tagged w/ Community Support
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In the early 20th Century---coal mine operators had become so blatantly abusive and exploitive that they were even doing things like hiring private armies of mercenary thugs to intimidate labor organizers. In several cases they even murdered people indiscriminately in areas where labor organizing activities were taking place. This is when the word "thug" came into common use, after a group in India that murdered people by strangulation----paid assassins.
-------" Throughout the early 20th century, West Virginia coal miners attempted to overthrow this brutal system and engaged in a series of strikes, such as the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912, and which coal operators attempted to stop through violent means. Mining families lived under the terror of Baldwin-Felts detective agents who were professional strikebreakers under the hire of coal operators. During that dispute agents drove a heavily armored train through a tent colony at night, opening fire on women, men and children with a machine gun.[8] They would repeat this type of tactic during the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado the next year, with even more disastrous results.[9]"--------
Blair Mountain is the site of the largest armed conflict in the United States outside of the Civil War. As many as 130 people were killed in battle with Logan County sheriff's deputies and paid strike breakers from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency.
Now, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, in moves that only highlights its well known and well paid position of bought and paid for by wealthy industrial interests-----not only wants to destroy the environment which they are supposed to be protecting, they also want to destroy our history as well by allowing the mountain top removal mining of Blair Mountain. Destroy the environment, destroy the people who have to work in the mines(WVDEP allowed violations that led to the deaths of 29 miners last year at a Massey Energy mine----and countless others)-----and now, they want to destroy our history as well. By erasing the memory of miners who gave their lives trying to make better working conditions.
Tom Clark---the director of WVDEP called the efforts to end the mountain top mining destruction of Blair Mountain---and preserve the site of one of the most significant pieces of the history of the the United States---"frivolous".
I suspect he calls anything that doesn't show a profit and put money in his pocket frivolous.
Please lend your support to stopping the destruction of Blair Mountain---and lets do what we can to preserve this site of an important piece of US history as a national park. Send letters to your congressmen and let it be known that you don't want our environment, our history and a piece of who we are destroyed to the profit of a few industrialists.In the early 20th Century---coal mine operators had become so blatantly abusive and... more
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Wetdog
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added this
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10 months ago
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At a time when millions of Americans are considering how to most effectively resist what seems like government intrusion into most every aspect of their lives, employees of the federal government are knocking at the door to collect personal information.
Citizens and non-citizens alike, ‘the feds’ want the names of each and every person staying at the address, regardless of whether the individual actually lives there or merely surfs the couch. To consider a household questionnaire complete, the federal government will walk away from your front door with a profile of each person that includes date of birth, ethnic and racial designations. They will also ask the way in which each person listed is related to each of the others. Thus, a skeptic nation raises its collective eyebrow when this stranger at the door, speaking on behalf of The United States of America, gives every assurance that the confidentiality of the information they collect is under the strict protection of Title 13 of the U.S. Code. You are not alone if you find these assurances, made on behalf of the federal government, incredulous. Calling themselves patriots, scores of Americans prepare to stand against this intrusion by the U.S. federal government, which they perceive as indicative of tyranny and repression, by refusing to participate in the 2010 Census. While this is an idea that certainly resonates with many of the federal government’s detractors, clearly, it is an ill-considered position, an ill-advised action. As an act of civil defiance, failure to provide basic identifying information and demography to the U.S. Census Bureau is convenient and risk free, though a questionable tactic in defense of personal freedom.
In fact, an individual who refuses to fulfill their civil obligation to participate in the Decennial Census, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, makes a hollow, meaningless gesture. With zero risk to that person’s well-being or personal liberty, it is a petty stance taken in contrast to that of the men and women, who, throughout our nation’s history, put themselves at tremendous risk to stand against injustice – even sacrificing their life to defend against legitimate threats to our nation and its ideals. I have yet to hear or read any rational argument to lend credible support to the idea that conducting a thorough accounting of the people within our borders constitutes a threat to anyone’s ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness – much less national security. What is irrefutable, is that a refusal to comply with Title 13 is direct subversion of the U.S. Constitution. Defend the constitution, and if conscience or values demand an act of civil disobedience: subvert the government, not the constitution!
There is a profound legacy in the United States of ordinary people initiating extraordinary social change acting on such conviction. Nowhere in that legacy will you find subversion of the U.S. Constitution as the catalyst for any change in the best interest of Americans.
As an Enumerator doing non-response follow up for the 2010 Decennial Census, I counter frequent resistance and hostility with a brief review of American Civics 101. In Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, just after establishing the Legislative Branch of Government, the framers of the constitution mandate that a Census of the entire nation be taken every ten years. The constitutional reason for conducting the census is fundamental: apportioned representation requires an accurate accounting of the population. If we don’t want our government to take this constitutional duty seriously, we may as well call the whole thing off! Without the Census, there can be no representative democracy. Another historically significant detail I will mention, is that the basic line of questioning on the 2010 Census questionnaire is the same as the 1790 Census. These are, in essence, the questions that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison came up with for the first census!
