Trump bloviates in Baltimore

 Friends,

 

I opened up the Baltimore Sun on October 6 and was floored to see an ad by Anduril, the AI weapons manufacturer: Page 2 in bold carried this message: "Who Dares Strike at Liberty" followed by "Rebuild the Arsenal."  The next full page was dominated by this ominous statment "The Shipyard is the Weapon."  This was in your face warmongering.  Of course, this ad appeared as President Trump was speaking, along with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, at the shipyard. 

 

I watched the CBS Baltimore local newscast that evening and saw that there was a gathering supporting Trump and one of the group protesting the warmongering.  However, a speaker at this protest was given maybe 15 seconds to make his point.

 

Janice and I do a Tuesday protest at 33rd & North Charles Streets in Baltimore from 4:30 to 5 PM.  So that is where we gathered with our signs: "Stop Trump before he kills again" and "This administration is fascist."  We received a significant number of honks from vehicles and kudos from Johns Hopkins University  students. One honk was from a food truck driver, and another from a driver for Allied Security.  While Janice and I did our civic duty, I do not think we stopped any killing or caused the Trump administration to deviate from its push to turn this country from a flawed democracy to a fascist state.

 

It is essential, however, to look for some hope. I found some in the National Catholic Reporter [August 14 - 27, 2026 edition.] There was an editorial "Calling war 'always evil.' the US church targets American militarism." It included a photgraph of Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark attending a news conference at the North American College in Rome, May 9, 2025.

 

We met him in Baltimore at St. Vincent dePaul church several years ago when he attended the Bishops conference. Also he was present outside the federal building in Newark when we risked arrest during Trump's first term to condemn the policy of separating immigrant children from their families. That day the police chief was emphatic he would not arrest us. 

 

That NCR issue also carried an article: "Cardinal Tobin: War is 'always evil' and church stands on the side of peace." The hopfulness contined with another article--"The US has entered a national era of cruelty"--which was about Trump's nefarious treatment of the immigrant community.  The peace with justice community, nevertheless, is continuing to protest the utter cruelty of this policy and occasionally winning the struggle.

 

  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