Would Gavin Newsom be a green president? Probably not. He's just cut a deal that would boost California's oil production, including more off shore drilling, a clear contradiction to the state's goal of weening itself from Fossil fields within the next 20 years. Meanwhile, scientists say we're on track to break the 1.5C increase in global temperature threshold in less than 3 years, if things continue as they have. Indeed, last year already did break this threshold. Why it matters? Exceeding this threshold could trigger multiple climate tipping points, like the collapse of tropical reef ecosystems, which 1/8 of the world depend on for protein. Or abrupt thawing of the permafrost, which would release large amounts of carbon, greatly exacerbating the climate crisis. Or the breakdown of major ocean circulation systems, which could have severe impacts on weather patterns. .

CalMatters

Newsom struck a deal to extend California’s cap and trade program. Will lawmakers OK it?

Democratic state leaders have proposed a host of energy bills that seek to balance affordability with the state’s ambitious climate goals.

seeks to boost oil production&utm_campaign=WeeklyMatters #newsom #climate #oil #california

Seems more relevant now than ever in our lifetimes. However, the state has a monopoly on violence, incarceration, and most other forms of social control, including the determination of what, exactly, should be defined as intolerance. Consequently, forms of intolerance that support the interests of the state are permitted, and even encouraged, while forms of dissent that oppose the interests of the state can be deemed unacceptable intolerance and be punished. For example, many Western states have determined that intolerance of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian demonstrators is acceptable intolerance, while deeming criticism of Israel and Zionism to be forms of intolerance that will not be tolerated, punishable by being fired from your job, expelled from your university, prevented from flying abroad, pepper-sprayed and beaten by the police, and jailed.

Gen Z, too. And even some of us Gen Xers. With inflation, soaring cost of housing, shrinking job market, exploding medical costs, even for those lucky enough to have "employer paid health insurance," it's getting damned hard to keep one's head above water! And while it's easy to blame Boomers, as a whole, for failing the working class, it is overwhelmingly the fault of a tiny subset of them (i.e., the bosses and politicians), with the complicity of some weak-ass union leaders

Or right now, with all the attacks on child labor laws

Today in Labor History September 15, 1970: Over 350,000 members of the United Auto Workers went on strike against General Motors. UAW leader Walter Reuther had recently died (or been assassinated) and there was a power vacuum in the UAW leadership. The current leadership knew a strike would build members’ support for and loyalty to the union. They hoped it would unite rank and file factions against a common enemy (GM) and in support of them. Both the UAW leadership and GM management hoped that a strike would whittle down members’ expectations and demands, as hunger and privation set in, allowing them to negotiate a contract more favorable to GM management, while still keeping their members under their control. However, the strategy almost backfired, as rank and file members refused to agree on local issues preventing the UAW from coming to a national agreement with GM and risking them losing control of the strike. To avoid this, the UAW leadership entered into secret talks with GM to settle the dispute, even though few of the local issues had been settled. #workingclass #LaborHistory #union #strike #uaw #gm

Today in Labor History September 15, 1963: Four members of the local KKK planted 19 sticks of dynamite in the Sixteenth Street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. As a result, 4 young African-American girls died: Denise McNair, 11, and Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins, all 14. The outrage helped mobilize support for the civil rights movement. By 1965, the FBI knew who the perpetrators were. However, no prosecutions occurred until 1977. Others weren’t convicted until 2001-2002. #workingclass #LaborHistory #civilrights #birmingham #alabama #racism #whitesupremacy #massacre #fbi #kkk #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History September 15, 1931: Sailors at Invergordon, Scotland, mutinied, causing a panic on the London Stock Exchange and ultimately forcing England off the gold standard. The sailors mutinied primarily over a 25% cut for the rank and file. They sang “The Red Flag” and refused orders. Military control was restored without bloodshed, with the pay-cut reduced to 10%. One of the mutiny leaders later defected to the USSR, where he was imprisoned in the gulags as a British spy. Another mutiny leader later commanded the British Battalion of the antifascist International Brigades, fighting in the Spanish Civil War. #workingclass #LaborHistory #mutiny #sailors #scotland #uk #greatdepression #socialism #ussr #antifascism