May 5, 2023
CONTENTS
UP FRONT
The 2023 DSA Convention approaches — Nomination deadlines end soon!
Rent stabilization and tenant rights canvass in downtown Silver Spring — Sunday, May 7 at 1pm
Socialist Soccer + Potluck — Sunday, May 7 at 12pm
The 2023 DSA Convention approaches — Nomination deadlines end soon!
DSA’s biennial national convention is in Chicago from August 4 to 6. MDC DSA will be sending 38 delegates (and 4 alternates) to Chicago, and if you want to be involved, the deadline for nominations is Monday, May 8. Nominate yourself or someone else in a form linked on the dedicated convention Slack channel, #2023-national-convention. Voting (by OpaVote) will take place for delegates and any NPC nominations from May 23 – 27 after our May General Body Meeting.
MDC DSA members may also run for the National Political Committee of DSA. Self-nomination is available until May 14; the MDC DSA General Body must approve candidates.
Delegates at the convention will vote on resolutions submitted by comrades all over the US that received enough support to get put on the agenda. See the Resolutions Hub.
Information on the national convention, our participation and delegate selection is regularly updated on MDC DSA’s dedicated Slack channel, #2023-national-convention, which includes discussion and advocacy of candidates and their stances or platforms, as well as of resolutions at the convention. The Slack channel also includes links to the delegate nomination form and to a tracker that shows how many nominations a candidate has — it takes 5 to qualify.
Getting our 40-plus elected national convention delegates and alternates to Chicago in early August will be a heavy financial lift — likely between $800 and $1,000 per person. Please contribute to the travel-share treasury here if you have the means.
Rent stabilization and tenant rights canvass in downtown Silver Spring — Sunday, May 7 at 1pm
Last January, Montgomery County DSA and partners in the HOME Act Coalition canvassed the Blairs apartments in downtown Silver Spring and met countless tenants who are ready for rent stabilization in Montgomery County. Since then, tenants have experienced even more rent increases and disruptive maintenance projects. Join us this Sunday, May 7 at 1pm to invite tenants to a meeting with their County Council member about rent stabilization and gauge interest in forming a tenant association. RSVP here.
The launch spot is near the Silver Spring Metro and the Silver Spring Transit Center. If driving, you can park in the Giant Food parking lot (1280 East West Highway, Silver Spring). The park is on the opposite end of the parking lot from the Giant.
Socialist Soccer + Potluck — Sunday, May 7 at 12pm
Join MDC DSA for soccer games and a potluck on Sunday, May 7 from 12 to 3pm at Walter Pierce Park (2630 Adams Mill Rd NW). All are welcome regardless of skill level or experience. Members and non-members are invited to play soccer, bring food, and grab a plate to talk to comrades. We encourage people to label your food with possible allergies.
BRIEFS
April GBM OpaVote ballot results are in
Thanks to everyone who participated in the April GBM OpaVote! Below are the results for the question “Should the chapter adopt the Resolution to Amend the Chapter’s Internal Elections Policy?” There were 151 voters on this question, with 150 ballots and 1 empty ballot.
- YES: 116
- NO: 22
- ABSTAIN: 12
General resolutions require a majority vote. With more than 50% of votes in favor, the Resolution to Amend the Chapter’s Internal Elections Policy PASSES.
Note: Thank you all for your votes on the question “Should the chapter adopt the General Body Meeting Frequency Bylaw Amendment?” Because a previous version of the document was referenced in the OpaVote, this month’s vote is void and the correct, final draft will be included in the May OpaVote.
Defund and Refunk the District — Saturday, May 20 at 1pm
The Defund MPD working group will be hosting their first Defund and Refunk the District on Saturday, May 20 at 1pm. Come out to Market Park (701 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, near the Eastern Market metro) for an afternoon of art, music and conversation as we imagine new ways to improve the District and keep our residents safe from violence, poverty, police and oppression. The event will include a short political education workshop on the DC budget so we can envision a people’s budget. Please RSVP here, and if you’d like to help us spread the word about the event, join our canvass the week prior on Saturday, May 13 from 1 to 3pm at the same location. Members on the chapter Slack should plug in to the #defund-the-police channel.
