Baltimore Activist Alert – January 9 – 11, 2021

Baltimore Activist Alert – January 9 – 11, 2021

"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 Obuszewski 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] Volunteer with a Catholic Worker house  

5] Max is looking for tips on a garage or a storage suggestion.

6] House cleaner needed

7] Welcome an Afghan Family to Baltimore!

8] A friend needs a house or an apartment to rent

9] The Beloved Community – Jan. 9  

10] Celebrate the life of Chuck Kaufman – Jan. 9

11] Knock on Doors for Brooke – Jan. 9

12] Poor Peoples Campaign meeting – Jan. 9

13] Meet anti-nuke legends -- Jan. 9

14] Make calls for the Freedom to Vote Act. – Jan. 9, 10 & 11

15] Remembering Guantanamo – Jan. 9

16] United Against Hate – Jan. 9  

17] See the film White Torture/Call for Iran to release a prisoner – Jan. 9

18] Protest at the Pentagon – Jan. 10

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers 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] - Suzanne Fontanesi and Jeff Ross are in the beginning stages of renovating the basement of their house for purposes of bringing in a volunteer (targeting young adults in discernment mode), starting next fall. They are trying to grow a Catholic Worker House in Irvington (West Baltimore). In a nutshell, there is a lot that a volunteer could do in that neighborhood/Baltimore, in addition to prayer and daily community living and in addition to plugging into all the good work that people are already doing in and around Baltimore (and beyond).  If you think you might know of anyone who might be interested in starting a conversation with them about becoming such a volunteer/community member, please contact Jeff/Suzanne at 443-690-6872.

5] – 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.

6] – Is there a woman in the Baltimore area who does house cleaning?  This assignment would be on an irregular basis with several hours per week.  Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

7] – St. Matthew, Blessed Sacrament, and the IOSC are partnering to welcome an Afghan Family to Baltimore! Are you interested in serving our new immigrant family? If you are interested, you will be trained in how you may serve, you will be guided and scheduled at your convenience by the Lead volunteer coordinator, you may also make donations through the IOSC to assist the family in the transition process in order to: Purchase food & Purchase clothes for winter and other necessities. Contact the IOSC at info@IOSCbaltimore.org, call the office at 410-323-8564 and leave a message for Nathalie.

8] – A friend, Brendan Walls, has to move out of a rented home on March 1.  So he is looking for housing and wants to live south of the Baltimore beltway, east of US 95 and north of Route 214.  Do you know of a house or apartment in the Annapolis area with as much peace and quiet as I can get for no more than $1800 a month? He does not mind pet sitting, house sitting, keeping someone company or community living.  Let me know if you have a lead on a home or apartment for Brendan to rent.  Thanks for giving this your consideration.

9] – 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. 9, the subject is “The Beloved Community.” How can the divisiveness tearing at the fabric of our communities, especially surrounding issues of racism and oppression, be overcome? Fifty-two years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Hugh Taft-Morales explores King’s answer: the creation of “the beloved community.” Far from a naïve goal to be conjured up by wishful thinking, the beloved community demands daily work and inner discipline to remove the roadblocks to love. Join Hugh as he explores “the beloved community,” from pragmatic philosopher Josiah Royce to King and to Buddhist perspectives of Thich Nhat Hanh and Tara Brach. Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU).  The Zoom link and more info can be obtained at PRESIDENT@BMORETHICAL.ORG.

10] – The Alliance for Global Justice invites you to celebrate the life of Chuck Kaufman, who passed away peacefully and in his home on December 28th. Chuck was a true leader, a strategist, an internationalist to the core, and above all, a loving and kind comrade and friend. On Sun., Jan. 9 at 1 PM ET, there will be a virtual memorial where family members, friends from all over the world, and comrades in general, will also participate. To register, visit bit.ly/chuckpresente.

11] – Knock on Doors for Brooke in Silver Spring, hosted by the Brooke Lierman for Comptroller on Sundays from 2 to 4 PM ET through Jan. 30. On Jan. 9, gather at Panera Bread, 8541 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring 20910. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/397526/.

