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I have rarely met a more courageous & principled American than Linda Sarsour. #IMarchWithLinda because she fights for all our freedom. The attacks on her, are a form of bigotry that permeates our global system. As a people, we must face the colonial roots of our power structure. The racism, sexism, and Islamaphobia that have controlled so much of our media, education, foreign policy, economic system, social structures, art and political reality. #iMarchWithLinda because she represents the best of humanity. Those who spend their every breathe, demanding the liberation of human beings everywhere. She is a freedom fighter, and an organizer. A mother, and a leader. A powerful presence, and a sister. When we write the new history of this land, women like her will be given their rightful place, as essential forces within every great movement for a more free world. #WomensMarch

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"Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul." -Coretta Scott King #WomensMarch #Rise

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Many of these women have had a profound and indelible impact on my life. For years, they have inspired many of us to stand up, and fight for the cries of our conscience. It is no surprise that in a time of international confusion, these women would be where they have so often been. On the frontlines. The work of protecting our children is the work of every generation. In ours, it may well begin, with the end of patriarchy. Proud to know y'all. Proud to stand with you. Proud to follow your lead. As our friend @profnajeebasyeed reminded us today; we all belong here. We will defend each other. Blessings to all who are marching. To all who resist. May the Creator keep your body free of harm, and your spirit renewed. Thank you for all you give. #WomensMarch

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12.10 Human Rights Day. Or at least, it is somewhere. Today the sacred fire at Oceti Sakowin was put out. Tomorrow, I go home. All my love, and all my blessings, go with Standing Rock. Aho.

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As the sun rises along the long horizon of the Dakotas, I am taking a moment to simply breathe, and be. Morning prayers are being sung at the main camp, and the speakers strain and crackle, to get the sound across the river, and into our little enclave in the trees. I woke up early this morning. Restless. Feeling the need to do something dramatic. Something audacious. It's a feeling that has permeated camp the last few days. When I first arrived at Standing Rock, the night sky was dark, and the stars shone forth in all their brilliance. Today, there are massive lights along the northeast ridge, providing pipeline workers with the capacity to work through the night. Like a baseball field in the middle of corn fields, the power of their light drowns out the darkness, and along with it, the stars that watch over us each night. Ironically enough, this whole thing began with prayers that were answered in a way not too dissimilar from James Earl Jones' voice whispering - if you build it, they will come. Though those of us who came, did so in search of the night sky. In this story, the lights are from the intruders. Two months ago, cars lined up nearly every morning, and together we would drive twenty or thirty miles, to the different work sites along the long pipe they call the Black Snake. Like a war party, hundreds of filthy trucks and cars, filled with people from every corner of the world, would fly down dirt roads toward some unknown set of challenges. The goal? Shut down work for the day. The strategy? Peaceful people, standing together. The weapon? Prayer. Today, the pipeline is in our backyard. Across sacred sites and treaty land, massive machines have carved a long and winding black hole in the earth. For months, people camped at the Frontlines, guarding the land where we would make our final stand. A couple weeks ago, that camp was raided by hundreds of police. Prayer circles were forcefully ripped apart. Men and women were torn out of sacred sweat lodges. Old and precious tipis were destroyed. A man was shot in the face by a rubber bullet. A grandmother had a gun placed against her heart. (see below)

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Hey y'all. It's been awhile. I hope this finds all of you growing, and finding your rhythm wherever life has brought you. A bit more than a month ago, I took my old pickup down to the local mechanic and asked - can she make it to North Dakota? She's got three decades of life behind her, and I had never taken her more than a few hours outside the Wasatch mountains of Utah. So the question wasn't rhetorical. The mechanic spent about an hour checking her vitals and came in to shake my hand. "Is it important?" he asked. "Yes sir," I replied. He looked at me, smiled, and said simply - drive slow. Journeys often begin that way. A whim, that grows. An inclination, that festers. This was one I just couldn't shake. I had read that somewhere in the Dakotas, there was the largest gathering of Native Americans in human history. Before their videos began to come across social media, I knew nothing about the pipeline, or the contamination of their water, or the generational implications. But I figured if it was important enough for tribes to join together who had ancient quarrels, perhaps it was worth paying attention to. There is a great deal to say about what is happening here. I had been hesitant to share, mostly for two reasons. First, internet is not so easy to come by. Or even cell service for that matter. We are in the midst of the Great Plains, and police often scramble our signals. More importantly, this isn't my story to tell. The world doesn't need another story of indigenous struggle, told by a white man. What we need, is what we have so rarely been able to hear - native stories, told by native people. Their stories brought me here, along with so many others. But the urgency is mounting. The pipeline is nearly complete. And after weeks of conversations with elders, warriors and protectors, I can safely say that many are willing to give everything for the water. Many will pay whatever price is necessary, for their people. They are not simply fighting for this moment in time - they fight for the next seven generations. So this is a call. To all who are willing. Come stand at #StandingRock. Get on a train, plane or in an automobile. (see below)

