We covered many topics at our meeting yesterday and Jeff will be posting complete notes soon, with info about how to contact the New York Times about weak both-siderism reporting complete with some Andy verbiage, how to avoid feeding the Fox beast and more. Meanwhile, our final Virginia fund-raising thermometer is posted and I wanted to report we FINISHED all the postcards. It means a great deal to me that we gather together to encourage each other in the face of the evils we are fighting. Thanks so much and onward!

We have serious postcarding to do for Virginia, discussion about how to support the Democrats during the impeachment proceedings (and educate ourselves as per Andy’s post) and some talk about how to move forward with endorsements. Lots to talk about and do.

Thanks to all of you who dropped off postcards while Andy and I returned once more to DC. We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our next meeting this Sunday, Sept 22, 4:30-5:45 at our house. We have been given a fairly complicated postcarding task for Virginia. We will go over in some detail at the meeting as well as educate ourselves about voter suppression. Please bring any info you all have about the best groups fighting voter suppression.

I am happy to report that we reached our goal of $2,000 for our three Virginia candidates. Everyone is still welcome to spread the link around and gather more donations. Our candidates are counting on us.

1. Thanks to Noemi for a very helpful posting on postcards (just below). It is time to get those pens out and writing again.
2. Our next meeting is this coming Sunday Sept. 8, 3:30-4:45 at our house.
3. At our meeting we will have some educational presentations about how to fight gerrymandering. Bring all your questions.
4. We will also do a last set of postcards for Virginia.
5. Finally, we will work on our plans for upcoming events, including a fund-raiser for Lauren Underwood.
6. This should be a very interesting event.

Rock the Congress
Saturday, September 7, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St., Berkeley
Events engage new and experienced activists and facilitate collaboration among progressive grassroots group leaders to win elections. Rock the Congress is a Super PAC whose mission is to maximize collaboration among progressive groups to win elections.
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. If the ticket fee represents a hardship for you, please submit a request for sponsorship here.

We resume action this Sunday, August 25th 4:30-5:45 at our house. Lots to organize for fall action. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

1. Can someone volunteer to shepherd the Origami event forward while we are out of town? When we return it will already be August 18th.
2. For those of you who want to stop by, we are sitting Shiva for Andy’s father this Wednesday evening from 7:00-9:00 pm at our house.

Andy’s father died early this morning so we are in Washington DC and therefore have to cancel the meeting set for tomorrow, Sunday July 28th. We will be sitting shiva one night this week and will let everyone know when it is set. Luckily we have some time before our event in August to prepare. Naomi

During this stressful and depressing week, let’s try to keep our eye on the prizes:

1. The Virginia election. Please continue to pass around our ActBlue link to family and friends.
2. We will shortly be sending out a sign-up link for the Origami lesson with Ann Overton and sale of Janet Grodin’s prints on Saturday August 24th 1:30-5:00 so tell your friends about it.
3. Next meeting is this coming Sunday, July 28, 4:30-5:45 at our house. We will talk about gerrymandering and also new apps to entice young people to vote, as well as finalizing the plans for August 24th.
4. Meanwhile, here are some action items: A) Tony the Democrat has a good post with the results of a study about postcards and their study found: Sending handwritten postcards to voters definitely had a noticeable effect on Vote by Mail signups among Pasco Democrats. Now it is time to do the same for Florida. Just log on to poscardstovoters.org. B) Make a small donation to help the re-enfranchised voters in Florida pay the poll-taxes that are being used to keep them from voting: wegotthevote.org and C) Need some friends and snack to get those postcard and letters writings vibes back in action? Join with other writers on Saturday July 27th 3:00-5:00 at Ellen’s House, 20 Jerome St. in Piedmont.

Thanks for a fun and productive meeting everyone.

