Posts with the tag Protest

One Nation, Thanks Entirely to Community Organizers

Susan Chandler — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:38:26 EDT

The local media was apparently not interested in a rebuttal to Gov. Sarah Palin's damnation of Obama's experience as a Community Organizer. If we forget our history, we'll forget how our nation was formed and reformed. Here's my letter:

Dear Editor:

Unlike Governor Sarah Palin, I have a deep and abiding respect for community organizers.

A couple of centuries ago, community organizers were responsible for putting together a protest commonly referred to as "The Boston Tea Party" that was part of many other organized events that made it possible for me to write a letter for publication that opposes the words of a Governor. Those community organized events also ensured that all of our governors are elected by a majority of their constituents rather than appointed by a King. No American needs to bow or curtsey before another American.

Other community organizers made sure that child labor laws were enacted. Still other community organizers ended my childhood confusion over why the water that came out of the "colored" water fountains in Florida didn't have any color at all. Still other community organizers made it possible for me -- a woman -- to vote, and paved the way for Sarah Palin to be elected as Alaska's governor.

I'd rather have my name associated with community organizers like Samuel Adams, Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr. than Gov. Sarah Palin. When these community organizers spoke, they did not slander anyone. When they wrote, they did not libel anyone. There was no need to do either, their causes were just; the oppression was obvious.

The official White House biography of President Washington, a military leader entrusted with the lives of all of our troops, recounts that "he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit." I don't want a pitbull in lipstick for a Vice President; I want someone sufficiently capable of circumspection to give respect where it is due. We would have no nation at all if it weren't for community organizers, and community organizers -- Adams and Jefferson -- have served honorably as President of the United States.

Sincerely,

Susan Chandler

Email the founder of PUMA .. we're winning

Democrat in Saint Petersburg, FL — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:56:55 EDT

Send this to the founder of PUMA! She can't say she is a Democrat and support John McCain by giving him $500 in 2000 and giving $0 to Al Gore. She was gunning for him then and she is gunning for him now! Visit http://yestodemocracy.org for more info.

Many people have already emailed me and told me that they have sent it along. We need MORE support! We can beat PUMA, we can debunk their lies.

To:murphy@pumapac.org

Title: Answers Please

Murphy:

As someone who says YES TO a better DEMOCRACY I would like to know why PUMA doesn’t care about women’s issues. Why did you give $500 to John McCain in 2000? Is it because you support his opposition of Roe vs. Wade, The Equal Rights Amendment, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?

Why did you support John McCain in 2000 and again in 2008? Is it because Senator McCain voted to gut The Family and Medical Leave Act, opposed spending $100 million to prevent teen pregnancies, or because he opposed Title X?

Is that why you supported John McCain so feverishly before and after founding PUMA? Because he opposed having insurance companies require coverage for birth control? Or is it because he is opposed to comprehensive sex education?

Your organization PUMA says they care about sexism.

Do you support John McCain because he once referred to Chelsea Clinton’s appearance as “ugly,” saying that it was because “Janet Reno is her dad..” Is that why you support John McCain and misogyny? Or is it because he cheated on his first wife and left her after the years she waited patiently for Senator McCain to return from Vietnam? Is that how PUMA combats misogyny?

Do you support John McCain’s character because he laughs when Hillary Clinton is referred to as a female dog by other McCain supporters, yet doesn’t bother to correct it? Do you support John McCain because he referred to his wife, Cindy McCain, in a derogatory term?

Or do you support John McCain because he kept the $300,000.00 given to him by Clayton Williams, who jokes about women being Raped. Is that how PUMA combats sexism? Is that why you supported Senator McCain in 2000 and again in 2008? Is that why you founded PUMA?

Signed,

Real Democrats for Change.

No DNC Protest for Obama Supporters, Voter Registration

Smithie — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:33:08 EDT

Summary: Obama HQ asked us not to demonstrate outside of the DNC Rules and By Laws Meeting on Saturday, May 31, 2008 in Washington, DC. The meeting may determine how the Florida and Michigan delegates are seated at the Democratic National Convention in August, 2008.

Obama HQ wants us to register voters in our local communities (not outside the hotel - smile) on Saturday during or after the DNC meeting. Watch the meeting live on CSPAN.

Join your local Barack Obama supporters and register voters on Saturday. There are voter registration events Saturday and they need YOU!

