Friday, September 13, 2019


Greetings.... the Sept DSA meeting will be at 12pm on Sunday the 15th.... at George and Dro's Place 707 NW10th Street... there will be coffee, tea bring a some snacks if you like... the agenda might be "what are we doing?, the homeless struggle! and the coming climate strike on the 20th!.... Solidarity, George

Wednesday, July 24, 2019









So, Who really hates America and who should leave?




Trump on Reps. Omar, AOC, Tlaib, and Pressley: "If you hate our country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave."...

Trump on the US: "The United States has become the laughing stock and a whipping post for the rest of the world....We don't have enough strength in our country....Our country has no spirit, our country has no gravitas....We're a debtor nation....We're broke....We don't know what we're doing as a country....You think our country's so innocent?...Rusted-out factories, scattered like tombstones across the landscape....And the crime, and the gangs, and the drugs....Poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad....We're a foolish country. We're a dumb country....How stupid are the people of the country?...Our military is going to hell....Our infrastructure is terrible, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels, our schools, our hospitals -- we're becoming a Third World country....We don't have a country any more....We're dying. This country is dying....The American Dream is dead."....

..... Carlos Castaneda



Thursday, July 11, 2019

Weds the 17th July 6:30 at (Paul's house) 509 NW 11th Street the People's History group is discussing Chapter 7. 

This chapter  is tied "As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs.  Its about how the US grew as a colonial power and how that's still with us. Like with the previous chapters this is written with the perspectives of those below the power structure in mind. Its written giving respect to indigenous people's perspectives much like the previous chapters were written through the cultural eyeglasses" of the slaves, indentured servants, women and the working classes. 
In our discussions we're talking about the formation of the present day American mind set, the origin of many ideas, habits and attitudes included in our acculturation. Much of what we and our various people have been taught or condition to believe so much hasn't even been though through, has become so much the norm that its not even questioned. At least that's what some of us are starting to recognize. 
-- george


ps we still have an extra book and can send you a pdf version

Monday, July 1, 2019


REMEMBER The People's History gathering will be this coming Wednesday July3rd 6:30 at george & dro's place 707 NW10th St. We will be talking about Chapter 6 The Intimately Oppressed. Previous chapters were about the early interaction between the indigenous peoples, the propertied vs the working classes, slaves and indentured servants. This chapter works in how women, brown and white fit in to the making of what Chapter 5 called a kind of revolution that  allowed the colonial elite to break off from the British Empire and build an empire of their own.  -- geroge

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Progressives Call for Mobilization as Koch Brothers Open Their Pockets to Protect Corporate Democrats

It's important to support progressive candidates because the oligarchy will be financing the establishment Democrats. See this story in the Common Dreams, a nonprofit independent news center based out of Portland, ME. 

Thanks for reading this.
-pd





Monday, June 10, 2019

HI EVERYONE THE PENDLETON DSA MEETING HAS CHANGED from the 16th to Sunday 23June at 2pm at 707 NW 10th street.  Hopfully we will be joined by some Walla Walla DSA sisters and bothers. The rest of the proposed agenda will be sent out soon.  

The next people's history gathering will be 6:30 Wednesday 19th at 707 NW 10th. We will be discussing chapter five A Kind Of Revolution about how indians, slaves, women, indentured servants, the rest of the working classes fit into the formation of this country and its legacy to this moment.  


-- george
HI EVERYONE THE PENDLETON DSA MEETING HAS CHANGED from the 16th to Sunday 23June at 2pm at 707 NW 10th street.  Hopfully we will be joined by some Walla Walla DSA sisters and bothers. The rest of the proposed agenda will be sent out soon.  

The next people's history gathering will be 6:30 Wednesday 19th at 707 NW 10th. We will be discussing chapter five A Kind Of Revolution about how indians, slaves, women, indentured servants, the rest of the working classes fit into the formation of this country and its legacy to this moment.  


-- george

Monday, May 27, 2019

The next people's history discussion will be Wednesday June 5th at Paul's house 509 NW11th Street at 6:30 pm. We've been reviving our memories and learning things about the roots of the racism, sexism, cultural damage and class antagonisms we face daily. This time we'll talk and listen to each other about "tyranny is tyranny" the 4th chapter of Howard Zinn's book. We have some books still available to borrow and can send you a free pdf version. -- george



The next pendleton dsa  meeting is tentatively planed for 12 noon on Sunday June 16th at Great Pacific corned of Main and Emigrant 

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

We've Hit a New Low in Campaign Hit Pieces - The Rolling Stone

Great article by Matt Taibi challenging the main stream media. It describes the latest example of media attempting to control the narrative to protect the status quo.
-pd

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/taibbi-tulsi-gabbard-bernie-sanders-trump-2020-838156/

Friday, May 17, 2019

DSA MEETING CHANGE  Same time but a change of the meetings location. 