1. We are more than half way to reaching our $2,000 goal to support “our” three races in Virginia this November (our Quiet Evening at Home brought in $1,200 in the end!). Everyone can watch our progress on the thermometer Andy is pinning at the top of our site and can encourage friends and family to contribute.
2. To help reach our goal we are planning a special event at the Grodin’s on Saturday August 24th with two parts, first an Origami lesson led by Anne Overton with refreshments (1:00-3:30, limited to 20) and then a sale of original prints created and donated by Janet Grodin (3:30-5:00, everyone welcome). We will put together an invite for everyone to send to their friends and a list of tasks for the event.
3. Jane was out canvassing for Harder on Saturday and told us about the improved democratic party app –which has some glitches. Good for her for being a test case for fixing it!
4. Bruce asked if we are ready to sign our group up as an official participants in the next stage of Indivisible planning and events, (starting in September) and we gave him the official OK. Bruce also gave us the results from a survey done after the debate and he will post them as one of his Thursday posting. Indivisible is not going to endorse in the primary (at least not for the foreseeable future).
5. We gave out postcards with our new logo. Those who need addresses and can’t get them on their own, email me. Time to start those pens flowing again.
6. At our next meeting we are going to finalize our plans for our August 24th event and then discuss 1) which groups are doing good jobs fighting gerrymandering and deserve our support and 2) I will share the new app I have been encouraging students to download which has info about where/when to vote and also gives the voting records of the your contacts. We started a lively conversation about the pros and cons of this type of app and will continue it next meeting.
7. Our next meeting is in two weeks July 28th, 4:30-5:45. NOTE: The following meeting will not be until Sunday August 25th (due to our family vacation).

Just a quick reminder that due to our travels, our next meeting will be Sunday, July 14, 4:30-5:45. We are following the news closely from here and look forward to getting back to work when we return. If anyone is looking for action items, try:

􏰘A Community Discussion on Police and Deadly Force – AB 392: The California Act to Save Lives
Sunday, June 30, 2 pm
San Pablo Public Library, Wildcat Community Room, 13751 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo Panelists include: Contra Cost District Attorney Diana Becton, Richmond Police Chief Allwyn Brown, and “Uncle Bobby” Johnson (Oscar Grant Foundation).

The event is free and open to all. Sponsored by Northern California ACLU, Berkeley/East Bay Chapter. Questions: btpr88@yahoo.com

Remembering 1619 Artistic Presentation
Tuesday, August 20, 6:30 – 9 pm
SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin St., San Francisco
The Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Joanna Haigood and Zaccho Dance Theatre, actor Steven Anthony Jones, The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, directorial consultant and dramaturg Kim Euell, and film producers Cheo Tyehimba Taylor and David Goldberg present the debut of a stirring work about 400 years of struggle, triumph, grief, excellence, and resilience experienced by people of African descent here in the United States. The Equal Justice Society’s year-long Remembering 1619 observance marks the 400th anniversary of the advent of slavery in the United States. (see article below.) More information here.

“Slavery’s bitter roots: In 1619, ‘20 And odd Negroes’ arrived in Virginia,” The Washington Post, August 24, 2018.
The first documented Africans to arrive in the English-speaking colony of what would become Virginia arrived in August 1619 on the “White Lion,” a Dutch man-of-war ship carrying enslaved cargo from the West Coast of Africa.

The arrival of the ship was reported by colonist John Rolfe who wrote: “About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr of the burden of a 160 tunnes arrived at Point-Comfort, the Commandors name Capt. Jope. He brought not any thing but 20 And odd Negroes, w[hich] the Governo[r] and Cape Merchant bought for victuals.”

The “20 And odd Negroes” had been captured in 1619 from “the Kingdom of Ndongo” in Angola. They were packed with more than 350 enslaved Africans aboard the Sao Joao Baustista, a Portuguese slave ship that set sail from the coast of Africa, bound for what then was called Vera Cruz, on the coast of Mexico. Read full article here.

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ACTION ITEMS

The Mueller Report Book Club

Thousands of Americans are committed to reading the Mueller report — cover to cover — together. Join us! Sponsored by The March for Truth.

