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Retired labor union official, newspaper editor/reporter, and community worker. Also community activist.

  • Brief book give stirring account of black teen life

    A Review:

    “Time & Place ‘In the life of B and K,’” by Khalil Coleman. Publisher: Changing Lives Through Literature, PO Box 76169, Milwaukee WI 53216, $13.00. 40 pages.

    Still in his early 20s, Khalil Coleman is determined to change the fortunes of young male African-Americans, and he’s turning to literature to help make it happen.

    This short book takes a fictional heartfelt journey about the life of ‘B,’ a teenager, who looks about the ghetto in which he lives and still sees hope and a chance for change for the better. He is joined by his best friend, ‘K,’ in a bus trip out of their seedy, dissipated environment into the peaceful surroundings to visit more affluent friends.

    There he sees hope for a change, and returns to face the challenges of his neighborhood and its people, regardless of their fretful situations, who are reluctant to make the change.

    He finds that he is seriously misunderstood by young people he had considered his friends, particularly after his friend falls prey to an unfortunate fate.

    What is a boy to do? That is for the reader to discover in reading this book.

    Coleman has an eye and ear for the “hood,” and what it feels like to be of the ‘hood.’ His descriptions of his neighbors, of their lives and of their own unknowing despair is so real, you share in his feelings, a rare gift for such a young writer.

    His book reminds of a book, more than 60 years old, “Invisible Man,” by Ralph Ellison, (published 1947 by Random House), in which an idealistic young black man tries to make his way in the white man’s world.

    Coleman’s writing has a poetic quality; hence, the brevity of this book makes sense. His meaning flows out in his words, even though this reviewer wishes he had cut down the length of his paragraphs, many of which run on and on and make reading a bit difficult.

    It’s a shame, too, since Coleman intends this book to be read by teens … maybe even shared in groups.

    Those of us who don’t live in the hood may find why it’s so hard for young black men to find success in this still racist society. – Kenneth A. Germanson, Nov. 30, 2010

  • What to do when demoralized?

    Dems can’t afford to ‘cave-in’ as Indiana did in 83-20 defeat

    Many liberals and progressives are demoralized over the results of the November 2nd elections, ready to give in to the corporate-supported public policy agenda that is being rammed through by smug, arrogant Republicans.

    Case in point: The waffling by the White House and key Democrats regarding ending the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans.  True, they’re basing this indecision on the belief that in order to continue tax cuts for the rest of us they’ll need to compromise and continue it for the wealthy as well.

    Why are the White House and so many Democrats caving in so easily?

    It makes no sense.  Virtually any rational person who looks at the facts will come to the conclusion that continuing to give the wealthy a tax break will do nothing to help the country climb up and out of it’s economic valley.

    Just consider what Nicholas Kristoff wrote on Nov. 7 in The New York Times:

    The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. . .   C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent. . . . The richest 0.1 percent of taxpayers would get a tax cut of $61,000 from President Obama. They would get $370,000 from Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. And that provides only a modest economic stimulus, because the rich are less likely to spend their tax savings.

    Also, continuing the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% would add perhaps some $700 billion over 10 years to the deficit; secondly, it affects about 2% of all small business owners, and thirdly, the amount of extra cash the wealthy will receive will be hardly incentive enough to prompt any of the businesspeople to hire an additional person.

    OK, the Dems say, that all may be true, but we can’t continue ANY tax cut unless we compromise.  Perhaps true, but don’t give in without a fight!

    There’s wide evidence to show that if the Democrats put up a fight, they’d begin to win back some of the independents they lost in November.  Only a minority of Americans supports continuation of the tax cuts for the wealthy; if the facts were more widely trumpeted (and they would be in a prolonged fight), the truth might conquer.

    The tax cut issue is but one example of how the White House and the Democrats are retreating, like a dog in a losing fight, slinking off with its tail between its legs.

    Did the Democrats really get a “shellacking,” as the President said on the day after the election?  Not really, since on the average 47% of the votes cast nationwide went to Democrats, indicating at least half of all Americans still support the party candidates and more liberal issues.  That’s enough to build upon for the future and enough to encourage the remaining Democrats to stand up to the corporate onslaught.

    A real “shellacking” is what happened to the Indiana Hoosiers on the Camp Randall football field in Madison, Wisconsin, on Nov. 13 when the highly ranked Wisconsin Badgers beat it, 83-20.  It was a gruesome sight to behold, watching an under-manned and talent-shy Indiana team put up a gallant fight for the first 20 minutes of the game, only to fold so completely.  The TV announcers said the “fight seemed to go out” of the Indiana team, as Wisconsin capitalized on a turnover in the second quarter and the Indiana star quarterback was injured.

    The Democrats seem to be acting like a bedraggled second-rate football team, spiritless and demoralized.

    If ever times called for some new “fight,” it’s now.  The stakes in the future are too high.  Democrats still have the facts on their side, not only on the tax cut issue, but also on environmental reforms, health care, education and on and on.

    Sadly, I suspect, however, these political leaders will slink off, seceding the playing field to the Republicans and their greedy corporate cohorts.

    That’s why we – as liberals, progressives and many others who believe in rational, good government – need to do more than cheer on the sidelines (though that helps); and we better not leave in the 3rd quarter when the score on the field is against us.

    We need to raise our voices, through supporting groups like Move On, by getting the facts out through letters to the editor, through blogs and other Internet gimmicks, and by sounding off whenever and wherever we can.  Many of the cards in the fight are stacked against us, due to the undue influence of Fox News (an oxymoron, if ever there was one) and talk radio.  Let’s not let that deter our effort, but make us speak out louder and louder.

    The real fight in the long run is for the minds of the nation’s people.

    In the short run, some issues may be lost including the tax cut issue.  Even then, we should not be demoralized.  Remember, when a good football team suffers a loss, it goes back to the locker room to regroup and comes out even stronger to win the next game.

    Kenneth A. Germanson, Nov. 14, 2010, Milwaukee WI

  • Are Chilean President’s promises for mine safety real?

    Will Chilean President Sebastián Piñera fulfill his promise to Luis Urzua to assure that mine safety in that country will be improved?

    President Piñera was present during the two days of intense rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, front and center as the news cameras rolled, hugging each miner as he surfaced.  His political popularity, which had been waning, suddenly grew to 70% in his nation, according to reports.

    Urzua, the shift leader who has been widely credited with organizing the miners through their horrible ordeal was quick to urge the President to act to end the chance of any further disasters, such as occurred at the mine.

    Was the President there for political purposes?  If he was, he reaped the benefits.  Does he really care for these men who risk their lives every day by going half a mile into the earth?  It sure looked as we viewed through our ancient television set that he was indeed sincere.  If so, it’ll be a role reversal for him.

    Piñera has been described by the New York Times as a conservative billionaire and reputedly the third-richest man in Chile.  He also said he would seek to privatize a part of Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper company and the world’s largest copper producer.  Piñera has a financial empire that includes a controlling interest in the country’s largest airline, Lan; a major television channel; and a stake in Chile’s most popular soccer team.

    It is ironic, too, that the desert city of Copiapó was the scene in 1973, just after Gen. Augusto Pinochet coup that dumped democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, that military personnel murdered 16 men in the city, many of whom worked in the mine.  Those deaths are still memorialized in the city.

    So the workers in Chile have some hope that greater protections will come.  The only question is that once the great hurrahs over the rescue and the pictures of a smiling President Piñera fade from memory is whether this President will overcome his natural employer bias to enact the long-needed reforms.

  • Change, but what kind of change?

    In the past century, the 1900s, two major changes occurred in the United States — the improvement in living standards for working people and the growing inclusiveness for minorities, principally blacks.

    In both cases, the nation was better for those changes.  In the first incidence, a strong middle class was developed putting money into the hands of ordinary workers and in the second millions of Americans found opportunities that had been denied them (although we know many still are striving for those opportunities).

