In Memory of Jim Harris

Jim Harris was a computer consultant, a software developer & programmer, a teacher, a union organizer, president of a trade school, a gifted musician, and a social activist. It is in that last role that I became aware of Jim, soon after he and Pat Murphy co-founded Progressive Secretary in 1997.

Progressive Secretary was not the first organization to see the potential for using email and the net and what we now call "social media" to encourage activism, and bring people together for progressive causes (MoveOn.org had them beat by at least a year), but they were certainly early in the line.

And, for all the changes and advances in technology in the last fourteen years, Progressive Secretary has remained true to their original, simple concept:

Progressive Secretary sends out progressive email letters to Congress, the President, and other officials on peace, the environment, civil rights and other issues.

The letters are suggested by participants in the cooperative and are sent to you as a proposal. If you tell us to "send", then the letters are sent ... over your signature and return address.

Whether or not you consider yourself a "progressive" or not, and whether or not you agree with Jim's politics is not my point here today. It's the simple elegance of the concept of using email to organize cooperative grassroots campaigns. So obvious today; not so much in 1997.

Today, the flip side is that such efforts have become so commonplace that they are derided as "slacktivism" - faux activism designed to appeal to the lazy. But Jim Harris was no slacktivist. He worked for social justice all his life, was part of the Civil Rights movement, going to Mississippi with SNCC, and later working with Cesar Chavez and the UFW. When he co-founded Progressive Secretary in 1997, he was recovering from leukemia, and considered it part of his healing.

Jim finally passed last Friday, June 3, of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. There will be a Quaker memorial service today at the Sacramento Friends Meeting House. He was seventy-years old. Progressive Secretary lives on.

FW: FW: FW: HILLARY DIANE RODHAM CLINTON

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2008 9:53 PM
Subject: HILLARY DIANE RODHAM CLINTON

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS WAS SENT TO ME IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
Subject: Fw: HILLARY DIANE RODHAM CLINTON
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2008 13:23:27 +0000

Okay, just one more on Clinton and I'll back off for a while. I just think it is important that we know exactly who we might be voting for, if New Hampshire is any indication of her strength, it is time to educate ourselves on not only Clinton, but all the candidates on both sides.

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
Subject: Fw: HILLARY DIANE RODHAM CLINTON
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2008 10:53 AM


Who is Hillary Rodham "Clinton"?

Very interesting and something that should be considered in your choice.

If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts... this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States... better heed this and pray about it and share it.

Probable U. S. presidential candidate, "HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON" was born with the name of Hilary Diane Rodham, and only later changed her last name to "Clinton" - some claim for political purposes - and dropped completely her former middle name of Diane.

Consider this fact: Since being elected to public office, Ms. "Clinton" has never once publicly explained her change of name!!! Just what is Hilary DIANE Rodham hiding?

Fact Two: Hilary Diane Rodham "Clinton" is a member of an exclusive and secretive organization that refers to itself as "The United States Senate." This "Senate" maintains a powerful hold over our nation's government while limiting its membership to only 100 persons at a time. Although this "Senate" purports to uphold our treasured principles of democracy, "Senators" only put themselves up for re-election every six years!

As a member of the exclusive and powerful "Senate," Hilary Diane Rodham "Clinton" has several times cast votes in DIRECT OPPOSITION to the ELECTED President of the United States!

Most Shocking Fact: Hilary Diane Rodham "Clinton" practices a type of Christianity often broadly referred to as "Protestant." This is the same religion as the Radical White Christian Terrorists who bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996.

While Ms. Clinton claims to support abortion rights, the very same Radical White Christian Terrorist who was responsible for the Atlanta Olympic bombing (Eric Rudolph) was also convicted of bombing several abortion clinics!

Ms. Clinton has steadfastly refused to denounce her race or religion or make any public statements regarding her relationship with Mr. Rudolph!!!!!

The White Christian Radicals have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out and "returning it to Christ," what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States, one of their own!!!!

Please forward to everyone you know. Would you want this person leading our country?...... NOT ME!!!

I have checked all these facts thoroughly using snopes.com, wikipedia, and kenrg.blogspot.com and all have shown this to be THE TRUTH - - - WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!!

------------ End Forwarded Message -----------

This is an original work of satire, although you are free to forward it to the easily alarmed. Careful, the gullibility virus is spreading.

"...exigent circumstances..."

Another bill, another signing, another Orwellian statement...

The bill was the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (HR 6407), which sounds harmless enough, but with the signing statement President Bush swept away any right to privacy you ever had in sending mail.

Think the government needs a warrant to open and read your personal mail? Not any more:

The executive branch shall construe ... the Act, which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.

There's no need to show a judge evidence that you might have black market anthrax or that you might be planning a bombing, all the right people in power need is a hunch that you might not like them.

Okay, you don't care. You get all your personal messages by email, and all that's in your mail box is bills and advertisements. The media doesn't care either; ABC, CBS, and CNN pretty much ignored the statement in their coverage.

And that's what worries me even more. That 95% of Americans will never hear this news is scary. That of the few who do hear it, 75% of those won't care is what truly terrifies me.

It's not the idea that some government agent is going to be peeking into my mailbox I'm upset about, it's the idea that this government has blatantly said that we no longer have any privacy rights, that there is no more due process of law, and that most people can't be bothered to care.