[[link removed]]

TIDBITS-JAN. 1- READER COMMENTS: ISRAEL PREPARING FOR PERMANENT GAZA
PRESENCE; NEW “NEW DEAL” ABOUT TO WIPE OUT THE OLD POLITICAL
ORDER; TRIBUTE TO BLACKLISTED LYRICIST YIP HARBURG; EXCHANGE: WHY
xxxxxx RAN SMART UNION PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE; CARTOONS  
[[link removed]]


 

January 1, 2026
xxxxxx

*
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*
*
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_ Reader Comments: Israel Preparing for Permanent Gaza Presence; New
“New Deal” About To Wipe Out the Old Political Order; Tribute to
Blacklisted Lyricist Yip Harburg; Exchange: Why xxxxxx Ran SMART
Union President's Message; Announcements; Cartoons _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Announcements, AND cartoons -
Jan. 1, 2026, xxxxxx

 

* THE NEW YEAR  --  CARTOON BY CROWDEN SATZ
* REGIME CHANGE VENEZUELA - ORDER OF BATTLE  --  CARTOON BY BILL
BRAMHALL
* RE: ISRAEL IS PREPARING FOR A PERMANENT PRESENCE IN GAZA,
SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL  (LUCIE PAULETTE)
* RE: HAMAS IS PROUD OF ITS 'ACHIEVEMENTS' BUT HASN'T CONVINCED THE
GAZANS WHO PAY THE PRICE  (JAMES HANNLEY)
* DRINKING PROBLEM  --  CARTOON AND COMMENTARY BY ROB ROGERS
* RE: HOUSE DEMOCRATS SQUANDER THE OPPORTUNITY ON TRUMPIAN
CORRUPTION  (KATHRYN EVANN WEGNER; CATHY DEPPE)
* RE: IT’S TIME FOR AN ALL-OUT FOOD FIGHT WITH TRUMP  (PHIL
OLENICK)
* WE LIVE IN TRYING TIMES  --  CARTOON BY LALO ALCARAZ
* RE: IS A NEW “NEW DEAL” ABOUT TO WIPE OUT THE OLD POLITICAL
ORDER?  (LIZ REDWING; DANIEL MILLSTONE; NORA LAPIN)
* RE: A TRIBUTE TO BLACKLISTED LYRICIST YIP HARBURG: THE MAN WHO PUT
THE RAINBOW IN THE WIZARD OF OZ  (LEWIS GRUPPER)
* RE: THE 60 MINUTES SCANDAL IS WHAT CREEPING AUTHORITARIANISM LOOKS
LIKE  (ELEANOR ROOSEVELT)
* PAM BONDI'S ANTIFA WEB  --  CARTOON BY DAVE WHAMOND
* RE: GENERAL PRESIDENT COLEMAN’S 2025 HOLIDAY MESSAGE TO SMART
MEMBERS  (RON KAMINKOW; KURT STAND)
* RE: UNITED FARM WORKERS HAS UNIONIZED EIGHT FARMS UNDER 2023 CA
LAW. HERE’S WHERE  (PANCHO VALDEZ)
* NOT ENOUGH SHARPIES IN THE WORLD...  --  CARTOON BY JACK OHMAN
* RE: THE REAL REASON WE’RE ALL ANNOYED WITH QUENTIN TARANTINO
 (ROBERT LAITE)

 

RESOURCES:

* RESIST IN 2026 - POSTER OF THE WEEK  (CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF
POLITICAL GRAPHICS)

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

* WHEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WIN: MAYOR MAMDANI, THE PEOPLE, AND THE
POLITICS OF COGOVERNANCE -IN-PERSON COURSE - NEW YORK - JANUARY 29-MAY
14, 2026  (THE COMMUNITY CHANGE STUDIES PROGRAM AT CITY COLLEGE OF
NEW YORK)

...

