We Got The Power!

 

It's a tricky tightrope walk the oligarchs have to do, making sure they don't steal too much of our wealth and freedom all at once so we don't rise up and take it back. It's easy to forget that we're actually the ones with all the power here. Only problem is we don't yet know it.

They're more afraid of you than you are of them. It's true of spiders, snakes, and oligarchic imperialists.  --Caitlin Johnstone, Manufacturing Dystopia: Notes From The Edge of the Narrative Matrix

We Got The Power!

(Positive affirmations by C.A. Matthews)

Activists can make a difference. 

Some days it doesn't feel that way, but we are aiding all of creation to change for the better.

The victories seem small, but they're still victories.

It doesn't mean we won't continue to see our comrades teargassed, maced, and arrested for simply trying to protect something as basic as our right to clean water.

But each act of resistance builds momentum--momentum we need to keep taking the fight to where it can do the most good.

We've come a long way and don't realize how much we've influenced society and its outlook on many things--such as universal health care and UBI--which are mentioned even in the most conservative of media outlets nowadays.

Who would have thought ten years ago folks would have expressed a favorable opinion on taxing billionaires and laugh at the absurdity of the phrase "job creators"?

Who would have thought indigenous activists could have shut down an oil pipeline?

Who would have thought Confederate statues could be toppled from their pedestals?

Who would have thought that some small bit of justice would be granted in the case of the police murder of Elijah McClain?

Who would have thought that a federal court would overturn the Border Patrol's racist interpretation of asylum laws and consider them unconstitutional?

Yes, there's still much to be done, but we are moving forward, step by step, inch by inch.

But we don't always act like we believe in ourselves.

It's time to put our fears to rest and to step out boldly into a changing world.

Because we don't have any time to waste in this the hottest summer in recorded history.

Because we don't have any time to waste when the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex is salivating over the next country to drone bomb.

We've got the power... and it's time for us to exercise it before it's too late. 

No one ever said it was going to be easy, but the alternatives aren't worth contemplating.

The best things in life are worth fighting for--life itself is worth fighting for.

Let's truly live before we die.

Activists making a difference this week:

Line 3 Resisters Light the Way in a Battle for Life on Earth https://truthout.org/articles/line-3-resisters-light-the-way-in-a-battle-for-life-on-earth/ 

Indigenous Resistance Blocked 400 Coal Plants Worth of Climate Pollution https://www.rsn.org/001/indigenous-resistance-blocked-400-coal-plants-worth-of-climate-pollution.html 

Turning Back Asylum Seekers Is Against the Law https://immigrationimpact.com/2021/09/07/turning-back-asylum-seekers-is-against-the-law/

Robert E. Lee's Statue is Gone Now. Can We Dismantle the Myth Too? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/09/robert-e-lees-statue-is-gone-now-can-we-dismantle-myth-too/

As War Keeps Poisoning Humanity Organizing Continues to Be the Antidote https://www.rsn.org/001/rsn-as-war-keeps-poisoning-humanity-organizing-continues-to-be-the-antidote.html  

Think Outside the Protest Box https://popularresistance.org/think-outside-the-protest-box/ 

Occupy Wall Street Turns Ten & The Fight Continues

***

From Friends of the Earth:

Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup is still on store shelves at Lowe’s and Home Depot -- but it’s not just killing weeds -- it’s also wiping out pollinators. Take action now.

Glyphosate -- the active ingredient in Roundup -- wipes out milkweed, the only food source for monarch caterpillars. The monarch population in North America has declined by 90% in the past 20 years alone -- as the use of Roundup has skyrocketed. And researchers have found that glyphosate can impede the growth of bee larvae and impact bees’ ability to navigate and find food. 

If you’re concerned about monarchs, bees, and other pollinators, demand Home Depot and Lowe’s get Roundup off store shelves!

Help save bees and butterflies. Tell Home Depot and Lowe’s to stop selling Roundup now.

Sign Now

Glyphosate harms bees, monarchs and many other species. The EPA found that there are few endangered species that can evade its toxic impacts. 93% of endangered species are at risk of being harmed or killed by this toxic chemical!

This toxic weedkiller is also putting our health at risk -- it’s been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, fatty liver disease, shortened pregnancy, decreased sperm function, and disruption of the gut microbiome.

But Lowe’s and Home Depot are ignoring science -- all for profit.

Endangered species need your help. Send a message to Lowe’s and Home Depot. Protect our planet from glyphosate.

Demand Home Depot and Lowe’s protect endangered species from toxic pesticides!

Sign Now

If these garden retail giants remove Roundup from their store shelves and online, it would send a powerful message to Bayer-Monsanto.

Lowe’s and Home Depot could be leaders in protecting pollinators from toxic pesticides. But we need your help, C.A., to push these companies to stop selling Roundup!

We know these companies listen to people power -- they committed to stop selling plants grown with bee-killing neonic pesticides in response to activists like you. Now, we need your help once more to demand they stop the sale of Roundup.

For the sake of pollinators, urge Lowe’s and Home Depot to stop selling Roundup!

***

From Center for Biological Diversity:

The climate emergency is here. It's in the wrath of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and New York, more destructive wildfires in California, and a devastating cold snap in Texas. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events are hitting low-income communities hardest and devastating wildlife and ecosystems. The time for bold action is now.

Join the People vs. Fossil Fuels protests for climate justice at the White House this October 11-15.

We can't avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change unless we rapidly transition from fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal to clean, renewable energy. 

Despite decades of advocacy, our elected leaders have failed to stop the fossil fuel projects that are causing the climate emergency. The course of history won't change unless we change it. 

Community leaders are calling people to take action at the White House this October — and consider joining in nonviolent civil disobedience. Together, we'll demand President Biden reject fossil fuel projects and declare a climate emergency to launch a just, renewable energy revolution.

Join us in D.C. to fight for our climate future.

***

 

My family crossed the border on my brother’s 14th birthday, May 24, 1999. I could list the many reasons why my parents felt the only option to give us a safe future was to migrate to the United States with their four small children, but it would be a very long list. What I can tell you is this: After 22 years, I can say with certainty that this country is my home. It’s the only home for many ‘DREAMERS’ who are now young adults trying to give back and build a permanent home without fear of losing it.

We have a real chance at passing citizenship this year. Will you join me in supporting it?

At four years old, I did not know the difference between myself and my new neighbors. My family, and millions of families like mine, have been members of our communities in every way but on paper. But we haven’t given up because along the way I have met compassionate people, like you, who care about doing what’s right and who value our humanity. 

Citizenship for many means not having to fear being separated from their families. It means that children can expect their parents to come home after work without fear of them being detained on the way home. The majority of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for people who came here as children and for families who have been here for decades, like mine.

Will you send a message to your congress member to support a pathway to citizenship?

I remain hopeful, despite the many failed attempts to create a path to citizenship that I’ve witnessed over the years, not because of who is in office, but because I’ve been surrounded by people who give me hope there is a better future ahead, a kinder one. 

Next week, we expect Congress to move a little closer to creating a pathway to citizenship in the reconciliation process. For some, it will come down to the numbers. But for millions of us, it will mean our stories, our struggles, will be worth it. 

I hope you will join me in this fight. We need your voice now more than ever.

Thanks for taking action,
Citlaly Mora, Communications Manager
Families Belong Together

The Ocean is Boiling (and We Don't Care)

 

 The Ocean is Boiling (and We Don't Care)

by C. A. Matthews

The ocean is boiling billions of marine lifeforms off the coast of British Columbia. It literally steamed the clams right inside their shells. The ocean also burned like something out of an apocalyptic horror movie this past week in the Gulf of Mexico due to a burst pipeline. Hundreds have died of heat-related illnesses in the Pacific Northwest. Forest fires are burning in the West of the US in record numbers while hurricanes have caused massive flooding in the East.

Yet most Americans will continue to go about their business, as usual, without a thought as to how any of these disturbing occurrences matter. Heck, they'll be lucky if they even catch more than a ten second blurb about any of these stories on a mainstream media news outlet.

"Wet bulb" conditions can kill human beings in temperatures of 95+ degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity because our bodies simply can't sweat and cool ourselves down in those conditions.  The way our planet is rapidly warming because of fossil fuel burning these wet bulb conditions might soon become all-too-common in parts of the US not generally thought to be at risk. "The Rational National" explains this horrifying weather phenomenon in his short video below.

