STRATEGIC ACTS

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — JANUARY 2019

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of standing against and undoing the damage of the presidency a minority of voters put into place. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here.

In a post-credit button of the 2015 film Ant-Man, the character played by Evangeline Lilly — who was instrumental in preparing the title hero for his new lifetime cause of doing good and then stood on the sidelines as he saved the day — is gifted her very own costume, complete with the accoutrements that will give her an equal shake against super-powered foes. “It’s about damn time,” she says.

The line worked in the context of the film and the character, but it also offered a more pointed meta-commentary on the blockbuster in which the character resided. Marvel Studios had already shifted the movie business on its axis with a series of interconnected films that absolutely dominated the box office, but it was a decidedly male-centric series of features. Now proudly celebrating ten years of pop culture dominance, the studio still has yet to release a film that features a female lead. The shortcoming is finally addressed in March. Captain Marvel stars Oscar-winner Brie Larson as the title hero, and having a woman in the main role is important, because representation matters.

Inspired by similar campaigns mounted last year for Black Panther and A Wrinkle in Time, there’s an effort afoot to help get girls without the means to do so on their own out to see the first Marvel superhero movie fronted by a female. The GoFundMe campaign created by We Have Stories and Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles puts it plainly and perfectly:

Everyone should have an opportunity to see women in roles they can aspire to one day be, roles that show women as strong, smart and bold. From a teacher to a fighter pilot—or a superhero. This is an opportunity to continue to empower girls to be just that.

On their website, Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles describes the organization’s mission:

Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles provides hundreds of girls with life-changing support and real solutions to the unique issues they face. At Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles, we provide support and programming for schools in South Los Angeles, Compton, and Watts California. This is through our education enrichment program that focuses on STEM Education, Literacy, and Math.

That’s why we’re giving the SEND GIRLS TO SEE CAPTAIN MARVEL campaign our January 2019 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE GoFundMe page set up for the Captain Marvel campaign.

For those who want to bypass the corporate partnership but still support a good cause, DONATIONS CAN ALSO BE MADE DIRECTLY TO GIRLS INC. OF GREATER LOS ANGELES.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — DECEMBER 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of standing against and undoing the damage of the presidency a minority of voters put into place. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

Two years. It has felt like a mere moment and it has felt like a hundred lifetimes since the election of 2016. But maybe, just maybe, things are getting better.

The 2018 elections delivered historic change, especially in the form of new entrants to the halls of government. No matter how many impediments were put in the way of voters, record numbers came out and cast ballots, often voting in favor of moving forward in the face of aggressive attempts to marginalize those who don’t adhere to the look and philosophy that has typified the national ruling class throughout the life of the republic.

And already, these incoming leaders are refusing to simply acquiesce to maintaining the norms. Instead, they report the internalized injustices they encounter.

We are now officially two years into our humble attempt to use our resources to counterbalance the challenges we’ve seen on the national political scene. The number of people in high places fighting for the general citizenry may have increased, but the affronts are still coming on a daily basis. We know it is not the time to stand down. And so we continue to put our money where our mouths are. 

During 2018, we supported:

—Big Brothers Big Sisters

—Time’s Up

—Color of Change

—Safe Passage Project

—Give Kids the World

—RAICES

—ACLU

—KIND

—PATH

—RAINN

—Trans Lifeline

As we did last year on the the anniversary of our initiative, we’re going back to the first organization we supported, which just so happens to be a vital contributor to the public good which has been under assault like few others.

Planned Parenthood provides vital health services to those who wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise. By some estimates, 1 in 5 women in this nation have utilized Planned Parenthood’s services. That includes the medical practice of abortion, which has been a constitutionally-protected private act for patients to undertake for over forty years. And that right has been reaffirmed repeatedly.

That’s what Planned Parenthood does, and that’s why we’re returning to them with our latest donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD WEBSITE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — NOVEMBER 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

One of the most amazing aspects of these last two years is the way new depths are reached with stunning frequency, in part because federal officials have demonstrated a willingness to scorch absolutely all earth in an attempt to force society to regress. And it is often done with novel deviousness, leveraging the mechanisms of government in a heartless erasure of people who often want nothing more than to exist peaceably, safely, and with respect. Perhaps most insidiously, these fierce, fearsome government officials often manipulate the very regulations that were put in place to offer protection to the unduly dismissed and disenfranchised.

The New York Times broke the story of legal overtures being formulated in the current administration’s Department of Health and Human Services to create a federal definition of sex that is firmly, forever locked in place at the time of a person’s birth. Ostensibly to offer clarity to federal agencies, the move is a blatant wrecking ball swung at the rights, well-being, and very identity of transgender individuals. It is an attempt to demonize and diminish an entire group that certain members of the administration find distasteful, demonstrating zero empathy from their seats of social safety and privilege.

There were many positive outcomes in the midterm elections just settled (and not quite settled, in many instances), which could provide some solace, some hope that the national ship is turning away from the bleak waters it sailed into two years ago. The continuing political clatter of recent days offers a reminder that, much as forward-thinking citizens might be ready for a break from constant anxiety over breaking news, the work is just beginning.

The targeting of transgender Americans is a prime example of the sort of toxicity that won’t necessarily be stopped by a governmental checks and balances process that is slow-moving by design. Even with a House of Representatives likely more inclined to push back against abject cruelty and subversion of the law, much of the federal government is built upon the assumption that those charged with fulfilling its duties will always do so in good faith. This has proven faulty, devastatingly so. It is a vital requirement to fight against this political chicanery. A major part of that is standing up for those who are most vulnerable.

Transgender individuals are disproportionately more likely to face abuse — physical, sexual, emotional — and attempt suicide at alarmingly high levels (the Human Rights Campaign reports that nearly 30 percent of transgender female teens and over 50 percent of transgender male teens have attempted suicide). As much as it’s a positive that transgender citizens have become more visible in recent years, that visibility also heightens the risks they face, exposing them to the monstrous people who will try to hurt them, or driven them to hurt themselves. A federal government effectively declaring them invalid heightens the risk yet further, empowering and validating the violent, aggressive bigots who would gladly deliver that harm.

Luckily, there are organizations providing care and support.

On their website, Trans Lifeline defines their mission:

As a trans-led organization, we believe that trans people caring for each other is a beautiful and transformative act. In service of this belief, Trans Lifeline offers both emotional and financial support to the trans community.

For people in emotional crisis, our Hotline offers peer support from a dedicated team of transgender volunteers and staff operators, each extensively trained and deeply compassionate. For people in financial crisis, our Microgrants program offers low-barrier grants to trans people for legal name changes and updated government identification documents. We also offer specialized support for incarcerated and undocumented trans people.

That’s why we’re giving the Trans Lifeline our November 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means and inclination, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so, either by supporting Trans Lifeline or a local organization that provides help to members of the community of transgender individuals. Donations to Trans Lifeline can be made via their website.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — OCTOBER 2018

“On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

In this Associated Press photo (found via NBC), demonstrators protest on the day of the confirmation vote that secured Brett Kavanugh’s place on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

The dominant topic hanging over the continuously renewing news cycle of the past couple weeks has created the typical churn of political conflict, but it is has also been particularly unkind to survivors of sexual assault. For those who wanted nothing more than their favored man to ascend to the highest court in the nation, discussions around alleged assault from decades past were often positioned as an untidy nuisance, one more thing that needed to be cleared up before getting what they wanted. 

The prominence of the story created a whole different problem for survivors of sexual assault. According to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), the largest nonprofit support organization for survivors, their sexual assault hotline received a record number of calls the day after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing a harrowing encounter with Brett Kavanaugh when they were both teenagers. 

Scott Berkowitz, the current president of RAINN, speculated about the uptick.

“History shows us that when high-profile allegations such as these are in the news it often causes others to reach out too,” he said in a statement. “This story has clearly resonated with survivors, and has led thousands to reach out for help for the first time. Over this past year, following the cases of Weinstein and Cosby and the explosion of #MeToo, our numbers have been growing pretty rapidly, but we’ve never seen anything like this before.”

More protestors on the day of the confirmation vote. (Getty Images, via NBC)

Of the many dire outcomes from the Senate vote to confirm Kavanaugh, perhaps the most immediate is its validation of every fear weighing down a survivor of sexual assault who may be struggling to find the courage to tell their story, to name their assailant. No one will believe me. I will be branded a liar. It just wont matter. Even those members of the rightward party who acknowledged that Ford was a credible witness were too busy slugging back victory beers to afford much thought to — and certainly no reassuring words for — the reeling survivors who still had misgivings about the whole process. Precious few stepped forward to question the reckless counter-narrative that young men were the true victims of this current moment, a blithely conjured falsehood that is easily debunked. At a time when the #MeToo movement has empowered survivors like never before, the positive progress could be hindered, all because of the sad spectacle of ramming through an appointment that should have been derailed for a multitude of reasons.

On their website, RAINN defines their mission:

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

That’s why we’re giving the RAINN our October 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means and inclination, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so, either by supporting RAINN or a local organization that provides help to the survivors of sexual assault. Donations to RAINN can be made via their website.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — SEPTEMBER 2018

“On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

In this Los Angeles Times photo, a man sleeps outside the Union Rescue Mission in the nation’s second-largest city and most prosperous state.

Earlier this year, The Hollywood Reporter printed a story about a Los Angeles charity that has been recently championed by filmmaker spouses Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton. Called People Assisting the Homeless (PATh), the organization has devoted itself to addressing a persistent — and too often forgotten — social ill. 

