Daily Archives: September 7, 2022

David Boaz – Wikipedia

Posted: September 7, 2022 at 6:38 pm

American libertarian author and editor (born 1953)

David Boaz (; born August 29, 1953, Mayfield, Kentucky) is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank.

He is the author of Libertarianism: A Primer, published in 1997 by the Free Press and described in the Los Angeles Times as "a well-researched manifesto of libertarian ideas."[1] He is also the editor of The Libertarian Reader and co-editor of the Cato Handbook for Congress (2003) and the Cato Handbook on Policy (2005). He frequently discusses such topics as education choice, the growth of government, the ownership society, his support of drug legalization as a consequence of the individual right to self-determination,[2][3][4] a non-interventionist foreign policy,[5] and the rise of libertarianism on national television and radio shows.

Boaz's 1988 op-ed The New York Times on the high cost of the drug war fueled public debate over the decriminalization of drugs.[6] His articles have also been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Slate. He has appeared on ABC's Politically Incorrect, CNN's Crossfire, NPR's Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered, Fox News Channel, BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other media. Boaz, a graduate of Vanderbilt University, is the former editor of The New Guard magazine and was executive director of the Council for a Competitive Economy prior to joining Cato in 1981.

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Arlington Heights board gets petition from Koch brothers-backed group calling for law that may impact Chicago Bears’ stadium plans – Chicago Tribune

Posted: at 6:38 pm

A libertarian political advocacy group submitted a petition to the Arlington Heights Village Board Tuesday that could bar the village from offering taxpayer-funded financial incentives to the Chicago Bears football team which is looking to buy the Arlington Park International Racecourse for $197 million as well as any other business that might open in the area.

Brian Costin, deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity Illinois, led the petition effort and said the organization submitted 663 signatures to the board at its meeting Tuesday night.

The petition, which originated from a section of the Arlington Heights municipal code that allows for resident-generated referendums, calls for the Village Board to consider an ordinance that would prevent the village from extending any kind of financial assistance to any corporation seeking to open in the village.

Village officials say such an ordinance would be disastrous for the village, while organizers from the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity call it an anti-corporate welfare ordinance.

In presenting the signatures to the Village Board during the public comment portion of the meeting, Costin noted that Americans for Prosperity recently ran a poll that found 72% of respondents supported the Bears move to the village but that 68% opposed the use of public money to bring them to Arlington Heights.

Weve seen stadium bills and corporate welfare projects turn sour for taxpayers across Illinois, Costin said, citing examples in the towns of Bridgeview and Hoffman Estates.

[Chicago Bears show renderings for enclosed stadium complex in Arlington Heights, but say theyd expect some public funding for surrounding entertainment district]

Arlington Heights officials said passing such a measure would put the village at a major financial disadvantage to its neighbors.

Mayor Tom Hayes was absent from the board meeting last night, telling Pioneer Press in an email that he was in Canada on a non-refundable vacation hed booked a year ago. But Hayes previously expressed his disapproval for the ordinance API is pushing.

We dont think its something thats in the best interest of the village, Hayes previously said. If something like this is enacted, then all those businesses are going elsewhere, and how will that benefit our residents?

Hayes previously told Pioneer Press that he would do everything in my power to see (such an ordinance) stopped.

Village Manager Randy Recklaus was present at the meeting Tuesday night and blasted the idea of the ordinance.

This is a very extreme proposition, Recklaus said. It would literally cripple the villages ability to engage in any economic development throughout our entire community.

Recklaus added that major swathes of the village, like its downtown area, were redeveloped through public financing incentives like tax increment financing districts.

[Will the Chicago Bears leave Soldier Field? Heres what to know about the teams possible move to Arlington Heights.]

In fact, the Village Board considered a TIF district-related request at the meeting Tuesday for the Southpoint Shopping Center at 600 East Rand Road. The developer sought money from the TIF to help construct two commercial buildings: one for a Chipotle restaurant and the other for an AT&T retail store.

Resident Martin Bauer told Arlington Heights trustees he was opposed to the use of public money on Bears-related construction.

Bauer said he was not with Americans for Prosperity, but said he might get involved with that group or a similar one if the village continued moving forward with the project.

No public money is needed to develop this particular site, he said about the former racecourse property. Were not talking about a brownfield. Were not talking about an eyesore thats been sitting vacant for decades.

Bauer said Hayes and some members of the Village Board had become googly eyed over the prospect of bringing the football team to the village.

He indicated that he will do anything to make sure that the Bears come to Arlington Heights, Bauer said of Hayes.

Recklaus responded to Bauers comment, in the mayors absence.

I do not recall Mayor Hayes ever saying he would do anything to bring the Bears here, Recklaus said.

The petition needed 546 signatures, or 1% of the voting population of the village, to be submitted to the Village Board as a potential ordinance. If the board then rejects that proposed ordinance, then the petition organizers may try to get 12% of the villages voting population to sign on and force a referendum on the ballot at an upcoming election.

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Georgias Senate Race Is Much Closer Than The Governor Election. Will That Hold Until November? – FiveThirtyEight

Posted: at 6:38 pm

After a history-making 2020 and 2021, Georgia is once again on our minds with two high-profile statewide races on the ballot this November: the U.S. Senate race, a highly competitive contest between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, as well as the gubernatorial contest, a high-octane rematch between Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams.

