DrupalCon 2016 group photo - I'm in there somewhere

An Open Web for Who?

In the Drupal community we’re hearing the term “Open Web” being used a lot lately. The Pantheon hosting service has used it to justify their platforming hate groups such as the “Alliance Defending Freedom.”

And now the Drupal Association has issued their own Open Web Manifesto which specifically references inclusion and diversity as requirements while expressing no awareness or concern about how the “Open Web” is being used as a dog whistle for free speech absolutists that don’t mind seeing many of us marginalized, attacked, and pushed out of the community.

Continue reading “An Open Web for Who?”
A quilt depicting four bookshelves with books and ideas that have been banned or attacked in the last 100 years. It has a thick yellow order, and the words "Targeted & Banned" embroidered at the top.

Celebrate Pride by stopping book bans

I was enraged, but not surprised when The Washington Post reported recently that “an analysis of book challenges from across the nation shows the majority were filed by just 11 people.” While many on the far-right would have us believe there is some kind of grassroots groundswell against teaching accurate history and respecting people of all genders and sexualities, the truth is that this “unprecedented” astroturf movement has been skillfully crafted by people who only care about money and power. 

[L]ibrary and free speech advocates warn that the rise in book challenges, especially those targeting LGBTQ texts, will imperil teachers’ ability to do their jobs, undermine the mental health of LGBTQ students and rob children of exposure to lives different from their own.

“Objection to sexual, LGBTQ content propels spike in book challenges” Washington Post 5/24/23

This is so important for us to understand (especially during Pride Month since more than half of challenged books have LGBTQ+ themes) because Americans can and should stand up for the values of freedom and equality that our country was founded on. Hate groups like the so-called Moms For Liberty, American College of Pediatricians, Alliance Defending Freedom, and many more are fronts for the same forces that have been working for my entire lifetime against the equality of everyone who doesn’t look like they just stepped out of a meeting of President Nixon’s Cabinet, pictured here in the year I was born.

Continue reading “Celebrate Pride by stopping book bans”
Break the Internet

Stop the FCC and save Net Neutrality!

The FCC is about to vote to end net neutrality—breaking the fundamental principle of the open Internet. I’m supporting an effort to create an avalanche of calls to Congress to stop it.

Net neutrality affects everyone who uses the Internet. This is for all of us.

Please visit https://www.battleforthenet.com/breaktheinternet/ TODAY (December 12, 2017) to see the many ways you can support this effort on social media and by contacting Congress.

Break the Internet

"#WeLoveNN because it ensures everyone has a voice online"

Net neutrality is not optional

In addition to the many reasons that people need unfettered access to the Internet without megacorporations deciding which content to privilege, I can’t imagine the United States having anything resembling free and fair elections without net neutrality. The New York Times today:

“The Federal Communications Commission announced on Tuesday that it planned to dismantle landmark regulations that ensure equal access to the internet, clearing the way for companies to charge more and block access to some websites.”

It will be hard to stop this, but here is a list of 6 things we can still do (via a friend of mine who works at Free Press):

  1. Attend a protest at a Verizon store near you on Dec 7. http://verizonprotests.com/
  2. Don’t see a protest near you? Sign up to host. It’s easy and we’ll support you! http://verizonprotests.com/
  3. Sign up to volunteer with Team Internet, a grassroots group of connected Net Neutrality supporters. It takes 5 minutes to sign up for a special volunteer Text Team shift to message other NN supporters about the news and invite them to take action. Sign up bit.ly/joinTItext
  4. If you’re on the east coast, save the date for a big Net Neutrality rally in Washington, DC on Dec 14.
  5. Tell your friends! Send them to organizations like Free Press, Center for Media Justice, Demand Progress, Fight For The Future, and Color Of Change and they’ll get set up with everything they need to take action right now.
  6. Don’t have time for any of that but still want to help? Donate! Every dollar helps fight back, and every dollar you give to the Free Press Action Fund between now and Dec 31 will be matched. https://act.freepress.net/donate/internet_nn_wake_up/

 

Photo credit: FreePress