Money Is NOT Speech! Corporations are NOT People!

In Toledo, Ohio, an issue was passed (with 64% of the vote) that states once a year the mayor and city council  are obliged to let the citizens speak about how corporate money in politics affects the city and the world at large. The mayor then has to write a letter and send it to Congress stating that money is not speech and corporations do not have the same rights as persons. This annual event was brought to the ballot box and is sponsored by the local chapter of Move to Amend, but it is open to all. A diverse crowd gathered at Toledo city council chambers Monday afternoon to let their voices be heard. Here are some thoughts and images of Democracy Day 2018.

The topics the dozens of activists presented varied from fighting for a cleaner Lake Erie to  preventing homelessness and tackling the problems of overpriced rents and absentee landlords.  There were impassioned pleas for justice for those wrongfully jailed and to stop the travesty of the "right to work" law. Health care for all, prison reform, enacting local gun control (in spite of state pre-emption of the law), income inequality,white supremacy, and banning the use of fracking brine on city roads were also addressed. 

Arguments for fighting climate change by using only 100% renewable energy sources to save the city millions and keeping the Ohio E.P.A. in check (since it seems to side with corporations and feedlots polluting our water) were also presented.  Ending gerrymandering, fixing local infrastructure (please don't mention the state of the roads!) and encouraging young people to become involved in community issues... The list goes on. When asked if I would give a short speech, I decided to speak on how corporate money can deny ordinary citizens of their First Amendment rights.

Democracy Day

My testimony given on March 5, 2018

words and photos by C.A. Matthews

When Americans talk about "democracy," usually the first thing we mention is the sanctity of our First Amendment. It says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Americans say we possess "the freedom of speech." But do we? Increasingly, it is not human beings doing the talking but money. Our Fourth Estate--a former bastion of free speech--has been severely compromised. Media monopolies such as Sinclair Broadcasting and Tribune Media wish to merge, effectively owning 72% of our nation's television and radio stations. It is not free speech if one mega-corporation owns almost three-quarter of the outlets for the distribution of their corporate-vetted propaganda. It is not free speech if vast sums of corporate lobbying money are used to keep ordinary Americans silenced without the ability to afford redress. And so We the People come here today to demand our First Amendment rights be restored.

We the People of Toledo deserve to have broadcast media outlets that are locally owned and controlled so that our voices are heard and attended to by our elected officials--not the voices of CEOs whose agenda could be one of plundering our city's resources and taking advantage of its citizens to fill their already bulging bank accounts.

To this end, We the People propose that the city of Toledo institute a municipal broadband service. A free and open Internet ensures that the public has the access to all viewpoints and are able to share their voices in return--whether or not they are supportive of the status quo. Online freedom of speech is known as net neutrality.

A not-for-profit municipal broadband service would allow Toledeoans to communicate freely and discuss a wide variety of issues. It allows them unimpeded access to online resources to further their education, find employment and to grow their own small businesses.  It would encourage others to come here and start up their businesses and hire Toledoans, further strengthening our local economy.  

The advantages of a well-informed electorate have been documented before--it causes a much higher voter turnout. Better yet, it creates a more diverse community of voters, guaranteeing a voice to minorities and others who have been underserved and under-represented in the past. Again, this level of equality and concern for all peoples would act as a draw to attract new faces and businesses to our area, reversing decades of urban decay and neglect in many of our neighborhoods.

Instituting a municipal broadband service based on the principle of net neutrality, is the cornerstone of the First Amendment in the twenty-first century. Toledoans deserve to speak freely and be heard. They deserve to be protected from the harassment of corporate propaganda and control of information that aim to keep citizens in the dark about happenings in our government that enrich the wealthy elites at the expense of ordinary Americans.

We the People command you to send a clear message to Columbus, Washington D.C., and the world stating  emphatically "Money is not speech, and corporations are not people!"  

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Represent.Us has another tactic on how to take money out of politics:
 
https://youtu.be/lhe286ky-9A

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A Small Town Health Care Town Hall

The drive to implement the Improved Medicare for All bill (HR 676) hasn't gone away, but it has taken another tactic. Many states have introduced universal health care bills into their legislatures. Ohio is one of them. HB 440 or the "Health Care for All Ohioans" bill was introduced by state Rep. Teresa Fedor and has gained numerous co-sponsors. Could this be the year it actually passes? Buckeyes are crossing their fingers that it will.

