#WomensMarch

This is a personal account intended to document the Women's March and its continued effect. It is in no way affiliated with any group or organization. Artwork courtesy of The Amplifier Foundation.

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March For Our Lives Portraits

Portraits I took of the student organizers and supporters of March For Our Lives LA. 

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I shot a short film at the LA Women’s March. It was conceived, shot and edited over the past 72 hours and the goal I’ve set is to get this to Oprah herself, a token of collective gratitude for the voice she gave us when she spoke at the Golden Globes. Help me do this. Please repost and share wherever and whenever possible. Thank you. 🙏🏼 #truthtopower#womensmarch

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Through Her Eyes: A Conversation with Photographer Malin Fezehai - ALC

In honor of Women's History Month, we will be publishing a series of articles focusing on female photographers, filmmakers and audio professionals. In this article, Alexis Stember Coulter talks to Malin Fezehai, a documentary photographer who has spent much of her career documenting one of the most pertinent issues of our times, namely that of...

My interview with the great Malin Fezehai.

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Organize. Resist. Repeat.

If you haven’t read Michael Moore’s “Do These 10 Things, And Trump Will Be Toast” article, I highly recommend it. Below are your tasks in short order, but please read the full article for greater context (and encouragement). And use this Resistance Calendar (set up by MM and friends) to help with point #5..

1. THE DAILY CALL: You must call Congress every day. Yes - YOU! 202-225-3121. It will take just TWO MINUTES! Make it part of your daily routine, one of those five things you do every morning without even thinking about it.

2. THE MONTHLY VISIT: To add even more pressure, SHOW UP! Your member of Congress has a local office in your town or somewhere nearby. So do both of your U.S. Senators (often in the nearest federal building). Go there and ask to speak to their aide about the issues we’re facing (again, I will continually post them on my social media sites).

3. YOUR OWN PERSONAL RAPID RESPONSE TEAM: You and 5 to 20 friends and family members must become your personal RAPID RESPONSE TEAM. Sign everybody up so that when we need to leap into action (like we did at the airports the hour after Trump signed his Muslim Ban), you can email and text each other and make an instant plan. 

4. JOIN! JOIN! JOIN!: We all know it’s time for all of us to be part of a greater whole, so let’s actually physically sign up online and JOIN some of our great national groups.

5. THE WOMEN’S MARCH NEVER ENDS: I and a group of friends have set up THE RESISTANCE CALENDAR that is updated daily, where you can find out what actions are taking place near where you live. All you have to do is type in your city or state in the search bar.

6. TAKE OVER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

7. HELP FORM BLUE REGIONS OF RESISTANCE: People keep saying to me, “Mike - I live in a Blue State - what can I do?” If you live in a Blue State, you have one of the MOST important tasks to complete: Show the rest of America what it looks like when Trump isn’t in charge! 

8. YOU MUST RUN FOR OFFICE.

9. YOU MUST BECOME THE MEDIA: Stop complaining about the media, stop wishing they were something they’re not, find the ones who are doing a good job and then start your own “media empire” by sharing their work and your work on the internet. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites to spread news and information. 

10. JOIN THE ARMY OF COMEDY: Trump’s Achilles heel is his massively thin skin. He can’t take mockery. So we all need to MOCK HIM UP! Not just the brilliant people at SNL or Colbert, Seth Myers or Samantha Bee ― but YOU.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

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Friends, here is the video that YOU made. Thank you to those who sent in their clips, to James Duffy for donating his time and talent and to my inspiring...

Today we strike. Today we stand. Nearly 4.5K views so far. Let’s keep sharing and get it all the way to Warren herself!

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Visit Original Link

I called the White House at 4:39pm EST today. They said they were closed, despite listing their hours being until 5pm EST. I’ll keep trying. 

From the NYT:

Have feedback for the White House on Mr. Flynn or really any other matter? No need to hold your tongue.

Almost two months after the Obama administration temporarily closed it, Mr. Trump’s staff resuscitated the White House comment line on Monday, and volunteers will now take comments for the president on a routine basis.

The line’s closing, during a time of drastic change in the government, spawned consternation among those already wary about the new administration and its commitment to public accountability. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a spokeswoman for the White House, said the closing had been merely a matter of staffing the office that maintains the line.

Give it a call at 202-456-1111.

