THE PATRIOT RETURNS |
Vol. 38, No.4 April 07, 2008
AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR NOBLE
Dear Valiant Oaxaquenos: Once again we stand by you in complete Solidarity during your great struggle against those who would enslave us all, the Imperial Corporatist NeoLiberals, or as we call them, the NeoConservatives. While we may say potato, and you say patata, we both understand that these groups are one and the same. These Dark Lords will not rest until they extinguish all the major centers of worldwide revolutionary activity, and that makes our PSC-CUNY Union the biggest target on the planet. In spite of dues monies having been forcibly and involuntarily deducted from the starvation wages of CUNY faculty, those dues are now in our possession, and we have been honored to be able to aid you with these Union assets in your fight to free Oaxaca. Marching with our Placards of Righteous Justice around the Mexican Consulate here in New York 18 months ago, the impact of our protest is still felt all the way to your Presidential Palace in Mexico City, and to 2 or 3 neighboring countries as well! On that day the mood was joyous; our resolve, unflappable. No doubt those cowering inside the consulate could not help but acknowledge what we already knew; We Were Magnificent! It is said that Fidel himself did an extra 10 minutes of Cardio on his treadmill in our honor when he heard of our revolutionary vigor. Yes, feelings on that glorious day were unbelievably unbelievable! And as we all know, one's feelings at any given moment are the single most important criterion for guiding Union strategies, methods of Protest, and all other activities. "If It Feels Good, Do it!" isn't just some flaky saying on a kitten poster, or a patch on those old jeans you wore to rock festivals in the 70's. It is OUR CREDO, and the reason our Union has had an unmatched level of success under President Barbara "Have Revolution, Will Travel" Bowen and Vice President Steve London (affectionately known as "Li'l Beria", because of his astounding generosity and compassion). Although our sacrifice has brought many victories, dark storm clouds are once again gathering over The People. A new contract must be negotiated, and the Evil Chancellor Goldstein, "El Perro Diablo de CUNY", has been relentlessly attacking us everywhere with his Imperial Neocon Storm Troopers. Things are worse now than ever before, and our situation is dire. Our former allies in the SUNY Union have betrayed us by splitting off and settling their own contract for 13% over 4 years, instead of standing with us in Solidarity. Why wouldn't they let us negotiate their contract? It is quite difficult to fathom this turn of events; perhaps the reason they went over to the dark side is because they are the victims of some sort of mind control. For as you probably know, given what spectacular contracts the brilliant minds at the PSC negotiated in the past, there is no doubt that Our Union could have delivered something truly extraordinary for our SUNY brothers and sisters! So, in the spirit of International Solidarity, we turn to you, our comrades in the great struggle. We beseech you to come to our aid. Since our protest in front of your Consulate was so earth shatteringly effective, might we suggest that you stage your own massive protest at the local US Consulate on our behalf. Should there be no US consulate nearby at which to protest, might we suggest the corporate headquarters of the local Multinational Corporation instead. And should the lush, impenetrable rainforests of Oaxaca not contain either of those, then look for the nearest Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, or International House of Pancakes (in that order) as a site for the protest. If the situation were reversed, that's what we would do. To support your heroic actions on our behalf, we are prepared to send you our most effective and deadly weapon. It is known as the Ostentatious Oval of Outrage, the Slogan Slamming Disk of Destruction, and even as The Round, Righteous Deliverer of Revolutionary Retribution. It is a fearsome weapon that has cut deep bloody swaths through legions of Imperial forces and has been the only device to give us any fighting chance at all in the wake of the great SUNY betrayal: The Blue PSC-CUNY Union Slogan Button.
