For Kitsap River: A Kidney Donor's Story

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Thursday November 26, 2009 · 8:25 AM PST

2009/11/26 · 08:25

A little more than a year ago I donated a kidney to a stranger. It remains one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Below is the story I wrote about it - please circulate it widely, and I hope it inspires others to donate. Donation is EASY - at least it was for me. Some medical exams; some time off from work - that was it. All expenses are paid by the recipient's insurance.

If anyone wants more info on donating they are invited to contact me at lifelongactivist@yahoo.com .

A year later, both the recipient and I are doing GREAT. - Hillary

lifelongactivist

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Wednesday September 09, 2009 · 8:00 AM PDT

2009/09/09 · 08:00

So, yet another major fail from the New York Times. Last week, they devoted primo front-page space to an article propagating (and legitimizing) what Digby accurately characterized as "screwy far-right paranoia" over Obama's plan to broadcast a message urging the nation's children to study harder. It was paranoia deployed, of course, in the service of Republican obstructionism.

Poll

21 votes Show Results

Is an ActBlue-type donations-consolidation site for progressive media a good idea?

21 votes Vote Now!

Is an ActBlue-type donations-consolidation site for progressive media a good idea?

Great idea - I would donate right now!

8 votes

Good idea - I would probably donate

10 votes

Lukewarm idea - it's got some serious flaws (maybe fixable)

1 vote

Bad idea - unfixably flawed

2 votes

Netroots Nation Visit by Franco Harris!

lifelongactivist

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Thursday August 20, 2009 · 7:11 AM PDT

2009/08/20 · 07:11

So I was minding my own business, selling my book in the exhibit hall at Netroots Nation, when a couple of LARGE guys stopped by the booth, surrounded by several smaller guys. All the exhibitors around me started to swoon, but I had no idea what was going on.

Poll

71 votes Show Results

Was the Immaculate Reception the greatest miracle play in sports history?

71 votes Vote Now!

Was the Immaculate Reception the greatest miracle play in sports history?

Yes (Steelers fan)

31 votes

Yes (non-Steelers fan)

19 votes

No (Steelers fan)

1 vote

No (non-Steelers fan)

12 votes

What's football?

8 votes

The Eroticization of Equality and Social Justice

lifelongactivist

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Saturday May 09, 2009 · 9:06 AM PDT

2009/05/09 · 09:06

To begin with, check out the romantic presidential couple at the bottom of the right-hand group of pictures (near the date) here. Isn’t it wonderful that we elected someone who, among his many other virtues, is so loving? That’s not a trivial thing, as psychologists Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks write in their article, The Obama Relationship: a Major Benefit Nobody’s Talking About.

Okay, back to that first link. It’s to the Love as the Practice of Freedom conference, the first national meeting devoted to romance fiction and American culture. I attended it a couple of weeks ago at Princeton University, and had a blast being surrounded by academics, authors, editors, and readers who were not only passionate about their emerging field and its importance in the larger culture, but passionate about passion and its role in our lives and in society.

lifelongactivist

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Tuesday May 05, 2009 · 6:32 AM PDT

2009/05/05 · 06:32

Fabulous news, everyone. After a multi-year struggle by LGBT romance writers and allies, Romance Writers of America, the professional association for the largest publishing genre, has officially recognized the Rainbow Romance Writers, a formerly "guerrilla" group of writers specializing in LGBT-themed romance fiction, as a chapter.

lifelongactivist

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Wednesday June 18, 2008 · 3:28 PM PDT

2008/06/18 · 15:28

BarbinMD has posted on what he perceives to be the McCain campaign’s hypocrisy on the issue of his age: BarbinMD is shocked, shocked that the campaign objects to our mentioning McCain's age while they don't mind it if he himself does. But they are not being hypocritical; we are. First of all, this community has a rich history of not just mentioning McCain's age, but mocking it - his and Fred "Grandpa" Thompson's. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Even BarbinMD's first line, which describes McCain's campaign as "cantankerous" - the ageist equivalent of "uppity" - is mocking.

Poll

154 votes Show Results

Should We Be Mocking McCain's Age?

154 votes Vote Now!

Should We Be Mocking McCain's Age?

No, it's just wrong.

31 votes

No, it's bad tactics.

11 votes

Yes - it's war, and anything goes. (AKA, the ends justify the means.)

14 votes

Yes - I don't see the problem with it.

35 votes

No, for other reasons.

3 votes

Yes, for other reasons.

20 votes

Don't even mention his age - just his ability (or lack thereof).

37 votes

Other

3 votes

Building a Halcyon Life

lifelongactivist

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Monday February 18, 2008 · 9:34 AM PST

2008/02/18 · 09:34

Gone are the halcyon days Samuel R. Delaney writes of in his memoir, The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village, when his full-time but fairly relaxed (and low-paying) job as a Strand Bookstore clerk was enough to support him and his wife, poet Marilyn Hacker, in an East Village loft while they began their writing careers. True, the loft was cold and seedy, but who cared? They were young, passionate, and living in one of the most energetic and creative communities in the world.

