Progressive Buttons Blog

Last week, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing an extension of the worst abuses of Patriot Act, an extension that contains no reforms whatsoever. The majority of Democrats joined with the Republicans to vote in favor of the extension of the Bush-era spying scheme.

What the Congress ought to have done instead is to pass legislation repealing the Patriot Act. Why? Let’s listen to some people with legislative expertise, and see what they have to say about the Patriot Act:

“The PATRIOT Act was passed at a time of panic, and in an extremely rushed manner. Many of its provisions were not well thought out, which is why Congress decided that certain parts of the PATRIOT Act should be enacted on a temporary basis.” – Jerrold Nadler

“Instead of carefully and thoughtfully strengthening laws that actually work to thwart terrorists, we’re giving government a blank check to trample civil liberties.” – Neil Abercrombie

“Months into this Administration, The New York Times reported that the National Security Agency had ‘intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits,’ and that the practice was ’significant and systematic.’ Passage of this legislation today continues to make Congress complicit in these violations of our basic constitutional rights.” – Dennis Kucinich

It should be clear now to all American progressives that we cannot rely upon the leadership of the Democratic Party to do the right thing. We need to lead from the grassroots, and push Congress to repeal the Patriot Act.

The Earth. Our planet. The globe. It stands for the uniqueness of life as we know it, the scale of our individuality in the vastness of the university, our unity as a species, our fragility as a biosphere.

I can’t think of any other symbol that stands for so much as the symbol of our world itself. The Earth. Pin it on.

That’s My Congress writes a rather devastating expose of the dealings of Congressman Nathan Deal with lobbyists with the Stanton Park Group, a firm that represents the corporate health care industry, with lobbyists JD Derderian greasing the skids for a pay-to-play sleigh ride with clients such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, and US Oncology, a company that makes money by finding ways to cut corners in giving people cancer drugs. It seems that Congressman Deal actually held a fundraiser right inside the D.C. offices of the lobbying firm, with corporate big shots coming right out and handing Deal checks for as much as $6,100 a piece – the “platinum” level of congressional access.

Does Representative think that his constituents are too ignorant and stupid to pay attention to shady closed door dealings like this? Prove him wrong.

Wear this button to confront his campaign out in the open: Nathan Deal is a Lobbyist’s Lackey

Some say that Barbara Boxer ought to run for President in 2012. That may be, but first things first.

In 2010, Senator Boxer first needs to deal with Carly Fiorina, the failed-yet-well-funded corporate executive who seeks to represent California for the Republican Party.

This campaign button for Boxer creates a memorable alliterative slogan that will stick in voters minds better than a standard political button would: I’m Bananas for Boxer.

The Religious Right is always ranting on about deviant behavior – especially “deviant sexual behavior”. The ranters and ravers of the Christian Right work with the assumption that deviance is an inherently wicked thing, and must be stamped out.

Yet, here you are, standing tall, with this pin declaring yourself to be a “deviant”, and not causing any harm at all.

All it means to be a deviant is to be someone who does something different from the rules that somebody else set up. You deviate. That means that you’re different, that’s all. In our multicultural society, we can’t get along anymore with the idea that deviance is a bad thing.

Value the diversity of everyone you meet. Value deviance.

People associate witches with outrageous characters from stories like the Wizard of Oz, green skin and all. Wiccans confront this association all the time, sometimes by merely refuting the association. Wearing this button, you take a different tack: Acknowledge the stereotypical witch image, but place the button on yourself, a witch of an entirely different color.

“What, are you some kind of witch?” they’ll ask.

Then you’ll answer, “Yes, actually, I am.”

That’s where the conversation about the true identity of Wiccans can begin.

John Tierney is doing a great job in Congress, taking on the financial elites that ran America’s economy into the ground and then got hundreds of billions in the bailout. He’s introduced legislation to limit credit card interest rates to 16 percent, and regulate abusive credit card fees too.

Of course, Wall Street finance firms just hate the idea of Americans getting credit on fair terms. It would interfere with their big profits.

So, Wall Street has sent out its lobbyists to pay off members of Congress who are willing to block Tierney’s legislation. They’ve even got one of their own insiders, David Sukoff, a former hedge fund manager, to run as a Republican candidate against Tierney.

You don’t have to take the big money assault by Wall Street fat cats sitting down. Wear this button to show that you support the re-election of John Tierney to Congress.

That’s My Congress nails it with a comparison of Erik Paulsen with Dr. Martin Luther King today. Whereas Dr. King called for leaders who love justice more than they love money, Congressman Paulsen, who “represents” the 3rd district in Minnesota, calls for lobbyists and political action committees to come and bring him money. Erik Paulsen seems to care more about his corporate masters than his constituents back in Minnesota.

In 2010, two Democrats are competing to challenge Representative Paulsen for his seat in Congress: Maureen Hackett and Jeff Meffert.

Whichever one of these Democrats gets the nomination, let’s get Erik Paulsen out of Congress.

Some people like to depict conservatism as courageous, because it encourages fighting. These people believe that lashing out in violence is an expression of strength, but it isn’t. It’s an act of desperate fear.

To be liberal is to know that the world contains dangers, but to decide to live in freedom anyway. To be a liberal is to be strong enough to not need to strike back. To be liberal is to give to others without fearing that the gift might be abused.

Be brave. Be liberal – and don’t be afraid to say what you are.

Are you seeking a more enlightened way of communication? You might ask yourself: Who would Buddha text?

This cute little button shows the Buddha in his iconic contemplative pose, only what he’s contemplating is not a lotus blossom, but a cell phone.

Graphically, it’s a perfect match, even if the ideology isn’t a perfect fit.