Why I (probably) Won't Be Watching the Presidential Debates

LET'S FILL ALL THOSE PODIUMS! FILL EM UP! FILL EM RIGHT UP!

Mark your calendars, everybody! Come September 26 let’s all pop some corn and pull up a chair to watch yet another two-party presidential debate. There’s sure to be some biting one-liners and salty tongue-lashings to keep us on the edge of our seats even though we might as well be re-watching any one of the past debates dating back until 1912: the last year a third party candidate beat out one of the major parties’ candidates (I see you Teddy!).

Is that.... Is that a... SERIOUSLY TEDDY? YOU'RE MAKING US LOOK BAD

“STALE!” I cry. “CONTRIVED!” I wail. It’s enough to make those more paranoid amongst us start to think… Maybe the game is rigged…Could it be possible? Is the two-party system hiring thugs to make sure only their candidates have the ability to spread their message on a national stage?

Do these look like faces that would lie to you? Yes, yes they do.

Introducing the Commision on Presidential Debates! Lead by past Republican National Committee Chairman, Frank Fahrenkopf and past director of communications for the Democratic National Committee, Mike McCurry, this private corporation sets the rules for who gets to participate in presidential debates. So when the CPD claims, “no sitting officer of either major party has had any affiliation with the CPD and the major parties have no role whatsoever in running CPD or setting its policies”, it is my duty as an informed citizen to fall to my knees, spread my arms to the heavens and call bull shit.

The face of someone who knows bullshit when they see it. Mess with me and I will make a face so horrifying you won't be able to sleep for days.

I’m not alone, by the way. Skip to 2:30 in this video to watch Donald Trump describe the CPD’s actions as “disgraceful. It’s amazing they can get away with it.”

By now many of us are aware of the revolving door between the Capitol and the lobbying industry. This is just another example of how when we start to think D.C. couldn’t possibly get any more incestuous they cackle amongst themselves and prove us wrong.

What they are doing behind closed doors in the halls of power...

It has been shown time and time again that these rules result in limited political discourse on the debate stage and the stifling of third parties at the voting booth. Regardless of what party you support, I hope we can agree that voters deserve more than two options. I hope we can agree that two parties can’t truly represent all of the diverse interests and opinions of all the different people in our society!

If we are to have a well-functioning democracy we need at least one third-party candidate on that stage to bring up the issues the major parties don’t want to discuss. To represent the interests of the people who are dissatisfied with options a and b. The best candidate selection policy is simply to include the four highest polling candidates, which at this time would add Jill Stein and Gary Johnson.

Jill Stein said it best in her Guardian op-ed when she described the debates as a “choreographed and carefully scripted farce that prevents honest discussion of the real issues our country faces”. The LA Times also has a good op-ed on the subject here.

If you want to see truly democratic debates here’s what you can do:

Tweet @HillaryClinton and @realDonaldTrump to tell them to refuse to participate in the debates unless the four highest polling candidates are in attendance

Call Clinton at (646) 854-1432 and Trump at (646) 736-1179 or write them letters!

Write them letters! There mailing addresses are here and here.

Tweet @ABC @FoxTv @CBS and @NBC to let them know you won’t be watching any debate coverage unless Jill Stein and Gary Johnson are on the stage, participating

Ask your friends on Facebook to join you in threatening to boycott the debates. Share this post with them! Let them know the above accounts and numbers to contact with their demands.

If you have any more ideas of what we can do to help get Stein and Johnson on the stage comment, tweet me @criticallyali or email me at jackson.ali.c@gmail.com.

Connecting with Seattle's Local Farm Community

One of my heroes, who just happens to be a native Washingtonian, is Audra Mulkern of the Female Farmer project. She responded to one of my tweets once. I have proof. So now that I’m indebted to her for life, I knew I had to respond when she put out the call for help on Facebook.

Here she is! Audra describing her work at a recent conference

A young, aspiring farmer attending high school in Seattle reached out to her asking how to get started and Mulkern posted the email to her page so that the community could send advice.

Now I’m kind of an expert on this subject as I went through the exact same process. After graduating high school I planned on making my way into farming but somehow two years went by and I was still working in coffee. Then one afternoon I sat down to do some goal setting and I realized I was treading water instead of making progress towards my dream. I had to put my foot down so I decided that by the time the clock struck midnight and 2017 hit I would have a job on a farm.By the time summer came, I was employed by Jubilee Farm.

