by Marissa Luck

When I heard the state was evicting Occupy Olympia, I was struck with a sense of deja vu: the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) was evicting occupiers based on grounds of health and safety concerns, the same reason provided by a number of cities across the country to justify evicting their local Occupations. The state was likely emboldened by recent successful evictions across the country, namely the ouster of occupiers at Seattle Central Community College just days before the Olympia eviction. But with so many cities using the reason of health and safety concerns, is it actually a valid complaint for every city and every occupation?

by Chris Stearns

An interesting development is now underway with the formation of a citizen's group to advocate for Public Power--the distribution and generation of electricity by our county's own public utility, Thurston PUD No. 1. Currently a water utility, Thurston PUD has grown a great deal over the last seven years. We have a staff of 11 to 12 people and operate water systems in Thurston and four neighboring counties.

by Scott Yoos Legal Defense Fund

The bogus charges against Scott Yoos, an intrepid Works In Progress member and well-loved all-around community volunteer, include felony assault in the third degree--the county claims Scott kicked an Olympia police officer. As of press date, charges have not yet been dropped. If you know Scott and his peaceful and generous spirit, you know how outrageous this charge is.

by Valerie Krull

November 28 at the Capitol in Olympia I find myself swimming in a sea of emotions and thoughts. I had been asked by members of Occupy Olympia to be a police liaison. I accepted this role with some trepidation, though I also anticipated that it would not be a very active role, insofar as dealing with the police.

by Arthur J. Miller

Greetings Sisters and Brothers, a great sucking sound can be heard throughout the land. It's the sound of the land's wealth being sucked up by the greedy parasites on top. We are now suffering because of a great power and wealth acquisition by a few at the expense of the many. A power and wealth grab of historic proportions. We are told that the federal and states budgets and the budgets of many countries must be cut because of high unemployment. Their answer to unemployment is to keep tax cuts for the rich and increase the problem by laying off more workers. We are told that all the money going to the rich will create jobs, just like we were told that the so-call free trade agreements and the WTO would increase good jobs. Where are all those jobs? They are nowhere to be found. We are being lied to and it is as simple as this: the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us keep getting poorer.

by Bethany Weidner

Westside residents and businesses are calling on the newly elected Mayor Stephen Buxbaum and the new City Council to stand up for the Comprehensive Plan and reject the staff-approved 7-Eleven at Harrison and Division.

Honorable Mayor Stephen Buxbaum and Council Members Jim Cooper, Steve Langer, Nathaniel Jones, Jeannine Roe, and Karen Rogers:

We are among the thousand plus citizens of Olympia who oppose the City staff's approval of an auto-dependent, 7-Eleven convenience store on the SE corner of Harrison and Division.

by Marissa Luck

At approximately 12:30 am on December 16, protesters from Occupy Olympia moved into a vacant building across the street from their camp--just 29 minutes after their eviction deadline had passed. The state issued an eviction notice the previous morning, just a day after the end of the Special Legislative Session, telling activists to leave by 12:01 am Friday. Although around 60 tents were voluntarily removed throughout the day on December 15, around 60 tents remained after the deadline, and more than 300 supporters gathered at midnight in expectation of a police confrontation. When police or state troopers did not come, saying they would arrive at 6 am instead, occupiers quietly marched to a building across the street from their camp. The protesters discovered an unlocked door to the building and let themselves in to find working lights and electricity.

by Berd Whitlock

The Thurston Diversity Council presented Occupy Olympia with an award for Unique Achievement in the Area of Human Rights. Occupy Olympia (OO) accepted the award with dignity and grace, and gratitude for being recognized for the important work that has been done, and accomplishments that have been achieved.

by Janet Jordan

Occupy Olympia, along with occupations in most other cities, is being very careful to maintain its independence from political parties. Commentators have cheered this independence. The movement offers a cold appraisal of the two major parties, which together have brought us several unending wars and a broken economy. The movement insists on saying what it sees: both parties are complicit in the sad state of our nation.

by Carole Willey, BSW

A legislative action guide for people interested in helping craft public policy.

by Bill Moyers

Public Citizen celebrated 40 years of progress with a festive gala on Thursday, October 20, 2011. Nearly 600 friends and supporters shared the night as they reflected on decades of amazing accomplishments and looked to the future. Speakers included Peabody Award-winning journalist Bill Moyers and his words are recorded here.

by The Economic Collapse

Most Americans have no idea that the US government once issued debt-free money directly into circulation. America once thrived under a debt-free monetary system, and we can do it again. The truth is that the United States is a sovereign nation and it does not need to borrow money from anyone. Back in the days of JFK, Federal Reserve Notes were not the only currency in circulation. Under JFK (and at various other times), a limited number of debt-free United States Notes were issued by the US Treasury and spent by the US government without any new debt being created. In fact, each bill said "United States Note" right at the top. Unfortunately, United States Notes are not being issued today.

by Human Rights Watch

US President Barack Obama's apparent decision to not veto a defense spending bill that codifies indefinite detention without trial into US law and expands the military's role in holding terrorism suspects does enormous damage to the rule of law both in the US and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. The Obama administration had threatened to veto the bill, the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), over detainee provisions, but on December 14, 2011, it issued a statement indicating the president would likely sign the legislation.

by Janet Jordan

The Green Party of Washington State has invited Nicole Foss to speak on "A Roadmap For the Coming Years of Crisis" on the evening of Saturday, January 28. In preparation, I watched several videos of her speeches. She is a kind of Paul Revere, moving from city to city, warning us of the need to act before the catastrophe is upon us.

by Heather Morford, Director, Tulip Credit Union

Big banks on Wall Street are earning record profits on the backs of their customers, grabbing more of your hard earned money in a rough economic environment and giving nothing back to you, their customers. Send a message to big banks, and big business in general, by moving not only your bank account to a credit union, but moving your debt, too.

from WIP News Service

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from SchNEWS!

SchNEWS! news shorts

A poem by Strife