But interestingly, these races have pretty different outlooks in FiveThirtyEights 2022 midterm forecast. The Senate race is currently rated as a toss-up, while in the governors race Kemp is a clear favorite to win.

Given how partisan our politics have become especially in a state like Georgia where the electorate is highly polarized its pretty unusual that the two statewide races show such a large gap, as much as 13 percentage points in some polls. Historically, major contests in Georgia have run close together, which is why a sizable split between the Senate and governors races would be pretty remarkable.

For starters, the gap between the two races varies depending on pollster, but on average, polls have found a 7-point difference between the margins in the Senate and gubernatorial contests. This pretty much matches what our more rigorous polling averages found, too, with Warnock up around 2 points and Kemp leading by about 5 points or a 7-point gap.

The margin in Georgias Senate and governor races in polls that measured both, including the gap between the two contests, since the May 24 primary

The data is shown as rounded but was calculated based on the fully-reported info in cases where pollsters provided decimal points. A (D) or (R) beside a pollsters name indicates their or their sponsors partisan affiliation.

Source: polls

But the fact that Georgias electorate is so polarized makes it unlikely that well see too large of a gap between the two contests. Like most of the Deep South, Georgia has a racially polarized electorate, where most Black voters back Democrats and most white voters back Republicans.

Take Georgias 2020 presidential vote: 88 percent of Black voters supported President Biden, while 69 percent of white voters supported former President Trump, according to the 2020 exit polls. This gives Georgia what we at FiveThirtyEight call an inelastic electorate, or an electorate for which factors like the political environment and candidate traits are unlikely to sway voters because so few voters are swing voters.

This lack of a gap in Georgias statewide elections is clear when we examine elections dating back to 2002, which is arguably when Georgias current political era began that year, Republicans won the governorship and captured a state-legislative chamber for the first time since Reconstruction. For instance, when we compare the outcomes in each pair of presidential, Senate and gubernatorial races in years when two of those races were on the ballot, the margins in these high-profile races usually differed only to a small extent, as the table below shows.

Difference in margin between major statewide elections for president, Senate or governor in years when at least two of these offices were on the ballot, 2002 to present

*Special election for U.S. Senate

The 2020 Senate race is the regularly scheduled Class II seat, as the special election for the Class III seat was a jungle primary. No candidate won an outright majority in either Senate election, which by state law necessitated a January 2021 runoff, as shown in the 2021 row.

Source: Dave Leips Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

Although each year and race had its own set of particulars, six of these eight sets of elections saw only small differences in margin less than 3 points. The exceptions were the 2010 midterms and 2016 presidential election, when there was a wide gap between the Senate election and the other statewide election. (Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson was up both years, so he may have given the GOP a lift as an incumbent; also former Gov. Roy Barnes served as the Democrats nominee for governor in 2010, and his past appeal in more conservative parts of the state may have made that race closer than it wouldve been otherwise.) But these elections were the exception, not the norm. Even the states most recent elections, the 2020 presidential election and 2021 Senate runoffs, featured elections with very similar margins although they might be evidence that the overall political climate in Georgia is shifting toward Democrats.

Its notable, then, that the FiveThirtyEight forecast shows such a large divide between the Senate and governor races in its average projected vote share. The forecast currently has Kemp with a 6-point lead and Warnock with about a 1-point lead, which would amount to a 7-point gap between the two races.

There are a number of potential explanations for this gap, but the biggest factor might be incumbency and, more importantly, that Georgias top two races feature incumbents from different parties Kemp is a Republican and Warnock a Democrat. Incumbency does not provide as strong a tailwind as it once did, but both Kemp and Warnock are relatively popular politicians who could each win. From April through June, Morning Consults polling gave Kemp a 52 percent approval rating and only a 39 percent disapproval rating; Warnock, meanwhile, had an approval rating of about 47 percent and a disapproval rating of 41 percent.

In other words, there isnt that much difference between Kemps and Warnocks standing in Georgia. However, given that the gap between the two races is unlikely to remain this large and that Kemp has a healthier lead over Abrams than Warnock has over Walker, voters who split their tickets could matter a lot for Warnock. And two polls, one from Emerson College released last week and a July survey from Beacon Research/Shaw & Company on behalf of Fox News, show how different degrees of Kemp voters backing Warnock could matter. In Emersons poll, only 3 percent of Kemp supporters backed Warnock, and overall, Walker led by 2 points. In the Fox News survey, meanwhile, 8 percent of Kemps supporters backed Warnock, and overall, Warnock led by 4 points. The takeaway here is that higher levels of support for Warnock among Kemp voters would seemingly boost the incumbent senators chances of finishing ahead of Walker.

This is not to say that only split-ticket voting will matter to the outcomes in each race; turnout and the overall political environment are also important. But Warnock would be in much better shape if he could capture 8 percent of Kemps voters versus just 3 percent: Based on the 2018 governors race, that could be a difference of roughly 100,000 votes, or about 2.5 percent of ballots cast. In a close contest, thats a big deal case in point, Kemp defeated Abrams by just 55,000 votes four years ago.

