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There is a lot going on over the next few weeks, starting with our "Making Good Trouble" evening of storytelling on Monday. Read how GOP state legislators are trying to steal away our state courts and house seats and what you can do about it. Sign up to attend our virtual General Membership Meeting on January 29th that features Inquirer columnist Will Bunch. And check out what happened this week in history.
Making Good Trouble: An Evening of Storytelling
Monday, January 17th, 7PM, Virtual Event
Here’s a last chance to reserve a spot to this amazing gathering...
Philly Neighborhood Networks invites you to MAKING GOOD TROUBLE, a virtual evening of storytelling & reflections featuring:
Elected Officials: Kendra Brooks, Derek Green, Helen Gym, and Larry Krasner
Award winning storytellers and comedians: Steve Clark, and Chris Lundy
Hosts Marjorie Winther and Bo Dirnbach, PNN’s own comedic observers of our times
Best of all, YOU will be able – if so moved – to tell your story of good trouble-making to entertain or inspire the rest of us.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN US ON JANUARY 17, 7 PM
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.” The late John Lewis made this statement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 1, 2020 commemorating the tragic events of Bloody Sunday.
Honoring the late civil rights leader John Lewis and befitting the MLK holiday, we will celebrate times when we made good trouble. All stories are welcome from the light and personal to the political and more serious. Together, all our stories weave our human tapestry.
Besides an evening of enjoyment and a few laughs, this is also a Fundraiser for Philly Neighborhood Networks so we can continue to make the Good Trouble in the year ahead. Your safety and health are our concerns – and that’s why we are doing this on zoom.
After you reserve your tickets, we will send you the zoom information.
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Stop GOP Legislators from Stealing Our State Courts
Virtual Action: Contact Your Legislator
Is anyone surprised that GOP hacks in the Pennsyl-tucky region of our state are playing political dirty tricks? They are trying to keep the partisan advantage they got ten years ago when they gerrymandered the state and federal electoral districts by pushing two bills that would allow them to place Constitutional amendments on the ballot for the very next election. - effectively bypassing the Governor's veto pen.
One bill would create a Commission to decide how state political maps would be drawn - but the Commission itself would serve Republicans who, while in the minority would have those on the Commission selected by areas carved up to GOP advantage. Another bill would undermine our state courts by turning a state-wide vote for these seats into the same district-by-district votes that are carved-up-to-serve-GOP-interests.
Read more about this from Blue Pennsylvania's Coleman Poses and then take action by clicking on the link below.
Gerrymandering & Jurist-mandering
by Coleman Poses
Upset by State Reapportionment Commission's tapering their advantage from 33 House seats down to five, Republicans are now ready to pass two constitutional amendments that would allow them complete control of the redistricting process through gerrymandering, as well as complete control of the state's appellate courts through jurist-mandering.
PA HB 2207 would create a new 11 member commission... [Read More]
What Can You Do? Appeal to your state representative and state senator to block both bills:
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PNN General Membership Meeting – Saving Democracy Edition
Saturday, January 29th, 3PM, Virtual Event
We meet this year in dark times, with a virus running amok, weather catastrophes emerging everywhere, a seemingly paralyzed Congress, and even more alarming than all of that, our ongoing ability to even address problems through a democratic political process very much in doubt.
To be blunt, the smell of rising fascism is in the air. PNN can’t avert that darkness by ourselves. But, as you will learn at our meeting, all of us together can and will do our part, and working with allies across the country, we are confident that we will prevail.
We will begin by hearing from one of our most eloquent local truth-tellers about the challenges we face, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch. He will discuss the national framework within which our battle for the soul of the country will be taking place. We will finish with a talk from Rep. Chris Rabb, who will discuss the struggle underway in Harrisburg to preserve democracy in Pennsylvania, one of the key arenas which may determine the result of the struggle.
To be clear: Our purpose will not be to ring an alarm so that we can all run for the exits, but rather to set the stage for the work that will lead to victory. Foremost will be informing and engaging you in our all-in fight to keep a Democrat in the Governor’s seat in Harrisburg, turn the Legislature blue and replace the despicable Pat Toomey with a U.S. Senator who represents all the people of the Commonwealth.
While working to preserve democracy on a national scale, we will also continue to work for justice and sustainability here at home. Thus you will hear about our ongoing efforts to create a public bank owned by the people, to address inequity in our tax code, to keep struggling renters in their homes, to make Philadelphia the greenest City in the U.S., and more.
We'll close out with how you can take part in the team that will tackle this important work. Be sure to save this date on your calendar and click the link below to let us know you'll be joining us on Saturday, January 29th.
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This Week in History
Jan 14, 1784 – U.S. Wins Independence. On this day, the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris thus officially ending the War for Independence from Great Britain.
Jan 15, 1929 – Martin's Birthday. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this day in Atlanta, GA. This son of a Baptist minister went on to receive a degree in divinity and helped organize the first major protest of the civil rights movement, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in 1955.
Jan 17, 1961 – Ike Warns of Military Industrial Complex. President Eisenhower warned the nation about the increasing power of the military-industrial complex during a televised farewell address to the nation. Had we only listened.
Jan 20, 2009 – Obama Becomes President. On this day in 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first black President of the United States.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director