Posts published in “Uncategorized”

With the academic year quickly approaching it seems appropriate to reevaluate the ways in which Evergreen has succeeded, or not succeeded, in employing practices that positively affect both those in the immediate college community as well as those in the greater Olympia region. Specifically, policies and practices regarding the campus…

  No clean up of contamination or disposal of the dangerous rounds can be confirmed For many years, local environmentalists and veterans’ groups have wondered if depleted uranium has been used on the artillery firing range inside Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), the largest military base on the West Coast. Documents…

The United States foreign policy reform organization, Just Foreign Policy, has issued a “crowdsourced” reward for WikiLeaks to publish the negotiating text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The organization issued an appeal online for pledges of donations toward the reward. As of August 27, the reward stands at $21,875.…

Philosophers rationalize drone patrols along our borders What goes by the name of ‘justice’ is often merely the violence and thievery practiced by those holding the reins of power. Mark LeVine (2012) There is a saying, “All’s fair in love and war,” that takes on new meaning with the increasing…

Revealing the failure of 21st Century US capitalism and stepping towards Participatory Socialism Ed. note: The following article is the text of a talk Peter presented in Havana, Cuba in June 2012. The Occupy movement in the United States is part of a global upsurge that began in Tunisia in late…

Reflections and advice from Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation.  Resist the temptation to be lured into partisanship and electioneering for candidates – except for very rare instances where the candidate is truly outstanding. Keep working on issues – and be proactive in raising issues, even if mainstream news media and candidates…

Fifteen months and a dozen+ trips into the courtroom later… Scott Yoos Support Committee and Legal Defense Fund Regrettably, there’s precious little in the way of really new news to report about the still-pending case of “Washington State v. Yoos.”  Back in April (2012), it was thought that Scott’s main Trial…

The role of faith-based organizations in providing aid to homeless communities   Abstract This article aims to identify where support for those who are homeless comes from and analyze the relationship between communities of faith and communities of persons who are homeless. Camp Quixote, a tent community for the homeless…

The costs of prohibition NORMAL Thurston analyzed 10 years of marijuana arrests in the county Bailey Hirschburg As a board member for the Thurston County chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) I approach marijuana arrests with a bias. I have trouble explaining the necessity…

Many of you enlisted in the military because you love your country, and you believed you were defending a democratic society. If so, then you will be bothered by the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which permits constitutional rights to the “voice” (money)…

by Hank Adams In an unofficial kick-off to the Squaxin Island Tribe’s portion of their hosted International Indian Canoe Journey of 2012, a canoe journey mural was unveiled and dedicated on the Les Schwab Building at State Street, Olympia, facing the headwaters of Budd Inlet at the beginning of the…

Three rank-and-file labor leaders took to the podium Saturday night, July 21, to tell stories of outrageous abuse and inspired fightback in Longview and Seattle, Washington. Members of several different unions, workers in non-union shops, and community activists crowded into a community hall in south Seattle for the public forum,…

What matters in the new health law, and why you should care about it by Matson Boyd This sunlit August, many Olympians will open their mailboxes and find checks from their health insurance companies. No, the companies haven’t decided to repent for their sins. Instead the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a.…

Must we vote for a mass-murdering fascist war criminal because the other one is worse? by Dana Walker Editor’s note:  On June 21, the national MoveOn.Org announced its seven million members had voted to endorse Barack Obama. It has been very sad to discover that leftys are just as willing…

Why do we still use coal when it so negatively affects the environment and human health? Editor’s note:  The following article was originally published in Readthedirt.org, an alternative online newspaper headquartered in Bellingham, WA.  Readthedirt specializes  in articles on environmental issues written by Northwest professionals and community activists.  WIP is…

Becoming an investor is predicated on the fact that you have extra money to invest; this of course precludes many lower-income folks who would otherwise support local economic development. But Aslan Meade of Sustainable South Sound pointed out that a local investment movement needs organizers in addition to investors. He…

Downtown jeweler Precious Metalsmiths may be one of the small businesses that could benefit from an Olympia investment network. They were one of at least five businesses who attended the initial LION event. Precious Metalsmiths got its start selling artistic jewelry at the Farmer’s Market 13 years ago and has…

  Law enforcement agents can request your cell phone company turn over your private location data without demonstrating probable cause or obtaining a search warrant. This unregulated location tracking poses a real, immediate and far-reaching threat to our privacy. Everyone who has a mobile phone is carrying a portable tracking…

The UK-based Alliance for Natural Health International recently revealed data showing that compared to the risk of supplements use, an individual is: Around 900 times more likely to die from food poisoning Nearly 300,000 times more likely to die from a preventable medical injury during a UK hospital stay, which…

Friday’s Olympian [July 20] featured a front page picture from “Kids Boot Camp.” In it, a “game face” 5 year old grasps a M-240B machine gun.  “It’s really cool.  I wish I could have one” said a 7 year old. As a parent and former teacher, I found these images…

As a human being and a person of value, I am infuriated at the treatment Marissa Alexander a mother of three, and an MBA holder has received under the draconian and racist policies of the Florida state Legislature and the Florida State Attorney’s office and specifically the fraudulent behavior of…

July 24, 2012–For the second time in as many years, I tried to arrest Avigdor Lieberman today. As soon as I saw the Israeli foreign minister enter a room where he was scheduled to give a press conference in Brussels, I stood up and shouted: “Mr Lieberman, this is a…

News reports indicate that the Obama Administration is “actively considering” whether to grant immunity to former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, currently a Professor at Yale University and Director of its Center for the Study of Globalization, in connection with the suit currently pending before Judge Thompson in New Haven regarding…

SEATTLE–Low-wage workers and community supporters gathered outside Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna’s Attorney General’s office in Seattle on Tuesday, giant McKenna-faced pennies in hand, to give him their “two cents” about their struggles to make ends meet while McKenna has opposed a small increase in the minimum wage. McKenna tried…