Baltimore Activist Alert -- December 18, 2020 - January 22, 2020

64] Climate Strikes vs. Chase Bank – Dec. 18

65] March for a climate plan -- Dec. 18

66] Food Rescue – Dec. 18

67] White House vigil – Dec. 18

68] Women in Black VIGILS FOR PEACE on hold? – Dec. 18

69] HIAS Book and Film Club – Dec. 18

70] Get Out the Votes – Dec. 18 - 19

71] Make Calls for Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff – Dec. 18 – 19  

72] Peace and justice vigil – Dec. 18

73] Love to Black Immigrants -- Dec. 18

74] Socialism 101: Seizing the Means of Production – Dec. 18

75] Black Legislative Agenda Day – Dec. 19

76] Annual Food Drive at the Senator Theatre – Dec. 19 - 20

77] Make sure voters in Georgia vote – Dec. 19

78] TEXT VOTERS in Georgia – Dec. 19

79] Grassroots Legislative Leadership Day – Dec. 19

80] Nuclear Weapons are illegal – Jan. 22, 2020

81] Read Dave Eberhardt’s book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"

82] Ted Glick has written a book

83] New Book: “Confessions of a Radical Academic”

84] Two Berrigan Books still in print

85] Contribute to the Lin Romano Peace and Justice Scholarship

86] Do you need a doctor?

87] Emergency Demonstration against an attack on Venezuela or Iran  

88] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

89] Do you need any book shelves?

90] Join the Global Zero campaign.

91] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

-----

64] – On Fri., Dec. 18 from 9 AM to 9 PM, get with the Climate Strikes vs. Chase Bank Every Friday! Flatten the climate pollution curve together! Help run an online climate strike at Chase Bank--the #1 investor in fossil fuels of any bank in the world--every Friday until further notice. You can post your own virtual climate strike on social media in 4 easy steps: https://www.climatefirst.us/calendar. Contact Ted at tconwell@climatefirst.us/ (301) 589-7598 (mobile). Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/3398894953477457/.

65] – PECO still does not have a climate plan! A group of activists are committed to a just and sustainable energy economy for Philadelphia. They are fasting and praying to show their commitment and to prepare themselves to dig into the work even deeper. They are marching and telling their story to let everyone know, yet again, in a world of fires, floods, racism, and pandemics.  The Power Local Green Jobs (PLGJ) campaign demands a just and sustainable energy economy in Philadelphia and beyond! PECO is stuck on dirty fossil fuels. Join a COVID-safe, socially-distanced car caravan and march by foot at 9 AM on Fri., Dec. 18 along Market Street. The group will congregate outside the Public Utility Commission office at 801 Market Street and proceed to the PECO offices at 2301 Market, where the group will break its collective fast. RSVP https://phillyprotest.com/event/action-and-public-fasting-for-power-local-green-jobs/.

66] – On Fri., Dec. 1 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST, come to Grace Baptist Church, 3201 The Alameda to get some food, hosted by Food Rescue Baltimore. This will continue each Friday until March 26, 2021. Bring a bag, bring a friend, and take delicious, nutritious, free rescued food. Look at https://www.facebook.com/foodrescueday/.

67] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., Dec. 18 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

68] – It is unclear if there will be any Women in Black VIGILS FOR PEACE on Fri., Dec. 18 from noon to 1 PM.  The one at the Inner Harbor seems to be suspended. One is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St., Baltimore.  Free Parking is available. There will be NO LUNCH.   If it doesn't rain, vigil. If it rains, the vigil will be cancelled.  If you arrive for the vigil and don't see someone else, please don't leave. Other folks are on the way.  Email awyattbr@gmail.com.

The other is in Chestertown, Kent County on the Eastern Shore in Memorial Park at Cross Street & Park Row.  This will be a safe-distanced stand for Peace with Justice & No to War. Email wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org.

69] – Get with the HIAS Book and Film Club on Fri., Dec. 18 from noon to 1 PM ET.  Join this Webinar to discuss the book "The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives" (edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen). Advance registration is required at https://www.hias.org/get-involved/events/hias-book-and-film-club-december.

