"Peaceable Assembly Campaign: A Campaign to Demand Alternatives to U.S. Militarism"

Friends,

 

Thanks to the goodness of a friend, I am moving from 3338 Gilman Terrace, Baltimore, MD 21211 to 1202 Roundhill Road, Baltimore, MD 21218 effective August 31, 2009.  On August 29, the same phone number and email address will be transferred to the new house.  Another friend was willing to provide me space as well.

 

My major concern is Phantom the cat.  I let him out at night.  When we move and I let him out, will he return to the old house or the new house?  Should I keep him inside for a week, so that he becomes acclimated to the new place?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Kagiso,  Max

 

Peaceable Assembly Campaign

 

A Campaign to Demand Alternatives to U.S. Militarism

 

http://vcnv.org/pac

 

Voices for Creative Nonviolence is initiating a nationwide Peaceable

Assembly Campaign which seeks an end to the U.S. wars in Iraq,

Afghanistan and Pakistan and an end to U.S. support of the continued

occupation of the Palestinian territories. Beginning in September,

2009, and continuing for the next ten months, we will engage in both

legal and extralegal (nonviolent civil disobedience/civil resistance)

lobbying efforts, urging Representatives and Senators to stop

authorizing and funding wars and occupations.

 

The Folly of the Present Policy

 

At the zenith of its growth in the last half century, the United

States of America has the most powerful military forces in all of

human history. But this has come at a terrific cost: extravagant

demands for resources, trillions of dollars of national debt and the

incalculable destruction, displacement, and death that is caused by

war.

 

Projecting military power around the world is extremely costly for all of us.

 

   1) We believe that U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan

aim, in part, to secure and control priority access to natural

resources and to establish ongoing U.S. military presence in these

regions.

 

   2) We think it is folly to believe that the United States can

successfully control the politics of Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Ultimately, this project cannot succeed, and is not worth the cost in

human lives and national wealth, even if it could succeed.

 

   3) The U.S. and its allies have used armed occupation and military

offensives to secure perceived U.S. national interests in Iraq,

Afghanistan and Pakistan. We believe military solutions are

facilitating recruitment for Al Qaeda, Taliban groups, and other

organizations that engage in armed resistance to the U.S. and its

allies. Lacking the resources to resist overwhelming U.S. superiority

in weapons technology, by so-called “conventional warfare,” they

resort to a variety of improvised tactics, including terror attacks on

civilians. Western attempts to dominate this region are increasing

armed resisters, not defeating them.

 

   4) In 2007, the U.S. and Israel signed a Memorandum of

Understanding that the U.S. would provide Israel with $30 billion in

military aid over the next 10 years. The U.S. also signed military

pacts worth 13 billion dollars for Egypt and arranged billions of

dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Gulf states. U.S. military

aid and U.S. weapon sales to the region escalate the arms race and

lessen the likelihood that conflicts will be resolved through

negotiation and diplomacy.

 

The current “War on Terror/ Overseas Contingency Operations” paradigm

of occupation and militarization is counterproductive. We should not

pursue this failed strategy. History clearly points out that attempts

at subjugating countries in the Middle East and Central Asia have all

failed miserably. We need a new path and vision for creating peace and

justice.

 

Our Proposal

 

We call on Congress and the Obama Administration to:

 

   1) Demand and organize prompt regional negotiations with all

interested parties and seek settlements to these conflicts that could

minimize the potential for civil wars during inevitable struggles over

political power.

 

   2) Announce and carry out a prompt end to U.S. combat engagement in

these wars, and an orderly, prompt withdrawal of all U.S. forces and

bases from these countries.

 

   3) Close Guantanamo, Bagram and other detention facilities

established as part of the so-called “war on terror” under President

Bush and press for full U.S. compliance with all international

treaties regarding the treatment of prisoners.

 

   4) Stop all forms of collective punishment imposed on civilians.

 

   5) End U.S. interference in the affairs of other countries.

 

   6) Massively reduce U.S. military spending consistent with these goals.

 

   7) Convert excessive military spending to:

 

   a) Provide assistance to refugees of these conflicts through

local aid agencies and the United Nations implementing partners;

 

  b) Support the development of public infrastructure, education,

local economies, and healthcare networks in Iraq, Afghanistan,

Pakistan, and Palestine;

 

 c) Retrofit U.S. housing, transportation, industry and other

property assets for maximum energy efficiency;

 

d) Invent and develop renewable and sustainable methods of

alternative energy production;

 

e) Build energy efficient systems for mass transit throughout

the United States;

 

 f) Repair and restore our public infrastructure, including

subsidies to create full employment and affordable housing in

impoverished and neglected areas;

 

g) Provide universal health care and quality education for all

people living in the United States.

 

We hold President Obama, elected members of Congress, and ourselves

fully accountable for:

 

   i) all destructive effects of military policies in Iraq,

Afghanistan and Pakistan, and

 

   ii) all failures in domestic policy caused by wasting public resources on war

 

-------------------------------

 

Voices for Creative Nonviolence | 1249 W Argyle Street #2 - Chicago,

IL 60640 | Phone: (773) 878-3815 | email: info@vcnv.org

 

 

Fascist America III: Resistance for the Long Haul

 

By Sara Robinson

August 27, 2009 - 10:00am ET

 

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009083526/fascist-america-iii-resistance-long-haul

 

August, die she must. The town hall freak show is winding down, the media circus is packing the cameras and satellite dishes and hairspray back into the vans, and Congress is soon heading back to the relative safety of DC. Yet, after all the fuss and bother, they're probably no more or less resolved to pass health care reform than they were back in June, when those first delirious fevers rose like clouds of infectious mosquito nymphs hatched from a thick, overheated carpet of soggy astroturf.

 

Let's hope they succeed at getting it done. But, win or lose, we're crazy to think that the goon squads formed and trained to instigate this summer's health care wars will pack it in just because the silly season is over. Those folks have tasted power, graduated from their introductory courses in Political Bullying 101, shared some camraderie and beer, and felt the heft of their own political muscle. That was fun. Now, what do we do next? Paralyze the school board over evolution in the textbooks? Intimidate the city council into shutting down the immigrants' services center -- or beat up some immigrants, so they'll just stop using it? Vandalize the cars and houses of known liberals? Get one of our own elected sheriff, so he can deputize the rest of us and make our posse official?