...THE NEW YEAR  --  CARTOON BY CROWDEN SATZ

Crowden SatzComics Kingdom
[[link removed]] 

 

REGIME CHANGE VENEZUELA - ORDER OF BATTLE  --  CARTOON BY BILL
BRAMHALL 

Bill BramhallDecember 18, 2025New York Daily News
[[link removed]] 

 

 

 

RE: ISRAEL IS PREPARING FOR A PERMANENT PRESENCE IN GAZA, SATELLITE
IMAGES REVEAL

 

And also has killed more Palestinians since the ceasefire

Lucie PaulettePosted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: HAMAS IS PROUD OF ITS 'ACHIEVEMENTS' BUT HASN'T CONVINCED THE
GAZANS WHO PAY THE PRICE 

The very title of the article is an affront to the more than 70,000
Palestinians killed in the Israeli genocide. Do not blame Hamas for
"the price" paid by the Palestinians. This is owned by Israel.

James Hannley

 

DRINKING PROBLEM  --  CARTOON AND COMMENTARY BY ROB ROGERS

Will 2026 finally be the year that the GOP stands up to a corrupt,
lying, megalomaniacal wannabe dictator? Don't hold your breath.

Rob RogersDecember 30, 2025TinyView
[[link removed]] 

 

RE: HOUSE DEMOCRATS SQUANDER THE OPPORTUNITY ON TRUMPIAN CORRUPTION 

You’re surprised? After all these years?

Kathryn Evann WegnerPosted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

     =====

Your suggestion that Zoe Lofgren is corrupt or lining her pockets is
out of line withthe facts of her voting record.  Please do not throw
her into the swamp like that.

Cathy Deppeformerly of San Jose, CA

 

RE: IT’S TIME FOR AN ALL-OUT FOOD FIGHT WITH TRUMP 

While I can't find any reference to it online, there was a widespread
student-led boycott of Coca-Cola during the Vietnam war. The choice to
boycott only one brand was made to make it easier to persuade folks to
do (you could easily switch to another brand of soda).

Phil Olenick

 

WE LIVE IN TRYING TIMES  --  CARTOON BY LALO ALCARAZ 

image -
Trying_times_Lalohttps://pocho.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cucatryingtimes.gif

Lalo AlcarazDecember 31, 2025https://www.pocho.com
[[link removed]] 

 

RE: IS A NEW “NEW DEAL” ABOUT TO WIPE OUT THE OLD POLITICAL
ORDER? 

Thank you for this!

Liz Redwing

     =====

I am one of those who, 18 months ago or so, did not believe that NYC
Democratic Socialists of America [link removed]
should put its shoulder to the wheel of NYC Mayoral campaign for a
very junior Socialist Assembly Member. Boy was I wrong. The election
of Democratic Socialists across the US has opened up new
possibilities. Here, via xxxxxx,
[link removed]…
[[link removed]]
Thom Hartmann [link removed] accentuates
the positive polling results. People support our programs and
policies. Can we win more, important elections in 2026 and 2028? A
lot, imo, obviously, depends on whether we can continue our successes
in governing and advocacy as we try to expand our organizations and
movement. Me? I am heartened by where we stand now. The path ahead
looks quite difficult.

Daniel MillstonePost on Facebook

     =====

My father was the Daily Worker's White House correspondent during
FDR's reign so I learned a lot about FDR growing up.  The most
important thing I learned was that FDR saved capitalism by making it
tolerable for the working class.  Clearly capitalism is no longer
tolerable for anyone but the very rich.  We need a system that works
for everyone but FDR's progressive administration with some exceptions
like incarcerating Japanese-Americans is not necessarily the model for
what we need now and it wasn't democratic socialism.

Nora Lapin

 

RE: A TRIBUTE TO BLACKLISTED LYRICIST YIP HARBURG: THE MAN WHO PUT THE
RAINBOW IN THE WIZARD OF OZ 

I really enjoyed Amy Goodman's interview with E. Y. (Yip) Harburg's
son.  After "Buddy Can You Spare A Dime" and "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow" (from his "Wizard of Oz")my favorite work of Yip's is this
ditty:

    "God made the world in six days flat    On the seventh he
said I'll rest    So he let the thing    Into orbit
swing    To give it a dry run test    A billion years went
by    And he took a look at this          whirling
blob    His spirits fell as he shrugged          Ah
well    It was only a six day job."

