Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin Calls for Cheney’s Memoir to be Moved to Crime Section

Posted on September 5, 2011 by admin

Medea Benjamin arrests a Dick Cheney-look-alike outside Union Station

LISTEN TO MEDEA BENJAMIN:

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“Dick Cheney is a war criminal and they are selling his book,” said Medea Benjamin of Code Pink as she was surrounded by a phalanx of Barnes and Noble employees, security guards and Amtrak police, who escorted her out of Union Station on Sept. 2.

Shortly before Benjamin’s arrival, a Barnes and Noble employee warned a security guard to be on the lookout for a protest, and then he removed all but three copies of the former vice president’s 576-page memoir. Apparently the store had been tipped off that Code Pink was looking to move Cheney’s book.

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DHS Headquarters Project: Lots of Money, Lots of Jobs, But for Whom?

Posted on September 3, 2011 by admin

A protester outside St. Elizabeths prevents a truck from entering the construction site

LISTEN TO PATRICK WALKER:

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It’s blue collar [jobs] today. But when this project gets finished, it’s going to be white collar [jobs]. – Pastor Patrick Walker

“This is a peaceful demonstration,” said Rev. Patrick Walker, senior pastor at The New Macedonia Baptist Church and president of the Missionary Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Washington, DC and Vicinity. “But as members of the clergy… we’re saying that if we don’t do something about this, this kind of energy will boil over and be destructive.” Continue reading →

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With MLK Now Residing in the District, There May Not Be Room for Walmart

Posted on September 1, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO MAYOR VINCE GRAY:

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Martin Luther King Jr. was as clear a voice for justice as this country has had. Fiercely pro-union, he was killed in Memphis while assisting striking sanitation workers.

48 years ago, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech stirred the conscience of the country, and moved the hundreds of thousands who had gathered on the National Mall that day, including a 20-year-old by the name of Vincent Gray. Today, Mayor Gray serves as the District of Columbia’s highest elected official. And he is, in my opinion, one of the most serious public servants this country has to offer. But when it comes to a certain multinational corporation’s attempt to enter the District in a massive and unprecedented manner, Gray has turned a blind eye to the potential downside. Continue reading →

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Verizon on the Bimah: JUFJ’s Jacob Feinspan Discusses Religion and Politics

Posted on August 31, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO JACOB FEINSPAN:

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“Even though they earned $6 billion in profits last year, they’re asking their workers to take $1 billion in cuts to their contract and benefits, which we just think is totally outrageous,” said Jacob Feinspan, who was among the hundred protesters who picketed a downtown Verizon Wireless store on Aug. 18.

Feinspan, who is the executive director of Jews United For Justice (JUFJ), said, “An attack against 45,000 Verizon workers, who have worked hard for the stability that they’re able to provide their families, is an attack against all workers.”

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) recently ended the 15-day strike. At least for now.
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The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, August 28, 2011: Drivers in PG and DC focus on petitions

Posted on August 30, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS, AUG. 28 (Audio only includes the first half-hour of the program):

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[In addition to listening to The Voice of DC Cab Drivers live on the radio, you can listen live online at wust1120.com or on your phone at (712) 432-6620.]

In both Prince George’s County and in the District of Columbia, drivers are moving forward with petitions.

Yesterday, as the rain poured down and Hurricane Irene barreled north, five members of the Taxi Workers Alliance submitted more than 4,600 signatures to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections.

The drivers were required to submit 3,300 valid signatures from Prince George’s County registered voters by yesterday in order to meet the first threshold of getting the anti-driver legislation known as CB-3 placed on the ballot as a referendum in Nov. 2012. Continue reading →

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A Hearing on (In)Secure Communities

Posted on August 26, 2011 by admin

“I am not a criminal,” Maria Bolaños of Prince George’s County said Aug. 24 at a hearing in Arlington. Instead of addressing the panelists, Bolaños directed her comments at an audience member – Marc Rapp, the Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) official overseeing the controversial Secure Communities program.

“I called the police because of a small problem with my partner. The police turned me over to ICE,” said Bolanos. “[Now] I have a deportation order.” As he sat in the packed George Mason University auditorium, Rapp listened, but didn’t respond. Continue reading →

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A Pattern of Official Misconduct in Prince George’s: Drivers Repeatedly Prevented from Collecting Petition Signatures

Posted on August 25, 2011 by admin

Isidore Asucquo at Allen Pond Park in Bowie

Listen to Isidore Asucquo:

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“If you’d like to put the clipboard down you’re welcome to stay.” – Bowie Police Chief John Nesky

“We came [to Allen Pond Park on National Night Out] with all hope to achieve our goal, but we were so disappointed by [the] action of the police,” said Isidore Asucquo, one of the lead organizers of the Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance.

The driver-led organization must submit 3,300 valid signatures from Prince George’s County registered voters by Aug. 28 in order to place the anti-driver legislation known as CB-3 on the ballot as a referendum in Nov. 2012. (For more information visit taxipetitions.com.)

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The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, August 21, 2011: Taxi Chair’s First Extended Interview; PG’s Troubling Pattern

Posted on August 22, 2011 by admin

Pete and D.C. Taxicab Chair Ron Linton

LISTEN TO THE SHOW FROM AUGUST 21:

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[In addition to listening to The Voice of DC Cab Drivers live on the radio, you can listen live online at wust1120.com or on your phone at (712) 432-6620.]

In Prince George’s County, drivers have just seven days left to deliver to the Board of Elections 3,300 valid signatures from Prince George’s County registered voters. The signature gathering is part of an effort by the Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance to place the recently passed, anti-driver legislation, known as CB-3, on the ballot as a referendum in 2012.

In order to meet the Aug. 28 signature requirement, the Taxi Workers Alliance focused on Aug. 2, National Night Out, when thousands turn out for events throughout the county. But a troubling pattern of official misconduct is emerging. Continue reading →

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In Defiance of Mayor, New Taxi Chair Continues with Past Practice

Posted on August 21, 2011 by admin

DCTC general counsel Dena Reed removed this sign from the hearing room as I spoke with Chair Ron Linton

Q&A from Mayor Gray’s weekly press conference 8/17/2011:

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Ron Linton interview 8/18/2011:

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“We don’t intend to pass anything in the dead of night,” Mayor Vincent Gray said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. Gray’s comments were in response to my question about whether the D.C. Taxicab Commission will be moving forward with industry altering proposals without holding an additional hearing, when the first one was marked by irregularities. “Simply put, not gonna happen, Peter,” Gray said.

Standing alongside the mayor, City Administrator Allen Lew seconded Gray’s comments. “We’ll do that,” both Lew and Gray said regarding holding a fully open hearing on the proposed amendments to chapters 6 and 8 of Title 31, the regulatory code that governs the taxicab industry. Continue reading →

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Prince George’s Has a Petition Problem: Drivers Thrown Out of Public Events at Morningside and Temple Hills

Posted on August 18, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO MARKOS GEBREHIWOT:

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A troubling pattern is emerging in Prince George’s County. In at least three instances, taxi drivers were prevented from collecting petition signatures at public events held throughout the county on Aug. 2, National Night Out.

At VFW Post 9619 in Morningside, four drivers attempted to collect signatures in the parking lot. “After we had about three people [sign], there was a guy who came out from the inside,” said Markos Gebrehiwot, as he stood in the VFW parking lot. Continue reading →

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