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shauna on Twitter

“If you need your faith in karma renewed, here's Michael Flynn accusing Hillary of being a security risk and leading a LOCK HER UP chant. 💁 https://t.co/3DjzHXceap”

History and the public record is a bitch, ain't that right, Michael T. Flynn?

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She Persisted

This is a crowd-sourced video. Everyone was asked to rise at 12pm on Friday, February 10th, film it, and send it in as we collectively stand for democracy. N...

Here is the video that YOU made. Thank you to those who sent in their clips. The 2018 mid-terms are around the corner and there is much work to be done. Let us all persist.

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If you live in a blue bubble, check out this tool for finding the nearest swing district in your area. Then support the democratic candidate in that district as we keep our eyes on the prize: 2018.

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Two weeks ago, Steve Bannon told the media that they should “shut up”. Last night, Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the senate floor. The message is clear and in response, I am working on a small film and would love your help.

If you’re interested, here is what I’d like you to do. Please read all the way through.

On Friday, Feb 10 at exactly 12pm EST, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, stand up and have someone film you. It can be you by yourself, as a group, with your child, in your Soul Cycle class, at your office (offices with open seating will be great for this) WHEREVER. The more varied, the better. The point is simply to show that we all stand together.

If someone is filming you, ask if you can get three clips:

1. A wide shot of you wherever you are right before you stand. 2. A shot of you as you (and the people you’re with, if you’re doing it with others) are standing (can be wide, tight, or anything in between). 3. A close up shot of another perspective of you standing. For example: -Your feet as you plant them to stand. -Your hands as you push away from your desk to stand. -Your face as you look down to stand.

Don’t worry if you can’t get all three - it doesn’t have to be perfect. Most important is that you film yourself going from sitting to standing.

Mail your clips to [email protected] by 5pm on Friday.

Film it on your iPhone (horizontally) or the most expensive camera you can find. We don’t care. We just want to show ourselves taking a collective stand.

We will be editing over the weekend and sharing the film on Monday, accompanied with a hashtag in the event you want to pass it along.

Thank you in advance for your help and support. And please feel free to share.

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NOTES TO MYSELF

I am reposting this because it is the most productive call to action that I have seen yet. 

1. Don't use his name. 2. Remember this is a regime and he's not acting alone. 3. Do not argue with those who support him--it doesn't work. 4. Focus on his policies, not his orange-ness and mental state. 5. Keep your message positive; they want the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which their darkest policies will grow. 6. No more helpless/hopeless talk. 7. Support artists and the arts. 8. Be careful not to spread fake news. Check it. 9. Take care of yourself. 10. Resist! Keep demonstrations peaceful. In the words of John Lennon, "When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you - pull your beard, flick your face - to make you fight! Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor." When you post or talk about him, don't assign his actions to him, assign them to "The Republican Administration," or "The Republicans." This will have several effects: the Republican legislators will either have to take responsibility for their association with him or stand up for what some of them don't like; he will not get the focus of attention he craves; Republican representatives will become very concerned about their re-elections.

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On January 28, Donald Trump signed a now notorious executive order temporarily banning citizens from 7 Muslim-majority nations, including dual citizens and US nationals.

As the courts debate the legality of this action, hundreds of people around the world are caught in the web of its chaotic and uncertain effects.

Here is an interview with one such person. Many many thanks to Manishe for sharing her story.

Photo courtesy of Manishe Sina.

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Preview of an interesting conversation I will be posting tomorrow with a German Iranian woman as she navigates the fallout of an upcoming visit to the US.

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I had the pleasure of meeting a very smart, ridiculously talented woman tonight. Her name is Cass and these are her thoughts on Trump and the times in which we live. 

Me: So tell me again what you think of this whole Donald Trump thing?

DaRealCass: I think it’s what we need for this country. It’s bringing everybody together instead of separating us which is a great thing. So, unite as one because there’s only one race and that’s the human race.

Me: And you’re saying that as someone who is, black…

DaRealCass: Black, a woman, and gay. We’re all uniting, and we need to unite as one because there’s more of us - there’s more power in the people than there is people with power.

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The Bodega Strike rally at Brooklyn's Borough Hall.

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Four Tet shares playlist of “music from Trump’s banned countries”

A collection of sounds from Syria, Iran, Yemen and more

Art transcends all borders.

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