Lunch with George

It's Time to Save the Internet

The House of Representatives has already killed an amendment to a bill they passed on Thursday (the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006), so now it is up to the Senate to stop this bill, or amend it. Large telecom interests have spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress to gut "Net Neutrality."

Companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner, want to give their own content preferential treatment on their own networks, and tax content providers for the privilege to be carried on their networks.

The concept of Net Neutrality ensures that the network simply moves data, without considering what it is or who is providing it. If these companies succeed, it will be good for them and bad for everyone else, especially YOU.

Visit SavetheInternet.com to learn more, and to find out what you can do.

Labels: activism, internet

The Time for Action is Now.

On Sunday night, I took my daughter and her friend to Tucson to attend a "Save Darfur" rally at the University of Arizona. There were some pretty inspriational speakers, including survivors of the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur, Sudan.

I already knew a fair amount about what was going on in Darfur, but the rally caused me to resolve to do more. Upon my return to work today, I spoke to a few friends and co-workers about how my daughter had asked me to take her to the rally. I was stunned by the unanimous response:

"What's Darfur?"

I could not believe it. I was stunned! I'm not holding these people responsible... that lies elsewhere. The responsibility lies with the media for failing to provide sufficient coverage (a total of 18 minutes of primetime news was dedicated to this story in all of 2005, compared to 86 minutes for the Earthquake in Pakistan), or perhaps it can be traced back to the lack or priority given to the genocide by our own government.

Either way, things need to change now. I was heartened by the positive response I received from everyone-- once they knew what was happening in Darfur, they agreed that action was required and that they wanted to help.

Here are the minimal facts:

Government-backed militia are destroying village after village, killing children, raping women, and driving those who survive out of their homes.
400,000 innocent civilians have died in the past three years
2 Million have been displaced
3 Million in the Darfur area and across the border in Chad are hungry, with many dying every day.
On Saturday, the UN announced that due to dwindling donations, they were cutting food rations in half for the refugees in Darfur.

If you would like make a difference, visit SaveDarfur.org. This coalition of over 100 organizations is coordinating efforts to raise awareness and provide assistance to Darfur.

When your grandchildren ask you what you did to stop the genocide in Darfur, what will you tell them?

Labels: activism

Impeach the Fool: April Fool's Party

The anti-Bush web is full of proposals to raise the issue of impeachment on April 1st ths year. I also heard a few voices suggesting April Fool's Day parties to stage letter-writing campaigns to members of Congress.

I've created a new page on Squidoo to provide support for this effort: Impeach the Fool.

If you've had enough of George W. Bush, here's one way to help send him packing.

Labels: activism

Do More than Just Display a "Support Our Troops" Car Magnet

They are everywhere these days-- flexible yellow car magnets that proclaim "Support Our Troops." While this is a wondurful sentiment and no one can argue against supporting our troops abroad, just exaxtly how does this support them?

If you want to support the troops, you need to DO SOMETHING SUPPORTIVE.

Here are some suggestions:

Write them letters.

Send them a USO Care Package.

Support their families here at home.

Send them Books to read.

Give them a Gmail account.

Give them long-distance calling cards for the holidays.

Now THAT is supporting our troops.

Labels: activism

Winning at any cost

Residents of a mostly-Democratic area in and around Painesville, Ohio received a letter claiming to be from the local elections board. It incorrectly indicated that anyone who had been registered to vote by the following organizations weren't really registered, and would not be allowed to vote until the next election:

Americans Coming Together
NAACP
Kerry Campaign
Capri Cafaro for Congress (in Ohio)

What we don't know is whether this is a fraudulent attempt by a group of Republicans to get Democratic voters to stay home, or some Democrats sending it to make the Republicans look bad when the lid is blown off the whole mess (such as coverage in a local paper). Either way, it is a further sign that rather than preserving the Republic, some elements in this election are willing to win at any cost.

Here's a photo of the actual letter, at Jason Schultz's blog (via Boing Boing).

Labels: activism, politics

Still an Undecided Voter? Then Watch This

Michael Moore publicly announced he supported pirated copies of Farenheit 9/11 on the internet... so I offer you this opportunity.

Mark Perkel invested $2000 to host the film on his website for the two weeks prior to the election (less than a week now) and you can get it here.

If you have already made up your mind how you will vote, don't bother. If you have your doubts, PLEASE WATCH THIS FILM.

Labels: activism