When:  Monday, April 15, 7 – 9 p.m.

Where:  Rockville Public Library, 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville.

Who:   Presenters:

Jean Athey, Chair, Fund Our Communities, and Coordinator, Peace Action Montgomery
Katherine Mullen, Treasurer, Women’s Caucus of Maryland Young Democrats

What:

Join Jean and Katie for a discussion of the reasons that today’s huge military budget and the wars that it spawns are women’s issues.  The forum will include a discussion of these topics:

Is There a Problem? Military Spending in the U.S.

Women’s Needs vs. Militarism

Violence Against Women and Militarism

Militarism and Sexism

Please join us for this provocative discussion!  Bring your friends, and let’s talk about one of the most important issues facing women and our nation as a whole.

In 1967, it was the Magical Mystery Tour…..
On March 23 it was the
Prosperity Not Austerity Tour!

58% of the U.S. government’s discretionary budget goes to wasteful Pentagon spending, while our people desperately need jobs and our communities are suffering. On our bus tour, we demanded a change!

On Sat., March 23, we organized a bus/auto caravan from Baltimore to Capitol Hill, with stops showcasing community needs, contrasted with the wealth of war profiteers.

You can see photos here and here.  For a short video of the bus tour, click here.

The bus tour itinerary is shown below:

“Prosperity Not Austerity” Maryland Bus Tour
March 23

9 a.m.:  Dallas F. Nicholas Senior Elementary School, 201 East 21st St, Baltimore.
Address education funding needs

10:20:  Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 2424 McElderry St., Baltimore.
Address food and health issues.

12:20:  Prince Georges Social Services Office and Prince Georges Community College, Dept of Social Services, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville.
Address funding needs for college students, jobs training, Medicaid,  cash assistance for needy

2 p.m.:  Silver Spring Library, 8902 Colesville Road, Silver Spring.
Address services for all citizens, including libraries, parks, roads, public health, crisis services.

3:10:  Hughes Neighborhood Housing, 10720 Georgia Ave., Wheaton.
Address care of the most vulnerable, and in particular housing. 

5 p.m.:  U.S. Capitol– Rally

Make Love, Not War Party
Sat., Feb. 9, 8-11 p.m.,
Busboys & Poets, 5331 Baltimore Ave., Hyattsville, MD

All us seekers of peace and justice had a great time at our pre-Valentine’s day party! We enjoyed energizing music, filled up on good food – and in general, had fun!

The evening’s entertainment included a rousing game of “Budget Jeopardy” led by CODEPINK founder Medea Benjamin, as well as performances by the DC Labor Chorus, Yikes McGee, James & Martha, and the Scrub Pines.

We hope you can join us next time!

Mike Boehm will discuss the many Vietnam reconciliation projects of Madison Quakers, Inc., including the My Lai Peace Park Project. Mike is a Vietnam veteran who has been back to Vietnam 16 times since 1992 working with a number of Vietnamese on various peace and reconciliation projects.  Mike Marceau of DC Veterans for Peace will briefly share information on his trip back to Vietnam in 2012.

This event is hosted by the St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi group and cosponsored by Peace Action Montgomery and Veterans for Peace. It will be held in the Parish Center (church basement) of St. Francis of Assisi Church, 6701 Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood.

Cosponsors:  UFCW 1994 MCGEO; Montgomery County Education Association; Peace Action Montgomery; New Beginnings Initiative

Labor leader Gene Bruskin has recently returned from a week in Basra, Iraq as part of a U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) delegation to the International Civil Society Solidarity Initiative conference.

Basra, Iraq, May Day

The conference brought together trade unionists and other supporters from the U.S. and Europe with women’s, student, environmental and other Iraqi organizations seeking to develop popular campaigns for labor rights and justice for Iraqi working people.  The USLAW delegation had extensive conversations with Iraqi union leaders that led to the creation of a signed agreement calling for international support for a united campaign for labor rights in Iraq. Unions in Iraq are still largely illegal and are governed by Saddam Hussein’s 1987 antiunion declaration.

On Dec. 12, join Gene for an informative discussion on Iraq. We’ll discuss what it is like for ordinary Iraqis now that the U.S. military has mostly left the country. What did we leave behind? What does this say about “wars of choice”? What was the impact of the war on the labor movement? What can we do now?

To see the votes on which we based this chart, click here.

To see the votes on which we based this chart, click here.

For more information on voting, check out the Peace Action West Web site.

David Swanson

Proceeds of the luncheon were divided between the Afghan Women’s Fund and the national office of Peace Action.

The luncheon was sponsored by Peace Action Montgomery, Pax Christi, and the UUCR Social Justice Committee.

This was our fun way to demonstrate the need for a change in our priorities, on tax day and the Global Day of Action on Military Spending. 

Watch the video here, but please note: the MoCo Peace Players are not quite ready for prime time!