No expense was spared in creating them, and we will shortly be sending one to wear for each of you, so that your protest at the consulate or restaurant parking lot will have Our Force, the power that drives our Solidarity, to protect you from water cannons, tear gas, truncheons, or anything else the Dark Lords of CUNY may set upon you. Granted, the slogans on the buttons such as "CUNY is contingent on Us", or "Hands off HEO's" undoubtedly don't have much meaning to you or your comrades. But that's not the point. Understanding what you are protesting about is not important; the fact that you are protesting is ALL that matters. So, will 2,000,000 buttons be enough? Our recent triumphant Union protest at Cooper Union is a perfect example of The Power of The People. Months of meticulous planning and hard work paid off. The hall was jam packed with almost 9% of the membership! It was clear proof that 100% of the Union was behind our Leadership 110% (or even 115%, according to the leaders themselves!!). Yet even with this massively overwhelmingly glorious demonstration by The People, our situation remains critical. Remorselessly, The Empire Strikes Back. Hence we call upon you to come to our aid in these desperate hours. We are reminded of the great struggles of the past against universal aggression, and of how The People bonded together in Solidarity to defeat those Dark Lords of Injustice, Oppression, Fascism, Racism, and CUNY. And of all the great leaders to stand up to these Imperial forces, one leader's cries for justice perfectly sum up our desperate call for help like no other, and bring A New Hope. So we would like to leave you with her great words, so that you know just how serious we are about giving our very lives (and more!) to the Great International Struggle to Free All People Everywhere: "Help Us, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are our only hope!" In solidarity, Lando Montezuma*
PROFESSOR HUME ELECTED On behalf of current and retired Kingsborough faculty, the Patriot proudly congratulates Professor Donald Hume of the Department of Health and Physical Education on his unanimous election on March 25 by the faculty members of the KCC College Council as their representative to the Faculty Governance Leadership Group. This election represents a landmark decision of the faculty to elect newer, younger faculty members to leadership roles in College and University Governance. In the past, certain senior member(s) of the faculty (who could that be?) have grabbed every opportunity for themselves, instead of encouraging and guiding younger faculty to participate and contribute. Mentoring, guidance, and providing opportunities for newer faculty by certain senior member(s) were nonexistent, and grabbing for released time and position had become the norm. This election establishes a wonderful precedent. Our best wishes to Professor Hume.
IT'S TIME TO TURN THE HEAT ON In her March 24 letter, Barbara Bowen shamelessly asks the members to turn the heat on the Chancellor for not producing an economic offer and not allowing the contract negotiations to go forward. We believe that it is not the Chancellor who has to be blamed, but rather the current PSC leadership under shameless Barbara Bowen, who has been getting complete released time from her teaching and spending it on such activities as resolutions on chocolate, composing and fine-tuning resolutions asking for yet another trial for Abu Mumia Jemal, deciding which Executive Committee members get fully-paid trips to Mexico to study unionism there (obviously necessary, since we're not doin' too well here), planning continuous "nights out" at Friday Night at the Movies (paid by your dues, of course) -- instead of focusing her attention to properly negotiating a contract. No one is going to listen to her on chocolate or the teachers' strike in Mexico. As we all know, she has absolutely no credibility in the current political environment. We therefore suggest that members do the following:
Tell Barbara to Produce or be Cut Loose and leave the PSC to competent people!
THE RUMOR COLUMN For the first time in the history of this great nation, an African American is a serious contender for the nomination of the Democratic Party for the position of President of the United States. Clearly, he is the diversity candidate. With all the noise from the PSC's leadership all these years, we hear rumors that Bowen is going to endorse Obama even though the AFT and NYSUT have endorsed Hillary Clinton. We hope that she does not take it upon herself to endorse any candidate on behalf of PSC membership, because the views of membership are as diverse as the nation, and the membership is as divided as the Democratic Party. So, Barbara, speak for yourself and not for the membership. Unless you take a written vote of the membership on the issue of endorsement, counted not by the PSC staff but by an outside agency.
Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D.
Forthcoming issues of The Patriot may be accessed at As you know, Susan O'Malley has sought to silence the Patriot by bringing a lawsuit which seeks both to limit his speech and to extract loads of money for herself. Interested colleagues have also weighed in on www.freespeechcuny.blogspot.com |
