RASMEA ODEH
Support her appeal
Show your support for Palestinian rights activist and political prisoner Rasmea Odeh at a rally in front of the courthouse on Wednesday, October 14, and then fill the courtroom immediately thereafter.
Rasmea’s defense and the prosecution each present their oral arguments to a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
Where: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit; The 540 Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse; 100 E. 5th Street; Cincinnati, OH 45202. When: Wednesday, October 14, 8 a.m. EST.
The Rasmea Defense Committee contends that Judge Gershwin Drain did not allow for a full and fair trial. That is why Rasmea was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison and deportation.
We are confident that she has solid arguments on appeal, and wrote in late July that the “defense argues conclusively that the government ‘never really addresses the basic constitutional deprivations asserted in Ms. Odeh’s opening appellate brief,’ and that Rasmea is ‘entitled to present her complete defense to the jury,’ which can only happen in a new trial.”
You can get more info and register for the action at www.stopfbi.net.
Excerpted from an appeal sent by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression
TROTSKY
Revolutionary legacy
I really like your article by Steven Strauss summarizing Trotsky’s contribution to the revolutionary socialist movement in the current issue of the Freedom Socialist [Trotsky’s legacy on the 75th anniversary of his death: Powerful ideas for today’s struggles, Vol. 36, No. 4].
I’m sending it to some revolutionary-minded people who are Maoists and are not aware of Trotsky’s revolutionary legacy and the great relevance of those ideas for today’s struggles.
Thank you for your clear explanations of important ideas. (We’re re-printing the article in the Sept./Oct. issue of Socialist Viewpoint.)
Carole Seligman, co-editor, Socialist Viewpoint, San Francisco
US CURRENCY CONTROVERSY
Remove Jackson
Imagine every time you looked at the most popular denomination of U.S. paper money, that it made you angry. This is how Native Americans feel when we look at the $20 bill. It features the face of Andrew Jackson, the president who ignored the Supreme Court to pass the treaty-violating Indian Removal Act.
You may have heard of the “Trail of Tears” — the forcible removal of the Cherokee people and every tribe east of the Mississippi, from New England to Florida. The loss of life was astounding. The Creek Nation alone lost 45 percent of its members on the way to “Indian Territory.” Yet in 1928, four years after Native Americans got the right to vote, Jackson was enshrined on the $20 bill. What a slap in the face to Native people.
Recently Barbara Ortiz Howard organized to get a woman on the $20 bill. The Internet campaign got enough signatures to get the U.S. Treasury to agree to put a woman on a bill, but not the $20. Fumbee! [It stinks!]
The Treasury should remove Indian-killer Jackson immediately — and replace him with one of the great women leaders instead.
Linde Knighton, Ballard, Wash.
UNIONS YES!
No going back
I read about a “Right to work” lawsuit that threatens all unions in the FS [Vol. 36, No. 3]. Thanks for writing this article. You are right on. It was unions that got us the eight-hour day, overtime and abolishment of child labor.
Looks like we are back to the ’30s when unions that represent the workers have to fight for their lives. We have to break the power of this gross inequality of wealth in this country before we get any justice. Resources of this earth are here for all life.
Why should we tolerate some people having enough for a thousand lifetimes while a thousand families go hungry?
We need an equalization tax bringing into public ownership all wealth that exceeds a certain amount; maybe $10 million is the most we should tolerate in one person’s ownership.
J. Glenn Evans. Seattle
The FS welcomes your feedback and opinions. Letters may be edited for length. Please write to 5018 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98118, or email FSnews@socialism.com.
To listen to this and other articles from this issue, click here.
