WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
Brussels One thing that every experienced organizer knows is that you have to calibrate the tactics so that they align with your strategy. Too strong, you lose. Too weak, you lose. It’s important in applying pressure that you are able to push the target to either concede or negotiate and also leverage allies and neutrals …
New Orleans In the US, we’ve had governmental shutdowns over recent years from time to time. Most of them have been relatively short. Services were disrupted. Federal workers were furloughed. When it was over, they received their back pay, and things went back to normal. During the interim, the government often maintained crucial …
Chicago Waiting for a plane, I happened to sit next to someone who liked my hat. It turned out he was a 16-year Marine veteran with the Corps symbol on one arm and a sleeve from wrist to shoulder on the other. He had been a combat photographer, but was now in the public …