That was way back in the 1960s. Since then, the price of urban real estate has skyrocketed and incomes (in real terms) have plummeted: this makes it much harder to live as an activist, artist or other ambitious dreamer.

lifelongactivist

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Thursday January 31, 2008 · 6:39 PM PST

2008/01/31 · 18:39

So yesterday I - a former Edwards supporter (alas) - posted my first candidate diary, suggesting that Edwards supporters might not want to reflexively move into the Obama camp because of his fondness for staking out centrist or rightwing positions (e.g., that Social Security is in "crisis.") The comments were scathing. That's not to say that all were lacking in substance, or that my diary might not have had its weaknesses, but apparently there are many Kossacks who believe that looking at Obama even slightly critically equates to "embracing HRC talking points," and that once you have accused someone of that malfeasance, you don't have to bother arguing the points themselves.

lifelongactivist

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Wednesday January 30, 2008 · 5:39 PM PST

2008/01/30 · 17:39

As an Edwards supporter, I am naturally disappointed that he suspended his campaign today. At the same time, I am heartened by people’s determination to continue promoting progressive values in our country – a struggle that was aided by JRE’s campaign and won’t stop now. As the great labor leader Joe Hill said on his deathbed, "Don’t Mourn, Organize."

At the same time, I am puzzled by the automatic shift some JRE supporters are making towards Obama, and ask you to consider three points:

Poll

502 votes Show Results

Short and Simple: Edwards Supports, Who do You Now Support?

502 votes Vote Now!

Short and Simple: Edwards Supports, Who do You Now Support?

Clinton

61 votes

Obama

374 votes

Other

13 votes

Undecided

54 votes

Breathing In Strength, Spirit and Vision: Encounters With Four Activists

lifelongactivist

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Monday January 14, 2008 · 8:26 AM PST

2008/01/14 · 08:26

I had the good fortune to encounter four amazing activists last year.

The first was Doris Haddock, a.k.a. GrannyD, an incredible woman who walked across the United States at the age of 89 to advocate for the elimination of unregulated "soft" money in campaigns. She then returned home to New Hampshire, and in 2004, at the age of 94, ran for U.S. Senate! With almost no money, and running against an entrenched Republican incumbent, she still managed to get nearly 40%+ of the vote - a people-powered success that proved the effectiveness of grassroots, guerrilla campaigns. Her story is now told in a wonderful and inspiring film, Run Granny Run!, that showed on HBO in October, and is now available on DVD. That film previewed in Boston and GrannyD herself was in attendance and spoke; it was thrilling to see her.

lifelongactivist

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Monday January 07, 2008 · 6:49 PM PST

2008/01/07 · 18:49

Went to hear Huckabee talk in Derry, NH. He gave a creditable talk (for a Repub) with much less emphasis on his antiabortion views than in Iowa, and much more emphasis on gun control. Claimed he was a real hunter, unlike those faux guys - never mentioned his having recently violated rule #1 of the hunt by shooting over the heads of reporters. Talked a lot about family values but somehow neglected to mention his son who hangs dogs and tries to sneak guns on airplanes. Nevertheless, he's a decent speaker, albeit not in Obama's league - but who is, really? - and the crowd liked him.

But, if it's true that a person can be judged by the company he keeps, then Houston, we've got a problem...

Poll

52 votes Show Results

What Do You Think of Wilford Brimley?

52 votes Vote Now!

What Do You Think of Wilford Brimley?

Cute, in a grandfatherly way

11 votes

Cute, in a non-grandfatherly way

1 vote

Used to think he's cute, but now that he's crossed over to the dark side, no more

26 votes

Who?

14 votes

Coping With Your Family Over the Holidays

lifelongactivist

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 21, 2007 · 8:43 AM PST

2007/11/21 · 08:43

"Family is a mixed blessing. You're glad to have one, but it's also like receiving a life sentence for a crime you didn't commit." - Richard Pryor

Ah, the holidays. A time of peace and joy and family bonding...

Maybe in a Norman Rockwell painting! In real life, the holidays are fraught with tension and unhappiness for many people, much of it caused by that self-same "bonding." Although progressives should have it easier this year than in the past few years - now that Bush et al. have been thoroughly discredited among all but the dead-enders, and we find ourselves at the beginning of what promises to be a glorious new progressive era - it can still be rough. Many progressives are brought to the edge of despair trying to convince their parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives of their viewpoints. Others simply hope to get through the day without having their values or activism disrespected or mocked, and are destined to be disappointed at even that modest goal.

So how do you cope? Keep reading...

Poll

47 votes Show Results

My Family...

47 votes Vote Now!

My Family...

Shares most of my values

19 votes

Disagrees respectfully with my values

3 votes

Disrespects or mocks my values, but I don't care - I'm cool

4 votes

Disrespects or mocks my values, but I don't care - I give it right back to them

2 votes

Disrespects or mocks my my values, and it drives me nuts

5 votes

Fights about everything, anyway, so politics just adds to the mix

2 votes

My Family: Oy

12 votes

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For Kitsap River: A Kidney Donor's Story

How About An ActBlue for Progressive Media?

Netroots Nation Visit by Franco Harris!

The Eroticization of Equality and Social Justice

Fabulous News! Romance Writers of America's New LGBT Chapter

The Kos Community's Hypocrisy on Ageism

Building a Halcyon Life

Edwards to Obama? Think Twice. pt. 2

Edwards Voters Switching to Obama? Please Consider These Points

Breathing In Strength, Spirit and Vision: Encounters With Four Activists

Chuck Norris - Oy! (Plus New Rule...)

Coping With Your Family Over the Holidays