Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of December 26th
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in.
Information
Legendary Warsaw Ghetto and Anti-Apartheid Fighters Support the Palestinian Resistance!
Report back on blockade of Amazon distribution center for their role in support the ongoing genocide in Palestine https://itsgoingdown.org/lacey-wa-report-back-from-blockade-the-genocide-action/
Meet the Companies Profiting From Israel’s War on Gaza https://www.commondreams.org/news/weapons-used-by-israel
Gaza starves as death toll climbs past 20,000 https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gaza-starves-death-toll-climbs-past-20000
JOE BIDEN IS DRIVING THE U.S. INTO ISOLATION TO DEFEND ISRAEL’S WAR CRIMES https://theintercept.com/2023/12/21/joe-biden-un-resolution-gaza-delay/
EXCLUSIVE: ISRAELI MILITARY CENSOR BANS REPORTING ON THESE 8 SUBJECTS https://theintercept.com/2023/12/23/israel-military-idf-media-censor/
Court victory for activists who disrupted Israel’s weapons trade https://electronicintifada.net/content/court-victory-activists-who-disrupted-israels-weapons-trade/43111
Analysis & History
WATCH: A CONVERSATION ON THE HORRORS IN GAZA WITH JEREMY SCAHILL AND SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS https://theintercept.com/2023/12/20/gaza-israel-palestine-jeremy-scahill/
Black/Palestinian Solidarity Toolkit. Check out the amazing resources put together that link Black and Palestinian struggles together. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oV6xXlFs3oaMy8fFBLQDRlNLVN7jmDLNGX2D7zCTDdg/edit
The Labor Movement’s History of Backing Israel—and the Changing Climate Amid the War on Gaza https://inthesetimes.com/article/palestine-gaza-labor-unions-israel
Local Events and Actions
Check the FB page for Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids for updates on actions/events. https://www.facebook.com/PalestineSolidarityGR
We now know that a military contractor in the Grand Rapids area is providing military assault vehicles to Israel, enabling them to commit war crimes
In early November, GRIID reported that there is an Israeli military contractor that is located in the Greater Grand Rapids Area. Plasan North America, is a subsidiary of Plasan Sasa Ltd, which has a facility just two miles from the Lebanon border in northeastern Israel. According to Plasan Sasa Ltd, “Its people have been working “flat out” since the Hamas attacks.”
Indeed, all of the Plasan factories have been busy since early October and we now know that some of the military vehicles and other military items that Plasan makes at their Walker, MI plant is being used in the Israeli ground assault on Gaza.
A new report from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), documents how many US-based military contractors have been providing weapons and military vehicles for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). According to the AFSC report:
The scale of destruction and war crimes in Gaza would not be possible without this continued flow of weapons from the U.S. Despite massive public protests, the Biden administration has been working to give Israel over $14 billion to buy more weapons. This is on top of the $3.8 billion the U.S. already gives to the Israeli military annually. Israel is required to use this money to buy U.S.-made weapons. This is a form of corporate welfare for the largest weapon manufacturers, like Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, and General Dynamics, which have seen their stock prices skyrocket, but also for companies that are not part of the weapon industry, such as Caterpillar, Ford, and Toyota.
One of those companies that is making it possible for the Israeli military to commit war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank is Plasan North America, based right here in Walker, MI. What follows the content on Plasan North American that is included in the American Friends Service Committee report.
Plasan North America
- A private Israeli military vehicle manufacturer that makes the SandCat light armored vehicle for the Israeli military. At least some of these vehicles are manufactured at the company’s factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Since Oc. 7, Plasan has delivered dozens of SandCat Tigris armored vehicles to the Israeli military and has produced “hundreds of ballistic plates every day” for its use.
- The company also makes the armor for Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs). According to the section in the AFSC report – “In October, Israel requested to purchase 75 Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for its 2023 attack on Gaza.” In addition, Plasan makes AM General’s Humvees and JLTVs, which are included in the AFSC report. The Israeli military has used all of these vehicles in its 2023 attacks on Gaza.
- On Dec. 6, a U.S. cargo plane delivered Plasan-armored Humvees to Israel.
