I have decided that I would rather be a pesky voice giving feedback than to listen silently as things I care about are sullied.
For me that is the real inspiration of Barack Obama's rise to Presidency. Change for the better only comes when people speak up. Of course I knew that, somewhere, but I have seen it in action now.
- Music:WERS 88.9FM Boston--Emerson College Radio
- Mood:
determined
On Tuesday, a military board told Lt. Dan Choi -- an Iraq War veteran and Arabic linguist -- that it was recommending his discharge from the Army for "moral and professional dereliction" under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Despite this setback, Lt. Choi is not giving up. Bolstered by more than 300,000 signatures to letters of support calling for the repeal of DADT, Dan is now taking his fight to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy to Congress.
Dan needs your help as soon as possible. The sooner DADT is repealed, the sooner he can return to service.
I just signed the letter below to Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Lt. Choi is going to personally deliver to her. The letter is being launched on Lt. Choi's behalf by the Courage Campaign, Knights Out and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
We need Speaker Pelosi to take leadership now and speak out publicly in favor of current legislation in Congress that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
More than 50,000 people, including me, have signed Lt. Choi's letter in just a few hours. Will you join me in signing it and urge your friends to do the same? Just click on the link below to add your name:
http://www.couragecampaign. org/RepealDADT
Thanks!
Despite this setback, Lt. Choi is not giving up. Bolstered by more than 300,000 signatures to letters of support calling for the repeal of DADT, Dan is now taking his fight to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy to Congress.
Dan needs your help as soon as possible. The sooner DADT is repealed, the sooner he can return to service.
I just signed the letter below to Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Lt. Choi is going to personally deliver to her. The letter is being launched on Lt. Choi's behalf by the Courage Campaign, Knights Out and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
We need Speaker Pelosi to take leadership now and speak out publicly in favor of current legislation in Congress that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
More than 50,000 people, including me, have signed Lt. Choi's letter in just a few hours. Will you join me in signing it and urge your friends to do the same? Just click on the link below to add your name:
http://www.couragecampaign.
Thanks!
- Mood:
determined
- Location:Cambridge, MA
For example: I can sit here comfortably on my couch and post to my blog, without needing to connect to a proxy server, without fear that doing so may lead to my arrest. In Iran there is a young woman just like me who does not have that freedom right now.
It is astounding to me that Iranian's freedom of communication has been supressed. Even more astounding and appaling are the attacks on university students. This is not merely about election fraud, not about anyone's opinion on Iran as a country or its political place in the world, this is about people having their basic freedom to speak and go about life as usual taken away.
Much of the news is coming through Twitter on #iranelection and #gr88, although it can be hard to tell what is real and what is misinformation.
If you are on Windows, this page tells you how to set up a proxy server for Iranians to access proper internet. If you are on Mac like me, I'm not sure how to go about it or where to find instructions. If you know how or have a link that shows how, please comment. I will update with it.
A final thought: there is a strong support for the Iranian protesters, and with that comes a desire to do something, but as people begin calling for President Obama to take futher action, please remember that interference from the US could make things worse for Iran. Sen. John Kerry writes for the NYT about dangers of Western interference:
"We can’t escape the reality that for reformers in Tehran to have any hope for success, Iran’s election must be about Iran — not America."In short, if you want to help, make a proxy server; help the Iranians keep contact with the internet. Blogs and Twitter will be essential to them in organizing as currently cell phones have been cut off.
- Location:Tehran, Iran