 

https://youtu.be/WsH4lcaypxs

Surprise! The whole world is boiling. Do we care?

The term "global warming" has long gone out of fashion, but perhaps it's more accurate than ever. "Climate change" is less offensive to some, but "climate crisis" or "climate  emergency" or even "climate catastrophe" seems more appropriate to me. Boiling oceans and human beings dying by the thousands in extreme heat waves are catastrophic emergencies and not simple changes to the climate. Those that argue that rising temperatures are a part of a "natural cycle" aren't facing facts.

The mean temps have been going up steadily since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. That means humans have played a large hand in this current climate catastrophe. We can't put all the blame on the occasional volcanic eruption.

Hmm… Wonder what we've been burning and dumping into the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution? Could it be fossil fuels?

Solar-powered bullet trains and wind-powered electric cars--why do we shy away from these greener options when our planet and our very lives are at stake? The fear of the unknown is one answer, but humanity's seemingly inherent suicidal tendencies (a.k.a. "capitalistic greed") are another. We shouldn't believe everything Big Oil shoves down our throats as their micro-plastics fill our water supplies and Big Coal's heavy particulates from coal-powered heavy industry fill our lungs. Our survival instincts alone should motivate us to take decisive action.

But they don't.

If marine life boiling alive in their shells doesn't motivate us to take decisive actions to negate the effects of climate change, what will it take? Notice I didn't mention the health and well-being of our fellow humans. There's ample evidence that indicates many people don't give a sh*t about what happens to their neighbors. 

Looking at my Twitter feed… I can tell we're fine if others don't have access to health care, experience homelessness, or go to bed hungry. Really, why would the possibility of our neighbors roasting alive in a severe heat wave or a few millions of acres of forest fires be of any concern to those who can afford air conditioning or an Alpine home atop of a very tall mountain, well above the tree line?

With so many signs demonstrating how we're destroying the planet through our fossil fuel abuse, we can't simply keep pleading ignorance. Even those in deep climate change denial know we're to blame. Whales and dolphins don't build leaky underwater pipelines and exploding oil rigs in the Gulf, do they? Squirrels don't play with matches and burn down their forest homes, darkening the skies with smoke and particulates.  Cows and pigs don't twist the animal feedlot (CAFO) owners' arms and force them to dump millions of tons of animal wastes into our rivers and lakes, creating toxic blue-green algae blooms.

It's time to stop the lie that humanity isn't the culprit behind this climate catastrophe. It's time for each of us to stop and do something--anything--to help our Earth heal. We need to care--a lot--about our neighbors and what happens to them in the coming days.

The ocean may continue to boil in the weeks, months, and years ahead, but at least we should care that it is--and vow to keep working hard until it doesn't.

Related Articles and Videos:

The Ocean is on Fire from Gas Leak from Underwater Pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico

https://www.cnet.com/news/the-ocean-is-on-fire-gas-leak-from-underwater-pipeline-sees-flames-erupt-in-gulf-of-mexico/

The East Floods While the West Burns https://youtu.be/_5ojO_HF8Io

Amazon Workers Fainting, Carted Off on Stretchers Amid Sweltering Warehouse Heat https://youtu.be/PfIOV7WMv60 

Heat Dome Probably Killed 1 Billion Marine Animals on Canada Coast https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/70335-heat-dome-probably-killed-1-billion-marine-animals-on-canada-coast-experts-say

The Company Behind the Keystone XL Pipeline Would Like $15 Billion of Your Money Please
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70301-the-company-behind-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-would-like-15-billion-of-your-money-please

Corporate Counterinsurgency Indigenous Water Protectors Face Off with an Oil Company and Police Over a Minnesota Pipeline
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/70302-corporate-counterinsurgency-indigenous-water-protectors-face-off-with-an-oil-company-and-police-over-a-minnesota-pipeline

Forests of the Living Dead--How California's Canals and Dams Threaten the State's Woodlands
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/70309-forests-of-the-living-dead-how-californias-canals-and-dams-threaten-the-states-woodlands

Fracking Dumps Millions of Gallons of Toxic Chemicals into the Gulf of Mexico
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/70338-fracking-dumps-millions-of-gallons-of-toxic-chemicals-into-gulf-of-mexico

