Welcome to the June issue of Rochester Red Star. You’ll find upcoming events and meeting times, coverage of chapter activities, and essays on topics including Italian fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio, Georgie’s Scratching At The Door Until It Opens And Running Outside And Rolling In The Grass, zoning in Rochester, and the self-replication of AI.
Month: May 2026
D is for “Dialectics”
by Gregory Lebens-Higgins “Dialectics is nothing more than the science of the general laws of motion and development of nature, human society, and thought.”– F. Engels, Anti-Dühring Growing up in the 90s…
Protecting Ourselves from Our Governor
by Xanthe (Xan) Plymale and Jean-Paul Klem
Direct action heats up New York’s budget season this year as we approach Hochul’s bid for reelection. On Tuesday March 25, about 100 activists blockaded the State St entrance to the NYS Capital, demanding the passage of NY4All, a bill which would protect our immigrant neighbors.
On the Laborist Tendency in ROC DSA
by Matt T
Trade unions are not inherently agents of change, especially when they are not tied and subordinated to a revolutionary party apparatus. To press further, my analysis of the situation is that “unions” in their traditional form have not only lost the war of position, but are unable to rapidly shift their approach to current political circumstances or generally develop a revolutionary political manner due to their own structures.
The Last Line of (Public) Defense
In the following excerpt, from Punching Out Episode 251: Public Defenders, Ryan and Lou talk to Greg about over-criminalization and the prison industrial complex. Punching Out airs weekly on WAYO 104.3, and all episodes are available at rocdsa.org/tune-in-punch-out. This excerpt has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
My cat is gone and so is Skylark’s food menu
By David Nasca When I joined ROC DSA in 2024, Skylark Lounge was the main meeting hub following our General Meetings, not just for food and drinks but a place to be…
Means & Ends
by Jean Allen In 2011, my state college’s radical group held a meeting. At that meeting, a handful of leaders stood in front of a group of seated activists, told us that…
A Contradiction of Interests
by Travis C
Some want us to believe that the failure of our country to act democratically is because our government has been co-opted by “foreign interests,” blackmailing our politicians to distort them from their role of serving Americans. But who actually decides the interests of a government? Can the interests of the American government be at odds with the interests of the American people?
Getting Grounded – This is the Month of Maying!
by Elizabeth Henderson
I promised last month to write next about the Rochester Community Food System Plan, but the final draft has yet to appear. Based on the drafts I have seen so far, I can report that the consultants have done an excellent job describing the existing food system, collecting the data and maps of this city and county that reveal the history of neglect and deliberate underinvestment that made “the Crescent,” the low-income, underserved neighborhoods that exist to this day.
Getting Grounded: Report on the 10th Rochester Urban Agriculture Conference
By Elizabeth Henderson For people who want to plant food and flowers, the cold and rains of March are exasperating. When the sun comes out for 15 minutes, the overeager dash out…