In the meantime, there's much progressives can do to help advance the cause of universal health care.  We need to share and expand on information about current health care bills with our rural neighbors, many of whom have been taken in by the corporate propaganda of Big Pharma and the private health insurance industry that is spread by the mainstream media. Many Americans aren't aware that 65% of bankruptcies in the US are due to medical bills. We are the only country where families and individuals are forced into bankruptcy because of overwhelming medical debts. Even more shocking, the majority of Americans who file a medical bankruptcy have private health insurance!

With the recent introduction of the Ohio Health Care for All bill in the statehouse, SPAN Ohio (Single Payer Action Network) decided to hosted a town hall in the rural town of Defiance. A local paper posted an article about the event, and a local community access TV channel videotaped it for those who couldn't make it. 

It's important to broadcast the benefits of Medicare for All and how it will possibly improve rural and small town folks' access to health care.  Rural folks are often on the front lines in terms of losing health insurance with the crumbling ACA marketplace. For-profit hospitals and private health insurers aren't particularly worried about losing a few customers in rural America if they can make bigger profits in nearby wealthier big cities. 

Many small cities are essentially retirement centers. These towns and villages are home to numerous poorly-staffed, for-profit nursing homes. Many poor elderly and disabled people wish to live out their remaining years in dignity on their own farms or in their familiar hometowns. We owe it to rural Americans to tell them what options they have so they can vote for and help support health care legislation that will be of the most benefit to them and their loved ones. 

After all, one day you could find yourself in a similar situation, wishing someone had cared enough to inform you about how Medicare For All could work for you. Make plans to set up a town hall or public meeting to talk about health care in your town today. Tomorrow may be too late.

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We the People can stop illegal war. Call your Senators now!

For nearly three years, the people of Yemen have been caught in a bloody proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. And the U.S. government is providing weapons, intel, and resources to keep the war raging on. But we have a chance to stop it.

Bernie Sanders has introduced bipartisan legislation that — if passed — would end our involvement in this war. That’s why we’re teaming up with some of the biggest progressive organizations in the country to hold Congress’ feet to the fire. If we can flip just a few key votes, it’ll end our involvement in the massacre and mass-starvation of millions of Yemeni people.

Add your name today and tell Congress to support Bernie’s proposal. We’re going to take these signatures and deliver them in person to our legislators to make sure they support this critical bill.

Add your name »

When I was in the Marine Corps, I served at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Over and over, I saw the CEOs of massive defense contractors press our government to let them boost their profits by selling advanced weapons to the Saudis. I can’t stand by while we put profits for Wall Street over the suffering of innocent people.

This is a race against the clock. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in this conflict, and right now, millions of Yemeni people are starving. Their nation is being ravaged by the worst cholera outbreak in human history. But the resolution to stop it all could be voted on in just 10 days. And every day that passes means more suffering inflicted upon Yemen’s civilians.

Sign our petition today. Let’s turn the heat up on Congress and ensure an end to our participation in this bloody, unauthorized war.

Thank you for taking action on this crucial issue. It’s truly a matter of life or death, and direct action is the only way we can fix it.

In solidarity,

Alexander McCoy
U.S. Marine corps veteran
Common Defense

Take action »     ***

Nearly 400,000 Syrians are trapped in "Hell on Earth." Demand a Ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta NOW — Lives Depend On It!

Right now, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are trapped in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, caught in the crossfire between rebel and Syrian government forces. UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has called the region "Hell on Earth." They have had no way to escape or safely receive aid supplies to keep them alive. Please sign the petition to demand a ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta now — lives literally depend on it. Russia, a staunch Syrian government supporter and a major player in the war, has suggested offering a daily five-hour ceasefire to allow civilians to flee without threat. But this isn't enough. The UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire "without delay." 600 civilians have already died in the last 10 days. If Russia and Syria wait any longer to comply with the ceasefire resolution, this number will surely increase. Sign the petition and demand that Russia and Syria implement a month-long ceasefire NOW. Thank you, Alex B. The Care2 Petitions Team

P.S. A month-long ceasefire could be the key between life and death for the hundreds of thousands trapped in the region. Please add your name to the call for peace in Syria.

