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Fear: Autocracy’s Tool

June 4, 2026
chauvinism, civil rights, democracy, history, politics, strategy
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Fear: Autocracy’s Tool

The Nazis did not control Germany because they coerced every resident. They did it with fear. The Trumpsters today do not have the capacity to coerce the American population. They are hoping to do it with fear.

The gigantic turnouts at national demonstrations proves that fear isn’t working for the Trumpsters. Nevertheless, they will keep trying because it’s all they have.

Communists and other progressives must stand up to the fear campaign. Our defense is the American people. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe in fair play for all, including protesters and activists.

The Ku Klux Klan did not stop African Americans from voting in the South by coercing them individually. They did it with fear. The courageous leaders of 1954 were successful in overcoming the Klan because they were able to reach the American majority. The key, for them, was television. It worked.

Television continues to work for those seeking justice, but the internet is a close second. The more our ideas and activities are presented to the American people, whether through mainstream media or through the internet, the safer we are. In other words, the more effective we are in outreach the safer we are.

An unfortunate incident in Alvarado last year derailed the thinking of some activists. When the Trumpsters took advantage of the errors of some well-meaning activists, some learned the wrong lessons. I have personally heard otherwise-rational North Texans say that we should start going underground or stockpile weapons. I can almost hear the Trumpsters laughing because they think their fear campaign is succeeding.

Another terrible example is the one-or-two deluded people who dress up in military-looking outfits and carry weapons to North Texas demonstrations. I plead with them to get rid of their weapons or leave, but they don’t. They are risking everyone around them. They are either seriously deluded egotists or they are outright provocateurs working directly for the Trumpster cause! They should be treated as provocateurs because, effectively, that is what they are.

There is no doubt that the Trumpsters will threaten some individuals because that is how they spread fear. In those cases, the best defense is not a weapon. The best defense is one’s phone. If I were threatened, I’d rather have a cell phone with Facebook Live than a dozen machine guns!

Shoulders to the Wheel

June 1, 2026
civil rights, democracy, elections, politics, strategy
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We have until November before a systemic crisis hits.

Five months.

Currently, the billionaire autocracy is doing everything possible to rig the November elections. If they are not confident of substantially winning, they may try to end elections entirely. Trump has already floated the idea without success. If the elections are carried out, they will contest every election that they lose.

That they will use every possible means – legal/illegal, moral/immoral – to contest election outcomes is a certainty. It is proven without possible argument by the precedent they set in 2020.

In 2020, the billionaire autocracy had at their disposal only a ragtag group of fanatics. In 2026, they have nominal control over most of the coercive forces, including police, sheriffs, border patrols, ICE, the National Guard, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, and the Space Force.

The working class will resist. Will we be prepared to win by November?

Certainly, more people have hit the streets than at any time in history. Certainly, consciousness is at an all-time historical high. Certainly, the progressive forces are better organized than ever before. Even unions have begun to wake up. Certainly, the advanced part of the working class has brought the entire movement forward. Will it be enough?

Between now and the certain crisis, our movement must carry out two main strategies:

1) Mobilize the largest vote for progressive candidates and ideas

2) Organize the working class to fight beyond the electoral arena

CONFLICTING IDEOLOGIES

In the flurry of new consciousness, several different philosophies have emerged and begun to be put into practice.

Armed struggle is the least intelligent idea, but a few groups and individuals have already begun to advocate it. Where they tried to implement, they played precisely into the hands of the autocracy. Under current conditions the most likely initiators of any such policy are government provocateurs.

Getting everybody into trade unions is a charming idea. The Industrial Workers of the World tried it and made a good showing in the early part of the 20th century. But it didn’t work then and won’t work now. However, there are emerging organizations working with but not under the trade unions that are very promising.

Overcoming our enemies by winning elections within the only system available is the most popular idea, but this shopworn process is easily discredited, as it should be. American voters reject both capitalist parties.

The New York Times ran a headline on May 29: “In latest sign of discontent, 43% of voters are dissatisfied with both parties.”

Thirty percent of those polled “liked” the Republicans and didn’t like the Democrats. Twenty-three percent liked the Democrats and didn’t like the Republicans. The total number satisfied with both capitalist parties was four percent! The article asserted, “Eighty percent of dissatisfied voters said the economic and political system needed major changes or to be torn down entirely…”

The working class is learning class struggle politics. The alternative to the discredited two-capitalist-party political system is exactly that — class struggle politics.

ORGANIZING BEYOND ELECTIONS IS VITAL

Getting more workers to join progressive organizations, particularly those close to labor and civil rights organizations, is positive action. Many of them have already begun to search for ways to fight the autocracy.

We need political guidance to a viable path. That path is to organize the working class for full democracy.

As we study and practice, we move ourselves upward toward cadre status. As we take our place in working class organizations, we improve our options. Raising money is vital.

Shoulders to the wheel, comrades. We are running out of time!

–genelantz19@gmail.com

Texas Primaries May Predict November Outcomes

June 1, 2026
strategy, elections, history, civil rights, politics, democracy
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The votes of far-right Republican voters and the prayers of Democrats elevated former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the top of the ticket for the state’s November elections.

Paxton’s Democratic opponent in November posted, “I’m now officially running against Ken Paxton. If we fail to take back Texas, we could hand this seat to the most corrupt politician in America.” – Candidate James Talarico

Trump and Democrats Celebrate the Texas Primary Results

Paxton may be one of the best-known for nastiness politicians from anywhere. His headlines include charges of corruption, infidelity, investigations, impeachment, and homophobia. A recent People’s World article charges him with forcing a Texas hospital to give up gender affirmation and change to behavior modification!

Texas A.G. Ken Paxton forces hospital to establish conversion therapy clinic

In case anyone doubts the death wish of Texas Republican voters, the race for Railroad Commissioner is clear proof. The Railroad Commission oversees oil and gas and is one of the critical elected offices in the state. The winner was Bo French, who had backing from the West Texas oil billionaires who have sponsored right-wing turnarounds in many and varied state elections, including school boards. Backing French’s opponents were the mightiest of right-wing state politicians, including the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. French’s campaign, based almost completely on racism and islamophobia rather than the oil industry, was too disgusting even for the more traditional hate mongerers.

The race for Attorney General in the Republican primary was all hate and mudslinging. The winner overcame the backing for his opponent from no less a well-known far-right hatesman than Senator Ted Cruz!

The shift among Texas Republicans is clearly toward autocracy without any regard to winning in November.

Texas Matters

The Texas primary elections are important because of the size of the state and the earliness of the returns. There are clear trends that can be used to predict outcomes in November.

Republican winner Ken Paxton put it well in his victory speech, “If Republicans lose this state, we lose the country.”  — Dallas Morning News

In both the Democratic and Republican primaries that were settled in the runoffs on May 26, some of the biggest issues were hardly mentioned. The effect of artificial intelligence on jobs didn’t find a champion. The ongoing war in Iran and the coming threat to Cuba were not issues. Democrats and Republicans showed little interest in China, Israel, nor the exploding military budget.

Big $Money$ Matters

“The matchup became the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, topping $130 million in spending by all candidates and their allies.” –Dallas Morning News

The downright silly mud-slinging contest for Republican nomination for Attorney General drew over $14 million, according to news accounts made before the final tallies.

Despite all the Texas craziness, there were some issues that stood out.

Labor Celebrates, and Deserves to Celebrate

In Congressional District 33 around Dallas, labor endorsed Democrat Colin Allred based a great deal of his campaign on corruption among public officials. He especially charged his opponent with profiting from stock trading while holding public office and trust. He won handily and, because of Republican redistricting, expects little resistance in November.

Labor celebrated its victories in the critical Attorney General’s race and in several state legislature races. Our endorsed candidate for Lieutenant Governor lost, but he lost to another highly respected union member. The Texas AFL-CIO is revitalizing the entire state with political training and backup in local areas.

