Via commentor Barkleyg in DougJ’s earlier post, the We Are One / April 4 website:
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. The workers were trying to form a union with AFSCME.
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Beginning with worship services over the April 1 weekend, and continuing through the week of April 4, unions, people of faith, civil and human rights activists, students and other progressive allies will host a range of community- and workplace-focused actions.
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Join us in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for: the freedom to bargain, to vote, to afford a college education and justice for all workers, immigrant and native-born. It’s a day to show movement. Teach-ins. Vigils. Faith events. A day to be creative, but clear: We are one.
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Is your April 4 event located at a house, a coffee shop or a local community venue? Is your event private or public? There is strength in numbers and whether you invite five people or 100, we want to know about your local event. This site provides event resources and support to help get you started…
Quite a different tactic, via blogger & BJ commentor Southern Beale, leads to the incongruity of professional foodie Mark Bittman explaining to NYTImes readers “Why We’re Fasting”:
I stopped eating on Monday and joined around 4,000 other people in a fast to call attention to Congressional budget proposals that would make huge cuts in programs for the poor and hungry. By doing so, I surprised myself; after all, I eat for a living. But the decision was easy after I spoke last week with David Beckmann, a reverend who is this year’s World Food Prize laureate. Our conversation turned, as so many about food do these days, to the poor.
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Who are — once again — under attack, this time in the House budget bill, H.R. 1. The budget proposes cuts in the WIC program (which supports women, infants and children), in international food and health aid (18 million people would be immediately cut off from a much-needed food stream, and 4 million would lose access to malaria medicine) and in programs that aid farmers in underdeveloped countries. Food stamps are also being attacked, in the twisted “Welfare Reform 2011” bill. (There are other egregious maneuvers in H.R. 1, but I’m sticking to those related to food.)….
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This is a moral issue; the budget is a moral document. We can take care of the deficit and rebuild our infrastructure and strengthen our safety net by reducing military spending and eliminating corporate subsidies and tax loopholes for the rich. Or we can sink further into debt and amoral individualism by demonizing and starving the poor. Which side are you on?
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If faith increases your motivation, that’s great, but I doubt God will intervene here. Instead, we need to gather and insist that our collective resources be used for our collective welfare, not for the wealthiest thousand or even million Americans but for a vast majority of us in the United States and, indeed, for citizens of the world who have difficulty making ends meet. Or feeding their kids.
Any Balloon Juice readers who are involved in either of these projects — or who know of other protests or projects that deserve more attention — please leave a comment, or send me an email (click on my name near the top of the right-hand column).
Napoleon
The comment thread to Bittman’s piece is going to be rich.
I really like the idea of emphasizing that MLK, Jr was in Memphis to help an organization effort by a union.
Bruce S
I’m currently about organizing “teach-ins” – i.e. well publicized public forums in conjunction with some local liberal academics who can address issues cogently, some public employee union reps, local pols who have their heads screwed on, a clergy person to offer some ethical context – and have it hosted by, say, a comedian (!) or some such engaging personality and bring on a bit of culture to lighten the load. Keep it to two hours plus change for moderated Q&A. Add whatever color or creativity you can. Such events were a catalyst in the early anti-Vietnam war movement. It’s time to educate folks and reach out, as well as protest – and not allow the Tea Partiers claim to the narrative. We really dropped the ball after ’08 IMHO. Just started blogging recently myself – titanicsailsatdawn.blogspot.com/ – to help focus my “outreach” agenda on economic issues and the politics that drive the ways in which they’re framed.
Also in this vein, we need better soundbites…really. Like Elizabeth Warren’s steady repetition of the consumer agency as “cop on the beat” – it drives GOPers crazy (or should I say “crazier!”) and gives stupid, lazy journalists a clue and a cue.
Southern Beale
Wow, thanks for the linkie, Anne!
And here I was coming over here to post this video of my friend and writers’ group partner’s grandbabies having an “argument.” It went viral and has now been all over the news, even made it to Tosh.0.
Cermet
Looks like the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor’s long term prospects are far, far worse than we were told – the NYT reports in today’s edition that right now, the only option is to continue spraying water onto the pools and reactors; far worse, the reactors will need to be spray cooled for YEARS! allowing radioactive materials to continue to vent into the atmosphere and water table/sea.
Until they can remove the fuel elements in storage, those monsters will continue to offer the chance for a run-away fire that would then dump vast amounts of deadly radionuclides into the environment – looks like the Japanese are damned no matter what they do – how in the world did this situation ever be allowed to get this far without realistic backup plans to address lost of cooling water? I guess this makes the sad point of: what ever happened to the famous Japanese engineering skills?
This is ugly and so far, they have no answers and appear utterly lost except to continue to pour on the water and let it escape to the air/land/sea – cement will do far more harm than good; that is, until they can get into the reactors and kill their heat production (boron packing?), it would appear to me that they are Fuc’ed and this accident looks really bad and at a drop of the hat, could get far, far worse.
Ash Can
@Southern Beale: OMG, that’s hilarious! I love how expressive the conversation is, just on vocal inflections and gestures alone. Those two are eminently cut out to be supreme BS artists; I’ll bet their parents have an awful time keeping straight faces when trying to be stern.
Nicole
@Southern Beale: It certainly has gone viral- I saw it yesterday via a frind’s FB page. That clip is all over the place. Hilarious!
Nicole
“friend” not “frind.” Hard to type with a sick baby sleeping on you chest.
OzoneR
@Cermet:
um, this is how a nuclear power plant naturally works. water is brought into the reactor to cool it 24/7
JPL
@Southern Beale: I just saw it on the morning talk show. My first thought was that family dinners are going to interesting.
Calouste
@Cermet:
All 6 reactors at Fukushima were designed by General Electric. I think you might see some famous American corner-cutting skills at work.
Ash Can
@Nicole: Aw — I hope the little sweetie gets well soon (and doesn’t spread too many germs to you).
Nicole
@Ash Can: Thanks. It’s his third one since coming into the world so I’m past the freak-out stage, at least. He’s being a trooper, but I can tell he’s pretty miserable.