This information should help those resisting the Israeli war crimes being committed right now in Gaza, for two reasons.. First, this information should tell us something about the local commercial news media that is not reporting on the fact that a company in Walker, MI is manufacturing military equipment that is being used by the Israeli military in their assault on Gaza.
The other thing we all need to think about is the fact that in most of the anti-war/anti-US intervention campaigns since the brutal US war in Vietnam, military contractors have been targets of resistance, We have already seen this kind of resistance happening with US complicity in Israeli war crimes, where military contractors are being targeted. Who will step up to organize a campaign here in Grand Rapids?
GRIID end of the year in Review: Part IV – Documenting Social Movements in Grand Rapids
The function of journalism should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!
It’s time for our annual year in review, where I look at GRIID reporting on the far right in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Power Structure, and our reporting on social movements in Grand Rapids. On Monday, I posted Part I of GRIID end of the year in Review: Monitoring the Local News Media, and in Part II, GRIID posted a review of the articles I have done on the Far Right in West Michigan. And in Part III, we provided a review of the numerous articles I wrote in 2023 focusing on the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
Today, in Part IV, I will provide a summary of the documentation GRIID has done on the various social movements in Grand Rapids. Reporting on social movements is part of what I have been doing for the past 30 years in Grand Rapids on GRIID and other Indy media platforms. Documenting the history of social movements in Grand Rapids is also the focus of my recent book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids. I have been documenting social movements in Grand Rapids, because I believe, as did Howard Zinn when he wrote, A People’s History of the United States, that social movements is a more powerful and less compromising way to make the changes we want to see in the world.
Documenting Social Movements in Grand Rapids
There are numerous social movements that have been active in Grand Rapids this year, some that have existed for several years and some that are newer. One of the newer social movements involves, students, parents, teachers and community members who are working to have more accountability with the Grand Rapids Public Schools. In June, they organized a rally, then went to the GRPS School Board meeting to present a list of demands. In September, when the GRPS was working to get support for a bond vote in November, the Public Education movement held their own protest/media event at the same location that the GRPS bond committee was at, in order to pressure the school administrators to include some of the demands into the new bond vote. In late October, I interviewed one of the organizers in this movement, which was encouraging people to vote for the GRPS bond, but to also get people to make sure that if the bond vote was passed that some of the money would fund their demands.
2023 also saw that there was ongoing organizing to get Justice for Patrick Lyoya. In March, I interviewed someone with the Comrades Collective, which has been at the forefront of the Justice for Patrick campaign. For the 1 year anniversary of Patrick’s murder at the hands of the GRPD, the Comrades Collective organized an action in the neighborhood where Patrick was killed. One additional rally/march was organized in early September. There was also a campaign involving several grassroots groups, to oppose the GRPD’s effort to use public funds to purchase drones. That campaign lasted for a few months, with a public hearing, where the majority of those who spoke opposed the drones purchases. Unfortunately, Grand Rapids City officials sided with the GRPD and ignored public opposition.
Movimiento Cosecha continued to organize around winning driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. They held numerous actions in Lansing, specifically targeting Senator Brinks in March. In preparation for their annual May Day action, GRIID interviewed someone from Movimiento Cosecha, and reported on the May Day action as well.
In June of 2023, Cosecha activists made a trek to the southeast part of the state to hold an action outside the home of a Democratic member of the MI State House, someone who would not endorse their effort to win driver’s licenses. In September, Cosecha activists went back to Sen. Brinks’ office to demand that she push for a public hearing that could lead to a vote on driver’s licenses. There was increased pressure to win driver’s licenses in 2023, since 2024 would be an election year and politicians usually avoid adopting policies that might alienate large donors and voters. However, Cosecha was still determined to win driver’s licenses and held a three day encampment in Lansing in early October. There last action in early November, was an office occupation of Sen. Brinks’ office, despite her ongoing unwillingness to put the issue to a vote.
As we noted in Part III, the housing crisis was something that the GR Power Structure was trying to insert themselves and promote market-based solutions. The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union had other ideas, but they also were involved in efforts to support and organize tenants that were facing eviction or exploitation at the hands of landlords or Property Management Companies.
