The devastation of the Great Recession cost seven million working people their homes, almost nine million their jobs, and ushered in a new era in which poverty wages and job insecurity are the new normal. Against that background, it is a strange choice to base a story about the housing…
Posts published in “Year: 2016”
Olympia is an alternative hub—home to the Procession of the Species, The Evergreen State College, and an amazing alternative music scene—so it makes sense the community would house over 20 alternative public and private schools. These schools share many values such as multi-age classes, hands-on learning, celebrating each child’s unique…
Gaia Conspiracy: The Last Days of Homo Rapiens 2010 / 377 pages With any press exposure to thinking people, Don Richardson’s Gaia Conspiracy—The Last Days of Homo Rapiens should be a bestseller. Exposure to non-thinking people will make them thinkers. Though this is a work of fiction, the facts, discussions…
Views from without and within Vignette # 1: Bad eating habits A few decades ago in Latin America, depending on considerations of class and culture, it would have been Chinese, Indian, or African kids who served as the ethnic group chosen by parents to be the signifier of distant commiseration,…
The King I wish I had known The representation of Martin Luther King Jr. that I grew up with, being only 10 years old when he was murdered, was very similar to the image portrayed in the powerful film, “Selma”, and like most people I know, I grew up reading…
The in-custody death of Raymond Eacret Raymond Eacret, 34 years old and a proud Yurok Tribal Member from Trinidad Rancheria, of Eureka, CA, died “in custody” in the Humboldt County Correctional Center on Friday, June 26, 2015. Raymond was held on a misdemeanor charge and was due to be released…
Rosa Luxemburg [1871-1919], the Polish-born revolutionary and writer, was one of the most original theoretical minds of the early twentieth century. Her work stands as a testament to the great social of upheavals of the time and a life lived in struggle for a better world. She ultimately suffered for…
Joel Nelson, a graduate of North Thurston High School and school athelic, was a son, brother, and lover. His life struggles were brought to a sudden end January 5, 2016. He is one more victim of the War on Drugs, which has fueled the ongoing militarization of local police departments…
2015 Income Tax Preparation In partnership with the AARP, the Thurston Asset Building Coalition is offering free tax preparation services throughout Thurston County during this tax season, with a focus on claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Childcare Tax Credit. In 2015, 2,168 people of all ages…
MISSION & VISION Our mission is to connect partners and community resources to promote opportunities for people with limited incomes to become more resilient and prosperous. We envision a Thurston County wherein all individuals and families are able to live, work, meet basic needs, and prosper. WHO WE ARE The…
This year is a Presidential Election year and the Primary season will probably have begun by the time you read this. In our state the first votes are cast Saturday, March 26, at the Washington State Democratic Precinct Caucuses. If you want your favored candidate to be on the November…
Oh Citizens United has divided us Into those with voices and those who cannot speak And it looks like corruption, like democracy disruption And the end of it is what the people seek Five justices with blood upon their hands Have cast a curse upon our sacred land They’ve…
Reform needed for our state’s system of Legal Financial Obligations Debtors’ prisons were abolished in 1842, yet people in Washington and around the country continue to be jailed for failing to keep up on payments for court-imposed fees. Others remain trapped for life in spiraling debt. Washington’s system of Legal…
A look back at this nation’s rejection of Jewish refugees during WW II (The following is an edited version of a talk at a forum held at The Evergreen State College—After Paris: Responding to Islamophobia and the Refugee Crisis—given by Peter Bohmer on December 2, 2015) First, a little about…
Regarding fossil fuels Everyone wants to believe the agreement reached in Paris is definitely “better than nothing.” For all countries, big and small, this “self-prescribed” neutrality climate pledge of 2 degrees-with 1.5 Celsius appears to be a good idea. However, voluntary compliance seems a rudimentary flaw in the plan–a serious…
Northwest firm is behind Longview refinery, Arctic drilling, and more The fossil fuel divestment movement has scored a string of successes across the country, convincing universities, cities, and philanthropies to dump their investments in coal and oil. Now, as the Northwest stares down the barrel of five Keystone XLs’ worth…
What kind of world do we live in? Will the violence never cease? Sting was to appear at a Black Lives Matter rally ‘til he saw a sign that read “Fuck the police” Don’t stand so close to me I’ll be watching you Now we treat Muslims The way…
This grant cycles’ grantees and their funded projects: Stonewall Youth: Sponsorships for four youths to participate in two anti-oppression/social justice workshops ($600) The South Sound Estuarium: Purchase of a cooler system for an aquarium. ($600) Fertile Ground: Acquisition of a street sign, community bulletin board, and seasonal garden interpretive signs.…
Last month, I spent a weekend in New York City visiting family, and as I rode the subway in Manhattan from Columbus Circle to 34st, and from Grand Central to 40st in Queens, and from Herald Square to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I thought about the attacks that happened in…
Statement Concerning the Climate of Political Intolerance: A voice vote was taken on the statement below at the December 9, 2015 Faculty meeting and passed by overwhelming yes vote with one abstention. We, members of the faculty at The Evergreen State College, are deeply troubled by the extreme intolerance of…
The destruction of the Black body in America Here is what I would like for you to know: In America it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage. Ta- Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (a letter to his…
La destrucción del cuerpo Negro en América Esto es lo que me gustaría que usted sepa: En América es tradicional destruir el cuerpo negro – es patrimonio Ta Nehisi Coates, “Entre el Mundo y Yo (una carta a su hijo) I. Los fallecidos Parece justo decir—por lo menos por propósitos…
Because I am a civil-rights activist, I am also an animal-rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel, and vicious taking of life. We don’t have to be a part…