Baltimore Activist Alert -- December 21 - 22, 2025

Baltimore Activist Alert – December 21 - 22, 2025

"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] Get the book A Bag of Snakes

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

6] Labor History Project

7] Friends meeting -- Dec. 21

8] Historic Baltimore: Past and Present and Future – Dec. 21

9] Informational Picket at The Duck & The Peach – Dec. 21

10] Catonsville against Trump – Dec. 21

11] Unite anti-war and environmental organizing -- Dec. 21

12] AI policy – Dec. 21

13] Prayer Vigil – Dec. 21

14] Homeless Memorial Day -- Dec. 21

15] Vigil at the Pentagon – Dec. 22

16] Support Starbucks workers – Dec. 22

17] Baltimore Sign waves – Dec. 22

18] Grassroots protection for the vote – Dec. 22

19] Rally against ICE – Dec. 22

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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 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

4] – Barry Lee Burnside, a gaggle of great writers and copy editors are making available “A Bag of Snakes: Selected Writings on Prisons and the Death Penalty by Murphy Davis and Eduard Loring. Edited by Barry Lee Burnside.” Ed indicates the book will be available for sale on April 13, and is asking you to pre-order your copy. Your donation will provide a needed financial boost for the printing costs. The suggested donation is $20 for one copy; and $30 for your copy and an additional copy for a prisoner or someone in need. Any donation is appreciated. More or less you will receive the book.  Barry and the team have spent over two years putting this book together. It begins with outlines and notes found in the boxes of materials Murphy left when she ascended. The work is a work of love, and all involved are proud of the fruit borne by seeds nourished in good soil.

To order by postal mail, make your check to Open Door Community.  Send it to Open Door Community, PO Box 10980, Baltimore 21234.  For any questions, contact David Payne at 404-290-2047 or davidpayne@opendoorcommunity.org.

5] – 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.

6] – William Barry [billbarry21214@gmail.com] has a request. As the country begins to celebrate our 250th anniversary, our history is complicated but one thing is certain--labor history is always deleted. So I have created the MD250 Labor History Project, and hope you will participate by sending in labor history materials, and by sharing it with your friends, as part of creating a union movement. Go to https://www.md250laborhistory.org/

"We are either part of the solution or part of the problem." "The only reason an organization has dead wood is that management either hired dead wood or it hired live wood and killed it."   - W. Edwards Deming

7] – Homewood Friends Meeting [homewoodfriends@gmail.com] gathers for worship on Sundays at 10:30 AM at 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218 and on Zoom.  A simple lunch will take place after the 10:30 AM worship. Call 410-235-4438. To join by Zoom, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/255867065?pwd=UDNxVnlVSkZQOHlXWlc3NHpHeHdhZz09#success

8] – The Baltimore Ethical Society on Sun., Dec. 21 at 10:30 AM will meet using a Zoom link.  The platform address is "Historic Baltimore: Past and Present and Future" with Johns Hopkins, Jr., director, Baltimore Heritage, Inc. Baltimore has bragging rights to great historic architecture and wonderful historic neighborhoods. The places that shaped the city in the past, however, are not just nostalgic keepsakes. From former mill complexes along the Jones Falls River to row houses in center-city neighborhoods, Baltimore’s historic places are at the core of the city’s ongoing revitalization. Come poke into the nooks and crannies of historic Baltimore.

Hopkins has been the director of Baltimore Heritage since 2003, working to preserve historic places and revitalize historic neighborhood in Baltimore. Johns serves on the board of directors of Civic Works, Inc., Baltimore’s youth training and neighborhood revitalization corps, the Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation that is working to rebuild communities in West Baltimore, the Garrett Jacobs Mansion Endowment Fund, The Friends of Clifton Mansion, and the Evergreen House Foundation. He lives in an 1870 row house with his wife Mary and two children, Johns and Lia, in Bolton Hill, the best neighborhood in America. Register at https://www.meetup.com/bmorethical/events/311743245/?eventOrigin=group_events_list

9] – Get over to an Informational Picket at The Duck & The Peach, 300 7th St. SE, WDC 20003 on Sun., Dec. 21 from 11 AM to 1 PM ET. Let DC know there is no union contract at The Duck & The Peach! Over 70% of workers at The Duck and The Peach, La Collina, and The Wells came forward asking for a fair process to form a union. Shortly after, managers made them sit through a union-busting pre-shift meeting. During the meeting, the company told workers they should file for an NLRB election. Workers won an NLRB election at Steven Starr's St Anselm months ago, only to have the restaurant refuse to recognize the results of that election. The Duck & The Peach has now hired the same lawyer as Starr. The General Counsel of the NLRB is prosecuting St. Anselm for allegedly breaking labor law in the lead up to the election there. Workers at Eastern Point Collective have been crystal clear about what they want, and it's insulting that the company refuses to respect their decision. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/informational-picket-at-the-duck-the-peach-1221?link_id=69&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-12-2025&email_referrer=email_3027700&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-19-2025&&

10] – On Sun., Dec. 21 from noon to 1 PM, get with Catonsville Nine Redux for a Sign Wave over the Frederick Road Overpass, Frederick Road and I-695, Catonsville 21228. This event will continue through Dec. 27, 2026.  RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/853167/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_more_events_of_type

