Metro DC DSA's
Washington Socialist newsletter for February 2020

Comrade,   

The Weekend: TODAY Friday, January 31 DSA MoCo 🌹 Happy Hour; Saturday, Feb. 1  DSA for Bernie Canvass in Arlington, VA!; Stomp Out Slumlords Movie Night;  Sunday FEB 2 MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting; Stomp Out Slumlords: Anti-Eviction Canvass

Details at links or in full calendar below

 

Articles in this issue

Impeachment and the DC Statehood deficit
 

Maryland’s legislative high road -- if taken
 

MD Dist. 5 contest: Then there were 2
 

The local’s history: the obligations of conscience

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  Readers of this email please note: it may arrive in your inbox "CLIPPED" -- be sure to click the "view entire message" link. -- Pubs WG edit team

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BRIEFS

 

Sunday Canvass for Ward 4 Candidate Janeese Lewis George
This Sunday, our chapter is knocking doors for DSA-endorsed Janeese Lewis George's campaign for the Ward 4 seat on the D.C. Council. Janeese is fighting for a DC that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. Can you join us for a shift of door knocking followed by happy hour? Sunday, Feb 2, 1-4 pm Meet at the campaign office at 6400 Georgia Ave NW.

RSVP by filling out this google form https://tinyurl.com/dsa4janeese. You can stay up to date on ward 4 organizing by joining the #dc-ward4-electoral-organizing channel on slack. Questions? Contact Nikko at [email protected]

 

DSA 4 Bernie Action Update

 

—Upcoming:

February is the Month to Make History! Join Us!

 

February is the last chance to convince Virginia’s left-leaning voters to vote for Bernie on Super Tuesday (March 3). Join us for canvasses each Saturday in February and social events like watch parties. Below are our events for the first half of February, also linked HERE. Let us know which events you can make it out to here!

 

Feb 1: Arlington Canvass (Meet at Courthouse Metro Station12:30pm)

RSVP: http://meetu.ps/e/HFPqk/cMgsq/a

 

Feb 3: Iowa Caucus Watch Party (sPACEY cLOUD in AdMo—7:30pm)

 

Feb 7: Debate Watch Party (Penn Social in Penn Quarter—7:30pm)

 

Feb 8: Alexandria Canvass (Meet at King Street Station 12:30pm)

 

Feb 11: New Hampshire Watch Party (Penn Social in Penn Quarter—7:30pm)

 

Feb 15: Virginia Canvass (Location TBD—12:30pm) 

 

-- Accomplished

The Jan 18 Bernie canvass at West Hyattsville had a great turnout despite cloudy skies. Be sure to join us this Saturday!

 

A bunch of new faces came out to our first working group meeting of the year to get plugged into the inner workings of our campaign. We’ve got a group of excited activists planning upcoming events for February. We hope you’ll join us for a future meeting. We’re pumped and ready to launch a revolution! 

Contact us: [email protected]
 

NEW SOCIALIST NIGHT SCHOOL EVENT

Thursday, February 27, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Trumpism and All-American Nativism: Socialist Night School
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW · Washington, DC

It is often said that with the election of Donald Trump nativism was raised from the dead. But although his actions may often seem unprecedented, they are not as unusual as many people believe. Daniel Denvir, author of All-American Nativism: How the Bipartisan War on Immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It explains the long but often forgotten history that gave us Donald Trump. Follow link for details

Steering Meetings moved to Tuesdays, 2X/Month

From Zach E., MDC DSA secretary: “Steering has voted to move our biweekly meetings to Tuesdays due to space issues at the Institute for Policy Studies. Wednesday night (Jan. 29) meeting [will have been] our last Wednesday meeting for the foreseeable future.”
 

Go-Go for Atlanta

Saturday, February 8 -- A NIGHT OF GO-GO WITH DC JWJ -- 5-9 pm, Josephine Butler Center  2437 15th Street NW  DC 20009 -- fundraiser to pay for local activists’ travel to the National Jobs With Justice gathering in Atlanta, Georgia. Donation requested. Info: Sequnely Gray 202-674-2847 | [email protected]

                                                       

  MoCo's Latest

Here is the MoCo DSA weekly newsblast from yesterday (Thursday, Jan. 30), including its monthly branch meeting this Sunday, criminal justice reform activism across the District line, and some good reads.