–GeneLantz@gmail.com

What We’re Talking About

May 23, 2026
strategy, elections, civil rights, economy, politics, unions, democracy
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We’re on KNON radio every Saturday at 9AM central time. They keep the recordings on KNON.org for 2 weeks, so you can still listen to “Gene Lantz” or “Workers Beat.” They put my weekly podcasts on Soundcloud under “Workers Beat Extra.”

On May 23, the first caller spoke about the odd proposal to tear down our Dallas City Hall. Apparently, Mrs Adelson, the big Trump sponsor, wants to build an arena there for her Dallas Mavericks basketball team. The caller said the only problem was a leak in the basement, and that they need to get a better plumber. Bonnie, my Co-Host, said they need a union plumber.

I had a newspaper article on the topic: “A group of businessmen and architects propose 47 acres of city-owned land for the Mavericks. Their opposition wants to tear down City Hall and says the building is ‘unpopular.’ ” Dallas Morning News

During the next lull, I got to talk about something I’ve been wanting to say for weeks: the reason that Trump wants lower interest rates even as inflation rises. Normally, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as monetary policy to fight inflation, but Trump wants the reverse — lower interest rates despite inflation.

Fiscal policy — government expenditures — are also fanning the fires of inflation. During the past week, I had accumulated several examples:

“Trump wants $1.2T to put weapons in space.  $1.5T for miliary budget. $350B for present war.” New York Times

White House Approves $9 Billion for Spy Agencies to Catch Up on A.I.

  NYT

$1.7 billion contract awarded “for border wall in Big Bend” amid public confusion over construction plans. TX Tribune

“Trump is setting up a $1.8B “weaponization fund.” “The massive fund would give Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump a mechanism to seek taxpayer payouts for their claims of government overreach.”  NBC News

Justice Department gifts Trump with slush fund  Salon

“Trump Officials Decline to Rule Out DOJ Payouts to Jan. 6 Rioters Who Assaulted Police.” Time

“There has never been an example of presidential corruption like this.” NYT editors

“Never in 250 years has America witnessed a sitting president shield himself and his family from tax scrutiny, after leveraging policies that benefit his own businesses and personal portfolios, as Donald J. Trump has done… In doing so, he has set a precedent — once so unfathomable as to be laughable — that it’s OK for presidents and family members to make billions off deals affected by government decisions, then use the Justice Department to secure lifetime protection from scrutiny of their past tax returns.”  AXIOS

After a couple more callers, I was finally able to give my take on why Trump keeps driving up inflation and demands lower interest rates: he wants to continue “borrowing” taxpayer money and driving up national debt in order to fund his plans for military and internal coercive forces, especially ICE. In other words, he doesn’t care about his sagging popularity. He intends to take what he wants, internationally and domestically, BY FORCE!

Dallas political analyist Carolyn King Arnold called, as she often does, to urge everybody to vote. She said that voting is “the only way” that people can change anything. After she finished, I disagreed.

Voting is important, but hardly the “only way.” People need to organize. Bonnie and I agreed that the best organizations are those closest to the union movement. Unions are the largest and best organized part of the progressive movement. I also recommended NAACP as a good organization to join.

Another caller reviewed his own article in PeoplesWorld.org. It was about an important voters’ event held last week in Friendship West megachurch. They set a goal of 75% turnout for Black voters. And they will do the work! He recommended working with Dr Frederick Haynes. I do, too.

With the subject of voting on hand, Bonnie and I could hardly resist talking about Trump’s seemingly insane endorsement of Ken Paxton to head the Republican ticket in Texas as the nominee for U.S. Senate. The caller who brought it up said that Republican voters “must be crazy.” I disagreed again.

I had two reasons. Firstly, even though Trump’s endorsement is winning Republican primaries all over the country, I don’t think that all rank-and-file Republican voters are nuts enough to elect Paxton on our May 26 runoff election day. There was a letter-to-editor in the Dallas newspaper demonstrating my point:

This article was also in today’s paper: “After Trump endorsed Paxton, Republican turnout in early voting dropped.” DMN //it proves that Republicans are not necessarily crazy//

And from last week, “Paxton and Cornyn race gets uglier and uglier.” DMN

My second argument goes beyond whether or not Trump is crazy or otherwise incompetent. I think that the billionaires behind Trump have a plan that largely disregards the question of winning elections. I think they intend to try to overthrow any election they don’t win, and Ken Paxton, famous for oceans of frivolous lawsuits, is just the kind of lawyer they need to help overthrow elections. His opponent, John Cornyn, may still believe in the Constitution.

