Naomi and I went to the Indivisible convening in Sacramento. Nice train ride. We’ll be reporting on the meeting, which had its amusing aspect in that for legal reasons, we couldn’t endorse Prop 50. Definitely some good get-out-the-word ideas.

Of course, protest at College & Ashby this Friday, every Friday, 5:00–6:00.

California Indivisible is concentrating on the Newsom redistricting ballot measure, which will be Proposition 50 on the November ballot. Naomi and I are attending a statewide Indivisible meeting in Sacramento this weekend. We assume getting this passed will be Indivisible’s major project through November.

Sally and Jane reported some disappointment with the orientations at La Peña that we mentioned earlier. Many additional opportunities to help immigrants and melt ICE will happen. Judy reports that volunteers will be on corners where ICE is doing raids. (She borrowed our button-maker to do some for these volunteers to wear.)

We started postcards for Jessica Anderson, Virginia House of Delegates, district that includes Williamsburg. This would be a flip. We lost in 2003 by less than 1000.

We have a new set of postcards to write, Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan, etc.

Protest at College & Ashby at 5:00 pm today. I am going to check that the chocolate supply is adequate.

Virginia, looking good. We pledged another 500 postcards, but the cards and script have not yet arrived. The Democratic brand is still far underwater, but much of that is Democrats unhappy with party leadership. We are nevertheless now ahead in party identification and the generic Congressional ballot. Trump’s approval rating with independents is dropping.

The Friday protests are continuing, with slightly increased turnout. And foot traffic should swell when Cal students return. We are looking for a politically-acceptable source for some yellow vests; we would like to have one person in a vest on each corner. I’m going to slightly enlarge our QR Code flyer, to produce an alternate version we will ask merchants to post visibly.

Bruce reported that Indivisible sees value in pushing for impeachment.

For those interested in working for immigrants, La Peña has been running training to become an “Immigrant Rights Ambassador”. The next session is Thursday, August 7, 7:00–9:00 pm. Free, but RSVP at that link.

Original count of weekly protests was first reported as 70+, but I am firing that statistician for bad numbers. We have been getting at least 5000.

Discussion of groups working on non-violence.

We promised links.

• One million rising, Indivisible’s “national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design.”
• Sample giving circle letter from Janice, to send to your friends who are still on old-fashioned email, not Tik-Tok. (Excerpt below)
• La Peña is doing workshops on immigration. Their next Immigration Rights Ambassador Workshop is August 7, 7:00–9:00 pm.
• From Mobilize, Berkeley Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, next event August 7.

The postcards have been sent to Nadarius Clark’s HQ.

Sister District has given us a second Virginia House of Delegates candidate, May Nivar. Her win would be a flip. The district is close. Sister District San Francisco is hosting a fundraiser for her.

Sunday, August 3, 4:00–6:00 pm, 431 Grand View Avenue, San Francisco.

Donation link.

Over 120 turned out.

Action item: We almost completed the Clark postcards. We will be finish them and send to Clark’s headquarters before the next meeting.

Discussion items:

• The July 4 protest had over 120 participants, a record. There were suggestions to make the protests even better. We should bring materials for people to make their own signs. We should not only have anti-Trump signs, but also ones with positive visions for the future.
• We can use a bullhorn to try to make my rather loud voice (declaiming the Declaration of Independence for the Fourth) audible outside a ten-foot radius. Bruce checked; this appears to be legal.
• We are looking into non-violence training. We see that the regime is trying to provoke extreme reactions, especially the ICEstapo. We need to follow ICE to deduce their modus operandi.
• Social media is by far the best way to reach younger Americans. Today, everyone needs to capture attention (go viral). An Instagram account would help us reach them.