News – Resources – Opportunities
Compiled Glen Anderson.  Edited by Glen Anderson with some help from Benji Friedman

Bipartisan commission reports the US wasted $60 billion or more in Afghanistan and Iraq:  “In mid-September the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Afghanistan and Iraq reported to Congress that at least $60 billion was lost to waste, fraud, lax accountability and downright incompetence,” reports Peace Action (formerly SANE/FREEZE).  “For decades, the Pentagon budget has been immune to scrutiny,”  Now with increased public and political concern about federal spending, Peace Action urges people to pressure Congress – especially the Super Committee that will rewrite the budget to reduce the deficit – to cut the Pentagon’s budget significantly.  The Super Committee must complete its work by late November, so the time to act is now!  Peace Action’s “Move the Money” campaign is similar to Olympia FOR’s “Bring Our Billion$ Home” campaign and efforts by other major peace organizations.  The US Conference of Mayors agreed by passing its June 2011 resolution to end the wars and use the savings to fund human needs and local communities.  See the websites of Peace Action (www.peace-action.org) and the National Priorities Project (www.nationalpriorities.org and www.costofwar.com).  Participate locally in the “Bring Our Billion$ Home” campaign through the Olympia FOR (360-491-9093 www.olympiafor.org) or the Western Washington FOR (206-789-5565 www.wwfor.org) or the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS 509-838-7870 www.pjals.org)
Here is a very convenient way to tell Congress’s Super Committee to reduce the deficit by CUTTING MILITARY SPENDING:  If you want to contact ALL MEMBERS of the Super Committee at the same time, simply type this into your internet browser address field and click this link:  http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/161/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1225771
While slashing social programs, Obama and Congress are planning to INCREASE spending for nuclear weapons!  Right-wing politicians and their pork barrel pals (and President Obama) are promoting several schemes to massively increase spending on nuclear weapons.  The Department of Energy wants to build a new nuclear bomb plant on what has turned out to be an active fault in New Mexico.  They’re projecting it will cost nearly $6 billion, which is more than ten times their original estimates.  The Navy wants a new fleet of submarines for ballistic nuclear weapons.  They would cost at least $100 billion, and wouldn't be ready until after 2030, by which time they would probably be even more obsolete than they are today.  This budget would ramp up nuclear related spending to a total of $700 billion over 10 years, which is as much as we've spent on the war in Iraq!  You might want to tell Congress and Obama what you think.
Urge the Super Committee to slash funding for nuclear weapons:  Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has written a letter to the Super Committee proposing substantial spending cuts to the US nuclear weapons arsenal. You might urge your US Representative to sign this letter.  See http://capwiz.com/wand/issues/alert/?alertid=53876596&PROCESS=Take%20Action
US Senate has failed for 15 years to ratify a vitally important treaty limiting nuclear weapons:  On September 24, 1996, President Clinton signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would ban any signatory nation from exploding nuclear weapons.  The problem is that 15 years later, the Senate has yet to ratify the treaty. And without the full backing of the United States, the treaty has languished, and the US has absolutely no credibility when our government tells other countries not to build nuclear weapons.  This treaty is a necessary step to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.  You can type this address into your web browser and tell your US senators to ratify the CTBT:  www.capwiz.com/peaceactionwest/issues/alert/?alertid=53876796&type=CO
H.R. 2859 would end the Endless War:  Diane Randall, from the Friends Committee on National Legislation, is asking you to ask your representative to cosponsor H.R.2859, which would repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force.  H.R. 2859 was introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (CA), the only representative to vote against the Authorization in 2001.  In her words: “In September 2001, Congress rushed to provide the Bush administration authority to wage a ‘war on terror.’  The Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed by the House on September 14, gave the president broad and open-ended power to carry out this ‘war.’  After ten years, we can see the consequences of this legislation in the headlines from Afghanistan and in the distrust with which the United States is regarded.  We can see that war is not the answer.  It’s time to repeal this authorization.”
The Pentagon power elite is waging a global war bigger and broader than Congress or the American people knew:  On any given day, American commandos are carrying out secret missions in 70 countries.  The Pentagon expects to increase that number to 120 nations by the end of 2011.  Investigators revealed this huge expansion by the Obama Administration beyond George W. Bush’s outrageous levels.  A secret unit within the US military – US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) – has grown into a combined force of startling proportions.  It includes the Army’s Green Berets and Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force Air Commandos, and Marine Corps Special Operations teams – and also a number of additional specialized helicopter crews, boat teams, civil affairs personnel, para-rescuemen, and other elite warmakers.  Their shadowy missions include assassinations, counterterrorist raids, long-range reconnaissance, intelligence analysis, foreign troop training, and weapons of mass destruction counter-proliferation operations.  Nick Turse’s investigative reporting has discovered many facts and connected many dots.  He is part of AlterNet’s editorial team.  www.alternet.org is a great source of daily news and analysis related to peace, social justice and economics.
