US Postal Service plans to contract out letter carrier jobs

Can you believe this? The US Postal Service, under the careful control of the Bush White House, aims to contract out hundreds if not thousands of new routes to independent contractors, replacing solid union letter carriers with unaccountable, unqualified contractors with no benefits and no background checks.

Sound scary? That's because it is. I'm working to get this program stopped through a new online organization of postal workers, Postal Workers United Against Tyranny. This group was created originally to fight the proposed plan by the President to open mail without a warrant. So far, we've got a resolution passed at my local union branch, NALC Branch 130, as well as the Pierce County Central Labor Council and the Washington Association of Letter Carriers. At our website, we've posted the language of the resolutions and have a link to a petition folks can sign that we'll send to members of Congress. Please come on by and join in this effort, since the contracting out of letter carrier jobs could have a direct effect on the security and sanctity of the US Mail.

Senator Tom Harkin has taken the lead on this, putting forward Senate Bill 1457, which would block all further privatization of letter carrier jobs. Check out the story at postalreporter.com.

Al Gore, in his brilliant new book, The Assault on Reason, even mentions the President's stated intention to open mail without a warrant. Yet another reason why you should buy this book. Pick it up at Buzzflash for a $30 donation, or buy it at Powell's (a union shop) or Amazon (non-union). Support Al Gore and thank him for keeping the President's violations of the Constitution on the front-burner. We all need to work together if we're gonna have a shot at taking back the Constitution of this great nation. The House version of this bill is called H.R. 282, and it needs more co-sponsors if it's going to pass. Please contact your member of Congress and let them know this is important to you.

Here's Gore's quote:

"The United States Congress, while it was under Republican control, passed a law that clarified the procedures that must be followed by the executive branch to protect privacy of letters delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. But the president issued a written statement at the time he signed the law emphasizing his own independent authority to order, without a warrant, that mail be opened for inspection."

Please, if you care about the sanctity and security of the US Mail, pick up the phone and call Congress today! The toll-free number for Congress is 1-800-862-5530. If that doesn't work, call 202-225-3121 and ask for your member of Congress and your two Senators. If we're lucky, we could just nip this craziness in the bud before it gets any worse.

And for more information, come to www.postalworkersunited.blogspot.com

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Protestors of the Iraq War - come to the Port Mobilization Regional Meeting

Hey all of you who took part in anti-war actions at one or more ports, as well as those of you who wanted to but were a little too scared, now's your chance to get in on an important strategy meeting on how to deal with these sort of protests in the future.

Here's the straight scoop from protest organizer extroardinaire, Caitlin Esworthy:

"There will be a regional organizing meeting for people working to resist the use of our public ports to further the Iraq war. The goals of the meeting is to establish a more cohesive regional network in order to be more effective in direct action and other campaign goals.

We are working together so please think of issues, ideas, and tactics you would like to discuss. You can send agenda items to me at: caitlinesworthy2@yahoo.com

Molly Gibbs has also agreed to facilitate.

Some ideas to discuss are:

Strategizing for next time shipments come through the Port of Gray's Harbor
How to notify, ask for support when shipments come back from Iraq through Port of Olympia
Fundraising coordination for ongoing legal campaigns

Please come and work to make our movement stronger and more organized! The meeting will be held at Traditions Cafe on Sunday June 3rd, From 6-9 PM

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art is located on 5th and Water in downtown Olympia.
300 5th Avenue SW, Olympia, WA 98501

From I-5 take the state capital exit in Olympia. Take a right on Capitol Blvd. Take a left on 5th Avenue and look for on street parking. Water and 5th is two blocks past.

Caitlin"

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Cindy Sheehan is quitting the peace movement

In this new post by Cindy Sheehan, she declares her exit from the American peace movement. Why not stop by afterdowningstreet.org and let her know you care?

"This is my resignation letter as the “face” of the American anti-war movement. This is not my “Checkers” moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources.

Good-bye America…you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

It’s up to you now."

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State Letter Carriers defy the President, tell him not to open mail without a warrant

Well, it took several months, but we finally did it. The resolution I got passed at our local Tacoma Branch got moved up and passed at our State Convention. Now I need to get the State Labor Council to do a similar resolution opposing this practice, and we might have enough momentum to take it all the way to national.

For folks who don't know, the President has claimed in a signing statement the right to open mail without warrants in certain circumstances, to be determined by him or his agents. This is crazy. I figured that I was in a good position to oppose a policy like this, being as I'm a letter carrier and in charge of people's mail every day, so I took the initiative to get this ball rolling. Thankfully, it seems that most letter carriers agree with me and think this is bulls***. I would urge anyone who is concerned about the safety of the mail to write or call their member of Congress and demand that they oppose the opening of mail without a warrant.

