Read more at Memphis-Midsouth

Update: DSA candidates win Michigan legislative races, Ann Arbor mayoral primary.

The post Election Live Blog: Scenes from McKinney Victory Party appeared first on Democratic Left.

Hey, comrade! The latest edition of the Pinellas DSA newsletter is here!

As I write, it’s hard not to be inspired by the momentum our chapter is building. We welcomed our 350th dues-paying member of the chapter this month, and we’re already rapidly closing in on number 400. More and more people are looking for an organized, collective response to the profound crises of our time, and they’re hearing the call of a resurgent and dynamic Left that is making greater gains than at any time in living memory. “DSA” is on the lips of pundits in cable news studios, as well as those of workers organizing on shop floors across the country.

We’ve grown into a force too large and too well-organized to be ignored. It’s exciting, to be sure. It’s also harrowing.

DSA’s incredible growth comes at a critical moment. The reactionary forces we’re up against are becoming increasingly desperate. As working people organize and movements for justice gain strength, the capitalist class is responding with repression, division, and attacks on our democratic rights. The road ahead will not be easy, and we should be clear-eyed about the challenges we face. But, we should also be clear-eyed about our immense strength.

Every new member, every campaign, every conversation with a neighbor… it all expands our collective capacity to fight and win. The ruling class may possess immense wealth and political influence, but they remain a tiny minority. We are the working class, and without our muscle, the engine of capitalism grinds to a halt.

We are many, and they are few.

Our greatest advantage has always been one another. Through comradeship, disciplined organizing, and a sober understanding of the conditions in our communities, we’ll continue building the movement for socialism in our time. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this chapter what it is today. Let’s keep growing, keep organizing, and keep winning — together.

July Highlights

Coming off an incredibly successful weekend of outreach during St. Pete Pride, we saw fantastic attendance at our Organizing 101 training, our new member orientation, and our July general body meeting. It was great to see so many new faces eager to jump into the work of our chapter!

Members of Pinellas DSA also had a chance to meet with Angie Nixon, a candidate running a grassroots progressive campaign for Senate in Florida. While our chapter has not formally endorsed Angie’s campaign, there are many points on which our political program overlaps with Angie’s vision for a more just, better Florida. We’re excited to see candidates advance a progressive agenda to counter the corporate Democrats currently resting in seats that belong to the people!

Members of PDSA also joined with members of Tampa DSA and other chapters from from around the state to travel south to help canvass for Broward County DSA member Oliver Larkin. Oliver is endorsed by our chapter, and is running to unseat the self-proclaimed “DeSantis Democrat” Jared Moskowitz and end his corrupt, pro-Zionist occupation of a seat in the US congress!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Dump Duke

Clearwater officials reviewed a feasibility study about launching a public utility in the city, but ultimately rejected the plan and voted to move forward with a 30-year Duke Energy franchise agreement. The fight in Clearwater is far from over though; a second vote is required before the contract with the utility company is officially finalized.

Meanwhile in St. Pete, members of PDSA continue to organize and build the movement for public power in Pinellas County. St. Pete Mayor (and former Duke Energy employee) Ken Welch made an official proclamation in 2024 to name July 19 as “Duke Energy Day” in the city. This year, our members gathered at Bayboro Brewing on July 19 to celebrate “Dump Duke Day,” providing a counter program to the pro-corporate programming adopted by the mayor, and to highlight the growing fight for public power!

To see what’s next for the campaign, go to dumpdukefl.com.

Upcoming Events

We have more than a dozen political events, working group meetings, and social outings scheduled in May. You can always view our full calendar of upcoming events, along with the most up-to-date times and locations, on our website: https://www.pinellasdsa.org/home.

Oliver Larkin Phone Bank

Tuesday, August 4 from 6:00–7:30pm. A virtual phone bank for DSA congressional candidate Oliver Larkin. Register here.

Ecosocialist Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, August 5 from 6:30–8:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Meeting in the Wesley room or via Zoom.

2026 Midterm Ballot Party

Friday, August 7 from 7:00–9:30pm. Bayboro Brewing Co. (2390 5th Ave S. in St. Pete).

PDSA August General Body Meeting

Sunday, August 9 from 2:00–4:30pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete) or on Zoom. RSVP here for updates or to attend via Zoom. We will vote on new bylaws, officer elections, endorsing events and campaigns. We’ll also hear back from comrades who attended National’s Socialist Summit in Chicago!

Canvass The Morgan Apartments

Monday, August 10 from 6:00–7:30pm. The Morgan Apartments (2822 54th Ave S. in St. Pete). Canvassing at The Morgan to keep tenants informed on the campaign to prevent another slumlord by pressuring the city of St. Pete to purchase The Morgan and turn it into city-owned public housing.

International Solidarity Working Group Meeting

Tuesday, August 11 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only; here is the link.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 1)

Wednesday, August 12 from 8:00am — 6:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 2)

Thursday, August 13 from 8:00am — 6:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Flyering at The Portland

Thursday, August 13 from 6:00–7:30pm. The Portland Apartments(300 8th St N. in St. Pete). Flyer the Portland apartments to inform tenants of the power of collective action and to encourage them to attend a tenants meeting where they can tackle issues facing the property together.

Understanding Flock Cameras in St Pete

Saturday, August 15 from 11:30am — 1:00pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete). RSVP and find more info on the campaign here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 3)

Sunday, August 16 from 8:00am — 5:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 4)

Tuesday, August 18 from 7:00am — 7:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Primary Election Watch Party

Tuesday, August 18 from 6:30–10:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Join us in the Community center to watch primary election results; bring a snack to share! RSVP here.

Electoral Committee Meeting

Friday, August 21 from 6:30–8:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Meeting in the Wesley room or on Zoom; check Discord for the link.

PDSA Steering Committee Meeting

Sunday, August 23 from 7:00–8:30pm. Location TBD.

International Solidarity Working Group Meeting

Monday, August 24 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only; check Discord for the link.

Socialist in Office Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, August 26 from 6:30–8:00pm. Check Discord for the meeting location.

Interest Meeting & New Member Orientation

Saturday, August 29 from 2:30–4:00pm. Barbara S. Ponce Library (7770 52nd St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781). Meeting in Meeting Room 2, look for signs. RSVP here for updates and in case of location changes!

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NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change, so check the website regularly for updates!

Chapters in Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin have cued up crucial primaries in early August. This and more chapter news in the July edition of “Chapter and Verse.”

The post Midwest Momentum appeared first on Democratic Left.

Note: posts by individual GMDSA members do not necessarily reflect the views of the broader membership or of its leadership and should not be regarded as official statements by the chapter.

Photo Credit: Kiana Hall

For the past few weeks this summer, a round and lanky raccoon named Jimothy stole the hearts of everyone on the internet.

Millions of people shared videos of his unusual body. Artists drew him. People made plushies, memes, and some people even got tattoos of the unlikely internet celebrity. He was showered in compliments, described as adorable and perfect. His difference wasn't something to hide, it became the very reason people celebrated him.

Wildlife experts believe Jimothy may have a rare congenital condition known as short spine syndrome, which causes the spine to be shortened or compressed, giving affected animals their distinctive appearance. He doesn't look like or move like other raccoons. Yet the overwhelming reaction wasn't disgust or ridicule. It was affection.

Watching the world embrace Jimothy has been heartwarming. It has also left me wondering why we find it so much easier to celebrate differences in animals than in humans.

One in four Vermonters lives with a disability. They don't become internet celebrities when they move differently, speak differently, or navigate the world with mobility aids. More often, they encounter inaccessible buildings, employers that fail to provide reasonable accommodations, housing that doesn't meet their needs, transportation systems that leave them behind, and public policies that treat disability as an afterthought.

This is not to compare disabled people to animals.

Disabled people are our coworkers, neighbors, classmates, friends, and family members. They have dreams, ambitions, frustrations, talents, and opinions as varied as anyone else's. They do not need to become symbols of inspiration or objects of pity. They deserve something much more meaningful. They deserve dignity.

Dignity is more than being treated politely. It means having the freedom to participate fully in your community: to work if you choose, to find housing you can access, to participate in public life, to visit friends, to raise a family, and to live independently. Those freedoms depend not only on personal kindness, but on a society we build together.

Too often, discussions about disability begin and end with kindness. Kindness matters, but kindness alone cannot build a wheelchair-accessible apartment. It cannot guarantee reliable public transportation. It cannot eliminate policies that force people to choose between accepting a better-paying job and losing the benefits that allow them to survive. Those are political questions.

The disability rights movement has long argued that many of the greatest barriers disabled people face are not created by their bodies but by the society built around them. Disability is a natural part of the human experience. Any one of us can become disabled through illness, injury, or simply living long enough. The question is not whether disability exists. The question is whether we choose to build communities where everyone can participate fully.

Here in Vermont, we like to think of ourselves as good neighbors. Often, we are. But being a good neighbor means more than holding the door open. It means building towns where every neighbor can actually get through the door.

Across our state, disabled Vermonters continue to encounter inaccessible housing, gaps in transportation, limited employment opportunities, and public spaces that too often exclude rather than include. These are not inevitable realities. They are the result of public choices about funding, infrastructure, housing policy, transportation, education, and labor. 

The same is true of poverty. Many disabled Vermonters live with the constant fear of the "benefits cliff," where earning a little more money can mean losing healthcare or other essential supports before wages are high enough to replace them. A promotion, an extra shift, or a better-paying job should be a path toward greater independence, not a financial trap. Instead of encouraging growth, these policies can punish people for succeeding. 

Housing tells a similar story. People experiencing disability are disproportionately vulnerable to housing insecurity and homelessness. As Vermont continues to confront its housing crisis, accessibility cannot be treated as an optional feature added after the fact. Safe, affordable, accessible housing is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for participating in community life.

Jimothy reminds us of something beautiful about ourselves. Our first instinct was compassion. No one demanded that he change before he deserved affection. No one suggested his body made him less worthy of existing. People simply accepted that he belonged.

Imagine extending that instinct beyond a viral raccoon.

Imagine a Vermont where every sidewalk, school, apartment building, workplace, and public meeting was designed with disabled people in mind from the beginning instead of retrofitted later. A Vermont where nobody had to choose between employment and healthcare. A Vermont where disability was treated not as an individual burden but as a shared responsibility to remove unnecessary barriers.

That vision requires more than goodwill. It requires investing in accessible housing, reliable public transportation, universal healthcare, strong labor protections, and public services that allow everyone to participate fully in civic life. It requires recognizing that dignity is not something earned through productivity or independence. It belongs to every person simply because they are a person.

Loving Jimothy costs us nothing.

Building a Vermont where disabled people can live with security, independence, and dignity will require resources, political courage, and collective action.

One is a viral moment. Viral moments fade, the values they reveal don’t have to.

The compassion we showed Jimothy is worth celebrating. The challenge now is extending that same instinct to our neighbors and building a Vermont that reflects it.

Monthly Newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

Brett A., Secretary. We talk about “solidarity” a lot as socialists, whether standing in it, or singing our favorite songs about it. It’s a simple concept that can seem somewhat mystified in our current political climate. We are conditioned to think “Everyone for themselves”, looking out for our own self-interest only, selling our skills on the market as a single economic unit, casting a single vote within limits already marked out by elites. Solidarity is the antidote to the chill of this lonesome individualism. And it does not entail a hive-mind-like unity as if we were a colony of ants or bees. Solidarity is not unity, but it is cohesion of diversity across differences. We may disagree on specific tactics, but we know to come together and support one another, basking in the warmth of shared struggle. 

What’s crucial is that solidarity is not merely a feeling, it is made real in action. There is nothing more empowering and more indicative of our shared humanity than fighting for your neighbor, on the picket line, at city hall, on the streets or whatever terrain we call home. As socialists, these bonds need to be reconstructed, and I encourage you to spread solidarity wherever you go. Our work will require us to organize with those whose politics are close to ours to extreme opposites, yet we know that all humans are siblings and that is the power we must harness to achieve our goals.    

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Interested in contributing? Send submissions to bit.ly/SubmitRedStar, or get involved with our Communications Committee. Reach out to steering@rocdsa.org and join DSA today!

The post Rochester Red Star | August 2026 | (Issue 28) first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Bush is fighting to reclaim a seat in the U.S. House that was lost to a historic barrage of cash in 2024. Election day in Missouri is Aug. 4.

The post Cori Bush Hopes to Extend the Black Radical Tradition appeared first on Democratic Left.

From Thomas Paine to Social Security, Americans have fought for state provision for those in need.

The post Welfare Transfers are a Proud U.S. Tradition appeared first on Democratic Left.