Voter Registration Drive - Saturday, May 31 2008

Instead of protesting, Obama HQ is encouraging Obama supporters from across the region to make a positive impact on Saturday, May 31 by joining the Vote for Change National Voter Registration and Mobilization Drive. Plan a voter registration drive.

Virginia Area Voter Drive - Saturday, May 31, 2008

Voter Registration events in the Virginia area on Saturday, May 31, 2008. See a map of voter registration drives already planned in VA on the Obama web site.

Find a Voter Registration Drive Near You

Please go to the Vote for Change National Voter Registration and Mobilization Drive web page.

Obama Campaign Said...

We can send a powerful message to the special interests that dominate the old politics if millions of people get registered to vote. Recent voter registration drives have registered more than 200,000 new Democrats in Pennsylvania, more than 165,000 new Democrats in North Carolina, and more than 150,000 new Democrats in Indiana. Those numbers just scratch the surface of what's possible.

_________________________________________________

Voter Registration Rules for Your State

1. Before you begin any Voter Registration, please read your state’s legal guidelines.

2. Following local guidelines ensures we empower the greatest number of people possible in our Vote For Change effort.

Protest Discouraged 4 Obama Supporters - Obama HQ Blogger

Smithie — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:19:44 EDT

1. An Obama HQ Blogger says Obama supporters are being asked not to protest outside the DNC Rules and By Laws Committee Meeting on May 31 in Wash, DC. See part of the article, On the RBC Meeting: How to Make a Positive Impact this Weekend, below.

2. To hear the audio of Obama reps (Plouffe and Wilhelm, I think) saying it to reporters, more than once in a conference call, see the TPM article and go to the bottom of the page.

On the RBC Meeting: How to Make a Positive Impact this Weekend

By Christopher Hass, Obama HQ Blogger

May 28th, 2008 at 6:36 pm EDT

On Saturday, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee will meet in Washington D.C. to determine whether Florida and Michigan delegates should be allowed to participate at the Democratic convention in August. We look forward to the meeting proceeding smoothly—and we're asking that our supporters not demonstrate or disrupt the proceedings in any way.

Instead, we're urging supporters from across the region to make a positive impact this weekend by helping out with voter registration and organizational events taking place on Saturday.

Read the rest, visit the Obama site.

An ABC article quotes Plouffe.

Despite reports, Plouffe said they are "not encouraging" Obama supporters to gather in Washington, D.C. to protest Saturday's meeting, "We are not encouraging our people to gather and protest on Saturday -- obviously with the click of a mouse it would be pretty easy for us to get thousands of people there but we don't think it’s a helpful dynamic to create chaos and, in the interest of party unity, we're encouraging our supporters not to protest. We don't think a scene, as we wind down the primary season here, is helpful to bringing the party together."

To hear the conference call, go to the bottom of this TPM article.

Watch the meeting live on CSPAN.

Counter Protest of DNC Meeting Discouraged (Audio Available)

Smithie — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:54:34 EDT

David Plouffe, Obama campaign manager, quoted by TPM in a May 28, 2008 article called "Hillary Camp Invokes Florida Recount Debacle; Obama Camp Says They're Not Encouraging Protests" said...

(Article has an audio recording so you can hear it yourself. Follow link to TPM and look for the audio link at the botom of the TPM page.)

"We are not encouraging our people to gatger in protest on Saturday. Obviously with the click of a mouse it would be pretty easy for us to get thousands of people there." He added that they weren't doing that "in the interest of party unity."

Link to article:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tpmelectioncentral/~3/299980047/obama_campaign_manager_we_are.php

Pit In My Gut This Morning

FreedomOfSpeech — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:52:32 EDT

I was sitting here watching Morning Joe and Mika and Joe are lamenting over the fact that the Olympic Torch , being carried through first , the streets of London , was under attack by protesters who were trying to extinguish the flame because they are upset at what China did to the Tibetan Priest. Poor Torch.

Now , the sucker is being carried through Paris and Mika and Joe are just shocked that the French don't approve of the Olympics either and are protesting against China by trying to put out the flame. They have tons of police protection for.....the f****** torch. The TORCH gets police protection okay?

I'm literally sick in my gut. I can't believe that Joe and Mika , along with , I'm certain many other self-centered fools, don't seem to understand why the protesters are trying to put out that flame and are rejecting China right now. I am sick over the fact that Joe and Mika care more about a friggin TORCH than they do those Tibetans who were slaughtered or beaten by the Chinese Government.