Once again, the toll-free number for Congress is 1-800-862-5530. If that doesn't work, call 202-225-3121

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Is Bush planning another 9/11?

If you read this latest piece from the Progressive Magazine, you may think that he is. Instead of analyzing the article, I'm just going to reprint the entire thing below. You can also go to the source here.

Bush Anoints Himself as the Insurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency
By Matthew Rothschild May 18, 2007

With scarcely a mention in the mainstream media, President Bush has ordered up a plan for responding to a catastrophic attack.

In a new National Security Presidential Directive, Bush lays out his plans for dealing with a "catastrophic emergency."

Under that plan, he entrusts himself with leading the entire federal government, not just the Executive Branch. And he gives himself the responsibility "for ensuring constitutional government." He laid this all out in a document entitled "National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51" and "Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20."

The White House released it on May 9. Other than a discussion on Daily Kos led off by a posting by Leo Fender, and a pro-forma notice in a couple of mainstream newspapers, this document has gone unremarked upon. The subject of the document is entitled "National Continuity Policy."

It defines a "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function."

This could mean another 9/11, or another Katrina, or a major earthquake in California, I imagine, since it says it would include "localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies." The document emphasizes the need to ensure "the continued function of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government," it states. But it says flat out: "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government."

The document waves at the need to work closely with the other two branches, saying there will be "a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government." But this effort will be "coordinated by the President, as a matter of comity with respect to the legislative and judicial branches and with proper respect for the constitutional separation of powers." Among the efforts coordinated by the President would ensuring the capability of the three branches of government to "provide for orderly succession" and "appropriate transition of leadership."

The document designates a National Continuity Coordinator, who would be the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. Currently holding that post is Frances Fragos Townsend. She is required to develop a National Continuity Implementation Plan and submit it within 90 days. As part of that plan, she is not only to devise procedures for the Executive Branch but also give guidance to "state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure."

The secretary of Homeland Security is also directed to develop planning guidance for "private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators," as well as state, local, territorial, and tribal governments.

The document gives the Vice President a role in implementing the provisions of the contingency plans. "This directive shall be implanted in a manner that is consistent with, and facilitates effective implementation of, provisions of the Constitution concerning succession to the Presidency or the exercise of its powers, and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 USC 19), with the consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others involved." The document also contains "classified Continuity Annexes."

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Impeach the Torture Czar!

Robert Greenwald, creator of Outfoxed and Unprecedented, has put together a brand-new website to help facilitate the ouster and eventual impeachment of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, AKA Gonzo, AKA Traitor McTorture Pants.

Please go to this website, www.impeachgonzales.com, and sign the petition to have him run out of town on a rail, preferably nude covered with hot oil and feathers, and taken to a scorching concentration camp somewhere in the Caribbean.

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An interview with Michael D. Yates, the working-class economist

"A small spark can light a large fire. Be that spark."

America in Solidarity, the grassroots working families' advocacy group that I am a member of, puts on two labor celebrations every year, Labor Day and May Day. This year's May Day celebration was hosted at Tacoma's King's Books and featured stories of workers struggling to find fairness in the workplace both in history and today. (To learn more about the event, check out our events calendar at www.americasolidarity.org)

After the event, a man named Michael D. Yates found its description on the King's Books website and decided to plan a stop on his book tour there. Seeing as how the guys was inspired to come to Tacoma because of us, I decided to contact him and get an interview. In the course of preparing for the interview, I read some of his work online, which you can find at the website for his new book, "Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue."

His writings are inspiring. They tell the story of a nation gripped by real-world crises and tumbling into economic destruction and the Ivy-League economists that prefer to live in the fantasy world of neoclassical economics. This man is a rare breed: an economist that cares about people and doesn't subscribe to the soul-crushing notions of the Chicago School and its adherents. He gets it that free trade isn't free, that it facilitates the further breakdown between people and a good life. He understands that conservative economic policies are widening the gap between the rich and the poor. He realizes that the only way we're going to fix this country is if we all work together to change the laws that govern it and the systems of thought that are used to prop up a corrupt model of economics. Like Paul Krugman of the New York Times, Michael D. Yates understands that what America needs is not greater "freedom" in the marketplace, but greater freedom for ordinary citizens to work and go to school and raise their families and to pursue their dreams. In short, Michael D. Yates is a humanitarian.

And he's coming to Tacoma, to share the story of America with us, the people of this fair city. His new book chronicles his latest journey with his wife across the human landscape of this great country. I sat down with him recently to talk about America, the plight of the working class, and his book tour.


TA: Michael, folks who know a little something about labor may have heard of you by reading your book, "Why Unions Matter". Can you talk a bit about that book and how you came to write it?

MY: I had been teaching about unions and labor movements for a long time, both to college students and to working people not in traditional college classes. I had helped organize unions, and I had worked for the United Farm Workers union. I had been a labor arbitrator.

