http://goleft.org/index.php/news en pjerido@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-03-06T02:26:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/activists/entry/goleft_star_activist_interview_ricardo_martinez/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/goleft_star_activist_interview_ricardo_martinez/#When:19:42:00Z GoLeft’s Star-Activist Interviews GoLeft tracks where pop culture and activism meet (who doesn’t enjoy the escapism of Hollywood and the great shoes?), but the real celebrities of our world are the progressives working every day to fight injustice, improve everyone’s quality of life, and build community. So here’s our version of the celebrity profile: GoLeft’s Star-Activist Interviews, which helps us get to know some amazing people doing fascinating (and important) work. Interview with Ricardo Martinez Ricardo is the Public Policy Associate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York City. Our GoLeft interview with Ricardo touched on the radical possibilities of popular culture and how we can learn from laughing more and using the lightness of pop culture to spotlight the seriousness of the issues we care about. You can find out more about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center at 2008-11-03T19:42:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/activists/entry/goleft_star_activist_interview_danielle_bays/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/goleft_star_activist_interview_danielle_bays/#When:15:09:00Z GoLeft’s Star-Activist Interviews GoLeft tracks where pop culture and activism meet (who doesn’t enjoy the escapism of Hollywood and the great shoes?), but the real celebrities of our world are the progressives working every day to fight injustice, improve everyone’s quality of life, and build community. So here’s our version of the celebrity profile: GoLeft’s Star-Activist Interviews, which helps us get to know some amazing people doing fascinating (and important) work. Interview with Danielle Bays Danielle Bays is the Advocacy and Outreach Manager of the animal rights group, Farm Sanctuary. Our GoLeft interview with Danielle revealed a great commitment to building community, balancing one’s activism and personal life and a love of cooking shows. To find out more about the work Danielle is working on, check out http://www.farmsanctuary.org. You can also reach Danielle at activist@farmsanctuary.org. GL: How do you explain your work to people? Danielle: My primary work at Farm Sanctuary is working to find ways to engage and support new and current activists. GL: When did you know you wanted to be an organizer? Danielle: I’ve always loved animals and knew I wanted to do something. I’ve worked on national campaigns, state level campaigns, advocacy and lobbying. And everything I’ve learned made me want to be able to share this work with other people. GL: What is great about being an organizer? Danielle: There are just so many great people out there. As an organizer, I get to build community. And it is one of those things that is lost in society and it is great to be able to build that for activists. It’s a really great feeling. GL: What is the best line you’ve ever used to engage someone in your campaign? Danielle: We’re lucky at Farm Sanctuary because we advocate for animals and they kind of speak for themselves. They are a good opening line and visual. One slogan that we are using now that I get a really good reaction to is “A compassionate world begins with you”. I use that line in all different contexts. GL: What do you love about pop culture? Danielle: Pop culture is a good escape and at times it can be really telling and insightful. I enjoy when I can watch and be entertained and educated at the same time. GL: When was the last time you used a pop cultural reference in your work? Danielle: I love watching Top Chef, it’s a really compelling show that draws you in. But they use a lot of animals in the show and they also use foie gras, which we have a campaign against here at Farm Sanctuary. This is one area where our issue is tied into pop culture. Top Chef’s new season will take place in Chicago, which recently issued a ban on foie gras. Farm Sanctuary contacted the show about ending their use but have not heard back yet. GL:  Which celebrity would you love to come out on your issue and why? Danielle: This is a really hard question for me. Here at Farm Sanctuary we have some really good supporters. I am reluctant to name any “wish celebrity” because for us when we have someone come out who does not really support the cause, who comes out because someone asks them to and they haven’t really committed to make a change in their lives, it ends up hurting us more. I’m thinking of the time some models came out against fur and then ended up wearing fur. That said, I would love to see the contestants on Top Chef refuse to cook meat and push for all vegan meals. GL: What music lyrics do you live by? Danielle: “Meat is Murder” by the Smiths. Listening to that song coincided with my going vegetarian back while I was in high school. I was a big Smith’s fan, but didn’t have a lot of exposure to vegetarians or people who took a stance, changed their lifestyle, because of concern for animals, or really for any belief. It has obviously stuck with me. GL: How do you balance your passion for your activism with your passion for your partner? Danielle: That’s easy for me now because I’m single. I do work from home now so I can have a better relationship with my companion animals. GL: Does your family support the work that you do and is that important to you? Danielle: I do. They are very supportive even without having a full grasp of what I do. I come from a family of teachers not activists. They have been supportive of my choices, working in non-profit and not making lots of money. I would not want to do this work if I were estranged from my family it would also be contrary to our organizing goals of