Liberation Audio

Tonight’s debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was testament to how little choice voters truly have in this so-called democracy. Gloria La Riva and Sunil Freeman are running in the presidential election to give voters a real alternative -- one that stands for the rights of the working class and in opposition to war, racism and the destruction of the environment. On these existential issues of our time and so many others, Trump and Biden have more in common than they pretend. Neither have a program to meet the scale of these crises — and under either one, they will only deepen. One major theme of the debate was taxes, with Joe Biden posturing as the champion of “the middle class” by favorably comparing his own personal tax payments with Trump’s. Of course it is an outrage that someone as fabulously wealthy as Donald Trump paid virtually nothing in taxes for years. But it is also a common practice among the elite that rules this country. Notably, one of the key ways that the ultra-rich and their corporations evade taxes is by setting up a shell headquarters in Delaware, a state with no corporate income tax. Joe Biden served as the Senator from Delaware for 36 years, becoming by far the most powerful man in the state’s politics. During these decades, Biden was silent on the issue. Couple that with his record of voting to gut social programs, embracing anti-worker free trade agreements and shielding the big banks from accountability for the 2008 financial crash -- Biden’s sudden change of heart about tax evasion by the wealthy is a display of utter hypocrisy and cannot be taken seriously. We condemn Donald Trump’s racist attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement and his attempts to portray the righteous uprising as mindless violence and rioting. Gloria La Riva, Sunil Freeman and the entire PSL have been in the streets all summer as proud participants in the movement. But we cannot forget Joe Biden’s record either. Biden was a principal architect of mass incarceration through his authorship of the draconian 1994 crime bill, which he justified with rhetoric demonizing Black youth. Biden launched his political career as an avowed opponent of school desegregation and has repeatedly, publicly praised Senators who were among the most notorious defenders of Jim Crow apartheid -- Strom Thurmond, James Eastland and Herman Talmadge. Neither candidate is willing to even consider the type of dramatic action that needs to be taken to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic and associated economic crisis. The PSL’s La Riva/Freeman campaign demands the immediate cancellation of rent and mortgage payments with no accumulation of debt, full replacement of all unemployed workers’ incomes, free healthcare for all and international cooperation to develop a vaccine. The Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman ticket stands for a new system — socialism — where the working class and oppressed hold economic and political power, and the needs of the people and the planet are planned for and guaranteed. Find out more: https://www.lariva2020.org/

Eliza Lucero, Joel Northam and Lillian House have been released from jail after having been incarcerated for a full week in hazardous and degrading conditions. This is a major victory for the nationwide movement that has developed to fight back against the frame-up on serious felony charges of Denver-area organizers leading the fight against racist police brutality. Over the past seven days, thousands of people have signed the petition, participated in solidarity rallies across the country, added their name to the open letter of support, and made generous donations to their defense. Authorities grossly violated their legal rights by refusing to bring the three activists up for a bail hearing. But they were finally forced to relent under major legal and political pressure, and now all three are out on bail. Eliza, Joel and Lillian, along with Russell Ruch, still face outrageously false felony charges that could result in years-long imprisonment. And the cops who ruthlessly murdered Elijah McClain have not been brought to justice. We will continue the fight! Here is what you can do to help: Sign on to the solidarity statement: https://www.pslweb.org/denverorgsolidarity Sign the petition to drop all the charges!: https://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges Donate to the legal and political support campaign for the arrested organizers: https://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver

Democrats in the Senate announced September 17 a massive spending bill aimed at stepping up U.S. hostility towards China to the tune of $350 billion. Introduced by leading imperialist war hawks Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez, the legislation is intended to shore up U.S. dominance in strategic sectors of the world economy through huge government subsidies, as well as bolstering ongoing efforts to politically destabilize China. The centerpiece of the Democrats’ proposal is a $300 billion fund to subsidize science and technology development. This in all likelihood will mean a massive payday for some of the biggest tech firms in the country. An additional $16 billion is earmarked just for the semiconductor industry, a field where Chinese firms play a particularly prominent role. Strengthening these industries is one of the core goals of the Pentagon’s “Great Power Competition” doctrine, which identifies all-out confrontation with China (and Russia) as the overarching goal guiding U.S. military and foreign policy in the 21st century. U.S. aggression against China is constrained by the fact that U.S. corporations’ supply chains tend to be heavily dependent on China’s manufacturing sector. These subsidies aim to break down this key roadblock on the path to war. While semiconductors and other high-tech goods are of course valuable to the civilian economy, they are also crucial to the U.S. military’s efforts to maintain a technological edge over the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/senate-democrats-want-350-billion-to-prepare-for-war-with-china/

Donate to the organizers’ legal and political defense fund: https://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver Sign the petition demanding that all charges be dropped against the organizers: https://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges The following is a report from Ryan Hamby, a Party for Socialism and Liberation member and the long-time partner of Lillian House, one of the four PSL organizers who were rounded up and thrown in jail with multiple bogus felony charges. They were targeted for their leadership in the anti-racist movement in the Denver area, especially the struggle for justice for Elijah McClain. Three of them have been in jail without a bond hearing since they were arrested on Thursday, September 17. Other organizers and protesters across Colorado have been arrested in recent weeks as well. Please make an urgently-needed donation to support their defense effort. The unjustly incarcerated Denver-area organizers are being subjected to terrible conditions while locked up. Some of what they are facing is just the horrible conditions of most jails — Lillian House knows this well, having just written an article exposing the conditions that women face in prison for the latest issue of Breaking the Chains. Some of it is certainly the incompetence of a rotten and incompetant bureaucracy. But without a doubt, in a situation so political, much of what they are experiencing is punitive. Another one of the arrested organizers, Joel Northam, is in a pod with seven to eight other men for 23 hours and 20 minutes a day. Although there have been positive COVID cases in the nearby pods, Joel has been given only one face mask since he was arrested. Joel has had phone calls with us and with his family cut off before his time ran out without warning or explanation. He tells us that he has watched many men come and go as they receive bond hearings while he remains incarcerated. The targeted activists have been inside since Thursday, meaning that they have been held without being able to post bond, or even have a hearing before a judge, for six days. This is a violation of the 14th Amendment, which is supposed to protect the right to due process. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/jailed-denver-anti-racist-leaders-subjected-to-dangerous-and-degrading-conditions-in-custody/

We are deeply appreciative of the many solidarity statements we have received from around the country and the world. The statement below comes from movements and member organizations of the International Peoples’ Assembly, which is active across Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. If your organization would like to offer a statement, please send it to info@pslweb.org. We will be collecting and posting more statements soon. Individuals can also sign the petition demanding freedom for the arrested organizers here and make a donation to provide support for their case here. Statement in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners of the Anti-Racist Struggle in the USA! The movements and member organizations of the International Peoples’ Assembly make an international call for solidarity with the political prisoners of Denver, USA, arrested on September 17, for leading in the massive anti-racist protest movement that has taken to the streets demanding justice for George Floyd, Elijah McClain and other victims of racist police brutality in the United States. In complex and repressive operation, four members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) who have organized large Black Lives Matter protests have been arrested: Russell Ruch, Lillian House, Joel Northam and Eliza Lucero. They are still in jail, except for one person. All four face multiple felony charges and many misdemeanours (including the bizarre and ridiculous charge of “kidnapping”), which can sentence them to many years in prison. Read the full statement and signatories: https://www.liberationnews.org/movements-in-africa-asia-latin-america-and-europe-send-solidarity-to-denver-anti-racist-organizers/

Today, on September 17th, in Denver, Colorado, law enforcement units arrested several lead organizers of the mass anti-racist protest movement that has been on the streets demanding justice for Elijah McClain and other victims of police brutality. This morning, Russell Ruch was arrested while in a parking lot at a Home Depot. An hour later, five police cars surrounded and arrested Lillian House while she was driving. This afternoon, S.W.A.T. teams arrived at Joel Northam’s home and arrested him. As we are writing, we have just learned that Eliza Lucero has also been arrested. All four are members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. There may be others who have been arrested. They are facing multiple serious felony charges and many misdemeanors including the bizarre and ludicrous charge of “kidnapping,” all because they have organized large Black Lives Matter protests. This is a major political attack on the whole movement and the PSL. We will mount a mass campaign to defeat these phony charges and win their freedom. Read the full statement: https://www.liberationnews.org/police-arrest-anti-racist-organizers/ Sign the petition to drop all the charges: https://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges Donate to their legal aid and support campaign: https://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver

Urgent! On Sep 17 Denver police arrested several anti-racist organizers, 4 of which are members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Support their legal aid and support campaign: http://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver Sign the petition to drop all charges: http://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges

Urgent! On Sep 17 Denver police arrested several anti-racist organizers, 4 of which are members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Support their legal aid and support campaign: http://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver Sign the petition to drop all charges: http://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges

Urgent! On Sep 17 Denver police arrested several anti-racist organizers, 4 of which are members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Support their legal aid and support campaign: http://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver Sign the petition to drop all charges: http://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges

Urgent! On Sep 17 Denver police arrested several anti-racist organizers, 4 of which are members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Support their legal aid and support campaign: http://www.pslweb.org/donate4denver Sign the petition to drop all charges: http://www.pslweb.org/dropthecharges