SPECIAL ISSUE: GIVING A CRAP ABOUT THE WORLD IN WHICH YOU LIVE—IT’S BIGGER THAN HIP-HOP

Stic-man and M-1 of Dead Prez would like to know…would you rather have a Lexus or justice? (hint: this is not a trick question)

SPECIAL ISSUE: GIVING A CRAP ABOUT THE WORLD IN WHICH YOU LIVE—CHRISTIAN ZABRISKIE, MY HERO

Christian Zabriskie needs your help. Wait, you ask, who the hell is Christian Zabriskie and why do I need to help him? Because Christian Zabriskie is a man of courage and principle who holds in the highest regard the belief that knowledge is the key to empowerment.  Because Christian Zabriskie is a staunch defender of your right to free and public access of information. Yes, Dear Reader, Christian Zabriskie is a  librarian. And as deputy coordinator for Youth Services at the Queens Library, Christian would like you to know that due to budget cuts stemming from the recession, many of the libraries in Queens will be shut down (programs that benefit the community have already been affected;  for example, literacy classes, after-school programs, and English-language lessons).

Urban Librarians Unite, an organization of which Christian is a member, has started a Save NYC Libraries Postcard Campaign, which you can learn more about here.

Also, if you’re wondering why you, someone who doesn’t live in or around Queens, New York should give a crap about a library that you’ll never visit or a librarian that you’ll never meet, you need to think about the following:  your city/town/province/country is next and so are public institutions like your local library. Libraries aren’t just shelves of books, they’re what makes a civilization, well….civilized.

 

 

SPECIAL ISSUE: GIVING A CRAP ABOUT THE WORLD IN WHICH YOU LIVE—THE BIRDS OF THE GULF COAST

photo credit: Charlie Riedel

The magnificent birds of the Gulf Coast, the original settlers of the area, are,  in their own natural habitat, being suffocated, cooked alive, and all manner of what amounts to nothing less than extreme torture. Even the slightest amount of oil can kill a bird, since the buoyancy of their wings is dependent on greedy corporations not fucking up an entire ecosystem in the most permanent, devastating way possible.

You can start giving a crap by looking at these pictures– also a good indicator if you’re human or not. Feelings of outrage, shock, and anger mean you are indeed, a human being. (If you don’t experience these or any variants of the above feelings, you are either a Cylon or an executive at BP–if this is the case, please activate your self-destruct mechanism immediately.)

Once you find yourself giving a crap, you may want to actually do something about it. Here’s how…