Baltimore Activist Alert – July 4 – 6, 2021

Baltimore Activist Alert – July 4 – 6, 2021

"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 Max Obuszewski, BNC, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212.  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] Volunteer with a Catholic Worker house  

5] Max is looking for tips on a garage or a storage suggestion.

6] House cleaner needed

7] Catonsville 4th of July Parade – July 4

8] Town Hall on COVID-19 – July 4

9] Pentagon Peace Vigil – July 5

10] Interdependence Day at the NSA – July 5

11] War and the Environment – Part 5 – July 5

12] "Picnic for Peace" – July 5

13] Care Corner Food Pantry – July 6

14] Protest JHU’s weapons research – July 6

15] CALL WEST VIRGINIANS. – July 6

16] Animal Bereavement Support Group – July 6

17] Teach-in to end vaccine apartheid – July 6

18] Sunrise Movement Baltimore meeting – July 6

19] Racial Equity and Policing Team meeting – July 6

20] Poor People’s Campaign Monthly Meeting – July 6

21] The Colombian Strike – July 6

22] End Selective Service – July 6

23] Peru’s Struggle for Popular Democracy – July 6

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] - Suzanne Fontanesi and Jeff Ross are in the beginning stages of renovating the basement of their house for purposes of bringing in a volunteer (targeting young adults in discernment mode), starting next fall. They are trying to grow a Catholic Worker House in Irvington (West Baltimore). In a nutshell, there is a lot that a volunteer could do in that neighborhood/Baltimore, in addition to prayer and daily community living and in addition to plugging into all the good work that people are already doing in and around Baltimore (and beyond).  If you think you might know of anyone who might be interested in starting a conversation with them about becoming such a volunteer/community member, please contact Jeff/Suzanne at 443-690-6872.

5] – Max is in need of a garage or a storage space.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

6] – Is there a woman in the Baltimore area who does house cleaning?  This assignment would be on an irregular basis with several hours per week.  Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

7] – Join Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) to fight for Democracy bills in the U.S. Congress. In the next two months, We the People have the capacity to enact legislation more sweeping than the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Join the group on Sun., July 4 from 3 to 4 PM ET in the Catonsville 4th of July Parade. Go to http://www.catonsvillecelebrations.org/schedule-of-events/. Contact Charlie Cooper [mailto:charlie.coop47@gmail.com].  

8] – Dr Bill Honigman for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to join the Holiday Edition of the PDA Healthcare Emergency Town Hall on Sun., July 4 at 4 PM ET. Clearly, #COVID and #Climate don’t take a break for national holidays, and Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) doesn’t, either. This Fourth of July weekend, the unvaccinated and underinsured in America, as well as those unused to living in extreme heat, will continue to die needlessly. Pandemics, toxic exposures, and trauma due to extreme weather, as predicted by both social and climate scientists, are our new reality. And science tells us that only the #GreenNewDeal and a #SinglePayer expanded and improved #MedicareForAll system of Universal Healthcare are both comprehensive and timely enough to prevent even more human loss and suffering. Sign up at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4.

9] – 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 July 5 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.  

10] – Since July 4, 1996, Baltimore’s peace community has been going to the National Security Agency on or near the holiday to call out for an end to the illegal surveillance.  We call this Interdependence Day. Join us on Mon., July 5 in calling out for the immediate release of Reality Winner who worked at the NSA.  She is the whistleblower who received the longest sentence in US history.  Recently she was transferred to a halfway house.  We argue that she should be immediately released and given a pardon.

  Gather on 29th Street by the Wyman Park Dell in Baltimore at 10 AM on Mon., July 5.  We will depart for Fort Meade at 10:15 AM.  After our protest at the NSA, we will come together for a potluck lunch or we will go to a local restaurant and share bread in community.  Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

11] – Sign up for War and the Environment, an Online Course continuing on Mon., July 5 from noon to 1 PM EDT through Sun., July 18 from noon to 1 PM ET.  This is a six week online course will provide participants an opportunity to learn from, dialogue with, and strategize for change with World BEYOND War experts, peer activists, and changemakers from around the world. The cost is $100, but you can pay less or more.  Contact Phill at education@worldbeyondwar.org.  Week #5 will be led by Dr. Michael Chew. Visit https://www.peace-ed-campaign.org/event/war-and-the-environment-online-course-by-world-beyond-war/.

