Baltimore Activist Alert -- May 25 - 28, 2022

40] The JCPOA Negotiations -- May 25

41] Clean Energy Future – May 25

42] Make Calls with the DNC National Call Crew – May 25 – 28

43] Door knocking for Brooke -- May 25 – 28`

44] Logan Endow Weekly Canvass – May 25 - 28

45] Voter Protection Phonebank -- May 25 – 28

46] U.S.-Australia Alliance – May 25

47] Our Revolution phone bank – May 25 –26

48] Quakers and Boarding Schools -- May 25

49] Unmute Yourself: Iran – May 25

50] Poor Peoples Campaign -- May 25

51] Empire of Debt – May 25

52] Meet a Peace Candidate – May 25

53] Warmongering – May 25

54] Common Cause agenda -- May 25

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40] – On Wed., May 25 at 10 AM ET, check out the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: The JCPOA Negotiations and United States’ Policy on Iran Moving Forward which will take place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building 106 or Virtual.  There will be video streaming. The witnesses are Robert Malley, U.S State Department; Karim Sadjadpour, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Mark Dubowitz, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Sign up at https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/the-jcpoa-negotiations-and-united-states-policy-on-iran-moving-forward05252201.

41] – Food & Water Watch [act@messages.fwwatch.org] wants you to hear on Wed., May 25 at 1 PM ET Mark Ruffalo and Congressman Jared Huffman. This is a virtual event:  A Clean Energy Future for the United States and European Union. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/fww/event/454031/?utm_source=moam_em_05222022_clean-energy-future-usa-europe-rsvp&j=1601899&sfmc_sub=5823356&l=434&mid=100001791&utm_source=MarketingCloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-05-22_FWW_c3_NAT_General_May-Event-Invite-Email-3_Event_em_nL_D_MC&ms=onor-em-05232022-2022-05-22_FWW_c3_NAT_General_May-Event-Invite-Email-3_Event_em_nL_D_MC&oms=onor-em-05232022-2022-05-22_FWW_c3_NAT_General_May-Event-Invite-Email-3_Event_em_nL_D_MC&eml_name=2022-05-22_FWW_c3_NAT_General_May-Event-Invite-Email-3_Event_em_nL_D_MC&eml_id=1601899&gs=GxlJbkxjcq%2B8UZOd9mKlA%2FrUqmVv9Bhub1uCcnoOsk%2FAQ6T%2FAXyET%2BMg3cRAarznEzHCt2OjmsdtrlSDEDixGGAEUZALOZueWujWnmqqAL6EdUG%2FrkG9nV1e1aPSVG%2Br&af=RA1%2BJp3N228aRV69knhQi6HdXOURCg1a8LjFy%2FqVNQ3Po1gpJ2TWtaez2njMlOuEAnWCHkgEsbpWshTz9SyXZHZ4ZBqwHCVVpKJ%2BZXlAWLZyR%2BzfO2QzqSyd2JPeL%2BzCwsk6jgcMJb7Pj3wbBih8ImqkfiHWDev%2BgezUDN3cgbh1mDCeaXiPKbkB9fKqQpGU. The crisis in Ukraine has brought energy independence to the forefront of international conversations, with calls for increasing fossil fuel exports to Europe. However, this is a critical moment to mobilize global support for the transition to 100% clean, renewable energy.

42] – Make Calls virtually with the DNC National Call Crew through Tuesday, May 31. Call voters in battleground states to build strength for the 2022 Midterms. Please email digitalorganizing@dnc.org. Sign up for calls on Wed., May 25, Thurs., May 26, Fri., May 27 and Sat., May 28. The times are 2 to 3 PM, 3 to 4 PM, 4 to 5 PM, 5 to 6 PM, 6 to 7 PM, and 7 to 8 PM EDT. On Sat., May 14, the times are 2 to 3 PM, 3 to 4 PM, 4 to 5 PM, 5 to 6 PM. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/388091/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_most_popular_virtual.

43] –Do some Door Knocking for Brooke in Your Neighborhood on Wed., May 25, Thurs., May 26, Fri., May 27 and Sat., May 28 from 2 to 4 PM ET!  This event’s address is private. Sign up for the details: https://www.mobilize.us/brookeliermanforcomptroller/event/449990/?followup_modal_context=newsletter. Canvass in your community and share Brooke's vision to transform the Comptroller's office to work for every Marylander. YOU CAN DO THIS ON YOUR OWN TIME, SELECTING A DATE IS REQUIRED TO USE THIS FORM. YOU CAN KNOCK WHENEVER WORKS FOR YOU. Once you sign up the team will follow up with everything you need to knock on doors including materials, a t-shirt, stickers, and a quick training.

