The Marxist-Leninist Weekly

The following analysis of the unfolding events in the United States is based on the discussion held at a recent meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) with leading Party cadre from Quebec, the Workers' Centre and Party youth.

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The first debate in the current U.S. presidential election took place on September 30. These debates set the agenda of what are said to be "the issues" in the election. They play a role in revealing which of the candidates can emerge as a champion for what the financial oligarchy wants the next president to achieve on its behalf. The topics which were supposed to be addressed were the Supreme Court, economy, racial justice, climate change, handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and election integrity.

However, with the dismantling of all institutions related to what was called a public authority and civil power, even the existence of a polity which has standards, political culture and norms is no longer recognized. The debate was a mud-slinging shouting match such that even the media described it as a mess and a disaster. Name-calling by both candidates clearly revealed that political parties worthy of the name no longer exist. They have been replaced with individual acts of hooliganism, defamation, idiocy, ignorance and irrationality. The very notion of politics as a link to a body politic has been so undermined that the United States is no longer capable of holding a presidential debate of any stature.

The only thing Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's candidate for the presidency, was passionate about was defending his son who served in Iraq, saying he resented Trump's comments that those who have died were losers and suckers. Trump responded by attacking Biden's other son and thus they reduced themselves to openly enacting the stereotype of mafia relations: no politics, no civility, no solutions; just a turf war. Even the expectation that they would address their preoccupation with "the end of America as we know it" was betrayed as, instead, they enacted "the end of America as we know it."

Meanwhile, open talk that a disputed election could open the way for a military takeover in the name of defending democracy carries on. Responses to the threats of U.S. President Donald Trump to either postpone the presidential election or refuse to accept its results if they do not favour him are a call for military action. The situation is so tense that postings calling on the people to take up arms are not unusual. Indeed many felt Trump's call to the state-backed racist, Hitlerite group "Proud Boys" to "stand back and stand by," was just that. The "Proud Boys" themselves responded by saying they stand ready.

Recently the Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, Michael R. Caputo, accused scientists at the Centers for Disease Control of engaging in "sedition" and/or harbouring a "resistance unit" determined to undermine the President. In a live conversation on his Facebook page he said he had received death threats and that "leftist groups" were preparing for armed conflict after the presidential election. Referring to when Trump insists on a second term, he said: "If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it's going to be hard to get."

Other responses take the form of calls to defend the Constitution which does not permit a president to set election dates and is also supposed to defend the right to speak, protest and assemble. The Bill of Rights together with the Civil War-era Posse Comitatus Act are supposed to block the use of the military against the American people -- except in times of insurrection. The government's common reference to demonstrators as "anarchist mobs," "violent rioters" and "terrorists" along with the talk of "sedition" are laying the ground for declaring the protest movement of the peoples across the United States an insurrection. Already, military police have been used against demonstrators in Washington, DC, alongside the National Guard, with another 1,600 active duty troops on stand-by. Use of the military against the people demonstrating for rights constitutes tyranny, something the Constitution is supposed to prevent but clearly does not.

There is also widespread discussion on the inadequacies of the methods for casting a ballot in the U.S. as well as its racist exclusion of large numbers of Blacks, Latinx and Asian Americans unable to vote, as well as the prisoners who are disproportionately Black unjustly incarcerated, and so on. All of it shows the doubt in the minds of all, no matter what their political persuasion, that the U.S. "democracy" can sort out the crisis in which it is mired without resorting to violence.

Meanwhile, a plethora of speeches have been delivered on China, the Communist Party of China and communism by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr, the head of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haas, Director of the FBI Christopher Wray, and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. All of it constitutes the official disinformation which seeks to divert people from formulating an outlook of their own. Without establishing their own reference points based on their own aims, people are not able to successfully express opinions on how things pose themselves so as to sort out what's what in a manner that favours them. This is required in order to organize appropriately and avert the dangers inherent to the situation.

