Baltimore Activist Alert – October 22 to 28, 2023

Baltimore Activist Alert – October 22 to 28, 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] Alan Barysh has an audio book

9] “Falling in Love with Mystery” – Oct. 22

10] Turn Virginia blue – Oct. 22 & 29

11] Care over Cost door knocking – Oct. 22

12] Montgomery County Decriminalization Coalition meeting – Oct. 22

13] Progressive Town Hall – Oct. 22

14] Celebrate Dan Ellsberg – Oct. 22

15] Turn Virginia blue – Oct. 22

16] Protest at the Pentagon – Oct. 23

17] Free Assange rally at White House – Oct. 23

18] Legal Alternatives to War – Oct. 23

19] Green Grassroots Emergency Environment and Election Protection – Oct. 23

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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] – 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.

6] – 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.

7] – Alan Barysh  [magoo1917@earthlink.net] hopes that you will purchase his audio book -- Shipyard Days and Nights and Other Baltimore Stories (Mostly true).  It's on amazon.com. Should this book hit the big time, Mr. Barysh says he will donate money to the Shipyard Retirees Association.

8] – Alan Barysh has another book, and is asking you to google The Tria According To Alan Barysh and vote for this book. The royalties will be divided between the Tyrone West campaign, Revolution Books and the get Alan a Good Printer cause. Once he gets a new printer, he will take a ten percent cut and give the rest of the royalties to the other causes. His opinion is being an author or an artist is just as valued if not more valued than being a community organizer!

9] – 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 Oct. 22, the theme is “Falling in Love with Mystery.”  Sometimes we encounter things we don’t understand. Language changes, new discoveries and developments fundamentally change our conversations about everything from physics to gender, and it can get hard to follow the conversation, shift our perspectives, and engage with each other in loving ways. How can we position ourselves to be open to change? What does it look like to let go of our need to be certain and embrace mystery?

  KC Slack (they/them) is the Senior Clergy Leader at the Washington Ethical Society, in Washington, D.C. Their work as a clergy person, chaplain, academic, and artist is grounded in embodied practice and focused on finding and building beauty into the future. Visit https://bmorethical.org

10] – There are Silver Spring Progressive Actions on Sun., Oct. 22 and Sat., Oct. 2 from noon to 3 PM ET.  Canvass for a Blue Virginia Legislature by knocking on doors for Travis Nembhard near Manassas, VA on Oct. 22, and on Oct. 28 for Kimberly Pope Adams near Petersburg, VA.

  Carpooling for all canvasses is an option. Training and canvassing partners are available as needed – so come out, get energized, and talk one-on-one with voters about the Democratic  priorities and why turning out for the November election is so important. The launch location for each canvass will be sent shortly before the canvass. RSVP https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/577183/.

11] – On Sun., Oct. 22 at 2:30 PM ET, consider doing some Care Over Cost door knocking starting at 3870 International Drive, Silver Spring 20906. Knock on doors and let people know about the fight against the private health insurance industry. Gather petition signatures and have conversations about how insurers pare denying care options and delaying and denying people's claims. You will be set up with what you need! Just bring a fully charged phone or tablet. Download the free MiniVAN app on your device.  The meeting place is the shopping center next to Leisure World on Georgia Ave. and International Blvd. Park near the Truist Bank.  Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemaryland/event/588399/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations

12] – The Metro DC DSA [info@mdcdsa.org] on Sun., Oct. 22 at 3 PM ET tells us that the Montgomery County Decriminalization Coalition is relaunching. Since 2020, Montgomery County DSA has organized in coalition with other social and racial justice organizations to get police out of Montgomery County Public Schools and to end the practice of treating students — especially Black and Brown students — as criminals. That coalition is relaunching, and you are invited to the launch party. Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-8g8uMbXtBJDlzzpzrTXrtOw2833AP1l7cmzu3A0mCAKXKQ/viewform?link_id=13&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-october-13-2023&email_referrer=email_2085322&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-october-20-2023  Come out to Gene Lynch Urban Park, 8410 Colesville Road, Silver Spring 20910 to learn about what can be done to forge a path towards safer traffic enforcement, a fairer education system and a community where all residents can live and thrive without the threat of state violence. Email montgomerycountydsa@gmail.com.

13] – Alan Minsky for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Sun., Oct. 22 at 4 PM ET wants you to attend the Town Hall with PDA-Endorsed Candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner for Congress in Oregon's 5th District. RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4#/registration. Unfortunately, Oregon's 5th District was redrawn after the 2020 Census to be slightly more GOP-leaning, and Jamie barely lost in the general election. However, her chances will be much better in a Presidential year. When Jamie wins the primary and then the general election in 2024, she will instantly be one of the most important members in Congress from a PDA perspective. How so? Well, not only will she be one of the few Democrats outside of New England to represent a heavily rural district in Congress, she will be an even rarer breed—a progressive representing a rural district. As such, Jamie will be a transformative figure in American politics.  

14] – The RootsAction Education Fund [info@rootsaction.org] is holding an online celebration of the life of Daniel Ellsberg on Sun., Oct. 22 from 4 to 6 PM ET. This invitation is from the Ellsberg family. RSVP at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU_W1dA24fY

15] –  On Sun., Oct. 22 from 6 to 8 PM ET, the Democratic National Committee is organizing VIRTUAL PHONE BANKS FOR THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES- TO TURN VA BLUE! RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/569453/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_most_popular_virtual. This event will continue on Sundays from 6 to 8 PM ET THROUGH November 5.  Call voters in Virginia to get them out to vote in the November election. NO EXPERIENCE is NECESSARY. Get TRAINING, and hear from COACHES TO HELP ALL ALONG THE WAY.

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 Oct. 23, 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 Marriot Providence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr.

17] – On Mon., Oct. 23 from 11 AM to 1 PM ET, gather at Australian Embassy, 1601 Mass Ave. NW, WDC and shout out Free Assange.  Then be at the White House from 2 to 3:30 PM ET urging Biden to drop the charges against Julian Assange. Contact Ann Wilcox <ann1.wilcox@gmail.com>.

18] – The Basel Peace Office [info@baselpeaceoffice.org] is inviting you on Mon., Oct.  23 at 1:15 PM to Legal Alternatives to War. The idea is to increase the universality and effectiveness of the International Court of Justice.  This event will feature International Court of Justice experts discussing the role of the International Court of Justice as an effective judicial mechanism to assist countries resolve international disputes peacefully rather than through recourse to the threat or use of force. The event will include the launch of a new global campaign LAW not War which is working in cooperation with like-minded countries advancing the effective use and jurisdiction of the ICJ.  Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z-aBWflCTpK68ktubxzeeQ#/registration

19] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] want you to participate with the Green Grassroots Emergency Environment and Election Protection (GREEP) Zoom on Mon., Oct. 23 at 5 PM ET. Hear from leading activists, elected officials, and others committed to union organizing as well as cleaning up our elections and the environment, and other critically important issues. RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqfuygpjIiHtc20uIOxdeqYRiAicjSLWUc#/registration

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