Updated with video from TVW:

A hearing on single-payer health care is scheduled for this afternoon, Friday, February 1 at 1:30 p.m. in House Hearing Room B in the O'Brien Building on the Capital campus in Olympia.  The bill is House Bill 1085.

If you can't be there, then it will be available on TVW:
http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwliveplayer&eventID=2013020032

and now for a few photos from past healthcare rallies:

Seattle, May 2009

Olympia, August 2009

An open letter to legislators, for racial and economic justice, and revenue:

Today I joined the Statewide Poverty Action Network lobbying team, met with our LD 22 legislators, and delivered a version of the following letter to LD 22 legislators Hunt, Fraser, and Reykdal. I'm interested in broadcasting the ideas more broadly as open letter to all legislators. It's not perfect, just the best I can do at this time.

Monday 21 January 2013, Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr.
"It's time to end poverty."

Dear Legislator,

http://blip.tv/olympia-fellowship-of-reconciliation/washington-state-needs-tax-reform-5759966

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPr5Do_VIuY
Monday 21 November 2011—Members of a group calling themselves "Occupy Washington" delivered an invitation to the Governor to join the occupation movement. They set up a tent for the Governor to stay.
endofoligarchy.org/2011/11/21/64/

www.occupyolympia.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoSL7I98bg

Educational Tabling about State Tax Policy with Pat Holm, at the People's Movement Assembly. The PMA was sponsored by the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Dear Obama Administration and White House Staff,

Lately I have been thinking some about terrorism. It seems really Orwellian, because the USA is all up with nationalistic gung-hoism and jingoism against terrorism. But think about this. Maybe the USA is a terrorist!

Think about the terror wrought by Wall Street style predatory economics. People lacking job security, and in fear of losing their homes. Families are disrupted by a predatory system that "rewards" (with wealth) harmful behaviors like exporting jobs to exploit low-wage workers overseas.

Meanwhile, many suffer from violence and crime associated with and caused by inter-generational and other chronic poverty...

Maybe the economic system is the terrorist. Maybe those enforcing it, and keeping it in place, need to be prosecuted and held accountable for their behaviors.

I also thought of a similar and very related thought last week: the idea that the USA uses the State of Israel as a 'human shield' to protect its interests in, and control over, mineral resources (and geo-political and economic dominance.)

If there is any truth to this, then this policy would be exploitative, highly anti-Semitic, and the associated behaviors could be classified as those of a terrorist.

Sincerely,

Berd

Representative Adam Smith responded to a letter I had written about deficit reduction and the Pentagon budget. He wrote that Congress and the Pentagon are looking at ways to reduce expenditures in that area. Here's (a very slighly edited version of ) my reply:

Dear Representative Smith,

Thank you for responding to my concerns about the Pentagon, (DOD/military budget.)

I am glad to hear that reductions in this area are being considered in Congress.

My concern is that the reductions are not enough; cutting 200 billion over 5 years is not enough for a department that uses (by some accounts) in excess of 1 trillion taxpayer dollars per year.

We need massive cuts and massive restructuring. We need cultural transformation: from militarism intent on, and based in policies of, global dominance—toward "good neighborliness" in the world.

We can no longer afford to view other lands, or people in other lands, as objects to be conquered,

We as human beings need a new way forward.

We need to consider drastic cuts to the Pentagon budget, on the order of 15 trillion over the next 20 years.

Use these monies to provide health care (first and foremost to our injured military personnel,) for re-training toward peaceful jobs in civil society, and toward full employment, based on the concept of living in harmony with the planet and with each other. (This is rather than living in adversity, against the planet, against each other.)

We can no longer afford a system where some people benefit at the expense of others.

Please, work with your colleagues in Congress to provide principled leadership, based in respect for the human rights of all people, regardless of age, gender, ability, or socio-economic status/rank, etc..

You can also encourage Barack Obama to speak up about the ongoing problems of racism in our society.

Thank you, and sincerely,

The new Percival Landing is up and running. Definitely some major improvements, like the water fountains just for one example. I walked around there a week or so ago, shortly after the grand opening. One conversation I heard was some parents apologizing to their kids that the playground wasn't ready.

The Harbor House is an interesting component. A friend asked what homeless people will think of it. Good question I think.

Here we have a nice warm room with a fireplace...on a cold winter night. Maybe ouch.

Harbor House is interesting, and despite the what some might consider lack of respect toward those of us suffering from economic (and other) hardships, I think there is still other potential for improvement.

Maybe the space could be used more of as a visitor center. Maybe even story-tellers could work there, and people could go there to learn about this area, and past events and peoples. Maybe along the lines of a welcome center.

I would suggest adding a significant indigenous component to the Harbor House. I appreciate the salmon over the fireplace. I think it would add a lot of meaning if the building would tell more of the story of the indigenous population. Who were they? What were their names? What did they do? What happened to them? Where are their ancestors now? The Harbor House might be a good location to tell some of these stories.

Part Two: Ethnic and Racial Diversity, and other thoughts about today:

I was on my way to a neighborhood in East Lacey this morning when I passed a police officer with a scowl. I wondered, was the scowl for me, or was it a general sort of scowl?

Monday 4 July 2011
NBK Bangor Submarine Nuclear Weapons Facility

About 30 or 40 of us went to the Main Gate of NBK Bangor (Trident submarine nuclear weapons facility) to vigil and witness. By the way, Seabeck was great, and thanks to everyone!

As I walked up the road to get in position for photographing, a lone State Patrol officer approached me. He had a couple questions. He wanted to know who was in charge. I had to think about that for a few seconds. Then I told him Joy was in charge. Which was correct.

He wanted to know what group we were with and what we were doing. I told him that we're the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and we just had our annual conference at Seabeck.

Then he wanted to know if we were going to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience.

I am almost positive that not once has anyone put themselves in a position to risk arrest during the post-Seabeck witness at the Submarine Nuclear Weapons facility.

John Lindsay-Poland, who is staffer with the National FOR and is featured in the photograph, approached when he saw the Officer writing notes. Thanks John!

At the vigil, I told one of the military police: "people are getting rich off of war."

He responded, "Not me!"