May 1, 2014

Nader wants the most Progressive on the left, who barely tolerate Democrats, to join Libertarians?

As most of you know, I am around conservatives and right wingers a lot and the Libertarian ones among them are always asking me on and off the air whether I think there is a chance that progressives would vote for Rand Paul and support Libertarians in general.

I always give the same answer.

"You guys understand that many of these folks are routinely, almost continuously, upset at Democrats because they insist on Left-Progressive orthodoxy on a wide range of issues despite the fact that in my opinion, across the board the distances between mainstream Democratic thinking and Progressive orthodoxy are not particularly far. They routinely hammer Democrats each and every time they feel that distance is too great. You're not going to appeal to them by being fairly close to them on two or three issues, and light year distances away on the other 70. The first time one of those issues comes up where there are light year distances, they are going to run, not walk away from any proposed coalition, assuming you get any significant progressive group to begin to listen to you at all in the first place."

Now, I realize that despite the above missive, there are 1-3 progressive groups that might be tempted to explore this. Code Pink comes to mind and one or two progressive groups specifically aimed at marijuana/drug legalization are the other. But in the end, I think the leadership of those groups would be smart enough to understand that cozying up to the Libertarian right is a sure way to completely destroy their support in the progressive community and leave them with what? Support from Libertarians that would be tenuous at best anyway?

Not going to happen.

On Edit: Here is a video which seems really bizarre. As if Libertarians will try to raise the minimum wage or pass federal laws to regulate and reign in corporations. Will not happen.

April 12, 2014

I think there should be an emphasis on voting to hide ad-hominem posts.

I recently was part of a jury where someone accused someone else of identifying with mass murderers. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4812165

Not only is that ad-hominem (i.e. a personal attack) , the person attacked in no way identified with mass murderers. The jury barely hid the post and two of those who voted not to hide posted comments that made them seem unaware that ad-hominem is a logical fallacy and in general an ugly and toxic debate tactic. If you cannot win an argument without attacking someone personally, generally that means that your argument fails. Not to mention that directly attacking posters instead of their arguments is about the most direct way to make DU an unpleasant place to be.

I think that jury instructions should include an emphasis that suggests people hide ad-hominem posts and calls such posts out as, to use what has become a trite phrase, "making DU suck". Clearly, three out of seven jurors in the above mentioned jury seemed to have no appreciation for how inappropriate ad-hominem is as a tactic.

I think that emphasizing this as an inappropriate way to behave would pay dividends when primary time comes around.

April 12, 2014

No pressure... everyone who has had a dog or cat knows this one...

April 1, 2014

Rally against street harassment April 5th in NYC

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Emily May <emily@ihollaback.org>
Date: March 31, 2014 at 8:18:13 PM EDT
To: Emily May <emily@ihollaback.org>
Subject: MEDIA ADVISORY: 4/5 NYC Rally Against Street Harassment, 12 foot tall "Cat Against Catcalls" to be unveiled



Contact: Emily May
emily@ihollaback.org
cell: 646-823-3082

RALLY AGAINST STREET HARASSMENT
12 foot tall “Cat Against Catcalls” to be unveiled

What: The rally against street harassment is part of international anti-street harassment week (March 30-April 5). The event will be hosted by La Roka and will include 20 speakers, mini-workshops on self-defense, wheat-pasting, bystander intervention, and a chalk walk. We’ll also being unveiling a new public art project: a 12 foot tall “cat against catcalls,” that will be placed in high density harassment areas following the rally.

Who: The event is co-hosted by 47 organizations including Hollaback!, an international movement working to end street harassment (www.ihollaback.org), Girl Be Heard, Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Arab American Association of New York, BABE, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, bklyn boihood, Bronx AIDS Services (DBA-BOOM!) Health, Center Against Domestic Violence Center for Anti-Violence Education, Community Driven Solutions, CONNECT, Don't Harass Me, Bro, Feminist Dialogue, GEMS, Girl Be Heard, Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio, Mount Sinai SAVI Program, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, Price of Silence, Sakhi, Sayfty, Soapbox, Inc: Speakers Who Speak Out, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, The Feminist Society at NYU, Trans Women of Color Collective of Greater NY, Violence Intervention program, Women In Media & News, Young Feminists & Allies, Virtual NOW Chapter, YWCA of Brooklyn, STEPS to End Family Violence, New York City Anti-Violence Project, NYAWC, Brooklyn-Queens NOW, Gotham Girls Roller Derby, Safe Horizon, Councilmember Lander, Councilmember Palma, Girls for Gender Equity, Hollaback!, Move the Fuck Over Bro, NOW-NYC, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Stop Street Harassment, Stop Telling Women to Smile, Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, The Applied Theatre Collective, and Councilmember Levin.

Where: New York City, Washington Square Park, Garibaldi Square (east of the fountain).

When: April 5th, 2014, from 1-2pm. Speakers (1-2pm), mini-workshops (2-2:30), and chalk walk (2:30-3).

Live tweet the event: #endSHnyc

About Hollaback! Hollaback (ihollaback.org) is a nonprofit and movement to end street harassment powered by a network of local activists around the world. We work together to better understand street harassment, to ignite public conversations, and to develop innovative strategies to ensure equal access to public spaces.

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--
Emily May
Executive Director
Hollaback!
ihollaback.org
twitter: @ihollaback
facebook: facebook.com/ihollaback

Need more info on what we do? Watch this two minute overview of our work, check out my MAKERS interviews and TEDxWomen talk and read our 2013 State of the Streets Report, profiling the work of our sites internationally.

Hollaback!
30 3rd Avenue, #800B
Brooklyn, NY 11217
347-889-5510