NY DSA instrumental in passing Green New Deal win; join DMV-area ecosocialist efforts
On May Day — despite the neoliberal tendencies of Governor Kathy Hochul and her fossil fuel backers — the Build Public Renewables Act was included in the New York State Budget. Via public funding, the Build Public Renewables Act will help build publicly owned, 100% renewable energy — lowering energy costs for the working class and creating thousands of green, union jobs in the process. Learn more about the bill here and here.
The NY DSA has shown a blueprint for how elected socialists and grassroots organizing can provide material improvements for the working class, a blueprint we must adapt and emulate. The first NYC DSA canvass for public power took place in 2019 — illustrating the importance of disciplined, long-term organizing, coalition-building across labor, justice and environmental groups and public pressure. Metro DC DSA’s We Power DC campaign is our chapter’s ongoing push for publicly owned energy in the DMV — get involved by emailing wepowerdc@gmail.com.
Learn more from this recent Washington Socialist interview: The Future of Energy Policy (Ft. We Power’s Tom McBrien)
Tell Mayor Bowser to spend contingency funds to house incoming migrant families!
Migrants from the border are still being misled and trafficked across the country as part of a cruel and dehumanizing PR campaign from Republican governors — even ones that cannot manage to find undocumented workers — and our community’s ability to sustain them is still being stretched. Sanctuary DMV and Beloved Community Incubator are calling for people to sign a letter urging Mayor Bowser and the DC government to use contingency funds to house migrants in light of news that the Office of Migrant Services has run out of shelter space. You can sign the letter here. You can also directly donate to Sanctuary DMV’s ongoing mutual aid efforts here.
How Workers Win labor symposium — TODAY, Friday, May 5 at 9:30am
The City University of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies will be hosting a hybrid symposium titled “How Workers Win: Rebuilding Labor’s Power for the 21st Century” today from 9:30am to 5pm. You can register to attend via Zoom here.
INFO ACCESS
About MDC DSA: The local chapter’s website is here. The road map of MDC DSA’s activism — campaigns, working groups, etc. — is here. And here is an introduction to the chapter including our branches covering the DMV. We have published the Washington Socialist in paper and on the web since the 1980s; see this topic-indexed archive. It is also the base of a home-grown history of our local chapter. Our political education, ongoing every day, is also inscribed in the record of our Socialist Night School. Watch for the next round of our pol ed reading groups, coming up for summer.
Publications Schedule: Friday issues of the Weekly Update are scheduled for May 12th, 19th and 26th and the June issue of the monthly Washington Socialist will accompany the Update of Friday, June 2nd. The article deadline for the June issue is May 27th; send submissions to thesocialist@mdcdsa.org.
Weekly Update Tip Line: The Metro DC DSA Tip Line is live. If you have news or events that you think should be promoted in the Weekly Update, please submit it to the form above. Include your contact information and all possible details for consideration. Deadline is Thursdays at 4pm for the following Friday publication, but please don’t wait till the last minute.
DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Friday, May 5th
6:30 – 9pm | NoVA DSA Gamenite – Cottagecore Extravaganza
Saturday, May 6th
12:30 – 2:30pm | Defund NoVA Police Organizing Retreat
Sunday, May 7th
1pm | Tenants Rights & Rent Stabilization Canvass (MoCo)
7 – 8pm | NoVA Electoral Working Group Meeting
Tuesday, May 9th
7 – 8:30pm | Beyond Apartheid: Settler Colonialism in Palestine (Palestine Liberation Reading Group)
Wednesday, May 10
8 – 9pm | Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation
Thursday, May 11th
6:15 – 7:45pm | NoVA Branch Meeting
Saturday, May 13th
1 – 3pm | Eastern Market (DC) canvass with the Defund MPD Working Group
Thursday, May 18th
6:30 – 7:30pm | Social Housing Organizing Meeting
Saturday, May 20th
1 – 3pm | Defund & Refunk the District
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Mutual Aid Block Party | Ward 2 Mutual Aid
Join Ward 2 Mutual Aid on Saturday, May 6 from 2 to 4pm for a community block party in Logan Circle. Food, fun and mutual aid education can be expected!
