A Lot of Little Things That Would be Big Things if There Weren't so many Big Things Already

“We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.


WE MUST RESIST!

We know a lot of the Big Things that SCROTUS and his cronies have done that erode our freedoms, our protections, and our security.  I won't cover those here.

No, today I'm writing about some of the Little Things. These things are flying under the radar, primarily because there are so many Big Things taking the attention.  We ought to pay attention to the little things, too.


The Right to Protest
The Right to Protest is literally under attack.  The United Nations is concerned that at least 19 states have laws in the works that would increase the criminalization of peaceful protests, including laws that would increase punishments for certain types of activities during protests, such as wearing masks or robes during a protest or blocking traffic during a protest; making it legal to run over protesters "as long as the crash was accidental;" and making it a crime to heckle lawmakers. WTF??  Heckling lawmakers is guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, we have a DUTY to heckle lawmakers!!  Read this article from The Washington Post, Keep in touch with your state representatives and protest these types of laws from being implemented.

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” ― Elie Wiesel


Energy Star
You've heard that Agent Orange wants to gut the Environmental Protection Agency, cutting its budget by 30%.  You may not have heard that Energy Star --the beloved program that costs so little but makes a huge impact in consumer energy savings-- is slated to be eliminated outright. Really? Why?


Altering Websites
Government websites have been dismantled or pared down. On Day 1 of the administration, the official whitewash.gov website eliminated pages on climate change, LGBQ issues, and civil rights. Within days of the inauguration, the EPA's website began to remove its scientific information.  This week, there are reports that data, initially rumored to be removed, will not be taken down.  Go, Brother and Sister Resisters!  Incredibly, the State Department advertised Mar-A-Lago resort on its official page (since taken down).  And as if to raise the middle finger to all lovers of nature, the Bureau of Land Management website replaced its banner photo from a man and boy hiking to a vein of coal ready to be mined. This has since been changed, no doubt in response to outrage by us resisters!

One of the most exciting evolutions of the resistance came about when SCROTUS started to limit the National Park Service's social media output, leading to the birth of AltNationalParkService, a group of anonymous rouge park employees speaking out on social media: Twitter and Facebook. YES!  Park Rangers leading the resistance!


The Election Assistance Commission
The Election Assistance Commission, a body formed after the disastrous 2000 Election Sham, helps improve voting machines and helps resist hacking, supports election bodies and poll workers, as well as promotes voter registration and voting in general.  Guess who wants to do away with the EAC?  Of course, the Republicans, who do all they can to suppress voting.  Grrrrr. Contact your MoCs to encourage them to vote no on H.R.634 - Election Assistance Commission Termination Act.


The National Forensic Commission
Also eliminated from the Federal Government is The National Forensic Commission, a body within the Department of Justice, which included independent scientists. It was ordered by Jeff Sessions to be dissolved this month.  Now, Forensic Science is near and dear to my heart, and we need to support and promote good scientific practices for justice to prevail.  It's just another casualty in the War on Science. Really troubling. These people weaken our country with every turn.


Surgeon General
You may not have heard that the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, was fired.  Now a nurse, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, holds the position.


Ok, just one big thing.......

So there is one issue that is not flying under the radar, but is egregious and must be mentioned! This is an outrage, and the Resistance must rise up to prevent this from happening!

The National Park System!  The Infinite and Endless Liar wants to open up our precious public lands for drilling, mining, raping!  Our National Parks and National Monuments are some of the most incredible protected lands in the world. The National Parks are gems, and is is outrageous that he is considering undoing some 40 parks created over the last 20 years! Read the thorough write-up in National Geographic. Patagonia, for one, is threatening to sue if SCROTUS tries to un-do these National Parks. If you want to help, the Alt National Park Service suggests this:



In addition, consider donating to a charity that works to protect the earth.  I have just donated to EarthJustice (motto: "Because the Earth needs a good lawyer"), which has a 4/4 (90%+) rating on Charity Navigator.

Thanks for reading, and keep up the resistance!