In This Issue  

 Young Democratic Socialists Update: November 8, 2007

The Red Letter
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
The Red Letter is Back!
Check Out the Revived YDS Newsletter and
Get Involved in YDS!
 

Check out the color PDF version of the Fall 2007 issue of YDS's quarterly newsletter The Red Letter.  It features national coverage of our great work on immigrant rights , student-labor activism, and building the anti-war movement.  The Red Letter also covers our participation in the United States Social Forum and 2007 Socialist Summer School.  If you would like a copy or copies to distribute, please contact YDS at yds@dsausa.org. Supplies are limited, and each case is handled on an individual basis.  The Red Letter is sent to all dues paying YDS members first. To join YDS, and get not only The Red Letter but also DSA's Democratic Left, click here.
 
There are a ton of great reasons to join YDS besides our fantastic publications.   YDS is a great and growing national network (click here for our local chapter contacts).  In addition to our local work, we have an Activist Agenda focused on solidarity with the immigrant rights movement and fighting student debt.  For why and how to get involved with YDS click here.  It's easy, fun, and will be a great decision.

 

Education is a Right - Not a Privilege
Putting the Student Debt Crisis into Context
 
The Young Democratic Socialists teamed up with the United States Students Association and Opportunity Maine to raise awareness about the student debt crisis in America.  YDS organizer David Duhalde gave the following speech entitled  "Education is a Right ? Not a Privilege" at Bowdoin College.  The talk covers how neoliberal capitalism and right-wing ideology have driven the costs of education up and articulates a democratic socialist vision of education.
 
YDS chapters are working to bring attention to the student debt crisis on their campuses.  YDS has materials, such as this booklet of campaigns and ideas, to help students get involved in making education affordable for all.  If you are interested in such material, please email yds@dsausa.org. 
 
Marching for Justice in Miami
Only Weeks to go Before the Burger King Boycott Begins
 
As part of our Immigrant Rights National Project, YDS is strongly encouraging members and friends to attend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers national mobilization Friday 11/30 to Saturday 12/1 in Miami, Florida.  The "Fair Food Will Reign" march will take folks from Miami's Financial district to Burger King's corporate headquarters. 
 
To learn more about the event click here for the rally's website.  Click here for a flyer to promote the event.
 
If you are planning on going and want to meet up with YDSers, please email YDS organizer David Duhalde at
 
Shut Down the School of the Assassins!
Push for a Foreign Policy Based on Human Rights and Democracy 
 
The School of the Americas (SOA), renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is a U.S. Army training school that rains soldiers and military personnel from Latin American countries in subjects like counter-insurgency, military intelligence and counter-narcotics operations.  Under the Department of Defense jurisdiction, this school is funded by U.S. taxpayer money, all of the training is conducted in Spanish, and most of the classes are taught by Latin American instructors.  According to the SOA itself, more than 60,000 members of Latin American militaries have attended the SOA since its inception 1946.
 
SOA/WHINSEC graduates have included some of the worst and most notorious human rights abusers in Latin American history, and for much of the world, the school, under any name, is synonymous with torture and impunity. SOA graduates have led military coups and are responsible for massacres of hundreds of people. SOA graduates have worked tirelessly to undermine democratic, progressive, and socialist movements for ruling elites and business interests.  Among the SOA's more than 60,000 alumni are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador and Hugo Banzar Suarez of Bolivia. 
 
YDS members will be joining the November 16-18 vigil to shut down the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.  To learn more about the event and logistics, click here for the School of the Americas Watch vigil's website.  To meet up with YDSers please email Coordinating Committee member Andrew Porter (aporter09@wooster.edu).
 
Exposing the Double Standards of the Ultra-Right
Barbara Ehrenreich Takes on "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"
 
In her blog entry, Happy Fascism Awareness Week!, Barbara Ehrenreich, Honorary Co-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, addresses the lies, misstatements, and cultural double standards of reactionaries such as Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, and company.  Ehrenreich illustrates how the right-wing consistently misrepresents left-wing positions on feminism and Islam.  She also chronicles the excuses for right-wing bigotry by conservatives such as Horowitz who seek to portray the left as intolerant.
 
The Democratic Socialists of America is YDS's parent organization.
 
 
 
JOIN YDS!  
It's easy, it's cheap, and it connects you with other democratic socialist activists around the country.  Click here to read more about why you should consider joining: www.ydsusa.org/getinvolved.html

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