The DSA meeting will be at 12 noon at 707 NW10th street instead of the restaurant. That Dro and George's place. We're talking about the Green New Deal to focus our thinking about how everything in our platform is connected. This should improve our approach to the broader community and our part in making sure the Green New Deal is implemented


Next People's History remains the same gathering Wednesday 6:30 June 5 at Dro and George's place 707NW10th St. We're talking about Tyranny is Tyranny Chapter 4 of Howard Zinn's People's History.


-- George

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Next Pendleton DSA meeting Sunday May 19th 12noon Great Pacific on the corner of Main and Emigrant.  We're talking about the Green New Deal and summarizing where we are at with the local platform.

Next People's History gathering Wednesday 6:30 June 5 at Dro and George's place 707NW10th St. We're talking about Tyranny is Tyranny Chapter 4 of Howard Zinn's People's History.


-- George 

Agenda DSA Meeting

Song

to pull our thinking and pulling our act together 
Is the the Green New Deal a good focus for our organizing efforts?

1. How is everything mentioned in the platform connected to the Green New Deal? Just how important is it? 

2. What will have to happen for the Green New Deal to get implemented?  

What will make a difference locally? Change local consciousness  to support the national and international efforts?

3. Thinking in terms of the following and local equivalents what will we come up against? The fossil fuel monopolies? other major corporations? military? the media? 

4. Who can we ally with to make things happen? 

5. How about the Alexandria O Cortez and Bernie Sanders group? How about the establishment Democrats? How about the Sun Rise Movement? How about the Extinction Rebellion? The EOC3?  The CTUIR environmentalist? The Walla Walla area DSA and Sun Risers? The Blue Mountain Marchers? The Local progressive Democrats? 

Summarize where we're at with the platform. 
Hand out the Seattle Platform, Pat's platform notes, Ron's rewrite. Acknowledge what we've pretty much decided. 
Ask to put together a committee to write it up for the next meeting and put it to a vote then.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Cenk Uygar (The Young Turks) wrote an Oh-So-True editorial challenging the myth that Nancy Pelosi is a progressive in a recent issue of The Hill. I love Cenk because he tells it like is. He calls out Dems as frequently as he calls out Republicans.

Read Cenk's Op-Ed

Rock on!
-pd

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Suppressed: The True Story of Georgia's 2018 Election

Is there any interest in a movie night to watch Suppressed: The True Story of Georgia's 2018 Election, the latest film from Brave New Film. You can view the trailer at the following hyperlink.

https://www.bravenewfilms.org/suppressed

The local DSA Can request an early viewing from the filmmaker.

-pd

Friday, April 12, 2019


Stewards of the Umatilla River Environment

Stewards of the Umatilla River Environment
Spring 2019 River Cleanup
Please join us!
Join us for a morning cleaning up the parkway and Umatilla riverbank!
A barbecue lunch will be provided for all volunteers
(Thanks, VFW Post #922!)
9:30 AM
Bring friends, gather at Stillman Park for registration, welcome and instructions
10:00 AM
Head out to your designated stretch of river
11:30 AM
Return to Stillman Park for lunch


We will supply gloves, trash bags, trash grabbers, sharps containers.
Wear sturdy shoes, long pants, long sleeves; bring a bottle of water.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019


Notice about three coming meetings -- george

1. The regular meeting of DSA meeting date has been changed from the 14th to Sunday the 28th 12 noon ant Great Pacific. We will be discussing the final 6 positions of the Seattle platform  as part of heading toward writing our own local positions. And we're going to talk about building membership.


2. The Book Club will meet at 6:30 Weds the 17th at Pat & Eleanor's  house 653 NW8th. We will be discussing chapter two, Drawing the Color Line, in Zinn's People's History. Its about the origins of racism and slavery in the United States. George has 4 extra books to borrow or can send you a pdf version.

