Welcome to issue 2 of the Bay Area for Bernie Week in Review. I told you last week that I would be publishing every Friday, and I’ve already managed to pass that deadline. I wanted to hold off this week so I could talk a little bit about our largest public meeting yet and Bernie’s appearance on Face the Nation (with one of my intellectual crushes, John Dickerson). It’s been a busy weekend, for us and for Bernie, so let’s review:

Number of the Week: 100. That was the seating capacity of the Latino Room at the San Francisco Library, where it was SRO yesterday at Bay Area for Bernie’s largest public meeting. Our attendees came from as far north as Marin County, as far south as San Jose and as far east as Martinez. (You can’t really get much farther west without being in the Pacific Ocean.) We’ve got at least four local groups that either are new or gained a lot of membership at the meeting yesterday, including groups in the South Bay, San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda and North East Bay. A longer report is coming soon, with contact information for these groups.

Second Number of the Week: 7,500, the estimated number of Bernie fans who showed up in Portland, Maine last Monday. This, like several of his other recent rallies, had to be moved from its original location after 3,000 people RSVP’d. I’m not sure who’s in charge of scheduling venues at the Bernie campaign, but we need to talk.

Phrase of the Week: “Subtle dictatorship,” Pope Francis’s word for capitalism. As a recovering Catholic, I’ve been watching the Holy Father’s career with considerable interest. How can you not like a guy who uses the phrase “the dung of the devil” to describe capitalism’s excesses?

Interview of the Week: John Dickerson and Bernie Sanders have a gravelly voice competition on Face the Nation. Bernie wins. Highlight, from Bernie: “What I have said throughout this campaign is electing Bernie Sanders as president is not enough. Not going to do it. We need a mass grassroots movement ….”

Quote of the Week: “The Force is strong with Bernie. He’s our only hope,” from Princess Leia at Comic-Con this week in San Diego.

Hero of the Week: Well, this is more like Hero of A Couple Weeks Ago, but It’s inspiring nonetheless. Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez is the 15-year-Youth Director of Earth Guardians, an organization that is working to conserve the environment. On June 29, he spoke in front of the UN General Assembly to speak about global warming. (After I read that, I took a moment to reflect on what I was doing at age 15. The comparison was brutal.) A highlight: “We see that climate change is a human rights issue. It is affecting especially developing countries, women, children and people of color more than anything else.”

Fun Administrative Fact of the Week (and no, that’s not an oxymoron): Until now, I’ve been writing under the byline “editors.” This was a lie, dear readers, for which I apologize, but “editor and his cat Beau, who’s been feeling neglected of late” didn’t fit in my profile page. After yesterday’s meeting, however, I have multiple people who will be working with me on this blog. Beau is grateful.

Off-Topic Article of the Week: “The Real Story of Obamacare’s Birth.” Tl;dr: “It may help a bit if more Americans, including prominent commentators, stop repeating a false political narrative about the genesis of Obamacare.”

What’s Next: A lot of things, but a couple of highlights: On July 18, we’ll be at the Berkeley Farmers Market; also on July 18, there will be a meetup in San Jose; and on July 21, there will be a meetup in Monterey Bay. I’ll be posting events as I learn about them to our Get Involved page, so check that out and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

Have a great week, everybody, and #FeelTheBern!

- chris.