Category: Militant Decency

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Save your fingers from your cooler and other ways to save the world

Militant Decency

Today’s the first day I’ve had in a bit to come yell on the internet about how we can do better. Please join me.

Igloo cooler recall

First, a point of safety: if you have an Igloo cooler, please check the following recall lists:

Note these recalls are for both US and Canada. The coolers in question have amputated the tips of many people’s fingers.  Please do not fuck around with the cooler problem especially if you have kids.

Speaking of recalls…

If you’re in the US, please subscribe to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website. And because we can’t be sure that the CPSC is going to stay funded or that the rules on what counts as recallable stay in tact due to the current administration gutting the life out of everything, please also subscribe to the Canadian Recalls and Safety list.

While you’re at it, use 5calls.org to defend CDC funding and programs and  protect worker safety by reversing NIOSH cuts, and if you still have energy after that, read about the EPA and their budget cuts on the Union of Concerned Scientists website.

Public transit

If you live in the Philadelphia area, you probably use SEPTA transit at least on occasion. SEPTA is experiencing a massive funding crisis due to not receiving enough money from the state government. It’s time to speak up for transit and demand that we receive the funding SEPTA needs to not only keep current services but expand the network further into the suburbs so we can cut the congestion on 422, 202, and the other state highways.

Please contact your state legislators and tell them to fully fund SEPTA.

If you don’t live in the Delaware Valley, you should probably check in with your local transit authority to find out whether they’re getting enough funding and what they’re going to do to improve transit. Throw the 20 Benefits of Using Public Transportation for Community and Wellness at them and tell them we can’t afford not to implement public transit.

Taking a break

I had the not-at-all-enjoyable experience of receiving something like 17 messages back from my senators in one bulk mailing recently. Fortunately (?) I was busy helping a friend with a health issue and didn’t have time to get ramped up about it then.

This week I tried — I really tried — to read their responses and understand their positions. One of my senators sent me 12 form letters with the same content. The other sent me 5 videos of him essentially telling me that my positions were wrong.

That’s really hard to hear. I watched two of the videos, and responded in email pointing out the inaccuracies, but when I got into the third video, I almost broke into tears.

So I stopped.

And this is me telling you that you can stop any time as well.

If you’re someone who’s not involved in politics or discussing these things, hey, that’s ok. I invite you to get involved so that you can say that the government represents you (or at least that you tried to sway the government to represent you). But if it’s overwhelming for you, that’s ok too.

If you’re someone who is involved in the day to day situation, I encourage you to use your weekends to take a break. Ignore it. Or at least, only take small bites. Regardless of your position on the current government and regardless of what country you’re in, there’s such a deluge every day of news we don’t actually want but probably should be aware of that it’s necessary to step away.

Me, I’m going to go move the laundry.

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Stuff to do to make the world better

Militant Decency

Hi!

  1. There was a M7.7 earthquake in Myanmar on March 28th, which has killed at least 1700 people and injured many more. If you have the opportunity, donate to the International Rescue Committee to get urgently needed water, food, and medical supplies to those affected.
  2. Use 5calls to support the Institute of Library and Museum Services and its funding.
  3. Use the good soap in the bathrooms this month. Or the good shampoo. Or the good perfume or makeup or whatever. Savor the good things you have, because they don’t belong on a shelf.
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Some quick Friday militant decency

Militant Decency

Hello!

We are still here. We are still fighting to make the world better. We are all tired, so we’re taking turns being on point vs being on rest. It doesn’t matter which role you’re in, you’re doing a good job.

In a world where 100% productivity is expected, rest is an act of resistance.

  1. Trying to keep up with everything that’s going on? The Resistance Calendar can help. (You absolutely do not need to do everything on the list!)
  2. Do you live in South Carolina? Read the Freedom to Read the News section of today’s Authors Against Book Bans newsletter.  Then, use the provided links to tell the State Board of Education that the books shouldn’t be banned statewide.  (If you’re not in South Carolina,  you can still read the newsletter for more tips and information about preventing books from being banned in your area.
  3. Help save libraries.
  4. Remember, rest is an act of resistance. Plan time into your weekend (including today) to do nothing. It takes practice!
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Monday’s ways to make the world better

Militant Decency

Let’s get going.

  1. How you can help Ukraine
  2. Contact your local community and find out how to get a closed captioning ordinance like this one in Bloomington Indiana set up in your area.
  3. Have energy for more? Thirty lonely but beautiful actions you can take right now which probably won’t magically catalyze a mass movement against Trump but that are still wildly important

It’s Monday. That’s enough for today. Drink some water, stretch your shoulders, and say hi to your friends 🙂

A cartoon image of a monk of some sort sitting on a plateau in the mountains. He is cooking tea over an open fire. Captioned ah you've scrolled so far. why don't you have some tea before you continue your journey?

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It’s Friday. Here’s your militant decency report.

Militant Decency

It’s time to put some good in the world as best we can.

Check your vaccination records

Hey, if you haven’t noticed, things like tuberculosis and measles are making a comeback here in the United States thanks to all the folks who think vaccines are for other people.  As an added bonus, the US has cut its aid to a bunch of other countries — aid that very often included money, supplies, and vaccines for things like polio, measles, TB….

Do you know what you were vaccinated against as a child? It turns out a lot of people don’t! But since you had to be vaccinated to get into school, those records are available at your state. The CDC has a list of contacts for immunization records. Look up your state, follow their contact instructions, and find out what you’ve been immunized for. Then check in with your doctor on what you might need as a booster.

Additional reading about vaccinations:

Safer driving

Got an annoying pothole that you’ve reported to your department of transportation and nothing’s been done? Alert your fellow drivers creatively! (Be safe!) A giant pothole plagued this Englishman’s commute. He put an upside-down statue in it. The article contains other militant but decent actions people have taken to draw attention potholes in case upside-down statues are not your thing.

Saving lives via NOAA

The Washington Post reports that hundreds of members of NOAA got fired yesterday.

Write your congress critters, your governor, and Vice Admiral Nancy Hann. You can use resist.bot to contact the first two, and Vice Admiral Hann’s email address is nancy.hann@noaa.gov. Here’s a script I threw together.

Hi! My name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [TOWN].

I’m calling to demand that [REP] do everything in their power to block and reverse the job cuts that President Trump just made to NOAA.

NOAA has been understaffed based on needs for over 50 years due to Congressional budget decisions, making it more and more difficult for trained scientists and engineers to protect the American people.

If we don’t have accurate weather, solar flare, giant storm, and volcanic activity reports, people die. If firefighters fighting wildfires don’t know which way the winds will be blowing, people die. If your state department of transportation doesn’t know which roads need to be salted, people die.

In other words, President Trump’s cuts are going to kill Americans, lead to significant damage to our infrastructure, shut down businesses, and skyrocket disaster costs.

[If your state is in particular danger due to literally any kind of weather or disaster, point that out here when writing to your congress critters or your governor.]

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Remember to provide your full address (including 9-digit zip) if you’re leaving a voicemail or emailing directly because that maps you directly to a specific voting district.

Speaking of ZIP codes, let’s save the post office

5calls has you covered for this one. 

Finally, this is for you

Remember, we love you more than you’ll ever know.