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"The People Speak" Radio
September 17, 2008 09:05.17 PM
We were just on air with Colonel Ann Wright, answering some great questions from our host, David Swanson and from listeners around the world, via the chat room and phone. David's a great activist writer and Colonel Ann is one of our supersheros. She resigned from the State Department on the first day of Bush's invasion of Iraq and her book, "Dissent: Voices of Conscience" includes stories of government insiders speaking out against the war in Iraq. Hear the interview online and hear the three of us live on Monday, Sept 22nd in Charlottesville, VA. Peace, Sandy2 Comments
Where We'll Be
September 16, 2008 09:48.16 PM
In the next few weeks:
Festival in Mt.
Rainier MD
Coffeehouses in Germantown, MD and
Pawtucket,
RI
County Office Buildings in
Charlottesville, VA
Churches and Congregations in New
York City
and
Garden City, NY
Concerts in Franklinton, Poughkeepsie
and
Clinton,
NY
and Celebrations, including:
Chevron Trial Fundraiser 9/23. We're on the host committee for this event to support EarthRights International and the Bowoto v. Chevron Legal Team. ERI's 2005 landmark lawsuit victory against US-based Unocal Oil Corp on behalf of villagers in Burma inspired our song, Silent No Longer. Now ERI is taking their expertise to help fight Chevron's environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria.
"The plaintiffs, with ERI as co-counsel, will present evidence that Chevron was complicit in gross human rights abuses committed against villagers who peacefully protested environmental abuses and other harm caused by Chevron's oil production activities. The protest took place at a Chevron drilling platform. Chevron paid and ferried members of the notorious Nigerian military and 'kill and go' mobile police to the platform in Chevron-leased helicopters and Chevron personnel supervised the operation. Two protesters were shot and killed in the brutal attack - including one who was shot in the back - and others were injured."
Hear about the upcoming trial and help raise $250,000. RSVP to Can't make the party? Make a donation instead!
United for Justice with Peace Concert 10/18. Join us in Watertown, MA for a concert to celebrate and benefit United for Justice with Peace, a coalition of 80 peace and justice organizations and community peace groups in the Greater Boston region.
"Arts for Obama" Kickoff Celebration 10/3. We'll be coming to Purcellville, VA for this celebration concert at the Franklin Park Arts Center, part of the National Arts for Obama Campaign.
The progressive community is going to have to continue to put pressure on any candidate who gets into office. And of course, work right now to make sure that no candidate is "selected" into office, again. We need to expose the electronic voting fraud and demand equal access to voters for all candidates in terms of financing and media coverage.
We agree that we need to break the two-party stranglehold on American politics and do away with the archaic electoral college. But, it's crucial to have Obama in the White House and not the McCain/Palin/Bush crew. (Not to mention Rove, who's telltale style of manipulation is all over the spin these days.)
Speakers at the DNC addressed global warming, racism, diversity, abolishing the death penalty and poverty, and were solidly pro-choice at a time when Roe v. Wade is being threatened by the religious right, now personified by McCain's choice of Vice Presidential candidate.
We realize no candidate is perfect. We have concerns about candidates chasing the center. But we believe we could all have more influence in an Obama White House.
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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"Barack" Wear
September 16, 2008 09:44.44 PM
To that end, we are launching our "BarackStar" shirts!
(Get it?)
The shirts are 100 % cotton, made in the US, no
sweatshop labor. In black, with cool silver lettering
that
says "barack✩ / vote hope." In unisex tee,
women's strappy tank and women's
v-neck tee (not shown) styles.
A
portion of proceeds
go to the
Obama campaign.
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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Jobs with emma's rev!
September 16, 2008 09:42.27 PM
Thanks to the folks who responded to our "On the Road" position announced in our May e-newsletter. As we wrote to each of them directly, we received responses from people across the country and, for now, our idea has evolved into having folks in each region that we can call upon to join us at an event or on a tour in their area.
Now, we are looking for two new positions with the emma's revolution team:
Book emma's revolution! We perform more than 120 shows per year and we're looking for an organized, confident, responsible person to coordinate those appearances, so we can get back to singing and songwriting! Ablity to engage by phone and via email, negotiation skills and strong follow-through are a must. Sense of humor, always a plus. This is a paid position. Contact us at pat@emmasrevolution.com for more details.
