Support PostRNC ORganizing!

a desperate plea from your friends in the twincities <!--break--> We Need Your Help! The Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS) is in need of immediate financial support. We've been working hard since the Republican National Convention to enact a powerful movement of court solidarity and we are turning to the larger activist community to support us in this essential work. One of the major problems with mass demos and summits is that the local community lucky enough to host thousands of our radical out-of-town friends ends up being really strained by the long-lasting effects after the protesters have gone home. The RNC isn't over here in the Twin Cities. Our court solidarity strategy has blocked the state from achieving its goal of criminalizing dissent: we've supported people fighting charges every step of the way and everyone who has fought their charges thusfar has won in court!! After more than two years of organizing -- both pre- and post- RNC –- our local resources are close to tapped. We have raised almost $19,000 and spent more than $16,000 for bail, the travel fund, the jail hotline, and other expenses to directly support the 800+ RNC arrestees. And our financial needs continue with additional charges being filed by the state and court cases moving into trial. We are calling upon the people who came out to Minnesota in September (and those of you who couldn't make it) to raise some money in your own local community and send it out here to support your friends and fellow trouble-makers. You can donate online at http://www.rncaftermath.org. Click on the &quot;Donate to Arrestee Support&quot; button. Or you can mail checks or money orders to: Coldsnap Legal Collective with &quot;CRASS&quot; in the subject line: CRASS c/o Coldsnap Legal Collective P.O. Box 50514 Minneapolis, MN 55405 If you want to learn more about what we've been up to since the RNC (and we've certainly been busy), check out our website at http://www.rncaftermath.org. Coldsnap's website is also a good informational resource- http://www.coldsnaplegal.org. Please forward our plea to friends and listservs. Bring it up in your community and see if you can get a few people excited about helping out their midwest comrades. Anything helps, whether it's hosting a benefit show, donating $5 online, or forking over your life savings. We'll be so happy and send you a homemade thank you card with a big kiss inside (if you give us a return address). And you can sleep easy knowing that you're doing your part to help ameliorate the impact of the police state. So, give us your money!! either here via paypal- http://www.rncaftermath.org or here- CRASS c/o Coldsnap Legal Collective PO Box 50514 Minneapolis MN 55405 We've got a really nifty fundraising ChipIn.com Web 'widget' on our website that you can put on your blog, MySpace, Facebook or website, to help us get the word out &amp;amp; show that we're getting it done. (check out CUAPB.org for the RNC 8's ChipIn widget, which you can also embed, too). We're fighting to set the precedent that they can't just bomb a community into submission without getting themselves into a huge legal quagmire in court and political challenges in the street. Don't let them terrorize dissent into silence: Support CRASS today! Also, please check out the website for the RNC8- a local group of awesome organizers who are facing terrorism charges under the Minnesota Patriot Act. www.RNC8.org We love you!!! -The Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS)

<p>a desperate plea from your friends in the twincities</p> <!--break--><p>We Need Your Help!</p> <p>The Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS) is in need of immediate financial support. We've been working hard since the Republican National Convention to enact a powerful movement of court solidarity and we are turning to the larger activist community to support us in this essential work.</p> <p>One of the major problems with mass demos and summits is that the local community lucky enough to host thousands of our radical out-of-town friends ends up being really strained by the long-lasting effects after the protesters have gone home. The RNC isn't over here in the Twin Cities. Our court solidarity strategy has blocked the state from achieving its goal of criminalizing dissent: we've supported people fighting charges every step of the way and everyone who has fought their charges thusfar has won in court!!</p> <p>After more than two years of organizing -- both pre- and post- RNC –- our local resources are close to tapped. We have raised almost $19,000 and spent more than $16,000 for bail, the travel fund, the jail hotline, and other expenses to directly support the 800+ RNC arrestees.</p> <p>And our financial needs continue with additional charges being filed by the state and court cases moving into trial. We are calling upon the people who came out to Minnesota in September (and those of you who couldn't make it) to raise some money in your own local community and send it out here to support your friends and fellow trouble-makers.</p> <p>You can donate online at <a href="http://www.rncaftermath.org">http://www.rncaftermath.org</a>. Click on the "Donate to Arrestee Support" button. Or you can mail checks or money orders to: Coldsnap Legal Collective with "CRASS" in the subject line:</p> <p>CRASS c/o Coldsnap Legal Collective<br /> P.O. Box 50514<br /> Minneapolis, MN 55405</p> <p>If you want to learn more about what we've been up to since the RNC (and we've certainly been busy), check out our website at <a href="http://www.rncaftermath.org">http://www.rncaftermath.org</a>. Coldsnap's website is also a good informational resource- <a href="http://www.coldsnaplegal.org">http://www.coldsnaplegal.org</a>.</p> <p>Please forward our plea to friends and listservs. Bring it up in your community and see if you can get a few people excited about helping out their midwest comrades. Anything helps, whether it's hosting a benefit show, donating $5 online, or forking over your life savings. We'll be so happy and send you a homemade thank you card with a big kiss inside (if you give us a return address). And you can sleep easy knowing that you're doing your part to help ameliorate the impact of the police state.</p> <p>So, give us your money!!<br /> either here via paypal-<br /> <a href="http://www.rncaftermath.org">http://www.rncaftermath.org</a></p> <p>or here-<br /> CRASS c/o Coldsnap Legal Collective<br /> PO Box 50514<br /> Minneapolis MN 55405</p> <p>We've got a really nifty fundraising ChipIn.com Web 'widget' on our website that you can put on your blog, MySpace, Facebook or website, to help us get the word out &amp;amp; show that we're getting it done. (check out CUAPB.org for the RNC 8's ChipIn widget, which you can also embed, too).</p> <p>We're fighting to set the precedent that they can't just bomb a community into submission without getting themselves into a huge legal quagmire in court and political challenges in the street. Don't let them terrorize dissent into silence: Support CRASS today!</p> <p>Also, please check out the website for the RNC8- a local group of awesome organizers who are facing terrorism charges under the Minnesota Patriot Act.<br /> <a href="http://www.RNC8.org">www.RNC8.org</a></p> <p>We love you!!!<br /> -The Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS)</p>