The Home Front How Response to the Pandemic is Clearing the Air “Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic,” tweeted a woman in Italy. “The water flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned.” With Italy on lockdown, NASA satellite images show significant drops in pollution. And from the once smog-laden city where the outbreak originated, a young man tweets, “I'm in the central city of China-Wuhan, today the weather is very good, the blue sky, birds and trees have grown green! Under the control of the virus outbreak, our city will usher in a beautiful spring!” Halting human activity in response to COVID-19 seems to be reversing (if only temporarily) some of the environmental devastation Rachel Carlson wrote about in her famous book, Silent Spring. Open your window and listen; can you hear more birds today? —Karen McCann A close-up of President Trump's notes for a March 19 press conference: "Corona" was replaced with "Chinese" Virus. (Jabin Botsford—The Washington Post/Getty Images) STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Consequences: Intended and Otherwise I intended to be back in Sevilla by now, but here I am in Pennsylvania, sheltering in place. I have a lot more freedom of movement than you have in Spain, but we all have WAY too much time to obsess about everything. For instance: Do you think it's possible that I inadvertently started all this months ago, when I invoked a pox upon Mitch McConnell? (I've read The Secret, about unleashing the awesome power of our thoughts...) I now see that I should have envisioned something non-contagious for him, like flatulence, or excessive nose hair. —Kathy Sherretts Germ theory: New Yorker: How Pandemics Change History by Isaac Chotiner Epidemics are a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are. They reflect our relationships with the environment. They show the moral relationships that we have toward each other as people. Pointing the finger: Time: Trump's 'Chinese' Virus Is Part of a Long History of Blaming Other Countries for Disease by Becky Little Associating diseases with specific countries has led to ethnic and racial discrimination, stymied efforts to effectively handle public health crises, and distorted public historical memory. Changing the rules: Slate: America Is a Sham by Dan Kois Whenever the government or a corporation benevolently withdraws some penalty because of the coronavirus, it’s a signal that there was never any good reason for it in the first place. Podcast: Stuff You Should Know: The Pledge of Allegiance (15 min) Salute your flag, and thank a socialist.
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Folks have been passing along photos of Seville on lockdown...
STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Degrees of Separation I met my dad at a diner for lunch yesterday. (I feel lucky that we can still do that here in PA.) He had just come from a local gun show. I don't think the attendees were practicing much social distancing there; lots of hand-shaking and back-slapping. I could picture them passing around rifle sights and boxes of hollow-point bullets. Not a big hand-sanitizer crowd. Dad seems kind of dismissive of the COVID-19 scare. Before we ordered our sandwiches, he showed off his purchase—a new Trump 2020 hat (which features a rather mean-spirited slogan, instead of strong-minded and upbeat support of his candidate of choice). All in all, that's probably the best thing he could have brought home from the gun show. —Kathy Sherretts Indisposed: Grist: Can the zero-waste movement survive the coronavirus? by L.V. Anderson Given the rapid spread of COVID-19, all manner of reuse habits that might have been considered environmentally virtuous now invoke a kind of germaphobic fear response. We tend to think of plastic packaging as being sanitary. It’s not. Behind bars: Marshall Project: What Do We Really Know About the Politics of People Behind Bars? by Nicole Lewis, Aviva Shen, and Anna Flagg (Article/interactive graphics.) Long stretches in prison appear to be politicizing: The more time respondents spend in prison, the more motivated they are to vote, the more they discuss politics, and the more likely their opinions are to evolve. It can happen to you: The Root: The Mayor of Kansas City Went to Vote. A Poll Worker Turned Him Away by Joe Jurado Mayor Quinton Lucas decided to turn the mistake into a moment of advocacy: as an elected official, he was able to get clarification from an official and return later to vote. Those who aren’t in his exceptional position may not be allowed the same courtesy. We need to make it easier for folks to vote, not harder. Resisters — along with a few thousand of our closest friends — took to the streets in Sevilla on Sunday for Día Internacional de la Mujer. "The March was wonderful today — big, noisy, chaotic, energizing!" Thanks to everyone who came out for our Pub Party and Democrats Abroad Global Primary night — another great event with our friends at Merchant's Pub!
STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Early Mourning As many observers have commented, the exciting diversity of Democratic primary field has now been reduced to a couple of old white guys. Don’t get me wrong—some of my best friends are old white guys. But I mourn the departure of Elizabeth Warren. Warren's campaign has ended, as well as those of other inspiring candidates, but their influence and some very important ideas remain. Don’t let that energy go to waste. I hope we will all support the ultimate Democratic candidate, but without forgetting the issues and principles that we are counting on that candidate to uphold. —Kathy Sherretts All is forgiven: Market Watch: Trump’s pardons demonstrate his belief that white-collar crime isn’t real crime by Paul Brandus Trump has lived in a world of non-accountability for his entire adult life. You don’t say: Common Dreams: EPA Expands Rule Limiting Science the Agency Can Use to Make Public Health Policy Decisions by Julia Conley The rule could allow industry-funded studies as the EPA makes regulatory decisions, while blocking results from academic studies. "Now is not the time to play games with critical medical research…” Immune system: Newsweek: 37 Republicans File Supreme Court Brief Arguing Trump Can't Block Manhattan DA's Tax Fraud Investigation by Matthew Impelli Trump's lawyers have argued that criminally investigating a president while in office is unconstitutional, claiming that Trump is immune to investigation as well as prosecution. Climate calling: Grist: How do I choose a more climate-friendly phone? by Eve Andrews The most eco-conscious device is the one that you will use for as long as possible. How long will the battery last? Can you repair it if something goes wrong? (Check out this list of smartphones from iFixIt, ranked by repairability) Vote in the Primaries! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
The Home Front: Eat Well on Meatless Mondays Rich and I love comfort food, and I spend a fair amount of time researching recipes that are meatless, easy, reasonably healthy, and use ingredients I can get here in Seville. And of course, totally satisfying and delicious. Here are some that have become mainstays in our household, starting with the stuffed sweet potatoes I’m making tonight. Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Beans and Guacamole Extra Vegetable Fried Rice Baked Risotto with Roasted Vegetables Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato with Balsamic Honey Glaze Watermelon Feta Salad —Karen McCann STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Our Daily Dread In spite of the fact that here in the US the coronavirus is a major topic on the midday, evening, and nightly news (not to mention the daily paper) it's probably not time to panic yet—at least about the virus. On the other hand, I think we can all go ahead and freak out about the fact that Mike Pence has been named to direct the govenment's response to the outbreak. —Kathy Sherretts Take a hike: Mother Jones: The Energy Industry’s “Metaphysical” Argument for a Pipeline That Crosses the Appalachian Trail by Will Peischel The National Park Service controls the trail, but the land surrounding it is under the jurisdiction of the Trump Administration’s US Forest Service—which issued construction permits for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Mixed message: New York Times: Why a Top Trump Aide Said ‘We Are Desperate’ for More Immigrants by Jeanna Smialek and Zolan Kanno-Youngs Mick Mulvaney acknowledged the economic reality, even if President Trump’s policies have not. Fair styles: ACLU/At Liberty: "Your hair is okay. You are okay." (Podcast, 19 min) Hair discrimination is a form of racial discrimination (and often gender discrimination)—although, the argument goes, unlike skin color, people can change their hairstyles. But should they have to? • A year ago this Mississippi news anchor lost her job over her natural hair style. • See Hair Love Oscar-winning short film (7 min) Just for fun: Good grooming Primaries are Starting! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
Learn More About Candidates and Issues! AMERICAN RESISTANCE SEVILLA INVITES YOU TO JOIN US AT THE PUB! The Home Front: Why There’s a Watering Can in My Shower Last year, a friend told me her young daughter was putting a bucket in the shower to save the water normally wasted during the time it took to heat up. I loved the idea. By dropping my showerhead into a watering can before every shower, I capture four liters of clean water that can be used for watering plants, flushing toilets, or household cleaning. By 2025 water shortages may affect up to two thirds of the world’s population, experts predict. Conserving shower and bath water can make a difference. And that’s why there’s a watering can in my shower. —Karen McCann STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Ad Blitz I'm visiting in the US—and just watched some early-evening TV at my mother’s house. During just half an episode of Wheel of Fortune I saw six ads for Mike Bloomberg. Julia Ceaven of Slate