70] – Make Calls for Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.  The presidential election may be over (Donald Trump’s refusal to concede notwithstanding), but control of the US Senate hangs in the balance, pending the results of two runoff elections in Georgia, the nation’s newest battleground state. Early voting started December 14, and Special Election Day is January 5, 2021. The Sierra Club will be making phone calls in support of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, whose races could determine the fate of President-Elect Biden’s ambitious green agenda. Sign up to call Georgia voters at https://www.mobilize.us/sierraclubbattleground/event/272291/?utm_source=insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter. The available times are Fri., Dec. 18 from 3 to 6 PM and 6 to 9 PM ET and Sat., Dec. 19 from 3 to 6 PM and 6 to 9 PM EST.  The calls will continue through Tues., Jan. 5 from 6 to 9 PM EST.

71] – As Lindsey Graham and Senate Republicans seek to sabotage the elections in Georgia, we must rise above them and mobilize Georgia’s Democratic base to cast their ballots. Making calls to infrequent voters is one of the most effective means of base-building and increasing voter turnout. Sign up to make calls with Turnout2020: https://www.mobilize.us/dailykos_2/event/363620/?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-firstname-default-friend-the-only-birthday-gift-i-want-is-for-us-to-win-in-georgia-action-needed-2&email_referrer=email_1002406&email_subject=rsvp-to-connect-with-infrequent-democratic-voters-in-georgia.

MAKE CALLS TO GEORGIA VOTERS this week—continuing on Fri., Dec. 18 from 5 to 7 PM and 7 to 9 PM EST and Sat., Dec. 19 from 5 to 7 PM and 7 to 9 PM EST.  The calls will continue through Jan. 5 from 5 to 7 PM and 7 to 9 PM EST.

72] -- There is usually a Quaker Vigil for Racial Justice on Fridays, from 5 to 6:30 PM, hosted by the Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee (BQPJC) outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Dec. 18. From 6 to 6:30 PM strategize. Black Lives Matter. Stop the Killing. Physical distancing applies. Wear your face mask. Email homewoodfriends@gmail.com or call 410-235-4438. Quaker values call us to speak truth and to seek equality for all people. We aim to follow Bayard Rustin’s wisdom that “we need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers” and John Lewis’s call to “make good trouble.” See https://www.facebook.com/events/311508100243529/?event_time_id=311508113576861.3&akid=18263%2E3302379%2Ez6bJVQ.

73] – On Fri., Dec. 18 at 5 PM, get involved in Love to Black Immigrants: Teach In plus card-writing. Join AFSC, the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs, and other partners to send love and care to detained Black immigrants and learn how to counter injustices faced by Black immigrants and asylum seekers. Register today to receive cards to send: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4z2sn_cNT-Czt4_nEW0OIw.

74] – On Fri., Dec. 18 at 7 PM EST, get involved with Socialism 101: Seizing the Means of Production for the People, hosted by Party for Socialism and Liberation - DC.  Sign up for this Online Event at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUudOuoqz4pGdDVOp-GaOgWjyp71YYYnOmg.  Giant corporations like Facebook, Amazon, and Walmart have increased their wealth by trillions of dollars since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile working people have been getting sick and struggling to make ends meet. We know that the wealth these companies, and their billionaire CEOs, hoard was really created by their workers. Without their employees, these companies would not exist. Furthermore, large corporations would not be able to function without public investment and existing infrastructure. Why then, are a small handful of multi-billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg allowed to hoard this wealth? Shouldn’t profits that depend on the public belong to the public? Shouldn’t corporations like Amazon and Facebook be publicly owned?

75] – On Sat., Dec. 19 from 11 AM to 3 PM EST, attend the Black Legislative Agenda Day: From the Baltimore Grassroots, hosted by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.  The group is pleased to convene its Legislative Agenda Day.  The hope is that those of us working in the grassroots can use this as an opportunity to work collaboratively on our efforts in Annapolis to support legislation that will help our communities.  Here from community organizations which will discuss what they are working on during the 2021 MD General Assembly. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/LBSBaltimore/.