Be our "Salaam, Shalom, Peace" tee guru! In the seven years since Pat drew the design on our shirts for the first peace rally in NYC after 9/11, we've sold (and/or given away) more than 20,000 of them. We hear from folks all the time about how the shirts spark conversations and connections. Help bring the shirts to a wider audience through coops, stores and organizations. Must be organized, responsible, good with people and with email. Sales and marketing experience, a definite plus. This is a paid position. Contact us at pat@emmasrevolution.com for more details.
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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March on the RNC
September 16, 2008 09:23.02 PM
On September 1st, we flew out to Minneapolis/St. Paul to perform at the "March on the RNC To Stop the War," where, despite what you may have seen in the media, 30,000 gathered to demand an end to the war, an end to the Republican agenda and a reallocation of war resources back to housing, food and schools here at home. See photos and watch this clip from The Laura Flanders show, with us performing "Vote!"
What you probably saw in the media and what we saw in the streets of MSP for the rest of the week was exactly the opposite of those demands: pre-emptive raids on activist houses and organizations, a war against demonstrators peaceably assembling, the arrest of journalists, and a police state put into place to enforce the Republican agenda, thanks to a $50 million dollar allocation for riot gear and weapons, including batons, tasers, tear gas, pepper spray and concussion grenades, which police forces were not reluctant to use.
Activists we know agree that this was the most vicious policing they had seen at a national event. So much so that people were brutalized not just during arrests but after they were in police custody. At the end of the week, we attended the press conference of the RNC Welcoming Committee where we heard testimony from a young man who was hooded and put in stress positions while in custody. (Read the transcript at Democracy Now!) He was still limping as he walked off the stage.
We later learned that, after the sizable payouts they had to make for mass arrests and police brutality lawsuits after the 2004 Convention in NYC, the RNC had taken out a $10 million insurance policy to cover potential lawsuits in the Twin Cities. Many activists felt that this ending up giving the policing forces in the TC "license" to brutalize since the "penalties" were already covered.
One of the organizers for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, which led a march on the last day of the convention, also spoke at RNC Welcoming Committee press conference. He asked, "Why are we being called violent? We were not the ones shooting rubber bullets and throwing concussion grenades."
Contact these government offices in the Twin Cities to
denounce the police brutality, mass arrests and to
demand that charges be dropped:
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (651.266.8510)
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher
(651.266.9333)
County Chief Judge Gearin (651.266.8266)
St. Paul City Attorney John Choi (651.266.8710, john.choi@ci
.stpaul
.mn.us)
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
(651.266.3222, RCA@co.rams
ey.mn.
us)
Governor Tim Pawlenty (651.296.3391, tim.pawlenty
@state.
mn.us
St. Paul Chief of Police John Harrington
(651.266.5588, john.h
arringt
on@ci.st.paul.mn.us)
And donate to the
legal defense fund for individual arrestees and the
RNC8 who need to raise $250,000.
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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CodePINK at the RNC and . . . Ringtone!
September 16, 2008 09:17.53 PM
We also spent time at the RNC counterdemonstrations with CodePINK. From dressing as waitresses and handing passersby a bill for the war to disrupting Palin and McCain's speeches, CodePINK was a pink force for peace both outside and inside the convention. (Read and see more photos of CodePINK's actions at the DNC and RNC conventions.)
And, now, you can get an emma's revolution ringtone and support CODEPINK, at the same time. Put our song, CodePINK, on your cellphone! As CodePINK co-founder, Jodie Evans (pictured disrupting Sarah Palin's acceptance speech) said, "I can't wait for your phones to ring in Congress!"
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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Peace Island Picnic at the RNC 9/4/08
September 16, 2008 09:14.14 PM
One of the highlights of the week for us was the Peace Island Picnic, the brainstorm of FBI Whistleblower, Coleen Rowley.
In 2002, Coleen was named a Time "Person of the Year" for her memo exposing how the FBI ignored warnings of 9/11. Since then, she has resigned from the FBI and taken up activism, including speaking on ethical decision-making, running for Congress in 2006, organizing regular bannering vigils on overpasses in the Twin Cities and this idea to celebrate peace through music with performers from the TC area and around the country.
