I recently completed a design project with Share Our Strength for their No Kid Hungry Pledge. A great group of people and an extremely important effort:

I want this sticker to give people a way to show their individual support and get them excited about an America that is ending childhood hunger by 2015. We need a sustained effort. We need commitments made each and every day by all of us who have enthusiastically signed up, and that’s what I wanted to show with the repeating “I pledge” of the background. It’s like those sentences we used to have to write on the chalkboard in school when we did something bad. But this time, we’re doing something good. We’re pledging a better future. Over and over and over until it becomes reality.

You can still get the sticker by taking the pledge and making a small donation to the campaign. Please do, and put it in a high traffic area. Let it serve as a reminder that we all need to do our part to make NO KID HUNGRY a reality.

Read the full post. Make a donation. Spread the word, NO KID HUNGRY.

How the world really works, as opposed to how we were told it worked. The LA Times has a great article about the documentary, which opened late last year: Apocalypse now: ‘Collapse’ and the end of the world as we know it.

Court Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Ban in California

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, handing a temporary victory to gay rights advocates in a legal battle that seems all but certain to be settled by the Supreme Court.

A whole bunch of people came together in Omaha on Saturday night to say these unjust, anti-immigrant laws are UNACCEPTABLE. And we rocked. Loud. To our immigrant communities, to our Latino brothers and sisters, we stand with you in solidarity.

The Concert for Equality featured Desaparecidos, Cursive, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Bright Eyes, Lullaby For The Working Class, FATHR^, The Envy Corps, David Dondero, The So-So Sailors, Conchance, Simon Joyner, Flowers Forever, Vago and a final Hootenanny at the end of the night. All proceeds went to the ACLU Nebraska’s effort to repeal Fremont’s Anti-Immigration Law.

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 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.

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

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.

At the beginning of the process, a communications plan was put together. Nebraskans for Peace is the oldest group of this nature in the country, so we needed to re-establish core principles and look at the changing landscape, both in political and technological terms. There are definitely things the organization does well, and of course, other things not-so-much. But coming back to the focus on community building, education and political action, after 40 years of existence, 2010 certainly was an appropriate time to look at making this little non-profit better at being a voice for change out here on the great plains.

Communications Overview for 2010

To make Nebraskans for Peace better at what it does, we looked at four areas: online, in hand, via telephone, and face to face. A new website that can be easily updated by anyone working for the organization. A continued push for thoughtful articles and stories in the bi-monthly publication called the Nebraska Report. A renewed effort at phone conversation and dialogue with the membership and an increased presence in the community with rallies, marches and protests as well as more yard signs and bumper stickers. (Have a sticker already, how about one for your neighbor’s car?) All four areas are currently being carried out feverishly. Give it a year or two, with all of our streamlined advocacy, and war will most likely cease to be acceptable and will thus have to end as more and more people rush over to our side.

The two wars America is mired in are certainly one of the issues that brings people to the group. But as a peace and justice organization, the tent is meant to be big, and includes issues dealing with the environment, civil rights and economic justice and bullying in our schools. Broad thinking on global issues certainly informs the Priorities, but how they apply locally is where the most impact can be had. If Nebraskans for Peace isn’t concerned about the military base just down the road that’s conducting warrantless wiretaps on our citizens or orchestrating drone strikes on Afghans, then who else will be?

Stop the Drones

It’s the grassroots versus the drones. Those drone planes that drop bombs indiscriminately on villages. The tea party droners who go on and on about government spending but have yet to make a peep about our bloated war budgets. And those war hawk droners who love to hold up all the marvels of our technological prowess as if that’s the high point of human accomplishment — dropping a bomb in Yemen from a control panel in Nebraska.

The new, shiny NebraskansforPeace.org

The website is the online arm of the group. Carrying articles of in-depth analysis as well as graphic campaigns designed to get to the heart of bigger issues. The military base is in our community, but those drones belong to everybody. Drones that carry quite an expensive price tag.

