A Leftist Guide to the Fourth of July by Billy Wharton (repost)

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com
originally published July 4, 2011
July 4, 2011

Image by stewartmorris via Flickr

A neighbor illustrated the problem with the Fourth of July. He broke out a new bumper sticker for his car just in time for the annual celebration. The sticker promoted the US Navy with the slogan, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all those who oppose us.” This twisted take on the spirit of the day is a perfect illustration of the worst American chauvinism that often pushes leftists and other progressives away from the holiday. However, as historians such as Howard Zinn have demonstrated, there are alternatives – there is a counter-narrative to American history that represents ordinary people. The Fourth of July is the perfect opportunity to discover it.

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A Leftist Guide to the Fourth of July by Billy Wharton

On the Bridge and Under Arrest by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com
October 3, 2011

Image by Adrian Kinloch via Flickr

While crime rates in New York City soar the New York Police Department (NYPD) spent a good part of Saturday entrapping and arresting hundreds of protesters who were moving across the Brooklyn Bridge.  In the process, the police created an extremely dangerous situation for about 800 occupiers of the bridge who were effectively trapped – a police net on one side and the Hudson River on the other.  In the long run, the most dangerous thing the police may have created was opportunities for direct solidarity among hundreds of people who previously had only been united by a demand for an end to the rule of the rich.

A Leftist Guide to the Fourth of July by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com
July 4, 2011

Image by stewartmorris via Flickr

A neighbor illustrated the problem with the Fourth of July.  He broke out a new bumper sticker for his car just in time for the annual celebration.  The sticker promoted the US Navy with the slogan, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all those who oppose us.”  This twisted take on the spirit of the day is a perfect illustration of the worst American chauvinism that often pushes leftists and other progressives away from the holiday.  However, as historians such as Howard Zinn have demonstrated, there are alternatives – there is a counter-narrative to American history that represents ordinary people.  The Fourth of July is the perfect opportunity to discover it.

General Strike: Because Wisconsin Needs More than a Recall by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com, March 11, 2011
March 12, 2011

Image by zak((again)))) via Flickr

As the old phrase states: Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.  These are indeed extraordinary times in Wisconsin.  The Budget Repair Bill that was passed by Governor Scott Walker and State Republicans will strip public employees of the right to collectively bargain and threaten the very existence of unions in the state.

Despite the severity of these measures, Democrats and sections of the Trade Union leadership have chosen to pour resources and direct energy into a campaign to recall Walker and other Republicans. 

How the Koch Brothers Remade Wisconsin Politics by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com
February 22, 2011

Image by WxMom via Flickr

On July 11, 2008, Douglas Bullock, then a resident of N7523 Summit Rd, in Plymouth, WI, wrote a check for $2.31 to new Political Action Committee (PAC) in Wisconsin.  This was the opening contribution to the Koch Industries Inc. PAC, a political force that would, in two short years help turn the political landscape of the state upside down.  Nationally, the Koch Brothers are known as the funders of the Tea Party movement and in Wisconsin as the patrons of the successful campaign of current Governor Scott Walker.  However, their political agenda is far grander than just one candidate or even one political “movement.”  The Koch’s are capitalist entrepreneurs on a grand scale and as such are intent on crafting a political environment that best suits their economic designs.  In other words, they mean to re-shape the world into their own image one politician, one community and one Statehouse at a time.

Madison Protests May Spark a New Era of Protest Politics by Billy Wharton + Uprising in Wisconsin

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com February 17, 2011
February 18, 2011

Image by WxMom via Flickr

Protests are erupting across Wisconsin in response to Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to strip public employees of the right to collectively bargain in order to impose a severe austerity package.  The focal point of the rallies was the capitol building in Madison where protesters took a page from the Egyptian protest movement and occupied the inside rotunda.  These protests may be the first sign that the deepening of the economic crisis that ensued in 2008 may push many more Americans into protest politics not seen in this country since the 1930s.

Wisconsin Corporations Skate as Governor Targets Public Employees by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Examiner.com February 13, 2011
February 15, 2011

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker made national headlines this week by announcing his intention to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.  He even threatened to call out the National Guard to back up this claim.  The bombastic proposal was presented as a part of plan to close the state’s $137 million budget shortfall.  The real kicker to Walker’s budget dreams is that while hacking away at public workers he also intends to lower tax rates.  Quite a feat, and it raises issues about just what the tax situation is in the state.

A Socialist Response to the State of the Union by Billy Wharton

by Billy Wharton
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
http://socialistpartynyc.blogspot.com
January 25, 2011

Image by oemebamo via Flickr

Obama Out of Touch with the American People

Tonight’s State of the Union speech revealed just how far out of touch President Barack Obama is from the reality of working people in America. What a distance from the White House to the unemployment line. From the Rose Garden to the food pantry.

Obama’s No Socialist. I Should Know. By Billy Wharton

Dandelion Salad

By Billy Wharton
ICH
March 16, 2009 “Washington Post”