On Thanksgiving...

Let's spend time with friends and family.

Let's tell them that we love them.

Let's be grateful for our many blessings.

Let's share with those in need.

Let's be thankful for one another.

Let's remember that 
we have
SO MUCH
to be grateful for
as a nation!

TODAY, ​
let's talk
Thanksgiving Turkey
and enjoy the day
together...

TOMORROW,
we can get
back to business
and
"Talk Turkey"
about how to move
FORWARD
as a
country
TOGETHER!

Happy Thanksgiving!​

​This week's
impeachment proceedings
highlighted the voices
of several  
career diplomats
and foreign policy experts,
including Fiona Hill,
a former National Security adviser.

Her words remind us that
there is real danger
in letting ourselves
get whipped into a
partisan frenzy
by the latest
tweet or post.

How do we keep ourselves
from ​getting pulled
into the partisan vortex?

One important step is to
think critically
about
who is producing
the information
in our media diet.

AllSides   ​
 is a non-partisan organization
working hard to burst our
internet news filter bubbles.

Their mission is to...

Strengthen our democracy by freeing people from 
filter bubbles 
so they can better understand the world — and each other.

A worthy goal!

Check out their 
media bias
page and see where your
favorite online news source falls
on their left/right continuum.

Then,
consider seeking out
a different
news source every
now and then...

Can the same story
be told
in another way?

Find out!

Let's make an effort
to consume a
balanced
​media diet
and burst those
filter bubbles! 

Happy World Kindness Day!

Did you know that was even a thing?

How can you celebrate?

WQED,
home of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,
is encouraging everyone to
wear cardigans today
in honor of Mr. Rogers,
the king of kindness.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation 
offers lots of great ideas for
spreading kindness.
Check them out...
 randomactsofkindess.org

 A purple way
to spread kindness
might be to reach out to
someone on the 
other side
of the
political divide.

Think of someone in your daily life
who sees things in a different way.

What little act of kindness
could you share with that person today?

A cup of coffee?

An encouraging note?

A smile?

Give it a try!

One little act of kindness today
might pave the way for a
purple tomorrow.

Did you get your
"I Voted"
sticker this week?

Did you wear it with pride?

Or did you let this year's
"off-season"
election
pass you by?

Let's remember that
EVERY
election counts.

And local elections have an
IMPORTANT
impact on our daily lives.

There's a pithy quote floating
around the internet
that sums up our current situation...

"We in America
do not have government
by the majority.
We have government
by the majority
who participate."

(This is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson,
but monticello.org says he never wrote this...
and they should know!)

Whoever said it,
the message rings true.

Red voters,
Blue voters, 
Purple voters... 
let's all work together,
to make sure the
majority
of us are participating
in the process.

Our democracy 
is counting on
our votes!

Ghosts and Ghouls 

Monsters and Aliens

Witches and Werewolves

Vampires and Zombies

Democrats and Republicans

All kinds of creatures
roam the streets on Halloween!

While we open our doors
for our trick-or-treating neighbors,
Let's try opening our hearts. 

Who lurks beneath the scary mask?

A LIBERAL?

A CONSERVATIVE?

Who cares?!?!?!

It's a NEIGHBOR,

NOT A MONSTER.

Let's try and remember that today...
​and every day.

Happy Halloween, Neighbors!

We're headed down the  
political, 
divisive,
BUMPY
road to impeachment.

No looking back.

Whether you are
for or against
impeachment proceedings, 
we all need to
buckle up
for the ride ahead. 

Let's make sure
we don't get so
caught up in the
impeachment frenzy
that we forget 
to listen,
to respect,
to care.
​
The Purple Code
is more important than ever....

Respect
Care 
Trust 
Gratitude
Fun

Let's look for ways to embed
these purple values in our daily interactions
with our fellow Americans...

It's time to make sure
our
own conduct
is
unimpeachable!

​The United Nations
has designated
September 21st
as an
International Day of Peace.

Each year,
the UN selects a theme
to promote global peace initiatives.
​
​This year, the focus is...

Here is a bit from their website about
why 
CLIMATE ACTION
is necessary for
PEACE...

"Climate change causes clear threats to international peace and security. Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere. The salinization of water and crops is endangering food security, and the impact on public health is escalating. The growing tensions over resources and mass
movements of people are affecting every country on every continent."
​
You can read more here...
Climate Action for Peace

So, what climate action can we take?

We can continue to take our individual actions...
reduce, ​reuse, recycle, etc.

But we also need to
advocate
for
systemic change.

Millions of people around the world 
joined the Global Climate Strike this week,
calling for this kind of massive CHANGE.

 As Sir David Attenborough says, 
we need to change
Societies,
Economics,
and
POLITICS.

That's a tall order.

It can only be done if we
put aside
political differences
and work
TOGETHER.

Climate change
affects us all,
whether we are
Republicans
or
Democrats.

We
must
take
united
PURPLE
action
NOW.

Happy Labor Day!

Let's take this holiday weekend 
to reflect on all the purple work
that needs to be done.

Listening takes effort.

Opening hearts and minds is not easy.

Finding common ground is hard work.

Whose JOB is it anyway?

It's yours

and 

It's mine.

No time to rest!

Enjoy your holiday

and 

Let's get working!
​

Gun violence is in the headlines again...
and again and again
AND AGAIN.

How can we fix the problem?

There are many organizations
working hard to pass
meaningful gun legislation.

All of them would welcome support.

Here are several choices...
***
Brady 
is one of the oldest
gun violence prevention
organizations in the country.
It is named for Jim Brady,
the White House Press Secretary 
who was shot during an assassination attempt
on Ronald Reagan in 1981. 

Brady focuses on bipartisan solutions.
Their motto is...
"Take Action, Not Sides."

Click to learn more about...
Brady

***
Everytown for Gun Safety
is an umbrella organization that  includes
Moms Demand Action
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Everytown Survivor Network
and
Students Demand Action

​Last weekend,
Everytown For Gun Safety
​organized 
"Recess Rallies"
across the country
to send Congress this message...
"Change Gun Laws or Change Congress"

Everytown For Gun Safety
has a form to help you
contact your Senator quickly.

Click to learn more about...
Everytown for Gun Safety

***
Giffords 
began as Americans for Responsible Solutions
and was started by
Gabby Giffords who was shot in 2011
while meeting
with her congressional constituents in Arizona.

This organization merged with the
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,
a group initially formed by
Bay-Area lawyers in 1993
with the goal of strengthening
gun laws in California.
 
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
produces an annual "Gun Law Score Card"
showing how individual states
rank in terms of gun laws and gun deaths.
It's worth checking out your state...
Gun Law Score Card

Click to learn more about...
Giffords

***
March For Our Lives 
began as a student-led demonstration
following the 2018 shooting at
 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

They have just released a 
Peace Plan for a Safer America. 
It contains a wide range of actionable steps
to make our communities safer.
Take a look at their inspiring vision...
 Peace Plan

And click to learn more to learn about...
March For Our Lives

***
Gun Safety Alliance
looks for ways to bring
business leaders,
creative & tech communities,
and non-profit
gun violence prevention organizations
together to make
meaningful reforms. 

Click to learn more about...
Gun Safety Alliance

***
States United 
to
Prevent Gun Violence
is a grassroots network
of gun violence preventions organizations
from 32 states all working 
​to pass meaningful gun reform
at the state level.  
While legislators in D.C. have done
little to help at the federal level,
there have been many significant laws
passed in individual states.

Click to learn more about...
States United to Prevent Gun Violence​
​
***
All of these organizations
would welcome support.

Help where you can.

There's one more EASY thing you can do right away...

CALL YOUR SENATORS.

Let them know that you want the Senate to take action on 
H.R.8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

It passed the House and is ready for the Senate.

It's been waiting for nearly six months.

We need to hold Congress accountable.

We need our Senators to ACT.

​We need to fix this together.

This was an EPIC week for US soccer.
Our US Women's National Team won the world cup!
For the FOURTH time!

Moments like these can help bring us together.
The USWNT's slogan this year reminds us that we are...

ONE NATION.
ONE TEAM.

 Team Co-Captain,
Megan Rapinoe,
had these words for us all at the
USWNT's ticker tape parade
in New York this week...

"How do you make your community better?
How do you make the people around you better?
Your family?
Your closest friends?
The 10 closest people to you?
The 20 closest people to you?
100 closest people to you?
It’s every single person’s responsibility. 

There’s been so much
contention
in these last years.
I’ve been a victim of that.
I’ve been a perpetrator of that...

But it’s time to come together.

This conversation is at the next step.

We have to collaborate.

It takes everybody."

It takes everybody.

Let's all do our best to..
Love More and Hate Less.

And remember that we are...
ONE NATION.
ONE TEAM.