Peninsula DSA Endorses James Coleman for CA State Assembly (AD 21)

On February 20, 2022, members of Peninsula DSA (PDSA) voted to enthusiastically endorse PDSA member James Coleman in his grassroots, corporate-free campaign for California State Assembly in newly redrawn District 21, which now represents eastern San Mateo County from Brisbane and South San Francisco down to East Palo Alto. Because James favors bold, uncompromising action to effect popular progressive policies such as raising the minimum wage, instituting higher taxes on the ultra wealthy, and increasing spending on health care, education, and infrastructure, he is the best candidate to bring about transformative change for working people on the Peninsula, and he is well positioned to win the primary election in June 2022. In 2020, James successfully ran as a Democratic Socialist against 18-year incumbent and mayor Richard Garbarino, winning a city council seat in his hometown of South San Francisco with over 52 percent of the votes. As South San Francisco’s first openly LGBTQ+ and youngest-ever City Councilmember, James has a track record of looking out for the interests of the working class. So far he has been instrumental in

1. building broad support for the Early Care and Education for All South San Francisco ballot measure campaign (modeled after Portland DSA’s successful measure in Multnomah County, OR) to bring universal preschool to all working families in South City;
2. passing a citywide Medicare for All resolution, which helped secure outgoing CA Assemblymember Kevin Mullin’s commitment to vote Yes on CalCare (AB 1400); and
3. advocating for union-constructed multi-family housing—including mixed-income social housing—to solve the dual crises of decreased housing stock and increased numbers of unhoused neighbors on the Peninsula.

In addition to organizing with PDSA, James was actively involved in Harvard College Students for Bernie Sanders, and in spring 2020 helped transition the group to a Young DSA chapter (Harvard Young DSA). A proponent of bold action on climate, James has also been involved with the Alliance for Climate Education, the Harvard Undergraduates for Environmental Justice, and Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard. James Coleman has also earned the endorsements of SEIU California, the San Francisco Berniecrats, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Courage to Change PAC, Daybreak PAC, Project Super Bloom, Reach Coalition (allyship), Downballot Progress, Run for Something, and current DSA-endorsed elected officials: CA Assemblymember Alex Lee (AD 25), Redwood City Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica, and San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston.

Considered on its own, the New York Police Department is in the top ten largest armies in the world. Why? As working-class New Yorkers struggle to stay fed and safely housed, the NYPD enjoys nearly unlimited resources and sees no issue with using those resources to oppress and surveil the city’s population. On tonight's show, we speak to Khalil from NYC-DSA’s Defund NYPD campaign on why socialists’ commitment to REAL public safety remains strong. We also take calls live from the WBAI audience.

 

In international news, capitalists and war-mongers are pushing for further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine dispute. We’ll hear from Gerard of the Democratic Socialists International Committee on their recent statement opposing US militarization and interventionism in Ukraine and Eastern Europe and calling for an end to NATO expansionism.

 

Join NYC-DSA's campaign to Defund NYPD: https://www.defundnypd.com/get-involved

 

Read the International Committee's statement in English, Russian, or Ukrainian: https://international.dsausa.org/statements/no-war-with-russia/

 

On this episode, Lee Ziesche shares a brief public service announcement about this month's sky-high ConEd bills. We will be covering this issue more in depth on future episodes, but visit bit.ly/conedbill to learn more about how this situation was created by New York politicians' climate inaction and how DSA is fighting back. 

“The Burlington Progressive Slate has actively supported labor issues in Burlington. From passing the Responsible Contractor legislation to helping AFSCME Local 1343 fight layoffs, wage cuts, and an abusive Airport Director. They have been in the fight with us to build working-class power in Burlington and in the state of Vermont. On behalf of our over 11,000 members, the Vermont State Labor Council AFL- CIO Executive Board endorses Burlington's Progressive Slate of candidates.” - Dwight Brown, the Vice Chair of the Vermont AFL-CIO and a leader in the Burlington school employees union

List of Endorsed Candidates:

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Register to vote HERE

Find your polling place here

As recent polls show that Americans have a higher distrust of media than ever before and factionalized varieties of social media have increasingly polarized people, nearly everyone has strong opinions about the media. If you’re interested in exploring and discussing this topic, the Coulee DSA Book Club is beginning Matt Taibbi’s recent book, “Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another,” an acclaimed analysis of how today’s mainstream media lies to people and divides them by manipulating us as news consumers. 

The book club meets Thursday nights at 7 pm and will begin discussing Hate Inc. on Thursday, February 10th. Email us at CouleeDSA@gmail.com to receive a link to the book club to join in.” 

The post Next DSA Book club read: Hate Inc. first appeared on Coulee DSA.