Beginning in roughly the nineteen-eighties, homelessness in the U.S. became a devastating problem, far worse than it should be in a nation of marked prosperity and fervent promises of opportunity for all. The numbers in the article were alarming. According to current estimates, around 58,000 citizens of Los Angeles County have no home. That’s the size of a small city — Jupiter, Florida, or White Plains, New York. The Los Angeles Times reports the area homeless population grew by 75 percent in six years time. It’s a problem of monumental proportions with repercussions that spread across the culture.

Duplass and Aselton assemble furniture for a home provided as part of PATH’s ongoing efforts. (Image credit: PATH).

PATH addresses this problem in the simplest, most direct way: by giving people a home. By now, there’s extensive research that suggests true progress begins by simply getting individuals into a safe, permanent residence. Other associated challenges — mental health issues, poverty, substance abuse — are far more likely to be solved with the added stability of a home. Dubbed the Housing First model, it has been proven to work repeatedly. 

Unfortunately, the most significant impediment to broad-based realization of this model is the petty unwillingness of governmental power structures to actively support such an approach. It helps people and has been shown to cost less than the other support machinery that needs to be put in place for homeless populations, but it makes misguided people feel resentful that maybe — just maybe — someone is getting a benefit not automatically afforded to everyone. As politicians unwilling to lead steer clear of this wise approach, the efforts of organizations such as PATH became all the more vital. For people in the greatest need, PATH and other groups provide the only real hope.

On their website, PATH writes:

Our mission is to end homelessness for individuals, families, and communities. PATH envisions a world where every person has a home. Our values include creative collaborations, strategic leadership, empowerment for all, and passionate commitment.

That’s why we’re giving the PATH our September 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means and inclination, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so, either by supporting PATH or a local organization that provides help to the homeless population. Donations to PATH can be made via their website.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — AUGUST 2018

“On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here.

Every month, we cast around for the next organization we’d like to offer our humble support, well aware that there’s an abundance of need for people, places, and creatures being cast aside by the current governmental entities. We draw inspiration from a number of sources, including, as it happens, a thoroughly unique comedy series that builds its beautifully complicated ongoing story line around ethical and moral matters with such frequency that its production team has a couple philosophers on call.

The team behind NBC’s The Good Place recently posted the following message in conjunction with a CrowdRise campaign:

“Everything is... well, it could be better. Our show deals with the concepts of what it means to be good and how to do the most good for the most people. As we wrap up production on season 3 of The Good Place, let's put theory into practice by supporting migrant children, many of whom have been separated from their parents at the border. Every donation you make will be matched by the people who make The Good Place, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000, and all proceeds will go directly to KIND (Kids In Need of Defense), which provides high quality legal services to immigrant children, ensuring that no child appears in an immigration court without an attorney. Hopefully our contributions will add a little more kindness and a little less division to an already forked up world. Please give if you can, and thanks in advance for helping this worthy cause. Let’s do something good together.”

Although the inhumane treatment of migrant families perpetrated by the current presidential administration has slipped from the top of the front page, the problem persists. Although large swaths of the U.S. citizenry have responded with inspiring personal kindness, the primary recourse for impacted immigrants remains the court system. Unfortunately, that system has no apparatus in place to guarantee representation for migrants, leading to the cruel absurdity of toddlers being called upon to defend themselves in court with zero assistance.

That’s precisely the problem The Good Place team is trying to mitigate with their campaign.

On their website, KIND puts forward three important goals:

We ensure that no child appears in immigration court alone without high quality representation.

We advance laws, policies, and practices that support children’s protection and uphold their right to due process and fundamental fairness. 

We encourage durable solutions to child migration that are grounded in the best interests of the child and ensure that no child is forced to migrate involuntarily.

That’s why we’re giving the KIND our August 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means and inclination, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. UNTIL THE GOAL IS REACHED DONATIONS MADE THROUGH THE CAMPAIGN “THE GOOD CAUSE” WILL BE MATCHED. OTHERWISE, DONATIONS CAN BE MADE DIRECTLY AT THE KIND WEBSITE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — JULY 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

An American Civil Liberties Union billboard in Times Square displays the first amendement in three different languages. (Image credit: ACLU, via Vogue)

Shortly after the 2016 election, a flood of donations came into the American Civil Liberties Union. Prior to that day, the annual donations sum brought into the organization was somewhere between $3 million and $5 million. By a recent estimate, the ACLU has collected nearly $120 million in contributions since the most recent presidential election. It would seem an increase of such significance sets up the ACLU to be quite comfortable for the near future, but that notion is countered by the corresponding exponential growth in intrusions by governmental bodies. 

The ACLU is using the massive influx of funds to hire more lawyers, with the hope that they’ll have at approximately 500 of them across the country by 2019. Impressive as that sounds, the organization still stands in the shadow of a giant. “That’s bigger than we’ve ever been,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, told The New York Times. “But let’s not lose sight of reality: There are 11,000 lawyers in the Department of Justice. Eleven. Thousand.”

Of late, the ACLU has been at the forefront of legal efforts on behalf of migrants who have been treated unconscionably, but that’s only the most visible current battle. A cursory search of only the most recent news finds them fighting to protect the homeless, to help low-income homeowners who endured foreclosure, against cruel policies to perpetuate unjust mass incarceration, and in opposition to institutional secrecy in capital punishment cases. 

And with the recent — and pending — adjustments to exactly who is wearing judicial robes and presiding over landmark cases, the ACLU’s vigilance will be more important than ever before.

The organization describes their mission succinctly:

The ACLU works tirelessly in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the Constitution’s promise of liberty for everyone in our country.

That’s why we’re giving the ACLU our July 2018 donation of $48.20. 

If you have the means and inclination, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE ACLU WEBSITE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — JUNE 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

NPR photo taken at a protest in Washington, D.C. earlier this week.

In the constant tsunami of breaking news and apoplectic aggrievement that defines the current culture, it can be difficult to pinpoint specific instances in which the wrong topic clearly dominated the discourse. In recent days, though, it was easy. 

The weekly comedy program Full Frontal with Samathee Bee aired a segment on the current U.S. Justice Department policy of separating children from parents when migrant families are detained after crossing into the country. Bee capped the segment by calling out an utterly tone deaf social media post by Ivanka Trump, referring to the public servant (she works in the White House, don’t forget) with a term that network censors felt obligated to bleep out.

Fueled by the largely manufactured ire of conservatives disingenuously comparing Bee’s language to the virulent bigotry of Roseanne Barr, controversy ensued. Bee offered apologies, including at the start of the next episode, always while emphasizing an important point.

“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” she said, according to Vulture. “If we are okay with that then really, who are we?”

After initially turned away, Senator Jeff Merkley was given a tour of the detention center where children are being kept apart from their parents. 

In the same episode, lost in the clamor, Bee suggested an organization that could be supported by those who were indeed incensed about the current situation. As this story of abject cruelty grows more heartbreaking by the day, it is time to circle back to the message that was obscured by the churning outrage over a single word: people with little recourse, often on the run from unthinkably awful circumstances, are in need of help. 

According to their website, RAICES is “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees in Texas.”

The website goes on to note: “In 2017, RAICES staff closed 51,000 cases at no cost to the client. Our advocacy and commitment to change are driven by the clients and families we serve every day as our attorneys and legal assistants provide legal advocacy and representation in an immigration system that breaks apart families and leaves millions without pathways to legal status.”

That’s why we’re giving RAICES our June 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE RAICES WEBSITE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — MAY 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here.

Some days a little perspective goes a long way. While there are large issues brewing which require complex solutions, every once in a while you read a story, hear from a friend, follow a thread online, and you are reminded that the most precious thing we have is our health, and the health of our loved ones. Our ongoing debate about the selective access and high costs of health care is critical, and — as most of us have experienced in some form or other — functioning under the burden of illness combined with the loss of income and safety nets is overwhelming. But moments of joy and the making of memories can be priceless. This month, we are focusing on a nonprofit organization that supports children, and their families, faced with life-threatening illnesses by providing them with week-long, cost-free vacations at a "storybook" resort in Central Florida.  

“You get to come here and you get to…exhale.”

Give Kids The World (GKTW) is a nonprofit organization that exists only to fulfill the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses and their families from around the world to experience a memorable, joyful, cost-free visit to Central Florida’s attractions, and to enjoy the magic of Give Kids The World Village for as long as there is a need.

GKTW partners with over 250 Wish Granting Organizations around the globe that identify children with life-threatening illnesses — “wish children,” as the organization refers to them — whose one desire is to visit Central Florida’s popular attractions. Those organizations arrange transportation to Central Florida and provides accommodations, donated attraction tickets, meals and much more.

“Everyone here is in the same situation. They can relate to us and we can relate to them. I literally do start to tear up because everything is so impactful”

That’s why we’re giving Give Kids the World our May 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so.

In our case, we’re supporting the efforts of our friends Cindy and Craig as they attempt to raise $2000 for GKTW based around their participation in the Parkeology WDW47 Challenge (ride all the rides in all four Walt Disney World parks in a single day, on May 21). As this posts, they’ve passed the halfway mark to their $2000 goal!

You can donate to Give Kids the World Village at their page. Or donate to the organization directly at their website.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — APRIL 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here.