    Also, both changes came about mainly because the people pushed for them through mass movements.  In the 1930s, it was the workers who realized that only through collective action could they have an impact on the policies of America; they realized unions were the only way to effectively gain their share of the pie, and once unions organized, the entire nation thrived up until 1981, and the election of Ronald Reagan began the decline of the middle class.  In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the civil rights movement when masses of people rallied behind the cause and the courageous actions of individuals like Rosa Parks in the Montgomery bus boycott and the Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins.

    If the nation had looked to its leaders to effect these changes, it would never have happened.  Most in leadership oppose change and those who support it are often too timid to push for it.  Franklin D. Roosevelt was not necessarily enthusiastic at first to embrace passing landmark legislation that gave working people greater rights to organize unions, but eventually pushed for it, since collective bargaining promised labor peace in response to strikes and riots of those years.  And, in the case of civil rights, the mass  demonstrations drew national attention (and horrendous reactions like the dogs and fire hoses that Bull O’Connor sent against demonstrators) which slowly dramatized the rightness of the cause of equal rights.  John F. Kennedy spoke eloquently about civil rights but history tells us he was timid about pushing the political establishment toward action (only his tragic assassination and the realism of Lyndon B. Johnson helped propel the nation to pass both the landmark Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid-1960s).

    Today, the prospect of  change is coming from the Tea Party, and the change this group offers is frightening.

    Yet, the Tea Party has been popularized by a press mesmerized by the outlandish behavior of some of the tea partiers.  The press has fallen completely for the belief that it is a “people’s movement,” rarely mentioning that its birth and growth would not have been possible without the guidance of old Republican warhorses like Dick Armey and the  fat bankrolls of corporate giants like the Koch brothers.

    The Tea Party, sad to say, is onto something here.  It has indeed drawn in tens of thousands of frustrated Americans, many of whom sincerely believe the nation has lost its way.  It’s easy to see why people turn to it in hopes of improving their lives, since many have  faced loss of incomes, homes and even lifetime savings.

    But, is it a true “people’s party?”  Look at who is NOT at the Tea Party rallies: obviously, the minorities are not there (except for a handful of misguided souls); the poor are not there, nor are the unemployed, or the low-paid workers.  Surveys have shown clearly the typical tea partier is white, above average income and with higher education levels.

    What is really needed now is a counter “people’s movement,” a movement of working people, of people of color and of people in poverty (as recent reports show there now are plenty of people living in poverty, more than 14% of all Americans, the highest rate since 1986 when data was first collected).

    The Tea Party members, if you belief the surveys of their participants, are not hurting as badly as those in poverty, the working poor and minorities.  Yet, these same poverty-stricken and near poor folks are strangely subdued, or even silent.  Why is that?

    Have so many of us been bought off by the glitter of capitalism, the promise of  huge flat screen TVs and the numbing effect of rightwing propaganda that we are too paralyzed to move?  Have some of us, even in poverty, grown so obese that it’s difficult to move off the couch?  Have so many lose hope by living in neighborhoods where gunshots outnumber the gleeful joys of children playing?

    It’s time for a true People’s Movement, like that of workers in the 1930s and civil rights campaigners in the 1950s and 1960s, to take control of the national mind and move change in the right direction.

    President Obama promised “change you can count on.”  We think he was sincere in wanting positive change, but whether it was his own political caution or the steadfast promise of Republicans to say “no” to everything, the fact is his Administration has offered only limited change in the right direction.  What Barack Obama needs, more than anything, is the knowledge that the people truly want change, and not the backward-moving change promised by the Tea Party.  That’s why it’s up to us to organize from among ourselves; no one higher up is going to help.  That’s the lesson of history!

  • Justice in Mukwonago, Wisconsin

    Rain Koepke, a Native America (Shawnee) senior at Mukwonago (WI) High School, has taken a heroic stand against the school district which has refused his complaint to change the name and symbols of their athletic teams.  For years, the high school has used the name “Indians,” and uses symbols that carry the theme.

    He has to taken his complaint to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction which is charged with upholding the new state law that has tightened restrictions on the use of athletic team nicknames and symbols that may disparage certain ethnic groups, mainly Native Americans.   Virtually the whole community is opposed to his proposal, it seems, supporting a recalcitrant school board and  school administration.