 

Minimum Wage Hike Battle in Annapolis
-- SEIU Local 32BJ -- janitors, security guards, building and food service workers, and airport workers-- is backing a Maryland General Assembly bill that would raise the minimum wage at BWI, the Port of Baltimore, and Baltimore Penn Station to $12.97 with an additional $4.48 for healthcare costs. It gets a hearing Feb. 6, 1 pm at the Miller Senate Office Building;11 Bladen St. Annapolis and “This would constitute a life changing raise for thousands of workers at BWI” says Thomas Lee, a 32BJ staffer and member. “We are asking for community allies to join airport workers at the hearing to show support for the bill.”

 

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Follow links for details
 

Friday JAN 31  6:00 PM

DSA MoCo 🌹 Happy Hour

Not Your Average Joe’s, 8661 Colesville Rd Suite C-153, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Downtown Silver Spring get-together. Follow link for details

  

FEBRUARY

 

Saturday FEB 1  12:30 PM

DSA for Bernie Canvass in Arlington, VA!

Court House, Arlington, VA 22201

ONE MONTH until Super Tuesday; make sure Virginia shows up for Bernie.

Follow link for details

 

Saturday FEB 1  7-midnight

Stomp Out Slumlords Movie Night

Colony Club, 3118 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010

Screening “RENT REBELS: Resistance Against the Sell Out of the City”, a documentary about the tenant movement in Berlin. Follow link for details

 

 Sunday FEB 2 2:00 PM

MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting

Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814 

Monthly planning and organizing meeting. Follow link for details

 

 Sunday FEB 2  1:30 PM

Stomp Out Slumlords: Anti-Eviction Canvass

L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station, 600 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024

Come help us connect tenants facing eviction with legal resources.  Follow link for details

 

Monday FEB 3 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM

Iowa Caucus Watch Party
sPACYcLOUd Lounge  2309 18th St NW · Washington, DC

 Tuesday FEB 4  6:30 PM

Ecosocialist Principles for a Green New Deal

Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008

Socialist Night School session. Follow link for details

 

 Friday FEB 7  6:00 PM

Libertarian Socialist Caucus (LSC) Happy Hour

1314 9th St NW, , Washington, DC 20001 Follow link for details

 

Friday, February 7 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
DSA for Bernie Debate Watch Party
Penn Social   801 E St NW · Washington, DC
DSA for Bernie has a debate watch party

Saturday FEB 8 12:30 PM
DSA for Bernie Alexandria Canvass
King Street Station, 1900 King St, Alexandria, VA 22301
We only have ONE MONTH until Super Tuesday, and we need to make sure Virginia shows up for Bernie! Help us reach our goal of knocking 5,000 doors in Virginia during the month of February. We will be in Alexandria

Sunday FEB 9  3:00 PM

Metro DC DSA Monthly General Body Meeting -- Get Labor-literate!

Location TBA

The monthly meeting of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America. Follow link for details

 

Tuesday FEB 11  7:00 PM

Steering Committee Meeting

Institute for Policy Studies, 1301 Connecticut Ave NW #600, Washington, DC 20036

All members are welcome to attend, 

 

Tuesday FEB 11 7:00 PM
Migrant Justice Working Group: Campaign Planning Session
501 3rd St NW, 501 3rd St NW, Washington, DC 20001
As ICE detains and deports immigrants every day, they are helped by for-profit companies. These profiteers allow ICE to function. Follow link for details

Tuesday FEB 11 7:30 PM
New Hampshire Primary Watch Party
Penn Social, 801 E St NW, Washington, DC 20004 Join us on February 11 as we await the results of the New Hampshire Primary! Where do you want to be when those results come in? Make sure you’re surrounded by fellow socialists! 

 

Thursday FEB 20  6:30 PM

Disability Justice Working Group

The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009

Planning and organizing meeting. Follow link for details

 

Thursday FEB 20  7:00 PM

NOVA Branch DSA 🌹 Organizing Meeting

Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22042

Monthly NOVA DSA organizing and planning meeting. Follow link for details

 

Saturday FEB 22 12:30 PM
DSA for Bernie Canvass in Northern VA!

BERNIE NEEDS YOU – This canvass will be just TEN DAYS before Super Tuesday, and we need to do everything we can to make sure Virginia shows up for Bernie! Help us reach our goal of knocking 5,000 doors in Virginia during the month of February. 

 

Tuesday FEB 25 7:00 PM

Steering Committee Meeting

Remote only meeting

Get Zoom info at Slack: # steering Follow link for details

 

Tuesday FEB 25 7:30 PM
DSA for Bernie 2/25 Debate Watch Party
Join us for the last Democratic debate of February! The SC primary will be right around the corner on the 29th, and Super Tuesday just after that. We always say the debates are ones not to miss, but this is REALLY one you do not want to miss.