Lewis Grupper

 

RE: THE 60 MINUTES SCANDAL IS WHAT CREEPING AUTHORITARIANISM LOOKS
LIKE

(posting on xxxxxx Culture
[[link removed]]) 

A vulgar social-climbing opportunist.

Eleanor RooseveltPosted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

PAM BONDI'S ANTIFA WEB  --  CARTOON BY DAVE WHAMOND 

Dave WhamondOctober 10, 2025West Central Tribune
[[link removed]]
(MN) 

 

RE: GENERAL PRESIDENT COLEMAN’S 2025 HOLIDAY MESSAGE TO SMART
MEMBERS 

Not sure if anyone actually will get this email. But just wondering
why you chose to run this? It seems very out of character for
xxxxxx.. As a railroad worker for many years, and a former member of
the UTU (now SMART), it particularly caught my eye. Just another basic
holiday union official's missive. right?

Ron KaminkowRWU Trustee

     =====

Thanks for writing -- I'm the xxxxxx Moderator who posted the
article by Coleman.  Since I was posting on Christmas Day I wanted to
chose something from the labor movement that acknowledge the holidays.
 What follows are the reasons I choose Coleman's letter.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a SMART member as a union apprentice -- the
union has stood with him throughout his entire ordeal which is still
far from over.  We live in an adjacent community and not far from the
Courthouse in Maryland where the case is tried, SMART members and
banners are at virtually every action.  

Organized sheet metal workers have been overwhelming white and often
conservative, SMART (at least in our area) has been making a concerted
effort to bring people into the trades who have long been excluded --
in particular reaching out at job fairs and other venues within the
black community to encourage people to attend classes at the union
training center, after which they work with contractors who hire folks
new to the industry.  This outreach extends to women as well. SMART
has also been providing opportunities for formerly incarcerated people
on the same basis -- take part in union apprentice trainings after
which a union job at union pay is available.  And -- in my
experience, he existing membership has accepted this attempt to make
the sheetmetal workforce more reflective of the local population and
has been generally supportive.  

And all this has had the support of union leadership.  The reason I
decided to post Coleman's statement over so others is that it was
concrete and related to the work SMART is doing (at least in
Maryland).  This paragraph was key to me:

"Bothers and sisters, we faced some huge challenges in 2025. We had to
fight back against attacks on our jobs, on our collective bargaining
rights, even on our basic freedoms. Above all, we had to face constant
attempts to divide us. To make us afraid of each other — of our own
SMART brothers and sisters."

That rhetoric doesn't always match policy.  And there are unique
problems in unions that grow through mergers. The rail industry is
particularly subject to such contradictions, multiple unions within
one industry, with the rail division of many of those unions being
only a small part of an organization whose core is elsewhere.  

But that doesn't mean that positive steps shouldn't be acknowledged
and promoted as these strengthen every effort to build unity and
solidarity.  I should add that xxxxxx always welcomes differing
opinions on the left and in the labor movement as something necessary
to overcome the attacks on working people.

Agree or disagree that was my logic for using this holiday message as
compared to others from within the labor movement.  Finally, as a
xxxxxx reader, you know we have covered the rail industry and its
labor struggles as with the three posts below:

* Despite Controversy, Rail Workers Are Winning Paid Sick Leave
[[link removed]]
* Railroad Engineer on the Imposed Contract: “It Really Fell Short
of Railroad Workers’ Needs”
[[link removed]]
* Rail Workers Want Tracks Publicly Owned
[[link removed]] 

In solidarity,

Kurt Stand

 

RE: UNITED FARM WORKERS HAS UNIONIZED EIGHT FARMS UNDER 2023 CA LAW.
HERE’S WHERE

(posting on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]]) 

The UFW has been around since the mid sixties. There’s still no law
protecting the rights of farm workers in Texas, Florida, or any other
state!

