From the SF Women's March, comments and photos (a lot of photos)

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 21, 2018 · 10:26 PM PST

2018/01/21 · 22:26

An absolutely gorgeous day in San Francisco, and the rally and march were incredible! Before digging into the photos, a couple of things I wanted to talk about.

One of the first speakers at the rally brought up the Obama chant, which came via Cesar Chavez and the International Farm Workers if I remember correctly, “Yes, we can. Si se peude.” I heard that and I almost lost it. The weight of the past year and going from Obama to Trump. How hard Obama had to work to undue the damage from Bush and get our country back on its feet as well as repair its international standing. And now the damage done by Hair Gropenfuhrer in only one year. It struck me as a nearly physical blow how much we had lost in only a year. Only one year. The moment only lasted a few seconds, but DAMN! But maybe that was just my reaction.

I want to commend the rally and march organizers. They did an absolutely magnificent job. The speakers were diverse, and covered a range of social justice issues, including but not limited to: DACA, #MeToo, LGBTQIA rights, homelessness, disability (differently-abled) rights, healthcare. But through all those issues focused on the themes of voting and women running for office. In the range of issues and differing opinions in the left coalition on how to address those issues from a strategy perspective, the focus remained on helping allies get to and win at the ballot box. We can debate nuance and differences after we win. Well done.

I’ve been to other protests and rallies in San Francisco since moving here in 2003. Notably against Bush and the Iraq war and Occupy at the beginning of the Obama era, but also including the Pride parade. A couple of things stand out. First, police presence at Occupy and the Iraq War protests featured heavy shows of force in terms of personnel, as well as including riot gear, though sometimes riot helmets were strapped at the waist rather than worn. There would also be enough police to border surround the rallies as well as create a single-file gauntlet along parade routes. Sometimes that gauntlet was maintained by motorcycle units leap-frogging as the march moved. Today, there were certainly police, but their presence was for the purpose of safety, not confrontation. Standard duty uniforms. Just enough personal on hand to take care of isolated incidents that might occur in any large crowd. Not a visible presence or sense of intimidation that they were on a hair trigger in case a riot broke out.

The only reason I bring up Pride is because it’s a huge event in San Francisco. I’ve gone to the Festival and skipped the Parade. I’ve gone to the Parade to follow along. I’ve had my schedule altered because I’ve had things to do across the city, but oops, couldn’t get past the Festival and Parade route for a few hours. I might be mis-remembering, but I think crowd sizes for the Pride events I’ve been at were reported in the 70,000-80,000 range. I wasn’t at last year’s march, so I can’t make that comparison, but this felt bigger than anything I’ve been to here. I arrived early enough to see signs and crowds coming in. I moved around to try and get a feel for the edges of the crowd, but once it got going, found I couldn’t get farther than a belt in the ranging to either edge of the two sidewalks down the center of the Civic Center Park plaza. I could see that some of the crowd toward Grove St was seated in the grassy area, but I couldn’t make out the edge of the crowd toward McCallister, nor back to Post.

When the March started, I figured my position in the crowd would put me around the middle of the pack. It’s possible I misjudged and was closer to the front than I thought, but when we went down Market St., the crowd kept going and going… It looked like it started at least 2-3 blocks ahead of me, and I couldn’t make out the tail end. We spanned the full width of Market, and spilled over onto the sidewalks. I stopped to use an ATM off 5th St., and then worked my way back to the march, maybe ten minutes perhaps. And then at 2nd & Market I stopped to to watch the crowd pass & see if there were signs I hadn’t seen. It kept going and going and going… It felt like even the Energizer Bunny would have needed a change of batteries. I wondered if perhaps some at the front of the group had had so much fun and felt so energized that they looped around to go through one more time. I’ve seen a huge range of estimates, but instead of citing erroneous figures, I’ll just show you

Massive #WomensMarch2018 underway in San Francisco - @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/0iDAXU9sAK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 20, 2018

This video was captured by helicopter around the start of the March. The March finished around 5pm.

Before getting into my photos, here are a couple I liked from the Twitter machine.

Maybe the best sign of the #WomensMarch2018... pic.twitter.com/gaNyJkaRPf
— John Lundin Ã°ÂÂÂ (@johnlundin) January 21, 2018

Best sign ever #womensmarch2018 pic.twitter.com/a80EXHfC1K
— Jaime Primak (@JaimePrimak) January 20, 2018

Without further ado...

In the harry potter category

Stress Weight — I like her weight loss plan

from the headlines

SH1 Eeeewwww — Eeeeww! I know, and I apologize for including it. But how could I not?

