Baltimore Activist Alert – July 16 to 17, 2023

Baltimore Activist Alert – July 16 to 17, 2023

"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] Need help in archiving activist material    

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] Photographs can lie – July 16

9] Support the Teamsters – July 16

10] Defund Montgomery County Police Department working group meeting – July 16

11] Black Lives Matter Interfaith Coalition rally – July 16

12] Care over Cost door knocking – July 16

13] Commemorate the Trinity test in Frederick – July 16

14] Film MY TREE – July 16

15] PDA Town Hall – July 16

16] Free Assange vigil – July 16

17] Reflections on Dan Ellsberg – July 13

18] Commemorate Trinity test in Santa Fe – July 16

19] Commemorate Trinity test in D.C. – July 16

20] Protest at the Pentagon – July 17

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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] –  Janice Sevre-Duszynska needs some assistance in archiving her activist material.  If you are interested in this project, contact Max at 410-32301607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

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] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and usually there is a platform address at 10:30 AM ET.  On July 16, hear a talk Photographs Can Lie. BES member David Lavine will talk about his experience as a photographer. We all know that photographs can lie and tell the truth. In showing his photographs, David will discuss how he handled these and other ethical problems. Email to join the virtual event Email PRESIDENT@BMORETHICAL.ORG for Zoom login information.

9] – Join DSA members in Brookland at 4th St. NE & Franklin St. NE on Sun., July 16 at 11 AM ET to wheat paste and canvass in support of Teamsters fighting for a fair contract at UPS. The clock is ticking on a potential nationwide labor stoppage — currently slated to begin on August 1 — that would see more than 340,000 Teamsters working at UPS go on strike. Ensuring the public is aware of this labor fight and visibly seeing pro-union messages is critical in building community solidarity if a strike occurs. Materials and training will be provided on location; temperatures are forecasted to be hot, so please prepare accordingly. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/dsa-strike-ready-wheatpastecanvas?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-july-7-2023&email_referrer=email_1990085&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-july-14-2023.

10] – The Defund Montgomery County Police Department working group will be holding its mid-year planning retreat on Sun., July 16 from 1 to 3:30 PM at the DC Shaw Library, Meeting Room 1.RSVP at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GBPt4ZHk3KGODaa1cG9Zeat49cCZTMjSJ_zLTzcKA5Y/edit?link_id=21&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-july-7-2023&email_referrer=email_1990085&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-july-14-2023. At the meeting, members will review its Biannual Report, review status of the city-wide coalition, and review quarterly planning over the remaining six months. New members who are interested in organizing around building a socialist, abolitionist approach to public safety are invited to join.

11] – The Black Lives Matter Interfaith Coalition <BLMInterfaithCoalition@gmail.com> will rally on Sun., July 16 from 1:30 to 2:30 PM ET at 2200 York Road (Timonium Fairgrounds), Timonium 21093.

12] – On Sun., July 16 from 2 to 4:15 PM ET, the Progressive Maryland Care over Cost door knocking in Baltimore.  This event’s address is private. Talk to people about Healthcare, get petition signers and find supporters. Dress comfortably, bring a fully charged cell phone and some water. Materials and training will be made available. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/569989/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_more_events_from_org.

13] – On Sun., July 16 from 2 to 3 PM ET, gather in War Memorial Park, 201 N. Bentz St., Frederick to remember the Tragedy of the Nuclear Age from July 16, 1945  to Now. Speakers include a former member of Congress, Roscoe Bartlett, Dr. Gwen DuBois, Dr. James Wagner and Dr. Dat Duthinh.  The Remembrance will include an opening prayer, moment of silence, statement on behalf of the impacted in New Mexico and other statements. Several groups are sponsoring this event, including Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland. Email Gwen DuBois [bikenotbomb@gmail.com].

14] – Using donations that children collected via “little blue boxes,” the Jewish National Fund has planted more than 250 million trees in Israel/Palestine. Ostensibly to “make the desert bloom,” the planting has radically altered the land’s biodiversity.

