Yesterday,
3,000 people gathered in Austin to protest the KKK and their Anti-Gay message.
I was there. This event truly shows how strong our movement is! Only 12 Klan members showed up, but they were met with thousands of peaceful protesters. We countered their message of hate with a message of love. The Klan left City Hall earlier than expected (about 2pm), because their permit to protest wasn't up until 4pm. I guess they felt like 12 against 3,000 was a fight that could not be won! Congrats to all of my brothers and sisters who showed up yesterday to sing, pray, and tell the KKK to go away!
Joshua P. Angell
Austin Texas
I've put a new music video on the blog here: http://angell4austin.blogspot.com , it's Melissa Etheridge's "REFUGEE".
This is in honor of the movement. We don't have to live like refugee's, we CAN and WILL one day win our fight for EQUALITY!
Below are some snippit links to various comments about yesterday's event:

KXAN.com - City To Permit KKK Rally Against Gay Marriage
Email · Print, Text Size. City To Permit KKK Rally Against Gay Marriage ... We'll have more on this story on KXAN NBC Austin First at Four. ...http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=4020533&nav=0s3d

KXAN.com - City To Permit KKK Rally Against Gay Marriage
City To Permit KKK Rally Against Gay Marriage ... The city has reserved the Austin City Hall's south plaza on Lavaca and Cesar Chavez from 1-3 pm on ...http://www.kxan.com/global/story.asp?s=4020533&ClientType=Printable

HoustonChronicle.com - Prop. 2 supporters avoid anti-gay KKK rally
Proposition 2 supporters distance themselves from anti-gay KKK rally. Amendment's backers say they want nothing to do with Austin event ...http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3419002

HoustonChronicle.com - Proposition 2 foes will counter Klan rally
Proposition 2 foes will counter Klan rally. Group schedules 'nonviolent' vigil in Austin, vows not to engage KKK. Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin ...http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3429452

Protest a KKK rally in Austin! Austin ISO
Protest a KKK rally in Austin! iso's picture. Submitted by iso on October 25, 2005 - 2:42pm. Start: Nov 5 2005 - 12:00pm. Event Summary:. Protest the Klan! ...http://austiniso.org/node/13

Events Austin ISO
Protest a KKK rally in Austin! Start: 12:00 pm. Event Summary:. Confront the Klan! Meet at Noon on Saturday November 5 at Austin City Hall (Cesar Chavez and ...http://austiniso.org/event/2005/10/30/table/all/all

Burnt Orange Report - KKK to Support Prop 2 in Austin
... it's a really stupid move on the KKK's part to hold a rally here in Austin. ... the KKK shouldnt be allowed to rally up a obvious riot where many will ...http://www.burntorangereport.com/mt/archives/2005/10/kkk_to_support.html

Burnt Orange Report: Comment on KKK to Support Prop 2 in Austin
Don't bring the KKK to Austin? So, you advocate the suppression of free speech ... The fact is, it's a really stupid move on the KKK's part to hold a rally ...http://www.burntorangereport.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=4644

KKK Rally In Austin!!!! Who's going..... - DallasDanceMusic ...
KKK Rally In Austin!!!! Who's going..... Awareness & Politics.http://www.dallasdancemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170702

Daily Kos: KKK rally in Austin under Christian Family Values to ...
KKK rally in Austin under Christian Family Values to attack Gays!! by AHiddenSaint. Mon Oct 24, 2005 at 04:51:43 PM PDT. The hate is spreading and now guess ...http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/24/195143/23
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posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 6.11.05 0 comments

Hello, Everyone!If you are interested in the movie, Robert Greenwald's, WAL*MART: The High Cost of Low Price, coming later in the month, you can get in contact with me. SEIU is sponsoring the movie, and they are encouraging everyone who can to set up house partys to show the movie.

Hit me a mail off line. My address is:

PlentyAZZ@Hotmail.com

Best regards,
Jay
Wireless: (443) 514-5959

Move the U.S.A. Forward!

posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 6.11.05 0 comments

This week, the director of "Uncovered: The War on Iraq" and "Outfoxed" released his latest film, "Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices." It's a powerful exposé on the toll the Wal-Mart behemoth has taken on workers and communities across the country, and how we can help turn the tide.
Wal-Mart is going into attack mode. The company has literally created a war room, staffed with political consultants who are working day and night to undermine the movie and spread pro-Wal-Mart propaganda.1 But it's not working: thanks to the questions raised by the film, national media are tuning in to Wal-Mart's high cost to American families—and last week the movie was featured on page 1 of the New York Times.2
Next week, a coalition of hundreds of unions, churches, small business associations and citizens' groups3 are taking this fight to thousands of living rooms around the country, holding viewing parties to watch the movie and get organized. They've invited us to join them.
Can you host a Wal-Mart movie screening party next Tuesday, November 15th? Sign up today:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php
We'll make sure you get the movie before the 15th if you order by Tuesday, November 8th.
If you can't host a party, you can still buy an advance copy of the new film and send a important message to Wal-Mart: they can spin, but they can't hide. Order your copy online at:http://www.walmartmovie.com/watch.php
These viewing parties are all part of the national "Wal-Mart Week of Action." This week is a great opportunity for MoveOn members to work directly with the members of our partner groups. If you choose to make your screening party public, it will be added to the central pool and local folks from the Service Employees International Union, (SEIU), the Independent Business Association, or any of our hundreds of other partners will be invited to join you.
Once you sign up, you'll receive a special screening packet with everything you need and some easy next steps that your group can take to become part of the solution.
In its debut week the Wal-Mart movie was featured on The Today Show,4 on the front page of the New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A-" rating.5 Salon wrote this glowing review:
"What makes the movie so powerful is the totality of the portrait, both in its details and its sweep. Most of these people are entirely unexceptional Americans from the working class or lower-middle class, believers in flag and country and God and capitalism, not left-wing activists or academics with some theoretical critique. Most of them believed in Wal-Mart, too, and were genuinely horrified to learn that its low prices depended on enforced poverty, whether theirs or somebody else's."6
MoveOn is sponsoring screenings of the film on Tuesday, November 15th, but you can also choose to host another day that week if it works better for you. Please sign up today:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php
After Katrina, we committed to work together to help rebuild a middle class America. It's critical to examine why so many hard working families are watching the American Dream slip away. Wal-Mart, the world's largest corporation and nation's largest employer, is a major piece of that puzzle.
Wal-Mart is owned by the nation's wealthiest family,7 but its average salary is below the poverty line8—leaving over half of it's full time employees without health care or dependent on Medicaid.9 It drives down labor standards at home and around the world.10 It has destroyed countless small businesses in thousands of communities.11 And it does it all by absorbing billions of dollars in corporate welfare every year.12
We hope you'll be able to join the national Wal-Mart Week of Action and host a screening Tuesday, November 15th (or another day that week that works better for you). When you sign up to host, you'll get an advance copy of the movie, and later an action packet to help your group plan some easy next steps.
Please sign up to host right now at:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php
And if you can't host a screening, you're still invited to purchase an advance personal copy of the new film at:http://www.walmartmovie.com/watch.php
Thanks for all that you do,
–Ben, Wes, Joan, Micayla and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Friday, November 4th, 2005
p.s. Here's a note from Director Robert Greenwald to MoveOn members:
"Dear MoveOn Members,One year of intense 24/7 work on this film by the Brave New Films team has turned up very emotional, personal stories of how policy affects people. And with your lead, the film will be a tool for initiating and furthering the fight around economic justice and fairness and the American way of life.
So with great appreciation and excitement, we at Brave New Films present "WAL-MART, the high cost of low price," available to all of you to view and most importantly, to go out into the world armed with the facts and stories it contains. The film has more folks who identify as Republicans then Democrats, and I was very surprised to discover how the Wal-Mart and corporate greed issue cut across any narrow partisan boxes. We have a chance with your help to reach lots of people who might not agree with us on other issues, but on how Wal-Mart is destroying their families, jobs, communities.....they are with us.
Everyplace there is a TV screen and dvd player, can become a screening room for debate, discussion, and change. I look forward to joining with you as we go on the offense and use the film to get a debate going about how the American Dream is being torn apart by a multi-national corporation that only lives by the rule of greed.
With the greatest thanks and excitement,
–Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Films team"
Sources:
1. "A New Weapon for Wal-Mart: A War Room," The New York Times, November 1st, 2005http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/business/01walmart.ready.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1131113232-tfvsWUm71jh8iRyFGKS0Fg3.
2. "A New Weapon for Wal-Mart: A War Room," The New York Times, November 1st, 2005http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1108
3. For a list of coalition partners and supporters of the Wal-Mart movie, see:http://www.walmartmovie.com/screenings.htm
4. Veiw the Today Show clip here:http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1109
5. "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices," Entertainment Weekly, November 4th 2005http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/movie/0,6115,1125297_1_0_,00.html
6. "Beyond the Multiplex," Salon.com, November 3rd, 2005http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2005/11/03/btm/
7. "The Forbes 400 Richest Americans," Forbes Magazine, September 24th, 2004http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6082174/
8. "Trouble in Wal-Mart's America" The Washington Post, October 26th, 2005http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1110
9. "Low Prices at a High Cost: Who Really Pays for Wal-Mart Workers' Health Care?" Wal-Mart Watchhttp://walmartwatch.com/home/pages/healthcare#background
10. National Labor Committeehttp://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/he-yi/he-yi.shtml
11. "Wal-Mart Conference on Wal-Mart Draws Critics of Pay, Benifits," Bloomberg News Service, November 4th, 2005http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1111
12. "Wal-Mart subsidies top $1B," Kansas City Business Journal," May 26th, 2004http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1112
13. "Workers Win Fair Wages as Bush Backs off Davis-Bacon Suspension," AFL-CIO, October 26th, 2005 http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/jobs/ns10262005.cfm
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions, no major donors program. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/email.html?id=6274-3091207-gH5LY94_QUd5TcjqkcHf_Q&t=1
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://political.moveon.org/?id=6274-3091207-gH5LY94_QUd5TcjqkcHf_Q&t=2Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 6.11.05 0 comments

