On Friday, January 19th, the Political Economy and Social Movements program is hosting Antonia Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time. [Her website is] www.thebushagenda.net. She will be speaking in Lecture Hall 1 at 3:00-4:30 pm; the Evergreen community and public is invited.

Juhasz will be in the area to testify to the "Citizens' Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq: the Case of Lt. Ehren Watada" at TESC Tacoma on Jan. 20-21 www.wartribunal.org

Sat. Jan 27th
Downtown Olympia ( 4th Ave ) – Noon to One

WHAT: PEACE RALLY to end the war in Iraq and support military families
WHEN: Sat. January 27th. Noon to One. (Park and Assemble by 11:45 )
WHERE: Downtown Olympia . Both sides of 4th Ave. From Bridge to Fountain!
WHY: Our troops and their families are suffering; our society is being corrupted; innocent Iraqis are dying.
WHO: Everyone who feels the darkness of this war and wants an end to the violence.
HOW: Standing single file, peacefully with resolve and conviction. Peacekeepers will be present.
SPONSOR: Rachel Corrie Chapter 109 Veterans For Peace
NETWORKING: Provided by Thurston County Progressive Network TCPRONET.ORG
BRING: Signs, Flags, and Banners consistent with theme. Family, Friends and Neighbors, Faith Communities, Clergy, Co-Workers. …………. Please.. No Dogs
Donations of non-perishable food and/or money for military families gratefully accepted
MORE INFO: VETERANS FOR PEACE – www.vfp109.org

BRING THEM HOME!

Celebrate sacred music with three top-notch groups from diverse spiritual traditions. The 3rd annual World Sacred Music Festival spans the globe with music for both introspection and dancing. Shabava is a Portland-based Persian ensemble, playing the traditional music of Persia (now Iran). The Gansango Mandinka Trio features West African music by Nabi Camara on balafon (wooden xylophone), Etienne Cakpo on drums, and Kane Mathis on kora (21-stringed calabash harp). And The Unsanctified Gospel Revival (featuring Olympia favorite Orville Johnson) rounds out the evening with rousing soul/R&B/jazz versions of classic gospel tunes, along with music from the "sacred steel" tradition. An unforgettable evening that will broaden your idea of what's "sacred." More info and complete schedule at www.olysacredmusic.org

By David Finkel

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007; A01

ATCHISON, Kan. -- It was payday. Money, at last. Twenty-two-year-old Robert Iles wanted to celebrate. "Tonight, chimichangas!" he announced.

He was on his way out of the store where his full-time job pays him $7.25 an hour -- the rate that is likely to become the nation's new minimum wage. Life at $7.25: This is the life of Robert Iles, and with $70 in a wallet that had been empty that morning, he headed to a grocery store where for $4.98 he bought not only 10 chimichangas but two burritos as well.

From there he stopped at a convenience store, where for $16.70 he filled the gas tank of the car he purchased when he got his raise to $7.25; then he went to another grocery store, where he got a $21.78 money order to pay down some bills, including $8,000 in medical bills from the day he accidentally sliced open several fingers with a knife while trying to cut a tomato; and then he headed toward the family trailer 19 miles away, where his parents were waiting for dinner.

Today in Washington, the House is scheduled to vote on whether to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25. Passage is expected, with Senate approval soon to follow, and if President Bush signs the resulting bill into law, as he indicated he would, the U.S. minimum wage would rise for the first time since 1997, ending a debate about whether such a raise would be good or bad for the economy.

But even if the matter is settled in Congress, it isn't settled at all in Atchison, and Robert Iles's drive home is proof. Every stop he made on his ride home revealed a different facet of how complicated the minimum wage can be in the parts of America where, instead of a debatable issue, it is a way of life.

At the store where Iles works, for instance, the owner thinks the minimum wage should be increased as a moral issue but worries about which employees' hours he will have to cut to compensate.

"Thurston Community Television in jeopardy"

On Dec 20, the three Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission ignored the passionate pleas from the two Democrats and gave the telephone companies exactly what they want. Cities across the country will have only 90 days to offer a franchise to competitors of cable. In addition, all in-kind services, public education government money, institutional networks, channel space and cable drops will have to come out of the 5 percent franchise fees at whatever the new provider wishes to charge.

What this means for Thurston County is a significant reduction of funding for TCTV and no guarantee that existing TCTV channels will be carried on new cable or telephone video services. It lets new providers begin to operate a network simply by refusing to do anything for 90 days until the mandatory timetable is up. Then existing cable companies will claim it is an unlevel playing field until they get out of franchise obligations as well. If this happens, it is the end of Thurston Community Television.

Our hope survives in reports that the FCC doesn't have the legal authority to do this. This rogue commission is out of control. We need to jump on the backs of our congressional representatives and make them overturn the new illegal ruling.

For more information, go to www.saveaccess.org.

Robert Kam, Olympia