Baltimore Activist Alert – December 27 – 28, 2019

Baltimore Activist Alert – December 27 – 28, 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] Get on the Marc Train – Dec. 27  

5] Nature’s Witness: Wildlife Photography Exhibit through Feb. 28

6] Fire Drill Friday – Dec. 27

7] White House vigil – Dec. 27

8] WIB peace vigils – Dec. 27

9] Feast of the Holy Innocents – Dec. 27

10] Peace and justice vigil – Dec. 27

11] Ballroom Dancing – Dec. 27

12] Adoption Event at Petco – Dec. 28

13] Cats, Coffee, & Cookies – Dec. 28

14] Christmas protest at drone base -- Dec. 28

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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] – If you want to join Jane Fonda at Fire Drill Friday, be at Baltimore Penn Station for the 9:18 AM Marc train.  Then join Dick Ochs and Theresa Reuter as they will walk to the SE lawn of the Capitol for the 11 AM rally and support those doing resistance.  Return to Baltimore by 3 PM. 

5] – On Fri., Dec. 27 from 10 AM to 6 PM, check out the Becoming Jane Exhibition, hosted by the Jane Goodall Institute at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW, WDC 20036.  Tickets are at www.nationalgeographic.org. The exhibition will continue through Summer 2020. Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace, braved the unknown to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives: chimpanzees. In this hands-on, transportive multimedia exhibition celebrating her extraordinary life and work, you’ll explore Dr. Goodall’s early years through iconic images and a multiscreen experience and venture on a 3D exploration of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park where she did her famous behavioral research on chimps. You’ll also see a life-size hologram of Dr. Goodall, enter a replica of her research tent, and learn about her current role as a leader in community-centered conservation and youth empowerment. Before you leave, you will find out what you can do today to make a positive impact in the world. 

 The museum is open 7 days a week (except Christmas Day) from 10 AM to 6 PM (last ticket sold at 5 PM daily.) Groups of 20 or more receive discounted museum admission. Contact groupsales@ngs.org to book your group visit today. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/977953615906486/.

6] - On Fri., Dec. 27 join a Fire Drill Friday event Forests Can't Wait! It will take place from 11 AM to 12:30 PM at the United States Capitol, WDC 20515.  Jane Fonda continues to lead a weekly rally followed by a risk arrest action on the southeast lawn of the US Capitol to demand action to address the climate emergency.

Forests are a key ally in combating climate change – and we need to join together to be allies for the forest. Simply put: we can’t solve the climate crisis without protecting forests. Forests are like great big climate stabilizing systems that do so much good: they regulate ecosystems, provide habitat and protect biodiversity, play an integral part in the carbon cycle, and are home and livelihood for millions of people around the world. When forests are healthy, they absorb a good chunk of the CO2 released from burning fossil fuels, but when forests are burned - often to clear land for destructive agricultural practices and biofuel – CO2 is released and climate change is accelerated.

It’s this simple: to maximize the climate benefit of forests, we must keep more forest landscapes intact, manage forests sustainably, and restore those that we have lost. And, we must protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local traditional communities who live in and depend on forests. Many studies have documented that forests are healthiest when the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are honored and respected. Instead, these communities are too often threatened and forest defenders are harassed and even killed as they seek to protect forests that we all need to survive.  We stand in solidarity with forest defenders from the Arctic to the Amazon, the Canadian Boreal to Indonesia to the Congo. Together, we can protect the forests and the communities who depend on them which, when it comes to climate change, includes all of us.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/460058474912546/.

7] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., Dec. 27 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649, artlaffin@hotmail.com.  

8] – Women in Black VIGILS FOR PEACE take place on Fri., Dec. 27 from noon to 1 PM.  One is at McKeldin Square, corner of Light and Pratt Sts., in the Inner Harbor, Baltimore.  Use the purple circulator line.  Enjoy an AFTER VIGIL LUNCH from the food trucks in the Inner Harbor.  Bring Your Own Sandwich or stop by one of the food trucks in the McKeldin Square.

 Another is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St., Baltimore.  Free Parking available. Vigil from noon to 1 PM. Lunch in the Bistro at 1 PM. If there's a storm, there is no vigil, but there will be lunch. Contact Anne: awyattbr@gmail.com.  The final vigil is in Chestertown, Kent County on the Eastern Shore at Memorial Park at Cross Street and Park Row. Email wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org.

9] – Come to the Holy Innocents Faith and Resistance Retreat/Witness starting on Fri., Dec. 27 at 1 PM through Sat., Dec. 28 at 8:30 AM at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC 20010.  Join members of the Atlantic and Southern Life communities and other peacemaking friends in a time of prayer and nonviolent witness to commemorate the Massacre of the Holy Innocents – past and present. Arrive by 12:45 PM, and it will begin with a prayer and reading of the Gospel account of the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. Then plan for the public witness at the Pentagon which will take place later in the afternoon. This will be followed by dinner and Liturgy. On Saturday, there will be Morning Prayer at 6:30 AM. This will be followed by a Pot-Luck Breakfast (Please Bring food to Share), Clean-Up, and an 8:15 AM departure. Due to lack of meeting spaces because of other church activities, we need to leave the church by 8:30 AM. If you are planning to stay overnight please let Art know so he can notify the church. 

 Remember Heidi Hynes, John Downing, Frances Crowe, Naed Smith, Mary Grace McCoy, Macy Morse, Beth Adams, Simon Harak, SJ and others from our communities who have left us.  Also remember the recently convicted Kings Bay Plowshares 7 as they now prepare for their sentencing (date still unknown). Contact Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: artlaffin@hotmail.com.

10] – There is usually a silent peace and justice vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends Meeting, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Dec. 27. Black Lives Matter.

11] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be on Dec. 27. Call Dave Greene at 301-570-3283; or email eneergdivad@gmail.com. 

12] – On Sat., Dec. 28 from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, get with the Adoption Event at Petco, 10383 Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills 21117, hosted by The Feline Rescue Association. Meet cats who need homes. This will continue until Sat., Dec. 28. Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/608172806298242/?event_time_id=661037984345057.

13] – On Sat., Dec. 28 from noon to 3 PM, get over to Cats, Coffee, & Cookies, hosted by Passport Animal Rescue, Inc. at Petco, 1719 York Rd., Lutherville 21093. Spend quality time at the Lutherville/Timonium Petco every Saturday with adoptable cats and kittens! Enjoy coffee, juice, cookies, treats, and a whole room available for you to play with cats.  This will continue until Sat., Dec. 28. Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/138383510382707/?event_time_id=138383660382692.

14] - On Sat., Dec. 28 at noon, join a  Christmas Week Protest at the drone war command at the Horsham PA Air National Guard Station, Route 611/Easton & County Line Roads, Horsham, PA.  Stop the policy of drone warfare and endless war.  Ignite Peace in Horsham, the heart of drone war operations in the state. Continue to Tell PA Governor Tom Wolf, head of PA Air National Guard:  BAN PA DRONE WAR OPERATIONS!  This is the last demonstration at the Horsham Air Guard Station before the January/February 2020 winter pause. Demonstrations will resume the last Saturday of March 2020 at noon. Go to www.brandywinepeace.com or call 484-574-1148.

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