Journeys and Lessons

This isn’t art-related, but this is EXTREMELY SERIOUS IF YOU LIVE IN THE US.  The following message is pasted from Reddit user DrDreamtime. I did not write this, but it contains all the most important information you should know. It should be spread as far and wide as possible.

For those that do not know or understand what net neutrality is and would rather see a video instead of a LOT of text, here is a good video by John Oliver on Net Neutrality.

Don’t want to do that? Understandable, it’s a 15 minute video. So heres a simple picture to highlight what things could look like

Please take the time to at least do the first easy step, either of the two options work and take very little time.

If this fails, the possibility of actually having to pay more to access reddit, facebook, and any other website or face massive loading speed increases or even a straight out site-block by your ISP.

Tell him how you feel.

Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman: 1-202-418-1000

Reddit won’t let me post the rest of the FCC contact information, something with the formatting and the automod, I think. You can click here, to go to the FCC’s official contact page.

You need to contact your representatives and senators about Net Neutrality even if they already support it, but especially if they don’t.

Remember that this very thread is only possible because of a free and open internet; kill net neutrality and threads like this might be a thing of the past.

Easy way:

Step 1: Go to BattleForTheNet.com. Step 2: Do what BattleForTheNet.com tells you to do.

-OR-

Text RESIST to 50409 to get help from RESIST Bot. It helps you find your reps, write letters to them, and sends them faxes FOR FREE. Everyone who cares about Net Neutrality should take 5 minutes to write to your representatives, once a week (or a day). Be heard.

The harder, but still very easy way:

Step 1: Find out who your Representative and Senator is/are.

Find your Representative.

Find your Senator.

Local elected officials.

Step 2: Find your Representative and Senator’s contact information.

5calls.org has a decent repository of Representatives and Senators contact information, though the site is a bit difficult to navigate.

Call My Congress just asks for your zip code and tells you what district you live in, who your Representatives are, and how to contact them.

DailyKos has a list of all of our Senator’s phone numbers, not just the DC office. (Current as of February, 2017.)

FaxZero has a system set up allowing you to fax your Representatives and Senators for free! (Faxes are good if you can’t get through on the phone lines, or just if you want congressional staffers to listen to fax machine noises until Net Neutrality is safe.)

Fax Congress

Fax Senators

Step 3: Call, write, or fax to express your feelings on this.

A lot of people are nervous about calling their elected officials for the first time, maybe you don’t know what to say, or how to say it, or even who you’ll be talking to, so here’s what you’ll need to know.

There’s a 75% chance your call will be answered by a Secretary who is specifically there to listen to your concerns, there’s a 25% chance your call will be bumped into a voicemail box which is specifically there to listen to your concerns, there is a ~0% chance you’ll find yourself on the phone with your Senator or Representative.

You may be asked for your name and address or zip code, it’s okay not to tell them if you don’t want to, but the information is useful for your elected officials. I usually just give my first name, zip code, and the name of my town.

Don’t worry about a script, don’t worry about being eloquent, you’re not writing Shakespeare here, you’re a concerned citizen voicing their frustrations, fears, and hopes. “I’m really scared of Ajit Pai’s plans to roll back net neutrality, a free and open internet is important to me because [Your reason here. Some suggestions: An open internet is important to democracy/I worry what Donald Trump might do with more power/Cable bills are already too high/etc.]. Please tell [Senator or Representative] that I support a free and open internet, I support Net Neutrality, and I vote.” The only hard and fast rule is that you need to be polite; these folks are getting dozens, if not hundreds of calls a day, they don’t need you bitching and swearing at them for something they have no control over. Be passionate, but be polite.

Reminder: Only call YOUR OWN elected officials! Calling Mitch McConnell from sunny Florida won’t do anyone any good, and might actually harm the cause. Only call your own elected officials, period.

The Ancient Ones:  Oldest Living Organisms on Earth

The trees of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, in the White Mountains near Bishop, California, are the oldest living recorded organisms on Earth. Many of the trees are over 2,000 years old, with the “Methuselah” tree dated at more than 4,773 years old. It was previously thought that this was the oldest tree in the world, but was superceded by the discovery of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of 5,063 years, giving it a germination date of 3051 BC.

These trees were young and growing at the time stone axes were being used in Europe, the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) was being built, and cuneiform clay tablets were being used in northern Syria.