3. Eastern Oregon Climate Change meets 12 noon Tues 16th at Prodicgal Sons in the theater rm
These two idems came from DSAUSA.com the national dsa website  -- george

DSA Supports the Highlander Education and Research Center. Y’allidarity.
April 2, 2019 by DSA NPC (National Political Committee)

We are saddened and angry to hear about the fire at the Highlander Education and Research Center on Friday morning, March 29, 2019, in New Market, Tennessee.
The fire is under investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Section. And this morning, the Highlander Center announced that a symbol connected to the white power movement was spray-painted on the parking lot connected to the main office. You can read the Highlander Center’s updated statement here.
Highlander has been training and educating movement leaders since 1932 and has been in its current location since 1971. Although no one was injured, the devastating fire destroyed the main office building, including decades of historic documents and memorabilia from social justice movements including the civil rights movement.
We stand in solidarity with all of those affected in Appalachia, across the South and in all the corners across the world that Highlander has touched. We encourage DSA members to support their grassroots organizing training in Appalachia and across the South. You can donate directly to the Highlander Center here. After clicking the link, mark “Highlander General Fund” for your gift.
For more updates, you can follow the Highlander Center on Facebook and Twitter.



Puerto Rico: A U.S. Colony in the Caribbean
April 4, 2019 by Margaret Power, Ph.D.

When we first started talking to Historians for Peace and Justice about sharing their thoughts with DSA Weekly, we had little idea that this very week, the U.S. president would be trash-talking the entire island of Puerto Rico and catapulting it into front-page news. We were thus triply glad that this essay was on its way, to help us all act and think with understanding of the issues.  What’s below is slightly abridged; you can order it here, one of the group’s  Broadsides for the Trump Era , as a full, designed pamphlet to copy and distribute at will.  Let us know what you think! — Ed.
In 1898 the U.S. military invaded and seized Puerto Rico and Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Unlike Cuba, Puerto Rico has not yet achieved independence and the United States continues to exert political, economic, judicial, and military control over the Island.
Two early twentieth-century decisions defined U.S. policies toward Puerto Rico.
  1. First, in 1901 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “Porto Rico is a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States.” More than one hundred years since that ruling, the fundamental legal relationship remains the same: Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and lacks sovereignty.
  2. Second, in 1917 the U.S. Congress unilaterally decreed that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens – well, sort of. Unlike other U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans who live in Puerto Rico cannot vote in any federal election, but can if they reside in the United States. Although they have a Residential Commissioner in the U.S. Congress, s/he has no voting power. And Puerto Ricans were drafted to serve in the U.S. military wherever they lived!

In 1952 Puerto Ricans voted to become a U.S. Commonwealth or Free Associated State. Puerto Rico obtained a minimal increase in local governance, including an elected governor, but ultimate power remained in Washington.
The 1952 change gave the United States cover to dismiss accusations it was a colonial power at the time it was proclaiming itself leader of the Free World, and waging a Cold War with the Soviet Union for the hearts and minds of non-aligned, developing nations.
Puerto Rico sits astride the Mona Strait, one of the key maritime entry and exit points in the Caribbean. Military control of Puerto Rico has offered the United States access to trade and commerce throughout the Carib- bean region and guarded shipping routes to and from the Panama Canal. During World War II the U.S. Navy built the massive Roosevelt Roads base, which until 2004 included the island of Vieques and housed the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command.
The U.S. Navy took over two-thirds of Vieques, squeezing the residents into the middle third. It used the island to train U.S. as well as NATO troops in tropical warfare and to launch attacks against Guatemala (1954), Cuba (the Bay of Pigs, 1961), the Dominican Republic (1965), and Grenada (1983).
U.S. Economic and GeoPolitical Interests in Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican economy has generated enormous profits for U.S. investors, absentee landowners, and manufacturers. In the first half of the twentieth century, agricultural products, primarily sugar, dominated the economy. U.S. sugar companies monopolized the land, forcing small landowners and peasants to work on their estates or migrate to towns or the United States in search of work. By 1928, U.S. capital dominated the Puerto Rican economy and U.S. investors owned over a quarter of Puerto Rico’s wealth. By the early 1950s, manufacturing replaced agriculture as the primary source of profits for U.S. corporations.
**
In the 1960s, pro-independence forces reorganized. Energized by the Cuban Revolution, protests against the war in Vietnam, and other global anti-colonial struggles, the movement embraced Marxism and included Puerto Ricans on the Island and in the United States. During the 1960s and 1970s armed clandes- tine organizations in Puerto Rico and the United States carried out bombings demand- ing an end to U.S. colonialism, freedom for Puerto Rican political prisoners, and that the U.S. Navy leave Vieques.
Like most movements of the 1960s and 70s, the independence movement waned. But working with a broad section of the Puerto Rican population, it did force the Navy to leave Vieques in 2004, and secured the release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners.
Puerto Ricans resist U.S. colonialism on a daily basis. They continue to speak Spanish, see themselves as part of Latin America, practice their cultural traditions, such as el Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day); and send their own team to the Olympics. Neither of the two largest parties supports independence. The Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party) supports statehood, while the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party) supports the Free Associated State. Several factors tie Puerto Ricans to the United States.
Currently 5 million Puerto Ricans live on the mainland, with only 3.6 million on the Island. Families benefit from the ability to travel back and forth. Many Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. military or worked in some branch of the U.S. government and do not want to lose their pensions, which, they fear, could happen as a result of independence. Other Puerto Ricans rely on U.S. welfare.
Puerto Rico Today
In September 2017 Hurricanes Irma and María devastated Puerto Rico, causing an estimated $90 billion worth of damage. At least five thousand Puerto Ricans died in the storm or its aftermath. Social and medical services and the electrical system collapsed. Food and potable water were scarce to non- existent. The U.S. government was criminally indifferent to Puerto Ricans’ plight, as epitomized by President Trump tossing paper towels to a hungry and homeless population.
U.S. policy toward the Island has also ravaged the economy. In 2016 the U.S. Congress passed the PROMESA law, which created a legal framework to deal with Puerto Rico’s massive debt of more than $70 billion. The oversight board consists of Wall Street fi- nanciers whose plan includes converting much of Puerto Rico’s beautiful coastline into tourist spots or homes for wealthy North Americans; closing schools to “save money,” despite the protests of teachers, students, and parents; and charging high interest rates, which means more capital flowing out of Puerto Rico to the United States. Not only money is leaving Puerto Rico – so are Puerto Ricans. Tens of thousands of skilled Puerto Rican workers have migrated to the United States, leaving be- hind an older, sicker, and poorer population.
It is not clear what impact the current debt crisis, the hurricanes, and the Trump administration’s disdain will have on politics in Puerto Rico. In the face of tragedy, Puerto Ricans have exhibited tremendous resourcefulness and self-reliance. As Naomi Klein discusses in The Battle for Paradise, many are trying to build their lives, communities, and nation so that they are more sustainable, more resilient in the face of climate disaster, less dependent on imports, and more reliant on the resources, skills, and riches of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.
Suggested Reading:
Naomi Klein, The Battle for Paradise (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2018).
César J. Ayala and Rafael Bernabe, Puerto Rico in the American Century (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007).