Finally, theres one other wrinkle with Georgia: If no candidate wins an outright majority of the vote, a runoff between the top-two finishers will take place on Dec. 6, 2022. And considering each contest has a Libertarian candidate, which is notable because Libertarians have averaged a little over 2 percent in statewide races dating back to 2002, its entirely possible that if the Senate race is especially tight, a Libertarian candidate who gains 1 or 2 percent of the vote could trigger a Warnock-Walker runoff in December. Currently, the FiveThirtyEight forecast gives the Senate race about a 1-in-5 chance of going to a runoff, while the governors race has about a 1-in-10 chance.

At this point, its too soon to say how the races in Georgia will change, but with two months to go until Election Day, well be keeping a close eye on Peach State polls to see whether the gap between the two contests remains large or narrows.

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Letter: The threat against democracy | Letters To Editor | berkshireeagle.com – Berkshire Eagle

Posted: at 6:38 pm

To the editor: While it was very easy to get caught up in the many crimes of Donald Trump over the summer, I became immersed in a very readable book by historian Nancy MacLean: Democracy in Chains.

It helped me to understand the background of our current situation. Most Americans, if theyre in the least bit politically engaged, focus on the here and now, election results, etc., while the radical libertarian right wing has been playing a very long game to alter the fabric of American democracy. It began in the post-Civil War era but found its footing in the mid 1950s with the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The ongoing effort to do away with public education goes back to that fateful time.

When President Joe Biden gave his soul of the nation speech, he sounded the alarm about a cult-like group of Donald Trump followers. Of course we should be worried about the possible violence they would foment, but the concept of democracy is much broader. Restricting voting to desired classes of citizens is an ongoing issue. The MAGA Republicans feel that when everyone votes, they lose.

Im sure the radical libertarian big-money donors thought they hit pay dirt with a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket in 2012. Unfortunately for them, both men were totally devoid of charisma, but the false concept of "makers and takers" took hold.

It won't be easy, but we need all hands on deck to fight for our democracy.

Stephanie Hoadley, New Marlborough

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Vote in the State Primary – mysouthborough

Posted: at 6:38 pm

SomethingIjust learned and confirmed that I want to share all registered voters can participate in the Republican or Democratic primaries.

As Ive previously written, if you are a member of one of the two big parties, you can only vote on their ballot. If you are unenrolled in either, you can choose which to vote in.

What I hadnt realized was that voters registered for third parties (Libertarian, Green, Rainbow, etc), also get to participate and choose their ballot. That is because none of those political groups met the threshold to be treated as a real party in this primary. (When third parties do qualify for their own ballots, members are then restricted to voting on those ballots.)

Libertarians currently have the same status as members of the Pizza Party and a long list of other political designations. (That may change for the 2024 primaries.)

Below is my reminder of who is on each ballot and where/how you can cast yours.

With todays downpour, Im guessing many voters wish they took advantage of early alternative options. If you still have your mail-in ballot make sure to get it into the drop box at the Town House (17 Common St) before 8:00 pm.

Otherwise, you need to head to the gym at Trottier Middle School (49 Parkerville Road) to vote today. The polls are open until 8:00 pm. (The entrance is on the side of the building facing the outdoor track.)

If you have any questions about voting, you can leave a voicemail for the Town Clerk at 508-485-0710 ext 3005 or email townclerk@southboroughma.com. (The office is closed today so staff can oversee the election. You can find them in person at Trottier.)

Below are details on who is competing for votes in the primaries. (For those that have campaign websites I could find, I inserted links so you can research their positions.) Only Democratic and Republican parties are holding primaries for our precincts.

Governor

Lt. Governor

Attorney General

Secretary of State

Auditor

Governors Councillor Third District

We already know which candidates will be on the ballot this fall for the following positions. (Some of the uncontested candidates dont even have opponents on another primary ballot. The deadline has passed for Non-Party candidates to file to add their names to the November ballot. Im not aware that any have, but cant yet rule out that possibility.)

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Group catering to nonpartisan voters launches ahead of the election The Nevada Independent – The Nevada Independent

Posted: at 6:38 pm

Ash Mirchandani is tired of battleground politics, which he described as a landscape where partisan bickering takes precedence over consensus-building progress.

So the Southern Nevada resident and registered nonpartisan decided to do something about it by launching the Coalition of Independent Nevadans (COIN), a group he envisions as a neutral platform to engage more nonpartisan voters in the political process.

If we can hold both parties to a higher standard of working with each other and creating meaningful common sense-driven policies, then our job is done, said Mirchandani, managing principal of Kaizen Strategies, a government relations firm, and president of the United Citizens Foundation, which provides mental health services for children.

The coalitions formation comes as nonpartisans represent a growing portion of the Nevada electorate. In July, 530,941 people were registered as nonpartisans, making up 29 percent of active registered voters statewide, according to data from the secretary of states office. By comparison, Democrats account for 33 percent of active registered voters, while Republicans comprise 30 percent. The remaining voters belong to minor political parties, such as the Libertarian Party and Independent American Party, among others.

Lumped together, voters who registered as nonpartisans or members of minor political parties account for 37 percent of the Nevada electorate.

Nonpartisans alone are a large enough voting bloc that they could sway the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections a fact not lost on candidates as they attempt to court those coveted votes.

Thats why one of the coalitions first acts will be interviewingand then endorsing candidates for a variety of statewide, legislative and local elected offices, said Mirchandani, who serves as the groups chair. A panel of nonpartisan voters will conduct the interviews, with each person ranking the candidates based on an agreed-upon scoring system. If the candidate scores fall within a narrow range, the panelists will have a group discussion and then vote.