In January, the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union kicked off a boycott campaign for downtown Grand Rapids. The boycott campaign was in response to the GR Chamber of Commerce proposed ordinance and the support that received from numerous downtown businesses. In mid-march, the Tenant Union supporter a protest at Orchard Place Apartments, where the company was trying to get away with exploiting tenants. In July, the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union kicked off a Housing Not Jail campaign to oppose the City’s ordinance proposals, proposals that were very similar to the one that the GR Chamber of Commerce was pushing in late 2022. The Housing not Jail campaign got lots of people involved in resisting the proposed ordinances, with another public hearing that saw a majority of those speaking in opposition.
Lastly, after the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, the Israeli military initiated a brutal assault on Gaza that as of today had killed roughly 20,000 Palestinians. Several groups have organized numerous actions since October, such as a campaign to get the City of Grand Rapids to call for a ceasefire and to pressure members of Congress to stop sending so much money to Israel, since the needs in this community are so great. The first action to pressure the City of Grand Rapids was in mid-November, with a follow up action in mid-December.
Other Palestine Solidarity action were a die-in held at the Downtown Market, a march that led to a protest outside of Rep. Scholtten’s home, and a protest outside of the Kent County Democratic headquarters, because they have also failed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
I am always so amazed and inspired by all the energy, passion and commitment people demonstrate to organize and mobilize people to resist oppression and fight for collective liberation.
During last night’s phone in town hall meeting with Rep. Scholten, she once again said that she would not support a call for a ceasefire in Gaza
Last night, Rep. Hillary Scholten host a phone-in town hall meeting, which lasted for just short of 54 minutes. However, for the first 19 and one half minutes, Scholten talked at those who joined the call, which you can listen to at this link.
At the 29 minute mark, there was a question, with commentary, posed to Rep. Scholten, asking if she supported an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Scholten said she shared the sentiment of the caller and also said as a mother and person of faith she has had sleepless nights on this issue. However, once Scholten got beyond trying to avoid the issue, she essentially blamed Hamas for everything, stating that there “was a ceasefire before October 7”, but the Hamas attack on Israel ended that.
Rep. Scholten then went on to continue claim she wanted to see an end to the conflict and has been urging the Biden Administration to work towards that goal. Lets be honest, everything that Rep. Scholten said was dishonest and misleading.
Since July, GRIID has been documenting Rep. Scholten’s position on Israel and Palestine. Here are all the posts we have done, which clearly demonstrates the Congresswoman’s commitment to unconditional US support for Israel.
- In late July, Scholten voted in favor of a resolution says that Israel is not an Apartheid state. https://griid.org/2023/07/25/3rd-congressional-representative-hillary-scholten-and-the-israeli-apartheid-state/
- Since mid-October, Rep. Scholten has been consistently in favor of providing more US military aid to Israel, thus supporting Israel’s war crimes. https://griid.org/2023/10/17/rep-scholten-endorses-israeli-war-crimes-in-gaza/
- Rep. Hillary Scholten continues to perpetuate misinformation about Israel/Palestine, along with refusing to acknowledge the decades long Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.https://griid.org/2023/10/24/rep-hillary-scholten-continues-to-perpetuate-misinformation-about-israel-palestine-along-with-refusing-to-acknowledge-the-decades-long-israeli-occupation-of-palestinian-lands/
- Please watch the AIPAC-produced videos with Rep. Scholten, which promotes Israeli propaganda. https://griid.org/2023/10/26/please-watch-the-aipac-produced-videos-with-rep-scholten-which-promotes-israeli-propaganda/
- Despite the growing calls for a ceasefire, Rep. Scholten remains committed to the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza. https://griid.org/2023/11/06/despite-the-growing-calls-for-a-ceasefire-rep-scholten-remains-committed-to-the-brutal-israeli-assault-on-gaza/
- Rep. Scholten once again demonstrates her allegiance to Israeli propaganda, with the support of so-called Progressive Democrats. https://griid.org/2023/11/11/rep-scholten-once-again-demonstrates-her-allegiance-to-israeli-propaganda-with-the-support-of-so-called-progressive-democrats/
