Communist! Fascist! Socialist! Nazi! Liberal! Teapublican! Capitalist!

Often political labels are tossed about in the US will little understanding of what they mean. This coming weekend Arizonans will have a rare opportunity to learn more about communism, socialism, and, most likely, capitalism from Sam Webb, national chair of the Communist Party USA.

There are a lot of misconceptions about far left-wing politics, so I hope people will view these events with an open mind and forget the scare-tactic propaganda from the Cold War Era.

“Socialism won’t be on the agenda [in the US] until the American people put it there. They have to come to the conclusion through their own experiences that capitalism doesn’t work, that it is a dysfunctional system, and that socialism would better meet their needs,” Webb said in a recent interview on The Lou Show. 

With secret campaign financing and the corporate oligarchy’sdramatically increased governmental power (thanks to Citizens United), the shift of wealth to the richest 1% and away from the rest of us, and the all-out assault on workers by Teapublicans in Wisconsin, Arizona, and other Republican-controlled states, I wonder how many Americans already realize that capitalism isn’t working for anyone who makes less than $1 million per year. To learn more about Webb and his philosophies, check out a recent essay.

Webb will give two talks in Arizona– one in Tucson and the second in Phoenix. Here are the details.

Tucson Event
In Tucson, the Salt of the Earth Labor College will host Today’s Struggles and the Socialist Future, a presentation and discussion with Webb on Saturday, March 12, 2011, beginning at 2 p.m. Seating is limited; come a bit early. A reception for Webb will follow the discussion.

Salt of the Earth labor College is located at 1902 East Irene Vista, on the southeast corner of Campbell Ave. and Irene Vista just east of Kino Parkway and about a half mile south of 36th Street. For more information or better directions: SELC@webtv.net or (520)235-0694. For a full Spring 2011 Salt of the Earth Labor College schedule click here.

Phoenix Event
The Phoenix Chapter of the Communist Party USA will host a picnic on March 13 in honor of Webb, who will present on the same topic– Today’s Struggles and the Socialist Future.

The picnic will begin at 1 p.m. at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Ramada #5. For $5, you’ll get picnic food, cold beer, progressive politics, music, poetry, and Webb’s talk. The donation will benefit PeoplesWorld.org, the Communist Party’s online newspaper. Kids can attend for free.

For the full Lou Show interview, click here.

Want to learn more about the assault on state workers, the middle class, unions, and pension plans in Arizona and across the US? Tune in to the Steve Leal radio show– All things political– today (Thursday) on The JOLT, 1330AM at noon.

Leal’s regular commentators– Three Sonorans (Abie Morales), Tucson Progressive (Pamela Powers), and Jim Hannley, neighborhood and labor activist– will join Leal for rousing political commentary.

Old Glory (Photo Credit: Pamela Powers)

Since I wrote Disgusted? It’s time to organize a year ago, our state’s swirl down the drain has accelerated, and the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives is working hard for military-industrial complex– while ignoring the needs of the American people.

Liberals, who were only disgusted last year, are either: 1) angry about the destruction of our country by greedy corporatists and ready to take to the streets to protest capitalist dictators or 2) resigned to the destruction of our country and preparing for total economic collapse by buying some chickens, planting a garden, installing rainwater harvesting and solar panels, and living “off the grid”.

Living "off the grid": rain water cistern + loyal guard dog. (Photo Credit: Pamela Powers)

If you have been reading the news (1, 2, 3, 4)  in the past year, you, too, are probably somewhere on that sliding scale of disgusted-angry-resigned.

Before you buy those chickens, try organizing. Trust me, right-wing Tea Partiers are not the only people who are fed up with business-as-usual government in Washington, DC and Phoenix.

On Monday, February 21, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) will hold an organizing meeting in Tucson.

Political commentator Jim Hightower and Congressman Raul Grijalva will be the guest speakers at the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Tucson PDA chapter. If you listen to KXCI, you have heard Hightower’s sometimes-caustic but always poignant political commentaries.

From his website, here’s a taste of Hightower’s tell-it-like-it-is style.

Corporate America’s idea of Patriotism
If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

More than an old adage, that’s a crucial operating principle of presidential leadership. Indeed, it’s a mark of political character, defining whether a president will stand up for the many, or be pushed around by the arrogant few.

In the past, when over-privileged corporate barons selfishly feathered their already-luxurious nests at the expense of America’s national interests, some U.S. Presidents had the moxie to get in their royal faces. Using what Theodore Roosevelt called the “bully pulpit” of the presidency, those White House champions of the common good confronted the greed of the corporate elite, rallying the larger public to bring them down to earth.

Barack Obama does not seem to have such presidential fortitude. Corporate America has been given a wealth of tax breaks, regulatory favors, and absurd levels of subsidies in recent years, amassing a stash of cash that now tops $2 trillion. But they adamantly refuse to invest that in American jobs and communities. Yet, in a recent meeting with these arrogant powers, Obama showed neither anger nor strength. Rather, he essentially begged them to consider “what you can do for America.” Pretty please. With sugar on it. “I want to encourage you to get in the game” of job creation, he pleaded.

Encourage? Why not demand?

And what did he buy with this genteel appeal to corporate patriotism? He got the corporate thumb jabbed in his eye. “Bottom line,” barked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chief lobbyist after Obama’s plea, “The most patriotic thing a company can do is to ensure it is in business.”

What a perfect expression of today’s prevailing corporate ethic. It’s a perverse twist on John Kennedy’s appeal: Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what you can do for yourself. Why should any President want any part of that?

What: Organizing meeting for Progressive Democrats of America
When: Monday, February 21, 7:00pm (Registration begins 6:30)
Where: Tucson YWCA, 525 N. Bonita (just south of St. Mary’s Road, half mile west of I-10)
Suggested Donation: $5 at the door.