Life expectancy in the United States dropped last year to its lowest since 1996, extending a downward trend that began in 2020, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest figures from the CDC, which leave expected U.S. lifespans well below those in other large, wealthy nations, reflect the federal and local governments’ ongoing struggle to meet the demands of concurrent public health crises.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had “a domino effect,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, by “exacerbating the already very severe problem that we have in overdose deaths.”
Thursday, December 22, 2022. Hate merchants continue their attacks, an
LGBTQ+ activist takes their own life, the hate merchants expand their
war on drag queens, and much more.
Last week, the House Oversight and Reform Committee, chaired
by US House Rep Carolyn Maloney, held a hearing entitled "The Rise of
Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and Violence in the United States." The hearing
was held due to the rise in violence aimed at the LGBTQ+ community which
includes last month's Club Q shooting. The shooting left five people dead:
Daniel Davis Aston, 28
Kelly Loving, 40
Ashley Paugh, 35
Derrick Rump, 38
Raymond Green Vance, 22
The shooting also left twenty-five people injured.
US
House Rep Mondaire Jones: As I said on the floor of the House during
the debate on the equality act [Respect for Marriage Act], to grow up
poor, Black and gay is to not see yourself anywhere. It is also to feel
completely unseen as so many people around you invalidate your very
existence. Growing up, like many people in this room, I suspect, I
watched as straight politicians -- many of them White, many of them men
-- used my basic human rights as a political football to further their
careers. And now, as the first openly gay Black member in this body,
I'm even more familiar with the vile, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that
terrorizes our community and that somehow is even more harmful when it's
aimed at queer people of color. Let me also just say, to amplify what
Representative Porter had discussed previously [see Friday's snapshot
for that exchange] that I and people on my team have also reported many
of these Twitter accounts that have hurled explicitly homophobic
insults at me in particular and have received e-mails stating that they
are not somehow in violation of Twitter's purported standards. So
clearly, there is something amiss at Twitter but I think many of us have
known that now for the past few months given the leadership changes.
Many of us are scared for our lives and rightfully so. LGBTQ Americans
know that gay bars and clubs are our sanctuaries for our communities to
gather without fear of being judged simply for being who they are. So
many of these spaces become second homes where we can experience the
full freedom to be ourselves. Such was the case for me. In my first
year of law school, I was still closeted. The gay bars of New York City
were the only place I could be my authentic self and those spaces
helped me to come out and to be the man -- the Congressman -- that I am
today. I cannot imagine my journey to self-acceptance and to
understanding without these sanctuaries which are now under assault.
The horrific mass shootings at Pulse Nightclub and at Club Q create fear
among LGBTQ Americans that gay bars and clubs -- these places of refuge
for members of our community -- are no longer safe. These attacks,
along side other acts of violence, against our community and the growing
chorus of hate and disinformation against LGBTQ people tell us that
over the past few years, this country has become a more dangerous place
for us to live unfortunately. Even those who simply provide services
essential to the physical and mental well being of members of our
community are under attack. Earlier this month, a doctor affiliated
with The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center in Boston faced
credible death threats for their role in providing gender affirming care
to transgender youth. The following day, The First Unitarian
Universalist Church in Columbus, Ohio was forced to cancel a family
friendly holiday themed Drag Queen story telling event after far right
extremists from the Proud Boys and the Patriot Front showed up to
protest armed with AR 14s, dressed in military gear, chanting far right
slogans and performing Nazi salutes. When leaders across the country --
including sitting members of Congress -- are peddling age old hateful
and false narratives about 'grooming' and pedophilia, these are the
types of people who show up in response. A recent Human Rights Campaign
report found that as Florida state government enacted its
discriminatory Don't Say Gay law, anti-LGBTQ misinformation surged by
over 400% on social media platforms. And worse, instead of condemning
this deadly wave of misinformation and hate, members of this body have
added fuel to the fire. In October of this year, Representative Mike
Johnson of Louisiana introduced his own Don't Say Gay bill to amplify
this hateful policy on a national scale and dozens of members of this
body co-sponsored that legislation. Shame on them. If enacted, Mr.
