Baltimore Activist Alert – May 14 to 19, 2023

Baltimore Activist Alert – May 14 to 19, 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] Support Pekara Bakery

9] Join the Our Revolution Phone Bank Force!

10] Radical Creatively – May 14

11] Rally for Palestine – May 14

12] Medicare for All town hall – May 14

13] Common Cause phone bank – May 14, 16, 18 & 19

14] Protest at the Pentagon – May 15

15] Joint Nakba Ceremony – May 15

16] Last day to register for training – May 15

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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] – The workers at the Enoch Pratt Free Library have started a drive to organize a union calling themselves Pratt Workers United.  Go to https://www.prattworkersunited.org/. There is a letter of support for community members to sign at https://www.prattworkersunited.org/community-letter-support.

"Pratt Library workers are forming a union, Pratt Workers United. We are seeking pay equity for all, safer working conditions, benefits for part-time workers, and a voice in decisions that affect our work.” The workers voted to unionize

6] – 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.

7] – 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.

8] – Support a small restaurant called Pekara Bakery, 506 W. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore 21210.  Call 443-873-7190 or email pekarabakery@usa.com or visit www.pekarabakery.us.com.

9] – Join the Our Revolution Phone Bank Force! In 2022, 82% of Our Revolution candidates won their election. In 2023, OR is gearing up to Transform the Party, Elect more Progressive Candidates, Hold Biden Accountable, and so much more. To accomplish these goals, there is a need to continue to build the Phone Bank Force. Sign up to become a part of that transformative force at https://www.mobilize.us/ourrevolution/event/440081/?akid=4199.8252965.WFQlSi&rd=1&t=23.

10] – Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and there is a presentation of a platform address at 10:30 AM ET. On Sun., May 14, hear about “Radical Creativity.”  The human race is confounded by our stubborn reliance on patterns of behavior that don’t work. According to Einstein, doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is insane. [Note from Max, Einstein never said this tiresome quot.] In a crazy world that continues to rely on capitalism to provide and militarism to defend, poverty and war continue to harm. In an Ethical Culture movement that is struggling to grow, let’s embrace some radical creativity. Hugh Taft-Morales explores ways we can learn, brainstorm, and think outside of the box to grow our movement and save the world, or at least some parts of it! 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).   Email PRESIDENT@BMORETHICAL.ORG FOR ZOOM LOGIN INFORMATION.

11] – There is a Rally for Palestine on Sun., May 14 at 1 PM ET at the Washington Monument, 215th St. NW, WDC to commemorate the 75th year of the Nakba, the destruction of Palestine that began in May 1948. For Palestinians across the world, it has never ended. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/927050525153080/?link_id=22&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-5-2023&email_referrer=email_1914510&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-12-2023.  Members of the Metro DC DSA [info@mdcdsa.org] plan to attend.

12] – Alan Minsky for Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] hopes you will join a Progressive Town Hall on Sun., May 14 at 4 PM ET. Mobilize for Medicare for All and Time to Focus on Global Trade. Medicare for All is being introduced simultaneously in the House and the Senate. People are mobilizing to raise awareness about a new Pacific Trade Pact being negotiated by the Biden Administration. When you think about why America has been in crisis for most of the past 15 years, two of the main causes of our misery are our hyper-privatized healthcare system and the wretched neoliberal trade pacts that sold out the American working class in the '90s and the '00s.

You are going to hear from Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch's Ryan Harvey about the negotiations among 12 nations to create the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a massive new trade pact with huge implications for labor, the environment, and our overall economic welfare. There's been little coverage in the press, but Ryan is going to give us the lowdown and also explain why workers and activists are mobilizing around the upcoming summit in Detroit to raise awareness.  RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4#/registration.

13] – There are virtual Common Cause phone banks on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 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. Make calls on Sun., May 14 from 6 to 8 PM, or Tues., May 16 from 4 to 6 PM or Thurs., May 18 from 5 to 7 PM or Fri., May 19 from 4 to 6 PM ET. These shifts will also always include training for first-timers before you make calls, so if this is your first time, no worries! This will continue through August 28, 2024. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=organization_newsletter_custom_recommendations.

14] – 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 May 15, 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.  This vigil will honor the visit to the area of the anti-nuclear ship the Golden Rule.