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ACLU Monitoring Local Government If you’re concerned about the Trump administration’s actions and the loss of our civil liberties, but need a way to do SOMETHING without uprooting your life, we have some easy ways you can help protect our rights. Much of the help we need can be done from your home and/or computer with just a few clicks.

The Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter of the ACLU is seeking your help. We are looking for local volunteers who would like to get more active in their communities by keeping abreast of what elected officials are doing and by monitoring, observing, and participating in meetings of city councils and local boards making important policy decisions.

Here are a few ways to get involved in this effort: 1. Look at the agendas for specific public meetings. These agendas are posted on-line on a regular basis (usually, but not always, weekly). Then notify our chapter when an issue is scheduled that deals with the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

2. Attend or watch local public meetings. Often these meetings are also broadcast live on cable television and/or streamed live or archived for internet viewing. Then notify our chapter when discussions deal with the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

3. When the ACLU identifies an issue of concern we can amplify our voice by having several volunteers attend particular meetings and provide public comment. (Note: Please do not represent yourself as an associate of the ACLU unless you have coordinated with the ACLU Chapter Board or ACLU staff.)

4. Express your views on issues by meeting, calling, e-mailing, or writing to your representative.

Note: Please do not represent yourself as an associate of the ACLU unless you have coordinated with the ACLU Chapter Board or ACLU staff.)

If you are interested in participating in this effort, please e-mail barbara dilts (bdilts@redshift.com) with your contact information and which of these activities interest you.We will provide you more information and support for your involvement.

IMMIGRATION

􏰘Donate to Provide Emergency Legal Aid for Children in Camps

Holly Cooper, Co-director of the Immigration Law Clinic at UC Davis, is one of the few attorney with legally mandated access to some of the worst facilities where the children are being held. Her team is doing vital work, investigating, advocating and suing to help the children. Over the weekend has already been an outpouring of support for this work, and now we can add ours too. We can click here to donate to Together Rising’s fight for the rights of children in Detention camps. Information here. – From Rogan’s List, June 25

􏰘From National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)

Donate to NIJC’s Emergency Response Fund Your donation to the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) helps fund life-changing legal services for families who face separation, community outreach to make sure our neighbors know their rights, and lawyers and legal staff to get parents out of jail and to reunite children with their families. Give now.

Represent immigrants and asylum seekers

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As a pro bono attorney you help give voice to immigrants and refugees who are without representation. NIJC provides excellent support and guidance to attorneys who represent immigrants pro bono including asylum seekers, detained individuals, and families who were cruelly separated at the border. Learn more about being a pro bono attorney.

Contact your members of Congress

Ask your congressperson to cut funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These agencies use billions of taxpayer dollars to separate parents from their children, lock up 52,000 immigrants–including asylum seekers–in an abusive detention system, and terrorize our communities. Congress has the power to cut off funding to stop mass incarceration and family separation. Take action now.Be an interpreter

Most individuals whom NIJC represents require the an interpreter to prepare a detailed affidavit or to translate foreign language documents. If you are fluent in another language and would like to help, please email us. Support immigrants in detention

Immigrants in detention facilities around the United States are subjected to unjust confinement, leaving them isolated from their families and support systems. Help support detained immigrants and refugees by volunteering with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI). Invite your friends and family to join you in writing letters of encouragement, visiting immigrants in local detention centers, and assisting recently-released immigrants. Learn more.

Stay informed Sign up for NIJC’s e-updates and action alerts to stay informed about the issues and be alerted when your voice is needed most.

Spread the word

Follow NIJC on social media. Trustworthy information is critical right now and you can help share it.

From Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG)

􏰘Contribute to the Project Corazon Travel Fund so we can send more lawyers (particularly Spanish-speaking immigration lawyers) to the detention centers and refugee camps where help is desperately needed. We’ve already sent 37 and we can send dozens – even hundreds – more with your support.