Jennifer and her brother, two young immigrants from Honduras who are being assisted by the Safe Passage Project. (image credit: screen grab from a news report on Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien)

There was little doubt that immigration was going to remain a hotly debated topic in the current U.S. political environment. Luckily, one of the results has been the sharing of personal stories that illustrate the enormous challenges faced by those who find themselves in immigration court.  

As John Oliver and the Last Week Tonight team recently explained, the immigration courts have an impossibly large caseload, which compounds a key problem that seems in direct opposition to one of the most basic principles of the nation’s jurisprudence. Defendants are afforded no guarantee of legal representation, meaning when their day in court eventually arrives, they often have no fair opportunity to tell their story, which can include terrible danger if they’re sent back to their country of origin.

The results can be devastating and heartbreaking. However, a recent article in The New Yorker offered the reminder that there are some who are working hard to help immigrants in need of legal assistance.

According to the website of Safe Passage Project, the organization has the following mission:

Safe Passage Project addresses the unmet needs of immigrant children living in New York by providing legal representation to empower each child to pursue a safe, stable future.

We recruit, train, and mentor volunteer attorneys for unaccompanied minors in immigration court. Without us, many of these children would be unrepresented and unaware of paths to citizenship.

Again, this is about the most fundamental of principles: individuals, especially children, who are trying to navigating the wildly complex U.S. legal system should have attorneys at their side. No matter one’s political preferences regarding the outcomes of court proceedings and other legal processes, that access to support should be easy to agree upon.

That’s why we’re giving SAFE PASSAGE PROJECT our April 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE SAFE PASSAGE PROJECT WEBSITE, using the red Donate button in the upper right hand corner.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — MARCH 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

The monumental success of the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe offering of Black Panther included the launch of what feels like a new type of movement. There were GoFundMe campaigns and other charitable efforts to specifically help underprivileged kids — many of whom would benefit greatly from seeing a black superhero on screen — get tickets to see the big-budget extravaganza. Brie Larson, the future Captain Marvel, even leveraged her robustly-followed Twitter account into specifically helping connect those who could spare a few dollars to those in need. 

There were some bellicose fools who took time up in their nonstop toxic punditry to decry the celebratory feelings of individuals excited at the prospect that countless children who’ve too rarely been able to experience the sensation of a watching a big screen hero who resembles them. Thankfully, they were the dismissible few, easily mocked for their nonsense. Most realized that this turn of events was a pure, heartening good. 

Unsurprisingly, director Ava DuVernay brought a mindfulness about issues of representation to her screen adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. She didn’t stop at multicultural casting, but truly thought through — and clearly expressed — what those choices mean. Wonderfully, it sets out to accomplish meaningful change, to inspire, to give a place of value to children who’ve been structurally, routinely denied self-worth and proud identity. 

Thanks to a collaborative campaign between the nonprofit Color Of Change and AMC Theatres, approximately 12,000 young people already have tickets allowing them to see A Wrinkle in Time for free. 

That’s why we’re giving COLOR OF CHANGE our March 2018 donation of $48.20. 

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE SPECIAL WEBSITE CREATED FOR THE “GIVE A CHILD THE UNIVERSE” CAMPAIGN.

For those who want to bypass the corporate partnership but still support a good cause, DONATIONS CAN ALSO BE MADE DIRECTLY TO COLOR OF CHANGE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — FEBRUARY 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

Amy Poehler at the Golden Globes, alongside Saru Jayaraman, the director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, which advocates for staff working in the food service industry who often face sexual harassment but have scant resources to fight back.

The default statement in response to the parade of reports of shocking sexual malfeasance perpetrated by powerful men has been a variation of grim sadness, usually accompanying by an acknowledgement of numbed exhaustion as the supply of fresh headlines seems endless. That’s understandable. How could it not be? But maybe — just maybe — the tumult of recent months ultimately represents a social good.

The predatory acts spanning decades are reprehensible. However, the events of recent months are not. Because the information arrives as if newly occurring, it can seem as though the infractions are happening in real time. The news we receive today, being shouted from every platform available, is about brave women (and men, but mostly women) who have told their stories. The difference between now and the past — even, say a year ago — is that there are real repercussions for the perpetrators. 

And there’s finally a sense that the shifts in the culture may be enduring. Luckily, there is a group striving mightily and with great strategic shrewdness to make that the case.

America Ferrera holds her copy of The New York Times on New Year’s Day

As the Me Too movement gained strength, there was an awareness that cultural prominence carried weight in exposing those who has criminally and immorally preyed on others. The breaking stories out of Hollywood, or big business, or Washington, D.C., stirred sensation, but there are countless individuals across the nation whose struggles weren’t likely to generate front page attention. And many of those individuals similarly lacked the resources to pursue legal redress.

From that awareness, an organization was born. In a valuable shifting of the language, the terminology flipped from the retrospective reporting of Me Too to the pointed demand TIME’S UP.

