my Wellstone story.

It was 1997, two years before labor and environmental activists would shut down the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. I organized a trip for fellow Goucher students to lobby Senators from our home states against a particularly awful free trade, pro-multinational corporation agreement, the MAI.

We spent a grueling day with condescending, ignorant and arrogant staffers and senators, reducing some students to tears. The last stop of the day was Senator Wellstone's office. We were ushered into his office, the walls lined with bookshelves of familiar books-- Chomsky, Marx, Zinn, and others. Our spirits lifted as he thanked *us* for lobbying for fair trade and investment policies. We filed out, renewed.

This morning I related this little story to a group of about 15 tremendous youth group members at Shir Tikvah synagogue. We decided to organize a health care for all delegation to Senator Klobuchar's office.

Thanks for everything, Paul. We promise not to park the bus.