Baltimore Activist Alert - july 23-24, 2013

Baltimore Activist Alert July 23 – July 29, 2013 "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. Tune into the Maryland Progressive Blog at http://mdprogblog.org. 1] Books, buttons & stickers 2] Web site for info on federal legislation 3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists 4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa 5] Potter's House book sale – through July 31 6] BUILD's 35 Years of Organizing -- through Aug. 31 7] Created Equal exhibit – through Aug. 31 8] Wildlife Rescue exhibit – through Sept. 2 9] “Fast to Close Guantanamo” – July 23 -24 10] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – July 23 11] No drone research at JHU – July 23 12] Film “Flag Wars” – July 23 13] Guatemala Trivia Night – July 23 14] Book “The Militarization of America's Police Force” – July 23 15] Discrimination Against Palestinian-Americans – July 24 16] Housing Rally – July 24 17] Raise the Minimum Wage – July 24 18] THE UNITED STATES OF ALEC – July 24 1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available. “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Donate your books to Max. Call him 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. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. 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. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale. For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html. The coffee comes in one-pound bags. Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month. Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered. Send it to Adela Hirsch, 5358 Eliots Oak Rd., Columbia, MD 21044. Be sure you indicate ground (G) or bean (B) for each type of coffee ordered. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Adela at 410-997-5662 or via e-mail at adela4peace@verizon.net. 5] – The Potter's House coffeehouse and bookstore are closing to daily business beginning Aug. 3. Time will be given to literally stopping to renew and to recreate. Potter’s House will reopen this fall with a renovated space and renewed sense of mission. Mary Easley, the Southern Chef extraordinaire has worked and served Potter's House for 53 years and will be retiring at the youthful age of 69 this August. Please come by and wish her well. Any donations made to Potter's House during the month of July will be designated and presented to Mary as a parting gift on Aug. 2. Thank you to everyone from 2004 on who helped us raise retirement fund for her. Payments from this fund will begin in September. Please donate online at http://www.pottershousedc.org/support-us/. Worship services will continue as scheduled until beginning renovations. There is Taize Sung Prayer at 7 PM on Mondays through the end of August; Jubilee Church at 6 PM on Wednesdays; Friends of Jesus at 5:30 PM on Thursdays; and Eighth Day at 10:30 AM on Sundays. All books will be 50% off for the first 2 weeks, 75% off for the third week, and with special deals for the fourth week. Come by to share your memories, photos, poems, stories of what the PH has meant to you and your wishes for the future. There is a wall dedicated to these stories of the past and hopes for the future. The regular hours are Tuesdays, 7 AM - 8 PM, Wed-Fri, 7 AM - 5 PM and Saturdays, 10 AM - 6 PM. 6] – The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library, 400 Cathedral St., hosts an exhibit Learning, Listening, Leading: BUILD's 35 Years of Organizing in Baltimore City, which documents the achievements of BUILD, featuring the leaders who made these changes possible, through Sat., Aug. 31. Call 410-396-5430. Go to http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/central. 7] – Created Equal, an exhibit celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, is on display through Aug. 31 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library, 400 Cathedral St. Call 410- 396-5430 or go to http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/central. 8] – Wildlife Rescue is a new Maryland Science Center's travelling exhibit. It allows for experiment and exploration of the science of how we can save Earth's ecosystems. Visitors to the exhibit will be introduced to the rescue efforts used by experts, have a chance to experiment with puppets and costumes, and learn survival. The exhibit at the Science Center, 601 Light St., will continue through September 2. Call 410-685-5225 or go to http://www.mdsci.org. 9] – Join the ongoing “Fast to Close Guantanamo” until noon EDT on Wed., July 24. The situation at Guantanamo is dire. Many in the religious community will express their concern about the situation in Guantanamo by fasting for 24 hours before the hearing or within another timeframe that aligns with their religious observances and traditions. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture will sponsor a breaking of the fast on Wed., July 24 at noon at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St. NE, WDC 20002. At 2 PM on Wed., July 24, Sen. Richard Durbin, chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights of the Judiciary Committee, will hold a hearing about the possibility of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The hearing will examine the national security, fiscal and human rights implications of continuing to detain prisoners at Guantanamo indefinitely, and will explore how Guantanamo undermines U.S. moral authority. RSVP for the hearing, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Email campaign@nrcat.org. Go to www.tortureisamoralissue.org. 10] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th Street & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine. The next vigil is July 23. Call 215-426-0364. 11] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 34th & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil. The next vigil is July 23 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-366-1637. 12] -- Housing for All Documentary Series is showing “Flag Wars” on Tues., July 23 at 6 PM at the Martin Luther King Library: 901 G St. NW. Tensions rise in a community in Columbus, Ohio, when gay and lesbian white homebuyers move into a working-class black neighborhood. Email efalcon@cnhed.org. 13] – Get over to the Guatemala Trivia Night on Tues., July 23 at 6 PM at Haydee's Restaurant, 3102 Mt. Pleasant St. NW. Guatemala Human Rights Commission is holding a trivia night! Whether you know a lot or not about Guatemala it will be a load of fun. It costs $5 per person or $25 per team. You can come with a team or come alone. You will be matched with a team. You should arrive hungry and thirsty as Haydee's is generously donating 30% of what you buy that night to GHRC. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/170457063126244/. 14] – Radley Balko’s book “The Militarization of America's Police Force” will be discussed, and there will be a book signing on Tues., July 23 at 6:30 PM at Busboys and Poets, 5th and K Sts. NW. Balko - senior writer for the Huffington Poet and Media Fellow at Cato- investigates the disturbing rise of paramilitary police forces and the immense threat they pose to our civil liberties. He shows how politicians' ill-considered policies and relentless declarations of war against vague enemies like crime, drugs, and terror have blurred the distinction between cop and soldier. His fascinating, frightening narrative shows how over a generation, a creeping battlefield mentality has isolated and alienated American police officers and put them on a collision course with the values of a free society. Email events@busboysandpoets.com. 15] – Catch a talk Discrimination Against Palestinian-Americans at the Israeli Border on Wed., July 24 from 12:30 to 2 PM at the Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW. Nour Joudah and Sandra Tamari will address the issues facing Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Americans as they attempt to return to Palestine. They will discuss the discrimination that Americans of Arab and Muslim backgrounds face while entering Palestine, and will highlight the illegal practices of Israeli border security in the treatment of Arab and Muslim Americans. This is the second installment of the summer lecture series, "Exile and Palestinian Consciousness," which will focus on the aspects of Palestinian identity that are shaped by displacement. Email info@palestinecenter.org. 16] – Hold on to HUD! Housing Rally is happening on Wed., July 24 at 1 PM at the Capitol SE Lawn (1st St. and Independence Ave. SE). HUD (Housing and Urban Development) is experiencing major cuts to its budget, threatening programs *essential* to providing housing for those in need. HOUSING IS AN ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION for everyone's well being. FULLY FUND HUD, REPEAL sequestration, and keep up the fight to END HOMELESSNESS! Email campbell@housingworks.org or call 202.408.0305. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/566683180041259/. 17] – Raise Maryland: Rally to Raise the Minimum Wage is on Wed., July 24 from 3 to 5 PM at Baltimore City Hall: 100 N Holliday St. Join elected officials, low wage workers, and community leaders to call for a raise in the minimum wage! Raise Maryland is a diverse coalition of community, labor, immigrant, civil rights, faith and business organizations that seek to pass a statewide minimum wage increase and index minimum wage inflation. See https://www.facebook.com/RaiseMaryland. 18] – On Wed. July 24 at 7 PM, join Progressive Maryland, Common Cause and Delegate Mary Washington for Bill Moyers' acclaimed film THE UNITED STATES OF ALEC, followed by a discussion at the Baltimore County, Public Library, 320 York Road, Towson. Too few people have heard about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council. But this is a group that everyone should know about! Come watch the astounding Bill Moyers documentary and get a detailed look at what ALEC is and does. ALEC calls itself a "nonpartisan public-private partnership," but this is a case of false identity. Actually ALEC is an organization that writes "model legislation" on a variety of topics that its member legislators use in state after state, including Maryland, to make new laws. These attack labor rights and promote corporate interests and privatization in every part of American life: education, health care, the environment, and voting rights - you name it. Call 301-494-4998. RSVP at http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5206/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=412271. 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