Monday, September 27, 2010

Join Us This Week As We 
Take THIS Revolution to the Campuses


This week we are focusing on taking out the
THE REVOLUTION WE NEED...THE LEADERSHIP WE HAVE to U of C.


Spread the word if you know any one who would like to get this out to college students at University of Chicago who are just starting back to campus this week!!!


Monday September 27
Posting on campus in preparation for getting out the THE REVOLUTION WE NEED...THE LEADERSHIP WE HAVE flyer on Tuesday and Thursday


Tuesday September 28 and Thursday September 30
Join a team to saturate UC - Meet 10:00a at the Hutch (cafeteria 57th and University)
please call if you can do either of these days


Friday October 1
Student Fair on the quad 3:00p - 5:30p (We will have a back up plan for inclement weather)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------






From Revolution #212, September 26, 2010
To Revolutionaries, Radicals and Resisters:

Last year, the movement for revolution began to get going on the campus. The revolutionary communists came, straight up, to Columbia and Cal-Berkeley, to UCLA and University of Chicago, NYU and Harvard, Howard and Clark Atlanta University. They challenged the conventional wisdom-and sometimes the spokespeople for that wisdom. They took on what "everybody knows" about the history and future of communist revolutions... about the still ongoing and, yes, intensifying oppression of women... and about the grotesque irony of Black youth becoming a new generation of "Buffalo Soldiers"-joining the U.S. Army to violently defend the very white supremacist system that forecloses their future. A special Revolution on the environmental emergency-one which lays bare the real depth and source of the problem but also shows how revolution could deal with this-began to get out as well.
 
All this was badly needed. Without a revolutionary movement on the campuses, and without radical ferment and much more critical thinking and a whole lot of imagination among the students, there won't be revolution. There won't be an end to the horrors; just a tinkering with and touching up of the system that produced the horrors.

This year? Let's take it deeper and let's take it wider. Let's get back into the debates we opened up. And let's open up some new ones. Let's talk about Israel-about its whole history, what it's doing today, and how all that fits into U.S. global domination. Let's talk about micro-lending and NGOs, and how those false solutions suck in thousands of students every year who really do want to make a difference with their lives. Let's seriously get that Revolution on the environment out to the many students agonizing over the future of life on this planet. And let's get into, most of all, the possibility for a whole different future society on this land that will be laid out in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America-coming this Fall! (read more!)
------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, September 19, 2010


We received this from the AD HOC COMMITTE FOR REASON

FREE GREGORY KOGER: WED 9/22 Bond Hearing

"I am astonished by the extreme measures taken against Gregory Koger, all for misdemeanor charges. This is not justice, especially for a person of his moral standing."
Fr. Robert Bossie, SCJ
"The amount of work and dedication that Gregory has invested in this school and the work he has done with the inner city youth... is beyond measure."
Chicago inner city high school principal, on behalf of teachers, staff and students

On September 8, Gregory Koger was sentenced to 300 days in jail for videotaping a brief political statement at a public event in Skokie, IL.  When Gregory was asked to stop, he put down his video camera.   Trespass charges were brought because he started filming with his iPhone.  But videotaping is not a crime!  Filming has nothing to do with the legal definition of trespass.  The trespass law states that you must be ordered to leave, and then show that you intend to remain after you have been given notice to leave.  Testimony in court made it clear that Gregory was not ordered to leave until the police were already dragging him out of the auditorium.
Gregory Koger was the only person harmed in this whole episode.  He was assaulted and injured by police and then charged - as is often the case for victims of police brutality - with resisting arrest and simple battery.  An important issue brief from The American Constitution Society calls these "cover charges" because they are so often used to "cover up" police misconduct.   Gregory has maintained his innocence and is appealing his conviction. (read more...)
Read Gregory's own words here.


All Out to court September, 22 9:30amfor the appeal of the sentence and reinstating bond.
Cook County Courthouse,
5600 W Old Orchard Road,
Skokie, IL

Call 773.489.0930 to arrange a ride to Skokie Courthouse on Wed. morning.