theorizes that this may be some sort of bizzare social experiment to test the maximum threshold of political advertising the public can tolerate. I noted the sheer number of ads, but I didn't pay much attention to the content—until Mom commented on one. “Did you see that? I can’t believe Obama has endorsed Bloomberg!” He hasn’t, of course, but a combination of selective context and editing certainly gives that misleading impression. It is horrifying. —Kathy Sherretts We gather together: How Stuff Works: How do caucuses work? Five states conduct caucuses to select their presidential candidates: Iowa, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Kentucky. (Minnesota still does, sort of.) Confidentially: Slate/What Next: How ICE Is Weaponizing Therapy (Podcast, 26 min) Unaccompanied minors at the border receive weekly therapy while in ICE custody. Now, officials are using therapists’ notes as evidence against these young migrants in court. Sore subject: Pew Research Center: Almost half of Americans have stopped talking politics with someone by Mark Jurkowitz and Amy Mitchell 60% of liberal Democrats say they have stopped talking politics with someone because of something they said. The next likeliest to drop the subject are conservative Republicans, at 45%. Downhill from there: Al Franken Podcast: How We Got Here. Norm Ornstein on the Erosion of Norms from Gingrich to McConnell to Trump (Podcast, 52 min) Back in the 90s, Newt Gingrich instructed Republican lawmakers to demonize Democrats as “sick, corrupt, traitors.” (In case you missed the newer, low-profile Al Franken, see this profile from last July's New Yorker. Franken discusses it on Conan, here.) Primaries are Starting! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
The old-fashioned kind of recycling—donating and reselling of secondhand clothes—is basically a myth, since the market is glutted. (Jared T. Miller for Newsweek) The Home Front: Why Donating Clothes Isn’t the Solution Americans discard 80 pounds of clothing per person per year. Today, there’s such a glut of cheap clothing around the world that 84% of all unwanted garments end up in a landfill — yes, including most of those we donate to charity and many new items that have been returned unworn. H&M and others are installing clothing take-back bins, so we can feel virtuous about dropping off stuff we don’t want before buying more. But only 0.1% of those clothes are recycled into new textile fiber. Synthetics, and those natural fibers which have been bleached, dyed, printed on, or scoured in chemical baths, are impossible to recycle. They’re either incinerated, releasing toxins into the air, or sent to the landfill, where some take centuries to biodegrade. Buying less is the best solution, which is why you’ve all seen me in the same handful of sweaters this winter. Shopping in vintage stores helps. And if you are buying new, there’s an app called Good On You that rates the sustainability and ethics of popular brands. —Karen McCann STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! Fate of the Union As Impeachment Today's Hayes Brown pointed out in the the podcast's final installment, today looks a lot like our pre-impeachment world, but with 29% less faith in our institutions’ ability to constrain the powerful. This week we saw the president take revenge for such treasonous acts as upholding the responsibility to vote impartially, complying with congressional subpoenas, and telling the truth under oath. Looks like it’s up to us to fix this. Vote. Help someone else vote. And, if you haven’t done so in your home state, you can start the process by voting in the Democratic primary. American Resistance Sevilla will be hosting a Democratic primary event next month, where you can cast your ballot for the presidential candidates that Democrats Abroad delegates will vote for in the Democratic National Convention. Get information on voter registration and absentee ballots, and talk strategy for the November elections. —Kathy Sherretts Wait, what? New York Times: The President Says He Feels Humbled and Is 'Profoundly Sorry' by James Bennet and John M. Broder "I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people,” said President Clinton in 1999. They let you do it: Slate: The Law Is for Suckers by Dahlia Lithwick Trump has concluded that he can now investigate, harass, and punish the whistleblowers and the witnesses and those who sought to constrain him. Employment numbers: Daily Dot: Daily Stormer announces layoffs because its readers are cheap by Mikael Thalen The neo-Nazi website's founder, Andrew Anglin, says that since “fewer than 60 of you decided to send money”, the future of their race war coverage is now in doubt. Big load of app: New Yorker Politics Podcast: Disasters at America’s Polling Places (17 min) In theory, advances in voting technology make voting easier and more accessible—but they can also introduce vulnerabilities that can be exploited to suppress or undermine the will of the voters. Just for fun: Inner City Wizard School (3 min) Primaries are Starting! Are You Registered? Are You Sure?
