Posted on February 9, 2017
5 Documentaries that progressives will love
Documentaries remain one of the most powerful storytelling methods that progressives have used to not only share important information, but also influence people’s hearts and minds. With the plethora of online and on demand video services available, it has never been easier to watch and enjoy this powerful medium.
Here are five documentaries that I would absolutely recommend you watch, enjoy, learn something from and potentially be inspired to action.
Before the Flood (2016)
1 hour 35 min | Directed by Fisher Stevens
“Before the Flood” is a documentary from Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher Stevens that premiered on the National Geographic Channel in the fall of 2016. In the film, DiCaprio travels around the world to demonstrate the impact of climate change.
Climate change is one of the most critical problems facing the planet, and the film makers seek to use DiCaprio’s star power, which they acknowledge has downsides, to demonstrate the damage climate change is causing our planet now and its future impact. The film itself is a call to action ending with an interview between President Barack Obama and DiCaprio.
Available to stream on Amazon, Google Play or iTunes.
13th
1 hour 40 min | Directed by Ava DuVernay
Posted on February 8, 2017
The Women’s March: What We Learned, and What Comes Next
On Jan. 21, 2017, more than 5 million people participated in Women’s Marches around the world, demonstrating that we will fight Trump’s agenda of hate and bigotry. In doing so, they united a global community of progressives who stand for human dignity, equality and justice. While it’s still fresh in our minds, I wanted to reflect on this historic event.
Many us on the team here at CREDO participated in Women’s Marches around the country as well as the spontaneous airport protests against Trump’s Muslim ban last weekend. I want to share some of our stories. They provide insight into the nature of activism and how we can sustain it.
For my part, I knew something very special was happening by the time I reached my connecting flight in Atlanta on Friday. The number of pink Pussyhats was astounding. The flights to Washington had to be 90 percent women. The March effectively started at the airport and our gate. The plane was like a party bus. Passengers were high fiving, sharing stories, taking selfies with strangers and discussing why we all came from so far to march.
Some people judge a protest by its success or failure in achieving a goal. What they miss is that the choice to protest createscommunity. That’s the solidarity I felt so strongly on the flight to the Women’s March in Washington. Leah on the team here at CREDO, felt that too.
“I saw the best in humanity. The BART trains to Oakland were packed, but people were helping each other. When we marched toward a barricade, we all worked together to help an older woman get over. At one point, a parent behind me was holding up his kid and getting tired. ‘Put her on my shoulders!’ I said.” – Leah Edun
Posted on February 3, 2017
Your December impact will be felt throughout 2017
Due to the extraordinary nature of the November election, CREDO decided to do something a little different with our donations in December. We chose to double our monthly contribution to progressive nonprofits to $300,000. And instead of asking you to to vote to distribute the funding between three groups, we included 15 organizations focused on three issues areas that will be absolutely critical to fighting back against Trump’s dangerous agenda in 2017 and beyond:
- Advancing the movement for Black lives
- Fighting for climate justice
- Standing up against Trump’s hate
Tens of thousands of CREDO members voted and now the donations results are finally in. Check out how much each group received and learn how your votes and support are making a significant impact for these organizations in 2017.
Posted on February 1, 2017
Vote for these groups fighting the Trump agenda in February
Every month CREDO Mobile lets you decide how we divide our monthly donation among three incredible progressive nonprofits. Each of the groups selected for February funding is doing critical work to obstruct Trump’s dangerous agenda in the areas of civil rights, media accountability and environmental justice.
This month you can vote for the Center for Media and Democracy, Free Press or Friends of the Earth Action. Learn more about these organizations and their work, and then cast your vote for one, two or all three by Feb. 28.
Center for Media and Democracy
The Center for Media and Democracy investigates corruption and the undue influence of corporations on media and democracy. They are a fierce watchdog and experts in exposing the bad guys, like ALEC and the Kochs.
Support from CREDO members will ensure that the Center for Media and Democracy is able to break time-sensitive stories to the public and combat right-wing groups’ disinformation on major public policy issues, which will be on the rise with the Trump administration.
Posted on January 31, 2017
The Resistance is Strong. Here are your CREDO Protest Posters
I spent much of Saturday afternoon and evening at San Francisco International Airport, as part of a massive, spontaneous protest against Trump’s Muslim ban. While I was at SFO, people were joining together at airports across the country. On Sunday, people gathered again. There will be more rallies this week.