Coleen had been introduced to our music by Retired US Army Colonel Ann Wright, another one of our supersheros! ( Come here Col. Ann with us in Charlottesville, VA on 9/22!). When Coleen wrote to invite us to perform at the picnic, she mentioned how well the chorus to "Who Lies" worked as a banner. We thought that was perfect, given that Pat had been inspired to write "Who Lies" after seeing a CodePINK banner which came from a United for Peace & Justice sticker with those words back in 2003. What goes around, comes around.
And speaking of round, "Peace, Salaam, Shalom" was the anthem of the day and we sang it as folks gathered to create this beautiful, human peace symbol.
Photos here.
This update came from our enewsletter Sept. 15th, 2008. Sign up to get our monthly enewsletters!
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Back from MichFest!
August 16, 2008 05:03.17 PM
We wanted to say "hello" now that we're back in email and cellphone range after singing and leading workshops in the beautiful woods of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. We had a great time! Hope you all are having a wonderful summer. More soon. Peace & love, Sandy & Pat1 Comment
It's here!!
June 16, 2008 12:17.28 PM
Hi, folks. You're at our new website! Check it out--lots of new features like downloadable tracks and cds, activist links for music, peace, the environment and more. Take a look around and leave us a comment here. Peace, Sandy & Pat11 Comments
Soon-to-be-Launched Website!
May 27, 2008 01:21.44 PM
Hi, folks. You're visiting the construction site of our soon-to-be-launched website. Not everything's working, so have a look around, but check out http://www.emmasrevolution.com to purchase cds & peace tees.
Peace,
Sandy & Pat
emma's revolution
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Happy Birthday, "Swimming to the Other Side"!
May 27, 2008 11:01.29 AM
Dear Friends,
Well, it's actually "Happy Belated Birthday, Swimming!" We drafted this email to you on May 2nd--the birthday--while en route to Marblehead, MA for the first of three shows in MA with Holly Near. We had a great show that night (see Jordan's blog about the show and our music at the JWA and the next two nights, but it was an extremely busy tour, hence, our emailing you today.
So, as we listen to the predictions of the Indiana primary--with NC going to Obama!--imagine Friday, May 2nd and read on . . .
"It was twenty years ago today . . ." Well, actually that's someone else's song and it was really 18 years ago today, but today is the birthday of Pat's song, "Swimming to the Other Side"!
1. "'NEATH THE GREAT BIG DIPPER": THE START OF THE SONG
It was the height of Bush Senior's Administration, homelessness had tripled and all of the activists Pat knew were feeling exhausted and disheartened. She felt that way too, but as she tells the story, Pat felt like she had to say something. As she sat on her porch with her guitar that evening in 1990, Pat remembered that the thing that brings her back to herself, and back to her strength, is to sing. She looked up at the night sky and began to sing. The song came out whole and as she says, "I never changed a word of it."
Looks like she didn't need to. The song has been a staple of her performances and, now, ours together, ever since she wrote it. So many of you have written to tell us that you've sung "Swimming" at a wedding or memorial, at your child's school or your church, in your living room with friends. And, of course, after the feature on NPR's "All Things Considered" in 2002, many many more people fell in love with the song. If you didn't hear the broadcast that day, with guest appearance from Pete Seeger, you can still hear it at NPR's website.
2. "THE VERY SAME RAIN": A COMMUNITY GARDEN IN OUR YARD
Spring has sprung in DC and we were thrilled to come home this week to the new community garden that's blooming in our backyard! We have great sun and space but, since we're on the road so much, we'd never been able to garden it ourselves. We put the word out to some young gardeners and, now, things are literally springing up, thanks to a team of neighbors who are headed up by the creative, knowledgable energy of garden coordinator, Bea Trickett. With visits from the kids in MJ & Jerry Park's "Little Friends for Peace" clubs, there are many hands breaking ground, sowing seeds, building bird and bat houses and turning compost! Check out these photos to take a peek.
