DoReMI

Now a Michigander, by way of Ohio, Illinois, Scotland, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Gardener. Sewer. Democrat. Resister.

It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: What Sewing and Politics Have in Common 9/19/18

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If only my sewing room were this organized…

 Normally, I write my posts here and then copy and paste them for the DK Village. For whatever reason, today I wrote up my DK post first, and once I was done, I realized I didn’t really want to do the same thing here. So indulge me, even if you don’t sew…

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Editors' Choice, It Takes a Village, News and Opinion

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: Book Release Day

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Today’s the day that some have been waiting for and others have been dreading; with all the differences of opinion, one thing that is certain is that very, very few have actually read The Book. Yes, a bookstore in Florida sold some copies early (that’s how some CNN reporters got their copies), and a few more pundits were given advance copies with embargo conditions. And yes, some excerpts were released early; approximately four pages out of 512. We know those excerpts have stirred up controversy in the media and on Twitter, but what’s different this time around is that there has been significant, astute, and articulate pushback. Today I’m posting some of the best.

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Fighting Back, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: Back to Work 9/5/17

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February 1943: A real life Rosie the Riveter.  Women were called on to do the work; the call is alive again.

Even though the calendar tells us that summer doesn’t end for another 17 days, for most of us, Labor Day is a key line of demarcation. It’s getting dark earlier; the evenings (in most places) are cooler; and here in Michigan, the kids are headed back to school. For me, August was a month of scaled-back Resistance. My calls were less frequent, and since my freshman rep refuses to hold town halls, there were a few days of picketing his office…but very few sightings of him were reported. (After Charlottesville, and after intense, vocal outrage expressed on his Facebook page, he did give a clear, unequivocal denunciation of white supremacists, but then disappeared again.)

Now recess is ending, and there’s a full plate for Congress coming up. Our Resistance is more important than ever: between funding for Harvey-hit regions; raising the debt limit; funding the government for the upcoming fiscal year; ensuring the ACA is strengthened, not gutted; and defending DACA through legislation, our legislators have a full plate…and lots of opportunity for making mischief. We’re not going to get quiet now. With so much at stake, we can’t get quiet now.

Across the country

For informed advocacy

Expect a lot of this, and hold ’em to their support of legislative action

Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr Thunderclap

Insist on ACA fixes

Expect the debt limit to become a bargaining chip

And as if Harvey wasn’t enough…

Keep strong, keep fighting, and give yourself permission to laugh. Palate cleansers to help…

Found on the Internets, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: The Eye of the Hurricane 8/29/17

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By NASA/International Space Station ([1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I’ve only experienced one hurricane in my life; Hurricane Gloria in 1985, when I was living in Portsmouth, RI on Aquidneck Island. As a native Midwesterner, I had no idea what to expect, and so I hunkered down with my dogs gathered round me and waited. I distinctly remember my reaction when we were in the eye. I found myself breathing again, even when I knew there was more to come. (We were lucky. Gloria hit during low tide, and the island did not sustain much damage as compared to other areas of Rhode Island and New England.)

Today I want to celebrate the good we see around us. I do not want to minimize what is happening in TX and LA; nor am I suggesting that 45*s idiocy can be ignored. But August recess is almost over, and the need for daily/weekly calls to our reps will be essential once again. We are more aware than ever of the need to confront racism and sexism in all its forms, and there will be ongoing calls for support as Harvey moves on and the rebuilding begins. We’re far from out of the storm, but today, let’s create and enjoy a brief breathing space.

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Editors' Choice, Fighting Back, History, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: In Their Own Words 8/22/17

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Made possible by Europe’s advantages in military and social technology, the slavery started by Europeans in the fifteenth century was different, because it became the enslavement of one race by another.

(Excerpt from Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen)

White supremacy and racism were the causes, rather than the symptoms, of slavery in our country. The enslavement of Africans was justified, in part, because of the presumed superiority of whiteness. In short, without racism, we have no slavery or defense of its existence. In the past ten days, we’ve had memes and discussions of our racist history popping up everywhere, and all too often, they’re either incomplete, distorted by bias, or inaccurate. Today I’m going to let some of these historical figures speak for themselves. This post is subject to my own bias by virtue of which figures and quotes I choose to highlight, but I will try to include a representative sampling.

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Democratic Party Values, Fighting Back, Found on the Internets, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: The ReSisterhood (Happy Birthday, Auntie Maxine!) 8/15/17

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By slowking4 (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by a comment made by bfitzinAR and the encouragement of WYGalinCA, today’s post is all about Maxine Waters (CA-43), one of the leaders of the ReSisterhood. She’s 79 today, and as a self-described “strong black woman,” she’s been controversial, contentious, courageous, and a clarion of truth.

This article, How Maxine Waters became ‘Auntie Maxine’ in the age of Trump gives a nice overview of her background without shying away from her more controversial moments.

For a less biographical, but hilariously righteous take, I suggest reading this: Maxine Waters Is Back and She’s Not Here to Play

But really, I can’t say anything that Rep. Waters couldn’t say better, so today let’s just listen and learn.

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Editors' Choice, History, Immigration and Citizenship, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: Family, Immigration, and History 8/8/17

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“The toes of Miss Liberty found a home on American soil.”

The comments of Stephen Miller and the restrictive immigration standards of the proposed RAISE Act have caused me to think a lot about immigration lately. I’m in the privileged position as a white woman to have been able to trace my family tree back many generations; in some cases, that translates to many centuries too. I am 100% a child of immigrants, and of the seven lines I’ve been able to trace back beyond my maternal and paternal great-grandparents, only two lines spoke English as their primary language. It troubles me deeply that people, especially those in my own family, see no problem with a condition that would require English-language ability before allowing immigration. The claim that learning English is now more accessible than it was in my great-grandparents’ day falls short for me, because it presumes access to a type of education that is still more available for the privileged, the white, and the western European. But then, I suppose that’s the point.

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Editors' Choice, History, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: Tweeting the News (1917 Version) 8/1/17

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Today, I’m taking a break from our platform, healthcare legislation, and all things Twitter. This choice is not because our resistance is over or because we can take our eyes off the ball, but because things in DC are still very fluid, making “current events” hard to cover, especially since I write these posts a day in advance. Instead, I’m asking you to join me in exploring newspaper stories from 31 July 1917; my commentary will be minimal since the stories speak for themselves. This post was prompted by this tweet from last week, and my awareness of how much of our history is lost or forgotten.

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Democratic Party Values, Editors' Choice, Fighting Back, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – VNV Tuesday: We Are Dems/Work Those Phones Day! 7/25/17

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Let’s kick some ass today!

BEFORE ANYTHING, CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY! DEM OR REPUBLICAN, THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM US.

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Democratic Party Values, It Takes a Village

It Takes A Village – Thursday Special: We Are Dems (Part 3.5) 7/20/17

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Knowing who we are is half the battle…

I’m continuing my look at the healthcare planks of both the Democratic and Republican Party platforms, despite the fluid events in the news about the status of BCRA[p] and the ever-changing Republican plans to destroy the ACA. We need to know just what the Republican positions are, not matter how unworkable, because if we know anything, it’s that they don’t quit. And if by some miracle a chance for bipartisan fixes to the ACA comes about, we need to know what fixes, additions, and changes Democrats might have in mind; Medicare for All is still unlikely, even if a push to work together somehow comes about.

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