Category Archives: Uncategorized

On the dawn of Friday, October 27, 2006, news about the assassination of the New York Independent Media reporter Brad Will by paramilitary forces in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico reverberated throughout the world. This day marked the beginning … Continue reading →

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA VOTES TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ AND IMPEACH BUSH-CHENEY The election defeats of Republicans on Tuesday, with Democrats taking control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994, have been widely described as a referendum on the … Continue reading →

Following on the heels of a similar proposition in Urbana, the Champaign police department is currently considering a citizen police review board. Just the mention of such an oversight has provoked reprisals from the Mayor, the News-Gazette, and their local … Continue reading →

Community Court Watch has been following the case against former Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Garrett for several months. Garrett was facing four felony counts for, among other things, approaching Ty Kellums, boyfriend of his estranged wife, while in uniform and threatening … Continue reading →

In the recent conflicts in the Middle East, the Israeli point of view is rarely covered, especially by independent media. I think there are a lot of misconceptions and information gaps. Let’s start with a few brief facts. Israel is … Continue reading →

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, October 7, 2006, a crowd of nearly 200 participants joined in the Third Annual Unity March. This year, we took the Unity March to the community. We went into the Garden Hills neighborhood, ground zero … Continue reading →

October 7, 2006 Letter to the News Gazette I would like to request a correction to the Editorial N-G Publisher John Foreman wrote Sunday September 17, 2006. In his lengthy editorial Mr. Foreman was critical of the “usual suspects.” Mr. … Continue reading →

I was returning a U-haul truck as my wife and daughter followed behind. I pulled into a gas station and began to fill the truck. My wife pulled in behind me, stopped, and waited for me to finish. My wife … Continue reading →

Citizens of the State of Illinois are leading the way in the movement to impeach the President of the United States. The confluence of state and local movements will occur in Urbana-Champaign in mid-October when State Representative Karen Yarbrough (DMaywood) … Continue reading →

INTRODUCTION AND A DEFINITIONAL POINT Direct democracy has a natural appeal that transcends ideological schisms: both the left and the right frequently complain that institutional features of democracy thwart the will of the people, badly distorting public opinion in its … Continue reading →

What we ultimately must confront is our exclusive reliance on winner-take-all elections. Winner-take-all elections, whether in single-member districts or for at-large positions, require winning candidates to attract a majority or substantial plurality of the vote. By definition, candidates representing political … Continue reading →

David Lee wanted to run for office as an Independent in the 44th state senate district. He found that to even get on the ballot, he would need to collect 6,995 valid signatures. He would need to file his petitions … Continue reading →

Urbana-Champaign may be “Impeach Bush Central”- and one of the very few places in the country where voters can have their say directly on both impeachment and war. Local voters will see a referendum on each of these questions on … Continue reading →

Soon after I began attending Print Group meetings I heard someone ask, “are you going to block consensus?” When I asked what was happening someone whispered, “we practice anarchy here.” Immediately I expected a group with no structure, no organization, … Continue reading →

If you read the police blotter in the newspaper or listen to the news in Champaign County, you have probably noticed that “obstruction of justice ” is a charge that appears often. Some high profile people have been charged with … Continue reading →

My ancestor John Bartmess, a Pennsylvanian, came to the Illinois Territory after the War of 1812, finding land near Vincennes. The Bartmess family had been Huguenot, and had fled to Pennsylvania from a Europe where Protestant beliefs were often a … Continue reading →

We have been taught in America not to worry about nuclear weapons. We are supposed to pretend that they will never be used, as if their only function is symbolic, as if they are mighty but ultimately peaceful sentinels deterring … Continue reading →

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s installation of George W. Bush as President in January of 2001, the peoples of the world have witnessed a government in the United States of America that demonstrates little if any respect for fundamental considerations … Continue reading →

If Joe Parnarauskis prevails against the Democratic Party’s attempt to remove his name from the ballot, students and workers will have a socialist, anti-war candidate to vote for in the November election. Parnarauskis, a registered nurse and lifelong resident of … Continue reading →

I was asked to write this article by the folks at the Public i to add support to this issue highlighting misuses of the enforcement and justice system in Champaign County. I want to point out that my story pales … Continue reading →