It’s Time To Get Louder. Bud Selig Can’t Hear You!

Don’t cry for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, sports fans. Sure, this year’s MLB All-Star Game posted its worst ratings in history. But poor ticket sales aren’t the only thing on Selig’s mind. The calls are getting louder and louder for Selig to move next year’s All-Star Game from Phoenix in protest of Arizona’s controversial immigration law – SB 1070 – yet he doesn’t think baseball fans have the power to influence the decision.

Selig told Sports Illustrated that the situation “will be solved in the political process at the appropriate time … we’ll do things when baseball can influence decisions.” However, fans know that while a few innings in a ballgame might have little effect on history, the movement leading up to it can have a incredible effect on public opinion and put forth a dramatic message.

… Continue Reading

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Steve Romain

Reel Talk with Lisa Raye McCoy, presented by TBI!

CJ and our friends at the Tunnel Builder Institute are starting the new year strong for us: a two part video interview with LisaRaye McCoy about what she’s doing in communities to bring change to them.

Check em out below:

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Steve Romain

Heather and Jayme: Live From #COP15, Blowin Up The Radio Dial!

Heather Box and Jayme Montgomery on Davey D’s Hard Knock Radio

Check out this interview about COP15 and the talks in Copenhagen, aired on 12/17/2009 on Davey D’s Hard Knock Radio. Jayme and Heather talk about the mood of the conference as well as some of the intense protests they saw. Hard Knock Radio airs every day at 4PM on KPFA: check out the page for the show here!

Also, check out this clip from Heather, interviewed on 12/18/2009 on the KPFA Morning Show:

Heather Box on the KPFA Morning Show – 12/18/09

Heather talks about the general atmosphere in Copenhagen and the mood after President Obama’s speech about the climate negotiations. The KPFA Morning Show airs every weekday at 7:00 AM Pacific time on KPFA: check out the page for the show here!

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Steve Romain

Chasing Paper: Hip Hop and Immigration

I’m starting to realize that some of my favorite songs have really boring and goofy subject matter. Take, for instance, Boys of Summer by Don Henley. Catchy ass song, no real meaning. Let’s face it, it’s making me feel guilty.

As a result, I’ve been getting amped up when I hear about music that confronts the real issues in our lives today. Check out this post, which came over the lines at Wiretap:

Anyone looking for artists that express the current struggle for immigrants’ rights will find that My America, a benefit CD for the movie “Papers,” does a particularly good job. The CD was put together by Molina Soleil and Aju, a music duo from Denver, CO that specializes in their own multilingual fusion of jazz, soul and hip-hop.

Check out more over at Wiretap!

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Steve Romain

Reverence and Respect, All The Time.

91 years ago today, in 1918, an armistice was signed to end the first World War. One year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first Armistice Day, to commemorate the event. Within ten years, the holiday would become our modern Veterans Day: “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace”.

In the aftermath of the horrible Fort Hood shootings, it becomes necessary for us to take a step back and really express our gratitude to those who give of themselves on a daily basis to protect our very lives. As we fight wars on all sides of the world, take a moment today to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom.

This isn’t a progressive or a conservative issue: this is just the right thing to do.

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Steve Romain

Tropical Island Getaways… Made Of Human Waste.

(Sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island)

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
a tale of some gruesome shit,
about what happens when you load some trash
atop a mighty ship.

In all seriousness, what you’re about to hear is absolutely disgusting. Roughly 1000 miles north of Hawaii, islands are developing from the trash and waste that humans generate. These islands are created by objects such as toothbrushes and bottle caps that have accumulated in the ocean over the course of modern history. Trash accumulates in these islands, it seems, due to ocean gyres – “an area of heavy currents and slack winds that keep the trash swirling in a giant whirlpool.”

And how big are these islands? Roughly, double the size of Texas. We think. See, there’s a big problem. Scientists don’t really have a way as of yet to determine how big it is, or if there are others like it. It’s not quite as fabled as the Loch Ness Monster, but at least as dangerous. Plastic, a core element of these trash islands, takes in toxins such as DDT “like a sponge”. Sea creatures eat it and it becomes a huge wrench in the food chain.

So what are people doing to reverse this? Good question. Cleanup groups are developing creative ways to get rid of the trash that has developed in these islands. One of these efforts has the goal of turning the plastic from these islands into diesel fuel. All the groups agree with one factor though: this trash is getting stinky and we’ve gotta do something about it.

Check out more about the tropical trash islands over at the New York Times.

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Steve Romain

Green Your Job = Green Yourself?

We tend to do a lot of talking here about greening yourself. Let’s face it, it’s not easy.

A lot of the time, people perceive greening their lifestyles as difficult, financially cumbersome with negligible returns. To reverse a societal norm is damn near impossible, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. This raises an eternally interesting question, however. Does working in an ecofriendly workplace or a green job help one develop a greener personality?

According to a recent NY Times blog, there seems to be no conducive evidence as of yet – research is still relatively new on the subject – but there are many case studies of this actually happening. Take – for instance – a graduate of Solar Richmond, Wayne Gatlin:

“I’m getting greener,” said Mr. Gatlin, who earns far more as a photovoltaics installer for the Berkeley-based Sun Light & Power than he did working security or selling shoes at an Adidas retail store.

“I recycle now,” Mr. Gatlin said. “I ride my bike. This was stuff I wouldn’t do before.”

I can personally say that ever since starting to work at 99Problems.org and The League, I’ve been trying to green my lifestyle with little things: using public transportation whenever possible, bringing my lunch to work in plastic containers rather than paper bags, trying to buy sustainable products… things like that.

What about you? Is your work life conducive to a greener lifestyle?

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Steve Romain

Iran: Defying Death By Speaking Up

In Iran, a student named Mahmoud Vahidnia was heralded as an unlikely hero last week, for a stunning act of bravery that shook the country’s youth to the core. His action? Speaking truth to power, in person.

That’s right: he’s being lauded for his bravery for speaking up and dissenting with the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a public forum event. According to a report by the Huffington Post, openly criticizing the Ayatollah is a crime in Iran, punishable by imprisonment. Vahidnia openly lambasted the state-run media’s perspectives on the Ayatollah as well as the Ayatollah’s history of violence against youth protesters.

He faced significant resistance at the event:

“Vahidnia, a gold medalist at the country’s National Math Olympics two years ago, told the pro-opposition Alef Web site that officials at first barred him from speaking, but Khamenei apparently allowed him to go ahead. He said he was interrupted several times by the event’s moderator who insisted they were out of time.”

In the echo-chamber of critique that is the political blogosphere, it’s easy to lose the plot and forget how valuable our right to speak truth to power is. Vahidnia is definitely an inspirational figure and we hope that he stands in no danger after his heroic act. Check out more about this incredible story over at The Huffington Post.

Posted by:

Steve Romain