Lake Erie Is Not A Toilet (But The Supreme Court Most Certainly Is)

 

It's a brave new world... One where a woman in the state of Texas no longer has control over her own body. I touched upon the threats against a woman's right to choose in my piece A Matter of Control. It was written about the influence Brett Kavanagh could have on the Supreme Court in regards to Roe v. Wade. Was I prescient or not? 

I suspect we'll be talking more about this subject for a long time to come. Read more about what we should do next in this article:  It's Time For Abortion Activists to Push a Federal Abortion Rights Law.

And now a look at how we're all being "controlled" in a different way... Controlled by the abuse of our natural resources such as our drinking water. Lake Erie is perhaps the biggest poster child of neglected gems of nature--and so easily ignored.

 Lake Erie Is Not A Toilet

photos and words by C. A. Matthews

It's not everyday that a world class professional golf tournament comes to your town. When it happens, you have to make the most of it. 

The city of Toledo was fine with hosting a super spreader event during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they opened the proverbial doors to the LPGA's Solheim Cup, along with the tens of thousands of fans it attracts. 

Golf fans who don't believe in wearing face masks I couldn't help but notice.  In return, the fans didn't take much notice of our lovely banner as they hurried past us to enter the private country club.

Yours truly holding up one end of the banner. Photo by Mike Ferner

The Lake Erie Advocates (formerly known as the Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie or ACLE) raised a large sum of money to put up billboards throughout the city and also to have two large banner signs printed to promote the message of how Toledoans are tired of their drinking water being put at risk by the toxins caused by blue-green algal blooms. Can you imagine not wanting massive amounts of animal wastes from large-scale factory "farms" (or CAFOs) flowing into the streams and rivers and then into Lake Erie, the source of the Toledo area's drinking water as well as 11 million+ other human beings living along its shores?

So the brave activists of LEA took position with two large banners outside the front gates of the Inverness Golf Club. An estimated 100,000 visitors were predicted to come into town for the week-long golfing extravaganza. Surely the banners would be seen and the message understood, right?

But, like I said, the predominantly upper-middle class white golf fans from out-of-town didn't seem to be too bothered about poisonous blue-green algal blooms on Lake Erie. Some of the bored looks I caught from passers-by unfortunately only reinforced the stereotype of the rich white suburbanite who lives in a "golden bubble"of affluence (not effluence), choosing to remain happily oblivious to the environmental harm their mega-consumption of meat causes. 

I'm certain they drink nothing but bottled water whenever they come into an area like Toledo. Well, either that or champagne.

The morning's activism wasn't a total loss. I did meet and chatted with a very nice fellow activist. Harold told me that he had attended every day of the Solheim Cup so far (since the beginning of the week) proudly holding his Black Lives Matter sign. His upbeat attitude and energy was a real inspiration. As he stood outside the front gates of the venue, I noticed he generally received good responses to his sign. Only one sour-faced woman stopped and scolded him with a "Shame on you--it's All Lives Matter!" taunt. I returned her taunt with a short explanation that I'm sure she didn't listen to, but at least I tried to set her straight. Harold just smiled at her. I'm sure he's heard it all before and takes it in stride.

In all fairness, I'm not a golf fan (or of any sport really). I wasn't even sure this location or event was the best place for banners dealing with such a serious topic as water pollution, saving our beloved Great Lake, or animals' rights. But the enthusiasm of activists like Harold who show up day after day gives me hope that maybe some of our message might get through to the crowds of well-to-do golf lovers. Perhaps some will even do a quick Google search about what we meant by factory farms and why there was a glass of "green Kool-Aid" on our banners. (It's a glass of slimy blue-green algae-tainted water actually. Yum.)

I try to keep a positive attitude, but it is hard when you see so many people not wearing masks during a deadly pandemic rushing past you while trying not to make eye contact (or banner contact). If a person doesn't care about taking precautions to keep his neighbor safe (by wearing a mask during a pandemic at a crowded sports event), then would they really care about keeping our water clean and shutting down CAFOs? Do they care at all about Lake Erie except as a possible place for their next yachting adventure? It remains to be seen.

No matter how much the golf fans hide behind their red, white and blue outfits, I-phones, and Rolex watches, it won't stop those who care about our shared environment and their neighbors' health from trying to get the word out. The Lake Erie Advocates know time is running out, and they're not giving up. 

We can't keep dumping massive amounts of animal poop into one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world and expect to get away with it. An increasingly warming climate is only enabling algae blooms to explode across the lake surface. Human beings are turning Lake Erie into a massive toilet, one that we might find is impossible to clean someday. 

