Plus protecting rooftop solar, opposing mass surveillance, and fighting for gender equality

Indivisible SF Newsletter
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** Convicted felon Donald Trump
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could be forgiven for tuning out the various Trump trials, since he’s on trial in multiple jurisdictions for a wide variety of alleged crimes, and those trials have been taking months for various reasons (good and bad). You might say, wake me when something happens, right?

Well, last week, something happened.

A jury of twelve ordinary Americans unanimously convicted Trump of all thirty-four of the felonies he was charged with in the state of New York.

Read more about what this means and what’s still to come in our new blog post ([link removed]) .



** Take away PG&E’s “heads we win, tails you lose” deal on rooftop solar power. Bring back “net metering” for all!
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Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission took away “net metering” for multi-unit properties. Net metering is the way that people who generate more solar power than they use can send it back to the grid and see their electricity bill reduced. So, as it stands now, PG&E can charge renters, schools, farmers, and so forth without regard to the surplus electrical power that they send back! It’s a huge hit to the incentives to install solar power, the opposite of what we need with the escalating climate crisis.

SB 1374 ([link removed]) by Senator Becker will restore net metering. Having passed the Senate by 28 votes to 7, this bill is coming before the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee ([link removed]) next. (The Assembly has killed other good energy bills recently, such as AB 1999 ([link removed]) , which would’ve repealed last year’s authorization of exorbitant utility basic connectivity rates.)

Call your Assemblymember ([link removed]) and tell him to support SB 1374.


**

Oppose mass surveillance: No on AB 1814
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You have the right to walk down the street without getting surveilled in your everyday business. Everyone does. When someone commits a crime, police might need to make an arrest—but that should only happen when the police have identified a suspect based on solid evidence.

Assemblymember Ting is the author of a bill, AB 1814 ([link removed]) , that would threaten your privacy. Under this proposal, police would be able to use flawed facial recognition technology as part of building probable cause for an arrest.

Police in California were prohibited from using real-time facial recognition technology until 2023. AB 1814 is the first bill on the subject since then, and it’s disguised as regulation, as it would prohibit police from using facial recognition as the sole basis for probable cause. But in so doing, it legitimizes police using facial recognition as part of their basis.

(We should note that local governments can still have their own bans or other policies, such as the City’s.)

Facial recognition technology is too flawed, too riddled with biases, too likely to be used to finger innocent people like you as a substitute for real police work. The state should reinstate the ban, not legitimize bogus arrests of innocent people.

The bill is currently in the Senate. Tell Senator Wiener: ([link removed]) Vote no on this sneaky spying bill.


**

Good bills for a better Congress: Equality Act
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One of the things that makes us progressives and distinguishes us from the right wing is our rejection of patriarchy—the ideology that says that there are only two genders, men and women, and that they have specific, rigidly defined, and mutually exclusive roles in society, with men entitled to hold power and women largely excluded from it. We work to build a society that provides equal opportunity for all people of all genders.

The journey in this direction has been long and hard, and it is unfinished. Today Republican legislatures in many states are passing legislation that compels people to remain pregnant whether they want to (or even safely can) or not. They’re also attempting to outlaw transgender people’s ability to exist in public by banning them from youth sports, forcing them to use the wrong restroom, and denying them life-saving medical care. This is on top of existing discrimination in the workforce, education, housing, and more.

The Equality Act would be another step in the right direction. It would amend federal law to codify protections against discrimination on the basis of gender or birth-assigned sex. It would also prohibit the “bathroom bills” that deny trans people full participation in public life. These protections would help level the playing field for all women, including both those who are cisgender (i.e., identify with the gender they were assigned at birth) and those who are transgender, and for all trans people, including trans men and nonbinary people.

We are so close to passing this legislation, but this Senate doesn’t quite have the votes, and winning back a Democratic majority in the House again could make history by getting us there.

Read more about it on our Good Bills for a Better Congress ([link removed]) webpage.


**

Volunteers welcome: We’re looking for a social media person
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This year is going to be busy and we’d love a volunteer to help with publishing social media posts. We would like someone to work with us to create, schedule, and monitor posts on the Meta Suite (Facebook and Instagram) and Threads. No prior knowledge required—we can train you!

We’re also always on the lookout for more editors, or any other help you can provide! Our newsletter team meets every Tuesday night, and we would love for you to join us.

If you’re interested in volunteering, let us know at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group ([link removed]) is where it happens. Our next meeting is Tuesday, June 11, 7:30 PM.

TODAY: Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks to CA, NV, and AZ: Wednesday, June 5, 5–7 PM (and every Wednesday through October 30). Join to help elect Adam Gray in CA-13 and Rudy Salas in CA-22. This phone bank also calls into swing states Nevada and Arizona. RSVP here. ([link removed])

Saturday Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks to CA, NV, and AZ: Saturday, June 8 1–3 PM (and every Wednesday through Sep 28). Join to help elect Adam Gray in CA-13 and Rudy Salas in CA-22. This phone bank also calls into swing states Nevada and Arizona. RSVP here. ([link removed])

Bay Area Coalition Canvasses in Delano, Merced, Modesto: Saturday, June 8. The Bay Area Coalition welcomes volunteers willing to travel to CA-13 and CA-22 to knock on doors and help turn out votes for Democrats. RSVP here for Delano ([link removed]) , here for Merced ([link removed]) , here for Modesto ([link removed]) .

And donate here ([link removed]) to help fund the on-the-ground support that the Coalition provides to canvassing volunteers.

Indivisible SF Federal Working Group: Tuesday, June 11, 7:30 PM. Join us to discuss strategy to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda. RSVP here. ([link removed])


** About this week’s photo
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If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on social media, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.

Today’s graphic is the masthead of the San Francisco Chronicle for May 31, the morning after Trump got convicted.

Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team ([link removed])

If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
DONATE HERE ([link removed])

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