I wanted to help a small Hispanic church located next to the church I attend. The Pastor said lots of his congregants were afraid to go anywhere and Visa gift cards would help them pay expenses and get food delivered. I put out an ask to a few friends who shared with their friends. Within 24 hours I had raised $1000. I will be delivering 20 $50 gift card to the pastor on Sunday. I am so proud of the people of Minnesota. I cried tears of joy several times yesterday as the money came in. People helping those they don’t know is beautiful.
Kudos to you for wanting to help and for doing it the smart way by making contact with the pastor and then listening to him show you how to help. That is a perfect example for the rest of us to follow and I am hoping to do something similar in my community this week.
This past week, at age 62, was the first time I called my NC state senators. And I called multiple days. When I saw that NC Senator Budd was one of the eight republicans who joined the democrats in voting NO, I thought back to an action Sharon McMahon always recommends…I called his office back to say “Thank you for hearing us.”
As a teacher, I feel like everyday I work as an activist fighting the tide of what I've come to call the "social media virus" and trying to educate students to understand truth. I started a new focus this year on "Media Literacy" and doing what I can to nudge teenagers toward action themselves. As a public school teacher we have to walk a fine line in this world.
I am in that same boat. I am focusing almost every lesson on either rhetoric or communication because those are the skills that I wish our current leaders had/used in more intelligent ways. It feels imminently important that these current teens learn to problem solve and communicate.
I called and contacted my representatives this week! I made some social media posts- lost some followers but a few followers messaged me that they called their representatives for the first time!
My kids and some of our friends and I made posters yesterday- ours says “Spring is coming- NO MORE ICE.” It’s really beautiful and we’ll be protesting together as a family today in Denver 💖 I’m proud to teach them what democracy should look like, and how we can tell when it’s not going well. And most importantly to love our neighbors, many of which happen to be immigrants! ❤️ Let’s stand strong together, friends!
I too, at age 69, made my first ever calls to Senators representing other states. I am sending money to organizations helping elementary school families stay in their homes after mom/dad were taken. It is a sad state of affairs when I see my representative hiding from his constituents. This fight for equality for all continues. We must keep working and above all, remember the children who will carry this for the rest of their lives. It is for them that I weep.
I’ve begun paying more attention to what’s happening in my state (MI) so I can keep my rep and senator informed of my thoughts. I continue to keep in touch with my federal reps, too.
I’m also crocheting a melt the ice hat! Solidarity!!
I’m trying to learn knitting, but can’t knit anything but a wash cloth right now. 😂 Pro tip on the pattern: I found the slip stitch blo for the ribbing was taking forever. Since I wanted to finish in this century, I switched to single crochet. Share a pic when you’re done!
This is what I’m thinking about today. The Amazon promotion of the Melania “documentary” - spending millions to market a film with zero appeal to the general customer base - can’t be interpreted as anything other than a bribe. You don’t burn that kind of money unless the return you’re calculating isn’t box office but political access. I’m ready to cancel Prime and stop shopping at Whole Foods, and I want to do it in a way that makes the reason crystal clear: the cozying up to this administration is why I’m walking away. Anyone interested in chatting about ways to do this with maximum impact?
I know Prime feels like a deal with the devil we can’t refuse: the speed, the convenience, the ability to find niche items nobody else stocks. But I had to remind myself: canceling Prime doesn’t mean you can never buy from Amazon again. You just pay a bit more in shipping for the handful of things each year you genuinely can’t find elsewhere. Everything is still there for true emergencies when other stores fall short. Many other stores have lots of products with free shipping. The Prime membership is a subscription to convenience. And convenience isn’t worth subsidizing… whatever this is.
Wouldn’t it be nice if other companies saw a net negative result from being so cozy with this administration? And we could also personally hold Melania herself responsible for tanking Amazon? Sounds like my kind of fun. 😈
I honestly just saw that this movie was even out when I drove by the marquee of my local movie theater last night. The fact that I haven't seen any promotions of it tightened my resolve that getting off most forms of social media is working! But I agree with you--who in the world is even going to watch this? And why would anyone back that horse?
