By Rebecca C
Branch/Working group/National DSA activities
The NYC-DSA Housing working group posted this video about its protest at the NYC headquarters of the Blackstone Group investment firm:
Private equity monster BLACKSTONE spent millions to crush a Calif. rent control proposal so they can keep bleeding tenants dry. We paid their NYC hq a visit to let them know tenants across the country will unite to make them pay.#HousingJustice4All#UniversalRentControl now! pic.twitter.com/PEDmTFsq5w
— NYC-DSA Housing (@dsa_housing) November 7, 2018
DSA Legal Working Group tweeted about helping refugees at the border:
They’re already prepping their defense for mass murder.
We must organize to meet refugees at the border. https://t.co/WkKOJKAf8K
— DSA Legal 🌹 (@DSA_law) November 1, 2018
A NYC-DSA post stimulated this thread about the November 15th march in the snow for #UniversalRentControl:
Marching in the snow? That’s easy.
Finding affordable housing in New York is the hard part.
We need #UniversalRentControl.
We need #TenantPower.
And we need it NOW. pic.twitter.com/1w1eFbRosp— New York City DSA 🌹 (@nycDSA) November 15, 2018
DSA San Francisco tweeted about a Google walkout (with a link to NYMag article about the workers’ demands.):
Organizers behind #googlewalkout explain the worker’s demands for increased transparency, accountability and worker power to combat frequent inequalities and abuse amid executive scandal.https://t.co/EwCxuuR7Zr
— DSA San Francisco (@DSA_SF) November 1, 2018
Worth a retweet/follow
Lee Carter (@CarterforVA), a member of DSA, is a good follow for news and entertainment. As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates he tweeted some opinions on the other half of Amazon’s HQ2:
Finally, a news article about Amazon HQ2 that talks about why they’re leaving Seattle:
“Amazon’s current headquarters in Seattle has ballooned to a massive footprint, causing congestion and raising housing costs.”
That’s what HQ2 will bring to VA.https://t.co/6MKBl5slt1
— Lee J. Carter (@carterforva) November 5, 2018
Taking a brief detour over to Instagram, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@ocasio2018) has been giving followers an inside look at the experience of being a new congressperson through her Instagram stories, the first one called “Congress Camp.” Whatever your opinion on super-long Instagram stories, Alexandria, a DSA member, is demystifying the role of government representatives and signaling that she will continue to represent the people in elected office. She also cooks dinner and answers questions on Instagram Live. On November 18th she made many unionists happy by repping a Teamsters t-shirt while chopping vegetables and talking policy to 5,000 followers.
Alexandria tweeted about inequality and housing affordability when Fox mocked her statement that she could not pay rent in Washington, DC.
1. @FoxNews, why can’t any of your anchors say my name correctly? It’s been 5 months.
2. It is bizarre to see 1%-salaried anchors laugh at the US housing crisis.
3. Never purchased pricey clothes + always told my story. But repeating lies until they are believed is your thing. https://t.co/Py5aXFi3Z4
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2018
There is no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed.
Mocking lower incomes is exactly how those who benefit from + promote wealth inequality the most keep everyday people silent about 1 of the worst threats to American society: that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. https://t.co/aWaOzy7UJJ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2018
NYC-DSA retweeted a thread starting with Eugene, Oregon DSA’s take on the “boss makes a dollar I make a dime” meme with a bunch of fun new lyrics:
Boss makes a dollar
You make a dime
It’s actually way worse than that
Like way worse.
We’d have to invent a smaller denomination of coin
To show how little you actually make
Relative to your boss
But that doesn’t rhyme— Eugene DSA🌲🌹🤝 (@DSA_Eugene) October 25, 2018
NYC-DSA Ecosocialist working group retweeted a great video from BRIC TV about the Williams Fracked Gas pipeline, proposed to go under New York Harbor, and Cuomo’s duplicity on this issue:
Absolutely Fantastic Video by @BRICTV featuring @PatrickHoos20 @leemzee and @Surfrider
They showcase how ridiculous it is to bring new fracked gas infrastructure to New York harbor and spending a billion dollars on it rather than on mitigation effortshttps://t.co/8OhrScp8wv
— NYC-DSA Ecosocialist Working Group 🌹 (@NYCDSA_Climate) November 5, 2018
Brendan O’Connor’s (NYC-DSA member) link to his article on medium.com about USPS workers who have to de-facto work for Amazon and endure terrible work conditions:
Please read my interview with an overworked, underpaid mail carrier about labor, Amazon, and the USPS https://t.co/do7lY8mSB8
— Brendan O’Connor (@_grendan) October 31, 2018
Enjoy this thread on the November 17th spirited anti-fascist pushback in Philly to a Proud Boys gathering, aided by Gritty and a bunch of witches:
gritty and philly forever pic.twitter.com/VHfTa8vhME
— thankful 4 marx 🦃 (@lil_yenta) November 17, 2018
Veteran’s Day education
DSA Veterans Working Group posted this statement on Veteran’s Day:
In the final analysis, this vile capitalist system and its profit motive we live under will forever reproduce war in all of its facets.
War is a racket and must be smashed
Our #VeteransDay Statement #ArmisticeDay100 https://t.co/8u3s0GPQcF pic.twitter.com/2dfj7FkfTY
— DSA Veterans Working Group 🌹 (@DSAVeterans) November 11, 2018
Here’s a long tweet thread about newly-elected be-eyepatched Rep. Dan Crenshaw and how Navy Seal culture is rotten and inspired by fascism:
His politics are shit, he should be made uncomfortable everywhere he goes, and he’s not entitled to the sickening hero-worship and obsequious slavish performance of respect. He’s a bad candidate and he should feel bad.
Any idea what Navy SEAL culture is like? Do the research: pic.twitter.com/33btRnyYz5
— DSA Veterans Working Group 🌹 (@DSAVeterans) November 5, 2018
There were many tweets about the breakdown of the system for GI Bill payments to veterans, so DSA Veterans took the opportunity to educate about the Bonus Army march on Washington for veterans’ benefits in 1932:
Everything for veterans is going to shit and Veterans Day was THIS WEEK.
Privatized medical care fucking veterans and now GI Bill payment system collapsing and to top it off the Commander in Chief shits on troops by deploying them to the border. TYFYS! https://t.co/MlJHn3wYn5
— DSA Veterans Working Group 🌹 (@DSAVeterans) November 15, 2018
Lastly, DSA Veterans retweeted an interesting thread by historian Eric Loomis about the attack on the Washington IWW hall on Nov. 11, 1919 by the American Legion, which he describes as a proto-fascist organization:
This Day in Labor History: November 11, 1919. The American Legion decides to tear apart the IWW hall in Centralia, WA. The IWW defends itself and 4 die, leading to lynching of IWW organizer. Let’s spend Veterans’ Day talking about how the Legion was a proto-fascist organization. pic.twitter.com/toWGCWt39R
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) November 11, 2018