"They are not worth less."

Because a sustainable future depends on the people willing to see the truth for what it is, and for those to stand up in unison in order to make a difference.

— Jake Edward Keli'i Eakin

This has been another eventful week of resistance in the US. We have much to share about what happened this week and what is coming up. But first, we want to remember what happened in Boston on Monday and show appreciation for those who gave public support.
Margaret says, “I ran the Boston Marathon in 2003. I finished around three hours and forty five minutes, around the same time that the bombs went off last Monday. My three children, ages 6, 8 and 10, greeted me at the finish line. I can’t imagine arriving at the finish line and finding that my family had been injured. My heart goes out to the Boston community.”
The Boston Bombing also reminds us of the violence that the US inflicts every day in other parts of the world. As S. Brian Willson writes, "We are not worth more, they are not worth less." On Clearing the FOG on Monday, we spoke with Noor Mir and Judy Bello about US drone attacks. Let us take some of this sadness and use it to spur us to stop the killing at home and abroad. April is a month of actions against drones, including this recent rally organized by the ANSWER Coalition. It culminates with a weekend conference and rally in Syracuse, NY on April 26 to 28. We will be there to discuss next steps for the peace movement.

April 15 was tax day. In the week leading up to it, Light Brigades across the country used their many talents to expose the large corporations that evade taxes. They even created a video game. April 15 was also a Global Day Against Military Spending to protest the use of our tax dollars to fund US Empire instead of domestic needs for housing, jobs, education and health care. Strike Debt in San Francisco is organizing for mass debt resistance. They kicked this effort off with a large protest at the Federal Reserve. We wrote a series of articles that discusses how to remake the financial system for the people and the planet, and we will continue this discussion at the Public Banking Conference in June.
Strike Debt has been buying medical debt to create greater awareness that people should not have to go into debt to meet their basic needs. In Virginia, Sean Jarvis started a public thirty day fast to protest the local for-profit hospital and to save enough money to pay his medical bills which are unaffordable even though he has health insurance. Another thirty day fast is going on in DC right now. Please support Brian Eisler who is also fasting in front of the American Petroleum Institute to protest their obstruction of efforts to address the climate crisis.
On a positive note, climate activist Tim DeChristopher is being released from prison this Sunday, in time to celebrate Earth Day. Watch for an exciting announcement that day by Dr. Jill Stein.
Resistance to Tar Sands continued this week in Seattle and in Oklahoma with a brave action by two residents. In Colorado, the Balloon Bloq released black helium balloons with noisemakers attached into a Platts Oil and Gas Conference to protest fracking.  In Utah, protesters seized a tar sands field wearing HazMat suits. And last week, a single protester interrupted the Valero Golf Tournament.
The hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay Prison continues and is starting to have an effect. Solidarity protests are being held. See Witness Against Torture for updates. The New York Times printed this moving OpEd from prisoner Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pilla, is calling the prison a “clear breach of international law” and asking for its immediate closure.  Keep the pressure on!
People are rising up everywhere to oppose the rule of money and austerity. In Washington, DC, they held a “K Street 5K.” Runners wore hundred dollar bills to protest lobbyists. In Portland, OR, hundreds of community groups and members attended a public budget conference to protest cuts and offer constructive solutions to meet their needs.
Students in particular are rising up. College students at the University of Indiana went on strike over rising tuition and corporatization of their education. Thousands of high school students walked out in Newark, NJ to protest budget cuts despite being threatened by security guards wielding bats. And students in Detroit are taking the streets to protest the school to prison pipeline.
Wells Fargo, one of the biggest investors in private prisons and a target of many actions, moved its annual meeting from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, Utah. No problem. A coalition of organizations in Utah is planning a day of actions to protest many of Wells Fargo’s abuses.
Here are a few more upcoming actions that you can join. May 8^th will be a national day of actions against Bank of America. And May 25^th is a day to March Against Monsanto everywhere. This Saturday, in New York, there will be a day of training on Workplace Organizing.
We posted a number of articles that may help you in planning your next action. Here is an Organizer’s Guide to General Assemblies and Consensus. And here are Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky and interviews with David Graeber on The Democracy Project and with Noam Chomsky on Direct Action and Social Movements.
Despite the suffering and sadness, these are times of opportunity to create the new world we want to see based on our shared values of compassion and cooperation.
In peace and solidarity,
Margaret, Kevin and October2011/OccupyWashingtonDC