Goin' Broke Paying for War

The “Goin’ Broke Paying for War” campaign has become a focus in these times of seemingly unending war. It’s especially appropriate as the worry about deficits grows and the cries against “big government” get louder. The fact is this: if you want to cut down on our debt you cannot do it without cutting our war budget. We spend an absurd amount on blowing things up. Way more than we spend on kids, the elderly, our roads or sick people combined. It’s really kind of sad, building up all that weaponry while the livingry is left to fight over table scraps.

It’s as if we’re out for a crazy night at the carnival thinking our time in the bounce house never stops. We just keep jumping up and down, laughing and giggling as our bodies flail about. Perpetual motion, getting “massive air”. On and on, forever and ever. That is, until China won’t lend us money any more and the whole things deflates. Out there in a dessert. And there we are, with a case of motion sickness and no sense of direction.

As many as you need.

It’s Fourth of July time in 2010 and the battle of ideas in America continues to go on. One side is saying we spend too much, therefore strip down government. Cut medicare, privatize social security and really take on the deficit. The other side simply says, stop spending all our money on war. That’s the side I’m on. The side that says enough of these stupid, pointless wars, 700+ military bases all over the world and this thirst for empire that’s done so all other countries will do what we say. C’mon, it’s just not a 21st century way to behave.

Goin’ Broke indeed. Because of all the war we’ve got goin’ on. It seems too easy anymore, talking to my conservative friends who think we can’t afford Universal Health Care. My response: shift priorities and we got it no problem.

So my question now is, can there be common ground? Is the Tea Party and the Coffee Party set for a union of sorts? Perhaps Obama’s push for bipartisanship is rubbing off on me. Really though, the problems we face are large. Structural problems that exist at the core of our country, whether in education, economy, environment, foreign policy or our general sense of unhelpful exceptionalism. They require a large effort in response. The “fix” cannot just exist along the margins. It must be a full-on assault of all our best intentions from everywhere by everyone. With so much uproar brewing over our debt, it just may be the thing to bring together far left and far right in a very kumbaya moment.

In the back of that little coffee shop it can all certainly seem insignificant. The anti-war movement in general can seem insignificant. The noise it’s made over the last decade hasn’t really accomplished much. Though we didn’t have a major cable news network to back us. But still. One can easily become disheartened. Feelings of futility sink in. It seems like nothing is happening. And nothing is going to change.

But that’s really not true. It’s just self-inflicted drama grabbing hold. Take an honest assessment, and things are getting better. At least for this little community of collaborators. The general agitators that enjoy each other’s company enough to make the little incremental movements that assure the rest of the population that yep, we peaceniks are out here. Still making noise. As long as there’s war to be had, they’ll be peace to throw at it.

So from the designer, the programmer, the community organizer, the communications task force and the group of committed peace and justice types, here’s to a better world.

– Justin Kemerling, Designer. justinkemerling.com

From the Library of Congress, a wonderful poster collection of the Works Progress Administration. Impeccable typography. Extremely skilled imagery. All in the name of progress and moving America forward. I can just hear the glenn beck army of spastics now. Oh the rallying cries: “I’ll blind my kid if I want to.” “Stay away from the bottom of my swimming pool.” “Keep your damn hands off my syphilis.” Ah what fun. 

It’s quite a selection of work from an important part of American history. When government was seen as a tool for equality and democratic processes. As we approach Independence Day these posters offer a nice visual ride through a time of bold visioning. 

The official measure for health and well-being.

How do we measure success? Happiness? Prosperity? That old metric we call GDP and point to as if it were created by God himself is beginning to be recognized as completely inadequate. Economic growth certainly should not be equated with happiness. Especially when environmental limits put a cap on how much “growth” we can get out of our market systems existing on a finite planet. The Well-Being Index attempts to add more to the equation. Presented at Meeting of the Minds 2010 by Gallup, it has been developed to provide the official measure for health and well-being. It’s the voice of Americans and the most ambitious effort ever undertaken to measure what people believe constitutes a good life. 

It includes Life Evaluation, Emotional Health, Healthy Behavior, Physical Health, Work Environment and Basic Access. Very interesting findings. As for 2010, we’re looking pretty good, all things considered.

Greenpeace BP Flag

I remember when I first saw the new bp logo. Many years ago at a gas station in Chicago. I was captivated by its bright rays of hope. Its flowering, circular bundle of green. So soothing. So comforting. “I want to get gas there,” I thought to myself. Then I realized, after I pulled myself out of the corporate speak coma, “hey, that’s a fucking oil company!” And there you have it. Now, in light of the oil spill in the gulf, the worst environmental disaster in American history, you can redesign it.

america. proudly recognizing the importance of not being an asshole.

Okay. This is just not cool. All of these anti-immigrant, xenophobic acts of ignorance just have to stop. The Arizona law. Nebraska’s “green card” incident. The countless raids and all the jailing. It is NOT what America is all about. We are not a “learn to speak English” country. Sorry. That’s ridiculous. The country was made by all sorts of amazing, crazy people from all over the world. We are a “hello and welcome” country. So enjoy. Now go out and make some new friends.

Bill Moyers Journal

This Friday, April 30, 2010 marks the end of Bill Moyers Journal. When I first heard the news I was shocked. In disbelief. What on earth was I to do? How was I to make sense of the world? Of America? In the battle of ideas that shakes our foundations of reality, this show held firm to thoughtful discussion, an embrace of dialogue and a grasp on reality you just can’t get anywhere else. And Bill Moyers is simply an amazing journalist and conducts one hell of an interview.

From our wars, to our health care, to the vitally important coverage of the economic crisis, to the future of the Internet itself, this show was the show. I’d say if everybody watched this show, or at least looked at the issues from a similar place of thoughtfulness, civility and integrity, we would be better suited as a society to take on the big challenges staring us in the face waiting for us to blink. But hey, I guess it’s just easier to scream like a buffoon and write a bunch of scribbles on a chalkboard.

So. This Friday is going to be a very sad day. The last episode of the Journal. We salute you Mr. Moyers. For your ideas. For your passion. For your tone. For all that you have done to help steer the ship. Here’s to the Journal. Onward! 

"This is the big one." Inside The Banking Crisis.

HuffingtonPost.com at 9 AM on Monday March 29th, 2010

So. Fourteen months after Barack Obama came to Washington, change has now come to America. Just look at those huge, red, all-capped letters from HuffPost. I have to admit. When the House passed the goods, “holy shit” were the first words I uttered. Say what you will about the process. It was ugly. Unfair. Stupid. Secretive. Pathetic. Infuriating. Open. Democratic. Optimistic. Inspiring. Hopeful. All and everything wrapped up into a spectacle of governing. But today, we are finally starting to say that universal health care is something we value as a society. It’s seen as important. Something this country should make sure all of its citizens have in the name of dignity, fairness, equality and justice. It’s an expansion of our common humanity that we actually give a shit about each other. 

32,000,000 each others.

We’ve now proven we can actually do something to make things happen. It’s a good feeling. Pre-existing conditions. Recision. Dropping the sick. All of it no more. Of course, I live in a conservative state so I’ve heard lots from the right about the destruction of America if this passes. About how our premiums are going to go up. Government takeover. How Canada sucks. Pretty much all of the sound bites I’ve gotten first hand. Hearing it all leads me to the conclusion we all have to stop worrying about something getting taken away from us. Instead we need to start envisioning how we can give of ourselves to make this place better. We need more of that “we’ve come to shape the future” attitude. And a big group hug after all of this.

C’mon people, hug it out. It’s a new day. We’ve taken on health care. Next up: climate change, immigration, worker rights. We’ll sure need more civility from here on out. Everybody now!

So what is it? Is it going somewhere? And is it taking us with it?

I don’t know. I have no answers. So I’ll probably just keep obsessing over it.

I do know one thing. A nice series of “America the Trading Cards” sure would be nice right about now.

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality. In Los Angeles. March 2010. The event wrapped up on the 7th. I didn’t make it out to the gallery but found some great photos of the event by NOTCOT and DAILY DUJOUR. As a visual spectacle, it was a powerful statement for equality in America. It was our culture creating momentum for change. And the work to make our place we call home a little more equal and just, goes on. 

