Eli Frost: How I Moved My Graduation Out of a Megachurch | FFRF Conventi...

Minnesota student Eli Frost receives FFRF’s Beverly & Richard Hermsen Student Activist Award after leading a successful campaign to move Chaska High School’s graduation from a discriminatory megachurch to a secular venue. Eli shares how he organized petitions, worked the media, collaborated with FFRF’s legal team, weathered a setback and ultimately walked at a church-free ceremony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7umzyc_0hQ

 

Greta Thunberg’s “Super Power” vs. Fascists and Liberals (Pt 1) (Conspirituality podcast)

Greta Thunberg is a burr in the ass of the powerful throughout the world—and not only for rightwing sociopaths. Increasingly, as she grows up, learns more, and networks with other activists around the world, she’s become a scourge for liberals as well.

Many of them would prefer she remain a child, providing a theatre of emotional catharsis for a climate crisis industry more interested in raising money from green economy donors than forcing change.

Now, as Thunberg broadens her target to capitalism and colonialism writ large, it’s more and more clear that she’s confronting what autistic philosopher Robert Chapman calls “the empire of normality”, from her lived experience of autism, about which so many of the conspiracy theories we cover here swirl.
Interview: 

https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-greta-thunberg-super-power

Chapters

Part one:

• Seizure of the Madleen
• Why do Fascists Hate Greta
• Why are Liberals Backing Away from Greta?
• Neurodiversity and activism

Part two (coming soon):

• Masking, Burnout, Contemplation
• Hamster Wheel of Capitalism
• Parenting in Humility

 

Mama Bears, Queen Esther, and “Don’t Mess w/ Our Kids” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) (Spirit and Power S2 Ep3)

On October 12, 2024, tens of thousands of Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., answering a call from charismatic activist Jenny Donnelly and pastor Lou Engle. 

The event, held on Yom Kippur, blended prayer political mobilization as speakers urged believers to take action ahead of the 2024 election. 

With banners reading #DontMessWithOurKids, the rally tapped into fears about gender and sexuality, echoing similar movements abroad. 

The results of the 2024 election suggest Donnelly’s efforts were effective. With insight from journalists Alice Herman and Elle Hardy, Dr. Leah Payne asks: who is Jenny Donnelly? How did she rise to this unique position of influence in the Trump media-verse? And how is her fusion of faith, activism, and conspiracy shaping the Christian right?

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/spirit-and-power-s2-ep-3-mama-bears-queen-esther-and-dont-mess-w-our-kids/

Harvard's Drew Gilpin Faust says history should make us uncomfortable (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)

..."And I suddenly recognized that my school was all white, not by accident, but by law and by explicit decisions," Faust says. "I realized what it meant to be white, and I saw much more clearly the foundation of the inequities that surrounded me."

Faust points to that moment as her "first awakening to the possibility of activism." She wrote a letter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower to urge that schools be integrated, and later, as an adult, found that letter in the Eisenhower library.

"I am proud of that letter," she says. "In some ways, I feel that I need to continually try to live up to that idealistic little girl. ... I can continue to see that as an inspiration and a model and continue to bear out what she represented."
Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195186509/drew-gilpin-faust-harvard-necessary-trouble

‘Stop throwing us bare bones’: US union activism surges amid coronavirus

Activism spikes amid the pandemic nationwide as workers protest what they consider inadequate safety protections against Covid-19
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/us-union-activism-spikes-amid-coronavirus

“Designed to Create a Climate of Fear”: Amazon VP Quits After Company Fires Activists – Mother Jones

Tim Bray, a vice president at Amazon, announced he’s leaving the company because of the “chickenshit” firing of activists who spoke about conditions at the company’s massive warehouses. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/05/amazon-vp-quits-fire-activists-protest/

Religious wars: With the Christian right on the offensive, activists are fighting back | Salon.com

Trump's administration is pushing a Christian nationalist agenda — but a diverse coalition is pushing back hard ....
https://www.salon.com/2020/01/20/religious-wars-with-the-christian-right-on-the-offensive-activists-are-fighting-back/

Charlottesville Banned These Far-Right Activists, but They’re Bringing Their Guns to Richmond

Prominent far-right activists and groups banned from rallying with weapons in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally are headed back to the state for a pro-gun rally in Richmond, where tensions are running high. The demonstration was triggered by a package of gun control bills backed by Virginia’s Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, and set to be passed by the Democratic-majority state legislature. The laws would, among other things, require mandatory background checks for gun buyers and institute a monthly cap on firearm purchases....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/charlottesville-banned-these-far-right-activists-but-theyre-bringing-their-guns-to-richmond

Kentucky Governor: Kim Davis is an “Inspiration” for Breaking the Law for Jesus – Friendly Atheist

In a promotional video for Christian bigot Kim Davis‘ new book, all about how she refused to grant legal marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky, Governor Matt Bevin praised her activism, calling her an “inspiration” to children and public servants everywhere. ...