 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.

15] –The American Friends of Combatants for Peace [tiffany@afcfp.org] want us to recognize the Nakba, as then we recognize each other’s humanity.  On Mon., May 15 at 1 PM ET, get involved in the Joint Nakba Ceremony.  As a community of Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists, there is solidarity and unequivocal commitment to one another invites all to let go of our defenses and to draw near to one another’s stories. Solidarity invites us to bravely safeguard the dignity of all. The Combatants for Peace movement helps us to resist the urge of false dichotomies. Show the world that there is a third path, rooted in justice and peace, which we can all walk together.  This week, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy attempted to block a Nakba commemoration event sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib. He claimed that it was “wrong for members of Congress to traffic in anti-Semitic tropes about Israel.” Citing concerns about the Nakba event led by Rep. Tlaib, Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director of the ADL, wrote to McCarthy and asked him to ensure that spaces controlled by Congress “are not being used to espouse discriminatory and hateful rhetoric.”

 The Nakba commemoration event did take place in the Capitol building on Wednesday and Congresswoman Tlaib shared that true peace can only be built on truth and justice. Join the ceremony at https://secure.everyaction.com/0GlXFbPs9Eedvg-nDakhRQ2?contactdata=uAkB245AOCsCJNO3pTX2iTyLjuXnULwy50uwygtk23iLSA8G%2fTyAoTIiNeRCpJUF3jxihOCTq1DvBKR59pAsKehgz8yPsgJXOg40XkIvzqTPjHWlrLn29r12+IrSncqBmCewJVvsnZUs80pXPy9uhOIOQOAR0NF34tt%2f4OeoOBbLKLrpXKg2TdwCuL6joYpeOyeYLPqD2mEB07nrbNG0riKI9nXPQTGRGfHBwWya0B9RNPbLDznhDzBJAniVUSnN9TtoO8GrXcjUlBpJz2MfDg%3d%3d&emci=006cd5a2-f6f0-ed11-907c-00224832eb73&emdi=86639be8-07f1-ed11-907c-00224832eb73&ceid=8142762.  

The Philadelphia Chapter of AFCP reached out to the ADL with this powerful statement: "I am writing to say that the ADL does not speak for me and many American Jews when it continues to conflate legitimate criticism of Israel's oppression and violence against Palestinians with antisemitism. I am particularly distressed to see Mr. Greenblatt's statement regarding the planned Nakba Day as an expression of hate, and his endorsement of Rep. McCarthy's 'cancellation' to block Palestinian voices from being heard. The ADL's continued perpetuation of an entirely one-sided narrative of Israel's victimhood actually undermines the safety and security of Israel and Jews around the world. As Jews, it is incumbent on us to recognize the humanity and rights of all people, including Palestinians. For that reason, I will be marking Nakba Day by watching the Joint Nakba Ceremony organized by Combatants for Peace, along with a multifaith group of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Friends of Combatants for Peace. The Nakba is not only an event that occurred in 1948, but is ongoing, in the continuing cycle of violence and oppression of the occupation, and the systemic discrimination in Israel proper. Combatants for Peace shows that there is another way forward where Jews and Palestinians refuse to be enemies."

16] – The Working Families Party [reply@workingfamilies.org] wants you to join in at Campaign Camp — a fun-filled and FREE virtual training series to be held on Tuesdays and Thursday nights in the month of June to sharpen your campaign skills. Campaign Camp is the perfect opportunity to you to dive right into campaign organizing with free in-depth modules on topics including campaign planning, messaging, field planning, and fundraising from WFP staff and campaign experts! Whether you’re already planning to run for office or just want to build your skills to support great local candidates, join in. Just like camp you can win badges and prizes that you can win! And you’ll have the opportunity to meet fellow activists and make new friends! With 9 sessions throughout the month of June — you can join as many or as little as you like. Click here to apply for Campaign Camp by May 15 to reserve your spot: https://secure.everyaction.com/0rnBfHOdg0m7QF0nVMi_hw2?source=NatEmail-20230507&link_id=0&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&email_referrer=email_1907012___subject_2421765&email_subject=its-almost-time-for-campaign-camp. If you have any questions, please e-mail deasterday@workingfamilies.org.

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