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by DAILY DUJOUR

Manifest Equality Gallery: Photo by NOTCOT

“We are gay and straight together, we are fighting for LGBT equality – but we stand as part of a broader, deeper, larger struggle across this planet…for all of us.” -Cleve Jones, human rights activist

See more gallery photos by NOTCOT and DAILY DUJOUR.

2010 TED Prize Wish: “I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Watch his talk at TED.com: Sharing powerful stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, W. Va., TED Prize winner Jamie Oliver makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food.

Quite a TED performance. Personal. Political. Passionate. If we’re going to make lasting changes in our society, we HAVE TO directly challenge “conventional wisdom” and those powerful interests who want to keep things exactly as they are. Some of what comes out of a challenge like that is going to be uncomfortable. It’s going to come with ridicule. Probably some ruthless assaults from the “free-marketeers.” But to fix our ills, we’ve got to hit ‘em head on.

One Half

I’m in the process of making my piece for the Manifest Equality gallery in LA coming up this March. I answered these questions for the “meet the artist” blog on their site:

Why have you chosen to participate in Manifest Equality?

Being part of the push for a better, more equal place to live with such an inspiring group of culture creators is one of those things you just have to do.

Manifest Equality? Yes, of course. I’m in.

Describe a bit about your submission to the gallery or the creative process you are putting into it.

I’d say the artwork is bold and light-hearted. It’s called “HALFSIES or Dear Lovers Keep Loving”. At the most basic level, two halves make a whole, no matter what. So just keep lovin’. The art and design work I do always simplifies, is rather direct, and looks at the use of the piece. In this case, my wife and I have 2 other pieces I made hanging above our bed that say “always love.” She said to me the other day, that I’m her half. I totally love that. When it’s about love, that’s how it is. All else collides in a mishmash of politics, religion, prejudice, stereotypes, taboos, and whatever else is used to callously deny the expression of love between people. The process I went through ended on wanting to assure all of us that the issue is so simple we’ll get it sorted out. Until then, just keep loving each other.

Also, I like big type.

What else would you like to manifest?

Things that America doesn’t like to talk about. A couple of examples: A Department of Peace, a humane immigration system, and economic justice. Really, I see the momentum building from Manifest Hope to Manifest Equality as only the beginning. What this can be is a movement of culture creation so powerful it continues to break down walls and helps make the dream of a more fair and just society for ALL increasingly inevitable.

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

Why we like to share.

Howard Zinn, a truly remarkable figure in our society, passed away last week. I have always thought of him as a sense maker and a truth teller. Both those things can certainly get you into trouble in America, especially when those in power are directly in your line of fire. His most well-known work, A People’s History of the United States (history from the view of its unknown participants) has been a trusty companion for my outlook on the world. As has Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice. And now The People Speak brings these ideas to life through wonderfully inspiring performances you can view on the History Channel: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Democracy NOW!, one fine independent media network, has quite a tribute to this historian/teacher/activist. It’s a look at how he challenged the status quo and the standard myths most Americans are taught in school. But more importantly, it shows his willingness to be a participant in the great movements for change that have shaped our modern world. He was there. On the front lines. In the shit. Raising hell and speaking truth right in the face of power. He was active. And because of his example, his understanding of the world, his ability to move people with his conviction and his humor, he was able to change people’s perspectives and raise their consciousness.

He will certainly be missed. But his view of the world, “the countless small actions of unknown people” that lead to those great moments that enter the historical record, a record that you simply can’t begin to understand unless you look at those countless small actions, will certainly live on in the millions of people who were inspired by his life. You can’t be neutral on a moving train, and because of him, you know the history of those people who stood up on the side of equality, justice and peace, and you know it’s possible to do the same.

A diverse array of hundreds of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to celebrate that role and join with our gay (LGBT) friends, family members and co-workers to demand full and equal rights for all Americans.

We believe in FULL & EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL Americans with no exceptions.

Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum, and this is your chance to get involved. 

HERE: ManifestEquality.com