two weeks two days and four years

As my millions of readers may have noticed, last week came and went with no 'cause of the week'. There's just so much election on my mind I'm having a hard time letting anything else in (Larry David's weigh in about waiting is spot on). I'm holding my breath as swing states do their swinging thing, talking up the talking points, and sticking stickers on anything not already stuck. I tried to vote early, but found out that the reason my LA County option is an hour away from my house is that by law each county can only have one early voting site. Considering LA County could swallow whole many of the states in this country, I'll have to wait until the 4th. That said, as these final days to the election approach, vote early if you can. Also, take a listen to this week's This American Life if you missed it. The story looks at Pennsylvania, a tricky and important swing state. Part one follows student volunteers who registered 16,000 new voters and part two follows voter activists talking to union members about race, what they've learned about racism and their neighbors, and why bigotry has no place in policy. Click on Ground Game.

In California, there is tremendous controversy over the 15 state, county, and school propositions on the ballot. For example, though Measure R claims to be a comprehensive plan for LA transit, many residents are arguing that it prioritizes high ticket items (light rail, airport links, subway extensions) that serve the affluent to the detriment of investments in new buses, bus routes, and bus lanes (which already have unfilled commitments on the table). Measure R would impose a half cent sales tax across the board for 30 years. Those who need it most, those represented by the Bus Riders Union and its Strategy Center, are against Measure R. There is also prop 10, which seems to support alternative fuel use and pro-eco measures like renewable energy resources, but is also apparently funded by the man who monopolizes the local distribution of same alternative fuel resources and is expected to line his pockets with some prop 10 gold. I'm still in the process of doing the research on these.

There are, however, two I am sure of:

No on Prop 8, and No on Prop 4.

Prop 8 is the discriminatory proposal that initiates a constitutional amendment to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. There are so many arguments against this -- the first being that it is flat out discrimination based on sexual preference and the last being that heteros certainly don't have such great role model marriages yet we still get to do it -- that to even consider not voting against prop 8 should be criminal.

Prop 4 institutes a waiting period and parental notification requirement "before termination of a minor's pregnancy." Not only could this result in the dangerous seeking of illegal options - most detrimental to unprotected minors - but it could also result in notification procedures to parents who might not prioritize the interest of their children's rights and safety foremost. Prop 4 is a dangerous step backwards in the rights of all women to make personal, safe, and confidential decisions about their own family planning options. However, it further emphasizes the need for accurate, thorough, and available sex education to everyone along with prevention and protection measures. See the Planned Parenthood site for further new initiatives to fight the latest administrative plan to allow health care providers to impose their personal morality on the options provided to patients who expect and deserve factually accurate and inclusive medical advice.

Next Sunday will be two days before the election, and I can only imagine that the one cause on my mind will be helping to elect the candidate who looks out for all the causes I believe in - education, equity, rights, opportunity. After that, we'll branch out again and find other things we can do each week to change the world. This week get educated on your options, stand up for the little guy, and VOTE vote vote vote vote.

street soccer usa - just do it.

This blog was started as a way to turn the desire to help into real action. Few programs do that as well as Homeless Street Soccer. Yes, HOMELESS street soccer. This program, initiated in the US in my former home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, has expanded to more than a dozen cities throughout the country. The Homeless World Cup is similar to the non-homeless version in that it operates as a competitive global sports event with team representation from around the world. The difference, of course, is that these team members have struggled through a range of difficult circumstances including living on the streets, joblessness, hunger, and in some cases abuse and addiction. Soccer gives them the opportunity to find new meaning in their lives, to develop an identity beyond their disadvantages, to learn new physical, emotional, and social skills, and to bond with team members and competitors from weekly practice to the global stage of international competition.

This year's competition will be held in Australia, and the US Team needs your help to fund their trip. You might think this seems extravagant; that spending $2000 on travel, training, lodging, and other expenses couldn't possibly be as useful as spending it on a down-payment for an apartment or a couple months worth of food (of course, if you've seen the documentary on the Homeless World Cup - Kicking It! - you know the magnitude and power of the event). But in the 'teach a man to fish' philosophy, being one of the select few given the honor to represent your country, to hone and show your skills, to be cheered on by strangers, to work as a team, to succeed at this one thing, might very well be the event that turns a life around. And that new life might go on to inspire the lives of others, the optimism of others, the giving of others.

