Screaming at the Government works!

So, you’re probably hearing about “The LA 24/7 Music Festival,” which is supposedly a code phrase for massive protests happening in Downtown Los Angeles so that they don’t get suppressed by the algorithm.

The problem is, they’re not happening. There are protests around the city every single day, but we’re talking about 12 to maybe 200 protesters, and 200 is best case scenario. These are incredibly brave activists standing their ground even when there’s not a huge crowd.

And instead of spreading this beautiful thing, people are taking videos from June and April and dating them with this week. And some people are even saying they did it on purpose so that they can inspire people to protest like that and thinking it’s happening when it’s not in a good way to inspire people.

Disinformation will never be a good way to inspire anyone. When we knowingly spread disinformation we are no better than the Trump supporters.

And we don’t need to make shit up when good things are happening every single day. Just because the good thing isn’t making an instant change and getting all the attention doesn’t mean it’s not hopeful and powerful in it’s own right. That’s why I do this work. To show how powerful these local wins truly are.

I hope you find these three to be inspiring, I certainly do.

1. Mon, Aug 4 - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that they are closing the fifth state prison. And it’s because the prison population in California is falling:

   The adult prison population has steadily declined in recent years, which has allowed CDCR to eliminate its reliance on in-state and out-of-state contract prison capacity, and the lease of the California City Correctional Facility.

   The CDCR incarcerated population is at its lowest point since the late 1980s. Today’s population is roughly 91,000. As recently as 2006, the population was more than 173,000.

   There are over 50% less prisoners in California than there were less than TWENTY years ago!

   This prison is California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. And the best part, Norco is over the moon! The city said in a Facebook post:

   For years, the City of Norco has advocated for the adaptive reuse of the Norconian Hotel & Resort property. The Norco City Council remains hopeful that one day, this historic gem will be restored to its former glory as a resort and will become a regional economic driver.

   Before Norco there were four other closure announcements, and not every area was happy about the closures, because the local prison is the employer for most people in the area. So this is even more of a win, since the city wants it too.

   May more closures be announced soon!

2. Wed, Aug 5 - Thank to Katie Hobb’s executive order, Arizona is now part of the ArrayRx program which lowers the cost of prescription drugs for the participating states. When signing the order she said:

   For too long and for too many families, rising costs, including prescription drug prices, have put the Arizona Promise out of reach. We are changing that. I’m proud to take action to keep money in Arizonans’ pockets, create pathways to health and well being, and restore the Arizona Promise for families across the state.

   According to this press release, this new program will save Arizonans up to 80% on their prescriptions.

   Currently there program supports Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Ohio, and Connecticut, and now Arizona. I hope more states join this program soon!

3. Thurs, Aug 6 - Edesia Nutrition received an official proposal from the US government to get their lifesaving nutrition to the African countries they’ve been partnering with. In their newsletter they said:

   Edesia is officially a survivor of all the cuts and our mission to end malnutrition will not only carry on, but be stronger.

   The State Department issued their first tender on August 5th for 11,285MT of RUTF - enough life-saving food for 817,754 severely malnourished children in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, Chad, Madagascar, Niger, Sudan, Djibouti, and DRC.

   The most famous 185,535 boxes that have been sitting in our warehouse in RI have been assigned to Nigeria and the Central African Republic and will be on their way very soon!

   This is the same state department that destroyed USAID. It’s just another example that they give up when enough people make noise. We have the power.

   CBS News, yes, that one, was with them at the warehouse when they got the news. And it’s hard to watch this and not tear up a bit.

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Good things are happening every single day, but when we don’t call out disinformation and we let the bad news consume us, it’s hard to see it.

Please fight to see the good, to find the good and to spread the good. We must fight from a place of hope rather than catatonic fear.

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!