My friend Arash called to talk about a mural unveiling for ICE victims and other civil rights issues. I wished we had more time to talk about civil rights and the current and next Trump wars, but it’s just a talk show and it’s just an hour. I was loaded up with recent articles on those subjects.

Civil Rights Being Decimated

“Thousands rallied in Montgomery for voting rights. ” Ap in dmn

“NAACP calls for boycott of Southern college sports programs over voting rights”  Courier Texas

“Texas is the death penalty capital and Tarrant is the capital of that. 92% of death penalty cases are against people of color. ” Jane.harper@dallasnews.com

“Texas executed a man with a tested IQ of 70. ” Jamie.landers@dallasnews.com

“Justice Dept. Accuses U.C.L.A. Medical School of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants.”  nyt

“Trump’s border wall is desecrating Native American site.” Ap in dmn

Trump’s Wars Worsen

New York Times ran a poll asking how many people support Trump’s war in Iran. 30% do, but it’s 70% for Republicans and 5% for Democrats.

“Israelis bomb Lebanon during truce.”  NYT

Trump says “It looks like I’ll be the one that does it,” about invading Cuba.  AP in dmn

And Everything Else

I had dozens of articles and opinions about this perilous economy and, especially, about artificial intelligence. But we get only an hour.

–Gene Lantz

We’re on KNON.org every Saturday at 9AM and they keep the recordings on for 2 weeks afterward. My podcasts are under “Workers Beat Extra” on Soundcloud and my personal web site is http://lilleskole.us.

Just Look At What We Have Done!

May 18, 2026
civil rights, democracy, economy, elections, history, politics, strategy, unions
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If everything looks bad, it’s only because our enemies are flooding the world with lies. In truth, they are cornered rats. I’m not saying that cornered rats are not dangerous, but they can be stomped!

Take a look at what we have already accomplished in 2026:

Crowds at No Kings events have surpassed all previous American protests!

Our labor movement broke 70 years of precedent by condemning Trump’s wars

Our labor movement broke even longer precedent by promoting May 1, International Workers Day

The Alliance for Retired Americans, which has never gone beyond immediate retiree issues, unanimously passed a hot resolution against the war in Iran. It’s a very long and detailed resolution. You can read it on http://retiredamericans.org. Here’s just one paragraph:

”Whereas the price of oil has already risen dramatically and will lead to sharp increases in the prices of many products that are daily necessities for American families, and the cost of this war will fall squarely on the working people of our country, and on our military service members who are being asked to wage a war and sacrifice their well-being, perhaps their lives, with no clear reason or end plan.” 

Let me mention a few other items from today’s news:

Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and 28 co-sponsors introduced the Fair Trade for Working Families Resolution, which outlines new principles for international trade that would prioritize the interests of working people over the profits of multinational corporations.… The resolution is endorsed by the United Steelworkers (USW), United Auto Workers (UAW), AFL-CIO, International Association of Machinists (IAM), Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC), Rethink Trade, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, the National Family Farm Coalition, and BlueGreen Alliance.

This seems like a good time to note that critical alliances are being formed in the progressive movement!

Here’s more from today’s news:

NYT asked “Do you think Donald Trumps decision to go to war with Iran was the right decision or the wrong decision?” Democrats said yes by 5%, Republians by 22%. And the general population by 30%. 

Thousands rallied in Montgomery for voting rights.  Ap in Dallas newspaper. It’s important to show that the fight goes on.

The Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine says he wants to change the system.  NYT

Editors who usually choose to endorse candidates on the basis that they are probably going to win have chosen labor-endorsed Colin Allred on CD33, Venton Jones on TX100 and Nathan Johnson for Attorney General. Texas primary runoffs are May 26.

