Baltimore Activist Alert - February 20 - 22, 2016

Baltimore Activist Alert February 20 – 22, 2016

"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 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Buy coffee through HoCoFoLa

5] Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore

6] West Chester peace vigil – Feb. 20

7] Support Palestine – Feb. 20

8] Poetry readings – Feb. 20

9] Medicare for All – Feb. 20

10] Rest In Peace Charles Curtiss – Feb. 20

11] Youth Open Mic – Feb. 20

12] Film COINTELPRO 101 – Feb. 20

13] Crisis in the Middle East – Feb. 20

14] Throw-away Culture – Feb. 21

15] Poetry Readings – Feb. 21

16] Pentagon Vigil – Feb. 22

17] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Feb. 22 – Feb. 26

18] Baltimore Lobby Night– Feb. 22

19] Malcolm X – Feb. 22

20] Pray for Peace – Feb. 22

-------

1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

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 mobuszewski at Verizon.net.  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 Francine Sheppard at 5639B, Harpers Farm Rd., Columbia 21044. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Francine at 410-992-7679 or FrancineMSW@aol.com.

5] – Janice and Max are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.

6] – 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. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

7] – Support Palestine by joining the National March on Washington, D.C. on Sat., Feb. 20 from noon to 5 PM at the White House.  Go to http://www.answercoalition.org/?utm_campaign=news_02_12_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_source=answercoalition.

8] – Get over to the Holy Underground, 2021 Maryland Ave., Baltimore, on Sat., Feb. 20 from 1 to 3 PM for featured readings by Alain Ginsberg, Ilana Alazzeh and Omar Pitras Waqar, Anna K. Crooks and Marshall James Kavanaugh. Work will include pieces focused on gender, sexuality, trauma, anarcho-sufi notions of love and dissent and more.  RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/1136063539767557/.  Email theholyundergroundbaltimore@gmail.com.

9] –   Who benefits from endorsements for Hillary vs. Bernie in the 2016 campaign when we really need a unified social movement to overcome the right-wing Establishment?  The Hillary camp has just lined up four former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers under Presidents Clinton and Obama to undermine the credibility of Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All proposal; Cornell West has put forth a brilliant explanation of "Why Brother Bernie Is Better for Black People Than Sister Hillary," and the AFL-CIO, has just announced that it will not endorse either democratic nominee at this time.

Nick Unger, a social movement strategist from the labor movement, who serves on the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Board, will be the primary "resource person" for the discussion.  UHCAN is working on a strategy for promoting movement building during the 2016 election which Nick will share.  The Nation Magazine Discussion Group in D.C. will take place on Sat., Feb. 20 from 3 to 5:30 PM at the Cleveland Park Public Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave. on the second floor.  The library is located two blocks south of the Cleveland Park Metro station on the Red Line, and parking is free on Macomb Street which borders the Cleveland Park Public Library at Connecticut Avenue. Call Bob Griss, coordinator, at 703-944-2433.

10] – Rest In Peace Charles Curtiss.  Many are struggling with the prospect of living in a world without him. Some, though, live in the glow of what he gave us, taught us, how he helped us laugh and sing. So let's celebrate that!!

On Sat., Feb. 20 at 4 PM at St John's United Methodist Church, 2640 St Paul St., Baltimore 21218, there will be a service of celebration of life, which will include singing, followed by more singing and then a potluck -- probably involving singing, too. Bring a song, a story or a dish to share.  Call Kathy Schaafsma at 410-491-5172.

11] – Go to Busboys and Poets, 5th & K Sts., WDC, on Sat., Feb. 20 from 5 to 7 PM for a Youth Open Mic, a monthly series that features student poets, singers, musicians and actors from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. Middle school and high school students are encouraged to come share their art in a supportive, progressive, artistic atmosphere. Youth Open Mic is presented by Busboys and Poets in partnership with DC Youth Slam Team and Split This Rock. 

Hosted by Jonathan B. Tucker (Coach, DC Youth Slam Team) and teen members of the DC Youth Slam Team. Youth Open Mic is held on the 3rd Saturday of every month at Busboys and Poets. $5 Cover. On the day of the event, tickets can be purchased online starting at midnight and in the restaurant starting at 10 AM in the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store (cash only). No refunds. Ticket purchase limit of 4 per person. Tickets will be sold at the door if available. Guests must have their wristbands (tickets) on upon entering the event. Visit http://busboysandpoets.com/events/event/youth-open-mic-presented-by-busboys-and-poets10073.