When financial times are hard, you can imagine they are even harder for those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. Already there is buzz about the difficult holiday season to come. Imagine what it can teach your children, who might also be interested in sports, or your relative who played soccer as a child himself or herself, to give a gift in their name. It might cost you less than a new sweater, and mean a whole lot more.

My friend Lawrence Cann started this program (and, yes, this is the same Urban Ministry Center I mentioned in the Artworks auction blog). Below is his letter to you, contact information, and ways you can contribute. The Homeless World Cup is our cause of the week.

US Homeless World Cup Participation

Several years ago we started a soccer team because we thought our homeless clients would benefit from team sports. They literally took the ball and ran with it. Then a bunch of other cities got their own balls and they all started running. Check out our blog to see news of the 11 cities which now run street soccer programs. In the US, it all started here at the Urban Ministry Center.

The prospects for the future are looking fantastic. However, after hosting a great qualifying event this summer, we currently have a gap in our funding for our participation in the Homeless World Cup coming up in December. We must meet our funding goal soon to insure that we can proceed with plans to participate in the competition. Unfortunately we are still $15,000 short. Therefore we are making this grassroots funding plea. Thanks to great support from Corporations and a few individuals, we haven't had to do this in the past. Now we need those of you who value what this program achieves, and are able, to make substantial contributions.

Participation per player in the Homeless World Cup costs $2000. Our USA National team includes 13 people.

The coaches, as well as other staff, and even some of the players have all donated so far. Please join us with a donation of whatever you can - $100 or more would be greatly appreciated. Without exception, the players have taken full advantage of the opportunity and have all made impressive turnarounds. Please let us know if you can join us as a donor. Pay when you can, any time between now and the end of December. But please, please let us know as soon as possible if you do want to make a pledge.

I am available all the time on my cell phone (704 975 5755) to talk about the project and the impact it is having on the players, or email me at the address below. Seventy five percent of team members move off the street within 18 months of sticking with the team!

Donations can be taken online at www.urbanministrycenter.org under the donate tab. Or checks can be mailed to:

Urban Ministry Center
945 N. College Street
Charlotte, NC 28206

Please earmark them "world cup" and add "cause of the week" if you want us to know you read it here!

Thank you so much. All donors will be recognized as Club Members on our site and be sent updates on the team's performance at the Homeless World Cup.


Best,

Lawrence Cann
lawrence@streetsoccerusa.org
www.streetsoccerusa.org

complete this cause, and it boosts all the others... 30 more days

My personal cause of the week today is the 200 plus pages of reading for Sylvia Lavin's theory class, but that's just me. School has started, and it is a large rolling stone speeding up ever faster for the months to come. I'm doing my best to be on the sunny side, or the mossy side, or even on the shiny cover, but not under the rock itself.

Regardless. Michelle Obama tells me (in a personal email, of course) that tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote in Ohio. Ohio voters can also choose to vote early by tomorrow, which means the very first actual votes will go on record in the next few days! After all the chatter (and some patronizing winks and smirks in the last two weeks) I know we're all ready to get this voting going. The Obama website has a simple way to get involved in encouraging your neighbors - or your emotional neighbors in far away swing states - to register and to vote. By signing up on their website, you can get names, phone numbers, and/or addresses of folks with which you can share your personal Obamalove. For those who aren't into one-on-one political encouragement, head down to your local hq and help sell stickers, assemble yard signs, or fill out paperwork. And for the least physically active and most financially active option, you can always fund a commerical, sponsor a registration trip, pay for someone else to join the team on your behalf. Or, do something creative - make a film, write a song, paint a painting to support voter registreation - and post it here. (I'm going to write a blog entry!) So, let's get Ohio on our team, and North Carolina, and Colorado, and Nevada, and let's win this thing, so we can get back to all the other causes that need us, too.

Let's be huge, together.

This day in political history: James Meredith became the first black student admitted to the University of Mississippi, accompanied by 16,000 federal troops sent to Oxford (Oct. 1, 1962). (from Ken Rudin's 'political junkie')

There's simply something phenomenal about the smallness of one person and the hugeness it takes to overcome such ingrained discrimination. There have been many steps between those of Meredith and those to the stage of the most recent presidential debate.