44] – Get with a Friends of Logan Endow Weekly Canvass through May 31. On Wed., May 25, Thurs., May 26, and Fri., May 27 from 4 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM, and on Sat., May 26 10 AM to noon, noon to 2 PM, 2 to 4 PM, 4 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM ET, do the canvass hosted by Progressive Maryland - New Era Project. Election season is here!! Canvassers will be trained before going out. For more details, email malcolm@progressivemaryland.org. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/449919/.

45] – Get involved with Voter Protection Phonebanks with Common Cause to demand bold changes to our democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests. On Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, call voters in Connecticut to connect them to Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney’s office to urge him to pass state voting legislation. On Thursdays and Fridays, call voters in Pennsylvania to recruit them for election protection work in their state. These phone banks are subject to change. On Wed., May 25 from 4 to 6 PM ET, Thurs., May 26 from 4 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM ET, Fri., May 27 from 4 to 6 PM ET and Sat., May 28 from noon to 2 PM and 6 to 8 PM ET. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=newsletter.

46] – On Wed., May 25 at 6 PM ET, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft will host U.S.-Australia Alliance and Australia’s Evolving Orientation in Asia In the wake of the Quad summit in Tokyo and the steady operationalization of the AUKUS military pact. Australia’s role in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy is becoming ever-more important. Apart from the United States itself, only Australia is a member of both groupings. It appears that Australia has emerged as among the frontline states in Washington’s strategy to counter, or even contain, China. On the other hand, Beijing seems to be in no mood to pull back on the harsh economic measures it has taken against Canberra, measures that have not gone down well in Australia. Are U.S.-Australia ties becoming hostage to the single issue of countering China? Are Australia-China relations at a point of no return? How will the Australian elections change Canberra’s preferences?  To unpack all these issues and more, join us for a panel discussion featuring Bec Strating, Director of La Trobe Asia; Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University; and Sam Roggeveen, Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute. Sarang Shidore, Director of Studies at the Quincy Institute, will moderate. RSVP at https://quincyinst.org/event/the-u-s-australia-alliance-and-australias-evolving-orientation-in-asia/.

47] – Our Revolution [info@ourrevolution.com] would like you to phone bank on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM ET. There are more than 8 million voters across the country who identify as progressive. These numbers suggest progressives can win at every level of government, but the voters must go to the polls! Sign up to join the Our Revolution phone bank force at https://www.mobilize.us/ourrevolution/event/440081/?akid=2556.8252965.t1Ai8m&rd=1&t=11. Sign up for Wed., May 25 and Thurs., May 26.

48] – FCNL [support@fcnl.org] hopes you will turn out on Wed., May 25 at 6:30 PM ET for "Seeking Truth, Healing, and Right Relationship: Quakers and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools." Historically, Quakers played a role in colonization and the cultural genocide of Native people through the operation of more than 30 Indian boarding schools. With legislation now before Congress to investigate the legacy of these schools, how are Friends working to address Quaker complicity in these atrocities?  Register at  https://www.fcnl.org/events/seeking-truth-healing-and-right-relationship-quakers-and-legacy-indian-boarding-schools?akid=23803.152065.NtMwIn&rd=1&t=16&utm_campaign=event&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ak&utm_term=23803.152065.NtMwIn.

49] – Bonnie Fisk [updates@ploughshares.org] thinks you want to join in on Wed., May 25 at 7 PM ET for Unmute Yourself: Iran. This is a virtual happy hour featuring Ploughshares Fund board member, Ben Rhodes. Ben is an author, national security analyst, and former Deputy National Security Advisor for President Obama. Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UQlgrzAzQP-CXYQTxf8dVg.

The previous administration unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and Iran later responded by enriching uranium above the levels allowable in the deal. For more than a year Ploughshares Fund has been working diligently behind the scenes, consulting with the Biden Administration as it works to salvage what precious nuclear break out time is still possible. And assist Biden in keeping his campaign promise to re-enter the JCPOA. Talks are stalled despite our best efforts and those of our partners in the nuclear field. 

 Ben was deeply engrained in the diplomatic processes that led to the original iteration of the landmark JCPOA in 2015 as one of President Obama’s top advisors. You won’t want to miss his analysis of the state of the deal now, at a time when nuclear weapons are exponentially complicating an already devastating conflict in Ukraine, and beyond.

 50] – Attend a Webinar: Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers Assembly and Moral March on Washington on Wed., May 25 from 7 to 8 PM EDT.  Sign up for the Poor Peoples Campaign June 18th national mobilization, a generationally transformative and disruptive mobilization of poor and low-wealth people, state leaders, faith communities, moral allies, unions and partnering organizations. Led by poor and low-wealth people, The Poor Peoples Campaign is a national grassroots movement that is continues the work of MLK Jr. At the webinar, you’ll connect with others who know how wrong it is for close to 50% of people in the richest country on the planet to live in poverty or low income.  Visit https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkd-ipqjwqHNU9ZupoxGHjvc61EG6B30XU.

51] – The Committee for the Republic [events@committeefortherepublic.org] is inviting you on Wed., May 25 at 7 PM ET to the Empire of Debt with Ed Kitch & Julia Mahoney.  The -University of Virginia’s Edmund W. Kitch and Julia Mahoney are sounding the alarm. RSVP at Events@CommitteefortheRepublic.org. Participate online at https://zoom.us/j/7812458066.  A staggering and climbing national debt soaring past $30 trillion is the wage of the American Empire. 

 Empires bankrupt. The $1.5 trillion U.S. annual imperial expenditure is a dead weight on the economy: no consumer goods; the migration of human genius from production to proficiency in killing; staggering inefficiencies from monopolies and cost-plus contracts; unaudited books, secrecy, and an absence of congressional oversight which balloon fraud and mismanagement.  In a groundbreaking paper, Professors Kitch and Mahoney lay out their plan for a Chapter 11-style debt restructuring for the federal government. The conventional wisdom is wrong in believing $30 trillion will (and must) be paid in full and on time. Kitch and Mahoney show that restructuring is both legally and politically possible. They reject the view that the Constitution requires that the United States pay all of its formal debts before allocating resources to other claimants. They believe the gridlock that comes with separation of powers provides a credible assurance in the stability of the bankruptcy-like restructuring. Let's never forget that the coming financial crisis can be cured by replacing our empire with the Constitution’s foreign policy of invincible self-defense that prevailed for more than a century. Budget surpluses (with no income tax) were the norm from 1880 to the ill-conceived Spanish-American War in 1898.

52] – Jon Rainwater, Peace Action [info@peaceaction.org] hopes you will tune in on Wed., May 25 at 7:30 PM ET and meet David Ocampo Grajales. This election cycle brought many Democratic retirements in safe districts, which has given Peace Action a chance to back pro-peace champions seeking to fill those seats. Ocampo Grajales is one such candidate running for New Jersey’s 8th district, where Representative Albio Sires is retiring.  Hear from, engage with, and ask questions of the peace candidates Peace Action is supporting this cycle. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6416442656491/WN_4WuODnWcSpOggkBYuilsGA?emci=32529d61-71d8-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=ed7eb3f4-c2d9-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=218683.

53] – CODEPINK [info@codepink.org] hopes you will attend on Wed., May 25 at 8 PM ET How Warmoongering Now Includes a Nuclear War. Join in for a conversation with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson as he warns about war-mongering having gone nuclear: how the White House thinks it can win a nuclear war with Russia and how dangerous and disturbing this idea is. Sign up at https://www.codepink.org/nuclear05252022?utm_campaign=ukraine_media_3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepink.

54] – Common Cause [causenet@commoncause.org] hopes you will join in on Wed., May 25 at 8 PM ET the Our Democracy 2022 Campaign Kickoff! This year’s elections will have a massive influence on the future of our democracy – and whether our government works for us.

Common Cause sent out the Our Democracy 2022 questionnaire to the candidates vying for our vote – pushing them to go on the record about where they stand on key democracy issues. Find out what reforms Common Cause will prioritize in the next Congress, and how you can make sure they happen. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/commoncause/event/428300/?link_id=0&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-wednesday-join-the-our-democracy-2022-campaign-kickoff&email_referrer=email_1551042&email_subject=wednesday-join-the-our-democracy-2022-campaign-kickoff.

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