Baltimore Activist Alert -- October 6 to October 11, 2023

55] Peace vigil at the White House – Oct. 6

57] Women in Black vigil – Oct. 6

58] Fire Drill Friday – Oct. 6

59] Common Cause Election Protection phone bank – Oct. 6 & Oct. 11

60] What’s up with Guantanamo – Oct. 6

61] DSA gathering – Oct. 7 & 8

62] Medicare for All Petition outreach – Oct. 7

63] Pass Pine Tree Power – Oct. 7

64] Food Pantry and Food Donation Center – Oct. 7

65] Young Democrats of Maryland Happy Hour – Oct. 7

66] Medical supplies are needed in Ukraine

67] Tell JHU president to renounce nuclear weapons contracts

68] Read Dave Eberhardt’s book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"

69] Do you need a doctor?

70] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

71] Do you need any book shelves?

72] Join the Global Zero campaign.

73] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

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56] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., Oct. 5 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

57] – Every Friday from noon to 1 PM, Baltimore Women in Black vigil for peace with men and women who live in Roland Park. WIB invites all to join, and any peace sign is welcome, such as "Defuse Nuclear War."  The vigil takes place outside Roland Park Place at the corner of West 40th Street and Elm Street. Parking is free at RPP or at the Rotunda across the street. Contact Ann Vinup at annvinup@gmail.com.

58] – Jane Fonda for Fire Drill Fridays [info@greenpeaceusa.org] will tell you that she will have a conversation on Fri., Oct. 6 at 2 PM ET with labor leader, David Huerta, president, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Service Workers West), and a special guest from United Auto Workers. Hear about how labor and climate movements are partnering to build power and win victories, together! Workers today are engaged in historic fights for justice and share why it’s more important than ever for environmentalists to show up in solidarity. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/firedrillfridays/event/573817/?utm_source=fdfemail&sourceid=&emci=8d777821-0263-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&emdi=90777821-0263-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&ceid=1705696

59] – On Fri., Oct. 6 & Wed., Oct. 11from 4 to 6 PM ET, there is a Common Cause organized Election Protection phone bank.   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 for a shift to make calls and help strengthen the phone bank team to protect our democracy. These shifts will also always include training for first-timers before you make calls, so if this is your first time, no worries! Register at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

60] -- Kathy Boylan [kathyboylan5@gmail.com] wants you to know about a Clarification of Thought (COT) gathering on Fri., Oct. 6 at 7:30 PM ET at Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Road NW, WDC 20010. Frank Panopoulos will discuss how Muslim men and children came to be imprisoned in Guantanamo on the pretext that they were 'terrorists,' the legal dissembling that formed the basis to imprison and torture the prisoners, the current status of prisoners there, and the creeping of the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo becoming US prison policy.

61] – Join the Virginia DSA Statewide Gathering of Comrades on Sat., Oct. 7 from 9 AM through Sun., Oct. 8 at 8 PM in Richmond.  Email novabranch [at] mdcdsa [dot] org. THE PRIMARY EVENT IS THE POTLUCK ON Sat., Oct. 7 at Forest Hill Park, 4021 Forest Hill Ave., Richmond, 23225 at noon ET. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/va-dsa-statewide-gathering-of-comrades?link_id=14&can_id=3fcd7916f2ff367c3b859d45270fd1d5&source=email-nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events-117&email_referrer=email_2042256&email_subject=nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events

62] – The Northern Virginia Democratic Socialists [novabranch@mdcdsa.org] will be doing on Sat., Oct. 7 from 9:30 to 11 AM ET Medicare for All Petition outreach. Meet at the Shirlington Library, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, VA 22206. Volunteers with Grassroots Alexandria and NoVA Democratic Socialists of America will be gathering to obtain petition signatures for the Arlington Medicare for All Resolution. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/medicare-4-all-arlington-petition-outreach-1072023/?clear_id=true&link_id=7&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events-122&email_referrer=email_2065553&email_subject=nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events

63] -- Team 350 [350@350.org] is organizing a phone bank to help pass Pine Tree Power.  This November, Maine voters will vote on Pine Tree Power — a critical ballot initiative that would create the first statewide consumer-owned non-profit utility company in the nation and help us deliver on our broader climate goals at the same time. But Election Day is Nov. 7.  Phone bank to encourage Mainers to vote YES on Pine Tree Power. Sign up to call voters: https://act.350.org/signup/us-em-pine-tree-power-phonebanks/?source=em20231005-1-30-us&akid=333898%2E3179928%2ETdpeuI

 The available shifts are as follows: Sat., Oct 7 from 10 AM to noon ET, Mon., Oct. 9, Tues., Oct. 10, Wed., Oct. 11, Thurs., Oct. 12 and Sat., Oct. 14 from 5 to 7 PM ET.  Two large utility companies — Central Maine Power and Versant — dominate Maine. For years, CMP has been voted the worst utility in the nation, with a record number of shut-offs due to their incredibly high rates. They are also one of the biggest anti-climate lobbyists in the state. Plus, in Maine, home heating and car emissions are responsible for the highest percentage of carbon emissions. By replacing these utility companies with community-owned Pine Tree Power Company, ratepayers would be able to save money and remove barriers to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Pine Tree Power could set the stage for even more states to follow Maine’s example and place control over utilities — and the transition to renewables — into our communities’ hands.

