to the management of Kroger. We are collecting signatures asking Kroger to agree to pay one cent more per pound of tomatoes, as part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' campaign for a living wage and better conditions for Florida farmworkers.<br /><br />Please contact me, <a href="mailto:standinsolidarity@yahoo.com">standinsolidarity@yahoo.com</a>, if you'd like to help table.<br /><br />Here is the letter to Kroger we'll be gathering signatures on: <a href="http://www.ciw-online.org/Resources/supermarkets/manager%20letters/kroger.pdf">http://www.ciw-online.org/Resources/supermarkets/manager%20letters/kroger.pdf</a>.<br />More information about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers: <a href="http://www.ciw-online.org/">www.ciw-online.org</a>.<br /><br />Before the end of the semester, we'll get a group together to deliver letters and petition signatures in person to the management of the Euclid Avenue Kroger, one of the busiest Kroger grocery stores in the nation. As always, stay tuned for updates.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0