Military spending has been HURTING OUR ECONOMY for decades!  Fixing our economy requires CUTTING military spending and CONVERTING to a peace economy:  Building public and Congressional pressure to cut military spending requires addressing the economic issues, including the “jobs” issue and the “Boeing” issue that people will raise.  In 1977 Glen Anderson wrote “The Case for Peace Conversion:  Its Impact on Washington State and Suggestions for Converting Successfully.”  This 100-page report with 335 footnotes argues convincingly that military spending – rather than boosting our economy – actually damages our economy systemically.  The military-industrial-Congressional complex is so massively huge that it has corrupted our economy in many ways.  Military spending has prevented us from meeting human needs, skewed our economy away from useful civilian productivity, weakened US industries to be less competitive with foreign industries, and caused other systemic problems in how the US economy functions.  A billion dollars spent on the military produces FEWER jobs than if that money had been spent in the civilian sector, so our massive military spending has destroyed millions of American jobs.  The realities and trends documented in this report have worsened since 1977 as a result of massive increases in military spending since then.  The report also examines the possibilities of converting military industries, bases, and workers to civilian purposes.  The report is in a 3-ring binder, not available to send electronically.  To borrow a copy, contact Glen Anderson at (360) 491-9093 glen@olywa.net
Douglas and Jody Mackey and Larry Kerschner were in Afghanistan with the Clean Water Project in September:  These good friends and FOR members from Olympia (Douglas and Jody) and Centralia (Larry) shared their experiences in Afghanistan, where they connected with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers and provided resources and training for a project that will provide safe drinking water to many local communities there.  Their Afghanistan Clean Water Delegation has been working in Kabul, Bamiyan Province, and elsewhere with the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), which has an ongoing presence and can continue the efforts after our three local volunteers return home.  On September 20-21 they communicated worldwide through the Global Days of Listening (www.globaldaysoflistening.org), which has strong support from the Olympia FOR.  They also maintained a blog through http://globaldaysoflistening.org/pages/CleanWaterProjectDiary  The United Nations reports that only 11% of Afghans living in the countryside have access to safe drinking water, so this problem seriously hurts health, including life expectancy, quality of life and infant mortality rates.  In Bamiyan province (home of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers with whom we have an ongoing relationship), only 8% of households use safe drinking water.  We look forward to hearing Douglas, Jody and Larry tell the greater Olympia community of their experiences when they return home.
This website is a rich source of ideas for nonviolent strategies and actions:  The Global Nonviolent Action Database is at www.newtactics.org/en/blog/new-tactics/training-nonviolent-action
New website – “The Faces of Peace” – shares a variety of stories to inform and inspire:  Facts alone are not enough.  Sometimes we need to hear each other’s stories.  A new website – www.thepeacealliance.org/facesofpeace – features first-hand stories of people’s own experiences.  It highlights personal transformations, inspiring efforts, and daily choices that promote peacemaking in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings across the US  Robert Fulghum said, “Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.”
Can the Arab world’s democracy movement inspire Americans to demand democracy too?  Inspired by the courageous, nonviolent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Greece, Spain and elsewhere, more than 50 populist organizations and thousands of activists have joined the October 2011 movement and are planning protests on Thursday October 6 at Freedom Plaza, 13th & Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington DC.  The event will begin with a concert and rally at noon, with the stated goal “to kick off massive sustained occupation and nonviolent civil resistance to rampant corporatism and militarism.  Info:  www.october2011.org
Context for Iran’s imprisonment and abuse of two US hikers:  On Monday September 26 the journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote about what mainstream US media omit when reporting on the hikers’ imprisonment and mistreatment by Iran.  As usual, Democracy Now’s broadcast (www.democracynow.org)  reported what the mainstream media chose to ignore.  After Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer were released in mid-September, they spoke about their ordeal.  While mainstream media reported on their severe mistreatment and used the occasion to bash Iran, journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote that mainstream US media omitted Bauer’s insight that they were imprisoned due solely to what he called the “32 years of mutual hostility between America and Iran,” and said, “the irony is that [we] oppose US policies towards Iran which perpetuate this hostility.”  Bauer said, “In prison, every time we complained about our conditions, the guards would remind us of comparable conditions at Guantanamo Bay; they'd remind us of CIA prisons in other parts of the world; and conditions that Iranians and others experience in prisons in the US.”  He said he and Fattal were not justifying Iran’s mistreatment of them, but they did point out that the US “War on Terror” detention system treats foreigners much worse than they were treated.  Fattal also expressed “great thanks to world leaders and individuals” who worked for their release, including Hugo Chavez, the governments of Turkey and Brazil, Sean Penn, Noam Chomsky, Mohammad Ali, Cindy Sheehan, Desmond Tutu, as well as Muslims from around the world and “elements within the Iranian government,” as well as US officials.  One can only wish that mainstream US media and government officials would focus attention on the US government’s unjust imprisonment and mistreatment of countless people victimized by the US’s persistent, bi-partisan “War on Terror.”