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Tell AMNH: Kick Breitbart billionaire Rebekah Mercer off your board.

Rebekah Mercer—the climate-denier billionaire who has propped up Breitbart News, Steve Bannon, and Donald Trump—is on the board of one of America’s top scientific institutions, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Scientists across the country—including the museum’s own—have called on AMNH to stop their dangerous mainstreaming of Mercer’s radical, racist conspiracy-theory politics.

Add your voice to theirs:

Sign our joint petition telling the American Museum of Natural History: It’s time to get science deniers out of science museums—remove Rebekah Mercer from your board.

The Mercer Family Foundation, led by Rebecca Mercer, has sunk millions of dollars into Breitbart.com, climate-denying politicians, and a host of climate denial organizations, including Heartland Institute, CO2 Coalition, and the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide. These groups maintain that industrial carbon dioxide pollution is either a vast scientific conspiracy or even beneficial to life on Earth—the position now touted by Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The most important asset any museum has is its credibility. This can be damaged by ties to donors and board members who are publicly known for investing in climate science obfuscation and opposing environmental solutions. Even worse, by allowing Mercer on the board, the American Museum of Natural History and its staff, like astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, are providing legitimacy to Rebekah Mercer’s extremist and destructive politics.

We’re proud to be working with a broad alliance of organizations in support of the scientists and educators who work at the museum on this campaign. We are going to win, as long as we speak out.

Nearly two years ago to the day, climate hawks won the campaign to get carbon billionaire David Koch off the board of the AMNH. Now it's time to do the same with Mercer.

At a time when science, facts, and reason are under attack, trusted institutions of science are needed more than ever. The AMNH's ties to donor and trustee Rebekah Mercer are undermining the museum’s vital mission.

Sign the petition to kick Mercer off the board.

Sign your name »

Your fellow climate hawk,

Brad

References

Museum of Natural History Urged to Cut Ties to ‘Anti-Science Propagandist Rebekah Mercer, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/25/american-museum-of-natural-history-rebekah-mercer

Trump Donor Gave $2M to Groups Questioning Climate Science, E&E News
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060072049

What’s a Climate Denial Funder Doing on the American Museum of Natural History Board?
https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/12/whats-a-climate-denial-funder-doing-on-the-american-museum-of-natural-history-board/

What Have We Become? (The Collapse of the Big Tent)

What have we become? Do we like what we see when we look in the mirror, America? Why don't we like what we see? Our guest blogger takes a look at the history behind why our country hates looking in the mirror nowadays. Perhaps there's a way out of this collapsing big tent?

The Collapse of the Big Tent

by Coast Watcher

The term big tent, first used in 1975 refers to “a widely inclusive composition or character that allows people of differing backgrounds, opinions, and interests to be members of a group or organization (such as a political party).” (Source: Merriam-Webster)

The Democratic Party is fond of using the term. Although it may stem from 1975, the concept of an all-inclusive party harks back to the glory days of the 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

After the disastrous Republican administrations of the 1920s, feelings ran strong against the selfish, greedy, generally corrupt or plain inept mainstream parties. The Republican government caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929 following years of corrupt practices which led to economic depression, mass unemployment and penury for millions of Americans. The Democrats were still viewed with suspicion after Woodrow Wilson broke his solemn promise not to involve the United States in WWI. All told, the burgeoning Socialist movement that had made great strides in the United States during the first three decades of the twentieth century promised a better way of doing things.

This frankly terrified the patrician class and Big Businessmen such as the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts who could see the prospect of a Soviet-style revolution on the horizon if they didn’t act quickly enough.

Roosevelt’s canny promise and shaping of a New Deal coalition united various

unions, minorities, left-leaning voting blocs and interest groups that effectively made the Democratic Party the majority party for thirty years. Even the brief interregnum of Eisenhower’s presidency doesn’t count against this record since Eisenhower himself was pro-New Deal. The coalition effectively channeled the Socialist movement into a safer, more manageable course. What most people seem to forget is the fact that Roosevelt, although a progressive by the standards of his time, was also a patrician–one of those with the most to lose in the event of a Socialist government taking power.

