We are still waiting to hear from the Division of Elections on our petition. I remain confident that it will be approved, and my name will be on the ballot. Stay tuned.
I had hoped to use this period to do research and put out more commentary and positions on this blog. However, I was also involved in a move, after my new landlord, who had promised that “everything would remain the same,” promptly posted an eviction notice on my door. After six years in my cozy digs, I had accumulated approximately twice as much stuff as I’d thought I had. So, the last week in August was pretty labor-intensive. I have a nice apartment lined up for October 1; in the meantime I’m sleeping under Brotherhood Bridge in Juneau. (Just kidding, I plan to use my temporary homelessness to do some traveling, on the campaign trail.)

Most people I’ve talked to who support the call for impeachment of Bush and Cheney are as disgusted with the Democratic politicians as they are with the Republican leadership. But a few have criticized me for “splitting the vote”, presumably from the Democrats. The shortest and simplest answer to this complaint is that the Democrats and Republicans (under various names) have been “splitting the vote” for over 200 years, and it’s time working people claimed their share.
The Republicans, going back to the Federalists, have always pursued policies favorable to the wealthiest capitalists. The Democrats were originally the party of the slave-owners and the machine bosses. Nowadays there can be little doubt that their first allegiance is to the large corporations which fill their coffers. The two parties have consistently supported Bush’s “war on terrorism”: the war for oil in Iraq and the future war for oil in Iran, the brutal “birth pangs war” against the Lebanese people, and Bush’s violations of domestic and international law. The Democrats make a pretense of criticizing Bush, usually from the right, as in the hocus Dubai Ports World fiasco (the word is r-a-c-i-s-m) or on Iran. According to the Democrats, the president is not doing enough to “protect the American people!”

In every other developed country, and most of the “developing” nations, workers have at least one mass party that has historically represented its interests. We lag primarily because any movement toward a labor party has been thwarted by the bureaucratic trade union leadership, which has funneled the political aspirations of the working-class into the Democratic Party. In return, the bureaucracy has been amply rewarded by the bosses with a privileged position.
Not surprisingly given the leadership, union membership, especially in the private sector, continues to decline. A large segment of the AFL-CIO has broken away on the issue of better organizing efforts. But what can any of these petrified bureaucracies offer to unorganized workers? Sign a pledge card and we’ll keep wage cuts to 10%? Or no more than 30,000 workers will be laid off? Change To Win claims to offer more. Unfortunately, it’s more of the same, and they remain committed to the two-party fraud.
Suppose on the other hand that organizers approached workers at McDonald’s or Wal-Mart (I use them as readily identifiable symbols) with a union card in one hand and a Labor Party membership in the other, with a pledge to improve working conditions AND to fight for social justice, with a hefty raise in the minimum wage for openers.
Building a labor party will not be easy, but it’s necessary. We can expect only obstruction from the union leadership. I believe it will come about as a result of the initiative of many rank-and-file union members and other organizers.
There is a tendency to look down on McDonald’s and Wal-Mart workers as “too dumb to organize”. The same thing was said about industrial workers in the 1930’s. That myth was exploded by the powerful strikes that led to the formation of the CIO. Then, John L. Lewis and others were able to sell out the movement for a labor party. We won’t be fooled again!

Monday marked the end of the first phase of the campaign. I submitted my nominating petition to the Alaska Division of Elections, with over 4750 signatures attached. I wish to thank everyone who signed, especially those who did so enthusiastically and those who actually thanked us. Each signature was a victory, and a shot in the arm. And that goes double people who helped collect them. The other thing that kept me going through hard times was the unflinching conviction that we had historic right and historical necessity on our side. Never has the choice, “socialism or barbarism”, been more clearly posed.
I am fairly confident of making the ballot. The DOE has been consistently helpful in answering questions, and I found out that they carefully examine every signature, attempting to establish “voter contact”, thus updating their rolls. I trust their diligence and objectivity.
I hope to use the brief period of relative rest to keep my blog updated.
Below is the text of a letter sent to the BBC/PRI program “The World”.

