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Author: San Diego Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America

  • Statement in Solidarity with the Protests in India

    The San Diego chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America condemns the discriminatory and fascist turn of the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We stand in solidarity with the Muslim community in India, and the working and oppressed people struggling against this fascist regime. The Hindu nationalist BJP government plans to implement a National Registry of Citizens (NRC) in the country and has prepared for that with the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA). These policies are a step towards the stated goal of the BJP to convert India into a “Hindu Rashtra” (Hindu Nation) and to further discriminate against and marginalize the Muslim and other religious minorities in the region. As DSA San Diego we vehemently condemn these actions and ask for all working class and oppressed peoples to stand in opposition to this government’s disregard of human rights.

    The state of Assam on India’s border with Bangladesh is where the NRC was first proposed and is currently being implemented. We recognize that the desire for this National Register comes out of an anti-immigrant movement in Assam, where the implementation of the NRC has thus far declared 1.9 million people “illegal” and effectively rendered them stateless.

    As socialists based in San Diego, 20 miles from the US border with Mexico, we see a clear connection with these policies and the US government’s actions on the southern US Border. The rounding up of immigrants and holding them in concentration camps is a tactic used by fascists all around the world showing that the struggle for liberation here and in India are one and the same.

    Around the world, we are witnessing a rise of fascist governments, from the Bolsonaro Regime in Brazil to the Duterte Regime in The Philippines, and the Tory Government headed by the racist Boris Johnson. We see it in the popularity of Marine Le Pen in France, the Military Coup in Bolivia, the Trump Regime in the United States, and the Modi Regime in India. We condemn these regimes and stand in solidarity with the Muslim communities in India, and with all working and oppressed peoples around the world.

  • Urgent Call For Action Against A U.S. War On Iran

    Our chapter voted to endorse national DSA’s statement on Iran:

    Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) emphatically opposes a U.S. war with Iran. In light of the U.S.’s act of war against Iran, putting the two nations close to the brink of war, DSA calls on all members and chapters to mobilize against yet another U.S. war in the Middle East.

    On January 2, 2020, the U.S. military assassinated, on Iraqi soil, Iranian General Qassim Suleimani. Such a move is an act of war, and escalates an already tense military situation in Iraq and Iran. In addition to recklessly endangering millions of lives throughout the Middle East, yesterday’s action violates the War Powers Act, the U.S. Constitution, and international law.

    These strikes come on the heels of an increased military presence in Iraq, part of decades of military intervention in the country. Even prior to its illegal, criminal invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. was bombing the nation an average of once every three days and imposing brutal sanctions on it.

    The U.S. has long held Iran in its sights since it broke free of despotic rule under the U.S-backed Shah. Donald Trump and his cabinet of war hawks have dramatically escalated military tensions to their highest point in decades. Trump unilaterally pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, in spite of Iran’s compliance with it. Trump has reimplemented brutal, unilateral sanctions against Iran that are inflicting real suffering on Iranian civilians in no way responsible for the policies of their government. In June, Donald Trump claims to have ordered, but called off, strikes against Iran, after the U.S. alleged the Iranian military shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone. Tensions were further inflamed in September when Saudi Arabia accused Iran of attacking a Saudi oil field.

    A U.S. war against Iran would be catastrophic. U.S. wars in the Middle East have left a bloody legacy, killing over a million people. This new conflict would endanger the lives of millions of Iranians, Iraqis, and others throughout the Middle East, potentially creating a near continuous warzone from Lebanon to Afghanistan. As internationalists we stand in solidarity with the people of the Middle East, from the streets of Baghdad to Beirut, in their struggles for liberation and against the scourge of war.

    As Democratic Socialists, we reject further war, imperialism and militarism by our government. We oppose a war against Iran, call for the lifting of sanctions, the rejoining of the Iran Nuclear deal, and the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq. We encourage DSA members to find a protest action near them to engage in.

  • Public Banking in San Diego – 10/22 at UNITE HERE

    Please join DSA San Diego for an illuminating discussion on public banking, led by renowned public banking expert Ellen Brown. With the passage of AB857 into law, California municipalities can now do their own banking, free from the shareholder pressures driving Wall Street and global finance. 

