ACV Democratic News: April Moore Visits The White House, Sort of

Thoughts from a Climate Jailbird, by April Moore

April and Andy

Here in the Amherst County, Lynchburg area we are aware of April Moore and know her as the mate of Congressional Candidate Andy Schmookler. She is outgoing with a good command of a crowd as she assists Dr. Schmookler with his presentations but now we reveal her secret connection to the White House. April didn't rob a train like Jessie James but she managed to run afoul of Johnny Law Dog anyway. ACVDN presents the April Moore slow walking, law breaking, malingering with the intent to gwak and sing, story of April's D.C. visit in its entirety. April stood up for the planet, if you would like to stand with her her visit http://fiftyoverfifty.org/join/

Please Help because right now it's the only planet we have.

April Moore of FiftyOverFifty.org was one of four members of a group of 15 people arrested at the White House on March 21 in a protest organized by Interfaith Moral Action on Climate. This is her story. No names were changed because no one is innocent
and everyone acted for a good cause.

The following is from April, her testimony so to speak.

"Yesterday was a big day for me.

Normally a law-abiding citizen, I joined with 14 others in breaking the law and being arrested in front of the White House. The reason for this uncharacteristic behavior was climate change.

For several years now, I have viewed climate change as a global emergency, the greatest problem humanity has ever faced, a situation that requires nothing short of a World War II-level of effort to address. I have only recently put climate change action at the top of my personal agenda, after spending the last two years focused on helping my husband Andy Schmookler in his run for Congress.   I felt that helping his campaign was the best way available to me to address the problem of climate change.

Since the election, I have been looking for other, more direct ways to address climate change.    I feel fortunate to have found FiftyOverFifty.org, a group of people over age 50 who are eager to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and willing to risk arrest for the sake of the our planet’s health.   After all, if not we baby boomers, then who?   My age cohort, more than any other, CAN risk arrest. We boomers are no longer raising children, and many of us no longer work full-time.    Besides, my generation owes it to younger people to act on their behalf.   While it is too late to ensure that our grandchildren will be born into a world as healthy as the one we inherited, it is our duty to do our best to stop as much of the ravaging impact of climate change as we can.

The March 21 event, organized by Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, was a multi-faith outdoor service near the White House. Native American, Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders called on President Obama to take strong action on climate change.

Following the service, 15 of us separated ourselves from the larger group to line up in front of the White House fence. I was moved almost to tears by the alignment in that moment of my love for the planet and this public and serious step of inviting arrest."

FiftyOverFifty members joined a protest organized by the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change

It is illegal to tarry for long in front of the White House. But tarry we did, singing. And we were joined in song from across the street by the 25 or so others from the service who were not risking arrest. I especially loved singing our version of the old song, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”   We sang,   “WE’VE got the whole world in OUR hands,” spontaneously substituting “the future generations” and “the mountains and the rivers” for “the whole world.”

And truly, we do have the world in our hands.    Now those hands are plundering the planet. But it’s also in our hands to quit trashing the earth and to work for a planet that will support the coming generations as it has supported us so abundantly.

As we sang, we received three official warnings from the US Park Police to move on.    When we didn’t, the 15 of us were handcuffed, searched, and escorted, one by one, into waiting police wagons, one for the eight women and one for the seven men.   All went smoothly, and the police treated us with courtesy and respect. One officer, upon escorting me into the wagon, even apologized for the lack of heat in the vehicle!    You can glimpse me getting handcuffed, then Katherine Layton, then other members of FiftyOverFifty.org including Karen Menichelli and eventually Lawrence MacDonald.

While the Park Police had been notified in advance that only 10-20 people would be inviting arrest, officers were out in full force.   Four policemen on horseback stood by, along with numerous cops in squad cars and on motorcycles.   Then there were about a score of officers on foot. I appreciated their help in amplifying the event!