An increasing number of news reports are repeating scenarios from the previous election, with CIA and Director of National Intelligence officials declaring there is foreign interference by Russia, China and Iran in the U.S. election. A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on July 24 is titled "Election Threat Update for the American Public." National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina says he is providing the American public "an unclassified overview of foreign threats to the 2020 election and offering basic steps to mitigate some of these threats." Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden also issued a statement saying that Russia is interfering against him. CNN dove in by reporting other intelligence agents say that the content mentioned in various reports is not accurate. And so it goes.

What took place in the last election and has dominated accusations and counter-accusations through the Trump term of office is playing out once again. The difference is that today the contradictions are even sharper over control of everything and everyone and, most importantly, artificial intelligence and its uses to control who dominates the world.

In the last election it was the Clinton forces who used what Hillary Clinton called the "intelligence community" to interfere in the election campaign. Some claim that cyber warfare by either China or Russia could certainly be used to trigger an emergency or otherwise say the vote is not valid or the intelligence agencies themselves could do the same and say Congress, specifically the House of Representatives, must decide a disputed outcome. Nancy Pelosi, head of the House, is already instructing House members about preparing for such an outcome and organizing to ensure a Biden victory. Such an outcome will raise another furore about whether the vote counts, what constitutes a majority, is the president legitimate, and so on.

While promoting various scenarios, the politicians and media persist in claiming that it is the people who elect the president. This is ridiculous even at face value. The people do not nominate the candidates who clearly do not represent their interests but those of the financial oligarchy that bring them to power. Furthermore, given the failure to modernize how votes are cast so that a true reflection of eligible voters reflects the true majority of members of the U.S. polity, saying the vote records a majority decision is fictitious. But more than that -- it constitutes a state-perpetrated campaign of disinformation intended to make sure Americans are stuck with old equations based on arrangements which have perpetuated different forms of slavery, exploitation, oppression and imperialist domination to this day. Those arrangements cannot possibly be relied on to sort out the problems of today.

It is a great irony that at a time when there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the U.S. itself has descended into tyranny, it is launching the most vituperous warmongering attacks against China based on arguments which bless the crisis-ridden U.S. as the model of democracy and its defunct liberal democratic institutions as the pinnacle of governance humanity can hope to achieve.

Other diversions which constitute disinformation also include Trump's short-lived resuscitation of tariffs on aluminum from Canada -- a desperate move to appeal to auto and steel sectors to side with him in the election, not the Democrats. Interestingly enough, he was answered by Canada's Deputy Prime Minister, not Canada's Prime Minister. With the support of certain union leaders, Chrystia Freeland postured as a militant defender of Canadian national interests. In fact both aluminum and steel are crucial in war production and, in the last round of tariffs from both sides of the border, the rich got richer because of them. It is the most cynical ploy to divide the working class from both countries behind interests which parade as something they are not.

As well as stepping up attacks against China and Iran, the U.S. also continues to stir up serious trouble in Europe in ongoing attempts to isolate Russia as well as Iran. Directly and through the use of proxies, it continues to step up attacks against revolutionary Cuba in various ways, against Venezuela and other countries of Our America. Prospects of holding a peaceful election in Bolivia are next to none.

To divert attention from the crisis in which the U.S. and its institutions and economy are mired, the danger of Trump launching a foreign invasion is ever present. A known practice in the U.S. is to launch a foreign invasion as part of attempts to unite the military and avert the danger of civil war at home. Already in the U.S. as attempts escalate to end the mass movement which continues to rage across the country in defence of rights, we see the kind of disagreements between competing authorities which can readily escalate into violent conflicts. The disagreements signal that the civil war could turn violent at any time as various military and policing and intelligence agencies are lining up behind the narrow private interests vying to exercise the power of the presidency.

The fact is that since George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld's expectation that their "shock and awe" aggression against Iraq would be met with open arms in Iraq, worldwide and in the U.S., this and other foreign invasions have failed to unite the military or the policing and intelligence agencies. Despite this and the tyranny the U.S. has proven itself to be in the handling of the mass movement taking place at this time, both candidates to the presidency issue vicious statements against Venezuela as well as socialism which they equate with mob rule and tyranny.

