National Voter Registration Day. For many of my fellow Americans, the day (which was Tuesday by the way) does not exactly belong in the pantheon of notable recognized days that deserve to be mentioned in Facebook posts or serve as the inspiration for time-off requests to their employers. In all honesty, National Voter Registration Day probably falls somewhere between Arbor Day and National Hog Day — I will let you guess which one is more important to Americans. Hint. It is not the one about the trees. Continue reading

A couple of years ago, I was walking down a busy street when a man stopped me and said "Sir, do you have a job?" I was a little startled, but managed to respond "Yes sir, I do have a job." The man then pointed to a dilapidated, half-broken parking sign and said "look at that, doesn't that sign need someone to fix it? I'd like that job. Why won't they give me a job. I need a job." I tried to help by looking up some temporary employment offices, and he said he'd go there first thing in the morning. I hope they gave him a chance. This experience has really stuck with me, and reminded me of all those times growing up when my dad couldn't find a job. Is it the fault of the individual worker? Whether it is the man on the street or my own father? No, none of this is the workers' fault. Rather, it is the system that is at fault. Continue reading

The Goucher poll gives Gov. Larry Hogan (R) a 22 percent lead over Democrat Ben Jealous. This dismal result expands by 6 percent Hogan’s lead from an Aug. 14 Gonzalez poll, which had him ahead 52 percent to 36 percent. If Jealous is able to cut Hogan's lead in half he will still lose by a landslide. Without a major surprise it is hard to see Jealous doing better than shrinking his loss to a landslide from a complete blowout. Continue reading

I remember. I remember all those who died on 9/11. I remember my pain. All our pain. Unity. Fear and anger. I remember that many of us said do not treat our cries of grief as a cry for war. Seek justice. Treat it as a criminal act. Use it to build peace, not war. Continue reading

Last year a Montana Democratic Party spokesperson told the media “The Montana Democratic Party welcomes all voices to participate in the Democratic process -- unlike the Montana GOP, which... has a record of trying to remove third-party candidates from the ballot.” So when the Montana Green Party turned in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this year, what do you think the Democrats did? Continue reading

The national controversy over those who choose to protest racial injustice in America by placing one knee on the ground during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner doesn’t seem to be going away. The NFL announced a policy last May that any players who protest the anthem while on the field will be subject to discipline from the league. Here in Carbondale, Illinois, where I reside, Southern Illinois University – or, as I like to call it, Self-Impaling University – impaled itself once again by announcing a policy forbidding student athletes, cheerleaders and spirit members from engaging in “displays of activism” while in uniform. Thankfully, after a public outcry, the university quickly reversed itself. Continue reading

Ten years ago, there was panic in Washington, DC, New York City and financial centers around the world as the United States was in the midst of an economic collapse. The crash became the focus of the presidential campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain and was followed by protests that created a popular movement, which continues to this day. Continue reading

Background In December 2017, I reached out to anti-war organizers in the Chicago area for the purpose of attempting to reboot the anti-war movement there. I began advocating to hold an action in late August 2018, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in which the Democratic Party machine suppressed the movement for peace within its own party and violently attacked it with police on the streets of the city. Continue reading

There is a town hall meeting on Thursday, August 23rd, at 6:00 pm at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, California, to address our community put in crisis due to cannabis regulation. This meeting is to address the effects county and agency policies are having on our local economy and the state of mind of the citizenry. Policy makers from County Code, the Sheriff’s Department, Fish and Wildlife, Water Quality and our Supervisor Estelle Fennell will be there for our input. The entities mentioned above are responsible for allowing the huge, environmentally destructive cannabis grows to proliferate for eight years in our beautiful hillsides, destroying our once-pristine night skies, grading our forests and diverting our streams needed by fish and ourselves. The laws were not enforced. Ironically, now that cannabis is legal, they have decided to go after as many small grows as huge ones. Continue reading

This week, the Trump military parade, planned for November 10, was canceled for 2018. In February, a coalition of groups went public, announcing we would organize to stop the military parade and, if it went forward, to mobilize more people at the parade calling for peace and an end to war than supporting militarism. The coalition called for “ending the wars at home and abroad.” The No Trump Military Parade coalition intended to show the world that the people of the United States do not support war. The coalition has been meeting regularly to build toward organized mass opposition to the proposed parade. People were working to make this protest a take-off for a renewed peace movement in a country exhausted by never-ending wars and massive military spending, but our first goal was to stop the parade from happening. Continue reading