Propagating ill-founded chatter that casts the federal government in the role of ‘big brother’ conducting a sinister, albeit banal, violation of our civil rights is dangerous because it diverts attention away from real threats to our civil liberties. Again, rather than a defense of the Constitution, there is subversion. Historically, when large numbers of people are drawn to false conclusions based on fictional versions of real circumstances - it never ends well. Those who choose to undermine the constitution in a less anonymous manner than that of a ‘census scofflaw’ often find themselves held in contempt or ridicule by their contemporaries. The more fortunate of these are forgotten by history. Refuse to complete a census questionnaire and you will likely just be forgotten. After all, the reason that so many in this country are able to trace their ancestry to the earliest days of the republic is that after 72 years (and only after 72 years) the information becomes invaluable public record. Alternately, consider how many data bases on which your personal information surely resides – utility companies, banking, credit card companies, department stores, medical facilities, publishing companies, as well any web site with which you register – every one a profit driven enterprise. With no incentive or capacity to do anything other than use it for statistical purposes, personal information is considerably safer in the hands of the U.S. government.
Giving our rational nature the benefit of doubt, let us assume for now that the federal government is not guilty of some Orwellian conspiracy, but that in fact, much like free and transparent elections, the census is a critical, non-negotiable institution required for democracy. What the U.S. Census Bureau is perhaps then guilty of is a failure to communicate – specifically a failure to educate. Consider this: When enumerating, I encounter resistance on a daily basis. In most situations (defining ‘most situations’ as an unscientific four out of five), I am able to provide a quantifiable paradigm shift for even those offering the most hostile resistance. This conversion is accomplished in less than two minutes with that same review of U.S. Civics I convey in the paragraph above. In other words, significant numbers of people living in this country do not know the history of, or understand the critical nature of the Census. Provide the history as a basis for that understanding and people have a different attitude altogether. So how important is the knowledge that the Census is mandated in Article 1 of the constitution, or that Thomas Jefferson developed the basic questions still in use today? As long as we are content with an America where the interest of a privileged few are disproportionally represented at the expense of everyone else – then not very. The ignorance spawned by one or two missing pieces of information can defect the attitude of a generation. The collective will is as feeble as any one individual’s understanding of what is at stake is deficient. To the extent that the Census Bureau began a year in advance to provide the kind of message and information that would persuade the greatest number of people to comply - perhaps a simple history lesson would suffice. For while nothing quite distracts like rumor of a fresh government conspiracy; nothing compels an American quite like real constitutional and historical precedent.
Rex Taylor Smith is a 2010 Decennial Census Enumerator working on non-response followup in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.At a time when millions of Americans are considering how to most effectively resist... more
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If we would have a one click button that could send our stories to all of our connections it would make my life easier.
I wouldn't have to click hundreds of times to share a story with everybody.
ThanksIf we would have a one click button that could send our stories to all of our... more
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BakeSaleBetty
http://current.com/items/90245913_bakesale...
media
Witness culinary genius unveiled amidst the most intriguing conditions. From ironing boards to brownies, and their infamous chicken sandwich, Bake Sale Betty is sure to deliver every time. Please enjoy, and feel free to stop by Betty either here on Current or just visit her in in person and experience the delicious nature of her resolve.....
Mahalo....
KamikazeInk © 2009BakeSaleBetty
http://current.com/items/90245913_bakesale...
media
Witness... more
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A community support officer is facing the sack after demanding 'the power to kick some arse' on his Facebook page and boasting he wants to 'blow shit up'.
PCSO Jack Berriman-Fairbrother - whose hero is Die Hard's John McClane - is to be investigated after comparing himself to the stars of Miami Vice and asking for a rifle.
Self-styled 'Tactical Jack', whose duties include keeping watch on dog fouling and unruly ball games on the mean streets of Sittingbourne, Kent, also used the networking site to declare 'war on scum'.
'I spend all my anger on moron kids who think they can take the Old Bill,' wrote the 22-year-old, who has no powers of arrest.
But - despite the seriousness of the situation - he has become the laughing stock at his police station.
'The way he talks, you'd think he was patrolling south central LA, not a quiet housing estate in Kent,' said a source. Mr Berriman-Fairbrother's superiors were alerted to his Facebook entries after a complaint from a member of the public.
In them, he had listed his political views as 'ultra conservative - lock 'em up and keep 'em there' and said he wanted a job 'where you drive around the streets at high speeds and get to blow shit up'. He described his boss as 'an idiot' and used the page to demand 'a black uniform, high-powered, unmarked vehicle, rifle, wolf and the power to kick some arse'.
In addition, the PCSO, who is also in the TA, mocked up a movie poster titled 'Sittingbourne Vice'.