I noticed that there were no good introductions to unions and their role in the US labor movements. I had read an old one written by Leo Huberman, one of the founders of Monthly Review magazine and a labor educator like myself. Inspired by Huberman, I asked Monthly Review Press if they were interested in a book about unions, and they said yes. Hence this book. It has been well-received and used in many labor studies and union short courses and as general reference by working people. I always try to write books that working people can use and also find interesting.


TA: In a recent piece for MRZine.com, "Class: A Personal History", you outline your family story and describe how you came to understand the world in terms of class divisions. Describe briefly for our readers what made you the economist you are today.

MY: I was lucky to be encouraged by my parents to go to college; I was first in my family to do so. I majored in economics by accident. My dad said I had to pick a major so he could fill out a scholarship form. He read down a list, and I stopped him at “Economics.” I really don’t know why. I did well in my classes and found the subject interesting and its traditional exposition elegant. I went on to graduate school and continued to do well. But I was becoming a bit disillusioned with the subject, especially since none of my teachers but one would ever talk about the war in Vietnam or about working people, racism, etc. When the draft started breathing down my neck, I got a teaching job. As I continued to read about the war and about the US history I had never been taught, I found the mainstream economics I had learned to be completely inadequate. I gravitated toward radical economics and since my mid twenties have been a radical economist. As I get older the world seems more and more to fit the radical model.


TA: For your latest book, "Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate", you and your wife traveled the country, seeing it the way so many desperately poor and rootless people are compelled to. Were you surprised by anything you came across in your travels?

MY: First off, there are parts of the US that are more astonishingly beautiful than I had imagined: Shi Shi Beach in Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, the dunes and beach at Florence, Oregon, Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, Chasm Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, all of Central Park, to name a few. On the other hand, I was surprised to see so easily and clearly what I knew to be true from the data. Lots of people live in cheap motels, out of necessity. Poor people and people of color almost never visit our national parks. White people routinely made racist remarks. There is a chasm between the housing of rich and poor. A resort owner in Aspen urged his workers to live in the woods! One of my son’s employers in Portland stole hours from him. Everywhere people had inadequate and alienating employment. The exurban sprawl is worse than I thought, as is the absolute lack of any urban planning. Waste of space and water are epidemic, especially in our desert cities like Albuquerque, Tucson, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. I was surprised to see pollution in our national parks. The ecological destruction of Florida surprised me too. As did the sense of loneliness we felt among people everywhere.


TA: In a piece you wrote for the book tour site, you mention your disappointment at the lack of visible worker solidarity and union organizing in America. Was this universal, or did you come across any workers using their voices to make big changes in their communities?

MY: In New York City there were signs of solidarity and fight back, among cab drivers, greengrocery workers, and others. Immigrants in Denver and other ciites engaged in impressive actions. The workers’ center in New York’s Chinatown (Chinese Staff and Workers Association) inspired us. There were peace groups even in small towns like Estes Park and anti-war activities in Portland, Oregon. But really not much sense of an incipient movement.


TA: As an economist, you've seen the country go through major economic changes in the last thirty or forty years. Can you describe what you think is the biggest factor in the decline of the middle class?

MY: The decline of labor unions is first and foremost, some of this due to all out assault on workers by businesses and their government allies and some due to the failure of unions to build effectively on their post WW2 strengths. Labor’s elimination of its left wing was most important here. Unions seem lost ideologically, and as a result working people have no compass and are more easily swayed by right wing and racist ideologies.


TA: What can we as citizens do to rebuild the middle class?

MY: As Mother Jones said, “Educate yourselves for the coming struggles.” Then form or join groups to fight for change. Don’t be taken in by personalities. Every top politician must become more or less corrupted in this country to rise to the top, at least the way thing are structured now.


TA: In my work with America in Solidarity, I meet a lot of workers who want to organize and who want a better life for themselves and their families, but so many of them believe it's hopeless to struggle for better conditions, that the best they can hope for is to hold on to their crappy jobs and get their kids into college so they can get a better life than their parents. Can you give any advice to these poor souls that might encourage them to be more active in the Labor Movement?

MY: See the previous answer! And no matter what the situation, almost no one is completely powerless.

Some people do have courage and will stand up. Other less courageous workers must support these leaders. A small spark can light a large fire. Be that spark.


TA: During your book tour, has anyone asked you any surprising questions?

MY: Well, people do want to know how you get a low rate at a motel! And we do have lots of tips. And someone asked me what advise I would give to those who have little education. Another asked me if it was a good idea economically to own a house. The tour is still young, so I am sure I’ll get a lot of unusual questions. A man in Pittsburgh asked me a technical question about the consumer price index. And a man in Phoenix asked if we had tried to get on the Michael Savage show. I wanted to say that my desire to make my book popular wasn’t so overwhelming that I would go on a show run by a fascist.