􏰘Donate Frequent Flier Miles. Pledge your frequent flier miles to help get more lawyers to the border. If you have unused airline miles, you can pledge your airline miles to help the cause thanks to L4GG’s partnership with Lawyer Moms of America. We use these miles to help cover travel costs for pro bono attorneys. Click here to pledge your airline miles to the travel fund.

􏰘Immigration lawyers. If you’re an immigration lawyer and would be willing to donate your time to help asylum seekers in remote locations (but can’t afford the associated travel expenses), click here to apply for travel funding. 􏰘Law firm pro bono help. If you’re a lawyer at a large law firm, ask your pro bono coordinator whether your firm is part of Project Corazon. If your firm is already a Project Corazon partner, there may be immediate opportunities for you to volunteer for our remote CFI and/or remote bond projects. If your firm would like to learn more about partnering with us, please ask your pro bono coordinator to email us at corazon@L4GG.org.

Project Corazon Immigrant Rights Seeks Spanish-Speaking Interviewers Without representation, the chances of asylum seekers passing a Credible Fear Interview, the first step towards being awarded asylum, could be as low as 5-10%. With the help of volunteer lawyers the odds increase to about 50%. We’ve been able to help nearly 1,000 families through Project Corazon, with lawyers traveling to the border, lawyers representing immigrants in remote proceedings, lawyers doing research, and soon, lawyers representing immigrants in bond hearings. Lawyers for Good Government Foundation make its mark in the fight against immigrants, with much, much more room to grow. We’re looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers to conduct remote intake interviews (by phone) with detained asylum-seekers.

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Volunteers will be asked to sign up for shifts (each shift will be approx. 4 hours) during which you will be “on call” to handle intake interviews. Sign up here.

The Dream and Promise Act The Dream and Promise Act, which was recently introduced in Congress, could protect and provide a roadmap to citizenship for millions of undocumented people, including recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). More information here. – From National Immigrant Justice Center.

􏰘Family Reunited Through HIAS/M4M Partnership Miles4Migrants is an organization that uses donated airline reward miles to help relocate and reunite families of refugees and asylum seekers.

“Missing Neighbors” Poster Campaign Information here. Sponsored by HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society).

National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)NIJC’s Ambassador Toolkit

NIJC’s volunteer interpreter corps.View open jobs at NIJC.

Write to Detained Migrants here. RiseStronger compendium of information and resources here.

How To Help Immigrant Kids Who Are Taken From Their Parents At The Border – Equal Justice Society article here.

Donation Opportunities

Latino Immigrant Families Together (LIFT) Fund – Donate here. RAICES is the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas. Donate here.

Temple Emanuel of McAllen, Texas is accepting donations via Paypal or by check (send to 4300 Chai St., McAllen, TX 78504). Please note “Refugees” on the check memo line.

Support Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Respite Center through their ‘ Go Fund Me page.

*Border Kindness provides migrants, refugees, and the displaced with comprehensive services that include food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Our programs and interventions are designed to identify, protect and nurture the most vulnerable – including women, children, elderly and families.

*Border Angels advocates for human rights, humane immigration reform, and social justice with a special focus on issues related to issues related to the US-Mexican border. Border Angels engages in community education and awareness programs and serves San Diego County’s immigrant population through various migrant outreach programs.

LEGAL HELP NEEDED AT THE BORDER RAICES Needs Volunteers. Use this form to sign up for more information.

Lawyers Needed for Humanitarian Relief to Migrants From Good Ally Collaborative

No More Deaths Lawyers: Volunteer with SIFI (Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, led by the Southern Poverty Law Center)

Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG)

Sign up to volunteer remotely or in-person.Attorneys and Paralegals Needed to Help Immigrants Oppressed by ICE

CARA Family Detention Project American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). More Information here.

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GUN CONTROL ADVOCACY

March for Our Lives Students Gun Safety Policy Indivisible California StateStrong Guide for Preventing Gun Violence.

