1. “A hunger strike is too extreme a tactic.”

Please remember that the students organizing the hunger strike believe that

the lack of positive, future-directed youth employment is a life and death issue.

More independent media coverage: Announcement from Baltimore City School Students | Letter from a Hunger Striker | Photos and Write-up of Kick-Off March & Rally

This is absolutely huge, of incredible importance: support the Baltimore youth hunger strikers!

Please phone Mayor Dixon at 410-396-3835

or 410-396-3100 (city hall switchboard).

Cast a shadow on the handlings of critical funding for youth in Baltimore. Let the response serve as a model for other youth led movements throughout our country.

Support Philly-based groups in the same fight for our youth, including the demand of funding for JOBS & EDUCATION, not WAR & PRISONS: North Philly Metropolis | Philly Student Union | Youth United for Change | Men United for a Better Philadelphia

This is typical political theater, but it’s worth a watch. I’m sure the same could be done for Obama or Clinton.

I missed this year’s ride while Shout Magic was recording our next CD in Sylvania, Pennsylvania. Last year’s ride was remarkably solemn and well-attended, despite the torrential downpour throughout the ride.

Bike deaths in Philadelphia can usually be counted on a person’s hands, yet each one is a tremendous blow to the bicycling community. There is a constant battle-for-your-life mentality when cycling on streets shared wit automobiles. Many, many drivers are calm, courteous and respectful, however there is still a predominant “Get off the road, asshole!” mentality that is pervasive in many drivers. Many of these struggles are shared by pedestrians as well, and this is within a bike-friendly, extremely walkable city.

It is frustrating when folks don’t understand that the road is to be shared equally. The same severity is faced by motorcyclists and pedestrians, all of which are considerably more economical than driving a car. I was always awed by the use of white, “Ghost Bikes” used in New York City to memorialize bicyclists killed while riding. I wonder why it has not been implemented in Philadelphia. Anyone have some junk bikes? I’ll bring the white paint.

On the narrow streets of Philadelphia 200 riders get noticed. On some streets bikes stretched for 3-4 full city blocks. Some pedestrians cheered us on, others may have mistaken the silent ride for Critical Mass.

The ride was held at 7PM in over 250 other cities around the world. www.rideofsilence.org

From The Philadelphia Biycle News Blog. Link to post.

John Boyle, from the Bicycle Coalition, reported the ride’s reception downtown beared some semblance to a Critical Mass ride, which I recently criticized for its poor representation of bicyclists.  It makes me wonder of the power, and practicality, of more organized rides such as the Ride of Silence.

The city (and the nation) rises up upon news of a murdered police officer in Port Richmond.

The city (and the nation) its head after watching video of three men brutalized by Philadelphia Police.

The city (and the nation) conducts business as usual the other countless times a Philadelphian is murdered.

The city (and the nation) is happy to look the other way for the countless violent encounters provoked by Philadelphia or Camden Police, when not documented by a video camera.

The picture is grim. Our collective emotion– well managed most of the time–soars upon news of a murdered police. There is a nationwide manhunt. A 24-7 vigil takes place at the scene as local media cover the story indefinitely. This is the apropriate response to a murder. Any murder.

In a week, many of this will settle down and we’ll go back to 1-inch write ups for the other 400 residents murdered while living in this city. It’s not even hot out yet and we’re already trying to remember if there were 7 or 9 murders last weekend. It feels like blowback. A blow from the continuous cycle of state-sponsored violence that pervades our world. I think about how the Greeks thought a natural disaster was the wrath of the Gods. Events in the world show legitimate reason to believe a greater force is at work.

It is a struggle to face the truth: the value of a person’s life is regulated by the media. If they don’t report it, we don’t care. If we don’t care, they won’t report it. Mainstream journalism is now based on what’s cool, what’s emotional — and not necessarily the stories that are the most shameful. You will never see an in-depth report on what is at the root of our citywide murders, broken school system, and our bloating prison system, while considering the war in Iraq costs ### (thank you Iraq War Cost) and oil companies are making 12-figure profits annually (apparently Exxon Mobil’s recent profit of $10.9 billion this quarter alone was disappointing).

Our cities will die if we don’t use our collective resources to create jobs, working educational systems and affordable housing. We are cows heading to slaughter, placated by $600 checks and gas tax holidays. We are not in control of our country. How will we rise up to dramatically change directions?

Clearly our non-profit sector is keeping the machine humming, not overhauling it. I ponder NGO’s involvement in the overall plan to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer. If we managed to properly treat and rebuild away from our current system of poverty, what would happen to the job sector providing 25% of jobs in Philadelphia? The career-based approach to movement building is not a sustainable one.

I hope to explore this topic further in future posts throughout the summer.