Why would you send your children to another country—on a journey both you and your children knew to be dangerous, a journey that will cost most or all of what you have, with an outcome that’s uncertain? President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry seem to believe that parents…
Posts published in “Uncategorized”
Despite the ping-ponging between various diplomats and international agencies on the specifics of a peace plan to end the violence in Gaza, there has yet to be any plan that is acceptable to both sides. The major impasse is that Hamas, knowing the people of Gaza have survived for nearly…
First of all let’s take heed of the fact that the term is governance, not government. Government is a noun, “A government is the system by which a state or community is governed.” -Wikipedia But I’m talking about the process of governing, not the system. Governing is collectively figuring out…
As the summer passes, it’s difficult not to notice the green algae blooms in Capitol Lake. Those who spend time around the lake have noticed the smell of soggy decay. Trash skirts the area where Lakefair just took place. It does not take a scientist to know that the water…
Governor Jay Inslee just announced his intention to increase the official estimate for how much fish we can safely eat in Washington, from 6.3 grams per day (about the size of a Ritz cracker) to 175 grams per day (about 6 ounces). This decision about how much fish we eat…
Dear friends, Looking at the Governor’s Office press release archives for May and June—seeing Governor Inslee’s directive on crude oil and the current EIS for crude oil proposals for the Port of Grays Harbor—one feels empty—empty words. Not properly addressing the known risks of crude by rail to citizens across…
A small group of concerned individuals met earlier this year to craft the invitation for the first Olympia Leadership Summit on Homelessness. The opening lines of the invitation read: “It’s time to have a different conversation about homelessness in Olympia, one that acknowledges the complex nature of the issues and…
Global warming and climate disruption are with us. We are seeing the melting of Antarctica’s massive glaciers, widespread drought in California and the Midwest, unprecedented storms and flooding in New York City and the Phillipines, and wars in the Middle East caused in part by drought and food shortages. We…
According to the American Farmland Trust, between 1982 and 2007, the U.S. lost 23 million acres of farmland to development. This loss occurred in every state in the nation, and it occurred disproportionately on the most fertile, prime farmland. Thurston County is no exception to this alarming trend. In fact,…
Dedicado a Sylvia, quien no ha nacido todavía y no tiene otra opcion que vivir en el mundo que hemos hecho para ella hasta que ella comienze a cambiarlo. El final de las lamentaciones Bajo el título “Estrategias Progresivas en un Momento Populista”, La Nación (julio 7-14) publicó una colección…
Dedicated to Sylvia, who is not born yet and has no choice but to live in the world we have made for her until she begins to change it. The end of lamentations Under the title “Progressive Strategies in a Populist Moment”, The Nation (July 7-14) published a collection of…
Julian Assange sits across from a bleached teeth Botox mannequin of a journalist. 391,000 leaked classified documents and CNN can’t ignore their lies anymore. But she asks him instead about the irrelevancies of a whistle blower in the spotlight like he’s running for congressman. This canary turns tabloid super star.…
Graveyard ceiling Smashed on sun I sleep under death Night falls bringing bugs to my little light To me, Executioner Applying my trade without guilt but for the moths who exit in dust, mocking my own frailty But for those that buzz and bite I will not apologize And even…
On the coattails of the hydraulic fracturing boom in the U.S. rides another rapidly growing industry….sand mining. Fracking uses ‘proppants’, which is particulate material used to prop open fissures. There are manufactured proppants composed of ceramic, but the preferred type is sand based. Indeed, the silica sand used for fracking…
Brazil hosts 2014 soccer World Cup while the FIFA scores big profits South Africa 2010 & Brazil 2014: Past and Present The day before the start of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA (soccer’s international governing body) gave a speech to the 64th FIFA…
Notes on the Old Growth Poetry Collective’s Summer Lovin’ project “The way we live now is not poetic. We live prose, we breathe prose, and we drink, alas, prose. There is prose that does us no great harm… But to live continually in the natter of ill-written and ill-spoken prose…
The Fukushima Special is the house specialty A delectable day glow tuna sushi Fresh and raw same as they were Eyes hemorrhaging in the Sea of Japan The BP sampler includes whole eyeless shrimp The perfect choice for the sleeping blind masses Who fail to see the irony I do…
The last waltz of Francisco Franco On June 19, after 39 years as a monarch, Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated the crown in favor of his son Felipe VI. Juan Carlos became king thanks to the agency of fascist dictator Francisco Franco who in 1969, six years before his…
El Ultimo Valse de Francisco Franco El 19 de junio, después de 39 años como monarca, Juan Carlos I de España abdico la corona a favor de su hijo Felipe VI. Juan Carlos se convirtió en rey gracias a la intervención del dictador fascista Francisco Franco quien en 1969, seis…
Editorial note: This letter is in response to the renewed, again, pledge by Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina to continue the endless examination—with his questions having already been answered—of the 2012 Benghazi attack in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed. Congress is increasingly an irresponsible and inept…
To the Quinault Nation, to the organizations in Washington State and to the communities of Anacortes, Seattle, Grays Harbor, Chehalis, Centralia, Vancouver, Spokane and others who are creating actions on July 6 with the objective of expressing solidarity with the people of Lac Megantic and affirming their desire that this…
Dear ones, Everyone in Olympia area…please join me, Mother Liberty, July 4 10 am for the Tumwater Parade It is time to personally stand up and speak out against the tyrannies which enslave this planet. Bring your favorite sign such as END THE FED, STOP WAR, STOP THE SHIPPING OF…
The speech by Gerry Condon, on behalf of Veterans for Peace, at the National Press Club and The White House, June 10 Five more U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan yesterday. They were killed by a NATO airstrike, so-called “friendly fire.” Who is to blame for these deaths? Certainly not…
Alyssa Charest Bégnoche,4, died with her mother in their apartment near the track Bianka Charest Bégnoche,9, died with her mother in their apartment near the track Talitha Coumi Begnoche, 30, mother of Alyssa and Bianka, died in their apartment. Élodie Turcotte, 18, studying to be beautician. First job as waitress…
Aberdeen woman points out why her city council needs to stand against oil trains Gail Morehouse As a community member engaged in conversations and grassroots efforts to improve quality of life in our little city on the Harbor, my eyes were opened to an issue far greater than downtown cosmetics…
As organizers and citizens take a breather from keeping massive coal export terminals out of Longview and Cherry Point, the campaign to stop Warren Buffett from transporting the explosive Bakken crude on his BNSF trains through our state for export to Asia is gaining ground. Quite an opening sentence, but…
I-1329 proposes constitutional amendment to denounce money as speech Wealth inequality is the highest it has been since the Great Depression. Starting in the mid-1970’s the income of the wealthiest 1% of Americans began to skyrocket as the earnings of the middle and lower classes stagnated. The Center on Budget…