Preventing War is 60 Times Cheaper than Fighting It Research has indicated that investing early to prevent conflicts from escalating into violent crises is, on average, 60 times more cost effective than intervening after violence erupts. Still, the world spends just $1 on conflict prevention for every $1,885 it spends on military budgets. Here in the U.S., less than 2% of income tax goes to civilian foreign affairs agencies; meanwhile, 39% goes to the military. And though taxpayers provide almost $1 billion per year for military academies, they pay only about $40 million for the United States Institute of Peace—the only U.S. agency dedicated to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Where Do Our Income Tax Dollars Go? 39 cents of every tax dollar Americans pay goes to past or current wars. This is what a Friends Committee on National Legislation chart shows. Check out the chart to see where your tax dollars go. We must invest in Peace! Good peacebuilding prevention and intervention programs continually show far more impact for dollars spent than our traditional more punitive oriented investments.

Urge Congress’s Super Committee to reduce the deficit by closing corporate tax loopholes:  Congress seems fixated on cutting social programs, but instead we should solve the deficit problem by increasing revenue from rich people and giant corporations that can afford to pay their fair share of taxes.  Washington’s Senator Patty Murray serves on the Super Committee that is charged with producing a sweeping deficit-reduction plan by late November.  Their plan will be grossly unjust unless they close the loopholes that allow corporations to pay less tax than private citizens do.  We must go far beyond President Obama’s three modest proposed solutions:  (1) Generate $210 billion in revenue by closing off-shore tax havens that shield some of the nation’s biggest financial institutions from paying the US government their fair share;  (2) Generate $23 billion by making sure hidden profits made by hedge fund and private equity managers are accounted for and taxed;  (3) Generate $844 million by making sure government contractors pay their taxes in full.  If you agree with these you might urge Senator Patty Murray to support them – and to act much more boldly in taxing the rich:  www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme

The “War on Drugs” costs $41.3 billion or more every year, but it does NOT work:  The “War on Drugs” does not stop drug abuse any better than Prohibition stopped alcohol abuse in the 1920s or 1930s.  Instead, both stimulate organized crime and violence.  The “War on Drugs” overburdens our judicial system, overcrowds our jails and prisons, and wastes taxpayers’ dollars.  The “War on Drugs” distracts police and governments from fighting real crime, and its emphasis on punishment instead of treatment is ineffective and actually counter-productive.  The “War on Drugs” mis-diagnoses the real issue (public health, not crime), so it destroys lives and tears families apart without solving the real problems.  European countries are moving toward the public health model and pursuing “harm reduction” strategies.  The US has less than 5% of the world’s population but almost 25% of its prisoners.  More than 1.6 million people are arrested for nonviolent drug charges every year.  State and local governments spend more than $25 BILLION every year on the “War on Drugs,” and the federal government spends more than $15 BILLION.  Several non-profit organizations are pursuing practical alternatives, including the Drug Policy Alliance, (212) 613-8020 www.drugpolicy.org