The New Deal coalition began to fall apart in 1968 due to bitter factionalism engendered by the election of that year. Following Carter’s troubled single term in office, Reagan’s presidency took more steam out of the Democratic Party’s engine.

In the 1980s, after a period of navel-gazing spent during their time in the political wilderness, the Democratic Party decided it liked the old adage "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em" –only they went a step further. The party motto became "if you can’t beat ‘em, become like ‘em." The neoliberal Third Way policies eventually bore fruit in Clinton’s two terms in office, a presidency that showed few progressive values.

The same applies to the Obama administration. Although he put forward a piece of legislation of genuine use to the American people in the shape of the Affordable Care Act, Obama did little to force it through against the reactionary Republicans. He allowed the GOP to include the clause requiring citizens to buy health insurance or face a fine, something introduced with the specific intent of making the ACA toxic to the American voter. (The GOP knew they could rely on the typical short memory of voters to forget they were responsible for the clause, so a future Republican government could repeal the hated piece of legislation – and gain kudos for doing so). Obama also failed to introduce much else in the way of progressive policies beyond a few token environmental protections.

Democratic talk of a big tent was becoming alarmingly familiar as the party dealt with what amounted to a case of “values” shock—the post-election impression that Democrats keep losing because they have lost touch with mainstream American values.  Peter J. Boyer, New Yorker, November 14, 2005

Thrilled as they may still be with their victory, many Democrats are now realizing that … their future depends on a tricky proposition: actually becoming the centrist, big-tent party they've spent two years claiming to be.  Jonathan Darman, et al., Newsweek, November 20, 2006

We have big arguments within the party because we got a big tent…    Barack Obama, quoted in Rolling Stone, October 14, 2010

So, it seems the Democratic Party persists in claiming it has a big tent capable of including many other political-Left viewpoints, but it’s manifestly obvious the DNC is doing little, if anything, to prove it. They actually are the centrist, big-tent party steered by a neoliberal faction. The Democrats recently removed all the progressives on DNC committees. We see their frequent attempts to promote candidates for the 2020 election they think will be acceptable to progressives, yet even a cursory analysis exposes the candidates’ deep corporate neoliberal ties. The New Deal coalition remains the model that party activists seek to replicate, yet the neoliberal faction wants to retain the total control over the course such a coalition will steer as it has done for the past

thirty-plus years.

It’s now obvious the big tent has rotted and is falling over. The three-ring-circus show that is the Democratic Party is winding down as the acts fall out with the neoliberal management and each other. The left-leaning groups, the progressives, even stalwart Democrats who’ve supported their party through thick and thin for decades, are leaving the show. They see little – if any – difference to the rival show put on by the GOP.

There are some, like Senator Bernie Sanders, who think the big tent may be saved. They cling to the idea of a New Deal coalition and seek to replicate the successes of the original. Perhaps they may succeed, but it looks increasingly likely that the coalition will never reform. Few on the political Left want anything to do with the Democrats after what transpired during the 2016 primaries. Perhaps another coalition of the Left will form without the Democrats, and the steady progress toward a Socialist state on the Scandinavian pattern that was interrupted in the 1930s will resume. The Democratic Party’s big tent will be allowed to fall down, leaving only ghostly applause for what once was.

 
Jimmy Dore points out the how the big tent is fighting against progressives.
https://youtu.be/ynug4CLOTp0

BIO: Coast Watcher studies American history and tries to spot the good patterns repeating themselves, but he's a realist. He's hoping America will turn around and make a future to believe in soon.

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The first national health care town hall (over 1 million views and counting) was not broadcast by mainstream media but on three digital outlets. Here's the video in case you missed it or want to share it with a friend. Lots of good information.

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From Friends of the Earth:

Tell your Senators: Kick Clovis out of the USDA!

Good news! Michael Dourson -- a Monsanto hack -- just stepped down from his job at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Last year, Donald Trump nominated Dourson to run the Office of Chemical Safety Prevention and Pollution. Pressure from people like you forced Dourson to withdraw his nomination. But EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt hired him as a senior advisor anyway. Now, months later, he’s leaving that position.