TA: I'm working on a book about America's progressive populists, and I have a feeling you might be one of them. What does the word progressive mean to you?

MY: Well, it can be a work with many meanings. After all, Teddy Roosevelt is often said to be one as is someone like the editor of the Nation or Progressive magazine. I think it means or should mean someone who struggles for much greater equality in all spheres of life.


TA: A lot of talk is building among the grassroots of the Democratic Party around free trade issues, universal healthcare, rebuilding Katrina, and other economic populist issues. Do you believe that an economic populist could be elected President in today's political climate? If so, do you see any candidates running that could play that role?

MY: I think a populist could be elected, someone like the old Jesse Jackson. You have to tackle the race issue head on. No currently viable candidate comes to min dthough.


TA: What do you see as the most critical issue for workers and activists in this country to grapple with? What can they do to turn it around?

MY: Rebuilding the power of workers, and being willing to address race and immigration radically and in an egalitarian manner. Building organizations that embrace not just workplace struggle but community and ecological issues is critical.


TA: What's next on your agenda? Are you planning another book?

MY: I have another book just about done-a book of essays and fictional stories, title “In and Out of the Working Class.” The tour will end in Amherst, MA, where I will be a visiting teacher this Fall. After the teaching who knows? Maybe explore the rest of the world.


TA: Thanks so much, Michael. Can't wait to see you at the show.

MY: My pleasure.

So there you have it. A real, honest-to-goodness friend of the people, Michael D. Yates. Come on down to King's Books in Tacoma on Monday, June 11th at 6, and hear what he has to say. Get a signed copy of the book, and help us celebrate the rebuilding of this American labor movement.

And check out Michael's website - www.cheapmotelsandahotplate.org

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Meet Trey Smith, police liaison for the Aberdeen port protests

Trey Smith was the police liaison for the peace protestors at the Port of Grays Harbor protests last week. He is a longtime activist and a relatively recent transplant to Aberdeen (he moved to Washington in Dec of '05), where he lives with his wife, 3 dogs and 2 cats. He is the Treasurer for the Washington State Green Party and edits their weekly e-zine and bimonthly newslwetter.

I caught up with him the day before the last day of protests for the latest in our "Underground Notes" interview series:

TA: Before I start, I just want to congratulate you on a job well done. Every day the protests have gotten larger, and so far, there hasn't been any rioting, at least not according to the papers.

First off, what drew you to this protest? How did you get involved?

TS: I wasn't drawn to this protest; it was drawn to me. The military decided to ship weapons of mass destruction through the Port of Grays Harbor here in Aberdeen. As a longtime pacifist and peace activist, I had no choice but to take to the streets in protest. Not being involved was simply not an option.

TA: How would you rate the level of engagement of the local community in Grays Harbor?

TS: To be frank, most of the people who participated in the various rallies and marches over the course of 4 days were from the South Puget Sound region and beyond. A great deal of this number also protested similar shipments hailing from the ports in Olympia & Tacoma. Since the shipments are a national issue, does it really matter where a person calls home?

Small rural communities tend to be more conservative than urban areas. Consequently, it's not surprising that we had no more than 20 area residents out in the streets. That said, I hope our efforts will motivate more people to get involved if the military chooses to use our port again.

TA: How have you dealt with the members of the police and other government officials? Have there been any communication problems between the protestors and the police? Any violence?

TS: Because I have experience and training as Child Abuse Investigator -- talk about high tension situations -- I volunteered to serve as our loose knit group's police liaison. I carried a radio that provided direct communication to Capt. Dave Johnson of the Aberdeen Police Department. Dave & I communicated daily about where we planned to meet for each day's protests and the routes we would use for marches. I also kept in contact with Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Meyers.

Communication was adequate, though many of the police tactics were not. That said, because we worked to keep the lines of communications open between us, there was no property destruction, no violence and no arrests by local authorities.

TA: The press has made much of the involvement of anarchists in all three port protests. As a Green, you must have some knowledge of how anarchists think and operate. How would you characterize their involvement in protests of this sort? Are they a net positive or a net negative? Can liberals/progressives/socialists peacefully coexist with them?

TS: There were no specific anarchists who participated in any of the protests in Aberdeen. I'm sure there were many people who agree with some aspects of anarchist ideology, but we had no one here who explicitly identified themselves in this way.

These reports of anarchists in our midst were simply a misinformation campaign perpetrated by the police to provide them with the political cover to justify turning Aberdeen into a virtual police state. If you are able to frighten the citizenry enough, most of them won't question why hundreds of law enforcement personnel descended on this rural community. It's nothing more than creating a make-believe bogeyman.

