CNY Solidarity Coalition Virtual Meeting
Sunday, April 4, 2020 . 3-4 PM on Zoom. Details to come
Article of the week: The Environmental Protection Agency announced it would suspend enforcement of bedrock clean air and water laws, leaving the fossil fuel, chemical and agribusiness industries to police themselves amid a historic public health crisis.
A perfect example ofwhat Naomi Klein dubbed “the shock doctrine”: the phenomenon wherein profiteers and their allies in government exploit the mayhem of a public emergency to push through unpopular policy changes that benefit industry. This is going to continue – Trump and his supporters have shown that they will gladly sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives for corporate profits.
Post of the week: Read this: Contrasting Obama’s response to Ebola with the current situation. One flaw: it leaves out the heroism of the African healthcare workers.
In July 2014, President Obama activated the Emergency Operations Center at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The CDC immediately deployed CDC personnel to West Africa to coordinate a response that included vector tracing, testing, education, logistics and communication.
Altogether, the CDC, under President Obama, trained 24,655 medical workers in West Africa, educating them on how to prevent and control the disease before a single case left Africa or reached the U.S.
WAYS TO HELP: LOCAL
NEW: Help CNY Hospitals & Hospitality
Here is a way for people to “pay it forward” by donating to local restaurants to provide free meals for workers at hospitals, grocery stores and other essential businesses.They include The Brine Well Eatery, Anything But Beer, Scratch Farmhouse Catering, Circa Ce Soir, Pure Catering and Events, Colonial Lodge, and Mello Velo.
Westcott Mutual Aid network. to request needs, offer help, or get involved in organizing. Now providing free meals from Westcott restaurants to reduce food insecurity in areas most impacted by coronavirus. article here.
Syracuse WestSide Mutual Aid Network: Information here
Democratic Socialists of America: Mutual Aid
Fill out this form if you are interested in working together to provide for one another or to let us know if you have any needs such as groceries or any other needs. Share it!
United Way of CNY Volunteer Signup: http://www.volunteercny.org/Sign up to volunteer for dozens of agencieshere.
Food Bank of CNY Donate or Volunteer
CNY Community Foundation Community Support Fund to support nonprofits working with communities who are disproportionately impacted by economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Red Cross is in urgent need of blood donors and people to help with emergency response.
Rise Above the Streets provides support for people who do not have housing.
For monetary donations: Use PayPal weriseabovethestreets@gmail.com
Cashapp: $Alamin44 #IfWeEatTheyEat See this article.
We will continue to serve our homeless friends and the under represented but volunteering will be by scheduled appointments only. If you would like to volunteer please contact me at 315-491-7164.
Support local businesses! Order gift cards from restaurants or other merchants you support, to be redeemed in the future. This will provide some short-term income.
Here are some additional needs
1) direct financial assistance for “independent contractors” including musicians, hairdressers, barbers, pet groomers, dog trainers, tutors, test graders, etc., etc.–all of who will NOT receive unemployment benefits;
2) financial support for incarcerated folks for commissary, electronic messaging, and phone calls (as long as they can get them);
3) support for the homeless via local groups like We Rise Above the Streets;
4) direct financial support for local arts and charitable organizations like ArtRage.
INTERNATIONAL DONATIONS
OxFam: https://www.oxfamamerica.org
Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders: https://www.msf.org
FINDING HELP/RESOURCES
Also see COVID19 InfoBelow
7 great Amazon Alternatives for Essentials. Here’s an article from Fast Company, not really a progressive source, but maybe useful if you’re wondering where to order from besides Amazon.
Tips for Handling Stress in a Disaster. Helpful guidance on dealing with what we are all facing. From Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz
Legal Services of Central New York Free legal services including Unemployment Insurance.
Website: https://www.lscny.org/intake-form/ Phone: 315-703-6500
Email: Andrew Croom acroom@lscny.org
POLITICAL ACTION
Ready to Flip the Senate this Year? Indivisible’s Payback Projects is out to do just that! If you’re looking for a way to support real change at the national level, check out Indivisible’s coordinated nationwide effort focused on eleven of the worst, and most vulnerable, Trump enablers in the Senate. This would be a great place to put your stimulus check to work!
