Greetings from the Don

Happy New Year from the Don.

Such a class act. From the next President of the United States of America!

Upcoming Events

Information about events or other actions is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to participate.

January 2, 2017

Oakland

Biological Diversity Oakland Rally

The Earth2Trump Roadshow is coming to a town near you in January.

The roadshow is rallying and empowering defenders of civil rights and the environment to resist Trump's dangerous agenda. 

Stopping in 16 cities on its way to Washington, D.C., it will bring thousands of people to protest at the presidential inauguration. 

MORE INFORMATION HERE

January 7, 2017

San Francisco

SF United Against Trump
A Panel Discussion, A Speakout, and Making Plans to Fight Back
Saturday, January 7, 1-4 PM
Women's Building, 3543 18th St., SF
(Betw Valencia & Guerrero)
16th St BART, Muni 14, 22, 26, 33, 49, J Church.
MORE INFORMATION HERE

January 20, 2017

San Francisco

Protest Against Trump on Inauguration Day:
Fight Racism, Defend Immigrants!
Friday January 20, 2017 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: San Francisco UN Plaza, near Civic Center BART, on Market St. btwn 7th and 8th Sts.
Organizer/Author ANSWER Coalition
MORE INFORMATION HERE

Bridge Together Golden Gate
Using lengths of purple fabric, we will form the first human chain across the entire Golden Gate Bridge (and beyond), as a collaborative, grassroots, community-based demonstration and performance art piece. We will prove that #LoveTrumpsHate and we are #StrongerTogether.
MORE INFORMATION HERE

Sacramento

Protest Against Trump on Inauguration Day.
Date: Friday, January 20, 2017 2 PM - 7 PM
Location: Sacramento Capitol
1301 10th St, Sacramento, California 95814

Organizer: Carlos Alfaro
MORE INFORMATION HERE ON FACEBOOK

January 21, 2017

Women's March San Jose

San Jose City Hall, San Jose, CA
Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 10 AM - 3 PM
200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, California 95113
Created for San Francisco Women's March on Washington
Hosted By:
Renee Lavallee Mckenna
Casey Wmwbayarea
Yvonne Napolitan
Link to event on Facebook

Women's March Santa Cruz County

Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 1:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Santa Cruz City Hall
809 Center St, Santa Cruz, California 95060
Hosted By: Maria Serrano Boutell
Cynthia Hawthorne
Maryanne Campbell
Link to event on Facebook

Women's March San Francisco

Hosted by: Renee Lavallee Mckenna
Casey Wmwbayarea
Yvonne Napolitan
Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 4 PM - 9 PM
Civic Center
San Francisco, California 94102
Created for San Francisco Women's March on Washington

Link to event on Facebook

trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll

In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil—the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States—Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation’s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe—featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin—and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee “Iron Ass” Raymond, ExxonMobil’s chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.

Optimism, a quote

Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

“A word about my personal philosophy. It is anchored in optimism. It must be, for optimism brings with it hope, a future with a purpose, and therefore, a will to fight for a better world. Without this optimism, there is no reason to carry on."
― Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals

Biological Diversity Jan 2 Oakland Rally

The Earth2Trump Roadshow is coming to a town near you in January. The roadshow is rallying and empowering defenders of civil rights and the environment to resist Trump's dangerous agenda.

Stopping in 16 cities on its way to Washington, D.C., it will bring thousands of people to protest at the presidential inauguration.

MORE INFORMATION HERE

Today is the Day

PETITION UPDATE

DEC 19, 2016 — Today, 538 Electors will gather to vote for our president. We know we will see thousands of you gathering in all 50 states and Washington D.C., encouraging the Electors to vote their conscience and reject Donald Trump.

Today, the ECP team will deliver the petition in person and participate in the protest on the steps of the Capitol in Austin.

We will be posting updates and streaming live from the ECP Facebook page here.

Today, use the hashtag #Dec19 as much as you can. If you can't be at a protest, then repost those who are. For just one more day, post, tweet, and talk to your friends about the Electoral College and the unprecedented danger of Donald Trump. Make your voices heard.

We are proud to stand with you. And no matter what happens today, know that we are just getting started.

Daniel and the ECP team

A father teaching his son to stand up for what he believes in.

DREAMer Guadalupe Garcia

Our final speaker was Zara Billo.  She is a Muslim, and a civil rights attorney, and the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.  She talked about how the Trump message of hate has created fear within the Muslim community.  She also reminded us that we must all stand strong together for all human rights - even as the fight gets tough.

