Baltimore Activist Alert -- March 31 - April 1, 2023

66] Trans Day – March 31

67] Stop an execution – March 31

68] Peace vigil at the White House – March 31

69] Women in Black vigil – March 31

70] Status of proposed legislation – March 31

71] Ground the F-35 – March 31

72] Election Protection phone bank – March 31 & April 1

73] Text Party Fridays – March 31

74] Assassination of Thomas Merton – March 31

75] Wisconsin Supreme Court – April 1

76] Get over to the food pantry – April 1

77] Raising Maryland’s Minimum Wage – April 1

78] Deep canvass phone bank – April 1

79] Medical supplies are needed in Ukraine

80] Tell JHU president to renounce nuclear weapons contracts

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

82] Do you need a doctor?

83] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

84] Do you need any book shelves?

85] Join the Global Zero campaign.

86] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

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66] – On Fri., March 31 from 9:45 AM to noon ET, Trans Maryland & Baltimore Safe Haven invite you to come to Annapolis for Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV). Proclamations in honor of TDoV will be read on the House and Senate floor by members of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of the Maryland General Assembly, and then  visit our Senate and Delegate offices to talk about the issues important to the Trans community. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/173914028786091?emci=20d0d04b-e7cc-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&emdi=b33c3874-f1cc-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&ceid=136680.

67] – Abe at Death Penalty Action [info@deathpenaltyaction.org] wants your participation on Fri., March 31 at 11 AM ET at a rally in Collin County, Texas to call for a call to stop an execution. To join online, go to bit.ly/IvanCantu. Ivan’s mother will speak to stop her son's execution scheduled for April 26.

68] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., March 24 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

69] – 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.

70] – The Maryland LCV [info@mdlcv.org] hopes you will be interested in in getting an update on Fri., March 31 from noon to 12:30 PM ET about the status of proposed legislation.  What bills are in trouble and what else can you do as a Maryland LCV member to ensure they cross the finish line and end up on Governor Moore's desk? There will be a discussion of top priority legislation- expanding offshore wind, ensuring community solar becomes a permanent program and increasing the amount of electric vehicles in the state. There will also be a check in about other important legislation -- updating the Forest Conservation Act, passing the Climate and Environmental Equity Act, and growing the state’s energy efficiency program.  Register at https://www.mdlcv.org/event/friday-digest-march-31-2023?contactdata=tfD3%2feEetvuo27Ya2gsMQPHzvkQh3a34Pqj3OkEBPwI%2f62y8zizLH9gjcgbBjLbaDlrp5htGL7YosNzZPn3TeeqOwp7aYkCQLakZScYx%2fPpmbmjyvRMKnP7pfHNCayArhww1Dc7kowcQ9K0sPNIanf5x15mNLJ4kYhlsl+hyc0tpr%2ft0J7MjylX6oEzOk35deghPAhDAPyfb8of58qfXUKcflyd0ykAO8rfAxmoJpScDv9mIqEWON0HZHBd1DS4pXADhJaKNO0iYArzwtuO0DA%3d%3d&emci=9e393ab9-1acf-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&emdi=18ebc4b4-24cf-ed11-a8e0-00224832e811&ceid=578562.

71] – On Fri., March 31 from noon to 3 PM ET, the Brandywine Peace Community is joining the national actions to Ground Lockheed Martin's F-35! "You Pay; Lockheed Martin Profits!" At noon, gather at the Market St. Bridge in Philadelphia & at PA Senator Robert Casey's office.  At 1 PM, the demo is at the U.S. Federal Building; and at 3 PM ET, be on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Visit www.brandywinepeace.com. Call Bob at 215-843-4827.

72] – On Fri., March 31 from 4 to 6 PM & Sun., April 2 from 6 to 8 PM, 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 at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations. Register for a shift to make calls to recruit poll monitors to support nonpartisan Election Protection efforts in the GA Run-Offs. 

73] – On Fri., March 31 at 6 PM ET, join Text Party Fridays with Progressive Prince George's.  The County Executive, Angela D. Alsobrooks, is refusing to let the community into the process of recruitment and hiring of the new PGCPS CEO. All stakeholders deserve a seat at this decision making table. Reach out to the community via text to raise awareness for this and other very important issues and encourage neighbors to take action to lift up the voice of the community and strengthen Prince George's County schools.  This event will take place virtually every Friday night from 6 to 7:30 PM ET through April 21. Please register for more than one outreach opportunity and feel free to share the link with friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Register to receive the Zoom link: https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemaryland/event/554531/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

74] – Join a Clarification of Thought session on Fri., March 31 at 7:30 PM ET to hear Hugh Turley discuss the assassination of Thomas Merton and the cover-up at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, 503 Rock Creek Church Road NW, WDC.  Email Kathy Boylan <kathyboylan5@gmail.com>.

 Turley and David Martin wrote The Martyrdom of Thomas Merton: An Investigation - a solid and very convincing investigation that provides what seems to be a thorough inquiry of all the parties involved including the four religious (three men and one sister who was also a doctor, falsely called a “nurse” in official documents) who first discovered the body.  The book includes important information about the body and the room, revealing, among other things, that there was blood coming from Merton’s neck and his body was neatly staged.  How could this be anything other than 1) a gunshot wound from a silencer gun? or 2) A stab with a pick knife or something similar? The problem is, of course, that no autopsy was performed.  Now whose decision was that?

75] – The People for the American Way [alerts@pfaw.org] wants you to know that action is needed for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. If progressives lose this election, we can expect to see more attacks on voting rights, more attempts to undermine reproductive freedoms, more erosion of worker protections, and more favoritism for corporate interests over the needs of everyday people.  The Far Right is spending BIG to get their candidate elected.  The Wisconsin Supreme Court race could flip the ideological balance of the conservative court so that labor rights, abortion access, and voting rights are protected. Or, it could cement the conservative majority with dire implications for state and federal elections.  If you can call voters, go to https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/549955/?utm_source=PFAW.

People For has endorsed Janet Protasiewicz in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. Make calls from Sat., April 1 from 10 AM to 1 PM, 1 PM to 4 PM, 4 to 7 PM and 7 to 10 PM ET. The calls will continue through Tues., April 4.

76] – On Sat., April 1 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.

77] – On Sat., April 1 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM ET, the Metro DC DSA [info@mdcdsa.org] needs you to join the discussion on Raising Maryland’s Minimum Wage. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/pg-dsa-panel-on-raising-marylands-minimum-wage?link_id=46&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-march-17-2023&email_referrer=email_1856541&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-march-24-2023. Come to the New Deal Café, 113 Centerway, Greenbelt 20770. 

78] – The People's Action Institute [info@peoplesaction.org] is hosting a phone bank on Sat., April 1 from 1 to 4 PM ET using the deep canvass methodology. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/peoplesaction/event/553402/. If you have any questions, email e.taggart@peoplesaction.org.

79] --  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.

80] -- 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.

81] – 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 . 

82] – 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.  

83] -- 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.

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

85] -- 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.

86] – 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