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Recent Sustainer Blogs
By Peter Bohmer at May 28, 2013
An explanation of the reasons for and the importance of the first strike in 12 years by public sector workers in Washington State. ... (More) Comments (2)
By Peter Bohmer at May 09, 2013
When Judge Wilcox asked me what happened on March 5th, 2013 I said the following: 1) Housing and shelter is a basic human right. 2) Olympia and Thurston County criminalize the poor and homeless. 3) That in response to this increased criminalization of homeless people and as someone who has organized to end homelessness, and in order to take action in solidarity with homeless people, I went onto the parking lot of the abandoned Fish and Wildlife Building on North Washington St. in Olympia on March 5th at about 6:15 P.M. 4) I saw the State Police on the property and heard their order to leave but decided to remain on the property to show my support for the on-site temporary shelter and the people there. ... (More) Comments (0)
Claim for Austerity Falls Apart
By Peter Bohmer at Apr 25, 2013
Two very prominent Harvard economists, and formerly leading economists for the International Monetary Fund, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, concluded, based on their “objective” statistical analysis, that once government debt reached 90% of GDP, future government deficits would cause stagnation or decline. Therefore to them, austerity policies to reduce government spending are absolutely necessary. I am quite sure that Thomas Herndon’s healthy skepticism for the mainstream austerity prescription led to his decision to study their data and methodology, to request their data and to carefully examine it. Thomas showed clearly and definitively their many errors and most importantly, proved that their data does not support their conclusion that austerity is the necessary medicine for countries with significant deficits and debt. ... (More) Comments (2)
Maduro is President of Venezuela.
By Peter Bohmer at Apr 21, 2013
Our main task is to demand the U.S. recognize the fair election of April 14th where Maduro was elected President. Secondly there needs to be honest searching in Venezuela of why the results were so close. ... (More) Comments (2)
End Criminalization of the Homeless
By Peter Bohmer at Mar 16, 2013
On Tuesday evening March 5, 2013, seven of us were arrested for trespassing in the parking lot of the abandoned Washington State Fish and Wildlife Building on Washington Street, near the Farmer’s Market in downtown Olympia. In addition I was arrested on the charge of assault for allegedly assaulting State Trooper Wiley. I did not assault anyone. We from the Olympia Movement for Justice and peace are continuing to organizing for housing and other forms of economic and social justice. ... (More) Comments (0)
By Peter Bohmer at Mar 16, 2013
In my talk, I discuss significance of Chavez to people of Venezuela, Latin America and the world. Although Chavez made mistakes he will be remembered as someone who advanced humanity in a major way, and worked towards socialism that is democratic and participatory. ... (More) Comments (0)
The Need for an Anti-Austerity Program
By Peter Bohmer at Oct 21, 2012
These are notes of the talk I gave at the People's Movement Assembly in Olympia, WA, October 20th, 2012. In it, I carefully challenge the arguments about the burden of federal government deficits in the United States. Both major parties argue that the government deficit is a major problem, which it isn't. They consciously ignore the real problems of continued high unemployment, falling wages, declining benefits and growing inequality. The government deficit is a real problem in Greece and Spain but the solutions ot it are horrendous. ... (More) Comments (0)
By Peter Bohmer at Oct 07, 2012
Talk at the Event, Celebrating the One Year Anniversary of the Occupy Movement, and Against the Continuing U.S. War Against Afghanistan; Localization Not Globalization. “The Afghanistan War and the Occupy Movement are Not Over; Connect the Movements!” By Peter Bohmer, October 7, 2012 Sylvester Park, Olympia Washington ... (More) Comments (0)
Support the Grand Jury Resisters
By Peter Bohmer at Sep 08, 2012
We are living in a period of increased surveillance, especially electronic, and the use of police at the local, State, and national level to limit protest and resistance to an economic and social system that is broken and needs to be revolutionized, transformed. … Grand Juries, especially Federal Grand Juries, have been continually used as tools of political repression and increasingly to jail those who refuse to cooperate with government investigations of radical movements. … The most recent case and the focus of tonight’s meeting is the Federal Grand Jury that convened in Seattle in July, 2012. This Grand Jury is investigating the May Day demonstration in Seattle on May 1st of this year.... (More) Comments (0)
Important Struggle Against Repression
By Peter Bohmer at Aug 30, 2012
I am writing in strong support of the grand jury resistors who have recently been subpoenaed by the Federal Grand Jury in Seattle and to demand that the subpoenas be withdrawn, that all materials taken in the related raids be returned to their owners, and that the Grand Jury end. I thank the resistors for their courage in refusing to testify. This defeats one of the goals of politically-motivated Grand Juries which is to get us to inform and testify against each other—to show that solidarity can easily be broken. ... (More) Comments (2)
By Peter Bohmer at Jun 04, 2012
I focus here on the changes in Venezuela since my last extended trip there in 2009 which I wrote about for Znet. Base don this trip, I conclude that most people's lives are improving there, that Venezuela deserves our critical support but that there has been little progress towards participatory socialism in the last three years. ... (More) Comments (2)
By Peter Bohmer at Nov 28, 2011
This is a talk I gave at a rally of many thousand at the steps of the Washington State Legislature. They were beginning a special session today to consider even more cutbacks in spending for poor people, health and education.The rally was sponsored by Olympia Coalition for a Fair Budget, Occupy Olympia and many others. The State Police tasered a few people and arrested at least three people as the rally turned into an Occupation of the Washington State Capitol here in Olympia, Washington. Occupy Olympia is continuing its occupation of Heritage Park and protests are planned at the Capitol all week. ... (More) Comments (2)
Freedom for Leonard Peltier talk
By Peter Bohmer at May 22, 2011
Solidarity means working for the freedom of Political prisoners such as Leonard Peltier who has been locked up for 35 years. Included below is my talk and photos of this march of 200 people. ... (More) Comments (0)
By Peter Bohmer at Nov 15, 2010
This is the text of the talk i gave on my experiences dealing with Cointelpro, with FBI and other repression against me in the late 1960's and 1970's, and lessons for the present. I gave this talk at a forum at the Evergreen State College on Saturday, November 13th. The featured speaker was Jess Sundin, whose house was raided on Sept. 24th. It was part of coordinated FBI raids in Chicago and Minneapolis, where computers, cell phones, and files seized from solidarity activists under the claims these individuals and groups were supporting foreign terrorist groups. They need to be supported, see www.stopfbi.net for more info.... (More) Comments (4)
By Peter Bohmer at Nov 03, 2010
This is the talk I gave, November 1, 2010 at the Thomas Merton Center introducing Noam Chomsky. Chomsky was then presented the annual award for lifelong social justice activism by the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh, PA. Chomsky then gave a talk on war and the U.S. economy to the 750 attendees of this dinner.... (More) Comments (0)