Here’s some adorable to cleanse your brain

Wonder Woman

The Wonder Woman Logo is on the other side. Almost in the adorable group.

A little sign miscellany

ignore alien orders — Ignore Alien Orders

pissed off Snoopy — Because Snoopy will make my mom happy

Women's March leaders on Daily Kos?

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 07, 2018 · 9:30 AM PST

2018/01/07 · 09:30

no image description available — Women's March, January 21st, 2017

Yesterday was the 1st day that I noticed a post referring to the January 20th Women's March (January 20th, by janecollins). Granted, on a good day, I can check in twice. So there's a lot I can miss. I thought to check to see if there was a Daily Kos group for the Women's March, and my search came up empty.

I did notice three Resistance groups, but would like to see a specific group following & reporting on the activities of Women's March organizers. Last year's March was awe-inspiring!!!, but follow-up activities seemed to happen out of the spotlight. The Resistance and Indivisible are great, and I see the event links posted nightly in the Open Thread for Night Owls. I also see that women are registering to run for office at an historic rate. I would love to see similar engagement from the Women's March.

To that end, are there Women's March organizers, leaders, and/or volunteers participating in Daily Kos? Surely there must be. Would some of you be up for creating a group and working to publish diaries about your upcoming activities? It's a group I'd love to follow. I'd set it up myself, except for the fact that I'm not an organizer, leader, or volunteer in any Women's March chapter, nor am I aware of any of my acquaintances who are.

Thoughts? Roll call?

A new Pledge. Of Allegiance, Resistance, and Citizenship

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 04, 2017 · 6:59 PM PST

2017/02/04 · 18:59

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the Republic

for which it stands

I pledge resistance

to the tyrant

who would sell out our values

to Vladimir Putin

And to the authoritarianism

for which he stands

I pledge active citizenship

aspiring to the ideals

of the Declaration of Independence

and the Constitution of the United States

I pledge to be engaged with my community

and my representatives

and to take responsibility to be

reasonably and factually informed

on those issues and news

which I strive to influence

On gaslighting and ignorance

I will shine a light

to defend the truth

A nation of immigrants

out of many

we are One

I do not care

who is your g(G)od

or where you were born

I pledge my love

to be who you are

Indivisible

We stand together

to celebrate diversity

and prove that

Love trumps hate

to defend

Justice and Liberty for all

This is the second revision that I’ve come up with. As a massage therapist rather than a poet, my structure is not as disciplined as perhaps it could be. I’m not fully comfortable with the second stanza because, though it expresses an idea that is important in this moment, I feel it diminishes the timelessness of the intention. I’d love your feedback and to read your alternative versions.

The last time the pledge of allegiance was updated was in the 1950’s at the height of the cold war, when we had to show we’d stand up to the godless communists. If you’re like me, perhaps you agree that it doesn’t quite resonate in some ways.

It this moment, I want to express that resistance is patriotic. That freedom of religion, even freedom from religion are part of what makes our country and our founding documents special. That we are a nation of immigrants which opens the American dream to all comers. Acknowledging darkness in our history helps us face and correct it, amplifying the strength of who we are rather than diminishing it.

That we could elect an African-American man with the name Barack Hussein Obama makes us special.

Khizr, Ghazala, and Captain Humayun Khan and their sacrifice make us special.

Muhammad Ali, the boxing legend and civil rights icon makes us special.

The American story of colony, rebellion, independence and expansion to world power is unique. We have our stories of inspiration. We have stories of shame. We are flawed. Yet in our flaws we are still great.

So for a someone to run and win any position of national leadership on a campaign of “Make America Great Again” is offensive because of the implication that at some point we lost our greatness.

Reverence, love, pride, history. Opposition to white, Christian nationalism.

These thoughts, feelings and more I wanted to express in an updated pledge. What would you emphasize?

A few miscellaneous references and resources for activism.

Chris Reeves Nuts & Bolts Guide

Indivisible Guide

Resistance Manual

Women’s March

Our Revolution

Brand New Congress

Some Experts Say Trump Team’s Falsehoods Are Classic ‘Gaslighting’

Wikipedia entry on the Pledge of Allegiance

via the National Archives, America’s Founding Documents

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday January 27, 2017 · 2:27 PM PST

2017/01/27 · 14:27

Just a quick draft. I’d love to read your versions.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands

I pledge resistance

to the troll

Who would sell out our values

to Vladimir Putin

And to the Authoritarianism for which he stands.