“Puerto Rico: A US Colony in a Postcolonial World?,” Radical History Review Vol. 2017, Issue 128, May 2017.

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Critics of the Green New Deal rail against socialism. We've seen this before. In the 1930s nationalizing forests was labeled socialism. The article is in the current issue of High Country News. The hyperlink follows. Let me know if you have trouble accessing the piece. Note: Unless you subscribe (I do), you get four free articles.
-pd

https://www.hcn.org/articles/reckoning-with-history-critics-of-the-green-new-deal-rail-against-socialism-weve-seen-this-before?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email



Thursday, April 4, 2019


The Possible End of the United States


  Ira Lee White

Mar 29

This winter’s flooding in the Midwest could herald the beginning of the end for this country. Barring some miracle, this flooding has given such a hit that the country may never recover.

The Impact on People


When a person has been through a flood, it takes a toll mentally that can take years to overcome. The number of issues one has to deal with can be overwhelming. One’s home has just been made unlivable. Personal items and items needed on a daily basis are all destroyed and the mess has to be cleaned up. Your employment and cash flow is interrupted. With most Americans unable to take care of an emergency costing $500, this will be devastating. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross will be there but due to the scope of the disaster, their services will be overwhelmed. FEMA has suffered cutbacks and will be unable to respond in a meaningful way.

People will not have their heads wrapped around the problem but will somehow have to find safe shelter, potable water, food, and medical care for themselves and their families. The full impact of what has happened will not hit them until sometime later. In addition, there is more rain forecast and there will be the snow melt to deal with as well. This combination creates a pressure cooker sort of reaction in the brains of the people going through this. They have just seen the destruction of what took them years to build and there is no end in sight. This is a huge psychological hit that will inflict poor communities more than the rich who will have the mobility and the money to move away. In any case, the mental health, as well as the physical health of the people directly affected, will be a cause for great concern over the next couple of years.

The Impact on Animals

Thousands of animals, both domestic and wild, have died. The cost of dealing with their corpses will be expensive. The loss of food animals will also be expensive as it will take time to replace them. In addition, much of the animal food is grown in the Midwest and with this taken out, there will be shortages of food for domestic animals. Prices will eventually rise and the number of breeding animals will be reduced so that future numbers will be much smaller than we are used to.