64] – On Sat., Oct. 7 from noon to 2 PM EST, get over to the Food Pantry and Food Donation Center at First and Franklin Presbyterian Church, 210 W. Madison St., Baltimore. This Food Pantry is open every Saturday. Get a grocery bag – breakfast, jelly and peanut butter (a good source of protein) for lunch, the makings for a balanced dinner such as beans and rice, pasta and sauce, soup, vegetables, fruit, and a paper goods. Also added is a little fun food, such as popcorn or cookies, for everyone enjoys a treat.  Contributions of shelf stable foods can be brought to Reid Chapel every Saturday between noon and 2 PM. If shopping is difficult for you, monetary donations earmarked food pantry may be sent to the church.  How else can you help? Volunteers are needed to help collect and distribute food. Contact the church office to volunteer. You can also help by spreading the word to those you know who are facing food insecurity. See https://www.facebook.com/firstfranklinbaltimore.

65] -- On Sat., Oct. 7 from 6 to 8 PM ET, the Young Democrats of Maryland will hold a Fall Happy Hour at the Checkerspot Brewing Company, 1421 Ridgely St., Baltimore 21230.  Visit https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/580549/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_closest  This is the First Annual Fall Happy Hour, and Mayor of Baltimore City, Brandon Scott, will be the evening's guest speaker. The Young Democrats of Maryland are committed to ensuring that every level of government fully represents the views and interests of young people. A cash bar will be available to those 21 and over.  Purchase your ticket here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ydmfall

66]  --  If you are able to donate any kind of surplus medical supplies for field hospitals in eastern Ukraine, please email Brendan.walls@seaseton.org or call 410-721-5770 x231.  There is a colleague whose father is a medic on the front line. One container is shipped every month to the Donbass region. Donations can be picked up in Baltimore and Columbia every Thursday, and on other days in Annapolis and Crofton.

67] -- This is A PLEA TO CONVINCE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TO OBEY INTERNATIONAL LAW. The world reached a historic milestone on January 22, 2021: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons [TPNW] entered into force and become binding international law -- https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty.

Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland has called attention to the growing danger of nuclear war and the outrageous $1.7 trillion dollars we are spending to upgrade the nuclear arsenal. On July 18, 2017, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Navy - affiliated research center received a seven-year, $92 million contract to continue its systems engineering and research-and-development services for the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Help convince JHU to renounce nuclear weapons contracts. Contact the president, Ron Daniels, to urge him to reject all nuclear weapons contracts: Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  Call his office at (410) 516-8068 or email president@jhu.edu.

68] – David Eberhardt was a member of the Baltimore Four with Father Philip Berrigan, Tom Lewis and Rev. James Mengel.  The group poured blood on draft files on October 27, 1967.  They would be convicted and sentenced to prison. Dave has written a book "For All the Saints- a Protest Primer"- documenting the Baltimore Four action and many others up to and including the most recent Plowshares action – Kings Bay Plowshares 7.  

  Dave just printed 50 new copies of For All the Saints, a Protest Primer- 250+ pp w photos-therefore #'s 351-400 making it o so collectable with two Berrigan book reviews added. The books are signed, and the price remains $25. Will send free if need b- he is not in it for the money! If you want one, send him a check: or contact Dave Eberhardt, 4 Hadley Square North, Baltimore, MD 21218 by email at 1941mireille@gmail.com . 

69] – Yousef Zarbalian [mailto:yzarbali@gmail.com] started his own medical practice in December before the pandemic hit. It is called East-West Medicine and Rheumatology, and its website is EastWestMD.com.  Yousef is licensed in Maryland and Virginia. He is doing primary care as well as rheumatologic care (focusing on joint problems and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and sjogren's).  He is offering telemedicine visits, and he has very reasonable rates for uninsured individuals.  He makes use of herbs (which can be sent directly to patients from the herbal dispensary) as well as prescribing medications to their local pharmacy if needed.  

70] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

71] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

72] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

73] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

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/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan