This is my 1st contribution to this site = Daily Kos.
I have found many good articles (good food for thought & for sharing) and opportunities to directly participate in actions - presented here.
I hope to be a positive contributor to this site and if successful with that stated hope - I then also hope that my contributions will be helpful in our work to create a Healthy and Prosperous World for ALL.
(Below the artsy pin-striping I have placed a short opinion piece)
Heading:
Republicans (insane supporter base or not to support such crap) win out in the midterms - while Democratic voters stayed at home (insane non-action considering what the rep party has been doing to the middle class as well as to the poor).
Body:
So
Can you believe it? 2/3 of the democratic voters are said to have opted out in these mid-terms.
What can we expect to see in the next two years?
Perhaps something like? ->
Iceberg-straight ahead.
Open all watertight doors and compartments UN-batten the hatches jettison the lifeboats reverse the bilge pumps - full speed ahead.
OK - OK - YES I can understand the disgust with our government.
What I Can NOT understand - is - turning it over to those who are driving you and I and the rest of the world face 1st into the mud.
Believe it or not. If we can unite. There are some big things that we (You and I being everyday people) can accomplish.
Example (thanks to Bill Moyers returned to television in January 2012 with Moyers & Company) :
Defeating corp(se)oRAT candidates can make good things possible.
My Note: "I use corpse as a designator for corporation - as they are not people, they are not living, they are constructs, artificial, dead. I also use RAT as a continuation of the designator - due to all of the things they do that are bad for the Country/Society/Individuals/Environment/Health/World."
Using Eminent Domain to Rescue Main Street http://billmoyers.com/...
More on efforts against corp(se)oRAT takeovers.
http://billmoyers.com/...
Also - courtesy of Oil Change International
My note: "It makes me sad to think about the March against Global Warming - and the huge turn-out in New York and in other cities around the world that day - and then see the results of this last election."
In the wake of a rough election this week, one number was on my mind.
No, not the number of new Senators that deny climate change even exists. No, not the massive amounts of money the fossil fuel industry threw into races across the country. No, not new vote counts or margins of victory.
The number that I kept coming back to as I watched the returns come in was 400,000.
Six weeks ago 400,000 of us jammed the streets of New York demanding climate justice. Six weeks ago our movement was on display for the world, and it was beautiful. Our spirits were high, our sights were set, and we were ready to rock.
Tuesday didn’t change that.
Amidst the many challenging outcomes on Tuesday were a few bright spots:
- Communities in Texas, California and Ohio banned fracking in their towns and counties;
- In the shadow of the huge Chevron refinery, the city of Richmond, California beat back a $3 million campaign blitz by Chevron and elected a truly progressive slate of candidates that had run on an anti-Chevron platform; and
- In Nebraska, Keystone XL’s biggest cheerleader in the House of Representatives lost, thanks to pipeline fighters organizing and turning out.
What did these wins have in common? Communities rose up, they truly organized, used the facts to guide them and they ran straight at our progressive values and were unashamed of speaking truth to power. In short, they played our game and not the game of big money and a broken political system.
And if we look around, we’re winning big in other places too. [Oil Change International’s recent report shows](http://org.salsalabs.com/...) that our movement’s campaigns against the tar sands cost the industry over $17 billion in lost revenue and have helped keep billions of tonnes of carbon in the ground. Our impacts have been so large, they match right up with any of the Obama administration’s climate policies.
So, now is no time to back down.
We must not apologize for wanting a just, sustainable future for the generations to come and an end to the dirty economy and broken political system we have today. We need to play our game, because when we do that, we win.
As we look forward, that’s what Oil Change International pledges to do. With you, we’re going to continue to stand up to Big Oil, Gas and Coal, look them straight in the eye, and fight back.
More than ever, we need your voices echoing in your communities, your feet on the street, and your fists in the air. And for those that can spare it, any contribution goes a long way.
I'm proud to fight alongside you.
-David Turnbull
Campaigns Director
Oil Change International
PS - for more thoughts on the election, [check out my recent blog post](http://org.salsalabs.com/...), and [share it around if you agree!](http://org.salsalabs.com/...)
________________
Summary/Ending:
We can make healthy change and growth happen.
We need to take heart and inspiration from such as the examples placed above.
We also need to share these things with everyone we know and ask that they also do the same - as - nothing happens in a vacuum - and - the corp(se)oRATions and their lackeys will not be advertizing these things on prime time main stream tv (cable, satellite or broadcast)
We need to network with every activist, social, Environment, etc group that is available. We are stronger together = SYNERGY. So always consider including groups such as Sierra. Green Peace, AARP, Avaaz, ACLU, etc etc etc etc. In all of your communications. And do not be afraid to browbeat your currently elected representatives to government (State, Local, Federal) - even if you did not and would not vote for em - as - they are in office - and they need to hear from us THE PEOPLE.