I attended a great session at BlogHer today about online charitable fundraising and activism. Afterwards, one of the other attendees asked me why I was there.
Hmm.
Well, a lot of it was because I have interest on behalf of my nonprofit clients. Online charitable fundraising and activism is changing the face of the nonprofit world, [...]
My sister & brother-in-law got this survey in the mail. The sad part is that it has an intended audience some of whom presumably receive it with enthusiasm. Creepy conservative enthusiasm. I am pretty sure a liberal survey could reach equal skin-crawling propaganda levels, but the Heritage Foundation sure does have an excellent slice of [...]
Pamela Anderson partook in some activism while in Australia today. She stopped by a KFC to hand deliver a letter to the corporation citing their abuse of chickens. (I hear they eat them.) Here’s an excerpt of the letter from PETA’s website:
I’ve been in Australia filming Big Brother, in which my housemates and I are confined and sealed off from the outside world, much like the chickens who
Although the mainstream media has been reporting that the Bush/Hoyer FISA "compromise" is virtually uncontested and expected to sail through the Senate, grassroots activism among progressives has had some measurable impact. In fact, the Senate vote has been delayed due to opposition. Just who do we have to thank for having the courage to stand up for the Constitution? Senators Dodd, Feingold, and
Did you know that Tim Gill is a homosexual activist who operates under the radar as a stealth politico intent on changing the political landscape and adding the scalps of God fearing Christians to his belt? This latest video offering from Focus on the Family’s Turn Signal has to be one of their most transparent [...]
It's virtually impossible to sit through a B-52s set and not feel compelled to rise to your feet. Their vibe is so infectious, one can't help but lose themselves in the experience. The bad plays, the audience dances, and stress...
"What is intersex?Technically, intersex is defined as "congenital anomaly of the reproductive and sexual system." Intersex people are born with external genitalia, internal reproductive organs, and/or endocrine system that are different from most other people. There is no single "intersex body"; it encompasses a wide variety of conditions that do not have anything in common except that they are de
In a letter sent to the Bench and Bar Committee of the Oklahoma Bar Committee, Sooner State District Judge Bill Graves has lashed out against proposed changes to the organization's governing rules that would help shore up protections on the...
I remember the first time I saw a major brand in a language that made me wonder... it was the Coke logo in Hebrew.That image had an impact on me because it made me understand the flattening of the world.I'm not going to argue that a flat world is a good or a bad thing... I'll leave that to others.I'm going to argue that the world is in radical need of help, and we need to employ every tool, practi
Ubiquitous Sustainability: Citizen Science & ActivismWorkshop at the 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing(UbiComp 2008)Call for Papers21 September 2008, Seoul, South KoreaIn this workshop we want to explore new approaches to bring about real environmental change by looking at the success of empowering technologies that enable grassroots activism and bottom up community partici
"Last semester, I taught the close friend of a young man named Sean Kennedy. My student showed me home videos of his friend Sean dancing in his socks, pretending to skate over the slick linoleum flooring of his mother's kitchen, the way many of us did as kids."Sean is dead. In May 2007, he was assaulted in Greenville, S.C., by a young man who called him "faggot" while punching him so hard that he
The mother of a 13-year-old Missouri girl who committed suicide after receiving cruel Internet messages is focusing on ways to protect other children from cyber-bullying. (May 29)
Tech Tags: children's newswatch children's news kids news children kids youth
I came across this great site that lets you sign petitions, from everything to firing Liz Trotta, for her racist comment about Barack Obama to the environment. They have a whole section for wildlife and the environment for us activists to sign online. This site is a great way for us to support our noble cause and make a difference. Because just as my slogan says "Together we can make a differe
I came across this great site that lets you sign petitions, from everything to firing Liz Trotta, for her racist comment about Barack Obama to the environment. They have a whole section for wildlife and the environment for us activists to sign online. This site is a great way for us to support our noble cause and make a difference. Because just as my slogan says "Together we can make a
Activism. Lisa from the Simpsons. She’s always got some project or issue she is concerned about and frustrated that no one else is. Wikipedia defines activism as “intentional action to bring about social or political change.”
In San Diego, maybe because it’s a big city, maybe because it’s a [...]