- Rep. Scholten says she is working hard to make sure US Imperialism wins the day in Gaza. https://griid.org/2023/11/20/rep-scholten-says-she-is-working-hard-to-make-sure-us-imperialism-wins-the-day-in-gaza/
- Rep. Scholten’s statement on the 4 day pause demonstrates her ideological commitment to unconditional US support of Israel. https://griid.org/2023/11/26/rep-scholtens-statement-on-the-4-day-pause-demonstrates-her-ideological-commitment-to-unconditional-us-support-of-israel/
- Palestine Solidarity march shows up at Rep. Scholten’s home, resulting in 10 GRPD cruisers sent to harass those demanding a ceasefire and end to US military aid to Israel. https://griid.org/2023/12/03/palestine-solidarity-march-shows-up-at-rep-scholtens-home-resulting-in-10-grpd-cruisers-sent-to-harass-those-demanding-a-ceasefire-and-end-to-us-military-aid-to-israel/
- Rep. Hillary Scholten voted for resolution that conflates Anti-Zionism with Antisemitism. https://griid.org/2023/12/06/rep-hillary-scholten-voted-for-resolution-that-conflates-anti-zionism-with-antisemintism/
- The bullshit response I got from Rep. Scholten in response to our demands calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to US Military Aid for Israel. https://griid.org/2023/12/10/the-bullshit-response-i-got-from-rep-scholten-in-response-to-our-demands-calling-for-an-immediate-ceasefire-and-an-end-to-us-military-aid-for-israel/
- Rep. Scholten uses the weak justification of national security for why she voted for the $886 billion US military budget. https://griid.org/2023/12/17/rep-scholten-uses-the-weak-justification-of-national-security-for-why-she-voted-for-the-886-billion-us-military-budget/
Let us not be fooled by the double speak and the justifications that Rep. Scholten, most members of Congress and the Biden Administration are giving us for their continued unconditional support for Israel and their active complicity in Israeli war crimes.
GRIID end of the year in Review: Part III – Monitoring the Grand Rapids Power Structure
The function of journalism should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!
It’s time for our annual year in review, where we look at GRIID reporting on the far right in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Power Structure, and our reporting on social movements in Grand Rapids. On Monday, we posted Part I of GRIID end of the year in Review: Monitoring the Local News Media, and in Part II, GRIID posted a review of the articles we have done on the Far Right in West Michigan.
The Grand Rapids Power Structure
For years GRIID has been monitoring the players involved in the local power structure, including families, businesses, and organizations that are run by or have missions that primarily benefit the wealthiest people in Grand Rapids. In 2018, GRIID did a 10 part series on the power structure and we are working on updating the content of that series in 2024.
We just updated our now 746 page document on the DeVos Family, so we won’t be including them in today’s post.
There were too many stories I did that deconstructed the Grand Rapids Power Structure, so I’ll try to provide a summary on organizations and issues.
One group, the West Michigan Policy Forum (WMPF), which was created in 2008, brings together the most powerful members of the Capitalist Class in this area. They focus on influencing state policy and have their own wish list of Pro-Capitalist policy proposals they want to see adopted. I posted two stories about the WMPF, one in January about their ongoing efforts to undermine public education and a second story in September where the WMPF was lobbying against a proposed paid family leave policy for Michigan.
Another area of interest has been the promotion of the so-called transformational projects in Grand Rapids, which are really development projects that would greatly benefit the very people who have the most power in this city. For instance, in early February I wrote about the Grand Action 2.0’s ongoing effort to use public money for the outdoor Amphitheater.
In May, I wrote a piece to challenge people to think about how we could radically imagine what public money could be used for if it wasn’t going to the pet projects of the rich and powerful. In September, I wrote about the money spent on naming rights for the Amphitheater.
Of course, these kinds of decisions to use public money are also made by local governments, which are made up of elected officials who are often the recipients of campaign money from the very people who have proposed such projects. I wrote several posts about this power dynamic, such as an article in May, which takes a close look at the funding priorities of the City of Grand Rapids.
In August, I wrote another story about how massive amounts of public funding would be used for a pocket park along the Grand River, which is also adjacent to the Amway Grand Plaza. And in early December, I wrote about how the Kent County Government also agreed to provide $15 million for the Amphitheater project.