3. "IN THIS STREAM TOGETHER": ALGAE & KENYAN WOODLANDS
Still, spring is a little funny this year, with the temperature fluctuating wildly during the three days we were home, from the 50's on Monday to the predicted 80's today, when we left. And, during last weekend's trip for three great shows with Holly Near in Madison and Chicago, we passed an eighteen-wheeler on the highway that had snow piled on top of it. Global climate change is here. But, hopefully, not to stay.
After our show in San Diego last month, we were given a tour of the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, on the beach in La Jolla. The aquarium is famous for its permanent exhibit of miraculous sea creatures, particularly its jellyfish, and our guide, Lisa Shaffer's, favorite . . . the sea dragon. But, Lisa especially wanted us to see the climate exhibit that opened there last year. Lisa used to work at Scripps and is now the head of the Environment and Sustainability Initiative at UCSD, a new project to "identify environment and sustainability questions that require collaboration across disciplines within the university, and to build partnerships with entities beyond the university, to provide the knowledge to inform policy as well as contributing to solutions and adaptations to address present and future environmental problems." Since the opening ceremony of the climate exhibit (ribbon cut by, none other than, Al Gore), more than 80,000 school-age kids have visited the exhibit to learn about past climate change from ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland, see the acidification of the oceans and the danger to coral reefs, and find out what they can do to make changes right now. It was an engaging, playful exhibit on an otherwise really heavy topic.
Then, Lisa took us to meet with Dr. Steve A. Kay, Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego (www.biology.ucsd.edu) who told us about his research in sustainable biofuels. He spoke about the hazards of ethanol: Since it competes for land that would otherwise be used for growing food, ethanol causes food shortages that are already a reality in many countries. Steve spoke in particular about experiments with an algae that takes very little space to cultivate, grows in salt water and, using CO2 through photosynthesis, desalinates the water in the process and produces an oil which can be harvested for use in cars. We asked when this product could be ready for consumers and fully expected he'd say something like twenty years. His answer was, "Four to five years." We were thrilled to hear about his and other's research in truly sustainable alternatives to petroleum. Read more.
Which brings us to Kenya and a brilliant small-scale project that is slowly recreating forests in an otherwise increasingly desertified land. The article in Permaculture magazine (http://www.permaculture-magazine.co.uk/, Winter '07 Issue) described that a combination of three years without good rain, a growing population, people cutting down trees as their only source of income, and slash and burn practices has left "a huge swath of East Africa, dusty brown." Now, the Kenyan Woodlands 2000 Trust is reversing this trend, creating areas of "thriving trees . . . cool, shady and beautiful," by putting the relentless power of the sun to use through solar panels. The panels pump well water into raised tanks and the water can then be carefully allocated using drip irrigation to sustain drought-resistant trees, many of which "need only a month or two of irrigation twice weekly to establish themselves." To support the W2T project, contact woodlands@tamarind.co.ke
And imagine how the balance of power in the world would be shifted if Africa became a world energy supplier through solar technology!
4. ORGANIC TEES & . . . COME WITH US ON THE ROAD: POSITION AVAILABLE!
Speaking of technology, we're very conscious of our carbon footprint. We drive our Prius whenever possible, rent a hybrid when we can and purchase wind credit offsets for rentals when we can't, use recycled paper, trade wind credits for 100% of the electricity usage in our home & office and we are once again carrying organic, eco-dyed tees:
Organic Tees in Unisex (S-2XL) and Women's Styles (S-XL): ?Salaam, Shalom, Peace? on certified 100% organic cotton, preshrunk, with eco-friendly dye. Made in USA. Women's shirts are a slimmer cut, so order one size up. emma?s rev swirl on sleeve! In black, with light grey text. $25 each. Contact ann@emmasrevolution.com to order.
And, we're looking for someone to come on the road with us! Responsibilities include setting up and running our cd/tee/etc. sales table at concerts & conferences, sharing driving so we can fly less and use our hybrid vehicle more (and, ultimately, use a vehicle that runs on recycled french-fry oil!). Must be organized, responsible, have sales experience, good with people, good driving record, able to lift 45-50 lbs and have a good sense of humor. : ) This is a paid position. Contact us at pat@emmasrevolution.com for more details.
We look forward to seeing folks in NY, VA, NC Thanks, as always, for your support. We look forward to seeing you wherever you are.
Peace & love,
Pat Humphries & Sandy O
emma's revolution
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