 

Nothin' but good times ahead. Now that they're organized up and had a little practice, the possibilities for further mayhem are limited only by the boundless paranoia and unfettered fantasies of the right-wing mind. Out at our local county fair this past weekend, the GOP booth was festooned with a wide array of buttons, tees, and bumper stickers proclaiming the owner's status as a "Proud Member of the Right-Wing Mob," and other similarly, um, assertively empowered sentiments. Judging from the general belligerence of the collection on offer, that seems to be the GOP's whole political identity now. They're determined to move boldly into 2010 as the party of America's union-, immigrant-, democracy-, and (if necessary) head-busting squadristi -- and they're damn proud of it all, you betcha.

* * *

How in the hell did we get here? And more to the point: how do we get back out?

 

The first question is depressingly easy. This is precisely where 40 years wandering in the right-wing moral, cultural, and economic wilderness has left us -- and, in fact, where it was always intended to lead us. A liberal democratic society is a complex system that's designed to be very resilient and self-correcting in the face of all kinds of extremism. But the health of that system -- especially its natural immunity to would-be attackers -- ultimately depends on just one factor. It cannot survive without people's ongoing confidence in a functioning political contract.

 

When it's working right, this contract guarantees the upper classes predictable, reliable wealth in return for their investments. It promises the middle class mobility, comfort, and security. It ensures the working classes fair reward for fair work, chances to move ahead, and protection against very real risk that they'll be forced into poverty if they can't work any more. Generally, as long as everybody gets their piece of this constantly re-negotiated deal, everybody stays invested in keeping the system going -- and a democratic society will remain upright, healthy, and moving mostly forward.

 

For the past four decades, conservatives have done everything in their power to dismantle that essential contract, and thus destroy our mutual confidence in the fundamental agreements that allow any democratic system to function. (None dare call it treason -- but a solid case could be made.) This isn't news: by now, most of us can recite the litany, chapter and verse, of the all the many ways they hacked away at America's essential ability to function as the Constitution intended.

 

But the biggest loser, as always, has been the working class -- the people whose only real power lies in their sweat and their numbers. Their faith in the promise of democratic self-government has been shattered through years of union-busting, farm foreclosures, factory exports, college grant cuts, subprime mortgage scams, and all manner of betrayal, treachery, neglect, and abuse. Over in the comments threads at Orcinus, we hear from these furious folks almost every day. The way they see it, representative democracy has repeatedly failed to deliver on anything it might have once promised them. At this point, the disgust runs so deep that anybody who's got other ideas -- theocracy, corporatocracy, anarchy, whaddaya got? -- has a fair shot at getting their attention.

 

And their outrage is so total that any target they're offered looks about as good as any other. Without that reason-strangling sense of betrayal and paralyzing fear of further loss already in place, it's hard to see how Fox News' windbags or Dick Armey's checkbook would have been able to convince these people to turn on the best chance at real government help they've been offered in decades. But with it, they're about ready to shoot at anything they're told to aim at.

 

America's best (and perhaps only) chance to keep the shreds of its tattered democracy intact is to get serious about cutting working Americans back into the democratic contract -- and repair their broken trust by making damn sure those promises are actually kept. Once they're back on board, the system will begin to work again for everyone. Until then, the accelerating breakdown is just going to continue.

 

It's not going to be easy. Right-wing populism is riding so high among the middle and working classes right now that there's nothing progressives can say right now that they're likely to believe. So we need to let our actions do the talking -- and there are five solid places we can start that will get their attention.

 

First: Ironically, passing health care reform would be a colossal trust-builder, as I've argued before. The right wing knows this, which is precisely why it's recruited the very people most likely to benefit from reform to fight as their shock troops against it. Simply seeing the government working to provide such an essential common good for everyone would shift the entire American conversation about the purposes and capabilities of government. It would go a long way toward restoring our confidence in the very idea of democracy, and make it much harder for anti-democratic arguments to get traction.

 

Second: We need to re-establish the rule of law. You cannot have a credible democracy as long as there's so obviously one standard of economic and civil justice for the rich and well-connected, and a very different one that's designed to make victims out of everybody else. Nobody seriously believes any more that rich or powerful people can ever be held accountable by an American court. Prosecuting the Bush Administration for their assorted crimes against America and the world would make an unforgettable, inarguable statement -- both to our own citizens, and the rest of the planet -- about our renewed commitment to justice.

 

That would be a great start. But we'd need to follow it up with a whole series of reforms, including holding corporations fully accountable for actions that destroy the commons; ending the catastrophic "war on drugs;" giving people back their access to the courts; and restoring some proportionality to our sentencing laws, which have put millions of lower-class families into the permanent thrall of the justice system.

 

Third: We need to get serious about investing in education. It's well understood now that our broken health care system is right on the bottom of the barrel among industrialized countries; but most of us don't realize that our schools are in the same comparatively wretched shape. Thomas Jefferson understood that liberal democracy is impossible without a literate, well-informed populace; and the endless parade of teabagger loonitude is precisely the kind of know-nothing nightmare he most feared.

 

Conservative "tax revolt" politics have been undermining American education since California's Proposition 13 passed in 1977 -- and we should draw a clear, bright line between decades of systematic defunding and the monumental failures of reason we're seeing all around us now. Don't know much about history -- so the Christian Right is busily rewriting it to argue that there's no such thing as a wall between church and state. Don't know much biology -- so fewer than half of all Americans think the theory of evolution explains our origins. Don't know much about the science book -- so we're ready to believe whatever junk science the corporate PR folks can conjure up. Don't know much about the French I took -- which has left the country insular, parochial, and unable to work and play well with others in a world it purports to lead.

 

But the worst failure is that we went through a decades-long patch where we didn't teach civics -- and still don't much, especially in states where it's not part of the standardized tests. Which means that there are tens of millions among us who have absolutely no idea what's in the Bill of Rights, or how a law gets made, or where the limits of state power lie. It's quite possible that if the conservatives hadn't undermined universal civics education, the right-wing talking heads would have never found an audience. Instead, what we have is a country where most people are getting their basic political education from Rush Limbaugh and FOX News.

 

If we want our democracy back, that has to change.

 

Fourth: No democracy in history has ever survived with our current levels of inequality. There's no reason for the middle and working classes to trust anything about a system that's so clearly rigged to suck money straight out of their pockets into the tax-free offshore bank accounts of the wealthy -- who, of course, turn right around and use that money to buy off our government, so they can suck up even more of our economy for themselves.

This has gone on so long that we've arrived at the endpoint where every single civic function you can name -- health care, defense, law enforcement, prisons, infrastructure development, research, media, and (increasingly) education -- makes decisions not on the basis of what will best serve the common good or give taxpayers or consumers the biggest bang for the buck, but whether and how much it will pay off some well-connected corporation. Doesn't matter what the public wants, or what makes sense, or what will save money in the long run. The bottom line is: if Haliburton or Wackenhut or United Health isn't getting their cut, it ain't happening, period. And that's pretty much the definition of a corporatized state -- which, as we've seen, is one of the two necessary ingredients required for full-on fascism.

 

Restoring equality also means meaningful immigration reform. As long as there's a two-tiered employment system that lets employers sidestep wage, discrimination, and safety laws by hiring undocumented workers without penalty, there's going to be a permanent trap door under the feet of American workers. To close that door, we need to shore up the border, completely revamp our utterly dysfunctional immigration process, enforce existing workplace laws and prosecute employers who violate them, and get our current crop of undocumented immigrants on the books so the laws can be applied to them, too. Until we do this, nobody is going to get a fair shake in the job market -- and there's no reason for working-class Americans to have any trust at all in the system's ability to deliver for them.

 

Finally: we need to focus on restoring our basic liberal institutions. Back in 2005, Chris Bowers noted that progressive ideology has always been disseminated through four major cultural drivers: the universities (and related intellectual infrastructure); unions; the media; and liberal religious organizations. Knowing this, conservatives set out back in the 1970s to undermine all four of these institutions -- and over time, they've largely succeeded in blunting their historic capacity to disseminate and perpetuate the progressive worldview.

 

But change is on the way. The new GI Bill, like the previous one, is likely to create an expansive renaissance in American university education, restoring vigor and diversity to our academic and intellectual community. The Employee Free Choice Act, if passed, will help unions regain their role as the voice and political muscle of the working and middle class. Bloggers have formed the core of a new progressive media that's calling the corporate media to account, and slowly forcing it to change its one-sided ways.

 

On the other hand, there's still considerable misunderstanding and confusion within our own camp about the essential role liberal religion should play in lending heart and spirit to the progressive resurgence. With a few notable exceptions (Tom Paine, Robert Ingersoll), American progressivism has always drawn its most compelling moral voices from the ranks of Catholics, Jews, Quakers, Unitarians and Universalists, and a wide collection of social gospel Evangelicals. And even now, the vast majority of Americans -- on both ends of the spectrum -- still draw their political ethics straight out of their personal religious beliefs. As Bowers points out: we need those voices if we're going to succeed.

 

Fascism is so dangerous precisely because it speaks to its believers in the language of emotion, populism, purity, redemption, and enduring values. Nobody on the progressive side knows how to speak that language -- and match that moral force and energy -- better than our own native faith groups. Secular progressives may wish it weren't true, but it is: there's simply no way we can rebuild a strong democratic system without holding up our end of a broad new culture-wide discussion about morality, meaning, priorities, passion, and values. And those conversations begin most naturally in our houses of worship.

* * *

I'm well aware that this reads like a liberal wish list. And that's really my entire point. Progressive democracy is a self-reinforcing system. Wherever you have educated citizens, thriving progressive institutions, a solid public infrastructure, fair courts, and a relatively level economic and social playing field, you've got prime growing conditions that lead to an expanding economy, increased rights and freedoms, and a strong collective sense of investment and confidence in the system. Progressivism fosters the conditions that make a nation secure, peaceful, stable, and virtually impervious to revolutions of all kinds. In particular, it creates a natural resistance that recognizes fascism as a mortal enemy, and never fails to raise effective immune antibodies against it.

 

Almost every conservative policy going back to Nixon has, in one way or another, undermined our ability to mount this kind of resistance. The emergence of corporate-backed brownshirts is a clear warning sign of that the system that keeps America progressive and free is now hitting its point of fatal breakdown. And we don't have much time: if their behavior succeeds and escalates in the coming months, we could be done for in a matter of months. By next August, this one may be remembered as the last moment of calm before the revolution.

 

Doing nothing is not an option. The only long-term antidote to our current wave of emergent fascism is a big, strong dose of trust-building progressive culture and politics, administered daily until the system's basic democratic functions come back on line. If we want to build a fascist-proof America for the long haul, we must stand up now for everything we believe, and everything we are.

 

###

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

 

Baltimore Activist Alert

Baltimore Activist Alert August 27 – October 5, 2009

 

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.

The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com.  If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

 

The Baltimore IndyMedia Center publicizes peace-related events. Go to http://www.radicalendar.org/group/_baltimore.

 

