In this episode we meet Jonathan Soto, the DSA endorsed candidate running for New York State Assembly in the North East Bronx. Jonathan is a public school parent, an inter-faith organizer and a democratic socialist, campaigning to unseat longtime incumbent Michael Benedetto in Assembly District 82. 

This commentary by CVDSA member Tanya Vyhovsky originally appeared in VTDigger. A clinical social worker and former school services clinician, Vyhovsky represents the Chittenden-Central District in the Vermont State Senate.

Ordinarily in Vermont, we in the Senate give the governor great deference when it comes to whom he appoints to serve in his cabinet. While we may have policy differences with an appointee, the governor was elected by the people, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt when making appointments.

Not this time.

After years of methodically hinting at his preference for private schools, Gov. Phil Scott made it crystal clear where he stands when it comes to education funding here in Vermont. By choosing a former executive of a for-profit charter school company to be his next education secretary, he is finally saying the quiet part out loud — public education money should be able to flow freely to private and religious schools.

After meeting with the nominee, it is clear to me that she is very smart and accomplished. However, she is not qualified to lead the Vermont public education system past this inflection point and into the future. The nominee’s scant experience in public schools does not give me confidence in her ability to strengthen our public schools in this time of turmoil, and it further shows the governor’s lack of commitment to our public schools. 

Couple that with a State Board of Education that seems willing to at the least be complicit in the governor’s agenda to privatize our schools. This nomination raises alarm bells that should give every one of us who cherishes our local public schools great pause.

I have always been proud that in the state of Vermont, the Constitution guarantees quality public education for all children. That imperative has been carried out over the centuries by dedicated educators, volunteer school boards, administrators, parents, communities and others who believe — rightly — that education for all Vermont children is a valuable asset to all of us.

Indeed, our local public schools — despite assertions to the contrary — deliver the goods year after year, preparing our children with the tools to be happy, healthy and successful in whatever life they choose.

But that egalitarian opportunity is in danger as private and religious schools ramp up their ongoing efforts to co-opt taxpayer dollars for private gain. 

This comes with the tacit approval of the governor and, as of two years ago, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court. Those justices, in Carson v. Makin, made it clear that states like Vermont that give publicly funded vouchers to private schools must also open the public purse to religious schools as well. 

I am profoundly disappointed that we as a Legislature have failed to address this very real threat to our public schools.

It will further undermine our public education system if the charter school company executive chosen by the governor becomes the next guardian of Vermont public schools. If confirmed by the Senate, she will have a compliant pro-private-school State Board of Education to remake rules that will not only allow those schools to become even more unaccountable to the public, but to expand the amount of public resources flowing in their direction and further undercutting our top-in-the-nation public school system.

I am not alone in my deep concern over this nominee. Many of my colleagues have expressed reservations about this appointee, and I’ve heard from hundreds of Vermonters who say charter schools and the further privatization of public education are just plain wrong. 

The governor and those who work in his cabinet want us to believe that opposition to his appointee is personal, sexist or based on where she came from. But those accusations — taken directly out of the D.C. GOP handbook — are meant to distract from the nominee’s deep experience as an executive for a for-profit charter school company that has siphoned public education dollars from students and into the pockets of shareholders, and her utter lack of experience leading a public school system.

We will, as promised, fully explore the nominee’s record. We will conduct hearings and respect the nomination process. But as we do so, we must ensure that the next education secretary is dedicated to protecting, preserving and supporting our local public schools and the 90% of Vermont kids who rely on them every day.

DSA International Committee congratulates the people of Bahrain on the release of 1,584 prisoners from the government cages. This constitutes the largest release of political prisoners since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising in Bahrain, approximately 0.2% of the entire citizen population. We echo the calls of civil society in Bahrain for the further release of all political prisoners in Bahrain, including all opposition leaders, and a genuine start to the reconciliation process following the aftermath of the Arab Spring. 