    Koepke has supporters, though, and one of those standing with him is Tom Sobottke, a longtime social studies teacher at the school.  Tom has mentored the boy and is showing similar courage by supporting him.  With Tom, it’s a matter of principle, and while it could make his position at the school uncomfortable, he is forthright in his  support.  Tom, to be sure, showing his support only during his personal time and is not bringing the subject up in the classroom, unless asked.

    For the record, Tom is a friend and a onetime member of the board of the Wisconsin Labor History Society.  For the details of the story of Rain Koepke, go to Tom’s blogsite and checkout his recent postings on this incident.

  • A Shameful Rally

    “. . .when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last!”

    With these words, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., ended his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. on August 28, 1963.  This dramatic conclusion and the eloquent words before it called for the peoples of America, of all races, creeds and colors to join hands and walk forward in peace and harmony.

    This coming Saturday, on the 47th Anniversary of that glorious inspiration, that same spot will be mocked by a charlatan preaching hate and division.  Fox News’ Glenn Beck is staging his “Restoring Honor” rally that day, a day in which he and his other  speakers no doubt will spew forth divisive talk, such  as they have done over the last several weeks, spreading unwarranted fears against Muslin American citizens.

    What a mockery of the message of hope and harmony that resonated in the words of Dr. King!

    There’s a deeper reason for far-right propagandist Beck’s staging of this rally … beyond his obvious quest for self aggrandizement — and that’s that it will continue to politically appeal to more and more white Americans through their fear of people of color and of other cultures.  Sadly, too many Americans are falling prey to these messages of fear, and may tilt the ballot boxes in November to vote for candidates who, if elected, would do harm to the message of Dr. King.

    What should we do, those of us who believe in the American dream that “all men [and women] are created equal,” to counter this messenger of hate?  The answer lies in our own speaking up for our values of justice and equality.  We have a positive and strong message to make.  Let’s make it!

  • The shames of one blogger and the President

    My, oh my, how can one blogger turn the President of the United States into a quivering and quaking wimp?

    That’s how I read it, anyway.  When conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, already discredited for earlier fabrications, claimed current Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod admitted to not working hard to assist a white farmer in Georgia, the Obama Administration made sure she was fired forthwith.

    Of course, what Breitbart blogged was nothing but a clever manipulation of video clips from a speech Ms. Sherrod made seeking to show how she learned to move beyond race; and the incident she referred to occurred many years before she even worked for the Department of Agriculture.  None of this was apparent from Breitbart’s blog.

    Yet, the Administration jumped like a trained dog, ordering her firing, scared that the racist overtones in the Breitbart fiction would hurt politically.  It was prompt action, so prompt that Ms. Sherrod was ordered to give her resignation over her cell phone while driving.

    Talk about being decisive!  It appears the Obama Administration for perhaps the first time acted quickly without its usual procrastination and reflection.  Hmmmm!

    What is disturbing about this whole event is that the Obama Administration jumped to the bleatings of a notorious right-wing blogger and the Fox Fictionalized News channel.  Don’t those folks on Pennsylvania Avenue know yet that they should not believe anything that comes from Fox and liars like the Breitbarts and Limbaughs and Becks?  Far from “fair and balanced,” Fox was founded in 1996 as the propaganda arm of rising New Right Republicanism.  (Its righteous-sounding slogan is nothing more than an inside joke, adopted because the public at the time might have rejected an overtly partisan news outlet.)

    Like a cancer, right-wing misinformation has invaded the news media, filling the public with all sorts of fictions and myths that have skewed public opinions about the economy, war and peace, the environment and general public values.  When Fox tells its fictions, and repeats them and repeats them, people begin to believe them.

    And now we find the Obama Administration falling for the bait.  The Administration’s action in instantly firing Ms. Sherrod further brings credibility to these agents of lies, encouraging them to continue to spread this cancer upon the body politic.