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLA  

5] Used stamps for humanitarian causes

6] ASPCA needs items

7] August is Single Payer Month

8] Keith McHenry seeks speaking engagements/Bake Bread at White House

9] Art of Solidarity – through Sept. 3

10] Single Payer organizing meeting – Aug. 27

11] WIB Inner Harbor peace vigil – Aug. 28

12] WIB Roland Park vigil – Aug. 28              

13] White House vigil – Aug. 28                

14] Support The Congo demo – Aug. 28

15] Silent vigil at Homewood Friends – Aug. 28

16] Takoma Park peace vigil – Aug. 28

17] Vigil at Walter Reed – Aug. 28               

18] Ballroom dancing – Aug. 28

19] Re-regulate BGE – Aug. 29

20] Olney vigil to end the war – Aug. 29                          

21] Peace vigil in Chester, PA – Aug. 29                     

22] Peace vigil at Capitol – Aug. 29

23] Westminster peace vigil – Aug. 29

24] Peace Oasis – Aug. 29

25] Katrina Four Years Later – Aug. 29

26] Ride for the Animals – Aug. 30

27] African service – Aug. 30

28] Bridge peace vigil – Aug. 30

29] Progressive Picnic – Aug. 30

30] Bethesda peace vigil – Aug. 30

31] Phone bank for Constellation hearings – Aug. 30

32] Red Emma's needs volunteers – Aug. 30

33] Pentagon vigil – Aug. 31

34] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Aug. 31 — Sept. 3

35] Protest the death penalty – Aug. 31

36] BUPJ meeting – Aug. 31

37] Pledge of Resistance meeting – Aug. 31

38] Register for Merton workshop – by Sept. 1

39] Witness Against Torture vigil – Sept. 1

40] Tuesday peace vigil – Sept. 1

41] CITIZEN WEALTH book talk – Sept. 1

42] Ecolocity DC meeting – Sept. 1

43] Nakba exhibit & reception – Sept. 1-30

44] Peace vigil in Philadelphia – Sept. 2

45] Peace vigil in W. Mount Airy, PA – Sept. 2

46] Rally for Health Care reform – Sept. 2

47] Chestnut Hill, PA vigil – Sept. 2

48] Mobilization for Global Justice meeting – Sept. 2

49] PG County peace meeting – Sept. 2

50] Testify to stop Calvert Cliffs 3 – Sept. 2, 17 or 29

51] WIB Peace Stand – Sept. 3

52] Israel/Palestine roundtable – Sept. 3

53] First Thursday demo – Sept. 3

54] PeaceAction Montgomery meeting – Sept. 3

55] Crabshell Alliance meeting — Sept. 3

56] Film MATEWAN – Sept. 4

57] Peace Meal – Sept. 5

58] Death penalty meeting – Sept. 8

59] Brits discuss nuclear disarmament -- Sept. 9

60] Peace Path – September 11

61] First Amendment forum – Sept. 12

62] Bill O'Connor book release party – Sept. 13

63] Protest Karl Rove – Sept. 16

64] Kathy Kelly at Hood College – Sept. 29

65] One Less Car – Oct. 4

66] Direct action at the White House – Oct. 5

67] Get Howard Ehrlich's book HATE CRIMES AND ETHNOVIOLENCE

68] Buy a red maple tree

69] Help available in buying a house 

70] Contribute to the Georgia Four defense fund

71] Join Global Zero campaign

72] War Is Not the Answer signs for sale

73] Publish your peace article

74] Become a member of the Washington Peace Center

75] Click on The Hunger Site  

76] Join Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

-------

1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  "God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions" stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073.

 

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].  It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed.  It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.

 

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to donmuller@msn.com.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

 

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe.  It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing.  To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed.  If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.  

 

4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA Café Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/fair_trade/index.html.

Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. Make the check out to HoCoFoLA and send it with your order form to HoCoFoLA, PO Box 94, Columbia, MD  21045. Contact Pat McLaine at 410-964-0960 or pamcl@aol.com.  The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up.

5] – Brad Hathaway spearheads an effort to sell donated used stamps to raise money for different humanitarian causes around the world. Go to www.mattapoisettquakers.org, and click the link for the stamp ministry.  Carefully clip canceled postage stamps and send to Quaker Missions, PO Box 795, Mattapoisett, MA 02739. Send no small flag stamps or Liberty Bell Forever stamps.

6] – The ASPCA is in need of cat carriers in its cat room in the adoption center. The organization is also seeking items for the upcoming Shop-a-Paw-Looza, the October online auction. Some ideas would be gift certificates, tickets to sporting and other events, sports memorabilia, travel packages and vacation home rentals. Contact Tami Gosheff at 410-235-8826, ext. 138 or tgosheff@mdspca.org.

7] – This August, Let's Win Single-Payer Healthcare! For the first time ever, single-payer legislation will be debated and voted on by the House of Representatives in September. Rep. Anthony Weiner (NY-9) introduced an amendment to President Obama's healthcare reform bill (HR 3200) that would replace it with HR 676, the single-payer bill, and Speaker Pelosi pledged to bring it to a debate and vote on the full House floor in September. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is expected to bring S 703 to the floor for a vote in the Senate. 

Demand that your Congresspeople vote YES on Rep. Weiner's amendment and S 703 in September! Contact Healthcare-NOW! for lobbying strategy or advice – 1-800-453-1305 or info@healthcare-now.org.  Tell your representatives that the Obama health plan is NOT enough and to vote YES on Rep. Weiner's single-payer amendment and Senate Bill S 703. We need real health reform that will cover every American, provide real choice of doctors, and save the majority of Americans money.

8] – Keith McHenry would love to visit your school on the 30th Anniversary Food Not Bombs Tour and give a presentation. The presentation is a way to inspire your classmates to participate in social action. The student organizations on your campus can co-sponsor the presentation and request an honorarium from the student senate. Keith donates the honorarium to Food Not Bombs. Contact Nyna at nyna@foodnotbombs.net.  Go to http://www.foodnotbombs.net/speaker.html.

 

 The Change We Knead Now - Baking Bread For World Peace is a campaign where Food Not Bombs continues to bake bread in a solar oven outside the White House every day while petitioning for the Implementation of universal government-paid (Single-Payer) health care for all, the freeing of federal prisoner Leonard Peltier by executive order today, solar energy collectors available for every house, passenger trains connecting every city, organic gardening classes in every school and a call for a global ceasefire.

 

9] – Students and faculty from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) are featuring 3 short video documentaries, 2 mural projects and artwork created by MICA students from this summer's study abroad experience in Nicaragua!  The Art of Solidarity is a program that was envisioned 5 years ago by its coordinators and MICA alumni, Maria Aldana and Aleks Martray. With the support of MICA's Continuing Studies and Community Arts departments, the Art of Solidarity is the only study abroad program with a mission to create sustainable youth programs by collaborating with the local artist movements and organizations. Because of the passion and support of the Video and Technology departments, Kirsten D' Andrea Hollander has been able to set up a video lab and teach sophisticated editing software with MICA students in a small town of about 13,500 people so that young adults have access to the latest technology.

These three faculty members and their eight students present an exhibition about their collaborations and reflections working and living with the local artists, youth and organizations in the city of Esteli and the town of Limay. The Art of Solidarity, A Community Arts program in Nicaragua presents Tener Valor (To be brave; To have values) through Thurs., Sept. 3.  There is a reception on Thurs, Sept. 3 from 5 to 7 PM in the Rosenburg Gallery, MICA Brown Bldg, 2nd Floor. From 5:30 to 6:30 PM, there will be video screenings in Room #320.

