Soup For my Family

 

EVERYONE IS INVITED, TWO EVENTS

APRIL 19TH

What: Demonstration

Who: Greater Fairbanks Community

When: SATURDAY

APRIL 19, 2025

11:30AM-1:00PM

Where: Fairbanks City Hall

Why: Stand up for our Community, Our Democracy, and Our Freedoms.  They’re coming for our right to gather and protest, it’s our duty to stand up for each other, our freedoms, and our democracy. 

Trump signed an EO on Jan 20 declaring a national emergency at the southern border requiring the “use of the Armed Forces”. It required the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to file a joint report in 90 days (I.e. April 20) evaluating whether the Insurrection Act of 1807 should be invoked. This provides the President with the authority to deploy the military within the U.S. during situations of rebellion, insurrection, or civil disorder.

AND ACROSS THE STREET THAT SAME DAY--

COME HAVE SOUP!

What : Soup for my Family

Who: the hot dog crew

When:  12-2pm Sat, April 19 (the next National Day of Protest)

Where: Veteran’s Memorial Park, 800 Cushman Street

Why: Soup! For your family!

But also drumming, dancing, arts & crafts and most of all: Building community!

You can eat tasty soup, check & update your voter registration, paint a protest sign or a pretty picture (why not both?), or just hang out & celebrate spring together.

We recommend B.Y.O. chair, mug & spoon!

We will be collecting $$$ & food donations for Bread Line, Inc.

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COMMUNITY RESPONSE DINNER

4/11/25

This was their first community dinner; they plan to have more of these.

Sponsored by Dena’ Movement and FCAC and 

Attended by maybe 30 or 40 people (and a pretty good pot luck).

They played a 15 min. clip from Gopal Dayaneni “Provide Alt. Solutions to Fossil Fuel. 

20 years of Just Transition in practice (Just Transition is a group).

Most of my notes are written from the video clip of Gopal.

On Wikipedia, Just Transition is defined as:

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines just transition as follows: "A set of principles, processes and practices that aim to ensure that no people, workers, places, sectors, countries or regions are left behind in the transition from a high-carbon to a low carbon economy".

The meeting was deeply philosophical and centered on building a community of people that could self-govern. Their idea is centered in fighting for the world and community and government they DO want, not what they Don’t want. It seems we have spent a lot of energy recently fighting what we Don’t want.

Their goals:

Food sovereignty

Energy democracy

Food as medicine

Self-governance

Gopal talked about human rights, which they believe to include a right to housing. He talked about the laws that get in the way of people building houses. There is a difference between right and wrong and legal and illegal. If it’s the right thing to do then we have every right to do it.

Don’t let the current law limit your revolutionary imagination.

Contest the legitimacy of existing authority. Housing is a human right, things that impinge upon it are violence.

How are we organizing our communities to make sure our needs are met?

He talked of the systematic and well organized violence of the state.

If we are not prepared to govern, we are not prepared to win.

Also, people want to decarbon, but first  we must democratize energy. Then decarbonization will come.

Commandeer existing forms of governance.

Get our people elected to change the system.

We need a finely tuned moral compass and community practice. 

We need to create the world we want.

If it’s not soulful–it’s not strategic.

Soul, spirit and feeling of the world we live in. Guard against warping our hearts with negativity.

We can’t keep taking without giving back (to the land), or it’s going to collapse.

Example: The Lorax

Their goal is to share a meal and thoughts. Strategic. Build a community, by building trust first.

They will have more of these Community dinners.

LINKS:

I couldn’t find the video they showed, but here is another that may be similar:

Gopal Dayaneni on building relationships to build power | Free the Land | Movement Generation

Movement Generation 

As one of Movement Generation’s founders, Gopal Dayaneni understands better than anyone the central role that relationships play in our movements—from the ecological to the interpersonal. He talks about how building spaces like the Justice & Ecology Center gives us a physical space for daily practice of these values. Support MG’s Free the Land Campaign to build the Justice & Ecology Center at http://FreeTheLand.net.

Filmed and edited by: Survival Media Agency

https://youtu.be/bHo7_0N2vOU?si=S8BvQ0g2tFrS5b2q 

JUST TRANSITION 

Wikipedia

Just Transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulations.[1] Since then, it has evolved and gained global recognition, including having a place in the Paris Agreement in 2015. A just transition focuses on the connection between energy transition and equitable approaches to decarbonization that support broader development goals.[2][3] A growing number of countries are incorporating just transition strategies to achieve ambitious climate goals, with 38% of 170 countries referring to just transition in their short-term climate plans as of 2022. [2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_transition 

NATIVE MOVEMENT

We envision a society that embraces Indigenous values of reciprocity
and respect with all beings. Our actions are grounded in ceremony, justice,
and love in support of regenerative communities.

Native Movement is dedicated to building people power, rooted in an Indigenized worldview, toward healthy, sustainable, & just communities for ALL. We support grassroots-led projects that align with our vision, that endeavor to ensure social justice, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and the rights of Mother Earth.

https://www.nativemovement.org/ 

MOVEMENT LINKTREE

https://www.nativemovement.org/nm-linktree 

FAIRBANKS CLIMATE ACTION COALITION (FCAC)

They have a calendar of events.

We are a growing group of concerned citizens motivated by the moral, spiritual, & scientific duty to take action & elevate voices calling for responsibility to each other, the earth, and all living beings. Formed in November 2015, FCAC seeks to amplify Alaskan voices for climate action and build momentum for a just and equitable transition to a new way of living with each other and with our environment.

https://www.fbxclimateaction.org/ 

THE NORTHERN CENTER
Our Mission

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center promotes conservation of the environment and sustainable resource stewardship in Interior and Arctic Alaska through education and advocacy.

OUR VISION

We envision a Northern Alaska far into the future that remains a land of superlatives—as inspiring, healthy and supremely beautiful as it is today. Our globally important wildlands will remain biologically diverse and productive, with abundant fish and wildlife that support vigorous subsistence traditions and an extraordinary, increasingly sustainable quality of life for Alaskans.

Alaskans will maintain these enviable qualities undiminished across generations by protecting our vast expanses of ecologically intact habitat, by shifting our economy toward sustainable use of renewable resources, and through careful stewardship of non-renewables. We thrive by respecting environmental carrying capacity, thereby safeguarding the rich natural environment that has supported Alaskans for over ten thousand years.

We envision a Northern Alaska Environmental Center that plays a leading role in achieving this promising future through strong grassroots organizing, defensive work, exploring solutions, and by building broad coalitions that translate Alaskans’ passion for our home into an environmentally and culturally sustainable future.

https://northern.org/about-the-northern-center/ 

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Post by:

FAR NORTH INDIVISIBLE

farnorth.indivisible@gmail.com

EDUCATION BILL HB 69 PASSES, GOES TO GOVERNOR

 

NOTE: 

FAIRBANKS EDUCATION RESOLUTION

Fairbanks Northstar Borough School District

A resolution setting our minimum education funding at 60 million passed on 4/11/25, so this is good news for the Fairbanks Northstar Borough, as it means our schools will continue to be funded in the way they need to be. Thanks to everyone who wrote letters!

By: Introduced: Grier Hopkins, Mayor 04/10/2025 / this passed.

https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21414/Resolution-No-2025-08

MEANWHILE 

STATE NEWS: HB 69

From Senator Kawasaki:

4/11/25

Education Latest Alert Update!

The education session began on day one with a flurry of bills to improve education outcomes, assure accountability and erase the years of flat funding by increasing the base student allocation or BSA. Schools are not failing, schools are starving. The flat state support of education over the decade has meant that local property taxpayers have had to foot the bill, but now most every school district is at the maximum cap they can provide in addition to state funding. Today, the Senate took up HB 69, which was legislation from the House that has been working through the chambers and contains both a permanent, predictable and sizeable increase to the BSA and a dozen policy initiatives to address accountability and education outcomes. The Senate Finance Committee stripped HB 69 of all additional policy but kept the main per pupil BSA increase which will help correspondence, homeschool, charter and neighborhood schools alike. Even though HB 69 does not contain necessary education reforms, it is still a big start in helping our underfunded schools. The move to simply increase funding for schools is important as local government is deciding on their budgets. School boards are beginning the process of sending out pink slips. I'm happy to support this first step knowing that the legislature still has 40 days to continue the important policy discussions. HB 69 passed by 11 to 9 in the Senate after much debate and posturing. The bill then went to the House for a vote to concur or reject the changes that were made by the Senate. There was more debate, but in the end the House voted to concur with HB 69 with a vote of 21 to 16 with 3 members absent from the vote. Now, the fate of HB 69 is in the hands of the Govenor who has 15 days from when this bill hits his desk to either sign or veto this legislation. (From his 4/11/25 newsletter)

This Is What a Digital Coup Looks Like

 

Carole Cadwalladr

TED talks

17 min.

Apr 9, 2025

I've been feeling a lot of panic and fear about this talk. And not just for the normal reasons of public speaking, although that's there, too. But it's also because I want to say something meaningful, and I've been overwhelmed by the enormity of what is happening right now. And there's a particular set of circumstances which have also been feeding into my confusion and denial.

00:36

And that is because the last time that I stood on this stage, it led to a three-year legal battle, culminated in London's High Court, in which it felt like I was on trial for my life, because I was. My career, my reputation, my finances, even my home was on the line. All because I came here to warn you that I didn't think democracy was going to survive the technology that you're building, however incredible it is.

01:13

In fact, I was the person who almost didn't survive, and pretty much everything I was warning about is now coming true. I can't sugarcoat it. It's a bit of a headfuck.

01:27

(Laughter)

01:30

I have a lot of emotions about coming here. And TED, also, I suspect, is feeling them too. But what actually I finally realized yesterday is that the denial and the confusion that I've been feeling is maybe what you're feeling, too.

01:48

I felt powerless for a really long time. So if that's what you're feeling, I get it. But we have to act now. My alarm system is ringing again. There are things that we can do. In my case, I survived. And you will too. But it's by learning how to fight back.

02:16

This is my guide, and it has to start with naming it. It's a coup.

02:26

I know you probably don't want to hear that, and especially here, but we can’t fight it if we can’t see it. And we can’t see it if we don’t name it.

02:34

(Applause)

02:41

The Russian and American presidents are now speaking the same words. They are telling the same lies. We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time. And this is just the start.

02:58

Coups are like concrete. When they stop moving, they set. It is already later than we think.

03:07

This image, some of you in this room might know these people. I call it tech bros in hostage situations. It's a message to you. This is Putin's playbook. He allows a business elite to make untold riches in exchange for absolute loyalty.

03:26

Some people are calling this oligarchy, but it's actually bigger than that. These are global platforms. It's broligarchy. [Tech bros + oligarchy = broligarchy]

03:40

(Laughter and murmuring)

03:42

(Applause)

03:48

There is an alignment of interests that runs through Silicon Valley to what is now a coming autocracy. It's a type of power that the world has never seen before.

04:07

[Follow the data]

04:09

It's always the data. It's the crack cocaine of Silicon Valley. You know, the first thing that Elon Musk did was to send his cyber troops into the US Treasury to get access to the data. That is not a coincidence. It's a hack. That data is now feeding AIs that are choosing who to sack and who to replace -- Sorry -- eliminate fraud and waste.

04:34

(Laughter)

04:36

When we broke the Cambridge Analytica story about the harvesting [of] 87 million people’s Facebook data, people freaked out, rightly. [That] is chicken feed compared to [this]. But it is the blueprint. It's always the data. Which is why it's so important that you start thinking about your private life. The broligarchy doesn't want you to have one. This is the old headquarters of the East German secret police. They kept detailed files on almost one in three of their citizens. That is nothing compared to what Google has on every single one of us, and hundreds of other companies. The entire business model of Silicon Valley is surveillance. It harvests our data in order to sell us stuff. We are already living inside the architecture of totalitarianism.

COINTINUE READING:

Transcript: https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_this_is_what_a_digital_coup_looks_like/transcript

Video: https://youtu.be/TZOoT8AbkNE?si=BRNHrO8jv-urKpzZ

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Support the Fairbanks Borough resolution Supporting Canada

 

NOTE: URGENT

A resolution to acknowledge Canadian sovereignty

This will be voted on Thursday, April 10th, 2025, so there isn't much time to get an email in to our Borough Assembly representatives.

By: David Guttenberg & Scott Crass; Introduced: April 10, 2025

Full text:

https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21401/Resolution-No-2025-09 

Please make comments on this legislation to affirm Fairbanks friendship for Canada and the relationship that exists between Alaska and Canada. Canada is our only neighbor and a key partner in trade, tourism, culture, and mutual defense.

We share 1,538 miles of border, millennia of interconnected history, and deep ties between families, businesses, and communities on both sides.

A lot of our groceries and goods are trucked through Canada, and higher tariffs or a trade war could mean substantially higher prices for Alaskans.

This resolution (and the School District Budget resolution) are both being heard tomorrow at the Juanita Helms administrative center. 

Contact info: fnsb.gov/142/Contact

Emails to Assembly@fnsb.gov

When: Email before the assembly meeting tomorrow, 4/10, or show up in person to testify

How: Emails should be sent to: Barbara.Haney@fnsb.gov, Brett.Rotermund@fnsb.gov, Tammie.Wilson@fnsb.gov, David.Guttenberg@fnsb.gov, Kristan.Kelly@fnsb.gov, Mindy.Oneall@fnsb.gov, Scott.Crass@fnsb.gov, Liz.Reeves-Ramos@fnsb.gov, Nick.Lajiness@fnsb.gov

What else: Please spread the word!

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Subject: Please Support RESOLUTION NO. 2025–09 – Honoring the Alaska-Canada Relationship

Dear Members of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly,

I’m writing to express my strong support for RESOLUTION NO. 2025–09, recognizing and honoring the vital relationship between Canada and Alaska.

Canada is not only Alaska’s only neighbor, but also a key partner in trade, tourism, culture, and mutual defense. We share 1,538 miles of border, millennia of interconnected history, and deep ties between families, businesses, and communities on both sides.

Alaska and Canada have long cooperated to protect our environment, strengthen our integrated economies, and ensure the security and prosperity of the North. In this age of increasing Arctic importance, that collaboration is more vital than ever.

However, recent proposals to impose tariffs and trade restrictions threaten to undermine this unique relationship. These measures could harm local jobs, disrupt cross-border partnerships, and jeopardize the prosperity both regions have worked hard to build.

By passing this resolution, the Assembly will send a clear message: we value and stand by our Canadian neighbors, and we oppose policies that would damage this deeply rooted alliance.

Thank you for considering this important resolution. I hope you will vote YES on RESOLUTION NO. 2025–09 and reaffirm our commitment to friendship, cooperation, and shared success.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Neighborhood or Address]
[Optional: Voter / Business Owner / Educator / Resident]