This world is not a perfect one, and I haven’t figured out how to silence the voice inside me that demands I do my part. That’s why I am running for Olympia City Council: I’m done being patient.
Posts published in “–”
We need fresh perspectives on the Council, and Matt clearly has a valuable perspective and needed skills to offer. He is definitely worth voters’ serious consideration for Olympia City Council, position 3....
“Developments never die. They just come back in another form.” Andy McMillan In March I received a postcard from the Olympia Parks and Recreation Department announcing its plan to develop the 68.67 acre forested natural area above our neighborhood as a “dedicated mountain bike park.” This is how many Westbrook…
Donald Trump is not simply the worst President in recent history—he is systematically bringing about fascism. For a detailed exposition on this, please see ‘Neo-Fascism in the White House’ in the April 2017 issue of Monthly Review and Trump in the White House: Tragedy and Farce (Monthly Review Press, 2017), both by John Bellamy Foster.
The July 2019 interview on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” series. provides information and insights about the growing number of people who do not have reliable places to live. Two savvy guests – Jamie Joy and Tye Gundel – take a fresh look at problems and solutions related to homelessness. (We explain…
I know a recipe for instant community. No, I’m not kidding. It works! First you have a few of your friendly neighbors over to your house from your block and the block next to you. You add laughter and refreshments and chat your way into organizing a block party. If…
On Saturday, June 15, 168 community members came together in downtown Olympia to call for the initiation of the impeachment inquiry process. Olympia Indivisible, Puget Sound Communities4Impeachment, and local members of ByThePeople hosted this event. It was part of a National Day of Action called for by Indivisible, MoveOn, ByThePeople…
This is the first of a regular column on recent activities at the Port of Olympia. Its purpose is to offer information and ask questions about Port operations with the hope that informed public input will help guide the Port to fulfill its mission....
Ellie Belew’s book High Voltage Women: Breaking Barriers at Seattle City Light (Red Letter Press, 2019) is a major feat of researching, organizing and writing what is very complicated information. It is also an inspiring Pacific Northwest story that is an illustration of the song “Freedom is a Constant Struggle.”…
On June 12, farmworkers at King Fuji Ranch in Mattawa began a strike after reaching a tipping point of abuse. The Mattawa workers are here on H-2A visas, which are designed to bring agricultural workers from abroad when an employer expects a shortage of workers domestically. Most of the guest…
A state that deprives some people of equal rights and privileges can not call itself an egalitarian, democratic state. Yet we’re taught that a commitment to equal rights and democracy is exactly what makes the United States “exceptional.” So the dissonance between the practices of exclusion that were defining aspects…
Reflections on community and contemplation: Ever since the attacks of September, 2001, we Americans have been subjected to a relentless barrage of news, analyses, studies, and reports about terrorism. In light of recent terrorist incidents in Europe as well as our homeland, we are tempted to conclude that Islam itself is somehow to blame...
As WIP is going to press, Ziegler and her team are completing the Lacey Food Bank community art project. Concrete is poured and the stencils described below to be incorporated into the sidewalk. Make time for a visit to the bank at 7027 Martin Way in July....
An independent entirely community-created entity: Do you ever “round up” for the Community Sustaining Fund (CSF) when making a purchase at the Olympia Food Co-op (OFC)? The spare change left when you round up to the next whole dollar, instead of jingling in your pocket, adds up to become sustaining fund grants, and an opportunity for social, environmental and economic justice projects....
Don’t Congregate Don’t Elaborate Individuate Just to Placate the State of Quo. Your Boss, Health, Gender, Sex, History Privatize it Individuate it all in the the State of Quo. Go Deep Disappear within It’s all Toxic and the Air is Thin Individuate. It’s the Only Win In the…
Pier Peer at Boston Harbor Marina… Love letters from the end of the World…. Green Party of South Puget Sound candidate picnic… Bridge Music Project Dance Contest!... Edible weeds… Caught in the Act”…. Community Expo and Street Fair… Bridge Music Project concert on the Isthmus… Paddle to Lummi 2019… GRuB Carnival!...
On June 17, 2019 (as though she knew it was the WIP theme for July) Caitlin Johnston @caitoz tweeted: “Rugged individualism will not save humanity from the crises it faces. We only win this thing as a collective. The trouble is that malignant manipulators hijack our healthy impulse to move…
“We need to knock off this enabling business,” Commissioner Gary Edwards said, adding that “they have chosen a deviant lifestyle, and if we endorse it, and don’t hold them accountable, they will continue to come.” 1 In towns and cities across the US, sidewalks, overpasses and wooded areas are home…
Seattle’s street paper embeds its vendors in a caring community Tim Harris founded and is the Executive Director of Real Change, a weekly progressive street newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. He was interviewed by Matt Crichton this May. Matt Crichton: Why did you start Real Change? Tim Harris: I started…
Washington State will have the strongest immigrant protection legislation in the country, according to ACLU Coordinator Eric Gonzales. “Keep Washington Working,” just passed by our legislature, ensures the rights and dignity of all residents and recognizes the importance of immigrants. The legislation repeals two anti-immigrant bills that have been on…
When Amazon unleashed its bidding war for a second headquarters, more than 200 cities offered mind-blowing sums of money to lure the e-commerce giant. Crystal City in Virginia “won” at a cost of $23 million in perks, on top of $75 million more from the state. “Loser” Long Island City…
I don’t remember when my parents were kicked out of their apartment. I was one, my older brother was two, and a younger brother was just born. The landlord told my parents that he can’t have three little kids in his apartment. We moved in with my grandparents for three…
In my family, we shake our heads when we read about the booming economy. My husband works as a merchandiser and we have an amazing 19-month-old son. I’m a stay-at-home mom, because we can’t afford childcare. In this supposedly booming economy, we find ourselves struggling every month just to cover…
Do I have a right to exist in America? Do you? Answering should be easy; of course: we do. Because we are here, we are alive, we are human. Do people who do not have decent housing have a right to exist? That answer is not always so easy, especially…
PFLAG Olympia Garage Sale... Olympia Climate Action.... National Gun Violence Awareness Day... “Mission Impact: Our Collective Future”... Bat Walk... Garden Gala... Progressive Candidate Forum... Jacobin Reading Group... Hispanic Roundtable Community Summit... StoryOly... Capital City Pride Parade and Festival 2019... SURJ Annual Potluck... IWW 114th Birthday Party... Mycorestoration/Saving the Bees...
In the current circumstances, it’s hard to think of a phrase laden with more cynicism than “home is where your heart is.” Under the sugar-coated implication that the location of ‘home’ is defined by an act of love lies the concealed notion that fulfilling human needs requires no material basis.…
OMJP saw the writing on the wall in 2005... In 2005, US newspapers were full of talk of the need to counter Iranian nuclear ambitions—with possible military action....