A TORCH Is More valuable than human life. This is the kind of crap I was talking about earlier.

Who care's about these "people" .

"Save The Olympic TORCH !"

This is exactly the kind of crap I blogged about before. This attitude sucks , America!

STUDENTS STAGE DIE-IN TO PROTEST WAR

funkfresh01 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:34:47 EDT

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/03/14/News/Students.Stage.DieIn.On.Quad-3269402.shtml

Author: Paolo Cisneros

Thursday morning was an unusual one for Karen Medina, graduate student in library and information sciences. Instead of studying for exams or sitting in class, she was chalking body outlines on the Quad.

Medina and dozens of other anti-war activists took to the streets Thursday morning to stage a march and "die-in" protest as a way of demonstrating their discontent with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

"We're calling it a 'condemoration' because we're both condemning and commemorating the war," Medina said.

The two-hour event was organized primarily by the Campus Greens and University chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Students for Justice in Palestine, Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice and the College Democrats co-sponsored the event.

The cooperation of the groups was a large part of the morning's success, said Jeremy Polacek, senior in LAS. "We (Campus Antiwar Network) don't have a monopoly on the anti-war effort by any means," he said. "The collaboration of these groups was really important."

The demonstration began at roughly 11 a.m. Activists gathered to chant anti-war slogans before marching down Green Street to Fifth Street and then back around the Quad.

Many held signs condemning the war as others provided vocal support for the cause.

"This war has been going on for five years now, and, at this point, most people are against it," said Mark Mallon, junior in LAS. "We need to stop spending billions of dollars on this illegal and immoral war."

Wear Orange this Friday if You Don't like Torture

Liz — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:30:45 EST

January 11 is the 6 Year Anniversary of Guantanamo Prison

In spite of the fact that a few deluded individuals on this site refer to me as a Republican Troll and call me even worse names because I don’t support Hillary Clinton, I am most likely among the top 5% of the most liberal Democrats who post here.

Among other groups, I have been a member and supporter of the ACLU for almost 20 years. Friday, January 11 is the six year anniversary of the first arrival of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

The ACLU is calling on everyone opposed to torture and indefinite detention to WEAR ORANGE to symbolize their sadness and disgust with the national shame of the Guantanamo prison and what this administration has done.

You can go to this link and find out how to organize for this important day.

Dissent is one of the tools of Democracy. USE IT OR LOSE IT.

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/closeguantanamo.html

Rose Parade Protests

Jim Callahan — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:52:32 EST

Human rights advocates plan to protest a float honoring the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and anti-war activists, including "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan, intend to rally for peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071229/ap_on_re_us/rose_parade;_ylt=AsCMBBx5choOBpdQJ6zU18is0NUE

Tom Paxton tags one outta the park

Paul Thompson — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:00:22 EDT

One of my favorite folkies is Tom Paxton. He's been writing and performing for a million years or so.

Back in the 60's, Paxton wrote "Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation", a scathing political attack on the liar with the big ears.

Now, Paxton has reworked that song.

"George W. Told The Nation (audio only)"

Here's a video montage of the song on YouTube.

off topic: two months til christmas!!

annie b (mcliberal) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:47:32 EDT

i'm excited because i have already started my shopping! and the holiday season is so fun and joyful! i already got my cards, which i will mail the day before thanksgiving, and i will make a turkey and watch the macy's parade and cry buckets at all the broadway acts! i have a boston red sox witch hat to wear for halloween, and i am going to manhattan for my birthday! i am seeing "young frankenstein", and a bunch of other shows. i am so excited! i love fall and winter and mittens and scarves and boots and shovels and snowy days and bright christmas lights. do they have christmas lights in iraq? will our soldiers get turkey on thanksgiving? how bright can our holidays be when so many of our family members are at risk and living in peril?

fall out against the iraq war

annie b (mcliberal) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:22:29 EDT

Link

mcsexy and i are all signed up. will YOU be there?

Breaking: 200 March at to Protest Taser & Felony Arrest

Jim Callahan — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:39:30 EDT

Today, the day following the taser incident, arrest, overnight jailing and filing of felony charges 200 people marched at University of Florida (UF) reports the Gainesville Sun daily newspaper website:

About 200 people marched to the University of Florida Police Department Tuesday afternoon in protest of the arrest of a college student who was shot with a Taser gun during a speech by U.S. Sen. John Kerry Monday.

The crowd, made up mostly of UF students, carried signs that said, â��Don't Tase broâ�� and â��Free speech is not a felony.â�� * * * UF spokesman Steve Orlando also spoke to the group, who were told that two police officers, one the officer who used the Taser on student Andrew W. Meyer and the sergeant who had ordered the action, had been placed on paid administrative leave. * * *The group began to disperse at about 12:45 p.m. after learning that UF President Bernie Machen had announced a news conference had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at Emerson Alumni Hall.

There were no reports that officers arrested or cited any of the protestors.

Link

The Gainesville Sun has another article, "Web Reactions to Tasering" which includes links to Andrew Meyers own web-site and the Facebook site, "Don't Taser me Bro."
Link

Breaking: Students protest Taser & Arrest 1 PM today

Jim Callahan — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:03:23 EDT

Florida students protest; create Facebook page

A group of [University of Florida] UF students will stage a march today from noon to 1 p.m. on the Plaza of the Americas, said Tina Steiger, an international relations junior who helped organize the march.

Steiger said students would demand that UPD drop all charges against [Andrew Meyer], immediately suspend the officers involved in his arrest and remove all Taser guns from campus.

Link

Original CNN iReport video (in case you missed it)
Link

MASHED POTATOES coming to a Film Festival near you soon!

Annie Spell — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 09:18:44 EDT

My documentary on the Crawford Uprising coming soon to a film festival near you MASHED POTATOES Running Time 41 min. Film by Annie Spell Music by Brian Stoltz Film Synopsis: MASHED POTATOES documents the occupation of the Texas bar ditches by antiwar activists outside of Crawford near the Presidential Ranch in August 2005.

Link

GENERAL STRIKE in the USA - Sept. 11, 2007 - 9/11

Michael Collins — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:05:11 EDT

No School * No Work * No Shopping. Hit the Streets

http://www.strike911.org/

Michael Collins Scoop Independent News Washington, D.C.

A general strike is proposed for the United States on September11, 2007, the sixth anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks on New York City and Arlington, Virginia. The general strike movement has no clearly named leadership. It’s described as an Internet viral effort. Wikipedia defines viral efforts on the Internet as:

An object (or an idea) is viral when it has the ability to spread copies of itself or change other similar objects to become more like (it) when those objects are simply exposed to the viral object.

General strikes, more common in Europe, are events that shut down the normal operations of a city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force awareness and action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 9/11/07 General Strike has a central location - http://www.strike911.org/ - on the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:

The General Strike is a national call to action, from citizens to other citizens. It is not about a single issue. It is not an anti-war protest, a civil rights protest, an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, the 9/11 coverup, or the environment. This strike is about all these issues and more.

We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern: we are being lied to and this government does not represent us. Join other Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.

This is our country. And our world. We just have to stand up.

A National Call to Action: Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 No school. No work. Buy nothing. Hit the streets (Click ABOUT)

Play a protest song on the 4th of July

Marksg1 — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:45:29 EDT

Take a moment to cue up an angry protest song from the 60's or 70's; Dylan, CSN&Y, Fogarty... Let's take the 4th of July to do that; to remember the revolutionary spirit that formed our country.

The majority of legislators in Congress are now baby boomers like me. Those who grew up in the 60's and 70's helped change the world. We went from a Victorian country that questioned nothing to a country that questioned everything. We helped stop a war that was bring down our country and destroying America's moral high ground. We stopped tolerating politicians and presidents who stopped listening or who thought they were above the law. We were patriots and we did it for the good of America.

What's happened to us? Why are our politicians behaving like it's the 50's, not 2007? What happened to "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"? Why aren't my contemporaries in Congress feeling like I do; that we won't take it any more?

Music reminds us of the time when we first heard the song; some good times, some not so good times. Maybe our politicians need to stop and listen to the music.

Take a moment to cue up a protest song. We can do it again, America.

''Don't pump gas on May 15th'

dk2 — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:59:53 EDT

Sent by email are you up to a protest?:

Netroots action day.

NO GAS...On May 15th 2007

On April 1997, there was a 'gas out' conducted
nationwide in protest of gas prices.
Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon
overnight.

On May 15th 2007, all Internet users are to not go to
a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is
now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.

There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on
the Internet network, and the average car takes about
30 to 50 dollars to fill up.

If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it
would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the
oil companies' pockets for just one day, so please do
not go to the gas station on May 15th and lets try to
put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at
least one day.

