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Posts published in “Issue: May 2020

About this Issue — May 2020 — Another world is possible

Life on Earth and this nation cannot continue in this way. The prospect of four more years of Trump hovers over us like a bad omen, threatening all life. This calamitous prediction not only presages the future to come, but is also directly connected to the policies of the past and the present.

Then this happened…

Olympia planners told developer Jerry Mahan he has to comply with city requirements, even though he has a powerful attorney and a lot of influential backers. Our February and March issues detailed how Mahan attorney Heather Burgess demanded that the city “timely complete” its review...

Fox News sued for calling coronavirus a hoax

Who’s afraid of the big, bad Fox? Open government watchdog and advocate, Arthur West and his local group, WASHLITE (Washington League for Transparency and Ethics) have gained international media coverage for a lawsuit filed against Fox News and Rupert Murdoch for their repeated labeling of the COVID–19 virus a “hoax”.…

In Wisconsin the aim was to limit who voted

Dateline April 9: Tuesday was a nightmare in Milwaukee. Due to the lack of poll workers—most being elderly—and with the high number of COVID–19 cases spiking the city, polling places were canceled in droves. Neil Albrecht, Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, could set up only 5 polling sites that met the CDC guidelines.

“Housing Options Plan” would gentrify older, modest neighborhoods

Olympia’s Planning and Development Department has decided that its new Housing Options Plan will have no significant impact on our environment and our neighborhoods. The plan prescribes new duplexes, triplexes, and apartments, along with larger and taller ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units, a.k.a. “back-yard cottages”), along with relief from parking, on-site…

The Republicans’ systematic attempt to put an end to majority rule

At this country’s founding, members of the ruling class in most states granted the vote only to property-owning white men—- themselves. A right to vote was expanded during the nineteenth century, first to include all white men, then black men (although that right was obliterated by the end of the…

In Norway, an egalitarian social democracy is thriving

At the beginning of last year, Donald Trump lamented the lack of immigrants to the US “from places like Norway.” This excerpt from a Nation magazine interview with Ann Jones about her stay in that country explains why.

El Epicentro del COVID–19 en America del Sur

Guayaquil es un puerto fluvial, ubicado en la desembocadura del río Guayas en el Océano Pacífico; junto con Quito son las dos ciudades más importantes del Ecuador, económica y políticamente.

Small Kindnesses

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by -- Poetry

Workers are essential, CEOs are not

Low-wage workers are on the front line in the battle against coronavirus. While many workers have started telecommuting — and many others have unfortunately been laid off — low-wage workers are busy cleaning our streets, making sure we have enough to eat, and, of course, nursing us back to health…

The bugs are in the system

Governments around the globe have had since December to prepare for the novel coronavirus. And while some countries have done better than others with their response, here in the U.S. the for-profit medical industry is practically ensuring that more people catch the virus and more die from it.

Urban Shaman rap

Bodhisattva vow: living to help others. We are all Sisters and Brothers. -- Poetry

Dear Vice President Joe Biden,

We write to you as leaders from a diverse array of organizations building political power for young people in the United States. We are all deeply committed to ending a presidency that has set the clock back on all of the issues that impact our lives. While you are now…

It’s about the money

Around 2007 federal officials decided to ensure that the US medical stockpile would have the ventilators needed in a predictable epidemic. They wrote specifications for an easy-to-use device that would cost $3000 each. I

Deep River by Karl Marlantes

Deep River is a story rich with historical detail spanning the decades of the early 20th century in America and told through the eyes of three siblings, immigrants from Finland, who settle in a logging community in southern Washington....

I’m not asking why

I’m not asking why but I’m asking what now and what next? -- Poetry

Rethinking everything – Lesson #10: Another world

In Cuba, health care is considered a human right for all citizens and is therefore a national priority. Cuba’s health policy emphasizes prevention, primary care, services in the community, and the active participation of citizens.

The bigger picture behind the virus

Things often look the way they do because someone claiming authority tells us they look that way. If that sounds too cynical, pause for a moment and reflect on what seemed most important to you just a year ago, or even a few weeks ago.

Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons will meet online in May

The Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons will meet online during the Coronavirus quarantine. Productive meetings hosted by Glen Anderson are held the 3rd Thursday of each month at 5:00 pm. Participants for the Thursday, May 21 meeting will need a link to join. Contact Glen Anderson at 360.491.9093 or…