Friends,
As someone who has been doing media work
for decades, I can say that it is very difficult to get media attention for
peace and justice events. Of course, with limited success we can use social
media. Another approach is get a subscription to your local newspaper,
and write a Letter to the Editor. Here are two letters which were recently
published in THE BALTIMORE SUN.
Kagiso, Max
The first letter responded to an op-ed “U.S. nuclear policy is undemocratic” published March 26, 2019
in THE BALTIMORESUN by Tara Drozdenko. See her op-ed at https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-op-0327-first-use-20190320-story.html.
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President
should not have sole authority to launch nuclear weapon
March 29,
2019 I was so happy that The Baltimore Sun published an op-ed about the
insanity of the president being the sole decision-maker for launching a nuclear
weapon (“U.S. nuclear policy is undemocratic,” Mar. 26). It does
not matter who is in the White House, she or he should not be allowed to
initiate a nuclear strike without Congressional approval.
Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland worked with the
Baltimore City Council, which unanimously passed a “back from the brink”
resolution, a national grassroots initiative that calls on the United States to
fundamentally change its nuclear weapons policy. Ending the sole unchecked
authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack is one of five common sense
steps suggested by the “back from the brink resolution.” This resolution came
about because of the efforts of the groups Physicians for Social Responsibility
and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Most importantly, the resolution calls
for a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their
nuclear arsenals.
Members of Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland have
been lobbying our senators and representatives to co-sponsor legislation aimed
at lessening the possibility of a nuclear attack. Also the group has been to
Annapolis to urge our delegates to sign on to a letter initiated by Del. Pamela
Queen which would be sent to Maryland’s Congressional delegation calling on
them to work towards lessening the threat of nuclear war.
The U.S. nuclear arsenal is not only a threat,
but the ongoing refurbishing of these weapons is a theft from taxpayers whose
dollars would be better spent on social services and repairing the
infrastructure. Finally, these anti-nuclear weapons initiatives are being
organized on behalf of the children and grandchildren who deserve to embrace a
Mother Earth without planet-threatening weapons of mass destruction.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Towson
Copyright
© 2019, The Baltimore Sun, a
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Barr's
summary of Mueller not good enough
March 25, 2019
It finally happened. The Mueller report
was turned over to Attorney General William Barr and
many of us are wondering if we will ever see its contents (“The Mueller report is in, but
questions about Trump go on and on, ”March 25).
Then Mr. Barr released a misleading four-page summary making
this point: “The special counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump
campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in
its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” Is this
accurate?
Next up, Mr. Barr made this claim: “While this report does not
conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
What does that mean?
The final point made by the nation’s attorney general was that
he and the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “have concluded that the
evidence developed during the special counsel’s investigation is not sufficient
to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.”
It is difficult for me to concur with this claim remembering that President
Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
Of course, President Trump and his minions are taking Mr. Barr’s
summary as the gospel truth. I will be more circumspect considering that the
special counsel’s work resulted in a number of indictments, several convictions
and lots of redacted court filings. Also, I believe AG Barr to be in Mr.
Trump’s corner.
Finally, it has to be noted that Robert S. Mueller III never
deposed Mr. Trump. Why not? Nevertheless, the full report must be released,
otherwise most of what has been written and said is mere speculation. Let the
battle for its findings carry on.
Max Obuszewski, Baltimore
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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
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