Category Archives: spiritual

Birth of a Painting Series XII: “World in Abstraction”.

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In this series, World of Abstraction, my paintings are based upon philosophical ideas, and addressing the unknown. Paintings by Denise Hartley.

“Passage Way”, mixed media on wood, gold leaf, 4’ x 6’, 2002. Private collection.

“Passage Way”.   The opening into another dimension. How do we reach the unknown within ourselves? How do we learn about ourselves?

To Know Yourself is to Forget Yourself

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So to know yourself is to forget yourself. This is to say that when we make friends with ourselves we no longer have to be so self-involved. It’s a curious twist: making friends with ourselves is a way of not being so self-involved anymore. Then Dogen Zen-ji goes on to say, “To forget yourself is to become enlightened by all things.” When we are not so self-involved, we begin to realize that the world is speaking to us all of the time. Every plant, every tree, every animal, every person, every car, every airplane is speaking to us, teaching us, awakening us. It’s a wonderful world, but we often miss it. It’s as if we see the previews of coming attractions and never get to the main feature.

 

 

 

 

“Mitochondria I, Mitochondria II”, mixed media on wood, gold leaf, 4’ x 6’, 2002. Private collections.

“Mitochondria”. Each of our cells can contain thousands of mitochondria. They are used by our bodies to convert molecules into energy. They are independent, and genetically distinct from the cell nucleus, and can manufacture their own proteins. It is thought that mitochondria originated as a separate single-cell organism that became symbiotic with their hosts, as to be indispensable. Mitochondrial DNA is a remnant of a past existence as a separate organism. Mitochondria contain their own DNA, which we only inherit from our mothers, and can be used to trace maternal links (The American Heritage Science Dictionary).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Jade Disc”, acrylic paint on canvas, 4’ x 6’, 2002.

“Jade Disc”.  This disc is called a bi disc, it is a flat jade disc, with a circular hole in the center. They were used in Neolithic times, burial objects, undecorated, about 3000 B.C.E. The jade objects represent Heaven and were laid on the diseased.

 

 

 

 

“Tao”, mixed media, acrylic on canvas, 4’ x 6’, 2002.

“Tao”. This painting represents the beginning of the universe. The red rays piercing the disc, are the sparks that create the Ten Thousand Things in our existence.

Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching

Verse 40.

Returning (to the basis) is the motion of Tao,
Yielding is the work of Tao,
The Ten Thousand Things in the universe are born of being,
Being is born of nothingness.

Verse 42.

Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the Ten Thousand Things.

“Silent Passage”, oil on gessoed wood, 4′ x 6′, 2003.

“Silent Passage”. 

The reason water can keep changing its form is because it is essentially formless. Its form is determined by what is around it. Put it in a cup, and it will be cup-shaped. Put it in a ravine, and it will be river-shaped. It needs no form of its own, because it harmonizes with everything around it, taking other beings as its outline, instead of imposing itself upon others”.

Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching.

 

 

“Zen Drawing”, mixed media on wood, 3’ x 4’, 2002. Private Collection.

“Zen Drawing”.  Enlightenment, the first principle is possible acknowledging the everything and everyone is Buddha-nature. Enlightenment is possible to everyone. Enlightenment in Buddhism, or for the Taoist sage, is not expressible in words, or logical thought. Intuitive understanding is necessary, acknowledging that eternity is here and now.

“The Zen artist, on the other hand, tries to suggest by the simplest possible means the inherent nature of the aesthetic object. Anything may be painted, or expressed in poetry, and any sounds may become music. The job of the artist is to suggest the essence, the eternal qualities of the object, which is in itself a work of natural art before the artist arrives on the scene. In order to achieve this, the artist must fully understand the inner nature of the aesthetic object, its Buddha nature. This is the hard part. Technique, though important, is useless without it; and the actual execution of the art work may be startlingly spontaneous, once the artist has comprehended the essence of his subject”.

Fredric Liberman

Zen Buddhism And Its Relationship
to Elements of Eastern And Western Art

 http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/lieberman/zen.html

 

 

 

Birth of a Painting Series VIII: “Water”, an Installation.

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Water! A combination of large-scale videos within an installation format that includes an inner meditation room, surrounded by paintings and the gentle sounds of water, designed to include the viewer in the artwork. The paintings are sculptural, created on large wood panels, with deep texture, oil paints, and gold leaf. The videos are of natural events; “Lost Canyon Falls”, includes water and fire in a meditative film; “Lake Kaweah”, transforms two years of photos into a video time-piece, recording the beauty of each passing day; “Douglas Creek”, in the meditation room, includes streams, meadows, and the sounds of water.

koi (3)

“Koi”, oil on wood, gold leaf, diptych, 70″ x 68″, 2008.

Paintings: “Cypress and Basalt”, mixed media on wood, 4′ x 6′, 2006. Private collection.

“Aspens”, mixed media, gold leaf on wood, diptych, 6′ x 8′, 2006. Private collection.

“Mountains, Clouds, and Streams”, mixed media on wood, triptych, 4′ x 6′, 2008. For sale.

“Silent Passage”, oil on gessoed wood, 4′ x 6′, 2004. Private collection.

Copyright 2018 Denise Hartley.

Thank you for reading my Friend Nature Blog!

http://www.dahartley.com

Birth of a Painting Series V: “Golden Falls, Lost Canyon”.

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goldenfalls.web

“Golden Falls”, artist Denise Hartley

lost.can.falls.photo3

As an artist and healer, I address the healing of our planet. I try to approach Climate Change, and our damaged environment, more as a spiritual issue. First, we must heal ourselves, and by doing so we will become aware of the reality of the global stress that humanity has caused.

My paintings are often bought by healing organizations and individuals. “Golden Falls”, was a corporate purchase by Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Visalia, California. They have bought several of my paintings.

“Golden Falls”, mixed media, gold leaf, on wood panel, 4′ x 6′, 2005.

 

 

Please promote self-healing by visiting beautiful sites in nature. Being in nature is a blessing, each flower will delight and encourage you, and the sounds of the forest and stream will lead you back to your true self.

Blessings to you,

Denise Hartley

Website: D.A. Hartley: http://www.dahartley.com

Birth of a Painting Series: “Blossom Peak”.

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Article by Denise Hartley

In the Birth of a Painting Series, I try to give examples where the artist finds inspiration in creating an artwork, and how the creative process develops within the artist.

Painting, Blossom Peak, by artist Denise Hartley

I begin this series with my painting “Blossom Peak”. It is a 4’ x 6’, mixed media painting on a wood panel, created in 2004. It is in a private collection.

The inspiration for the painting “Blossom Peak” began on a hike I took with my son. We climbed an iconic peak in Three Rivers, California. Three Rivers is near the entrance to Sequoia National Park, on the banks of the whitewater Kaweah River. The park is the home of Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is famous for its giant sequoia groves, jagged peaks, and glacier polished valleys, rushing rivers, and wildlife. As a resident of Three Rivers, hiking is an important experience, as well as white water rafting and swimming, and it is the backpackers dream location.

My young son I enthusiastically began our hike at the base of Blossom Peak, and headed straight up hill, we rose above California’s Central Valley, hidden by fog. After reaching the top, we could see the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada, signed the book, made our cell calls, and then my son looked over the steep edge, and slipped. He somehow caught himself at the last moment at the precipice, a 35’ drop to the rocks below.

In the spirit of jubilant thankfulness, we began our descent. The inspiration of this painting was based upon the high emotions that I felt that day, and on our return, I began this painting, “Blossom Peak”.

 

Video: Birth of a Painting Series: “Blossom Peak”.

 

The Beauty of Change, the Basics for Survival, Earth Unplugged

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The Earth seen from Apollo 17.

The Earth seen from Apollo 17. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Basics for Survival, Earth Unplugged

The Beauty of Change, Essay 1, the Basic Steps…

Simple Steps for Improving Your Life:

  1. Cherish what you have. Appreciate your life, family, friends, and your blessings given by our planet and ‘Mother Nature.’  Everything comes from Nature. Every material object in your life came from our Earth, at a great cost. The planet cannot keep up with our consumption. Give back to Nature, recycle what you do not need, it is made from precious material. Watch what you throw away, are you really giving back to Nature by dumping into her earth and water what you have consumed and no longer want?
  2. Recognize that you have what you need. If you have a home, food, water, you have enough. Everything else is a want. The First World (us) has taken too much from a finite planet (the only one we have). We are stripping our planet of its resources for our pleasure, leaving little for the rest of humanity. We choose not to see what our selfishness has caused, and the suffering of the Third World, who is starving and thirsty. I know we can do better.
  3.  Simplify your life. Having less material objects creates a space that you will enjoy more. Give away or sell what you do not need, someone else can use it. Eating less and more healthy simple foods will increase your enjoyment also. Growing your own organic foods gives pleasure, knowing that you are working with, and in nature. Your body is part of Nature, give it simple good food, and it will reward you with good health. Learn to recognize what will enhance your diet, and create good health. Eat less high resource foods: meat, out of season fruits and vegetables (they have probably traveled more that you have), factory created foods (processed, and dead, also well traveled).