As to the last part of your question, what it comes down to for me isn't so much about political labels but about the dichotomy between violent protest vs nonviolent protest. These two polar opposites cannot exist under the same tent solely because those prone to violence negate the goal of nonviolent activists. If you are a pacifist, as I am, you simply don't condone violence, regardless of who initiates it.

TA: As a member of the Green Party, you must be frustrated with the level of political discourse around the continuing occupation of Iraq. What do you think should be done in Iraq, and how do you think it can be achieved?

TS: The Green Party has opposed this immoral war from before Day 1. If a Green had been President in 2001, we wouldn't be having this discussion at all.

Of course, a Fascist, not a Green, was President then (and now), so we're embroiled in a murderous quagmire. If we had the power to do so, we would start removing our troops today and have most of them stateside in a matter of weeks or a few months. Some would need to stay, but under the command of the United Nations, not the US military.

We would then need to usher in a Marshall Plan for rebuilding Iraq since we're primarily responsible for laying it to waste. One way to fund this is to seize the assets of corporations like Halliburton -- corporations that received sweetheart deals, were paid billions of taxpayer dollars and then delivered substandard or nonexistent services.

TA: According to your bio, you ran for office twice in Oregon before moving to Aberdeen. Have you considered running for office here in Washington State? If so, what issues would you focus on?

TS: If I run for office here in Washington, it will most likely be for a local office. Because of this, it's a little hard to say which specific issues I would need to focus on. In general terms though, I would work to ensure local services meet the needs of ALL residents, not merely the community's wealthy elite.

TA: In addition to being State Treasurer of the Washington Green Party, you're also the editor of the bimonthly newspaper, the Evergreen Voice. What role do you see such alternative publications having in today's saturated media environment? Do you have any ideas on how to increase the public's interest in independent media?

TS: The role of all forms of independent media is to educate people on the wide divergence of ideas and perspectives in our society. The mainstream media purposely narrows the discourse because they don't want the rabble -- you and me -- to get any "wild ideas".

I truly believe that the blogosphere is one surefire way to expand public interest in alternative media and I think it is succeeding. As more and more people become web savvy, they are only a click or two away from exposing themselves to a rich diversity of perspectives. If the US would undertake a program, comparable to a lot other nations, to make broadband and/or digital service universally available, then most anyone could learn more in hour or two than they would watching or reading the mainstream news for an entire month!

TA: The candidates for President in 2008 are traveling the country and selling themselves everywhere they can find a microphone. Are there any candidates you support, and if so, why? If not, what sort of platform would you like a Presidential candidate to have?

TS: Several people have announced that they are seeking the Green Party nomination for President. One of these candidates is Elaine Brown, a former national chair for the Black Panther Party. She will speak at the Green Party Convention this Saturday, May 12, 2:00 p.m. in Lecture Hall 03 on the campus of The Evergreen State College in Olympia. The speech will be taped and later rebroadcast by TVW.

TS: I'm not saying I necessarily will endorse Ms. Brown, but I'm leaning that way. I will want to hear from other Green Party candidates before making a decision.

TA: Surely this won't be the last event of this nature to take place in Grays Harbor. Do you know of any other events or meetings that our readers should check out? Is there somewhere they can go to find more information?

TS: For progressive events specific to Grays Harbor, see whatisnext.us. If the military decides to use the Port of Grays Harbor again and I certainly hope they do, we're going to be even more ready for them next time. We're developing some new and innovative strategies that will certainly drive the police bonkers. Such activity will most likely cause them to request even MORE police backup (if that's possible) and this will drive their costs through the roof.

For many of us, that right there is what will cause more and more communities to say NO to the military. The cost to ever-tightening municipal budgets will grow to be so prohibitive that it will be the city governments themselves, not us, who will shoo the military away from our ports.

Categories: Underground Notes, War & Peace, Local Events

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Mother's Day is a time to remember the women who make life worth living

That's right, guys. You out there at your computers, surfing the interwebs, looking for the next big thing to blog about, you know you've been neglecting your women. Your mom, who bore you in her womb, your wives and your girlfriends, who put up with your crap and relentless obsession with politics and activism, and your beloved Mother Earth, who looks upon all your wastefulness with the sad eye of a mother whose lost control of her child to the dark forces of greed and progress.

Brothers, the time has come to lay down your arms and just reflect, for one day, on the goodness and grace of the women in your lives. These ladies, these radiant jewels, are the ones who held you when you were hurting, the ones who hugged you when you were lonely and despairing of the troubles and trials of daily life. These brilliant and hard-working women who struggled daily to put food on your table and clothes on your back, to get your kids to and from school every day, to help you with your homework and get you to work when the car was in the shop, brothers, now is the time to show these beautiful ladies just how much they mean to you. Pitch in, help out, give a little bit more than you're used to. Because she's worth it.

