Baltimore Activist Alert – December 14 - 15, 2025

Baltimore Activist Alert – December 14 - 15, 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. 14

8] Everyday Walls – Dec. 14

9] Catonsville against Trump – Dec. 14

10] Baltimore’s Christmas Parade -- Dec. 14

11] MOCO DSA meeting – Dec. 14

12] Unmasking resource wars – Dec. 14

13] Where is church leadership? – Dec. 14

14] Indiana upsets Trump’s stomach -- Dec. 14

15] MOCO DSA meeting – Dec. 14

16] Crimes of the Century – Dec. 14

17] Vigil at the Pentagon – Dec. 15

18] Support Starbucks workers – Dec. 15

19] Baltimore Sign waves – Dec. 15

20] Police Accountability Board meeting -- Dec. 15

21] Grassroots protection for the vote – Dec. 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 410-323-1607 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. 14 at 10:30 AM will meet using a Zoom link.  The platform address is Is Something between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to take them Down with Anand Pandian, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University.  Visit https://www.sup.org/books/anthropology/something-between-us

Pandian's books include Something between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life and How to take them down, and A Possible Anthropology: Methods for Uneasy Times. Anand serves as President of the Society for Cultural Anthropology, and as a curator of the Ecological Design Collective, a community for radical ecological imagination and collaboration. He lives with his family in Baltimore, where he is currently working on a new book project on decay, waste, and the crafting of ecological futures. Register at https://www.meetup.com/bmorethical/events/311743246/?eventOrigin=group_events_list

9] – On Sun., Dec. 14 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

10] – Walk in the 52nd Annual Mayor’s Christmas Parade with Comptroller Brooke Lierman and fellow democrats in one of the biggest parades in Baltimore on Sun., Dec. 14 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM.  Start at West Cold Spring Lane & Falls Road, Baltimore 21209.  RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/854377/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_more_events_of_type

11] – On Sun., Dec. 14 from 2 to 4 PM, the Montgomery County DSA Branch will hold a meeting at the Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring 20910. RSVP to get the Zoom link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/december-14-2025-montgomery-county-branch-meeting?link_id=59&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-5-2025&email_referrer=email_3018364&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-12-2025&&

12] – CODEPINK [info@codepink.org] on Sun., Dec. 14 at 2 PM ET will host a webinar Unmasking Resource Wars: Rwanda, Congo & Victoire Ingabire. RSVP at https://www.codepink.org/rwandacongo1214?utm_campaign=_unmasking_resource_wars_rwand&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepink

For 35 years, conflict has ravaged the Great Lakes Region of Africa, beginning with the Rwandan Civil War and Genocide, then followed by the Congo Wars and ongoing conflict. The US’s responsibility in Palestine and other aerial bombing wars is obvious, but its role in Rwanda and Congo remain obscured. Many know that it dates back to the 1961 US-Belgian assassination of Patrice Lumumba, but not that it has continued through US support of Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the Rwandan Civil War and the invasion, occupation, and plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trump’s so-called peace plan rewards him and US corporations with no end to the violence in sight.

Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza risked her life to expose the brutal Kagame regime and its abuse of Rwanda’s tragic history to justify war in Congo. Having already endured eight years in prison, from 2010 to 2018, she remains forbidden to leave Rwanda and now faces re-imprisonment. This webinar will deconstruct the lies used to justify the ongoing war and highlight Victoire’s case. 

13] – Voices from the Holy Land [vfhlonlinefilmsalon@144271541.mailchimpapp.com] on Sun., Dec. 14 at 3 PM ET has expressed concern about Deafening Silence? U.S. Church Leadership in the Face of Occupation/Genocide.  Watch the recording of the Q&A Panel Discussion on the Israel Occupation Tech Lab at www.voicesfromtheholyland.org/salonrecordings

Christian Faith leaders were pivotal in the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the boycotts that ended apartheid in South Africa. And yet – after more than 77 years of harsh military occupation, Palestinian home demolitions and forced removal in the West Bank, and 18 years of a blockade culminating Israel’s carpet bombing, starvation and genocide in Gaza – many U.S. faith leaders seem largely silent. Why? What is the explanation? Does their faith not ask them to speak out? Where do U.S. Christian denominations stand? How can concerned congregants empower their leaders to speak up? Watch the curated videos for free at your convenience, and join the Q&A discussion with Jonathan Brenneman: co-founder of Christians for a Free Palestine & Palestinian American Christian, Rev. Dr. Allison Tanner: National Coordinator, Apartheid Free Initiative & Baptist Pastor of Public Witness, Rev. Jeff Wright (Guest): former Pastor; Volunteer, Kairos Palestine& organizer of tours to Palestine-Israel and others.

