one of the ways in which state organizations experiencing what i call "resource deprivation" can max their productive output is to establish deep-seated relationships with national organizations...that way us small fish can tap into a potpourri of skills, ideas, and programs that we would never be able to generate and sustain all by our state-based lonesomes...

so - yo, yo, yo i want to shout out at my good buddy k-bear (that's kristin houle for you neophytes) up at the program to abolish the death penalty of amnesty international usa...

now k-bear rocks our world down here in tennessee which shouldn't be unexpected because she's a close-by neighbor from the bluegrass state just north of us on i-65...but more than just a help oriented personality and naturally curly hair she runs point for the national weekend of faith in action on the death penalty annually facilitated in the last half of october...

now down here in the belly of the former confederate states where we "enjoy" a culture of violence and death second to none other in the country and that includes the use of executions (legal or extrajudicial) as a historical tool of control over certain populations (gil scott-heron knows what i'm talkin' about)...if we're going to successfully challenge the death penalty (i.e. junk that "bad boy") we will have to meet up with people where they interact in the south and overwhelmingly those opportunities come through the doors of faith communities...

so if you're serious about organizing in your state the nwfa every october ought to be one of your core tools to establish new contacts, initiate relationships, and ultimately facilitate the empowerment of local leaders and activists to carry out a coordinated, strategic assault upon capital punishment...

tcask has set 3 years worth of goals related to nwfa a part of its capacity building goals...

but hey, it's not all work and no-play -- just the other day i received a note from k-bear congratulating me on winning the on-line scavenger hunt created to teach amnesty death penalty activists how to navigate the workgroup manager...i received a nice amnesty international journal but more importantly a nice note from the k-bear...

so all you state orgs get jiggy with the real deal and establish relationships with national peoples and you just keep on rockin our ever lovin' world down here in tennessee k-bear!!!

peace out - <3