Sign the petition to urge that Gregory Koger be immediately released from jail 
Below are some of the people who have signed the petition



August Berkshire, President of the Minnesota Atheists*
Father Bob Bossie, SCJ
Pat Hill, Exec. Director, African-American Police League*
Prof. Theodore Jennings, Chicago Theological Seminary*
H. Candace Gorman, Attorney for Guantanamo detainees
Cynthia McKinney
Michael Radzilowsky, Attorney
Joann Shapiro
Cindy Sheehan
David Swanson
Debra Sweet
Sunsara Taylor
Matthis Chiroux, The Disobedient
*For identification purposes only
Donate to Gregory's legal defense (online through PayPal) or checks can be made out to "Gregory Koger Fund" and mailed to: Ad Hoc Committee, 1055 W. Bryn Mawr, #226, Chicago, IL 60660

Join us
 in court for the appeal of the sentence and reinstating bond on September 22, 9:30am Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL

For more information
, see dropthecharges.net 
Email: adhoc4reason AT gmail.com

More links to coverage of the case

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11547
Revolution newspaper

http://revcom.us/a/212/videographer-en.html

Michael Slate Show, KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles
(audio interview September 3, 2010)
Mitchell Szczepanczyk show, The Ministry of Truth, WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago(audio interview August 31, 2010)

Please send links of coverage we may have missed to adhoc4reason@gmail.com


REVOLUTION BOOKS
1103 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.489.0930 revbookschi@pobox.com
Go to Chicago Revolution Books blog for upcoming events.
SUMMER HOURS
Wed-Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm


Donate and Keep the Doors Open at Revolution Books
If You Haven't Donated, the Time is Now!
Click below to make a contribution via PayPal.
 Donate
Join the Friends of Revolution Books today.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Innocent Videographer Sentenced to
300 Days in Cook County Jail 
Today, September 8, 2010, in Skokie IL, the judge sentenced Gregory Koger to 300 days in Cook County jail.  She did this in the face of 7 character witnesses (including a college professor, a former assistant state's attorney, a Catholic priest, a University of Chicago student Gregory mentored, and his employer, an attorney) and 25 written personal testimonials from a wide array of people, including former Ethical Humanist Society members.  These were all moving tributes to Gregory's character, his transformation from a troubled youth, his morality and his devotion to bettering humanity.   These statements painted a picture of a human being who had touched many lives and inspired people. They and the almost 1,000 signatories and comments on a petition called on the judge to not give Gregory jail time.

Supporters who overflowed the courtroom were outraged when the judge threw the book at Gregory for misdemeanor convictions for taking pictures with an iPhone. Probation is the default sentence for all misdemeanors.
The prosecution presented no witnesses. They entered only documentation of two prior convictions.  The judge took this up with a vengeance, saying that Gregory had demonstrated his "volatile nature." She even went so far as to claim he endangered every person in the Ethical Humanist Society auditorium.  This was extraordinary since there was no testimony claiming this during the trial.   The judge delivered a tirade to Koger which included stating, "you absolutely deserve the maximum ..." 

The defense committee for Gregory stated in a press release, "After the hearing people gathered outside to denounce the sentencing.  People who had witnessed the arrest spoke about how outraged they were that Gregory was even arrested in the first place much less face real jail time."
We are determined to not let this outrage stand.  Many more people need to hear about it and raise their voices in protest.
 
WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Post this blog everywhere, your blog, twitter, facebook etc... everywhere you can
 
Immediately sign and circulate this petition: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/action/gregory-koger.
 
Sign the ad (coming very soon).  1000 people @ contributing $5 or more for publication in a major Chicago newspaper.  Matching funds also needed.
Send letters and cards to  Gregory  in jail to show your support.  In order to be sure he gets his mail, inform the committee that you wrote him.  (adhoc4reason@gmail.com)

Gregory Koger
#2010-0826188
PO Box 089002
Chicago, IL 60608
 
Share these resources
 
Chicago Tribune coverage of sentencing 
Sunsara Taylor's statement on her blog
PZ Myers blog pharyngula on Gregory's trial.