12] – You are invited to the annual "Picnic for Peace" (virtual) that Frederick Peace Action has organized for Mon., July 5 at 6 PM ET--featuring Dat Duthinh, Gwen DuBois and Jean Athey!  Dat will discuss military spending, Gwen will tackle nukes, and Jean will expound on "Militarism, Racism, and Imperialism."  Tune in at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwNXsBa8UULFYzQu-2vUYDBDoWd8DrcgWXf0bGtnm_ZCOOUQ/viewform.

13] – On Tues., July 6 from 9:30 to 11:30 AM ET, get over to the Care Corner Food Pantry at the Pasadena United Methodist Church, 61 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena. This will continue each Tuesday through June 29.  Food bags are available for individuals and families in need. Food bags are first-come, first-served each week.  Volunteers are needed each week to help distribute the food. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c49acae2b0-care. All COVID safety measures are followed, including outdoor distribution, mask-wearing and social distancing. 

14] – There is a Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" at 33rd and N. Charles Sts. on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 PM. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607.  You may consider contacting President Ron Daniels and telling him that the university should reject all military contracts, including those for killer drone and nuclear weapons research.  The president’s mailing address is Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, and 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  You can also reach his office by Phone: (410) 516-8068, Fax: (410) 516-6097 or email: president@jhu.edu.

15] – We Have a Do-or-Die, Time-Limited Chance to Defeat White Supremacy and Big Money. If you want equal protection so that every voter counts the same regardless of color, income, age, or neighborhood, now is the time to act. If you want freedom from the influence of big money, now is the time to act. In the next months, action by people like you can create a groundswell to pass three major bills (see details in box below). One of them (S. 1) would provide sweeping reforms to end special-interest corruption in our government. Congress must act early this summer or partisan redistricting – based on a flawed census – will have happened. The House of Representatives has the votes to pass these bills, and they can pass the Senate, too - but only if We the People let our senators know how we feel.

If these bills do not pass, action by some state legislatures will reduce the freedom to vote for targeted populations. Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) founded For the People – Maryland with 20 other groups to fight for these principles in the U.S. Congress.  Therefore, the filibuster rule will need to change to allow these bills to pass with a simple majority.

While there are several Senators who haven’t formally committed, people in-the-know say if we can convince WV Senator Joe Manchin, the others will come along. Opponents are putting lots of money into WV, and we need to fight back. WV residents tell us that Manchin is often willing to do a 180 degree turn if he gets enough pressure. Volunteers asking his constituents to contact him could trigger the biggest reform since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Make calls to WV residents on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Please sign up to call on Tues., June 29 from 5:30 to 8 PM ET and try to convince one friend to do so also!  There is good training and support throughout!  Go to https://www.mobilize.us/vopropros/event/389987/.  CALL WEST VIRGINIANS.

16] – On Tues., July 6 from 7 to 8:30 PM ET, get with the Animal Bereavement Support Group at the Baltimore Humane Society, 1601 Nicodemus Road, Reisterstown 21136. This will continue each Tuesday, through August 3. See https://www.facebook.com/BMOREHUMANE/.  The loss of an animal can be a devastating blow. Our friends are often loved as a member of our family, and we believe their passing should be treated with the same respect. RSVP to vvanhof@bmorehumane.org.

17] – Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN [covid@medicare4all.org] is inviting you to a Teach-in to end vaccine apartheid.  Together, build a movement to ensure vaccine justice around the world.  So far, less than 1% of vaccine doses have gone to low-income countries, as wealthy countries hoard 85% of available doses.

Many nurses and other frontline workers still lack access to personal protective equipment, tests, and treatments. They—along with billions of their patients, family and community members—could have to wait two years or more to get vaccinated. This vaccine apartheid is completely unacceptable. Not only will it cause immense—and avoidable—suffering and death in low-and-middle-income countries, but it will prolong the global pandemic by allowing dangerous new variants to spread. Join the End Vaccine Apartheid Teach-in on Tues., July 6 from 6 to 8 PM ET. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/end-vaccine-apartheid-teach-in?emci=db9e2ea1-9eda-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=086d3ca3-a0da-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=136680.

18] –  Alex at Sunrise Movement Baltimore [general@sunrisemovementbaltimore.org] is urging you to join the Sunrise Movement Baltimore hub meeting on Tues., July 6 from 6:30 to 8 PM ET. This is the time to gather in community, review the past month's activity, and talk about what is going on and how you can get involved. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/sunrisemovement/event/399352/?emci=e5745400-c7da-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=9a189c83-c7da-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=177631.

19] –   Molly Amster [molly@jufj.org] invites you to attend a Racial Equity and Policing Team meeting on Tues., July 6 from 7 to 8:30 PM. RSVP at https://jufj.org/event/mc-rep-meeting-jul-2021/?sourceid=1020679&emci=f947f534-9ed2-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=42ab8aac-5ed3-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=3403859.  Get updates about current campaigns and take action together. You will receive call-in instructions via email after you RSVP.

20] – The Washington, DC Poor People’s Campaign Monthly Meeting will happen on Tues., July 6 from 7 to 8 PM EDT. This virtual meeting will be by Zoom.  A login will be provided after registration and prior to the meeting. Meet together for political education, to share national updates, to hear from committee leaders and share ways you can take direct action in DC now!  Register at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/event/washington-dc-poor-peoples-campaign-monthly-meeting-2020-12-01/2021-07-06/.

21] – Cole Harrison, Massachusetts Peace Action [info@masspeaceaction.org] is alerting you to the national strike in Colombia against the far-right government of President Ivan Duque. In this webinar on Tues., July 6 from 7 to 8 PM ET, hear a discussion about the protests with Víctor de Currea-Lugo in Bogota and Teri Mattson about her recent visit to Colombia with an international delegation of solidarity and human rights observers who traveled the country to document gross violations of human rights by the security forces of Colombia.  Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kd-irqD8vHtP1okQDI7GifJzhWgmoLlOj.  Currea-Lugo is a physician, university professor, writer, humanitarian worker, and journalist. Mattson is the CODEPINK Latin America Coordinator.

22] – Marcy, CODEPINK [info@codepink.org] wants you to join in on Tues., July 6 at 8 PM ET for CODEPINK Congress.  Join the Zoom chat ‌ ‌for a discussion of both grassroots and legislative efforts to end Selective Service, a program that forces young men to register for future wars. Who wants to repeal it? Who wants to expand it to include women?! Talk about current bills in Congress and also address sexual harassment and assault in the military. The co-hosts are Danaka Katovich and Isaac Roth Blumfield of the CODEPINK Peace Collective.  Rivera Sun, author and activist with CODEPINK and World and Beyond War, is working to abolish the military draft system for people of all genders. Ed Hasbrouck is a draft registration resister who served four months in a federal prison camp for refusal to sign up with Selective Service. And Adrienne Kinne is the president of Veterans for Peace and a former Arab linguist in military intelligence & psychology specialist at the Veterans Affairs Department. Sign up at https://www.codepink.org/07062021.

23] – The Alliance for Global Justice [James@Afgj.org] is inviting you to attend on Tues., July 6 at 8 PM ET a webinar Solidarity with Peru’s Struggle for Popular Democracy. The featured speakers are as follows: Lucho Garate, Spokesperson for the Communist Party of Peru, Patria Roja, former Lima city councilor, Carla Toche, Political scientist and activist with Nuevo Peru, and George Ygarza, PhD Candidate in Global Studies with a focus on mining and Andean Political Resistance. Peru’s democracy is in crisis as the recent election of Pedro Castillo is being challenged by Peru’s far right. Castillo is a teacher and union member who won a hard-fought battle against Keiko Fujimori for the presidency. Fujimori is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who is in prison for human rights abuses and corruption.  Register at https://afgj.org/webinar-solidarity-with-perus-struggle-for-popular-democracy.

To be continued.

 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/.

"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