Should the public trust approval voting?
What’s at stake in the Trump indictments
Book Review: American Midnight
200th Episode Celebration: The Future of DSA
Join us as we celebrate our 200th episode! We’ve been broadcasting on WBAI and online for almost five years and in that time, have featured the stories of hundreds of workers, tenants, and organizers fighting for socialism in New York City, in the United States, and around the globe. It’s a true honor and privilege to bring these stories to you, and we’re looking forward to what the future has in store!
For this week's show, we’re joined live by Honda Wang of DSA Labor. As a New York City delegate to the recent national DSA convention in Chicago, Honda will be sharing his analysis of the present and future of DSA and what’s next in the struggle for socialism. We also hear from Mac, Smitha, and Adam, three NYC-DSA members who were inspired by their work in DSA to start organizing for tenants’ rights in their own buildings and neighborhoods.
Take the DSA Labor Strike Ready pledge to support workers at the UAW Big 3: dsausa.us/UAWPledge
Donate to the DSA Labor Solidarity Fund: donate.laborsolidarity.com.
NNJ-DSA Condemns Killing of Andrew Jerome Washington by the Jersey City Police Department
NNJ-DSA Condemns Killing of Andrew Jerome Washington by the Jersey City Police Department
For Immediate Release: August 29th 2023
North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America condemns the killing of Andrew Jerome Washington by the Jersey City Police Department. We are horrified that on this Sunday’s occurrence, family members specifically called for mental health professionals to respond and instead were met with an armed, swat-like police response.
Over the past month, the Jersey City Police were called six times to respond to reported mental health crises Andrew experienced, and even more shocking, in 2012 JCPD shot at Mr. Washington in what public safety Director James Shea calls “almost identical circumstances.”
This sanctioning of violence by the state is devastating to Jersey City residents, particularly because the city has yet to implement an entirely civilian-led crisis intervention team, despite the City Council allocating funding for one in 2022. It is clear that Jersey City does not prioritize necessary programs like these. Instead, they gladly accept tank-like machines that further empower Jersey City police to have swat-level responses to common mental health emergencies.
Because of the administration’s failure to address a wide swath of issues from police violence and chronic understaffing of 9-1-1 workers to housing issues like wrongful evictions and unlawful rent hikes, residents have had to be an active check on the administration. Residents are forced to navigate a system that refuses to protect their housing rights and does not answer their 9-1-1 calls. When the calls are answered, Jersey City residents now have to fear the police response that will come because of this pattern of violence.
North NJ DSA and other groups are actively fighting these gross miscarriages of justice and basic human decency, including by soon pushing this administration to implement another program that will protect Jersey City residents: a tenants’ right to counsel.
Based on population, a black person is 489% more likely to have force used on them than a white person in Jersey City. Also, people with mental illness are ten times more likely to have police force used against them than people without mental illness. Without further intervention and accountability this will happen again.
We join the calls for a complete and thorough investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General and for the full footage of the encounter with police to be released to the public. Mental health crises should not end in death. We also call on the Jersey City city council to comment on the progress of their crisis intervention initiative and to share how the allocated funding has been used thus far to prevent violent acts like this from occurring again. Residents of Jersey City deserve better–we deserve a thorough democratic investigation to keep those with the most power–those who wield the power and privilege of state violence–accountable to us.
Our resolve as a community is tested when one of our own falls to police brutality, but we see a vision for a world without such ruthlessness, and we work every day towards that world.
North New Jersey DSA is a regional chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. We use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.
Press Contact:
Organization: North NJ Democratic Socialists of America
Email: hudson@dsanj.org
Website: north.dsanj.org
The post NNJ-DSA Condemns Killing of Andrew Jerome Washington by the Jersey City Police Department first appeared on North NJ DSA.
Republicans Are Not The Party of Freedom. They Are The Party of Control
In response to the recent decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court to uphold a six-week abortion ban we urge you to give to the Palmetto State Abortion Fund, an organization dedicated to ensuring that financial barriers do not impede access to essential reproductive healthcare services. Your contributions will directly aid those affected by this ban, reaffirming their freedom over their bodies and lives.
We also urge you to join DSA! If you are mad as hell. If you refuse to accept the erosion of our rights. If you are worried, or scared, or unsure of the future, then now is the time to come together. Only together can we resist the march of tyranny. Together we are strong enough to demand change. Together are strong enough to support those in need, and work tirelessly until reproductive rights are once again secure for all. Join DSA today!
Despite decades of howling about freedom, the recent ruling to uphold the inhumane and draconian six-week abortion ban reinforces their true intentions; they want to control women. Even the women of the Republican party know it. That’s why they joined with Democrats earlier this year to oppose a bill that would ban abortion from conception.
But the GOP has been increasingly bold, and kept marching. Their talk about freedom rings even more hollow. The abortions bans are just one part. Book bans, restrictions on protests, restrictions on what to teach. They won’t even legalize cannabis. So how can they claim to be the party of freedom?