Take that warning and flush it down your golf club bags, fans!

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Texas' 6-Week Abortion Ban & Bounty has gone into effect.

Extreme anti-abortion lawmakers, led by Greg Abbott have passed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country (TX SB8). Texas SB8 is a 6-week abortion ban and puts in place a vigilante bounty in place to criminalize those who help or intend to help anyone obtain an abortion outside 6 weeks. As a Texan, let me tell you right now that Texas is not okay. This will hurt people in need of abortion AND ALSO those that support them, young activists, abortion providers, and potentially anyone that speaks out publicly to support people who need abortions in the state.  Most people do not even know they are pregnant until they are at least 6 weeks! Only about 10-15% of abortions happen before 6 weeks. That means “6 week bans” are effectively total abortion bans. The addition of incentivizing vigilantes to “turn in” people who help or intend to help someone get an abortion outside of the 6 week period is extreme violence. This law gives anyone - a neighbor, distant relative, abusive partner, or even a stranger from out of state — the ability to sue someone for having an abortion in civil court AND collect $10,000 for each successful claim. This is one of the most heinous anti-abortion laws in history, it will cause extreme harm to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, low-income, young and rural Texans who already face tons of barriers to accessing abortion. Texans deserve better.

In this critical moment, we need the support of people across the country who believe that people should be able to get the healthcare they need without shame, unnecessary restrictions, or outside interference. What is happening in Texas today might happen in your state tomorrow. We know this ban will be the blueprint for bans across the country. Unless we do something about it. You can help by sharing information and taking action. Look to those in the state to lead. Support Texas abortion funds, providers, and practical support organizations. Donate money, follow them on social media, signal boost their requestions.  Visit Needabortion.org for real time updates on abortion access in TX Talk to your friends about what is happening in Texas and share this video on your social media.   In Solidarity, Jazmin Gonzalez (they/she) Digital Campaigns Manager P.S.  While we’re happy to stay in touch via email, social media is another fantastic way to keep stay in the loop. Click here to follow us on Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and even TikTok  *** Amazon continues to feel the heat in Alabama. Last month the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Amazon unfairly tampered with the union vote in Bessemer, Alabama.1 The NLRB found that Amazon used their power to bully the postal service into putting a mailbox at the workplace in Alabama, which may have caused workers to feel Amazon could see when and how they voted -- and fear retaliation from Amazon. This is just further proof that Amazon has too much power, and is abusing it to undermine workers' rights. On Labor Day, one way we can fight back: urge Congress take bold action to break up Amazon and make it easier for workers to join a union. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to break up Amazon and make it easier for workers to organize! ADD YOUR NAME Amazon isn't just a tech giant, it's a global behemoth with tentacles gripping nearly every part of daily life. And Amazon workers, especially Amazon warehouse workers, feel the squeeze the most. Amazon warehouse working conditions are notoriously bad. So much so, the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health named Amazon one of the most dangerous employers in the country.2 On top of that, during the historic heatwaves earlier this summer, Amazon warehouses pushed workers to their physical brink, without providing air-conditioning. But the tide is turning. Activists are speaking out and demanding Amazon be held accountable. In Alabama, that might mean a new worker union election. But we can't stop there. Amazon has proven time and again that they have too much power and influence, and use it to undermine their workers and their right to a safe workplace. So now it's time for Congress to step in. Together we can raise our voices and pressure Congress to take action to break up Amazon's monopoly and make it easier for workers to organize. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to break up Amazon! Thank you for taking action, Tihi and the team at Demand Progress DONATE Sources: 1. Vox, "The Amazon union drive isn't over yet," August 3, 2021. 2. Futurism, "After Deaths, Amazon Lands on List of Most Dangerous Employers," October 18, 2019.

The Summer of Love 2.0

Our Earth...It's worth saving, isn't it?

Activism

By Sean Nestor

When I first started getting involved with activism, I felt at a disadvantage. I never went to school for this stuff; I didn't know how to organize people, or how to analyze public policy, or how everything in our legal system worked. I wanted to show up, hold a sign, and support the professionals.

But there was a problem - there weren't any professionals to support. Most were stuck in cubicles doing busy work, while others were looking for citizens like me to stand up and take the lead. It turns out that the pros can only sharp-shoot certain aspects of social change, and that active citizens are an essential (but nearly extinct) ingredient in that process.

