Even though my friend Stef and I have launched an activism-focused blog — The Activist Playbook — you can expect some cross-posting on the same topics here. If you don’t like it, you can click here for the egress, as a modern-day P.T. Barnum might say. I just can’t keep quiet when I believe recent…
In the News
A Tribute to John Lennon, Plus the Activist Playbook
John Lennon was assassinated outside his New York City apartment building 36 years ago today. Embed from Getty Images In memory of John, you might want to make a donation to the Coalition to Stop Gun violence. If you prefer to be more hands on, you can join a local organization dedicated to stopping gun…
Put December 12 on Your Calendar
Tell your boss you won’t be in on December 12. The Women and Allies Nationwide Protest* is scheduled for that day! If you’re in New York or Houston, you can join a protest to show you’re not going to tolerate a government that abuses the citizens it is supposed to serve. New York City: Starts…
#GivingTuesday
There are so many social-media-friendly “holidays” to celebrate. Some of them have been officially designated to promote companies (National Pancake Day) or industries (National Ice Cream Day), while others promote causes (National Family Literacy Day). Our feline overlords have multiple tributes: National Cat Day, International Cat Day, National Black Cat Day, National Feral Cat Day,…
Audit the Vote: DONATE BY FRIDAY!
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has (finally) done something useful. She is raising money to initiate the recounts of votes in the three key swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. State recounts must be requested by a candidate — in some states, any candidate on the ballot can do it. Stein isn’t expecting…
Audit the Vote: Make Your Voice Heard
Pick up your phone and call these numbers. Demand an audit of the vote. CALL* White House switchboard: 202-456-1414. Department of Justice: 800-253-3931 (then press option 5) or 202-353-1555. Your state senators and local representatives: Get their numbers sent right to your phone by texting your zip code to 520-200-2223. For more phone numbers and…
Audit the Vote: Urgent Action Items
This situation is developing so I may have to change information in this post, but I wanted to share some phone numbers ASAP. At this time, it appears that in three districts in Outagamie County in Wisconsin, the initial and unofficial vote tally showed that the number of ballots cast for president exceeded the total…
This Is an Actual Emergency
When I was a child, I was afraid of tests of the Emergency Broadcasting System. They were so shocking. One minute, I’d be enjoying Morgan Freeman’s performance as Vincent the Vegetable Vampire on The Electric Company. The next minute, my innocent eardrums would be assaulted by the ominous whine of the Attention Signal. Before remote…
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE
Have you voted yet today? I was at my polling location at the 6 a.m. opening time after — literally — no sleep at all. Zero minutes of sleep! Done! #ivoted #vote #electionday2016 #noprotestvotesplease #nastywomenvote #nastywomengetshitdone A photo posted by Wendy Brandes (@wendybrandes) on Nov 8, 2016 at 3:55am PST I was standing in the…
Catcalls and Consent
One good thing came out of this year’s horrible presidential campaign: Women are speaking openly about how we are treated in the workplace and public spaces. It’s not that we never did before, of course. The @everydaysexism account on Twitter was started in March 2012. You can read thousands of personal stories there (though they…