Prominent feminist and civil rights leader Bella Savitsky Abzug was born on this day in 1920 to Russian Jewish immigrants. Abzug became an attorney in the 1940’s in New York and began taking on controversial cases almost immediately. She was such a strong advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment that her name is almost synonymous with it.
She represented Manhattan in Congress for most of the 1970’s. In her first campaign, her slogan was “This woman’s place is in the House — the House of Representatives.”
Abzug introduced the first gay rights legislation in Congress, the Equality Act of 1974. She opposed the Vietnam War which earned her the honor of being on President Richard Nixon’s Enemies List.
“This is the time to declare as we approach the great millenium that women must be made free. We cannot be free as long as our human rights are violated, as long as we don’t have economic equality and as long as we are not participating in gender-balanced political bodies. This a wonderful commission and I congratulate it for its gender-balance. Let us hope that as we move toward the millenium every single meeting of the United Nations and of governments will be gender-balanced so that side by side men and women can make the difference between life and death.
“Some of you have heard me say, and I said it in Rio meeting to the heads of State, that we have done almost everything in pairs since Noah except govern. And the world has suffered for it. And we must make it our business to make certain that as we move into the millenium, the millenium will be not only the year but the century of the woman. And until we understand that our economic and political power is also deeply wound up with human rights, we will not achieve that.”
Henry David Thoreau was jailed on this day in 1846 for refusing to pay his $1 poll tax. During this famous stay, the seeds of Thoreau’s treatise on civil disobedience were planted. According to Thoreau’s aunt Maria Thoreau, Henry’s friend Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Henry in jail and asked him, “Henry, why are you here?” Thoreau’s responded “Waldo, why are you not here?”
“I have paid no poll tax for six years. I was put into a jail once on this account, for one night; and, as I stood considering the walls of solid stone, two or three feet thick, the door of wood and iron, a foot thick, and the iron grating which strained the light, I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated my as if I were mere flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up. I wondered that it should have concluded at length that this was the best use it could put me to, and had never thought to avail itself of my services in some way. I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through before they could get to be as free as I was. I did nor for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar. I felt as if I alone of all my townsmen had paid my tax. They plainly did not know how to treat me, but behaved like persons who are underbred. In every threat and in every compliment there was a blunder; for they thought that my chief desire was to stand the other side of that stone wall. I could not but smile to see how industriously they locked the door on my meditations, which followed them out again without let or hindrance, and they were really all that was dangerous. As they could not reach me, they had resolved to punish my body; just as boys, if they cannot come at some person against whom they have a spite, will abuse his dog. I saw that the State was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons, and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect for it, and pitied it.
Thus the state never intentionally confronts a man’s sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior with or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest. What force has a multitude? They only can force me who obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves. I do not hear of men being forced to live this way or that by masses of men. What sort of life were that to live? When I meet a government which says to me, “Your money our your life,” why should I be in haste to give it my money? It may be in a great strait, and not know what to do: I cannot help that. It must help itself; do as I do. It is not worth the while to snivel about it. I am not responsible for the successful working of the machinery of society. I am not the son of the engineer. I perceive that, when an acorn and a chestnut fall side by side, the one does not remain inert to make way for the other, but both obey their own laws, and spring and grow and flourish as best they can, till one, perchance, overshadows and destroys the other. If a plant cannot live according to nature, it dies; and so a man.”
When the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided to cut wages for the second time in a year (1877), the workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia went on strike. The workers there declared that no trains would move until their wages were restored. The strike, known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, soon spread throughout the country. Rail traffic came to a halt.
In West Virginia, the governor called the state militia into service against the strikers, but the militia was made up of workers like the strikers and they collectively refused to use weapons against the strikers.
The story was far different in other states. In Baltimore, the National Guard shot and killed ten strikers and wounded another 25. The strikers then burned the train station and destroyed the rolling stock.
In Pittsburgh, the strike was the most intense. As in West Virginia, there was overwhelming local support, even among business owners. The police and the local militia sided with the strikers, so troops were brought in from Philadelphia. On July 21, the PA militia shot and bayoneted the strikers, killing 20 and wounding dozens more men, women and children. In retaliation, more than 20,000 strikers and their supporters destroyed more than 1,000 railcars and locomotives and burned 39 buildings and forced the militia to take refuge in a railroad roundhouse. The next day the militia fought their way out of the roundhouse, killing 20 more civilians. President Rutherford Hayes sent in federal troops to stop the strike and restore order.
Ten more unarmed strikers were killed in Reading, Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania State Militia, twenty were killed in Chicago, and two more in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. In all, more than 100 workers were killed, hundreds more wounded and over 1,000 workers were jailed.