12] – The Maryland Poor People's Campaign (MD PPC) [maryland@poorpeoplescampaign.org] is inviting you to the P.G. County Region Monthly Meeting on Sun., Jan. 9 at 3 PM ET.  Plan a listening session on Housing Issues. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdumtrz8rG9XUx6Vfgr0TRRcIsTtyTjXu?link_id=0&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-md-ppc-weekly-update-51&email_referrer=email_1388240&email_subject=md-ppc-weekly-update.

13] – Alan Minsky for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to attend a Town Hall on Sun., Jan. 9 at 4 PM ET and hear from legendary Nuclear-free Leaders Helen Caldicott and Harvey Wasserman. Hear why progressives must reject the industry's efforts to re-brand nuclear energy as a solution to the climate crisis. PDA invites you to a rare U.S. appearance by Dr. Helen Caldicott, who will be in dialogue with No Nukes organizer Harvey Wasserman. Nuclear energy was widely seen as a mortal danger to humanity in the 1970s and '80s. A huge international movement successfully contained the growth of nuclear power. Now, 40 years later, the nuclear industry is attempting a comeback.

Caldicott and Wasserman will debunk the nuclear industry’s ongoing campaign, which advances the cruel lie that keeping aging nuclear plants operating and building a new generation of nuclear power plants is essential to address our climate crisis. Nothing could be further from the truth. Worldwide, hundreds of embrittled atomic reactors at decrepit nuclear power plants threaten populations with the next Fukushima, Chernobyl, or Three Mile Island catastrophe. High-level radioactive waste continues to pile up, and the false promise of “clean, safe and too cheap to meter” has long since been proven to be little more than a marketing gimmick with disastrous consequences. At this critical time we must band together to shut currently operating nuclear plants, clean up our radioactive trash, and no longer allow the nuclear industry to divert precious resources from the promise of a clean, safe, renewable energy future.  Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4.

14] – Join the Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause. Work together to demand bold changes to our alleged democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests. Call voters in targeted states and connect them to their Senators to support the Freedom to Vote Act and eliminate the filibuster. These phone banks are subject to change based on variables outside of our control (i.e. a Senator's mailbox is full). On Sun., Jan. 9 from 6 to 8 PM ET, connect WV voters to Sen. Manchin to ask that he does everything possible to pass the Freedom to Vote Act including fixing the filibuster.  On Mon., Jan. 10 from 4 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM EST, connect AZ voters to Sen. Sinema to ask that she does everything possible to pass the Freedom to Vote Act including fixing the filibuster. On Tues., Jan. 11 from 4 to 6 PM ET, connect WV voters to Sen. Manchin to ask that he does everything possible to pass the Freedom to Vote Act including fixing the filibuster.

 Register at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=newsletter.

15] – A conversation between Mansoor Adayfi and James Yee will take place on Sun., Jan. 9 at 4 PM ET.  This is Remembering Guantanamo: Reflections from a Former Muslim Prisoner & the Former Muslim Chaplain, moderated by Dr. Maha Hilal. Mansoor Adayfi was a prisoner in Guantanamo when U.S. Army Captain James Yee, one of the first Muslim chaplains, became a victim of the same Islamophobia faced by the prisoners. Imprisoned on unsubstantiated charges of terrorism, James ultimately received an honorable discharge.  James only recently learned of the men's solidarity with him, when Mansoor sent him the support letter written in 2004 (which was never mailed by the military, but was returned to Mansoor when he was transferred to Serbia).  Register at https://www.facebook.com/events/426232229229569/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A337414487830746%7D%7D]%22%7D.

16] – United against Hate will meet on Sun., Jan. 9 at 5 PM ET. Hear from a student who worked on the campaign to keep Kyle Rittenhouse off Arizona State University’s campus

17] – Manijeh Saba [manijeh.saba@gmail.com] is calling attention to a documentary film White Torture on Sun., Jan. 9 at 7 PM ET.  The film is about Nargess Mohammadi, independent journalist, human rights advocate for political prisoners and a prisoner of conscience in Iran.   Narges is the most audacious human rights advocate and activist in Iran.  After spending 5.5 years in prison she continued her nonviolent campaign for human rights until she was arrested last November, sentenced to 30 months prison and 80 lashes. Voices of Women for Change will hold a panel discussion and Call for Action. Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pf--hqTovHd1XCHINa5cBceXMc7gB42I4. 

18] – 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. 10 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. 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