We can't just recycle our way out of this. Although plastic is often seen as a separate issue from climate change, both its production and its afterlife are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The Home Front: What’s Your Diet’s Carbon Footprint? We know it’s better for the planet (and our bodies) to eat less meat, especially beef, and the Meatless Monday movement is catching on. But what is the difference between beef and chicken? Does a bowl of rice produce more climate warming greenhouse gases than a plate of chips? Is wine more environmentally friendly than beer? And what about chocolate?? Check out the BBC’s interactive food impact calculator and find out which foods are better for the environment and should be indulged in more often. —Karen McCann STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! The Plastocene Era
Three articles on living with plastic: Politico: Plastic bags have lobbyists. They're winning. by Samantha Maldonado, Bruce Ritchie and Debra Kahn Only eight states ban single-use plastic bags; nearly twice as many have laws protecting them. From the UN Environment Programme: History of the plastic shopping bag. Yale Environment 360: The Plastics Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is on the Way by Beth Gardiner With customers' general shift away from fossil fuels, oil and gas companies are looking for another use for their petroleum and byproducts. Plastics are increasingly seen as a growth area. Grist: What’s the most ethical way to store leftovers? by Eve Andrews Don’t overthink it. Use what you have, and don’t throw anything away before you really have to. Want to Do More? • Learn about the Green New Deal. • Read the Indivisible Guide 2.0. • Check out the weekly action plan from Progressive Action, Global Exchange (PAGE) which mobilizes progressives living overseas. • Sign up for the Americans of Conscience Checklist, a weekly action list that also provides encouragement and good news. • Learn about climate solutions and actions at ClimateRecovery.org, a group organized by community activists and members of American Resistance Sevilla. A lively crowd gathered at Merchant's Pub on Wednesday to talk about impeachment, voter registration, and how we can be part of the solution needed to ensure the survival of our nation's democracy and the planet itself. Our own Kathy Sherretts opened the gathering and then turned it over to our featured speaker from Democrats Abroad. JIM MERCEREAU, CHAIR, DEMOCRATS ABROAD SPAIN was our featured speaker. Jim walked us through the process of registering, requesting a ballot, and voting via the Vote from Abroad website. Although it is operated by Democrats Abroad, like all US voter registration efforts, this website is non-partisan and and operates in the spirit of open democracy, welcoming all Americans living overseas to register and cast their absentee ballots. Here's the process: 1. Go to Vote from Abroad (votefromabroad.org). 2. Click START to fill out the form (known as FPCA: Federal Post Card Application) to register to vote (do this annually!) and request your ballot, which will arrive by email. 3. Check the State Voting Guide to review your state's deadlines and requirements. 4. Vote! Democracy depends on each one of us speaking up for what we believe in! For further details, check out Vote From Abroad's power point presentation. Below are some photos from the Pub Party on January 22, 2020. If you have more photos, we'd love to post them! Send them to AmericanResistanceSevilla@gmail.com. MEET US AT MERCHANT'S!
We are getting together to compare notes on Trump's impeachment and talk about new ways to resist in 2020... and enjoy a drink and a tapa with friends! Jim Mercereau of Democrats Abroad will be joining us to talk about voter registration, filling out FVAP, and how to participate in the primary election from overseas. See you there! The Merchant Calle Canalejas, 12 8:30 pm To get you revved up for the Senate trial, here are some podcasts that provide updates of the impeachment proceedings, and background on some of the players and personalities: BuzzFeed News: Impeachment Today (Daily,15-20 minutes) CNN: The Daily DC: Impeachment Watch (Daily, 20 minutes) Vox: Impeachment, explained (Weekly, 40-60 min) —Kathy Sherretts Ready to do more? • Learn about the Green New Deal. • Read the Indivisible Guide 2.0. • Check out the weekly action plan from Progressive Action, Global Exchange (PAGE) which mobilizes progressives living overseas. • Sign up for the Americans of Conscience Checklist, a weekly action list that also provides encouragement and good news. • Learn about climate solutions and actions at ClimateRecovery.org, a group organized by community activists and members of American Resistance Sevilla. |
resist the madness!American Resistance Sevilla is a non-partisan community mobilizing Americans living abroad to take peaceful action defending our lawful rights and freedoms. Learn more Archives
November 2020
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