Occupy Albany NY

#5people: Pro-Democracy Virtual Tupperware Parties If things weren't crazy enough, there is strong concern that the time between election night and inauguration day could be even more tumultuous. There is fear that we could experience a breakdown of our democratic process we've never known in our lifetimes. We can't assume that the officials will figure it out for us this time. The people have to oversee developments as they occur after election night, and may have to collect...ively come out themselves to protect our democratic process and the peaceful transfer of power. choosedemocracy.us/prepares have provided 10 things to keep in mind to prevent a coup]. Get 5 people together who are ostensibly *not* activists... The kind of folks who have 'normal' busy lives and you could not normally picture attending a street protest. Set up 15 minutes to have a group video chat and go over the 10 points together. Maybe have people take turns reading them out loud. They've written it to avoid fear and anxiety and promote knowledge and empowerment. I might even recommend never even mentioning the candidates by name. Some optional text for invites: "The period between Election Day and Inauguration day is expected to be an uncertain one to say the least. Choose Democracy (dot-us) has prepared 10 guidelines for Americans to ensure our election is legitimate. The guidelines implore more attention than a soundbite or tweet, but should take no more than 15 minutes to go over together. At the conclusion, the few of us can act as a democracy 'bubble' to confer with after Election Day, as we monitor developments. The aim is to share information that will be useful and empowering without focusing on fear or vitriol. The hope is that with knowledge we can find unity and relief during these uncertain times." Find a means to keep in touch with each other in the next three months. Use each other to bounce developments off each other as they come up. Help each other decide whether developments require action and what response is appropriate, by referring back to the 10 points. Ask your participants to hold their own 'virtual tupperware parties'. Since you're aiming at potentially 'busy' people, you may want to use something like www.doodle.com to organize a time. Unfortunately this time, only we can protect our democracy. Let's get prepared! Share far and wide with the hashtag #5people.

Come see and hear an actual, honest to god candidate for President. right here In Albany. In person. Ask him questions; explore your options; hear a actual representative of progressive politics for this election and beyond.

#BlastFromThePast

Deja vu all over again.

Anyone still here: Here's a New edited episode of my podcast via community radio in the south end. Finished and ready for your wanting ears. I cover the nuts and bolts of organizing, with Amazon and student debt: then dip into how horizontal orgs work now and can work better with a game developer, and my own experiences with occupy and restorative justice.

For Anyone Asking About Whether OA Is Still Active unfortunately the Answer is No. The Best Advice I Would Have to Offer at this time is Mobilize in Your Local Communities and Organize on Local Levels to Help One Another. Together We Are United. Divided We All Fall. Sincerely, Rebecca Crawford