Johnson's heinous bill would, among other things, prohibit federally
funded schools from providing sex education or library books to children
under ten that include LGBTQ topics. In doing so, his bill would send a
message to LGBTQ children in the most vulnerable stage of their lives
that they are an "other" whose very existence society refuses to
recognize. It is hard, in closing, to listen to the stories of Club Q
and Pulse Nightclub survivors and not be in awe of their bravery and
resilience. So I thank you for your courage. I'm furious that our
community is forced to live again and again with this pain but I am
optimistic about the future of this country with your leadership.
Though
treated as minor by many outlets (even more of which ignored the
hearing) this was not a minor topic or a topic that's fading. Hate
merchants are only increasing their attacks and those outlets who ignore
it -- sadly, that includes many supposedly 'left' outlets -- are just
as guilty as the hate merchants.
It's never
enough for hate merchants. It's not enough to demonize, it's not enough
to attack, they want to erase. I'm copying pasting part of what I
wrote at Elaine's site last night.
At
5 Points Diner & Bar in Nashville, Tenn., drag performer Veronika
Electronika can often be seen strutting between brunch tables. Her big
hair, glitzy outfits and quick wit keep patrons on their toes.
Veronika’s
lighthearted performances are a staple of Tennessee’s drag scene, but
on a recent Saturday in December, she abruptly stopped her show to
address a heavy subject: a proposed state bill seeking to ban drag acts —
like the one she was performing at that moment — from public view.
“If
that law passes, I would be committing a potential felony,” Veronika
said, as the audience booed the bill. “If you’re not a fan of that bill,
I highly suggest you contact your state legislator.”
Tennessee
is one of at least five states where Republican lawmakers are
considering bills to restrict drag performances. The measure, known as Senate Bill 3, was introduced by Tennessee Republican Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson in November.
“The
intent of the legislation is just to simply say that you cannot have
sexually explicit entertainment … in a public venue where kids might be
present,” Johnson said.
Can
you believe it? They like to, these hate merchants, insist that
there's no history of this or that right that LGBTQ+ Americans have
fought for. Their hate is astounding. But now, they're going after
drag performers and that's rather amazing when you consider America's
long history with drag. It predates the creation of the United States
and goes all the way back to ancient Greece. When William Shakespeare
was alive, female characters in his plays were portrayed by women. As
for the US, WIKIPEDIA notes:
The first person known to describe himself as "the queen of drag" was William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland, who in the 1880s started hosting drag balls in Washington, DC attended by other men who were formerly enslaved, and often raided by the police, as documented in the newspapers.[62] In
1896, Swann was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail on the
false charge of "keeping a disorderly house" (euphemism for running a
brothel) and requested a pardon from the president for holding a drag ball (the request was denied).[62]
That's
a historical aspect that's not noted or recognized by many. In the US,
vaudeville was home to drag beginning in the late 1800s. When
vaudeville died out, drag performers appeared more and more in
nightclubs.
They
also appeared in TV shows and films. Milton Berle was infamous for
dressing up in drag on his 1950s TV program. Jim Bailey was a night
club performer whose drag act crossed over to TV. Successful TV shows
that he appeared on in drag included THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, THE TONIGHT
SHOW SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON, THE CAROL BURNETTE SHOW, HERE'S LUCY
(starring Lucille Ball, of course), and he performed as Barbra Streisand
at the 1977 Super Bowl, and the 1984 Winter Olympics. He also
impersonated Judy Garland (who became a friend and who he impersonated
onstage with her daughter Liza Minnelli for "The Judy and Liza Concert"
that played in Vegas and London), Phyllis Diller (on the episode of
HERE'S LUCY, when Phyllis can't make a charity event so Judy asks for
Jim's help),
1927 was when
Mae West's play THE DRAG debuted. Other well known representations in
media? VICTOR/VICTORIA -- yes, the Julie Andrews film; however, prior
to that it was also made in 1933, 1935 and 1957 -- the 1935 film was
entitled FIRST A GIRL and featured Anna Lee (known to millions for
playing Lila Quatermaine on GENERAL HOSPITAL as well as such films as
THE SOUND OF MUSIC and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?), SOME LIKE IT
HOT (possibly the greatest comedy film of all time), Ed Woods' GLEN OR
GLENDA, WHITE CHRISTMAS (yes, Bing Crosby did drag), THE ROCKY HORROR
PICTURE SHOW, John Waters' PINK FLAMINGOS and HAIRSPRAY, TOOTSIE,
NORBIT, the documentary PARIS IS BURNING, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY ITCH, THE
NUTTY PROFESSOR, BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE, WHITE CHICKS, HURRICANE BIANCA, Bob
Hope's THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE, Mike Nichols' THE BIRDCAGE . . .