Mirchandani said the beauty of the group is that none of the panelists are heavily involved in the political sphere. Theyre all volunteers.

They are everyday people that are taking out time because they care, he said.

COIN plans to announce its list of endorsements toward the end of September and, in the future, hold other events, such as listening tours.

Editors Note: This story appears in Indy 2022, The Nevada Independents newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2022 election. Sign up for the newsletter here.

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Ballot initiatives to watch in 2022 midterms, from abortion to slavery – USA TODAY

Posted: at 6:37 pm

Heres how midterm elections work and why they're so important

Midterm elections have the ability to shift the power of the presidency. Here's how the midterms work and why they're so important.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Forget waiting for Congress or state legislaturesto act.This years midterm elections are offering voters an opportunity to shape public policy directly in the form of various state ballot initiatives that deal with major national issues.

The country witnessed the power of those referendums when voters in Kansas, which is typically considered a safe red state, rejected an anti-abortion measure on the ballot bya decisive59%-41% margin.

As the fall elections approach, voters in 2022 arebeing asked to weigh-in on how their states should handle ending a pregnancy, the right to contraceptives, legalizing certain narcotics and extending health care coverage. Even slavery is on the ballot.

Stay in the know: Get updates on these top ballot measures in your inbox

News: Classified documents mingled with magazines and clothes at Mar-a-Lago club

In at least five states, voters will have to grapple with whether to officiallyabolishslavery, a questionthat could lead to a national rethinking on U.S. prison policy.

Many of those topics have stalled in Washington, where gridlock has devoured many reform efforts.

But whether through direct ballot initiative grown by grassroots organizations viapetition orindirect referendums first raised by a state legislature, these measures could have major ramifications going forward.

Here are the issues on the ballot to watch:

Kansas voters overwhelmingly chose to uphold the right to an abortion in August, which has emboldened progressives hoping the momentumcan mobilize their base through similar ballot initiatives elsewhere.

At least three other states California, Kentucky and Vermont will have similar questions for voters to consider. While one other, Montana, is asking voters to decide rules around a "born-alive" infant from a failed abortion.

A similar question could appear before voters inMichigan,wherea coalition of reproductive rights groupshave asked thestate Supreme Court this month to allow theirproposed measure that would guarantee the right to an abortion on the ballot this fall.

Poll:Most Americans want chance to support abortion rights on state ballot

Roe v. Wade: Abortion to remain divisive issue in states, courts

The proposed amendments in California and Vermont, which already have liberal state laws ensuring abortion right, encompass reproductive freedom as a wholeincludingother protections such as guaranteeingaccess to contraceptives.

Voters in Kentucky, a more conservative-leaning state,are being asked this November to restrict abortion rights by declaring that the state Constitution doesntrecognize such access or require taxpayerfunding of abortion.

Montana's referendum deals withwhetherinfants born alive atany stage of development will be considered "legal persons." If so, the proposal says, they must be provided medical care. Violatorsfacea$50,000 fine andup to 20 years in prison.

Voters inAlabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont will decide whether to abolish slavery as a part of a larger criminal justice reform movementaimed at prison labor.

The 13thAmendment to the Constitution ended slavery and involuntary servitude when it was ratified in 1865. But a loophole allows it as punishment for someone convicted of a crime and roughly 20 states have a similarexception.

Most referendums are asking voters to declareno form of slavery or involuntary servitudebe permitted.

Others go further, such as Alabama's questionwhichseeks to remove "all racist language" from the state constitution.InOregon,the amendmentwould add provisions allowing the state courts orparole agency to order alternatives to incarceration for a convicted individual.

More:As George Floyd Act's chances dim, Biden stays mum on police reform

Criminal justice reform advocates say the referendums are more than symbolic, and could spark larger changes forpeople who are incarcerated, such as paying them higher wages for prison work orendingforced labor altogether.

In 2018, voters in Colorado, Nebraska and Utahoverwhelminglystruck down slavery and involuntary servitude through ballot initiatives.

Legislation has been introduced in California, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas to put similar ballot questions before voters infuture elections.

Multiple states will give voters a direct say over drug policies with ballot questions on decriminalizing marijuana andcertain psychedelics.

At least five states Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota are looking to legalize marijuana for residents age 21 or older.

But the provisions in some places go further.

In Missourithe proposed amendment would decriminalize marijuana use and alsoallowpeople convicted of non-violent cannabisoffensesa chance to seek an early release from prison and have their criminal records expunged.

News: Marijuana is being legalized in parts of the U.S.That's not helping everyone with convictions

Poll:Marijuana use is outpacing cigarette use for first time ever in U.S.

A legal battle is still ongoing in Oklahoma to determine if voters there will have a chance to tackle the issue with similar reforms this fall.

Colorado has a ballot initiative asking voters whether the state should definecertain psychedelic plants and fungi as natural medicine, including mescaline.

Under the amendment, personal use, possession, transportation and growthwould be legal for those age 21 or older. The changes would also createa regulatory agency that would overseelicensed healing centers to administer natural medicine services.

Nevada voters will be given a chance to give workers a pay raise this fall when they're asked toincreasethe minimum wage to $12 an hour for all employees.

