You Can't Govern Over Twitter
Welcome to the Clif Note, my slightly rebranded newsletter. As suggested by
, I’m trying out a new name for my mailing list. I love it, but it sounds a little too “Hey! I Might Get Sued For This,” so if this looks different next time, you’ll know how litigious a publication whose entire purpose is to help high schoolers cheat on book reports can be!Also, if you were a part of my previous efforts, I assume you are here for the ride! If not, the unsubscribe button is at the bottom of the newsletter! I understand. You can always read this newsletter on the web at clifmars.com. You can find my activism on that same page and through social media such as Twitter or Mastodon. We are in the process of beta testing a new Discord Server to activate privately.
Recently, a Democratic Party official rebuked me for my activism, saying, “You can’t govern over Twitter.” I often have a witty comeback to most things like this, but it struck me as odd that this was the perception, and I was left mute. Like most activists, we take refuge in the heavy portion of our work that is uncelebrated and unseen by posting on social media. And this may be all that some think we are doing.
So, is governing by Twitter productive? Well, I grew up on social media before it was called social media. I ran a BBS in the 80s on the Commodore 64, was a moderator on Usenet, and started a website that quickly became a Top-10 site for musicians. I then sold it off, only to pick up the pieces a decade later.
In all of these efforts, we made friends, we made bad jokes, and we changed our little section of the world. Because of this social media, I saw the world as a touring artist and helped other musicians find jobs, often employing my friends. We offered education and fellowship. We made bad jokes, many of which I hope stay dead and buried. We organized concerts that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over two decades…a few even here in Indy. And we supported one another.
So when someone informs me that you cannot govern by Twitter, I am reminded that these people know only the surface of what we are doing. Social media can be an incredible way to find fellowship with those like-minded individuals. However, like any movement, there comes a time that you have to get out and work.
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Since it has been a minute since I’ve spoken to many of you, here is a partial list of projects I am involved with. It is not a complete list, but this is what I’ve focused on in the last month. And to be clear, these are all team efforts.
My Quality of Life team, in conjunction with the Near East Side Neighborhood Organization (NESCO), has been working with Overdose Lifeline to provide lifesaving medicine, which has resulted in declining deaths within our boundaries while all other parts of the city are increasing.
Successfully fighting for the future of the Blue Line, calling Senators and Representatives, and organizing standing-room-only crowds to organize and stand up when our elected officials would not.
Standing up against government waste on projects that have been proven to be ineffective while allowing corporate entities to spy on the general population with no oversight and selling this information to others while also charging out city.
An Indy Open Democracy database project, taking cues from a colleague’s internal spreadsheet and expanding it to be something truly useful for the public.
And these are only the projects I’ve focused on in the last few weeks. If I listed all the projects friends have been working on in lieu of a functional city and/or state government, the list would be in the triple digits.
So when our unpaid activists have far more success than paid politicians, we are told our efforts are just ‘children on social media’….GTFO with that nonsense, and sit down.
How do I get involved?
Come to our NESCO Board of Directors Meeting
Also, we have a list of East Side neighborhood associations on this same page.
Help us with our Indy Open Democracy project.
Special thanks to Brandy Snider for stepping up!!!
Come out and join us for our win over SB52.
Activists and politicians are meeting at Counterpoint Brewery on March 20, 2024 at 6:30.
Book Club
I am currently reading A Fever In The Heartland, the KKK’s Plot to Take Over America. All centering in the Indianapolis neighborhood of Irvington and feeling all too eerily similar to some of today’s politics.
In Indiana the Klan found its fullest expression: its largest membership rolls, its greatest influence on civic life. “The Klan owned the state,” Egan observes, “and Stephenson owned the Klan.” Stephenson was an early-20th-century type: a malign Harold Hill, a man of uncertain origin and sinister charm who grifted his way from town to town, his eye on the main chance. Egan charts his ascension from a street-corner “gasbag” into a demagogue of the first order. He studied Mussolini’s speeches and described himself as the world’s “foremost mass psychologist”: He understood what made people hate.
Call to Action: Sign Up for our bookclub here,
A Bridge over Troubled Waters Streets
Petition the IndyMPO to fund the bridge over 86th and the Monon. We’ve seen far too many Cyclists and Pedestrians hit and die at this location.
Note: Last weekend, the Indy Pedestrian Cyclist Safety Crisis recorded the 100th Pedestrian to die since starting their site. Brandon Breedlove when a drunk driver hit his group standing on Mass Avenue on one of the worst-designed intersections in the city. We demand IMPD to enforce the laws of the road, and we demand Indy DPW to build better streets. We demand that Mayor Joe Hogsett commit to #Vision2020, taking TANGIBLE steps towards doing this, not simply a speech and photo-op, hoping the city will be pacified by the lack of leadership we’ve grown accustomed to.
Call To Action: Send A Public Comment to IndyMPO Demanding funding (Due 3/18/24)
Call to Action: Contact Your City Councilor
Celebrate with Me
Not to leave this newsletter with so much dreariness, I invite you to join me for a bike ride on April 8th and come see the Eclipse! Most people already have plans for this day, but if you want to join the activities, we will ride from Historic Holy Cross throughout the city and return in time to stand in Highland Park with…probably hundreds of others who have chosen to view this event from my neighborhood!
Just like with Bike Party, I will have stickers for those who make it, and possibly a limited-edition sticker just for this ride. C’mon…you know you love free merch!!! And you love seeing our amazing city by bike!!!
Thank you for reading this. You can contact me at info@clifmars.com or text me at (317) 520-2543. Let’s get to work!!!
As they say, the best way to proofread your work and fix mistakes and misspellings is to post it on the Internet and wait for others to correct it! So here goes!!!
I observed Klan marches in the 90s in downtown Fort Wayne.