We could go on and on.
So
if the hate merchants in Tennessee have their way, what does that mean
for film portrayals? Will they ban the movies from theaters? Will they
block out broadcasts of the films?
It's beyond stupid. There are real issues to address. Pouring hate on drag performers is neither a real issue nor a needed one.
Remember
who they have chosen to stand against -- performers not attempting to
harm anyone, performers following in the footsteps of Jim Bailey, Dustin
Hoffman, Divine, Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Nathan Lane, Bob Hope .
. . And what was good enough for the Olympics and the Super Bowl
apparently isn't good enough for Tennessee lawmakers.
Where
does it end? Where does the hate end, where does this urge to purge
end? Will Tennessee next attempt to outlaw Halloween? Where does it
end?
Preacher preaching love like vengeance
Preaching love like hate
Calling for large donations
Promising estates
Rolling lawns and angel bands
Behind the pearly gates
You know he will have his in this life
But yours will have to wait
He's immaculately tax free
"Multiple hundreds of thousands of..."
Tax free
"Hundreds and millions of dollars"
Tax free
"A hundred billion dollars!
And who is paying the price?
Who who
"Your children are"
Pissed off
Jacked up
Scream into the mike
Spit into the loving cup
Strut like a rooster
March like a man
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Packing the same grandstands
Different clothes
"Pot in their pockets!"
Different hair
"Sexually active"
Raise a screaming guitar
or a bible in the air
Theatre of anguish
Theatre of glory
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Oh come let us adore - ME!
Lord, there's danger in this land
You get witch-hunts and wars
When church and state hold hands
F**k it!
Tonight I'm going dancing
With the drag queens and the punks
Big beat deliver me
From this sanctimonious skunk
We're no flaming angels
And he's not heaven sent
How can he speak for the Prince of Peace
When he's hawk right militant
And he's immaculately tax free
== "Tax Free," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her DOG EAT DOG
All
they want to do is preach hate and they lie over and over. That's
Tucker Carlson, that's FOX NEWS. They went with a very sick individual
from England to trash transgender people. This is a man who says he no
longer wants to be a woman. This is a White man who has had multiple
surgeries to look like a Korean. This is a man who says that Korean men
have smaller penises so, he announced, he's going to get a penis
reduction. This is the 'sane' voice they brought on to attack the
transgender community and Oregon state. Oregon's laws make the age of
consent for surgery 15 -- that's for all surgeries. That's a state law
so you'd think FOX NEWS would be all for it. But they're not. Because
they're fake asses.
These hate merchants peddle their hate and it has real world implications.
Kentucky state Sen. Karen Berg (D) has asked for “tolerance and
grace” after the suicide of her 24-year-old transgender son, Henry
Berg-Brousseau. He died last Friday.
“This lack of acceptance took a toll on Henry,” Berg continued. “He long
struggled with mental illness, not because he was trans but from his
difficulty finding acceptance… This hate building across the country
weighed on him.”
“Henry spent his life working to extend
grace, compassion, and understanding to everyone, but especially to the
vulnerable and marginalized. This grace, compassion, and understanding
was not always returned to him,” the state senator said in a statement.
“On a daily basis at his job [as an LGBTQ+ rights advocate], Henry
would be aware of the hateful and vile anti-trans messaging being
circulated around this country and focused at his workplace,” she
continued. “In one of our last conversations, he wondered if he was safe
walking down the street.”
Berg mentioned her son’s trans identity in state senate speeches
against transphobic legislation, including a state law barring
transgender female athletes in middle school through college from
participating on school sports teams matching their gender identity. The
state’s Republican-led legislature passed the law, overriding a veto from Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
Human Rights Campaign issued the following statement:
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC) honors the life of Henry Berg-Brousseau, HRC’s Deputy
Press Secretary, Politics. Henry was the son of Kentucky State Senator
Karen Berg and Bob Brousseau, a brother to Rachael Pass, and an
important and loved part of the HRC family. He will be greatly missed by
his colleagues, his family, and his friends. His full obituary can be
found here and a statement from his mother here.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued the following statement, remembering Henry:
“Losing Henry is an unfathomable loss to the Human Rights
Campaign family. Henry was a light – deeply passionate, deeply engaged,
and deeply caring. His colleagues will always remember his hunger for
justice, his eagerness to pitch in, his bright presence and his
indelible sense of humor. He could always be counted on to volunteer for
a project, hit send on a press release from wherever in the world he
was, or share a kind word in the elevator up to his office.