Yesterday two very different visions for the future of New York’s energy system were presented at a marathon 12+ hour long budget hearing on environmental conservation. On one hand, New York’s regulators argued to stay the course and continue to let the market and capital be the primary drivers of building renewable energy, despite the state having missed it’s renewable energy goals year after year and currently only 6% of New York’s energy comes from wind and solar. Community advocates and DSA-electeds had a different view - one where the future is a public good- and renewables are being built at the scale the climate crisis demands and are publicly-owned. 

Tonight we’ll continue our series of interviews with NYC-DSA’s 2022 slate and are joined live by Sarahana Shrestha a candidate for Assembly District 103 in the Mid-Hudson Valley and member of the NY Public Power Coalition who is running under the slogan - the future is a public good.

 

More info about Sarahana: www.sarahanaforassembly.com

More info about Public Power: www.publicpowerny.org

A better world is possible. Join the fight today!

The post Charleston SC Democratic Socialists of America appeared first on Charleston DSA.

Jan 6, 2021

This January 6th, as congress proceeded with the count of the electoral college votes, a mob of armed white supremacists, neo-nazis, the alt-right and QAnon conspiracy theorists, stormed the U.S. capitol intending to forcibly stop the counting of the votes.  

While acknowledging the deeply undemocratic nature of the electoral college and the nation’s electoral system as a whole, the Ithaca chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America condemns in the strongest terms the attempt of the far right to stop the process that would ensure the end of Donald Trump’s tenure in office. No election was stolen, no fraud committed.

But this is not the main lesson we should be focusing on. As socialists, what is important to recognize is not so much the assault on procedure of a broken political system that can only offer duopoly so much as it is important to recognize the alarming ascendency and growth of white supremacist / nationalist violence in America.

It is critical to understand the complicity of law enforcement and public officials in this dangerous development whether it is the Republican Party, the two recently elected representatives who publicly support QAnon, or centrist Democrats who offer only an inadequate and lackluster response. The incompetency, unpreparedness and delay seen last night on the part of law enforcement or security is certainly curious to say the least. We have seen in videos of the police or security forces giving a half-hearted defense before letting a mob of white supremacists into the capitol, being vastly outnumbered, and at times taking photos with some individuals. This is not without precedent either. The ideological sympathy of law enforcement and right wing insurrectionists is now more abundantly clear than ever before. 

Many have noted that last night's events are an example of white privilege. This is true, but it may be more accurately described as a display of white power in American society. Figures and members from the fascist Proud Boys, European Heritage Association, Nationalist Social Club, Matthew Heimbach of the now defunct Traditionalist Workers Party, men with white supremacist tattoos dressed in garb glorifying “camp auschwitz”, and so on, were let into the capitol building with little to no resistance. 

Compare the response of law enforcement last night with the response given to anti-racist protesters that we saw this past summer which was met with disproportionate, swift and brutal force. Make no mistake, if this were Black Lives Matter or any anti-racist protest, the full force of the state would be used immediately. One only needs to recall the use of riot police, teargas, and beatings to clear Lafayette Square in Washington D.C., the illegal abduction and questioning of activists by unidentified federal agents, or any of the other police violence that happens everyday. 

The rise of this sort of white-supremacist violence did not happen in a vacuum and neither did it start with Trump. Rather, the phenomenon of Trumpism revealed and gave confidence to those tendencies that were always there in American society and they will certainly not disappear with the end of the Trump presidency. The events that took place on January 6th are a clear indication that an organized left and working class is needed that can defend against any instances of authoritarianism and bring a more humane future in a deeply fragmented society. This includes workplace organizing and growing a militant labor rank-and-file, mutual aid for the most vulnerable, protecting one another from evictions and homelessness, preventing the worst of the climate crisis, and what is perhaps most immediately needed: taking a principled stand against white supremacy, racism, and fascism.

Ithaca DSA Steering Committee

Starting late last year in Buffalo, NY, a union wave has spread all over the country as workers at an ever-increasing number of Starbucks coffee shops are getting organized and making demands on their boss and on the multi-national corporation that employs them. This movement is gaining speed every day - and to help us understand what’s going on from a worker perspective, we’re joined live in the studio by James, a worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United in Buffalo.

 

Another national movement is mobilizing to defend access to abortion as the right-wing assault on this fundamental right continues to escalate. With landmark legislation Roe V. Wade on the verge of being rolled back, socialists are continuing to organize for grassroots solutions to this national crisis that center anti-racism, abolition, and a no-holds-barred approach to guaranteeing access to safe abortion. We’ll hear from Ali of Chicago DSA and Chicago for Abortion on this crucial struggle.

 

On this show, Jack makes a brief announcement about the New Deal for CUNY. Learn more and get involved at bit.ly/action-nd4c.

 

Find a local abortion fund to support if you can: https://abortionfunds.org/funds/

 

Follow along with James and the Starbucks partners at @SBWorkersUnited. Current Starbucks partners can email sbworkersunited@gmail.com to get connected to an organizer.

 

This episode is dedicated to the memory of our NYC-DSA comrade, Alex Z.