The price of every kind of animal food, including dog food much of which has corn and wheat in it, will rise. This will translate to higher costs in everything from the cost of keeping your pet to the cost of meat and cereals. In the meantime, due to the post-flood conditions, disease will be rampant and more animals will die and will not be available for food. The end result will be the decimation of our cheap meat and cereal food supply. This will impact poor communities all over the nation and will to some degree end our ability to prop up our economy with grain exports.

Meanwhile, in the natural world, disease will be rampant. A temporary rise in predators and scavengers will arise only to crash once the availability of easy prey and carcasses disappear. This will be followed by waves of other imbalances as Nature tries to right herself. It will take years.

The Impact on the Environment

When a flood washes through an area, the water picks up and stirs up all sorts of things. Septic tanks overflow, sewer lines are inundated, water flowing through garages, across roads, parking lots and through businesses that use or handle toxic chemicals will be contaminated with these substances. A toxic soup of chemicals and dangerous bacteria covers the land. Imagine how much contamination is in the Midwest right now with thousands of acres of land under water. In addition to this, the mosquito season will be lengthened heightening the opportunities for the spread of disease.

This is only the beginning. Flood waters have inundated toxic Superfund sites, some containing radioactive materials. This contamination is now spread across vast areas. The run-off from homes and businesses is contamination on a scale that is massive enough. The run-off from these toxic Superfund sites will add so much contamination to this that it will be off the scale. In addition, it has been estimated that over 1 million private wells have been contaminated and who knows how many urban centers have had their water supply impacted. It will take years to clean this up if it is at all possible. Where will people and animals get their water in the meantime? How will anyone be able to even grow a garden if the water used to keep it alive is toxic as is the ground where it grows?

The Impact on Infrastructure

Our infrastructure is already crumbling. But now roads are washed away or covered with thick mud, dams have breached, bridges have been washed out or damaged. The addition of the flood waters from the spring melt will add billions on to the cost of fixing it. Electrical grids, water systems, sewage systems, roads, railroads, bridges, dams, and power plants will have to be repaired or replaced.

Homes that have been flooded will have to be torn down. Sheetrock sucks up water so that if a foot of water gets in the house, the toxic water will be sucked up to a height of perhaps four feet or more depending on the length of time water is in the house. Toxic mold will proliferate. Wood will rot, cement will crack and all items in the house including appliances and furniture will have to be disposed of. The people living there will lose most of what they had. They will need changes of clothes, soap, toothbrushes, OTC medications and a host of other things including a place to stay. They will most likely not be able to return to their homes for a very long time if at all.

The Impact on the Economy

The cost of clean-up and rebuilding will be immense and will take years. I read a report that estimated the cost to be at least $3 billion. In my opinion, this is quite small in comparison to the actual cost which will only be realized in time. It has been estimated that in Nebraska, 2,000 or more homes have been damaged or destroyed. It cost my family $40,000 dollars to renovate our home after two feet of water entered it in 2001. Repairs will not be this cheap at this time and full replacement will be very high depending on the size of the home. If we take a mean cost of replacing or repairing these homes, at today’s cost it could run as high as $100,000 average. This times 2,000 comes out to $200 million in Nebraska alone and this does not take into account the spring run-off which will start shortly and wreak more havoc. In addition, Nebraska lost 340 businesses. I haven’t any idea how much it will cost to replace them but it will be massive. Nebraska estimates business losses at $85 million and infrastructure at $449 million.

Crops have been lost and animals have died as well. The estimates for this are also quite low as they do not take into account the long term effects which will include higher consumer prices and loss of exports which will, in turn, result in more borrowing by the Federal and State governments with interest. Nor do they take into account the money needed to clean up the carcasses to prevent a public health crisis. Nebraska has estimated that there has been a loss of $400 million in animals and $450 million in crops. The loss will continue. For some time the land will not be fit for growing or grazing anything. Removing the mud cake that will cover the land and bake hard in the hot summer sun will not be cheap. Keep in mind, this is just Nebraska. North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri have all been greatly impacted with some of the flooding also impacting the Border States. In any case, the state of Nebraska estimates its current losses at $1.3 billion and the spring melt hasn’t begun yet.

In addition to the lost wages, lost business due to closure or destruction, there will be ongoing losses to government income and business taxes, sales of luxury goods, even sales of necessities. Exports will be affected in both the long and short term. The amount of rebuilding that will be needed will raise the price of materials to go along with the rise in food prices. The cleanup of radiation and toxic chemicals, if done properly, will add another fortune to the overall expense. Medical costs, both for physical and mental health which are difficult to estimate but guaranteed to be expensive, will be added in. Insurance premiums for business and homeowners will go up to cover the companies’ losses. The costs will ripple out through the economy causing loss of discretionary income which will result in losses not directly related to the flooding.