“Henry was first and foremost a fighter and an advocate. He was
fighting for transgender rights as a teenager in Kentucky, far earlier
than he should have had to. As part of his job at HRC, he faced down
anti-transgender vitriol every single day, and no one was more aware of
the harm that anti-transgender rhetoric, messaging, and legislation
could have on his community. He was brave. But, as Henry's mother
stated, ‘[t]he vitriol against trans people is not happening in a vacuum
...It has real-world implications for how transgender people view their
place in the world and how they are treated as they just try to live
their lives.’ It sadly impacted how Henry saw his own place in the
world.
“In honor of Henry’s life, we must come together and speak out
against injustice. We must fight for our transgender family. We must
celebrate his light, and honor him by continuing to fight for full
equality for all. Our thoughts are with his parents, his sister, his
entire family, and our whole community.”
Kelley Robinson, President, HRC
Memorial Contributions in honor of Henry Berg-Brousseau may
go to The Fairness Campaign, 2263 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206,
or The Trevor Project-Development, PO Box 69232, West Hollywood, CA
90069.
If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255. If you’re a young LGBTQ person and need to talk to someone, call The Trevor Project’s 24-hour crisis hotline for youth at 1-866-488-7386. If you are a transgender person of any age, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860.
Five Iraqi soldiers have been killed in two separate attacks in country’s north, amid a surge in violence by terrorists.
The
deadliest took place in Al Dibis, near the northern city of Kirkuk,
when a roadside bomb was detonated on Wednesday as an Iraqi army unit
passed, killing three soldiers and wounding two, including an officer, a
security official said.
Another
bomb exploded in the Makhmour area outside the northern city of Mosul
on the same day, killing two soldiers and wounding three, another
officer said.
"Women
who have been raped are looked at in this society as less, are looked
at as spoiled goods, are looked at as rather dumb, to let themselves get
attacked," Carroll said in the deposition.
Old woman, shut up. That may be how you look at rape survivors but it's not how society doesn't and hasn't been for some time.
Crazy
says she hasn't had sex since that assault in 1995 or maybe it was
1996. Crazy says it turned off the "music" and, at another point, she
says it's like a light went out indicating the taxi cab was not
available for entry.
Who talks like this? She was a professional writer?
She's got crazy eyes. I don't understand how people never noticed that.
Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Hate merchants peddle hate with little
consequences, Iraq's last prime minister was a sadist sicko, Will Lehman
calls out voter suppression, and much more.
We're going to start with this exchange from last week's House Oversight Committee hearing:
US
House Rep David Cicilline: Republicans are happy to discuss our
community when they're attacking our rights, when they're crying on the
House floor because they oppose marriage equality or when they releasing
statements attacking our community in press releases and when they
release new bills targeting our community. But when it comes to
actually discussing the violence against our community and its causes?
Just a quick condemnation of what happened at Club Q and violence
broadly and nothing more. In my view, this is shameful. And so I want
to begin, Ms. Robinson, to thank all of the witnesses for being here
today. Ms. Robinson, as we near the end of this hearing, is there
anything that we've not covered yet relating to anti-LGBTQ+ extremism
and violence that you would like to share for the record?
Kelley
Robinson: We can do something about this. We can assure that social
media companies uphold their community standards. We can pass the
equality act to ensure that LGBTQ+ people actually don't have legalized
discrimination happening to them in more than half of the states. We
can, as a community, step up and say whole heartedly, no matter what our
party affiliation is, repudiate and rebuke these horrendous attacks on
our people. There is work to be done and, especially on this ten year
mark of Sandy Hook, we can do something to end this epidemic of gun
violence. We have to and we must.
US
House Rep David Cicilline: Thank you so much. And Mr. Wolf, thank you
so much for being here and for sharing your story. What message do you
have for politicians who are championing bills to limit the rights of
the LGBTQI+ community?