Right now the state'sfloor for how much a person is paid sits between $9.50 to $10.50 per hour, depending on whether they have health insurance.

In 2019, the Nevadalegislature passed a measure raising the minimum wage by increments without address the health insurance discrepancy.The ballot question will establish a flat rate for all regardless of theirinsurance status.

More: Nevada's minimum wage increases but is less of a living wage than a year ago

On Tuesday, Nebraska secretary of state certified aballot measure that if approved wouldincrease the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

Illinois voters are being asked to establish aconstitutional right to collective bargaining,which would guarantee workers the right to organize a union.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Tennessee voters will weighapproving a right-to-work amendment to the state constitution, whichwould prohibitworkplaces from requiringlabor union membership as a condition for employment.

One of the major debates about the Affordable Care Act from a decade ago was whetherstates would accept or reject federal incentives to expand Medicaid eligibility.

As of this year,38states and the District of Columbia have done just thatwith many doing so through ballot initiatives. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah, for example,did it in 2018.

Report: 5 million to 14 million Americans could lose Medicaid coverage when COVID-19 pandemic ends

More: Uninsured rate hit record low of 8%, HHS analysis shows

South Dakota, one of 12 states that has not expanded Medicaid,will have an opportunity thanks to a coalition of health care groups who joined forces this year to push the idea to the ballot box.

Under the amendment,adults 18 to 65 earningincomes below 133% of the federal poverty level would receive Medicaid.That is roughly $18,000 per person or $37,000 for a family of four.

Other health care related questions are sprinkled around the country.

In Oregon, a ballot initiative would ensureevery resident "has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right."

California voters will considerbanning the sale of flavored tobacco products.

Stay in the know: Get updates on these top ballot measures in your inbox

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10 Songs That Deal with Labor Rights and Hating Your Job – MetalSucks

Posted: at 6:37 pm

Labor Day in America is a sad and strange thing. While most people in the country use this day off to mark the unofficial end of summer, hang out with friends and family at a barbecue, and take advantage of various online and in-store deals for shit they dont need, the holiday has a more serious meaning.

Formally recognized by Congress in 1894 as a federal holiday, Labor Day was a way for people to remember the workers struggles over the years following the spread of mass industrialization. Back then, workers of all ages even children were forced to work six days a week and for extremely long hours while only earning pennies a day.

Strikes happened. People died. And as a result of even more struggles over the years, unions fought so you can now have a 40-hour work week, kids are able to get an education instead of work, and you get to enjoy a whole list of freedoms.

But the bosses won out in the end it seems, because Labor Day is now more about sales and consumption than workers rights.

To remember the men and women who stood their ground against powerful moneyed interests for better pay and wages (and to remind ourselves of the better conditions we should have today), heres a list of 10 metal songs that hit at the heart of labor and the workers plight.

Meet them in the streetsMeet them in the hollersMeet them in the hills and dont back down, dont back downFight for what is right, for every working man to earn his keepFight for what is right till they meet your demandsin Bloody Harlan

Growing up, Americans are barely taught about the labor movement outside of there were strikes and good things came as a result. The reality, however, is often bloodier than we learn.

In Panopticons fifth album Kentucky, the American black metal band mixes bluegrass, Americana, and US black metal to tell the tale of Bloody Harlan, or the Harlan County War of 1931. In that incident, striking coal miners fought for almost a decade to be able to unionize, let alone get better working conditions and wages.

As a result, employers fired union members and evicted them from company homes before eventually hiring thugs and using local police to meet them with violence. Bombings, executions, and gunfights took place. Ultimately, the miners were able to form a union and fight for better conditions.

Black Soot and Red Blood deals with these skirmishes and the union members willingness to lay down their lives for their cause. It even includes samples of coal workers describing what they remembered from those times.

Sound offTake a look at your life, tell me to what do you aspire?I want to know how far youre willing to goCant stop the force of ruin, this world will run through youIf not now, then when?If not us, then who?

Now, we know this song is based on a quote made by the late civil rights leader and U.S. Representative John Robert Lewis about the struggle for equal rights, but this song by Power Trip off of Nightmare Logic easily fits within most social struggles. The line If not us, then who would fit just as well in an early 1900s coal miners picket line as it would in a civil rights march in the 60s.

Many times, picketers, strikers, and union members would push their fellow workers into action by explaining that inaction only helped the bosses exploit them further. If Not Us Then Who can serve as a rallying cry for many social fights.

Like a workhorse stands for milesWork for you, never get tiredRoll em up, its time to goWell be back before its too long

It doesnt matter how much you love your job, work sucks. This song by Mastodon, off the 2002 album Remission, equates modern wage work to slavery. It acknowledges that without work, you couldnt live in a capitalist society, but it ultimately breeds a living condition where you wake up, go to work, go to sleep, and go back to work hence the well be back before its too long line.

When the band used to play this song live, Brent Hinds has been filmed introducing it by saying this song is about work. Work fucking sucks.

Indeed it does, Brent. Indeed it does.

ColdShackled to The bottom Of the bottle Of the socio-economic slaveryThat rules And runs my life

Colorado doom band Primitive Man effectively nail the damn near nihilistic existence of wage work with their track Commerce. Slow and brooding, this track hits on the desolation that many people face staring down the barrel of a senseless routine that many labor organizers fought to avoid.

