Socialist Alternative representative Ramy Khalil debated Tea Party leader Keli Carender on the radio. Listen to the debate here from Pacifica-affiliated KBCS 91.3 FM Voices of Diversity on July 21, 2010.

The idea that education is the great social leveler in US society is drummed into our heads since kindergarten. Peter Sacks’excellent book, which has just been published in paperback, exposes this myth through a mountain of facts and insightful analysis.

Cindy Sheehan came to prominence in 2005 when she set up a protest camp outside of President Bush's ranch, waiting to ask him simply why he had to send her son to die in Iraq. In 2008 she ran for Congress as an Independent against the top Democrat Nancy Pelosi, winning an impressive 16% of the vote, beating the Republican, and coming in second place.

State legislatures nationwide have slashed billions of dollars from public education as they deal with revenue shortfalls brought on by the economic crisis. According to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the 50 states must close over half a trillion dollars in deficits by 2013, which could include laying off an estimated 100,000-300,000 teachers this year.

The Democratic Party has continued to drift to the right with the Blue Dog Democrats in Congress setting the pace in trying to please their corporate masters, and Obama has betrayed even the most feeble promises of change, trying to be a “bipartisan” corporate politician. People demanded real change by electing Obama, but he has been beholden to both big business and the unnecessary “reaching across the aisle” to Republicans. This is due to the big business nature of the Democratic Party.

The right-wing populist, anti-government, anti-Obama Tea Party movement has kept making headlines over the past year. Tea party activists have been influential in the Republican Party’s drive to try to make gains in the 2010 mid-term elections. An April NYT/ABC poll showed 18% of the population identifying themselves as “supporters” of the Tea Party.

A representative of Socialist Alternative debated a representative of the Tea Party movement at the May 8, 2010 Northwest Socialism Conference in Seattle. Watch the video here!

In 2010, there are three corporate candidates for Massachusetts Governor: Deval Patrick, Charlie Baker, and Tim Cahill. All differ on some issues but agree on a basic program: cut, slash and layoff.  Jill Stein, of the Green/Rainbow Party, stands out as being against the big business agenda, for living wage jobs and guaranteed quality health care rather than the Massachusetts mandated insurance scam.

Only a few weeks ago, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced their endorsement and co-founding of a new political party in North Carolina entitled the “North Carolina First” Party (NC First). Currently NC First is petitioning to gain the 85,000 signatures necessary to become a state-recognized political party, an extremely difficult but accomplishable task. On the surface, this looks (and is promoted) to be a bold move by the largest public sector union in the United States to give a stronger voice to working people. Unfortunately, this initiative falls into familiar political trappings.

The disaster caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was a human disaster but not of the workforce’s making. It is due to decisions of the oil companies and the government. A year ago, BP, the oil company leasing the rig, did an environmental study of the operation. This study claimed there was almost no possibility of a severe failure which would produce a large oil spill. It is clear that because of this claim there was no emergency plan. In fact, initially after the explosion BP was in denial, claiming that no oil was leaking! Now they are scrambling to try and find a solution to something they claimed would not happen.

The Northwest Socialism Conference, held Saturday, May 8 at Seattle University, marked a big step forward for socialists in Washington State. More than a 140 people from all over Western Washington came to discuss socialism and the conference’s theme “Revolutionary Ideas for Changing the World.” The number of participants mushroomed over the course of three sessions throughout the day. An initial crowd of 75 grew to approximately 140 for the last session featuring a debate with a Tea Party member, forcing the conference to move to a larger room.

Since getting elected with the support and money of the LGBT community, Obama has done little more than pay lip service to LGBT issues. He has consistently refused to support Gay Marriage (supporting only “civil unions”). In the more than a year that the Democrats have controlled the White House and Congress, the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) - banning gay marriages from being federally recognized – has not been repealed, and the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would federally ban employment discrimination against LGBT people, has not been enacted. Even Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) - which bans LGBT people from openly serving in the military - has been slightly weakened but has not been repealed.

According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2007, African Americans still can expect to live 6-10 fewer years than whites and face higher rates of illness. Central to this is lack of access to health care. In its recent annual report, the Urban League stated: “Uninsurance rate for blacks is about 21% - almost double the 12% rate for whites. Latinos have the highest uninsurance rate at 34%.” In the Democrats’ new bill, undocumented workers (mostly Latino) are left without any of the new meager benefits.

In April President Obama called for hundreds of millions of acres of coastal waters to be opened for oil and gas exploration and drilling. This means a horrifying assault on ecology, beaches, and coastal tourist economies - but big profits for the energy industry.

For decades, women have had more trouble paying for their health care and medications than men (Gallup-Health-ways Well-Being Index). More than one in seven women lack insurance coverage. The main reason for this disparity is insurance being tied to full-time employment, while according to the Government Accountability Office, only 52% of women (compared to 73% of men) are employed full-time. Women who work part time or have made the decision to stay at home are forced to pay all of their medical expenses out of pocket, or vie for private insurance on the free market.