The Washington Post leads with a poll showing President Bush
with a 39 percent approval rating and a 60 percent disapproval mark-both a record for Bush in the Post's polling. T
The president had his biggest dip on "issues of personal trust, honesty and values." The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox and New York Times lead with former presidential aide Scooter Libby (shown below left, leaving court yesterday, pleading not guilty to perjury and other charges against him. Libby waived his right to a quick trial, suggesting, as the Journal puts it, "his intention to mount a vigorous defense." USA Today leads with FEMA sending Louisiana a bill for $3.7 billion. Which sounds outrageous-and obviously lead-worthy-until one reads a few paragraphs down and sees that Congress long ago mandated that states pay a portion of disaster relief costs. (No word on how small that portion can be.) The only way the bill can be avoided, apparently, is for Congress to forgive the debt. In the meantime, the charge amounts to half of Louisiana's annual budget. And the state is already facing a billion-dollar deficit this year. The Los Angeles Times' lead says drug companies have given "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to politicians and civil rights groups-including the California branch of the NAACP-that have supported a state proposition just happens to benefit, and be basically sponsored by, the industry. Fifty-eight percent of respondents in the Post's poll said they do not think the president is "honest and trustworthy." Sixty-eight percent said the country is heading in the wrong direction. The reason most-often cited for feeling that way: the economy. The one semi-bright spot: Nearly 50 percent said they support the nomination of Judge Alito (right); only 30 percent said they're against him.The Post, of course, follows that grand newspaper tradition of pretending there are no other polls in the world. CBS, meanwhile, had one this week clocking the president's approval rating at 35 percent. Libby's arraignment lasted all of 10 minutes but did yield a few suggestive nuggets: As the NYT and LAT emphasize, Libby's (new) lawyers said they'll raise First Amendment issues by demanding to see involved reporters' notes. The next hearing is set for February. The Post alone fronts the Senate passing $35 billion in domestic cuts over the next five years; the bill also says the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge can be opened for drilling. The House, though, isn't likely to agree to open ANWR. The Post calls the cuts part of an effort by Republican leaders to "demonstrate fiscal discipline." Among the areas taking small hits: prescription drugs, farm subsidies, and student loans. A similar bill in the House would, among other things, pinch health-care spending for children. One research outfit said about 6 million kids will be, according the Post's paraphrase, "affected" by the change.Everybody mentions that the Senate Judiciary Committee said it will begin hearings on Judge Alito Jan. 9. The White House had been pushing for a quicker start. Meanwhile, the Journal flags some moderate Republican senators expressing a wee bit of concern about Alito. Nominal Republican Lincoln Chafee (seen below, with Alito, left) cited "caution flags," adding, "I have a primary and a general election to worry about."As the WSJ says up high, the European Union said it will look into reports that Poland and Romania are hosting secret CIA prisons. Both countries issued what seem to be denials. The NYT teases word that House Republican leaders have held up a vote to endorse the Senate's recent amendment reinforcing restrictions against mistreatment of detainees. "HOUSE DELAYS VOTE ON U.S. TREATMENT OF TERRORISM SUSPECTS," says the Times. Ten paragraphs later we learn, "Republican and Democratic aides said there were other possible reasons" for the delay. The detainee language is attached to the defense budget bill, and one Democratic aide "said there were still knotty substantive issues" to work out in it. A quick moment to ponder the Times' above story: The paper didn't pull the "delay" out of thin air: Democratic legislators made a stink about it. That the Times played along isn't necessarily evidence of liberal bias. It's just as likely evidence of something more annoying: a lazy habit of falling into a "partisan conflict" storyline regardless of the underlying reality.With rioting in some of Paris' immigrant-dominated suburbs going on for an eighth night, the LAT is the first major to put it on Page One. There were new outbreaks last night in a half-dozen neighborhoods, but the LAT says the "violence seemed less intense" than previously. The WP notices a sliver of success in Iraq: The highway to the airport isn't the world's most dangerous road anymore. With access now limited and heavy patrolling only one person has been killed on it in the past two months. "It's pretty much one of the safest roads in Baghdad now," said one officer, who added, "The enemy's just gone up the road." Meanwhile, the military announced the death of three more soldiers. The GIs' deaths, as usual, don't get headlines. (The NYT though does have a daily box with the names of soldiers killed.)A NYT piece teased on Page One picks up on some e-mails showing that now-former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay pushed now-former super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (seen below right, listening to his lawyer), to have Abramoff's "charity" donate a couple hundred thousand dollars to DeLay. Abramoff in turn hit up his Indian tribe clients for the cash. The paper doesn't explain where any of this might land in terms of the law or ethics rules. The Post fronts a story about a former D.C. city worker who was sentenced to 21 years in jail for having unprotected sex with some women while he knew he was HIV positive. But that's not what caught TP's eye. This is: "One in 20 [D.C.] residents is infected with the AIDS virus, the highest rate of any major U.S. city."
Eric Umansky (www.ericumansky.com) writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com. Source: Slate Magazine.
Submitted by: Dave Haigler, Abilene, Texas

posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 6.11.05 0 comments