No Such Thing As A Quick Fix

No Such Thing As A Quick Fix

by Redd Phlagg

It's amazing how quickly people forget that Rome wasn't built in a day. It's astonishing how little patience some have when faced with the reality that difficult, complicated problems aren't solvable by simply wishing them so. It's awful how downright lazy folks can act when told the Revolution won't happen without their blood, sweat and tears.

Everybody wants a quick fix to our lack of democracy and our dying planet. I'm here to tell you the bad news: There ain't no such thing as a quick fix. Why would anyone assume there was since this mess took some time to come together in the first place?

But you wouldn't believe the naysayers and the bellyachers!  They're playing right into the trolls' hands.  They're saying things like "any blue will  do" like it's a mystical incantation that will somehow make everything all right. Why would installing yet another corporate tool to high office magically fix income inequality?  They're just as liable to give tax breaks to the rich and screw us peons over just as the orange baboon in the White House does.

 Already I'm receiving emails telling me that I must plead with Democratic presidential candidates to accept Medicare For All and to vote for impeachment. We must beg them not to support the Atlantic Pipeline and to not repeat "Republican talking points" during their debates. Okay, you tell me how are these "any blue" people different from the ones in power you're currently railing against? How is putting wolves in sheep's clothing going to make them go "baa-baa"?

 Wake up and smell the sheep dip! They're one and the same. We can't expect them to be our saviors. They're only in it for their saving accounts. It's time we became our own heroes and start cleaning up their mess. 

"It's a big club--and you ain't in it," said the great philosopher and comic George Carlin. Yep, you sure ain't going to be invited to hang out with a former president and war criminal unless you're a well-to-do neoliberal who made lots of money during his administration. Right, Ellen?
https://youtu.be/yGNebWt9_zI 

While the elites all scratch each others' backsides and take an even larger part of the workers' pie, the forests burn, the oceans churn, and thousands of cities suffer from tainted drinking water.  And yet I still see solo working class slobs in gas-guzzling SUVs idling in drive-thru lines while buying feedlot produced cheeseburgers wrapped in paper that depletes our forests and plastic that poisons our whales, dolphins and other aquatic creatures. 

What--you actually thought you were going to keep your wannabe one-percent lifestyle and still enjoy a healthy environment? Hate to break it to you, but there ain't no Tooth Fairy neither. We're going to have to give up the plastic straws and the fossil fuel frenzied Ford Explorers. We're going to have to follow folks like Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion and take it to the streets to overturn the oligarchs that are bent on destroying our world in order to line their pockets.

Watch what the environmental protesters have been up to recently. (You won't see this footage on mainstream TV without a negative commentary attached.)
 
https://youtu.be/h4pJSlLA_r0  

Does this look easy to you? Does this look like going to the polls and blindly voting for "any blue" in hopes he/she/it will make everything better overnight? Does throwing criminals like Trump in jail actually sequester carbon from the atmosphere and solve our growing climate crisis? Raise our wages? Provide universal health care for all Americans?

If you didn't say "no" to all of those questions, there's no hope for you. You're brain dead. For the rest, remember: There's no such thing as a quick fix! (Your instructions on how to proceed are in the memes below.)

BIO: Redd Phlagg resents the fact that so many Americans in particular act like they don't give a sh*t about the rest of the world--or even their own backyard. It's time those folks stand aside and let those who do care rescue our planet before it's too late. You can thank us later (if you're still breathing, that is). Power to ALL the people!

 ***

Not many have heard of this very unique independent candidate running for the presidency. Watch Mark's announcement video to see where he stands on many issues. Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!
https://youtu.be/_livxZNCQeU 

Find out whose land you're living on here:  https://native-land.ca/ 

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From Friends of the Earth:

Polar Bears and Porcupine Caribou need your help! Trump’s Bureau of Land Management wants to open the entire 20 million acres of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for Big Oil to drill.

This plan is bad for climate, bad for Arctic wildlife, and bad for local communities. It would push endangered species closer to extinction, including the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which the Gwich’in people have relied on for millennia.

The good news: The proposal isn’t finalized. If we flood the BLM with public comments opposing the agency’s plan to open the refuge for drilling, we can convince it to change course. But we need you with us, C.A.!

Save endangered polar bears: Tell the BLM to protect the Arctic Refuge from Big Oil!

As one of the last pristine ecosystems in the country, the Arctic Refuge should be protected, not opened for Big Oil development. But Trump’s BLM doesn’t care. It only cares about bending to the will of Big Oil companies like Chevron -- the main corporation pushing to drill in the Arctic.

It seems the goal of the BLM is to be as cozy with Big Oil and Gas as possible. This summer the agency announced plans to close its office in Washington D.C. and relocate to an office building also occupied by Chevron. The BLM can’t get in bed with Big Oil, so it’s moving right next door. Now, the agency meant to protect us and stand up for our public lands will be rubbing elbows and making coffee with dirty fuel corporations and their cronies.  

