Read this and this.

Let 'em know what you think:

Murray, Patty- (D - WA)
(202) 224-2621
Web form

Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA)
(202) 224-3441
Web form

On Monday, March 20th, we have an opportunity to meet and talk with Venezuelan labor organizer, Luis Primo. Luis Primo is the Regional Coordinator for the National Workers Union of Venezuela, the "Union Nacional de los Trabajadores". He will be speaking on: "The UNT: a New Direction for Organized Labor in Venezuela." This is a coalition of unions that formed in 2003 and that is helping to spearhead the movement for political and economic reform in Venezuela.

Mr. Primo is touring the U.S. in order to gain recognition for the National Workers Union (UNT). In addition to being regional coordinator for Caracas-Miranda, he is responsible for UNT’s Trade Union / Political Education on the national level. He also works with the Ministry of Labor on the Committee on the Recovered Factories. He is the former president of the Caracas Metro Workers Union.

Luis Primo is on a West Coast tour and will only be in Olympia for a few hours en route from Portland to Seattle. We have arranged an open 1:30pm meeting downtown, at the Olympia Labor Temple, 119 1/2 No. Capitol Way. The 20th is the very beginning of evaluation week--classes are over and many of us are busy writing evaluations. But I would be grateful if you would announce Mr. Primo's visit in your classes, and urge interested students to attend.

This meeting is co-sponsored by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), the Evergreen Bolivarian Circle (EBC) and the Evergreen Labor Center.

CHILLICOTHE GAZETTE

Like a completely refurbished "pre-owned vehicle," Al Gore seems to be positioning himself to Hillary Clinton's left and greener than John Kerry for a run at the 2008 Democratic nomination for president. His slogan might well read "reelect Al Gore."

The former vice president's slashing attacks on the administration and his stalwart, if misguided, opposition to the Iraq war leave him without the complications and complexes that will devil Clinton as she seeks to appeal to the unforgiving left of the Democratic Party.

And Gore may be a man whose time has come in his party. It was he who warned of climate change and predicted its consequences. Hurricane Katrina was just a fulfillment of the prophesies Gore wrote about in his late-1980s book "Earth in the Balance." He has been an energy-conservation nut for years, and his obsessions with alternatives to oil will play better and better as we come to realize how our addiction to oil has led us to dependency on the dealers of this particular drug - Iran, the Saudi royal family and Hugo Chavez.

The Democratic base's anger at Gore's defeat in 2000 was assuaged by the worse Kerry defeat of 2004. The idea he was an incompetent candidate has been replaced in Democratic iconography by the idea he was cheated out of the presidency. The hiatus has healed his reputation with the base in much the same way the negative rap on Nixon for losing in 1960 was ameliorated by the Goldwater wipeout of 1964.

History indicates that candidates who won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College have all come back to win revenge in subsequent elections. Andrew Jackson, cheated in 1824, won in 1828. Grover Cleveland, cheated in 1888, triumphed in 1892. Samuel Tilden, who won the popular vote in 1876, never ran again, but he dealt away the White House in a deal for the withdrawal for federal troops from the South, allowing the Ku Klux Klan to take over. (By the way, for a great history of how this era kindled the racism we have lived with since, read Eric Foner's new book, "Forever Free.")

Did anybody get a recording of last night's Free Radio Olympia Simulcast of the Negativland, "It's all in your Head - FM, Monotheism in Stereo" show at the Capitol Theater?

Cosmo

How do you feel an Arts Center would contribute to our community? What types of experiences would you hope to have there? Share your voice with the consultants of Economics Research Associates, as they work to assess the possibility of an Arts Center for Olympia.

Three sessions to choose from on Tuesday, March 14: 10am-Noon or 1-3pm or 7-9pm. For more information, contact Stephanie Johnson at Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation, at 709-2678.

Jonathon Turlove, Senior Program Specialist
City of Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation
222 Columbia NW
Olympia, WA 98501
(360) 753-8068
jturlove@ci.olympia.wa.us

There is a very interesting post at Northwest Progressive Institute concerning the recent acquisition of Knight Ridder by McClatchy:

In the Pacific Northwest, Knight Ridder owns The Olympian, the Bellingham Herald, and the Idaho Statesman in Boise (all of which were recently acquired in a trade with the nation's largest newspaper publisher - Gannett). Knight Ridder also owns a 49.5 stake in the Seattle Times Company.

McClatchy already owns the Tacoma News Tribune, one of the state's biggest dailies, the Tri-City Herald, The Puyallup Herald (not a daily), The Peninsula Gateway (Port Angeles) and Anchorage Daily News (in Alaska).

The deal gives McClatchy a powerful footing in the Pacific Northwest, and especially in the Evergreen State. It will own or have a stake in a significant number of Washington State's major daily newspapers.

At the Capital Theater this Thursday, March 16th at 6:30, OMJP is helping to sponsor/promote the film Inside Iraq. The filmmaker, Mike Shiley, will be there with us to introduce his film. You check out the film on the Olympia Film Society page for more details.

Volunteers will be needed to help out. Contact the theatre for more information about how to help. Please come show your support for a film that takes a critical look at the war in Iraq!