Anti-ALEC Moral Monday protests spread

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(UPDATES final graf to CORRECT large Chicago protest is Thursday, sted Wednesday).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An enormous Moral Monday rally in Asheville, N.C., </span><a href="http://www.carolinamercury.com/2013/08/thousands-attend-mountain-moral-monday-protests-spread-to-chicago-and-oakland/#.UgEHInE_fyc.twitter" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">drew about 10,000 people</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> yesterday to protest passage of pro-corporate ALEC legislation in Raleigh even as demonstrators in Oakland and Chicago took up the Moral Monday cause.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknx5Vv5S0j0BFb51HYcMKxRH8kybhrP4iUiWvTEAuq0soX2Il4K_rwMf5k6KIzhQ42dXOJVi32bkxPbigqYGmdvSsEnO7pVO1pzkCB5GaR7ilWeRTln8oEi-he3pt4trXp_dIu4itjWeM/s1600/8-6moralmondayphoto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknx5Vv5S0j0BFb51HYcMKxRH8kybhrP4iUiWvTEAuq0soX2Il4K_rwMf5k6KIzhQ42dXOJVi32bkxPbigqYGmdvSsEnO7pVO1pzkCB5GaR7ilWeRTln8oEi-he3pt4trXp_dIu4itjWeM/s320/8-6moralmondayphoto1.jpg" title="This is a photo that shows a crowd estimated at 10,000 gathering for a Moral Monday protest in Asheville, N.C." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tremendous crowd took in event in Asheville, N.C.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the county courthouse in Asheville, North Carolinians expressed their anger with Gov. Pat McCrory and the Legislature, which rolled back progress in education, voting rights and social and economic equality. During the legislative session, which just ended, lawmakers slashed unemployment benefits, Medicaid and education spending while cutting taxes to big business. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In Chicago, clergy, unions and community organizers took over the Palmer House Hilton lobby during the first Moral Monday protest outside of North Carolina. They demanded the hotel rescind its invitation to ALEC, which is gathering for a conference there. Police arrested six protesters. <o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Carolina Mercury reported:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oakland protesters held the first of a series of monthly ‘Moral Monday’ peace and justice rallies.</span></span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Called “Mountain Moral Monday” by organizers, the Asheville event rivaled the final Raleigh rally held last week. Yesterday’s protest was the first to be held away from the state capital and will be followed by additional events in all of North Carolina’s congressional districts. Teachers again were out in full force at the Asheville event to raise their objections to policies that strike down tenure, end salary increases for those with master’s degrees and caused the firing of thousands of classroom assistants. Angela Patane said </span><a href="http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130806/NEWS/308060023/Protest-packs-Asheville" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">it is important to raise attention about what is happening to education in North Carolina</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><u><span style="color: blue;"> </span></u></span>and was glad to see others agreed:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was amazed by the turnout. I wasn’t expecting that many people, so I was really happy to see so many thousands of people.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/05/3083774/moral-monday-protests-heading.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Retired teacher Sue Bartlett said she too felt the need to stand up</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for what’s right:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We’re concerned about the children, concerned about health care, concerned about our environment.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next Moral Monday rally in North Carolina has tentatively been scheduled for Aug. 19 in Charlotte.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There will be another large protest against ALEC in Chicago Thursday. ALEC, or the <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">American Legislative Exchange Council, has been exposed over the past few years as an anti-worker tool of big corporation. ALEC gatherings have been dogged with large protests over the past few years, and tomorrow's may be the largest yet.</a></span></div>

Anti-ALEC Moral Monday protests spread

(UPDATES final graf to CORRECT large Chicago protest is Thursday, sted Wednesday). An enormous Moral Monday rally in Asheville, N.C., drew a...

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