Call & Response - Slavery in Our Time

I attended a showing of the new movie about human trafficking, Call+Response—a good film about a horrific subject. Slavery. I was encouraged to see the young people involved in activism on this issue. Our local Flathead High School, and the newly formed Flathead Abolition Movement hosted the showing.

I learned a lot. People are still bought and sold into slavery on our shores (and others, too). How can we know about this and watch it continue.

It's the triune function of Money / Drugs / Human Slavery. It's not personal, it's profits.

If you're interested, go to the website: http://www.callandresponse.com/home.html.

If you want to do some little thing to show support, buy the music. I love it. The title "Call and Response" is rooted in music. The intro explains. Go to this iTunes web page.

Or do something else. . .whatever moves you. There are lots of issues to apply our energies to these days. Choose where you fit.

Montana's Food System

Up until the early 1950's Montana produced nearly 70% of the food Montanans ate. We were a net exporter of many foods. After Worle War II we lost capacity for production as export capabilities increased.

Watch the video . . . highly recommended!

Peace All Over the World ~ Episode 23

A new year, a new decade....

Federal Prop 8 Trial Starts

The trial to bring in to question California's Proposition 8 which prohibited gay marriage in 2008 began today in San Francisco.

If you live in the right city, you can watch the trial via live feed. Here is the notice on the American Foundation for Equal Rights webpage:

Watch Prop. 8 Trial Live
JANUARY 9, 2010
A live video and audio feed from the upcoming Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco will be available for public viewing in federal courthouses elsewhere in California, and in Oregon, Washington and New York, it was announced today. Video and audio of the trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday, January 11, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. (PDT), will be distributed via electronically secure means to the federal courthouses listed below.

View the list of cities at AFER.

The trial was scheduled to be made available live on YouTube, but that plan was changed.

Reporting from Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court, acting on an appeal from conservative defenders of California's ban on same-sex marriage, overruled a federal judge in San Francisco today and blocked video coverage of the trial on YouTube.

In a brief order, the justices said they were halting the move by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker "permitting real-time streaming" of the trial, "except as it permits streaming to other rooms within the confines of the courthouse in which the trial is to be held."

Read the full article at the L.A. Times.

Watch Rachel Maddow's interview of Plaintiffs' attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies:


Read Laura Flanders review at The Nation: Willing to Reconsider.

Lots of Tweets about the trial. Look here.

Will continue updating . . .

The Criminalization of Protest

Here is a snip from the article "The Criminalization of Protest":

On the Friday afternoon before the G-20 meeting kicked into high gear, a student at the University of Pittsburgh snapped a photo showing a University of Pittsburgh police officer directing traffic at a roadblock. What’s troubling is what he’s wearing: camouflage military fatigues. It’s difficult to discern a practical reason why a man working for an urban police department would need to wear camouflage, especially while patrolling an economic summit. He’s a civilian dressed like a soldier. The symbolism is clear, and it affects the attitudes of both the cops wearing the clothes and the people they’re policing.

Read the full article The Criminalization of Protest - Police and politicians ignore the First Amendment when we need it the most.

What Happened to Senator Max?

What do you think when you see this video clip:



The Senator office hasn't exactly denied alcohol as an excuse for the manner of his speech, his spokesperson's statement only references possible smear tactics. (See Montana senator denies being drunk during floor speech; Crapo, Risch decline comment.)

Wouldn't it be interesting if we could call up Senator Baucus and ask him directly? Just get an honest face-to-face answer to the question of his state during that speech?

I recently wrote to both Jon Tester and Max Baucus about the health care bill. I guess I can say I was naive in thinking I would receive a real-live-person response. I received a real-live paper form letter from Tester, plus an increase in e-mails from his office, and nothing from Baucus. They're busy, right?

This is the state of our political world. I believe we would be astonished if we really knew how little the actions of our representatives have to do with benefiting you and I.

The thing to consider is....what's the damage?