76] – On Sat., Dec. 19 from noon to 4 PM EST, get with the Annual Food Drive at The Senator Theatre on Sat., Dec. 19 and Sun., Dec. 20 from noon to 4 PM ET. Imagine Spring 2021. And IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The Senator Theatre's holiday tradition of screening IAWL will skip 2020 (lucky duck), but its Annual Food Drive will not.  In exchange for your non-perishable food donation, you will receive a voucher to attend a free screening of IAWL in Spring 2021. Your donation will help supply the GEDCO CARES food pantry in a year when it needs it most. Heed Clarence: "Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" To learn more about GEDCO, visit www.Gedco.org. 

77] – There are just 19 days until the fate of the Senate, and with it the nation, will be decided! Join actor Rob Reiner, People For board member and organizer Dolores Huerta, and People for President Ben Jealous on Sat., Dec. 19 from noon to 3 PM EST to make sure voters in Georgia have a plan to vote! RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4616081407025/WN_5_pWpzLSS0u15-v56c9cmA.

78] – Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are running to flip Georgia’s two Senate seats blue on January 5th. If they win, Democrats will take control of the U.S. Senate. Democracy for America is organizing on the ground in Georgia to mobilize newly-registered and infrequent voters to the polls in this runoff election and fight voter suppression head-on. RSVP TO TEXT VOTERS! Choose when you can volunteer from the times below and you will be sent everything you'll need to know to get started before your first shift:  Sat., Dec. 19 at noon ET and Sun., Dec. 20 at 4 PM ET. Visit http://act.democracyforamerica.com/survey/TextGA3/?t=1&refcode=g-TOTV1217.d-20201217.m-25811.s-160928&akid=25811%2E4066212%2Ens1inT.

79] – The ACLU of Maryland will host a virtual annual Grassroots Legislative Leadership Day on Sat., Dec. 19 from 2 to 4:30 PM. Your voice on police reform, education equity, and immigrants' rights is critical for this legislative session. Come get trained on how to talk to your legislators about why it's important to pass laws on these priority issues. After you RSVP, you will receive the Zoom link for joining the event. RSVP at https://action.aclu.org/webform/md-grassroots-legislative-leadership-day-2020?ms_aff=MD&initms_aff=MD&ms=201202_GrassrootsLegLeadershipDay2020_&initms=201202_GrassrootsLegLeadershipDay2020_&ms_chan=eml&initms_chan=eml.

80] – This is A PLEA TO CONVINCE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TO OBEY INTERNATIONAL LAW. The world will reach a historic milestone on January 22, 2021: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons [TPNW] will enter into force and become binding international law -- https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty.

   Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland has called attention to the growing danger of nuclear war and the outrageous $1.7 trillion dollars we are spending to modernize our nuclear arsenal. We helped the Baltimore City Council and the Montgomery County Council pass Back from the Brink [BFTB] resolutions and join 53 other municipalities, state legislative bodies and two states to demonstrate broad support for the five fundamental changes in US nuclear weapons policy.  The ultimate goal is abolition; BFTB will reduce the risk but TPNW is the blueprint for abolishing nuclear weapons.

  On July 18, 2017, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Navy - affiliated research center received a seven-year, $92 million contract to continue its systems engineering and research-and-development services for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Help convince JHU to renounce nuclear weapons contracts. Contact the president, Ron Daniels, to urge him to reject all nuclear weapons contracts: Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  Call his office at (410) 516-8068 or email president@jhu.edu.

81] – David Eberhardt was a member of the Baltimore Four with Father Philip Berrigan, Tom Lewis and Rev. James Mengel.  The group poured blood on draft files on October 27, 1967.  They would be convicted and sentenced to prison. Dave has written a book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"- documenting the Baltimore Four action and many others up to and including the most recent Plowshares action – Kings Bay Plowshares 7.  Phil Berrigan’s wife, Elizabeth McAlister, is a member of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7.  Dave’s book is available for $20 by contacting him at mozela9@comcast.net. He prefers that you DO NOT order the book from Amazon.