But Dourson wasn’t the only failed Trump nominee to be given a job in the Trump administration. Sam Clovis -- a conservative talk radio host with no scientific background -- is currently serving as a senior advisor at the USDA. Clovis was forced to withdraw his nomination to lead the agency’s science program in November.

This is the second time Trump has gone around the nomination process and given his Big Ag friends jobs that they’re completely unqualified for. Congress could hold Trump accountable -- but we need your help to push it to act!
Tell your Senators: Stop Trump from filling his government with Big Ag cronies!

Clovis says the science on climate change is “junk science” and has made it clear that he will not prioritize climate science at the USDA. But farmers and the agriculture industry are on the front lines of both the effects and causes of climate change. We need science-based leadership to help farmers respond to climate threats.

What’s more, Clovis has a well-documented record of homophobic, racist, misogynistic and anti-science rants as a former radio show host. He called progressives “race traders and race traitors." He’s vocally against fair wages for working people. And he vehemently opposes civil rights protections for the LGBT community.

This is someone who shouldn’t be in any sort of leadership position -- let alone serving as a key advisor on federal programs to protect our food system! Trump likely gave him the job as a reward for his role on his campaign.
Tell your Senators: Kick Sam Clovis out of the USDA!

Thanks to a groundswell of public pressure -- including more than half a million comments from Friends of the Earth members like you -- we stopped Clovis from getting a Senate-confirmed job at the USDA.

This shows that when you speak up, you can push the Senate to act and hold the Trump administration accountable.

We can’t let Trump undermine our critical food programs by staffing his government with anti-science extremists. We need your help to get Sam Clovis out of the USDA once and for all.

Tell Congress: No anti-science extremists leading key USDA programs!

Standing with you,
Lisa Archer,
Food and technology program director,
Friends of the Earth


Also from Friends of the Earth:

Big Ag and the Trump administration are attacking organic farming.
In an outrageous assault on organic agriculture, Trump’s USDA is moving fast to kill protections for livestock on organic farms.

This attempt to roll back the standard is the biggest attack on organic agriculture in almost twenty years.  

Congress could step up and stop the USDA’s attack on organic standards. But we need your help to push it to act!

Call now! Tell your Senators you OPPOSE the USDA’s attempt to kill the organic animal welfare rule!

The Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule provides animals on organic farms with real outdoor access, ample space to move around, and protection from unnecessary physical alterations. 

Most organic farmers already meet these standards. The rule would ensure that everyone using the organic label lives up to the humane conditions that consumers expect from organic. The rule is overwhelmingly supported by organic farmers, consumers, and animal advocates.

Tell your Senators: Don’t let the USDA eliminate protections for organic livestock!

The organic label was born out of a public outcry for a healthier, safer and more transparent food system. The Senate needs to hear loud and clear that the American people want healthy, organic food from animals who were treated with dignity and respect -- not more giveaways to Big Ag.

Call your Senators and ask them to stop Trump’s attack on organic agriculture!

Standing with you,
Dr. Kendra Klein,
Staff Scientist,
Friends of the Earth

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From the Sierra Club:

We can't let this happen on our watch.

This month, the Trump administration proposed opening 90% of US waters to offshore drilling between 2019 and 2024. That's right -- if this plan becomes law, the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Eastern Gulf coasts will all be in the hands of Big Oil. That means oil rigs from Maine to Louisiana, and from Alaska down to California. 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is collecting comments on this catastrophic new five-year plan. We have until March 9 to tell them how unpopular and short-sighted this plan is.
 
While they attempt to hand our coasts over to oil companies, Trump and his buddies are also rushing to dismantle safety regulations that were enacted after the Deepwater Horizon spill.¹ And on New Year's Day, Congress also failed to renew a longstanding oil tax that funds cleanup efforts for oil spills.²
It almost sounds too sinister to be true -- they want to open 90% of our coasts to drilling but won't enforce basic safety standards or fund programs to clean up the inevitable spills. 

Tell BOEM that the people have spoken -- no drilling off our coasts!
 
Thanks for all you do to protect our coasts,
Lena Moffitt
Senior Director, Our Wild America Campaign
Sierra Club 

1. Eilperin, Juliet and Grandoni, Dino. "Trump administration to overhaul safety-monitoring rules for offshore drilling" The Washington Post. 12/28/18.
2. Eilperin, Juliet and Grandoni, Dino. "Without fanfare, oil companies just received a tax break on New Year's Day" The Washington Post. 1/5/18.

