Baltimore Activist Alert January 28 through 30, 2018

Baltimore Activist Alert January 28 through 30, 2018

"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 mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

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

5] Charm City Farms Collective Work Day – Jan. 28

6] “Making Sense of Sapiens: Humans and Humanism” -- Jan. 28

7] See film ZER – Jan. 28

8] BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM – Jan. 28

9] Progressive Montgomery County District 1 Canvass – Jan. 28

10] Safer Spaces/Anti-Sexual Harassment Training – Jan. 28

11] Protest at the Pentagon – Jan. 29

12] Be the Change Lobby Day -- Jan. 29

13] Republic For Which We Stand Uncensored – Jan. 29

14] Come to Scott Pruitt's Oversight Hearing – Jan. 30

15] Peace Vigil – Jan. 30

16] No more Drone Research at JHU – Jan. 30

17] Fight For $15 Baltimore Community Meeting -- Jan. 30

18] Marijuana Legalization and Reparations -- Jan. 30

19] Real State of Our Union -- Jan. 30

20] State of the Union National Press Club – Jan. 30

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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 6address 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] – Janice and Max are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-323-1607 or mobuszewski 2001 at comcast dot net. 

5] – On Sun., Jan. 28 from 10 AM to 4 PM, it is a Charm City Farms Collective Work Day at 1310 Hillman St., Baltimore 21202. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/300160357145218/.

6] – 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 Sun., Jan. 28, the Sunday Platform is “Making Sense of Sapiens: Humans and Humanism.”  Yuval Noah Harari, in his book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind proposes that three revolutions – cognitive, agricultural, and scientific – have shaped what we have become as a species. Hugh Taft-Morales explores what we as humanists can draw from Harari that can make us more self-aware and able to chart our future development. How can self-awareness as a species help us become more ethical and happy? Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

7] – On Sun,, Jan. 28 at noon, you are cordially invited to watch the acclaimed feature film ZER by award-winning Kurdish director Kazım Öz in the Old Greenbelt Theatre, 129 Centerway, Greenbelt 20770. Through the magic of an ancient love song, ZER celebrates the enduring friendship of a carefree American student with his dying Kurdish grandmother, while tackling the epic themes of love, freedom, identity, war and how our history continues to shape us, whether we live in America, Turkey or Kurdistan. The screening is free for ZER, Kazim Oz’s eighth film. The independent filmmaker has been supported by his family and friends (through loans) in his groundbreaking projects. You are welcome to assist with a one-time donation while making your reservation or after viewing the film. After the screening, there will be a Q&A session with director Kazim Oz. Visit http://greenbelttheatre.org/home/.

8] – The BALTIMORE GREEN FORUM, a monthly environmental education and discussion forum, takes place on Sun., Jan. 28.  The presentation and Q&A goes from 4 to 5:15 PM, followed by announcements & networking from 5:15 to 5:45 PM.  There will be a Roundtable Discussion from 5:45 to 6:30 PM.  Finally, there is often a small gathering at a nearby restaurant. 

The forum is at the Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson 21286. Go to http://www.mpchurch.org/location-2/.    What topics would make you want to come to future meetings? Share your Experience and Knowledge about Other Green Groups and

Ideas for How to Partner with Them.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/348830355590977/. 

The Baltimore Green Forum seeks to educate about and stimulate dialogue about what humans can do to make modern civilization more sustainable, including adjusting to finite resource limits and preserving biodiversity and a healthy environment. The topics are far ranging. They vary from local to planetary and from philosophical to scientific to very practical. This happens eight times a year.

BGF is open to the public and is free of charge, but donations to Maryland Presbyterian Church are collected during the meeting to thank the church for their generous gift of the space. RSVP at BaltimoreGreenForum@gmail.com or call Sam Hopkins at 410 554-0006.  Go to http://www.baltimoregreenforum.org.

9] – The Progressive Montgomery County District 1 Canvass will happen on Sun., Jan. 28 from 3 to 6 PM starting at the Starbucks, 10116 River Rd. A, Potomac, MD 20854. Contact Sophia Marjanovic at sophia.marjanovic@gmail.com.

10] – On Sun., Jan. 28 from 5 to 7 PM, attend a Safer Spaces/Anti-Sexual Harassment Training, hosted by the Baltimore City Green Party, 100 E. 23rd St., Baltimore 21218-5807. The #MeToo movement has exposed an urgent need to educate ourselves about pervasive sexist attitudes, sexual misconduct, harassment, and gendered power imbalances in relationships. The Baltimore City Green Party, which holds feminism and gender equality as one of the Ten Key Values, will host a Safer Spaces training with Shawna Potter, the Baltimore founder of Hollaback! To attend this important workshop--addressing street harassment—please contribute on a sliding scale towards the $250 cost of the training. Go to https://bgp.nationbuilder.com/donate.  See https://bmore.ihollaback.org/safer-spaces-campaign/.

11] – 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 Jan. 29, 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.

12] – On Mon., Jan. 29 from 6 to 8 PM, Be the Change will hold a lobby day to call on legislators to pass the Automatic Voting Registration and Election Day Registration bills.  Sign up here Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAp-JZ4hTqLJ0iiDmnB-8CRu1MzQWa1MAltoFeeu4zv9RVMQ/viewform to meet at 121 Cathedral St., #2a in Annapolis (Common Cause Maryland office).  Participants need to sign up so meetings can be scheduled with the right legislators.