In today’s [22 Aug] broadcast, anchor Marco Werman interviewed a French foreign relations expert, Dominique Moisi on France’s broken promise to lead an international force to join the existing UNIFIL “peacekeeping” contingent in Lebanon. Mr. Werman asked why France was reluctant to do more than double its existing 200 troops and interrupted the response to suggest, “They might be fired upon by Hezbollah…or caught in the crossfire….” I was left to wonder which war your reporter had been watching for the past month and a half.
UNIFIL made world headlines on July 26th when a well-established outpost was shelled all day and finally bombed by Israel, killing four peacekeepers. Two other UNIFIL people were killed in the hostilities, a staff member and his wife, whose house in Tyre was bombed by Israel. UNIFIL reports twelve of its forces were wounded, eight by Israel and four by Hezbollah.
UNIFIL also made news early in the war when a post turned away villagers fleeing Israeli warnings in Marwaheen. Later that day some twenty of these refuge seekers, mostly children, were killed when Israeli bombs “incinerated” the vehicles in which they were traveling. It's possible that the UNIFIL officers on the ground recalled the “First Qana Massacre” of 1996, when an Israeli attack on a UNIFIL base killed and wounded hundreds of Lebanese civilians, and wounded four UNIFIL troops. If so, their memory is obviously far better than Mr. Werman’s. Perhaps bombs going off in all directions have that effect on memory.
Earlier in the interview, Mr. Werman asked, “How much credibility has France lost in this whole thing?” Mr. Moisi replied that it would be “very seriously damaged.”
That your reporter can make such an egregiously misinformed and obviously biased “small interjection” leads inevitably to the conclusion that “The World’s” credibility has been “very seriously damaged”, to say the least.

The signature drive enters the homestretch. The required number is 3145, 1% of the number who voted in the last general election. We were close to that three weeks ago, and the current goal is to get an additional 50%, or a total of 4720. I am confident of reaching that goal, and if the signatures collected by volunteers can be rounded up, we can make 5000. After that, I’ll be looking for 5001, right up to the 22nd of August. (Okay, I may knock off on the 21st.) So, it’s critical that anyone holding signatures, even if there’s only one on the page, get them in next week. Please mail them no later than Wednesday, the 16th, to: Bill Ratigan, P.O. Box 22394, Juneau AK 99802. The last signature is as important as the first, for a number of reasons: we don’t know how many will be disqualified by the Division of Elections; there’s “strength in numbers”; and above all, every citizen who has stood up to defend our democratic rights deserves to have his/her statement recorded.
The drive has involved much more than signatures: getting the word out and recruiting supporters; learning about issues that concern people around the state; and just putting the issue of impeachment out in the open. Many who signed did so because they feel every voice should have a chance to be heard. Many who didn’t sign said they supported impeachment, or at least didn’t like Bush. A few got angry and called me names, but that at least indicated that they were getting past denial – the first goal of the campaign. One thing is certain: those who “strongly agree” vastly outnumber those who “strongly disagree”.
There were many memorable encounters, such as one outside the Anchorage Library this week. Mark was talking with a middle-aged signer who saw a friend walking by. “Come over here,” he called. “Strike a blow for freedom!” Another dynamite slogan is unveiled!

All in all, I would judge the signature drive a success. But one area with lots of room for improvement is in organization, not my strong suit. As the campaign enters the next phase, I am looking for people who can help in many various ways, such as arranging speaking engagements at schools, union meetings, civic organizations, and interviews on radio, TV, and in newspapers. I need local campaign managers, and a “campaign chairperson”. Up until now, I have refused contributions, but I will accept them once I’m on the ballot, so I need someone to do the bookkeeping, since I may have to report to the House Ethics Committee. I’ll probably need a lawyer before we’re through. I need artistic help in designing posters or buttons, etc. Who can help me set up a web page (a must)? Places to stay, meals, massages, etc. on the road – you name it.
Volunteers, at first anyway, would be unpaid. Politically, all I ask is that you agree Bush and Cheney should be impeached. I make no secret of my socialist beliefs, and the need to break with the two parties of Big Business. You’re free to try to convince me otherwise, as long as I retain the same right with you. Just as it “happens” that the Republican and Democratic Parties gave us the Iraq War and continue to support it along with Bush’s domestic spying, etc., it “happens” that the only candidate calling for impeachment is a socialist. And neither policy is an accident.