However, the biggest issue certainly centered around how the local power structure is inserting itself around the issue of housing and housing policy. In April, we wrote about the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce-created group Housing Next, which essentially is a market-driven response to the housing crisis. Then in June, I wrote about how members of the Public Safety Committee made disgusting statements about the unhoused during a public meeting. Finally, in July, I wrote about how those who own Grand Rapids made sure the Grand Rapids City officials would adopt two ordinances that would essentially criminalize the unhoused.
I also wrote several articles about the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, specifically about some of the overarching work they do which benefits a small percentage of the local population, specifically the Capitalist Class. In January, I wrote a piece about the type of class war the Chamber wages, another post in April looking at the leadership program, an article in August about their overall profits over people vision, followed by another August article about their annual policy conference, where business leaders and local politicians were pushing a policy agenda that gives priority to projects that benefit the already wealthy sectors of this city.
Weekly Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for December 20th
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in.
Information
Getting Serious About Halting Israeli Genocide
This Is Not a War Against Hamas
Israel’s War on Gaza Is a Campaign of State Terrorism to Crush the Palestinian People
Jewish Demonstrators Block Bridges in 8 U.S. Cities to Demand Ceasefire in Gaza
ACTION ALERT: NYT Misrepresents Zionism’s Opponents as Anti-Jewish Bigots
Youth must confront America’s role in Gaza genocide
Israel attacks hospitals in Gaza’s north and south
Analysis & History
VIDEO: How to Reverse Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis — And Hold the Perpetrators Accountable
Local Events and Actions
Tell Rep. Scholten to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to End US military aid to Israel. Wednesday, December 20 from 5:30 – 6:30pm, Rep. Scholten is hosting a telephone town hall. Lets get everyone to call in pressure Hillary Scholten to stop being complicit in Israeli war crimes! (855) 286-0280.
Check the FB page for Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids for updates on actions/events.
GRIID end of the year in Review: Part II – Monitoring the far right in West Michigan
The function of journalism should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!
It’s time for our annual year in review, where we look at GRIID reporting on the far right in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Power Structure, and our reporting on social movements in Grand Rapids. On Monday, we posted Part I of GRIID end of the year in Review: Monitoring the Local News Media. Today, we’ll take a look at the Far Right in West Michigan.
The Far Right in West Michigan
The Far Right in West Michigan can be individuals, organizations and movements that seek to impose their ideological views on the rest of the public, often through propaganda, but sometimes using violence. The Far Right often has a relationship with the Grand Rapids Power Structure and sometimes these two groups overlap. GRIID has been monitoring the Far Right since 2009, but I have also been monitoring them since the 1990 in print media, on cable TV and in other online platforms.
GRIID has posted a few stories about police-apologist groups in Grand Rapids, with one being in January and a second post about the same pro-cop group that was promoting an anti-trans message.
In February, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was getting lots of coverage in the Grand Rapids news media around his criticism of Critical Race Theory in public schools, but none of these news agencies had reported on the Grand Rapids-based entities that are promoting the same reactionary nonsense about the same issue. GRIID made a post about several far right entities in GR that were using the same tired White Supremacist talking points against Critical Race Theory.
In July, GRIID posted a piece reminding people about the KKK marched with thousands in downtown Grand Rapids, with crowds cheering along the route.
In October, GRIID posted a piece after Ryan Kelley was sentenced to jail time for his involvement in the January 6th attempted insurrection in Washington, DC. However, the local coverage of Kelley’s sentencing pretty much ignored the fact that he was the founder of the far right group the American Patriot Council, the role that group played in opposing the stay at home policy in Michigan in 2020, the rallies they organized in Grand Rapids and Allendale, both of which featured area members of militia groups, some of which were connected to the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer.
However, the far right group that GRIID wrote about the most was the Acton Institute. I wrote 6 separate pieces about the far right think tank, all of which are listed below. In fact, I have been monitoring and writing about the Acton Institute pretty much since their founding in the early 1990s. The Acton Institute is one of those far right groups that is connected to and overlaps with the local Grand Rapids Power Structure, making them even more influential with the ideological propaganda.