Who will pay for all this? We are already running a historic deficit on the federal level. FEMA does not have a great track record and with Trump at the helm, he will be even more useless now than he has been for the last disaster. Besides, when the cost keeps going up and the time for recovery gets longer, will Trump do like he is now doing with hurricane aid to another group of American citizens, the Puerto Ricans, and call for stopping aid because it is taking too much money and too long to complete? You can bet his money making trips to Mar a Largo will not cease nor will he chip in by donating his salary as president. Congress, as it is now constituted, will make a show of providing aid but it won’t be enough. They have regimes to change and wars to finance. The rich will chip in only as much as it favors them. Many state governments are already struggling. Almost one-third of the population of the US has been or will be affected before the spring runoff ends. Those folks will not have much to contribute to their own disaster. Insurance companies will chisel their way through this providing as little as possible to those who even have insurance. Some companies may even face bankruptcy. Some of the crops and animals will be insured by the Federal Government but the sheer mass of the loss will put a strain on the system.

People all over the country are already living hand to mouth. Most cannot even afford a $400 emergency. The economic strain put on this country by the flooding, the flooding to come and any other disasters we will encounter in this coming year will put a lot of stress on this country and its leadership. Perhaps the title of this piece is a little hyperbolic, but I do believe we are in for some very rough times, especially if we get hit with another disaster on top of this one.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Social Feminists Working Group: Abortion Rights News

Hello comrades,

Abortion rights in the US are under accelerating attack. Abortion advocates in states like Iowa, Georgia, and Mississippi continue to battle against attacks on abortion access. The possibility of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade looms closer since the confirmation of Trump-appointed anti-choice advocate Brett Kavanaugh. Pregnancy crisis centers continue to spread misinformation on the taxpayer’s dollar. We must continue to build the resistance to the anti-choice movement. It will take direct action and a mass movement to save abortion.

DSA chapters and DSA’s Socialist Feminist National Working Group will be joining the Movement for Abortion Defense, a newly formed network of abortion defenders that includes members of Twin Cities DSA and NYC DSA, for their first National Day of Action for Reproductive Justice on April 6, 2019. We invite your chapter to participate in an action on behalf of reproductive justice and in defense of abortion on that date, demonstrating mass support in the face of attacks by the anti-choice movement on clinics through their biannual 40 Days of Life campaign.

Chapters can participate in the day of action in a variety of ways:
  • Flyer a Crisis Pregnancy Center
  • Organize a fundraiser for an abortion fund through the National Abortion Access Bowl-a-thon
  • Host a speak out where people can share their abortion stories in the tradition of the Redstockings (50th anniversary of their speakout is this year!) and the more recent Shout Your Abortion movement
  • Organize a film screening and discussion about abortion rights. Options include: I Had An Abortion, Trapped, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, etc.
  • Organize a mass training of volunteer clinic escorts from within your chapter
  • Ask your local abortion provider about options for strategic counter-protests of anti-choice clinic protests
  • Work directly with your local abortion provider to ask how you can best support them and their work.
The Movement for Abortion Defense is united by the following principles:
  1. We believe abortion is critical to reproductive freedom, and reproductive freedom is central to liberation.
  2. We believe in an unapologetic demand for full abortion rights and for reproductive justice.
  3. We fight for free abortion on demand as a critical part of the broader fight for universal healthcare, free childcare, and ending sexual violence.
  4. We believe that anti-racism is central to reproductive freedom.
  5. We believe in gender justice and bodily autonomy for all genders and all bodies.
  6. We believe in opposing right-wing, anti-choice protests in the streets.
  7. We believe in reclaiming space and confronting antis. We defend clinics to keep them open and ensure patients can get inside the door without harassment.
  8. We believe that we can win.

The Movement for Abortion Defense Coalition currently includes:

Twin Cities Clinic Defense

Madison Abortion Defense

Seattle Clinic Defense

NYC For Abortion Rights

Jane Sidewalk Supporters for Choice (Everett, WA)

If you will be participating in the National Day of Action for Reproductive Justice, be sure to post about it on social media and contact us to spread the word about your work! Contact movementforabortiondefense@gmail.com or socialistfeminism@dsausa.org to get involved with planning or with questions.

In solidarity,
Interim Steering Committee, SFWG

Monday, March 25, 2019

$$ in Politics - part 345

The following video is an excellent lesson in what's wrong with the current political system. The video is about 18 minutes in length but worth watching. 

