Baltimore Activist Alert – January 12 – 16, 2025

Baltimore Activist Alert – January 12 – 16, 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 Stones

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

6] Baltimore activist selling her home

7] Coretta Scott King – Jan. 12

8] Support People’s Champion – Jan. 12

9] Meet Nina Turner – Jan. 12

10] Freedom Church – Jan. 12

11] Vigil at the Pentagon – Jan. 13

12] Power Half-Hour for Gaza – Jan. 13 – 16

13] Election Protection – Jan. 13

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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] – A home in Baltimore is for sale on a dead-end street in the Lauraville neighborhood, with three bedrooms, and one bath. The yard backs into a field and then a forest. There is a serene and quiet setting with an abundance of wildlife. The owner will be asking a reasonable amount for the property but it will not be overpriced. Contact her by text only at 443 500 6733. On the text, leave your name and phone number, and she will get back to anyone that reaches out. 

7] – The Baltimore Ethical Society invites you on Sundays at 10:30 AM for a platform presentation. On Jan. 12, the Zoom presentation will be “Coretta Scott King: Activist, not Symbol.” Join with Ethical Culturists from around the country as they bring out the light from within by bringing out the best of others and thus ourselves. To receive a Zoom invitation, please email president@bmorethical.org

 In the shadow of her famous husband’s life and death, Coretta Scott King often felt unseen and unheard. But as her daughter Dr. Bernice King pointed out, “Before she was a King, my mother was a civil rights activist, a member of the NAACP and the Race Relations and Civil Liberties Committees at Antioch College.” After Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Coretta Scott spent nearly four decades working for social justice. Hugh Taft-Morales explores how this remarkable person overcame the intersectional oppression experienced by women in leadership positions. 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). 

8] – Metro DC DSA [info@mdcdsa.org] endorsed Shayla Adams-Stafford, and socialists are organizing to elect a people’s champion to the Prince George’s County Council District 5 seat. Comrades will be canvassing for Shayla on Sun., Jan. 12 at 11 AM, starting from the parking lot of Cheverly Metro Station, 5501 Columbia Park Rd, Cheverly 20785. Knock on doors until about 2 PM and meet up afterward to debrief. Chapter members and allies are invited to participate: hand warmers will be provided, and warm dress is strongly encouraged. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/1-12-canvass-for-shayla-adams-stafford?link_id=8&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-january-3-2025&email_referrer=email_2578831&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-january-10-2025.

Shayla is a former Teachers Union shop steward, has led the fight on the school board for care not policing in our schools, and fought back against developers to get strong project labor agreements on public school projects. This race will decide the balance of power on a County Council split 5 – 5 between corporate developer interests and progressives. Establishment Democrats are opposing Shayla with everything they have.

9] – The Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Sun., Jan. 12 at 4 PM ET will hold its weekly Town Hall with Nina Turner on Creating Independent Media and Building Progressive Power. Discuss the way forward for Progressives to defeat Trump and build the country we desire, and learn about Truth Time, her new project with Cornel West. Turner will talk about her new radio show co-hosted by an equally visionary progressive, Dr. Cornel West. The show is called Truth Time and it airs on KBLA 1580 Monday through Friday at 3 PM ET, and is available worldwide online and through the KBLA1580 App.  Nina will speak about the origins of the show and why it meets the needs of our moment so well. One of the primary explanations for the ascendency of the Trumpian right has been the growth of well-funded right-wing media.  Register, and the machine will email you your secure codes: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tceuhrzsvHdymeeZRwb-i7X50FJa-HMR4#/registration

10] – The Freedom Church of the Poor community and its partner organizations come together for this “Winter Offensive” this season which is called Advent of a Revolution (Advent) & Birth of a Movement (Epiphany), to expose the lies of the candy-cane Christmas; to revive the revolutionary power of the ancient story of Christmas; to reconnect to the God who Mother Mary praised, the one that “casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly”; and to give strength and unity to the movement of our people in these troubled times. The Church gathers online every Sunday at 6 PM ET. RSVP at https://kairoscenter.org/freedomchurch/

11] – 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. 13, 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.

12] –Jewish Voice for Peace is doing a Power Half-Hour for Gaza: Channel grief & outrage into action to stop a genocide.  A year into the genocide in Gaza, we are overwhelmed with sorrow and rage. There are no words to describe the devastating pain of the past year in which the Israeli military has killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 17,000 children. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have both declared that Israel must stop the genocidal acts being committed on the Palestinian people. And the U.S. government is actively supporting the Israeli military as it wreaks devastation on the over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. JVP continues to come together as a political community in its daily half-hour to take action, Monday through Friday, for the past year. Join in and take collective action to demand an arms embargo to Israel, immediate end to the genocide, a lasting ceasefire and an end to Israeli siege, apartheid, occupation, and oppression of Palestinians and Lebanon. All are welcome. All are needed. Get involved at 3 PM ET on Mon., Jan. 13 through Thurs., Jan. 16.  Visit https://jvp-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Un0Lupy1SFObVVXJaZO5UQ?_x_zm_rtaid=8L0JUS3pQkenMGtx9ha3mQ.1732760660364.03949df73aedc7035fc618f76c52fc75&_x_zm_rhtaid=249#/registration

13] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] wants you to participate with the Green Grassroots Emergency Environment and Election Protection (GREEP) Zoom on Mon., Jan. 13 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

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