Henry Kissinger was not a war criminal, says the Acton Institute, and other far right claims
New Grand Rapids podcast sheds light on the history of the Grand Rapids Public Schools
A new podcast called, GRPS Uncovered, takes a critical look at the history of the Grand Rapids Public Schools, through interviews with people who went to school in this district.
GRPS Uncovered is a project started by Professor Leanne Kang, who currently teaches at GVSU and is the author of the book, Dismantled: The Breakup of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1980–2016.
So far, GRPS Uncovered has produced three episodes, which you can listen to at this link. All three episodes shed light on important history in the Grand Rapids Public Schools, but I was particularly drawn in by episode 2, which is an interview with a former Black student who attended South High and was part of the bus program, where he was bused to Union High School, which was completely opposed to Black students attending the then all white student body.
These oral histories are critical not only for our understanding of this history, but because they provide insight into the lived history of people, many of which we are not familiar with.
We encourage you to listen and share these podcasts and use them as teaching tools for learning local history and as a resource to potentially impact current policies at the GRPS.
The function of journalism should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!
It’s time for our annual year in review, where we look at GRIID reporting on the far right in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Power Structure, and our reporting on social movements in Grand Rapids. However, let’s begin with a review of our stories where we dissect the local news media, which has been part of the work of GRIID when it was founded in 1998.
Monitoring the local news media
We begin with a story from early January that had to do with the political shake up in Ottawa County and how the local news media reported on it. The GRIID article was entitled, What the commercial news media isn’t telling us about the group behind the firing of several Ottawa County officials. The article primarily points out that the local news failed to adequately report on the group Ottawa Impact. GRIID also did a follow up story on the coverage of Ottawa Impact on January 11th, which pointed out the failure of local news media to provide sufficient information on what policy changes this far right group was making.
Another issue that GRIID has been monitoring is the ongoing legal case against the GRPD cop who killed Patrick Lyoya and how the local news media has been reporting on it. The first story GRIID wrote in 2023 about how the local news media was reporting on this case was on January 12, where I wrote that the local media primarily framed the issue from the perspective of the the lawyers representing the cop who killed Lyoya. There were three other stories I wrote about how the local news media reported on the Patrick Lyoya case: on January 31st, regarding the County Prosecutor’s commitment to this case; the terrible narrative crafted by the local mews media on the 1 year anniversary of when a cop killed Patrick Lyoya; and one final article about the ongoing biased coverage of this case from early September.
On the issue of the GRPD, there were a few other articles I posted that critiqued the local news media, particularly around the issue of the police proposal to purchase drones. The first article I wrote had to do with the MLive coverage of this issue, back on February 22nd. There was a second article, which had to do with an interview that WZZM 13 did with Police Chief Winstrom, where they didn’t even bother to question or challenge the top cop. I also wrote 2 critiques of how the local news media reported on City meetings/hearings on the GRPD proposal to use drones, where in both cases the commercial news media coverage was awful on March 29 and April 27.
Another critical issue in 2023, was the proposed ordinances from the City of Grand Rapids ordinances that many believed would further criminalize the unhoused. One example was from the business press, Crain’s Grand Rapids, which essentially relied on the perspectives of those in the Capitalist Class when it came to the proposed ordinances.
One last major issue that the local news media did a poor job on was the local responses to the Hamas attack on Israel in early October and the ongoing organizing since then. I deconstructed a story from channel 8 regarding a pro-Palestine rally and then another critique of how channel 8 reported on a pro-Israel rally the following week.
Of course, there were many more articles I wrote that dissected local news media from 2023, all of which you can check out at this link.
Rep. Scholten uses the weak justification of national security for why she voted for the $886 billion US military budget
On Friday, I posted an article about the US House of Representatives and the US Senate both voting to approve the largest US military budget in history at $886 billion.
The US military budget is always one of those things that receives bi-partisan support, since such large amount of military funding is necessary to maintain US Imperialism abroad.
On Saturday, Rep. Hillary Scholten posted her weekly newsletter, where she addressed the importance of voting for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Scholten mentioned the US military budget in two separate part of her weekly newsletter, which are posted below, with my own analysis of the comments.