So I started on the path of becoming a better citizen. I learned as I went, figuring things out as I needed to through my own trial and error and conversations with the experienced. I never would have guessed how much this process would change me for the better. Things that would have given me crippling anxiety to contemplate years ago now seem second nature.

The zen of democracy is that it ties our personal improvement to the improvement of our society. When we challenge ourselves and accept our role as self-advocates--when we better ourselves in the pursuit of bettering others--we transform not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us. This process cannot be engineered in a classroom, a legislative chamber, or a board room; it must arise organically from the felt needs and moral compass of every day citizens.

BIO:
Sean Nestor is an educator and activist from Toledo, Ohio. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Single Payer Action Network and Co-Chair of the Lucas County Green Party.

 From January to July, 2017 has been a year of citizens speaking out and taking action to protect each other and the environment.

All Hands on Deck event at Maumee Bay State Park, Lake Erie

2017: The Summer of Love 2.0
by C.A. Matthews

For those who weren't alive in 1967, the above title might not ring a bell for you. But for those of us who have some memories of the 60s, the Summer of Love was the year of the hippies and a year that marked a seismic shift of consciousness in America. As a child, I couldn't quite grasp what all the young adults wearing love beads, long hair, peace signs and tie-dye were going on about in that summer and in the proceeding ones, but their protest signs and songs indicated their intentions. 

It was a time to speak out against the war in Vietnam; a time to speak out against nuclear proliferation and war; a time to speak out in favor of women's rights; a time to speak out for civil rights for all Americans, in particular African-Americans and Native Americans; a time to cry out about the destruction of the environment; a time to tell the establishment, "Hell no! The status quo has got to go!" And it needed to go now.

I could draw many parallels between this summer of activism and that summer of activism fifty years ago. I see one of the biggest parallels as being the willingness of ordinary people to crawl out of their comfort zones and take their righteous anger to the  streets. But it's not enough to "resist" a bad president, as some are doing with anti-Trump demonstrations. We have to take action for something and not simply act out against some person, like a child throwing a temper tantrum over having to eat broccoli. The hippies' signs and banners may have declared they were against the war in Southeast Asia, but essentially they were speaking out for world peace and for an end to poverty, hunger, and human rights abuses. 

Perhaps the reason the Summer of Love and the hippies live on in our memories is that those who became involved in the movement were for positive change for all mankind. They weren't on a self-serving "vengeance kick" to get rid of a buffoon of a president they didn't personally like. The hippies' motives and actions were noble and for the good of society, and not simply a cover for a disgraced political faction who fielded the wrong candidate and rigged primaries to do so.

This summer so far we've participated in several actions to draw attention to

health care (or rather, the lack of it) in America and the fragility of our environment (our Great Lakes and our dying pollinators). We feel the need to protect our world against corporate greed that is destroying nature and humankind alike. The reason we chose to participate in these actions is that they are in dire need of immediate attention. The status quo of the oligarchs' desire for ever-increasing corporate profits has got to go--and go now. 

Time is of the essence. It's not a personal thing--although, if our health care is taken away, it will possibly shorten our lives--but it's a necessary thing to take action if we want our world to exist in the future. Our personal struggles pale in comparison to the struggles of the whole of humanity.

It's time we follow the hippies' lead and don our peace signs and love beads and show our compassion for our fellow human beings and our planet. Only by acting out of love and compassion can we ever hope to achieve a new status quo, one where everyone is assured of a life free from discrimination and homelessness, hunger and suffering. We'll need more than a shift--we'll need a revolution in consciousness to get there. 

Let the revolution begin today with us.

 

Enjoy some memories from the Summer of Love with this video.
www.youtube.com/embed/obsAUJHMOZs

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Here's one way to take action this summer. A very clever way from 314 Action.

Trump and his allies have been purging his administration of scientific voices from day one, and the latest news out of Washington makes it clear they aren't slowing down. The science division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy apparently has zero remaining staffers.

We know all too well that without scientific input in government, things can get pretty dicey -- so we thought we’d help them out a bit by sending a clear message: If you’re not going to seek out science, we’ll bring science to your front door instead.

We want to deliver copies of “Environmental Science for Dummies” to some of the most anti-science voices in Trump's administration, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Can you help?

Enter your info and we’ll ship this book in your name to either the EPA or the Department of Energy -- along with a note reminding them that you (and the American people) stand with science >>

Since January, the scientific community has been under constant attack. Trump has announced that he’s pulling the U.S. out of the Paris agreement. Scott Pruitt has fired key scientists at the EPA, and plans to replace them with fossil fuel executives. Rick Perry continues to deny human impact on climate change.

