by Howard Rosenfeld

On Tuesday, August 19th, a newly formed coalition presented a draft resolution to the Olympia City Council in support of civil liberties and against the USA Patriot Act. City Council Member Curt Pavola acted as the point person for the City of Olympia and has been working with organizers from the coalition. All city council members present that evening spoke to the resolution, except for Doug Mah and Jeannette Hawkins (Hawkins was absent). There were 8-10 people who spoke, all in favor of the proposed resolution. Coalition member Bruce DeLoria (Thurston County ACLU) also met . . .

by Fay Franks and Sitchensis

This year has seen Cascadia’s forest activist community come together as never before under the unified banner of "Cascadia Summer," with new levels of regional coordination and outreach. The result: an influx of people from around the country and a region better prepared for the massive war on forests being planned and orchestrated by the Unites States Government. Amongst the exciting news of the summer – besides the usual intensive direct action campaigns – are the new lengths (and heights!) Cascadia’s eco-radicals have gone to work with what remains of legal . . .

by Mechelle Peterson

OlyNow! Congratulatory Street Celebration happens September 21, 3-9pm

located on 9th and Adams-the area surrounding Timberland Library in downtown Olympia.

OlyNow will strive to explore and integrate our collective visions for a sustainable community. OlyNow is created by your community – not a top down movement. OlyNow’s inspiration comes from the conviction that change happens by focusing on what we do want to see, rather than demonstrating against negative things. Focusing on what is negative only gives it more power. At a recent potluck, an OlyNow organizer recalled . . .

by Larry Mosqueda

Glen Anderson wrote a very good article in last month’s Works in Progress explaining the 2nd Annual Choosing Peace Series to be held in the Olympia area this year. Like last year, it is to be held around the time of September 11th, since that has become a dividing line for many people as they try to make sense of the changing conditions in the world. 9/11/01 was indeed a traumatic time for many, but also, for many of us, it was a continuation of the shocking and horrifying events that have happen throughout history, especially U.S. foreign policy in the 20th Century. See my . . .

For those who read last month’s opinion pieces about the Food Co-op’s purchase of price scanners, WIP would like to inform you that the Co-op will be addressing this issue in the fall edition of the Co-op News. So watch for the Co-op News in order to read more information and opinions from a variety of perspectives on the decision to bring scanners to the Co-op.

by Peter Francis Tassoni

The City Council has been asked by the South Sound Clean Clothes Coalition to consider a policy that would require City Departments to purchase Clean Clothes whenever possible. Clean clothes are articles of clothing that are produced free of "sweatshop labor," or what would be considered as a substandard way to make a living or quality of life. Articles may be produced in an unhealthy environment with little or no concern for the employee producing the work. The current purchasing practices indicate City Departments are approximately 50% compliant.

by Greg Hohnholt

A Native American (Tlingit) resident of Olympia, Rich Paddock, was hit by a van operated by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) on Wednesday, August 13 at about 12:30 p.m. at 4th and Central Avenues. Paddock reported that he was crossing at an authorized crosswalk in broad daylight on his bike when the PSE van struck him. Despite these facts, Paddock is being treated as if his choice of clothing for the day was the indirect cause of the accident, and that the driver of the van was blameless.

Public Citizen

WASHINGTON - August 20 - Bureaucracy in the health care system accounts for about a third of total U.S. health care spending – a sum so great that if the United States were to have a national health insurance program, the administrative savings alone would be enough to provide health care coverage for all the uninsured in this country, according to two new studies.

by Kelley Kramer

I recently had an email exchange with a right-winger from my local newspaper, and of course the war with Iraq came up pretty quick. But he said something in defense of George Bush that really surprised me. In defense of the attack on Iraq he said 'between Hussein and Bush, Hussein is the bad guy'.

My first response was ... So your guy is better than a third world dictator, Wow! what an accomplishment! Does he put that on his resume?

And with that in mind, I started wondering ... what would a George W. Bush resume look like exactly? Listed below is what I came up with.

by Marco Rosaire Rossi

In the United States, people with mental illness are discriminated against and abused in all sections of the criminal justice system. For them, working through the harsh and rigid complexities of America's judicial system is a hopeless and abusive experience. Both police and prison officials, who are ill equipped with knowledge and skills, often behave with neglect or brutality towards mentally ill individuals.

by Ron Jacobs

One of Che Guevara's most oft-repeated quotes was "At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love." Author Neil Gordon's new novel, The Company You Keep, could easily have used this quote as its subtitle. The story of a fictional former member of the Weather Underground who has been living under an assumed name since the early 1970s after a failed bank robbery where a bank guard was murdered, Gordon's novel is a thriller of a tale. The primary protagonist-one Jason Sinai who assumed the identity of a dead man named . . .