Baltimore Activist Alert -- November 13 - 14, 2022

Baltimore Activist Alert – November 13 to 14, 2022

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

5] Support the Pratt Workers United

6] Get the book Surely Goodness and Mercy by Murphy Davis

7] Get the book Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church: An Insider’s View by Roy Bourgeois

8] Heartbreak & Healing – Nov. 13

9] Fighting Fascism – Nov.  13

10] Free Leonard Peltier – Nov. 13

11] Peace Conference – Nov. 13

12] Film The Settlers – Nov. 13

13] Hear from John Nichols -- Nov. 13

14] Election Protection phone bank – Nov. 13

15] Voting Rights: The Struggle to Be Counted -- Nov. 13

16] Protest at the Pentagon – Nov. 14

17] Promote Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – Nov. 14

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1] – Buttons, bumper stickers 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] – 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.

5] – The workers at the Enoch Pratt Free Library have started a drive to organize a union calling themselves Pratt Workers United.  Go to https://www.prattworkersunited.org/. There is a letter of support for community members to sign at https://www.prattworkersunited.org/community-letter-support.

"Pratt Library workers are forming a union, Pratt Workers United. We are seeking pay equity for all, safer working conditions, benefits for part-time workers, and a voice in decisions that affect our work.”

6] – Consider getting HOSPITALITY, the newsletter of OPEN DOOR: A prophetic discipleship community honoring the Black Jesus, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. The September/October 2022 issue contains a wonderful review by Claire Schaeffer-Duffy of Surely Goodness and Mercy by Murphy Davis, reprinted from The Catholic Worker, March-April 2022.  Davis, a co-founder of the Open Door Community, died in 2020.   You can subscribe to the newsletter or buy a copy of the book by calling 404-290-2047 or by emailing opendoorcomm@bellsouth.net.

7] – Another book to consider purchasing is Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church: An Insider’s View by Roy Bourgeois. His new book is both memoir and position-paper, and it makes the case that the Roman Catholic Church is a corrupt system that spits out truth-tellers. The crime he was excommunicated for was attending the ordination ceremony of Janice Sevre-Duszynska in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2008. The ordination was under the auspices of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.  The Vatican’s response has been to excommunicate any woman who has the audacity to see herself as a priest equal to a male priest. You can purchase a copy from Amazon or by Kindle.

  Here are two quotes to contemplate: “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men. She is to keep silent.” – Timothy 1, 2:12-13.  “If the patriarchy that dominates the church is not dismantled and women are not treated as equals, the church will continue to diminish and, eventually, die.” – Roy Bourgeois.

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., Nov. 13 hear about “Heartbreak and Healing.”  Caring deeply about other people, a community, or a project, is part of living a good life. But in our unpredictable world it also can lead to heartbreak, a form of suffering with distinctive mental, physical, and emotional characteristics. How is heartbreak framed in our relationships and in our culture? What does new science tell us about this debilitating, but ultimately conquerable pain? To answer those questions, Hugh will discuss the new book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey, by science writer Florence Williams.  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).  Email President@BEMOREthical.org for more information.

9] – Tune in to Fighting Fascism: What’s Next in Electoral Battle on Sun., Nov. 13 from 11 AM to 1 PM ET.  The 2022 midterm elections will be a milestone in the fight for democracy. But that fight is far from over. All progressives must now build a winning strategy to establish and consolidate a permanent progressive majority. Mark Solomon is Professor Emeritus of History at Simmons University. Holding degrees from Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Harvard University, Professor Solomon has written five books, including “The Cry Was Unity: Communists and African Americans, 1917-1936.” He is past national co-chair of the U.S. Peace Council and also co-chaired The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. To join the event on Zoom, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89552575898?pwd=K1ZRMkRNejlpRnZZakFRWnE0aUh3Zz09.  Or to view on YouTube, visit https://www.youtube.com/c/thecommunitychurchofbostonofficial.

10] – Amnesty International [alerts@takeaction.amnestyusa.org] is hosting a Rally to Free Leonard Peltier on Sun., Nov., 13 at 2 PM ET! The rally will call on President Biden to release Native American elder Leonard Peltier - this year! Gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/LeonardPeltierWalkToJustice/. Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for more than 46 years and has always maintained his innocence. Amnesty has been calling for Leonard's release for decades due to the unfairness of his trial, including coerced and recanted testimony, withheld evidence, and racism. He is now 78 years old and in declining health. Time is running out for Leonard.

 AIM members, including Leonard's daughter Kathy Peltier, have spent the past few months walking at least 20 miles a day on the Leonard Peltier Walk to Justice - a spiritual walk from Minneapolis to Washington, DC. After walking over a thousand miles, they will walk into Washington, DC on Sun., Nov. 13 at 11`AM at the Washington Monument and walk the last mile with them to the rally at the Lincoln Memorial.

11] – On Sun., Nov. 13 from 2 – 4 PM ET on ZOOM, attend the Coalition for Peace Action Peace Conference.  This is the 42nd ANNUAL MULTIFAITH SERVICE/CONFERENCE FOR PEACE, and it features Bill McKibben, who founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org; Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK whose most recent book, coauthored with Nicolas J.S. Davies, is War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict; and Rabbi David Saperstein, designated by Newsweek as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill.” Register at https://www.peacecoalition.org/events/1297-43rd-annual-peace-conference.html. Go to www.brandywinepeace.com, or call 215-843-4827.

12] – Friends of Sabeel North America [friends@fosna.org] hope you will get involved with Voices from the Holy Land online Film Salon, and watch "The Settlers."  Combining history and headlines, THE SETTLERS is the first comprehensive look at the sensitive issue of Israel's continued construction of settlements in the West Bank, which is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Radicals, idealists, messianic fanatics, true believers and political opportunists, living on the fault lines of an age-old conflict, come face to face with history itself. Today, the settlers threaten to destroy what little peace remains in the Middle East.

Join in on Sun., Nov. 13 at 3 PM ET for a discussion of the film with Shimon Dotan – filmmaker, university instructor on Political Cinema and Film Directing and Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, scholar, author, and Board Director at International Council for Middle East Studies.  The moderator will be Lara Freidman – president, Foundation for Middle East Peace. Visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwodu6pqzMtHtEJfUoSlzHjeDBvs-N3X4ad.

13] – Alan Minsky for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to know that John Nichols will join the Progressive Town Hall on Sun., Nov. 13 at 4 PM ET. RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4.  Analyze the Midterm Results and Plot the Path Forward for Progressives.  The 2022 midterm election results are still arriving, but it's already clear that the worst was averted—and, given the recent history of midterm results, Democrats and progressives will emerge with the momentum. There will also be updates from Georgia, where it will be necessary marshalling resources in support of PDA-endorsed candidate Senator Raphael Warnock in his December 6th runoff election, and from Egypt, where the COP27 Climate summit is taking place.

14] – Join an Election Protection phone bank hosted by Common Cause on Sun., Nov. 13 from 6 to 8 PM, Tues., Nov. 15 from 4 to 6 PM and , Thurs., Nov 17 from 5 to 7 PM ET.  Demand bold changes to our democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests. Register for a shift to make calls to protect our democracy.  These shifts also always will include training for first-timers before you make calls—so if this is your first time, no worries! . Visit https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

15] – See the film Voting Rights: The Struggle to Be Counted on Sun., Nov. 13 from 7 to 8 PM ET. The future of our democracy hangs in the balance. Photographer, film producer and social justice activist. Phil Portlock is presenting his timely 25-minute film, “VOTING RIGHTS: THE STRUGGLE TO BE COUNTED.” With creative use of music, powerful images and narration by his wife Pat Sloan, the film traces the long and often brutal struggle by African Americans to gain and maintain the unrestricted right to be counted at the ballot box.  The film is Phil’s response to the U.S Supreme Court’s June 5, 2013 5-4 decision in the Shelby County v Holder Voting Rights Case that declared Sections 4b and 5 of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. The decision has led to the enactment of hundreds of voter suppression/restrictive laws that voting rights all over the nation. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/537913/.

16] – 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 Nov. 14, 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 begins at 8 AM.  No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. The restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr.  

17] – The US Conference of Catholic Bishops will meet from Mon., Nov. 14 through Wed., Nov. 16 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel.  Janice and Max plan to be outside at different times to urge all bishops to join Bishop Thomas Wester of Santa Fe in speaking out against nuclear weapons and for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Wester published a pastoral letter outfling the dangers of these weapons of mass Destruction.  We will urge other bishops including Baltimore’s Bishop Lori to publish a similar document.  If you would like to join us, call me at 443-761-5899 or email mobuszewski2001@comcast.net.

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