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Confronting injustice: Jorge Rivera, anti-BDS protesters, Dr. Moreno

Happy Impeachment October, Anaheim Democrats!  First let’s give a shout-out to our two most CAUTIOUS OC lawmakers, Lou Correa and Gil Cisneros:  Welcome to the Party! Finally ALL SIX of our Congresscritters, whom we worked so hard to elect last year, are on board for doing what has to be done to remove this Trump menace from our body politic.  Lou’s Sept 24 statement is here, and Gil co-wrote a great Washington Post op-ed with six other “moderate, military-veteran, first-year Democratic Members of Congress” explaining the need to impeach:

“The president of the United States may have used his position to pressure a foreign country into investigating a political opponent, and he sought to use U.S. taxpayer dollars as leverage to do it. He allegedly sought to use the very security assistance dollars appropriated by Congress to create stability in the world, to help root out corruption and to protect our national security interests, for his own personal gain. These allegations are stunning, both in the national security threat they pose and the potential corruption they represent.”

This President has just gone too far, and he’s not gonna stop:  The lesson he drew from surviving the Muller Report is that absolutely no rules apply to him.  This week we’ve seen him more UNHINGED than ever before – which is always hard to imagine, but it just keeps happening.  This week we learned his ideas for immigration that his advisers nixed:  Shooting immigrants fatally, shooting them in the legs, making his “beautiful wall” electrified with flesh-piercing spikes, and creating a giant MOAT along the southern border filled with alligators!

But you see this clown show on TV every day.  Let’s talk instead about Saturday’s meeting, which is COMING RIGHT UP!

Saturday Oct. 5, 12:15-1:45, Haskett Branch Library

Our first speaker will be Jorge Rivera, from Long Beach’s “Tenants Together.”  We invited him because of Anaheim’s problem at Rancho La Paz and several apartment complexes where rents are being raised exorbitantly, and because of Jose and Denise’s unsuccessful attempts to start rent stabilization in this town.  Since our invitation, AB 1482 passed in Sacramento, but we’re still not sure how much that will help us here. 

Jorge will speak on the issue in general, on AB 1482, what it covers and what it doesn’t cover, where his group stands on it, how it will impact/improve on things, and where we can go from here.  Additionally he will talk about SB 50 which is apparently coming back.  (Shelved in May, SB 50 would override local zoning laws to require cities and counties to allow mid-rise apartment buildings within half a mile of major transit stops or in “jobs-rich” areas. It would do away with single-family zoning altogether, allowing property owners to convert single-family houses anywhere in the state into four-unit apartment houses.) Jorge could additionally talk about the efforts in Santa Ana to put rent control on the ballot again in 2020.

Tenants Together is dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of California tenants to safe, decent and affordable housing.

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Our second (group of) speakers will be Bakr Teebi and Nader Salem, with a 20-minute presentation on the “BDS” (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement trying to influence Israel toward a fairer more humane treatment of Palestinians, and all the un-American legislative efforts that have been launched against it.  Here’s a summary of the points Bakr and Nader hope to make Saturday:

Why Democrats should care about Palestine:

• Israel does not currently align with progressive values
• Major issues faced by Palestinians including various human rights issues (detention, freedom of movement, self determination, etc)
• Discriminatory laws and Israel as an “ethno-theocracy”.
• Americans invest heavily into Israel financially via taxes for military aid and other related technologies (parallels between tracking technology, use of the wall in Mexico/US and Israel) – approximately 4 billion dollars/year spent from tax payers to Israel plus military aid in the form of weapons and other military technologies.
• Global reputation of the US
• Various legislation being passed/pushed related to Palestine Israel, including anti Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolutions to limit activism for Palestinian human rights.
• What is BDS?
• Current list of Palestinian-related resolutions in the US Congress:
  HR 246 – Anti-BDS Resolution passed in the House
  HR 2407 – Resolution regarding the US distancing itself from Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian children currently introduced in the House by Betty McCollum (Democrat)
  HR 336 – Resolution intended to strengthen and provide legal backing to legally allow states to punish individuals involved in BDS-related activism against only the state of Israel currently introduced into the House by Michael McCaul (Republican).

And lastly we’ll have our own PEOPLE’S COUNCILMAN JOSE MORENO give us the latest on Anaheim – the secretive Angels negotiations, his upcoming (Oct. 22) offensive on Anaheim Campaign Reform, and the Abolish ICE controversy!  This time he will definitely be there, and answer all your questions – an experience not to be missed!  So be there.  Saturday Oct. 5, 12:15 to 1:45 pm, Haskett Branch Library in West Anaheim (by Maxwell Park.)  ALL DEMOCRATS WELCOME!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN OCTOBER

• Sat. 5, 12:15-1:45, Haskett Branch Library – Monthly Meeting of Anaheim Democrats Club.
• Every Monday, 6 or 7 pm, Anaheim Unitarian-Universalist Church – People’s Homeless Task Force, and Housing is a Human Right OC.
• Every Wednesday morning, 7:30, Jagerhaus – Los Amigos!
• Wed. 9, 7pm at “Chapter One,” Santa Ana – OC Young Democrats Meeting with Sharon Quirk-Silva!
• Sat. 12, 1-4 pm, Memorial Park, Santa Ana – Chicanos Unidos Legal Clinic & Anniversary Celebration!
• Tue. 15, 5:30-7:30, Asylum Brewery, 2970 La Palma Ste D – Monthly Mixer for Anaheim Democrats!
• Tues. 15, 7-9pm, Eader School, Huntington Beach – Town Hall on the Poseidon Desal Scam (which would impact Anaheim!)
• Wed. 16 & 17 evenings, on CNN – Democratic Presidential Debates!
• Mon. 21, 6-8, Anaheim Brewery – pre-Council seminar with Councilman Jose! – this one’s important.
• Tue. 22, 5pm, City Hall – COUNCIL MEETING! – This will be the one with Jose’s campaign reforms, and more!
• Wed. 23, 6-8, DPOC on Chapman in Orange – Harnessing the Power of Women!
• Thu. 24, 1pm, Probation Dept, 1001 S. Grand, Santa Ana – Workshop on “Re-entry.”  See Donna for more details.
• Thu. 24, 6pm, Gordon Hoyt Center – Police Review Board monthly meeting.
• Mon. 28, 6-8, Anaheim Brewery – pre-Council seminar with Councilman Jose.
• Tue 29, 5pm, City Hall – COUNCIL MEETING!
• Sat Nov 2, noon to 10pm – Dia de Los Muertos on the Santa Ana ArtWalk!
• AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS – Sat. Nov 23, at DVine Fullerton – Michigan Progressive Democratic Congressional Superstar Rashida Tlaib comes to the OC!  See the Bushala Brothers for more details.