The People's Forum: The Green Party back on Texas Ballots
Issue #9: The Green Party to be included in Texas ballots, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, volunteers needed for Mutual Aid Houston and more. Read it here.
Community Updates
Harris County ReadyHarris Alerts: Tropical Storm Beta Forms in Gulf of Mexico. What is the danger?
Tropical Storm Beta, the 23rd named storm of 2020, has formed in the Bay of Campeche near Mexico. Tropical Storm Wilfred and Tropical Storm Alpha also both formed today, but pose no threat to Texas. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Beta is expected to strengthen into a hurricane while moving over the gulf over the next few days. It is too early to determine exactly where Beta will make landfall and the forecast is likely to change. Residents should expect several days of rainfall from Beta. It is important to stay informed and monitor the weather frequently. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), multiple watches and warnings will likely be issued over the next several days.
A message from Julia with Texas Housers:
Hey TPLF! We are starting our Eviction Solidarity Network in order to watch and track eviction proceedings in Harris County. We will be having a training on how to court watch and track soon and volunteering can be done remotely. Support Texas Housers and your community. Current evictions may be put on hold but potential evictees are still vulnerable and need support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact julia@texashousing.org.
Mutual Aid Houston has two volunteer opportunities for folks who are interested, one in-person and one virtual.
The first opportunity is in-person Jail Support. They are looking for volunteers to take up 3 hour shifts from 5-11p on Wednesday nights. You can sign up here! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054BACAB2FA0FD0-jail
As a reminder, MAH offers water, snacks, PPE, rides, hotel vouchers, and other miscellaneous resources to recently released detainees from the Harris County Jail.
“We are doing this because we’ve seen the value in welcoming folks back into the outside world with kindness and dignity. These folks have been treated like dirt for days or weeks or months, and we can provide them the bare minimum of human decency that they have been unjustly deprived of.”
Additionally, they are beginning outreach to individuals who have applied to Direct Aid Days. Many of the applicants are facing troubles buying groceries, paying utilities and rent, paying for education, or struggling with bloated medical bills. While MAH may not be able to provide funds to everyone who applies, they can connect you with resources that can help. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, email volunteer@mutualaidhou.com
News Around the Nation
Despite the best efforts of the Texas Democratic Party, the Texas supreme court has ruled to add Green Party candidates back onto the November ballot [Texas Tribune].
Originally, three Green Party candidates in the state were taken off the ballot extremely late into the process of formalizing ballots due to a new law that is in the middle of a legal battle about whether third party candidates have to pay filing fees. As a result of the ruling, counties must make changes to all their mail in ballots and resend any ballots already sent out to meet a deadline of Saturday, Sept. 19. There's some clear irony in the all-republican Texan Supreme Court ruling in a way that would help a progressive political party, and there is an argument to be made that this was done to impeed the Democratic Party.
For one, some have mentioned the idea of the Green Party taking votes away from the Democratic party [Dallas Morning News]. It should be noted that this relies on the faulty logic that all Green voters would otherwise vote Democrat, and not either abstain or vote for a different party. Additionally, the fact that the supreme court ruled to keep Libertarian candidates on the ballot earlier this month [Texas Tribune] makes a spoiler effect seem to likely not be their motivation. Another issue raised by the ruling, however, is the obstruction of mail in ballots as counties face a deadline to fix ballots to add Green candidates back.
The Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilbert Hinojosa, even went as far to say that the Texas Supreme Court "took every opportunity to rule against their voting rights" [Dallas Morning News]. (Apparently, he doesn't see restricting a voter's choice to two parties as ruling against their voting rights). Some in the Green Party have responded to these claims that the Green Party will potentially make it more difficult to vote by mail in ballot by pointing out it was the Democratic Party's fault that this came to the courts in the first place. "Democrats caused the delay by suing us at the 11th hour instead of months ago. [The Texas Supreme Court] ruled based on [The Texas Secretary of State] saying there was still time to print ballots. If you're looking for someone to blame it's the Democrats, their legal chicanery, and voter suppression tactics" [Bexar County Greens].
Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at age 87 due to pancreatic cancer.
The Jewish say “may their memory be a blessing” in honor of those who have passed. Today we remember her legacy while being vigilant of the revisionism that’s already occurring. It is only when power is hoarded that a single person can make the kind of differences she has. We must remain critical of the systems that enabled her to vote in favor of safe abortions the same way she voted in favor of an oil pipeline on indigenous Appalachian land.
[Image description: an embedded tweet that reads “i get that rbg means a lot to some people, and with good reason. i do. i wish we were in a situation where her death was an occasion to celebrate her life and its work. but we're not, and that is by ruth's design.” by Twitter user Michael, @_FleerUltra]
If you’ve been thinking about voting and the material changes that will come by having Biden in office, like replacing RBG with another Democrat, take this time to understand why you believe in voting. It is unfortunately because of the nature of our governing bodies that we now face a “quick vote on next justice” [Boston Globe] by Mitch McConnell. Be critical, and know that voting is not an answer. We must do more and we must do it differently.
Open Your Purse
In Denver, Colorado, six antiracist activists and organizers have been arrested by the police [Liberation News]. Four of the organizers are all members of the socialist Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and have been organizing protests for justice for Elijah McClain, and are facing various ridiculous charges in an effort to supress the movement. You can donate to legal support here or sign a petition demanding the release of the protestors here.
Help Owen get a new laptop by donating to their GoFundMe here. Owen is a Houston creator who owns their own small business, Bbeauty Ssupply, which you can purchase from here. They make hand-made and custom jewelry and are in need of a laptop in order to continue their work. Donate or purchase from their store to help this community member in need.
[Image description: A photo with a red-yellow gradient background and two photos. One on the left reads “HELP US KEEP OUR ELDERS IN HOUSING.” The photo on the right is of donations piling up underneath a tent. The image title reads “pool x2 for Washington fire relief.”]
Donate to Venmo @josienaron to provide direct fire relief to unhoused folks in Seattle. Josie is collecting donations for unhoused elders and coordinating with mutual aid groups as well as the Puyallup tribe to collect emergency supplies. The air quality in the west coast worsens by day and the city is not providing relief to its communities.
Revolutionary Recs
On Wednesday, Sep. 23, A 45 minute lecture/documentary by Texas Proffessor, author, and punk David Ensminger will be released about the history of the intersection between punk and queer culture. Featuring interviews of members of beloved Texas punk bands like MDC, the Mydolls, and the Dicks, this "wild, low-fi journey through the early days of punk" recounts how it coincided with the gay rights movement. Register via eventbrite to receive a link to the video upon its release.
The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet are two books written by Benjamin Hoff that provide introductory-level understandings of Taoism and, respectively, the Taoist concept of virtue. Throughout the books, Hoff employs characters from Winnie the Pooh as subjects Hoff engages with while he delves into Taoist metaphors about human nature, sometimes even using Pooh or the Owl to characterize these concepts. Read the first book for free here.