10] – The Coalition of the Uninsured & Underinsured for Single-Payer will hold its weekly organizing meeting on Thurs., Aug. 27 from 6 to 8 PM to focus on the organizing and scheduling of upcoming "teach-ins."  It will be held at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), 1112 16th St., NW, Suite 600, WDC. Is anyone interested in participating in weekly or bi-weekly telephone conference calls as opposed to meeting in person? Go to www.Healthcare-Now.org.  Call 202-276-3099 or email medicare4allnow@gmail.com.

11] – Women In Black sponsor a peace stand/vigil on Fri., Aug. 28 from noon-1 PM at the Inner Harbor, corner Pratt and Light.  Everyone welcome, wear black if you can.  See http://www.peacepath911.com/ or write wibbaltimore@hotmail.com or call 410-467-9114.

12] – There is also a noon vigil on Fri., Aug. 28 at Roland Park Place at 830 W. 40th St.  Call 410-467-9114. 

 

13] – A peace vigil takes place every Friday from noon to 1 PM on Pennsylvania Ave., by the press gate to the White House. It is organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Call 202-882-9649.

14] – There is a peace vigil to support the Congo every Friday, 4 to 6:30 PM at the Rwandan Embassy, 1714 New Hampshire Ave, NW.  Call the Rwandan Embassy at 202-232-2882 and register your concern about Rwanda's aggression towards the Congo.

15] – There is a silent vigil on Fri., Aug. 28 from 5 to 6 PM outside of Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., in opposition to war with Iraq. Placards say: "War Is Not the Answer." The silent vigil is sponsored by AFSC, Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings.

 

16] –  Join the Takoma Park peace vigil, which takes place the last Friday of the month from 5 to 6 PM at Takoma Junction (Rte. 410 and Carroll Ave.).  The next vigil to end occupation in Iraq, Palestine and the White House will be Aug. 28.  Call 301-589-5410 or go to www.Tpkids4peace.org.

 

17] – SHED LIGHT ON US WAR CASUALTIES: FROM THE FRONT LINE TO THE BACK DOOR of Walter Reed Army Medical Center (North Gate), every Friday night, from 7 to 9 PM in the middle of the 7100 block of Georgia Ave., NW. Call 202-441-3265. Go to http://www.codepinkalert.org/Local_CODEPINKs_Washington_DC.shtml. 

 

18] –  There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn.  The next dance will be Aug. 28. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.                  

19] – Join the MD Coalition for BGE Re-Regulation in a demonstration on Sat., Aug. 29 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in Lawyer's Mall, near the governor's mansion. In Baltimore, meet at 10 AM at 301 McMechen St. in the parking lot of a senior housing complex near the corner of Eutaw and McMechen.  Departure for Annapolis is at 10 AM sharp! Call 443-414-2425 or email vtola@yahoo.com.

 The Maryland Coalition for BGE Re-regulation calls on the governor, all state senators and members of the House of Delegates to end the deaths and economic hardship resulting from mass BG&E power cut-offs. The rate increases since 2006 have forced retired people to downsize their homes, forced the unemployed to lose their homes, forced middle-class families to pay energy bills that are higher than their mortgages and forced the poor to risk their lives by using candles for light, and kerosene for heat.

20] – Friends House, 17715 Meeting House Rd., Sandy Spring, MD 20860, hosts a peace vigil every Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30 AM, on the corner of Rt. 108 and Georgia Ave. in Olney, MD.  The next vigil is Aug. 29. Call Chuck Harker at 301-570-7167. 

 

21] –  Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. This vigil has been the target of counter-demonstrators and harassment from the "Chester County Victory Movement" but has grown and persisted.  Go to www.ccpeace.org.

22] – There will be a peace vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol at noon on Sat., Aug. 29. Look for the blue banner with the message, "Seek Peace and Pursue It.--Psalms 34:14." The vigil lasts one hour and is silent except when one responds to the occasional questions. Go to http://www.quaker.org/langleyhill/seekpeace.htm or email seekpeacevigil@yahoo.com.

23] – Westminster WIB holds a vigil the last Saturday of the month. On Aug. 29 meet at 2 PM in front of the library on Main St. Please wear black, everyone welcome at all stands, signs provided. Contact wibwestminster@mizmail.com.

24] – On June 28, Little Friends for Peace celebrated the grand opening of the Peace Education Oasis in Piscataway National Park in 15400 Old Marshall Hall Rd., Accokeek, MD 20607.  LFFP is now hosting an open house on Sat., Aug. 29 from 4-7 PM. There will be a potluck style meal, so bring a dish. Take I-295 or the Beltway to MD 210 South. Go 11 miles, turn right on Pine Ave. for .5 mile, then left on Livingston Road for .5 mile, then right on Old Marshall Hall Road for 3 miles (pass Cactus Hill Road). The Oasis is on the right.

Once completed, the Oasis will provide a space for children and adults alike to find peace in nature, be restored, and bring skills of peace back to our communities. The Oasis is located only a mile away from the Potomac River and the Accokeek Foundation's Colonial Farm.  Go to www.LFFP.org or call 240-899-8421 or email peaceoasis.lffp@gmail.com.

25] – FOUR YEARS AFTER KATRINA will be an Evening with Ron Kipling Williams, the Most Controversial Spoken Word Artist!!! He is Aware and Outraged: Silence is For Suckers.  Also performing will be the Amethyst Lyrically-Gifted Brown and special guest artists/activists.  This remembrance of Katrina will include a TRIBUTE TO DR. JESSE McDADE on Sat., Aug. 29 at 7 PM at Cyclops Books, 32 W. North Ave., Baltimore, MD 21201.  The donation is $5. RAW AND UNCENSORED!!! NOT FOR THE OFFENDED!!!  Call 917-841-0299 or go to www.facebook.com/cyclopsbmore.

26] –.The first annual Ride for the Animals, benefiting the Maryland SPCA, is Sun., Aug. 30. Registration opens at 10 AM at The Harley-Davidson/Buell Store, 8845 Pulaski Hwy., Baltimore, MD 21237, and is $20 per person. The ride begins at noon at The Harley-Davidson/Buell Store and ends at Padonia Station, 63 E. Padonia Rd., Timonium, MD 21093. At Padonia Station, there will be a passel of events: a raffle, silent auction, food and beverages for purchase and a performance starting at 2 PM by The Fabulous Skunkpuppie Band.  You don't have to have a motorcycle to join the party at Padonia Station. However, no animals are welcome.  Email brandy@mdspca.org. Go to www.mdspca.org.

27] – On Sun., Aug. 30, the KALAFONG AME CHURCH invites you to a Prayer for Africa at 11 AM at the HISPANIC SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST DAY CHUCH, 5100 Edmondson Ave., Baltimore 21229.   Contact Rev. Dr. Duane Rawlings at realministr@aol.com.  Go to www.orgsites.com\md\kalafong-ame-mission-church/index.html.

28] – Maryland Bridges for Peace welcomes you to stand for peace Sundays from noon (or thereabouts) to 1 PM on the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis.  Contact Lucy at 410-263-7271 or mdbridgesforpeace@toadmail.com. Signs are not allowed to be on a stick or pole.   If there is interest, people will be standing on the Stoney Creek Bridge on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena [410-437-5379 or magicalgodmom@aol.com]. Go to http://BridgePeace.blogspot.com/.

29] –.On Sun., Aug. 30 at 2 PM, attend the Montgomery County Progressive Picnic. The cost is $15 now, but $20 later.  Go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6728539.

Maryland Senator Jamie Raskin and other speakers will discuss the future of progressive politics in Maryland at Wheaton Regional Park Picnic Shelter "G," 2002 Shorefield Road, Wheaton, MD 20902. Meet progressives from around the County and from various organizations, and discuss progressive plans for the upcoming Annapolis legislative session. Scheduled attendees include State Senator Paul Pinsky, Delegates Roger Manno, Tom Hucker, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Saqib Ali, Council Members Duchy Trachtenberg and Marc Elrich; and Equality and Healthcare Activists Dana Beyer and Eric Luedtke.  Potluck dish and drinks to share are appreciated! Email mikehersh@mikehersh.com.

 

30] – Every Sunday until Nov. 3, from 4:30 to 6 PM at the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda Aves., near Barnes & Noble and the Landmark Theaters, there will be a peace vigil organized by Bethesda Friends. Everyone welcome to participate!  

 

31] – Johanna E. Neumann, state director of Maryland PIRG, is seeking volunteers for a phone bank to turn out supporters to the Annapolis Town Hall meeting on the Constellation/EDF deal! The phone bank will take place on Sun., Aug. 30 from 6 to 8:30 PM at the Maryland PIRG office, 3121 Saint Paul St., Suite 26, Baltimore MD 21218.  The phone banking will be from 6:15 to 8:15 PM.   

 

There will be a similar event on Sept. 13 from 6-8:30 PM to turn out supporters for the Baltimore meeting on September 17.  The upcoming town hall meetings that the PSC is holding around the state to collect public input on the Constellation/EDF deal will be crucial to framing the debate around this issue.  Contact Johanna at 410-467-9389 or Johanna@marylandpirg.org. Go to www.marylandpirg.org.

 

32] – Red Emma's needs volunteers.  Stop in to the weekly Sunday meeting at 7 PM at 800 St. Paul St. or email info@redemmas.org.  The next meeting is Aug. 30. There is no meeting on the first Sunday of the month.  Call 410-230-0450. If you would be interested in volunteering or becoming a collective member of 2640, send an email to 2640@redemmas.org.

 

33] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Mon., Aug. 31, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Call 202-882-9649.

34] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community.  The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email steinershow@gmail.com.

You can listen to interviews by Steiner through his Center for Emerging Media podcasts. To hear the interviews, email Jessica@centerforemergingmedia.com.   Go to http://www.centerforemergingmedia.org.

35] – There is usually a vigil to abolish the death penalty every Monday from 5 to 6 PM, outside the prison complex and across the street from Maryland's death row, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Fallsway in Baltimore.  The next vigil is scheduled for Mon., Aug. 31.  Call 410-233-0488.

 

36] – Baltimore United for Peace and Justice will meet at 7 PM on Mon., Aug. 31 at the AFSC, 4806 York Road. The BUPJ agenda will focus on planning two events, a town hall meeting in October at which Rep. Donna Edwards will be invited and a forum to get ready for the legislative session in Annapolis.  As this meeting ends, the Pledge meeting will begin.

 

37] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM at the AFSC, 4806 York Road [three blocks north of Coldspring Lane].  The next meeting will be Aug. 31, and the agenda will include a plan to attend a town hall hosted by Rep. Elijah Cumming, a protest of Karl Rove's speech at Goucher College on Sept. 16 and direct action at the White House on Oct. 5  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

38] – "Walking The Road to Emmaus" guided by Jim Forest occurs on Sat., Oct. 10 from 9 AM to 5 PM at Bon Secours Spiritual Center, 1525 Marriottsville Road. Marriottsville, MD 21104. Go to http://www.bonsecoursspiritualcenter.org/. The cost is $35 before Tues., Sept. 1, and $45 afterwards.  The fee includes payment for lunch. If you world like to register, call 410-442-1320 or email  bsscretreats@bshsi.org, or go to http://www.bonsecoursspiritualcenter.org/.

 

A book signing will follow the workshop.  Jim Forest, a founder of the Catholic Peace Fellowship and former general secretary of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, was a close personal friend of Thomas Merton.  Jim has written a number of books, including "Living with Wisdom: A Life of Thomas Merton."

 

39] – On Tues., Sept. 1 at 5:30 PM, Witness Against Torture will continue its weekly vigil, each Tuesday, in Lafayette Park, H and 16th Sts., NW. Contact Helen Schietinger at h.schietinger at verizon.net.

 

40] – There is a vigil to say "War Is Not the Answer" each Tuesday since September 11, 2001 at 4806 York Road. Join this ongoing vigil.  The next vigil is Sept. 1 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

41] – Wade Rathke, the founder of SEIU Local 100 and ACORN, has written a book called "Citizen Wealth—Winning the Campaign to Save Working Families." On Tues., Sept. 1 at 5:30 PM, Wade will discuss his book, organizing, and the plight of working families at 1199 SEIU, 605 North Eutaw St., Baltimore 21201.  RSVP to Larry Ginsburg at 443-449-2107.

