#Civil Society

[captainxtra]

Another reminder on HR9495 since its house vote will be tomorrow.

Dems who supported it last time, contact them and tell them why it’s bad!

[vox-anglosphere]

An unarmed London policeman outside St Paul's Cathedral in 1960

[internationaldayofdemocracy]

Protect free and fair elections.

With billions of people headed to the polls in 2024, it’s vital that democratic govts, civil society, & tech companies work to protect free & fair elections—the cornerstone of any democracy.

[washdayradionetwork]

Canada’s most prominent Indigenous icon might not be Indigenous

Horse. Shit.

Anyone who looks at Buffy Sainte-Marie and thinks, "Italian", as this hit piece suggests, is as White as they come, and an ignorant bigot, besides.

DNA tells the tale -- not true crime TV "detective" work.

This article claims that indigenous people will be shocked, but guess again. We know who we are, where we come from, what our traditions are, who our family is, and what we look like. White bigots will need more luck than there is in the world to topple that.

We will keep playing Buffy's music on the Febrile Ohms radio show. Our parent company, Civil Society, will keep consulting with her, and her vast network of contacts, as CS continues the fight for green energy; good jobs; and Native land, water, and mineral rights.

BTW, you can hear the Febrile Ohms radio show every weekday at 6 a.m. on Clear Channel Radio stations ALL across the country.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Oh, one more thing! The writer of this hit piece is one Amanda Coletta. Contact her on Twitter and the Washington Post, where she shares this:

[alwaysbewoke]

[trendynewsnow]

The Rise of Authoritarian Nationalism: Reflections from Hong Kong and Beyond

The Pulse of Hong Kong: A Journey Through Unrest In December 2019, I found myself in Hong Kong, enveloped by a palpable sense of tension. For several months, young activists had taken to the streets, passionately protesting against the encroaching influence of the Chinese Communist Party on what had been envisioned as a self-governing, democratic society. Graffiti adorned the walls, with bold…

[shrinkrants]

There are remedies within the legislative process and the rule of law to some of this. But we will only get them with massive public participation. Civil society must press the case that this court is fatally illegitimate and Roberts, Alito and Thomas must resign. And we must press our legislators to act. Other countries have survived worse, and most of the countries to the south of the US have been through revolutions, coups, dictatorships and other dramas in the past century, as well as successful non-violent resistance and democratic triumphs.

One thing is clear after this epochal supreme court decision: the fate of the country is in the hands of its people. Or rather two things are clear: the rightwing pursuit of increasingly outrageous minority rule is because they are increasingly a minority; the will of the people and the majority of votes are not on their side when it comes to everything from reproductive rights to climate action. Which is why they have to suppress votes, gerrymander districts, try to steal elections and now torch the constitution. In one way, this demonstrates their strength. In another, their weakness. It’s up to us to make that weakness matter more than that strength.

-- Rebecca Solnit

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Don Moynihan at Can We Still Govern?

Authoritarian regimes seek to delegitimate and control aspects of society that hold some measure of independence: that includes universities, the government bureaucracy, a free press, and, civil society. I’ve written a lot about threats to government, especially via Schedule F, and to free speech on campus. We are currently witnessing the manufacturing of campuses as sites of disorder (see this piece by Paul Musgrave). This is a handy political hammer in an election year, and invites greater supervision of campuses by political actors, who can install their people and rules.

Here, I want to talk about civil society. Civil society is a broad category, which basically incorporates everything from churches, neighborhood associations, nonprofits and large philanthropies. From de Tocqueville on, there is a broad sense that civil society serves an essential role in American democracy. The stronger the civil society, the less like an authoritarian leader can re-orient society around his goals.

So, we should be concerned about partisan government actors targeting specific nonprofits and civil society more broadly. A consistent pattern in the lurch toward authoritarianism is the squeezing of civil society groups, in countries like Russia, China, Turkey, Venezuela, and Hungary. It is a well-worn playbook. Accuse the organizations of working against the interests of the state, or supporting radicals or terrorists, shut them down, and then start to squeeze other civil society actors not loyal to the state.

Kleinfeld identifies the formal tools governments are or will use, which are accompanied by political vilification, informal harassment, and in some cases threats of violence.