What Easy Improvements I Made to Enjoy My Life More:

  • I sold my large house, and downsized (2003)…AND use way less power. Easier to clean, more time to spend outside in Nature
  • I became a vegetarian (1995)…I grow my own food, and my protein is from fruits and vegetables, legumes, and eggs from my chicken, AND have great health. I eat less and enjoy it more. I don’t eat GMO corn or soy products (they are hidden in packaged food).
  • I use less energy in my new home, replace your light bulbs with more energy efficient CFL’s…Check your appliance efficiency. My heater is on a low setting, so I dress warm.
  • Gave up TV (1995)…The new flat screen TV’s use 2x to 4x the energy of the old tube ones. Again, I am outside in Nature, or reading, or painting.
  • Unplug what you are not using, standby mode uses electricity….
  • I sold my super cool Black & Silver Dodge Ram truck, and bought a small Toyota pickup, now I have downsized again, being given a free car that has great gas mileage.
  • I found something useful to do, and am getting a teaching credential, AND blogging about climate change.
  • I stopped buying what I do not need. Yes, even Christmas presents, I bought everyone socks for Christmas! I make my own beer and wine (another blog), and gave as Christmas presents).
  • I recycle everything. I have a compost pile, recycle cans, jars, plastic, etc., I have very little trash to send back into the Earth.
Starting the Garden
Starting the Garden
Growing the Garden
Growing the Garden
Eating the Garden
Eating the Garden
Mother Nature

Mother Nature (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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“Let Fury Have The Hour”, film by Antonio D’Ambrosio. Artist’s Unite!

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YouTube Link:  $3.99     http://www.youtube.com/movie/let-fury-have-the-hour?feature=mv_sr

A documentary that chronicles how a generation of artists, thinkers, and activists used their creativity as a response to the reactionary politics that came to define our culture in the 1980s.

Director Antonino D’Ambrosio took seven years interviewing various artists who discuss how their work stems in large part from reactions to the conservative politics of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. They explain how their creative responses to what they felt were dehumanizing social changes allow them to find a way to affect the world. Among the many interviewees are Chuck D, Tom Morello, John Sayles, and Eve Ensler.

LET-FURY-HAVE-THE-HOUR

Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant Room - The Creek So...

Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant Room – The Creek South Beach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan greet Prime Min...

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan greet Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Denis Thatcher of the United Kingdom for the State Dinner at the North portico of the White House. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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State Terrorism–Arbitrary Killings, Rape, Torture, and Destruction of Property by Graham Peebles

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CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY by Friend Nature
Ethiopian military currently uses RAPE as a weapon. Suspected chemical warfare has influenced President Obama in his decision to provide arms to Syria; systematic RAPE by the military in Ethiopia, used as a war tactic, must be considered by President Obama as a CHRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.

***

Excerpt from the article by Graham Peebles:
With the international media banned by the Ethiopian government since 2007 and with an economic and aid embargo being enforced the region is totally isolated, making gathering information about the situation within the five affected districts difficult. I recently spent a week in Dadaab where I met dozens of refugees from the Ogaden; men, women and children who repeatedly relayed accounts of murder, rape, torture and intimidation at the hands of government forces. Accounts that if true, – and we have no reason to doubt them, confirm reports from, among others – Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Genocide Watch – who make clear their view, that the Ethiopian government has “initiated a genocidal campaign against the Ogaden Somali population”, constituting “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

 

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Ethiopian troops in Gereida (South Darfur)

Ethiopian troops in Gereida (South Darfur) (Photo credit: UNAMID Photo)

Dandelion Salad

Warning

This article may contain language depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be read by a mature audience.

by Graham Peebles
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London
June 6, 2013

The Ethiopian military and paramilitary forces, operating in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, are, it is alleged, carrying out extra judicial killings and gang rapes; falsely arresting and torturing innocent civilians; looting and destroying villages and crops in a systematic attempt to terrify the people. This is the consistent message coming out of the region and from those who have fled persecution and are now in the world’s largest refugee camp, in Dadaab, Kenya.

View original post 1,515 more words

Seed of Light Award Nomination, Thank you MisBehaved Woman!

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Seed Of Light

Thank you MisBehaved Woman!

seed-of-light-award

You only need one to start a forest!

Planting is easy: if you receive this award, simply pass it on to another blogger who inspires you through the beauty of their words/images as well as any blog which brings joyful awareness to nature and our connection to each other.

I happily pass this lovely little seed along to:

SUNSET DAILY: http://sunsetdaily.wordpress.com/ 

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I am a girl: Poisoned in Afghanistan: Education Today!

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100612 PP 2 (Medium)

125 girls, 3 teachers poisoned at Afghan school

Posted on: 11:03 am, May 23, 2012, by , updated on: 08:53pm, May 23, 2012

 
Girls poisoned in Afghanistan
***
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Some 125 girls and three teachers
 were admitted to an Afghanistan hospital on Wednesday, May 23rd,
after being poisoned in their classes with a type of spray, a Takhar provincial official said.

The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Talokhan,

in the Bibi Hajera girls school, said Dr. Hafizullah Safi,

the province’s director of public health.

***

Forty of the girls were still hospitalized, he said, with symptoms including

dizziness, vomiting, headaches and loss of consciousness.

***

Blood samples have been sent to Kabul in an effort to determine the substance used, he said.

“A number of girls from 15 to 18 were brought from a school to hospital today,”

said Dr. Habibullah Rostaqi, hospital director.

“Generally they are not in a critical condition.

We are looking after them, but let’s see what happens later.

We understand so far from the situation, they are more traumatized.”

“The Afghan people know that the terrorists and the Taliban

are doing these things to threaten girls and stop them from going to school,”

said Khalilullah Aseer, spokesman for Takhar police.

“That’s something we and the people believe.

Now we are implementing democracy in Afghanistan and we want girls to be educated,

but the government’s enemies don’t want this.”

***

There have been several instances of girls being poisoned in schools in recent years.

***

In April, also in Takhar province, more than 170 women and girls were hospitalized

with suspected poisoning after drinking apparently poisoned well water at a school.

Local health officials blamed the acts on extremists opposed to women’s education.

While nearly all the incidents involve girls,

earlier this month nearly 400 boys at a school in Khost province fell ill

after drinking water from a well that a health official said may have been poisoned.

I will punish the student,” Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak told

a press conference on Tuesday.

***

0

***

ReBlogged from PRESS INSIDE :http://saccsivdotcom.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/80-school-girls-poisoned-in-faryab-province-of-afghanistan/

logo6

80 school girls poisoned in Faryab province of Afghanistan

By SAYED JAWAD – 21 May 2013, 9:36 pm

school girls poisoned in Faryab

According to local authorities in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan,

at least 80 school girls were poisoned in Sherin Tagab district on Tuesday.

District chief for Sherin Tagab, Syed Luqman confirming the report said

the school girls belonged to Islam Qala girls school.

Mr. Luqman further added the incident took place after an unknown individual

attacked the compound of the school with toxicant gas,

leaving at least three girls unconscious.

***

He said the number of school girls later increased

to 80 after inhaling the poisonous gas.

This comes as several girls were poisoned in north-eastern Takhar province of Afghanistan last month.

However, education ministry officials denied militants involvement

behind the poisoning of school girls and

called it a psychological issue.

***

Education officials also warned to try

those school girls who ‘claims’ of being poisoned in the future.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan Online Newspaper on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS

***

Yahoo! News Singapore

70225864-dbcf-4a00-827c-9fe9a930576b_RVB_AFP_20CMAFP News – Wed, May 8, 2013

Afghan minister vows punishment for fainting girls

th 

I will punish the student,” Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak told

a press conference on Tuesday.

“From now on, if I find anyone saying ‘I’m poisoned’

and the poisoning is not proved by the hospital,

***

“I will punish the teacher, I will punish the head teacher and

I will punish the school director,” he added.

***

Afghanistan’s education minister

has threatened to punish schoolgirls who

claim to suffer from alleged “poisonings” that many officials

believe are actually temporary psychological illnesses.

***

Scores of girls’ schools over recent years have seen mysterious mass faintings,

nausea and similar symptoms that are often blamed by police and the local media

on poisoning by Taliban insurgents or toxic gas leaks.

But no laboratory evidence of poison or other toxins has ever been found at schools

and no deaths have occurred,

with the girls often released from hospital after only a few hours.

***

In the latest case, 200 girls were reported to have been “poisoned”

at a school in Kabul on May 1,

causing an outbreak of screaming, stomach aches and vomiting.

***

The education department said the government was determined to

crack down on the causes of outbreaks of

‘psychological illnesses among young girls’.

“When one student faints,

it spreads around and everyone might think it’s poisoning,”

Mohammad Kabir Haqmal, spokesman for the ministry, told AFP.

***

“If tests prove it is mass hysteria or any other natural cause,

of course no one will be punished”.

***

What the minister said was that we will pursue those who disrupt the classes.”

***

Wazhma Frouqh, a female education activist,

criticised the minister’s stance and said

that previous cases of “poisonings” had dissuaded families

from sending their daughters to school.

“The minister should not have said that he will punish schoolgirls,”

she told AFP.

“His job is to find out what has happened and protect schools.”

***

Girls were banned from going to school under the Taliban,

but numbers have risen since the extremist regime was ousted in 2001

and the government says 40 percent of pupils are now female.

***

70225864-dbcf-4a00-827c-9fe9a930576b_RVB_AFP_20CMAFP News – Wed, Apr 18, 2012

photo_1334684798378-1-0

‘Poison’ scare at Afghan girls’ school

More than 100 Afghan schoolgirls were taken to hospital Tuesday after

drinking water believed to have been poisoned by opponents

of education for girls, an official said.

“I think some radical elements who oppose girls going to school are behind this act,”

said district governor Mohammad Hussain, adding that police were looking into the incident.

***

The schoolgirls fell ill after drinking water from a tank at their high school

in the small town of Rustaq

in the northeastern province of Takhar, Hussain said.

Education ministry spokesman Abdul Saboor,

however, cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the cause of the incident.

“According to our reports a number of these schoolgirls

were panicked and taken to hospital

and they were then quickly dismissed.

“But some others are still there.

We think it is a small incident,

but we are continuing our investigations.”

***

Afghan girls were banned from going to school or working in offices by the hardline Islamist Taliban

regime until it was overthrown by a US-led invasion in late 2001 for sheltering Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban have since waged an insurgency against the Western-backed government of

President Hamid Karzai and some 130,000 NATO troops in the country.

Millions of girls now go to school,

but they and their teachers are occasionally attacked.

***

Provincial health director Hafizullah Safi said 140 schoolgirls had

been admitted to local health facilities

but most were released after recovering from symptoms which included headache and nausea.

“Most of the schoolgirls who were brought to the hospital after falling ill have been dismissed,

the other girls in the hospital are in stable condition,” he said.

In similar cases last year hundreds of girl students were taken to hospitals across the country

after falling ill from suspected gas attacks or water poisoning.

Authorities at the time mostly blamed the Taliban,

though some suggested that the cause might have been mass hysteria,

‘a phenomenon recorded around the world, often among young girls’.

***

Also printed in the New Zealand Herald : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10799685

***

ReBlogged from Morning Cup O’ Joe: http://morningcupojoe.com/2010/06/29/afghanistan-school-for-girls/

In Afghanistan from 2006 to 2008, there were 461 attacks on schools for girls,

and in 2008,

15 girls were attacked with battery acid on their way to school.

***

Afghan Schoolchildren in Kabul

Afghan Schoolchildren in Kabul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Afghanistan34P-Takhar

Afghanistan34P-Takhar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Join Congresswoman Jackie Speier, in support of the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act (STOP Act) to end military rape.

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English: Jackie Speier (D-CA), Member of the U...

Below is an email from Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Courage Campaign. Congresswoman Speier started a petition on the MoveOn website, where anyone can start their own online petition.

Congress: Support the STOP Act to end military rape. 
Sign the Petition!

Dear MoveOn member,

Sexual violence in the U.S. military is a crisis.The Pentagon estimates that sexual assaults increased from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012. That’s 71 sexual assaults EVERY DAY, and in roughly 56% of cases, the victims are men.

Making matters worse, each branch of the armed forces has its own judicial system, and it’s currently legal for base commanders to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict, as happened at Aviano Air Force Base in February 2013.

The STOP (Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention) Act takes the prosecution, reporting, oversight, investigation, and victim care of sexual assaults out of the normal military chain of command—which has proven grossly ineffective—and places jurisdiction in an autonomous Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office.

That’s why I started a petition to the United States Congress, which says:

I stand with Congresswoman Jackie Speier in support of the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act (STOP Act) to end military rape.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Congresswoman Jackie Speier

This petition was created by the Courage Campaign on on MoveOn Petitions Political Action Edition, which is licensed to and paid for by MoveOn.org Political Action. We are not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site. The Courage Campaign didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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