    Learn more about what this might mean for city services, public projects, and our opportunities to leverage greater democratic influence on our hometown institutions.

    ABOUT ELLEN BROWN: Ellen Brown is the founder of the Public Banking Institute and the author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles. She developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In the best-selling Web of Debt (2007, 2012), she turned those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust,” showing how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves and how we the people can get it back.

  • DSA San Diego Endorses Hands Off Iran March July 7

    DSA San Diego endorses the Hands Off Iran! march Sunday, July 7, hosted by @PSLSanDiego and Answer San Diego! We invite our members and allies to march with us to tell US imperialists loudly and clearly – HANDS OFF IRAN!

    The march starts at the Balboa Park fountain at 3:00 pm:

    1549 El Prado, San Diego, California 92101
    https://www.facebook.com/events/2292737470988735/

    The United States of America recently celebrated breaking from colonial rule, but today, its neocolonial arms extend across the globe. Those who resist its ruling class hegemony become targets to be undermined, sanctioned, or bombed.

    Their target du jour, Iran, is no exception. The nation liberated itself from a western puppet government and has been resisting the US and its allies since. As a result, the US has targeted Iran with a series of provocations, threats, and manufactured crises designed to push the public towards support for war. They have been targeted with sanctions, in violation of international agreements.

    The Trump Administration, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and the mainstream media establishment are vigorously attempting to manufacture consent for military conflict. The people of the world have seen this farce before. We will not stand idly by as our nations are dragged into bloody conflict in the cynical pursuit of profit, at the expense of the lives of the Iranian people. We will stand up and make our voices heard – NO WAR ON IRAN.

  • 2019 Major Campaigns

    At our March annual chapter convention, the chapter voted unanimously to support our first two major campaigns brought forward by the Immigration Working Group and the Ecosocialism Working Group. These campaigns offer several fantastic opportunities for our chapter’s members to help build our chapter’s capacity, expand local and international solidarity relationships, and grow as organizers.

    Growing a Revolution – Community Garden/Education

    The community garden plot hatched by the Ecosocialist WG last fall will provide a new base for solidarity, discovery, prefigurative politics (acting out the change we want to see), and community-wide political education. To get plugged in, please fill out the Ecosocialist WG survey.

    Cross-Border Connections between San Diego/Tijuana

    The Immigration WG has been making several trips a month to Tijuana since the arrival of several thousand members of the Central American Exodus last November, and with this campaign seeks to solidify connections to prepare for new groups. To get plugged in, please fill out the Immigration WG survey. (Members only, please! If you’re new to DSA, we will ask that you attend at least one in-person meeting of the WG before joining our cross-border work.)

  • Bowling for Abortions

    We’re bowling our way to healthcare justice! For DSA San Diego’s second year of supporting the National Network for Abortion Funds, please contribute to our chapter-wide General Strike team. Any amount helps assure much-needed reproductive healthcare for folks all over our country. Pins up!

  • International Day of Action – events January 11 and January 12

    Join DSA San Diego and the San Diego Migrant and Refugee Solidarity Coalition as we call for justice at events on January 11 and January 12. On November 25, 2018, our previous international day of action, the Trump administration earned worldwide infamy by viciously attacking those seeking asylum with tear gas and rubber bullets – an assault repeated in the dawn of this new year – the earliest hours of January 1, 2019. Day after day, the administration’s obstructionism continues, with the initiation of asylum cases slowing to a crawl and implementation of a grotesquely inhumane “Remain in Mexico” policy pledged to be imminent.

    Our rally convenes at noon at the Customs and Border Patrol office in San Ysidro (311 Athey Avenue). For more details, confirm your attendance through the Facebook events.

    January 11:

    https://www.facebook.com/events/342216466632547/

    January 12:

    https://www.facebook.com/events/294217241435988/

  • Medicare for All with Tim Faust July 5

    DSA San Diego is thrilled to welcome Tim Faust, nationally recognized health care advocate, to preside over a Medicare for All Town Hall on Thursday, July 5 at 6:30 p.m. You might have heard Tim during DSA’s national Medicare for All webcasts, on Chapo Trap House, or his Heavy Medical Podcast. (We promise only ergonomically sound headbanging this occasion.) Join us at the Unite Here union hall, 2436 Market Street – a truly unique opportunity!