42] –  There is a meeting of Ecolocity DC every Tuesday from 7 to 9 PM at the EMERGENCE COMMUNITY ARTS COLLECTIVE, 733 Euclid St. NW, WDC 20001.  It is for people who live in, or are interested in making D.C. a transition town starting with an intentional community that will encompass clean energy, freecycle, natural building, organic farming, community salvage, new urbanism, etc. The next meeting will be on Aug. 25. Go to http://ecolocity.ning.com www.ecacollective.org.

43] – The Howard County Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (HCCEIO) and Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace (WIAMEP) invite you to a reception marking the opening of a month-long display at the Howard County Central Library, Little Patuxent Pkwy & South Entrance Rd., Columbia, MD  21044, of the Nakba Photo Exhibit: The Story of the Palestinians, 1948 to 2009. On Tues., Sept. 1 at 7 PM, the reception will begin with a survivor of the Nakba talking about his experiences and explaining the photos. Refreshments will be served. Email HCCEIO@yahoo.com.  If you cannot attend the reception, visit the library during September to see this amazing photo exhibit.

44] – Each Wednesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the House of Grace Catholic Worker holds a weekly vigil for peace in Iraq outside the Phila. Federal Building, 6th & Market Sts. The next vigil is Sept. 2. Call 215-426-0364.

45] – Each Wednesday in clear weather, there is a peace vigil from 5 to 6 PM outside the Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive (between Wayne & Hortter) in West Mount Airy, PA. The next vigil is Sept. 2. Call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.

46] – Turn Out for Health Care Reform on Wed., Sept. 2 at 5:30 PM at the Washington Monument, 700 North Charles St. & Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore 21201.  Close out the summer with a massive, national night of vigils for those who are suffering from a broken health care system.  After the rally, there will be a candlelight vigil and moment of silence for those currently sick and suffering or those who died because of the lack of access to health care.  Email healthcarenow@gmail.com.

The Real Voices for Change campaign is making sure members of Congress hear from the majority of Americans who support change. MoveOn Councils are helping turn out thousands of supporters in important battlegrounds like Montana, Washington, and Virginia. Go to http://www.moveon.org/augustrecess/reportback.html?id=16987-1355041-.wt7KBx&t=6.

47] – Each Wednesday, there is a peace vigil from 7 to 8 PM outside the Borders Book Store, Germantown Ave. at Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill, PA. The next vigil is Sept. 2. Call 215-843-4256 or email nwgreens@yahoo.com.

 

48] – There will be a Mobilization for Global Justice meeting at 7 PM on Wed., Sept. 2 at St. Stephens Church, 16th & Newton Sts., NW, WDC.  Exit at the Columbia Heights Metro stop.  The meeting takes place the first Wednesday of the month.  Email mgj@riseup.net.  

 

49] – The Peace & Justice Coalition of Prince George's County meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 PM at the Greenbelt Community Center.  The next meeting is Sept. 2. Call 301-577-2350.

50] – Stop the merger between Constellation Energy and EDF.  Stop Calvert Cliffs 3 by attending a hearing.  NOTICE OF HEARINGS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT--The Parties of Record and Interested Persons in Case No. 9173 can testify. The available dates and sites are as follows: 1] Wed., Sept. 2, from 7 to 9:30 PM in the Joint Committee Hearing Room, Department of Legislative Services Bldg., 90 State Circle, Annapolis , Maryland   21401-1991; 2] Thurs., Sept. 17, from 7 to 9:30 PM at the War Memorial Building, Paul C. Wohlman Assembly Hall – First Floor, 101 N. Gay St., Baltimore , Maryland   21202; and 3] Tues., Sept. 29, from 7 to 9:30 PM in the Rotunda, Town Hall of  Bel Air, 39 N. Hickory Ave., Bel Air, MD 21014.   Written comments may also be submitted at the public hearing in addition to, or in lieu of, oral comments.

A photo ID will be required for entry.  The Commission asks that the oral comments be limited to 5 minutes.  Written comments also may be filed by Tues., Sept. 29.  The comments shall be addressed to Terry J. Romine, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, and reference "Case No. 9173, Phase II – Public Comment."[1]

51] – There is a WIB peace stand on Thurs., Sept. 3, noon-1PM in Towson at northwest corner of Washington & Chesapeake Aves., across the street from the post office, near the courthouse. Contact mbrainzo@aol.com. This vigil takes place on the first Thursday of the month.

 

52] – On Thurs., Sept. 3, the WEEKLY ROUNDTABLE SEEKING A JUST PEACE IN PALESTINE/ISRAEL takes place from 12:30 - 1:30 PM at Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW, WDC.  Join a civil discourse which explores the history, issues, myths, realities, and truth of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Contact Alice Azzouzi at 202-232-5483.

 

53] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore hosts an End the War! End the Occupation! rally on Thurs., Sept. 3 from 5 to 6:30 PM in Mount Vernon at Centre & Charles Sts.  The Pledge gathers in Mount Vernon on the first Thursday of the month to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

54] – PeaceAction Montgomery, meets every first Thursday, next being Sept. 3, at 7 PM at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church, room 16 in the basement, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4099.

55] – The Crabshell Alliance will meet on Thurs., Sept. 3 at 7:30 PM in a private home.  Call Max at 410-366-1637 for directions.  Meetings will take place the first Thursday of the month.  The mission of the Crabshell Alliance is to stop the construction of new nuclear power plants in Maryland, promote clean, safe, sustainable, and affordable energy, and educate the public about the hazards of nuclear power.

 

56] – On Fri., Sept. 4 watch MATEWAN, which is being shown as part of the "JUST-REEL First Friday Free Film Series at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 7 PM,  1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, Delaware County. The evening will include light refreshments and an after-film discussion. It is co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community.  Call 610-544-1818.