Once again, my e-mail is: impeachmentalaska@yahoo.com.
Strike a blow for freedom!

by Bill Ratigan

Fairbanks was settled as a gold rush town, and the construction of the Richardson Highway from Valdez and up the Tanana River in the early 1900’s led to its becoming a commercial hub, Alaska’s major interior city. The University of Alaska built its first campus here, and large air and army bases are nearby. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline project in the 1970’s brought jobs and growth, but it remains essentially a military-college town.
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Fort Wainwright abuts residential streets and is less than two miles from downtown Fairbanks. The top local news story for the past week has been the extension of the Stryker Brigade to four(?) more months in Iraq.
The Brigade was to have come home in late July and early August. Anticipation was naturally high, with parties planned and relatives flying in from around the country. On Wednesday the rumors surfaced and on Thursday, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld made it official. Some soldiers had already come home and now must return.
After doing a year in northern Iraq, around 3600 soldiers are now being deployed to Baghdad, where the top U.S. general, Abizaid, makes the daring prediction: “I think it’s possible that in the period ahead of us in Baghdad that we’ll take increased casualties – that’s possible.”

Another story that hasn’t been covered by the local news media also involves Fort Wainwright. Two days ago, on Aug. 2nd , over a hundred building trades workers were putting the finishing touches on 128 new housing units when work was abruptly halted. The word given to workers was that four 100 lb. chemical bombs (mustard gas?) were discovered buried on the site.
There have been a number of other incidents involving workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals, not all reported. The most serious occurred at the end of June, when two workers were hospitalized after exposure to “hazardous petroleum products”. Unconfirmed reports say the men suffered serious, permanent damage to the esophagus. Now, neighborhood residents, as well as workers, are justifiably concerned.
Driving along the Steese Expressway, a friend pointed out a new Baptist church that gets safe water trucked in from the fort, part of an agreement where the Army acknowledges its responsibility for contaminating the church’s well. Several new (civilian) houses are going up along the road. Sure, they’ll be on city water, but dangerous pollutants have other ways of poisoning us, such as through the air we breathe.

It’s bad enough that the U.S. Army has considered its bases, at least in Alaska, as dumping grounds for all kinds of dangerous chemicals, including chemical weapons. But no one even bothered to keep a record; they were just tossed “haphazard”. And even now, the Army can build a large housing project almost to completion, before checking to see if the area is safe. But then, the housing was only for enlisted men and their families.
The final irony is too obvious to ignore: while the Stryker Brigade was sent halfway around the world on a fool’s errand, to find “weapons of mass destruction”, they could have stayed at home and uncovered all they wanted.

Postscript: The finding of the chemical bombs (two, in the story) was reported in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, under a full front-page headline on Saturday 4 August, and picked up by other media outlets in the following days. My first scoop!

Once again, the campaign goes on the road for a final push to get out the word and to take the signature drive way over the top. Along the way, we see the state and meet its people.
My friend Mark and I are now in Fairbanks after spending the weekend at the Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines. We had a great time there – excellent food, music, beautiful weather and surroundings, and lots of signatures. So far, we’ve stayed with friends, and friends of friends – so no hotel bills. Many thanks to those who’ve helped.
We also found out that the Juneau Assembly decided to ignore the Planning Commission’s report and the will of the people, and by a 5-2 majority, voted to approve extending the dead end from Juneau. On our drive to Fairbanks we found the highway, in Canada and Alaska – the state’s one hard link to the “outside world” – in pretty rough shape, with numerous potholes and large frost heaves (global warming melting the permafrost?). Advocates of the Juneau road would do well to consider that after scraping together the $300 million (plus) for a brand-new highway, the pork apparently gets pretty lean. What will the highway look like after ten or twenty years of “going to pot”?

Before leaving Juneau, I was working on a post dealing with the Middle East crisis. I would write at night, sleep on it, and wake to news of fresh atrocities. In my concern for timeliness, it never got finished. Below are some fragments of that column.

In my last Gaza article, I referred to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s famous remark on “Sixty Minutes” that the death of over half a million Iraqis under the age of five, resulting from the sanctions of the 1990’s, was “worth it”. As I said then, I’ve never understood what “it” was that they were “worth”. Was “it” to ensure that Iraqis would greet the future army of “liberation” with candy and flowers? If so, it appears there was a slight mistake somewhere in the arithmetic. Now, with bodies piling up in the heat outside of Baghdad morgues, and hospitals overflowing with the maimed, who has the time for such statistical niceties as “excess mortality”?
In the earlier posting, I wrote that current Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was vying to match her predecessor’s record of callous indifference to mass murder, by equating one Israeli soldier with 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza. Since the Israeli assault began over a month ago, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed, many more wounded, and in the awful conditions, the excess mortality must be – well, forget about it. We can only hope that some time in the future a reckoning will be made, and the victims given belated respect, just as Jewish victims of the Holocaust have been given some accounting, and respect.
The Israelis haven’t been idle in the larger West Bank either, where the body count mounts. If war is an extension of politics by other means, Israeli policy toward Palestinian independence was made pretty clear by the total demolition of the Palestinian Authority complex, the muqataa, in one of the largest Palestinian cities, Nablus. In that operation, the Israeli military actually claimed that they were flushing out Hezbollah(!) fighters who had infiltrated the Palestinian security forces!

But all this is hardly considered newsworthy, as the American media focuses almost entirely on the carnage in Lebanon, and it is here that I believe Rice has secured a place at least equal to Albright’s in the pillory of eternal infamy. Her describing the destruction of Lebanon as “birth pangs of the new Middle East” takes obscenity to a new level. Imagine! Bombs falling on babies’ heads are…birth pangs!
The Congress is totally supine. The Senate passed unanimously, and the House by a 410-8 majority, resolutions commending the Israeli genocide. One Democratic Congresswoman, Jane Harman of California, deserves special mention. Her catch-phrase, repeated often, is that Israel is “draining the swamp” in Gaza and Lebanon. While her formulation may lack the cold-blooded pithiness of Ms. Rice’s, I think she deserves extra credit for describing the brutal mass murder in terms of pure, unadulterated racism.


The Bush Administration blames Iran and Syria for providing the Lebanese Shia with some rudimentary weapons for self-defense, while rushing through an order for a hundred 5000 pound satellite- and laser-guided “bunker buster” bombs, to be flown on American-made fighter jets, supported by American helicopters and tanks, part of the billions the US gives annually to the Zionist war machine. Was it one of these bunker busters that killed some 56 women and children, in Qana on Sunday?
Hezbollah is not likely to commit the mistake the PLO fighters made in 1982. Bowing to intense pressure, and a promise by President Ronald Reagan to guarantee the safety of Palestinian civilians, they departed Lebanon. Within a couple of days, the massacre of thousands at Sabra and Shatilla took place. (Remember this the next time you read about militia fighters who “deliberately operate from civilian areas”; read: “people who defend their families where they live.”) Hezbollah is not likely to repeat that mistake, and Inshallah, they also recall the tragic, poetic words of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe: “The white man made many promises, but he kept only one. He said he would take our land, and he did.”

On the eve of the Gaza invasion (June 26) I wrote that the conflict could become the straw that breaks the back of the US client regimes in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc. Sure enough, those regimes are feeling serious heat from their outraged populations, and it’s bound to get worse. If the goal in Iraq was to unite Sunni and Shia in an anti-American alliance, then the Lebanon invasion was the perfect catalyst.
It would be easy to conclude that the “birthing of the new Middle East” as envisaged by the U.S. and Israel requires a general conflagration in the region, but this would assume that the Bush Administration has some clue about what it is doing, an assumption that the war in Iraq makes clear is totally unwarranted.