Apatosaurus

Bring Activism Back into Mother’s Day « Standing On The Side Of Love

The fine folks at Standing on the Side of Love (in particular, Jessica Halperin) lift up the Violence Against Women Act and reproductive justice (the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act) as part of the conversation leading into Mother’s Day.

(via 2011: The War on Women :: NARAL Pro-Choice America)

Take Action for Immigrant Families « Standing On The Side Of Love

Click here to co-sign a letter asking Attorney General Eric Holder to hold Sheriff Joe Arpaio accountable for human rights abuses.

Summer Celebration of Choice | Germantown, Maryland | July 31-August 7, 2011

Anti-choice activists from all over the country are coming to harass staff and patients at a clinic in Germantown, MD. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, among others, are organizing a “peaceful presence,” a non-confrontational gathering of pro-choice supporters. Not sure if I can attend myself, but I thought a signal boost was important.

There’s also a fundraising walk on Sunday to benefit the Abortion Access Fund.

“ Today, 30 states have passed laws requiring voters to present identification to vote, and in 15 of those states, voters must present a government-issued photo ID. These laws will result in untold numbers of eligible voters being turned away from the polls because over 21 million Americans do not have government-issued photo identification. Obtaining a photo ID presents a substantial — and unnecessary — barrier for many of our nation’s citizens. There is no credible evidence that in-person impersonation voter fraud — the only type of fraud that photo IDs could prevent — is even a minor problem in our country.

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ACLU:

Follow the link to contact Attorney General Holder about the latest wave of voter discrimination.

Vote on H.R. 3 Expected Tomorrow

This extreme anti-choice bill would redefine rape to exclude statutory rape, impose tax penalties on small businesses and individuals who buy abortion coverage with their own money, require women who have been raped to prove it to the IRS when reporting their medical expenses, and interfere with the local government of the District of Columbia, among other things.

Here’s the ACLU’s summary. Here is Planned Parenthood Action Network’s video summary.

If you want to use an automated e-mail to contact your Representative, here’s the ACLU’s action link. Here’s one from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).

If you feel up to a phone call tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, that’s even better. If you need more information to contact your Representative, there’s a handy locator on the house.gov home page.

healywu:

benzado:

For today: an interview with Nichelle Nichols. It’s long, but it’s a funny/charming story and I urge you to watch. In 1966, at the end of the first season, Nichols was preparing to leave Star Trek to return to her first love, the musical stage. Skip ahead to 4:12 to hear about her coincidental meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Don’t you understand what that man is doing? He’s put you in the command crew. You’re fourth in command, you can’t abdicate this. You’re out there on a five year mission!”

“For the first time, the world is seeing us as we should be seen. Not just as beautiful entertainers or domestics. For the first time, there’s a whole human being there.”

“Do you know how important this show is? This is the only television show that my wife Coretta and I allow our little children to stay up and watch.”

“We have enough marchers. We have enough famous people. We need you on the great communicator. We need you on that screen. Because that is 300 years from now. That’s telling the world: it already is.”

I did not leave. And I never looked back.

When Dr. King’s kids grew up I got meet all but one, and each one told me separately and equally, “You know, we didn’t believe our daddy when he came home and told us he met Lieutenant Uhura.” I said, “Did you know who your father was?!” He said, “Yeah, he was out getting beat up.”

Dr. King realized that images are powerful, and that television is educational, whether we like it or not.

Nichelle Nichols will be a guest on The View today (Monday, January 17 at 11:00).

Possibly my favorite story / event of all time.

Senate session: Senate fails to advance Dream Act - latimes.com

Rats.

This legislation has been before Congress for ten years. It is ten years late. Nevertheless, I’ve met some of the DREAMers and their allies, and I know that this is not the end.

“

Call your Senators right now about the DREAM Act. Why? On Tuesday, I met 100 reasons: 100 young people brought to this country by their parents, from 100 different situations, to 100 different futures. But each one has something in common. They want to commit themselves to this country and to public service. Each one is already working hard, building their community, and planning for the future, but their options are limited. While for most of these young people America is the only home they have ever known, they don’t have the papers to say so. The DREAM Act can help fix this problem.

This Tuesday, pastors and faith leaders gathered at the United Methodist building on Capitol Hill for an “emergency prayer summit” and press conference on the importance of the DREAM Act. Afterward, we walked side by side with undocumented youth on a “Jericho walk” around the Senate office buildings. Every time I heard the story of one of these young people, I was moved. Often, legislation that Congress considers seems distant and far away. But in the small chapel where we gathered, I saw 100 young people who are waiting to hear their fate from the Senate. Will they have a path to participate fully in our society? To get a job? Raise a family? Serve their communities? Serve their country? Or will the Senate tell them that they will have to go back into the shadows or back to a country that they have never known?

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100 Reasons for a Christmas Miracle - Jim Wallis - God’s Politics Blog

Click through for Jewish and Christian perspectives on why this is a religious imperative as well as a moral issue.

And call your Senators.

Standing On The Side Of Love (Repeal DADT, Enact the DREAM Act)

If you self-identify as a person of faith (not necessarily Unitarian Universalist) and support justice and equality, here is a handy advocacy link for two, Two, TWO issues in one letter. Write to your senators to ask them to (1) overturn Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and (2) support the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.