We're All In This Together
by C. A. Matthews
Happy New Year 2019--no exclamation point
necessary. I think we all know we're in for a bumpy ride.
So, buckle up and put on your crash
helmets. And don't forget to add a yellow vest. It's time we showed our
strength in numbers and in unity of purpose. No more allowing those in power to
divide us along lines of gender, race, religion, ethnicity or even political
affiliation.
We're all humans, right? We all need to eat non-toxic food, drink clean water and
breathe clear air to survive. Those details should be enough to bring us together to
take on the dangerously corrupt status quo and to fight to restore the balance of
our planet's fragile ecology. Let's get going.
What's holding us back?
If you said fear of the unknown, give
yourself a gold star. We're afraid--and rightly so--of what happens next if we
make a bold move. We're afraid--and rightly so--of what happens next if we don't make a bold move. Face it--we're
just plain afraid of becoming casualties of war, both the foreign
military and domestic street fights as well as casualties of cultural warfare, which
can last for centuries depending on who is writing the history texts after
we're gone. So, we're tempted to sit on our hands and do or say nothing.
But to make no decision is to make a
decision. We have to get over our fear. We have to "cowboy up" as
they say in the rodeo world. We have to get back on that seriously pissed-off
bull and ride it for eight seconds of glory to land in the prize money. We
risk falling off and getting gored and trampled into the dirt, but at least for
those few seconds in which we ride we will truly be alive and at one with our great purpose in the game.
When I lived in West Texas, I met several
bull riders (and clown bull fighters) in person. I marveled at their insane
bravery of facing a half ton of angry beef on a nightly basis. Over their brief
careers, they broke every bone in their bodies--and then some--and still
managed to put on their Stetsons and spurs and plaster a smile on their face as
they entered the arena to compete. Yeah, yeah, animal cruelty and antiquated
male chauvinism aside, the image of the courageous bull rider is one that the
progressive left needs to embrace as it seeks to take on the tiny-brained cows
of the fascist right.
Progressives will have to admit there
will be casualties in the fight--mental, emotional and physical casualties. We'll
have to acknowledge they could be ourselves and those we hold dear. We'll have
to make ourselves get up each day and put one foot in front of the other repeatedly,
willing ourselves to give it another go when all seems lost. We'll have to have the intestinal
fortitude to crawl up on that diabolical bull's back and nod to the gatekeeper
to open the chute gate to our destinies.
Living in fear is no life at all. (Take
it from one who knows.) Those who hold the power of fear over us know this and
use it to their advantage. It's time we get over our codependency to easy
living and fear of change. Painful and frightening as it will be, we must overturn
the sadistic, elitist rule of the one-percent and build that future to believe
in.
We won't be alone. We will find support
in other of like minds and hearts. We, in turn, can lend our support to others
and receive strength in the process.
Just remember you can't do everything
yourself. It's physically and emotionally impossible. Pick one or two causes that
you feel strongly about and you honestly believe you can give it your all this
coming year and see them through.
I know there are many, many worthy things
that need your aid. It's tempting to scream, "It's too much! I can't
choose!" and walk away. But I say never give up and never give in to
despair. Flip a coin and then make yourself get out there.
Do your best. It's
much better than staying locked inside and pulling the blinds shut. (Trust me
on this.)
Canadian actor Steve Smith's comedic
character Red Green says it well as he dishes out homespun advice in his distinctive
gravelly voice. "Remember, I'm pullin' for ya. We're all in this
together."
Let's stick together and stay strong in
2019. That way, we're guaranteed to make it the full eight seconds and land on the winners' platform.
***
Winter Wonderland?
by Joe DeMare
So, it's the day after winter solstice, and the days are starting to lengthen again. This is the universe's promise to us that the frozen and cold world we've been living in will once again be lush and green. At some point, the ice that's been covering our ponds, lakes, and rivers will crack, and the water, which has been a dark secret for months now, visible only if you take the time to brush the snow off of the clear ice where you've been skating, will once again well up to the surface, overcoming and finally melting away the last chunks of ice.
The sound of boots on snow, which we've been hearing so long now that we no longer notice it, will be noticed for its absence when the lengthening days and warming sun finally melt away the deep white blanket which has covered the landscape. Hands which have been imprisoned in thick mittens and gloves will thrill to the cool but not chill air and the clouds of steam that our breaths have been lifting to the clouds will simply disappear. The rows of gloves, snow pants, hats, and scarfs which have been lining up at the front door, drying and getting ready for the next outing, will again hide themselves away in the bottoms and backs of closets or in tubs in the attic.
So, don't despair! It may not seem like it, now, but the Earth has rounded the bend in its orbit and the lengthening days will break winter's icy grip. Our white winter wonderland will again magically change into a beautiful green spring, decorated with the blossoms of countless flowers, the beauty of which will seem all the sweeter because we've been denied them for so long.
Oh...wait. None of that is true anymore. #globalwarming
How much hotter is your hometown than when you were born?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html
Joe says:
This is a piece creative non-fiction, not a scientific paper. All the claims I'm making, that there is less snow, it's warmer, there's less ice, and less ice skating are true. I'm not claiming that based on the last three weeks. I'm not claiming anything. I'm describing what life was like in the past compared to how it is, now. But if you want hard data, this website based on 118 years of data says that the average temperature for December in Bowling Green was 29.5 degrees F. More than cold enough for Frosty the Snowman to comfortably hang out in Ohio. https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=268033
***
It's going to be a Revolutionary New Year. Help us cover it--since the mainstream media won't!
The Revolution Continues has set up an easy way to donate in order to keep it ad-free.
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Please
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Power to the people and not the corporations!
***
On January 7th, we will return to the U.S. Capitol and deliver our campaign demands
to the new Congress, focusing on voter suppression. In 2018, we saw
attacks on the voting rights of poor people of color sweep our nation;
from Georgia to Kansas, from North Carolina to North Dakota. We know
that voting rights are central to every demand we have, and we will
continue to call on Congress to take action to protect and expand voting
rights, end racial gerrymandering, restore the right to vote to all
formerly and currently incarcerated people, and more.
But like many of you, we’re taking time first to reflect on all that we accomplished in 2018.
We launched a movement committed to breaking the silence
and telling the truth about the interlocking evils of systemic racism,
poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy/militarism and our
nation’s distorted moral narrative.
Together, we engaged in the largest wave of nonviolent civil
disobedience in recent history and took action in over 40 states. Tens
of thousands of people rallied on the National Mall to demand that we
fight poverty, not the poor. Hundreds of poor and dispossessed people
testified before the nation and made their demands heard. Leaders
emerged in states around the country and we engaged in moral fusion
organizing to build a broad and deep movement to sustain the fight for
the long term.
Over the next year, we will bring our moral movement to every corner of this country. We will continue to organize, mobilize, and take direct action if necessary, and we will hold our political representatives accountable until our demands are met. Donate now to sustain this crucial work as we head into 2019.
GIVE TODAY
.jpg "States that participated in the 40 Days of Moral Action in 2018")
States that participated in the 40 Days of Moral Action in 2018
From California to the Carolinas, from Alabama to Alaska, from
Michigan to Mississippi, from Southern Florida to Northern Maine, from
the Mexican border to the Bronx, and many places in between, we have
raised a moral cry about the 140 million poor and low income people
fighting to survive. We are now in the second phase of the campaign and
are organizing for the times ahead.
In the last few months, Poor People's Campaign leaders have won significant legal battles in places like Tennessee, where moral witnesses who engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience saw their cases dismissed, and Kentucky,
where their legislature’s attempt to shut them out of the State Capitol
was found unconstitutional; they have organized Poor People's Hearings
from Gresham, OR to Little Rock, AR to Harrisburg, PA; and they have
engaged in moral fusion organizing across lines of difference and
historic division.
We are proud of what we’ve done together, but as we witness the recent attacks on SNAP recipients and families at the border, veterans being deported,
people made homeless by the worst forest fires in this country's recent
history, our communities struggling from lack of access to clean water,
and 37 million people still without healthcare, we know our work is
just getting started.
We learned this in 2018: There is a hunger for change and action in
our nation. And there is nothing more powerful than when we stand united
in common suffering and hope.
Over one
million of you tuned in by livestream, followed us online and joined us
in the streets. If just 5% of you donated $10, it would help keep this
movement moving. Before the year closes, donate whatever you can to our movement so we can keep pushing forward and make 2019 the year in which the voices of 140 million poor folk in America were undeniably heard.
Thank you for your commitment to the Poor People's Campaign: A
National Call for Moral Revival and for continuing to build a moral
movement to save the soul of America.
Forward together, not one step back,
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II & Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
***
From Friends of the Earth:
Monarch
butterflies are declining at an alarming rate. Their numbers have
dropped by roughly 97% in the last 20 years in the West. And a key
culprit is the massive increase in the use of glyphosate -- a.k.a.
Monsanto’s Roundup®.
Roundup®
wipes out milkweed, the only food young monarchs eat. It’s a simple
formula: More Roundup® = less milkweed = fewer monarchs.
Instead
of acting to stop this crisis, the Trump administration keeps looking
the other way as the use of Monsanto’s toxic pesticide increases. But we
need action NOW in order to save monarchs from the risk of extinction.
It’s time for Congress to step up and do what Trump won’t!
Over the last two decades, what used to be a roaring river of butterflies migrating to Mexico each year has become a trickle.
At
the same time, the amount of Roundup® being used each year has gone
from 25-30 million pounds, to 180-185 million. That’s more than half a
pound of pesticides for every American!
It’s
no wonder our butterflies are in trouble. And the dramatically
increased use of Roundup® is bad for us as well -- the World Health
Organization has found this pesticide is a “probable carcinogen.”
The
evidence is clear: we must stop supporting a food system built on toxic
pesticides like Roundup® and instead build a future of organic for all.
But
instead, the Trump administration wants to hand Monsanto a license to
pollute our environment, harm our health, and wipe out monarch
butterflies. Trump’s EPA intends to allow Big Ag to keep dousing our
food in this toxic chemical. We need your help to stop it.
Roundup®
is wiping out butterflies and putting our health at risk -- but it’s
making $5 billion every year in profits for Monsanto. So surely the
company is doing everything it can to protect those profits. We can’t
let our elected officials put Monsanto ahead of our communities and
environment.
It’s
clear that our chemical-intensive, GMO, corporate-controlled
agricultural system is failing. We need to move away from this system
now. Together, we can save monarch butterflies from extinction, protect
all of us and the planet from this toxic herbicide. But we need your
help.
Standing with you,
Tiffany Finck-Haynes,
Pesticides and pollinators program manager,
Friends of the Earth
***
Tell Trump to Stop His Plans to Open Up Six Million Acres of Florida's Wetlands to Commercial Development.
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Lacey K.
The Care2 Petitions Team
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