Matching Monday #004: ACLU

We finally got some good news yesterday; the Army Corp of Engineers has denied Dakota Access a necessary permit for the pipeline at Standing Rock, and they intend to issue an Environmental Impact Statement.  Alternate routes for the pipeline will be considered.  The fight isn\’t completely over, but this is an important victory nevertheless.

Last Week: Trans Lifeline

Thanks to donors Maria E., Eric A., and Rebekah C., we donated a total of $330 to Trans Lifeline!  Maria included a note as well:

I would like this to be in honor of a brave friend of mine, \”MB\”, who was very open about his transition in order to help others not feel so alone. He brings light and strength and love to this world.

This Week: ACLU

The past few days have seen a number of alarming statements from Trump.  His baseless assertion that millions of votes were cast illegally is a pretext for continuing the voter suppression efforts that already disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of people, while his desire to not only jail flag-burners but also strip their citizenship displays ignorance of, or indifference to, our First Amendment rights.

More than ever, during the Trump administration we will need the American Civil Liberties Union working to protect our rights.  The ACLU\’s efforts in court cases, legislative advocacy, and public outreach help defend the civil rights of all Americans.

Because of the fact that some of the ACLU\’s efforts include lobbying, donations to the ACLU itself are not tax-deductible.  However, donations to the ACLU Foundation are tax-deductible; those gifts support everything except the lobbying efforts.  You can read more about the difference here; for the purposes of Matching Monday (and my usual $100 match) I\’ll happily consider donations to either entity.((I\’ll be donating my matching funds to the Foundation regardless, both for tax purposes and because I expect the outreach and litigation work to be more important and more effective than the lobbying work over the next couple years.))  Forward your donation receipts to matching@pyrlogos.com.

If you\’d like another way to help, artist Mary Capaldi is selling some beautiful enamel pins with 25% of the price going to the ACLU, through next February.  If you love butterflies, art pins, and/or civil rights, this is a great way to contribute, get something pretty, and support an independent artist at the same time!

Call to Action

A friend of mine created a Social Activism Advent Calendar for December.  We\’re a couple days in, but it\’s never too late to start!  The linked PDF is full of ideas (and links to other similar resources) for things you can do every single day – including attending local events, donating to charities, educating yourself on the issues, and doing things to protect yourself as needed.