Trump spent his first week in office targeting immigrants, refugees and Muslims. The signs and chants at this weekend’s rallies made clear why people had come out and come together: to fiercely resist Trump’s racism, xenophobia and hate and put officials in our communities on notice that we expect them to reject Trump’s dangerous agenda and stand with the communities he threatens.
Given Trump’s extreme right-wing agenda and the Republicans in Congress who seem willing to enable him, we’ll engage relentlessly to send a powerful message that people all over the country reject Trump’s hate and will resist him with everything we’ve got.
We want to help you share your progressive message loudly at every turn. So, we’re sharing some of our most recent CREDO signs (free!) plus tips for printing. We’ll keep adding more posters as we continue the fight against Trump.
Please share and by all means send us a picture of your CREDO sign in action. Just mention us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter or use #CREDO and #CREDOMobile and we’ll see it.
Download Your Free Poster
Download Not In Our Name (PDF) – 17×11 in.
Download Not In Our Name (PDF) – 18×24 in.
Posted on January 27, 2017
The AT&T merger is not in the public interest. #Resist
There was an article in The Hill this week noting that the AT&T merger with Time Warner was structured in such a way that the companies do not have to demonstrate to the FCC that the transaction is “in the public interest.”
This came after a letter was sent to the two companies’ CEOs from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker. They wrote:
“To achieve greater transparency for regulators, lawmakers, and American consumers, we ask that you provide us with a public interest statement detailing how you plan to ensure that the transaction benefits consumers, promotes competition, remedies all potential harms, and further serves the public interest through the broader policy goals of the Communications Act.”
Regardless of AT&T or Time Warner’s response, we know these companies don’t act in the public interest, your interest or on behalf of your values.
Posted on January 24, 2017
Three handy features in Apple’s new support app
There’s a great new way to get tech help for any of your Apple products that gathers all support options in one convenient, dedicated application. Apple has released its Apple Support app and it’s available for free download at the iOS App Store.
You just launch the app and sign in with your Apple ID. A list of all your Apple ID-registered devices will appear on the app’s home screen. Select the device that’s giving you trouble, then browse among the support topics.
The app provides solutions for just about any glitch you can imagine, with easy and effective fixes for common issues like:
Forgot iCloud Username or Password: The app walks you through the recovery process in simple steps.
Posted on January 12, 2017
The Women’s March on Washington, January 21, 2017
I’m heading to the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21 because I believe there is no more important moment than right now to stand for the values I believe in. In fact I booked my flight to Washington on Nov. 13 – as soon as I knew there was even the chance of a Women’s March. I am thrilled to see this effort gaining momentum with support from progressive organizations such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America (who we are proud to partner with at CREDO).
I am going to march to stand for women’s rights and to ensure that the new administration knows they have no mandate to gut the gains made by women over the past 50 years. We will not go back. But all of us have many deeply felt reasons for marching – against hate, racism, sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia and climate deniers. One thing is clear: we are all united in standing for equality.
We were having a conversation in the office about what my sign should say. So the team here at CREDO developed a series of signs we want to share with you that speak to many of the values we share. We hope you find a message that resonates for you personally or that inspires your own.
I hope these signs give you inspiration and that maybe I’ll see you in Washington.
Download Your Free Poster
Download Defend Planned Parenthood (PDF) – 17×11 in.
Download Defend Planned Parenthood (PDF) – 24X18 in.
Posted on January 5, 2017
5 Must-read books recommended by the CREDO team
It’s been a cold winter in the Bay Area – sometimes it gets down to 35 degrees at night, and other times it will rain (not at the same time, thankfully). Us Californians aren’t cut out for this, and all I want to do until April is curl up with a good book.
I took to Slack to ask my CREDO teammates for book recommendations, and here’s what they had to say:
Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer by Dean Baker
Suggested by Rob, Sr. Director of Business Intelligence
Nonfiction, Economics
About the book: “Baker explains how rules on trade, patents, copyrights, corporate governance and macroeconomic policy were rigged to make income flow upward.”
What Rob says: “Dean Baker does an excellent job explaining how the political choices we make have led to inequality.”
