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by Jenny Blanchard
Both the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times failed to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, breaking a decades-long tradition of doing so. Journalists across the globe have condemned this decision as a dereliction of duty in an election where the choice could not be starker. It is important to note that both papers are owned by billionaires whose own fortunes would benefit from the economic and tax policies of a Trump administration. Newspapers should be an independent public forum exempt from the interests of corporate entities or high net worth individuals. The failure to endorse reflects cowardice on the part of both papers, and a number of senior editors have resigned in protest. The Washington Post is fond of boasting that “democracy dies in darkness.” It appears that sometimes it dies in broad daylight.
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by Matt Thornburg
The US Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais--a case that aims to overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which protects racial minority voting power by mandating the creating of majority-minority districts. Careful observers of the Court indicate the 6-3 conservative majority will probably overturn Thornburg v. Gingles, the landmark case that established this important tool for minority representation. This decision would be foolish and dangerous to democracy in an era of increasingly sophisticated gerrymandering techniques. American jurisprudence regarding redistricting and gerrymandering is voluminous, convoluted, and contradictory. The Supreme Court of the US has abdicated any judicial responsibility for partisan or--likely--racial bias in gerrymandering. It is a frustrating and sad state of affairs. However, in some states, including Pennsylvania, the State Supreme Court has waded into the argument. In Pennsylvania in 2018, the Court ruled in League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the current districts violated the state's constitution and its guarantee of free and equal elections. While the districts the court mandated plan approved are far from perfect, they represent a substantial step in the right direction, moving Pennsylvania against the larger national current of hypergerrymandering and unfairness. Three of the four justices in the majority on that case are currently in a judicial retention election facing a major dark money effort to roll them back. Because gerrymandering so often plays out in the courts, ordinary voters are often frustrated and powerless to its effects. However, I encourage you to vote to retain the current justices--Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht--and preserve Pennsylvania from hypergerrymandering. by Brian Dugas
Community Justice Alliance 1st Work session, Monday, October 13th at 6:00PM, The Peace and Justice Center’s Office 57 North Franklin St, WB, Kirby Health Center Annex, 3rd floor October 18th No Kings National Day for Mobilization
Food Pantry - Food getting close to expiration, don’t want to waste, 6 months in advance of expiration. Food needed. Food prices soaring increase of 3.19% year after year due to inflation, but now additional stresses on the system. Including: lingering supply chain issues, high energy costs, labor shortages, conflicts around the world, and of course our import tariff’s - significant increases in coffee, sugar, and bananas. Going to get worse. Need to ensure the Food Pantry stays well stocked. Community Garden update: November 2nd after the service workday and discussion of next year's community garden plans. Bring your own tools and dress for the weather. Positive update: The PA Department of Agriculture has purchased the development rights for 2079 acres of farmland across 14 counties in Pennsylvania. Through the purchase of preservation easement, farmers profit from their land without selling it for commercial or residential projects. A total of 5.7 million dollars will ensure 24 properties stay farmland, mainly in Central PA where there is enormous pressure to develop their land. Criteria:
Since 1988 the program has protected 6621 farms and 658,681 acres in 58 counties from future development. With all of the things happening in this country right now, it is more important than ever that we relearn how to live with nature and grow our own food. Please join us on November 2nd at the garden. Declaration of Independence: Talks about something called the Unalienable Rights - Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government,....... which is most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Vote November 4th! by Lilly Gioia
The Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE was invented by President Trump supposedly to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Its true purpose is to create a vast central data base holding the personal information of every American. Recently a Social Security whistle-blower exposed how DOGE has secretly relocated the files of 73 million beneficiaries to an unsecured cloud platform that only they have access to. This unsecured cloud could be hacked by identity thieves around the globe. Outraged Social Security advocates are demanding that Senator Mike Crapo, chair of the Senate Finance Committee institute an immediate investigation and hold public hearings, which so far, he hasn’t done. If this troubles you, you may want to call Senator Crapo and demand he act, as I’ve done. The issue of protecting our private information held by government agencies goes far beyond Social Security. The Trump Justice Department is also demanding every state surrender its data bases to the federal government, under the pretext of assuring election security. Thus far Governor Shapiro and Secretary of State Al Schmidt have refused, asserting that such a federal mandate is illegal. Last week the national League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, along with five individual plaintiffs, filed a class action lawsuit. They are challenging the unlawful creation of massive government data bases that consolidate sensitive and legally-protected personal information on millions of people to unlawfully open investigations and purge voter rolls. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward, Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Fair Elections Center. The lawsuit charges DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security have secretly merged personal data from across the federal government into centralized “Interagency Databases” in direct violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and the U.S. Constitution. Records from the IRS, Social Security, US Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Labor Department, and state voter registration databases—containing Social Security numbers, tax information, medical records, biometric data and children’s case files—being secretly and unlawfully collected and consolidated is a “clear example of the constitutional crisis we are living through,” League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart said. “Our federal government is abusing its power to access American’s personal information, and several states are using that private data to harm voters and our individual right to privacy.” John Davisson at Electronic Privacy stressed that “This country was founded on the principle that the government has no business arbitrarily intruding in our private affairs. Yet this administration is trampling on our privacy at the grandest scale, illegally hoarding our sensitive personal information and threatening our most cherished rights. The law is clear: no national data bank. Together we’ll put a stop to this in court.” The lawsuit is LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS V. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. |
The Social Action Minute
One of the most popular features of our Sunday services is our Social Action Minute. During this time, a member of the Social Action Committee speaks on a topic of their choice in order to bring awareness and a call to action to the members of our Congregation. These are the archives of the Social Action Minutes presented at our Sunday services. If you missed a service, or are interested in the topic, you can revisit it and get information here. Archives
November 2025
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