If you agree, resend this to all your contact list,
with it saying, ''Don't pump gas on May 15th'

When Music and Politics Collide

Barry C aka Casey — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 01:12:36 EST

I grew up in a very musical household. We were the first family I knew to get a "stereo". A term most of us have dropped from our vocabulary it is so obsolete. Our first forty-five may have been Sam Cooke's "Twistin' The Night Away". If that was the case the second was Pete Seeger's anti-war anthem "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" as recorded by "The Kingston Trio". From Pete Seeger to Peter, Paul and Mary, to Bob Dylan to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young music and protest go together. More importantly when that music strikes a chord in the hearts of Americans, our leaders better listen up.

Now they're maybe a worse singer than I, but I sing along to music my daughter puts on the radio when we are together anyway. More and more today these songs have political statements. Even better both my son and my daughter know the words to such songs as "Blowin In The Wind" and "For What Its Worth". They may not know who The Buffalo Springfield were, but they know who Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young are. Their music and the music of many others from Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell to Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead fed the revolt against Viet Nam.

Tonight I watched the Grammy's. Yeah fat old hippie watching a music award show that had long ago lost it's meaning to me. But hey, I liked The Police and wanted to see them again. Then before I can change the channel they introduced Joan Baez. She spoke of Pete Seeger and folk music and how it can still strike the right chord in all of us. After some eloquent words about Folk Music she introduced The Dixie Chicks. Now I don't know anything about the Dixie Chicks except what they said about President Bush. I had heard their hit "Not Ready To Make Nice" and I liked it. Now honestly, I didn't have a clue that they were nominated for any Grammy's much less the five they would eventually win. Anyway the Dixie Chicks come out and sing their hit "Not Ready to Make Nice". Then the first major award, Song Of The Year, nominees are announced and wouldn't you know it "Not Ready to Make Nice" is nominated. However, the bigger shock was when they won Song of the Year. So now the Grammy's have my attention. Next up for the awards given on air was Best Country Album and damn if the Dixie Chicks' album "Taking The Long Way" doesn't win. At this point I envision President Bush kicking the dog and pouring a Jack Daniels. But when "Not Ready to Make Nice" won the coveted Record of The Year award I'm sorry but I think ole Barney went right through the television.

I'm being a smart ass but there is a point to this. When we have supported our wars songs like "Over There" and "Your A Grand Old Flag" top the charts. When we don't support the current war you get Country Joe MacDonald's "What Are We Fighting For" (you know "Well it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for...) or Crosby Stills Nash and Young's "Ohio", dedicated to the four innocent students killed at Kent State. Sadly we already know where all the flowers have gone; they rest sadly and respectfully on top of flag draped coffins. So whether it's Dixie Chicks or Dylan let your voices ring out over the land.

1,2,3,4 We Dont Want...

Barry C aka Casey — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:43:44 EST

I wonder how many reading this know how that phrase ends. I suggested in a previous post on Link that everyone who opposes this war watch a new documentary about John Lennon's struggle with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). From the trailer I had just seen I knew that this story was important for Americans to see. The U.S. vs. John Lennon follows the story of Nixon's war against the anti-war movement and how it was linked to the attempt to deport John and Yoko because John had been busted for marijuana in England. Today's politics are so much the same and in many ways so much worse then during Nixon's presidency.
During Nixon's time there was an enemies list (see the list here Link that eventually made it to the media. People were shocked that a president actually kept a list of people who he thought was a threat to the nation. People like columnist Jack Anderson, journalist Daniel Schorr and actor Paul Newman were all considered to be subversives. Today that don't keep it a secret, they have Dick Cheney out there telling everyone if you oppose them then you are a traitor. The movie has G. Gordon Liddy defending that war and supporting the current administrations Iraq policy. I have reached the conclusion that many in the Republican Party still don't get it.
Too many Republicans act as if they have never even heard the words of one of the truly great Republicans

that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

No today we get "as it is that I am the decider..." We all need to wake up and tell this president and his few remaining supporters that the time has come for them to leave the stage. They are corrupt and morally bankrupt. I and others who speak out against them are the patriots. Dissent is free speech. Protest is patriotic. Freedom isn't free it is hard work and for my part I will continue to speak out and urge people to come out and protest. Dig out those old peace buttons or go to your local "head shop" and buy a new one. Go online and order an Impeach Bush bumper sticker. When you are out there in the streets remember these two phrases "Power to the People" and "1,2,3,4 we don't want your fucking war".