Below I have listed some of the resources that I found along the way that could help anyone in the Seattle area who is interested either in getting into farming as a profession, or in simply connecting with where their food comes from.

The best set-up for taking a nap in your car after a morning of farm work

Websites for keeping up on food & agriculture news:

Politico’s daily agricultural policy briefings

General sustainable food news from Civil Eats

Broader news on the natural resources of the west from High Country News (I would strongly recommend reading the Ranch Diaries)

Bootstrap Blogs written by young farmers just starting out (including Washington’s own Furrow Horse Farm)

If you forget your lunch you can usually scrounge up a "balanced" meal

Organizations that host events for aspiring farmers:

Subscribe to the WSU Small Farms email newsletter to hear about events like classes and farm tours that take place all over the state, all throughout the year. If you go to any events, network! I once received a job opportunity just from striking up a conversation with the woman I was sitting next to in a livestock handling class.

Subscribe to the King County Conservation District newsletter for events and volunteer opportunities closer to home. Some of their focus includes agriculture but there are also programs that involve gardening and ecology. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the sign-up box.

Volunteer in the city, build that resume!

Seattle Farmer’s Markets are always looking for volunteers all across the city, and have a huge range of positions available. This would likely be a good way to meet potential future employers!

Alley Cat Acres needs volunteers to join in their work parties to help care for their three urban farms, two of which are on parking strips!

Seattle Tilth has locations all over Seattle with volunteer opportunities available. They have a lot to choose from, including working on a Veggie Crew, in the Children’s Garden or doing street promotion.

Insider secret: tomatoes secrete some magic substance that will blacken your fingertips
and turn your armhairs (temporarily!) neon green

If you are ready for full-time farming look for summer internships on these websites:

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/internships/

https://www.goodfoodjobs.com/

One especially good internship is the FIELD program, which is arranged by WSU’s Jefferson County extension. The program mixes hands-on farming with weekly workshops on a range of topics. You also have the option to receive WSU credits. Consider choosing SpringRain Farm as your host. Owner/farmer John Bellow is an agri-genius and seems to create a great environment for his interns.

If you are more interested in just dipping your toe into the water, or if you aren’t able to move onto a farm or commit to working full-time:

Jubilee Farm has a workshare program that runs for 20 weeks starting in the spring. In exchange for four hours of work a week you get a CSA box. The farm is located in Carnation so it is a 45 minute drive from the city.

Did I forget anything? Have any of you participated in these programs? Comment, tweet me @criticallyali or send me an email at jackson.ali.c@gmail.com

Coming soon!

So the blog is up and running, but nowhere near to it's final form. Here's a little peak at what's in the works:

Working hard to produce content for my adoring fans

Three pages to divide the posts into: Informed Consumer, Informed Citizen and Informed Human. When you visit the blog you can read everything all together, or split off into the specific page that you want to focus on.

A page with all my favorite news sites and sources, including suggestions for who to follow on social meeds to help you stay on top of the news as it develops or just to inspire you throughout your day. I plan to publish a working draft to build upon as I find more resources, and hopefully as you guys share some good ones with me yourselves, we can continue to check back to it as it grows.

An events calendar which I will update and maintain with the help of your submissions. I want to hear about anything and everything from community events and fundraisers to protests and picket-lines.

Comment, tweet me @criticallyali or email me at jackson.ali.c@gmail.com with your favorite news sites, social media accounts, and upcoming events!

Welcome!

Hello!

I’m Ali and I’m glad to have you here on my page.

I’m on a personal journey to take learning something new every day to the extreme. Along the way as I find treasures that inspire and excite me, I will post them here so you all can ride along with me and share in the feels.  

I’ve broken down my studies into the three roles I want to better myself in: as a citizen, a consumer, and just a plain ol’ human. Acting on conscious, informed decisions means we can better engage in our local and global communities.

It can be scary to live at such a critical time in history but in a way we are blessed to be at a turning point now where we have the opportunity to create the world we want to live in. If you want to be a passive observer, on the sidelines as we build our new world brick by brick, this is not the blog for you!

Come along with me and let’s stuff our noggins to the brim! If only my head was a dumpster so I could climb in and stomp around to make some more space..

Follow me on Twitter @criticallyali to see what’s up, to let me know if you have any comments or suggestions, or just to say mean things to me if that’s more your jam.