And all this week, when you find yourself in the presence of other kids' mothers, when you find yourself in conflict or conversation with women and girls from other families, in other situations, remember that each one of those women is cut from the same cloth, reflecting the beauty and the grace and the power and the strength of every woman who has ever lived and died and struggled for recognition in a world that pushes and represses and drives them down. You have the chance now to make this world perfect for all women, and all you have to do is start now, in your life, by expressing your kindness, your grace, and your strength by honoring the essential goodness and humanity in every woman you meet.

This is the time to equalize the forces of power between men and women, and to bring their power forth to bring peace and harmony to all who struggle today. Give a little more, and give some more beyond that. Because men can never solve the world's problems without women, because men are causing more of the problems than our women could ever cause. Stop fighting, stop kicking and screaming, and start being good to the women in your life.

Because they will change the world for the good. I guarantee it.

My mother wasn't always perfect, but she always tried to teach me that all people, no matter what they look like or where they come from, deserve to be heard, and deserve to be treated with respect. And for that, I will always love her.

Happy Mother's Day. Hope it's a good one.

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Do you support using civilian ports to transport military hardware? Take the poll today

Special thanks to Kyle Raven on this one: check out The Daily World poll on shipping military equipment through civilian ports. Whether or not you live in Grays Harbor, you owe it to yourself to vote in this poll.

There was some decent coverage of the aftermath of the protests in Aberdeen in this story, but the rest of the world ignores it. So what else is new?

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Feds to give big dollars to Washington ports

Okay, it looks like the Department of Homeland Security has allocated several million dollars to Washington Ports, including the Port of Grays Harbor, which received no funds last year. Here's the quote from the Seattle PI:

"The ports of Vancouver, Longview and Grays Harbor are also receiving $935,000 between the three of them after they failed to receive any such money in 2006."

The largest recipient, strangely, is the Port of Tacoma, which is great, although I wonder how much of this money is being earmarked to pay for increased police presence during protests. I'd love to know if, just like Miami during the FTAA protests, this money was pre-allocated to pay for surveillance and intimidation of peaceful protestors by police and federal agents.

Send in your stories today about this war, the protests and anything else you think the world should know about!

Categories: Local News, National Security State

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Aberdeen port protestors speak out

I just received this urgent communication from the organizers of the Aberdeen port protests. I've pulled out the most relevant passages, excerpted below.

(Olympia, WA) After six days of peaceful protest at the Port of Grays Harbor, the ship has sailed. Local and regional citizens protested shipments of military equipment to support and escalate the United States illegal occupation of Iraq. Protesters were subjected to intimidation by law enforcement, including forced herding into a single “free speech zone,” and silencing by intimidation of police tactics including their videotaping of license plates, random traffic stops on false pretenses, and demand of identification without cause.

Why these protests mattered

Activists identified their primary objective as “stopping our tax dollars from being spent on international war crimes, and a supplemental funding bill that 70 percent of the people deplore.” Aberdeen activist, Mary Kaye Riley said “I oppose the use of our port for the shipments of materiel to kill innocent people, to destroy their culture, their infrastructure, their livelihoods, their lives. Through our government’s actions, we are in the position of supporting an immoral and illegal war which we must stop.”

A January 2007 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study reflects the real troop increase as high as 48,000.[1] President Bush’s escalation policy more than doubles the 21,500 soldiers that he has claimed.

Further, cost estimates run five times higher than those cited by the President.

Why Iraq needs helicopters

The air combat brigade will increase the U.S.-led forces' helicopter fleet by 34%. Also coming are 3,200 pilots, crew members, mechanics and other support personnel.

Helicopters are increasingly important because insurgent attacks have made ground transport dangerous in many areas of Iraq. The Port of Grays Harbor saw the UH-60 Black Hawk loaded aboard the Cape Henry, which is used to shuttle cargo and large equipment to Iraq. Fleets used in Iraq also includes the UH-1 Huey and the AH-64 Apache.[4] Note: the Kiowas shipped out of the Grays Harbor Port are not used in Iraq. Port Militarization Resisters believe the Kiowas are being shipped for use in Iran.

Almost 4,000 other support troops are expected, in addition to 21,500 additional troops already committed to Iraq. This further alarms war opponents who see the escalation as a back-door method of rushing more troops into an immoral and illegal occupation. All told, the buildup will bring the U.S. troop level in Iraq to 160,000.

Protesters want the public and the world to know we have violated international criminal law, under the Hague Conventions, the Nuremburg Principles, the UN Security Council resolution. The war’s brutality and human suffering, and the exposure of children and returning soldiers to depleted uranium, constitutes grave crimes with tremendous global and trans-generational impact. We are seeing birth defects in children born to soldiers that match those found in children in Baghdad. Beyond that, we have occupied ancient cities, destroyed irreplaceable historic buildings and sites that, ironically, gave birth to the western culture.

