A Socialist Perspective on the New City Jail.

Elliot Stoller was videotaping last night when I spoke at the NW Socialists Conference on the city's new jail. Now I know what I look like. You can send an email to City Council supporting a proviso in the City's bond issue to fund the jail siting process that would direct the City to explore alternatives to the jail before being allowed spend the majority of the money they intend to allocate for this process. There is a hearing this Friday in Council Chambers at 9:30 am, and your testimony on this issue is needed.

Help. Don't Harass. Stop the Sweeps.

Last night, about 40 people showed up at Trinity United Methodist in Ballard to hear more about the protest camp at City Hall this Thursday. For most, it was their first meeting. We began with a welcome and a brief overview of the issue, and then went around with introductions, inviting people to say why they were there. The scheduled 15 minutes stretched into a half-hour as person after person described why this matters. For several, it was personal. They themselves or those to whom they are close have survival camped in Seattle. To have this option foreclosed by the City without any real alternatives being offered was just too damn much. Some spoke of growing inequality and the scary places that train might be headed. Clearing homeless campsites, for them, seems like a good pace to draw the line. Others were ashamed for their City. Nearly all spoke of deep moral disgust. If you want a summary, activist photographer Elliot Stoller showed up with a video camera and did a few interviews to post on YouTube.

Please join us this Thursday for a downtown visibility shift or for the overnight encampment. Go to realchangenews.org and click on the Take Action logo up top. This will take you to our advocacy page where you can pledge your participation in the Day of Action. Sign up for a visibility shift. Commit to staying overnight. Download a petition to distribute, or simply add your name to the many who have already signed.

Cindy and Craig Corrie

I was Googling around for an Elliot Stoller photo site and came across this at what appears to be his personal photo album (he has an adorable hippy kid). It is pithily captioned ...

Cindy and Craig Corrie. Their daughter, Rachel, was killed by an Israeli operating a bulldozer. Rachel was trying to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home.

And I nearly came to tears. The Rachel Corrie Memorial website gives meaning to a senseless death.