Two Immigration Committee Events Sunday, Feb. 24th, 2019 Kehilla Community Synagogue Putting our Bodies on the Line Matthew Leber Reports Back from the Border 3:30-5pm in the sanctuary Matthew Leber, Kehilla member and staff member of American Friends Service Committee helped organize the December 10th action at the San Diego Border that The Nation Magazine called “Best Action of 2018.” We will hear from Matthew about his 24-hour experience in border patrol detention and from other Kehilla members who participated in the action. We will share song and prayer and will discuss of the role of direct action in supporting immigrant justice. Meet and Greet and Light Dinner 5:00–6:45pm in the social hall Join us to welcome new immigrants who have been part of our accompaniment program over the past several years, along with their teams, hosts and sponsors. (There are now several newborn babies to celebrate among these families.) Main course will be provided. Please bring a vegetarian side dish, salad or dessert. Label with ingredients if possible RSVP for either or both events to immigrationcommitteechairs@kehillasynagogue.org Please come scent-free!
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election
The current Wisconsin Supreme Court has 4 conservatives and 3 liberals. One of the Liberals is leaving for health reasons. There is an election on April 2 to replace her. If the Liberal Lisa Neubauer wins the balance will stay the same. In 2020 there will be another election during the presidential primary to replace one of the the Conservatives. So it is possible to have a liberal majority before 2021 when redistricting will be decided. Right now Wisconsin is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country with strong Republican majorities in the legislature despite Democratic victories for governor and AG on a state-wide level. The State supreme court elections are therefore the key to the future of Wisconsin politics.
According to my brother who is a long time progressive Wisconsin activist she needs the usual campaign things ie; post cards, texts, and money. Turnout is everything in this very divided state. Her opponent will have unlimited right wing money.
Here is a link to her campaign: https://judgeneubauer.com
Lake Merritt protest
I think many of us were there today, but this foto comes from the Mercury News–Bruce
Upcoming meeting
This has been a very disturbing week in American politics and it is good to know that we are gathering soon to discuss action items.
1. Our next meeting is this Sunday Feb 17th 4:30–5:45. We will discuss organizing by Indivisible about the Emergency proceedings, Bruce’s op ed project, an upcoming special election in Pennsylvania we can get involved in and how to make our move to our new website work and much more.
2. Meanwhile, hopefully everyone has received an invitation from Andy to log-on to our new website. Please do so before our meeting so we can move to the next step by showing everyone how to participate in the website. [Andy adds: we will review how to post to the new site at the meeting.]
More detailed notes after our meeting.
Naomi
ICE-friendly Policies. A String of Jail Deaths. Why Does This Sheriff Keep Getting Elected?
Here’s a very good new article about Sheriff Ahern and why it’s so hard and necessary to get candidates to run against him.
Meeting Update for Feb 3
And, also, post #1 on our new site.
Notes from our meeting on Sunday (everyone we know who does not watch the Superbowl).
- We (ok, really Andy) launched our new communications system to move us away from Facebook. If you are reading this, you have an account and logged on. It is still a work in progress but will soon have email, a blog anyone can post on (that’s this blog, you can probably edit it now) and other bells and whistles so we can all communicate about what is happening and lots will be happening.
- Bill’s message from Sister District: Do not have a nervous breakdown about Virginia. We will shortly be getting to work on our campaigns there and it is crucial that the Dems take over the state house and senate. Bill and others will be posting about these action items on our new website.
- Bruce talked about Indivisible and their work to support H.R. 1 in the House. He will have some specific action times to post for us, including letters to the editor and a meeting with Lee’s staff.
- Michael gave us a summary of the book Ratf*cked. Great to have a bit of education at every meeting and a good goad to get to work after he reported on how successful the Republican efforts to flip state houses was. It is our turn now.
- We wrote postcards to Florida (trying to get people to sign up for absentee ballots) and to Tennessee for a special election March 12th. I need someone to help me with requests from our group members for addresses and instructions since I can’t keep up with them. Anyone want to volunteer?
Next meeting: Feb 17th at our house 4:30–5:45.
Please let Andy know if you have any questions about the new website. We hope many of you will make posts as we get used to the system. As we gear up for more action, this will be very helpful.
Naomi
Indivisible Elmwood 