The most cynical use has been made of the Trump presidency to further dismantle the constitutional arrangements from the past. Today, the public authority and institutions, including the political parties and houses of congress and judicial system, no longer function to serve their original purposes of sorting out the contradictions between the factions and to keep the people in check. The establishment of Homeland Security has created many more police forces under the federal authority in a move designed to take over state rights and to put down the revolt of the largest faction in the U.S., the so-called mob. All of it seeks to give unfettered direct control of the U.S. state to the oligopolies, their coalitions and cartels which dominate the narrow private interests. The fight over control sharpens the contradictions between these private interests fomenting the civil war at home and danger of wars of aggression abroad.

The fight over fossil fuels and oil versus what are called green solutions is over control of the use of artificial intelligence and space, which is fuelling the war machine. The same oligopolies and their cartels and coalitions are behind both fossil fuels and green solutions. The colour of the cat does not matter to either side, so long as it catches mice.

In the opinion of CPC(M-L), it is important to pay attention to the U.S. election from the vantage point which helps the peoples of the United States, Canada, Mexico and all countries of the world to prepare for what lies ahead. Canada is integrated into the U.S. war machine and the government of Canada is an extension of the narrow private interests which have taken over the office of the U.S. presidency. The conflicts in that country are mirrored by the conflicts of interest raging in Canada itself, including the palace coup which is unfolding before our eyes.

Billionaire Donors for the Biden
and Trump Campaigns

With just a month until the U.S. presidential election on November 3, Democratic candidate Joe Biden has received donations from 149 billionaires, totalling about $564 million. Republican Party candidate Donald Trump has received donations from 102 billionaires for a total of about $173 million. These are donations directly to their respective campaigns and their committees, while many millions more are donated to their super Political Action Committees (PACs).

The figures are based on Federal Election Commission filings, which means some funds to super PACs that do not require the donor to be named are not included.

Forbes Magazine has now created a "Billionaire Donor Hub" to track billionaire funding of Biden and Trump.[1] Biden gets the large majority of funds from those involved in "Finance and Investments" and "Technology," far surpassing Trump in those categories. Trump's support is from those in "Sports" and "Gambling and Casinos." He also receives donations from all seven billionaires listed under "Energy," including $1.7 million from Kelcy Warren, of Energy Transfer Partners, engaged in natural gas pipelines and wind farms. Jeffery Hildebrand, head of Hilcorp, the largest privately owned oil company contributed $900,000.

Since May, Biden has added more than two dozen new names to his roster of billionaire donors. His newest supporters include George Soros, who gave $505,600 to Biden's joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee. Soros, a major Clinton backer, has spent more than $8 million this election cycle.

Biden has six hedge fund managers in his top 10 contributors. His other new donors are mostly top Internet billionaires. These include Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, who contributed $1.2 million; Facebook's Dustin Moskovitz ($620,600) and Sean Parker ($578,000); Zynga founder Mark Pincus ($626,200); and Twitter cofounder Ev Williams ($250,500). Nicole Systrom, who is married to Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom, donated $250,000.

Billionaire Jeff Skoll, who was eBay's first full-time hire, gave $620,600 between May and June. Skoll was born in Canada and became a U.S. citizen in 2007. In addition to his donations to the Biden committees, he gave $4.5 million in May and June to super PACs supporting Biden and Senate Democrats.

Additional new billionaire donors include: Gary and Laura Lauder of Estée Lauder ($240,000); Jim Coulter, TPG Capitol, a private equity giant ($100,000); Nicole Shanahan, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, ($25,000); Merryl Zegar, wife of Charles Zegar, Bloomberg LP ($12,200); Nicholas Pritzker, Hyatt Hotels and TAO Capital Partners ($5,600).

About 54 per cent of Trump's current donors did not contribute to his 2016 campaign, many giving to others running in the presidential primary at that time. This includes Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Group, now one of his top donors at about $3.7 million. According to Forbes he is one of the richest people on Wall Street and one of the largest political donors in the U.S. He previously backed Jeb Bush.

Additional billionaire donors making six figure donations to Trump include: Dennis and Phyllis Washington, construction and mining (Washington Companies and Seaspan Marine Corporation), $1 million; Ira and Ingeborg Rennert, investments (Renco Group), $900,000; Steve Wynn, casinos and hotels, $468,500; Ronald and Joyce Wanek, Ashley Furniture, $420,000; Farris and Dan Wilks, natural gas and fracking (Frac Tech), $250,000 and $50,000; Joe Liemandt, software (Trilogy Software and ESW Capital), $200,000; Tilman and Paige Fertitta, owners of the Houston Rockets, $140,000; Ron Perelman, investments and leveraged buyouts (MacAndrews and Forbes), $125,000; Charles and Helen Dolan, cable television (Cablevision Systems Corp.), $125,000; Benjamin Lewis, husband of Jane Goldman, real estate (Solil Management), $100,000; Dan Snyder, Washington Football Team, $100,000; Douglas and Patricia Leone, venture capital (Sequoia Capital), $100,000.

Trump's new contributors include two Republican stalwarts, Bernard and Billi Marcus of Home Depot, who gave a combined $721,200 in May. Oracle CEO Safra Catz and her husband Gal Tirosh gave $250,000 to Trump's joint fundraising committees in June. West Virginia's Republican governor and coal billionaire Jim Justice donated $100,000 to Trump Victory and $27,500 to a pro-Trump super-PAC. Trump also received new support from Rodger Riney, the co-founder of discount brokerage firm Scottrade; and Thomas Duff, who is one of the owners of Southern Tire Mart. Each made small contributions of less than $2,800.

Note

Demonstrations in U.S. for Accountability, Defunding and Control of Police Persist

Demonstrations September 26, 2020, as actions continue in Louisville, Kentucky demanding justice for Breonna Taylor.

Demonstrations across the U.S. persist as anger grows with racist police killings and refusal by governments to charge police. As one, millions have been unrelenting in saying that justice means accountability from all levels of authority -- police, mayors, governors, Congress, the President and the courts. Everywhere the demand is made for people in cities and communities to have the power to themselves control safety and security. Calls for defunding and demilitarizing police and increasing funding for social services, including by cutting Pentagon funding, are widespread. The people are taking up their social responsibility as city after city responds to injustice wherever it occurs -- as happened with George Floyd and is now occurring with Breonna Taylor and in many other cases.

Louisville, Kentucky has been in the forefront this past week with demonstrators insistent on justice for Breonna Taylor, an African-American emergency room technician gunned down in her home in a hail of 32 bullets. Her home was raided around 1:00 am, with police lying about her involvement in drugs to secure the warrant and the suspect they sought already in custody. Taylor's autopsy showed no alcohol or drugs in her system and no drugs were found in her home. People are furious that the two police directly involved in her killing were not charged, and a third, Brett Hankison, was charged only with "wanton endangerment" -- and that no responsibility has been taken for all the police activity that led to her death. Given the warrant was illegally obtained with lies, everything that follows is illegal as well.

Louisville, Kentucky, September 27, 2020.

One of the grand jurors in Breonna Taylor's case has now gone to court to demand that all the recordings, transcripts, evidence and instructions presented to the Grand Jury by the Attorney General be made public. This includes freedom to discuss what did not take place in the Grand Jury proceedings -- including "any potential charges and defendants presented or not presented."

This juror was angered that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron put the blame on the jurors for not indicting the police officers involved in Breonna's killing. He used them as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility for the lack of charges. The attorney for the juror wrote in the filing, "The full story and absolute truth of how this matter was handled from beginning to end is now an issue of great public interest and has become a large part of the discussion of public trust throughout the country."

The juror also called on the court to allow all jurors in the case to speak and to be protected from possible contempt charges for making materials public. Grand Jury proceedings are secret and jurors forbidden to talk about them.

In addition to the juror's demands, the judge hearing the case for Hankison asked for the recording of the Grand Jury proceedings to be made public. Attorney General Cameron released the recording October 2. This is the minimum needed and the juror is rightly asking for far more.

Making everything public will no doubt show the insufficient and pro-police presentation by the state, essentially barring the jurors from making other charges. For example, the state claimed the warrant was legal; likely did question why 32 shots were "needed"; why non-lethal methods were not used; why no effort was made to announce themselves once inside; and instead firing at Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, also African American.

The juror's just stand has been applauded. Both her efforts and those of the demonstrators forced the Attorney General to admit that he did not recommend any charges against the two police. He said their actions were "reasonable" as they were acting in "self-defence." The justification given was that Walker, licensed to carry a gun, had fired once. Before doing so he had called 911 to say there was a burglary in the home. Both he and many neighbours said police did not announce themselves and barged in at night, armed and well-protected.

Within two hours of Taylor's killing, Kenny Walker was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He was later released and charges dropped, but they could be reinstated. He has filed a lawsuit, saying he was defending Taylor and himself. Recognizing the need for broader accountability, the lawsuit targets Attorney General Cameron, Louisville Metro government, Mayor Greg Fischer, 13 Louisville police officers, former Police Chief Steve Conrad and interim Police Chief Rob Schroeder. The suit says police "threatened Kenny's life, illegally detained Kenny, interrogated him under false pretenses, ignored his account as corroborated by neighbours, and arrested and jailed Kenny." According to his lawyer, he has evidence that Walker is not the one who wounded one of the officers, shot with a 9mm gun. Instead, Hankison, who had been issued a 9mm gun, did so. He added that evidence shows that the officer wounded was not shot immediately, as police claim, but more than a minute-and-a-half into the raid.

Many of the demonstrations are demanding that the laws and police policies that permit the widespread impunity for racist police crimes be eliminated, as a minimum step. The existing structures in society in security, the economy and politics guarantee inequality, not only before the law but far more broadly, in all aspects of life. How else can police across the country consistently use the same justification of "self-defence" or "fear" for their lives for totally unjustified killings? How can the elected officials and government attorneys all agree that such impunity is "legal?" As actions go forward, the consciousness that existing structures of governance cannot provide equality, justice or accountability is increasing and that the need for new institutions where the people decide taken up for solution.

Louisville, Kentucky, September 26, 2020.

Actions Across the Country September 25-October 2

Seattle, Washington

Portland, Oregon

Memorial for Patrick Kimmons, who was shot and killed by Portland police in 2018.
September 30, 2020 also marked the 115th day of protests.

Mass mobilization in Portland, Oregon, to affirm Black Lives Matter at the same time as a Proud Boys rally was being held in the city, September 26, 2020.

Sacramento, California

Los Angeles, California

San Diego, California

Denver, Colorado

Chicago Illinois

Teach-in and memorial for Laquan McDonald, killed by Chicago police in 2014. The 400 balloons released there marked the 400 days it took for the truth to come out about his murder.

Youth set up an info table, September 26, 2020, calling for an end to police brutality and the establishment of a civilian police accountability committee.

Kirksville, Mississippi

Nashville, Tennessee

Graham, North Carolina

Atlanta, Georgia

Boston, Massachusetts

Rochester, New York

New York City, New York

Abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest demands freedom for all detained and an end to detentions, spying and abuse. Their banner names those who have died in ICE custody, October 2, 2020.

Housing activists call on Mayor Cuomo to extend the moratorium on evictions, as many face homelessness during ongoing pandemic and economic crisis, October 1, 2020.

Action against police impunity and violence, September 26, 2020.

Washington, DC

Protesters demand recognition of LGBTQ+ rights, October 2, 2020, following Supreme
Court nomination.

Miami, Florida

(Voice of Revolution. Photos: Alton Photo, N. Galindo, S. Arizona, E. Uhn, Faria, D.V. Media, S. Olmos, Pupular Mobilization Portland, Alosha, Think Bleu, E. Herrera, C. Borealis, Naira, Good Kids Mad City, M. Dupre, Shania, photo-essays-dp, A. Crider, A. Matlock, U. Ewulonu, J. Degner, A.R. Walker, NYC Protest Updates, NYC Communities for Change, Peoples Truth Radio)

The Battle Over the U.S. Presidency

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Billionaire Donors for the Biden and Trump Campaigns