Briefs

After organizing against the Republican National Convention for over a year, Grand Rapids group ACTIVATE has spent the last several days in the Twin Cities actively disrupting the convention. On Monday, the first day of the convention, the actions against the RNC greatly overshadowed the theatrics of the convention itself, demonstrating that the resistance has been successful so far.

ACTIVATE is now calling on people to contact officials in Minneapolis to demand rights for prisoners arrested during the Republican National Convention immediately. According to the group Cold Snap Legal Collective over 300 people have been arrested as of Wednesday, many receiving felony charges. Many prisoners have not been able to meet with lawyers, guards have beaten several prisoners, some have been denied medical attention, and others have been put in 23-hour lock down. In addition, trans-gendered prisoners' rights are not being taken into consideration. It is important that as many people as possible contact the following officials and ask that they meet the demands listed below.

* St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (651.266.8510)

* Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher (651.266.9333)

* County Chief Judge Gearin (651.266.8266)

* Head of Ramsey County Jail Captain Ryan O'Neal (651.266.9350) (main #) extension 1

And demand the following:

* Immediate medical attention as needed for ALL arrestees;

* That the prisoners who haven't given their names (Jane, John, and Jesse Does) have access to group meetings with a lawyer;

* Ensure trans folks have access to phones, attorneys, and are held in their gender group of choice;

* Dismissal of all charges; and

* Release of all minors.

Several Grand Rapids residents delivered several pages of signed petitions on Wednesday to Congressman Vern Ehlers' office demanding that he support a House Resolution (H.J. Res. 79) that would overturn a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow media companies to control more media outlets.

Last December, the FCC approved sweeping new changes to the United States' media ownership rules that would open the door for further media consolidation in nearly every community across the country. The FCC voted to lift the 30-year "newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban" that prohibits a company from owning a newspaper and a broadcast station in one area.

In March, Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) introduced a bipartisan bill, the "Resolution of Disapproval" (H.J.Res. 79) to overturn the FCC's big giveaway to big media. The Senate already passed its version of this bill in a near-unanimous vote after more than 250,000 people wrote and called their elected officials through a campaign organized by the national media reform group Free Press.

Today's petition delivery to Congressman Ehlers' office was facilitated by Free Press and their advocacy group "Stop Big Media" Those who delivered the petitions stated that they were opposed to the FCC decision because "it limits the amount of voices that the public will hear in media." Another person expressed that further media ownership consolidation means that "less emphasis will be put on local news and that the further downsizing of newsrooms will mean less investigative reporting on important issues like elections, war, the environment, and economic issues."