Baltimore Activist Alert - Part 2

34] Save Bertina Jones' house – Feb. 27

35] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Feb. 27 – Mar. 1

36] Protest the death penalty – Feb. 27

37] Sanctioning Iran – Feb. 27

38] Pledge/Fund Our Communities meeting – Feb. 27

39] Build Baltimore Schools – Feb. 28

40] Peace in the Middle East – Feb. 28

41] Protest Wings Construction -- Feb. 28

42] Visit the Buddhists -- Feb. 28

43] Libya & NATO – Feb. 28

44] War Is Not the Answer – Feb. 28

45] Single-Payer Forum – Feb. 28

46] Films on Travel in Africa – Feb. 28

47] Discuss peacemaking – Feb. 28

48] Nuclear proliferation? – Feb. 29

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34] – On Mon., Feb. 27 at noon, join the Occupy DC Rally: Tell Freddie Mac To Save Bertina Jones' Home at the Archives Metro Station.  Like millions of others, Jones fell behind on her mortgage after losing her job in wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Hoping to take responsibility for missed payments, she met with Bank of America to renegotiate her mortgage, and was offered a modification in January of 2009. She kept making payments, and while the bank acknowledged it had received her money, it told her that her paperwork was lost. In the summer of 2010, she was informed that the modification was off the table, and in September, Bank of America sold her mortgage to Freddie Mac which continued with foreclosure." Email housing@occupydc.org or call 202-656-9540.

 

35] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community, or online at www.weaa.org.   The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email to steinershow@gmail.com. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org.   

 

36] – 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 Super Max Prison, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Fallsway in Baltimore.  Maryland's death row was moved out of Baltimore, but it was decided to continue the vigil. The next one is scheduled for Mon., Feb. 27. Call 410-366-1637.

 

37] – On Mon., Feb. 27 from 6 to 8 PM, Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution, and Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute, will participate in "PONI Debates the Issues: Sanctioning Iran" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St. NW, WDC. RSVP to David Slungaard at dslungaard@csis.org.

 

38] – The Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities Baltimore usually meets on Mondays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings now take place at Max's residence.  The next meeting takes place on Feb. 27.  The proposed agenda will include reports on legislation in Annapolis, an anti-drone proposal, the latest on the occupations, Bradley Manning's arraignment and the arraignment of the NSA 14. We need your help in alerting citizens from Dutch Ruppersberger's Congressional district that he supports the use of drones.  Go to www.knowdrones.com. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net for directions.

 

39] – SUPPORT renovating all city schools on Tues., Feb. 28 & Tues., Mar. 7 for hearings in Annapolis to Transform Baltimore; Build Schools; Build Neighborhoods. Pass House Bill 304/Senate Bill 533!  This bill would lay the foundation to fund $1 billion+ in school construction and renovation needs in Baltimore City.  A Free Bus will leave at 11 AM on each day from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, 1400 W. Cold Spring Lane (parking lot at the corner of Cold Spring and Falls Road).  To ensure that there is adequate room on the bus, you must RSVP ASAP.  Bus to return by late afternoon.  If you plan on driving, also RSVP at transform.bmore@gmail.com or call 410-889-8550 x 119.

 

After 100 enthusiastic advocates traveled to Annapolis in January to support City Schools' alternative financing proposal, two city legislators (Del. Haynes and Sen. Jones-Rodwell) introduced bills that would allow Baltimore City to receive a stable school construction allocation from the state in an annual block grant.  If passed, the school system would be able to leverage the block grant for large amounts of borrowing up front to begin much needed construction projects now! 

 

HB304 will be heard on Tues., Feb. 28 at 1:30 PM in the House Appropriations Committee, Lowe House Office Bldg., 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401.  SB533 will be heard on Wed., Mar. 7 at 1 PM at Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Miller Senate Bldg., 11 Bladen St. Annapolis, MD 21401.

