It seems like all too fitting a time for this to occur; just after the release of Half-Blood Prince, with Dumbledore’s death and message on our minds, one of my own, personal Dumbledores has passed away. It wasn’t a complete surprise; my former teacher and mentor had been battling ALS for a few years now, and slowly loosing everyday functions such as the use of his legs and arms. Once diagnosed with ALS, most people are given no more than 5 years to live. It is a sad and sealed fate.

My Dumbledore didn’t give me a final lesson on how to die or a story of his life the last time I saw him. It was this past Friday, and the visit was on a whim, not planned at all. Over the years I have grown close with the family through my close friendship with my Dumbledore’s neice, and the trip to see him just the day before he died felt like any other visit. He spoke with not a wavering voice or a pained face, though I can image how uncomfortable life in a chair had become for him. He seemed just like the man I had known when I was a frightened ten-year old girl, entering middle school for the first time. He spoke of books and music that he had enjoyed recently, and we watched a YouTube video of a robust Hawaiian man singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Nothing in his demeanor showed he was ready to leave his life now — and I cannot help but feel that he wasn’t.

My Dumbledore was young, and yet he showed incredible wisdom and courage. He was the only teacher I knew who never, ever gave up on a student. We had the wackiest bunch of kids go through that middle school while I was there, and he never treated anyone with any more or less respect. He valued the ideas and creative endeavors of each and every one of us. Only a few years ago, he was hiking and skiing and swimming with us. This Friday, I saw his withered hands, almost like the blackened hand of Albus Dumbledore, a quiet warning of a weakening man. I remembered those days back at school when he seemed to be able to feel a student struggling, her shoulders hunched and tense because she couldn’ t solve a math problem or find the right word for a poem, and he would put his hands on her shoulders like a sturdy, silent cheerleader.

It is sad that you never know when your visit with someone will be your last. I am glad I had that last visit with my Dumbledore, even if I never imagined his health to decline so quickly. It felt like a Magical Act of Kindness…not from me to him, but from the world to me, that I got to see him that last time. After I was informed of his passing, I crawled into my bed, feeling numb. I couldn’t believe it. After my visit on Friday, many people had inquired to me about his health, and I told them, “He seems so cheerful, considering his situation.” I cannot help but hope that the cheerfulness I seemed to experience was due to his inner peace with his situation. A stack of his self-published poetry book sat on the kitchen counter, a proud accomplishment of his final months. The news is still fresh to me and I still have trouble fully realizing what his death means.

As we move into a new phase of What Would Dumbledore Do? with the HPA, I feel energized knowing that my Dumbledore looked smiling into the face of the end, if only for the comfort of his loved ones. He had a well-organized mind. And, “After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

“Eternity is a mere moment just long enough for a joke.” -Hermann Hesse

If ever the United States Senate had a leader who would passionately stand up for the rights of minorities, the underprivileged, and a dream of a country and a world where people come together, where beyond their differences their aims are identical and their hearts are opened, it was Ted Kennedy.

As the world mourns the loss of one of it’s great leaders, that feeling is especially strong here in Massachusetts. Boston will not be the same without one of those three Kennedy brothers in an elected position. Ted Kennedy carried on the dreams embodied by his late brothers John and Bobby, and took those dreams to new levels. It is rare to find a politician who is both larger than life and who consistently champions the needs of those who are not being heard. Even small things that he led have become cultural institutions. It was Ted Kennedy who led the effort to allow young people aged 18 and over the right to vote. Before that time, a US citizen had to be 21 to vote (yet they could be sent to war at 18). Ted Kennedy led the charge to have that changed and that is only one small victory amongst a string of victories throughout his career that were about elevating and amplifying the human condition. It is a small victory that the HPA felt last year through the Wizard Rock the Vote campaign.

As many of you know, the HP Alliance is a nonpartisan organization that does not promote or denounce any political party. Today is a day when Democrats and Republicans, people all across the US political spectrum mourn the loss and honor a man who fought for a better world. I am heartened to see that in recognition of this great man, at least one conservative group has suspended ads today fighting health care reform. Regardless of their differences with Senator Kennedy, they recognize and respect the passion and enthusiasm of a man who fought for the betterment of this world.

It is very odd timing that Senator Kennedy passes in the midst of this health care debate- what he referred to as the fight for his life - the chance for all Americans to have access to health care without insurance companies exploiting or blocking their access. Hopefully Senator Kennedy’s passing will allow Americans across the political spectrum to pause and remember that while health care as a Civil Right may appear at first glance to be controversial, history will look back at it not as a partisan struggle but as a victory for equality. When Senator Kennedy’s older brother John was assassinated, the nation paused and remembered JFK’s wish for more Civil Rights for African Americans and passed the Civil Rights Act and helped inspire President Lyndon Johnson to quote the Civil Rights mantra on television: “we shall overcome” - moving the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior to tears.

Senator Ted Kennedy has remained a constant reminder of where we have been and where we are going in the journey toward equality and a world based on the principles of mercy, compassion, and love.

Whatever is to come for this current debate around health care, nothing can damage or shortchange the positive contributions that Ted Kennedy had spent his life contributing.

What a great privilege for all of us that we got to share this Earth with him. May his soul find peace, may his family find healing, and may his spirit and legacy continue to live on.

Below please read the words of Alan Khazei, founder of Be The Change. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy birthday to Taekia. Some of you may know her through her posts here in The Common Room.

Taekia is so much more than that, though. During the blitz of WWDD, she kept us up-to-date on all of the statistic-related news. She knew exactly how many tweets including #dumbledore were floating around out there at almost any given time. AMAZING!! She also works with the staffing team to make sure that all of our new staff feel welcome and comfortable.

For all you do, thank you. It’s a privilege to work with you.

We’re going to have a pretty awesome live DA meeting tonight at 8:30 pm EST right here. We’ll be discussing what happened with What Would Dumbledore Do as well as unveiing our newest project, Campaign Nine and Three Quarters!

So go to this site at 8:30 pm EST tonight, turn up your volume, and to participate in the live chat make sure to do the very simple free login at ustream.com

A short “Late Night Snack with Andrew Slack” will follow the meeting at 9:45 pm.

Talk to you tonight!

You know what reminds me of Adolf Hitler? Lord Voldemort. JK Rowling has stated on numerous occasions that Voldemort reminds her of Hitler.

You know what does not rem ind me of Hitler? Most things. Mid-afternoon movies. Equality. Holding hands in the rain. None of these things remind me of Hitler. You know what else doesn’t remind me of Hitler? A person who quits their job from an abusive boss and still has access to a doctor. A person who pays for health insurance every month, is diagnosed with cancer and has no greed-driven company telling them they can’t be treated for their cancer because their cancer is a a pre-existing condition. Health care reform does not remind me of Hitler, Voldemort, Nazis, or Death Eaters. On the contrary it reminds me of goodness and love and freedom.

But that’s not stopping the folks at the fear fuled Daily Profit called Fox News from encouraging uninformed Americans who don’t even have good health care that health equality is similar to Nazis and Hitler. Recently a clearly confunded citizen asked openly gay and Jewish Congressperson Barney Frank why he supported health reform that is basically a Nazi plan. Representative Frank spoke up for both the victims of the Holocaust that Fox News continues to exploit as well as the victims of a bad health care system that Fox News continues to exploit and said the following:

“When you ask me that question, I’m going to revert to my ethnic heritage and ask you a question: On what planet do you spend most of your time?” He added, “It is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated…. Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it.”

We’ve had some awesome merchandise in the past, but the new Harry Potter Alliance merch is through-the-roof-awesome. CHECK IT OUT HERE!

HPA tote bags and HPA water bottles - both of which look great and save you from wasteful plastic bags and bottles. New HPA and What Would Dumbledore Do buttons. An HPA tshirt that is so awesome everyone but Voldemort admits that it’s awesome!

And this is not to mention an amazing Wizard Rock compilation CD and the chance to buy the entire Wizard Rock EP of the Club set of 2008.

Support the Harry Potter Alliance while sporting some amazing new HPA merch!

The Weapon We Have Is Love,

Andrew Slack
Harry Potter Alliance, Executive Director

We’re wishing Malory the happiest of birthdays today. You may know Malory from The Common Room. She’s been the leader of the book club and is part of the Accio Fitness group. You’ve also probably seen some of her blogs. She’s also now working with our Chapters folks to integrate Meetups into chapters. If you’re part of a meetup or if you want to wish her a fantabulistic birthday send her a note or leave a comment below.

Thanks, Malory for all you do.

Protego Environment is a project I’ve started to help people live a little greener in their everyday lives. There is a group in the Common Room and you can follow the blog at protego.wordpress.com. Don’t forget to check out the videos on Youtube at youtube.com/user/protegoenvironment.

I’m really excited for and passionate about this project and I can’t wait to interact with everyone in the blogs and discussion group. Feel free to send ideas you may have to me at emeline@thehpalliance.org.

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY!

Today is Andrew’s birthday. Normally, one person write a blog honoring the birthday boy or girl. We had a hard time choosing an author for Andrew’s birthday. After all, it’s a BIG birthday. Andrew turns 30 today!! So, since we couldn’t make a decision, a whole bunch of us decided to wish Andrew well on this day. So here goes: Read the rest of this entry »