However, before addressing Rep. Scholten’s vote for the largest US military budget in history, it is important to talk about language, since the vote was on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As most of you probably know, the US used to refer to the military as part of the War Department. This change took place in 1947, at the beginning of the so-called Cold War with the former Soviet Union. Choosing to change the War Department to the Defense Department was an important PR move, since the US wanted to present themselves in a more positive light around foreign policy.
However, the actually function and practice of US foreign policy maintained a very imperialist posture, as the US shifted their justification for interventions abroad as a fight against Communism. Take for example the CIA coup in Iran in 1953 and Guatemala in 1954. While fighting Communism was the justification, the US interventions in both of these countries was primarily about protecting economic interests. In Iran, the US opposed their government’s decision to nationalize the oil and use that wealth for the betterment of the Iranian people, and in Guatemala, the government was engaged in land reform, which threatened the interests of the United Fruit Company. American writer and journalist, Stephen Kinzer, has written books that address both of these US interventions, which I highly recommend – All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, along with, Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala.
Rep. Scholten’s newsletter comments
“Our big task this week was to make sure that lapsing authorizations in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization did not expire–mission accomplished. We passed extensions on each of these that will continue to allow these critical funds to flow to agencies tasks with our national security and our safety in the skies. Passing the NDAA was only possible because the extremist policy riders added by fringe members of the Republican Party were finally stripped so the reauthorization passed by suspension with bipartisan support.”
The only real point with this first comment from Rep. Scholten that I want to address is the claim that passing the $886 billion (an amount she omits) US military budget is for “national security.” The Congresswoman never qualifies how $886 Billion in military spending equates to national security, so here are a few questions I have for Rep. Scholten in regards to so-called National Security:
- Does the national security of the US depend on the more than 700 US military bases abroad?
- Does the national security of the US depend on selling massive amount of weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia, which perpetrates human rights abuses against their own people?
- Does the national security of the US depend on the so-called dozens of counter-terrorism campaigns and US military exercises in several dozen countries? See report.
- Does the national security of the US depend on massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons?
- Does the national security of the US depend on having a military budget that is the largest in the world and as big as the next 7 countries’ military budgets combined?
Here is the second comment from Rep. Scholten regarding US military spending.
Unfortunately, Speaker Johnson sent us home without voting on a bill to ensure the United States is doing its part internationally–and domestically–in supplying much-needed aid for our allies and our border security. As we look to an aid supplemental, my TOP priority is ensuring that the United States supports our democratic allies around the world in the struggle against tyranny, terrorism, and extremism, and absolutely does so in a way that protects civilians and delivers essential humanitarian assistance. It’s also making sure that these conflicts–in Ukraine and Israel specifically–do not expand into larger conflicts, particularly ones that would require the direct engagement of U.S. soldiers.
In the above statement, Rep. Scholten wants to blame the Republican House speaker for not voting on funding for humanitarian relief for “our allies” and for “our border security.” Again, there are no amounts of funding provided and the use of security is included, which in the case of the US/Mexican border, security is code for keeping undocumented immigrants out.
Next, Rep. Scholten says that her top priority is to make sure the US, “supports our democratic allies around the world in the struggle against tyranny, terrorism, and extremism, and absolutely does so in a way that protects civilians and delivers essential humanitarian assistance.” No examples are provided, so we don’t know which countries are fighting tyranny and terrorism. In addition, the so-called humanitarian assistance the US provides is rather insignificant compared to the $886 billion US military budget, which is consistently spent for violent purposes that causes humanitarian crises in the first place.
Lastly, Rep. Scholten states, “that these conflicts–in Ukraine and Israel specifically–do not expand into larger conflicts, particularly ones that would require the direct engagement of U.S. soldiers. Scholten fails to mention that there are numerous US foreign policy scholars, like Noam Chomsky or Gilbert Achcar, who have critiqued the US role in Israel and the Ukraine as increasing the chances of impacted larger regional conflicts.
In the end, there are no details provided for people who live in the 3rd Congressional District, details that would help us understand how Rep. Scholten can justify voting for the $886 billion US military budget, especially while so many people living around the country and in her district that are barely surviving with the high cost of rent, lack of adequate health care, working in low wage jobs and not being able to meet basic needs for their families. As Dr. King would say, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 