The stain on the American Flag

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Monday June 25, 2007 · 11:42 AM PDT

2007/06/25 · 11:42

On March 21, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Only five days into his presidential campaign, Bobby Kennedy spoke in front of hundreds of students on the subject of dissent. The 1960’s being the tumultuous times they were, dissent was a common theme growing with the people who saw far too many injustices being committed in America and a society unwilling to face its own demons.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

Will you send an email to your representatives demanding action on global human trafficking and specifically the Marianas?

18 votes Vote Now!

Will you send an email to your representatives demanding action on global human trafficking and specifically the Marianas?

YES!

15 votes

3 votes

What does it take to be a modern-day hero?

ripplesofhope

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Wednesday May 23, 2007 · 11:40 AM PDT

2007/05/23 · 11:40

Do you have courage to stand up and do what’s right for people you’ve never met? Do you have courage to take action on an issue that isn’t popular or "cool?"

"Courage" is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty." We’ve all seen acts of courage in our lives. Our heroes have always displayed bravery in the times others have been too scared. But what makes the difference between a hero and an ordinary man?

Courage.

ripplesofhope

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Wednesday March 28, 2007 · 3:01 AM PDT

2007/03/28 · 03:01

We have some amazing news! Over the last four months, Nick Shepard and I (Neil Pople) have been struggling to begin Ripples of Hope. We’ve been talking with important officials, meeting with potential donors, taking advice from some of the most respected non-profit organizations and their staff, and making contact with potential board of advisors and even celebrity supporters. And now, we’re happy to report, that progress has begun moving along at an alarmingly rapid pace.

ripplesofhope

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Saturday February 24, 2007 · 1:00 PM PST

2007/02/24 · 13:00

This week, Congressman John Doolittle made the effort to reach out to his constituents by holding a series of town hall meetings. John Doolittle, as many of you may or may not know, has had his share of controversy over the years. From incessant pushing of the Auburn Dam—a boondoggle that will cost taxpayers over $10 billion and promises to be a multi-purpose hydroelectric/drinking water/flood protecting super-dam (ask any water expert and they will tell you that a dam CANNOT be a combination of all three for obvious reasons)—to the Jack Abramoff scandals revolving around Indian Casinos in Iowa and sweatshops on the Mariana Islands, Doolittle has been mired in scandal.

But his partisan, back-stabbing, aloof ways are behind him as the "new and reachable" Congressman John Doolittle is making himself available for town hall meetings. Ripples of Hope attended the last of his series of town hall meetings Friday in Auburn, CA.

More below the fold...

ripplesofhope

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Wednesday January 24, 2007 · 8:02 AM PST

2007/01/24 · 08:02

Less than a month ago, dengre here at dailykos posted diary about Hillary Clinton’s campaign containing a total of $10,000 in campaign contributions from the Tan family of the Mariana Islands’ sweatshops fame. What is the junior senator from New York doing to rectify this situation? So far, not much. More below the fold...

Poll

67 votes Show Results

What should the Clinton campaign do with the $10,000 donation from the Tans?

67 votes Vote Now!

What should the Clinton campaign do with the $10,000 donation from the Tans?

Give it back

18 votes

Donate it to charity

29 votes

Keep it-- money's money no matter who it came from

7 votes

Keep it-- no one really pays attention to this kind of stuff

5 votes

Keep it-- just so it hurts her later on

8 votes

Right this moment women and children are being sexually abused on American soil

ripplesofhope

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Thursday January 18, 2007 · 8:01 PM PST

2007/01/18 · 20:01

As we speak, hundreds of young immigrant women and children are being sexually abused in the US Territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, and our government has done little to stop this from continuing.

In 2005, it was discovered that numerous lawmakers in the House of Representatives were being essentially bribed by a lobbyist representing the Marianas. The lobbyist was none other than Jack Abramoff. Mr. Abramoff, who is now in prison for bribing public officials for votes benefiting his clients, lobbied key Congressmen such as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, John Doolittle and Richard Pombo to kill or halt legislation that would have forced the Marianas to comply with US labor and immigration laws. In exchange for supporting the causes that literally put lives in danger, Abramoff and his clients gave considerable donations to the re-election campaigns of these GOP leaders.

Poll

32 votes Show Results

What do you think needs to be done to help the Marianas?

32 votes Vote Now!

What do you think needs to be done to help the Marianas?

I've never heard of them

0 votes

I don't care

0 votes

Nothin. Congress interferes too much as it is.

2 votes

We need to look after the islands, but I don't know how

6 votes

We should send a team of psychologists to help the sex slaves

1 vote

We should push legislation to criminally punish employers that outright force or even allude to abortion as a condition of employment

23 votes

The 110th Congress is going to rock!

ripplesofhope

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Tuesday January 02, 2007 · 8:03 PM PST

2007/01/02 · 20:03

Hey everyone! Neil here from Ripples of Hope. I just wanted to let everyone know that good news is coming in the next few days from Washington!

Poll

46 votes Show Results

How much good do YOU think will come of the 110th Congress?

46 votes Vote Now!

How much good do YOU think will come of the 110th Congress?

None

0 votes

Very little-- bureaucracies always make things slow

5 votes

Much

23 votes

Ask me in 2 years

18 votes

Bring Hope to the Marianas

ripplesofhope

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

Saturday December 23, 2006 · 12:28 PM PST

2006/12/23 · 12:28

Merry Christmas, Dailykos! For most of us, there’s only a day and a half of shopping left to do before we visit our friends and family and enjoy this special time of the year. Many of us celebrate Christmas as not only a time of holy reverence, but a time of togetherness and goodwill. Aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, friends and even neighbors gather to give something from their hearts to the ones they love.

Here in the United States, we live lives of relative comfort. Even those of us who have substantially less than most are far better off and much more comfortable than people in African countries, Southeast Asia, and even most of Europe. That’s part of the American Dream: to live lives of comfort and ease and secure inviting accommodations for our loved ones. At least that’s what the perception is. The truth of the matter is that there are some people on American soil that are denied the American Dream. Those people live in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and are living what is known as an American Nightmare.

ripplesofhope

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Monday December 11, 2006 · 3:56 PM PST

2006/12/11 · 15:56

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has been a sore issue with certain politicians in Washington. Political leaders such as Tom DeLay, John Doolittle, Richard Pombo, Conrad Burns, Ralph Reed and even President George W. Bush have been linked to the scandals involving Jack Abramoff and the horrific human rights abuses on these tiny Pacific Islands under US supervision. As concerned citizens who first learned about the Marianas while working as staffers on the Charlie brown for Congress campaign, Nick Shepard and myself (Neil Pople) decided to create a non-profit group that would address the issues our elected officials and political leaders seem unwilling and unable to tackle...

More below the fold...

ripplesofhope

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

Sunday December 03, 2006 · 1:01 PM PST

2006/12/03 · 13:01

Hello everyone! My name is Nick Shepard. My good friend Neil Pople and I are starting an organization that we’re calling “Ripples of Hope,” and we wanted to introduce ourselves and tell you what we're all
about.

On June 6th, 1966 Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He said:

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope; and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

This is the ideal that we seek to emulate. We cannot solve all of the world's ills, but we can do our part; and in doing so, we can make a positive change in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.

RSS

The stain on the American Flag

What does it take to be a modern-day hero?

We need your help to fix the Mariana Islands!

What Congressman Doolittle thinks of the Mariana problem

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has taken sweatshop money

Right this moment women and children are being sexually abused on American soil

The 110th Congress is going to rock!

Bring Hope to the Marianas

The truth of the Mariana Islands

Ripples of Hope