Thursday, February 27, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Trumpism and All-American Nativism: Socialist Night School
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW · Washington, DC

It is often said that with the election of Donald Trump nativism was raised from the dead. But although his actions may often seem unprecedented, they are not as unusual as many people believe. Daniel Denvir, author of All-American Nativism: How the Bipartisan War on Immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It explains the long but often forgotten history that gave us Donald Trump. Follow link for details

Saturday FEB 29 12:30 PM
February 29 Get Out the Vote Canvass

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to reach voters before Super Tuesday, and we need to do everything we can to make sure Virginia shows up for Bernie! Help us reach our goal of knocking 5,000 doors in Virginia by the end of February. We will be in canvassing in Virginia, location TBD Follow link for details

 INFO ACCESS

PUBLICATIONS SCHEDULE: Updates for February will be sent Fridays, February 7, 14 and 21 and the March issue of the Washington Socialist will be sent Friday, February 28 with an article deadline of Saturday, Feb. 23. Send article submissions to [email protected] 

FAQ

>How many newsletters, updates and articles have we published? Articles on what topics? Check our Index here.

>What does the MDC DSA local chapter do, week in and week out? See our working groups, caucuses and campaigns in the DMV here.

> What can I find out from MDC DSA Slack and how do I join?: Many of our campaigns, working groups and caucuses keep the conversation going between meetings on our MDC DSA Slack platform. If you are a DSA member in good standing and aren’t on our Slack you may not be getting the full picture about the rich array of activities suggested above in the chapter structure link. To get on Slack, use the email by which DSA knows you and request access from [email protected]

Friday, Jan. 31 Prison Pipelines and Detention Centers panel discussion   6pm at  St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St NW, Washington, D.C. 20010  Organized by They/Them Collective. Details provisional; follow up at event page or email: [email protected]. 

 

Friday, Jan. 31 Progressive Cheverly Annual Legislative Forum  7pm  Multipurpose Room of Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School, 3324 64th Avenue, Cheverly MD guests are  District 47 representatives — MD Sen. Malcolm Augustine and Dels. Diana Fennel, Julian Ivey and Wanika Fisher — who discuss the legislative issues that will be on the agenda for the upcoming Assembly session.

 

Saturday, Feb. 1 PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY  10am – 4pm All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St NW  Washington, DC 20009 Participatory gathering of DC residents where we will set the priorities for ONE DC’s Right to Housing and Right to Income Campaigns in 2020 — help us shape our work for the coming year so we can build power and take action to take back DC! 

Tuesday FEB 4 Transit Equity Day Celebration 6:30 - 8:00pm  Maryland Multicultural Center, 8151 15th Ave, Langley Park, MD 20783 -- The mission of Transit Equity Day, celebrated on Rosa Parks’s birthday, is to elevate public transportation as a workers’ rights, civil rights and environmental issue.  RSVP HERE. 

 

Thursday Feb 6, ONE DC Right to Housing Committee Meeting  6:00pm – 8:00pm ONE DC, 614 S St NW, Washington DC 20001 Join the Right to Housing Committee every Thursday from 6 PM to 8 PM at our Shaw Office! Come together with other ONE DC members to discuss our tenant rights, and build power to fight displacement and gain community control of land and housing for low-wage, long-standing Washingtonians. Also Feb 13, 6:00pm – 8:00pm and so on.

Friday FEB 7 Conversation with the Squad  12:00 - 3:00pm  Livestream link on event page  Rising Majority hosts live-streamed event between grassroots organizers and progressive politicians Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib -- happening at Howard University (event attendance option below). This event will highlight the importance of fighting for an unapologetically progressive agenda in 2020 and a Voter strategy in 2020 and beyond. THE RISING MAJORITY coalition was formed in 2017 and includes over 50 organizations nationally. If you want to attend in person with ONE DC, send an email to [email protected] to RSVP.  You can register here to join the Viewing Party.

 

Saturday FEB 8 Yellow Earth: An Evening with John Sayles  6:00 - 7:00pm  5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008  A reading, discussion and Q&A with author, screenwriter, actor and feature film director, John Sayles, about his new novel, set in economic and social conflict within indigenous peoples in fracking country, USA. RSVP here.

 

Sunday FEB 9 February SURJ DC Orientation + Welcome Session 2pm – 4pm

Cleveland Park Public Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC

Hosted by SURJ-DC: https://www.facebook.com/events/542204989721291/ New to SURJ? Been getting our emails for a while and not sure of your next step? Join us for this 2-hour introductory event RSVP

Sunday, February 9 Prince George’s County Environmental Forum  4:00 - 6:00pm
Location: West Lanham Hills VFD, 8501 Good Luck Rd, Lanham, MD 20706
Note: Co-hosted by Greenbelt Climate Action Network, the Patuxent Riverkeeper and County Council member Tom Dernoga and focused on County legislation.  Groups joining us include Sierra Club, Anacostia Watershed Society, Laurel for the Patuxent, Climate Parents, College Park Committee for a Better Environment, Our Revolution/PG, opponents of the Brandywine power plants, and more. RSVP here.

Saturday, Feb. 15  Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents  3 – 4:30pm  Sankofa Video, Books & Café, 2714 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Book talk and signing with Editor and Senior Columnist at Black Agenda Report, Margaret Kimberley.

 

Monday, Feb 24 Monthly Restaurant Worker Meeting  1:00pm – 3:00pm Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington DC Hosted by ROC-DC: https://www.facebook.com/events/2483401995210664/  share stories & grievances, build solidarity and talk through how we can address the challenges of the restaurant industry and build our power.

 

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Baltimore progressives, Check in on the wide-ranging Baltimore Activist Alert calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

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GOOD READS 

Trump’s Digital Advantage Is Freaking Out Democratic Strategists
Jan 29, 2020
New York Times | Opinion
Tom Edsall, Professor and Journalist
Tom Edsall in the NYT analysizes who has the digital advantage in the general election. He suggests that political realities bolster Trump’s chances vis-a-vis other Democratic contenders....

 

A Warning from the 60’s Generation
Jan 21, 2020
Washington Post | Perspective

John B. Judis, Author and Journalist

A provocative article discussing the fault-lines, dangers, and miscalculations to look out for within the progressive movement. Despite its headline warning, the perspective explicates an interesting, and new-ish, class-crossing phenomenon: “proletarianization”...

 

The Many Polarizations of America
Jan 28, 2020
New York Times | Opinion
Ross Douthat, Author and Columnist
NYT conservative columnist Ross Douthat with a lightning strike on three, count ‘em three, new-ish books on the polarization of US society. Important to consider how conservative ideologues perceive and make sense of left & liberal minded political polarization. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/opinion/klein-lind-caldwell-book.html/ 

Why red and blue America can’t hear each other anymore
Jan 24, 2020
Washington Post | Opinion
Francis Fukuyama, Political Scientist
Francis Fukuyama, yep the same one, reviews Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized at length in the WaPo. 

 

Banking for the people, not Wall Street Profits
Jan 27, 2020
Popular Resistance
Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese

Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, the Baltimore-based gatherers of the Popular Resistance newsletter, provide an update and roundup on the growing reach of public banking in this transcript of a Jan. 27 podcast interview with Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute. The interview is preceded by a lively but perhaps skippable dialogue on world events from a resistance perspective. 

 

Israel Will Claim Sovereignty Over Parts of the West Bank
Jan 28, 2020
New York Times
Over the course of this week’s distracting impeachment fiasco, itself caused by one form of self-dealing in foreign policy, the Trump admin is ready to greenlight another one with the embattled Netanyahu administration. The plan as stated calls for Israel to annex fully 1/3rd of the West Bank.

 

Overhaul US Labor Laws to Boost Workers' Power, New Report Urges
Jan 29, 2020
Portside
Steven Greenhouse
A new study/proposal on labor reform in the US emphasizes worker control and bargaining for the common good, as well as eliminating the employer-option travesty of at-will employment. 

 

How a Re-Energized Housing Movement Will Impact the 2020 Election
Jan 29, 2020
Portside
Patrick Sisson

Housing is emerging as a major factor in the politics of the day, in the US and elsewhere. 

 

Even After a Lawsuit, Residents Are Developing New Ways to Get Better Living Conditions

Jan 23, 2020
Washington City Paper

So our focus on local housing tracks with wider trends: here is the City Paper on Vistas rent strike, with MDC DSA housing activists prominently included.

DC Mayor endorses Michael Bloomberg
Jan 30, 2020
The Hill
Mayor Bowser has announced her support for Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 Democratic Primaries. Alongside her endorsement, she is set to become the national co-campaign chairwoman for Bloomberg’s team. Bowser is among over two dozen current and former mayors who have endorsed the campaign of former NYC mayor Bloomberg.