I Have A Dream: surely, and unquestionably, that great speech by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is one of the most important, and most beautiful, uplifting, empowering, ennobling, visionary and inspiring speeches ever given. Listen again to these words. These words were never more relevant than now. Unity
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Toppling Icons
There are many great problems in late-industrial modern society, and there are many ways these problems can be addressed – some of them more effective than others. In this short essay I will focus on strategies and tactics for real social change – what works, and what does not. And
Continue readingThings Are Good: Defund the Police, Spend Taxes on Better Things
vote In my life team I have seen nearly every public service get defunded except the police, meaning people who would otherwise be housed, have mental care, or otherwise not be neglected end up in confrontations with the police. This is not working well for anybody. Yet defunding the police
Continue readingScripturient: Where is Wat Tyler Now That We Need Him?
I was disappointed that the Occupy Wall Street movement, which began with such vigor and hope in 2011, soon petered out into a sputtering, unfocused political miasma barely a year later. I was even more deeply disappointed that the antifa (anti-fascist) protests, which also seemed to have such promise earlier
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Hedges – the Last Word on Cancel Culture
Having a mass of people able to “cancel” someone in power can seem like a fantastic form of fluid democracy when it shuts down something harmful in a harmless manner, like people reserving space at a Trump rally they have no intention of attending. But it can be dangerous that
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Eriel Tchekwie Deranger and El Jones on #CancelCanadaDay
Migrants Rights Network hosted an online teach-in for “so called Canada Day” with two revolutionaries: Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a Dënesųłiné (ts’ékui) member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, from Treaty 8 land, and El Jones, a spoken word poet, educator, journalist, co-founder of the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Protests Work: Minneapolis Police Defunding Begins and More
Democracy happens in the streets. Every single person who has supported the Black Lives Matter movement, or has shown support for social justice in a direct way, has helped make change happen in America. The conversation about racist police and blatant police brutality is getting more attention now than ever
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Lives and Matters – Systemic Racism – What the hell is it?
The CBC wrote an article about the misunderstanding of people who benefit from systemic racism have when it comes to Black Lives Matter versus All Lives Matter. What Black Lives Matter is: “Frank Leon Roberts, a professor-lecturer specializing in race and social movements at New York University, says Black Lives Matter is an “anti-violence movement […]
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Disclosure Proposals: Way Too Little, Much Too Late
frackingfluids.jpg The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finally decided to do something about the lack of oversight regarding fracking fluids. A new proposal by the agency would finally require the fracking industry to disclose the chemical cocktails they are injecting into the ground at fracking well sites. The
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Tar Sands in the United States: What You Need to Know
Think that that dirtiest oil on the planet is only found up in Alberta? You might be surprised then to hear that there are tar sands deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, much of which are on public lands. While none of the American tar sands deposits are actively being
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: BREAKING: Tim DeChristopher Moved To Isolated Confinement
TimDeChristopher.png According to a press release sent from Tim DeChristopher's organization, Peaceful Uprising, Tim was recently moved from the minimum security camp at Federal Correctional Institute Herlong in California to Herlong's "special housing unit" which, in the parlance of our times, equals "the hole." Sources report that DeChristopher was moved there
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