57] – On Sat., Sept.  5 at 1 PM, attend the Peace Meal and hear Minister Counselor of Cuba Dr. Alberto Prieto speak on the topic "Understanding Peace in the Cuban Context" at 4209 East West Hwy., Chevy Chase, MD 20815.  Mr. Prieto is Minister Counselor of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington D.C, with responsibility for bilateral Cuban-US relations. His special areas of work are with the US Congress, in the areas of Solidarity and Religion, in which capacity he has served since 1991. Afterwards, the film THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: HOW CUBA SURVIVED PEAK OIL will be shown.

Park by Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. The site is Metro accessible on the Red Line, Bethesda stop. There is no charge.   RSVP at shantiyoga2@earthlink.net.  Go to www.schooloflife.org.  

58] – The Coalition Against the Death Penalty will meet Tues., Sept. 8 at 7 PM at the AFSC, 4806 York Road.  Agenda items will include getting the men off of Maryland's death row, a teach-in about Troy Davis and the new lethal injection protocols.  Call 410-488-6767 or 443-838-3221. Email bcadp @ comcast.net. Go to www.stopexecutionsinmaryland.org.

59] – On Wed., Sept. 9 from 9 to 10:30 AM, Des Browne Lord Hannay of Chiswick, David Lidington and Tony Lloyd, British parliamentarians, will examine "British Parliamentary Perspectives on Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation." The event cosponsored by the Carnegie Endowment and the British American Security Information Council will take place at the Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, WDC. RSVP by noon on Sept. 8 by calling coordinator Katie Donaldson at 202-939-2306 for details.

60] – On Fri., Sept. 11, the Peace Path will form on Charles St. from 4 to 6 PM.  Volunteer to help by emailing peacepath911@yahoo.com.  The Peace Path will form along Charles Street from Fort Avenue (south of the Inner Harbor) north to the Beltway.  Individuals and groups will stand with signs promoting peace, as they have each year since 2002 in an event coordinated by Women In Black.   Visit www.peacepath911.org.  

Put a yard or window sign where others will see.  Both are available free by emailing www.peacepath911.org.  REGISTER WHERE YOU WILL STAND at peacepath911@yahoo.com.

61] – On Sun., Sept. 13 from 4 to 6 PM, there will be a book release party for BEALIVE, Poems by Bill O'Connor at 2640 St. Paul St. Books will be on sale for $10. If you would like to obtain a book through the mail, send a $13 check made out to Dean Pappas to Marilyn O'Connor, 2700 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218. Email crleight at yahoo.com.

62] – On Sat., Sept. 12 at 5 PM, a forum How soon is "Equal Rights Now?" in Falvey Hall at Brown Center, 1300 Mt. Royal Ave..  It will feature Angela Davis, Amy Goodman and Helen Molesworth.  It is free and open to the public, but space is limited.  RSVP at sachs@aclu-md.org or 410-889-8550 ext. 117.

63] – Karl Rove, the "architect" of George W. Bush's successful 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, will speak at Goucher College on Wed., Sept. 16 at 8 PM in Kraushaar Auditorium.  The Pledge of Resistance will start a protest outside the auditorium at 7 PM.  Let Max know at mobuszewski at verizon.net or 410-366-1637 if you plan to attend.

 

64] – The legendary peace activist Kathy Kelly will speak Tues., Sept. 29 at 8 PM in Frederick, MD at the Rosenstock Auditorium, Hood College.  The talk is entitled: "Eyewitness to War, Witness for Peace: Finding Hope in a Violent World." Email dsfpeace at yahoo.com..

 

65] – One Less Car is a nonprofit organization promoting cycling and alternative transit. They are sponsoring "Tour du Port" on Sun., Oct. 4 - a bicycle tour of Baltimore's Canton Waterfront area. Register at http://onelesscar.org/page.php?id=156.  Routes range from a 12-mile ride to a 50-mile ride!  The Tour includes lunch, refreshments at rest stops, map, SAG and a post-ride celebration. The Tour is One Less Car's annual fundraiser - all fees go directly to advancing the programs and advocacy efforts dedicated to walking, bicycling and mass transit in Maryland. Gather at the Korean War Memorial in the Canton Waterfront Park, 2903 Boston St., Baltimore, MD 21224. Go to www.onelesscar.org. 

66] – Join us on Mon., Oct. 5 at the White House.  The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance is organizing direct action to condemn the warmongering in Afghanistan. Email Max at mobuszewski at verizon.net or call 410-366-1637.     

67] – Get a copy of Howard Ehrlich's HATE CRIMES AND ETHNOVIOLENCE [Westview Press, 2009, ISBN – 13: 978-08133-4445-4].  Go to www.westviewpress.com.

68] – I bought two red maple trees for $10 each as part of the Trees for Baltimore program.  Buy a tree, plant it and contribute to saving the planet.  Call Max at 410-366-1637

 

69] – A progressive-thinking realtor is indicating that people of modest incomes can get assistance from both the state and federal governments in purchasing a home.  If you are interested in speaking with him about available programs, call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

70] – Larry Egbert and Nick Sheridan are in Baltimore awaiting further legal developments, and the "Georgia Four" is seeking contributions to a legal defense fund.  Go to www.finalexitlibertyfund.org to make a contribution.  

71] – Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.  

72] – WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER signs from Friends Committee on National Legislation are again for sale at $5.  To purchase a sign, call Max at 410-366-1637.

73] – Publish Your Peace Article. Daniel Frasier is soliciting peace articles for the biweekly series of commentaries Paths to Peace in the Frederick News Post Religion and Ethics section. For details, email path2peace07@yahoo.com.

 

74] – Become an active member of the Washington Peace Center, which is now located at St. Stephen's Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. All members are granted voting rights and are invited to join one or more of the many working groups. Members are asked to pay suggested annual dues of 25 dollars, or volunteer. Email wpc@igc.org - subject "membership." The mailing address is The Washington Peace Center, P.O. Box 50032, WDC 20019-0032. Call 202-234-2000. Subscribe at www.washingtonpeacecenter.org. 

 

75] – The Hunger Site was initiated by Mercy Corps and Second Harvest, and is funded entirely by advertisers.  You can go there every day and click the big yellow "Give Food for Free" button near the top of the page; you do not have to look at the ads. Each click generates funding for about 1.1 cups of food.  So consider clicking.  

76] – Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981.  Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 East 25th St. Baltimore, MD 21218 Ph: 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] Verizon.net.

 

"One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan