Stand with Standing Rock

Dear President Obama,

President Obama, I was hoping you were finally going to take action to stop the rape of the land and the poisoning of the water going on right now in North Dakota, and halt and/or re-route the Dakota Access Pipeline. Your legacy is a sum total of nothing if you continue to ignore the cries of women, men, children, and elders who only want to protect those lands that they were relegated to after America was colonized, the lands you have forgotten, the people you have decided to forget.

You said you would stand for native rights, you lied. The have dug up sacred lands, now they want to poison the drinking water of millions, and they are ignoring your orders to stop at the water and wait until the Army Corps. of Engineers reassesses the 'situation'. In a recent interview you stated you were "going to see how it plays out", when there is irrefutable evidence that construction is full steam ahead. The oil company doesn't care about fines, they are going to make billions either way. They have no concern for Americans, and if you fail to act, you are saying you don't care either.

No one is watching, or 'observing', as the oil company Energy Transfer Partners, now begin to drill and are ready to go under the lake within two weeks. They tried to slip that bit of news by on Election Day, they wanted as few people to see it as possible, and they love that the media is focussed on doing a post-election autopsy. 

What Energy Transfer Partners, doesn't want you to know - they have brought in police who are pepper spraying, arresting, and firing rubber bullets at unarmed peaceful Indigenous people on their own ancestral lands. They arrest as many journalists as they can and stop any attempt to film what is actually going on at Standing Rock. Obama, you can stop it, but you won't because you have shown yourself to be a coward. The police are facing the wrong way, the ones breaking your orders are not the protectors, they are the construction workers and oil company that feels they are untouchable. Are they untouchable? 

Obama, you took campaign money from Big Oil, are you in their pocket? Now a lame-duck President, you just want it all to go away. It won't go away, people will die trying to protect their water, I know they will.

Your successor Mr. Trump won't stop it, he will make it worse. The next administer of the EPA is slated to be a noted Climate Change denier, I doubt he will even care. We are at a critical point in the battle for the environment and to stop climate change before it is too late. Even if they reverse your decision, at least you will have done the right thing. People will remember that. We have to stop the drilling, mining, and fracking and leave it in the ground, we must shift to renewable energy now.

Barack Obama, please keep your word and stop using Native Land as an alternative whenever an affluent white area refuses to allow a pipeline through. Bismarck ND (largely white population) refused to allow the pipeline to near their residents. All pipelines spill, a lot, and it's only a matter of time before the water will be poison and people will die. Please Mr. President, say no to the Dakota Access Pipeline. This shouldn't still be happening, not in our lifetime, not ever. Money is not life, water is life; please save the humans and animals that depend on that water. We are at a point of no return. This will be your legacy one way or the other, what side of history do wish to be on? Show us your humanity, your basic human decency. Show your daughters that you care about the planet they, and their children, will inherit.

Sincerely,

The Water Protectors of the World.

Canary In A Coal Mine

I am sitting here and wondering if there any way that Canadians or other foreign 'Berniecrats' can help support the Brand New Congress (BNC), a movement within the Democratic Party to get grassroots non-establishment non-corporate candidates to shun big money and listen to the people, all of them. We are your closest neighbor, and I believe that Canada and the US will both thrive with a true Liberal Progressive government. I will absolutely not violate any laws or restriction on PAC donations from non-American citizens. I can however donate time and energy - phone banking or getting the word out in other ways. As a Registered Nurse, I am thrilled to see the BNC reaching out to those in the Healthcare field who have seen the problems of the uninsured and underinsured first- hand.

Canada, and much of the allied world, is incensed with the current political climate in the US. Though our elected leaders have to be careful and diplomatic about the words they use, the majority of Canadians chose as their Prime Minister a man with one of the most progressive agendas we have seen on the current political stage. We chose a Populist leader too, but we were very lucky. It is shocking to me that the DNC did not predict this wave of populism, while at the same time it doesn't surprise me at all. The DNC should have paid more attention to what was going on in the 51st State (aka Canada). Justin Trudeau was not an accident, people wanted change. While they are still sorting it all out on the legislature side, no one truly fears our leader and his ability to lead all Canadians, even those who did not want his government.

They stopped listening to the electorate, stopped checking in with their base and were apparently blindsided by the low turnout, anger, and frustration of the people.

I need to find a sort of FAQ with ideas that non-American Progressive advocates can pursue in the hopes of seeing a more decent, honest, informed and worthy candidate in line for the POTUS. I think most Americans will be fixated on having better presidential candidates in the future, regardless of policy or party. Just like the majority of Democrats, I honestly think that voters on both sides were motivated by who they 'didn't like' more than they want to admit at the moment. Buyers remorse will begin to settle in rather quickly when President-elect Trump ignores the very working class that put him in office. He can't bring back jobs that efficient robots have replaced, he will repeal the affordable care act and leave in it's place a gaping vacuum, and he can't force anyone into bringing back foreign assets to be taxed. The Republicans will never punish corporate America or the companies that choose to move their ventures offshore or across borders.

It is going to be brutal for a while and it's going to take some time but we need to move beyond the blame game, it keeps our energy in the past. I am still working through it, it takes time to get over what for many was a shocking outcome. We all need to use our voices to let the DNC know that their reign of elitist corporate puppets is over and the people are ready, able, and willing to take their party and country back from the hands of a man and his Republican Enablers who supported a man who stands for everything and nothing at the same time.

So I ask the corporate media shills, can you see him now?

This horrid election season gives me hope that the DNC and its candidates will smarten up and not allow this to happen again. Superdelegates and the current DNC chosen by the party have to go; they forced Clinton on the voters, not the other way around and that's why they lost. They stopped listening to the electorate, stopped checking in with their base, and were apparently blindsided by the low turnout, anger, and frustration of the people. Progressive got it right all along, and they are still correct in the light of all that's happened.

I am thinking of all my American friends and family constantly, but I have hope that in two years the new Democrats will get this right and begin to flip the House/Senate. In four years the job of the Presidency will be filled by the most popular President America has ever seen, if the DNC does this right. I really believe this will galvanize future voters and generations to take elections more seriously and use their voting privileges regardless of party preference. That is a good thing for a true Democracy. More voices, not less, are needed now and in the future to steer the US in the right direction. The next two years will be a painful cautionary tale, but America will bounce back stronger and better if they learn their lessons and embrace the power of community. Kids growing up today will understand the seriousness of future elections, they have access to information that we never did, they are savvy and will not easily fooled by another hateful conman-in-chief. Just pray and/or protest all decisions that will destroy our climate and environment - that can't be undone. Everything else can be fixed or negotiated. We know better now so we can be better in the future, that is an incredibly important lesson to take away from this election. Bernie Sanders was the "Canary in the Coal Mine" of American politics and the DNC treated him like a joke. Now Americans have a dangerous joke as a president. Way to break America DNC, you couldn't have planned for a worse outcome. So I ask the corporate media shills, CAN YOU SEE HIM NOW?

TROPHY: Ending The 'Sport' of Bear Hunting

Lush Cosmetics Presents: TROPHY

It may not be a surprise to learn that I do not understand 'sport' hunting. Primarily, I do not believe in the eradication of a number of highly endangered species as part of an acceptable 'tourist holiday' alternative. I don't understand gun culture, nor how it is sporting to exploit technology and the local ecosystem. Shoot paper targets or clay pigeons, use video simulators or special effects to recreate conditions, but do not destroy a species just for a mounted corpse or a gruesome throw rug. This is not a necessary evil, it is an individualise desire to dominate something or anything to make themselves feel a false sense of control in a world that is not ours to control.

Before anyone takes my head of for not supporting the rights of those who depend on hunting as their livelihood, I do believe in the basic understanding that those with a connection to the land (such as Indigenous or Aboriginal Peoples) and to those who live a hunter gatherer lifestyle where they hunt to live on a personal level will kill bears when necessary. Not to sell or exploit the animals, but as a source of food or barter for necessities of life, or as the result of a tragic meeting. When you see animals as part of a complex ecosystem, as a necessary part of Mother Nature's beautiful and awesome set of inherent checks and balances, you understand the need to take only what is needed, and not what is cruel and beneath humanity's dignity.

We know, now more than ever, how little meat is actually necessary for a healthy diet. We are beginning to understand that all animals feel pain, that meat is a luxury good, not a necessity for most people. We are seeing the results of our ecological choices and the consequences of our ignorance about each animal's connection to the larger picture. We can decide to protect these animals, we can stop the slaughter and learn to watch and understand the vital role that Bears and other 'trophy' kills have in the wider ecosystem, ultimately.

This film is presented by LUSH Cosmetics, a place where I get the most yummy smelling vegan shampoo and conditioner in the history of ever, and I am always so proud of the causes they back and promote through their website. All have proved to be worthy and well researched environmental or social justice causes, and all are worth sharing. You can read more about Killing For Sport and LUSH Cosmetics by following these links.