The people's veto

Citizens concerned about use of the port to escalate the illegal occupation of Iraq and threat to Iran with possible attacks from Kiowa helicopter missile fire plan to attend the Port of Grays Harbor Commission meeting on Thursday, May 10 at 9:00. The meeting will be held at the Port of Grays Harbor administrative offices, located at 111 S. Wooding Street, Aberdeen, Washington 98520. Written comments may be submitted to the same address or faxed to (360) 533-9505.

“Silence on the part of good Americans in response to genocide, and further threats of illegal war for corporate benefit—is not acceptable. We must act to stop ongoing occupation,” observed Wes Hamilton, Viet Nam era veteran.

We must exercise the people's veto.

Categories: Revolution, War & Peace, Local Events

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Aberdeen protest ends, occupation of Iraq continues

To everyone who helped make the protest of the Grays Harbor port a success, thank you. Though I couldn't be there in person, I did my best to publicize the event and I will continue to follow this story.

Special thanks to Trey Smith of the Washington State Green Party, for operating as the police liaison during this whole affair. Check out his blog, The Rambling Taoists, to gain some insight into himself and his outlook towards this war and occupation. I'm putting together an interview with Mr. Smith, which should be up on the site very soon, in our "Underground Notes" section. Check it out, and drop old Trey a line. There's nothing a protestor likes more than to know their efforts are appreciated.

Categories: Revolution, War & Peace, Local Events

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This could be your last chance to protest the military's use of our ports to continue the occupation

Well folks, this is it. This could be the last night for you to get involved with the port protests down at the Port of Grays Harbor.

Sunday's protest was the biggest yet with over a hundred people, but this fight is not over with. If you haven't been to a protest at a port yet, why not make tonight the night for mass peaceful resistance?

Check out these awesome photos I located on Portland Indymedia's open publishing newswire.

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Carpool to Aberdeen protests

If you feel like reducing your carbon footprint while protesting, check out the Protest Carpool page at Olyblog.net.

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Come to Aberdeen with your message of peace

If you can't come to Aberdeen today to protest, you can come to a meeting of the Grays Harbor Port Commission to express your opposition to the transfer of weaponry through their port.

For news stories about the protest, check our Urgent Updates page.

Public Meeting

The organizers of the Grays Harbor protest are urging everyone to deliver their copy of the injunction either in person at the public meeting of the GH Commissioners on 5-10 (changed from 5-8) at 9:00am or mail your Citizens' Injunction to the Port of Grays Harbor Commissioner - PO Box 660, 111 S. Wooding Street, Aberdeen, WA, 98520.

Additional contact info at www.portofgraysharbor.com More info at www.thedailyworld.com

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Iraq Occupation Forces mobilizing through the Port of Aberdeen - show them you oppose this war!

[Image lifted courtesy of The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA]

[Editor's note: please send all your reports to us here. Also, check our Urgent Updates page for all the news about the protests.]

Heads up from the Olympia Port Mobilization Resistance (PMR), courtesy of Olyblog. Thanks, Rick!

"Start: May 5 2007 - 2:00pm

[Via OMJP (maslauskas@riseup.net)]

Hey folks,

Two months after the military came through the port of Tacoma, the military is at it again, this time using the small port of Aberdeen, Washington. We've pushed them away from Olympia and Tacoma and if we get it together we can make them never want to use the port of Aberdeen again. In every town the military has entered, hundreds of people have been radicalized after seeing the response of the police. This is an extremely valuable opportunity to spread our ideas, our energy and our dreams to a small, economically depressed lumber town.

Today, Strykers were seen entering the port. As of now there are two rows of six vehicles. Apache helicopters also landed in the port to be shipped out. We have no word as to when the boat will be in, but using the Port of Tacoma shipment as a reference, they will most likely be arriving during the next few days, waiting there and then being loaded onto the boat. So we basically have a week, perhaps a week and a half.

So far, the plan is this:

Meet at the corner of 28th and John Stevens Way (directions below) this Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm (until whenever). From there we can figure out what to do and those with plans can relate them to others. The cops have nicely set up a free speech zone for us which we should all kindly ignore. We are in a much better location than in Tacoma. The port is pressed up against neighborhoods (exactly on block away) and we are not trapped in a wire cage, giving us a lot more to work with.

Please bring every one you know. If you HAVE to pick one of the days to come, then come on SUNDAY! Things will be continuing after Sunday, but this will be our first burst of energy. More details will be sent out when they arrive. Hope you all can come down.

Directions:

>From I-5 take exit 104 into Highway 101.

Follow 101 until it merges with Highway 8 (there should be signs for Aberdeen
near the split)

Follow until you reach Aberdeen.

