Just! News! Number 227, January 23, 2012
JUST! NEWS!
Number 227 – January 23, 2012
JUST! NEWS! is a newsletter devoted to bringing news about justice and peace issues effecting the Montgomery County community, the greater Washington D.C. area, the nation and the world
Upcoming events appear after advocacy opportunities and general news listed at the beginning of this newsletter
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” — Ephesians 4:1-3
Monday, January 23, 2012 – 6:00pm – 8:30pm – Close the U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa, Japan – U.S. military bases in Okinawa have been the source of dramatic controversy in Japan and the US for decades. Many in Okinawa have criticized US bases for the dangers they pose, including military accidents, environmental and health damage, and crimes committed by US military personnel–most infamously, the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl. Join a delegation of Okinawan students, activists, and politicians to learn more about living with US bases and to engage in a constructive dialogue about US-Okinawan-Japanese relations. Free and open to all! Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC. For more information please visit www.closethebase.org
January 24th, 2012, 10:00-11:30am, Panel Discussion on Constitutional Remedies to Overturn Citizens United - Room 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC (map) – featuring U.S. Senator Tom Udall; U.S. Representative Ted Deutch; U.S. Representative Keith Ellison; Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin;New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito; Colorado Activist Elana Nuñez; PFAW Executive Vice President Marge Baker (moderator). Sponsored by People for the American Way. RSVP: kwhite@pfaw.org.
Tuesday January 24 – NETWORK reminds us that President Obama’s State of the Union Speech is on tonight. We need “Super Citizens” like you (now that the Super Committee has failed) to pay attention to what the President and Congress say and do. Please join us in watching the State of the Union speech to see how much the President talks about the things we support — immigration, healthcare, safety-net programs, the wealth gap, etc.
We’ve created a handy bingo-like chart to help you when watching (or listening to) the speech. You can find the chart here: www.networklobby.org/files/SOTU-game.pdf Download it, print, make copies for your family and friends. And let us know what you think of the speech.
January 25, 2012, 1:00-2:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time – Catholics Confront Global Poverty invites you to take part in the online discussion – A New Year and a New Hope for Peace in the Holy Land: Pursuing Peace following the Arab Spring - RSVP now.
Wednesday, January 25th, 7:30 pm – Panel Discussion on the upcoming Montgomery County Budget – which will be lead by Chuck Short, Special Assistant to the County Executive, Ike Leggett. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington Montgomery County Justice and Advocacy Council and held at St. Jane de Chantal, 9601 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.
To have more background on the budget for this panel discussion, you are encouraged to attend one of the FY2013 Budget Forums Scheduled; Resident Input Invited, which will be held at the following times and locations. All of the forums are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., on the following dates:
- January 23, BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown; and
- January 31, Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Rd., Silver Spring.
January 26, from 7 to 9 PM – Peace Action Montgomery and CASA de Maryland are jointly sponsoring a colloquium on The U.S., Central America and the Global Economy, at the Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Ave, Wheaton.
The U.S. has played a major role in Central America’s economy and politics for over 100 years, both overtly through military intervention and less obviously through political and economic manipulation. The people of Central America have resisted this interference, often at great cost. Come learn more about the current political and economic situation of our neighbors to the south, the role of the U.S., and what we can do. Our speaker is Grahame Russell, a long time rights activists with the group Rights Action.
Tuesday January 31 2012, 7-8:30pm, Washington Peace Center Volunteer Orientation – Interested in learning more about the Washington Peace Center and how you can be involved? Come join for our Volunteer Bash! You will learn about our work at the Peace Center, what we have planned for the fall and how you can help. If you’re planning to join us, please RSVP here. Held at St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St. NW.
Tuesday, January 31, at 7:00 PM – Join Take Back Democracy-Maryland, Maryland United for Peace and Justice and others as we meet with US Senator Benjamin Cardin to urge him to support a constitutional amendment to overturn “Citizens United“. We will meet him on at the Wheaton Public Library. Contact Tony Langbehn at tonylang4peace@gmail.com or phone 301-390-9684 or Mike Hersh at mike@pdamerica.org or phone 301933-7169.
Thursday, February 2nd, 7:30 to 9:30 am – The People’s Prayer Breakfast – hosted by Occupy Faith DC - People from across the country are joining together to pray and to stand in unity with those suffering economic hardship and inequality in our nation We are issuing our call to political leaders, corporate interests, and every American that “THERE IS ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE.”
Please join us after the prayer breakfast for discussions and strategy sessions on joining faith-based efforts to support the Occupy movement. We are accepting donations for this event. Please visit our website at www.peoplesprayerbreakfast.org and click on the link for donations. Call 1-410-262-8365 for more information. Held at Church of the Pilgrims, 2201 P Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. View Map · Get Directions.
February 3, noon to 7 pm – Americans across the country will gather outside congressional offices to protest NDAA 2012 (H.R. 1540). You will find your protest location by looking to see how your congressmen voted. Look below – under house and senate. There is also a link so you can find the address to your congressman’s local office where your protest will take place. House – http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2011-932; Senate – http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2011-230
The objective of our demonstration is to have our congressmen repeal Section 1021 and 1022 which could lead to the indefinite military detention of Americans without due process. Make sure to contact your congressmen also. The protest is not affiliated with any particular political or grassroots organizations. We are uniting as individuals who want to stop this tyranny before it gets worse. Martin Luther King didn’t need violence to affect change, neither do we.
Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m – Creating a Just and Nonviolent World: A Muslim Perspective – Speaker: Ibrahim Ramey. Ibrahim Ramey is an international Muslim activist with over 25 years of work in the areas of peacemaking, nuclear disarmament, and human rights. He has held leadership and staff positions at several national and international organizations, including the Fellowship of Reconciliation (1995-2006), and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. Ibrahim also serves as a board member of the Temple of Understanding and the Muslim Women’s Institute, both located in New York City. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW,
Washington, DC, 20010. For more info contact Art @ 202-360-6416 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.
Saturday, February 4, 10 a.m. to noon – 6th ANNUAL PEACE SYMPOSIUM — The Diocese of Arlington’s Peace and Justice Commission is holding its annual Peace Symposium at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington. The theme is “The Cost of War: Alternative Solutions to Conflict.” For more information, click on this link: http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/peace/documents/pandjfeb2012_peacesymposium_6thannual_forweb.pdf
Saturday, February 4, 2012, 10am-4pm – Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation presents Mystery of Suffering Quiet Day – the mysterious presence of God is in all things, often especially hidden in suffering. The fear and pain of loss and change can lure us away from the contemplative stance of living into the mystery of suffering. Sometimes the fear and pain are so deep that all we can do is come with our questions and our fragile desire.
Join them for this time of opening to the presence and transformative power of the Spirit in the sacred space of a dedicated community. The hope is that we will be strengthened to embrace the suffering in our lives and in the world with compassion and healing grace.
Held at Dayspring Farm House, 11301 Neelsville Church Road, Germantown, MD 20876. Led by Ann Dean, who is Director of Shalem’s Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats Program and Director of the Personal Spiritual Deepening Program Leadership Initiative. Ann is a spiritual director and nationally-known leader of retreats and conferences and Anne Grizzle, who is a spiritual director, family therapist, retreat leader, and author of three books, including Reminders of God. She also serves on Shalem’s faculty for the Personal Spiritual Deepening Program. “Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or to remove it. He came to fill it with his presence.” — Paul Claudel. This day will have a gentle rhythm of prayer, guided meditations, silence, and optional sharing. $50 (please bring a bag lunch). To register online, please click here.
February 12-15, 2012 – Washington D.C. – Faithful Citizenship: Protecting Human Life and Dignity, Promoting the Common Good. On behalf of our 14 national Catholic partner organizations, the USCCB invites you to join us in Washington, D.C. for the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, this upcoming at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.
Saturday – March 3, 2012, 8:00 am – 3:30 pm – READING the SIGNS of the TIMES: Catholic Social Teaching in Action Today - 33rd Annual Archdiocesan Social Ministry Convocation, Seton Keough High School – This year’s Convocation promises to be a dynamic program filled with workshops on thought-provoking topics and workshop leaders who have a lot of knowledge and life experience in their topic areas. Many Catholics are not familiar with the essential principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Click the link below to view the schedule of the day, workshop descriptions and speakers, as well as the registration form to fill out and send back to make sure you reserve your place today.http://www.catholiccharities-md.org/advocacy/parish-social-ministry/pdfs/smc-registration-2012.pdf
March 9 – 11 2012, Consistent Life 25th Anniversary Conference – Celebrating a quarter century of working for Peace, Justice and Life! A weekend to rejuvenate and invigorate your commitment to the Consistent Life Ethic – registration materials coming soon. For more information, contact Bill Samuel at president@consistent-life.org.
Thursday to Saturday, March 15-17, 2012, New Ways Ministries presents a Symposium on Catholicism and Homosexuality – From Water to Wine: Lesbian/Gay Catholics and Relationships*. Held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor Place Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.
Major speakers include: Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Luke Timothy Johnson, Patricia Beattie Jung, Richard Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson will also facilitate a pre-symposium retreat day. Workshop topics: marriage equality, transgender issues, African American issues, youth and young adults, lesbian nuns and gay priests/religious, Latino/a issues, and coalition building. For Catholic ministers, laity, educators, LGBT persons and their family, friends, and advocates. For more information: info@NewWaysMinistry.org or(301) 277-5674 or http://www.newwaysministry.org/symp2012.html.
May 19th – Peace Action Montgomery Annual Peace Luncheon – co-sponsored by Pax Christi Montgomery and UUCR Peace and Justice Committee. More details forthcoming.
Fund Our Communities campaign – is a new grass roots movement to get support from local organizations and communities to work together with their local and state elected officials to pressure our Congress persons and Senators to join with Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul, who have endorsed a 25% cut to the federal military budget. We then want Congress to bring these savings home to state and county governments to meet the local needs which are under tremendous budget pressures. For more information about this movement in Maryland, please go to www.OurFunds.org.
Earthjustice Alerts says Florida’s toxic slime problem is a national disgrace and that requires a national response.
More than 1,800 miles of Florida’s rivers and streams and 350,000 acres of its waterways are polluted with high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, resulting in green algae slime that covers the waterway. Florida’s recreational waterways and beaches face closure from algae outbreaks if waters are not kept clean.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had proposed a standard to clean up Florida’s waterways. Now it appears it is set to approve Florida’s weaker standards which will actually result in more pollution. The state’s plan doesn’t crack down on polluters until waterways are already in miserable shape.
What Florida needs are enforceable federal pollution limits that will protect waters from turning to toxic green slime. Tell the White House that the EPA must take control of this issue and get the job done.
Interfaith Peacebuilding Trip - Philip Farrar and Anna Baltzer will be co-leading a trip/educational tour to Palestine in late April/May. It’s organized by a group called Interfaith Peace Builders.
There will be an emphasis on environmental issues associated with the occupation. For more information regarding this trip, please go to http://www.ifpb.org/del40/default.html,
REFLECTION: “It would be considered a theft on our part if we didn’t give to someone in greater need than we are.” – St. Francis of Assisi
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