But Chief Supt Alasdair Hope, of Kent Police, said: 'Any breach of force protocol is not acceptable and will be taken very seriously.'A community support officer is facing the sack after demanding 'the power to kick... more
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I only see people hating this change. Was this voted by the majority?
I do not like it because the beauty of current was to sift through all kinds of news, news of different context.
There will be a separation of people of the community:The ones that only like news, the ones that only like music and so on.
Before everybody would have had more chances to get interested in all kinds of news, therefore bringing more people together.
I ask Current to pull a vote on this one where the community can choose.
It's only fair for both parties.
I just thought they could make it so that people can choose the two different layouts. It doesn't have to be black or white.
Here I explain better my point of view as this is not about a layout look, it goes beyond that:
I would like you to read this as I believe it explains my post better.
I wrote to krush_productions and JanForGore as it follows:
I am guilty of the lazy click and I think a lot of people are too. Don't think they are all like you. I believe you like me want to raise a lot of awareness towards important things in life.
Here is what is going to happen:
Posts of a great importance for example an environmental issue or a war will not be seen by as many people as before. This is because some people will just click on the topic they are interested (the lazy ones).
Before, your title or post about something important would have caught somebody's attention that will be now lost.
Somebody interested in music would have probably clicked on the Israel Palestine conflict and would have known about it, would have read about pollution of our water and so on, gotten interested about it and now it won't as much as before.
Sharing information, exchanging opinions, raising awareness, they are all steps to change the bad in this world.
This is why I gave this post a lot of priority, it is not about the look of the layout but what this could effect as explained above. Try to see my point of view, I did not intend to distract the community from important issues as this layout change will surely.
ThanksI only see people hating this change. Was this voted by the majority?
I do not like... more
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This looks like an awesome cause for this time of year...
"SOS Outreach was founded in 1993 in Colorado’s Vail Valley. As a not-for-profit organization, their programs build character and self-esteem in youth through snowsports and the SOS curriculum."
http://www.sosoutreach.org/This looks like an awesome cause for this time of year...
"SOS Outreach was... more
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More than 60 parents of disabled children from across London came together for a landmark parent participation event.
Together for Disabled Children, a partnership between Contact a Family and Serco Education and Childrens Services, organised the event to support parent carers in their efforts to be involved in planning and developing disabled childrens services.
This video features Toby Price, Head of Sutton Disability Partnership for Children and Young People, who talked about the good practice model of parents working with the local authority in Sutton to improve services.More than 60 parents of disabled children from across London came together for a... more
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More than 60 parents of disabled children from across London came together for a landmark parent participation event.
Together for Disabled Children, a partnership between Contact a Family and Serco Education and Childrens Services, organised the event to support parent carers in their efforts to be involved in planning and developing disabled childrens services.
This video features Toby Price, Head of Sutton Disability Partnership for Children and Young People, who talked about the good practice model of parents working with the local authority in Sutton to improve services.More than 60 parents of disabled children from across London came together for a... more
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One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent stories from other families just like them. This video features honest accounts of parental experiences in raising a disabled child.One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent... more
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One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent stories from other families just like them. This video features honest accounts of parental experiences in raising a disabled child.One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent... more
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One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent stories from other families just like them. This video features honest accounts of parental experiences in raising a disabled child.One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent... more
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One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent stories from other families just like them. This video features honest accounts of parental experiences in raising a disabled child.One of the things families with disabled children often most want to hear are parent... more
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This short documentary takes us through the emotional experience of a family caring for their disabled 9 year old child.
Contact a Family is a UK-wide charity providing support, advice and information for families with disabled children.
For more videos from Contact a Family, visit our channel here:
http://uk.youtube.com/user/cafamily
Freephone Helpline: 0808 808 3555
Textphone: 0808 808 3556
Email us: helpline@cafamily.org.uk
Website: www.cafamily.org.ukThis short documentary takes us through the emotional experience of a family caring... more
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Ten-year old Alice was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes. This is the story of a family and their experiences in caring for a disabled child.
For more information on Sturge-Weber syndrome, please visit the Contact a Family directory: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/Direct/s63...
If you would like any information about specific conditions or rare disorders, you can access the Contact a Family Directory here:
http://www.cafamily.org.uk/dirworks.html
For more videos from Contact a Family, visit our channel here:
http://uk.youtube.com/user/cafamily
Freephone Helpline: 0808 808 3555
Textphone: 0808 808 3556
Email us: helpline@cafamily.org.uk Ten-year old Alice was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a congenital disorder... more
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This act is supported by Obama
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Ten-year old Alice was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a congenital disorder involving the brain, skin and eyes. This is the story of a family and their experiences in caring for a disabled child.
For more information on Sturge-Weber syndrome, please visit the Contact a Family directory: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/Direct/s63.html
If you would like any information about specific conditions or rare disorders, you can access the Contact a Family Directory here:
http://www.cafamily.org.uk/dirworks.htmlTen-year old Alice was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a congenital disorder... more
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