Register here for the Voices from the Holy Land Online Film Salon: Tinyurl.com/VFHL -December2025 -December2025 Once you register, you will get a confirmation email from Zoom with a link to the meeting and a link with to watch the film.  (Save this confirmation letter as the meeting link is unique to your email and you must have this to participate.   Watch the film at your convenience before the event.  Then join with your thoughts and questions for the speakers at the Q&A Discussion.  

14] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Sun., Dec. 14 at 4 PM ET will hold its weekly town hall. This Sunday's Town Hall will feature Sen. Fady Qaddoura who will address Stopping MAGA Redistricting. Indiana State Senators made national headlines this week, infuriating MAGA world by blocking a mid-decade redistricting plan. Despite Republicans holding a supermajority in the Indiana Senate—and despite multiple visits to Indiana by JD Vance and White House invitations from Donald Trump—mid-decade redistricting failed. It was a truly inspiring moment for democracy. 

The proposal would have wiped out two Democratic-held congressional seats, including a district represented by one of the most progressive members of Congress: Indianapolis’s Rep. André Carson. Fady is one of the most inspiring elected officials in the country. Born in the West Bank, and made homeless by Hurricane Katrina as a young adult living in New Orleans, Qaddoura moved to Indianapolis to raise his family—and is now one of the strongest progressive voices in state government and beyond. RSVP at https://pdamerica.org/progressive-town-hall-sen-fady-qaddoura-on-stopping-maga-redistricting/

15] – Get over to "Crimes of the Century," a Teach-in on the Situation in Sudan on Sun., Dec. 14 from 6 to 7:30 PM at Middle East Books, 1902 18th St. NW, WDC 20009. Email internationalism@mdcdsa.org

The teach-in will expose the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, the UAE’s direct role in causing the genocide and how U.S. actions have fueled the violence. Break down what’s truly happening and discuss how to stand with the people of Sudan in their fight for justice. This event will be hybrid. RSVP for zoom link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/crimes-of-the-century?link_id=60&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-5-2025&email_referrer=email_3018364&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-december-12-2025&&

16] – The Labor Force [us@thelaborforce.org] on Sun., Dec. 14 at 8:30 PM ET will hold a call and let you to know the Starbucks Unionization campaign has reached one of the most important moments since workers first stood up and demanded the respect they deserve. Baristas across the country are organizing a mass flying action on Dec. 15 — a coordinated escalation to show Starbucks that workers and customers are united, and are demanding a fair contract. Get on the National Mass Mobilization Call at  https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eFTg1ELCSX6hB1NVm-WFMA?link_id=1&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-dec-15-is-huge-heres-how-you-can-show-up-for-starbucks-workers&email_referrer=email_3015009&email_subject=dec-15-is-huge-heres-how-you-can-show-up-for-starbucks-workers&&#/

17] – 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. 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. 

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.

18] – There is a Starbucks Workers United Solidarity Picket on Mon., Dec. 15 from 7 AM to 1 PM at the Gallows Starbucks, 3046 Gate House Plaza, Falls Church, VA 22042. 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, standing 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-1215-midday-gallows-starbucks?can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&email_referrer=email_3016780&source=email-12042025-nova-branch-dsa-upcoming-actions-and-events

19] –  Baltimore Sign Waves on Mondays, Dec. 15 & 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

20] – Indivisible Baltimore County is encouraging you to attend a Police Accountability Board meeting on Mon., Dec. 15 from noon to 2 PM at the Historic Courthouse, 400 Washington Ave., Towson 21204. This meeting will be both in-person and virtual: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/county-executive/events/police-accountability-board-december-15

21] – 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. 15 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