While nursing is seen by many as an inherently political act in and of itself, and while nurses have advocated for the poor for centuries, this article explores how nurses have organized for the betterment of society, and whether nurse-centric organizations exist---or have existed---akin to Doctors Without Borders or Physicians for Social Responsibility.Please click here to read my complete articl
Marc Moore at the Poligazette has a thoughtful response to my two recent posts arguing in favor of a kind of judicial activism. His response warrants a couple of clarifications on my part: 1. Not all judicial activism is "good." There are instances where the courts in fact do make new "law" without simply ruling on the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of a law or a part of the law. In such
An onslaught of disparaging e-mail, text and telephone messages has plagued a Tibetan shopkeeper in San Rafael following the Olympic torch run in San Francisco on Wednesday. Jamyang Nordup, 50, a former monk and owner of Tibetan Culture House, a retail shop at 1223 Fourth St., said he has received hundreds of harassing messages since Tuesday night. None has been a death threat, he said. The so
Since he won’t blog about it, I might as well …
I’ve been wanting to listen to Michael talk about his blogging experiences for a while now, but although he’s been giving lectures all over Taiwan I never really got the chance. When he once said that he might consider my proposal of maybe [...]
Actually, obligatory suggests that I don't actually want to write about this, which is false. There is no doubt that the California decision is a landmark, and what I read of the 162 page set of opinions was quite well-reasoned. For the most part, neither dissent resorts to demagoguery (which is pretty typical when you have relatively independent judges doing the decision-writing), with the most v
Beautiful, beautiful butchie women. Do you know the power you wield over people with bad gaydar? Thank you a million times wherever you are for challenging the norms of femininity, and I have no words sufficient to thank you also for courageously putting up with women shrieking at you in bathrooms.I'm sure many people have written about this issue more thoughtfully than I, but wow! I never considered before the activism inherent in taking a piss sometimes, nor the consequences of such actions. I feel like I have been so naive about it that I need to share my revelation with the blogosphere.I met two fascinating and beautiful ladies yesterday who are in the U.S. Navy. They both possess athletic frames and wear hot short military haircuts. I mention their appearances [because they cont
-estate/article/subprime-market-melts-shareholders-heated_574414_17.html Angry institutional investors of firms such as Morgan Stanley and Washington Mutual have become involved in changing the face of the board of directors. Shareholder activists such as Change to Win have campaigned against directors they believe would should no longer be in control. This type of active investing has been correlated with increased returns for shareholders. Research on programs such as CALPERs have determined that large institutional investors can see increased returns by spending only a small proportion of their fund's money in order to actively protect their investments.
Empowerment is process aim at changing and distribution of power in particular cultural context. empowerment anable people to rocognize and feel theire trange , ability and personal power. through in creasing knowledge con control and practice and command of resource. empowerment refers to activities directed to incresing people control over their live.Empowerment and Data-Based Decision Makingd
I'm a lazy human being, I admit it. But I still manage to walk more than anyone I know (except maybe my mom, she's pretty much superwoman, exercise edition). Because I'm lazy, I'm not going to rewrite the original version of this post - which was supposed to be on fashionable rain boots - which Blogger seems to have gobbled up without leaving a single crumb behind. Anyhow.I have a personal belief that walking is its own form of activism. Only the poor, crazy and disabled seem to do it anymore, crazy including "activists" like myself. Walking makes streets safer because it puts more eyes on the street, it obviously reduces pollution (every time you walk you're doing your fellow (wo)man a favour, not to mention all the other flora and fauna by reducing emissions) and the more people do it, t
I met Lucas Perry at Podcamp Nashville and he’s heading up a lot of cool stuff in Nashville, Spring Hill, Tennessee and beyond. Want to know what you can do to help the world? Or perhaps you want to learn more or want to learn about social activism, check out his Patrons of Change podcast.
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Student nurses at Mt. Wachusett Community College recently took the issue of a National Nurse to the Massachusetts state legislature. They contacted their state representative, Christine Caravan, BSN to assist in this matter. Rep. Caravan took the matter to the MA state legislature and on March 27, unanimously both the House and Senate branches passed a resolution encouraging the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to create an Office of the National Nurse. The students were acting on their belief that elevating the current Chief Nurse Officer position in the USPHS will help to make nurses more visible and prominent in producing a cultural shift to prevention in health care. At this time when preventable chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity are hitting record numbers, nurse
This from the Herald-Leader, photo by Mark Cornelison:COLLEGE STUDENTS GETTING INVOLVED IN POLITICSChelsea Clinton spoke to students at the University of Kentucky Student Center to boost her mother's campaign for president.Unprecedented numbers of young people are voting in primaries across the country in this presidential election year.In Kentucky, college students are making phone calls, wearing campaign T-shirts, talking up their guy or gal. And Chelsea Clinton's visit to the University of Kentucky campus on Tuesday ratcheted up the enthusiasm of activist students another notch.But when it's time to head to the polls on May 20 for the state's primary, those same students won't necessarily be near their politically active pals, or even the places where they're registered to vote...