Announced in a full page ad in The New York Times, TIME’S UP provides a mechanism for sexually harassed individuals to secure legal representation. According to a recent panel discussion, in the organization’s first month alone, over 1,000 requests for legal assistance came in. And over 200 lawyers have stepped forward. 

For many, the legal system is the only true recourse they have in seeking outcomes that correct the ills perpetrated against them. Given the costs, the avenue can be closed off. TIME’S UP aims to change that.

On their website, TIME’S UP states their mission:

TIME’S UP is a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere. From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, we envision nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live.

That’s why we’re giving TIME’S UP our February 2018 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE TIME’S UP WEBSITE.

[officialjameelajamil]

What we need to learn from the Aziz Ansari clusterfuck

This is not actually an article about him, the claw, or anything to do with the night in question that we are all reading about this weekend. I wasn’t there. We haven’t heard his account, and so I have no right, nor inclination, to comment.

But it has indeed sparked an interesting conversation about consent, both technical and more importantly, emotional, and how vital it is to read the room and make sure the other person is not just willing, but damn well enthusiastic. Especially, in my opinion, if that person is the one to be penetrated. You want to enter them. You best ensure you are a welcome guest, not someone who just begged, pressured, guilt-tripped or harassed their way inside.

There are men I know who are respectful and patient in sexual scenarios, who I daresay are actually turned off if a woman isn’t very obviously enjoying herself. These men are sadly the exception, not the norm.

Our society has mislead men. We have allowed pornography to continuously promote that narrative that a woman is a hole for a man to enjoy when and how he feels like it. Very rarely is a woman’s needs paid much/any attention to in porn, and when it is, it’s often illustrated as the woman just happening to enjoy whatever the man does, even if she doesn’t at first, without fail, she always comes round to his brilliant idea, and is the good sport we all hoped she would be.

A lot of pornography is dedicated, quite literally, to the thrill being how much a woman literally didn’t want to have sex at all and how he did it, really violently, anyway. What is going on?  

Then we have music videos where the girls are always practically naked and performing rehearsed dance routines for the men, who are sitting there on their arses, sometimes in outdoor winter layers, doing nothing other than enjoying their needs being met.

Then you have music lyrics which went from, “Try a little tenderness,” to MURDER THAT PUSSY. BEAT THAT PUSSY UP. PUT THAT PUSSY IN A TOASTER. SHRED THE PUSSY AND PUT IT IN THE BIN. THROW THE PUSSY OUT THE WINDOW. FLUSH THE PUSSY DOWN THE TOILET.

(Poor old pussy having a terrible time.)

Our society, the internet, and even our most mainstream media, constantly perpetuate the idea that men do not need to worry about what our needs and boundaries are. They just need technical consent, however that consent is acquired.

CONSENT SHOULDN’T BE THE GOLD STANDARD. That should be the basic foundation. Built upon that foundation should be fun, mutual passion, equal arousal, interest and enthusiasm. And it is any man or woman’s right at ANY time to stop, for whatever reason.

We also need to reassure women that their fear of being thought of as “difficult” “awkward” or god forbid, “frigid,” should be completely eradicated, effective immediately. These are stereotypes created by the patriarchy, about women, to rather astonishingly, douse women in shame for feeling ownership over their own bodies and moving at a pace they are comfortable with. If you think that he won’t call you again because you weren’t ready to meet his sexual needs on his schedule, then HE DOESN’T LIKE YOU VERY MUCH. Women have traditionally been taught to please, to placate and to avoid embarrassing a man. This has to stop, and it has to come from us. If a man asks you to put his penis in your mouth, and you don’t want to, but you do it because you want him to call you again, you are doing yourself a disservice and have to accept some responsibility. If he is not actively pressuring you, but you feel pressured by his eagerness, desperation, or the fear of his disappointment, then it is frankly on YOU to say no and act in honour of your needs. (Obviously in a situation where you feel in any danger at all, this is a completely different case.)

It is fairly modern for women to be allowed to choose who they marry. It is very modern for women to be “allowed” to have casual sex. It is extremely modern for women to ask to have their needs met and for that to be considered an achievement for a man. WHAT EVEN IS FAKING AN ORGASM? What does that say about women’s attitudes towards their role in the bedroom? “I’m going to congratulate him for something he didn’t take the time or make the effort to do?!”  Women’s magazines forever, constantly writing about “how to please him” Very few men’s magazines with titles about “how to give her the orgasm of her life.”

The subliminal messaging is thorough and it is constant.

If a woman is not enjoying herself thoroughly, throughout your entire sexual engagement, and is not delighted about all the things your are doing together, then STOP. YOU ARE FAILING. This should not be your idea of fun. This is not sex. This is just a wank, you are using another body for, regardless of her needs or desires.

Women must learn that “no” is a right, not a privilege.

