From CNY Solidarity Coalition:
Next Meeting: Sun. Sept. 27, 2020, 3-4 PM, via Zoom. Link to come. Presentation from Indivisible NY24 on opportunities for electoral engagement locally and nationally.
Upcoming Meeting Schedule: 10/11, 10/25, 11/8,11/22. 12/6, 12/20/20, 1/10/21
What about the Supreme Court?
See the Articles of the Week below, for discussion of the Democrats’ options. What can we do? The short answer: Help the Democrats take the Senate. Donate to Indivisible’s Payback ProjectThey have targeted eleven Republican Senators who have to go. You can also sign up for phone and text banking in key states.
What about preserving the election results? It’s time to prepare for the post-election battle.
Possible scenario: More Biden/Harris supporters vote by mail. Trump supporters turn out in person. Election day totals favor Trump. He claims victory. Legal battles and street demonstrations begin immediately.
We have to be ready. Here are two groups that are preparing:
· Indivisible’s https://protecttheresults.com is building a coalition of voters ready to mobilize if Donald Trump refuses to accept the election results.
· Choose Democracy is a new effort focused specifically on post-election action. Read this: 10 Things You Need to Know to Stop a Coup
REMINDER: VOTE EARLY!
Here are four ways to vote, starting with the most secure and reliable:
1. Vote early in person, if you’re comfortable. Your vote will go directly into the system and be counted on election day.
2. Absentee Ballot, Drop off in Person. Reduce the load on the USPS and the risk of the mail being late. You can also drop off ballots for others. Starting now at the County Board of Elections or Oct. 24 at the six early voting sites.
3. Absentee Ballot, Mail it in. Do it as soon as possible.
NOTE: Absentee ballots, delivered in person or by US Mail (2 0r #3), will all be counted after Election Day.
4. Election Day Voting. Last choice. Try to get it done earlier. (Trump has promised that there will be chaos on Election Day.)
Onondaga County Info:
Early voting: Oct. 24-Nov.1.
Absentee ballot Info: Details Here.
· For Election Day voting: Confirm your registration and polling place by looking it up at onvote.net.
· Go to http://www.ongov.net/elections/index.html to check to confirm your absentee application or ballot has been received
·
For other counties in NYS, find your county Board of Elections Here.
NEW: Early Voting Information for Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego Counties: Syracuse.com Article Here
For other states: Early voting, absentee ballots, registration, checking your status,, etc. for your state: The Best Way to Vote in Every State
Dana Balter for Congress: We need a progressive voice representing us in Congress, instead of someone who endorses Donald Trump for President! https://electdanabalter.com/
Biden/Harris campaign: https://joebiden.com/
Articles of the Week:
Listen and watch: On Sunday, Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny and Professor of Constitutional Law Tom Keck sat down for an hour to talk about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s historic career and what happens now with the Supreme Court vacancy. Facebook link here.
Democrats’ constitutional Jiujitsu: How the party can out-maneuver and decisively vanquish Trump’s GOP Read it Here
…everything that happens between now and January 21, 2021 takes place under the shadow of the effort of Trump, his “Justice” Department, and his congressional Republican allies, to hold onto power by any means necessary, which include a bogus “Durham investigation,” bogus Senate hearings about “the Russia hoax,” and the various ways that the Trump administration is deploying force, inciting violence, threatening political opponents, sabotaging the election, and setting the stage to contest a Joe Biden electoral victory.
EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR
Before the Ballot: Candidate Forum
Hosted by Black Leadership Coalition
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at 6 PM – 8 PM
Moderators: Christopher Montgomery, Gina Iliev, and Sam D. Roberts II.
Voters are invited to join us with your questions via zoom or Facebook Live. (link TBA)
Candidates running for public office will participate in an online Before the Ballot: Candidate Forum Ahead of the upcoming General elections, on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The nonpartisan forum, hosted by the Black Leadership Coalition of NY (BLC) will offer Central New York voters the opportunity to ask questions and hear from candidates running for local and federal appointments.
Southern Hills Anti-Racism Gathering
Sept. 26, 2 PM
Cummings Park, Grove St., Tully NY
Speakers include: Awhenjiosta Myers, Onondaga Nation Community Organizer; Bishop Collette Matthews-Carter, Senior pastor, Zion Hill World Harvest Baptist Church; Nodesia Hernandez, Chair, Executive Paralegal Committee, Onondaga County Bar Association. CEO/Founder, Minority Paralegal Association; and an educator and advocate from Cortland, NY.
Central New York Solar Tour – 25th National Solar Tour
Sept. 28th to Oct 4
Climate Change Awareness & Action is taking part in the 25th Annual National Solar tour
The National Solar Tour is the largest grassroots renewable energy event in the nation. Hundreds of people across the nation will show off their solar homes and businesses. During this week, you will have a chance to ask solar owners questions, and participate in a nationwide virtual solar experience. You’ll also hear from national leaders in the solar and electric vehicle fields, solar businesses, solar schools, and from community organizations advocating for solar and energy equity.Whether you own your home or rent, can’t afford to pay for a solar system up front or don’t want to – if you want to reduce your electric bill and help the next generation avoid
catastrophic climate change this event is for you.
Hear from three Central New Yorkers how they are saving money, contributing to the transition away from fossil fuels and addressing climate change. Look for our tour on an interactive map when you RSVP <www.nationalsolartour.org/rsvp2020>.
Our tour will highlight residential and community solar and explain how you can incorporate solar PV with technologies, such as highly efficient electric heat pumps, so
you not only save money and produce your own electricity, but also reduce your natural gas consumption and improve air quality in your home.
Community solar is ideal for individuals who own or rent who can’t afford or don’t want to put any money down up front or don’t have a site suitable for solar.
This “online, virtual tour” will go live Sept. 28th and run through Oct. 4th.
Climate Change Awareness and Action, www.climatechange-action.com is a local organization of 2,000 individuals concerned about climate change.
Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network Fall Open Meeting
Tuesday, 9/29 from 5:30-7:30pm
Do you care about immigration justice and want to learn how you can support community members directly affected by our unjust immigration system? Come to our first fall SIRDN meeting!
SIRDN has been very busy during these pandemic times! Please join us for our next meeting to learn about and plug into our ongoing projects, including: solidarity fundraising, ongoing legislative advocacy campaigns, and other efforts to support the work of the Workers Center of Central New York.
For Zoom information, please send us a Facebook message or email us at sirdn315@gmail.com.
Anyone interested in joining is welcome. Spanish translation is provided.
The Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network works for immigration justice in Central New York and beyond through organizing, advocacy, and solidarity support for directly affected individuals and their families. We center the leadership of staff and members of the Workers’ Center of Central New York and strive to show up as allies and accomplices in the fight for human dignity for all people regardless of their citizenship status.
ONGOING:
NOT NORMAL: Art in the Age of Trump
LAST CALL !! CALL FOR ARTISTS All applications are due by Saturday, September 25, 2020 at 11:59 pm
Each fall, since 2016, ArtRage Gallery and Building Company Theater have partnered to create NOT NORMAL: Art in the Age of Trump. We’re back at it again, calling for all types of performance art! On October 24, 2020 ArtRage will open their virtual gallery doors for members of the community to express their artistic outrage over the four years of insanity we have endured under the Trump administration. This is an opportunity to look back at the Trump presidency and to reflect on which of the many nefarious atrocities you feel most compelled to explore and expose.
Selected artists will each present short (10 minutes at most) pieces of theatre, music, dance, readings, films, interactive performances, puppetry, etc.… everything and anything that will fit into a 1”x1” Zoom box. This year, we will all gather virtually at ArtRage, a space dedicated to art as a catalyst for dialogue and resiliency in any age, and especially in the age of Trump! Adaptations from other authors’ works are eligible as long as you have the rights to adapt the material, or material is in the public domain.
Submissions accepted on a rolling basis
Performance Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 7 pm
TIM ATSEFF: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS – A Trump Dystopian Heptology
September 3, 2020 to October 4, 2020
ArtRage Gallery ArtRage is now open for visits by reservation.
Tim Atseff has been painting since 1970. He spent his professional career in journalism including several years as an editorial cartoonist exposing hypocrisy and corruption with the stroke of his pen. Enlarge a nose or jowl here and droop an ear-lobe or place tiny hands there. The idea is to take an imperfection and apply a magnifying glass while still capturing the subject’s likeness and exposing them for who they really are.
This exhibition merges Atseff’s painting and cartooning into one hybrid presentation. Reflecting on the reasons for its creation Atseff says, “When I get an itch, I have to scratch it. It makes me feel alive. The darker the work, the more alive I feel. President Trump is my itch. For the last two years, I have felt like I’ve had a bad case of poison ivy. My skin is raw.”
“Trump’s scorched democracy policy and his feckless lemmings have been assaulting objective truth, civility and the free press on a daily, if not a minute-by-minute basis. Destroying and desensitizing the difference between right and wrong. They are complicit, corrupt, immoral and indecent. Trump embodies each sin as narcissistic, full-throated and butt-naked for all to see.”
In Solidarity: Syracuse Protests
Virtual Exhibit from Light Work. Aug. 24 – oct. 15 Link
A group exhibition featuring images made during events at the epicenter of the protest movement in Syracuse, NY. In Solidarity documents forty days of marching, actions, and rallies.
Street Heat – Weekly Protests are back with Physical Distancing!
HANCOCK: our decade-long protests against Hancock’s piloting killer reaper drones over the Islamic oil lands continue. 6000 East Molloy Rd every Tuesday from 4:15 to 5 p.m.
DEWITT: Weekly protest against IDF terrorism, maiming and killing of Palestinians. Fridays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. at Erie Blvd E and E Genesee, Dewitt. Park in the nearby mini-mall parking lot.
REGIONAL FARMERS MARKET: anti-weaponized drones/anti-militarism protest: 9 to 9:45 a.m Saturdays . directly across from the market’s main entrance on Park Street.
For more information: anntiffany6235@gmail.com
FINDING HELP/RESOURCES
Also see COVID19 Info Below
SIRDN Covid19 Warm Line: (315) 552-1670
Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) Coronavirus-related information for farmworker, immigrant, undocumented, day laborer, and domestic worker communities. English and Spanish-speaking operators. Text and phone.
SIRDN has also created a resource document for COVID-19 information, for immigrants and undocumented folks. English and Spanish Or use these instructions to have Google translate .
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
Onondaga County Coronaviris Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Information Page
COVID-19 Testing Hotline
Upstate University Hospital Regional Triage (COVID-19) Information Page
NYS Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Page
Johns Hopkins – Coronavirus Disease 2019 vs. the Flu
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) webpage.
New York Attorney General Coronavirus Resources and Warnings
FCC Consumer Warnings and Safety Tips
FTC Coronavirus Scam Information
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Peter McCarthy
pmccar1100@gmail.com