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Submitted by WallyCuddeford on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 10:37pm.
On Election Day, Minnesota resident and Democrat Keith Ellison won the race for a vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. By doing so, he became the first Muslim to be elected to U.S. Congress, as well as the first African-American to be elected to Congress from Minnesota.
» Ellison has announced that when he takes the Oath of Office on January 4th, he will perform the swearing in ceremony with the Holy Qur'an instead of the Holy Bible, in accordance with his faith. This decision has ignited a firestorm of criticism from many people who have seriously lost their minds. Conservative radio host and author Dennis Prager has especially flipped his lid. Claiming the act "undermines American civilization," the incurably batty Prager explains: "Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress." Prager, still off his rocker, questions the validity of placing one's oath on one's "favorite book." He points out in his column that Jewish and secular officials have taken their oaths of office on the Holy Bible (New Testament included), and that no Mormon official has asked to place his or her oath on the Book of Mormon. "In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath." But what book (the United States of) America decides is not so cut and dry. UCLA professor of law Eugene Volokh points out the Constitution allows people to not swear oaths at all, thus protecting atheists and agnostics. In the National Review, he noted that two former Presidents, Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover, didn't swear oaths at all. According to Wikipedia, Pierce chose to "affirm" his office on a law book instead of on a bible.
Submitted by slogvomit on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 10:01pm.
well, all i have to say is,
at least we got you all to put your haunches up.
Submitted by go econo on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 4:47pm.
Lived in this town a while and never been involved in a legislative issue? The Washington State House and Senate just finished a week of pre-session committee meetings this week. Next Monday they'll start prefiling bills. Now's a great time to start getting familiar with the issues and forums in which you want your voice heard. Step 1: Learn to navigate the environment - committees, worksessions, bills, hearings, TVW, and on and on. The Leg home page is a good place to start. http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/. Do a search on a subject that's important to you and see what you find (I seached for "beer"). Stay tuned, next DIY @ the Legislature will address cyberstalking great testimony on TVW.
Submitted by enpen on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 4:18pm.
Dec 2 2006 - 6:00pm Dec 2 2006 - 8:00pm Hosted by Sky Cosby of Pirate Papa Blog and Last Word Books. Children are welcome.
Submitted by Rick on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 4:11pm.
Dec 4 2006 - 7:00pm [via tesccrier] As part of the Northwest tour by Mexico Solidarity Network, two presentations will be open to the public: Women Confronting Globalization: Cultural Resistance, Alternative Economy and Human Rights
MONDAY DEC 4, 7PM
TUESDAY DEC 5, 1PM Speaker: Cecilia Santiago Vera is a social psychologist from Chiapas, Mexico. Her work is focused primarily on gender and intercultural studies and through stregthening the community. She has worked with the displaced population, especially with women survivors of the Acteal Massacre, people in prison, and indigenous communities that live in violent contexts. Cecilia also collaborates on the Psychological Program in Chiapas, a Mexican NGO that works to develop psychological interventions in populations experiencing human rights violations and works to take back the resources of the community. Cecilia, an activist from Chiapas, accompanied by a Rachel Mehl, Alternative Economy coordinator with the Mexico Solidarity Network, will speak about Zapatista women‚s collective strategies of resistance while discussing the impacts of globalization on women in Mexico and the leadership role that women play in the movement for fair trade and social and economic justice. BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Evergreen Programs: Feminisms: Local to Global, Political Economy and Social Movements; Evergreen Political Information Center; Women of Color Coalition, St. Martins University’s “Gender, War and Peace in Global Perspective
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 3:57pm.
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Submitted by Poor Peoples Union on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 2:05pm.
In response to internet rumors that the PPU was in some way involved with organization or planning of last nights capitol playhouse "protest" we have started this Oly Blog account. The PPU has never and will never have anything to do with thoughtless self congratulation. Our tactics are peaceful and aimed at furthering our cause, not sabotaging it. We formally ask all non PPU members to never associate our name with anything, ever. If the PPU chooses to affiliate with a particular cause or action it will be done according to the PPU bylaws and will be well advertised. When the PPU acts, you will know it is the PPU. If there is confusion as to whether or not we are sponsoring and action, then we ARE NOT SPONSORING IT.
» The PPU is opposed to the sidewalk ordinance and is working on implementing viable strategies for overturning it. We have much bigger fish to fry than little Jeff Kingsbury. Also, consider this an official PPU statement: At the playhouse "protest" at least two PPU members (when went to keep the peace and from letting little evergreen teenagers destroy our movement) over heard people sympathetic to our cause making derogatory statements about Jeff Kingsbury based on his sexuality. This is disgusting and intolerable. Hate in any form will be opposed and fought by the PPU whether its the classist city council or the homophobic left. We must never EVER let our movement for social justice degrade into hate. Jeff Kingsbury is deserving of criticism, but for the DECISIONS he's made, NEVER for who he is. This is the position of the PPU.
Submitted by Poor Peoples Union on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 1:44pm.
Class divisions between the rich and the poor are a reality. It is not a myth that many must suffer so that few may prosper, some at the lowest rungs of the class ladder suffer the most. To end this pain and balance the scales of justice those who live in poverty, who know it not as a term or a theory but as their day to day existence must organize and collaborate with those who see the system of class and capital as the root cause of these problems. Only through this collaboration can we overturn a system whose existence is a guarantee of death for the weakest members of our society.
» The PPU is another step in the process. Make no mistake about it, the PPU is an anti-capitalist organization opposed to any system of government where a few represent many. We use NON-VIOLENT direct action as well as coalition building as our main tactics. We are not a political group. We don't beg for concessions from people like the city council, we demand freedom from those in power. Though our philosophy is utopian, our goals are grounded in the reality of today. To get to the world we want we must first work for small change on a local level. Adequate housing, safety from the police, internal community support and unrestricted freedom of movement while in public space are our primary goals at this time. We will work to accomplish these goals within the structure of our union which has no elected leaders. In the PPU we are all leaders. We have our meetings at 3:00 every Saturday at the Bread and Roses Advocacy Center located at 1009 4th ave E. We are not affiliated with Bread and Roses. As a final note, the PPU encourages anyone who supports social struggle to also support environmental struggles as well. Please turn out Dec. 6 for the show benefiting victims of the Green Scare.
Submitted by 87.7 Olympia on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 1:26pm.
I could write a long, passionate rant about closed hardware designs, horrible customer service from shifty English businessmen, Murphy's Law, the decreasing strength of the US Dollar against the British Pound, and how much it hurts to get burned by a hot soldering iron, but I'll give you the short version instead:
»  Every time I think I have things fixed and power up 87.7, something breaks, and it ends up costing money, time and energy to fix.The only "warranty" I have on my crap hardware is a dude named Marko who responds only about a third of the time, with a week delay, and somehow arranges replacement parts to be shipped from - I am not making this up - Slovenia. I've decided to save myself a lot of stress and heartache, and physical injury, and buy a nice new shiny transmitter built by people who know what they are doing and will back the $1200 price tag up with a warranty. I'll be offline for a month or two while I raise enough fundage to buy hardware that doesn't suck. See you all in '07. - DJTJ
Submitted by Norm on Fri, 12/01/2006 - 12:29pm.
The story pretty much speaks for itself, but what would you do if it were your child? http://www.theolympian.com/112/story/53473.html
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