Ethical investors (e.g., those who support human rights, animal rights, environmental issues, and so on) almost by definition avoid stocks of companies that are engaged in unethical activities (e.g., animal testing, environmental degradation, human rights violations, etc). That is, ethical investors usually invest only in companies that meet their criteria for ethical behavior. For instance, ethical investors might avoid oil stocks in favor of clean energy stocks.I'd like to talk about a more counterintuitive approach to ethical investing.First, however, I'd like to draw a distinction between investing to make money and investing to make the world a better place. While these goals aren't mutually exclusive, they are different. Ethically investing to make money usually means finding compani
And a good case of creative Apoplexy trying to write a headline that describe a hectic and insane week for yours truly.
There’s 4 stated “topics” that we talk about here at Very Vintage Vegas. The 5th one is about me. I don’t usually label it as such, but it’s subtly there. That’s where the [...]
Recently Business Week featured Activism 2.0 slide show bringing in different ways people are venturing into the internet with online philanthropy."Online activism is branching out beyond the e-mail entreaty to give and get involved. Organizations dedicated to saving everything from lives to the environment are tapping new social Web tools to drum up support online, offline, and for the bottom line. In the process, they're spurring a new generation to get out and do something besides sign up and be counted."Featured Online Activism activities include:Click to Save Darfur: The Genocide Intervention Network has launched an Internet-calling application that can identify phone numbers for local politicians and then dial them for the member, providing scripted talking points for the conversatio
A new article in Military Review , written by a Belgian military officer, offers important insights into what the author describes as zakat-jihad activism. That is, a means by which groups like Hamas, Hezbollah or Iraqi insurgents “generates popular support by establishing an unarmed infrastructure that provides essential services.” As I have noted in the past , this tactic (sometimes also described as dawa activities) not only produces significant grassroots support, it also creates...(read more)
Our friend, distributorcap, over at the Daily Kos recently posted a "diary" entry about Giuliani. He rips him pretty good. Due to time restraints, I will address one point he tries to make. Distributorcap says:"Rudy has flip flopped his positions SO many times on SO many issues that it is tough to keep track. If he hasn't flip flopped he has promised to appoint judges that are non-activist ---- which is just wingnut code for changing positions." Much of the weight of distributorcap's argument rests on the premise that appointing non-activist judges means the same as Rudy changing positions. I beg to differ. 1. Without dwelling on it (because the bigger issue puts this one to rest), Giuliani's belief in appointing "strict constructionists" and non-activist judges does NOT mean he is flip-flopping on issues such as abortion, gay rights, etc. The issues are very different.2. The issue of judicial activism is much bigger and much broader. It goes along the lines of how to view an
I was going to take some time off to rejuvenate and get my thoughts together. Well, I slept since then. I’ve been asked privately, “What’s ‘your’ agenda? “ My answer is to; vigorously and sometimes aggressively expose stupidity. This is my blog I can do with it what I want and you can choose to read it or not. I know people are looking at it but most of the time I can’t tell what they are thinking.
I have also read the candidate chat transcripts and I think these chats are a waste of time. Sure, it lets people see where the candidates stand on the issues but the people running are no different than the people already on the board, so what difference does it make?
Analogy
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Our friend, distributorcap, over at the Daily Kos recently posted a "diary" entry about Giuliani. He rips him pretty good. Due to time restraints, I will address one point he tries to make. Distributorcap says:"Rudy has flip flopped his positions SO many times on SO many issues that it is tough to keep track. If he hasn't flip flopped he has promised to appoint judges that are non-activist ---- which is just wingnut code for changing positions." Much of the weight of distributorcap's argument rests on the premise that appointing non-activist judges means the same as Rudy changing positions. I beg to differ. 1. Without dwelling on it (because the bigger issue puts this one to rest), Giuliani's belief in appointing "strict constructionists" and non-activist judges does NOT mean he is flip-flopping on issues such as abortion, gay rights, etc. The issues are very different.2. The issue of judicial activism is much bigger and much broader. It goes along the lines of how to view an
Today we tell about Jane Jacobs. She was an activist for improving cities.Jane Jacobs was an activist, writer, moral thinker and economist. She believed cities should be densely populated and full of different kinds of people and activities. She believed in the value of natural growth and big open spaces.She opposed the kind of city planning that involves big development and urban renewal projects that tear down old communities. She was also a critic of public planning officials who were unwilling to compromise.Jacobs helped lead fights to save neighborhoods and local communities within cities. She helped stop major highways from being built, first in New York City and later in Toronto, Canada.Developers and city planners often criticized her ideas. Yet, many urban planning experts agree that her work helped shape modern thinking about cities.Jane Butzner was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in nineteen sixteen. Her father was a doctor. Her mother was a former teacher and nurse. After g
Jonas Store, Foreign Minister of Norway, urged people to resume ant-nuclear activism in order to counter the ever increasing threat of nuclear proliferation. He warned against allowing developing nations to acquire nuclear weapons and he also raise questions about nuclear activities within the United States and Great Britain. There are reports both nations are modernizing their nuclear capacities.
The summer issue of Atlantic carried a powerful article describing how American military strategists have developed plans for nuclear attacks upon China that would result in almost 95% of China’s nuclear capacity being rendered useless within 24 hours. Iran is not the only nation that should raise concerns about atomic bombs.
Bill Clinton Authors New Book on Citizen ActivismExcerpt:"Former President Bill Clinton has written a book about citizen activism and public service that will be published in September by Alfred A. Knopf."Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World" is a look at how the act of giving takes many forms, and how offerings of time, skills, objects, and ideas can be just as important as contributions of money."I've done my best in this book to demonstrate what I've seen firsthand through my foundation's work in Africa and around the world: that all kinds of giving can make a profoundly positive difference," said President Clinton."http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-21-097.asp
I found this awesome poster on Good 50X70, a site that is promoting social activism by using art and design.
Good 50×70, based on an idea of
Pasquale Volpe in collaboration
with Tommaso Minnetti, is an
ambitious project that wants to
increase public opinion awareness
of causes and people who fight day
after day to improve the standard
of living across the [...]
Many of already know this, but there is an interesting article in the Washington Post about how you can advocate for your community by establishing a blog. There are already community blogs per se, where organizations can all join on one blog and residents can go there and find out information. But this gets to the heart of grassroots efforts which a lot of us are well, advocating! Christian Antoniades is the author. Remember my post about reporting pot holes to the City in Lorain? Well she brings up a good point! You can set up a blog that basically allows you to do that about potholes, or any other issue of importance on your street or block or neighborhood.She interviewed bloggers who have set up community blogs in Maryland neighborhoods and they had some tips.1. Take a camera! (absolutely!) if there is a recently vandalized home on your street, take a photo, blog about it, and email the blog to your Council person I say).2. Get other bloggers involved. (Or get other neighbors invol
Please make a note of that.
Hi. I’m Doc.
Among other things, I describe myself as a cannabis relegalizer. It means just what it sounds like: I want cannabis to be legal again.
I have read up on and contemplated this issue for years. The freedom of information on the InterTubes helped me see that, aside from and [...]
Tags:
Please make a note of that.
Hi. I’m Doc.
Among other things, I describe myself as a cannabis relegalizer. It means just what it sounds like: I want cannabis to be legal again.
I have read up on and contemplated this issue for years. The freedom of information on the InterTubes helped me see that, aside from and [...]
Tags: Toking Points Memo
Environmental activism is a religious experience. What else can explain the utter pointlessness of trying to "save" a world you believe arose by accident and is ultimately destined for destruction? The majority, or at least a very large number, of environmental activists are atheistic evolutionists who believe that life is the result of an accident that occurred billions of years ago. If life is an accident then so is the sun, and when the sun burns out a few millenia from now, all life will cease to exist. It will be as if nothing ever happened. All the environmentalists' efforts to prolong the inevitable will have been forgotten by...well, there actually won't be anyone left to remember!
