Saturday, February 16, 2019

Baltimore Activist Alert February 17 - 18, 2019

Baltimore Activist Alert February 17 - 18, 2019

"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] Get involved with NCNR   
4] Buy an Anti-War Veteran hat  
5] Redlining – through Feb. 28
6] Hate Has No Home Here -- Feb. 17
7] “Racial Justice Beyond the Self – a two-part talk” – Feb. 17
8] SPCA's 6th Annual Kindness for Paws Art Show – Feb. 17
9] PetValu Adoption Meet and Greet – Feb. 17
10] See the play "Shame 2.0" through Feb. 17
11] SURJ MoCo Meeting & Ally Training – Feb. 17
12] FILM & DISCUSSION WITH KINGS BAY PLOWSHARES – Feb. 17
13] Elsa visits the Baltimore Humane Society – Feb. 17
14] Direct Action Everywhere – Feb. 17
15] Jail Support – Feb. 17
16] Pentagon Protest – Feb. 18
17] Fake Trump Emergency – Feb. 18
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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 U.S. wars.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

4] – Get a good-looking black hat which says Anti-War Veteran in the front and Viva House 50th in the back.  The cost is $10. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

5] – At 10 AM through February 28, check out Undesign the Redline exhibit, hosted by Choose Civility, HCLS Central Branch. Look for tickets at choosecivility.org.  This interactive exhibit explores the history of structural racism and classism, how these designs compounded each other from redlining maps until today, and how we can come together to undesign these systems with intentionality.  Tours, reading lists, events, and more details are at http://choosecivility.org/events/undesign-the-redline-exhibit. See https://www.facebook.com/events/444200232763081/.

6] – On Sun., Feb. 17 from 10 to 11 AM, go to the Hate Has No Home Here: Unity Rally, hosted by Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Rd., Towson 21286.  Show your support for the LGBTQ+, Muslim, & Immigrant Community. Gather in the sanctuary so that people can be warm, and all can participate.  Maryland Presbyterian Church was the target of a hate crime.  Show love and celebrate LGBTQ+ members & neighbors and Muslim and Immigrant neighbors. Sing and respond to hate with love and light. All people of good will are welcome.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/249746119236430/.

7] –  Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion at 10:30 AM.  On Sun., Feb. 17, the platform address is “Racial Justice Beyond the Self – a two-part talk.”  Part One: A Time When I Stood Up – celeste doaks.  As an artist, and more specifically as a poet, she builds worlds with her words.   Poet and journalist celeste doaks is the author of “Cornrows and Cornfields” (Wrecking Ball Press, UK, 2015). Visit www.doaksgirl.com or check out the podcast she co-hosts with Anthony Moll called Lit!Pop!Bang! doaks is married to scholar Karl Henzy.

Part Two is A Guest in the Conversation – Dr. Karl Henzy. He is a white professor at an HBCU who teaches and publishes on works of black literature.  In 1993, he joined the faculty of Morgan State University in Baltimore, and after 25 years in Maryland’s largest city, he considers himself a transplanted Baltimorean. He is married to poet celeste doaks.  Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org

8] –On Sun., Feb. 17 from 11 AM to 2 PM, show up for Maryland SPCA's 6th Annual Kindness for Paws Art Show, hosted by the White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Blvd. Office, White Marsh 21236. Go to Macy’s HOME court to see an animal welfare inspired art collection by local students from various schools. This is a Name-Your-Donation Art Sale with all proceeds from "Kindness For Paws" going to support homeless animals at the Maryland SPCA.  Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/2152686578126962/.

9] – National Adoption Weekend continues on Sat., Feb. 17 from noon to 3 PM at the Pet Valu Mount Vernon (North Charles St.) Welcome The Drawing Zoo for a reptile adoption event and BARCS Animal Shelter for a cat adoption event!  Call 410-230-0410! Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/283643668977443/?event_time_id=283643678977442.

10] – DC's Mosaic Theater is offering Just World Ed supporters a 25% discount for Morad Hassan & Einat Weizman's play about Israeli violence & intolerance.  The last show is on Sun., Feb. 17.  For tickets see https://www.atlasarts.org/events/mosaic-theater-company-shame/. "Shame 2.0" is presented at the Atlas Performing Arts Center near Washington DC's Union Station.  The discount applies to any show except the one on February 7. You can learn more about the play and buy tickets here. Just use the coupon code "JWE" at checkout to claim your discount! "Shame 2.0" is described as a production that includes "Comments from the Populace". These apparently consist of readings of many of the hateful and derogatory messages that have been sent to Hassan and his acting partner, Einat Weizman, in recent months.

It's really great that Mosaic has brought this play to Washington DC at this exact time... when members of the U.S. Senate are considering a bill that would help clamp down on the free-speech rights of Americans on matters connected to Israel. Weizman and Hassan's play sharply portrays some of the many ways in which Israel's rightwing governments have already been clamping down on free speech and free expression inside Israel itself.  These attacks on free speech have been accompanied by the Israeli Knesset's recent passage of the "Nation State Law", which yet further curtails the cultural rights of the indigenous Palestinians who make up more than 20% of the country's citizenry.

11] –  On Sun., Feb. 17 from 2 to 4 PM, come to a SURJ MoCo Meeting & Ally Training at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda 20814.  Are you passionate about working for social change, but are uncertain the best ways to be a good ally to marginalized communities? Have you heard of intersectionality but are confused about how it actually works? Have no fear! This training will focus on how to be an effective and appropriate ally when working for the rights of communities of which you are not a part, and how to be intersectional in all work so that unintentional harm is not done to other communities.  Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is an organization designed to mobilize white people to work for racial justice through accountable community organizing and education. The training will mainly be geared to White allies of racial justice work but is applicable to being an effective ally to any group of which we are not a part. RSVP HERE: https://goo.gl/forms/ciNzHmgnuS1Su1VE2. NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION runs 1to 2 PM, and the GENERAL MEETING is from 2to 4 PM.

12] – At 2 PM on  Sun. Feb. 17,  see a FILM & enjoy a DISCUSSION WITH KINGS BAY PLOWSHARES DEFENDANTS,  moderated by Dan Zak of the Washington Post.  The Plowshares face 25 years in prison for their nonviolent symbolic disarmament of the Trident nuclear submarine base in GA. This may be their only NYC event before leaving in March or April for trial in Georgia. Liz McAlister (Phil Berrigan's widow), Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J., and Mark Colville of the New Haven C.W. wait in jail for their trial since last April 5, 2018. Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day's granddaughter, Martha Hennessy, Carmen Trotta of the NYC  C.W., Patrick O'Neill of the Garner, NC  C.W. house, and Clare Grady (daughter of John P. Grady of the Camden 28) of the Ithaca C.W. are out on $50,000 bond and ankle monitors. The four will be at the film and discussion. The event will be at the LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, 113 W. 60TH ST, NYC -- 12TH FL. LOUNGE.

See a special screening of the documentary “The Nuns, the Priests, and the Bomb.”  The film follows anti-nuclear war activists of the Plowshares movement in their acts of civil resistance at nuclear arms arsenals.  Filmmaker Helen Young will also be present.  This event is co-sponsored by Fordham’s Center for Religion and Culture, the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs and Peace and Justice Studies program, Pax Christi Metro-NY, and with the support of NYC Catholic Worker. Contact Professor Jeannine Hill Fletcher at hillfletche@fordham.edu.

Clare Grady’s Trident Analysis: Clare says, "If I hold a cocked gun to a person's head, am I not using the gun?" She explains that Trident is the cocked gun being held the head of the planet! She underlines that Trident, the most powerful weapon system known to humans, "is the ENFORCER of the sinful systems of white supremacy and capitalism which are killing people today, every day!" Clare says, "No one gives away land, labor, and resources without being forced by violence! And Trident is the ultimate weapon of extortion, holding our entire planet hostage. Trident has everything to do with every other weapon of State sponsored violence, from US interventionist wars down to the brutal police killings of Blacks and Brown people throughout communities in the US." There is a fleet of 18 omnicial Tridents (6 US + 4 British Tridents at Kings Bay Naval Base, GA plus 8 more in Tacoma, near Seattle, WA) that threaten all of creation!  

Part of their statement reads, "We believe reparations are required for stolen land, labor and lives....As white Catholics, we take responsibility to atone for the horrific crimes stemming from our complicity with “the triplets," (racism, materialism, and militarism) Only then can we begin to restore right relationships. We seek to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons, racism and economic exploitation."

13] – On Sun., Feb. 17 from 3 to 4 PM, Elsa visits the Baltimore Humane Society, 1601 Nicodemus Rd., Reisterstown 21136.  Elsa, our flawless feline friend, has been hanging out in her foster home and decided it was time for a change. She convinced her foster mom to stop by the Baltimore Humane Society to meet and greet her adoring subjects--or what we at the humane society like to refer to as prospective forever homes.  Her foster mom even agreed to hang out with her while she meets the public! This is a great chance to really get an idea for how Elsa will behave in your home and ask any questions you may have!  Come meet this queen of a cat.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/620616868378412/.

14] – On Sun., Feb. 17 from 3:30 PM to 6 PM, Direct Action Everywhere is saying Stop Attacking Whistleblowers.  Full event details are shared in the private group. Get involved at facebook.com/groups/BmoreDxE. In 2016 DxE investigated Pleasant Valley Farms, a supposed free range egg farm supplying to Costco. The crowded barns with starving hens meant cannibalism was rampant. Investigators found a hen whose feathers and sensitive sexual organs had been attacked, she and her sisters were struggling to breathe and there was piles of dead hens all over the farm. For rescuing Ella and exposing the cage free lie, DxE activists, Jason Oliver and Paul Picklesimer were court ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution. This group hopes to hold Costco accountable for this egregious criminal animal cruelty.   In Baltimore, they conduct both disruptive protest and educational outreach supported by PETA.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/822225008114654/.

15] – On Sun., Feb. 17 from 4 to  8 PM, get involved in Week #126 Jail Support, hosted by Baltimore Jail Support at Eager St. and Fallsway.  JAIL SUPPORT (or “jail sitting”) means providing support in the form of food & water, rides or bus fare, basic first aid and resource guides to people being released from jail. This happens on Sundays at Central Booking. Bear witness and provide comfort to denaturalize racist police abuse, to resist, and to build relationships within the struggle for a prison-free world. What is needed are water bottles, juice, granola bars, fruit and chips! Cash donations also go a long way. Feel free to drop off items the day of, or post on the event page to set up a time. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/653358978413406/.

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 Feb. 18, 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] – Join an emergency action.  Donald Trump has declared #FakeNationalEmergency—an illegal power grab from an unhinged man to push his racist, dangerous policies.   Get involved on Presidents Day—Mon., Feb. 18—against Trump's fake crisis and racist deportation force and to stand with immigrant, Muslim, and Black and brown communities to stop Trump's dangerous and illegal power grab. Join a #PresidentsDay protest to fight Trump’s fake crisis and racist deportation force. If you choose to attend an event, you agree to engage in nonviolent, peaceful action, to act lawfully, and to strive to de-escalate any potential confrontations with those who may disagree with our values.

On Mon., Feb. 18 at noon, gather in Lafayette Square (directly north of the White House), WDC 20006. RSVP at https://www.crisisresponse.us/event/crisis-response/16499/signup/?akid=&zip=&source=pfaw. There will be ADA area in front of the stage, ASL/CDI will be available and other disability services will be available. Please email ada@moveon.org with any accessibility questions.  The closest Metro stop is McPherson Square.

It has been said that Gaithersburg & Rockville Rocks AGAINST Power Grabs! On Mon., Feb. 18 at 2 PM, meet at Courthouse Square in Rockville 20850.  See the map at http://tinyurl.com/y3hvzj27. Then march through town of Rockville visible to Route 355, chanting, with signs, and bells and patriotic symbols -- to make the point -- to push back against power grabs! Stay in place protestors, will move up the block to N. Washington St. to be visible to traffic! Use #FakeNationalEmergency & notify friends on social media, and news media – spread the word. RSVP at https://www.crisisresponse.us/event/crisis-response/124426/signup/?akid=&zip=&source=pfaw.

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 De

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