Brandon
Wolf: Thank you, I'm grateful to be here. And my message is simple:
Words have consequences. Somebody has to pay the price for unmitigated,
unbridled hatred -- the kind of hatred that we've seen on the rise
across this country. We've heard a lot about accountability in this
hearing and I'm glad we're talking about accountability. No one is
asking for anyone but the shooter at Club Q to be on trial in Colorado
Springs. But what we are saying is that people should be accountable
for the things that come out of their mouths. And when you're willing
to traffic in cheap shots and biogtry against a marginalized community
that's already seeing hate against it that's on the rise, already seeing
violence rising across the country, when you're willing to traffic in
those things to score political points, you have to be accountable for
what happens next. You have to hold yourself accountable for the impacts
of your words. Words really do have consequences. Unfortunately,
communities like mine have felt them. We have to do better than we are
today.
Last Wednesday, the
House Oversight and Reform Committee, chaired by US House Rep Carolyn
Maloney, held a hearing entitled "The Rise of Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and
Violence in the United States." The hearing was held due to the rise
in violence aimed at the LGBTQ+ community which includes last month's
Club Q shooting. The shooting left five people dead:
Daniel Davis Aston, 28
Kelly Loving, 40
Ashley Paugh, 35
Derrick Rump, 38
Raymond Green Vance, 22
The shooting also left twenty-five people injured.
Hate
merchants continue to attack the LGBTQ+ community and they largely get
away with it. You can -- and a body does -- call for gay people to be
killed -- and get away with it. At least with regards to government
officials. Sometimes, a community comes together to make clear that
this hate speech is neither wanted nor desired. Such as in Fort Worth,
Texas, where Stedfast Baptist Church's hate merchant Jonathan Shelley is
in a tizzy that his church will have to move yet again:
“The
reality is nobody really wants to lease to us, so it makes it very
difficult,” Shelley said. “I am still working a few options, as far as
lease options, or maybe even getting a building.”
In May, Shelley spoke to the Arlington City Council and said that gay people deserved to be killed. He advocated for enforcing an old Texas law outlawing “sodomy” that has since been ruled unconstitutional.
Residents
in Watauga have said they want Stedfast out of their community because
it promotes hate-filled, violent rhetoric that causes them to be
concerned about their safety. Church officials said they have been
harassed by the protesters.
You're calling for
murder. And you're surprised people don't want to lease to you? You're
calling for murder and you're pretending that this is due to your
religious teachings. See "Those fake ass 'religious' litigants (Ava and C.I.)"
for how to many idiots are getting away with too much by citing
''religious freedom" when they're not even practicing the teachings of
Jesus.
Your a hate merchant
spewing hate but don't worry, Jonathan Turley will always protect your
speech. He won't protect the rights of other speech. He won't protect
the speech of drag performers or of libraries but he'll rush to defend
the hate merchants and only the hate merchants.
Protesters
trying to shut down a reading event geared toward neurodiverse children
at a branch of the New York City Public Library were met by a wall of
counterprotesters.
The standoff over the Drag Story Hour event
— a popular national storytelling program where drag performers read
children's books at libraries, schools and bookstores — took place
outside the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library in
Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday. The event was billed as
“storytime with local drag performers adapted to be more accessible to
kids with autism and other disabilities.”
Saturday's
protest was just the latest in a string of standoffs across the country
from a fringe movement targeting drag events over unsubstantiated
allegations of grooming.
The
group demonstrating on Saturday brought handmade signs covering a
spectrum of issues, with messages protesting everything from fascism to
grooming to gender identity.
New
York City Council member Erik Bottcher shared images and videos online
of the protesters, some of whom he tried speaking with before entering
the children’s reading event.
“I
want to show you the face of hate, right here in Chelsea,” Bottcher
said in a video shared on Twitter, before showing the counterprotesters
clad in rainbows.
A
representative for the New York Public Library said the event went on
as planned and added that the library would continue to offer programs
supporting diverse voices.
“This
is particularly important at this moment when we are seeing a rise of
hate and violence targeting LGBTQ+ communities," the representative
said.
A right winger
gets booed at a campus events and Jonathan Turley's sobbing tears and
insisting booing is wrong. (Another example of how stupid he is and how
he shouldn't be commenting on supposed art -- cake baking and computer
templates aren't art.) But a mob goes after a library event and, in
fact, targets a local government official and Jonathan says nothing.
Well, after all, FOX NEWS is now paying him.
Outrageous. Unless you're banking a check from FOX NEWS apparently.
Turning to Iraq . . .