building community. GL:  Is there a relationship depicted in pop culture (fictional or real) that you admire or think is a healthy model? Why? Danielle: I’m living in Boston right now and so I have to relate to crazed Red Sox fans. I went to see the movie “Fever Pitch” with Drew Barrymore. In that movie the guy Drew Barrymore’s character starts dating is a diehard baseball fan and would always have his relationships fail when baseball season began. I saw this movie and thought about the parallel to activism. What I loved seeing in the movie is how they balanced their obsessions/passions. The characters in the movie recognized that they could have their independent time while respecting each other’s obsession and quirks. I found this movie very relevant to us who lack boundaries to our work and personal lives. GL: When solicitors come to your door do you answer or pretend not to be home? Danielle: I usually answer because my dogs will bark and it’s hard to pretend not to be home. I do like to engage them in conversation and share thoughts whether or not I agree with them. I like to support and encourage activists GL: What is your astrological sign and how does that affect your organizing? Danielle: I’m a Sagittarius, which makes me a free spirit and pioneer attitudes moving in new ways. 2008-05-17T15:09:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/activists/entry/caroline_mcandrews/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/caroline_mcandrews/#When:01:29:00Z I live here/I want to live here I live in New York/ I want to live in London (someday!) I am currently reading On Beauty By Zadie Smith My first political action was Clinic defense in Los Angeles My idea of a better world includes Happy, healthy, wanted children and someone to take care of Britney Spears What I love about being an activist There’s constantly more to do and more people to get to know doing it Issues I work on/care about My daily work focuses on changing the systems in this country that reinforce inequality.  I care most passionately about creating a country that values everyone in it. My top 3 movie recommendations for activists 1. This Film is Not Yet Rated 2. Our Brand is Crisis 3. City of God Music lyrics I live by And now we got a revolution Cause I see the face of things to come Yeah, your Constitution Well, my friend, its gonna have to bend I’m here to tell you about destruction Of all the evil that will have to end. (from Nina Simone’s Revolution (part 1)) My favorite featured video on GoLeft is Women Together for Change My Zodiac Sign Pisces (How can I help you?) Ways to reach me 1. Email: carolinebmca@gmail.com 2. Other: check out Building Movement Project at www.buildingmovement.org 2007-03-09T01:29:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/activists/entry/adria/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/adria/#When:20:03:00Z I live here/I want to live here Brooklyn / Brooklyn I am currently reading Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver My first political action was When I was around four years old, my parents took me to a large rally to protest the storage of nuclear warheads on the Brooklyn waterfront. My idea of a better world includes No Texans in the White House, and legalized gay marriage. What I love about being an activist It’s all about the possibility of everything being better than it is now! Issues I work on/care about Feminism; reproductive freedom; sexuality education; youth activism; civic engagement (people need to VOTE!); equal rights; ending the War! My top 3 movie recommendations for activists 1. Bamboozled (dir. Spike Lee) 2. Wag the Dog (dir. Barry Levinson) 3. Southern Comfort (dir. Kate Davis) Music lyrics I live by I live by music in general, but top faves for the activist to groove to are Lila Downs, Meshell Ndegeocello, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Zap Mama, and the Dixie Chicks! Here’s a quote to live by:  “We have to laugh.  Because laughter, we already know, is the first evidence of freedom.” (Rosario Castellanos) My Zodiac Sign Capricorn Ways to reach me Email: basicallylaughing@yahoo.com 2007-02-25T20:03:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/jon_stewart_provides_great_language_to_address_backlash_against_homeowners/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/jon_stewart_provides_great_language_to_address_backlash_against_homeowners/#When:02:26:00Z This is the video to show whenever the question of blaming homeowners for the sub-prime mortgage debacle comes up. The Daily Show deftly skewers CNBC and the culture of misinformation, so brazenly given, that played a large role in the financial mess we’re experiencing. See the clip below. 2009-03-06T02:26:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/mlk_day_remembering_the_movement/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/mlk_day_remembering_the_movement/#When:14:25:00Z While a persistent message surrounding Martin Luther King’s Birthday has been of benign volunteerism, there are glimpses of him as an organizer and strategist. Check out this clip where King speaks for himself on the role of taking risks and pursuing justice with a long-term strategy.  2009-01-19T14:25:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/stan_lee_creates_first_gay_superhero/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/stan_lee_creates_first_gay_superhero/#When:14:54:00Z Here at GoLeft, we’re excited about the idea of Stan Lee creating a gay superhero not just for the sake of representation (which is always important) but for the opportunities to explore the overlapping difficulties of being forced to live in hiding because people do not accept your difference, committing your life to making a better world even when that world includes people who are out to get you, and the eternal superhero theme of finding strength in individuals who we assume are weak. Showtime is planning an hour-long show based upon the comic. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. 2009-01-14T14:54:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/pop_culture/entry/waltz_with_bashir_golden_globe_winner/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/waltz_with_bashir_golden_globe_winner/#When:14:37:00Z While it would have been nice to have seen Ari Folman, creator of the Golden Globe winning Best Foreign Language Film, take the opportunity in front of millions to explain his movie, we at GoLeft were happy to see this anti-war film win. Take a look at the clip below and plan to see it now that it should get a wider release.  2009-01-12T14:37:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/annie_lennox_speaks_up_for_gaza/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/annie_lennox_speaks_up_for_gaza/#When:15:08:01Z We were hard pressed here at GoLeft to find any celebrities coming out against the horrific bombings in Gaza, so this recent footage from a protest in London with Annie Lennox speaking eloquently on the need to end the bombing lifted our spirits that someone with influence is not afraid to speak out. See below.  2009-01-05T15:08:01-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/progressive_tv_watch_sex_change_hospital/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/progressive_tv_watch_sex_change_hospital/#When:14:28:00Z Another show to watch: cross posted on Choice Words by our own Molly Dilworth! Has anyone seen this show on WeTV called Sex Change Hospital? “Based in Trinidad, Colorado, this six-part series follows patients as they arrive in this Old West mining town—dubbed the ‘Sex Change Capital of the World’—to see Dr. Marci Bowers, formerly Mark Bowers, who’ll provide them with the ultimate life-changing operation. From retired grandfathers to construction workers, businessman to office managers, each shares their unique story of how they came to terms with their sexuality.” I think one of the most important aspects of the show is its coverage of the vast and diverse group of trans people seeking gender reassignment surgery. For instance, the episode I watched last night highlighted a middle age trans women bounty hunter from northern CA. Awesome. I’m also kind of (really) in love with Dr. Marci Bowers. I was so impressed by her warmth and skill and compassion. Check out the clip below and for more information on activists working on transgender rights find out more at 2008-12-10T14:28:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/pop_culture/entry/the_simpsons_take_on_religious_intolerance_and_apple/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/the_simpsons_take_on_religious_intolerance_and_apple/#When:15:32:00Z This is an example of where in comedy and popular culture you can take on very disparate issues and have cohesion. Lisa gives up her freedom for a mypod while Bart befriends a Muslim boy and Homer sets out to prove that the family are terrorists.  2008-12-02T15:32:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/world_aids_day/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/world_aids_day/#When:18:24:00Z On this, World AIDS Day, you can catch Madonna’s documentary “I Am Because We Are” on the Sundance Channel at 9 p.m. (EST). The documentary takes a look at the devastating scourge of the disease in Africa. The documentary addresses the role that limited resources and low access to medical facilities, and gender discrimination play in spreading the disease. Here at GoLeft, we also love the Good Catholics Use Condoms Campaign - which works to spread the message of how condom use does not interfere with your beliefs as a Catholic. 2008-12-01T18:24:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/pop_culture/entry/harvey_milk_the_movie/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/harvey_milk_the_movie/#When:17:33:00Z Another example of politics and movies converging to help in our discussions. This time not only providing a way to get over the hurt and disappointment of Proposition 8 in California but to understand how we all benefit from a more tolerant society and the need for increased participation of all sectors of society in the political process. Check out the clip below.  2008-11-19T17:33:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/tyra_highlights_teen_sexuality/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/tyra_highlights_teen_sexuality/#When:17:22:00Z Over the summer more than 10,000 teenage girls and young women took part in an anonymous survey through the website of the “The Tyra Banks Show.” Survey questions focused on sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, amongst other things, and the results were shocking.  Here are some findings from the survey: * On average, girls are losing their virginity at 15 years of age. * 14 percent of teens who are having sex say they’re doing it at school. * 52 percent of survey respondents say they do not use protection when having sex. * One in three says she fears having a sexually transmitted disease. * 24 percent of teens with STDs say they still have unprotected sex. * One in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom. These statistics, however horrifying, are grounded in the reality that young people face: little to no sex education in schools (or rather federally funded misinformation) and little to no dialogue about sex at home.  This is a reoccurring theme at GoLeft – we live in a society where we as a culture (and especially through pop culture) use sex and images of sex as a way to attract, engage and appeal to young people. Yet this same sex obsessed society places a taboo on real and earnest conversations about sex and deprives our youth of life saving information about the risks of unprotected sex, putting our youth at a real disadvantage and real danger.  Luckily, there are a lot of really amazing programs and peers and even their 2008-11-19T17:22:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/greys_anatomy_tackles_animal_rights_guest_blogger_mat_thomas/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/greys_anatomy_tackles_animal_rights_guest_blogger_mat_thomas/#When:17:10:00Z TV Watch: Grey’s Anatomy by Mat Thomas Popular and critically-acclaimed doctor show here. Successfully dramatizing both sides of this controversy, the surgeon in charge of training residents and interns insists that operating on “live tissue” is vital to a physician’s schooling. Conversely, two residents denounce him as a “monster,” and one courageously challenges his assumptions on both moral and practical grounds. Her argument cites specific historical examples of human deaths caused by animal research (due to our physiological differences), as well as the humane alternatives to vivisection made possible by modern technology (including computerized robotic simulators that realistically respond to treatment just like people, as demonstrated in episode 506). In addition, the resident and interns in charge of the pigs’ care demonstrate real compassion for their patients by the amount of effort and emotion they invest in saving them. They spend all day struggling to keep the mortally wounded pigs alive, only to be ordered to “terminate” them in the end because of the months of painful recovery they would suffer.  I work for climate change and the chief source of a laundry list of ecological disasters. Grey’s Anatomy didn’t address dietary health or environmental questions in “Life During Wartime,” but then it must be hard enough engaging one contentious issue in the limited airtime they have per episode (especially with all the romantic interludes and sexual entanglements thrown in to temper the heavy philosophical stuff). However, the show does carry storylines over from one episode to the next, so I’m hoping that in the wake of the pig lab incident, the producers will make the obvious connection, and have one of the characters go vegan soon. There are evidently a bunch of smart, caring healers at Seattle Grace Hospital, so at some point one of them has got to take a true stand for animals by making the case for veganism! 2008-11-19T17:10:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/activists_win_big_on_proposition_2_in_ca/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/activists_win_big_on_proposition_2_in_ca/#When:19:11:00Z The YES! on Prop 2 campaign has been the greatest undertaking on behalf of farm animals in U.S. history, raising enough public awareness and support to end three of the cruelest confinement systems with one ballot measure in spite of massive funding from the industry–backed opposition. The YES on Prop 2 campaign was run by Californians for Humane Farms, a coalition headed by Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States. This law phases out some of the most restrictive confinement systems used by factory farms – gestation crates for breeding pigs, veal crates for calves and battery cages for egg laying hens – affecting 20 million farm animals in the state by simply granting them space to stand up, stretch their limbs, turn around and lie down comfortably. 2008-11-06T19:11:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/yes_we_did/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/yes_we_did/#When:12:25:00Z An exhausting and exhilarating election season has ended with the culmination of the 44th president elect, Barack Obama. This is a great example of a country moving toward social equality, social justice and just moving left in ways that seemed impossible just months ago. From our vantage point here at GoLeft, this election also merged popular culture and progressive culture in bold ways. We saw celebrities became brazenly partisan - Oprah’s first political endorsement; Ron Howard’s nostalgic support video for Obama; Gossip Girl Blake Lively urging kids not to let their parents vote Republican. And the creative products that were produced – videos, songs, slogans all added to the enthusiasm. What these pop cultural moments also did was to provide some entertainment, increased exposure to the necessary grassroots and political organizing that was going on that won this election. Enjoy! 2008-11-05T12:25:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/one_last_push_vote_tomorrow/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/one_last_push_vote_tomorrow/#When:09:38:00Z It has been difficult this election season to find pop culture overlap with politics in a non-partisan way, so as a 501(c)3, we’re happy to find this clip from the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that is equally funny and sobering around the importance of voting without telling us who to vote for.  Take a look.  2008-11-04T09:38:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/pop_culture/entry/all_my_sons/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/all_my_sons/#When:16:53:00Z Here at GoLeft, we’re loving the revival and interest in Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons. Of course with Katie Holmes participation it ensures more cute photos of Suri, but besides that the opportunity to shed light on the subject of war profiteering and the tolls that our choices have in the pursuit of money over family. The 1948 film with Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster made our 2008-10-31T16:53:00-05:00 http://goleft.org/index.php/news/entry/voter_fraud_alert/ http://goleft.org/index.php/site/voter_fraud_alert/#When:15:59:00Z Another example of how shows like Real Time with Bill Maher and The View offer us a better understanding of the political process than regular news. Check out this clip from Real Time on the tactics used in the past and most likely to be used during this election to suppress the vote. And as stated in the clip, the vote suppression is heavily geared toward African Americans. Check out activity being done in Louisiana to protect voting rights. The 2008-10-31T15:59:00-05:00