March 5th Newsletter

Dear OPAA,

I don't have a long email for you this week, and yet, of course, the political to-do list has been and remains never ending. We've been thinking, hard, about how to be most effective, how to be responsive to all of you, and yet also maintain the very critical life commitments we had before the country was upended.

It would almost be easier to resist if we lived in a red state, or a red district, no? Easier to have someone to vote out, someone to picket, someone to yell at. In a blue district and a blue state, it is my belief that we will be more effective if we are nuanced. We have an opportunity to move forward working closely with Mark De Saulnier's office, and we should do so strategically and thoughtfully, with clear goals. We will be meeting soon with Diane Feinstein's staff, and will report back about that. The staff of our state senator, Orindan Steve Glazer, is willing to meet with us on short notice - but I've postponed making that appointment. It's been a week of taking a minute. Thinking through strategy. Catching up on life.

I've spent time at leadership meetings: A leadership convention with other county resistance groups, and with the OPAA steering committee. Both meetings were in pursuit of efficiency, and effectiveness. How can the resistance groups support each other and work together to reduce duplication of workload? What structures will allow OPAA be most effective?

For the time being, we will move towards topic-specific meetings, so small groups of committed volunteers can track specific topics, and then educate and alert us all when actions are needed. The Steering Committee will be reaching out to those of you who have indicated where you have specific interests, and arranging meeting times for smaller groups. If you haven’t filled out our survey either on Facebook or at our last general meeting, email us and we’ll send it your way.

We will continue to have regular postcard writing sessions and Thursday “Walk & Talks" at the Lafayette reservoir, for those who'd like to get together for general interest conversations. Check our website calendar for details.

Upcoming events:

Monday March 6, 7pm - 8:30pm: “Write to Your Reps” (Orinda residence, RSVP for address) orindaprogressiveaction@gmail.com

Thursday March 9, 10am: “Walk & Talk”, Lafayette Reservoir

Wednesday March 15, 10:30am - noon: “Write to Your Reps” at Orinda Books

Thursday March 16, 10am: “Walk & Talk”, Lafayette Reservoir

Finally, I want to forward this email from the ACLU, who are turning a major corner from litigation to organization. If you'd like to host an ACLU Resistance Training Viewing at your house on March 11, I invite you to do so. If you'd like to open it to other OPAA members, let us know, and we'll advertise it for you.

Look below the signature for more information. And as always, find us on our website or on facebook.

Yours sincerely,

Rebecca

FROM ACLU:

Hi – I want ask you to do something big and important in response to the unprecedented threat of President Trump's attack on our basic freedoms. On March 11, we are holding a Resistance Training in Miami, Florida. This event will launch People Power, our effort to engage grassroots volunteers across the country. And what we want to do is organize THOUSANDS of grassroots events in communities across the country to watch the livestream as we organize ourselves to take the fight against Donald Trump's policies not just into the courts, but into the streets. I want you to sign up today to organize an event in your community. Whether it's in your home, a local theater, a library, or anywhere else, we're gonna make this easy for you. We'll walk you through everything. You just need a screen, speakers, and wifi and we'll help with the rest. What do you say? YES! I will host an event for the ACLU's nationwide Resistance Training on March 11. Or, I can't host an event, but I want more information on getting involved with People Power. (Note: clicking these links will take you to our new website, peoplepower.org) We are in the fight of our lives right now, and what we have learned since Donald Trump's inauguration is that there is a growing army of people out there who want to be asked to do something big and important in response. So that's what we're going to do. Thank you for adding your name, Anthony for the ACLU Action team