Craig Unger is a New York Times bestselling author of six books on the Republican Party’s relentless, multi-pronged assault against American democracy, including "House of Bush, House of Saud;" "House of Trump, House of Putin," and the current "Den of Spies." A Harvard graduate, Unger’s journalism has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, and many others. His media commentary spans all major outlets. His extensive reporting documents a powerful case that the Republican Party has become the greatest threat to American democracy -- all done in their heedless, corrupt pursuit of power and money. At only the 100th day in Trump's second presidential term, our democracy has been severely damaged, our courts compromised, congress sidelined and in disarray, our international standing greatly diminished. How did we get here, and how can we restore American democracy in full along with our standing in the world? The acclaimed author and media commentator Craig Unger will insightfully address these questions, along with Trump’s decades as a Russian asset, Trump’s recent visit with the Saudis and more.

Robert Weiner

Robert Weiner was senior counsel in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice during the Biden administration and is now the Director, the Voting Rights Project of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He has had a long career in D.C. that included serving as president of the D.C. Bar Association and Senior Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office during the Clinton Administration. Mr. Weiner plans to speak to us about voting rights. Years ago, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Mr. Weiner received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his JD from Yale Law School.

Sara Deen, who serves as Vice President and Board member of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, began her remarks by thanking the members of Palos Verdes Democrats for the hard work in passing SOS, the school bond initiative to repair our schools and for electing two reasonable school board members. Sara spoke about the efforts by far-right extremists to disrupt our school board meetings and attack public education. She also reviewed with our members the current issues confronting the school board by the new Trump Administration, including executive orders that temporarily disrupted HeadStart Programs, Teacher Training Programs and Special Education Programs. Sara reviewed lawsuits that have been filed to combat the Trump agenda and protect our schools and children. Sara also talked about the need to pass a budget by July 1, 2025, negotiations with the teachers and how the relationship between the board and the teachers has improved and become more collaborative. Dr. Deen also informed us that the board has also approved the budget priorities following the passage of the SOS Initiative to repair our schools.

Paul Seo, who serves as Mayor Pro Tem in Rancho Palos Verdes while also serving in leadership for the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, spoke about several local issues. Paul reviewed several issues that the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has approved even though the city council has two Democrats and three Republicans. He stated that the council has found a way to work together to get things done for the community. Mr. Seo spoke about changes with respect to the Sheriff’s department where the City Council has created a public safety division to remove some of the administrative functions from the sheriff’s department so they can focus on keeping the city safe. Paul also discussed efforts to improve cell phone reception that should be installed this fall using new wireless devices on light poles that should increase reception, which will improve safety without obstructing views. Paul also spoke about the city council’s effort to give our youth voices in the community by creating a new youth advisory council. Finally, Paul spoke about the efforts to deal with the landslide areas. Efforts by the city have succeeded in slowing down the land movement, but the need exists for funding to continue this effort. Unfortunately, the Trump administration through DOGE has cut the funding for this needed project to help our homeowners.