11] – Aaron Kirshenbaum aaron@codepink.org is inviting you to a webinar on Sun., Dec. 21 at noon titled "After COP 30: Militarism, the Planet, & the Path Forward." Discuss takeaways from the most recent UN Climate Conference, COP 30, and the path forward to unite anti-war and environmental organizing toward a unified anti-imperialist climate movement. Register at https://www.codepink.org/aftercop30

12] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Sun., Dec. 20 at 4 PM ET will hold its weekly Town Hall: Why Progressives Must Lead on AI Policy. This is one of the most urgent issues facing the country and the world: the development of Artificial Intelligence. Hear from Christian Nunes, a great friend of PDA who until recently was the President of the National Organization for Women. Christian is one of the nation's leading experts on the negative social impact of AI-generated "deep fakes."  Discuss both the promise and the peril of this new technology.

Less than a month ago, Bernie Sanders spoke with Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton, recognized as one of the "Godfathers" of AI, at a special event at Georgetown University. The dialogue focused on the urgent necessity of having public oversight and regulation of Artificial Intelligence - something that currently is frighteningly absent.  RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4?emci=ced5d1ed-71c8-f011-8196-6045bdfe8e9c&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=2907617#/registration

13] – The DC Poor Peoples Campaign [washingtondc@poorpeoplescampaign.org] on Sun., Dec. 21 at 5 PM will host a Prayer Vigil at Saint Stephen Lutheran, 11612 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring 20904. Join in on the longest night of the year to stand against policy violence. PPC members will gather across the nation to stand against policy violence that steals healthcare, food, safety, and human dignity. Gather to offer public moral witness and moral clarity because no one in our communities should be left in the dark. RSVP at https://breachrepairers.org/get-involved/events/nationwide-prayer-vigils-the-longest-night-of-witness/

14] – United Workers [info@unitedworkers.org] on Sun., Dec. 21 at 6 PM, the Longest Night of the year, will hold its annual Homeless Memorial Day: We Remember, We Mourn, We Organize!  It is a day for not only somber reflection, but active remembrance and communal solidarity.  On this day, honor the lives lost to the brutal realities of homelessness and the systemic injustices that continue to make poverty deadly. Lift up in honor a fallen comrade Ron Casanova, a beloved leader of the National Union of the Homeless & co-founder of the Poverty Initiative who lived his life as a minister of struggle, truth, and love. He helped organize the first nationally coordinated occupation of vacant federal housing in 1990, exposing the violence of homelessness and insisting that housing is a human right: Watch via Facebook Live - https://www.facebook.com/events/1506244797340546 or YouTube Live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udvGKkIM9QU

15] – 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 Dec. 22, 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. 

16] – On Mon., Dec. 22 from 7 AM to 1 PM, get with a Starbucks Workers United Solidarity Picket (@Urbana Starbucks) at the Urbana Starbucks, 3410 Urbana Pike, Frederick 21754. Call 240-328-2417.  Support Starbucks Baristas in their fight for fair wages, dignity, and good-faith bargaining! Metro DC DSA members and allies are joining Starbucks baristas on the picket line to stand with workers protesting Starbucks’ historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract.

 The open-ended strike comes after six months of Starbucks refusing to offer new proposals to address workers’ demands for better staffing, higher pay, and resolution for hundreds of unfair labor practice charges.  RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/starbucks-workers-united-solidarity-picket-1219-midday-urbana-starbucks-2?source=direct_link&&link_id=34&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&email_referrer=email_3027700&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-19-2025&

17] –  Baltimore Sign Waves on Mondays, Dec. 22 from 7:30 to 8:15 AM will be at West Northern Parkway & Roland Ave., Baltimore 21210. Join in the waving of pro-democracy signs! Bring your sign or just show up. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/793151/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_closest

18] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to participate with the Grassroots Election Protection Coalition/ALLIANCE 4 GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY Zoom on Mon., Dec. 22 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

19] –  Sanctuary Maryland continues to rally on Mon., Dec. 22 at 5:30 PM at McKeldin Plaza, Light and Pratt Sts. as part of the Eyes on ICE campaign. Visit   https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/eyesonice?link_id=6&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-ice-watch-training-avelooutofbwi-and-more&email_referrer=email_2871122&email_subject=ice-watch-avelooutofbwi-trumps-threats-and-more&&

All members of the Pax Christi USA community are invited to join in for the Pax Christi USA Community weekly Advent prayer service on Mon., Dec. 22 from 8:30 to 9 PM ET. Join with members of the Pax Christi USA family for a short evening prayer service with readings, reflections, the lighting of the Advent candles, and more. The prayer service will be less than 30 minutes, help connect us across the miles, and focus us on the promise of Advent, Jesus, our Emmanuel, our “God-with-us”, coming with the promise of liberation and peace. RSVP at https://paxchristiusa.org/2025/11/18/join-us-monday-evenings-throughout-advent-for-evening-prayer-with-the-pax-christi-usa-community-3/

To be continued

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, and 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