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/03/06/kentucky-governor-kim-davis-is-an-inspiration-for-breaking-the-law-for-jesus/

Parkland is sparking a difficult conversation about race, trauma, and public support -- Vox

A question of the activism we acknowledge and the activism we ignore.....
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/2/24/17044904/parkland-shooting-race-trauma-movement-for-black-lives-gun-violence

David Hogg's mom reveals family targeted by death threats over gun activism: 'I’m angry and exhausted' -- Raw Story

The mother of David Hogg, the Parkland teen who has become a leader in a grassroots effort to enact new gun safety legislation, said her family has received death threats over the boy's activism. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/david-hoggs-mom-reveals-family-targeted-death-threats-gun-activism-im-angry-exhausted/

For Putin’s 65th Birthday, a Crackdown on His Opponents -- The Daily Beast

Thursday morning began with a violent police crackdown on Russian opposition activists all over Moscow. Crowds of policemen raided homes, interrogating opposition activists, terrifying children and family members, breaking and confiscating property. All of this, as it happens, took place just two days before Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 65 years old, as if somebody wanted to wrap up loose ends, and make sure nobody could spoil his party. ....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/for-putins-65th-birthday-a-crackdown-on-his-opponents

Rightwing alliance plots assault to 'defund and defang' public sector unions | US news | The Guardian

Rightwing activists across the US have launched a nationwide campaign to undermine progressive politicians by depriving them of a major source of support and funding – public sector unions.....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/30/rightwing-alliance-unions-defund-defang?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=241628&subid=22113254&CMP=GT_US_collection

How the alt-right gained traction and changed America's political landscape -- Business Insider

Over the past year, far-right activists - which some have labeled the "alt-right" - have gone from being an obscure, largely online subculture to a player at the very center of American politics. ...
https://theconversation.com/the-seeds-of-the-alt-right-americas-emergent-right-wing-populist-movement-69036

LISTEN: House Republican embraces 5 conspiracy theories in one 20-minute interview -- ThinkProgress.org

Rep. Kevin Cramer thinks universal health care leads to people stealing their neighbors' possessions.....
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-cramer-conspiracy-theories-494f1bc90a68/

US anti-abortion group quietly fights bid to end El Salvador's draconian ban | World news | The Guardian

El Salvador’s absolute ban on abortion – long considered one of the world’s most ruthless – is facing its greatest challenge in years. Buoyed by shifting public attitudes, reproductive rights activists are making headway on a bill to loosen the law for victims of rape and human trafficking, women carrying nonviable pregnancies, and women who risk death or illness....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/el-salvador-abortion-ban-human-life-international?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=236864&subid=22113254&CMP=GT_US_collection

The deadly risk of standing up to Putin

What can happen to you if you oppose the Kremlin? There is a high mortality rate among prominent critics of the Russian government, which some say is emblematic of how President Vladimir Putin runs the country....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxjFSPGLlRc&feature=youtu.be

Universal healthcare supporters see their chance: 'There’s never been more support'

After Republicans’ failed attempt to replace Obamacare, activists across the country rally on behalf of a single-payer system: ‘It’s a right, not a privilege’...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/11/us-universal-healthcare-single-payer-rallies?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=221373&subid=22113254&CMP=GT_US_collection

2 Activists Who Secretly Recorded Planned Parenthood Face New Felony Charges

Two anti-abortion rights activists who covertly recorded themselves discussing fetal tissue with Planned Parenthood staff are facing felony charges in California, for allegedly violating state law by filming people without their permission. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the charges against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt on Tuesday, saying the state "will not tolerate the criminal recording of confidential conversations."...
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/29/521919322/2-activists-who-secretly-recorded-planned-parenthood-face-new-felony-charges?ft=nprml&f=1001

The conservative group behind efforts to intimidate professors

Turning Point USA encourages conservative student activism, but its latest efforts look a lot like harassment....
https://thinkprogress.org/the-conservative-group-behind-efforts-to-intimidate-professors-bc8088c30286#.4tsj02nbz