Election Security
We know that Donald Trump and his party will try to steal the upcoming Presidential election, as well as elections at all other levels. Through various methods of disenfranchisement, voter suppression, gerrymandering, intimidation, and fraud. Here are several ways to confront this threat:
Redistrict Onondaga County for Fair Representation: FairMapsCNY
Last November, we voted to end gerrymandering in the City of Syracuse by establishing an independent redistricting commission. Now, we want to expand this historic reform to end gerrymandering across Onondaga County.
We have a real shot of winning Citizen-Led Redistricting this year, but a key piece of our strategy is to demonstrate the support from residents in the county. We can set a national example!
Here is the link to the petition.
League of Women Voters: https://www.lwv.org
Citizens for Voting Integrity: www.citizensvotingny.org
Indivisible: support the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act
Demand your senators ensure safe, secure elections during the coronavirus outbreak. We know that the coronavirus is scary, and we’re all making sacrifices to minimize any further spread of the virus. We have seen some states make the very difficult decision to postpone primary elections in an effort to reduce community spread of coronavirus. But we can’t let this public health crisis impede the functioning of our democratic processes. That’s why we’re recommending states start now to build alternatives to in-person voting so that nothing will put the administration of the November presidential election at risk. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden have introduced a bill to assist states in expanding vote-by-mail for this November’s election. Call your senators to demand that the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act be included in the next coronavirus relief package.
Elected Officials, Candidates, Campaigns:
Dana Balter for Congress: https://electdanabalter.com
Balter (64 percent) leads Conole (21 percent) among likely Democratic primary voters, with 15 percent undecided ahead of the June 23 election, according to the poll by GBAO Strategies of Washington, D.C. – Syracuse.com, 3/302020
John Mannion for NYS Senate: https://www.mannionforstatesenate.com
Rachel May for NYS Senate: http://www.rachelmay.org
Congressman John Katko, Syracuse: (315) 423-5657. DC: (202) 225-3701.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Syracuse: (315) 448-0470. DC: (202) 224-4451.
Senator Chuck Schumer, Syracuse: (315) 423-5471. DC: (202) 224-6542
John Katko wants to hear from you! He says so! Here’s a link to his survey.
Onondaga Lake Beach
The public comment period on the proposed Onondaga Lake beach has been extended to May 15th. Please spread the word and speak out strongly against a beach on Onondaga Lake!
For more information on why a beach on Onondaga Lake is a bad idea: https://peacecouncil.net/events/20/02/29/oppose-the-possible-swimming-beach-at-onondaga-lake
Final Beach Feasibility Study Meeting Presentation:
http://www.ongov.net/environment/documents/OnondagaBeach_PublicMtg3_FINAL.pdf
Share an e-mail comment with Onondaga County Legislators: http://www.ongov.net/legislature/members.html
Share an online comment with the Onondaga County Office of the Environment: http://www.ongov.net/environment/submit-public-comment.html
Remember to Fill out your Census form!
The collection of census data will be disrupted this year. The data is critical for representation and provision of services. Please complete the form!
Guide to Letters to the Editor: https://www.cnysolidarity.org/2017/02/23/guide-letters-to-the-editor/
Immigrant Safety
Now, more than ever, New Yorkers must stand united against fear and xenophobia, and our elected officials must stand ready to ensure every New Yorker across the state can access the essential services they need to keep their families safe and secure, regardless of legal status.
The New York Immigration Coalition, and our members, partners, and allies launched New York United, a comprehensive plan that calls upon all levels of government to immediately enact common-sense measures to ensure immigrants across the state can remain safe and healthy.
We have created an email and twitter campaign on Phone2Action, our digital advocacy platform. Volunteers and supporters can send a direct e-mail or tweet to their city and state officials by:
- Texting ‘NYIC’ to 528-86 and following the link on the text sign up OR
- Be directed to www.bit.ly/NYUnited and follow the prompts
To maximize our voices online, we are hosting “action hours”. We encourage our volunteers to email and tweet with the following schedule:
Friday, March 27 1:00PM-3:00PM
Monday, March 30 1PM-2PM
Tuesday, March 31 12PM-1PM
Additionally, we have created a supplemental social media toolkit that can be accessed HERE.