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"If I love you, I have to make you conscious, of things you do not see." Happy birthday Mr. Baldwin. Thank you for your love. #jamesbaldwin

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Black people didn't create racism. Poor people didn't create capitalism. Women didn't create patriarchy. Our collective future will depend, on our willingness to face the collective deceptions, that justify our colonial conquering. #blacklivesmatter #leshiaevans #sayhername

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I first read these words as a teenager. No single paragraph has changed my life more. To those using the legacy of Dr. King, to shame activists challenging the power structure - let's not forget who he was. To my white brothers and sisters - we can and must do better. #civildisobedience #freeamerica #freedomforall #blacklivesmatter

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It's time for a new system. Here, and everywhere. #blacklivesmatter

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This is not new. But we must face it anew. Rest in Power. #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile

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"The burden of the brutalized, is not to comfort the bystander." @ijessewilliams #speechoftheyear #everydamnword

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Gotta love the game.

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Former President Jimmy Carter recently called the U.S. "an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery." A Princeton study in 2014 agrees with Carter, concluding: "When a majority of citizens disagree with economic elites ... they generally lose." This election is not a personality contest. It is a battle between those who represent the interests of the public, and those who represent the interests of the global arms industry, fossil fuel industry, mining industry, and multinational financial firms. Perhaps that's why President Carter also said Secretary Clinton "took very little action to bring about peace." The choice is clear. #feelthebern

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Among the many reasons Mrs. Clintons candidacy has been opposed - and will continue to be opposed - by so many, is her depth of support for the Global Arms Industry. The International Business Times writes in 'Weapon Deals and the Clinton Foundation' - "In the years before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation." When she was then placed in power, she approved one of the largest arms deals in history, between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. "American defense contractors led by Boeing would deliver $29 billion worth of advanced fighter jets to the oil-rich ally in the Middle East." "Just two months before the deal was finalized...Boeing contributed $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation." "Under Clinton's leadership, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation. That figure represented nearly double the value of American arms sales made to the those countries, and approved by the State Department, during the same period of President George W. Bush’s second term." 📷 by @Danielnjohnson in the Democratic Republic of Congo. #voteforpeace

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"I just wanted to be free." Rest in power #MuhammadAli

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As we come into the weekend, it's worth looking again at Mrs. Clinton's record of supporting war around the world. Many Americans who value peace, have decided to support a candidate who has directly supported war in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Congo, Honduras and elsewhere. We get to change that trajectory in California. Jeffrey Sachs has consistently called attention to Mrs. Clinton's long history of support for violence. This is from his piece, Hillary Clinton and The Syrian Bloodbath; "In the Milwaukee debate, Hillary Clinton took pride in her role in a recent UN Security Council resolution on a Syrian ceasefire. This is the kind of compulsive misrepresentation that makes Clinton unfit to be President. Clinton’s role in Syria has been to help instigate and prolong the Syrian bloodbath, not to bring it to a close. In 2012, Clinton was the obstacle, not the solution, to a ceasefire being negotiated by UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan. It was US intransigence - Clinton’s intransigence - that led to the failure of Annan’s peace efforts in the spring of 2012, a point well known among diplomats. Despite Clinton’s insinuation in the Milwaukee debate, there was (of course) no 2012 ceasefire, only escalating carnage. Clinton bears heavy responsibility for that carnage, which has by now displaced more than 10 million Syrians and left more than 250,000 dead."