 

40] – The United States Institute Of Peace is hosting PREVENTING INCITEMENT and PROMOTING PEACE in the Middle East on Tues., Feb. 28 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM at its building, 2301 Constitution Ave.  Given the current low expectations for Israeli-Palestinian political negotiations, what is the role of religious leaders in preventing incitement and promoting peace? What has been achieved, and what are the current challenges to interfaith cooperation?

These questions will be answered by a distinguished delegation from the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land (CRIHL): the consultative body that comprises the most senior official Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders. CRIHL was established as the implementing body of the historic declaration signed in Alexandria, Egypt in 2002 in which Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders pledged to work together to end the violence and promote peace. RSVP at http://www.usip.org/events/preventing-incitement-and-promoting-peace.

 

41] – Join the rally against Wings Construction on Tues., Feb. 28 at 12:30 PM at Catholic Univ. Use the entrance on 620 Michigan Ave. NE. Wings Enterprises is a DC based construction company with a history of labor and safety violations-yet they are benefiting from public and private projects.   Join religious leaders, students, and Iron Workers Union 201, as they deliver letters signed by striking workers to President John Garvey. Contact Lillian at 202-543-1543 or Lillian@dcjwj.org.

 

42] – Occupy DC Visits the Buddhists in Poolesville Maryland on Tues., Feb. 28 from 2:30 to 6:30 PM.  Be at McPherson Square, 1500 K St. to leave at 2:45 PM and visit the Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) Tibetan Buddhist temple in rural Montgomery County, a half-hour drive from D.C. KPC monks & nuns have been making and delivering dinner to Occupy DC continuously several days a week since October 2011.

 

43] – The Saul I. Stern Professorship of Civic Engagement will host Ivo Daalder, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and former MSPP faculty member, who will address "What the Libya Operation Teaches Us about NATO—Through the Eyes of the U.S. Ambassador?"  This MSPP presentation will take in the Atrium, 1203 Van Munching Hall, on Tues., Feb. 28 from 4 to 6 PM. 

 

44] – 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 Feb. 28 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  Call Max at 410-366-1637.

 

45] – The Maryland Health Security Act (SB206 and HB1015) has been introduced, and there was a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee for Senate Bill 206. The Annual Meeting of Healthcare-NOW! of Maryland "Cost Savings of Single-Payer Healthcare in Maryland" is Tues., Feb. 28 at 6:30 PM at the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, 4 E. University Pkwy. The guest speaker is Gerald Friedman, economist UMass Amherst, author of Maryland Economic Impact Study" (2012).  the new economic impact study on the effects of enacting a single-payer system for Maryland. Go to www.mdsinglepayer.org or email info@mdinglepayer.org   

 

46] – On Tues., Feb. 28 from 7 to  9 PM at Bloombars, 3222 11th St. NW, WDC, go to An Evening of Films on Travel to Africa featuring the films "Random Acts of Kindness: A Documentary of Giving" and "Our Journey to South Africa." Go to www.BloomBars.com or call 202-223-1960 ext. 137.

 

47] – On Tues., Feb. 28 from 7:30 to 9 PM – every Tuesday evening in Lent, as part of the Lenten Peacemaking Series – discuss peacemaking using Colman McCarthy's book "Solutions to Violence" at St. Patrick's Parish Hall Music Room, 4101 Norbeck Road, Rockville, MD 20853.  This Tuesday, review pages 3-5, 159-160; 167-168 and 181-187 and then watch a film from PBS about Poland's Solidarity Movement.  You are welcome whether or not you have the book. 

 

48] – From Wed., Feb. 29 through Thurs., Mar. 1 from 9 AM to 5 PM the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is hosting Bruce MacDonald and Michael Lekson who will address "Iran and Pakistan's Nuclear Proliferation Challenges" at USIP, 2301 Constitution Ave. NW, WDC. Register at http://academyregister.usip.org/courses/iran-and-pakistan%E2%80%99s-nuclear-proliferation-challenges.  The cost is $695.

To be continued.

 

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. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"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