Ward 7 & 8 Resource Fair | DC Greens
Discover local organizations and networks active east of the river that are available to support Ward 7 and 8 residents at the DC Greens Resource Fair on Saturday, May 13 at The Well at Oxon Run (300 Valley Avenue SE). There will be food, music, activities and local organizations introducing themselves and sharing information about the services they provide. Come through for 15 minutes or stay all four hours! Click here to RSVP and/or find more information on tabling at the Resource Fair.
Mothers’ Day Free Market | Ward 4 Mutual Aid and Petworth Peanuts
The Ward 4 Mothers’ Day Free Market is back for the third year in a row! This free market is an immensely popular event, and brings neighbors from across the DMV who are in need of maternity, baby care and young children’s items. The event will be held on Saturday, May 13 at Emory Church Beacon of Light Church (6100 Georgia Ave NW) from 12 to 4pm, but volunteers are needed ASAP to organize! Sign up here if you are able to volunteer to get the word out in advance and/or support the event day-of.
Vote for Your Favorite DC Dyke March T-Shirt Design | DC Dyke March
The theme of this year’s Dyke March (Friday, June 9) will be Dykes for Trans Rights! This year’s t-shirt designs have been submitted by wonderful, volunteer artists, and now it’s time to vote! Click here to see all the potential designs and cast your vote. As an all-volunteer, no-sponsors event, DC Dyke March organizers are still seeking volunteers to help ensure the success of this year’s event. Email dcdykemarch@gmail.com for more information on how you can support the event.
Final Stop of the Fund-A-Thon | DC Abortion Fund & Electric Cool-Aid
DC Abortion Fund’s last event of their annual fund-a-thon will take place starting at 6pm on Wednesday, May 31 at Electric Cool-Aid (512 Rhode Island Ave NW). There will be great beats by Les The DJ, frozen drinks and plenty of Metro puns. Tickets start at just $10 and can be found here. Please note, this event is expected to sell out early.
GOOD READS / ESSENTIAL TRAFFIC
Only two months ago, millionaires stopped paying into the Social Security Trust Fund for 2023. Workers World has the context. “In 1983, the last time Congress made major reforms to Social Security, they set the cap at a level that covered 90% of all wage income, leaving only 10% above the cap. By 2021, the percentage of income above that cap had nearly doubled. And that doesn’t even include investment income which … accounts for the bulk of the income of the wealthiest. EPI estimates that rising inequality has cost the Social Security Trust Fund $1.4 trillion.” Yeah, with a T.
The sailing ship that helped create public opposition to nuclear war in the ’50s is refurbished, back and on tour to keep today’s troubling war mania at bay. Now, in the midst of its Great Loop Tour circling the entirety of the eastern United States, the 21st century Golden Rule aims to be more than a history lesson. Veterans for Peace and the project’s many supporters are working for nothing less than igniting a new movement to abolish nuclear weapons altogether. It’s in Baltimore and the Bay this week. Via Portside.
Got war? Next stop, armed extremism at home. “After every major American war, the historical record shows a surge in membership and activity among extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. In each example, these groups also adopt elements of military activity, like uniforms, weapons and the latest military tactics. But this doesn’t mean that these surges are entirely composed of veterans. All measures of violence rise after warfare, including acts carried out by women, children and older people.” A sobering link between two perennial problems, from The Conversation.
Exelon expects $173M loss related to ComEd bribery lawsuit as SEC lobbying investigation continues. So who is Exelon and why should we worry about it? It’s a giant Midwest-based firm that happens to own all the companies that provide power in Maryland, plus much more as you see. So we have to wonder where they will reach to cover their losses (read: ratepayers in Maryland and elsewhere). They are facing big decommissioning costs already for an aging nuclear-plant fleet. The article also has some interesting side chatter about how Maryland’s also aging power grid might benefit from Gov. Moore’s expanded offshore wind goals. From Utility Dive
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of the chains of its restrictions, shatters them, and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vaster and freer horizon.
–Virgilia D’Andrea