These tech bros like Bezos are doing calculations about how far is too far to impress the corrupt president with their own corruption. This movie is apparently so bad that the bribery is obvious. Oops. Perhaps a more charismatic First Lady could have provided some doubt for them to benefit from. Instead, we have an embarrassing display of ineptitude. SAD!!!!
This is a tough one. Amazon is thoroughly embedded in my life - Prime, firestick, kindle unlimited. I’ve started trying to order through other retailers and buying ebooks directly from the author, checking things out of my library. As I replace Amazon, I’ll cancel the subscriptions.
Right on! And I feel ya, I know it's a bit harder for some people to say no to them due to personal circumstances, so don't be too hard on yourself if the calculation ends up being that you can't fully pull the plug. But at least some of us are going to see that the math isn't worth it.
When I went to the account page looking for the cancel button, it says over the past 12 months "You've saved $106.43 with Prime!" That's less than the annual price of a membership. I think I can survive without their streaming content; I can't watch everything I already subscribe to. So they kinda just convinced me that this won't even be a sacrifice for me; I can buy things as I need them and save money by not having the subscription.
I've been struggling with this, too. I don't buy too much from Amazon. I do like to listen to music on my Alexa speaker. I did cancel Amazon Music. I do have Amazon Prime but feel like I could definitely cancel.
With the financial contributions of several friends bought winter coats for 23 kids & 9 Moms. Delivered those last Saturday and about to take a few more to other women today. This is for our immigrant neighbors who have communicated their needs to trusted folks in our community in N VA.
A friends asked a group of colleagues to donate to a family who is afraid to leave their house and isn’t going to school. We raised over $2300 in one day. They were stunned and it was so simple to care for them in that way.
I called my senators too. I was very surprised Leader John Thune (SD) voted no! He may believe the funding of ICE deserves more discussion. I too called to thank him.
I'm leaving in a few minutes for ICE observer training here in Sioux Falls.
I also called my senators in Ohio. I’m braving a short visit to the uS in late February but honestly am embarrassed. I’m a dual citizen and don’t want to abandon the country I know exists underneath
all this mess. I also sent away for my overseas ballot for the mid terms.
Good to read y’all’s posts! I called Congress daily, used resisrbot to send faxes daily. Need to sit down and figure out where to contribute $ to help in MN. Plan to get together with friends tomorrow to play games. Also pickleball. Also had a great craniosacral session yesterday. I’m pretty stressed and not sleeping well which is unusual. Everything take care!
We cancelled our Amazon Prime right after Christmas and it felt so good. We live in a city where we have access to pretty much everything we could buy on Amazon. I'm ordering my books from a local bookshop (NOT B&N); using the Libby app for my library acquisitions. Also cancelled Spotify and switched to Tidal; cancelled Goodreads as well.
Just a reminder about supporting local businesses: I work for a family owned retail business and there's nothing quite so encouraging as hearing a customer say "You know, I could get this for less on Amazon but I want to support you all!" Every time you choose local over Amazon you are putting goodness into the community. We can do this!
On Thursday, my high school kid told me of the walkout protest happening on Friday at school and asked my permission to participate. I looked at them proudly of the person they’ve become and thought back to the MLK march, women’s march, BLM walks and other protests we’d gone to as a family and was reminded of the power of non-violent protests and how kids can participate. Obviously I said yes.
I wanted to help a small Hispanic church located next to the church I attend. The Pastor said lots of his congregants were afraid to go anywhere and Visa gift cards would help them pay expenses and get food delivered. I put out an ask to a few friends who shared with their friends. Within 24 hours I had raised $1000. I will be delivering 20 $50 gift card to the pastor on Sunday. I am so proud of the people of Minnesota. I cried tears of joy several times yesterday as the money came in. People helping those they don’t know is beautiful.
Kudos to you for wanting to help and for doing it the smart way by making contact with the pastor and then listening to him show you how to help. That is a perfect example for the rest of us to follow and I am hoping to do something similar in my community this week.
You are amazing!