OrganizationsEvery Town for Gun Safety

Sandy Hook Promise Students Demand Action

Moms Demand Action The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

Giffords Guns Down

RECURRING EVENTS

Voter Registration for New Citizens Swearing In Ceremony

Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, OaklandWednesday, July 17, 10 am – noon

Wednesday, July 17, 2 – 4 pm Help brand new Americans activate their citizenship by registering to vote. From countries all over the world, they pour out of the Paramount Theater after taking the oath of allegiance to their new homeland. We welcome them with an offer to register to vote. Look for a row of ironing boards on both sides of the entrance. No experience is necessary – we will train on site.

Please plan to arrive on time for the session you signed up for so we can do a training and distribute the volunteers between the two stations. NOTE: If you plan to drive, allow 30-45 minutes to look for parking which fills up very early. The Paramount Theatre is 1/2 block from the 19th St. BART station. This is an outdoor standing event so please be prepared to stand for up to 2 hours and dress according to the weather (casual is fine)

Register here. Make sure you are picking the morning or afternoon session you want to attend. You can sign up for either or both.

Indivisible Group Meetings

Indivisible East Bay All Member Meeting Last Sunday of the month, 1-3 pm, Sports Basement, 2727 Milvia Street, Berkeley

Information here.

Indivisible Berkeley Monthly General AssemblyCertain Sundays of the month, 7:30-9 pm

Berkeley Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley Information and next meeting information here.

Indivisible SF General Meeting

Some Sundays, 3:30-5:30pm Manny’s, 16th and Valencia Streets, SF

Indivisible SF information here. Check their events page for meeting dates.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) ACLU Voter

Nationwide voter mobilization effort through phone banking and texting. Sign up here.

Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter Monthly meeting-Third Wednesday of most months, 7 pm

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Sweet Basil Thai restaurant, 1736 Solano Avenue, Berkeley

Come early if you’d like to eat dinner with us. Barbara Dilts bdilts@redshift.com More information about this and chapter here.

Know Your Rights trainings by Antonio Medrano, Chair of the Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter – For schedule of trainings go to Chapter Facebook page.

List of other ACLU chapters here.

Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club Meeting Fourth Thursday of themonth, 6-9 pm (potluck at 6, meeting at 6:45) Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland Information here.

Barbara Lee Staff Office Hours Every 1st & 3rd Thursday, 2-5 pm 1470 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland. Staff only – Rep. Lee not in attendance.

Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour – Mondays, 5:30 pm wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 pm program The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, Dates, information and tickets ($0 members-$20) here.

PHONE BANKS, TEXT BANKS, POSTCARDS AND OTHER THINGSA report from a meeting with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris by a member of 13 Pages, Oakland Indivisible Group: Calls from constituents help our senators fight for justice. Every call is tallied by zip code. We can call several times a day and each call is tallied separately. The more we call, text. and e-mail the louder our voices are heard. We can speak about more than one issue in the same call. Sen. Dianne Feinstein email, (415) 393-0707; DC: (202) 224-3841) Sen. Kamala Harris email, (415) 355-9041; DC: (202) 224-3553

Democracy Action phone banks on current issues. Information here.

Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience (Jen Hoffman) weekly Action Checklist. Rogan’s List/RiseStronger – A comprehensive weekly digest of news and actions. Sign up here.

Wall of Us – Four concrete acts of resistance curated and personalized for you each week. Sign up here.

One Thing You Can Do (OTYCD) Postcards for America website. Postcards for America Facegroup here.

Indivisible Berkeley page lists actions you can take from the comfort of your home! We recommend making a habit of taking one action per day or one action per week.

Action for Introverts. https://resistancelabs.com/volunteer/text/

DEMONSTRATIONS AND PROTESTS North Berkeley demonstration demanding higher taxes for the super-rich & big corporations

Mondays 5-6 pm, near the top of Solano Ave by the Oaks Theater, Berkeley

Come sing with OCCUPELLA or just hold a sign. RAIN CANCELS!