82] –  Ted Glick has written a book about his years of active draft resistance during the Vietnam War, and published by PM Press! It’s entitled “Burglar for Peace: Lessons Learned in the Catholic Left’s Resistance to the Vietnam War. The book is part history, part autobiography and may be a valuable source of ideas and inspiration for today’s organizers against injustice, oppression, war, ecological devastation and the bad guys! Frida Berrigan has written a wonderful intro. The paperback book, all 220 or so pages, will cost $20, but if you order it now, you can get a 20% discount if you use the code “Burglar” when you do so.  Go to: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1093 and click 'Add to Cart'. In the coupon code area be sure to put: Burglar to get the discount.

83] – Check out a New Book: “Confessions of a Radical Academic: A Memoir by Fred L. Pincus,” now available from Adelaide Books (https://adelaidebooks.org/collections/latest-releases/products/confessions-of-a-radical-academic) or from Amazon.  Fred taught sociology at UMBC for more than 40 years and is on the board of Research Associates Foundation.  His memoir details his struggles to have a successful career while keeping true to his radical principles and activism.  One major theme is his struggle with race and racism both on and off campus. Go to www.fredlpincus.com.

84] –Two books by Fred Wilcox are still in print.  The first one is “Fighting the Lamb's War Skirmishes with the American Empire” by Philip Berrigan and Fred A. Wilcox with a FOREWORD by Tripp York.  It can be purchased by Wipf and Stock: https://wipfandstock.com/fighting-the-lamb-s-war.html.  It is a Memoir in paperback/ISBN: 9781532660078/240 pages/republished 8/21/2018/ Retail Price: $26.00/and Web Price: $20.80.

  The second one is “Uncommon Martyrs The Berrigans, the Catholic Left, and the Plowshares Movement” by Fred Wilcox, who profiles members of this anti-war movement, whose Christianity compels them to acts of civil disobedience against the military industrial complex.  The ISBN is 0201522314/$6.50 for a hardcover, and it can be purchased at Powell's Books.  See https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/7094/uncommon-martyrs.

85] – Consider making a donation to a scholarship in her honor that would be most welcome.  Contributions to the Lin Romano Peace and Justice Scholarship can be made online via https://www.ndm.edu/lin-romano-peace-and-justice-scholarship or by check made out to Notre Dame of Maryland University (Memo line: Lin Romano Peace and Justice Scholarship) and mailed to Notre Dame of Maryland University, Office of Institutional Advancement, 4701 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21210.

86] – Yousef Zarbalian [mailto:yzarbali@gmail.com] started his own medical practice in December before the pandemic hit. It is called East-West Medicine and Rheumatology, and its website is EastWestMD.com.  Yousef is licensed in Maryland and Virginia. He is doing primary care as well as rheumatologic care (focusing on joint problems and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and sjogren's).  He is offering telemedicine visits, and he has very reasonable rates for uninsured individuals.  He makes use of herbs (which can be sent directly to patients from the herbal dispensary) as well as prescribing medications to their local pharmacy if needed.  

87] – The Trump Administration is again beating the war drums.  Most recently, the target is Iran.  Should the Trump administration initiate an act of war against Iran, consider joining us. It is a violation of U.S. law for the Trump Administration to attack a country that has not attacked us, as only Congress can declare war. The Trump administration is nevertheless beating the war drums for war against Iran and Venezuela. Should a war criminal, John Bolton, convince Trump to attack either of these countries, such a military strike would demand an immediate and unequivocal response from us to show that we will not tolerate his abuse of power.

   Let's mobilize to show that we the people will not tolerate another military adventure, which would be bound to have profound negative consequences. If a military strike against Iran or Venezuela takes place, then meet at 33rd and N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218. If the attack is before 2 PM local time, then the event will begin at 5 PM, local time. If the attack occurs after 5 PM local time, then the event will begin at 5 PM, local time, the following day. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.   

88] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

89] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

90] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

91] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan