Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Welfare Rights Committee on the corporate media coverage that followed their March 23 die-in if front of the office of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Some of the critical coverage focused on the participation of students from Southside Family School in Minneapolis.

‘These cuts would kill’

St. Paul, MN – Tombstones and bodies filled the halls outside the Governor’s office here, March 23, as participants in a ‘die-in’ demonstrated against the effects of Governor Pawlenty’s proposed cuts in health and human services. Members of the Welfare Rights Committee and the Minnesota Coalition for a Peoples Bailout, along with other social justice groups, joined the protest.

St. Paul, MN – Governor 'Scrooge Pawlenty' was by visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future at his mansion here on Dec. 22. Said the ghost of Christmas future, “The people of Minnesota will continue to haunt you. They will expose your miserable actions if you continue to push your greedy, poor-bashing agenda. They will warn voters to block your ambitions if you try to spread your lies in a pathetic run for the presidency.”

St. Paul, MN – Anti-war protesters gathered at the office of U.S. Representative Betty McCollum here, Dec. 17, to say to no to the war on Afghanistan and to oppose any new taxes to pay for the war. Rep. McCollum supports President Obama's call to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. In addition, she has proposed a 1% tax increase to pay for this war. The event was organized by the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee.

Picket demands “Tax the rich”

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee and the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout gathered in the state capitol building, Dec. 2, outside the room where Minnesota Management and Budget department heads presented the ‘November Forecast,’ projecting a $1.2 billion deficit.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people gathered here, for an Oct. 28 mass community meeting to demand a moratorium on foreclosures and for protections for renters in foreclosed properties. Organized by the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout, the meeting brought together people facing foreclosures, trade unionists, welfare rights activists and concerned members of the community.

St. Paul, MN – A pesar de una de las peores tormentas de nieve que hemos visto desde hace mucho tiempo, la gente de bajos recursos llegó a la capital este 2 de febrero, para exigir que los legisladores deshagan los recortes a la asistencia pública. La protesta fue organizada por el Comité para los Derechos a la Asistencia Pública (Welfare Rights Committee) y la Coalición de Minnesota para los Derechos a la Asistencia Pública (MN Welfare Rights Coalition). Más de cien personas de bajos recursos les dijeron a los políticos minnesoteños que es hora de cobrarles más impuestos a la gente rica, para poder cumplir con las necesidades de la gente más necesitada. La hora de la manifestación correspondió con el primer día de sesiones de la asamblea legislativa del estado de Minnesota.

Voices from the protest

These are statements from some of the many people who will protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN on September 1-4, 2008.