Los Republicanos hablan sobre el cambio climático Desde que vi el debate presidencial republicano el 16 de septiembre, he estado experimentando artritis existencial. Mi sentido de propósito siente cohibido, es difícil levantarse por la mañana y pensar que la vida tiene sentido después de escuchar horas de virtuosa declaraciones respaldadas…
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My jesus, it has never been the White man’s place to be inside my head, my home, my relations, my schooling, nor my workplace as his betrayer on representing Black American cultural ways. Yet, that was definitely the attempt when I arrived in Olympia in 1992 a newly hired police…
The refugees in Budapest and my father’s World War II refugee story Hungary is becoming the Arizona of Europe. It is the main country where war refugees and other immigrants first set foot in the North — in this case the contiguous states of the European Union. Just like in…
It is time for the struggle for Life. It’s time to fight the murderers of the living Earth… What is today’s media-assigned paranoia? Ebola? Measles? Lion Cecil? Trump versus Sanders? These are comfortable bubbles of convenient palm sized problems and—don’t we all prefer our worries wee-sized? However, the comfort derived…
Turn the page on energy infrastructure The wild fires in Washington States’ Okanogan region are horrifying and painful to witness. Similar to the mega fires that have burned uncontrollably in Australia the past few years, these fires and many other calamities around the world are merely manifestations of global climate…
Olympia shooting: Andre Thompson’s sister sees officer shoot her brother In a cruel twist of fate, Andre Thompson’s sister witnessed her brother getting shot by Officer Ryan Donald of the Olympia Police Department. Her account differs significantly from statements given by Officer Donald. Other witness statements raise further questions in the…
“Beloved Community” is a product of Queer Rock Camp’s commitment to love and inclusion On Saturday evening, August 15, at downtown Olympia’s Film Society, amid the din and jubilation of vibrant rock music, I experienced a profound sensing of spiritual magnificence. World religions and spiritual traditions all profess love, diversity,…
I’ve been called a nigger in the summer Then beaner until late fall But winter til mid spring No one guesses wtf I am at all! Cause I’m a shady bitch Shapeshifting witch I am rainbow colored inside and out People always try to figure me out They ask if…
If you walk past Le Voyeur on a Wednesday night, there are a few different ways you might be compelled to come in. You could be drawn to the diverse crowd of people laughing outside, the free price, or by people outside urging you to check out some free stand…
Black Lives Matters Activist Marissa Janae Johnson, cofounder of the Seattle Chapter Black Lives Matter, over took the stage from Senator Bernie Sanders I-VT, a Presidential hopeful at a rally in Seattle on Saturday August 8th. This direct action by Seattle Black Lives Matter was strategically timed as other Black…
Locally and nationally concerned citizens ask “What can we do?” in response to police impunity from the use of excessive force. Spurred by the momentum of the Black Lives Matter social justice movement and the shooting of two young unarmed Black males last spring by a White police officer in…
The privilege and racism of white people and why it’s not okay I. Our inevitability problem Ta-Nehisi Coates (TNC) was on Charlie Rose the other day—a really wonderful interview which I’ll likely have to watch a few more times to glean everything I possibly can from it. It’s a look inside…
It’s been 160 years now, for the city of Olympia and the surrounding Thurston County region to rid itself from racist denial of Black Community–White enrichment continues to locally flourish with a self-sustaining “artspace community project” while Black Community is nowhere to be found. Black Power encounters a JamaicaMon I…
The Pacific Northwest has become a “choke point”, as activist Katie Rickman says, for the growth of the fossil fuel industry in the U.S. On their website, Audubon Washington provides a comprehensive account of where things stand now in terms of oil transport (http://wa.audubon.org/oil-trains), an issue that Works in Progress…
We are the ‘True Patriotic’ Americans So who do we hate? First it was the British. We didn’t want to be ruled by their King, So we came here And left them there, in their place. Next it was the indigenous people (aka Indians) Who were here when…
We blame nature for not nurturing So, with spikes, we’re torturing Spikes that suck, poke, pick, spit, and yank You’re holding one now as you fill up your tank So mother will be found with a needle in her arm And we’ll blame her for abandoning us Us, the squeaky…
70 years of endless wars For more than 70 years the U.S. has attacked many, many countries and overthrown their governments—including real democracies that U.S. businesses and politicians did not like. Likewise, the U.S. has armed and supported many, many dictators who served U.S. business and geo-political interests. However, 1942…
WIP note: The following is an edited selection from a talk by attorney Peter Goldberger, given at the NWTRCC gathering at the Earlham School of Religion, November 8, 2014. The Free Exercise Clause is the part of the First Amendment that assures each adherent of a minority faith the right…
August 28, 2015 UPDATED LETTER AND SIGNATURES Jay Inslee, Governor State of Washington P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504 Maia Bellon, Director Washington State Department of Ecology P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504 Brian Shay, City Manager City of Hoquiam 609 – 8th Street Hoquiam, WA 98550…
What is the police culture in Olympia? How would you judge it? By your personal interaction with an officer during a traffic stop? If they grab your phone and put you in handcuffs for ‘obstructing justice’ when you take pictures of officers harassing a homeless person? Without any way to…
Where will the case go from here? Back to the 9th or to the Supreme Court? Washington State’s regulations protecting patients from the judgmental whims of pharmacists and pharmacy owners, the first such regulations in the nation, have been upheld. On July 23, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed…
Letter to the Olympia City Council 22 June 2015 Dear Honorable Mayor and Council Members I read where one of the recent Safeway shoplifting suspects was likely shot in the back by a law enforcement officer employed by the City of Olympia. I’m writing to plead with you not to…
Toward being a more effective anti-racist ally One afternoon in spring, I found myself transported on one of those delicious, if not addictive “cyber wends”—a Google search run wonderfully amok. Spiritual Democracy is where I landed, captivated by one bold statement: “Spiritual Democracy puts the idea of democracy back where…
Police Brutality Imagine an unarmed Caucasian male lying dead in the middle of the street for hours, just after being shot for unknown reasons by a police officer. After his body was left in the street uncovered (not showing any dignity), it was rushed away in a suspicious unmarked SUV…
Bernie Sanders is a self-avowed socialist and running to be the next president of the United States. Normally, this wouldn’t be worth the time to discuss but it’s notable because it looks as if he has a distinct chance of winning. To read the coverage of his campaign, the surprise…
Watching videos as a first step in changing our economy… A do-itself-yourself introvert’s house party Reich’s new digital stool In a tradition that reminds us of the speakers at Hyde Park in London, when the American economist and political commentator Robert Reich delivers public speeches, he carries around a wooden…
In April, 2015, thanks to a public records request by the Columbia River Keeper, Washingtonians learned of crude oil refinery proposed on the Columbia River at the Port of Longview. The documents made available by the Columbia River Keeper include 1) an overview of the refinery project (headed “Riverside Refining…