This past week, at age 62, was the first time I called my NC state senators. And I called multiple days. When I saw that NC Senator Budd was one of the eight republicans who joined the democrats in voting NO, I thought back to an action Sharon McMahon always recommends…I called his office back to say “Thank you for hearing us.”
This is so inspiring, thank you for sharing (and calling)!
Thank you for the kind words. I’ve been fearful on the sidelines for too long.
You are amazing!
Thank you. I’ve been so inspired by the work and courage of others.
As a teacher, I feel like everyday I work as an activist fighting the tide of what I've come to call the "social media virus" and trying to educate students to understand truth. I started a new focus this year on "Media Literacy" and doing what I can to nudge teenagers toward action themselves. As a public school teacher we have to walk a fine line in this world.
I am in that same boat. I am focusing almost every lesson on either rhetoric or communication because those are the skills that I wish our current leaders had/used in more intelligent ways. It feels imminently important that these current teens learn to problem solve and communicate.
I called and contacted my representatives this week! I made some social media posts- lost some followers but a few followers messaged me that they called their representatives for the first time!
My kids and some of our friends and I made posters yesterday- ours says “Spring is coming- NO MORE ICE.” It’s really beautiful and we’ll be protesting together as a family today in Denver 💖 I’m proud to teach them what democracy should look like, and how we can tell when it’s not going well. And most importantly to love our neighbors, many of which happen to be immigrants! ❤️ Let’s stand strong together, friends!
I too, at age 69, made my first ever calls to Senators representing other states. I am sending money to organizations helping elementary school families stay in their homes after mom/dad were taken. It is a sad state of affairs when I see my representative hiding from his constituents. This fight for equality for all continues. We must keep working and above all, remember the children who will carry this for the rest of their lives. It is for them that I weep.
I’ve begun paying more attention to what’s happening in my state (MI) so I can keep my rep and senator informed of my thoughts. I continue to keep in touch with my federal reps, too.
I’m also crocheting a melt the ice hat! Solidarity!!
Would you share the pattern?
It’s on Ravelry. The $5 cost supports immigrants in MN. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/melt-the-ice-crochet-version
There’s a knitting version, too!
Perfect, thanks, I never really took to knitting. I’ll reach out and get stitching!!
I’m trying to learn knitting, but can’t knit anything but a wash cloth right now. 😂 Pro tip on the pattern: I found the slip stitch blo for the ribbing was taking forever. Since I wanted to finish in this century, I switched to single crochet. Share a pic when you’re done!
This is what I’m thinking about today. The Amazon promotion of the Melania “documentary” - spending millions to market a film with zero appeal to the general customer base - can’t be interpreted as anything other than a bribe. You don’t burn that kind of money unless the return you’re calculating isn’t box office but political access. I’m ready to cancel Prime and stop shopping at Whole Foods, and I want to do it in a way that makes the reason crystal clear: the cozying up to this administration is why I’m walking away. Anyone interested in chatting about ways to do this with maximum impact?
I know Prime feels like a deal with the devil we can’t refuse: the speed, the convenience, the ability to find niche items nobody else stocks. But I had to remind myself: canceling Prime doesn’t mean you can never buy from Amazon again. You just pay a bit more in shipping for the handful of things each year you genuinely can’t find elsewhere. Everything is still there for true emergencies when other stores fall short. Many other stores have lots of products with free shipping. The Prime membership is a subscription to convenience. And convenience isn’t worth subsidizing… whatever this is.
Wouldn’t it be nice if other companies saw a net negative result from being so cozy with this administration? And we could also personally hold Melania herself responsible for tanking Amazon? Sounds like my kind of fun. 😈
I honestly just saw that this movie was even out when I drove by the marquee of my local movie theater last night. The fact that I haven't seen any promotions of it tightened my resolve that getting off most forms of social media is working! But I agree with you--who in the world is even going to watch this? And why would anyone back that horse?
These tech bros like Bezos are doing calculations about how far is too far to impress the corrupt president with their own corruption. This movie is apparently so bad that the bribery is obvious. Oops. Perhaps a more charismatic First Lady could have provided some doubt for them to benefit from. Instead, we have an embarrassing display of ineptitude. SAD!!!!
