From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

Theodore Geisel | 1941

Damien Love | Sunday Herald | Scotland | 16 Jan 2017

Declassified | Millions Of Pages Of Material Released By CIA

Since 2000, CIA has installed and maintained an electronic full-text searchable system named CREST (the CIA Records Search Tool), ... in College Park, Maryland. The CREST system is the publicly accessible repository of the subset of CIA records reviewed under the 25-year program in electronic format (manually reviewed and released records are accessioned directly into the National Archives in their original format). Over 11 million pages have been released in electronic format and reside on the CREST database, from which researchers have printed about 1.1 million pages.

Previously, in order to directly access CREST, a researcher was required to visit the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. [The] CIA recognized that such visits were inconvenient and presented an obstacle to many researchers. Therefore, in January 2017, the CIA published the records of the CREST collection online.

Declassified material includes information on The Family Jewels, Project Stargate, UFOs: Fact or Fiction, Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, Atomic Spies: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and POW MIA.

Wired published The Best of the CIA's 12M Pages of Files Online. Start Here on 19 February 2017.

Link to CREST online.

Women's March On Washington | Sister March | 5000 Attend Baltimore Vigil

Baltimore Sun photo | Click to enlarge

Ms. Lanny-yap is circled in red.

The Baltimore Sun estimates that 5,000 people attended a demonstration in Charles Village today as part of the Women's March on Washington. Organizers say they originally "envisioned a small vigil for Baltimore ... thinking [it] might attract 20 to 40 people who would stand on the sidewalk."

And, from the Women's March in Washington:

You said it, Jennifer.

"And The White House Will Be Occupied By A Downright Fool And Complete Narcissistic Idiot"

Click here to see how cartoonists from around the world are showing their feelings about the incoming administration.

What To Wear To A Protest March | Women's March on Washington 2017

Christabel, Emmeline,& Sylvia Pankhurst lead a suffragette parade through London in 1911.

Source

From Wardrobe Oxygen:

Thousands are expected to come to Washington DC on January 21st to march on the first day of incoming President Donald Trump’s administration. As someone who lives in the area and attended rallies and inaugurations at this time of year I can tell you it’s going to be cold, you’re going to be on your feet for a long while, and basic necessities like bathrooms and bottled water are few and far between. What’s a woman to wear when sending a message to the government that women’s rights are human rights?

Update: After many questions, I have more details about the march and the content of this piece at the bottom of this post. I have also updated the tips thanks to many of you who have written in.

Second Update: I have added some information about transportation from rally buses to the march starting point. Also please note any links below may be affiliate links. At the bottom of the post I share more information about this.

Click on the link above for comprehensive information about what to wear and what to bring (and what not to bring) on Saturday.

Click here for the official Facebook page for the Women's March on Washington.

Click here for the official Facebook page for the sister marches around the country.

From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

Dame Judi Dench, 81

2017 | The Pit Of Man's Fears

Via FB

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

Merry uh ... | Going To Hell In Every Religion

Dinner's almost ready.

Source

Amy Dickinson Nails It

Ask Amy column

Baltimore Sun | 28 Nov 16

And, similarly:

Attributed to actress Deborah Messing on Twitter | Via FB

Guide to Ethical Purchasing

This website rates companies and/or CEOs based on where they made political contributions, mostly in the 2016 election.

Data gathered from the Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org), www.campaignmoney.com, and the Federal Election Commission (www.fec.gov). 

Sometimes it’s difficult to gauge where PAC money is going and who is contributing, and this list may not be completely accurate (or inclusive) so feel free to contact admin@ethicalpurchasing.info if you have additional information.

Red: Companies that contributed to Trump/Pence campaign (or Ted Cruz), whose CEO’s publicly endorsed Trump, and/or who support more extremist right-wing policies/organizations

Yellow: Companies who have contributed to both GOP/Democrat candidates. Those closer to the red zone favor GOP candidates.

Green: Companies who contributed to HRC and/or other Democrat candidates, and/or whose CEOs who have publicly supported HRC and/or liberal causes.

How to Effectively Lobby Your Congressperson

Emily Ellswoth in Jezebel:

It’s been almost a week since the election, and maybe you’re ready to throw off the sackcloth and ashes and get to work. Combining the anger, bargaining, and depression stages of grief can lead to powerful actions, and now is the time to channel that energy into specific activism that will serve as a barrier between you and whatever legislation and policies come down in the next four years.

I worked for Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) from 2009 to 2014 as a state office-staffer. My full-time job was to listen to constituents and make sure their voices were heard by their elected officials. After nearly six years on the job, I got a good idea of what types of activism worked and what didn’t. I learned that a coordinated effort with a large group of people goes a long way toward influencing change. Here’s how to make that happen.

Recognize how congressional representatives and their staffs work

Members of the House of Representatives have small budgets and a small staff of a dozen or so people and a handful of interns. Senators have much larger budgets and staff, but they also represent a larger constituency, meaning they run into similar problems with trying to listen to everyone in their state.

Because elected officials represent hundreds of thousands and even millions of people, they rely on a few systems to try to prioritize and respond to constituent correspondence in many forms. Social media is not as powerful because it’s easy to ignore and impossible to tell if you live in their district or state. Emails and letters are usually grouped by topic and counted, and mass mailings of form letters that address the topic generally are sent in response.

This is why responses rarely respond directly to your concerns and feel often feel impersonal. Your messages are tracked and put into reports for the representative to read, and a few are selected by staffers for the representative to look at individually. With hundreds of letters and emails coming in every day, it’s impossible for staff to always recognize which are most important or for the representative to read them.

Understand why phone calls and in-person meetings are more effective

Because emails and other written correspondence is so easily batched by computer programs, a hundred or a thousand emails on a subject both require the same amount of effort by staff. Phone calls are more effective because they require a staffer to be on the phone with someone and respond to questions immediately.

Calling your representative’s DC office might feel more natural because they are the office primarily responsible for managing legislation. However, the state office staffers are usually from your state and part of the community you live in—they are truly local. Also, state office numbers are less likely to be busy or have a long hold. Significant volumes of calls in a state office also require coordination by the DC and district office staff and get noticed right away.

From time to time, I had large groups of people come into our state office by appointment and share their stories. This was particularly effective with immigration and climate change groups who brought in experts to answer questions. They gave perspective and knowledge we would not have had otherwise. It is easy to get an appointment with a local staffer or a DC staffer, and these relationships pay off.

For those who are unable to make phone calls or in-person visits for any reason, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean your voice goes unheard. Most constituents have never contacted their representative, so you’re miles ahead of your neighbors. Sending emails and letters as part of a coordinated effort make a difference and send a message.

Get involved with local advocacy groups

Advocacy groups do more than spend money on lobbying in Washington, DC. Many of them have local chapters organize and make connections with members of congress and their staff. The most effective ones understand that a direct connection with the staff is just as important as meeting with the representative.

Advocacy groups research the most important pieces of legislation and where they are in Congress. They know who is on which committees and can organize phone trees, email campaigns, and in-person meetings to put pressure on elected officials. They organize and activate so you don’t have to be an expert on everything and you can be as involved as you’d like.

These groups also present an opportunity for those who live in districts or states where they largely agree with their representatives. They need your volunteer and monetary support for areas where there is more work to be done.

Know who to call and what to talk about

As angry as you might be about the election, the electoral college, or the president-elect’s tweets, your member of congress does not have control over these things. Be informed about who your member of congress is and what role they play in the federal government. Do not call your House of Representatives member asking for Supreme Court confirmation hearings, because those hearings happen in the Senate—call your senator instead.

Similarly, do not bother calling a representative’s office if you do not live in their district. Most offices ask where you live and do not record opinions from outside their districts and states. Instead, focus on encouraging your own representative when you agree with them or pushing for more action.

Keep your phone calls brief and ask questions that a staffer must answer. For instance, rather than calling in with a rant about obstructionist policies (completely legitimate, but easy to ignore), come up with a natural script with specifics such as bill numbers and it’s place on the schedule so the staff knows you know what you’re talking about.

Make sure you ask your question in a way that is respectful and requires an answer. If they dodge the question, you can ask it again, voice your opinion, and then ask that it be recorded. If the staffer doesn’t know enough about the issue (often an intern), you can ask to speak to a senior staffer or the legislative director who will know more about the policy and the representative’s position.

Now is the time to begin grassroots organization. Get involved in a few key issues that are relevant in your state and that are important to you. Reach out to groups that already have networks and begin volunteering. Put your representatives’ numbers in your phone. You’ll be ready now and on January 22nd.

Read the series tweets that prompted this article here.

Emily Ellsworth is a freelance writer, editor, and social media marketer. She worked for Congressman Jason Chaffetz from 2009-2012 as his Provo district office manager and for Congressman Chris Stewart from 2013-2014 as his constituent services manager. During the 2016 election, she was a part of the group Republican Women for Hillary and ran a local chapter in Utah.

Source 

 

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Presented Without Comment | Wind And Wankpuffins

xkcd

Via FB

Edgar Mitchell, 1930-2016

from a fifth grader | via FB

Bad Reception | The New Yorker | Feb 2016

Wankpuffin is my new favorite word.