Celebrating Success in the March 5 Primary!

We're thrilled to announce our success in the March 5 Primary elections! Our CADEM-endorsed candidates, Jessica Morse for CD3 and Neva Parker for AD5 have advanced to the November 5, 2024, General Election! Congratulations to both campaigns on this significant achievement, and let's continue to show our support to ensure their success in November. With your help, we can make it happen!
Both campaigns are gearing up for a series of house parties this spring, emphasizing direct personal contact with the candidates. If you're interested in hosting a house party, please contact the Morse campaign at houseparties@morseforcongress.com or visit the Parker campaign's website at www.nevaparkerforassembly.com. Your involvement can truly make a difference.

Sierra College is gearing up for its unique annual EARTH DAY festival on Thursday, April 25, from 10 AM - 3 PM. This isn't just any festival; it's a fun-filled day dedicated to celebrating our amazing planet and addressing the climate crisis. The festival is a hub of knowledge, offering resources on various environmental topics, from deforestation to managing water resources to starting a compost pile. It's a platform that promotes sustainability, encourages green lifestyle choices, and shares best practices. Moreover, it's not just about learning but also about taking action. Some groups participating in Earth Day offer volunteer opportunities for students or inspire them to engage in environmental activism.

I hesitated to blame my former colleagues, the esteemed members of the Fourth Estate, for the deterioration and manipulation of facts in today’s news reporting. However, any news organization that would consider hiring an election denier willing to overthrow a fair election is part of the problem—they all are. Our political system is now a kaleidoscope of normalized destructive lies because of misguided editorial decisions to seek balance rather than truth.

Was NBC serious, or was it a bad dream?

The March 5, 2024, Primary Election is our first big test in supporting our 2 CADEM endorsed candidates, Jessica Morse for CD3 and Neva Parker for AD5.  If your ballot is not yet in the mail nor delivered to a drop box or a Voting Center, it's THE most important thing for you to do as soon as possible. Of course, this is a Presidential election, and re-electing the Biden/Harris ticket is crucial for our democracy and freedoms. The federal Senate race is aggressively contested, and CADEM delegates did not endorse it. Choose carefully, and there could possibly be two Democratic candidates on the ballot in the November General Election.

In honor of Women's History Month, we take this opportunity to shine a light on some of the women whose accomplishments have contributed to our stories.

February 2024
February is a time for celebrations – everything from Black History Month to Valentine’s Day to President’s Day, including Leap Year on February 29.  If you are a senior citizen, you can remember when there were separate holidays for Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthday commemorations, but the need for a 3-day holiday weekend proved irresistible for the combination of a Presidents’ holiday on the third Monday of February as a result of the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill passed in 1968. It is still officially called Washington’s Birthday because Lincoln’s birthday had never officially become a designated Federal Holiday. 

As part of our commemoration of Black History Month, our Communications Committee is pleased to share this article from the National Education Association website.

These Black leaders had strong visions for the future of the labor movement, uniting broad coalitions for racial justice, worker rights, and the welfare of all.

When Webster reveals its word of 2024, it may well be anxiety. A common theme of many of our conversations is fear and concern over the future and the outcome of this year’s election. True, much is beyond our control, but there are concrete actions we can take daily to stave off helplessness and promote hopefulness.

The author of this list of Resolutions for Democracy is Jessica Craven. It’s a practical guide to embracing the election year chaos and thriving.

Yes, it is 2024, and goodbye to 2023! I hope your recent holiday celebration with family and friends was rewarding with many happy memories as well as being restful and healthy.  Politically, 2024 is a marathon through the Presidential Election in November, but first, we must sprint to the March 5 Primary here in California. Mark your calendar for the MLK event at the Johnson Springview Park in Rocklin on January 15 – come by to say hello and show support for our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Do you remember watching your first real magic show, the audience in full awe with their mouths agape and the inevitable “How did they do that?” echoing throughout the room?  A great magician seems to float with charisma, endowed with some enigmatic power to defy the laws of gravity and reality, doing things we mere mortals cannot.

At some point, rational thinking returns, and we recognize that the magician’s success depends on their ability to deceive us.  They have no superpowers.  We begin to see how they use distraction through hand movements and gobbledygook to keep us from seeing what’s really happening.

Donald Trump is a colossally failing magician.  His illusion of power has been exposed, and we see how incredibly weak he truly is.  Grossly lacking in intelligence and experience to lead our country through even minor challenges, when we faced dealing with climate change and a pandemic, he chose hocus pocus.

"The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness."

George Washington, January 9, 1790

 (Hold your breath George, we might have to shelve this quote).

  Is there any other continent or country in the world like this one? The answer is/was no. For whatever reason, the forces of the Universe conspired to create a meeting place of Indigenous Peoples, invaders, enslaved people, immigrants, treasure hunters, humanitarians, and thieves of all makes and models. Our history is neither all good nor all bad; it is the story of diverse people with diverse purposes sharing space. Some days, we got it right. Let’s hope in 2024 we don’t get it tragically wrong.

With the walls closing in, Trump's rhetoric is increasingly bombastic and hyperbolic. That doesn't mean we should ignore it. His recent comments mirroring Nazi propaganda and invoking dictatorship reinforce the magnitude of this election. How do we respond? This article from The Message Box, a newsletter about political and message strategy by former Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer, offers expert advice.

Where to begin? November was a hectic month – canvassing started in both Roseville and Lincoln. Planning and reservations began for our December 13, 2023, Winter Solstice holiday party and fundraiser! The CADEM Endorsement Convention provided controversy and demonstration on the Cease Fire in Gaza issue and the vital work of selecting endorsed candidates. Two local Democrats were endorsed, so congratulations are due to Jessica Morse in CD3 and Neva Parker in AD5.

Jessica Morse, a Placer County native, has officially thrown her hat in the ring for California’s 3rd Congressional District, the most geographically diverse in California. She states the residents of Placer County deserve a representative who works with us and for us, especially in support of women’s reproductive rights. To her, this is critical as the seat is currently held by Kevin Kiley, who has maintained an anti-choice record and, if re-elected, would be the deciding vote against women’s interests.
 
She believes VOTERS WANT:

This year's CADEM Endorsing Convention will be remembered for more than its convention business. We asked our Placer delegates to share their impressions and photos of the conference.

Enjoy our snapshots of the many activities and events at this year’s Endorsing Convention in Sacramento.

Weaponizing Lies to Spin a War, Kill Democracy…and Only God Knows What Else

Myra Jolivet, SMPS

And now — in the midst of a war between Gaza militants and Israel, when people around the world are desperate to know what’s happening — Elon Musk has personally recommended that users follow accounts notorious for promoting lies. “For following the war in real-time, @WarMonitors & @sentdefender are good,” Musk posted Sunday.

Good?

Editor’s note: this summary continues the series based on author and history professor Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny.” The goal is to pass on his insights, wisdom, and forecast to those who have not read his works.

BE CALM WHEN THE UNTHINKABLE ARRIVES

 “Modern tyranny is terror management…” used with precision by Adolf Hitler. The German nation elected him and then created chaos and artificial threats to his nation to consolidate his power. He convinced his people this was “for their own good.”

 Snyder states Hitler’s tactics were the “archetype of terror management.”