13] – Republic For Which We Stand Uncensored is happening on Mon., Jan. 29 at 7 PM at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, WDC. Go to RepublicForWhichWeStand.eventbrite.com to obtain tickets.  Admission is free.  Doors open at 6:30 PM. In the 1850s, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which criticized slavery, was banned in the South. On January 16, 2018, John Henry’s play, Republic For Which We Stand, which criticizes Congress for abdicating its responsibilities under the United States Constitution, was banned on Capitol Hill. The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), which it had previously approved the play, abruptly refused to permit the staging of the play.

James Madison and Alexander Hamilton are the Achilles and Hector of Henry's colorful drama. They duel over where the Constitution should allocate the power to make war. Guided by the lamp of experience, Madison champions justice over power and liberty over Empire as the North Stars of the American republic's constitutional dispensation. He argues that the authority to take the nation from a state of peace to war must be entrusted exclusively to Congress -- a deliberative body slow to take decisions. In contrast, Hamilton insists upon limitless executive power and Empire as the touchstones of national greatness on the model of 18th Century Britain.

Madison persuades the Founding Fathers and Mothers gathered in Benjamin Franklin’s home on the eve of the constitutional convention. But the irrepressible Hamilton proclaims that history will vindicate him. Congress will become invertebrate, and the war power will march from Capitol Hill to the White House under a chosen people banner. Republic for Which We Stand concludes with Madison’s electrifying challenge: “It remains to us to nobly save rather than meanly lose our Republic.”  The CVC issued its ban on a play about the constitutional war power while “We the People of the United States” are saddled with nine wars ordained by the president. Congress has not authorized any of these multi-trillion dollar misadventures. Now the CVC has blocked the staging of a play intended to provoke a debate about the constitutional issues this raises. In so doing, the CVC has acted to impede the First Amendment "right of the people . . . to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

14] – On Tues., Jan. 30 from 9 AM to 1 PM, come to Scott Pruitt's Oversight Hearing, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 406, 100 Constitution Ave. NE, WDC 20002.  Moms’ Clean Air Force and the Environmental Defense Fund are urging environmental advocates to attend the Senate Environmental & Public Works Committee.  Let the committee know that we expect them to hold Pruitt accountable for siding with corporate polluters instead of the people.  You should plan to be in line for the hearing no later than 9 AM, as the hearing is at 10 AM. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1853831871325692/.

15] –  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 St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine.  The next vigil is Jan. 30.  Call 215-426-0364.

16] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Jan. 30,  on this day from 5  to 6 PM. Call Max at 410-323-1607.   17] – On Tues., Jan. 30 from 6 to 8 PM, come to the Fight For $15 Baltimore Community Meeting, hosted by Fight for $15 Maryland at 5011 Arbutus Ave., Baltimore 21215-5723. Come for the first Maryland FF $15 Community Event!  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/378939659196603/.

18] – On Tues., Jan. 30 from 6 to 8 PM, attend the Malcolm X Talk: Marijuana Legalization and Reparations by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle at The Real News Network, 231 Holliday St., Baltimore 21202.  For decades, state and local governments chose to turn marijuana prohibition into an excuse of massive over-policing of black and brown neighborhoods.  Now, while there is a growing movement toward marijuana legalization, states and rich entrepreneurs see a potential for massive tax revenues and profits (a so called “Green Rush”) while communities most impacted by the so-called “War on Weed” continue to suffer.  Maryland will soon be in a position to build on the successes of California and Massachusetts and pass the most progressive marijuana legalization in the USA which would target tax revenue toward rebuilding communities impacted by the War on Drugs.  This, however, can only happen with intense pressure in Annapolis from the people and by disrupting the special interests who want a monopoly on marijuana tax revenues.  Discuss the current environment and future environment around cannabis entrepreneurship in Maryland and the advocacy needed to use tax revenue generated by marijuana legalization to fund reparations for the War on Drugs. Visit http://baltimore.carpediem.cd/events/5741584-malcolm-x-talk-marijuana-legalization-reparations-at-the-real-news-network/.

19] – When Donald Trump takes the stage on Tues., Jan. 30 for the State of the Union, he’ll surely exaggerate his achievements, justify policies that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of the poor and the middle class, explain why his Department of Justice opposes voting rights, and rationalize laws that plainly discriminate against people of color.  While he is at the Capitol, the NAACP will be hosting its own event to offer an agenda on how people who believe in decency and equality can participate in holding back Trumpism and advancing democracy at all levels of government.  Join for The Real State of Our Union on Jan. 30 at 7:30 PM at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 9th St. NW, WDC.  Hear from a powerhouse panel, and join in the conversation.  RSVP at http://action.naacp.org/page/s/real-state-of-our-union-rsvp?utm_medium=email&utm_source=NAACP&utm_content=7+-+RSVP+for+this+event&utm_campaign=20180125-TRSOOU&source=20180125-TRSOOU.

20] – On Tues., Jan. 30 at 7 PM at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., hear a new vision from women across America who have come together to change the balance of power.  That is the same evening Trump will deliver a State of the Union address.  What gives us hope during dark times are the women and people rising, the new collaborations that we are creating, and your activism -- not only to counter the agenda of the current administration, but to chart a new path forward for the country.  Together, we have protected each other and resisted the agenda that aims to divide us and keep us from what we need to live well. From the Women’s March to #MeToo, women are joining hands, across industry and community to save our democracy and move us closer to the future we deserve. Music and refreshments are on the agenda too.  RSVP at http://action.momsrising.org/survey/stateofOURunion2018/?t=2&akid=10257%2E2545036%2EysAncu.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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