The film My Tree follows filmmaker Jason Sherman’s journey to find the tree planted in his name on the occasion of his bar mitzvah. When he discovers that “his” tree is in a forest covering up a Palestinian village destroyed in 1967 – one of many forests hiding scores of destroyed villages – he seeks to learn the motivations behind JNF’s tree-planting enterprise and to understand his own culpability.

On Sun., July 16 at 3 PM ET, join a discussion of JNF's tree-planting project and the film with Jason Sherman: Jewish Canadian playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, Seth Morrison: Treasurer, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, who publicly resigned from the Washington DC Board of Jewish National Fund and Mazin Qumsiyeh: author, founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at Bethlehem University. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcOCvqDspG9S9XteZS4rMIfz7pK2sUNlX#/registration.

15] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to attend a virtual Progressive Town Hall on Sun., July 16 at 4 PM ET. PDA is about beating Trumpists and Corporate Democrats at the ballot box.  Hear from Aaron Regunberg, PDA’s endorsed candidate in the special election for RI-01, the seat from which David Cicilline has resigned. Aaron has been a progressive activist and General Assembly member, and has been endorsed by Reps Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky and Ro Khanna. Hear about his platform, plan for victory, and how others can help bring home this important victory. Register and the machine will email you your secure codes: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4#/registration.

16] – Gather near the home of US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sun., July 16 from 4 to 5 PM ET for a peaceful vigil calling for the US to drop the extradition request and drop all charges on Julian Assange. Go to the 5,000 Edgemoor Lane in Bethesda by a fence at Sidwell Friends Lower School, two blocks from the Bethesda Metro station. Contact Ann Wilcox ann1.wilcox@gmail.com.

17] –  The Brandywine Peace Community will show The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers on Sun., July 16 at 4 PM ET at the Germantown Friends Meeting, 47 W. Coulter St., Philadelphia 19144 (corner of Germantown Ave. & Coulter St.)  The special guest is W.D. ("Bill") Ehrhart, acclaimed poet, author, scholar, teacher, and Veteran for Peace.  This event commemorates the anniversary of the first atomic bomb test in 1945 at Alamogordo, New Mexico, code-named "Trinity." Call Bob at 215-843-4827 or go to www.brandywinepeace.com.

18] – There will be an Interfaith Remembrance of the Trinity Test on Sun., July 16 from 6 to 8 PM ET in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which will be livestreamed. The idea is to understand and prioritize the importance of Nuclear Abolition and to build a world without nuclear weapons. The event will include music, speakers, exhibitions and moments of reflection and prayer.

 There is a long list of speakers including Most Reverend Archbishop John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Beyond Nuclear and Daniel (Danny) Hall, director of Public Affairs for Soka Gakkai International-USA. The event is organized by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Soka Gakkai International-USA, and the Nuclear Watch New Mexico. Call the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Office of Social Justice at 505.831.8205.  Visit www.jotform.com/ASFPMD/July162023Event. The livestream is at https://youtube.com/live/2EnpL0aDQ1E?feature=share.

19] – July 16 is the 78th anniversary of the Trinity explosion. The Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area will present a special program featuring the film "Lost Generation" which contains footage of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with special guests Leslie Sussan, Arjun Makhijani and Professor Peter Kuznick. "Lost Generation" contains color footage of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Zoom Program will start at 7 PM ET, and the link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85472743373. The meeting ID is 854 7274 3373.

Herbert Sussan, was ordered by the Army to film the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in color. This footage was labelled “top secret,” and Sussan spent his entire life struggling to get it released. Leslie Sussan, author of "Choosing Life: My father’s journey in film from Hollywood to Hiroshima," will talk about her father’s struggle to publish the footage.

20] – 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 17, 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.  This vigil will honor the visit to the area of the anti-nuclear ship the Golden Rule.

 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 Marriot Providence 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