Redding City Council May Vote Ag

A Whole Lot Of Protesting Going On

By Rob McDonald

March 27, 2011

On February 26, a small group of people met at the corner of Churn Creek Rd., and Cypress Ave. to show solidarity for the workers in Wisconsin. Bad weather had made a last minute change for some from the organized protest at the state capital in Sacramento. Others did go to Sacramento and protested there. Although clear, high winds, and cool weather made holding a sign for an hour a huge challenge.

On March 2nd, a large group protested outside the Social Security office on Park Marina Drive. Light constant rain did not stop people from marching around the building several times with their signs protesting plans to furlough Social Security employees up to 10 days by September. Protesters expressed worry that the furloughs would delay benefits to new Social Security recipients, and could delay some people's checks.

Today, March 27th, a large group gathered at the corner of Churn Creek and Dana Drive to stand for Peace. The event was planned to protest continued occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq before the current Libya uprising started. Heavy cold rains did not discourage people from standing their ground on their insistence that our troops be brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Throughout the two hour vigil, people showed up to join the group, and add their support to the anti war effort. Today's action was sponsored by the Shasta County Citizens for Democracy, Cascade Action Now, The Humanist Society of Redding, and Citizens for Responsible Government.

The common denominator of these protests is they are in opposition to policies that have been, or

are being implemented by the Republican party, and either it's previous president and Congress, or the current House majority.

It has become obvious that the Republican party has awakened a sleeping electorate, much as they did before the 2006 election when the Democrats swept Congressional elections. This new energy exhibited by the left should make for some interesting battles both in the 2012 primaries, and main elections.