Fight the Fremont Law! Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Cursive, Lullaby for the Working Class and more will perform at an ACLU Benefit Concert in Omaha, Nebraska. On Saturday July 31st people will gather together to fight for equality. The show benefits ACLU Nebraska.

At the intersection of art and politics in an effort to make change: “This way of thinking and legislating is so dangerous, and such a threat to our basic ideals as Americans and humans, that we cannot stand by and do nothing. We cannot play on as if nothing is wrong.“

Always one to recognize the importance of not remaining neutral on a moving train, Conor Oberst is also part of the The Sound Strike, an artists call to boycott Arizona. You can read his thoughts in an open letter on the Arizona law and watch the video below.

This is about a just and humane immigration system. This is about holding true to the idea of America. In Nebraska this about “the Good Life” for everybody. And it’s about beautiful music performed to galvanize a movement for equality to make all of this possible.

The Great Oil Leak of 2010 Poster Project: We’re graphic designers, illustrators, web designers and artists from all around the world who’ve come together to do what they can to provide support to the Gulf Coast Fishermen. A nice little poster project from John Gibby and Jeff Lush. In partnership with Gulf Aid of Acadiana to use art to bring aid to the local fisherman affected by this disaster.

Some very nice posters here:

Rowboat - by Erin Olcsvary

Stuck - by Alyssa Rose

Save the Gulf - by David Vogin

Addicted - by Jude Landry

The Huffington Post had an article last week on income inequality in America. Front page. Large, all-caps type. The gist: the gap between the wealthiest Americans and middle- and working-class Americans has more than tripled in the past three decades. … the income gap is expanding not because the middle class is losing income, but because the wealthiest incomes are skyrocketing.

The rich get richer. The super rich live in a shiny, alternate universe. The people struggle to get by. And the beat goes on.

Life In A Day is a historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film: a documentary, shot in a single day, by you. On July 24, you have 24 hours to capture a glimpse of your life on camera. The most compelling and distinctive footage will be edited into an experimental documentary film, executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

Is your life compelling? Or how about footage of your life? Hmm…

The Tap-Tap Puzzle

HAITI: 6 MONTHS ON. From the Guardian: When the earthquake struck on 12 January, the poorest country in the Americas was devastated. The world rallied, but not for long – much of the promised aid has not materialised. And while their government falters, many of the 1.5 million displaced Haitians are still sleeping rough…

FRONTLINE has a series on the Aid Dilemma. On post-disaster relief, the economy of a tent city and the tap-tap puzzle.

And the crisis goes on…

Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer | Soil Not Oil by Vandana Shiva

Yesterday Democracy Now! hosted a little debate between Indian environmentalist, scientist, philosopher and eco-feminist, Vandana Shiva, and geopolitical analyst and columnist, Gwynne Dyer. They talked Geoengineering in the face of runaway Climate Change.

On one side you have a very ecologically-focused, democratically-led effort at getting our emissions down in a way that is in harmony with the planet and its web of life. The Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth that shifts us to an earth centered paradigm.

And on the other, there’s not enough time. So we’ve got to geoengineer ourselves out of this crisis that’s coming so fast the scientific community is scared and desperate. Temporary intervention is needed so we have more time to get emissions down, then we don’t have megadeaths starting in the tropics and subtropics in 30-50 years.

Very interesting. If a decision had to be made today, which side should we choose?

The Graphic Design of Jontue Hollingsworth. Design to me, is like breathing. Inhaling and exhaling… observing and creating. The most enjoyable part is in the pursuit of the solution. One of the core, founding members of the Match Factory, Jontue is a force to be sure. Currently residing in Anchorage, his design and creativity has always been inspiring in both process and outcome. His worldview, profoundly captivating. His posters, striking in tone. His friendship, much appreciated. And in my unofficial “graphic design education,” Jontue has been a most excellent teacher.

Until next time, Mchlv.

Sababu Conscious Clothing

Lasting Impression

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America has a new Website. And this time it’s for Health Care. It allows you to find insurance options, learn about prevention, compare care quality and understand the new law. That section includes a handy map to show you, the visitor, which states are choosing to not partake when it comes to pre-existing conditions, thus leading to the Federal government running the New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). Funny how most of those states choosing to sit this one out are rather conservative leaning. Ah, irony.

The site itself seems like a very useful tool, especially for someone like me who does pretty much everything online. So thanks Barack, for the nice new site. I’m really pulling for the rest of the law to be as clear, concise and effective.

Learn About Prevention

The PCIP Map

The world's first Street Art disaster movie

Exit Through the Gift Shop, enter the world of Street Art. From its temporary place in the real world to the endless online sharing of this “legal gray area,” the film is about the art, of course. But also the intellectual mind-twisting that takes place when confronted with the idea behind the visual. Itself a piece of art, prank, celebrity, commentary, confrontation, the film is part “we pulled one over on you,” part honest account of the way things are when you’re a Street Artist. Maybe.

View the trailer here:

More Banksy here:

Banksy in Palestine. Photo via Revista-Amauta.org

Get your yard sign.

A COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

Here’s one for you: a designer, a programmer, a community organizer, a communications task force and a group of committed peace and justice types ranging from well-seasoned academics to bright-eyed progressives get together to advocate for a better world. It’s a collaboration of the first order with high-minded goals concerning matters of crucial importance.

The focus is how to make a peace and justice organization more effective at making peace and justice happen. In the back of a local coffee shop, huddled over the local paper with some veggie sandwiches and fair trade coffee, the plotting and scheming goes strong once a week for many months. Usually in good spirits, with lively discussion and debates about how a little non-profit organization moves forward, what has come out of the effort has been something quite remarkable. We certainly accomplished a streamlining our communications efforts, developing a new website, creating several media campaigns to stoke the political fires and training key staff members on technology that can be used to keep things current. But there’s also been a rejuvenation of the collective spirit. I saw what I thought was glowing from several people at one of the last meetings. It could be because we’ve finally seen the sun out here in the Midwest, but I like to think it’s been this whole “working together” thing that’s the root cause of the newly intense hues.

A bumper sticker for every bumper in Nebraska

Hang out in Lincoln long enough, especially downtown, and you’ll come across several deep blue bumper stickers reading “Nebraskans for Peace.” It’s probably one of the most successful bumper sticker campaigns in American history. And a nice visual mark of identity in the community. (If anybody needs one, I’m sure I can get a couple dozen by the end of the day to whomever’s asking.) In the back of that local coffee shop, a rag tag bunch of liberal peaceniks responsible for those stickers got together to grow this organization. And in between deep conversations about the sad state of affairs for America’s foreign policy, I’d say success has been had. We set out many months ago to make Nebraskans for Peace the best damn peace and justice group it could be, building on the old school tactics of political organizing while embracing some 21st century digital activism. And today, we are moving ahead as planned. (more…)