On gaslighting and ignorance

I will shine a light

to defend the truth

I do not care

who is your g(G)od

or where you were born

I pledge my love

to be who you are

Indivisible

We’ll stand together

to celebrate diversity

and prove that

Love trumps hate

to defend

justice and liberty

for All

Additional resources:

Our Revolution

Brand New Congress

Previously unseen footage of Trump baby encounter

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 02, 2016 · 10:27 PM PDT

2016/08/02 · 22:27

Haven't seen this posted yet.

YouTube Video

C-SPAN Video of President Obama at the 67th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 19, 2012 · 4:22 PM PDT

2012/10/19 · 16:22

There were a few others who shared transcripts, and hungrycoyote shared MSNBC video clips, but I don't like MSNBC embeds so I created this clip from C-SPAN.

President Obama's remarks at Alfred E. Smith dinner, New York City by Transcript Editors

President Obama's Best Laugh Line at Al Smith Dinner Reminding All About #RomneyShambles by the aforementioned hungrycoyote

and President Obama and Mitt Romney in Comic Faceoff at Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner by HoundDog

Reaching Out Beyond the Liberal Blogosphere

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 14, 2012 · 11:24 AM PDT

2012/03/14 · 11:24

Do you have conservative friends on Facebook? Perhaps a misguided Ron Paul supporter or two? As he was rising in popularity, I had a conversation with one friend who celebrated her contribution to Herman Cain and was look forward to receiving his campaign materials. I've had conversations on Twitter with conservatives that landed me on a couple of their lists (one respectful and one less so).

These conversations inspired me to work to expand my political dialogue with people in my circles who do not follow news as closely as I do, or who don't spend time in the liberal blogosphere. This led last week to the creation of a Facebook page: Let's Talk Politics.

Here's the page description:

Democracy at it's best is a participatory endeavor that works to improve our social contract. It works best when interested parties work together in good faith to address mutually identified problems. It works best when a responsible fourth estate acts as a watchdog toward those in power to maintain a well-informed, accurately informed citizenry.
For a number of years, as a society, we have struggled to maintain democracy at it's best. Media has neglected its watchdog role in favor of attempting to ingratiate itself with power brokers or to sell a particular narrative and point of view. Political players have grown more polarized in a zero-sum game where opponents are treated as enemies, especially (though not exclusively) by the conservative side of the spectrum. Instead of working to improve our social contract, there has been an unfortunate trend to scream about smaller government, lower taxes, and reduced government services. "Keep your government hands out of my Medicare!"

Here is an opportunity to take things out of that frame and have a passionate discussion of the issues of the day to keep ourselves informed and get back to improving the state of our social contract.
Let's talk politics!

The goal is to promote progressive ideas and values outside of a strictly progressive echo chamber. The hope is to create more informed and engaged citizens, though they might not ever be progressive activists. I'd be honored to have other Kossacks join the effort by liking the page, contributing to the dialogue, and sharing with your friends.

I also want to give a shout-out to novenator for the series Progressives Guide to Social Media. I especially recommend Progressives Guide to Social Media 6: Facebook, and today's offering Progressives Guide to Social Media 7: Google+. While I don't think novenator's goals and mine are identical, I think they are complimentary.

On Facebook, Let's Talk Politics

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 12, 2012 · 10:03 PM PDT

2012/03/12 · 22:03

Last week, I created a Facebook page: Let's Talk Politics. I imagine that like me, many Kossaks consume a lot of news from a lot of sources. Prior to creating the page, I would share select stories via my regular profile, reaching out to my own circle of contacts. But I wanted to do more than just share links and maybe have comments from one or two friends.

Here's the description I put together for the page.

Democracy at it's best is a participatory endeavor that works to improve our social contract. It works best when interested parties work together in good faith to address mutually identified problems. It works best when a responsible fourth estate acts as a watchdog toward those in power to maintain a well-informed, accurately informed citizenry.
For a number of years, as a society, we have struggled to maintain democracy at it's best. Media has neglected its watchdog role in favor of attempting to ingratiate itself with power brokers or to sell a particular narrative and point of view. Political players have grown more polarized in a zero-sum game where opponents are treated as enemies, especially (though not exclusively) by the conservative side of the spectrum. Instead of working to improve our social contract, there has been an unfortunate trend to scream about smaller government, lower taxes, and reduced government services. "Keep your government hands out of my Medicare!"

Here is an opportunity to take things out of that frame and have a passionate discussion of the issues of the day to keep ourselves informed and get back to improving the state of our social contract.
Let's talk politics!