We commend the people of Bahrain in their fight for the release of the political prisoners, particularly following the death of Hussain Khalil who suffered from torture by state security and was murdered by medical negligence. The escalating weekly protests in Bahrain in support of Gaza and rejection of the normalization deal played a large role in pressuring Bahrain and its primary sponsor, the US, to offer this concession. The normalization deal, struck during the so-called “Abraham Accords” in 2020, ended a long-standing policy of rejection of the Zionist settler-colonial project by Bahrain, UAE, Morocco, and Sudan under the sustained pressure of the US’s threat to suspend aid and arms sales to all non-compliant Arab countries. In the context of escalating regional geopolitical pressures and the risk of a broader regional war, we call on the US government, which has its Navy’s fifth fleet stationed on the Bahraini islands, to listen to calls from Bahrain’s streets and withdraw its military bases lest it further endangers the people of the region with its dangerous acts of political brinkmanship and its support of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.

.#الحق_يؤخذ

#RightsAreTakenNotGiven

The post DSA IC Congratulates the People of Bahrain on Prisoner Release appeared first on DSA International Committee.

The DSA International Committee joins the international community in condemning Ecuador’s armed invasion of Mexico’s embassy and capture of former Vice-President Jorge Glas in Quito on April 5. We join governments across the world and the United Nations’ Secretary General in recognizing the raid as a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We support the Mexican government’s decision to suspend diplomatic relations and register a complaint against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice. 

Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, remains defiant despite widespread condemnation, including from his own judiciary, for not following international law. Noboa and his government’s willingness to take illegal action and face strong condemnation for seizing Glas continues a longstanding campaign of lawfare against our comrades within Citizen’s Revolution. Ecuador’s political elite has carried out seven years of lawfare against Citizen’s Revolution including: politically motivated prosecutions (including against former President Rafael Correa); trials and convictions using false and manufactured evidence; the denial of defendants’ constitutional rights; legal maneuvers to prevent the left from running candidates; and unconstitutionally dismissing judges and stacking courts. We stand in solidarity with Citizen’s Revolution against government repression and in its struggle against neoliberalism.

Although the U.S. government condemned the embassy raid, it continues to provide Ecuador with millions of dollars worth of arms, equipment, and financing. The Noboa government has used these assets to target its political opponent. We urge the U.S. to cease its military aid to Ecuador.

DSA IC Condena al Asalto a la Embajada Mexicana en Quito

El comité internacional de DSA une la comunidad internacional en su condenación al asalto de la Embajada Mexicana por parte de gobierno de Ecuador y el secuestro del exvicepresidente Jorge Glas el 5 de abril. Unimos los gobiernos del mundo, el secretario general de la ONU en reconocimiento de la violación de la Convención de Viena sobre Relaciones Diplomáticas. Apoyamos la decisión del gobierno mexicano para suspender relaciones diplomáticas con Ecuador y la presentación de sus demandas en la Corte Internacional de Justicia.

El actual presidente de Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, mantiene su desafiante después de la condena generalizada que incluso los cortes ecuatorianos por no respetar el derecho internacional. La voluntad de Noboa y su gobierno de tomar medidas ilegales y enfrentar una fuerte condena por apoderarse de Glas continua una larga campana de ‘Lawfare’ en contra de nuestros camaradas dentro del partido Revolución Ciudadana. La elite política de Ecuador ha llevado esta campaña por más de siete años con tácticos incluyendo esos métodos: juicios y condenas utilizando pruebas falsas y fabricadas; la negación de los derechos constitucionales de los acusados; maniobras legales para impedir que la izquierda presente candidatos; y destituir inconstitucionalmente a jueces y apilar tribunales. Nos solidarizamos con la Revolución Ciudadana contra la represión gubernamental y en su lucha contra el neoliberalismo.

Aunque el gobierno del Estados Unidos condeno el asalto a la embajada mexicana, lo continúa proporcionando a Ecuador millones de dólares en armas, equipos, y en financiamiento. El gobierno de Noboa ha utilizado estos activos para atacar a sus oponentes políticos. Nosotros instamos al gobierno de los Estados Unidos a que cese su ayuda militar a Ecuador hasta que se resuelva de su ataque ilegal a la embajada de México.     

The post DSA IC Condemns Ecuador’s Raid of Mexico’s Embassy appeared first on DSA International Committee.