The song talks about being overworked, underpaid from a system thats meant to fail us which is something most people can relate to. When youre living paycheck to paycheck, or working two jobs just to stay afloat and keep a roof over your head, youre living a life that the folks behind Labor Day wanted to make sure never happened.

I work my fingers to the bone just to surviveI gotta get money, so I can have a homeSo I can breathe, eat, and live in this societyI dont even like money

Stress builds character is about as close to a talking point as youll hear from some politicians in DC when it comes to things like student debt reform or the minimum wage. Stress Builds Character by Dystopia is all about how were forced to be miserable in a society that traps us with low or stagnant wages and rising costs.

Lines like I cant survive on this pay anymore and I need a raise, man are immediately relatable to anyone thats worked for minimum wage. All so they can just breathe, eat, and live in this society.

Now in the matrix take your place.Theyll tap your labor and your light.Gain euphoria, from your paranoia.

Back in the days before Pepper Keenan or Karl Agell served as Corrosion of Conformitys frontman, the band was known as a punky crossover outfit fronted by bassist Mike Dean. During that time, they talked a lot about social and political problems. Yet when Pepper was off playing in Down, the band reunited under that original lineup and released a self-titled album in 2012.

In a return to their punk/stoner/crossover ways, the band put out The Moneychangers, a fast and to the point song that uses some religious imagery to decry how employers set the bait (aka a job) and when you think youre blessed and say yes to the new gig, thats when you know the trap is set. Youre theirs to exploit because unionization support in the U.S. has been gutted for so long.

When theyve tortured and scared you for 20 odd yearsThen they expect you to pick a careerWhen you cant really function, youre so full of fearA working class hero is something to be

Originally a John Lennon song, Ozzys cover of Working Class Hero is a somber reminder that in its current form, youre born into a society that puts you in your place and forces you to find your own path if you want to break the cycle.

Still, you can always get to the top if youre willing to learn to smile as you kill, meaning step on everyone on your way up. Ruthless career advancement at all costs is not uncommon in todays workplace.

Barren land that once filled a needAre worthless now, dead without a deedSlipping away from an iron gripNatures scales are forced to tip

The heartland cries, loss of all prideTo leave aint believing, so try and be triedInsufficient funds, insanity, and suicide

Megadeth has never been a band to shy away from current events and socio-political topics and in Countdown to Extinction, the whole album was one big middle finger to the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

This song in particular, deals with a situation where the U.S. sanctioned Russia and refused to sell them our grain, creating a surplus that caved the price of farmers goods. Farmland decreased in value and ultimately family farms were foreclosed upon, with banks evicting families and selling those properties to the highest bidder usually massive corporations. Dave Mustaine said as much in 1992.

The government dictates everything to us. What it cant get over on the black and Hispanic man, it gets over on the white. Its about Reaganomics and how it took advantage of the real nucleus of America the farmers.

You got me forced to crack my lids in twoIm still stuck inside the rubber roomI gotta punch the clock that leads the blindIm just another gear in the assembly line-oh no

The noose gets tighter around my throatBut I aint at the end of my rope

A rager of a song from New Jerseys own Skid Row, Slave to the Grind is an anthem standing up against the doldrums and unfairness that comes out of working a wage slave job. Its about how people like your Jeff Bezoses and Elon Musks of the world dont actually give a shit about you or your fellow employees.

Yet youre never truly at the end of your rope in this track. Be your own person, find your own way in life, and you can get out of that rat race is the name of the game in this classic song.

Well, I get up at seven, yeahAnd Ill go to work at nineI got no time for livinYes, Im workin all the time

It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess thats why they call meThey call me the workin man

Technically this isnt metal, but if you have a problem with Rush then youve got a problem with me, eh.

Rushs Working Man is the perfect workers anthem, talking about how our lives of constantly working to make someone else richer while you trade away your days can be soul sucking. Youre a laborer and because you dont have a way to earn the profits made for the things you make, you can always feel that I could live my life a lot better than I think I am.

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10 Songs That Deal with Labor Rights and Hating Your Job - MetalSucks

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Conflict and modern slavery: the investment perspective – Schroders

Posted: at 6:37 pm

The Ukraine war reminds us of the devasting consequences of war beyond the direct death toll, displacing populations and upending livelihoods. Since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, Ukraine has witnessed one of the fastest exoduses of people in recent history. To date, nearly 6.7 million refugees have been recorded in Europe (source: UNHCR).

Although there is now evidence of Ukrainians returning to their home country, the extreme relocation triggered by the conflict requires the integration of substantial numbers of refugees into receiving European populations.

Sadly, the headlines from Ukraine are the tip of an iceberg; the UN estimates that some 100 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced from their homes, in most cases as a result of violence (source: UNHCR).

Modern slavery and human trafficking have been a consequence of 90% of modern wars (source: Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflict). This is due to a mixture of factors, including refugees being picked up by traffickers when crossing borders, or accepting offers of accommodation or work without validation of legitimacy and safety.

The vulnerability of refugees is often compounded by demographic factors, with women and children being over-represented among displaced populations.

As a result, businesses operating in regions that are receiving refugees must be aware of the risks of labour exploitation in their operations and supply chains.

