Don't Just Stand There, Do Something: About the Blog

About the Blog

Don’t Just Stand There. Do Something is a blog designed to serve as fuel for fruitful activism. Don’t Just Stand There will serve a broad cross-section of activists, from those of you who are longtime, even full-time, died-in-the-wool activists, to those of you who dust off your marching boots at specific times for specific causes. It will also be great for those of you who might well be described as activism virgins, new to answering the call. It will give those of you focused in specific areas a glimpse at what’s going on in other quarters, and perhaps connect some dots for you that you have not had time to connect. Don’t Just Stand There will present an equally diverse panorama of causes and issues that need to be addressed locally, nationally and globally. Over time you will get to explore critical issues as well as those which are slower to bloom. You will also be offered a variety of possible actions and responses to those issues as they present themselves to us. Some of the material offered will be, as they say, ripped from the headlines, but much will be based on recurring themes. Don’t Just Stand There is not about capturing the news, but about the essence of the issues it presents, and about offering you a way to see what you can do and how to be in touch with the appropriate players.

Some of what appears on the Blog will strike very close to home while other items may appear completely unrelated to your personal experience. But regardless of which is true for you, there may be aspects of seemingly unrelated concerns that actually overlap or intersect with your personal, political or social concerns, and having a consciousness about them may help you understand how they might impact your daily lives in both subtle and not so subtle ways. But the bottom line with regard to these issues is that addressing them falls to all of us. This Blog belongs to everyone who reads it and uses it, so please use it to serve you and please comment ~ send me an email if there are issues that you’d like us to raise. But above all, don’t just stand there.

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The NGO's serving, saving and restoring lives in Haiti are deeply in need of our support. After previous disasters in Haiti where corruption was rife, Common Dreams, which contributes “News & Views” for the progressive community, urges those of who would like to contribute that “In lieu of sending money to organizations with a dubious history in Haiti, those wanting to contribute to relief efforts were encouraged to support Haitian-led grassroots organizations like Konbit Sole Leve and Sakala, which have been providing emergency assistance and shelter."

Founded in 1954, The Humane Society of the United States celebrates animals and confronts cruelty — to all animals, not just dogs and cats. The HSUS takes on the biggest transformational fights to stop large-scale cruelties, such as animal fighting, puppy mills, factory farming, and the wildlife trade. They will pass anti-cruelty laws in every single nation, end extreme confinement of farm animals in cages, stop cosmetic testing on animals, halt cruelty to wildlife, and transform the landscape for pets in poverty. The HSUS and their affiliates also care for more than 100,000 animals each year, through their rescue teams, sanctuaries and wildlife centers, free veterinary care for low-income pet owners, and many other life-saving programs. www.humanesociety.org

ALS is a brain disease that is closely related to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS targets brain cells called motor neurons. Motor neurons send messages from the brain to muscles throughout the body. In ALS, as motor neurons die, a person progressively loses the ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. In 1998, Jenifer Estess, a 35-year-old New York theater and film producer, was diagnosed with ALS. Her doctor told her to “max out her credit cards and eat junk food.” At that time clinicians and scientists were working separately on varying aspects of the disease. There was no structured effort underway to solve ALS until Jennifer Estess and her sisters formed this powerful NGO, Project ALS. Though Jennifer succumbed to the disease, the work that she and her sisters began is still in progress. www.projectals.org

People need healthy oceans to survive and to thrive. The Oceanic Society works to improve ocean health by addressing the root cause of its decline — human behavior. Simply put, the oceans are in trouble because people are putting too much into and taking too much out of them. Through our conservation travel programs, marine research, and investments in conservation, we are inspiring and empowering people at all levels of society to become better stewards of ocean ecosystems. Our mission is to conserve marine wildlife and habitats by deepening the connections between people and nature. You can learn more about how you can help the Oceanic Society through volunteering, donating, following your favorite species, and not throwing plastics in our waterways. After all, we don't want our garbage to destroy the oceans. www.oceanicsociety.org

Refoundry is an innovative not-for-profit that trains people who were formerly incarcerated to refurbish and repurpose discarded materials into unique furnishings. This helps them to create businesses and to support their communities. Prisons in the U.S. are big businesses, so there is less effort to rehabilitate inmates and teach them usable skills, than to warehouse large numbers of them for profit. So, there is a great need to support the 700,000 prisoners set free each year in their quest for gainful employment. Refoundry does just that. www.refoundry.org

Robert Reich’s work, including his pieces available on line at http://readersupportednews.org, stands among my favorite truth-telling when it comes to politics, government, and the economy of the United States. Reich's points of view are clear, concise, and above all, useful. Amazon.com says of this important writer: “Perhaps no one is better acquainted with the intersection of economics and politics than Robert B. Reich, and now he reveals how power and influence have created a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in eighty years.” I call this a must read!