its too good a week not to post something about it.
it's friday night of election week 2006 and i want to create a verbal time capsule.
this week, rumsfeld finally got to play sacrificial lamb to the bush administration like so many young American soldiers have done under his reign. i have a military papa and for me this week is a bit sweeter than most cause i watched rummy come to power, taking out many of the good people trying to serve their country - yes they exist, deepen your analysis - pushed out of the pentagon...
this week i remembered the part of me that loves 5-second solutions in crisis situations while working the election protection side of this election. it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge i am passionate about election protection. there are a lot of crazy people in the election protection movement, which i understand...if you really contemplate the impact of an american vote on the current world landscape, and thus the disenfranchisement of a progressive american vote, then it makes sense to get a bit rabid, a bit cultish about defending democracy. i don't go there, but i have a red phone in my heart where i can dial in to those who are paying deep attention to the flaws that keep us from liberation, i believe the unrealized theoretical concept of democracy is an answer to many ills of our modern state of affairs.
this week america sent the international community a sign that we are not in favor of the crappy bad boy behavior our leadership has been acting out.
this week i got to see some of my old harm reduction folks and remember how i've been applaying harm reduction in every kind of organizing i do: meet the user (person) where they're at. the user (community) sets the program. non-judgement. not providing all the answers but co-creating a new path...
this week, i got to see up close and personal as an organization i co-founded started to take deep root in the realm of success - the league of young voters was all over this election in the locations that mattered. the strength of the league has always been the brilliance of the organizers in the field, and the possibility they have to be relevant in the future of the world.
this week i did some coalition work that excited me...saw the potential for collaboration on a level of honesty and integrity that i often find missing from the 'movement'...i don't know if non-activists know what i mean but, often in the movement we are the most resistant to participating in the vulnerability it takes to be good partners.
this week i can't even tell you about matters of the heart and body because they are off the chains in the land of no-words-to-express it.
this week i realized that i am forgetting what it feels like not to be self-actualized, not to be in a work environment that enthralls and inspires me, not to be loving myself and living a life in accord with my values. i know all of that happened once, but the memories are fading and that's hot like saturn returning.
this week i listened to really good music and the production of my ep is being finished, so soon i'll have four original songs on a cd, up on myspace, wherever songs from an ep go, and that's got me geeked out.
this week i got asked to consider being a subject of a feature documentary. i can't really imagine saying yes to that, cause who am i. but i love the work i am doing right now, so i can't imagine saying no either.
this week my sister april ran the new york marathon.
this week...oh the real reason i came on here was to repost some stuff, cause i've been writing some stuff. here it comes:
from www.racewire.org:
How to Not Play Yourself Out Over Election 2006
Ok cheer and rah rah ok!!!!!
It is exciting when a tide starts to turn. Two days ago, in the most
tangible way we currently have evidence for, the tide started to turn
in this country. The voting sub-community of the country is tired of
its current leadership, and ready for something different.
The youth vote was unprecedented, the highest we've seen in years,
which makes sense. More young people are getting the big picture around
the war, the economy, and the general sense that something is wrong
with the direction the country has been going.
But it's easier to handle the big feelings if you remember it's not
a victory. It's a damn good moment. Most of the wave of Democrats that
came in are the most mainstream centrists you can be and still run as a
Democrat - i.e. ex-Republicans who got fed up with their own
revolutionary leadersip. That's fine, the country has been veering
right for such a long time that a turning of the tide would have to
feel big and still be gentle.
Now is the time to go all Michaelangelo on the Democrats, Greens,
Independents and others who are in office at this crucial moment. My
boy Michaelangelo would say the sculpture is there and he's just
removing the excess stone, something like that. Well - the desire is
there for real change in this country at every level of government and
now there are elected officials with a mandate to change the direction
we're going in. We just need to chip away the bull*&^% pandering to
the center and demand some actual changes happen, and soon.
I want to see a new energy policy. I want to see an exit strategy
from Iraq. I want to see a healthcare plan that puts the power in the
hands of the people. I think these are realistic expectations with a
Democratic House and Senate - those are the desires of the people who
elected this new Congress.
Victory is now back in play, it's now possible again, it's now
within reach. You can point your finger at it and start walking in that
direction. We ain't there yet. And I say that with love and in deep
celebration of mean ass Rumsfeld's fall from Bush's hip.
Now on another note, I was working the election protection side of
it and we still saw massive offenses. Electronic machines breaking
down, having the wrong tally of votes at the end of the day, etc. Long
lines in precincts where all machines were broken and the only paper
ballots were in Vietnamese. But it turns out one short-term solution
for protecting the vote is to turn out so many people that the numbers
trump the failures. Hopefully folks respond to the call from Common
Cause and others to "Get it Straight By 2008", that's another piece I'd
like to see this Democratic Congress commit to.
--
from www.wiretapmag.org
Why Action? To make sure our votes count...
On
November 7, so much hard work will pay off. People have done an amazing
job continuing the always hot trend of successful new voter organizing.
I am so excited to look around and see all the youth organizations that
are all over this election, especially at the local level. In my new
hometown of Oakland its ALL about Aimee Allison, it's SOOOO exciting.
{If you or anyone you know has friend in District 2 please text them to
go vote for bi-racial, post military, pro-environment, pro-youth,
pro-Oakland Aimee tomorrow!!!}
Unfortunately the reports are
already starting to pour in, from the Secretary of State in Missouri to
early voters in Ohio: absentee deadlines and early voting dates are
wrong, early voting poll times are wrong, poll workers are asking for
the wrong ID or demanding ID when the law says it's unnecessary. And so
it begins, this crazy dance of coincidences that pile up until,
strangely, those most likely to vote for a progressive agenda in this
country are silenced.
Organizations are coming together like never before to figure out ways of defending the vote. Many options are below.
At
Ruckus we've partnered with mad folks to put out a call to action if
voters get silenced, and we've created an easy action called Voters
Silenced Here.
0. Realize you're the kind of person who is
down to take action on Election Day, no matter much voter organizing
you've ever done. Go no to www.ruckus.org/electionprotection and sign
up to be part of the team and text PROTECT to 30644 to get on the list
of folks who can be called to action tomorrow. It's like a Civil Rights
Reserves.
1. Find out that something is going down which
will adversely effect election results! We'll alert you through our
texts based on your geography, but you have your ear to the ground and
will no doubt be hearing things as well!
2. Cover your mouth with
cloth, scarf, bandana, anything to show the image of silenced voters.
Have enough for multiple people to cover their mouths so you can
recruit folks to join you in action!
3. Then, download the sign from Ruckus on Election Day that says 'Voters Silenced Here.'
4. If you have time and resources, we'll have an Election Day Guide to Making a Bedsheet Banner up on our site as well!
5.
Identify one spokesperson who can explain to media and anyone else on
site how voters have been silenced at your polling station or County
Board of Elections. {Can also help to make small flyers that explain
it!}
6. Email adrienne@ruckus.org and let us know you're doing
the action, and we'll post it on our site so folks looking for actions
can join you. Send pictures if you can!!
A. You're willing to engage at the bare minimum level: Check out TheBallor.org
and get the best possible information you can have in hand heading to
the polls. (i.e. District 2 Oakland Cali voters vote for Aimme
Allison!!)
B. You're willing to go further, spend an hour or two to make sure folks get to the polls, and that votes get counted: Protect Our Votes
has info on Election Transparency efforts, ways to report incidents
with Common Cause and PFAW, easy easy ways to protect this most basic
common right.
C. You have a camera and are willing to document offenses at the polls: VideoTheVote.org ... and if you're more low-tech you can upload cell phone video at www.netrootsnetwork.com
D.
You're still standing at the end of the day: When the polls close
pollworkers are mandated to post the number of votes collected at that
site in a public spot. Go and photograph that posting, preferably with
a camera that can date and time the shot. This will be useful tangible
proof when election results are tallied, making sure that each vote
cast was counted!
E. You are willing to do an action that helps
the media see specifically where voters have been silenced: sign up at
www.ruckus.org/electionprotection, or just text PROTECT to 30644 ! And
we'll loop you in.
If you have questions about any of this, email
adrienne@ruckus.org, all of the above organizations are trying to be in
touch and we're just going to try to know as much as we can tomorrow
and merge efforts for the biggest outcomes possible!
Here's hoping none of this is necessary!
--
those are two recent pieces...theres more but...eh. ok?
i love you all. i miss you, holla at your girl, sign up to be a part of www.ruckus.org so i can tell you what groundbreaking mindblowing stuff i'm up to.
big kisses, big hugs,
amb
