No War for Oil in Venezuela!
With the illegal military strike on Venezuela and abduction of its leader Nicolás Maduro, we experienced a return to US imperialism in Latin America on behalf of US corporations and oil companies. It is a return to the era in which the US arrogated unlimited power over Western Hemisphere nations.
While Maduro is a dictator who abused his people and impoverished Venezuela for years, the Trump regime failed to demonstrate that he was an immediate danger to the US (and did not seek Congressional approval, which would not have been granted). Trump’s feigned interest in the well-being of the Venezuelan people rings as hollow as the nonexistent "Weapons of Mass Destruction" used by the Bush II administration to justify invading Iraq and the forever war for oil that followed.
The current action destabilizes both the rule of law and separation of powers at home and the global order, such as it is. It overrides or ignores the powers granted to the legislative branch—only Congress can declare war—and a number of people in Congress have testified that they were not just left in the dark, they were lied to. This is part of the consolidation of illegitimate “unitary executive” power in the president. It undermines any US opposition to the possibility of China seizing Taiwan, and normalizes the invasion of Ukraine by the Putin regime.
The murder of people on boats in waters near Venezuela was a crime and apparently a warm-up. This makes the whole world more dangerous in direct and indirect ways. And it makes the US a rogue nation.
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them: No War for Oil in Venezuela!
Hilton Hotels Cooperates with ICE: Boycott them
Hilton Hotels has removed the Hampton Inn in Lakeview, Minnesota, from its reservation system after hotel staff cancelled the reservations of ICE agents who’d tried to stay there.
We support businesses that refuse to cooperate with ICE. It is infuriating that not only is Hilton openly cooperating with fascists, but also retaliating against one of their subsidiaries for protecting their staff and guests.
As such, we recommend you boycott Hilton.
If it won't cause you too much financial hardship (we understand that some reservations may be non-refundable or necessary for your work) and you currently have reservations or were considering booking at a Hilton affiliated hotel, you should cancel your existing reservations and rebook elsewhere. Boycott all hotels in the Hilton chain for being the latest corporation to cave to the demands of the Trump regime.
A rather long list of affiliate hotels can be found on our blog.
TODAY: Make public comment or write a letter demanding Mayor Lurie release records of his call with Trump
Daniel Lurie is refusing to release records of the call he had with Trump that are legally required to be public.
Late last year, Trump deployed an ICE surge and the National Guard to the Bay Area, but pulled them back after a call with Mayor Lurie. While we are relieved a federal "surge" did not happen, records about decisions affecting the public cannot be shifted from open into private, undisclosed conversations. Daniel Lurie is NOT above the law.
The public has the right to know what was said that reversed Trump's decision. What is Lurie hiding? What was bargained? We demand transparency.
Come make public comment at City Hall Room 408 at 5 PM tonight. If you cannot attend, please write a letter via ActionNetwork.
Support the Sanctuary Legal Defense Fund
The Sanctuary Legal Defense Fund is a community-led effort that provides urgently needed legal support to immigrant families in San Francisco who would otherwise have to face immigration court alone. By helping cover critical costs like legal fees and attorney deposits, the fund turns individual donations into concrete protection for families at risk of detention, deportation, and permanent separation. Contributing means making sure parents and children walk into court with a lawyer by their side, a real chance at safety, and a sense of hope instead of fear.
Read more about the fund and how to contribute on our blog.
Thousands of Asylum Seekers Risk Case Dismissal & Deportation Without Interpreters — Here’s How You Can Help
Recent US policy changes now require asylum applicants to bring their own interpreters to interviews—or risk having their cases dismissed altogether. Most immigrants are unaware of this rule, leaving countless people unable to share their stories or claim protection simply because of language barriers.
Here is one such story, “Overcoming Language Barriers for Justice.”
Respond Crisis Translation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, is stepping in to fill the gap. They provide free interpretation and translation for people seeking asylum or who are in crisis, while creating fair-wage jobs for hundreds of trained translators, many of whom come from immigrant and refugee backgrounds themselves. Your support can help change somebody’s life—or prevent it from being disrupted.
Donate to fund more interpreters, or volunteer your language skills to help protect the right to be understood.
This information is also available on our blog.
We remember the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021
Five years ago, Trump incited a mob of his supporters—some of them armed—to march on and invade the US Capitol, in an attempt to intimidate Congress into overturning the 2020 election and preventing Joe Biden from taking the office he had been duly elected to. After that attempt failed, over the four relatively pleasant years of President Biden’s term, the January 6 Committee did precious, vital work preserving the evidence of the crimes that Trump and his cronies committed against our country.
Unfortunately, Trump and his cronies were not held criminally accountable for the insurrection, leaving him presumed eligible to run again. Thus, MAGA instigators had the chance to present Trump as the stronger candidate, and the opportunity to fearmonger and cause harm with impunity. The result: four more years of this shit.
We commemorate the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, and recommit ourselves to building an America that rejects hate, terror and fascism and is unified in its commitment to democracy.
Want to help us do this work?
We will plug you in where your skills can do the most good to resist this administration.
If you would like to join and do important work with us, we welcome you! Currently we are in need of volunteers to help with the following:
Making artwork for our calls to action, blog posts, and other projects.
Maintaining our website, newsletter, and Zoom account.
Posting our events to Funcheap, Indybay, Broke-Ass Stuart, and other local blogs.
Maintaining our social media platforms including Mastodon, Bluesky, TikTok, Meta, and more.
Joining and building out an on-the-ground flyering team. We’re looking to distribute information on our events in the real world. We want people who can print and post flyers around their neighborhood. It’s a great way to get your steps in.
Publishing our newsletter with MailChimp on Newsletter Night (Tuesdays at 5 PM).
Making short-form videos to help educate people on our topics in an accessible way.
Tracking federal, state, and local legislation and working with our state and local legislatures and Mayor Lurie.
No experience is needed; we will train you and provide everything you need. If you would like to help us, please contact us at [email protected].
