The X Fact(her): I Got a Gangsta Green Thumb

I haven’t been food shopping in over a month.

I should grow my own food, but don’t. Jay-z said “dig a hole” and maybe I should. Fill it with some seeds, sprinkle with water and some TLC. I’ll be feasting on next season’s dinner in no time.

Seriously, I would love to eat fresh, organic produce every day. A while back I came across this documentary about eight UK adults picked to live in the monkey section of a zoo and eat the exact same diet as monkeys—all fresh and raw fruits and vegetables. One man never saw cauliflower before. In the end they all lost weight, felt better, had improved some of their medical conditions and vowed to each healthier. There is even an American documentary out about the same sort of thing.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Chloe

Where You Gonna Sleep Tonight

Foreclosures are at the center of out economic crisis.  If our friends and family don’t even know where they’ll be tonight, how can they muster the strength to rebuild our society?

We need to help people stay in their homes.

Listen to Dani’s message and be a part of it: http://colorofchange.org/homes/

Posted by:

Heather Box

MTA Fare Hikes? Service Cuts? Fuggettaboutit!

In January, 99Problems broke news on a budget crisis within the New York public transportation system and potentially drastic rate hikes and service cuts (“Too Broke To Go To Work“).
Much to the dismay and agony of many New Yorkers, those rate hikes and service cuts are becoming reality. On Wednesday, March 25th, they were approved by the MTA.

So, New Yorkers and tourists everywhere…here’s what we can look forward to:

-increased price of a single ride from $2 to $2.50 and monthly fares by 20%

-elimination of two subway trains and more than 33 bus services completely

-longer waits for trains and more people on them

-thousands of jobs lost, more dangerous subway stations

There is currently a plan in the NY State senate to pass a new budget that will prevent these changes from taking place. This plan is currently stalled and the Brooklyn League of Young Voters Education Fund is asking for all New Yorkers to speak up and demand fair treatment for lower and middle income residents.

Send a message to New York’s elected officials!

Posted by:

Steve Romain

What do you do to change the world?

Most of the time, we act like education is supposed to end at 12th grade, or when you get that college diploma. Why do we think adults should keep their heads down, stop paying attention to the world, and live for that biweekly paycheck?

Why do we leave it to the idealism of kids to energize us and to dream big? That is a mindset that we’ve let ourselves settle into; we need to break the mold and let our unique creativity, our natural thirst for knowledge, come out.

The key to social change is the understanding that we have to think bigger, do more, and learn from our victories and defeats. Education is a life time pursuit; it’s the pursuit of a life time, facing the challenges of our world and bringing each other across the finish line.

Posted by:

Heather Box

Unconditional Love and Respect, Everyday

Violence is a sickness….

and it goes both ways.  No matter who ends up in the ground, it is a tragedy, and it is a social illness for which the only cure is unconditional love.  It is naive to believe that trust can exist without communication.

We have to open up, believe in each other’s humanity! Honor the memory of Dr. King, honor the memory of Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, and the policemen who lost their lives needlessly.

Posted by:

CJ