1) IGSV Summer Picnic:Our third annual summer picnic is two weeks away, on July 28 from 2-5 pm at Tom Koven and Barbara Cochrane’s house in Hampton. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate our work this year and to meet fellow Resisters! Feel free to bring friends, whether they have come to a meeting before or not. We may also be joined by some 2019 candidates! Please RSVP here to let us know that you’ll attend and what you can bring to share: https://www.evite.com/event/03A0BES6J4GXUQGYKEPJS5K62AGUHA/rsvp.
2) July and August Volunteering:The Western New Jersey Democrats are working with local Resister Ella Rue to collect donations for Chemo Care Kits. If you can help, please collect any of these items. For now, hold onto them. A date to move forward will be announced. There is an Amazon wish list; email or DM Susan DeNegre for details (sdenegre@comcast.net).What would be most needed is the following (in order of need): Head covers (plain colors as well as colorful) (some angels have asked for ample time because they have donated handmade knitted/felted donations!) Warm new Socks (both men and women’s) Small size hand sanitizers (we have none of these, but these are most welcome) Soft warm blankets (we have none of these but they are most welcome!) Small sudoku or word search books (for both chemo recipients and care givers) (we have none and would be most welcome!) Lotions and potions (no hair care) (Small travel size… hand, face or body lotions) Lip balm (or chap sticks)
3) Close the Camps:This past week, many members of IGSV protested the Trump administration’s use of immigrant detention centers as a deterrent to lawful asylum-seeking at our southern border. Call all three of our Members of Congress to ask that they continue to work to hold Trump accountable, improve existing conditions, reunite families, and prevent further family separations. If you were at a protest, share your Lights for Liberty story! You can read a summary of the protests here: https://heavy.com/news/2019/07/lights-for-liberty-crowd-photos/.
4) Our President is a Racist:Our President today tweeted a racist message to the four Progressive Congresswomen (Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley) that they should ““go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”Of course, three of them were born in the US, and Omar is an American citizen. Call Congressman Malinowski to thank him for immediately speaking out against this attack and to encourage him to continue to support people of color and immigrants.
Quote of the Week:“Unlike 3 of the ‘Democrat Congresswomen’ Trump attacked today, I was actually born outside the US. Does he think I should go back? This is exactly the sort of rhetoric that inspires disturbed people to violence, against Jews, Muslims, Sikhs – anyone they see as the ‘other.’” – Congressman Malinowski on July 14, in response to Trump’s attacks on Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley