The votes are in: 205 for to 228 against. Democrats put up 140 votes for this disastrous plan, while Republicans only came up with 65.

According to Washington Congressman and AIS pledge signer Norm Dicks, the House Republicans had agreed to a "gentlemen’s agreement that we would put up 140 votes and they (the GOP) would put up 100 votes."  Apparently, the Republicans didn't hold up their end of the bargain.

The collapse of the Minneapolis highway bridge is a terrible tragedy, but it's a tragedy that could have been avoided. Everyone on the progressive side of the aisle is making this point, and making it well, but if we don't begin to lay the groundwork for rebuilding America's infrastructure now, that point will be lost in the hustle and bustle of the American news cycle.

This is why America in Solidarity exists, to spread the word about the power that ordinary American workers have to change the world and to preserve the wonderful country that we have. To do it, we have to rebuild our country's aging infrastructure, and that means raising taxes on the rich, disincentivizing companies from relocating overseas, and investing heavily in homegrown, union, living-wage jobs that work for the people of America.

America in Solidarity is going to be hosting our first ever major conference this fall and we had planned to speak about just four major issues: healthcare, fair trade, election reform and ending the occupation of Iraq.

This week, America in Solidarity and King's Books of Tacoma welcomed Michael D. Yates to town, author of the great new book about American life, "Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate".

Michael was a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania-Johnstown for thirty-two years. At the end of that time, having built up a pretty sizable pension fund in the boom of the 90's, he and his wife Karen decided to pack up all their household goods, give almost everything away, and head out on the road to see this great nation in all its glory. Along the way, Michael and Karen worked odd jobs, took in the sights, and got to know the ordinary working people that populate our nation's highways, cities and national parks. They visited and stayed in Manhattan; Miami Beach; Yellowstone National Park; Flagstaff, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; and hundreds of other places in between, living on fresh produce and long hikes through the wilderness. Everywhere they went, they discovered hard-working Americans struggling to make ends meet, amidst the gross inequalities of American life.

In case you haven't heard, the Democratic Party is in shambles over this Iraq War Funding Bill.

This gives we and our members a golden opportunity to make our voices heard. Even if you are not a Democrat, or if you are but you haven't gone to Democratic Party meetings in the past, now is the time for you to get in there and speak to the issues that matter to America's working families. A lot of folks have resigned their party seats, so this creates a perfect vacuum for pro-working-family people to get in there and raise a ruckus.

This Party will be deciding the next President of the United States, so wouldn't you like to be involved in the movement that makes that possible? If you join now, and get a whole lot of your friends and family members to join as well, you may just have enough clout to push the issues that matter to working families in a forum that can actually influence the policies of those Democrats who are lucky enough to serve us in Washington. And think of how you will feel, twenty years down the road, when you look back and remember what you did to save this country from the DLC and Rahm Emmanuel, when all hope seemed lost.

For those of you who know me, you know I'm probably the most radical member of America in Solidarity's Executive Board. I oppose not just the occupation of Iraq, but the occupation of Afghanistan as well. I am convinced that Bush and his cabal planned, orchestrated, executed and covered up the truth about the 9/11 attacks. I believe that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is exactly the same as the American occupation of Indian lands. I think we should all be allowed to smoke or snort whatever the hell we want, with strict regulation on the sale and distribution of such products. I think that free market capitalism is a really stupid way of organizing society, because it doesn't incentivize grassroots collective action for the good of society.

Ending the War on Iraq

All that said, I am not some wild-eyed Communist nutjob waiting for a cause to crow about. I really do believe that we have to stand up and fight against this criminal regime that is presently getting our boys and girls killed in the sands of Iraq. The Stryker vehicles and attack helicopters that are being sent to Iraq from the Grays Harbor port will be killing innocent civilians, and they will be full of American GIs when they get blown up or shot out of the sky.

Forgive me for the attention-grabbing headline, but this story just makes me so freakin' angry I can't believe it. It's one thing for cops to move in on a bunch of war protesters in an industrial zone of the Tideflats after hours of confrontation, but it's quite another for them to push an entire crowd of peaceful protestors out of a park with no advance warning for no clear reason.

Special thanks to Brasscheck TV for this chilling video.

This kind of action is what makes revolutions happen. We need to remember that all workers, ALL WORKERS, deserve our respect and our solidarity. We may not like how they got into this country, and we may wish their employers were rounded up and put in prison, but they are not the enemy. The corporate fascists who allow free trade to devastate the economies of Latin America are the enemy. And we need to start taking the fight to their doorstep, instead of allowing them to drive the fight to ours.

Special thanks to King's Books and Equal Time Radio for helping make this year's celebration a big success. For those of you who didn't make it, you missed a great time. We welcomed workers from Macy's Tacoma as well as the Alan Ritchey workers who organized a union last year. Thanks to UFCW 367 and Teamsters 117 for connecting us with these brave workers. The film, "The Battle of Local 5668" was really well done. Copies of the documentary will be available through America in Solidarity for $10 apiece. Anyone who belongs to a union or who has kids in middle school or high school should pick up a copy and share this story with their friends and family. Call us here at 253-471-1123 to get your copy today!

According to this excellent article over at Raw Story, Dennis Kucinich delivered a stinging indictment of Dick Cheney's conduct leading up to the war in Iraq. He was going to wait to do his press conference due to Cheney's visit to the hospital, but when Cheney decided to trash the Democrats and their plan to stop the war, Dennis decided he'd waited long enough.

So now what? Well, if you're like me, you want these charges to be taken up by the House Judiciary Committee and seriously gone over. To make sure that happens, you need to pick up the phone and call your member of Congress and tell them to support this resolution. Also, you need to call John Conyers and the staff of the House Judiciary Committee and tell them you want to make sure they also look into Dick Cheney's role in the Valerie Plame affair as well as the minutes of the secret White House Energy Task Force, because it's that meeting in which the oil companies probably told Dick to drum up a war with Iraq.

This coming May 1st, America in Solidarity is throwing a big old party to commemorate our Fourth Annual May Day Workers Celebration. There will be labor songs, snacks and refreshments, labor leaders, politicians and a brand new labor documentary about a hard-won labor dispute in West Virginia. This event is ambitious, and we hope it will be the best May Day Festival yet.

Come on down to King's Books, Tuesday May 1st at 6:30 PM, and join the party! You'll be glad you did. It only happens once a year, so why not take a break from American Idol and come on down to the Fourth Annual May Day Workers Celebration in Tacoma!

Special thanks must go to Senator Dick Durbin (D-OH) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) for bringing forth the greatest possible transformation to American elections we've seen in a very long time. This bill would essentially make the election of candidates to Congress the people's business, and take it out of the hands of extremely wealthy individuals and big corporations.

This is very good for all of us, so let's call our members of Congress and demand that they support this legislation.