 

“Freedom Riders” exhibit at a Seattle museum until October 24:  A traveling exhibition looks at six months in 1961 when more than 400 courageous Americans – old and young, black and white, women and men, Northern and Southern – risked their lives to challenge segregated facilities in the South.  The exhibition uses powerful photography and news coverage of the 1961 Freedom Rides to examine the movement from many perspectives.  Also, visitors can use their cell phones to access powerful first-hand audio accounts of this dangerous experiment in the fight for civil rights.  See it at The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), 2700 24th Ave E, Seattle (south of the Univ. of Wash., north of Montlake and highway 520).  MOHAI is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm and free on Thurs. Oct. 6 until 8 pm.  Parking is free.  Info: www.seattlehistory.org
Website offers downloadable Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook:  The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the National Lawyers’ Guild (NLG) launched www.jailhouselaw.org, a website that provides an electronic and downloadable version of the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook. The handbook is a legal tool for prisoners to exercise their constitutional rights; learn about relevant law and procedures; and protect themselves from physical abuse, poor conditions and other prison mistreatment.  CCR and NLG publish and provide free copies of the handbook to thousands of prisoners each year.  The fifth edition of the handbook was fully revised and updated in 2010, and includes new sections on the rights of transgender and intersex prisoners (written in collaboration with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project), the rights of immigration detainees, prison visitation, and much more.
Should the government prohibit doctors from giving patients information about the risks of guns?  Although many conservatives say they want government to leave us alone, those same conservatives – with the gun lobby – had passed a law in Florida to interpose the government between doctors and their patients.  This time it’s not about abortion; it’s about guns.  Doctors know that guns in the home pose serious dangers to children and adults, so sometimes they would mention these risks.  Florida’s new law would impose a governmental prohibition against this conversation between doctors and patients.  Recently a Florida judge granted a preliminary injunction to prevent Florida from implementing the “Gag Law” that the National Rifle Association had lobbied into existence.  Florida’s Governor will appeal.  The gun lobby is trying to pass similar laws in other states – imposing itself between you and your doctor.
 
Gun lobby wants federal government to override state and local gun safety laws:  Many state and local governments have passed laws to protect people from guns.  However, the gun lobby wants the federal government to override those through the proposed “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011,” which would force every state to accept “lowest common denominator” standards for concealed gun permits.  You might think that conservatives believe in “states’ rights” and want the federal government to let people solve problems at the state and local levels, but you’d be wrong.  The gun lobby demands a top-down approach that violates conservative principles.  A number of responsible publications, including the New York Times and Washington Post, have editorialized against this reckless legislation.  Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a nationwide coalition of more than 600 mayors who want to protect their people from guns.  See www.OurLivesOurLaws.org
Modern technology’s latest threat allows Big Brother to invade our privacy:  Do the police need a warrant to attach a GPS device to a suspect’s car and track its movements for weeks at a time?  The US Supreme Court will decide a case that has divided lower courts and threatens all Americans with Orwellian “Big Brother” dangers.  “The Jones case requires the Supreme Court to decide whether modern technology has turned law enforcement into Big Brother, able to monitor and record every move we make outside our homes,” said Susan Freiwald, a law professor at the University of San Francisco.  Info:  www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/us/11gps.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
Organize against genetically modified foods:  Several nonprofit organizations are organizing pressure on Monsanto and other corporations that promote genetically modified foods.  They are also organizing to create a requirement for products containing genetically modified foods to be labeled as such.  Three of the best organizations on this subject are: www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm  and www.responsibletechnolgy.org  and www.centerforfoodsafety.org
Update on progress in creating a publicly owned bank for Washington State:  There is a growing movement to replicate what North Dakota accomplished 100 years ago.  North Dakota’s publicly owned state bank has been very successful.  Washington State could create one to increase our state’s ability to finance projects and activities residents need and depend on, and to provide the state an increased ability to capture and use money earned on state revenues that are held briefly before they are spent through the state budget.  State Representative Bob Hasegawa has been the legislative leader in this effort, which will continue when the 2012 legislative session convenes in January.  Plenty of information is readily available, including the Olympia FOR’s January 2011 TV program (one hour), which you can watch on your computer through our website, http://blip.tv/olympia-fellowship-of-reconciliation/create-a-publicly-owned-washington-state-bank-4734655  A very brief video (1 minute, 39 seconds) about it is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxFRqGaRyXw  Info: www.wapublicbankproject.org  Statewide info is available from Cindy Cole cindy48@q.com or John Repp jmrepp@q.com at (206) 932-9522.  A local source of information is Steven Aldrich, Legislative Advocate and Policy Analyst for the Quaker-based Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy (FCWPP), at 402-0918.  An excellent article from Yes! Magazine provides interesting information:  http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/the-north-dakota-miracle-not-all-about-oil  Also, be sure to hear Ellen Brown, a nationally respected expert on the topic, when she speaks at South Puget Sound Community College’s Minnaert Center at 7:00 pm on Tuesday October 25.  (See this newsletter’s calendar section.)  The Washington Public Bank Coalition has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/WA-Public-Bank-Coalition/172314649515702