The video features Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex during a Congressional oversight committee hearing. It is obvious why many established politicians dislike her. She is smart, brave, and surgically investigates the issue. This is in contrast to many congressional hearings where the participants skirt the central issues.

The source of the video is David Doel's "Rational National". Importantly, watch the video to the end. One of those providing testimony, unwittingly rebuts Ms. Ocasio-Cortez demonstrating the big problem that she is highlighting.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Contrary Brin

Here is a sample 'post'.  And Brin doesn't just post, he researches and creates and prescribes exhaustively.

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-chief-threat-to-our-great.html

Do not get the idea that this article is some kind of fluke of genius for him.  He is absolutely on the top of the news, thinks about this stuff very deeply, and has very little to lose by saying what he likes.

Brin, way, way back, explained myself to me, why I am a knee-jerk libertarian / anarchist yet have this deep belief that civilization would ultimately prevail.  I have long been leery of any beliefs, and it was a great relief to finally be steered to the facts and reasoning that put my assumptions on a solid basis.

He did this is any number of ways, mostly by reminding me that a civically-minded PhD physicist that is also very successful writer can have a lot of skill in SYNTHESIZING what he knows into new conclusions.  I do my very best to emulate his methods, and that's 'easy'; I just go back 30 years ago to my first year of college, where I finally learned how to think critically...and then decided to learn everything.  Work in Progress....

He and Steven Pinker have taught me the libertarianism isn't bad, just technologically premature: a lover of liberty MUST realize that until we have the cultural maturity and the communications capability to broadcast and enforce a personal social contract, we must content ourselves with the best of European Socialism/New Deal/Green Deal liberalism.  Our day will come: the days of thuggish oligarchs are numbered, and we need to give government the chance to kill them off permanently and inject our culture with the institutions we will need to squash any rebirth of them.  After that we can worry about the 'withering of the state'.

We've gotta put all this pressure we can on the oligarchs now, or we are going to exchange a 2020 for a 2050 fight, or worse.  But we must do this within the law, and with patience.  AOC is just one gal, but she's doing our thing within the law.







The DSA "Book Club" met on 19 Mar at 6:30 pm. This is the first of a series of gatherings to read and discuss the Howard Zinn book, A People's HIstory of the United States, 1492 - Present. Tonight's four attendees decided on the following logistics for future "book club" (I don't know what else to call it at present) gatherings.  -- Paul
  • The "book club" will gather regularly twice per month on the first and third Wednesdayof the month. So the next meeting occurs on 3 April.
  • Gatherings begin at 6:30 pm and end at 8 pm.That is, they run 90 minutes in duration.
  • The "book club" will gather at George and Dro's house (707 NW 10) unless otherwise noted.
  • The "book club" anticipates reading and discussing one chapter of Zinn per gathering (two chapters per month).
  • While there is no formal plan to provide refreshments at the gatherings, don't let hunger prevent you from participating. Feel free to bring something to eat if you do not have time to eat prior to gathering. 
  • The "book club" will be setting up a separate blog on Blogger.com devoted exclusively to the "book club".
  • Invite friends to join the "book club".
  • All of the above logistics are subject to change to make the experience as meaningful and accommodating as possible to participants.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

(From Colleen over at EOC3)

Hello.

Sorry for our Winter Duldrums delay/last minute request.  Next month we will be more ahead of the game. I promise.  

Anyway, I appreciate your patience, understanding, and willingness to partner on spreading the word on topics, issues, and events, where our missions converge and align.  If you could share the attached with your members, constituency, social media, network/partners, etc... if you are able. That would be greatly appreciated. More and bigger things to come from us this year.  We R looking to Set Up Streaming some events via social media here soon as well, so we can reach a larger audience throughout Eastern Oregon, beyond. If the knowledge we gain through that process could be of value or if you guys are already doing that let me know.

Thank you again, look forward to talking more proactively, soon.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

DSA Meeting
Agenda for March 17th, 2019
@Great Pacific
12:00pm


  1. Bring Meeting to Order:  This meeting of the Pendleton Chapter of DSA will come to order no later than 12:10.

Statement of Purpose of Meeting:
The purpose of this meeting will be a gathering of information for organizing the Pendleton DSA Chapter. This agenda may extend into the next meeting as we are going to try to limit the time for these meetings in order to accommodate everyone’s time and life. 

Group Song led by George Winter

  1. Announcements - (5 min) Time allotted – how long will we spend on this topic.
    1. -Eoc3 meeting will be held this Tuesday, March 19th at 12 (noon) at Prodigal Sun. 
    2. -Remember there is a blog where a lot of information is being shared the link is www.pendletondsa.blogspot.org There are articles on the topics we have discussed or will. And a lot of information. 

