East Bay Planning

Today I printed the first batch of stickers for the anti-war toys campaign!

Tonight we had a productive Codepink event planning meeting in Berkeley to organize what promises to be a spectacular gala affair: the Mad Voter's Pink Tea Party. Bay Area folks: Mark yer calendars for Saturday night, Dec. 11- a festive affair to celebrate the incredible work so many local individuals put into the election efforts by awarding "pink badges of courage" and a silent auction and entertainment.
More news to come!

The evening ended with a fireside women's conversation at Sam's house, in her purple living room which is covered in goddesses and orchids. I went to sleep feeling that the world maybe, quite possibly, is an absolutely beautiful place.

Auto Show Invasion: Hummer Action!

This Sunday, we wake up and jump into Nancy's car and zoom through San Francisco, Moscone Center-bound. Today is the San Francisco Auto Show- the annual chance for Bay Area consumers to feast their eyes on gas guzzling giants, everything from standard black suvs, to cherry red ferraris (in the upstairs "exotic cars" section), to new hybrids like the Honda Accord and the Toyota Prius. But we- Ariel, Nancy, me, and the seven other outstanding Codepink women who converged at the show- weren't there to peruse and purchase. We showed up to protest Hummers, the military vehicles made popular by our gubernator that have become popular toys for the rich and wasteful.

The action is incredible: 10 women holding big pink banners with anti-Hummer slogans and chanting. We completely comandeered the central H3 hummer, which was rotating with grand hubris in circles on a large white stage. Ariel and I hopped onto the roof and flashed our peace signs high in the air. We stayed afloat the huummer for quite a long time before we climbed down and met with the police. We were "escorted" out of the show, and as we walked out we created something of a parade with our banners and cheers.

After being threatened with "dammage" to the Hummers- as if!- we leave without being charged and go on our merry, celebratory way.

Channel 2's 10 o'clock news covers the event and shows us atop the hummer before each commercial break until they tell the story, which is a pretty weak rendition of an incredible action.

Happenings

There are other events of great importance to report, namely:
The Department of Peace Conference,
the Green Festival,
the We the Planet concert, and more... stay tuned!

11/11/04

Make a wish!

Let's take back our country, our democracy, our communities!

Organizing, Attack on Fallujah Protest, Love Workshop

Ariel and I wake up dreaming about voting and talking to Bush... surprise, surprise. In fact, we have rarely risen without the cloud of the night's nightmares featuring political officials and various renditions of the election process. A few weeks ago, we dubbed this syndrome "PTSD": Presidential Trauma Stress Disorder.

Today, though, our dreams feature swimming pools and other personal characters and places. It is an overcast day in El Granada and we begin the behind-the-scenes work, which includes calls to Feinstein, Kerry- whose mailboxes are all full, and other political officials. I talk to Bush's office and report three issues: addressing a recount and voter fraud, bringing our troops home NOW, and refusing Bush's plan to select Dr. David Hager to head the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. The response was a generic "I'll report that to the president." The man also said that he hadn't heard any other voices for a recount, and that a presidential candidate would have to call for the recount.

Other revolutionary tasks of the day include: laundry, returning phone calls, and cleaning. Changing the world, one clean pair of trousers at a time.

Tonight there was a large protest against the attack on Falluja planned in San Francisco. Ariel and I went to the corner of Powell and Market and stand with a few hundred folks in protest of the day's attack on Fallujah. It turns out that the protest is predominately organized by International A.N.S.W.E.R., an organization which in my opinion takes a militant anger-based stance that comes accross as opposition only, and not a space for creating positive alternative solutions. I also feel that ANSWER protesters often confuse issues and ideological themes to the point of blindness. For example, at this protest, I saw anti-imperialism posters with swasticas and I saw a sign that read: "Stalin, Hitler, Bush." There you have a communist dictator, a fascist leader, and a democratic president; while they might share some similar leadership strategies or personality traits, they are not easily equatable. This sort of thing reminds me of the pro-choice women's march in D.C. last spring, where I saw the anti-march anti-choice Christian fundamentalists lining the side of the road holding a large poster that showed pictures of concentration camps in Nazi Germany, Japanese internment camps, Osama Bin Laden, and a severed fetus. These kind of brash comparisons lose credibility for movements in my eyes.

The protest marched down Market Street, around the corner, on Mission St., and back to Market. I was wholly unimpressed with the event because I don't feel like it garnished, or even warranted, much attention. Protests happen all the time in California, in San Francisco specifically, and the scale wasn't that large, so there was no reason for the media to pay extra special attention to us.

What I did get out of going was something of very great worth, though. I walked away with a rejuvinated passion for creative civil disobedience and actions, for thinking outside the box. This led me to think that maybe we could get some of the huge posters hanging in storefront display windows to make posters on, once the shops were done with them. Ariel and I proceeded to go to Old Slavey- and absolute NO, American Eagle- no on the basis of model contract issues, Abercrombie and Fitch- yes but they just threw out all their posters, and finally, Sephora, the make-up and perfume shop. At Sephora we met a super friendly make-up artist who went in the back and emerged with huge HOT PINK satin, pillowy, magnetic, posterboards for us to take for free!!

Also, we shared in the march with Andrea, an amazing Codepink organizer that Ariel worked with in Florida, and Charles, the co-founder of what could become the Pink Panthers.

After the protest, Ariel and I drove to Good Vibrations in Berkeley and went to a radical love workshop by Wendy O-Matik (check out www.wendyomatik.com). Wendy's words about love, open relationships, making love to the world, jealousy, and compassion are food for me to keep challenging my preconceived ideas about connecting with people, and to keep struggling to find my voice in this patriarchal society. Attending her workshop for the second time was like refueling my spirit. And being there with two people who I love very much- Ariel and Tzadik- was a blessing.

After we emerged from Good Vibes, the sky opened up and showered us with water kisses. We drove home in the pouring rain- a ceremony, to be sure.

Touch Down Cali

After an excruciating day at Chicago O'Hare, I fly across the country in style a la bulkhead first class, and land at SFO, where I'm greeted by my mom and Ariel. Homecoming to the largest liberal state in the Union. Feels so good to be back.

Friday night Ariel and I go to the Department of Peace conference in Berkeley. Marianne Williamson and Dennis Kusinich speak in inspiring tongues about the need for peace now. They fail to bring up the potentials of a stolen election, so Ariel and I rock the mike and ask about the election results. We also point out that the crowd is overwhelmingly white and middle class, which doesn't fit the "mosaic" demographic that Kusinich keeps reffering to. Problems with representation? We think so. The conference lasts until well after 10:30 p.m. once all the questions are posed and answered, and when we get home, we eagerly fall asleep.

post-post-election

folks, a quick update that I am leaving milwaukee tonight for chicago, then minneapolis and finally arriving in san francisco tomorrow morning. i don't yet have words to share about the darkness, the sense of betrayal, and the anger that i feel after yesterday, which was both the day after the election and my 22nd birthday. this weekend there will be a conference about having a department of peace in the US governement that will be led by dennis kucinich in the bay area. and soon i will be reunited with my family and my soul sister ariel. feeling a mixture of nausea and hope cravings. wanting to reach out. gratitude for your support, and for reading...

election day driving

natalia and i drove folks to the polls for 13 hours today. it was incredible. we were quite a team in Steely Lightning- our rental car wheels for the day. so many adventures to write about here... more to come later.

ELECTION DAY

Today is it! Natalia and Wes just voted... and we're off to drive voters to the polls for the next 13 hours. Please send blessings and love to the USA today... and VOTE!!!

p.s.- at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, Nov. 3, I will turn 22 years old- all I want is for Kerry to win!

