Baltimore Activist Alert – September 12 to 13, 2021

Baltimore Activist Alert – September 12 to 13, 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] Get Out the Vote in Virginia – through Sept. 18

8] The Big Lie – Sept. 12

9] See film Finding Our Voices -- Sept. 12

10] Phone bank for the For the People Act!  -- Sept. 12 to 14

11] Phone bank for the For the People Act!  -- Sept. 12 & 14

12] SIGN UP to get out the vote in California – Sept. 12

13] Nicaragua Advances -- Sept. 12

14] Healthcare Emergency Town Hall – Sept. 12

15] Eyewitness Hurricane Ida – Sept. 12

16] Sanctions Kill – Sept. 12

17] Protest at the Pentagon – Sept. 13

18] Rent Relief – Sept. 13

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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] - 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] – Ben Betz, People For the American Way [alerts@pfaw.org] is asking you to Help Get Out The Vote in Virginia by signing up to write letters to voters in Virginia through September 18! Since the Virginia Vote Forward campaign launched last month, 120,000 people have committed to sending letters! The goal is to reach more than 500,000 voters Sign up to write letters to Get out the Vote at https://votefwd.org/pfaw.

 Virginia is a crucial bellwether state vital to America’s political landscape, and its state elections this year will have a serious impact on the 2022 national midterms. People For is gearing up to be very active in this year’s state-level campaign, and it seeks national support to make sure that the progressive gains from 2020 continue in the former seat of the Confederacy this year.  People For is thrilled to announce that we are once again partnering with Vote Forward, an exciting campaign to increase voter participation through letter-writing to key voters in battleground states and districts. Vote Forward’s letter-writing project is incredibly simple, as all you need are stamps, stationery, and a pen!

8] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion at 10:30 AM.  On Sun., Sept. 12, the subject is “Calling Out the Outrageous Lie.”  Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square, but the outrageous lie that the election was rigged fueled the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Though lying has long been used as a tool to gain political power, normalizing blatant lying threatens our democracy. Hugh Taft-Morales explores this toxic twisting of truth and implores continued condemnation of outrageous lies by public servants. Hugh Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU). 

The Zoom link and more info can be obtained at PRESIDENT@BMORETHICAL.ORG.

9] – 20 Years Later is a virtual film festival commemorating the 20th anniversary of September 11, centering on the theme of peace and justice. Featuring films across 20 years, including brand new releases, each film is paired with a live panel featuring producers, directors, 9/11 family members, and/or subjects of the film, open to audience questions. The festival is run by September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a nonprofit organized by relatives of the victims of the September 11th attacks. See http://masspeaceaction.org/event/20-years-later-a-peace-and-justice-film-festival/?emci=918e06c1-220f-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&emdi=27980574-380f-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&ceid=269591.

  See Finding Our Voices, Co-Directed by Holly Stadtler & Vicki Hughes, Narrated by Martin Sheen. The film is about standing up for what you believe. Not just another Iraq war film, this is a movie about patriotic Americans living their conscience. This film celebrates our first amendment rights and our responsibility to participate in our Democracy. This movie explores the passion and determination of eight men and women who sacrifice their jobs, give up their retirement and risk imprisonment in their patriotic dissent of the war in Iraq. It is a film about courageous Americans who show with their actions, the power we all have, and must use if democracy is to survive. The film chronicles people like Adele Welty, who lost her son, a firefighter on 9/11/01. Welty, a member of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, says, “I knew the best legacy I could build for Timmy would be one of peace, to try to stop any more innocent civilians from being killed.” Hear from a panel on Sun., Sept. 12 at noon EST with Holly Stadtler, Vicky Hughes, Laurel Jensen and PT member, Nancy Meyer.

10] – Common Cause  [causenet@commoncause.org] needs you to join a phone bank  For the People Act on Sun., Sept. 12 from noon to 2 PM ET, Mon., Sept. 13 from 4 to 6 PM and Tues., Sept. 14 from 5:30 to 8 PM ET. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/commoncause/event/376178/?link_id=0&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-weve-come-this-far-2&email_referrer=email_1278997&email_subject=weve-come-this-far.

11] –Join activists around the country at a virtual phonebank to urge voters in key states to demand their senators’ support of the For the People Act! The August deadline for 2022 is fast approaching! Our democracy is in crisis: with redistricting around the corner and hundreds of voter suppression laws being introduced in states across the country, we do not have time to wait. Every day we’re getting closer to a very real deadline to take action to pass the For the People Act (S.1): If the Senate does not overcome the filibuster and pass S. 1 by late August, states will not have enough time to implement the legislation’s regulations before the 2022 midterm elections! Join activists around the country at a virtual phonebank to urge voters in key states to demand their senators’ support of S. 1! RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/376178/?utm_source=PFAW to call on Sun., Sept. 12 from noon to 2 PM ET and Tues., Sept. 14 from 5:30 to 8 PM ET.

12] – Join members of the LA Election Project (LAEP) in making phone calls to Reject the Republican Recall from 1 to 3 PM ET on Sun., Sept. 12.  The Recall is a pivotal test of the Far Right and progressive voters in California – and across the nation.  Sign up for a virtual phone or text bank to urge Californians to vote NO on the recall of Gov. Newsom at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/407276/.

13] – Alliance for Global Justice [afgj@AFGJ.org] is hosting a webinar on Sun., Sept. 12 at 3 PM ET -- "Nicaragua Advances, Despite Attacks from Left and Right." Sign up at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bDcd5prbQT-1pPvWkAHvKw?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=dc8550a2-3843-4e96-aad6-1c81c6c2ad15. In the run-up to Nicaragua's November elections, prominent left-wing figures and others are criticizing Daniel Ortega's government.  Our September speakers will carefully examine claims of the critics.  John Perry asks what these detractors are calling for, and how this squares with what Nicaraguans want and need.  Becca Mohally Renk will discuss attacks on Nicaragua’s universal health care and its Covid response.  Since 2007, what healthcare advances have occurred under the Sandinista government, and how has Nicaragua handled the Covid-19 pandemic?

14] – Dr. Bill Honigman for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to join in for a big Healthcare Emergency Town Hall on Sun., Sept. 12 at 4 PM ET. Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) remains steadfast in our call for #SinglePayer expanded and improved #MedicareForAll, because we know that’s how we achieve equity and quality that meets the public need for #HealthcareJustice in this country, particularly in times of very great need such as #COVID19. Furthermore, we acknowledge and call for supporting and expanding the single-payer system set up decades ago for our seniors and the disabled with the establishment of traditional Medicare. Congress is debating doing exactly that in negotiations surrounding the budget and reconciliation processes taking place as sessions in both houses reconvene for the fall.

  At this critical moment, we demand nothing less than adding dental, vision, and hearing benefits, the ability to negotiate for lower drug prices, a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, and lowering the Medicare eligibility age. And we do so with medical and social sciences as our foundation, because we know that these measures will save money, not cost more, and will save lives, lots of lives. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4.

15] –Sharon Black [sharonmarieblack@gmail.com] wants you to attend a webinar Eyewitness Hurricane Ida - Capitalist Climate Crisis, Peoples Emergency on Sun., Sept. 12 at 6 PM ET. REGISTER at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Rw6fZv1rRp2pUNcKnXuycA.  Hear from Rev. Annie Chambers, co-chair of Welfare Rights Organization & Peoples Power Assembly organizer.  She will give an account from WRO members on the ground in NOLA. Also speaking will be Gregory Williams, Struggle La Lucha writer, and Louisiana resident who will give his first-hand account.  See the excellent film “Trouble the Water.”

16] –Sanctions Kill [info@sanctionskill.org] is a webinar on Sun., Sept. 12 at 7 PM ET. US Sanctions Starve Africa & Latin America, and North American Solidarity Activists Speak Out. Instead of reversing Trump’s unilateral coercive measures, Biden has extended the sanctions, which are illegal under international law. The webinar will also announce the launch of a major report: The Impact and Consequences of the US Sanctions. Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u2NgjEiHSUePXlzrGlxpzA.

17] – 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 Sept. 13 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.  

18] – Jews United for Justice [info@jufj.org] is participating on Mon., Sept. 13 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET in an Emergency Rent Relief Press Conference.  RSVP at  https://jufj.org/event/rent-relief-press/?sourceid=1020679&utm_campaign=training&utm_medium=standalone&utm_source=ea&emci=dd271d0e-c90c-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&emdi=f1844a31-8b11-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&ceid=3403859. Join JUFJ and its partners in the Montgomery County Racial Equity Network to demand a speedier distribution of rent relief to tenants in critical need! You will receive more information after you RSVP.

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