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Posts published by “Maru Mora Villalpando”

Dejamos de comer para que nos escuchen

Conocí a Cipriano Ríos Alegría en el 2014. Él estaba en detención y participando en una huelga de hambre en el Centro de Detención del Noroeste en Tacoma, Washington – el NWDC por sus siglas en inglés. Es unos de los centros de detención más grandes de la costa oeste…

La muralla invisible

Inmediatamente después de la inauguración del Presidente Trump en 2017, su administración anunció una agenda dura para la inmigración que incluía construir una muralla en la frontera, expandiendo masivamente la ejecución de políticas de inmigración en el interior, y aprobando leyes para limitar la inmigración legal. La agenda política del Presidente Trump se puso en acción rápidamente con la expedición de órdenes ejecutivas...

Building the movement for immigrant rights

Following the shock of the November 2016 presidential election, immigrant rights activists quickly moved into resistance and movement-building. Out of the expanse of already active groups and legal supports for immigrants emerged WAISN – the Washington Immigrant Rights Solidarity Network. Anyone on the WAISN listserve or who checks its webpage quickly learns that this is a vital zone ...

Construyendo el movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes

Tras el impacto de las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre de 2016, los activistas por los derechos de los inmigrantes rápidamente se movilizaron hacia la resistencia y por la construcción de movimientos. WAISN - la Red de Solidaridad por los Derechos de Inmigrantes de Washington, surge como extensión y resultado de grupos ya activos y otras formas de apoyo legal para los inmigrantes. Cualquier persona en la lista...

Profiles of local and regional immigrant rights organizations

Strengthening Sanctuary: Strengthening Sanctuary was formed after our City Council declared Olympia a sanctuary city. We support immigrant rights and strive to create a safe, welcoming community for everyone. We declare our solidarity with all community members, regardless of immigration or documentation status. We make decisions by consensus and practice…

Dirigiéndose a los Musulmanes: la política del miedo

El 26 de junio, la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos confirmó la llamada Prohibición Musulmana del presidente Trump, una de las muchas políticas antiinmigrantes que reflejan el racismo, la xenofobia y la islamofobia de la administración. La aborrecible retórica de la campaña de Trump que promete un “cierre total y completo de los musulmanes que ingresan a los EE. UU.” Es ahora una política nacional, ...

Let’s understand the Islamic faith

This month’s interview on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” will help us understand and appreciate Islam as a legitimate faith in the world, in the US, and in our local communities. Islam is the world’s second most popular religious faith, but almost all Americans who are not Muslim do not understand the…

El Cuerpo de Seguridad del Condado de Thurston y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE)

Que le pare un vehículo de patrulla, ni hablar de que lo arresten, es una experiencia desconcertante, especialmente si usted es un ciudadano de otro país y no posee documentos que demuestran su derecho legal a estar en los EEUU. ¿Qué pasa si esta parada de tránsito o el arresto lleva a que sea entregado al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas, o a ICE? ¿Qué significará mi encuentro para mi y mi familia?...

Family values?

“We have to look in the mirror and ask, who are we as a country? Are we the kind of country that intentionally targets families, and separates children from their parents?”—Senator Kamala Harris

Alex Rivera’s 2008 film, The Sleep Dealer tells the story of Memo, a young man who is forced to leave his home in Mexico to support his family. Unable to cross the US-Mexico border, Memo finds work in a Tijuana factory. There, electrodes are attached...

Know your rights! 

Immigrants have rights too You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you’re a US citizen, or how you entered the country. If stopped on the street, you can assert these rights. (Different rules apply at international borders and airports. Different…

¡Conozca sus derechos!

 Inmigrantes tienen derechos también Usted tiene el derecho a permanecer en silencio. No tiene que responder a preguntas acerca de donde nació, si es ciudadano(a) estadounidense, ni cómo entró a los Estados Unidos. Si lo detiene en la calle, puede ejercer estos derechos. (Se aplican reglas distintas en las fronteras…

Citizens taking the initiative(s)

Environmental organizations, the Tribes, and the Washington State Labor Council, spent nearly $2 million to organize 2500 volunteers and paid signature gatherers to collect 370,000 signatures for Initiative 1631.

The initiative will be on the ballot in November. The oil companies have spent $16 million to fight it.

Why do they oppose us? Because Initiative 1631 will accelerate the transition to zero-emission cars and buses....

Initiative 1631 – Climate Action

I-1639. This initiative is titled “Safe Schools, Safe Communities,” reflecting the groundswell of public frustration over elected officials choosing to protect guns rather than people. The initiative strengthens background checks, storage requirements and waiting periods, as well as raising to 21 the age when you can buy a semi-automatic weapon....

Replace Puget Sound Energy with a publicly owned utility relying on renewables

Puget Sound Energy is the biggest obstacle to reducing Thurston County’s CO2 emissions rapidly in the next decade. Its current energy mix is 37% from coal and 22% from natural gas, for a total of 59% from fossil fuels. Although PSE will have paid off the debt on its Colstrip coal plant by 2027, its 20 year Integrated Resource Plan indicates that it plans to run the plant through 2035 and replace diminished coal use with natural gas. ...

Dispute Resolution Center relies on  volunteer mediators

The Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County is actively seeking volunteers to help resolve conflict, promote civility and create peace in our community. The DRC is a community-based, volunteer-powered non-profit organization dedicated to conflict resolution and prevention in the South Sound. Volunteers can become trained as a mediator and work…

Leaders and mentors–rocks in an ever-changing storm

YWCA recognizes Olympia’s womxn* of achievement for 2018 Established in 1994, the YWCA Olympia Womxn of Achievement Award is one of the most prestigious honors for womxn and businesses in the South Sound. The award seeks to center and recognize the accomplishments, professional contributions, and public service performed by womxn…

September 2018 — About this issue

The theme for this issue is Democracy and Elections. Our readers will find a conversation —conducted from different angles — on the upcoming midterm elections and their impact on the political life of our immediate community  and the nation. On November 6, 2018 all seats in the United State House…

And then this happened…

Congress votes $77 billion increase in Defense Dept Budget In April 2017, Works in Progress reported on Trump’s proposal to increase the annual Defense Budget from $582.7 to $639 billion. The bill passed in December of 2017, increasing the budget by $53.9 billion. This past June, the Senate voted to…

Midterm elections: To the Left! To the Left

The contrast between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren First things first: Should the Left participate in bourgeois democratic elections? Yes—for the following reasons. 1) Parliamentarianism is a living, politically alive form in the functioning of American democracy. Although I agree with Borges that in the next life we should commit…

Chipping away at the foundations of democracy

How some states work to take away the right to vote Purges: A Growing Threat to the Right to Vote is a newly-released report by the Brennan Center for Justice. The report comes during a wave of efforts to keep people from being able to register to vote; and to…

Who’s interfering with our “free and fair” elections?

(Ed. note: this is an excerpt from Noam Chomsky speaking on Democracy Now!) Take the issue of interference in our pristine elections. Did the Russians interfere in our elections? An issue of overwhelming concern in the media. But it’s really a joke.  First of all, if you’re interested in foreign…

Israel razes a cultural landmark in Gaza

“Get back. We are going to hit the center.” “All our work was there, we lived there, our memories were there,” said Idrees Talib, Palestinian theater director. “I gave my colleagues some hope that a change would happen, but I don’t know what I can say to them after the…