Apparently there really is a God-shaped hole that we all need to fill. Many people are filling this void in their lives by dedicating themselves to stopping climate change, an impossible task to accomplish on a planet that has been through several ice ages and periods of warm. At least
A two volume set on Communication Activism Communication Activism, Volume One: Communication for Social Change and Communication Activism, Volume Two: Media and Performance Activism has just been published by Hampton Press.SynopsisThese two texts showcase how scholars have engaged in communication activism to assist individuals, groups, organizations, and communities to secure social reform.Volume 1 presents research studies that promote public dialogue, debate, and discussion and that demonstrate how communication consulting can be used to accomplish needed social change.Volume 2 focuses on research studies that show how media can be managed to promote social change and how performance can serve as an important form of communication activism.Together, these two volumes demonstrate the significant effects that communication scholars, working from many different theoretical and methodological traditions, can have on promoting social change, especially for those who are most marginalized
The management of American companies has now reached the level of the absurd. Recent CEO paydays and bonuses have been paying for poor performance, all while many of these companies are still in the red. For instance, Ford Motor Company (F) recently paid CEO, Alan Mulally, $28 million in salary and bonuses, despite having worked for the company only 4 months. The audacious pay scales of the current management in many major companies needs to change, and shareholders around the world need to fight to have proper performance based management pay and reasoned bonuses during losing quarters.
Alan Mulally is the most recent executive to be overly rewarded for his work. With a starting annual salary of $2 million, Alan would be a properly paid CEO, but looking past his salary, investors should delve into the bonuses. Stock grants for $920,404, stock options valued at $7.8 million, $7.5 million hiring bonus, $11 million that Ford described as an offset for forfeited performance and stock opt
Opportunity 1..
House of Representatives set to vote on “hate crimes” giving homosexuals special rights
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on HR 254, which establishes “hate crime” legislation. HR 254 will create new special rights for homosexuals under the guise of enhancing law enforcement. It would make “sexual orientation” a protected class alongside race, religion and gender. The only way this bill can be defeated is with a real grassroots uprising by those who care about the future of their children, families and marriages!The intent of this law is to force the acceptance and approval of homosexuality on every American, regardless of their religious views. Here is a short summary of HR 254.For a more in-depth review of where we are headed, click here.
Here is a partial list of what homosexual activists are trying to force on every American. While HR 254 will not, in and of itself, accomplish these goals, it will open the door to such regulations. Once th
We bear the weight of the nation on our shoulders. We activists, bloggers and informed citizens are giving all our energy to political campaigns. We believe in earnest that the candidates we work day and night for will help restore dignity to our country and make America a better place. And as November 7 comes closer, the weight we feel bears down on us ever more.
Over the last year I’ve watched more and more people get involved in progressive politics because they fear what will happen if they do nothing. While I was volunteering with the Lamont campaign before the August primary I met people who came to help because they found hope in what Ned could accomplish as the personification of sorely needed accountability in American politics. The idea that we, the people, could hold an entrenched Washington insider like Joe Lieberman responsible for allowing the regressive Republican agenda captivated countless of thousands around America. Volunteers came from all over the country t
So, it's a little late to be posting about the subject, seeing as the 7th was the official day. But, I just wanted to go back in history a bit, to share Susan B. Anthony's speech on women's right to vote."Failure is impossible."(susanbanthonyhouse.org)I used the term 'activism' loosely. I am 'active' and involved with societal issues concerning family and women and basic human rights, but I am also not overzealous or over-political about it, having it take over my being. I am for breastfeeding, but am not 'lactivist'. I don't think breastfeeding needs to be political anyway. But somehow, it is. Anyway. That's just my opinion.Please check out MADRE if you haven't yet. And if you have, check it out again-what they do is amazing.
With the end of the year rapidly approaching, it is natural to start thinking about making year-end contributions to charitable organizations and those which support atheist activism. Of course, the number of worthy organizations far exceeds my financial means, forcing me to be selective.On the charitable side, I just made my yearly contribution to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). I believe strongly in what they do, and I try to support their efforts both nationally and locally. Thus, I'll also make a donation to the local animal shelter.Moving to the activist arena becomes much more challenging. I renewed my ACLU membership in October and joined the Union of Concerned Scientists in June. I'll consider these contributions sufficient until renewal time. My membership in the Freedom From Religion Foundation will be up for renewal in January, so I will go ahead and renew now. Their monthly newspaper is great, and they take on many causes I support.