More poverty in America:  Newly released data show that the official poverty rate in the US has increased to 15.1 % of the population.  “Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points…”  An article in the NY Times, “Soaring Poverty Casts Spotlight on ‘Lost Decade,’” discusses the impact of the recession and the financial crisis on middle and lower income families.  The US Census Bureau provides this information:  www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html

Serious problems 15 years after federal “welfare reform” – August  23, 2011, marked the fifteenth anniversary of the enactment of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, replacing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with TANF as the national welfare program for needy Americans.  Fifteen years later, the truth is that TANF has shredded the safety net.  (See www.legalmomentum.org/our-work/women-and-poverty/resources--publications/welfare-reform-15.html)  Poor families have suffered greatly.  Before the “reform,” 3/5 of poor children received benefits, but now only 1/5 do.  Benefit amounts have plummeted to less than five dollars a person a day in most states.  The shriveled safety net condemns millions of women and children to poverty so extreme that many are deprived sufficient food, housing, and utility services.  Consequences include that poor women suffering domestic violence are deterred from fleeing their abusers.  Enormous grassroots pressure is needed to convince a mean-spirited Congress and the Obama Administration to restore an adequate safety net for our most vulnerable people.  For more information, see Legal Momentum’s report, “Welfare Reform at Age 15: A Vanishing Safety Net for Women and Children” at www.legalmomentum.org.

“We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. But we can't have both.”  US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said this many decades ago, and it is still true now. 
Local communities fight back against big corporations:  When corporations use “fracking” to extract natural gas from underneath communities in many parts of the countries, the communities suffer water pollution, illnesses, and othe problems.  The political and legal systems are rigged in favor of big corporations, but some communities are fighting back.  This article explains how:  http://www.alternet.org/story/151646/banning_corporate_personhood%3A_how_communities_are_taking_the_law_back_from_big_companies?page=entire

“Police Misconduct in Olympia” DVD copies are available to borrow:  Janet Jordan’s “Green Issues Forum” TV program on “Police Misconduct in Olympia” aired several times on TCTV locally, and Janet can lend a DVD to anyone interestd.  This one-hour program includes a 40-minute interview with Drew Hendricks and Dana Walker, plus short statements by eight people who have experienced police abuse in Olympia.  It will be an eye-opener for people who don't know much about the reality of police behavior in Olympia.  To borrow a DVD, contact Janet at 360-232-6165 janetjordan@fastmail.fm
Obama Administration sends mixed signals about immigration and enforcement abuses:  Immigrants and their allies have been extremely frustrated with the Obama Administration’s escalated enforcement and increased deportations beyond the horrible Bush record.  After significant grassroots pressure, the Administration announced a change in policy “from going after those who pose no security or public-safety threat to focusing enforcement on those who do.”  But very recently Border Patrol agents arrested a Korean man who posed no threat to anybody at a farmers market in Port Angeles in what one witness described as “soclearly a case of racial profiling.”  The US Border Patrol has greatly expanded its presence in Washington State, especially targeting the kinds of individuals that the Administration says it does not want to deport:  long-time residents with deep ties to the community and no criminal history.  Even the Border Patrol’s own agents in our region have begun complaining that the agency is wasting precious resources.  Recently a White House official noted that despite the announcement about the review of pending deportation cases, the Administration still expected to continue deporting approximately 400,000 people each year.  In its most recent budget request to Congress,the Administration is asking for even more Border Patrol agents than ever.
Immigrant groups and many other thoughtful, fair-minded people oppose the US government’s “Secure Communities” program, which is unjust in many ways and deports far too many people:  A new report exposes many problems inherent in the “Secure Communities” program, through which the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency seeks to increase deportations.  See a report that compiles testimony from experts, law enforcement, and the voices of the people victimized by the “Secure Communities” (S-Comm) program:  http://altopolimigra.com/s-comm-shadow-report/  Among the organizations organizing against “Secure Communities” are the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON) and Turning the Tide, an organization that connects community organizations to build local power in order to turn the tide against criminalization.  Many people who support civil rights are working to end S-Comm.

Our criminal justice system thinks killing Troy Davis is good for us:  Evidence keeps showing that the US’s foreign policy and criminal justice system continue to think that we can solve problems by killing people.  Also, many aspects of US culture, including movies and video games, present killing as entertainment.  What does this do to our nation’s soul?  Civilized nations around the world have condemned the US for our cavalier attitudes toward killing people.  Many millions of people – including Troy Davis – showed dignity during this horrible time.  Mr. Davis was almost certainly innocent, and he maintained his innocence all the way to the end.  He stated, “The struggle for justice doesn't end with me.  This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me.  I'm in good spirits and I'm prayerful and at peace.”  At this time we also remember Joe Hill, who was executed in 1915 in Utah.  Joe Hill famously told people that instead mourning, they should organize.  The Olympia FOR’s Committee for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has been active a long time, and we will persist as long as it takes.  Join us.  Contact Emily Hammargren, 352-0695 deathpenalty@olympiafor.org and visit the death penalty page on our website, www.olympiafor.org/death_penalty.htm

Other News, Resources and Opportunities

The Corporate Whistleblower’s Survival Guide:  A Handbook for Committing the Truth is a step-by-step guide with step-by-step guidance and practical information.  It was published by the Government Accountability Project (www.whistleblower.org), a nonprofit organization that helps people of conscience in government and the private sector expose the truth about environmental threats, public health concerns, fraud, corruption, and abuses of power where they work.
New website – www.Quitcoal.org – opposes the coal industry:  A new website opposing the coal industry has launched. Quitcoal.org, a Greenpeace project, is a place for activists and anyone who is concerned about coal to share their stories, connect with other people in the movement, and to highlight the work that is being done across the country to build a clean energy future.
Community Sustaining Fund of Thurston County (CSF) Update:  The CSF “provides grant support for progressive and community oriented projects in Thurston County,” according to their new website, http://www.oly-wa.us/csf/.  Applicatioins for the next grant cycle will be released October 3 and are due November 10.  The Grants Committee will meet November 14 and will make their decisions on the 19th.  Applications are available on their website and at Traditions Fair Trade, 5th& Water SW, in downtown Olympia.  
Office space available in Olympia for progressive organizations:  The Washington State Labor Council’s building at 9th & Columbia (between downtown Olympia and the State Capitol) can lease office space to progressive organizations.  Enjoy a great landlord that maintains and services the building exclusively by union members.  About 40,000 square feet of office space is available – whole floors or individual offices.  Info:  WSLC Secretary-Treasurer Lynne Dodson (206) 281-8901
TCTV needs more people to produce local TV series and programs:  The schedule of Channel 22 at Thurston Community Television (TCTV) has vacancies for more programs.  Fewer local persons and organizations producing TCTV programs now, so opportunities exist for local individuals and organizations to start producing programs.  For example, we have so many high quality speakers coming through our community that perhaps someone could videotape some of these local presentations and create a series where these are aired in the subsequent month.  Talk with your friends and explore possibilities.  For information contact TCTV at 956-3100 www.tctv.net
Thousands of pieces of human-made junk orbit the earth in space and could cause damage:  Space scientists and governmental officials report that a tremendous amount of junk is orbiting the earth, 22,000 of the items big enough to track from the ground, and many additional items of space junk are big enough to damage valuable satellites and spaceships.  The litter and junk includes old satellites, parts of old rocket boosters, items that have fallen off, and so forth.  A 2007 anti-satellite weapon test and a 2009 crash-in-orbit of two satellites added many thousands of pieces of debris, doubling the number of fragments orbiting the earth.  The Associated Press’s Seth Borenstein’s early September article quoted retired NASA senior scientist Donald Kessler, who headed the National Academy of Sciences report about the problem.  Kessler stated, “We’ve lost control of the environment.”  Nobody has a good solution for solving the problem. 

Do we have your e-mail address?  Occasionally the Olympia FOR needs to communicate by e-mail with our people.  If you are not receiving our occasional e-mails, please share your e-mail address so we can keep in touch.  Please contact us at info@olympiafor.org   Thanks!
Would you like to receive your newsletter by e-mail instead of on paper?  We are happy to send paper copies to everyone who wants them, but we’re finding many people who would prefer to receive .pdf versions.  If you would like to receive your newsletters electronically – or in both printed and .pdf formats – please contact info@olympiafor.org or (360) 491-9093.
Olympia FOR needs people to help our Outreach Committee:  The Olympia FOR is constantly reaching out to our community in various ways to tell people who we are and what we do.  We set up information tables at public events, communicate with various organizations and constituencies, write information about the Olympia FOR to print on paper and post to various websites, and so forth.  We created an Outreach Committee to plan and carry out these activities, but the committee is very short-handed.  Are you interested in this creative way to help the Olympia FOR?  If so, contact Glen Anderson at 491-9093 glen@olympiafor.org  Our Fundraising Committee also needs more volunteers.
Would you help sometimes with Olympia FOR’s mailing parties?  With about five or six people we can assemble, fold and label our newsletters and other mailings in just a few hours.  We can schedule mailing parties at various days and times in order to accommodate various volunteers’ schedules.  We can contact you when we need help.  If you’re available, great!  If you’re not available, that’s OK; we can try on another occasion.  Contact Glen Anderson at 491-9093 glen@olympiafor.org
Could the Olympia FOR hold our mailing parties at your house?  Once every two months we need a space where we can bring five or six people together on a few tabletops (or perhaps a large table and a kitchen counter so we can collate, fold, and label our Olympia FOR newsletter.  Our schedule is flexible (weekday, weekend, day or evening).  It takes just a few hours.  Could you provide a space?  Please contact Glen Anderson at 491-9093 glen@olympiafor.org
Please help the Olympia FOR meet our budget of $10,139:  The Olympia FOR’s Steering Committee adopted a budget of $10,139 for the fiscal year running from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.  We invite local folks to help us accomplish all of our ambitious activities.  (We do not solicit funds from Lewis County people, who have their own local FOR chapter, or from people outside of our local 985___ zip code area.)  Thank you!  Questions?  Ask Glen Anderson, (360) 491-9093 glen@olympiafor.org
FREE reams of paper for worthy causes:  The Olympia FOR used to mimeograph our newsletters, but now we use a better printing method.  We have many 500-sheet packages (reams) of paper available for free to non-profit organizations that can use them.  In order to absorb the ink quickly without smearing, mimeograph paper is somewhat fuzzy, unlike sleek like copier paper, so this is NOT usable in a copying machine or computer printer because it would shed fuzzy fibers and ruin the inkjet or laser printer and the internal mechanisms.  Mimeographing is an obsolete technology, so nobody would want it for that purpose, so this is genuinely surplus.  Please contact one or more schools, preschools, daycare centers, and/or other worthy causes or persons to find out whether they would want this.  Potential recipients could visit my house and take as much as they want on a first-come, first-served basis.  They can reach me at 491-9093 glen@olympiafor.org.