Get involved
So, you are concerned about the climate crisis and are not sure what to do about it. Know that you are not alone. Also know that the climate movement needs you, it needs everyone, to do everything we can to address this crisis. Here are some ideas:
— Learn more about how our world is warming — the causes, consequences and actions that need to be taken to stop it. Start by visiting NASA’s website on climate. https://climate.nasa.gov.
— Talk about it, a lot, with friends, family, neighbors, everybody and anybody.
— Get involved. Join a climate group or two. Ask how you can help. You undoubtedly have the skills they need. If you have money to donate, they could benefit from that, too.
— Get political. Take to the streets, contact elected officials, repeatedly, at all levels of government, and demand that they take action to address this crisis. They were elected to service the people, and there is no higher service than protecting the world we live in.
— Walk the talk. Take steps to reduce your emissions. It is very freeing.
— Pace yourself. We are in this for the long haul. Have hope.
“One of the beautiful things right now is that I can’t tell you how to be a climate activist. That’s up to you to figure out. But I can tell you that the movement needs you, and that you have a role in this that’s important and uniquely your own.“ — Peter Kalmus, climate scientist.
Ron Sadler
Lahaina, Maui
Attack on the MRFF
The Christian nationalist GOP is hell-bent on turning our Department of Defense into Christian soldiers, marching as if to war. If you are not familiar with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, you should be.
Whenever someone higher up in the chain of command tries to cram their particular religious beliefs down their subordinate’s throats, the MRFF is commonly called in as an intermediary between offending senior military personnel and their subordinates from having the senior’s beliefs forced upon them.
The MRFF does not go out looking for a fight; the problem is brought to their attention.
In order to prevent the MRFF from assisting those being proselytized, the Christian nationalist GOP wants to make it illegal for the MRFF to assist the military, civilians working for the DOD, and military dependents, and they have drafted a bill to directly affect the Uniform Code of Military Justice so that anyone responding to or using the MRFF as a reason to respond to a complaint will be court-martialed.
What the GOP has written is a bill of attainder, something that is illegal under Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states: “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.”
They are essentially breaking the law to quash legally protected constitutional rights. It’s difficult to tell if some members of Congress understand the Constitution, have even read it, and in my humble opinion without mentioning names, there are some members who could make an artichoke appear like a candidate for a Ph.D.
It’s mindboggling to see what slithers into Congress these days.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa