Tag: Join

Join a Credit Union
Community Activism · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Vote with your Dollars

Join a Credit Union

otycd

This OTYCD article originally appeared in February 2018.

 

Join a credit union and leave traditional for-profit banks behind.

 

Are you sick of banks? We at OTYCD don’t blame you, and we’d like to suggest an alternative: a credit union.

 

A credit union is a non-profit member-owned cooperative. It exists to help people manage their money instead of making a profit off of them.

 

Fees tend to be lower and customer service far better than at traditional banks. Credit unions generally offer free checking accounts and do not charge you if your balance falls below a specified amount.

 

Credit unions are often more community-oriented as well, and concerned with helping, supporting, and building the local community in a wide variety of ways–offering small business loans, providing financial education, sponsoring local events, and even offering scholarships.

 

There are drawbacks to credit unions. They generally offer fewer financial products than banks do. Their ATM networks aren’t as broad as those of traditional banks, which means you might pay fees to use machines that don’t belong to the credit union (but ask about this–many credit unions reimburse a certain number of withdrawals per month). Credit unions aren’t as abundant as banks, and you might have trouble finding one near you that you can join.

 

Regardless, it’s an option worth exploring, especially if you’re fed up with the banking system and fed up with being treated like a cash cow.

 

 

Read these articles about credit unions and their pros and cons:

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/credit-unions/the-benefits-of-a-credit-union-vs-a-bank/

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/9-reasons-why-credit-union-better-than-big-bank/

Credit Unions vs. Banks: How to Decide

 

 

See MyCreditUnion.gov’s explanation of credit unions:

https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/Pages/How-is-a-Credit-Union-Different-than-a-Bank.aspx

 

 

See Wikipedia’s list of credit unions in the United States and find one near you:

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

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Escape Your Bubble By Joining Stand Up Republic
Escape Your Bubble · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare

Escape Your Bubble By Joining Stand Up Republic

otycd

This OTYCD entry originally posted in July 2017.

 

Escape your bubble by joining Stand Up Republic, an organization founded by former CIA officer Evan McMullin and digital politics wizard Mindy Finn.

 

McMullin, you might recall, jumped into the 2016 presidential race late, after the Republicans chose Trump as their candidate. Finn was McMullin’s running mate. Despite not getting started until August and their status as a third-party ticket, McMullin and Finn won three-quarters of a million votes.

 

Since the election ended, McMullin has been an outspoken critic of Trump, so much so that he’s actually gotten under Trump’s skin a few times.

 

He and Finn have also co-founded Stand Up Republic, an organization devoted to “build[ing] and organiz[ing] a grassroots movement in defense of liberty, equality, and truth in America. Our priorities will be to uphold the Constitution and defend the democratic norms and institutions upon which the protection of our basic rights depend.”

 

Please check out Stand Up Republic, follow it on social media, and follow its co-founders as well.

 

Obligatory warning, with apologies for bonking you all on the head about this fact: McMullin and Finn hold at least some different political beliefs than you do. That means they’ll sometimes say things and do things that don’t match your beliefs, and might piss you off well and thoroughly. That’s ok. Really, it’s OK. You’re being asked to look at what they’re doing and support what you like, not endorse every last little everything they do. They understand the danger of Trump–that’s the key thing. One of the reasons this country is so borked right now is we’re fiercely polarized and, in avoiding jerks who disagree with us, we end up avoiding decent people who happen to disagree with us. That’s got to stop if we want to make things better.

 

 

See the Stand Up Republic site:

https://standuprepublic.com

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/standuprepublic

 

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@StandUpRepublic

 

 

Donate to Stand Up Republic:

https://standuprepublic.com/donate

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Follow Evan McMullin on Twitter:

@Evan_McMullin

 

 

Follow Mindy Finn on Twitter:

@mindyfinn

 

 

Read an Op-Ed McMullin wrote for CNN calling for Republicans to stand up to Trump:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/opinions/conservatives-stop-caving-to-trump-on-liberty-mcmullin/

 

 

Read a New Yorker profile on McMullin:

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/evan-mcmullins-quest-to-save-democracy

 

 

Read a good Washington Post opinion piece on McMullin:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/02/17/evan-mcmullin-and-senate-republicans-go-where-chaffetz-wont/?utm_term=.cadeb68c4ef5

Escape Your Bubble: Support Republican Women for Progress
Action Alerts · Escape Your Bubble · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms

Escape Your Bubble: Support Republican Women for Progress

otycd

This OTYCD post originally appeared in June 2018.

 

Escape your bubble by checking out and supporting Republican Women for Progress (RWFP).

 

RWFP is the successor organization to Republican Women for Hillary. Founded in May 2016 by Jennifer Pierotti Lim (who spoke on the closing night of the Democratic National Convention) and Meghan Milloy. It proves that liberal Republicans aren’t dead, and it’s devoted to supporting Republican women who share its decidedly unTrumpy, markedly saner vision for the party of Lincoln.

 

Obligatory warning, with apologies for bonking you over the head with this: RWFP is the creation of Republicans. Its founders hold at least some different political beliefs than you do. That means they’ll sometimes say things and do things that don’t match your beliefs, and might piss you off well and thoroughly. That’s ok. Really, it’s OK. You’re being asked to look at what they’re doing and support what you like, not endorse every last little everything they do. They understand the danger of Trump–that’s the key thing. One of the reasons this country is so borked right now is we’re fiercely polarized and, in avoiding jerks who disagree with us, we end up avoiding decent people who happen to disagree with us. That’s got to stop if we want to make things better.

 

Read assorted articles about the origin and the evolution of RWFP:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2017/06/republican_women_for_progress_want_to_take_the_gop_back_from_trump.html

https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/conversations-what-made-two-republican-women-back-hillary-clinton/?_r=1

http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a23128/im-a-republican-voting-for-hillary-clinton/

 

 

Visit the home page:

https://gopwomenforprogress.org

 

 

Follow RWFP on Twitter:

@RWFProgress

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/republicanwomenforprogress/

 

 

Donate to its Crowdpac page:

https://www.crowdpac.com/communities/rwfp

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice and Become a Better Ally
Community Activism · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia...

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice and Become a Better Ally

otycd

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a group that encourages and organizes white people to dismantle white supremacy and move America toward actual racial equality.

If you’re reading this, odds are you’re white. And odds are you’re sickened by how white supremacy warps our society and you want to do something about it. Knowing what to do, exactly, can be hard. White supremacy is insidious and it can be hard for white people to see its effects as clearly as people of color do.

SURJ, founded in 2009, is a network of white anti-racists that’s devoted to serving as allies to people of color and their causes. It also supports using white privilege as a weapon against itself by speaking out against police brutality and related abuses. It facilitates the awkward conversations that white people need to have, amongst ourselves, without burdening people of color to shepherd us and do the work for us.

SURJ is intersectional and all-inclusive while staying alert to how systemic racism shows its face in a chapter’s local community, and finding thoughtful, specific ways to fight back. SURJ will also help you learn to be a better, more useful ally.

 

Visit the SURJ website:

http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org

 

Find your nearest SURJ group:

http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/affiliated_groups_local_contacts

 

Donate to SURJ:

https://showingupforracialjustice.nationbuilder.com/donate

 

Like its Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ShowingUpForRacialJusticesurj/

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@ShowUp4RJ

 

Read this 2015 interview with SURJ leaders:

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/answering-the-call-white-people-showing-up-for-racial-justice-hesaid/

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Support Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Common-sense Gun Laws · Community Activism

Support Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

otycd

Support Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization along the lines of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which seeks to change our country’s gun laws and gun culture. 

 

Moms Demand Action came into being the day after the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. It quickly evolved from a Facebook page to a grassroots movements to change things for the better. It also became part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in America.

 

The nonpartisan organization supports the Second Amendment and common-sense gun laws.

 

See a list of its accomplishments:

https://momsdemandaction.org/our-victories/

 

 

Join your local chapter of Moms Demand Action:

https://act.everytown.org/signup/Join-Moms/?source=mdmo_MomsTakeAction&utm_source=md_m_&utm_medium=_o&utm_campaign=MomsTakeAction

 

 

Donate to Moms Demand Action:

https://wordpress.com/post/onethingyoucando.com/17302

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction/?source=mdmo_MomsSidebar&utm_source=md_m_&utm_medium=_o&utm_campaign=MomsSidebar

 

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@MomsDemand

 

 

Follow founder Shannon Watts on Twitter:

@shannonrwatts

 

 

Buy Moms Demand Action merch:

https://store.everytown.org/?source=mdmo_moms_website_link&utm_source=md_m_&utm_medium=_o&utm_campaign=moms_website_link

Support the Rise Stronger Network
Action Alerts · Community Activism

Support the Rise Stronger Network

otycd

Support Rise Stronger, which is fostering and encouraging a network of politically engaged communities that will hold government accountable at every level.

Rise Stronger was founded in the wake of the 2016 election. It’s a citizen watchdog organization that cultivates grassroots actions and serves as a sort of umbrella for groups, foundations, and other outposts that are devoted to civic engagement and empowering American citizens to speak up and push back.

Among its offerings is a calendar, calls to action, and an interactive directory, dubbed the United States of Resistance, designed to introduce groups to each other and help them gain strength through their numbers.

 

See the Rise Stronger website:

https://www.risestronger.org

 

Find a Rise Stronger chapter near you:

https://www.risestronger.org/state_chapters

 

Sign up for its newsletter:

https://risestronger.org/newsroom/wearetheresistance

 

Become a member of Rise Stronger:

https://www.risestronger.org/sign_up

 

Volunteer with Rise Stronger:

https://risestronger.org/newsroom/join-the-resistance-volunteer-with-rise-stronger

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RISEStronger.org

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@RISE_Stronger

 

Donate to Rise Stronger:

https://risestronger.org/donate

Support Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights
Community Activism · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia... · Health Care · Stand for Science · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms

Support Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights

otycd

Support Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights (GRR!), a 501 (c)4 advocacy organization that defends reproductive rights.

 

Founded in Maine in 2013, GRR! is led by women who came of age in the mid-20th century–before birth control, and before Roe vs. Wade. They lived through the bad old days and they don’t want to see them come back.

 

It fights to ensure that younger generations of women keep and expand the reproductive rights they fought for.

 

 

Visit the Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights webpage:

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org

 

 

See its About Us page:

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/about-us/

 

 

View videos produced by GRR!:

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/grr-videos/

 

 

See its Resources page:

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/resources/

 

 

Join GRR!:

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/get-involved/

https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/join-grr/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to GRR!:

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/grr?source=website

 

 

Like it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GrandmothersforReproductiveRights/

 

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@GRRNow

Support the Union of Concerned Scientists
Community Activism · Protect the Environment · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Stand for Science

Support the Union of Concerned Scientists

otycd

Support the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a 48-year-old organization that champions independent, sound science and translates it into political action.

Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, the UCS promotes science-based actions and practical solutions to a range of problems that we face. It is also alert to how politicians are using–and misusing–science, and celebrates it and calls it out as needed. (They’ve needed to do the latter a lot more lately.)

 

Visit the UCS webpage:

http://www.ucsusa.org

 

See its History page:

http://www.ucsusa.org/about/history-of-accomplishments.html#.WVftuMaZNcA

 

Visit its online Center for Science and Democracy:

http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/center-science-and-democracy#.WVftvsaZNcA

 

See its pages on global warming and nuclear power:

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming#.WVftIMaZNcA

http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power#.WVftIMaZNcA

 

Like the UCS on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/unionofconcernedscientists

 

Follow the UCS on Twitter:

@UCSUSA

 

Donate to the UCS:

https://secure.ucsusa.org/onlineactions/8by25yviQkaJKI4zrxpyOQ2?ms=google_PA041216&gclid=Cj0KEQjwkN3KBRCu2fWmy9LLqN4BEiQANP9-WoOzNNaF2RgLsXllVotpmnUj7ht7494gja7a8ASYD9MaAs0y8P8HAQ

Join a Credit Union
Community Activism · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Vote with your Dollars

Join a Credit Union

otycd

Join a credit union and leave traditional for-profit banks behind.

 

Are you sick of banks? We at OTYCD don’t blame you, and we’d like to suggest an alternative: a credit union.

 

A credit union is a non-profit member-owned cooperative. It exists to help people manage their money instead of making a profit off of them.

 

Fees tend to be lower and customer service far better than at traditional banks. Credit unions generally offer free checking accounts and do not charge you if your balance falls below a specified amount.

 

Credit unions are often more community-oriented as well, and concerned with helping, supporting, and building the local community in a wide variety of ways–offering small business loans, providing financial education, sponsoring local events, and even offering scholarships.

 

There are drawbacks to credit unions. They generally offer fewer financial products than banks do. Their ATM networks aren’t as broad as those of traditional banks, which means you might pay fees to use machines that don’t belong to the credit union (but ask about this–many credit unions reimburse a certain number of withdrawals per month). Credit unions aren’t as abundant as banks, and you might have trouble finding one near you that you can join.

 

Regardless, it’s an option worth exploring, especially if you’re fed up with the banking system and fed up with being treated like a cash cow.

 

 

Read these articles about credit unions and their pros and cons:

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/credit-unions/the-benefits-of-a-credit-union-vs-a-bank/

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/9-reasons-why-credit-union-better-than-big-bank/

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/credit-unions-vs-banks/

 

 

See MyCreditUnion.gov’s explanation of credit unions:

https://www.mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/Pages/How-is-a-Credit-Union-Different-than-a-Bank.aspx

 

 

See Wikipedia’s list of credit unions in the United States and find one near you:

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

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

Support the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Action Alerts · Community Activism · Ethics · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia... · First Amendment, Defending a Free Press · Marches and Protests · Read, Educate Yourself, Prepare · Separation of Church and State · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Support Immigrants and Refugees · Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) · Vote with your Dollars

Support the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

otycd

Now more than ever, you need to support the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 

When Trump was elected, and so many of us were flat on the mat or reeling in shock, the ACLU had its fists up and was ready to fight back.

On the morning of November 9, ACLU President Anthony Romero wrote a letter to Trump, putting him on notice that several of his campaign promises, if enacted, would violate the Constitution, and the 97-year-old nonprofit would dog him mercilessly over any such thing he tried.

It has gone after Trump with vigor and ferocity ever since.

The ACLU takes a lot of crap for sticking up for unpopular people who say unpopular things. If the ACLU hasn’t yet defended someone you find repugnant, give them time. They will.

That doesn’t change the fact that we need the ACLU now more than ever. Romero put his finger on its value in an article in Fast Company when he likened it to the U.S.’s insurance policy.

The organization got a powerful, historically unprecedented surge of support in the wake of the election. It received $15 million in online donations before Inauguration day, and during the first weekend of the Muslim travel ban in January 2017, it took in another $24 million–a sum equivalent to roughly six times what it reaps online in a year.

Trump is attacking bedrock American values on several fronts. The ACLU is, and will continue to be, on the front lines in the effort to push back.

We at OTYCD realize you’ve probably helped the ACLU in some way already. More than 350,000 contributors gave money during that January weekend. But we’re asking you to consider stepping up to the next level.

Given to the ACLU once? Consider becoming a monthly donor. Already a monthly donor? Consider increasing your donation, even if the increase is only small. Not a member yet? Join the 1.6 million who are. Already a member and donating monthly? Urge your friends to do more.

Can’t afford to do anything that costs money? Read up on the ACLU, follow it on social media, and defend it, firmly and unwaveringly, from those who fear and hate it.

 

Read the Fast Company piece about what the ACLU has done in the wake of the 2016 election:

https://www.fastcompany.com/40407576/how-the-aclu-is-leading-the-resistance

 

See its website:

https://www.aclu.org

 

Find your local ACLU:

https://www.aclu.org/about/affiliates

 

Read about the history of the ACLU:

https://www.aclu.org/about/aclu-history

 

Join the ACLU:

https://action.aclu.org/secure/become-freedom-fighter-join-aclu?s_src=UNW170001C00&alt_src=UNV170001C00&ms=web_horiz_nav_hp_join

 

Donate to the ACLU:

https://action.aclu.org/donate-aclu?ms=web_horiz_nav_hp

 

Become a monthly donor:

https://action.aclu.org/secure/muslim-ban-fight-may-go-supreme-court-2?s_src=UNV170101INA&ms=web_hero_trump_gol

 

Like the ACLU on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/aclu.nationwide

 

Follow it on Twitter:

@ACLU

 

Read about how it took in a historically unprecedented number of donations since the election and following the first implementation of the Muslim travel ban:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/30/the-aclu-says-it-got-24-million-in-donations-this-weekend-six-times-its-yearly-average/?utm_term=.6b4b5b3521e5