Tampa, FL – Joe Iosbaker, a spokesperson for the largest anti-war coalition in the U.S., the United National Antiwar Coalition, spoke at a press conference here, August 24, stating that the peace movement will be joining the mass march on the Republican National Convention. “The Republicans have never met a war they didn’t like,” said Iosbaker. “They support all the wars the U.S. government is waging right now. We are going to march on the RNC and say no to the wars being waged on behalf of the 1%.”
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been attacking the Obama administration for “cutting” Medicare, and Romney has promised to restore these cuts. While Romney is saying that he will protect Medicare, in fact he is protecting health insurance companies, while out-of-pocket costs for seniors will go up.
Minnetonka Beach, MN – On August 23, members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) and others protested outside a fundraiser for presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In two days, WRC members will load up in a van for a drive to Tampa, Florida for the protest at the Republican National Convention, which takes place on Monday, August 27.
New Orleans, LA – Organizers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) canvassed campuses in New Orleans, August 21, including the University of New Orleans, Loyola University and Tulane University. They were there to promote the August 27 march on the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Student organizers from Utah, Wisconsin and New Orleans are also building SDS chapters by leafleting and gathering hundreds of contacts.
Tampa, FL – Organizers for the Coalition to March on the RNC gathered for a press conference here, at Perry Harvey Senior Park, August 22 to give an update on their preparations for the August 27 march on the Republican National Convention. The press conference included speakers from organizations participating in the protest, along with several dozen members of local and international media.
Athens, GA – Student organizers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), in anticipation of one of the largest demonstrations Florida will see in years, are eager to share their plans with students and activists who will be traveling to Tampa next week for the march on the RNC. The group of organizers was in high spirits, listening to political hip hop and swapping stories about activist experiences as they pulled in to Athens Georgia on August 20.
In April of 2012, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) did a report on the impact of Republican Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, which was later passed by the House of Representatives, on health care. An analysis of the CBO report by Fight Back! shows that this plan would shift the burden of health care to poor, elderly and disabled people. This would cause millions of poor, seniors and disabled people to lose insurance and it would cause millions to pay much more for health care.
Tampa, FL – Immigrant rights organizations will join the massive August 27 march organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC. On August 27, Students Working for Equal Rights and the Student Farmworker Alliance will be joined by other immigrant rights groups to say, no to the bigotry of the Republican agenda and the parties of the 1%. The protest also has the backing of Proyecto Dignidad (Gainesville) and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Acton Committee.
Tampa, FL – Standing in front of a wall of TV cameras and reporters, organizers from Coalition to March on the RNC spoke at a press conference here, August 14, giving important updates on the plans for the massive August 27 march that will coincide with the opening day of the Republican National Convention.
Three years after the recession officially ended, economic hard times continue. Financial ruin haunts many working people. One in three children live in families where neither parent has full-time year round employment. Outrageously, bankers are still taking bonuses after taxpayer-financed bailouts. The wealthy 1% are living in luxury, while working people struggle to make ends meet, find work, and survive. The U.S. economy is stagnant at best and threatened by the growing economic crisis in Europe. People are frustrated by the economic crisis and rightfully angry with politicians of both parties.
Tampa, FL – Starting on August 18, members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) will kick off a major, week-long effort to build for the August 27 protest at the Republican National Convention, by visiting college campuses in the Southern region of the U.S.
Fight Back News Service urges your organization to sign the following statement from the Committee Against Political Repression in support of political activists who have been subpoenaed to appear before a Seattle Grand Jury. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is also supporting this effort. To add your group’s name to the solidarity statement, please email: nopoliticalrepression@gmail.com.
Tampa, FL – Across Florida, groups with the Coalition to March on the RNC protested as part of a statewide day of action on July 27. The day marked a one-month countdown to the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the massive unified march and protest happening on Monday, August 27, in Tampa.
Minneapolis, MN – Twin Cities activists came together for a fundraising party here, July 27, to help pay the transportation costs for the vans that are heading to the massive march on the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The event, organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), brought in more than $600.
Tampa, FL – The Coalition to March on the RNC successfully obtained permits to rally and protest in Tampa, Florida. The permitted rally and march on the Republican National Convention will start at 10:00 a.m., Monday, August 27, at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, 1200 North Orange Avenue, in Tampa.
San José, CA – On July 6, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that only 80,000 net new jobs were created in June. This was less than most mainstream economists predicted and far less than what is needed to put the millions of unemployed back to work. So it was no surprise that the official unemployment rate stayed the same from May to June, at 8.2%.
Fight for single payer government health insurance must go on
On June 28 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of the 2010 Affordable Care Act or ACA. In particular, the Court upheld the “individual mandate” that requires people with incomes above the poverty line to buy private health insurance. While the Court did not accept the government's argument that the mandate itself was constitutional, a slim majority (5-4) said that the fine for not buying insurance was like a tax and therefore was constitutional.
