03/25/2009 Caitlin Perry Campus Code Pink here in Gainesville, Florida was a huge help!!!! We did several tours of campus and downtown with our star, snowflake, the polar bear. On Thursday evening we arrived at the Civic Media Center, an alternative library and meeting space, to do a creative tactics workshop. During the introduction round one member asked about media and where they were right now. So he called up the local campus newspaper and a photographer came down to capture our mini procession. Which almost all of the workshop participants were game for. So, after a short discussion on spectrum of allies and tactics, we suited them up with drums, snowflake, Sudako and Bush too. We drummed up a crowd through the downtown streets and a few mothers and their children joined us. For a picture see alligator.org under puppet procession. The next day, Friday, we visited a local Elementary school who participated in making frog masks, after we sent them the design. The masks were great and the kids loved Snowflake, after a discussion on climate change we paraded around with snowflake and the hopping frogs. Next we did workshops from 2-7 including arts for social change, strategy, silk screening, and another impromptu parade. The workshop participants were interested in animal rights and the charter amendment 1, which would discriminate against gays. Finally, after looking in previous cities art stores, Cathy found silk screening material, at a thrift store. She proclaimed, just make stuff yourself it's easier and cheaper. We had looked in art stores and not being able to get material ended up buying a frame which ended up being useless because the material was too fine and it got clogged up right away. But, after Cathy made this great find we were able to show people how to build a frame with scrap wood, nails, hammer, screen material, tape, staples and a little patience. We printed tons of RESISTANCE patches and CODE PINK, with a peace sign and an alligator head, which Cathy drew and cut out while the code pink girls where building their frame. It is great to be able to show someone how to build something like a silkscreen and send them home with the knowledge and actual tool to create designs for patches or t-shirts, and hopefully not too many ink stains. The Parade itself was awesome, as usual, thanks everyone!!!! Thank you to our special angel who paid the $1,600 permit fee to march on the streets with police escorts. How ridiculous is it that we need to pay to practice freedom of Assembly, right to protest peacefully and have free speech??? Today was also the 6th year anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq so a very significant day!!! We had Veterans Against the Iraq War (VAIW.org) and Veterans For Peace leading the march. Also, in the front carrying the Constitution where people holding Vote No on 1, signs. See the previous blog on the charter amendment 1 that was up for vote in a referendum. There were many great speeches and music by Mind Rise at the outdoor Plaza where the parade ended. I just found out that the referendum did not go through and so it will still be illegal to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation or identity in Gainesville. Thank you everyone who spent hours campaigning for it, I am relieved!!!
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Creative Tactics for Land & Sea Slideshow of a great week of training Photos from 2009 Tour: Recent Past Projects: Audio shorts (2-3 minutes each)on how to challenge candidates on key progressive issues at QuestionsForTheCandidates.org  Progressive response to the Wall Street Bailout at ThanksHank.org 
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