Unity Rally Palo Alto 12/18/16 Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell

Unity Rally Palo Alto 12/18/16 Associate Pastor Gregory Stevens of the First Baptist Church. Telling the story of Love trumps Hate. The Wolf, Eagle, Bear can take everything away (legs, arms, head) from the Rabbit, but in his heart "he will still say Love trumps Hate". Our humanity cannot not be taken away from us.

Palo Alto Unity Rally -- A Great Success

Deb and I attended the Unity Rally in Palo Alto today.  About 300 folks showed up on a cool December afternoon to listen to a great lineup of people share their passion, their (and our collective) concerns about the future, and why we all must stand strong together to fight the Trump administration.  It may not have been the biggest event, but it was the most diverse and inspiring rally I’ve been to sense the election debacle.  

Judge Ladoris Cortel, proudly wearing her “NOT MY PRESIDENT” sweatshirt, got us started with a virtual walk down Pennsylvania Ave.  We walked by the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, The “Newseum” which highlights the contributions a free press has made towards preserving our democracy, and all the status and monuments, and even the Trump hotel.  She reminded us of the greatness of a free society, and sharply suggested that Trump should take the time to read the Constitution himself and try see those values before he takes the oath of office.  

We also heard from a DACA recipient and DREAMer, Erika Matinez:  a woman born, educated and employed as a social worker in this country, but now at risk because of her family history.  She spoke of her pride in graduating from CSU East Bay and of contributing back to society.  She spoke of how she was given a hand up, and now valued the opportunity to give a hand up to people that came after her.  Her positive “no regrets” attitude and strong support of community was fantastic to hear.  

Our final speaker was Zara Billo.  She is a Muslim, and a civil rights attorney, and the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.  She talked about how the Trump message of hate has created fear within the Muslim community.  She also reminded us that we must all stand strong together for all human rights - even as the fight gets tough.

There were many more great speakers who I did not mention in this post.  Peninsula Peace and Justice Center did a fantastic job of including a remarkably diverse group -- all with inspirational stories to tell.  There were also booths set up for political parties and social groups to share information.  Well done!!

My takeaway:  this is a diverse group of activists with many party affiliations and political agendas.  We may not agree on every minor detail, but we do have a common desire; which is to create a society that, above all else, fulfils human needs and promotes human rights.  The fight is here, the fight is now.    

All In

Sometimes you have to be all in!

Action Alert - Rally Tomorrow 12/18 in Palo Alto!

Rally: Palo Alto Dec 18th

Donald Trump lost the election by 2.5 million votes. No mandate!
Pledge to resist the Trump platform!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18
2:00 PM
King Plaza,
Palo Alto City Hall
250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto

MORE DETAILS HERE

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

City of Alameda to consider making itself a Sanctuary City

The Alameda City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday Dec 20, 2016 at City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda to take up a resolution making them a Sanctuary City.  The process is similar to what San Jose and other city's have gone through to protect their citizens from the hateful, racist rhetoric of the Trump administration.

If you live in the City of Alameda, please attend and show your support!

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/14/alameda-to-consider-declaring-itself-sanctuary-city/

December 20 Meeting Agenda (PDF)

Never assume an issue is "safe"

The below Mercury News Article reminded me that we can never take anything for granted with respect to our local politics.  We must continually show a strong front against the hateful and offensive rhetoric of the Trump campaign, and we can never assume that our voice will be the loudest in the room.

The great news is the Council did the right thing and passed the resolution making the County of Santa Clara a sanctuary county.    

The sad news is there are folks in our community that believe that profiling "undocumented immigrants or report them to the Federal Government for immigration enforcement” actually makes us a "safer and inclusive community"

We must stay active in our community every day.  Take nothing for granted.  Thank our elected officials who stand for human rights.  Convince folks that White Nationalism is not the path to prosperity.

I think I'll start by thanking my councilmembers who voted in favor of this resolution.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/13/santa-clara-county-resolution-opposing-trump-plans-draws-heat/

Sacramento Inaugaration Day Protest, Jan. 20th

San Francisco Protest, Dec. 10, 2016

Sacramento Protest Against Trump on Inauguration Day.
Date: Friday, January 20, 2017 2 PM - 7 PM
Location: Sacramento Capitol
1301 10th St, Sacramento, California 95814
Organizer: Carlos Alfaro

MORE INFORMATION HERE ON FACEBOOK

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

San Francisco Inaugaration Day Protest, Jan. 20th

SF Protest Against Trump on Inauguration Day: Fight Racism, Defend Immigrants!
Friday January 20, 2017 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: San Francisco UN Plaza, near Civic Center BART, on Market St. btwn 7th and 8th Sts.
Organizer/Author ANSWER Coalition

MORE INFORMATION HERE

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

SF Mission District, Dec. 17th

March in the streets with homies & comrades: America was never great...
MORE INFORMATION HERE

 As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

Taking a stand in the rain

On a rainy Saturday, December 10, 2016, anti-Trump protestors march down Market Street towards City Hall in San Francisco. This was the This Is Not Normal March. It started from Harry Bridges Plaza — just steps from Justin Herman Plaza in front of the Ferry Building and went down Market St to Civic Center, and City Hall.