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Before you keep reading: This one is sickening.

Okay. Ready for this?

The Pentagon funded forces engaged in child sexual assault and other “gross violations of human rights” in Afghanistan — to the tune of 71 billion dollars.
Appalling doesn’t begin to describe it. But in the deafening chaos of the Trump era, even a story as awful as this might slip through the cracks if we don’t speak up. So it’s up to us make this story huge.

Tell Congress: Immediately halt appropriations to Afghan security forces until the Pentagon proves that no American tax dollars will fund human rights violations.

But wait — it gets worse. The Pentagon knew, this whole time. They also knew that a highly specific law prohibits exactly this situation: Congress has made it illegal for the Department of Defense to assist foreign security forces if they have credible evidence that human rights are being violated. But instead of stepping in, the Pentagon dug up a shady legal loophole to dodge accountability and claim they are in the clear.

Let that one sink in for a minute. The Pentagon’s response to clear evidence of human rights violations was: How can we cover our behinds?

The muck and mire of America’s failed war in Afghanistan just keep getting deeper. And it's clear that the Pentagon isn't about to solve their own fiasco. But Congress created the watchdog agency that dug up this story, and Congress passed the laws that should make this behavior 100% illegal. Now, we need to make Congress shut the loophole and shut down American support for these human rights abuses. 

Sign now: Congress must not send another penny to Afghan security forces while these gross human rights violations continue.

Thank you for working for peace,
Cassandra, Stephen, Amy, and the Win Without War team

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Happy birthday in Palestinian Arabic is “kul sana wa inti salmeh,” which literally translates something like, “May you be safe this year and every year.” 
We’re hoping Ahed Tamimi’s next year, and every year after, is safer than this one. Her birthday is January 31st, and this year, her 17th, she’ll be celebrating it in prison. 

Click here to send Ahed a message of support and solidarity on her birthday.

Ahed’s story of slapping an armed soldier after the IDF tried to enter her family’s home on December 15 is but one small incident during an entire young life controlled by military occupation. 

Earlier that day, a soldier shot Ahed’s 14-year-old cousin Mohammed in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet, which required risky surgery to remove. Three years ago, soldiers shot her mother Nariman in the leg. Two years before that, soldiers shot and killed her uncle Rushdi. The year before that it was another cousin, Mustafa, who died from a high-velocity tear gas canister to the face point-blank. This is an incomplete list.

So who is on trial? Ahed. A young girl the same age as my daughter, who is sitting behind bars facing a sentence of 10 years for defending herself and her family. 

Let her know that you won’t let Israel put yet another child behind bars and make her disappear. That you’ll be thinking about her on Wednesday— and next week when her trial begins.

Send Ahed a birthday card that honors her life and her brave act of resistance.

 "Kul sana wa inti salmeh ya Ahed!
Sending you love and solidarity on your 17th birthday, Ahed.
We stand with you and with all Palestinian prisoners.
Thank you for your bravery and steadfastness, and happy birthday!"

Ahed isn’t the first child to be locked up in Israeli military detention and she won’t be the last—until we pressure Israel to change. 

By standing up for Ahed, we are standing up for the approximately 350 reported children currently in Israel’s military detention— for the approximately 700 Palestinian children Israel arrests and prosecutes every year. Ahed herself, when she had a chance to talk with her father, told him “to make a campaign for all the women and children in prison.”

Ahed, her family, and all the nonviolent resisters in her village of Nabi Salih, are heroes in my book. They endure tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, home invasions, arrests, and tragedy after tragedy. 

To ensure a safer year— a safer world— for Ahed and all Palestinian children, we must continue to work towards ending these many decades of military occupation. And we will continue to push for the legislation introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum, the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Detention of Palestinian Children Act, to prevent the use of U.S. tax dollars for the Israeli military’s ongoing mistreatment of Palestinian children. 

Today, please join me in saluting Ahed and wishing her a happy birthday, and a safer, happier, more peaceful future.
I know it’s getting closer.

Granate
Communications Strategist