“We can realistically reach a million signatures against SB 5 with the mobilization we’ve put together now,” stated John Parker, Regional Field Director for the We Are Ohio coalition. “This is a goal that will build momentum into the November election. It will show everyone that the union, community coalition can and will have the horses to reverse SB 5 and gain justice for Ohio’s working families.”

Parker was speaking to union and community supporters at the Carpenters Union Hall in Columbus, preparing for the final run to the poll in the drive against SB 5, the legislation passed by the GOP legislative majority to wipe out collective bargaining rights in the state. Petitioning to place that bill on the November ballot is continuing through this month, with a target date of June 25 as the cutoff date to turn in petitions. 233,000 signatures, totaling 3% of the electorate in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties from the previous election, are needed for the proposed referendum to be certified on the upcoming ballot in the fall. Although no official totals have been released since We Are Ohio announced they’d reached 215,000

I cannot watch enough videos of the people in Wisconsin as you bold, brave, most decent Wisconsonites are out in the streets – resisting, doing non-violent civil disobedience/direct action, dissenting, protesting, rising up, standing up to and speaking and singing truth to power in the face of Walker and his cronies.

What is happening in Wisconsin now is a model for the whole country. Not only your honorable actions, but also what Walker and the thugs behind him are trying to do in Wisconsin.

I am writing to tell you not only how much I respect and admire you, but also how very concerned I am about the recalls, scheduled as of this writing to start on July 12. They are to be done on the same electronic voting machines that could have rigged the elections in the first place as well as the Supreme Court recount. See here for information on hacking of all electronic voting machines by geeks, professors and students – both optical scammers (not a typo) and DRE’s/touchscreens – to say nothing of all the fraud and error of the electronic voting machines in real time – some lowlights: FL 2000, GA 2002, OH 2004, the list goes on and on.

Exclusive: Despite opposition — and even warnings — from the U.S. government, a group of Americans will join a small flotilla of boats challenging Israel’s blockade of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern explains why he is joining this protest.



Stuffing my backpack before setting out to board “The Audacity of Hope,” the U.S. boat to Gaza, I got a familiar call from yet another puzzled friend, who said as gently as the words allow, “You know you can get killed, don’t you?”

I recognize this caution as an expression of genuine concern from friends. From some others — who don’t care about Gaza’s plight or who do not wish us well – the words are phrased somewhat differently: “Aren’t you just asking for it?”

That was the obligatory question/accusation at the end of a recent interview taped for a BBC-TV special scheduled to air this coming week as we put to sea to break — or at least draw attention to — Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and the suffering it inflicts on the people there.