After you enter the city, continue down main road through downtown. 101 suddenly
appears downtown in the form of the main road (just look for 101 signs). Follow
it until you reach 28th.

Take left on 28th and follow until you hit the water.

We will be meeting at the end of 28th. There is an observation tower there and a
public boat launch. We will gather there and decide what to do.

Drive carefully."

Get your butts down there and support this movement for peace! And all those who do, send your reports to me so I can publicize your actions!

Categories: Revolution, War & Peace, Local Events

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Aberdeen Port Protest News Updates

Please send any and all information about the Aberdeen Port Protests here to me so I can maintain this list of news items. We can thank the Olympia PMR, a subset of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, for this courageous action to end this fool war.

Here they are in reverse chronological order:

City, port add up costs as ship departs - The Daily World
Military transport leaves Port of Grays Harbor - The Olympian
Military ship could leave Grays Harbor tonight - The Olympian
Anti-war groups rally at the port - The Daily World
Port protests shift to Grays Harbor - The Olympian
Aberdeen: Dozens march to protest military shipments from Grays Harbor - Tacoma News Tribune
Anti-war demonstrators protest at Port of Grays Harbor - Seattle P-I
Protestors march along port road - The Daily World
War protestors turn out in Aberdeen - Tri-City Herald
Iraq Occupation Forces mobilizing through Port of Grays Harbor - Tahoma Activist
Police gear up for protestors this weekend at Port of Grays Harbor- KOMO TV
Military shipment protests start small - The Daily World
War protestors turn out at Aberdeen - Seattle PI
All was quiet on the western front - The Daily World
Anti Iraq war protestors 'planning to do something', activist says - The Olympian
Anti-war groups plan port protests - The Daily World
Helicopters from Fort Lewis prepare for shipment to Iraq - Tacoma News Tribune
Port protest planned - KXRO 1320 AM


Categories: Revolution, War & Peace, Local Events

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Watch LA pigs abuse peaceful protestors on May Day

Special thanks to Brasscheck TV for this great video of the LA Police's riots in LA on May Day.

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Citizen Updates on the Port Protests

In addition to news stories and blog posts, we also have updates from citizens at the protests. Most of these come from Indymedia, so they have not been verified.

Police harrassing cars on way to Aberdeen - Drew, 5/6/07 10:11 PM
Fascism in Aberdeen - Ray Kavick, 5/6/07 7:34 AM
PMR activists announce arrival of US Navy ship in Grays Harbor and schedule of protests - Olympia PMR, 5/5/07
Plan for weekend in Aberdeen - Ray Kavick, 5/5/07 3:04 PM
Aberdeen: No to military shipments - Mollie, 5/5/07 9:56 AM
Aberdeen port militarization protests - Nicky Swift 5/4/07 6:09 PM
Grays Harbor Militarization Resistance - Joe La Sac, 5/4/07 3:52 AM
Military using Port of Aberdeen right now - Lewis McCracken, 5/2/07 11:14 PM

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Bloggers Voices of Protest

For bloggers, it can be difficult sometimes because so much of our time is spent indoors. We are often the sort of people who aren't able to go out to protest marches every day, and so it's important that we use our collective powers to spread the word about these courageous actions. Below is a list of bloggers who've written about this Aberdeen protest.

Olyblog - Photos from Aberdeen City Hall
SIRATYST - Aberdeen--In the spirit of the Wobblies
The Rambling Taoists - Twelve Hours, A "Slow" News Day, and more
For Econophilus - PMR: The History of a Movement
the moon's favors - Round Three of Port Mobilization Resistance

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Could Grays Harbor be the next front in the war on this stupid occupation?

Remember all the protests at the Port of Olympia and the Port of Tacoma against this insane war and occupation? Well it looks as if the Army might be switching their business to Grays Harbor, an isolated region far away from Tacoma and Seattle. Will our intrepid young protestors travel all the way to Grays Harbor to raise hell against this war?

Something tells me they will.

[Special thanks to Lietta Ruger at Dying to Preserve the Lies for this scoop]

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Speaker Pelosi needs to hear from you about impeachment

Call Speaker Pelosi's office ASAP! She is taking calls to determine whether or not she will move forward on impeachment. Now is the time to tell everyone you know to make that call! Here's the info from 911blogger.com.

The phone number to call is: 202-225-0100

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LA cops brutally repress peaceful protestors on May Day

In LA, police attacked peaceful protestors attending a post-march rally. Their reason for the attack is unclear. Check out LA Indymedia for reports as they come in.

Those of us here in Tacoma know all about police brutality of this sort. It's too bad that our police forces always seemed to be used to frighten and harrass innocent people.

Feel free to contact the mayor of Los Angeles and let him know that this sort of thing is utterly unacceptable.

Categories: Workers' Rights, National Security State

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