The police van ride, a first for me, was unexpectedly exciting. The two wagons were preceded by an eight-motorcycle police escort.    Lights flashing, the motorcycles roared ahead of us, sometimes on the wrong side of the road. The wagons followed close behind, as if we were ambulances en route to the hospital. Inside the wagon, we ladies were sitting, four on either side of a dividing wall. Neither group could see the other, but we could hear each other just fine.   In high spirits, we sang and stomped and talked our way to the police station.

After the rush through DC’s streets, it was waiting time at the police station. We women were led out of the wagon and into a dreary, cement-walled police station basement. Four women were escorted into each of two holding cells, while the men were held in their wagon.   We continued singing and got better acquainted as we stood around the room’s sole furnishings–a stainless steel toilet and a stainless steel bench.

After a half-hour or so, our (disposable) handcuffs were cut off, we were issued written citations, we each paid our $100 fines, and we were released.   Only then were the men taken from their wagon and brought inside for processing.

Once outside, how cheerful it was to see fellow climate activists waiting for us with food and drink and appreciation. I found that the others’ support before, during, and after the arrest meant a great deal to me. Even though I had been told what to expect when arrested, I still felt some fear, and their support comforted me.

So what did we accomplish yesterday?

Dr. Andy and April, 2 excellent people dedicated to making life better for others.

Although we didn’t get attention from major news outlets, several alternative media outlets showed up. They filmed and interviewed, and the word is out on Facebook and Twitter. And many passersby saw our signs and heard our call. Whether President Obama, who was in Israel, will ever know we were there, we’ll probably never know. Whatever our direct impact, it felt like time and money well-spent. I remind myself that we are just at the beginning; as more people come to share our alarm over changing climate, more will join us. I see it happening. Besides, those of us who participated yesterday are getting the word out to the people in our lives. And we are strengthening each other for future actions on behalf of the planet.

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan Accidentally Reveals Republican Agenda
Republicans out to destroy medical care

Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate in last year's presidential election and Congressman from Wisconsin, made what many consider a slip of the tongue yesterday, March 13, 2013, but what in fact may not have been a slip of the tongue, when he announced that the Republicans want to destroy health care in the United States. The exact quote: "This is something we will not give up on because we are not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people."

Ryan is a devoted disciple of Ayn Rand, whose book Atlas Shrugged extols the "virtue" of selfishness and greed. He is a water carrier for those who would, in the words of Grover Norquist, shrink the government "so its small enough to drown in a bathtub."

Bernie Sanders - a voice crying in the wilderness

Bernie Sanders

The Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has been warning President Barack Obama that a "grand bargain" with the Republicans should really be seen as a "grand sellout."

Writing in The Hill newspaper, Sanders said: "At a time when the middle class is disappearing, 46 million Americans are living in poverty and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider, we need a 'grand bargain' that protects struggling working families, not billionaires.

"...One out of four profitable corporations pays nothing in federal income taxes...we need a grand bargain that ends corporate loopholes and demands that corporate America starts helping us with deficit reduction. We must not balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. We must not cut Social Security, disabled veterans' benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, education and other programs that provide opportunity and dignity to millions of struggling American families."

The common sense of Robert Reich

Robert Reich

Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, writes "We are the richest nation in the history of the world - richer now than we've ever been. But an increasing share of that wealth is held by a smaller and smaller share of the population, who have, in effect, bribed legislators to reduce their taxes and provide loopholes so they pay even less.

"The budget deficit 'crisis' has been manufactured by them to distract our attention from this overriding fact, and to pit the rest of us against each other for a smaller and smaller share of what remains. Democrats should not conspire.

"Needy children should be getting far more help, better pre-school care, better nutrition. Seniors need better healthcare coverage and more Social Security. All Americans need better schools and improved infrastructure. "The richest nation in the history of the world should be able to respond to the legitimate needs of all of its citizens."

Unfortunately, Barack Obama and the Democrats are not listening to the likes of Bernie Sanders and Robert Reich, preferring instead to play into the hands of the Republicans, so that they become in the end indistinguishable from them. Now the Democrats follow the lead of the Republicans; now they too become locked arm in arm with the forces of selfishness and greed, and God help the United States of America.