It’s critical that we keep exposing these climate change deniers and anti-science voices. We need to show them that they’re not going to get away with this. These aren’t the Dark Ages -- the American people believe in science.

It’s on us to teach the Trump administration a science lesson: Help us send “Environmental Science for Dummies” textbooks to two of the most anti-science voices in Washington, D.C. >>

Thanks for helping us send a message.
Harmony
Harmony Knutson
Director of Advocacy
314 Action

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More ways to take action on health care from the Movement for the 99%.

#OccupyTrumpcare
National Week of Action: July 8 -15
Mass Action Needed to Ensure Defeat of Trumpcare!

Trumpcare isn’t dead, and we need to do everything we can to stop it. The Republicans in Congress are going to come back from the July 4th recess determined to try to get this reactionary legislation passed.

Trumpcare is a savage attack on working people and the poor. If passed, it will deny tens of millions access to healthcare and represent one of the greatest transfers of wealth from the working class to the 1% in U.S. history through massive tax cuts for the super-rich and corporations.

We need a full mobilization of the opposition to Trumpcare through rallies, protests, and occupations of Republican Senators’ offices. The Republicans are struggling to overcome internal divisions, but we need to keep the pressure up to ensure defeat of Trumpcare.

Our Revolution, the Democratic Socialists of America and others are calling for non-violent sit-ins across the country on Thursday, July 6th against Trumpcare. These are exactly the type of determined actions we need to build a movement from below to defeat Trump’s agenda.

Movement for the 99% and our partners in Socialist Alternative also feel we need to keep that movement going when Congress returns to session. That’s why we’re helping to initiate a week of action from July 8th to July 15th to #OccupyTrumpcare. Please join us at the protests, occupations and speak-outs that we’ll be initiating. 

Please chip in $15, $27, or $100 to build mass actions against Trumpcare this coming week! We need to print thousands of picket signs and to make sure we have a legal fund for any arrests.

There is mass opposition across the country, we need all opponents of Trumpcare to unite behind a strategy of mobilizing the full breadth of that opposition, similar to the mass rallies around Trump’s inauguration when millions marched in the streets. With a well-organized mobilization and an escalating series of mass actions we can help ensure the Republican bill fails. A victory on this issue could help give confidence to the fight for Medicare for all. We could build upon our momentum to organize to ensure guaranteed, quality healthcare for everyone at the state level and nationally. To achieve these goals, we have to rely on our own strength, not the corporate-controlled leadership of the Democratic Party.

The first step in winning our demands, defeating the Republican agenda and bringing down Trump is to defeat this reactionary legislation once and for all.

We need all hands on deck to #OccupyTrumpcare!  We are organizing rallies and occupations across the country. We will send out more information in the coming days of where and when you can join an action!

Onward!
Bryan
Organizer

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A Summer of Love, a Summer of Resistance with Greenpeace...

Trump received a message that he couldn't ignore. We will RESIST and DEFEND our planet and communities!


The Summer of Resistance is heating up. Now we need YOU to join in!

All summer long, Greenpeace will be turning up the heat on Trump and his fossil fuel cronies through creative resistance and non-violent direct action. Now it’s time for YOU to join in to create change where you live. Sign up today for our Summer of Resistance!

There’s never been a more important time to resist the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda and DEFEND our planet and communities. In rapid-fire succession, Trump has already unleashed multiple attacks on our water, air, climate, and health. This is an administration that sees American lives and the health of the planet as disposable, and it is using all its power to execute that vision. And often, poor, immigrant and communities of color — like the one I grew up in here in Chicago — will be the ones who feel the harshest effects.

There’s never been a more important time for action. That’s why I’ve joined Greenpeace’s Summer of Resistance, where people from all over the country — people just like you and me — can gain the tools they need to stand up against injustice in their own communities. Will you join me and thousands of others to make your summer a Summer of Resistance? When you sign up, we’ll show you how to join free local trainings and creative, non-violent resistance actions — or show you how to host your own creative resistance event!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never marched, joined a peaceful protest, or done any sort of direct action before. Greenpeace’s Summer of Resistance is for anyone who wants to make a difference. Whatever issue you’re most passionate about — climate change, clean air and water, social justice — this is the moment to take the next step and give your all. Join the Summer of Resistance now!

For our climate, health and communities,
Dario Parra
RESIST team, Greenpeace USA

And action to take to save Net Neutrality.
 
Battle For The Net Video Bumper from FFTF on Vimeo.