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  • 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.

  • Rojava Solidarity Statement

    The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, better known as “Rojava,” is a self-proclaimed Internationalist Commune representing the liberation movement of both women and workers in the region.

    We pledge our international solidarity to the people of Rojava against Erdogan and reactionary nationalism in their struggle for autonomy and self-determination!

    (DAWG) The Direct Action Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America, San Diego, wholeheartedly condemns the imperialist aggression(s) committed against the Kurdish people and their allies. These atrocities include: summary killings, bombings of civilians, and extrajudicial violence against activists and political dissidents within Turkey, but also expanding to those affected by the multi-ethnic diaspora.

    We recognize that this application of democratic confederalism requires an international show of solidarity in the fight for a better, more just world. The members of (DAWG) send our highest regards and goodwill to the freedom fighters in North-East Syria and their comrades in arms! We commit to engaging our community in regard to this cause and encourage collaboration with like-minded organizations and individuals in this struggle.

    Solidarity Forever!  
    Biji berxwedan!

    Below are additional resources useful for learning more and staying up to date.
    https://rojavainformationcenter.com
    https://internationalistcommune.com
    https://newint.org/features/2019/10/11/assault-rojava

  • Support El Comedor

    This #Giving Tuesday, DSA San Diego asks you to make a gift to El Comedor, an autonomous migrant-run kitchen in Tijuana that serves meals and provides other resources to asylum seekers and people in need. The collective that runs this kitchen, Contra Viento y Marea, was born out of the self-organization of caravan members during the siege of Benito Juarez in December 2018.

    The Central American exodus of 2018 and the caravans that followed brought a number of asylum seekers to Tijuana. The US and Mexican governments have been coordinating to flout international asylum laws and criminalize migration – they do not allow asylum seekers to present themselves at ports of entry and instead funnel them into an illegal metering system. This has resulted in a number of asylum seekers being stuck in Tijuana, waiting in line to enter the US and unable to go back. 

    This past year, DSA San Diego via the Immigration Working Group has been building ties across the border with organizations and collectives made up of and serving the members of the migrant caravans. El Comedor is an especially close connection, as its emphasis on collective governance and mutual aid resonate with DSA’s priorities.

    El Comedor is a community kitchen, garden, and donation center serving the impoverished Zone Norte neighborhood of Tijuana and is supported solely by donations. Your contribution will help pay for rent, utilities, and food. This autonomous space provides hot meals, distributes donations of clothes and hygiene products, and serves as the location of a medical clinic. Aside from feedings migrants, individuals deported from the US, and Tijuana’s unhoused community, El Comedor also provides survival goods like blankets, warm clothes, shoes, sleeping bags, tents, and toiletry kits.

    The migrant crisis persists and many migrants seeking asylum in the US find themselves stranded in Tijuana with little to no access to resources from the government, a situation gravely exacerbated by the Trump Administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, which forces asylum seekers to return to Mexico until an asylum decision has been made – a period of many months, even years. A donation of any size will be a commitment of compassion, justice, and global community.

    You can donate now to the Gofundme page created to support El Comedor’s rent and other regular bills, or via Venmo @tjrefugee-support.

  • 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.

  • March to Close the Concentration Camps – October 13

    Join DSA San Diego and community members as we march to demand that DHS close its egregious concentration camps. No kids in cages! Asylum is a right. 

    Speeches by a coalition of left organizations across San Diego, including DSA, will be given between intervals of our march.

    DATE: October 13
    TIME: 12:00 pm
    ADDRESS: 585 Harbor Lane

    For more details:

    October 12, 2019

  • 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.

  • DSA San Diego Immigration Working Group Statement Urging Senator Sanders to Adopt Human-Rights Focused Immigration Policy and Uplift Border Community Voices

    DSA San Diego Immigration Working Group Statement Urging Senator Sanders to Adopt Human-Rights Focused Immigration Policy and Uplift Border Community Voices

    We, the Immigration Working Group of the San Diego chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), are dismayed by the DSA National-endorsed Presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, and his continued capitulation to the right-wing of American politics with  backwards statements on immigration and immigration policy. First, Bernie Sanders used right-wing talking points in his misinformed position against ‘open borders’, with an open and continued use of the dog whistle phrase “comprehensive immigration reform.” Now, in a moment where Senator Sanders could have stood up for Democratic Socialist values, he fails to appropriately name the atrocities being orchestrated by the Trump Administration at the border, and instead distances himself from their characterization as concentration camps.

    Because of the Trump Administration’s increased militarization of the southern border, and its violent enforcement-only policies, at least seven children have died in U.S. custody since late last year, and trans women, like Johana Medina Leon and Roxsana Hernandez, have also died languishing in detention cells. The Department of Homeland Security’s own inspectors have cited detention facilities as overcrowded and unsanitary, with “unusable toilets, mildew and mold on the showers … little to no access to recreation, horrible food conditions” among other appalling problems. These facilities do little more than punish people fleeing dangerous conditions and seeking safety and deny them their human rights.

    In short, they are the very definition of a concentration camp.

    Since 2010, at least 90 people have died as the result of an interaction with U.S. border agents,  and the number of stories of death and abuse of children and adults in detention facilities grows with each passing week.

    As  socialists who live and work in the southern border region, we urge Senator Sanders to leave behind these outdated and misinformed talking points on immigration and border policy, and to adopt a human-rights first approach in his immigration platform, one that falls in line with our socialist values, and upholds the legal right for people to seek asylum, without criminalizing asylum-seekers or anyone fleeing dangerous situations and seeking safety.

    We urge Senator Sanders to work with organizations and communities that actually live and work in the southern border region, to gain their perspective and trust, and to incorporate our vision and needs into his immigration and border platform.

  • Harassment Grievance Officers – Call for Candidates

    In order to promote the safety of our community and perform the hard work of unwinding colonization and patriarchy, DSA San Diego appoints two harassment grievance officers (HGOs) each year. This year, we also ask that our HGOs act to distinguish and advise on the resolution of intramember conflicts unrelated to identity.

    If you are a member in good standing and willing to serve in this essential role, please email sandiegodsa@gmail.com no later than Wednesday, June 12 with a one-page statement on your qualifications and interest in the position. Please self-disclose any facets of your identity distinguishing you from the cishet male hegemony prevailing in our culture.

    Members are invited to convene to select two new HGOs to serve one-year terms. A meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 19 at the Point Loma Library. To center marginalized voices, our HGO policy requires a majority of non-cis male/people of color to constitute the ad hoc selection committee. Femmes/members of color are encouraged to participate in this vital meeting. If the major portion of attendees are cis white men, those members will be asked to organize a smaller subset to continue with the meeting.

  • National convention delegates – call for candidates

    The biennial DSA National Convention will take place this summer from August 2-4, in Atlanta, Georgia. DSA San Diego has been allocated 12 slots for convention delegates, offering outstanding opportunity for members of our chapter to participate in the highest level of DSA governance — our national general assembly.

    If you are interested in representing the San Diego chapter at the national convention, please fill out our candidate questionnaire (link embedded) no later than midnight, May 4.

    Candidates must be members in good standing as of May 1, 2019. DSA San Diego will embark on fundraising beginning this summer to help defray expenses associated with travel, and a portion of travel expenses will be reimbursed by the national organization after the event. While chapter resources are limited, we are committed to assuring equitable access to members regardless of their individual financial standing.

  • 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.)