12] – On Sat., Feb. 20 from 7 to 9 PM at La Casa, 3166 Mt Pleasant NW, WDC, watch COINTELPRO 101, a part of the Political Prison Film series, which lays out the role of the FBI and its counter-intelligence program which attempted to destroy the Civil Rights and anti-war movements.  The event will be followed by a community discussion with former political prisoner Laura Whitehorn, RAPP Release Aging People in Prisons, Paulette Dauteuil of Jericho Movement and Charlotte Malerich of DC Stampede.  This night is dedicated as a fundraiser to Sekou Kambui, a former political prisoner recently released after 40 years and battling with Stage Four liver cancer.  Call 646-271-4677 or email communiversity@openmailbox.org.

13] – At the University of DC Law School, 4340 Connecticut Ave. NW, WDC, on Sat., Feb. 20 at 7 PM, join the National Lawyers International Committee In Washington D.C., for a presentation titled “How can we analyze and respond to the crises in the MENA Region and the role of the U.S. Empire today?  The guest speaker will be Zein El-Amine, Lebanese-American poet and activist, lecturer of Arabic Studies at the University of Maryland, who hosts weekly radio program on Arab culture on WPFW, 89.3 FM. Entitled Shay wa Naa Naa (Tea and mint).

14] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 AM to noon. On Feb. 21, the topic is “Throwaway Culture: The Excess of Consumerism.”  In the United States we have a “throw away culture.” Our relative wealth, cheap overseas labor, and a ravenous appetite for quick profits have combined to bring out the worst of capitalism. It leads to wasteful economics and more environmental degradation. Worst of all, it doesn’t make our lives better. While millions of people living near landfills and dumps scavenge anything of value from the trash we discard, Hugh Taft-Morales asks, “Can’t we come up with a better way to live?” He joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

15] – Catch a poetry reading at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW, WDC 20009, on Sun., Feb. 21 from 5 to 7 PM.  Featured poets are Hala Alyan, along with Danielle Badra, Rasha Abdulhadi, Zein El-Amine, and Zeina Azzam.  Poets reading in Sunday Kind of Love in January, February, and March are brought to us as part of Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016.  Go to http://www.amsshdc2016.org/ for a festival in solidarity with the people of Iraq and standing for free expression everywhere. Now more than ever, voices from Arab America and the Arab and Muslim worlds are essential. This Festival is made possible thanks to a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art!

Sunday Kind of Love offers a stage for emerging and established poets from the Washington, D.C. area and around the nation. Sunday Kind of Love includes featured poets and an open mic segment. Email info@splitthisrock.org. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online the day of the event or at the door: http://busboysandpoets.com/events/info/get-tickets. 

16] -- 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., Feb. 15, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.  The vigil will be outside the Pentagon's south Metro entrance and in the designated "protest zone" behind bicycle fences across from the entrance to the Metro.  By Metro, take Yellow Line and get out at the "Pentagon" stop. Do not go to the Pentagon City stop! Go up south escalators and turn left and walk across to protest area. By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr.,  and there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begin at 8 AM.  No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. Restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr. 

17] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday fr6m 10 AM to noon 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.

18] – Join Chesapeake Climate Action Network on Mon., Feb. 22 from 5 to 7:30 PM for the Baltimore City lobby night! Meet in the Senate Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis 21401.  This is the third of five regional lobby nights bringing together Marylanders from across the state. Converge on Annapolis to let our legislators know that THIS is the year to stand up for wind, solar, and good green jobs -- and pass the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act.  Meeting with your legislator is the number one thing you can do to help send bold climate legislation to Governor Hogan’s desk. The event will include training and information sessions before meeting with delegates and legislators so that lobbyists are prepared. Go to http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=85236.

19] –  Come to the Copley Formal Lounge inside Copley Hall at Georgetown University, 3700 O St. NW, WDC, on Mon., Feb. 22 from 6 to 7:30 PM.  The Georgetown University African Studies Department presents a feminist perspective on Malcolm X.  Hear a panel with professors from Georgetown, American University, George Washington University, and Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as Black Lives Matter DMV activist Erika Totten as they bring their varied perspectives to this topic.  The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Leslie Hinkson of the Georgetown Department of Sociology. Contact Dr. Hinkson at lrh27@georgetown.edu.

20] –   The Interfaith Peace Service will be hosted on Mon., Feb. 22 at 7:30 PM by the Church of Christ, Scientist, 1 Maryland Ave., Towson. It is south off Burke Avenue. Contact Charles Cloughen, Jr., Interfaith Peace Partners, coordinator, at ccloughen@episcopalmaryland.org or 410-321-4545.

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