Sunday, June 30, 2:45-3:40pm
Solar Stage, southwest corner of Goodale Park, Community Festival
The Free Press welcomes The Longest Walk 2019 Native Americans at the Solar Stage at Comfest. The Longest Walk: We Shall Continue has been initiated to address the major threats to American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and Nations. This is a spiritual Walk for all Indigenous Peoples and our allies. We have identified eleven (11) areas that we need to affirm, advocate, and educate about. These are:
1) Support and Protect Indian Children
2) Honor Indigenous Women
3) Strengthen Inherent and Indigenous Sovereignty
4) Create an Environmental Covenant
5) Repeal Public Law 280 and Overturn the Plenary Power Doctrine
6) Land, Waters and Air Clean Up and Protection
7) Treaties, Lands, and Customary Responsibilities
8) Strengthen and Assert Spiritual Freedom and Protect Sacred Sites
9) Protect Indigenous Knowledge
10) Support Just Transition
11) Confront Alcohol and Other Drugs Abuse

Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum’s current production of An Enemy of the People is not to be confused with CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s book The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America or the new Trump biography by Jonathan Swift entitled Enema of the People [LOL!]. Rather, WGTB’s two-acter is a version of iconoclastic Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 comedy drama, freely adapted by the Topanga amphitheater’s Artistic Director Ellen Geer.

Co-directed by Geer and Melora Marshall, this Enemy is re-set in the presumably fictitious town of South Fork, South Carolina in 1980. By moving the time and location of Ibsen’s work from 19th century southern Norway a century later to the Southern USA during the presidential race between Democrat Pres. Jimmy Carter and GOP candidate Ronald Ray-gun, this WGTB iteration opens Enemy up to an exploration of issues of greater relevancy for today’s theatergoers.

On Wednesday, the first 10 of the 20 Democrats whom the corporate media is permitting into what they call debates were asked what the greatest threat to the United States is. A worthy and funny answer would have been “MSNBC.” Another worthy and funny answer would have been “Donald Trump,” which was in fact Jay Inslee’s answer — and he made clear elsewhere in the event that climate collapse is also his answer. A worthy answer, though nobody would have understood it, would have been “nationalism.” But the correct answer would have been U.S. promotion of environmental collapse and nuclear war. Cory Booker, unprincipled hypocrite though he is, came close with climate change and nuclear proliferation, but it’s not just the proliferation; it’s also the U.S.-led arms race and threat of first use. Tulsi Gabbard got it half right with nuclear war. Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke got it half right with climate change. Julián Castro got it half right and half bonkers with climate change and China. Similarly John Delaney with nuclear weapons and China. Tim Ryan went full-on loony with just China.

The following report is by no means exhaustive -- only illustrative. There may well be a Democratic member of Congress near you not included here who serves corporate interests more than majority interests, or has simply grown tired or complacent in the never-ending struggles for social, racial and economic justice as well as environmental sanity and peace. Perhaps you live in a district where voters are ready to be inspired by a progressive primary candidate because the Democrat in Congress is not up to the job.

It isn’t easy to defeat a Democratic incumbent in a primary. Typically, the worse the Congress member, the more (corporate) funding they get. While most insurgent primary campaigns will not win, they’re often very worthwhile -- helping progressive constituencies to get better organized and to win elections later. And a grassroots primary campaign can put a scare into the Democratic incumbent to pay more attention to voters and less to big donors.

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Wednesday, June 26, 6:3-7:30pm
Church for All People, 946 Parsons Ave.
In the last week we have heard threats of ICE raids, deporting millions of people. At the same time, our government has denied responsibility for providing basic safe and sanitary care for the very children whom they have separated from their families (access to soap and toothbrushes). As a church we affirm the sacredness of all people as created in the image of God. As Dr King taught, we live in an interconnected web of mutuality, where injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. As a people called United Methodists, we live in the connection of personal and social holiness. Join us on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm at the Church for All People as we hold a prayer vigil affirming our solidarity with people being threatened and calling for justice and dignity for all people. Please help spread the word about this vigil as we join our prayers and actions together for justice.