Baltimore Activist Alert -- February 11, 2021

46] Food Rescue at the Dovecote Café – Feb. 11

47] HOW TO ADVANCE RACIAL JUSTICE – Feb. 11

48] Saving Our Environment -- Feb. 11

49] Defund the Pentagon: From Arms to Renewables – Feb. 11

50] Food Rescue Giveaway -- Feb. 11

51] Learn about solar – Feb. 11

52] Medical Debt Campaign – Feb. 11

53] Support HB565/SB514: The Medical Debt Protection Act – Feb. 11

54] CISPES celebrated 40 years -- Feb. 11

55] Witnessing Democracy in Venezuela: Resisting Empire -- Feb. 11

56] No Honeymoon Campaign -- Feb. 11

57] Celebrate Bryan Stevenson – Feb. 11

58] See a documentary THE FACILITY -- Feb. 11

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46] – Thursdays in Reservoir Hill at the Dovecote Café, 2501 Madison Ave., will continue through May 27 from 4 to 5 PM.  This event is supervised by Food Rescue Baltimore.  Bring a bag, bring a friend, and take delicious, nutritious, free rescued food. See https://www.facebook.com/foodrescueday/.

47] – A national reckoning on race continues amidst a global pandemic and in the wake of a violent insurrection led by a mob of white supremacists. Join the ACLU’s Executive Director Anthony Romero and a panel of experts on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 4 PM ET as they dive into that question at a special Town Hall event: HOW TO ADVANCE RACIAL JUSTICE. Visit the ACLU's YouTube page at the time of the event – it will be the first video to play. If you would like to request reasonable accommodations for this event, email TownHall@aclu.org as soon as possible. Sign up at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7M42vQrNmZ0tnmmenLWwBA.

48] – Thursdays with Friends: Saving Our Environment is happening on Feb. 11 from 4 to 4:30 PM organized by the Friends Committee on National Legislation - FCNL. This episode of Thursdays with Friends focuses on what we need to do to save the environment. Free registration at www.fcnl.org/twf.

49] – CODEPINK [info@codepink.org] is holding a webinar to Defund the Pentagon: From Arms to Renewables on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 6 PM ET. RSVP for the webinar here: https://www.codepink.org/02112021?utm_campaign=defund_the_pentagon_202102&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepink. Join Atlanta-based investigative journalist Taylor Barnes to talk about workers in Huntsville, Alabama who have transitioned from building military weapons to building renewable energy sources. RSVP for the webinar "From Arms to Renewables" here. Barnes will discuss building the labor movement, expanding workers' rights, and economic conversion--and how the peace movement should prioritize all three to take on the very real threat of climate change.  Did you know that in 2021 the U.S. will spend over $2 billion a day on the U.S. military, more than a million dollars every minute-- an amount that exceeds the entire budget of the Environmental Protection Agency? Then why, according to a study by the Security Policy Reform Institute, did 27 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus take thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from weapons companies and vote to raise the Pentagon budget? Tell 27 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus: Stop Taking Campaign Contributions from Weapons Companies!

50] – On Thurs., Feb. 11 from 6 to 8 PM ET, check out the Food Rescue Giveaway! This is the Thursday Evenings at Old Major, 900 S. Carey St., Baltimore, which will continue through April 29. Go to https://www.facebook.com/OldMajorBaltimore/. This is a long-awaited evening Rescue, and Rescue in Southwest Baltimore, all in one! Get prepacked boxes from the carryout window on the Herkimer Street side of the building. Use the window bell or call 443-873-7363. And please, masks must be worn at the window. 

51] – Everyone should have control over their energy production, with solar on every rooftop and money in every pocket. Solar co-ops are a big part of this work. The Northern MD Solar and EV Charger Co-op is officially open!  Join a free webinar to learn more on Thurs., Feb. 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM by registering at https://coops.solarunitedneighbors.org/coops/md-northern-md-2021-solar-and-ev-co-op/.

52] – Progressive Maryland [josh@progressivemaryland.org] will meet on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 7 PM ET to confer and plan next steps around COVID response work, the Medical Debt Campaign, and organizing for Medicare For All. Sign up at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkc-GgqDIqHNM-PqQssCNYJiiigxPP5ZQI?emci=0b779335-d167-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&emdi=a6ebf05a-fe67-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&ceid=136680.

53] – Help Progressive Maryland members submit written testimony in support of HB565/SB514: The Medical Debt Protection Act before the committee hearings next week. Join the virtual testimony-writing party on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 7 PM, and the coalition organizers will coach you through the process. Log into the meeting for a fun and low-pressure gathering and take action together. All you'll need is a desire to end medical debt in Maryland, and a willingness to give testimony-writing a try. RSVP to receive a Zoom link at https://actionnetwork.org/events/testimony-writing?emci=5789ce6e-626a-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&emdi=567a138a-626a-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&ceid=136680.  Please contact Lindsey Muniak (lindsey.muniak@gmail.com) with any questions. 