  1. Reports (0 Min) 

  1. Tasks: Review the Seattle Platform (45 Min?)
    1. Discuss each stance round the table and how they affect us locally 
    2. Choose which ones we want included or may not apply to a local platform or adopt the Seattle platform
    3. Develop our own Pendleton Local platform
    4. Do we want to be an action group, and if so, where can we be most effective or needed?

  1. New Topics: Open the floor to all attendees for the purpose of introducing and discussing any other ideas the group would like to address

  1. Wrap up
    1. Set next meeting date

Clean up


Snacks are still encouraged as well as coffee, but we are going to try and limit our food to smaller items (i.e. Crackers and cheese, muffins, cookies, etc.) that we can snack on while we talk to encourage time management. Thanks again and hoping to see everyone there!





Seattle DSA
Platform
Everyone should be able to live a full and dignified life.
Yet wealth – the means to do so – cannot be justly gained from another’s suffering. We recognize that modern capitalism is a holistic system which inherently creates inequalities, dismantles and destroys communities, isolates individuals and precludes the fulfillment of dreams for millions. As Dr. King said, “Capitalism has outlived its usefulness.”
We demand a society where all participate as equals and are respected for their worth as human beings. A society where, through democratic processes, a full life for all may be achieved. With this maxim in mind and in solidarity with Democratic Socialists of America nationally and like-minded anti-capitalists everywhere, we fight for the following demands:
The economy must be run democratically; none shall be poor so another can be rich.
As it stands, the overwhelming majority of people have little power over the nature of their work or their compensation for it. We demand that people have control over how they work, when they work and how their labor is applied.
The abolition of poverty.
Both in the United States and globally, the world is more productive than it has ever been. Yet millions upon millions remain mired in poverty. Coerced by necessity into destructive arrangements at work and at home, they lack adequate access to the necessities of human life. Increased productivity can eliminate poverty and satisfy everyone’s material needs. We demand a system that can achieve this.
Affordable, humane housing for all.
A home is not a commodity; it is a human right. We demand that everyone has access to housing that meets their needs and neighborhoods that foster vibrant communities.
Universal Medicare-for-all.
No one should risk financial ruin when they consider going to the doctor. Everyone must have access to quality government-financed medical care throughout their lives. This is most immediately achievable through a single-payer system.
Free education: from pre-K to trades, college and beyond.
We reject wealth as a criterion for receiving quality education at any level. We must not only guarantee access to higher education but must also ensure students are provided with the tools to take advantage of that guarantee.


Democracy in the workplace; all workers have the right to organize.
We see the primary means to improve everyday life through democratic control, manifested in a socialist system. We must resist dismantling of workers’ rights to organize and instead bolster them by supporting unions in the fight for living wages, equal pay and safe workplaces. We demand an economic system in which workers control their labor.
Complete reproductive freedom in all forms.
Everyone should have the support and tools to decide if and when to have children. We must ensure access to birth control and safe, legal abortion and all forms of family planning. We must provide material support to ensure every child is raised free from discrimination, violence and oppression.
An end to racial, gender and all other forms of oppression.
Whether it be on the basis of race, gender, religion, orientation or disability, we must fight alongside those who face violence and exploitation. We recognize that the exploitation in our society is as intersectional as its members and our struggle must therefore be intersectional as well.
An end to punitive justice and mass incarceration.
We demand an end to prisons as a weapon of domination, an end to the Drug War, an end to broken families and an end to our barbaric treatment of inmates. We cannot confront these issues unless we recognize the systemic racism at their very core. We fight for a justice system that prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment.
An end to military and police aggression.
Both at home and abroad, violent force is used as tool of racist oppression and capitalist exploitation. As our imperial domination extends on foreign soil, so too does brutal, murderous repression grow in our own communities. We demand an end to American imperialism and police militarization.
Democratic control over the environment to preserve the planet.
If left unchecked, capitalism will destroy our planet and those least responsible will suffer the greatest consequences. We must ensure everyone has access to clean and affordable food and water. We demand environmental justice for the living and responsible stewardship in the name of those yet to be born.
Total freedom to migrate; humanity has no borders
We reject a global system that facilitates the movement of capital across borders but denies human beings the freedom to live with dignity in the communities of their choice. We demand full and equal rights for all regardless of citizenship, an end to all forms of immigrant detention and imprisonment, and a humane, publicly funded immigration system that actively supports people who choose to move to the United States.

Greetings.... the Sept DSA meeting will be at 12pm on Sunday the 15th.... at George and Dro's Place 707 NW10th Street... there...