    Look for more and more fabrications.   There will be no pangs of conscience for those who deliberately defamed Shirley Sherrod.  Not as long as False News (err, Fox News) keeps adding to the already bulging pockets of cynical entrepreneurs like Fox’s Rupert Murdoch.  It may be too late to provide the “chemotherapy” and “radiation” to combat these lies, but it’s time to start.

    The President needs to fight back against the Fox News fabrications, as do other Democrats and those few moderate Republicans that are still in the GOP.  Those who are knowledgeable need to answer immediately and directly with facts and complete information to refute these continual lies.  Those of us in the public need to be alert to such lying and look to more than one source for our information.

    There’s only one way to stop the lying and that’s to ignore the liars by turning away from places like Fox News.  And, when we can, sound off factually to set the record straight.  Democracy requires a well informed electorate to function, or else it is doomed.–By Ken Germanson, with added comments from Ann Germanson.

  • The Real Cost of Cheap Computers

    I look around in my basement office:   there are no fewer that five working computers.  Plus, my MacBook is upstairs, making a total of six!  Who in the world needs all these?  I don’t.  Yet, the computer companies know the value of frequent up-grades, and therefore my 1999 iMac sits unused — yet perfectly good — because it can’t handle today’s Internet traffic.

    And I can’t part with the Classic Mac, the cutest computer ever made.  I purchased it in 1992 and it still works, too, although being totally inadequate for today’s Internet.

    I’m not just a spendthift: I needed both Mac and PC technologies for my work.  And, the computers were cheap, comparatively speaking.

    Recently, as I read a story in the New York Times about the sweatshop factories in China, I came to realize that I and millions of other Americans were able to purchase these marvelous — and magical in the eyes of an 80-year-old — machines because of the slave labor of young Chinese workers.   It reported that for the 8th time this year, a young worker in the plant has committed suicide.

    “Last year, a 25-year-old worker named Sun Danyong committed suicide after Foxconn security personnel questioned him about whether he was to blame for a missing iPhone prototype. Shortly after he was questioned, Mr. Sun jumped from the 12th floor of an apartment building and died. He had complained to friends that the security personnel had beaten and humiliated him.

    “The company said Mr. Sun had not been beaten but later said it had disciplined its security staff.

    “China Labor Watch, a human rights group based in New York, said that because of the suicides, it recently surveyed worker attitudes about conditions at Foxconn in Shenzhen and reported that many workers complained of the pressures they were under.

    “’We are extremely tired, with tremendous pressure,’ the group quoted one worker as saying. ‘We finish one step in every seven seconds, which requires us to concentrate and keep working and working. We work faster even than the machines.’”  Click here to read whole story.

    It’s critical we connect the dots here.  The company where these suicides occurred is a major supplier for HP, Dell and Apple, all brands I have purchased.  Make no mistake about it: When we find bargains in computers, televisions, cellphones and  virtually all electronic devices, we are benefiting from the labor of hundreds of thousands of exploited workers across the seas.

    All this was made possible by our growing global economy, which bases its inexpensive pricing only upon the backs of eager, but soon to be worn out, young workers.  What’s the answer?

    As a start, why not have true enforcement of the trade rules which are supposed to protect against such worker exploitation? Such rules are rarely enforced.   Also, let’s encourage free trade unions in these countries.  Even though trade regulations are supposed to require free unions to exist, such unions are often mere shams.  Finally, we need all to be aware of how our cheap electronics are produced, and to begin insisting, as consumers, for those mades under fair trade rules.

    The eight suicides in this Foxconn plant in China may only be the tip of the iceberg.  Who knows what other tragic workplace situations exist.


  • A rightwing trend on NPR?

    As a regular donor to WUWM, I must say the NPR station’s decision to drop Alternative Radio is a sad one, indeed.   I’ve been told the hour long program which has been on WUWM at 8 p.m. Sunday nights was dropped as of last Sunday, May 2.

    Alternative Radio has been one of the few bright lights on the radio dial, offering well-thought-out opinions and commentary.  Virtually all of the programming, while admittedly of a progressive nature, offered intelligent discussions of matters often overlooked by the  mainstream media and certainly missing on the radio waves, being so currently loaded with Conservative talk shows.

    I feel public radio has an obligation to continue diverse programming, including comments by such notables as Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky, et al.  Guess I’ll have to turn to I-net at http://alternativeradio.org.

    I’m wondering:  Is it just me being paranoid, or is NPR is trending more and more to the right.  During my morning shave when I listen to WUWM here, I seem to find NPR spotlighting the Republicans and conservatives more and more.  To make matters worse, the newscasts from NPR are treating the Tea Party nuttiness as being truly almost mainstream.  What’s going on here?

    REPLY from WUWM:

    Kenneth –

    Thanks for your note regarding our decision to cancel ALTERNATIVE RADIO. Putting together a schedule for our listeners is rather difficult because everyone likes different programs. We made the decision to use the Sunday evening time slot to showcase a wide variety of special public radio programs and documentaries including THE MOTH, RADIO LAB and others that are in development.  While I know you may not agree, we were frequently criticized for airing ALTERNATIVE RADIO as it was seen as an ultra liberal/progressive program that provided no balance in the public radio journalistic traditions.

    Dave Edwards, Director / General Manager, WUWM MILWAUKEE PUBLIC RADIO, 111 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 700, Milwaukee, WI 53202

  • The Marvels of Medicine … but not for all

    How can I now criticize the U.S. health care system?

    Just  five days before this was written, I found myself in the St. Luke’s Hospital (in Milwaukee) emergency room, having been taken there on a lovely Sunday morning with chest pains.   The pains, along with unexpected shortness of breath in the previous two days, helped to convince me to have it checked out.    At first I thought this was merely indigestion (or acid reflux), since I never thought I’d have heart problems: after all, even though I am 80 years old, at that point I was fit and took no pills, as so many my age do.  A picture of health, right?

    About 45 minutes after I got into the examination room, the pain became severe.  We alerted our nurse, who instantly brought in a team of at least four others, and they began a hurried series of exams, portable x-rays, quickly determining I was in trouble.  Within minutes I was hurried into another room where an renowned physician (along with a team of four) installed a stint in one of the two main arteries, opening it up to accept blood and satisfy my heart’s needs, ending the pain.  Within a hour, I was headed into an intensive care unit, soon to be on the way to good health.

    Five days later, I’m at home, walking slowly about, relaxing amid some books and magazines, interspersed with time spent watching baseball on TV.  (Will the sporadic failings of the Milwaukee Brewers lead me to a relapse?)

    *****

    Now all this occurred in St. Luke’s, which is the showcase hospital of the giant Aurora Health Care System.  They’ve recently completed a huge expansion, and the heart cases go to the 9th and 10th floors of the new patient tower, which has all the markings of a top rate hotel.  The single rooms are tastefully furnished, warm colors and comfortable, complete with cable television and DVD/VHS players.  My room looked out upon the patio, a beautiful location on 9th floor with views of Milwaukee.

    For the most part, the staff was pleasant and solicitous of my every need.  I was visited by a host of doctors (one group was called “cardiac fellows,” I think) and poked and probed to assure that I healing properly.  In short, I feel I owe the St. Luke’s facility much for the care they provided.

    *****

    Yet, the thought lingered that while I was recovering in the lap of luxury (maybe that’s a slight exaggeration), many others were being treated in far less commodious surroundings, or not being treated at all!  Maybe they were in an inner city hospital (if there are any left) where the rooms were ill-equipped and the staff ill-trained!  Maybe, if I had been to one of those hospitals, my heart  attack may not have been treated so quickly, and I might not be writing this at all!

    How come I got so fortunate?  Part of the answer is that I have Medicare (yes, the “awful” government program) and it is supplemented by my good union retiree insurance.   The medical profession likes to complain about Medicare payments, but can you imagine what would happen if their elderly patients had no Medicare and couldn’t pay the bills? The fact is they might not get enough patients to serve.

    Yes, thank you Aurora Medical Systems for rescuing me from my heart attack, and doing it in such a comfortable setting.  But what about my less fortunate neighbors?