April 8, 2020 AN
APPEAL TO WYPR
I presume CAB
meetings are now online. I have called the station on two occasions to
confirm this assumption. The first time, there was no answer. On
the second call, I left a message but received no call back.
Nevertheless,
I am writing to suggest that my public radio station has a role to play during
this unprecedented challenge. Below I will be more specific.
First, I have some
comments about some recent shows on YPR. I really appreciate REVEAL, as
it goes into areas ignored by most other offerings on YPR. On March 21,
it told us the sorry of an Iraqi journalist who was taken into custody by U.S.
military, and interned in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Like so many
others, he was horribly tortured by operatives employed by the contractor CACI.
Fortunately, the journalist survived and has sued the contractor for what it
did to him. The case is pending, but he will probably lose when it is
heard by the Supreme Court.
ON THE RECORD
on April 1 had a show entitled “Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” It was so refreshing
to finally hear a critique of capitalism and a need for a cooperative society
by organizers Bonnie Jin and Jessica Lewis. They emphasized that
problems the Mutual Aid Networks face were actually there before the
pandemic. And they emphasized the need for change once the virus is under
control. Sheilah Kast brought on Will Holman of Open Works on April 2 for
“Pitching in to Win.” He expressed his anger with the healthcare system in the
USA, sadly in clear view during the pandemic. People are dying, he pointed out,
because our government has failed to protect us. It was wonderful to
listen to his anger, as he is trying his best to help out during a
disaster.
And then, Tom
Pelton on Environment in Focus nailed it on April 8. Why are U.S troops
and weapons supporting an oppressive Saudi Arabia at the cost of $81 billion
tax dollars? He made the connection that these tax dollars could be
better used in dealing with the climate crisis.
Tom Hall on MIDDAY
frequently interviews our federal legislators—Cardin, Van Hollen, Sarbanes and
Ruppersberger. I urge him to question elected officials about their
campaign donations. And I do not remember any of them being questioned
about their votes in favor of the 2020 National Defense [sic] Authorization
Act. The final version of the Act stripped out peace amendments designed
to prevent the president from engaging in warmongering without the consent of
Congress. Why did these Democrats support Trump’s agenda? This legislation made
available more funding for the bloated Pentagon budget, for “usable nukes,” for
the trillion dollar upgrade on the nuclear weapons arsenal and for the Space
Force.
SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS TO
RAISE ON YPR’S AIRWAVES
Highlight how this
country has bungled the gravest challenge faced in the last one hundred years.
This was not the blame of the incompetent Trump administration, though
President Trump has clearly aggravated the situation.
We cannot continue
as before. Otherwise we will dishonor those who will die because of
COVID-19. Will it be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths? For several reasons, the
situation is extremely dire, but a major contributor is the privatized health
care system which focuses on profit. Those corporations that make drugs
and vaccines produce what provides the most profit. Sanctioning countries
during a pandemic is counter-productive as the virus does not respect borders.
We must move from a
private health care system to an improved Medicare for All. We must prepare for
the next pandemic. This would mean that a stockpile would be developed of
personal protective equipment and ventilators. Vital industries would be under
public control so that essential supplies would be produced to sustain
humanity rather than for profit.
The health crisis
opens the door for a system change. Today, the weapons contractors make us less
safe as tax dollars going to them should be diverted to healthcare, social
services and infrastructure. National defense means all of us have
Improved Medicare for All, clean air and water, income equality, good schools
and more.
The government
should not spend some 60% of the discretionary budget on militarism and
nuclearism to the detriment of social services and infrastructure. It is
our responsibility to urge our legislators of the need for a transformative
shift away from militarism. Spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually
on weapons and preparations for war has not prevented the virus from washing up
on U. S. shores.
The anomaly of the
past versus the future is no better illustrated than by the USS Theodore
Roosevelt, a nuclear aircraft carrier with 4,000 sailors on board and built at
a cost of some $5 billion. This war ship could not neutralize the virus,
and at least 200 sailors and its captain were infected with the
coronavirus. Why was it at sea when the United Nations has urged all
countries to observe a cease-fire.
This crisis calls for a
new understanding of security that is based on diplomacy, dialogue, and a
collaborative approach to solving problems. However, Trump’s proposed
$1.3 trillion discretionary budget for 2021 gives billions of tax dollars to
the Pentagon and other branches of the War Department. For the non-military
portion of the budget, Trump makes severe cuts.
The Environmental
Protection Agency, for example, has a proposed cut of 27%, which will only
exacerbate climate chaos. The proposed cut of 9% to Health and Human Services,
including a 16% cut to the Centers for Disease Control, is suicidal.
Once the pandemic is under
control, we should rebuild the economy in favor of the majority of people, and
not the 1%. And then the focus must be on the dangers caused by climate
chaos which is another deadly global emergency. We have barely a decade to
dramatically change our energy and other policies to address global warming
before it’s too late. This means a Green New Deal is a necessity. The
Green New Deal will help address the climate emergency, fund necessary
research, invest in infrastructure, and create millions of good new jobs. The
time to act is now!
I am asking WYPR to please
consider getting involved in helping transform our society. Without some
transformation, I have grave doubts that we will be able to mitigate climate
chaos.
Kagiso,
Max
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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