As of our March 7th general meeting, DSA Cleveland has resolved to adopt a Palestine priority plan for the next six months.Though we have been showing up the last several months (and beyond), this represents a significant deepening of our solidarity work. Our chapter now has a dedicated leadership body elected to implement Palestine work according to a specific plan, with measurable goals and specific democratically decided tactics. This priority status also renders this work the near-exclusive focus of our chapter’s Steering Committee and our membership as a whole. The time is now to join with your comrades and demand a free Palestine from the river to the sea.

On October 15th our Chapter’s Steering Commitee released a statement calling on “all people of conscience to oppose genocide in Gaza”, calling for an end to occupation and apartheid in Palestine, and calling on our fellow DSA members, chapters, and leaders, to stand proud against intimidation, death threats, legal attacks, slander, and misinformation. We are proud to say that our organization has done so. For the last five months, since the conclusion of our Abortion rights priority campaign, Cleveland DSA has joined our allies in the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community at city hall, on the highways, and in the streets protesting Israel’s cowardly genocide against the Palestinian people. In December we organized a fundraiser concert generating over $3.5k for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. We have devoted ourselves to the study of Palestinian history, and hope to deepen our education further.

Join us to launch this project with a fundraiser concert at the Happy Dog! Friday at 9pm, we’ll raise money for UNRWA and hear from local bands The Last Gasp, Arms & Armour, GRVE and Mud Whale. Then join us at County Council on Tuesday at 5pm to demand divestment from Israel Bonds – check our calendar for details.

The post Announcing Palestine Solidarity as Cleveland DSA’s Priority appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

On Tuesday, April 9th, the Board of El Paso County Commissioners unanimously voted to join Douglas County as co-plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the State of Colorado to repeal laws preventing state and local law enforcement from cooperating in federal immigration policing. This lawsuit is intended to strip immigrants of important protections that allow them to live lives of safety and dignity. 

The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns this effort by the county to waste public resources in their ongoing attempts to scapegoat immigrants and create a local panic over non-existent crime. Such political posturing creates a dangerous local climate for immigrants as well as asylum seekers and distracts the public from the true sources of our economic distress: exploitative labor practices, unlivable wages, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and artificial inflation driven by corporate greed and political corruption. 

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners are also working closely with local law enforcement to further expand the police state through these efforts. If successful, this lawsuit will continue to siphon important public resources away from services and supports that enhance the quality of life for residents and into oppressive systems that punish poverty and breed injustice and inequality. As an abolitionist organization, DSA is committed to fighting all efforts to expand or reinforce the criminal injustice system and to uplifting life affirming institutions that center equity, human rights, and the dignity and worth of each person, regardless of where they come from. 

Colorado Springs DSA reaffirms our commitment to fighting state oppression in all its forms, and we stand in solidarity with immigrants and asylum seekers who come to this country fleeing the poverty and violence created by the United States’ history of economic, political, and military interference around the world. We believe that all people deserve lives of freedom, means, and leisure, and we continue to work towards a global movement built upon the principles of international working class solidarity. We welcome our migrant siblings and know that, when we work together, a better world is possible. 

The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns the brutal attack on the National Garment Workers Federation by capitalist goons as the workers demanded Eid bonuses for workers  producing clothing for international brands. The goons attacked and injured leadership and many women who were out demanding fair compensation for the Eid holiday.

These workers create $30 billion in wealth for the country and yet struggle to live on 417 Taka per day (less than $4 a day, $113 a month). Garment workers protested for months demanding 22,000 Taka ($208) minimum wage, highlighting the wealth they create for the country, and yet the government refused to listen and settled on the lower minimum wage. Each year as workers celebrate the Eid holiday, garments workers rely on Eid bonuses to help with the costs of celebrations. This year as garment workers struggle to survive despite massive profits within the industry, the NGWF marched to demand that workers get their Eid bonuses. While they marched, they were brutally attacked. Despite this they have continued to demand they get their deserved Eid bonus and have marched in condemnation of the attacks. 

We send our support and solidarity and demand that workers get their Eid bonus and that the attackers are held accountable for their actions. We at the Democratic Socialists of America know that only a united global working class can take on the power of the global capitalists and we stand with workers whenever they struggle for higher wages, rights and dignity. 

Solidarity,

Colorado Springs DSA