54] – CISPES celebrated 40 years of solidarity with El Salvador in 2020 and it is still going strong! On Thurs., Feb. 11 at 7 PM EST, Boston CISPES [boston@cispes.org] will be celebrating with stories from Boston leaders from over the years and very special guests: Greg Grandin, who won the Pulitzer Prize last year for his book The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America, will be sharing his analysis.  Sol y Canto founders Rosi & Brian Amador, from Boston-based, award winning nueva canción ensemble, will help celebrate with their wonderful and inspiring music. Rosi Amador is a Puerto Rican/Argentinian singer and bongo player and Brian Amador is a New Mexican guitarist and composer. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zu4ZTUheS6yXdVkkzBZMvw?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2524774a-cf3c-4fff-8535-5efe24802442.

55] -- Witnessing Democracy in Venezuela: Resisting Empire will take place on Thurs., Feb. 11 from 7 to 8:30 PM.  The incoming Biden administration quickly dispelled hopes he would depart from Trump's White House sanctions policy on Venezuela. Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State, recently stated that Washington would increase sanctions by making them "more effective".  Sanctions are not a positive alternative to active wars but a prime component of hybrid imperial wars that kill innocents as widely as direct confrontation. According to Blinken, opposition politician Juan Guaido, discredited by the Venezuelan National Assembly, would continue to be recognized by the US as the “interim president” of Venezuela and consequently he can maintain control over Venezuela’s vast assets in the US and the UK. Recently, he tragically blocked the use of these frozen funds to purchase Covid-19 vaccines. It is an opportune time, post-Trump, to change to beneficial policies for both countries, to reject false narratives that are the basis for US policy ‘regime change’ in Venezuela. Evidence that refutes official US policy is available from direct media resources in Latin America and progressive US media. Join a webinar with embassy protectors Margaret Flowers, Adrienne Pine and David Paul, who went to Venezuela as elections monitors. Learn about their experiences in Venezuela meeting people across the country as well as about their evaluation of the election process and the results.  The webinar will be moderated by Hector Figarella, a Venezuelan-American activist from Western MASS. Sign up at http://masspeaceaction.org/event/witnessing-democracy-in-venezuela-resisting-empire/.

56] – Join RootsAction.org and the #NoHoneymoon campaign on Thurs., Feb. 11 at 8 PM ET for a conversation and Q&A with lifelong anti-war activist David Swanson. Discuss ending the war on Yemen, how we can end the war in Afghanistan next, and why we must shrink the military budget. Then, TAKE ACTION together, contacting representatives and senators directly, urging them to REDUCE MILITARY SPENDING and END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. RSVP at https://act.rootsaction.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7522 to receive ZOOM link. Phone numbers and a short and simple script are provided for you. Email Ryan@RootsAction.org with any questions.

57] – Death Penalty Focus [information@deathpenalty.org] is inviting you to its 29th Annual Awards Event on Thurs., Feb. 11 from 9 to 10 PM ET. This event recognizes and honors the heroes of the abolition movement who continue to contribute so much in the battle to stop state killing once and for all.  Every year this gathering is a moving reminder of the importance of this work, and this year participating will be a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer, and a man who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned, Bryan Stevenson! Tune in to hear incredibly inspiring words from Bryan, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Michael Radelet, writer/director, producers, and cast of the film Clemency, and many more special guests, as well as musical performances by Aloe Blacc and Celisse. Register for this virtual event at https://deathpenaltyfocus.salsalabs.org/dpf2021awardsonlineticketformindexhtmlpageregister/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=fc7123ac-eee4-4c63-b0a6-75fc9df2747c.

58] –JOIN a VIRTUAL SCREENING/DISCUSSION OF THE DOCUMENTARY THE FACILITY on THUR., Feb. 11 at 9PM ET.   This is a rare opportunity to speak to the filmmakers documenting some of the most troubling issues still happening in the U.S. as the pandemic rages and we all try to recover from four years of chaos and damage. Remember the immigrants? Remember the detention centers and the deplorable conditions within? But do you know what is happening in communities all over the country? Join the Denver/Colorado Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America for this documentary about Aurora, Colorado's GEO ICE facility, a private, for-profit immigrant detention center.  Then join webinar to find out how you can make a difference and can help to bring about necessary change in our immigration system. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER! Go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J2PHQsjhRWuwIX_6iYXXjg.

To be continued

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt.206, and Baltimore, MD 21212.  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