Mexican Government Reaffirms Support for Michelle Bachelet’s UN Secretary-General Candidacy  Telesur This one is important because we might get a very progressive Secretary-General, but it also matters considerably that the President of Mexico does not cringe before Trump!

Unions are winning some big victories:

United Airlines Flight Attendants have new contract: The five-year contract includes a 31% base pay rate increase this summer; boarding pay (which averages an 7% to 8% increase to compensation); $741 million in retroactive pay; expanded job security; restrictions on red-eye flying; sit pay for scheduled and rescheduled sits over 2.5 hours; per diem and 401(k) contribution increases; 10 weeks’ paid maternity and two weeks’ paid parental and adoption leaves; elimination of 24 hour on-call reserve and more.  Aflcio

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Texas workers at George R. Brown Convention Center and Houston Entertainment Center just won massive 46% raises!  TX AFL-CIO

I’m not positive how to evaluate this, but I think it’s big news:

Trump went to China, but came back empty handed. One interpretation of Trump’s war in Iran is that it was caused by the undermining of the “petrodollar” by the BRICS countries. Brazil, Russia, India, China and their 25 or so new partners have been trading for everything, including oil, in their own currencies instead of bowing to the United States and using dollars. If this is the reason for the war, and I think it is, then don’t expect it to be over soon. I’ll go so far as to say that the war in Iran will not really be over before the end of November.

–Gene Lantz. I’m on KNON radio at 9AM every Saturday. They podcast it on knon.org. They podcast my “Workers Beat Extra” podcasts on Soundcloud. I podcast them on Spotify under my own name. If you were curious about what I really think, you might look at https://lilleskole.us.

Road to Contentment

March 10, 2026
art, chauvinism, democracy
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I want to tell you why you are discontent. I want to tell you how to overcome your discontent every day.

The reason for your unhappiness is that you aren’t being yourself. If you were being yourself as you were created by millions of years of evolution, you would settle into a life of caring for others.

As evolution shaped us, we are herd animals. We care for one another the way a herd animal protects its members. When they are aware of an attack, for example, bison form a circle with the calves and weaker members at the center. It is natural for them, and it is natural for us to take care of one another.

Left to themselves, children are the same way. They strive for fairness among themselves. I know this because I had a private school where children were largely left to their natural inclinations rather than being pitted against one another for grades and encouragement as they are in other schools.

But the children in most schools and the adults in capitalist society are pitted against one another. The only way for anybody to advance under capitalism is to climb over others. Alienation is forced on us, and alienation is the source of our discontent.

We know about this alienation. We usually experience it as guilt. Every day in every city, we walk by or drive by the suffering victims at the bottom of our capitalist fight among ourselves. Sometimes we give them a dime or a dollar, but it doesn’t seem enough.

What About Your Exes?

Alienation makes us desperate, and that is why we cling to the one person that capitalist society allows us to have – our spouse or significant other. It’s also the reason that so many of our relationships fail. We cling too hard, or maybe the other person clings too hard.

We cling desperately to that one person because we are alienated from virtually everybody else, and we doom the relationship because no one person can fill our void of alienation.

Some people try to fill the void with their children. These are the stage mothers and helicopter parents who, again, are often undone in their ambitions because they tried too desperately.

We Need to Do More

Recognizing your true need to care for other humans is the way to overcome your alienation and your discontent. We aren’t bisons, of course, so we are called upon to do considerably more than form circles around our calves.

Knee-jerk charity is also insufficient. Should you stop every time you see a homeless person and try to meet their true needs? Should you buy them new clothes, find them a job, or rent an apartment for them? How many could you help? Should you aspire to religious poverty and try to become the next Buddha? A few people try that, but more of them try it for only a while.

Strive to Care Effectively

We are herd animals like bison, but we are also thinking animals. If we seriously and honestly want to stop human suffering, then we have to think about the reasons for it. After that, we have to apply ourselves to resolving those reasons. That is the road to contentment and the way to stop being simply a victim of alienation.

