Light a Single Candle

Holocaust deniers are violent antisemites, no exceptions. They are dangerous and do not deserve a platform to speak.

Jewish people cannot be nazis, no matter how much you disagree with them. Ben Shapiro is a piece of transphobic racist shit, but he’s not and will never be a Nazi.

Trump and many people in his cabinet have repeatedly used antisemitic dog whistles, most recently calling himself a nationalist.

We. Are not. All. White. Stop being dicks to Jewish people of color.

And we’re not all ashkenazi!!! Google is your friend if you don’t know what that means.

Don’t do that “Nazi puncher” bullshit if you don’t actively uplift and defend Jewish people. Punching nazis is a great thing but you need to uplift and support jews at the same time.

Stop pinning Israeli war crimes on random Jewish people. And stop demanding we tell you our opinions on Israel before you treat us with basic human decency.

GOY IS NOT A SLUR

Judaism is an ETHNORELIGION. I am both religiously AND ethnically Jewish. It’s not that hard to understand.

Stop tone policing us

Hi, everyone.

Like a lot of Puerto Ricans, I’m currently part of the diáspora; part of millions of Puerto Rican living outside the island due to different reasons that drove us to leave our Island (temporary or permanent)

As of tonight (9/19/17), Hurricane Maria will be moving across Puerto Rico as a category 5 hurricane.  The destruction it will leave on its wake is unknown. It’s sad and frustrating not knowing how to help my people, my island, my country, during these hard times.  

So, I’m gathering all the places we can donate money. Real organizations from Puerto Rico, to ensure that the money goes directly where it’s needed.  I’ll be updating this list as soon as I can verify (to the best of my knowledge) the organizations where the donations are going.

If you wish to share one, feel free to submit the information (click here) to out page and we’ll verify (as best as we can).  Whatever you can donate, even if it’s just $1, it would be greatly appreciate.

Here is the list so far:

1.  Maria & Irma: Puerto Rico Real-time Recovery Fund:  managed by the non-profit ConPRmetidos.  All donations to this fund will exclusively support the victims of the catastrophic Hurricane María and Irma in Puerto Rico and provide relief and aid the communities affected by this disaster.

2.  HURRICANE IRMA RELIEF FUND FOR PUERTO RICO, CUBA, AND FLORIDA:  The funds will go directly to nonprofits working on the ground, such as Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico.

3. Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Fund - Puerto Ricans in Action: All funds will be withdrawn from the campaign on September 29, 2017, by our co-founder, Jorge Rivera, and donated to two nonprofits located in Puerto Rico working to rebuilding communities in Culebra and Loiza: ConPRmetidos is working to construction of long-enduring homes in Culebra that meet Safe Building Codes standards, and  Iniciativa Comunitaria is working with community leaders in Loiza to identify immediate and long-term needs. They are also working with the United Way of Puerto Rico to give the in-kind donations we receive to the best community organization.

Other organizations that would greatly benefit from additional help:

1.  San Francisco de Asis’ Animal Sanctuary, Inc: animal shelter in the southwest, currently a “budget covers our expenses for the next month. We have more than 300 dogs and cats under our care.” (GoFundMe)

These organizations are helping from afar as well. Check their websites for more information.

1. Puerto Ricans in Action: from Los Angeles, CA. Coalition of  businesses and organizations in the greater Los Angeles Puerto Rican community coming together to offer support to family and friends.

Coming quick at you, all the help that had been sent to my Island, is apparently on hold. Also the U.S. won’t open the borders so other countries can send aid and Trump is tweeting about it’s our fault. Puerto Rico has been an U.S. territory since 1898 and to this day we have no control of what comes through our borders because of The Jones Act.

You wanna help Puerto Rico? Call your Representative and your Senators and tell them to waive/repeal/ban The Jones Act.

We need to reconstruct and rise up again, not to be dragged while we’re down. We don’t need to be reminded of the country’s debt when there are towns that can’t be reached almost 7 days after Hurricane Maria, when power is still out and there’s no running water and communications are down. We don’t fucking need some inept talking about our debt, instead of opening the borders so doctors and engineers come and help, so other countries nearby can come and bring provisions too. So roads can be open and people can be helped.

There are 3.5 million people in Puerto Rico (Americans, not that it matters) with limited or no access to potable water. And there’s a law called the Jones Act that is impeding supplies from getting through. 

The law says that ships going between US ports must be built in America, sailed by Americans, and fly the American flag. Problem is, only two percent of all the world’s cargo is carried by compliant ships. And most of those are off somewhere else. 

President Trump can waive the Act to allow foreign vessels to dock. He waived it after hurricanes Harvey and Irma. He needs to do it again.

Please call your representatives and have them demand a waiver for Puerto Rico. Here’s how:

1. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and follow the prompts to reach your Senator/Congress Member.

2. Read the script below, filling in the blanks with your information.

“Hi, my name is [NAME], I am a voting constituent living in [CITY/TOWN] and my zip code is [ZIP CODE].

I’m calling to urgently request that [YOUR SENATOR / CONGRESS MEMBER’S NAME] please call DHS to demand an immediate waiver of the Jones Act so that additional rescue and relief resources can get to Puerto Rico. 

The destruction caused in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria has been significant, comparable in scale to Katrina.  The federal government’s response needs to be increased immediately.  We cannot allow a Caribbean “Katrina” to unfold. The safety of 3.5 million U.S. citizens is at stake.   

Thank you so much for your time. ​

3. If you can, please consider a cash donation.

These are all good charities: 

United for Puerto Rico

UNICEF

Global Giving

Image reads:

DACA Renewal Reminder

If your DACA protections are set to expire before March 5, 2018 you will have until October 5, 2017 to apply for one last renewal. 

Spread this one too. It reads:

Importante

https://www.scholarships.com/

A free search site for scholarships, active since 1998.

http://www.collegescholarships.org/financial-aid/

Lists of scholarships, grants, student loans, and financial aid generally.

https://www.collegeboard.org/

A nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand access to higher education.

http://oedb.org/

The Open Education Database specializes in financial aid for online colleges.

http://www.finaid.org/

http://www.trade-schools.net/

http://www.trade-school.org/

http://www.technical-vocational-schools.com/

http://www.americantradeschool.edu/financial_aid.html

http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/vocational-trade-school/financial-aid-scholarships/

What this is: Disappointing, infuriating, and a direct result of President Trump’s decision to withdraw President Obama’s previously issued guidance on transgender youth.  

What this isn’t: The end of the road. The past few months have seen a historic growth in support for transgender protections at the highest level. Thousands of individuals and organizations have signed on to the amicus briefs—major medical associations, unions representing millions of teachers, national religious leaders, elected officials at the local, state, and federal level, and ordinary citizens concerned about the rights and dignity of their fellow human beings.

This decision does not void any existing Title IX legal protections for transgender students, and similar cases regarding the fundamental rights of transgender students in schools are pending throughout the circuit courts.

The momentum on this issue is clear, and it isn’t going to be readily reversed—at least not if we all continue to work for what’s right. We remain committed to standing with Gavin, to supporting the ACLU, and ultimately toward the passage of explicit, comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for all LGBTQ Americans. It’s more important now than ever before.

Here’s how you can keep up the fight:

Show your support for equal access to public spaces by joining the #EveryoneWelcome campaign.

Support and share resources like The Trevor Project, which offer crisis intervention for trans people.