Move-On National Organizing | Hold Elected Officials Accountable | feat. Sen. Cory Booker and Alicia Garza

I spontaneously decided to sign up for a Move-On live #PowerInAction: Winning With Our People online national organizing livestream. Tuesday, at 8 p.m. ET (7 CT/6 MT/5 PT). I hadn’t realized what a treat was in store. I listened to most of the live Nov. 17th webcast of various speakers presented by articulate Move-On hosts. It was educational and enlightening. I’m super impressed with the messages of the hosts and all the guest speakers.

Lots of inspiration!

The emphasis is on all of us participating towards influencing those we elect; to improve the quality of everyone’s life. Motivating us all to get involved in manifesting the society that we want; influencing the changes we’d like to see through our collective actions and voices.  It is up to all of us to hold our elected officials accountable and democratically participate in seeking the changes that we know and can imagine, will improve the quality of everyone’s life.  Volunteer with Move-On.

One of the speakers, Senator Cory Booker, really impressed me with his insights and heartfelt sharing of his wisdom. His points were about maintaining faith that one’s actions will make changes, and that it is now (after the election results) imperative for us all be involved and engaged in maintaining our Democracy; continued action, tipping the scale of the Georgia election for the Senate so that Bitchy Mitchy McConnell doesn’t block all of the things that we voted for. He blocked everything that Obama attempted to install and was the Yes Man to Chump, to unravel so many protections and programs for people, the natural world and the protection of our commons. Booker mentioned how the book by James Baldwin “The Fire Next Time” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fire_Next_Time impressed him. 

Alicia Garza, the founder of Black Lives Matter, spoke about holding elected officials accountable and working together to build progress. To better our quality of life and that of future generations: on education, health care, lowering housing costs, attending to our Police forces (I’d say mandatory education, social studies, psychological programs and non violence training) so that they are groomed into a force that is not a militia of violence but more leaning towards protecting and helping society). She spoke of the book she has written, not as a How-To book, but one to guide us to asking better questions.

The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza

Let’s help Stacy Abrams, who has achieved getting an enormous response from Black woman in Georgia and all over the country, to swing the vote to the Democrats. 

So, I signed up to make phone calls to people of Georgia, I guess with a script of what to say, and also the possibility to chat and enjoy listening to that Southern Accent. 

Chante Tin’sa Kinanzi Po: Still Standing Up for Standing Rock | Earth Injustice

This links to the Black Snake film about Standing Rock

Bobbi Jean, the young Native American woman (featured in the photo with her arm raised) was raised in the Standing Rock community. She spoke of her experiences – walking and running – gathering people of all ages as they went from one to another community.

She said they made prayers with their feet.

She said that there were a lot of magical & spiritual events that happened along the way, among the different people and animals’ that joined in. For many days it rained, and yet when certain people spoke, suddenly the sun burst forth or a wind would woosh in. She knew that the ancestors were present with them in their journey. They walked to enlighten people about the fate of the land and all of the creatures, this sacred land, to money.They eventually landed in Washington D.C., which she said was a culture shock. She Lots of kids participated at different points who developed their own voice about the issue. Elders participated as well. The oil industry and the federal and state governments’ in the pocket of it, created all sorts of obstacles and their own narrative to events. Bobbi Jean continues to inspire and share the story.

This event was a panel discussion with Bobbi Jean Three Legs and Indigenous Water Protectors. Followed by screenings of Black Snake, a 360° virtual reality short film experience featuring citizens of Standing Rock, by Philip Sanchez ’05. It took place at Brown University, sponsored by Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown, Native American Brown Alumni, and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.

“Sacred Ground. The struggle for clean water continues.”

For more information and to support this cause, go to earthjustice.org

Blurred Media Black Snake Sacred Ground 360 video by Phillip Sanchez

Philip Sanchez’s 360º video Black Snake — Standing Rock — 360° Video is quite powerful; looking at the land that is sacred to the people who have lived there for generations, who know that they are not dispensable.

I had tears in my eyes, resonating with what one of the elder Native American women near the end of the film said.

 

“We’re destroying this earth.There’s no common sense. You’re hurting us, you’re hurting each other.