EVENTS
Our Lives On The Line Town Hall Kick-Off From Health Care Voter
Tuesday, March 31on Facebook at 6:00PM ET.
https://www.facebook.com/events/199674214666253/
The threat of the coronavirus underscores the need for everyone to have access to affordable health care and prescription drugs. Now more than ever, the lives of people on the frontlines, health care workers, and people with pre-existing conditions are on the line.
Two years ago, Health Care Voter started out by crossing America to lift up stories about the need to protect the ACA. Now we’re back, and in the middle of a major health care pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we fight together for access to affordable care, medicines, and vaccines.
Health Care Voter is launching “Our Lives On The Line: A Digital Town Hall Series” to elevate the stories and experiences of Americans affected by the spread of the coronavirus, and how in the face of this epidemic we’re still fighting for the Affordable Care Act and against the skyrocketing costs of prescription drug prices in our country.
Jacobin Magazine: Our new political education series, Stay at Home
Next: The Free Market Isn’t Up to the Coronavirus Challenge (Stay at Home #5)
March 31 at 6 PMhttps://www.youtube.com/c/JacobinMagazineYT
Our new political education series, Stay at Home, 6 PM EST on our YouTube channel.
Socialist politics is built on mass rallies, strikes, and door knocking. But since we’re all practicing physical distancing, we decided to launch a video-based political education series this month.
A few times a week Jacobin will host a left-wing thinker on our YouTube channel to explain an idea for around 20 minutes. Then we’ll take questions from our virtual audience for a brief Q&A.
Communication Tools for Social Movements
Thursday, April 2, 7-8:30 pm online
RiseUp’s Activist Skill Building for Justiceworkshop series continues despite the need for social distancing. To accommodate that, we’re offering our next workshop online via ZOOM.
Movements depend on communication to grow and succeed, whether our audiences are internal, the general public, or decision-makers. Learn the tools to effectively reach all three. Facilitated by Lindsay Speer, who has over 10 years of experience in outreach and communication on issues of environmental justice, indigenous rights, and energy policy.
Click here to register: https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/communication-tools
Sliding scale fee: $0-10. Please pay what you can, and don’t let the cost keep you away! Registration is open to 50 for this workshop. If you want to pay offline or would like a full scholarship, please email: RiseUpCNYTraining@gmail.com.
Ending War with David Swanson – Free Webinar
April 7, 2020. 8-10 PM Eastern Time
Sponsored by the Dallas Peace and Justice Center, Pax Christi Dallas, Code Pink, and Veterans for Peace. The sponsors have generously made it available free to anyone anywhere.
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of World BEYOND War and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. Also joining this webinar will be World BEYOND War Organizing Director Greta Zarro!
World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, activists, and allied organizations advocating for the abolition of the very institution of war.
Why Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer to the Climate Crisis
Time: May 13, 2020, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Sierra Club New York City Group Zoom presentation
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/756300935
Meeting ID: 756 300 935
One tap mobile +16468769923, 756300935# US (New York)
+16699006833, 756300935# US (San Jose)
COVID-19 INFORMATION:
If you do not have a doctor and have questions, symptoms, or may have been exposed to COVID-19, call Upstate University Hospital’s Triage Line at 315.464.397
Assistance connecting with health and human services: call 211 or visit211cny.com
LOCAL: Onondaga County Coronaviris Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Information Page
COVID-19 Testing Hotline:
Upstate University Hospital Regional Triage (COVID-19) Information Page
STATE: NYS Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Page
OTHER RESOURCES:
Johns Hopkins – Coronavirus Disease 2019 vs. the Flu
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) webpage.
CANCELLATIONS AND OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
CNY Solidarity Coalition in-person meetings and Committee meetings are suspended until further notice. Virtual meetings using Zoom are being scheduled.
Can We Save the Planet Without Taking on the Pentagon? Talk by Pat Hynes at All Saints Church – April 19th. A presentation of Beyond War and Militarism and CNY Solidarity Coalition. Postponed – to be rescheduled.
Annual Tax Day Demonstration by Beyond War and Militarism: Postponed until further notice
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Peter McCarthy