I hope one day more young women in the public eye, in music videos and on instagram, use their platforms, when being sexual, to promote a balanced approach to arousal, one that promotes pleasure for both parties involved.

I hope men stop singing about putting pussies in blenders and making Pussy humus out of them, or whatever.

I hope the men (who don’t already) actually realise and come to terms with the fact that porn is a bullshit fantasy and learning sex from pornography is like learning how to drive from The Fast and the Furious. A terrible idea.

And I also hope men start to understand one day, that women have been oppressed since the beginning of time. We are only just starting to find our voices and demand equality. Do not abuse our conditioning to bend to your whims. Especially in the bedroom.

“erm…Ok” shouldn’t be encouragement enough for you.

You can and must do better.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — JANUARY 2018

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of implementing the ideals supported by the majority vote. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

Above: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina. (Image via BBBS)

There is a lot of noise out there lately, surrounding the idea that we just need to “listen to one another” better, respect our differences, or find our middle ground. And I think that most people would agree that there is little to fault with that logic, or the idea that perhaps living in our insular worlds has made us less empathic to those who live different lives, by choice or by necessity. 

This donation initiative has driven us to support a variety of causes, actions, and institutions, typically in arenas where we are unlikely to be able to contribute ourselves and our time directly. With Big Brothers Big Sisters as our focus this month, there is an added bonus of having given a lot of time and energy to this organization, and to my direct mentoring, or “match.” 

I have volunteered in a wide range of organizations over the years but the BBBS staff in Western NC were so incredibly committed, positive, and loving, while also being efficient, ambitious, and motivated to continually improve their numbers, support more children, and create more lasting relationships. I’m still in awe of them even though we’ve been gone for almost three years. And my relationship with my “little” is going to be a lifetime opportunity for me to give, and to receive — to learn to stay open to American cultures and experiences that I would not otherwise have.

With my “little,” in costume as Smurfs for a BBBS Bowl for Kids Sake Fundraising event, in 2015.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters organization has legs, its been around for over 100 years and has a significant amount of third party research to back up the claims that it transforms children’s lives through mentoring and supportive services. 83 percent of children in the program, after only one year of mentoring, maintained or improved in scholastic competence, 94 percent maintained or improved their attitudes toward risky behaviors, and 83 percent maintained or improved in social acceptance. And, it has heart. I have discovered, through being matched a “big” to an 8 year old who is now eagerly anticipating her high school graduation, that once you are a “big” you are always a “big,” and it is a lovely thing to realize. 

But another realization that is almost as dear to me is that our friends, recruited over the years for a variety of BBBS events, are still going strong in their support of the WNC chapter. Cumulatively, Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC has served over 14,000 children. In 2016-2017, almost 700 children benefitted by having a one-on-one relationship with a Big and over 2,000 were served in total. As the organization enters its 2018 fundraising cycle, another Bowl for Kids Sake is upon us. 

The crew I recruited for the Bowl for Kids Sake event, in costume for the 2014 edition of the event.

That’s why we’re giving Big Brothers Big Sisters our January 2018 donation of $48.20. 

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. 

In our case, we’re supporting the Bowl for Kids Sake teams that endure in Western North Carolina. For those who’d like to join us in that, we’re specifically donating to:

Laurie & Kevin,

and

Caroline, Wilder, & Amelia

The national organization can also use support, of course. Or seek out and support the local chapter.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — DECEMBER 2017

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of standing against and undoing the damage of the presidency a minority of voters put into place. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

We are now officially one year deep into our humble attempt to use our resources to counterbalance the challenges we’ve seen on the national political scene. With the above image of our official poster girl, Emma, we launched an initiative to put our money where our mouths are. 

During 2017, we supported:

—Doctors Without Borders

—The Council on American-Islamic Relations 

—Trans Student Educational Resources

—National Resources Defense Council

—Before 16

—Pride Fund to End Gun Violence

—Committee to Protect Journalists 

—Immigrants: We Get the Job Done

—National Immigration Law Center

—ConPRmetidos Maria: Puerto Rico Real-Time Recovery Fund

—Dane County Rape Crisis Center

As we celebrate the anniversary of our initiative, we’re going back to the first organization we supported, which just so happens to be a vital contributor to the public good which has been continually under assault like few others.

Planned Parenthood provides vital health services to those who wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise. By some estimates, 1 in 5 women in this nation have utilized Planned Parenthood’s services. That includes the medical practice of abortion, which has been a constitutionally-protected private act for patients to undertake for over forty years. And that right has been reaffirmed repeatedly. 

