test blog #10

Two heartbreaking and inspiring views on the war in Iraq. From the National Catholic Reporter , "What the Rest of the World Watched on Inauguration Day," by Sister Joan Chittister. I'm sure you saw the photo. I liked Sister Joan's description of Dublin commuters confronting their morning papers. And on the growing war number of soldiers who are refusing to fight this immoral war, "'They Can't Throw Us All In Jail'", by Geov Parrish . I am very attracted to these stories of dissenting servicepeople. I feel called to help. I have no idea yet what I'll do, but I have a feeling an opportunity will present itself.

Two heartbreaking and inspiring views on the war in Iraq. From the National Catholic Reporter , "What the Rest of the World Watched on Inauguration Day," by Sister Joan Chittister. I'm sure you saw the photo. I liked Sister Joan's description of Dublin commuters confronting their morning papers. And on the growing war number of soldiers who are refusing to fight this immoral war, "'They Can't Throw Us All In Jail'", by Geov Parrish . I am very attracted to these stories of dissenting servicepeople. I feel called to help. I have no idea yet what I'll do, but I have a feeling an opportunity will present itself.

A little closer to home, Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks our financially strapped city - where ancient subway signals are spontaneously combusting and neighborhood activists are chaining themselves to firehouse doors - should increase the net worth of his billionaire friend Robert Wood Johnson IV, owner of the New York Jets. New York doesn't need this stadium. It doesn't want this stadium. And the stadium plan itself is laughable. Who in their right mind would build a 75,000-seat football stadium without parking facilities? No city in America has ever made money from building a stadium. People get rich all right, but it ain't us. Bob Herbert recently wrote a nice screed against this insanity, in which he says: To take the public's money, which should be used for schoolkids, for subway riders, for hospital patients - for any number of projects that might truly serve the public's interest - and hand it over to a billionaire who will use it as seed money to further his...

A little closer to home, Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks our financially strapped city - where ancient subway signals are spontaneously combusting and neighborhood activists are chaining themselves to firehouse doors - should increase the net worth of his billionaire friend Robert Wood Johnson IV, owner of the New York Jets. New York doesn't need this stadium. It doesn't want this stadium. And the stadium plan itself is laughable. Who in their right mind would build a 75,000-seat football stadium without parking facilities? No city in America has ever made money from building a stadium. People get rich all right, but it ain't us. Bob Herbert recently wrote a nice screed against this insanity, in which he says: To take the public's money, which should be used for schoolkids, for subway riders, for hospital patients - for any number of projects that might truly serve the public's interest - and hand it over to a billionaire who will use it as seed money to further his...

Continuing the abortion-rights theme here at wmtc, yesterday, January 28, was the 17th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision. That decision by the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion and effectively ended legal restrictions to abortion in Canada. In 1969, in defiance of the law, Dr Henry Morgentaler opened Canada's first freestanding abortion clinic. After a series of trials where Quebec juries refused to convict him, Dr Morgentaler served time in prison. It won't surprise you to learn I admire people with that kind of courage and commitment. Like every movement for social change, this was a long, circuitous battle, culminating in the 1988 Supreme Court decision. Thanks to ALPF, today I read about Dr Morgentaler's work and life (and about the Canadian reproductive rights movement). Morgentaler is also a survivor of the Nazi slave-labor camp in Dachau. He is still a leader in the struggle for equality and access to reproductive-related medical care; you can rea...

Continuing the abortion-rights theme here at wmtc, yesterday, January 28, was the 17th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision. That decision by the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion and effectively ended legal restrictions to abortion in Canada. In 1969, in defiance of the law, Dr Henry Morgentaler opened Canada's first freestanding abortion clinic. After a series of trials where Quebec juries refused to convict him, Dr Morgentaler served time in prison. It won't surprise you to learn I admire people with that kind of courage and commitment. Like every movement for social change, this was a long, circuitous battle, culminating in the 1988 Supreme Court decision. Thanks to ALPF, today I read about Dr Morgentaler's work and life (and about the Canadian reproductive rights movement). Morgentaler is also a survivor of the Nazi slave-labor camp in Dachau. He is still a leader in the struggle for equality and access to reproductive-related medical care; you can rea...

You may know that Wal-mart has launched a multi-million dollar advertising blitz to counter its well-deserved image as an enemy of the people. The company bought hundreds of TV and newspaper ads to spread its propaganda and defend its indefensable policies. Purple Ocean, the political arm of the Service Employees Union (SEIU), is fighting back with a different sort of weapon. Through a grassroots, hand-to-hand campaign, people who care about workers, the environment and community life will help spread the facts about Wal-mart. I encourage you to read the facts and invite your friends to read them, too. You can track who has accepted your invitation on an animated map that follows your fact sheet as it spreads across the country. Check it out here . I think it's an excellent opportunity to put the old activist's axiom in motion: each one, reach one. The smart folks at the SEIU have also linked the campaign to a contest. From the original email: Start the chain by passing on the ...