Following the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey experienced an influx of refugees. Today the country holds the largest population of refugees globally 3.6 million of which are Syrians. A significant proportion of these refugees were integrated into the garment manufacturing sector an important part of the Turkish economy.

Even before the Syrian refugee crisis, the garment industry relied heavily on a cheap and flexible workforce made up of migrant labour. Now there are reports of widespread labour exploitation of refugees, with evidence of 60+ hour weeks and the majority of Syrian workers earning below minimum wage (source: World Bank).

Specifically within Istanbul, it is thought that 85% of Syrians are informally employed. As a result, global apparel brands came under scrutiny for their lack of adequate action, with only a few brands gaining praise for good practice (source: BHRRC).

As a wave of mandatory due diligence laws come into effect across Europe, the focus and scrutiny on human rights abuses such as modern slavery is rising. With tangible civil liability and monetary fines on the horizon, as well as basic business responsibility, the importance of examining and managing potential human rights risks has never been higher, both for management teams, and as investors in those companies.

In Schroders Engagement Blueprint we set out our request for companies to establish and implement a human rights policy in line with the UNGPs, International Labor Organisation and other international frameworks, and commit to respect human rights. We also ask companies to introduce robust due diligence processes and effective remedy.

However, due to the heightened risk associated with human rights in and around conflict-affected areas, we expect companies to go beyond this. That entails adapting existing policies to the specific needs of conflict-affected areas, and performing enhanced due diligence in these contexts. Such action comprises:

As a starting point, there are two simple questions investors seeking to engage on this issue should ask companies:

Case study Turkish garment manufacturer:

Recognising the heightened human rights risks in the country, particularly associated with an influx of migrants from Syria, in 2020 we began engaging with a Turkish garment manufacturer on its human rights policies and practices.

The company was at a relatively early stage on this topic so we started by encouraging it to increase disclosure and demonstrate adherence with responsible sourcing practices, as well as participating in industry initiatives to improve standards and collaborate with relevant NGOs and stakeholder groups.

We are pleased that since our engagement, the company has set compliance and monitoring targets for its supply chain, and has begun reporting basic audit data.

Case study Taiwanese company:

In 2022 we engaged with a Taiwanese company with exposure to Myanmar. The company had begun to make progress to include human rights, among other ESG factors, in its supplier management practices. We sought to understand what actions the company will be taking to increase suppliers signing onto the code of conduct. We also encouraged the company to work to increase the scope of its audit practices.

We will continue to engage with the company on these topics in the coming years, and may consider escalating our concerns if it is deemed necessary.

Case study European recruitment companies:

We have recently, in mid-2022, initiated engagements with two companies operating within Europe that fall within the human resources and employment services industry.

We identified this industry as higher risk because employment and temporary agencies are likely to interact with individuals who are rapidly looking to find work, having been displaced from their homes and original employment.

The engagement seeks to understand how the companies are acting to anticipate and address these risks ensuring that due diligence is being undertaken on employee applicants and end employers.

Over the coming months we will continue to monitor the responses by these companies in line with our engagement process.

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Conflict and modern slavery: the investment perspective - Schroders

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The Santa Cruz County boom town that went BOOM – The Mercury News

Posted: at 6:37 pm

Labor Day honors the unsung workers who built this nation, manufactured its goods, and sometimes risked their lives for low wages.

The 1848 Gold Rush put California on the fast track for statehood. But some wanted a Northern California free state, and a Southern California slave state. Abolitionists hated slavery for its injustice, while some labor groups felt slave labor unfairly devalued wage labor throughout the South. Leaders decided to bypassed being a territory, and simply declare California an undivided free state in 1850.

Yet the Gold Rush was bringing slave holders to the state, who used slave labor in gold mining. As a Free State, the enslaved population either freed themselves (like Watsonvilles Jim Brodis), negotiated liberties from their enslavers, or bought their freedom and stayed (like London Nelson of Santa Cruz, Dave Boffman of Happy Valley, and Dan Rodgers of Watsonville). James Gadsdens 1851 petition to make Southern California a slave state failed, but the state passed a ban on black testimony in court. In 1852 South Carolina and Florida slave-holders petitioned for a slave-owners colony in California. The issue was tabled, but Californias Fugitive Slave Law of 1852 suspended its anti-slavery clause, and while some refused to enforce it, others used it to re-enslave free Blacks. Yet the states fugitive slave law was dropped in 1855.

Then the Andres Pico Act of 1859 was introduced to make California a slave state from San Luis Obispo south. But the April 12, 1861 attack on Fort Sumpter starting the Civil War, ended any thought of splitting the state over slavery. It also stopped shipments to California of black powder, used for blasting and gunpowder, yet with no alternative sources west of the Mississippi. East Coast manufacturers couldnt risk these shipments being captured by Confederate pirates, nor deplete what supplies the Union needed to fight secession.

California feared the loss of black powder limited the states ability to defend itself against invasion, or defend the gold and silver shipments being sent east supporting the Union cause. Without blasting powder for mining, the amount of gold and silver being processed could be reduced. Blasting powder was also crucial for construction of buildings, forts, roads and railways.Confederate members of the secret society Knights of the Golden Circle, conspired to seize Pacific Mail Steamerships transporting gold, and turn the captured ships into a pirate navy. Their ultimate goal was to make California a slave state, and redirect gold shipments to the Confederacy. But their plot was foiled, and the insurrectionists were sent to prison at Fort Alcatraz.