My hope is to expand an open political discussion out to folks who aren't going to pursue news as actively as those of us who participate on sites like Daily Kos. I'd like people to contribute links and participate in conversations on the page. I'd also hope people share links from the page to their own profiles, again, to reach out to our broader circles of people who are not as active political news consumers as we are. By taking the discussion to Facebook, I hope to reach out to people who aren't committed to partisan media, and perhaps break through to some caught by a Fox News/conservative media bubble.

Below the fold, take a look at some of the content I've shared so far. It'd be great to join this effort. Please like the Let's Talk Politics page, and contribute to the conversation there if you're so inclined.

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday January 19, 2012 · 12:23 PM PST

2012/01/19 · 12:23

The 2012 political silly season looks like it's shaping up to be even sillier than usual. It'd be nice to try and insert some rational consideration into the discussion, at least within the small circle I can reach. I'd love to have you join me.

I've got an appointment cutting into the State of the Union on Tuesday, but I'd love to have people over to review it Wednesday beginning at 7:00. I'll be dvr-ing MSNBC & Current TV coverage, so we'll have that to reference if desired. Wednesday will also give 24hrs to absorb the initial coverage.

Go ahead and join a watch party Tuesday, or watch it on your own. Take a little time to digest the coverage, and recover from any drinking game hangovers from either the President's speech or Mitch Daniel's Republican response. Then let's talk about it and the 2012 campaign Wednesday night.

My San Francisco event on Facebook.

I can host up to 12 people. If more are interested, or if you're not in San Francisco, let's get some day-after discussion parties going all over. Please post links in the comments.

Request for help with a project

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday April 10, 2011 · 9:53 PM PDT

2011/04/10 · 21:53

After last November's election, I was thinking about the issues I have with our politics, how I'd like to see them change, and wondering what I could do to bring about any of those changes. I'm not a lawyer or a journalist, or of any particular political significance. While I'm a news and politics junkie, it's not a career path for me, so time available for creation as opposed to consumption is limited, perhaps like many who lurk here, and at least some who write occasional diaries. The power of the internet and help from the Daily Kos community can resolve the issue of not being a political professional. The question then becomes how to leverage those resources and to what end.

As I see it, one of the biggest problems we have in our political dialogue these days is a huge segment of the population actively ignorant and dismissive of facts because of their reliance on media and public figures who have no qualms about misleading them. We also have a problem with an almost complete lack of accountability at the highest levels of our society. Combine these two problems with a third that most people are not news and politics junkies who take the time to take in a lot of news, much less spend time analyzing it critically. So they have next to no motivation to insist on changes, and no clear idea of what changes would actually address what problems they do perceive. Hence we get two extremes - either an apathetic and lethargic public or the Tea Partiers.

The project I have in mind is just one thing that can be done to address these issues. One word keeps running around in my head: accountability. In my perception, we have lost more and more accountability, especially at the top ever since Ford pardoned Nixon. I think it's well past time to restore it. I think it has to start at a personal level.

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday February 18, 2011 · 7:03 PM PST

2011/02/18 · 19:03

I never had a GBCW moment or diary, but for much of the last couple of years, I've been more lurker than active member of the site. A few things lead me to return to being more active.

DK4
The 2010 election fiasco
Republicans' insane version of governing in DC and around the country
Rupert Murdoch's media empire and irrational manipulation of American political knowledge & discourse

Poll

0 votes Show Results

0 votes Vote Now!

Bloomberg, Obama, & Olbermann on Mosque Controversy (vids & more)

forbodyandmind

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 19, 2010 · 2:22 PM PDT

2010/08/19 · 14:22

"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up." Pastor Martin Niemoller

Thus Keith Olbermann begins another powerful Special Comment. This YouTube video, as well as videos, excerpts, and links to transcripts of Mayor Bloomberg's speech and President Obama's Ramadan speech are below the fold. I've included a few additional links and my own comments following the videos and excerpts.

Newer
Older

RSS

From the SF Women's March, comments and photos (a lot of photos)

Women's March leaders on Daily Kos?

A new Pledge. Of Allegiance, Resistance, and Citizenship

Pledge of Resistance. A work in progress

Previously unseen footage of Trump baby encounter

C-SPAN Video of President Obama at the 67th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner

Reaching Out Beyond the Liberal Blogosphere

On Facebook, Let's Talk Politics

SOTU, The Day After: A Discussion in San Francisco

Request for help with a project

Hello Again, Daily Kos

Bloomberg, Obama, & Olbermann on Mosque Controversy (vids & more)