Progressive Buttons Blog

New York’s Democratic senators have had a history of supporting the rush to war, but this year, there is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate who has spoken in a consistent, strong voice for peace. His name is Jonathan Tasini.

Tasini pledges that if he is elected to the Senate, “I will vote No on every procedural vote to advance unnecessary wars and occupations. I will work toward the closure of US military bases around the world that are hurting our relations with other nations at great financial expense and undermining our national security—which, in my view, is enhanced not by wars of aggression but through diplomatic dialogue and economic engagement based on fair, not exploitative trade. I will speak out on these issues and lobby my colleagues to vote as I do… and I will not accept a dime from weapons makers or other military contractors.”

If you support that kind of emphasis on peacemaking rather than sabre rattling, show your support for the Tasini for Senate campaign. Give Tasini your time and your vote, and wear this Tasini campaign button as a way to get the word out.

(also available as a campaign keychain)

Here at the Progressive Buttons blog, we’re strong liberals, but even we can see that there are some cliches in progressive politics that are just begging for a bit of satire. Among them is the saying “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution”, from Emma Goldman, long available at Northern Sun Merchandising, though it now seems to be absent from their collection.

This button takes the Emma Goldman quote and pushes it past the button of respectful imitation straight into the territory of hilarious spoofs.

If I can’t run around screaming like a banshee and quote Monty Python and organize backrub circles and put twizzlers in my beer and giggle freely during late night caucus sessions, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.

I might add, if I can’t poke fun at your slogans, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.

WWJD? It’s become a favored cliche among the Christian set in the USA, as easily put aside as corporate cliches like “think outside the box”. It’s astonishing how many Christian Americans can go through the motions of worshiping Jesus without actually considering what he said.

The admonition, for example, to “turn the other cheek” seems to have been completely lost on Christian American in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. The way that Christians across the USA howled for blood, you’d think that Jesus said to “hit the other cheek”.

The same kind of blindness comes with the prisons of Guantanamo Bay, and the other black site prisons, such as Abu Ghraib, where Americans have been caught torturing prisoners over and over again. Right wing Christians have defended these prisons, saying that torture is justified.

Place this button on your chest to confront this hypocrisy in the heart of America’s religious communities. If Christianity isn’t followed when times get tough, it’s just a frilly little window dressing. Dare the Christians you know to answer the question: Who would Jesus torture?

For two generations now, corporations have been hiring public relations experts to try to make environmentalism sound like a crazy, dangerous idea. The executives at these corporations have got a lot at stake, of course. They make money from cutting corners, using toxic materials and unsustainable fuels that allow them to make big profits at the public’s expense.

What’s so weird about environmentalism, really? Is it odd for people to expect that they will be able to breathe clean air? Is it bizarre to want our children to drink clean water? Is it wacky to object when corporations propose clearcutting the land, blasting the mountains down to rubble, and burning up every bit of petroleum they can find?

I think it’s time that we reject the public relations attempts to make protecting our planet’s environment sound like a fringe issue. Here’s a more honest definition of environmentalism: Environmentalism is the crazy idea that we should pick up after ourselves.

It’s not a button, that’s true, but you could think of it as a button accessory – a great shirt to pin an anti-war button on.

Compared to chimpanzees, orangutans are the pacifists of the great apes, living in peace, living as free individuality rather than in troops, swinging through the branches in great nonviolent strength.

This shaggy, tranquil orangutan sits atop the peace sign as an example for less hairy primates: A peace orangutan.

Here’s a peace-loving bonus for this shirt: Starting in a few days, on January 1, 2010, One dollar from the sale of each one of these shirts will go to a progressive political organization, and another dollar will go to a kiva microloan. More details here.

No, dolphins are not literally organizing antiwar protests. However, dolphins do exist as a symbol of a life of peace and freedom. That makes them an interesting choice to represent the cause of human peace.

This button shows dolphins swimming in the shape of the peace sign, the internationally-recognized symbol of antiwar activism. Swim on into the pod of peace.

Upon hearing the news that Congressman Parker Griffith had decided to switch from being a right wing Blue Dog Democrat to a right with Republican, there were a number of little turns of phrase that could be used in a protest bumper sticker against Griffith.

Parker Griffith Never Was A Democrat

Parker Griffith, Good Riddance

Parker Griffith, Benedict Arnold

Yet, this bumper sticker, as simple as it is, catches the broader mood: Alabama Against Parker Griffith.

Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, Parker Griffith has proven that you can’t trust him. All Alabama can stand together against Griffith.

There’s been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about the climate summit at Copenhagen, including speculation about what the national governments of the world would do to reduce emissions associated with global warming. It was an important story to cover, because governments need to take action.

However, government action will not be sufficient. It’s the individuals of the world that need to lead the change from a dirty, wasteful economy dependent upon fossil fuels to a cleaner, more sustainable way of living.

The Irregular News collection of environmental buttons has one design in particular, seen here, that speaks to the need for simple individual climate action. It’s obvious what we need to do – it just isn’t convenient.

We need to bike it – not all the time, but more often. If everyone in the United States would use a bicycle once or twice a week for short errands, instead of driving as they currently do, our rapid slide into a hotter climate would be considerably slowed down.

Wear this artistic small bicycle design as a reminder of that to yourself, as much as it in order to send a message to other people about what they need to do. It’s time to get back on the bike.

U.S. Representative Betsy Markey was already having a difficult time with her 2010 re-election campaign. Though Markey is registered as a Democrat, her votes in Congress in 2009 helped Republicans block signature Democratic legislation. Furthermore, Representative Markey failed to support worthy progressive bills on the issues that Democratic voters care most about.

So, Betsy Markey found that she was having trouble getting campaign contributions from Democrats who had supported her 2008 congressional campaign. Markey’s supporters felt betrayed by her anti-progressive stands. That was bad enough.

Then, this week, Betsy Markey got desperate. She announced that she would be joining the increasingly despised Blue Dog Coalition, a group of right wing Democrats in Congress who routinely support some of the worst policies devised by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Betsy Markey will get a brief infusion of cash from the Blue Dog political action committee, but then what? Democrats will be even more reluctant to support Markey’s re-election, and Republicans will want their own candidate, no matter how far Markey swerves to the right.

This button is for Colorado Democrats who want to send Betsy Markey a wake up call: Betsy Markey, I will never give my vote to a mangy Blue Dog.

Come on and just think about it for a second, and you’ll see that it’s true: Santa is a peacenik. There’s no way that Santa Claus would support going off to war.

Santa Claus is a lover, not a fighter, so if you really like Santa Claus, then ask yourself, “What would Santa do?” Then, go out and work for peace, not war.