That’s what Planned Parenthood does, and that’s why we’re returning to them with our latest donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD WEBSITE.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — NOVEMBER 2017

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of standing against and undoing the damage of the presidency a minority of voters put into place. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

We are now one year removed from the Election Day morning after that inspired our project. In so many respects, the outcomes have been worse that could have been anticipated. Each month, as we survey the wreckage of the days since our prior donation, we’ve seen a sad overabundance of areas requiring support as the federal government abdicating its responsibilities for protecting the most vulnerable citizens. Our monthly donation is modest, but we’re trying to do our part to make up for the callously instituted shortfalls in funding, compounded by the wrecking ball of rhetoric regularly swung against people who stand outside of the power structure.

For the anniversary of the election, we wanted to stick close to home, which led us to the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, located in the Wisconsin capital city where these words are being typed out.

In this moment, there is suddenly, surprisingly cause for hope. In recent weeks, the news has been dominated by stories about harassment and assault perpetrated with casually claimed impunity by powerful men. But, for maybe the first time, those sad, bravely told tales are resulting in just repercussions. While largely concentrated in the entertainment and arts communities, there is a sense that this a starting point, not a scandal within one industry. As The New York Times put it in a headline earlier this week, a tsunami has been unleashed. It is time to demand justice. It is time to be angry.

And is time to champion the organizations that have been supporting survivors of sexual assault all along.

On their website, the Dane County Rape Crisis Center states their mission: 

The Rape Crisis Center works within Dane County to promote hope, help and healing for those harmed by sexual violence and strives through education and outreach to create social change to end sexual violence.

That’s why we’re giving Dance County Rape Crisis Center our November 2017 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE DANE COUNTY RAPE CRISIS CENTER WEBSITE. However, this month we urge anyone who joins us to reach out to a similar organization in their local community.

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STRATEGIC ACTS DONATION — OCTOBER 2017

On the 9th of every month, the anniversary of the morning after the 2016 election, we will donate to an organization engaged in the hard work of standing against and undoing the damage of the presidency a minority of voters put into place. In tribute to Hillary Clinton’s greater share of the popular vote, we will donate $48.20 to the organization in question and invite others to join us in doing the same. The original post that explains it all is here. 

(Image via CBS News)

We are closing in on a year of this endeavor of putting our money where outrage is. More specifically, our household looked at the rhetoric of those moving into the U.S. Executive branch — and the predominating experience of those being given high-ranking positions — and determined that the federal government was about to slide into a period of colossal ineffectiveness. And that was the most generous projection.

Even beginning with that grim prediction, the regular procession of ineptitude has been astounding, especially when it has been coupled with a lack of basic empathy that borders on the inhuman. How can someone in a major leadership position view once-in-a-lifetime natural disaster devastation brought down upon U.S. citizens and emerge mostly chagrined that they as an individual aren’t getting enough credit for associated relief efforts? How can someone be so utterly lacking in humility that they follow a meeting with people who have lost everything by being sure to assert, “And also when I walked in the cheering was incredible.”

Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20th. As of October 7th — nearly three weeks later — approximately 90 percent of the population was still without electricity, and over half the citizenry did not have ready access to drinking water. Puerto Rican officials have felt the need to literally plead for assistance through any forum available to them, largely to churlish indifference from the federal government. Just today, the governor of Puerto Rico — a U.S. territory where everyone is a full-fledged citizen of the “most powerful nation in the world” — wrote to Congressional leaders, noting a mounting inability of their “central and municipal governments to meet basic human needs.”

This is not — it should go without saying, writing, or implying — how things are supposed to work. It goes beyond the strained, unwieldy, insufficient response to Hurricane Katrina’s leveling of New Orleans. This is callous abdication of one of the federal government’s most fundamental roles, perpetrated by brutish figures who perversely can’t stop patting themselves on the back for their imagined genius and heroism. 

According to their website, ConPRmetidos is “an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organization operating from San Juan, Puerto Rico since 2012″ with a stated mission of “connecting people to foster commitment with the personal, social, and economic development of the Puerto Rican communities.”

Under the current circumstances, ConPRmetidos has understandably shifted its focus somewhat. The organization has established the “Maria: Puerto Rico Real-Time Recovery Fund,” promising that every dime donated will go to providing long-term relief in the U.S. territory. As of right now, the organization lays out their priorities thusly: 

We are currently financing (1) needs assessment efforts, (2)  long-term structural repairs to the most vulnerable communities, and (3) power as a service.

There are a multitude of tremendous organizations responding to the needs of Puerto Rico with comprehensive, generous efforts. To our eyes, ConPRmetidos is approaching the enormous task ahead with a admirable balance of addressing immediate and long-term needs.  

That’s why we’re giving the ConPRmetidos Maria: Puerto Rico Real-Time Recovery Fund our October 2017 donation of $48.20.

If you have the means, we humbly ask that you join us in doing so. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE AT THE GENEROSITY.COM WEBSITE ESTABLISHED BY CONPRMETIDOS FOR THIS EFFORT.