Tuesday, April 11, 2006

World's waking up

Tired and I'll talk some about that (Tony called and asked, "Dude, what are you doing?") but let's do Democracy Now!

Up to 2 Million March in National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice
As many as two million people took to the streets in more than 100 cities and towns across the country on Monday to march for immigrants' rights. Undocumented workers, legal immigrants, labor unions, immigrant rights advocates and their supporters demonstrated in what was billed as the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. In New York, more than one thousand demonstrators crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and packed the streets in lower Manhattan for a rally near City Hall. In Atlanta, as many as 80,000 people flooded the streets. In Phoenix, an estimated 100,000 rallied at the Arizona Capitol. 25,000 marched in Madison, Wisconsin. 10,000 in Boston. 8,000 in Omaha, Nebraska. The rallies Monday followed a day of demonstrations in San Diego, Miami, Birmingham, Alabama, Utah, Idaho and Iowa. A rally in Dallas drew half a million people, the largest protest in the city's history. In Washington DC, hundreds of thousands streamed past the White House to a rally on the National Mall. The demonstration took place just yards from the Capitol, where Senators last week failed to reach agreement on wide-ranging immigration reform that would allow the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country a chance to work here legally and eventually become U.S. citizens. We'll spend the hour looking at the growing immigrant rights movement after headlines.

Remember the summer of protest? That was a good call (by C.I.) and I just can't believe all the activism that's going on. I mean, when I started this site, I was thinking, "Why aren't we doing more?" But we are doing more. I had no idea. This week, I've got to talk to people participating in protests for immigrant rights and with students who are saying no to their campus in so many ways. I got to meet people who are protesting an energy company. . . . Tony had called yesterday evening to find out what's up and I told him I'd call him back but I ended up just chilling with everyone in the living room listening to music.

I'm so exhausted at the end of the day. What it's taught me most of all is that I don't do enough.
C.I. knows everybody. That's what it seems like. I knew C.I. read a lot and all but I had no idea how much went on any day. I get now why no one could throw C.I. when we did the news roundups. By the time something is news, C.I.'s usually already familiar with it. Nina had a blast and all but she was saying, "There's so much to do." She went back with Rebecca on Monday morning and I wish she'd stayed because this weekend it was focused on immigrant rights and the war and there's so much more going on.

I hope Nina's not going to be mad. She got me a pair of the sneakers, hightops, that were made without sweatshop labor and that was back a few months ago. I've walked so much in the last few days, I've almost worn them out. On the inside, I have. Where my heel is, it's like on top of the bottom of the shoe, the sole's worn out.

Besides listening and learning (and me and Wally both said this morning, we are on either side of C.I. because some of this stuff is things we never heard of so C.I. can whisper to us and bring us up to date), we've also got to go sight seeing and that's been pretty cool. Kat goes, "I hate doing the tourist thing" but she showed us some pretty cool places.

Betty's plan was to blog tonight but she's parked in the living room with her kids asleep next to her and she said she was just going to stay there and enjoy talking tonight. If I rush this, it's because I want to get back in there. There's a guy talking about Hugo Chavez and Venezuela and if I didn't want to be called a slacker, I wouldn't be blogging tonight! :D

There is so much going on. Democracy Now! covers so much but I get why Pacifica is so important because there's too much for even a great show like Democracy Now! to handle all of.
Probably older people are reading this going, "Silly college student." Okay, maybe I am. Maybe everybody knew how much was going on in the world. But maybe not. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and can someone tell me where the idea that it never rains in California started? :D

Here's something weird. I told Tony this and he thinks I'm making it up. I'll try to find some link if I can to it because it did happen. A block of ice fell from the sky and hit a park. No one was hurt but it made this huge hole in the ground. It just fell from the sky and no one knows where. It might have come off a plain's gear or wings or something. But it may not have. I am so not making this up. I'll try to have a link for tomorrow's entry.

French Government Backs Down on Unpopular Job Law
In other news, France has scrapped a widely unpopular job law that would have made it easier for employers to fire young workers. French President Jacques Chirac announced the decision following two months of protests attended by millions of people. Student groups and unions hailed the decision as a major victory over a measure they claimed would have only worsened job security in France. Chirac said the measure would be replaced by a new initiative to help disadvantaged young people find work.

See, summer of protest. My poli sci prof was saying during the March protests against the war that we'd be seeing even more and I think so too. I think people woke up and it took Cindy Sheehan and others to wake us up last summer but this is really cool. I mean, the Bully Boy's awful. But it's kind of amazing to live in such an exciting time. Not good, just exciting. Well maybe good because, with the demonstrations here and the ones in France, you are seeing people standing up to governments and saying, "You represent us, we do not follow your orders."

Look what they've done in France and look what's being done here. It's amazing. Ma called this morning and said I better say thank you here to C.I. I know Ma's right but C.I. gets so "Oh don't talk about that" when you start talking like that. So I'll just say thank you.

Me and Jim and Dona are the first ones up because we're still on eastern time. And this morning, we were going through the papers and really hogging them until Dona said, "For God's sake give C.I. the Times!" :D That's fun too, watching the way the entries get pulled together because C.I.'s always on at least one phone. And usually, it's more than one. "Uh-huh-uh," trying to figure out what to write about while someone's calling going, "You got to write about this!" I go much more slowly. (Not tonight! :D) I think about something. Usually ask Nina what she thinks about it and then I start writing. There's no time for that with The Common Ills. C.I.'s ripping through e-mails, juggling phones and going through the paper. Man, the paper is all over the floor at the end. This section and that section.

C.I. had a comma or something in the wrong spot today and Jim is Mr. Stickler on that. I think C.I. forgot a comma. Jim starts pointing that out and Dona goes, "Jim!" Then Jim goes, "Okay."
But really, if you can follow it, you can follow it. The Common Ills is like a live broadcast. C.I.'s rushing to get it done, workout, shower and get on with the day.

At The Third Estate Sunday Review, Jim wants everything perfect and we end up working and working and working. By the middle of session, we just want something up, and, by then, so does Jim. But he loves The Common Ills and would grammer check and spell check every entry (even after it's posted) if C.I. would let him.

But I think I'm going to be able to move a little quicker here because seeing C.I. flip from screen to screen and all makes me realize that I can move a little faster.

I don't know if Cedric's writing tonight, but you gotta read his "Law and Disorder addressed covert racism." Maria loves it and me too. Oh, if that publisher/editor got on your nerves on Democracy Now! today, Maria's kids were booing him. She had to keep telling them to boo quietly or the other classrooms were going to complain. :D Wally goes, "What were they saying?" and she ticked off all the phrases in Spanish and I don't speak it so I was lost. She realized that and goes, "Just think 'tool.'" and I laughed so hard. He really was a tool. Okay, I'm tagging, then getting back to the living room where there's some great music and conversations that are probably way over my head! :D

Be sure to read Elaine's thoughts and stuff at Like Maria Said Paz.









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