The Day Before

Monday, November 01, I wake up and drive Natalia to school. After I drop her off, I stop by a coffee shop to find out where a grocery store is and the coffee maker directs me to Beans and Barley. When I walk into the store, I see a big poster advertising a Kerry speaking event scheduled for today. When I’m checking out at the register, I hear two women in front of me talking about how someone should go to the poles and check to make sure that all the old white men are legitimate voters (ha, ha). I ask them about the rally, and one of them says she’s going, and all of a sudden what began as a quick trip out of the house to drop off Natalia and pick up groceries (in my ugg boots and sans bra, no less) becomes a journey to see the man himself, Kerry. I follow Dena, who is an amazingly vibrant and friendly film producer, native Milwaukee-ite, and relative of Russ Feingold, the Wisconsin senator up for re-election. We park downtown and walk over to the rally, where we stand for two hours in the pouring rain, occasionally breaking into a dance move while listening to the soft rock hits of the Democratic party—mostly a lot of Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and U2. The big performer of the day, Bon Jovi, plays a few songs live with an acoustic guitar and a fiddle accompaniment.

Finally, after Natalia has joined up with us, Kerry comes on stage, wearing a Carhart beige jacket an flanked by his two daughters. He flashes a big smile and thumbs up and says all the tag line campaign points: improve the economy, stem cell research, become a real commander-in-chief and realign ourselves with our allies, right the situation in Iraq, etc. He even mentions how the Redskins lost against Greenbay on Sunday, thus proving that he will win the election, since everyone knows that since 1936 no incumbent president has ever won reelection when the Redskins haven’t won. He expresses great appreciation for all of us loyal supporters standing drenched in the rain and he urges us to canvas, knock on doors, and drive people to the polls. I feel like this is a personal message just for us.

We applaud and chant “One more day! One more day!” and get wetter and wetter and teeter on the metal barricade so that we can see over all the people and their Kerry/Edwards signs. And then it is over. And we leave. And there it is- the long awaited in-person experience with Kerry, after all these days talking about him, telling people how great he is, working with him in mind. He cannot know how dedicated we all are. How many of us there are. He’s really very tall.

Natalia and I drive to work at the New Voters Project. We have a rough start to the day- miscommunications with a disinterested driver, etc.- and eventually reach our turf on the south side. Natalia and I rock turfs 140 and 222. We talk to so many people who otherwise wouldn’t have known their polling location, the times that the polls are open (7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and what forms of ID they need to bring with them. It is really awesome to go door-to-door with Natalia, and we tag team alternate houses on the same blocks. Natalia is a canvassing pro. Without any training or background, and barely any prep time, she rocks the rap, and adds her one impassioned persuasions for why folks should vote tomorrow. She is confident and clear and very personable. It is really great to have her fresh perspective. Throughout the night, going up and down long numbered streets, we frequently seek refuge from the rain in a local panaderia which is selling special pan dulce (sweet breads and cookies) for the Dia de los Muertes (Day of the Dead) festive memorials. We talk with a lot of people on the street in addition to the names on our lists (which become really wet and soggy as the night wears on) and I think that some of these actions are as promising and rich as those with registered 18-24 year olds, but of course they aren’t listed on the tick sheet of our daily “success.”

We end the night in an apartment community off the I-43 and finally journey, loud rap music, gun wound and boar attack stories, and all, back to the office, where we do our paperwork and gaff the big “Vote” banner to use while driving to polling places… basically, we make off like bandits with this incredibly artistic voter sign, and with big smiles and wet clothes. Wes picks up (x2) and let me take this opportunity to voice how incredible Wes has been, behind the scenes, throughout this whole get out the vote endeavor. Without Wes’s good humored flexibility and help with transportation and general wonderfulness (and providing for and paying for the absolutely NECESSARY Bailey’s Irish Cream which is ending this night quite fantastically), Natalia and I would not have been nearly as able to secure the vote for Kerry in Wisconsin.

And then I blog with my bowl of Bailey’s and goat milk. And then I upload. And tomorrow is Election Day. And oh my goodness. 0 more days. Only hours left. And intentions. In tension. In tense. In. In sleep I dream of all that will lie beyond… the real “day after tomorrow.”