Well, it’s a snakelike rhetorical trick to call for freedom but never democracy. Republicans will say you have the freedom to leave if you don’t like it, but will never mention the democracy to change it. A recent poll by Winthrop University showed that just 37% of South Carolinians support a ban on abortions after six weeks. If they truly valued freedom, they would never do something so unpopular. If they actually supported life, as they claim, they would support adoption, social services, free contraception, and comprehensive sex education. But that is completely absent from their legislation and rhetoric.
In truth, Republicans are only against governmental tyranny but in favor of private tyranny. That is, the tyranny of the wealthy elite. They’re against a single dictator, but in favor of many little dictators. A dictatorship of the bosses. A dictatorship of the husbands. They use their wealth and privilege to impose their wants and desires on working class people. The wealthy elites already control you at work, and they want to go back to a time where they can control you at home.
We say no! We want an end to this oppression! Join DSA today!
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Weekly Chapter Newsletter for August 28
Greetings Comrades,
Twin Ports Pride celebrations kick off this week! Come join the celebrations and learn about our ongoing work.
Events
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Monday, August 28 (today!)
6:00 pm, tabling prep at Sarah's house. Come help make posters, bike decorations, button designs, and more!
6:30 pm, Socialism and a Slice by the Northwoods Socialist Collective
Pride celebrations start Thursday! See the full calendar of events.
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Saturday, September 2
Come visit our table and make a button!
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Sunday, September 3
12-2 pm, Pride Parade in Superior
Come join in! Walk, roll, or bike! Respond to this email for details.
News
53 years ago: Queer liberation’s roots were socialist, working class and anti-imperialist
In a Summer of Record Heat, These Striking Workers Are Making Climate Demands
UPS Teamsters Across the Nation Are Voting on the Tentative Agreement
See you at Pride!
Sarah Kjorlien
TPDSA Secretary
(If you have been receiving these emails and aren't a member yet, we want you to join! Our goals are both broad and local, and we intend to win as many as possible. Simply put – the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, Green Housing for All, a justice system that helps instead of harms, an end to poverty, socialists in office everywhere – these goals and more will not happen without mass participation. Use this link to join or renew.)
COMING UP: Tenant Canvassing, Labor 101, Socialist Vibes, and more!
LVDSA Office Hours
August 31st @ 7pm
Drop in during our office hours to ask any questions about DSA, our chapter, any of the work we’re doing, or just enjoy some company while you do DSA work. Register here.
Tenant Canvassing
September 2nd @ 9am
We will be going door-to-door informing tenants of their rights to a habitable dwelling unit and how to defend themselves against eviction. Join us and help build tenant power in our city! Register here.
Labor 101
September 3rd @ 3:30pm
Join us this Labor Day weekend for an event to examine the history of the labor movement in the United States and discover ways to show solidarity with unions as numerous labor struggles break out across the country and in our own city. Register here.
Socialist Vibes
September 4th @ 7pm
Join us for a virtual discussion group covering socialists concepts & theories. Stay tuned for more information on the discussion topic. We’d love to hear from you about what topics would interest in you in the future. Drop by and share what you’d like to see from our political education program! Register here.
September General Body Meeting
September 7th @ 7pm
Join us for our September General Body Meeting to hear updates on the chapter, discuss issues relevant to our work, and vote on any chapter business. Register here.
Communities United: A Multicultural Festival
September 9th @ 4pm – 9pm
We will be joining SEIU 1107 and community partners for the Communities United, Raising the Stakes 2023 Multicultural Festival. We will be celebrating all of the different communities throughout Las Vegas and Nevada with performances and food trucks. Communities United is free to attend to and open to everyone! View details.
Pride Fest and Labor Day
We have a big weekend coming up. On Saturday, September 2nd we will be tabling all day at Twin Ports Pride Fest. Join us a Bayfront Park. Then Sunday we head to Superior for the Pride Parade, always a favorite. Finally, on Monday we participate in the Cloquet Labor Day Parade. We need more parade marchers! We have a pile of new t-shirts if you want to try one, and we will be distributing stickers on The Minnesota Health Plan. Contact us a dsa.duluth@gmail.com if you want to participate in anything.
Our table at Pride Fest from a few years ago. Chapter member and congressional candidate Skip Sandman has sadly passed away since then.
Join DSA!
Have you been thinking about joining DSA, but haven’t gotten around to it?
Is it time to renew your dues?
DSA is a member-based organization committed to increasing power for the working class and fighting capitalism. All members decide how much and how often to give, and dues-paying members democratically decide the direction of our chapter locally and DSA nationally. To be a truly democratically controlled and explicitly anti-capitalist organization, we can’t rely on big donors or grants, which can often push non-profits into running certain projects or campaigns as conditions of receiving money. Dues – especially monthly – go to running local campaigns, training organizers, and sustaining a nation-wide infrastructure.