· Send statements of support for Gregory to the defense committee AdHoc4Reason@gmail.com

· Donate money for the appeal. Go to the defense committee website for more information www.dropthecharges.net 

· Keep in touch with the Ad Hoc Committee (312.593.4191) at www.dropthecharges.net, or email adhoc4reason@gmail.com.
Gregory Koger Writes From Jail

Gregory head
I want to express my most sincere and heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of love and support in the face of this political attack.

Although it pains me to be locked up in the hellholes of America's racist gulag once again, I now have the opportunity to bring revolution and communism to the youth and others locked down here with me in the Cook County Jail.

Despite the attempts of those in power in the ruling class to break my spirit, this political prosecution has only served to strengthen my determination to sweep this horrendous capitalist system of exploitation and oppression from the face of the earth and liberate all of humanity.

Revolutionary Love,

GREGORY
posted on REVOLUTION #211                      
A Grave Injustice Has Been Perpetrated..
    
FREE Gregory!
No Jail Time!
 

A grave injustice has been perpetrated! In an outrageous trial, for "crimes" that
never happened, a young man who came out of prison and took up revolutionary politics was convicted in a Skokie, Illinois, court on August 26 of three totally trumped-up criminal misdemeanor charges of trespass, simple battery (on a cop) and resisting arrest. In an additional outrage, instead of allowing Gregory to remain out of jail on bond pending a sentencing hearing, the judge revoked his bond and he was taken directly from the courthouse to jail. The sentencing hearing is September 8, where he faces as many as three years in jail. This railroad must be stopped!(read the whole posting)
REVOLUTION BOOKS
1103 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.489.0930 revbookschi@pobox.com
Go to Chicago Revolution Books blog for upcoming events.
SUMMER HOURS
Wed-Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm

 
Donate and Keep the Doors Open at Revolution Books
If You Haven't Donated, the Time is Now!
Click below to make a contribution via PayPal.
 Donate
Join the Friends of Revolution Books today.
 

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

6:30 pm -- Come to Revolution Books
2:30 pm -- Gather at Daley Plaza
9:30 am -- Come to the sentencing hearing
Alert!
Gregory Koger Sentencing
September 8, 2010

6:30 pm -- Come to Revolution Books
We hope to celebrate but regardless of the outcome, make plans to take this fight to another level!

2:30 pm -- Gather at Daley Plaza
Whatever the verdict, gather at Daley Plaza for a protest and media event -- bring signs, bring your friends!

9:30 am -- Come to the hearing
Support Gregory at his sentencing hearing
Cook County Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Rd., Skokie, IL

Spread the Word!!!

Free Greg

posted on REVOLUTION #211                      
A Grave Injustice Has Been Perpetrated..
FREE Gregory!
No Jail Time

A grave injustice has been perpetrated! In an outrageous trial, for "crimes" that never happened, a young man who came out of prison and took up revolutionary politics was convicted in a Skokie, Illinois, court on August 26 of three totally trumped-up criminal misdemeanor charges of trespass, simple battery (on a cop) and resisting arrest. In an additional outrage, instead of allowing Gregory to remain out of jail on bond pending a sentencing hearing, the judge revoked his bond and he was taken directly from the courthouse to jail. The sentencing hearing is September 8, where he faces as many as three years in jail. This railroad must be stopped!(read the whole posting)
Gregory Koger Writes From Jail

Gregory head
I want to express my most sincere and heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of love and support in the face of this political attack.

Although it pains me to be locked up in the hellholes of America's racist gulag once again, I now have the opportunity to bring revolution and communism to the youth and others locked down here with me in the Cook County Jail.

Despite the attempts of those in power in the ruling class to break my spirit, this political prosecution has only served to strengthen my determination to sweep this horrendous capitalist system of exploitation and oppression from the face of the earth and liberate all of humanity.

Revolutionary Love,

GREGORY
WHAT YOU CAN DO:

· Show your support at the sentencing hearing on 9/8 9:30am
Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL, in Courtroom 205.

CALL Revolution Books to arrange for a ride to the hearing leaving Revolution
Books at 8:15am.
·Immediately sign and circulate this petition: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/action/gregory-koger.

. Check Out PZ Myers blog pharyngula on Gregory's trial.

· Send statements of support for Gregory to the defense committee AdHoc4Reason@gmail.com

· Donate money for the appeal. Go to the defense committee website for more information www.dropthecharges.net 


· Keep in touch with the Ad Hoc Committee (312.593.4191) at www.dropthecharges.net, or email adhoc4reason@gmail.com.
REVOLUTION BOOKS
1103 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.489.0930 revbookschi@pobox.com
Go to Chicago Revolution Books blog for upcoming events.
SUMMER HOURS
Wed-Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm

 
Donate and Keep the Doors Open at Revolution Books
If You Haven't Donated, the Time is Now!
Click below to make a contribution via PayPal.
 Donate
Join the Friends of Revolution Books today.
 
6:30 pm -- Come to Revolution Books
2:30 pm -- Gather at Daley Plaza
9:30 am -- Come to the sentencing hearing

Alert!
Gregory Koger Sentencing 
September 8, 2010

6:30 pm -- Come to Revolution Books
We hope to celebrate but regardless of the outcome, make plans to take this fight to another level!

2:30 pm -- Gather at Daley Plaza
Whatever the verdict, gather at Daley Plaza for a protest and media event -- bring signs, bring your friends!

9:30 am -- Come to the hearing
Support Gregory at his sentencing hearing
Cook County Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Rd., Skokie, IL

Spread the Word!!!

Free Greg
REVOLUTION BOOKS
1103 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.489.0930 revbookschi@pobox.com
Go to Chicago Revolution Books blog for upcoming events.
SUMMER HOURS
Wed-Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm

 
Donate and Keep the Doors Open at Revolution Books
If You Haven't Donated, the Time is Now!
Click below to make a contribution via PayPal.
 Donate
Join the Friends of Revolution Books today.

Monday, September 6, 2010

JOIN US: Videographer's Sentencing Wed 9/8 9:30am

Show your support at the sentencing hearing on 9/8 9:30am
Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL, in Courtroom 205.

posted on REVOLUTION #211                      
A Grave Injustice Has Been Perpetrated..
    
FREE Gregory!
No Jail Time!
 

A grave injustice has been perpetrated! In an outrageous trial, for "crimes" that
never happened, a young man who came out of prison and took up revolutionary politics was convicted in a Skokie, Illinois, court on August 26 of three totally trumped-up criminal misdemeanor charges of trespass, simple battery (on a cop) and resisting arrest. In an additional outrage, instead of allowing Gregory to remain out of jail on bond pending a sentencing hearing, the judge revoked his bond and he was taken directly from the courthouse to jail. The sentencing hearing is September 8, where he faces as many as three years in jail. This railroad must be stopped!(read the whole posting)
Gregory Koger Writes From Jail

Gregory head
I want to express my most sincere and heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of love and support in the face of this political attack.

Although it pains me to be locked up in the hellholes of America's racist gulag once again, I now have the opportunity to bring revolution and communism to the youth and others locked down here with me in the Cook County Jail.

Despite the attempts of those in power in the ruling class to break my spirit, this political prosecution has only served to strengthen my determination to sweep this horrendous capitalist system of exploitation and oppression from the face of the earth and liberate all of humanity.

Revolutionary Love,

GREGORY
WHAT YOU CAN DO:

· Show your support at the sentencing hearing on 9/8 9:30am
Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL, in Courtroom 205.

CALL Revolution Books to arrange for a ride to the hearing leaving Revolution
Books at 8:15am.
·Immediately sign and circulate this petition: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/action/gregory-koger.

. Check Out PZ Myers blog pharyngula on Gregory's trial.

· Send statements of support for Gregory to the defense committee AdHoc4Reason@gmail.com

· Donate money for the appeal. Go to the defense committee website for more information www.dropthecharges.net 


· Keep in touch with the Ad Hoc Committee (312.593.4191) at www.dropthecharges.net, or email adhoc4reason@gmail.com.
REVOLUTION BOOKS
1103 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.489.0930 revbookschi@pobox.com
Go to Chicago Revolution Books blog for upcoming events.
SUMMER HOURS
Wed-Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm

 
Donate and Keep the Doors Open at Revolution Books
If You Haven't Donated, the Time is Now!
Click below to make a contribution via PayPal.
 Donate
Join the Friends of Revolution Books today.
 

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