WCRS Podcast - consciousvoices

Tom captures the sounds and passionate energies of Occupy DC. Included are interviews with Jim Hightower, activists from the U.S., Egypt, and Tunisia.

McGovern at Freedom Plaza, one of two sites of the occupation in Washington D.C.

McGovern is confident in the inevitable success of a mass movement for renewed democracy and an end to corporate rule and militarism. He spoke with WCRS last weekend at Freedom Plaza, one of two sites of Occupy D.C.

“I work for justice now. I used to work for the CIA and the US Army, ” said McGovern whom police bloodied and arrested in February at George Washington University when he stood up in silent protest during a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During the spectacle of cops grabbing the 71-year-old McGovern, Clinton didn't miss a beat or blink an eye as she criticized--ironically-- governments that don’t allow protests and freedom of expression.

“I’m impressed by the folks here at our own Tahir Square, Freedom Plaza,” said McGovern last week as the late night crowd thinned, some people heading to their tents on the square, some heading to hotels or houses in nearby suburbs.

“The movement is building. This is a really good start, together with what’s going on in New York. In the beginning you never quite know what’s going to happen. But I’m really encouraged by what I see here.”

Black youths road past on skateboards now that the hippies had taken over the square, bringing with us hundreds of free pizzas courtesy of Food Not Bombs and local eateries. Normally, they can be jailed if police catch them skateboarding there.

(Sorry, the text and photos are not in the same order as the audio content. We'll fix that as soon as possible. We're spread thin, and would welcome your collaboration w/ us. And audio from James Lunsford of The Help Project was not included, but it'll be aired next week and podcasted under Civically Engaged. Thanks, Tom Over tomover@ymail.com

Deb Steele spoke w/ us at the Stand Up For Ohio Festival on Aug 20, though this picture of her was taken in February.

A ‘disorientation guide’ for incoming OSU freshmen (and freshwomen)

She is helping Ohio State University students form a chapter of the Progressive Student Coalition.

“We just sort of need more progressive groups coming together. The Progressive Student Coalition is the feminists, the environmentalists, the worker rights student groups coming together to get more bang for our activism energy.”

Those students did an event at OSU on May 5 of this year called Live Against Five, at which they gathered about 300 signatures to add to the petition drive that put the repeal of Ohio House Bill 5 up to a vote this fall.

The OSU Progressive Student Alliance currently is working on the ‘Disorientation Guide’ to give to incoming freshman.

“It’s about the realities of the politics of the city we live in and the reality of Gordon Gee acting pretty cushy w/ corporations.”

Privatizing our land grant university ?

“There are murmurs of him wanting to privatize Ohio State University in the near future,” said Steele.

She said there is currently money going to charter universities that should be going to public universities.