Rally: Palo Alto Dec 18th

Donald Trump lost the election by 2.5 million votes. No mandate!
Pledge to resist the Trump platform!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18
2:00 PM
King Plaza,
Palo Alto City Hall
250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto

MORE DETAILS HERE

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

San Francisco March, Dec. 18

Sunday, Dec. 18th at Dolores Park, 1pm. Peaceful March to City Hall. More Information Here

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

Hope to see you today

Martin Luther King Jr.

When someone asks you if protest can make a difference, ask them, where would America be without protest? Consider the civil rights movement, the labor movement, the free speech movement; etc. There is a reason the first amendment protects the right to peacefully assemble. Protest is as American as our constitution.

Hope to see you out there today!

San Francisco: December 10 - 2-6 pm Downtown San Francisco. Start, Justin Herman Plaza @2pm, & march along Market Street to Civic Center where there will be a stage for speeches, etc.

Please Protest Tomorrow

Love Trumps Hate protest, San Jose, Nov. 27, 2016

If you are against Trump, tomorrow's an opportunity to take a stand!!!

We will be in San Francisco...

This is Not Normal: Anti-Trump March in San Francisco 12/10

Date: Saturday December 10, 2016; 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Downtown San Francisco. Gather at Justin Herman Plaza @2pm, and march along Market Street to Civic Center where there will be a stage for speeches, etc.

Sacramento Mass March Against Trump, 12/10

Date: Saturday, December 10 AM at 12 PM
Location: Southside Park, Sacramento, 2115 6th St
Hosted by: Answer Coalition

Related Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1083574875086963/

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

More Info

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

Trump's Cabinet Post

Fox

Trump appoints Fox as Secretary of Chickens.

Guess who else has been person of the year?

1938 Man of the Year - Hitler

Also Stalin, twice. As well as the Ayatollah Khomeini...

Tell Democratic leaders: Block Trump’s crony cabinet

Petition to House and Senate Democratic leaders: "Block and resist any Trump nominee who embraces racism, xenophobia, misogyny, bigotry, corporate cronyism or Wall Street greed." Add your name:

Racists. Islamophobes. Corporate cronies. Wall Street insiders. Trump’s administration is already resembling the man himself: vehemently bigoted and devoted to enriching the powerful and privileged. The least-qualified and most-unpopular president-elect in modern history is stocking his cabinet full of hardliners and shady loyalists. His pick for attorney general was deemed too racist for a federal judgeship by members of his own party. His future national security adviser traffics in anti-Muslim bigotry. His rumored treasury secretary is a Goldman Sachs executive, and his transition team is loaded down with corporate lobbyists.1,2,3 Allowing Trump to appoint hatemongers and corporate insiders to leading positions would corrupt our democratic institutions and put millions at risk. Leading Democrats need to find their spines and immediately commit to resisting and blocking Trump’s crony cabinet. Tell Democratic leaders: Block Trump’s crony cabinet. Click here to sign the petition. Sen. Warren is already showing Democrats how to lead. She demanded Trump drop those with corporate conflicts of interest from his transition team and told him: “Should you refuse, I will oppose you, every step of the way, for the next four years. I will champion the millions of Americans you will fail to protect. I will track your every move, and I will remind Americans, every day, of the actions you take that fail them.”4 Consider a short list of potential Trump cabinet appointees:5 Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, is an avowed white supremacist. Jeff Sessions, nominee for attorney general, was rejected for a federal judgeship by fellow Republicans for a long history of racist behavior and beliefs, including saying the only problem with the Ku Klux Klan was marijuana use among members. Michael Flynn, nominee for national security adviser, who has personal and financial ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish authoritarian President Erdogan and has repeatedly peddled anti-Muslim bigotry. Steve Mnuchin, the nominee for treasury secretary, is a former Goldman Sachs banker with zero government experience but a history of aggressively foreclosing on struggling Americans. Among other rumored appointments are Rudy Giuliani, the pioneer of racist police tactics like stop and frisk; David Clarke, the sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin who called Black Lives Matter protesters “subhuman creeps;” Joe Arpaio, the viciously anti-immigrant former Arizona sheriff; Myron Ebell, a climate-change denier with no scientific experience; and John Bolton, neo-con foreign policy voice who wants the United States to bomb Iran. On top of it all, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has pointed out that Trump’s transition team includes “over twenty Wall Street elites, industry insiders, and lobbyists making decisions that could have huge implications for their clients or employers.”6 In short: If Democrats don’t stand strong, our government will be under the control of hatemongers and corporate cronies whose only qualification is their loyalty to an authoritarian president-elect. Tell Democratic leaders: Block Trump’s crony cabinet. Click here to sign the petition. While we continue to resist Trump by challenging the electors to exercise their moral conscience, we also have to pressure Democrats to put up a firewall against Trump. There is no reason to give a hate-group candidate who did not win the popular vote a free pass to appoint bigots, hatemongers and corporate puppets to leading positions in government. If Democrats stand their ground, they may even win allies from those Republicans who were lukewarm on Trump and foresee the damage from an administration full of unqualified cronies. The Trump administration is elevating fringe elements of society while giving more influence to Wall Street and corporate elites. Only by standing united in fierce resistance can Democrats expose Trump’s true agenda and build a diverse coalition demanding bold progressive change. Tell Democratic leaders: Block Trump’s crony cabinet. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump_cabinet?t=7&akid=20671.10976363.bfhzyk Thank you for speaking out, Murshed Zaheed, Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name:

Two Resistance Protests This Weekend - Reminder

This is Not Normal: Anti-Trump March in San Francisco 12/10

Date: Saturday December 10, 2016; 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Downtown San Francisco. Gather at Justin Herman Plaza @2pm, and march along Market Street to Civic Center where there will be a stage for speeches, etc.

Sacramento Mass March Against Trump, 12/10

Date: Saturday, December 10 AM at 12 PM
Location: Southside Park, Sacramento, 2115 6th St
Hosted by: Answer Coalition

Related Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1083574875086963/

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

More Info

As always:

Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

Moving Forward

We Must Resist!

Opinion by Steve Sloan

Moving forward we must look forward. We cannot move forward looking back at what should of been, or looking down fearing what might be, no, instead we can only move forward by looking forward. We need to be seizing the opportunity to hold fast onto our values and to build a world that works for everyone.
Some people think that if one side wins the other side has got to lose. But that's not the way this is going to work. We are all on the spaceship Earth together and the only way for this to work is going to be for everyone to win. This is a win-win opportunity.
Building a world that works for everyone means just that. We need to stand by our principles of love and inclusion, including people we disagree with. Everyone has a right to live a healthy life with respect and dignity. We either all stand together or we all will fall apart.
We can't look back. We can only move forward. The best way to do that is to see this as an opportunity to make fundamental change in the world. Shrinking back in fear and/or anger is not going to change anything. We must stand our ground for our principles, but that does not mean we fight hate by becoming hate.

Postcard Campaign 12/2 to 12/5

Let's continue to put the pressure on Congress to conduct a full investigation into the conflict of interests posed by Trump's private businesses.

This action is calling for all of us to unite by calling, faxing, and sending postcards to House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI).

Mail all postcards between Friday, December 2nd and Monday, December 5th in order to create the greatest concentration delivered at both locations.

More Info:

Facebook Event Page -> https://www.facebook.com/events/2062640370629037/

Related:

http://www.warren.senate.gov/files/documents/2016-11-23-GAO_Letter_On_Trump_Transition.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/us/politics/donald-trump-international-business.html?emc=edit_ta_20161126&nlid=56498025&ref=cta

Protest San Francisco 12/18

Sunday, December 18 at Noon
Robert Tuerk Organizer
   
San Francisco City Hall
1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place,
San Francisco, California 94102

Facebook Event Page --> https://www.facebook.com/events/104052666746214/

As always:
Information about events is provided as unverified information only. Please do your own research before deciding to attend any event.

Commitment to non-violence

Opinion by Steve Sloan 

 As we enter a period of public protest, and counter protest, both sides need to both show restraint not to let tempers get to them and to be committed to non-violence. Protest is not disloyalty. Protest is part of the process of American democracy. That is why our constitution includes a bill of rights. Take the right to peacefully assemble and protest away and you have killed everything this country stands for. For America to be America the right of citizens to protest has to remain and be respected – by both sides.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This is far from over! There are going to be a lot of protests ahead. There already has been violence and hate speech on both sides. If we do not condemn hate speech and violence on BOTH sides there is a real danger that this could evolve from passionate conversation to civil war.

One trend I have been seeing is a process of dehumanizing those we disagree with on these issues. An example of this is rampant name calling. There are bullies on both sides. That does not mean everyone from one side or the other are bullies. If you look at history, when people dehumanize the people they disagree with, the outcome often is not pretty.