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.
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!
###
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
-
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.
-
Saturday, September 2
Come visit our table and make a button!
-
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.
Pre-Order Your Tee for Mildred Fish Harnack Day!
By Monday, August 28: Tee Pre-Order!
Friday, September 1: Mildred Fish Harnack Memorial Concert
Come celebrate the life and achievements of a true antifascist hero, born right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We will be celebrating her with an exciting lineup of regional musical talents including Ruth B8r Ginsburg, Glutton for Insurrection, Brandon Payton-Carrillo, Lil’ Guillotine, and DJ Dr!psweat! Stand with us in solidarity against the forces of fascism in our country and communities! All proceeds from this event go to the creation of this event as well as future antifascist organizing and education.
Stop Cop City with Atlanta DSA
Earlier this month the national Democratic Socialist of America joined the Atlanta chapter of DSA in publicly endorsing a campaign to put a referendum on the November ballot that would stop “Cop City”, a massive police training facility that has been proposed to be built in the Weelaunee Forest - public forest land and one the largest remaining green spaces in Atlanta - surrounded by predominantly Black working class neighborhoods.
Tonight we’ll hear from Atlanta DSA member Gabriel Sanchez about the chapter's effort to stop Cop City through a ballot referendum, the terrifying tactics police, the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia have used to in order to crush opposition and what motivates them to keep fighting despite few clear victories for the Defund the Police and abolition movements in recent years.
To learn more and to get involved you can visit copcityvote.com and atldsa.org/stopcopcity