Congressional committee hearings and oversight activities used to impugn organizations as foreign, reduce their legitimacy, and take up their time and resources

Laws restricting speech or forcing ideological conformity at state-controlled universities and schools

Broad and vaguely written foreign agent registration regulations being applied to activities previously not considered problematic

Government lawsuits and investigations executed in bad faith, which take time and money to address while undermining legitimacy and often blocking discussion of the case while they are underway

New anti-protest laws that carry massive fines or felony convictions or that allow vigilante action against protesters

Retaliatory actions that punish businesses for taking a stand on public issues or offering products for which there is business demand—such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening on investment funds—including by revoking government contracts, suspending supportive business conditions, or enacting new laws designed to punish

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigations, tax code changes, audits, or asset seizure.

[...]

Putting “woke” foundations in the crosshairs

What is striking about this year’s election is the degree to which Republicans are targeting institutions as irredeemably corrupt, and the degree they have fairly radical plans to deal with them. Schedule F will remove bureaucratic autonomy. Threatening the tax status or federal grants for universities will bring higher education to heel.

Add the nonprofit sector to that list of institutions to be controlled. This could come via new laws, or just via executive power. A key demand of Republicans is that the Department of Justice do more to investigate George Soros and the organizations he funds. A Trump Attorney General would be more likely to comply, unbothered by the fact that they would be following in the footsteps of Putin and Orban in pursuing Soros. The IRS could also pursue organizations selectively by questioning their tax status. Trump could order the IRS to investigate individual organizations that displease him. He already tried this as President. The difference is now he would be surrounded by loyalists who would enable these actions. If you are running a visible philanthropic organization, you have reason to be worried. Though they have gotten less attention than government or universities, foundations are also accused as having gone “woke”, which in concrete terms often means committing resources to DEI, social justice or environmental issues. The fact that such criticisms are often coming from right-wing tax-exempt nonprofit organizations like the Heritage Foundation, AEI or the Manhattan Institute, who in turn draw funding from right-wing foundations, does not seem to give the critics pause, evoke a sense of irony, or at least an acknowledgment that the current state of civil society reflects a wide diversity of perspectives.

Don Moynihan's Substack on the authoritarian attack on civil society is a must-read.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

An American hero, banned from the history books in the American South. 

Mary Elaine LeBey: 60th Anniversary - April 23rd, 1963 - William Moore, a Baltimore postal worker, on a one-man Civil Rights demonstration where he set out to walk from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., to hand deliver a letter to the governor of Mississippi asking him to reverse his stance on segregation, was murdered with two shots to the head by KKK members... This photo showing his homemade sandwich-style sign, was taken just prior to his murder…

And, given this murder happened in Attalla, Alabama, it went “unsolved"... Just another martyr not taught about in American history classes…

[Scott Horton]

[ezrasloyalfans]

One more thing from Ezra himself (He/they say there's news about new pronouns coming).

Ezra says he's never been so cold in his life as when he was in the Arctic, and that, thanks to Civil Society, who run @thecapitolradar here on Tumblr, he probably won't have to go back.

He explained that, in 2020, Civil Society bought the drilling rights to the Tongass National Forest, the largest carbon sink in the Western Hemisphere.

What's CS doing with those drilling rights?

Nothing. They're doing nothing. So, no drilling, and the Tongass stays clean. Ezra advises that you hit up the folks at CS to find out about their efforts on alternative energy.

Thankful beyond words to Ezra Miller, whose active commitment to climate action inspires us every day.

We love you, Ezzie.

Zoe, Jana, and Patrick

[captainxtra]

Where we currently stand in relation to HR 9495:

It passed 219-184, succeeding by two votes.

No word on when it’ll move up to Senate as of now.

House Dems who supported HR 9495 in round 2:

Allred, TX / Moskowitz, FL / Caraveo, CO / Panetta, CA / Case, HI / Perez, WA / Cuellar, TX /Schneider, IL / Davis, NC / Suozzi, NY / Golden, ME / Torres, CA / Gonzalez, V., TX /Wasserman Schultz, FL /Lee, NV

In the meantime, I’d suggest informing your fellow US citizens both IRL and Online + looking up your Senator and how to contact them if and when a Senate vote date is set up.

If you have a GOP/MAGA Rep, I’d advise listening to this strategy in convincing them once a Vote date is announced:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Defeat_Project_2025/s/jhrwGG0jAX

(If the link isn’t working by simple clicking then select the link text manually to paste and go.)

[humanrightsday]

How to participate to the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR?

To Participate

Make your voice heard by participating in the two-day hybrid high-level event in Geneva.

Spread the word by adding your photo on social media.

Participate in OHCHR’s Human Rights 75 Film Tour.

Express your preference for the human rights declaration article that most clearly reflects your priority for the future.

Help us push leaders to take action and mobilize a global movement by joining our social media campaign and #Act4RightsNow, #HumanRights75. Communication assets are available on OHCHR’s dedicated Trello Board, which includes posters, photo filters, virtual exhibit and other materials.

Get inspired through OHCHR’s HR75 countdown and discover the stories of those who fought for human rights throughout history until today.

Find more ideas in the Human Rights Day toolkit.

[afrotumble]

Ghana's mineral wealth: A blessing or a curse? Examining the lithium mining lease agreement : Peoples Dispatch

The project’s infrastructure is well-positioned, with the site located 800 meters from a national highway and within proximity to two ports, Takoradi and Tema. Takoradi, which exports bauxite and manganese, is the preferred port for Atlantic Lithium.

As the conversation surrounding Ghana’s lithium agreement intensifies, it is clear that the fairness and transparency of such deals are crucial for the country’s sustainable development. The government’s defense of the agreement continues to be met with skepticism, prompting calls for a thorough review and a more inclusive approach to resource negotiations.

[thecapitolradar]

Source

Now hear this:

The very existence of gender non-conforming people means that gender is not binary, but a series of points on a spectrum. Just ask a physician who specializes in intersex conditions.

Incest-related birth defects are NOT intersex conditions, and those who are the products of incestuous unions are not gender non-conforming. As a real-life example, let's consider a woman in her mid-forties, whose parents were biologically-related brother and sister. The woman presents as female, but possesses two penises and a vagina. It is medically fraudulent and actionably unethical to describe her as intersex or gender non-conforming. She is the product of incest, saddled with profound birth defects.

Most importantly, ALL products of incest suffer from incest-related psychosis. This is not psychosis lite. It is the most dangerous and violent mental illness of all. It is NEVER a sign or symptom of intersex conditions.

We will fight tooth and nail any and all efforts to mainstream incest and incest-related birth defects as a point on the gender spectrum. We will go to court in every case where incest-related psychosis is conflated with intersex conditions.

And, yes, we've been warned that a newly-minted media mogul plots to test his sea legs as an extreme Right, atheist political power by floating the trial balloons we've described here.

Our parent company, Civil Society, has the money and has the time. Try us if you dare.

[imkeepinit]

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Self Denial Urged as Need," Montreal Star. May 7, 1943. Page 23. ---- Address to W.C.T.U. On New Asceticism ---- The gospel of self-denial was stressed by the Rev. G. W. Goth in an address to the Hochelaga County Women's Christian Temperance Union at its forty-ninth annual meeting, held at the First Baptist Church yesterday. Speaking on "The New Asceticism," the minister said that henceforth individuals and nations will be expected to deny themselves for the good of the whole.

No one has the right to do what he likes unless what he likes harmonizes with what he ought to do, the speaker declared. No one had the right to drink when he likes if, by doing so, he is made anti-social.

"The new asceticism demands self-control rather than self-expression. The world of tomorrow, if it is to justify this agony, belongs to those who deny themselves."

Mrs. J. G. McWhinnie presided at the meeting. Rev. Dr. M. F. McCutcheon, of the First Baptist Church, welcomed the members. In her opening remarks, the president stressed present-day challenges to Christian motherhood, and urged that members welcome every opportunity to serve the youth of the land.

Reports noted increased interest in the work of the union.

A memorial service was conducted by Mrs. C. Paterson, when Mrs. E. W. Griffith sang "The Land where there is no setting Sun," accompanied by Mrs. Bennett.

County life membership pins were presented to Mrs. J. G. McWhinnie and Mrs. F. Allwright.

Miss E. Wheeler, Y.P.B. secretary, presided at the evening session when Charles Cowell, field-secretary of the Soldiers' and Airmen's Christian Association, outlined the work and pointed out need of a "Fellowship Lodge" in Montreal.

Officers for 1943-44 are as follows: Honorary president, Mrs. James Mabon; president, Mrs. J. G. McWhinnie; vice-presidents. Mrs. W. LeBrocq, Mrs. W. J. Adams; recording secretary, Mrs. F. R. Crawford; corresponding secretary, Mrs. H. Mallinson: treasurer, Mrs. E. Fleming; Y.P.B. secretary, Miss E. Wheeler.