This is a story about an international couple raising and home educating three young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages are about pretty much anything and everything all guided by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes, Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our ongoing crazy adventure.

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Boycott Trump Inauguration Official Page

This is your chance to do something that will make a difference.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
January 20, 2017
TODAY WE STAND TOGETHER
NO Inauguration, NO Work, NO School, NO Purchases
 
All Stand Together Now

We all need to stand together NOW, before it's too late, and America enters what will be the darkest period in the history of this great nation. Donald Trump has won the election, and will become president on January 20, 2017, we cannot change that.

What we can change is the level at which this man, and his administration, will be able to control our lives and take away those things which mean the most to us, such as: personal freedom, safety for our families, the right to affordable health care, and preservation of our natural resources.

Before Trump was elected he issued what he called "Donald Trumps Contract with the American Voter", which is his 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. For those of you who are not familiar with this, please click this link and peruse at your convenience.
 
This is but a precursor of worse things to come
 
 
What Can I Do?....Plenty

Aside from the possibility of impeachment, Trump is here to stay, at least for the next four years. The policies he sets forth in his upcoming presidency will effect all of us now, and for years into the future.

You might be asking yourself, "What can I do?", and the answer is plenty. We all have little power as individuals to make changes to this new administration, but collectively, we can make it difficult, even impossible, for Trump to do many of the things he is planning. Now is the time to stand together and show Trump, and his band of bigoted billionaires, that all the money in the world cannot suppress the wills and desires of the people. We have it within ourselves to take actions that will severely affect the financial, and social sectors of our society, and send a message to those controlling us that their controls are, in reality, very limited.

What can you do specifically? Please read the following list, keeping in mind, the more of these you do, the stronger the message you will send. Do all 4 if you can.
 
On January 20, 2017 - Boycott the presidential inauguration

This is extremely important. Do not watch the inauguration in any form including: network tv, satellite tv, live through YouTube, or via any other streaming media. Do not give Trump center stage and allow him to make a spectacle of the presidential inauguration by turning it into nothing more than one of his reality shows. No worries....for those of you who want to watch later, there will undoubtedly be a plethora of illegally uploaded inauguration videos for you to watch. Americans need to say no to watching this drama unfold. Every time you watch Trump on TV you further his agenda. Turn everything off and get your news online in text form....avoid the sensationalism.

Result - The networks and other media will lose millions in advertising dollars and will think twice the next time Trump wants to use them to promote his agenda. Incidentally, Super Bowl 50 generated an estimated 620 million in advertising revenue for the NFL. Think of the effect it would have had if nobody had watched the game.
 
On January 20, 2017 - Take the day off from work

Take the day off from work....no doubt you deserve it. Stay home and take your kids to the park. Rainy day? Then play scrabble or some other educational game with your kids. Make this a day to spend time with family and be sure not to watch the inauguration. Your work will be waiting for you the next day. At least you will have shown your support for others who think like you, and who knows, the results of your actions might make change a reality.

Result - The loss in productivity and revenue to companies and federal agencies would be staggering, even from a single days absence from work. This would send an extremely strong message.
 
On January 20, 2017 - Keep the kids home from school

Do not allow your kids to be subjected to possibly being forced to watch the inauguration in their classrooms. I can remember watching the first manned space mission to the moon....now that was news. The inauguration of Donald Trump will be nothing more than a sham, a spectacle with him in the middle soaking in all the attention he can get. We should not give him that satisfaction.

Result - A school loses state funding every time a child is absent, even for excused reasons. An entire nation of kids home for the day would result in a loss of millions of dollars for the schools, which would definitely make the administration take notice.
 
On January 20, 2017 - Do not make any purchases

Turn inauguration day into the worst day in history for retailers. Do not buy anything, including food items. Do not go to restaurants, do not purchase fuel, do not even spend a penny. Now this is almost as important as boycotting the inauguration itself. The Trump administration is all about money and this is the chance to hit them where it hurts. They all stand to lose millions, possibly billions, of dollars if Americans began to use this nonviolent tool as a way to set policy of their own.

Result - Retailers across the country would lose millions in profits in a single day. This is not something they would soon forget and would be less likely to support Trump during the next four years, knowing there is the likelihood consumers could resort to this type of protest again.
 
 
Trump promises....

"Donald Trumps Contract with the American Voter", his 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again, promises to cancel many of President Obama’s executive orders, effectively wiping out his presidency of the last eight years. The legacy this man will give us is a nation divided, even friends and family divided, a stagnant or declining economy, poor international relations with countires who used to be our friends, and a polluted planet, which our kids, and generations of their kids, will need to deal with for hundreds, or maybe even, thousands of years. Some of the changes coming, in his effort to "Make America Great Again" include the following:
  • reduce protections for workers
  • remove the rights of immigrants
  • prohibit Muslims from entering the country
  • cancel climate change programs and reverse years of progress in environmental protection
  • lift restrictions on shale, oil, gas and coal extraction
  • imprison or deport millions of undocumented workers
  • cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities
  • remove health insurance currently utilized by millions of Americans
He will be screwing all the people who supported him, which most of them do not realize, even until this day. Many of the changes he wants to make do not require congressional approval, which gives him free reign to destroy as much of this country as he wants. Are you going to simply sit around, watch the news, and let him get away with this?....OF COURSE NOT.
 
 
People Power

As Americans, we can make changes happen much easier than we realize. The key to making these changes is working together. In all the years humans have inhabited this planet, there has never been an easier time to spread your message, and work together, thanks to various media, and social networking sites. The main obstacle to success is your own apathy. I am a member of Facebook and grew more and more frustrated when my "friends" showed no reaction to my posts opposing Trump.

Sure, post a picture of your kids, homemade pickles, or maybe a nice photo of your dogs playing at the beach, and you're definitely going to get a reaction. Post about anything important and you basically get ignored, or even worse, unfriended. COME ON NOW FOLKS, if the current situation is really bothering you, then use any means at your disposal to make changes.

As Americans we have three different ways to use our power to make changes:
  • As Voters - Well too late for this choice, but there is still hope.
  • As Workers - We can make changes in the workplace and change the direction of entire corporations.
  • As Consumers - Possibly the most power of all is vested in our role as consumers, where we control markets, and can literally put companies out of business with our actions.
Although we were not successful in keeping Trump from being elected, we as a people can unite, and use our collective power, as workers and consumers, to make it as difficult as possible for him to implement policy and to even function on a minimal level as the president of the United States.

We will force politicians, both Republican and Democrat, and large corporations that partnerships with Trump are not a good idea. Please post on this page as you desire, and most importantly, send this page to all of your family and friends, so we can all coordinate our efforts and make this day a success.

Note: If you should decide, in addition to the four actions outlined above, to participate in actual demonstrations in any of our great cities, PLEASE make sure you stay peaceful. If you are confronted by a Trump supporter looking for a fight, simply walk away. Nothing is gained by promoting violence except to diminish the validity of our cause.
 
Nice Thoughts

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love... Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
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This is not a time to roll over and be weak.
We lost the first battle but not the fight.
Push Trump out of government and back into the private sector.
Make it impossible for Trump to rule.
 
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DO NOT give up. Take action now while you can.