It may be simple, but it’s not easy.  It doesn’t take a lot of thought to realize that the people at the bottom of this alienated heap have counterparts at the top. Elon Musk, for example, has more wealth than 53% of American households! They are the ones benefiting from this awful system and the ones who will fight you to continue it.

Follow the Good Examples

Look among your friends and acquaintances for those who are older and have maintained their sense of humanity. I don’t mean the churlish and cruel older people who make up stereotypes of discontent. I mean the older people who are still smiling at life.

You will find them among the activist population. The happiest old people I ever met were those who were still in the struggle. I never met an unhappy old communist.

It’s a Fight, but It’s Worth It

You can’t be content while you’re being oppressed.

It was really hard for me to accept a life of struggle. I think I tried everything that looked easier before I gave in to the obvious.

During the “Pop Psychology” days of the 1960s and 1970s, the key word for everybody was “adjust.” “I’ve adjusted” generally meant the same thing as “I’m happy” or “I’m content.” A “well-adjusted” person was someone who had it made. If someone (me) wasn’t happy, he/she wasn’t fully “in sync with his/herself” and needed to “adjust.” There were all kinds of elaborate ways to help people get adjusted, and most of them involved long expensive therapy sessions. Some involved massage, some involved heavy sedation, some involved electric shock, some involved brain surgery.

I never met a therapist who didn’t subscribe to this “adjustment” business. To that extent, they are agents of the status quo. Maybe all of them aren’t, but then I’ve not met them all.

Why Adjust?

But why should we adjust to an unfair world? Why should we adjust when we ourselves are being oppressed, and we can see a lot more oppression on other people? Why should we adjust when we could make things better?

There is precious little peace for anyone in our society. “Getting and spending, we lay waste our lives,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. Actually, most of the world’s population doesn’t have enough for the bare necessities and spend their days searching for subsistence. Half the world’s children don’t have enough to eat. People are currently being incinerated by bombs paid for by American taxes.

Most of the people who do have enough can’t stop driving to accumulate more. Their children often become degenerate spendthrifts. Are any of them content?

The Only Possible Peace Comes from Fighting

Countless religions and motivational speakers promise that you can adjust to the present society and find contentment, but you can’t. The only contentment within a contentious society comes from striving to improve it. Figuring out how to do that doesn’t take a lot of brain power. It might take a little courage.

Message to Zeeshan

January 27, 2026
democracy, economy, elections, history, politics, strategy
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To Zeeshan: Why You Matter to Me

I’m wholeheartedly advocating your campaign in Congressional District 33. My reasons may be unique.

It’s not because I dislike the other two candidates. Julie Johnson and Colin Allred have been solid for labor and for retirees. I’ve always liked them both and would have had a hard time choosing between them if you hadn’t come along.

It’s not because I think electing a new congressperson this November will significantly change the awful direction that our nation is going. I am not convinced that we will even have American elections in November.

My reasons for supporting you are strong. They include some specific parts of your program, but are more about the salutary effect you have on our fragmented progressive movement.

I admire what seems to be growing respect between you and another candidate in a different district, Reverend Doctor Frederick Haynes III. You and I are recently acquainted, but I have been listening to Haynes for decades and I have never witnessed a better spokesperson for unity between the civil rights movement and labor. Also, I have never heard him say anything that wasn’t absolutely true.

I was tremendously impressed by your call for shortening working hours without cutting paychecks. I have never heard a candidate with this program, and I don’t believe that even old-timers in the labor movement are likely to remember that “30 for 40 [hours] with no cut in pay” was once a basic demand in the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Shortening the working hours without cutting pay is the only possible solution to the threat of automation. Artificial intelligence, today’s most prominent form of automation, is being promoted fanatically by big business and the Trump Administration. It has one and only one purpose: layoffs. Even though artificial intelligence is in its first stages, America is already in a jobs crisis, and it will get worse unless we shift to your solution.

The other proposals for fighting automation and artificial intelligence are tragedies. They consist of minor attempts at legislative regulation and, most forlorn hope of all, controlling automation with union contracts. 90% of American workers don’t even have a union contract!

Ordinary progressive spokespersons are insufficient in these times, because these are not normal times. We are facing an aspiring fascist dictatorship that can only be stopped by a strong, intelligent, and well-integrated people’s movement. Judges haven’t stopped it, and neither have legislatures, nor will they.

We need spokespersons like you who understand the threat, can clarify it for others, and can point us toward solutions. Most particularly, you have the potential to help overcome the boss-invented divisions that are holding us back. Racism and chauvinism are the best known of these sociological maladies, but jingoism must also be overcome. For far too long, some of our political representatives have voted well enough on domestic issues, but they almost inevitably failed us on international ones.

Your message of unity is the same that Dr. King expressed at Riverside Church in 1967. He tried to heal the rifts dividing labor, civil rights, and the peace movement. Dr King is gone but the rifts remain, until now when we finally have an opportunity for clarity and unity.

President Trump is spending almost $1 trillion dollars on the military, and he recently called for a 50% increase! The main beneficiaries of American militarism are oil companies. He isn’t making America great, he is making rich America obscenely richer.

America is running out of time. Spokespersons like you have to explain the danger and put forward the only possible solution – unity!

That’s why I’m on board for Zeeshan Hafeez.

We Cannot Fail!

January 3, 2026
civil rights, democracy, history, politics, strategy, unions
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As I write this on January 3, 2026, the nations of the world, even moderate nations, are condemning the U.S. invasion and occupation of Venezuela. For American workers, the best news is that the national labor movement, the AFL-CIO itself, has joined the international labor community in condemnation.

The AFL-CIO’s action opens the way for discussions and resolutions in every labor body in America. The obvious demand is to remove all U.S. military forces from Venezuela immediately. Everyone must participate!

What we face in the United States goes much further than the invasion of a sovereign nation. We are facing a government that has committed itself to the use of bullying and brute force in order to achieve its aims. That bullying will not stop in Venezuela, nor will it stop in other invaded nations. It is, and has been for some time, the regular practice of the Trump Administration within the United States.

We can expect violence from them as they try to stop us from exercising our rights as citizens. They will be attacking protesters. They will be, they already are, looking for ways to frame anybody who stands against them.

And yet we will protest. We will demand our rights, including the right to vote unfit people out of office. This is the greatest test of the democracy in our history since the Civil War. We cannot fail.

Buckle Seat Belts for 2026

December 26, 2025
democracy, economy, history, politics, strategy
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By Gene Lantz

“Expect the worst and hope for the best.” – Accountant’s credo

The Worst

The world economic system will continue to tremble and quake

American manufacturing and the stock market will rise without improving the jobs situation

Artificial intelligence will gobble up jobs and tremendously worsen the jobs crisis that is already underway

Income disparity, juiced up by Trump policies, will drastically worsen

Communications, especially cell phone communications, may end healthy competition and become even more of an oligopoly

In the electoral arena, candidates will be straining to find a “middle” in an increasingly divided electorate

Mister Trump, who has already shown that he will stop at nothing to maintain and extend his power, will likely start a war and implement martial law as his continuing drive toward fascism continues

Unions will refuse to recognize the new situation and continue the exact policies that have so far lost nearly ¾ of our peak density

Millions will not be able to afford decent health care. Emergency rooms will be overrun

The Best

In the electoral arena, candidates will be forced to clarify their intentions during 2026. Where I live in Dallas, labor will pressure all candidates to reveal their stand on Gaza

Unions will be more aggressive in the electoral arena. Where I live, we are working on two union members running in the January 31 special election. Two Steelworkers have filed for statewide races in the coming primaries.

A growing but unguided mass movement against dictatorship has exploded

More and more people are figuring out the dangers and what to do about it

Some unions are discarding old ways and implementing a larger reliance on our magnificent popularity in the general population of workers

Youth and retirees, two sectors recently encouraged by the labor movement, are growing and adding muscle

The Starbucks workers, using a combination of strike and boycott simultaneously, are showing all workers how use labor’s popularity against the bosses. On December 22 alone, 19 Starbucks stores signed up for union elections.

The Indicators

Nearly all of this analysis comes from information gathered during the past week, and especially on Christmas Day when the Washington Post published ten charts describing the current U.S. economic situation.

Gold and silver prices set new records. The usual “gold bug” speculators are buying precious metals of course, but major investors and some governments are also buying them. Precious metals pay no dividends, but they are a haven of safety for those who think a worldwide financial crisis is imminent.

Two major financial indicators, a soaring stock market and an expected increase in manufacturing, are both rooted in investment in artificial intelligence. Investors are buying into it and energy-gobbling data center building way up and projected to be gigantic. At the same time, the labor movement is “cool.” Although Trump’s anti-labor policies explain some of the labor market problems, the main problem now and in the future is job-killing artificial intelligence. The same thing lifting the stock market and manufacturing in America is driving down the jobs market.

The union response, so far, is to try to contain artificial intelligence through union contracts. Even if this were possible, it wouldn’t solve the problem because most workers, more than 90%, have no union contracts. As the bosses without unions implement artificial intelligence to lower their production costs, they will undermine all workers, including those with union contracts.

Income disparity is the illness afflicting all workers worldwide. Among the many alarming reports comes this sentence from the current week by Politico: “Bank of America says its top account holders saw take-home pay climb 4 percent over the last year, while income growth for poorer households grew just 1.4 percent.” Even though inflation held at 3% during the past year and dropped to 2.7% for November, it’s still a lot higher than income growth for poorer households.

All of the major tech companies have hitched themselves to the Trump agenda, and for good reason. They produce artificial intelligence, and they all know that artificial intelligence is Trump’s main hope to lower production costs enough to outperform China and other worldwide economic competitors. “Lower production costs” is a euphemism for  fewer jobs.

Elon Musk, in many ways the master tech investor, has practically cornered the market in communications satellites. He has already bought the software and established the partnership with T-Mobile that he needs to change all cell phone communications to satellite. Everybody who currently works in cell phone tech is in danger. The Communications Workers of America have a vital boycott against T-Mobile, but it hasn’t yet achieved nationwide participation.

Just two recent election results are sufficient to show the strain in the electoral arena. Mister Trump successfully used the power of the United States government to overcome the progressive government of Honduras. He failed to do the same in the New York Mayoral race. Candidates in 2026 will find it difficult to dodge the issues important to working people. For example, the Dallas Central Labor Council voted to pressure all candidates who apply for endorsement to reveal their positions on the genocide in Gaza.

War in Latin America is imminent. The Trump Administration has already discarded every aspect of international law and human decency in its attacks against Venezuela. So far, they have managed to resist the provocations, but Trump isn’t finished. He needs the popularity of a wartime presidency and, if it becomes necessary to maintain power, he needs an excuse to implement martial law and end democracy once and for all.

Our unions have taken hardly any positions on the coming war nor on any of the pressing international questions. Domestically, we continue to try to organize more workplaces under the rules set in the early Roosevelt Administration. We continue to try to use our diminishing membership base to affect legislative change, just as we have since around 1947 when we had 35% of the American workforce organized. Today, we have closer to 9%.

So… Why Are We Smiling?

Clearly, the Trump Administration and the billionaires it leads are flailing around in desperation. They aren’t acting out of strength nor confidence, but like boat wreck survivors trying anything and everything to cling to life. They have very little thought of what they are doing, and they are being led by an unstable person.

Democracy has taken hits, but is a long way from disappearing in a country convinced, for 250 years, that democracy is best. The worldwide system of governance is very weak against a super power, but it has the credibility of all caring people.

Our anti-war movement may seem small, but the structures created in earlier upsurges still exist and are ours to use. Our unions may seem small and timid, but we still have the power to  shut down the major intersections of economic and social life. Organizations close to the unions, especially the youth and senior movements, are growing stronger.

Candidates in 2026 will be pressured to take our side, and more of them will

People are catching on. We have the communications ability for accelerated strategic progress. We haven’t yet agreed on a plan of coordinated mass resistance, but we are clearly headed that way.