This was the first nationwide labor action in the United States, involving over 100,000 strikers in 14 states. Though the workers were unsuccessful in winning their demands, the strike showed that workers standing together have power. But it also showed that spontaneous strikes alone could not be sustained without organizing. This led to the formation of the Knights of Labor and other unions which could organize more effectively and sustain winning campaigns. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 set the stage for the development of the labor movement in the U.S. and still serves as an inspiration for workers around the world.
On July 21, 1926, WCFL, “The Voice of Labor,” went on the air for the first time in 1926. WCFL was the first, and longest-lasting labor union radio station in the United States. It was owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor and lasted as a union-run station until 1978. Its founding purpose was to “influence or educate the public mind upon the meaning and objects of trade unions and of the Federation of Labor, correct wrong impressions by broadcasting the truth, and advance progressive economic ideas.” It was supported by contributions from union members and by local union sponsorship. In the beginning the station broadcast political and ideological information and speeches mixed with music and more entertaining shows. In the end, the station could not compete with the other major broadcasters in Chicago and the CFL sold it to the Amway corporation.
Today that tradition is carried on by three Pennsylvania radio programs. In the Lehigh Valley, Democratic Talk Radio (http://www.democratictalkradio.com) from WGPA SUNNY 1100 AM radio (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) on Thursdays from 8:05am to 9am.
In south central PA, the Rick Smith Show (http://www.ricksmithshow.com) is on Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 2:00 pm on WHYL 960 AM.
And in southwest PA, the Union Edge (http://www.theunionedge.com) is on Monday-Friday from noon to 1:00 PM on WKFB 770 AM.
On July 20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Declaration, drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was adopted in upstate New York.
Here is the Preamble to that historic document:
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer. while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
A quick factual, chronological report of what happened to me today at US Customs in Toronto. I’ll be posting commentary and my unpublished daily updates, photos and videos in the next few days:
I arrived in Harrisburg this morning after a two-day trip from Havana that brought me to Toronto last night. Direct commercial flights between the United States and Cuba are prohibited by US law.
I got to the airport in Toronto at 5:35 AM. I checked in with Air Canada and proceeded to U.S. Customs. I filled out my declaration form honestly and wrote that my trip included Canada, Mexico and Cuba.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen people in Toronto and other major Canadian airports instead of in the U.S. The officers can deny entry to travelers and can impose fines, but they do not have the power to arrest in Canada.
When I got to the customs officer he asked me the usual questions until he got to the section about what countries I had visited. When I mentioned Cuba he stopped the interview, put a big red “S” on my declaration form and brought me to a room for “further screening.”
I waited about five minutes before my name was called by an officer. (I have the names of all of the officers and supervisors involved, but will not use them in public.) He began by yelling at me, “What year were you born? Don’t you know that we’ve been trying to isolate Cuba since 1959?”
I answered that I thought the embargo was unjust and should be repealed. I wanted to challenge the embargo and refused to lie about going to Cuba.
(Over 100,000 US citizens go to Cuba each year without a license from the US Treasury Department. Almost all of them lie. It’s easy to do and tour books on Cuba even tell you how to do it.)
Another officer yelled from her station nearby, “It’s people like you who make it bad for everyone else!”
The first officer said, “You’re in big trouble. Plan on staying here a while. What time is your flight?”
I told him 7:30. He told me there was no way I would make that flight. He then left me to get some paperwork.
While he was gone his supervisor came over and said, “I understand you have a problem with rules. You’ll find out what it’s like for rule breakers.”
When the first officer cam back he said “We’re confiscating everything that reeks of Cuba.” He then looked at every item in both my carryon and my big bag. He finally identified the following as subject to confiscation: two books, two DVDs, three music CDs, two t-shirts and 2 hats (for my younger children), daily newspapers, business cards from Cubans and a other printed materials that originated in Cuba. Oh, and two packs of Cohiba cigarettes for friends who asked me to bring them Cohibas (I couldn’t afford the cigars!). I also had about 20 Cuban coins for my kids’ coin collections.
He took all of my papers, including business cards of people I met, notes, and travel information. They made copies of everything.
While they were making copies, other officers came by to check me out. Two officers came by picking up each item, whispering to each other and laughing while pointing at me. Another supervisor looked at each item, making small talk. One of the CDs had a statue of Che on the cover, prompting him to say, “Songs about a terrorist. You can lose your passport for this.” Another officer came by and said “I just wanted to see the crusader. This is probably going to be your last flight out of the country.”
Around 7:30 the first officer told me they were going to confiscate everything that was questionable. I told him that even during the Cold War it was permissible to bring back educational and informational materials. That has always included books and has been expanded to include DVDs and CDs in recent years. He said that was true only under licensed travel.
Around 7:45 I was told I could go. (My flight was scheduled for 7:30) They told me that I could keep the printed materials and the CDs and DVDs, essentially agreeing with me about my ability to bring them back to the US. They also told me that they were not confiscating my other items, but I couldn’t bring them into the US. The officer told I would have to throw them away. When I got to a trash can I placed the items on top of the can so that someone might find them and take them since they were brand new. He told me I had to put them in the can. I reluctantly complied.
Before leaving me, he said “This isn’t over. You can expect a big bill in the mail.”
I got on my flight and returned to the land of the free.
One critique all visitors to Cuba will likely share is the antiquated internet access. The system is very slow dial up, and there are few terminals at our hotels. I’ll be in Canada tomorrow, so I’ll file all of my daily reports then.
My first full day in Cuba was scheduled to be a sightseeing day. This is my second visit to Cuba, and I have seen mosat of what we were shown today. The country is pretty much the same as in 1996 when I was here before, from what little i’ve seen so far. The major differences seem to be more tourists, more new cars and more building and renovation of existing buildings.
I visited the Maelcon, the beautiful sea wall adn walk along the shore; the U.S. Interest Section (didn’t really visit, just viewed it from across the street) and the downtown shopping district. That’s another change I noticed., When I was here before it was the end of the Special Period, the time of adjustment in the Cuban economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. Stores were very empty and there were huge lines for even the basics back then. Now the shopping is similar to other Latin countries. More choice, no lines.
I had a great lunch of shrimp sauteed in garlic while I watched the waves crash on the sea wall.
In the evening I fulfilled one of my dreams by going to the LatinoAmericano Stadium to watch a baseball game. It was the playoffs, but the team I wanted to see, the Industriales, were away. Instead it was the lowly Habana Mets. Still, it was a fun experience and got to talk baseball in my broken Spanish and locals broken English.
I’d love to share more, but except for a few friends, who share my passion for baseball, it would be pretty boring.
Videos are going to be impossible to send from here. My hotel only has dial up and the truth is that dial up and YouTube are not a good mix. I’ll try to post some still photos and upload the videos when I get to Canada.
Oh yeah, Cuba is stopping all flights to and from Mexico. That mean I have to find another country to fly to before coming home. All flight to other Latin countries are booked for at least another week, so it looks like I’ll be flying to the nation of my mother’s birth.
[Sorry for the delay in posting this. The internet connection on the hotel computer was down, and I couldn't get to another due to the schedule. I'll post again tonight and hoepfull will stay current daily. -MM]
From Monday:
I’m sitting in the airport in Cancun waiting for my flight to Habana. About a third of the people are wearing masks, hoping to screen out the swine flu that is terrifying the entire country. I talked to some of the security people and they said that people are really fearing for their lives. They think that things are even worse than the media are reporting. Many people believe that the government is underplaying things to prevent full panic from breaking out.
I arrived in Cancun around 11:30 local time (12:20 Eastern) and had to pick up my bag and go through immigration and customs, due to the fact that Delta wouldn’t recognize my next flight to Habana because of the Helms-Burton Act that prohibits any business that wants to do commerce in the U.S. from doing business in Cuba. That means things as simple as allowing Delta to transfer my bag to an airline going to Cuba. So I entered Mexico and immediately went back in the other door.
Before checking in I had to get a visa. I couldn’t get one in the U.S. The process was very simple. Show your passport and pay $18.00 US. The entire process took less than 2 minutes (I timed it).
The flight to Habana took about an hour and a half and was pretty uneventful. The plane was an old Russian YAK 42.
We arrived in Habana’s Jose Marti Airport aropund 5:10 and were met immediately by uniformed nurses wearing masks. We were given a cursory examination and questioned about our state of health. Everyone was given a card explaining how to access the Cuban health system if we started to feel ill. Cubans are obviously taking this swine flu scare pretty seriously.
I got to my hotel, the St. John’s and checked in. I met a friend from Pennsylvania who is in Cuba on under a U.S. Treasury licensed tour sponsored by Global Exchange. We went out to dinner at a restaurant in Habana Vieja, where we met some labor representatives from unions in the U.S. and Australia.
In all, a pretty unventful day. You can see video from the day, and other videos as I post them at: www.youtube.com/morrillmajority
Reader be forewarned: The posts of my trip to Cuba will probably be pretty boring stuff. More like your granparent’s vacation movies than our usual postings. But I want to put this trip on record, to show that I am in Cuba and to force the Obama Administration to either enforce the outrageous travel ban or to admit that it is a failed policy and admit to the world that it is not and should not be enforced.