Mustafa
al-Kadhimi was Iraq's most inept prime minister since the US-led
invasion of Iraq. It turns out that he might have also been one of the
most corrupt and sick -- and remember, Iraq has already suffered through
two terms of Nouri al-Maliki being prime minister. So to be more
corrupt and sick than Nouri is really saying something. Remember,
Nouri's actions lead to the rise of ISIS in Iraq. Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim (WASHINGTON POST) report:
A flagship anti-corruption drive under the tenure of U.S.-backed Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi used incommunicado detention, torture
and sexual violence to extract confessions from senior Iraqi officials
and businessmen, according to a nine-month investigation by The
Washington Post.
Kadhimi, who left office in October, came to power in 2020 after mass anti-corruption demonstrations felled his predecessor. His government’s high-profile campaign to tackle graft in one of the world’s most corrupt countries drew widespread international encouragement.
Central
to the effort was a series of highly publicized night raids in late
2020 on the homes of public figures accused of corruption, conducted
under the authority of the Permanent Committee to Investigate Corruption
and Significant Crimes, better known as Committee 29. The architect of
the raids was Lt. Gen. Ahmed Taha Hashim, or Abu Ragheef, who became
known in Iraq as the “night visitor.”
But what happened to the men behind closed doors was far darker: a
return to the ugly old tactics of a security establishment whose abuses
Kadhimi had vowed to address. In more than two dozen interviews —
including five men detained by the committee, nine family members who
had relatives imprisoned, and 11 Iraqi and Western officials who tracked
the committee’s work — a picture emerges of a process marked by abuse
and humiliation, more focused on obtaining signatures for pre-written
confessions than on accountability for corrupt acts.
Those
interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to
discuss sensitive matters or, in the case of detainees and their
families, to protect their safety.
“It
was every kind of torture,” one former detainee recalled. “Electricity,
choking me with plastic bags, hanging me from the ceiling by my hands.
They stripped us naked and grabbed at the parts of our body underneath.”
In
at least one case, a former senior official, Qassim Hamoud Mansour,
died in the hospital after being arrested by the committee. Photographs
provided to The Post by his family appear to show that a number of teeth
had been knocked out, and there were signs of blunt trauma on his
forehead.
Right now, my thoughts
go to Robert Pehter, whose been held forever and who looks like he's
been tortured. The Australian government has done nothing to secure his
release.
We'll wind down with this from Will Lehman's campaign:
Dear fellow workers,
Yesterday,
I submitted a formal protest to the UAW Monitor challenging the UAW
election results. Based on extensive evidence of voter suppression by
the UAW bureaucracy, the election cannot be considered a real expression
of the will of the membership, and the results should not be certified.
I
encourage you to read the full text of my challenge to the UAW election
results, which thoroughly documents how the vote was suppressed:
This
election was characterized by a deliberate suppression of the vote of
the rank and file by the entrenched UAW leadership. The union
intentionally failed to provide adequate notice to the rank and file,
who are not accustomed to direct elections and would not ordinarily
expect to receive ballots. This fact is confirmed by the extremely low 9
percent turnout. Hundreds of thousands of members were simply unaware
that an election was taking place and did not vote. In some locals
representing tens of thousands of younger academic workers, turnout was
less than one percent.
The
9 percent turnout in the UAW elections was by far the lowest for any
direct national union elections. By comparison, the first-ever Teamsters
direct election in the 1990s had 28 percent turnout. The first-ever
UMWA direct elections had 47 percent.
The alibi of the UAW apparatus—that workers are “apathetic”—is simply not credible.
Meanwhile,
even as the UAW apparatus was keeping workers in the dark about its
union elections, it went to great lengths to “get out the vote” for the
Democrats in the midterm elections—meaning that the UAW leadership had
the means to inform workers of the union elections, but deliberately did
not.
To
remedy the violation of workers’ democratic right to participate in a
meaningful election, either ballots should be re-issued and a new UAW
election held, or the names of all candidates added to the ballot in the
runoff.
In
either case, this time adequate measures must be taken to prevent the
UAW leadership from suppressing the vote and ensure that the entire
membership is aware of the election and able to vote.
I urge workers in the UAW and my followers to read the full protest and to share it as widely as possible. Contact my campaign and
send us a statement supporting my challenge opposing the UAW
bureaucracy’s attempt to once again trample the rights of the rank and
file.
