Early voting began yesterday (July 7) in Maryland — to continue through July 14
Two weekends left to GOTV for Maryland socialists
Defund MPD working group retreat — Sunday July 10, 1pm at Malcolm X Park
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MDC DSA General Body Meeting -- Sunday evening, July 15 at 7pm
Join us this upcoming Sunday at 7pm as we discuss the Supreme Court and some of its more egregious recent rulings. We’ll hear from our WePower DC Priority Campaign on the EPA ruling, our Defund MPD Priority Campaign on the ruling about our Miranda Rights, and our new Reproductive Justice working group on the fall of Roe v. Wade. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the institution that presumes to control which rights we have, or if you’re curious about the potential impacts of the last session of the court, you won’t want to miss the meeting on Sunday!
We’ll also be hearing from our Stomp Out Slumlords Priority Campaign as they debrief the body on the Autonomous Tenants Union Network Conference they attended last month. Join us this Sunday at 7pm!
Last weekend to canvass for Max Socol and Gabriel Acevero in Montgomery County
This weekend is the last weekend to canvass for MDC DSA endorsed candidates Max Socol and Gabriel Acevero. Max Socol is within striking distance of unseating a conservative incumbent, and the Maryland Democratic Senate Caucus is attacking Max in the mail. Meanwhile, the same Democrats are teaming up to take out incumbent Del. Gabriel Acevero. Both Max and Gabe will fight in the Maryland General Assembly for genuine police accountability, social housing, taxing the rich in the country’s wealthiest state and more.
Our chapter members have knocked close to 20,000 doors so far, but these very close elections will likely be decided by just hundreds or even dozens of votes.
This Saturday, we’ll meet at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg (506 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD) at 11am to canvass for Gabe. On Sunday, socialists will be joining Max’s campaign canvass at the Kensington Park Library (4201 Knowles Ave, Kensington, MD) at 11am. Lunch will be provided on both days. We’re also encouraging folks to join Max’s campaign to canvass the Monday before the election and send people out for poll coverage for Gabriel Acevero on Election Day. Fill out the form, and we’ll add you to the Signal chat and make sure you receive all the details.
Post any questions in #moco-electoral on Slack or email [email protected].
Stomp Out Slumlords Anti-Eviction Canvass: Tomorrow, July 16 at 1:30pm
Join Stomp Out Slumlords for an anti-eviction canvass. Come out and inform tenants facing eviction of their rights in court, how to get a lawyer, and to see if they’re interested in organizing their building. Tenants we speak to are twice as likely to go to court and fight their eviction, so every volunteer can make a big impact. Saturday (tomorrow), July 16th, at 1:30pm, we’ll meet at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station near the D Street exit between 6th and 7th, above the escalators (if the weather is bad, we’ll be downstairs just before the turnstiles). Find more info and RSVP here.
BRIEFS
Metro DC DSA interrupts Federalist Society gathering in DC
The Federalist Society’s handpicked justices have — in just this term — overturned Roe, gutted the EPA, struck down gun control legislation and curtailed the rights of people who were wrongfully convicted. They don’t deserve a moment’s peace when people will die and suffer from these decisions. DSA chapters across the country have begun mobilizing opposition campaigns to resist Federalist Society operations across the country.
If you would like to plug in to DSA’s abortion rights operations, join the #abortion-rights-planning-channel on our chapter Slack to learn more. You can also sign up to participate in DSA’s national coordination efforts at protectabortion.org to receive notice of training sessions and access educational toolkits.
ICE Out of Arlington! Join the Migrant Justice and Defund NOVA PD working groups this Saturday in Clarendon
The Arlington County Board is meeting this Saturday, and the DSA is standing firm in opposition to ICE operations in Arlington. NoVA organizers will be meeting at 8:30am to join the rally beforehand (RSVP here). The Arlington County government needs to take active measures to protect the community and prevent their police department from actively collaborating with ICE, but the Board is reluctant to act. Even if you aren’t ready to take the mic yourself, you can still make a sign and sit with us in the audience! You don’t need to live in Arlington to join (RSVP here).
Publications working group meeting — Monday, July 18 at 7pm
Metro DC DSA’s publications working group will be hosting an online meeting on Monday, July 18 at 7pm — signup information can be found at this link. The publications team prepares the Weekly Update and the monthly Washington Socialist and organizes writers, editors and designers in the chapter to edit, proofread and develop chapter content. Newcomers interested in getting folded into these operations are invited to join.
DSA Design and Friends meetup — Today, July 15 in Merrifield, VA
DSA's design team will be meeting out at the MacMillan Whiskey Room in Merrifield, VA at 6pm on Friday, July 15. This 20 min stroll from the Dunn Loring / Merrifield metro is a bit farther from the typical social, but we invite any Northern Virginia DSA members, or members interested in how our chapter builds its art and design resources, to stop by. You can contact Arty (he/him) on the chapter slack to ask more.
Passing a Medicare 4 ALL Resolution in Alexandria
As part of a nationwide movement, we’re working to compel Alexandria City Council to pass a Medicare 4 ALL resolution. But first, we must pressure the Public Health Advisory Commission to win their support. If you are an Alexandria resident, please email your support to the PHAC and/or join us at the next meeting. Information and RSVP here.
Socialism Conference 2022 in Chicago — September 2 to 5
The Socialism Conference 2022 is in Chicago, September 2 to 5, featuring workshops, meetings and talks from Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Robin D.G. Kelley, Mohammed El-Kurd, David Harvey and more. Student and low-income registration rates are available, as well as an early bird rate (available through July 22 — next Friday). DSA is a co-sponsor. Find more info and registration here.
DC finally moves to ban noncompetes for DC workers
On Tuesday, the DC Council voted to finally ban noncompete clauses in the District following months of lobbying from business interests in the city. This version of the legislation is likely to move through the Council following nearly two years of stop-gaps and pushback. Read the full story in Washington City Paper.
The District Council voted in 2020 to pass a full prohibition of the practice. However the bill was passed with a “subject to appropriations” caveat — meaning the measure wouldn’t actually be enforced unless the Mayor or Council budgeted money to enforce the legislation. This tactic is often used to create the illusion of progress in DC, providing room for capital interests to snipe at popular legislation that runs against their interests.
Mutual Aid networks strained in supporting asylum seekers in the DMV
For the last three months, Governor Abbott of Texas has been busing migrants from the Southern Border to DC as part of a cruel and racist stunt against asylum seekers. Since this began on April 13th, 2022, Texas has sent ~120 buses carrying around 3,000 people, including children and infants, to the District. Mutual aid and immigrant rights networks in the DMV have been working to support migrants with little to no help from either the federal or local government. A statement released on July 13 by immigrant rights organization Sanctuary DMV addressed the lack of institutional support for asylum seekers:
The Biden administration has either ignored the situation or made dismissive, glib remarks about it. The DC government has been equally absent—Delegate Norton went as far as to say that “there’s been ‘no strain’ on the city’s resources” due to the newly arrived migrants. Or they have taken credit for the mutual aid groups’ work, like Councilmember Pinto…We urge Mayor Bowser to meet our demands and provide the dignified support our new neighbors deserve.
INFO ACCESS
You can find the Primary election resultsfrom the DC Board of Elections, and you can find our coverage of candidate positions on the Washington SocialistREDBUG.
Publications schedule: July Updates are Fridays, July 8, 15 and 22 and the Update for July 29 will also include the August issue of the Washington Socialist newsletter. The deadline for August issue articles is July 23; hit us up at [email protected] or join the fun anytime and get early reactions to your work in our Slack channel, #publications — non-judgmental collaboration is what we do.
Heaps of MDC DSA history: An archival chronicle of our local chapter’s history, starting before the DSOC-NAM merger to the present day, compiled by one of our longtime members is available in the chapter website. Browse at will. And dip into our Washington Socialist Topic Hub to explore specific socialist issues as we have grappled with them over the years in the pages of the newsletter.
DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Most MDC DSA meetings remain remote-only. To join remote meetings, members will need to register at the event link provided and receive the remote-access link by email.
Rare Earth Elements: The Global Supply Chain | Institute for Policy Studies Tune in at noon TODAY, July 15, for an online webinar from the Institute for Policy Studies onrare earth elements and the coming scramble to control them — info and sign up here.
Organizing Skillshare | Ward 4 Mutual Aid Interested in learning how to organize? Ward 4 Mutual Aid is hosting an organizing workshop on July 16, 11am at Mosaic Church (16 Street NW and Webster St NW) to train folks about one-on-one conversations and do some fundraising outreach.
Fleeing Climate Change: The Real Environmental Disaster | Reel & Meal
On July 18, Reel & Meal presents Fleeing Climate Change: The Real Environmental Disaster, a 2019 documentary investigating the human costs of a rapidly warming planet, at the New Deal Cafe (Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt, MD) and on Zoom. The film shows how three diverse areas — Africa, Indonesia and Siberia — are being devastated and becoming unlivable. A short documentary about desertification in Southern Europe will also be screened, and a discussion will follow the screenings. Register via link in advance.
Se buscan voluntarixs bilingües! | DC Abortion Fund Ayudenxs proveer fondos a pacientes en español quienes necesitan cerrar la brecha entre lo que pueden pagar y el costo total de su aborto. El derecho a un aborto no debe de depender en el costo ni idioma. ¡Aplique para ser un asistente social voluntarixs [email protected]
Eviction Protection Resource Meeting | Empower DC and Neighborhood Legal Services Program Evictions are on the rise in DC, and many residents are currently faced with an eviction situation or soon will be. In an effort to stem evictions and connect at-risk renters to legal help, several organizations are coming together to perform outreach around the city, letting renters know their rights related to evictions and connecting them to legal help. On Thursday, July 21st at 6:30pm, join Empower DC and Neighborhood Legal Services program for an online training to learn about these efforts, as well as new DC Council legislation that makes filing evictions harder and in turn protects renters. This meeting is open to the public, but especially useful for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners and community-facing organizations. More info and registration here.
ESSENTIAL TRAFFIC
Blast from the past — A suddenly visible group called Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is drawing second thoughts from other groups that are fighting the effects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade a century — oops, just a few weeks ago. The better-known pro-choice groups “say it’s a front for the Revolutionary Communist Party, a fringe far-left group dating back to the 1960s with a reputation for latching onto social movements for its own benefit,” reads an article in the Daily Beast. Chairman Bob, like Keith Richards, ageless …
AIPAC in our backyard — The American Prospect tracks the huge leap in influence and spending by AIPAC in both a Michigan race and right here in our backyard, PG County’s super-blue 4th CD (Maryland) contest between Donna Edwards and Glenn Ivey for the Dem nomination, which essentially guarantees victory in the general election. In both cases, AIPAC is covertly defending Israeli apartheid policies by bringing bogus, unrelated charges with super-high ad spending against progressives who oppose those apartheid policies.
NYC DSA is engaging in organized “co-governance” with its six elected members in the state legislature: “Following its victories in the 2020 elections, NYC-DSA created a dedicated group known as the Socialists in Office committee (SIO) to coordinate with its elected officials.” Here’s how one of those recent New York legislative victories was won. The co-governance concept, around for a few years, is gaining traction: “Across the country, movements are increasingly demanding that elected officials adopt the concept of co-governance,” we read in this recent account.
Why isn’t the growth in new jobs reducing inflation and staving off recession? One answer from columnist Peter Coy in the NYT: “Labor productivity as officially measured did take an enormous leap at the start of the Covid pandemic. … It’s clear now, though, that most of the increase was from a change in the mix of workers. Huge layoffs in leisure, hospitality and other low-wage sectors early in the pandemic skewed the labor force toward workers who earn higher wages and tend to have higher labor productivity (at least as conventionally measured). The temporary skew in the average skill level of jobs accounted for 71 percent of labor productivity growth in the second quarter of 2020, according to BLS research. Now that all those low-wage workers are coming back, it makes sense that productivity growth would slow down or turn negative.”
Now that major corporations (many with overseas ties) have tentatively become greenwashy ESG fans, the GOP has reacted with outrage against their former steadfast allies in the capitalist ruling class, the WaPo reports.
Maryland: Progressive news you can use — State government “hollowed out” in Hogan era, study says. How does a well-designed state government fight its way through a pandemic, an unemployment crisis and other mortal perils in the early 2020s? Generally, by staffing up the state government with enough employees to meet the crisis. Well, crisis, meet Gov. Larry Hogan, who has kept his GOP dogma infused into his two-term mismanagement of state agencies with (often openly expressed) disdain for public employees, especially those in unions. For the GOP, and hence for the inexplicably popular Hogan, public employees should be kept sparse and under-supported to get the best out of them. Now the public sector, including a nonpartisan agency of the state government, has responded with a damning assessment. (Maryland Matters) (The Progressive News You Can Use blog roundup appears Mondays on the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace.)
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of its chains, shatters them and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vaster and freer horizon..
- Virgilia D'Andrea
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