Baltimore Activist Alert – January 7 to 22, 2022

Baltimore Activist Alert – January 7 to 22, 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] Eastern Shore Environmental Legislative Conference – Jan. 7 to 8  

9] Phone bank for a Democrat – Jan. 7 - 10

10] Vaccine Access in Immigrant Detention Centers – Jan. 8

11] Free Assange vigil – Jan. 8 & 22

12] Election Protection phone bank – Jan. 8, 10, 12 & 13

13] Economic Bill of Rights – Jan. 8

14] Join Witness against Torture in D.C. in January – Jan. 8 - 11

15] Social Media Best Practices – Jan. 8 -- 11

16] Protest at the Pentagon – Jan. 9

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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.” The workers voted to unionize

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] – On Sat., Jan. 7 & Sun., Jan. 8 from 2 to 5 PM ET each day, get with the Eastern Shore Environmental Legislative Conference. A bill requiring testing to ensure PFAS-free pesticides will be presented during the conference.  Register at https://www.facebook.com/events/1275743203206254/?ref=newsfeed.  The Eastern Shore is ground zero for the effects of climate change in Maryland. Fortunately, the Eastern Shore is also home to some of the most active environmental champions. Join the Sierra Club and the Maryland Legislative Coalition for a special event that highlights the plans for combatting the issues that specifically affect the Shore but are relevant to all of Maryland.

9] –Phone bank for Aaron Rouse for Virginia State Senate on Sat., Jan. 7 from noon to 3 PM, 3 to 6 PM & 6 to 8 PM, Sun., Jan. 8 from noon to 3 PM, 3 to 6 PM, 6 to 8 PM, Mon., Jan. 9 from noon to 3 PM, 3 to 6 PM, 6 to 8 PM, and Tues, Jan. 10 from noon to 3 PM, 3 to 6 PM and 6 to 7 PM EST. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/544489/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_most_popular_virtual.

10] – 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., Jan. 8, hear about “Vaccine Access in Immigrant Detention Centers in the United States.” US detention centers for refugees and asylum seekers were tinderboxes for infectious disease outbreaks even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Crowded, unsanitary conditions with limited infection control measures led to outbreaks of influenza, varicella, and mumps and the deaths of several detainees. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government failed to follow the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infection prevention and evaluation guidelines, likely contributing to tens of thousands of COVID-19 cases in these facilities. Hear about efforts to better understand this complicated issue and to advocate for programmatic changes to prevent and better treat these infectious disease outbreaks.

  The speaker, Dr. Mark Travassos, is a pediatrician and infectious diseases specialist within the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Global Health Track and Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His work focuses on the intersection of infectious diseases and human rights, as well as the pathogenesis and vulnerability to cerebral malaria and other forms of severe malaria in children in sub-Saharan Africa. Email President@BEMOREthical.org for more information.

11] – On Sun., Jan. 8 and Sun., Jan. 22 from 4 to 5 PM ET, vigil at the home of US Attorney General Merrick Garland in Bethesda on Edgemoor Lane, near the fence of Sidwell Friends Lower School calling for the release of Julian Assange.  Contact Martha Allen (marthaleslieallen@gmail.com).

12] – On Sun., Jan. 8 from 6 to 8 PM ET, Tues., Jan. 10 from 4 to 6 PM, Thurs. Jan. 12 from 5 to 7 PM, and Fri., Jan. 13 from 4 to 6 PM ET, there is a Common Cause organized Election Protection phone bank.  These phone banks will continue until April 2, 2023.  Work together to demand bold changes to our democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations. Register for a shift to make calls to recruit poll monitors to support nonpartisan Election Protection efforts in the GA Run-Offs.  Join in to make calls Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and/or Sundays.

13] – The Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] hope you can attend on Sun., Jan. 8 at 4 PM ET a Progressive Town Hall featuring Prof. Harvey J Kaye for a discussion about the 21st-Century Economic Bill of Rights project. RSVP at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4. Given what has transpired in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives since Tuesday, we must recognize that we're at a very significant moment in the history of our constitutional republic. We can have no illusions. The attack on the Capitol two weeks before President Biden's inauguration was not a black swan. The authoritarian threat to American democracy was not vanquished with Trump's defeat. Indeed, that movement has reconfigured itself and has successfully shut down half of the legislative branch of the U.S. government since Tuesday. 

 This moment is made all-the-more dangerous because, unlike two years ago, Congress has been shuttered without violence or the breaking of laws.  Also, much like with Trump in 2016, the "political establishment" still seems incapable of taking their antagonists seriously (in this case, the 20 "dissenters" from the Freedom Caucus). Consequently, no one anticipated that the dissenters would be so brazen and uncompromising, allowing them to blindside the entire American political establishment. Therefore, the House of Representatives will be closed for business until somehow, someone gets elected Speaker. Indeed, the insurrectionists/dissenters have picked up right where they left off in January 2021. They are hell bent on disrupting the operations of the U.S. government, with the long-term goal of destroying confidence in the non-military public sector. 

  Going forward, it is absolutely essential that progressives take a leading role in opposing this far-right uprising, and in defending our democracy and Democratic institutions. But it is just as important that we go on the offense. We have to make clear to the American people the stark contrast between the progressive platform and the goals of the far right. Every one of PDA's domestic policy positions addresses the issues of greatest concern facing the vast majority of American households in ways that will directly improve their lives. Whereas, almost the exact opposite is true of the Freedom Caucus. I kid you not. They don't care one iota that people are having a hard time making ends meet; they intend to cut social programs. That's right, they are advocating for austerity. In fact, one of the main reasons they oppose Kevin McCarthy with such ferocity is that he is reluctant to change a procedural rule that would make it easier to cut social security payments.  

14] – Witness against Torture [contact@witnessagainsttorture.com] is announcing that the annual Fast for Justice will be in person in D.C. from January 8 through Jan. 11.  Organizers need to know who is coming. SO IF YOU'RE COMING, SEND AN EMAIL to witnesstorture@gmail.com.  Send your name, dates you will be there (Sun. night Jan. 8, Mon Jan. 9, Tues., Jan. 10 and/or Wed. Jan. 11), and if you need housing.

15] – Get with Social Media Best Practices virtually, hosted by The Democratic National Committee on Sundays and Wednesdays from 7 to 8 PM ET.  Participate on Jan. 8 and Wed., Jan. 11.  Maximize your impact within your social network and join the social media best practices training. Whether you're just getting started on social media or already have an online presence, this training will provide you with the tools necessary to ensure you are reaching your full potential as an online organizer. Learn the essentials for utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram for political story telling. Email williamsak@dnc.org to schedule a presentation for your staff/volunteers or with any queries about co-presenting at one or more of these events.

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 Jan. 9, 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.  

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