It’s evident that the Democrats have no intention of passing
legislation that would give farm workers the same protections as does
California.

I along with others feel that we need our own political party
committed to the welfare of working people. Our brothers and sisters
in France, Italy and Portugal all have their own political parties and
we cannot depend on a political party that takes money from the very
capitalists that exploit us, bribe our government and poison our
Mother Earth!

En Solidarism,

Pancho Valdez, Retired Union Activist

 

NOT ENOUGH SHARPIES IN THE WORLD...  --  CARTOON BY JACK OHMAN 

Jack OhmanDecember 29, 2025Jack Ohman's You Betcha!
[[link removed]] 

 

RE: THE REAL REASON WE’RE ALL ANNOYED WITH QUENTIN TARANTINO

(posting on xxxxxx Culture
[[link removed]]) 

If he has nothing new and creative to offer, I respect him stepping
away rather than releasing something that would tarnish his legacy,
but there's no reason to shift on others the way he does.

Robert LaitePosted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]] 

    

 

RESIST IN 2026 - POSTER OF THE WEEK 

Resist 2026Chez Marianne-DaviesDigital, 2025Cambridge, MA

“Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything
matters.”—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF POLITICAL GRAPHICS
[[link removed]]  3916 STEEPLE, BLVD., SUITE
103CULVER CITY, CA 90230

_The __Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG)_
[[link removed]]_ is an educational and research
archive that collects, preserves, documents, and exhibits posters
relating to historical and contemporary movements for social change.
 Using its more than 90,000 human rights and protest posters and
prints, CSPG creates traveling and online thematic exhibitions, and
publications. CSPG is advancing the power of art to educate and
inspire people to action.__For three decades CSPG has been creating a
special community of international artists, activists, donors,
curators, students, and teachers who share a passion for the power of
political art to educate and inspire people to action. __CSPG's
posters are unique, primary, historical documents which reveal
histories of struggles that are often hidden, and more often
forgotten. Our growing collection is one of the most diverse visual
resources in the world. This educational research archive,
representing posters from the 19th Century to the present—includes
the largest collection of post-World War II posters in the United
States.__CSPG depends upon the donation of posters to make this
resource as representative as possible of the many historical, and
ongoing struggles that continue to happen around the globe. If you
have posters you would like to donate, please __contact us__. __Thank
you for visiting CSPG online and supporting the preservation and
dissemination of powerful graphics for social change._

 

WHEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WIN: MAYOR MAMDANI, THE PEOPLE, AND THE POLITICS
OF COGOVERNANCE -IN-PERSON COURSE - NEW YORK - JANUARY 29-MAY 14, 2026
 (THE COMMUNITY CHANGE STUDIES PROGRAM AT CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK) 

 

WHEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WIN: MAYOR MAMDANI, THE PEOPLE, AND THE POLITICS
OF COGOVERNANCE

THURSDAYS 5-7:30, JANUARY 29-MAY 14, 2026

THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK, 138TH AND AMSTERDAM AVE., IN-PERSON

WHAT IS CO-GOVERNANCE? AND WHAT IS IT *NOT*? In this course we will
explore case studies from New York, around the country, and around the
world in which progressive movements have tried to build power-sharing
arrangements with governments and elected officials. We will identify
common structures, strategies, lessons, and pitfalls. Students will
wrestle with the questions that the Mamdani administration and NYC's
progressive movement are facing in real-time, gaining practice with
power-mapping, persuasive writing, and strategic planning.

Instructor: ALICIA SINGHAM GOODWIN is a NYC-based organizer who leads
the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)'s Socialists in Office
co-governance project. She is also the Political Director of Jews For
Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ).

FILL OUT APPLICATION FORM HERE
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* Reader Comments
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* Gaza
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* Israel
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* Resistance 2.0
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* 2025 Elections
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* Yip Harburg
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INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

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