To Protect Themselves From Heat Waves the Working Class Needs to Get Organized
https://truthout.org/articles/to-protect-themselves-from-heat-waves-the-working-class-needs-to-get-organized/

***

As you’re likely aware, our democratic institutions are in peril. New Jim Crow-style state laws combined with other insidious voter suppression tactics systematically disenfranchise BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/People of Color). That’s why the Lakota People’s Law Project has taken legal action against the State of South Dakota. We have now officially joined the Oglala and Rosebud Nations, Standing Rock Sioux tribal member Hoksila White Mountain, and others as plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that South Dakota has repeatedly failed to register Native voters, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.

Our partners at the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and Demos submitted the filing to the U.S. District Court today, updating a lawsuit initiated in 2020 to include Hoksila and Lakota Law as plaintiffs. As you may remember, in 2018 and 2020, we worked hard with the Standing Rock Nation to ensure that Native voices were heard at the ballot throughout the country. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, systemic discrimination still prevented BIPOC from casting ballots.

The National Voter Registration Act — sometimes called Motor-Voter — is a federal law requiring that states help their citizens register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state-run public assistance agencies. Time after time, South Dakota has failed to live up to its responsibility to assist Native People with voting.

The examples are legion, but here’s one. Before a recent election, Native voter Tyler Eagle Bull walked 30 miles in 12-degree weather to submit a change of address request for his Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. He wasn’t initially offered a voter registration application, and a Department of Social Services staff person then threw his completed voter registration form in the trash. 

South Dakota, of course, has long been known for discriminatory practices. For some historical perspective: the state prevented Native people from voting until the 1940s — a violation of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 — and Todd, Shannon, and Washabaugh counties refused to follow laws that protected the rights of Native Americans to vote until 1974. And in 1984, the county auditor in Fall River, which includes part of the Pine Ridge Reservation, refused to accept voter registrations from Native American citizens. 

We know this is all part of a larger pattern of nationwide disenfranchisement. As of May, the Brennan Center for Justice had tracked the enactment of at least 22 bills with restrictive provisions in 14 states, a dramatic increase from prior years. These brazen attacks on our democracy are a big reason why it’s so critical that we continue to support one another. As our ally, you’re fighting for — and winning — a better future for the next generations.

Wopila tanka — thank you for helping to protect our democracy!
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director & Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
 

 ***

BREAKING: Whistleblowers just filed a formal complaint revealing appalling conditions in a detention camp called Fort Bliss, where hundreds of children are currently being held.

It was extremely hard to read -- children not having access to clean clothing, regular showers, and being supervised by people with zero experience in child welfare. There are widespread reports of depression, anxiety, and stress.

 I wish this were a one-off, but it’s the latest in a growing scandal of shocking treatment of children at the warehouse-like detention facilities that have become the backbone of the current immigration system.

This is completely unacceptable. This is not who we can or should be as a country, and it’s urgent that these facilities are shut down and replaced with a compassionate solution that welcomes children with dignity.

Add your name to join our call demanding HHS Secretary Becerra get children out of detention and into the arms of loved ones as fast as possible.

ADD YOUR NAME →

Children should NOT be in detention PERIOD. Health professionals are clear that any length of detention is damaging, and what makes it all the more heartbreaking is that there are clear alternatives to locking up children in facilities.

A case-management approach could quickly process children while keeping them together with trusted caregivers and bringing community-based organizations into the reunification process would dramatically speed things up.

The stories and reports coming out of these facilities are crystal clear evidence that the inhumanity the Trump administration pushed into every corner of our immigration system is far from gone. Every day children are detained, this suffering continues, and we have to act.

Add your name to join our call demanding HHS Secretary Becerra get children out of detention and into the arms of loved ones as fast as possible.

Detention has a storied and sad history in the U.S. It’s been systematically used to incarcerate Black, Indigenous and other people of color since the forced removal of Indigenous people from their lands all the way through the WWII internment of Japanese Americans and beyond.

It is time that we condemn this inhumane practice to the history books and meet children with the love, compassion, and dignity we’d want any child in our life to receive.

Thanks for all you do,

Paola Luisi, Director
Families Belong Together