To fill the need, a group of investors got together and incorporated Dec.28, 1861, as the California Powder Works. Sites were studied statewide in a four month selection process, needing access to a shipping port, yet isolated, midst a population loyal to the United States. Los Angeles was ruled out for having two Confederate militias. At last Rincon Gorge a mile north of Santa Cruz was chosen, because the gorge was a narrow canyon that would confine any accidental blast, was little populated, had plenty of timber to make charcoal, had just been wiped clean by a megaflood, and had a wharf for sale for supplies and exports, in a town of mostly pro-Union abolitionists.

Construction commenced in November 1862. A dam was built north of the site in 1863, and water would pass through a 4-foot by 6-foot tunnel 1,200-feet long, to power the water wheels that ran the machinery. The 20-acre site was laid out with 15 industrial buildings arranged around the grounds in a circle. A ways below the plant was the office, boarding house, dormitory and homes.Safety precautions were abundant. Each industrial structure was spaced 100 to 500 feet apart. The powder magazine warehouse and manufacturing structures were constructed with 2-foot thick masonry walls, but only on three sides, then finished with a wooden fourth wall and ceiling. In this way, any accidental explosion could be directed into the hillside, or away from populated areas to minimize destruction. In addition, these buildings had thick groves of resilient eucalyptus trees around their perimeter to catch flying debris.

Black powder was made by importing saltpeter from India and Chile, to refine and combine with Sulphur and charcoal, plus graphite to keep it from clumping.

The Powder Works began production in May, 1864, with a crew of 30 men making 200 25-pound kegs of powder a day. By wars end in 1865, production had doubled to 400 kegs a day, or a total output that year of 150,000 kegs. The mill employed from 150 to 275 men. These were mostly white, a number were teenagers. But there was also a Chinese population that started with a dozen in 1864, then reaching 35 by the mid-1870s, with their own boarding house and Joss Temple. Paid a third of white workers, they were often cooks, coopers, or construction crews, endangered by the prejudices of the white workers, whose growing outrage became the Anti-Chinese Movement in 1878, when management bowed to pressure and fired them all. But a decade later, the Chinese were back at work.

The Powder Works was a community, with its own Social Hall, Post Office in the Superintendents Building, and School House. Superintendent Col. Bernard Peyton built his 1870s Italianate Villa on top of the hill overlooking the gorge. The assistant superintendent was his son, William, who built his bride an 1890s Eastlake castle beside his fathers house.

After the war, the Powder Works supplied blasting powder for railroads across the west, with the 1874 Felton-to-Santa Cruz line running past the plant, completed in 1880 as the South Pacific Coast Railroad over the mountains. Yet the iron horse didnt enter the grounds, for fear of flinting off sparks. When a railroad of sorts was built in the grounds, it was composed of wooden ties, and pulled slowly by horses with sacks over their iron horse shoes. Yet shipping by rail was a safer method, and the Powder Works Wharf was demolished in 1882.

By the 1880s, the powder works extended a mile up the river, hosting 21 powder mills, 10 shops, six magazines, and numerous support structures. Black powder was the chief local product, along with military grade gunpowder. Soon, Santa Cruz was the first smokeless powder producer in the west, one of two nationally. But Santa Cruz led the industry as the only producer of hydro-cellulose gun cotton, for perfect nitration of the fiber.

William Peyton invented a press to manufacture brown prismatic smokeless powder for high-power breach loading cannons. It created uniform consistency, so gunmen could precisely calculate each shot. The U.S. government was so impressed, it used Santa Cruz powder exclusively for its Pacific and Asiatic fleets, providing a 4-inch and 8-inch Navy deck cannons to test the powder. When the U.S. Army began using Krag-Jorgensen .30 caliber rifles, it determined Santa Cruz Peyton Powder was the best.

In spite of great precautions, explosions at the Powder Works were regular events. One blew out all the windows on a passing train. So a steam whistle was sounded to notify the public of a test firing, with a second whistle to give the all-clear. When no whistle was heard connected with an explosion, people would come running to find out the fate of loved ones.

The worst explosion happened April 1898, across the covered bridge on Eagle Creek. It left a crater and a cloud of smoke, and buildings a distance away tilted by the force of the blast. Phyllis Patten was a student at Holy Cross School, gazing out the window at 5:15 that April evening, when the explosion shook the whole town, rattling or breaking windows. Then lightning-like streams of sparks shot past the windows. People ran outside, uncertain what it was, and wondered if Spanish saboteurs (during the Spanish-American War) were taking revenge on Admiral Deweys only source of smokeless powder.

Shortly, a man on a galloping horse said a fire was about to blow-up the main powder magazine. Townsfolk evacuated to the beach, huddled around campfires until 9:30 that evening, when they learned the magazine had been spared. The blast injured 15, while killing 13 Chinese workers. But thanks to Smokeless Powder, the Powder Works could rebuild using corrugated metal buildings.

William Peyton married into the DuPont family, who were buying up explosives companies. In the 1890s, DuPont had a controlling interest in the California Powder Works, gained full control in 1903, but was declared a monopoly, and closed the Powder Works in 1914. It is today the site of Paradise Park Masonic Campgrounds.

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The Santa Cruz County boom town that went BOOM - The Mercury News

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