This is a tough one. Amazon is thoroughly embedded in my life - Prime, firestick, kindle unlimited. I’ve started trying to order through other retailers and buying ebooks directly from the author, checking things out of my library. As I replace Amazon, I’ll cancel the subscriptions.
Right on! And I feel ya, I know it's a bit harder for some people to say no to them due to personal circumstances, so don't be too hard on yourself if the calculation ends up being that you can't fully pull the plug. But at least some of us are going to see that the math isn't worth it.
When I went to the account page looking for the cancel button, it says over the past 12 months "You've saved $106.43 with Prime!" That's less than the annual price of a membership. I think I can survive without their streaming content; I can't watch everything I already subscribe to. So they kinda just convinced me that this won't even be a sacrifice for me; I can buy things as I need them and save money by not having the subscription.
I've been struggling with this, too. I don't buy too much from Amazon. I do like to listen to music on my Alexa speaker. I did cancel Amazon Music. I do have Amazon Prime but feel like I could definitely cancel.
And if you do, I'm hoping there's a comment field where they ask why we are canceling our Prime subscriptions.
May I suggest we just put one word: Melania.
It doesn't even need to explain the bribery and corruption. We're saying that merely associating with that family is enough to make us walk away.
With the financial contributions of several friends bought winter coats for 23 kids & 9 Moms. Delivered those last Saturday and about to take a few more to other women today. This is for our immigrant neighbors who have communicated their needs to trusted folks in our community in N VA.
A friends asked a group of colleagues to donate to a family who is afraid to leave their house and isn’t going to school. We raised over $2300 in one day. They were stunned and it was so simple to care for them in that way.
Belong to League of Women Voters, took DEI class to prepare to register voters, call my Senators daily this week!!
I called my senators too. I was very surprised Leader John Thune (SD) voted no! He may believe the funding of ICE deserves more discussion. I too called to thank him.
I'm leaving in a few minutes for ICE observer training here in Sioux Falls.
And as I writer, I put words to work. I'll share one with y'all:
Winter Storms, 2026
Dear Fern,
I don’t know much about the forces of nature.
The ones that have to coalesce to make you--
High pressure there
Low pressure here
It sounds about right though.
A swathe of blue and pink and purple
across the United States,
a gentle falling of frozen precipitation that harders with each drop.
Sounds like good ol’ motherly resolve to me.
A woman’s touch.
They can call you a fuckin’ bitch, too.
After all, you brought us all to a stand still didn’t you.
And we watched the high empathy there–
and the low empathy everywhere else was triggered.
Hopefully.
ICE storms are dangerous indeed.
I also called my senators in Ohio. I’m braving a short visit to the uS in late February but honestly am embarrassed. I’m a dual citizen and don’t want to abandon the country I know exists underneath
all this mess. I also sent away for my overseas ballot for the mid terms.
Good to read y’all’s posts! I called Congress daily, used resisrbot to send faxes daily. Need to sit down and figure out where to contribute $ to help in MN. Plan to get together with friends tomorrow to play games. Also pickleball. Also had a great craniosacral session yesterday. I’m pretty stressed and not sleeping well which is unusual. Everything take care!
We cancelled our Amazon Prime right after Christmas and it felt so good. We live in a city where we have access to pretty much everything we could buy on Amazon. I'm ordering my books from a local bookshop (NOT B&N); using the Libby app for my library acquisitions. Also cancelled Spotify and switched to Tidal; cancelled Goodreads as well.
Just a reminder about supporting local businesses: I work for a family owned retail business and there's nothing quite so encouraging as hearing a customer say "You know, I could get this for less on Amazon but I want to support you all!" Every time you choose local over Amazon you are putting goodness into the community. We can do this!
On Thursday, my high school kid told me of the walkout protest happening on Friday at school and asked my permission to participate. I looked at them proudly of the person they’ve become and thought back to the MLK march, women’s march, BLM walks and other protests we’d gone to as a family and was reminded of the power of non-violent protests and how kids can participate. Obviously I said yes.