Don’t you think about life?

Every living thing has got to live. There is a purpose and reason why we are all here. You’re hurting yourselves and this earth. The waters. Everything is connected. My prayer goes out to all of you.”

 

“The story of the Dakota Access Pipeline is a long and difficult one to tell. On its face, it is the story of thousands of Native Americans and their non-Native allies that gathered for months in 2016 to protest the pipeline. However, this is only a small part of a much larger issue. The pipeline brought to a head conflicts about disputed treaty lands, the historical treatment of Native Americans by the Federal Government and the changing relationship between the predominantly white towns of Bismarck / Mandan to the north and the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to the south.”

The XL pipeline has different names depending on its location, which works as a mask to recognizing that it is one and the same black snake that is slithering through the land and sickening it’s waters.

President Trump Presidential Memorandum advance approval of pipeline construction

I was fortunately informed by a fellow ultimate frisbee player who is also keenly interested in protecting the natural world.

“The struggle for clean water continues.”

For more information and to support this cause, go to earthjustice.org
How can we be silent? How can we not see the value of the natural world?

What Does Net Neutrality Mean to You? | It’s a 3

Lifescience says humans can live 3 minutes without air, 3 hours (in an extremely harsh environment) without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food or sleep – with some exceptions – or you’ll perish.

Humans are social creatures. We survive and flourish through nourishing our physical bodies and minds. Throughout our lives we take in, learn and share information. It is our right.

To deprive a modern human being who has already been introduced to the free flow of information, by putting a price tag on the content and flow, should cause each human being to revolt, in 3 months. Reject the (too large monopolistic) providers withholding the information : for yourself, for your friends, your children, cousins, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, grandmother… until new smaller providers, out of necessity, pop up to take their place with a resilience of free-market healthy competition.

Think globally, act locally. Down with corporate lobbying strongholds. United consensus must be felt and acted upon from the public, to hold-out until smaller providers emerge to pollinate and populate the infrastructure.

Why does net neutrality matter anyway? Those at Lifehacker explain that “The basic principle driving net neutrality is that the internet should be a free and open platform, almost like any other utility we use in our home (like electricity).”

What does it mean? It was Tim Wu,

| Yes Lab | report on Clowns attacking Wall Street Bull

Speaking of masks and clowns, here they are engaged in political activism in NYC !-))

http://www.yeslab.org/bull
CLOWNS ARRESTED IN NEAR-SUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON WALL STREET BULL
Matador, bull both survive to fight another day

Photos and video: http://www.yeslab.org/bull

A small group of Occupy Wall Street activists engaged in a near-successful corrida against the Wall Street Bull.

The incident began when two clowns, Hannah Morgan and Louis Jargow, scaled the steel barricades protecting the landmark. The clowns began spanking and climbing the beast as well as playing the harmonica, traditional ways of coaxing a bull into anger in preparation for a Castilian corrida, or bullfight.

Within seconds, police officers grabbed both clowns by their colorful shirts and wrestled one of them (Jargow) to the ground. The other (Morgan) continued to play the harmonica until an officer removed it from her mouth.

With the officers thus occupied, a matador in full traje de luces leapt onto the hood of the patrol vehicle parked in front of the bull and boldly presented his blood-red cape to the beast.

“I wondered whether I, neophyte matador, could bring down this behemoth, world-famous for charging towards profit while trampling underfoot the average worker,” said the OWS activist/torero whose first fight this was. “Come what may, I knew I must try.”

Police officers took no notice of the matador, occupied as they were with the clowns.

“This bull has ruined millions of lives!” wailed clown Jargow as he lay on the ground face-down. “Yet he and his accomplices have been rewarded with billions of our tax dollars—and we, here to put a stop to it all, are thrown to the ground. ¡Un escándalo!”

Both clowns were charged with disorderly conduct and released an hour later; they returned to Zuccotti Park to great fanfare. The Wall Street bull continues to rage.

This is a nice pick, the angle taken:

http://www.yeslab.org/bull#photos

Meanwhile across the United States

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/us/occupy-protests-across-the-country

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/17/occupy_wall_streets_national_day_action