OntheWilderSide

Wait! I thought we were done with all this election stuff?

After Hurricane Gustav, the Louisiana Secretary of State pushed back the election dates.  December 6, 2008 is the general election for District 2 Congress.  You can get on board now for this exciting, winnable, campaign to get a peace candidate into our Congress. To donate now (less than 30 days left!) and learn more, please go to: http://www.votemalik.com (and/or the read more)

He is one of the few people I have ever seen that made me think that he should be a congressman, and that this country would be better off if he was.

Don’t take my word for it.  Here is how Amy Goodman described him in the first her most recent book, Standing Up to the Madness:Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times:

Malik Rahim, a barrel-chested 59-year-old man with long gray dreadlocks that arc down his back and chest, stands on a street corner in what remains of the once vibrant African-American New Orleans neighborhood known as the Lower Ninth War. A veteran community organizer and the former defense minister of the New Orleans chapter of the Black Panther Party in the early 1970’s, Rahim has thrown his share of punches and survived many battles . . . . All of which has been good training for the epic struggle he is now engaged in: fighting for the right of poor and working class residents of New Orleans to return home after being uprooted by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

What can one man do?

Malik founded a number of organizations including:

• Co-founded Common Ground Health Clinic in September 2005 with Sharon Johnson. After hurricane Katrina, it was the first health clinic in the city of New Orleans. The clinic enlisted emergency medics to run a first aid station and help develop a permanent health clinic. The clinic continues to offer free health care for people without health insurance or means to see their health provider.
• Co-founded Common Ground Relief in September 2005, with Scott Crow and Brandon Darby. Since Hurricane Katrina, nearly 13,000 volunteers have gutted over 3000 homes in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans through their efforts.
• In 1984 helped found and operate the Algiers Development Center and Invest Transitional Housing, a program for ex-offenders which has housed more than one thousand former inmates.
• Founding member of the Louisiana anti-death penalty group Pilgrimage for Life, with Sister Helen Prejean.
• Founding member of Housing is a Human Right a San Francisco, California citywide non-profit affordable housing advocacy organization, in 1996

Imagine what he could do in Congress.

What has the Media said about Malik?

• Democracy Now!: New Orleans Community Organizer Malik Rahim Demands Inquiry into Hurricane Katrina Deaths and Amnesty for “Looters”
• ABC News: John Stossel
• Nola.com: City Fixers are the men, women and children bringing New Orleans back to life
• Washington Post: For a Former Panther, Solidarity After the Storm
• Democracy Now!: New Orleans Activist Malik Rahim Blasts Mayor Nagin
• PBS: Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower 9th Ward
• Yes Magazine: Malik Rahim: Spreading Common Ground

What are the Issues in Malik’s Congressional race?

How can I help?

• Contribute Online using Paypal Send your donation today. Individuals may contribute up to $2300. To contribute by mail print the donor form.
• Fill out the contact form and let us know if you can help by handing out flyers or other types of activities
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[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7226475852159421918]

Malik Rahim giving a keynote address to the 2008 Green Party Presidential Convention.

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