The Trump Administration isn’t even trying to hide its corrupt connections to the oil industry. So it’s up to us to hold the BLM accountable for protecting our public lands and wild places. To stop Trump’s destructive agenda, the BLM needs to feel the outcry of opposition to drilling in the Arctic.

Help send 35,000 comments: Tell the Bureau of Land Management to stop oil companies from destroying the Arctic!

We know how drilling in this region would end. It would cause irreversible damage to this fragile and pristine ecosystem as well as the communities that inhabit it.

The land that’s under threat is the calving and post-calving ground for the Porcupine Caribou Herd, and the Gwich’in consider it to be “the sacred place where life begins.”

But instead of fully considering the destructive impacts of the proposed plan, the Trump Administration is barreling ahead. This administration will try anything to give Big Oil a handout.

Therefore, protecting the Arctic Refuge is up to engaged environmentalists like you and me. With your help, we can pressure the BLM to change course and protect these lands rather than selling them off. But we must act fast!

Help protect endangered wildlife: Tell Trump’s Bureau of Land Management to keep dirty oil companies out of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge!

Standing with you,
Nicole Ghio,
Senior fossil fuel program manager,
Friends of the Earth

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Check out the Scorecard!

With Halloween just around the corner, you’ll want to celebrate with chocolate that’s not tainted with child labor. We have updated our Chocolate Scorecard with new companies that support farmers and their kids, and an exciting addition – we are now including company’s efforts to combat deforestation. On top of a child labor problem, the cocoa industry has had a huge negative impact on forests. In the Ivory Coast and Ghana, 90% of their forests have been lost and the cocoa industry is a big driver of that deforestation. Even after nearly two decades of company commitments, there are still an estimated 2 million children involved in child labor in the cocoa industry. That means 2 million children are helping to make our Halloween candy, rather than enjoying their childhoods. These are not children helping on the family farm part-time. These are children who are working full time, day after day, in the fields. Some of them are doing dangerous work, and some are trafficked from other countries and are forced to work for little or no money. Take a look at our updated scorecard to see which companies are taking action to end child labor and which are falling short. Unfortunately, there are no surprises in this year’s scorecard. The big brands are still falling short. Again, Godiva was at the very bottom of the list: Join us in telling Godiva to step up their commitments to ending child labor! While ending child labor in the cocoa industry will take time, you can help by avoiding brands like Godiva, and purchase chocolate from some of the A-rated brands. Find out where you can buy chocolate from brands like Divine and Equal Exchange, so that your chocolate is both delicious and good for cocoa farmers! Thank you for your continued support,

Charlotte Tate Labor Justice Campaigns Manager Green America  *** From Friends of the Earth Action: School meals are the primary source of nutrition for many children from coast to coast. And our kids deserve food that’s both healthy and environmentally friendly.  But many families struggle to afford lunch. And when they can’t, children are sometimes shamed via wristbands, hand stamps or having to return their meals. The good news: Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith have introduced a bill that would help ensure every child is treated with dignity at school lunch. Ensuring every child eats is a nonpartisan issue, but your legislators will only act if they feel pressure from constituents like you! Every child deserves to eat: Tell Congress to help end school food debt! Student lunch debt may seem minor, but the problem is widespread. More than 75% of school districts nationwide reported children with lunch debt in the previous school year -- and this issue can drastically burden working-class families. In a Pennsylvania school district, several parents were sent letters threatening to take away their children if the parents did not pay off their kids’ lunch debts. In a New Hampshire school cafeteria, a worker was fired for providing food to a student who had $8 in lunch debt. And in several troubling cases across the country, lunch debt prevented high school seniors from graduating. The question of whether a child has access to healthy food at school should never depend on a family's income. And no student should be stigmatized because they can’t pay for lunch.  Sign your name: Tell your legislators to support the No Shame at School Act! From Washington D.C. to California, we’ve been fighting to ensure every child has access to healthy, climate-friendly school meals in their cafeterias. But we can’t stop until every child -- and their family -- can enjoy that food without worrying about being shamed over their financial situation. Even if the cafeteria provides healthy, climate-friendly food, there are millions of children who won’t eat because they can’t afford to do so.  The No Shame at School Act takes important steps to protect primarily low-income families from school lunch debt shaming. This is a key step toward a healthier and more just food system. No family wants their child to go hungry or feel shame about being in school food debt. Now is the time for our lawmakers to support their constituents and get this important legislation passed. But Congress will only act if it feels pressure from constituents like you, C.A.! Help send 40,000 signatures: Tell Congress to end school lunch shaming! Standing with you, Chloe Waterman, Climate-friendly food program manager, Friends of the Earth Action