PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Governor Corbett's Inadequate Medicaid Plan Spends More Money on Fewer People by Scott Tyson A few months ago Governor Corbett announced a Medicaid expansion plan he named Healthy Pennsylvania. The plan's objectives are to increase access, improve quality, and make healthcare affordable for all Pennsylvanians. Medicaid, a healthcare program funded by both the state and federal government, provides care to individuals with limited income. The fastest growing population segment of this group is seniors. The result is that Medicaid supplements Medicare, the federal program that covers all people 65 and older. Medicaid has income limits, Medicare doesn't. Most of the Medicaid supplement pays for care in long term care facilities. Under the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, states may expand the eligibility for Medicaid, with the Federal Government picking up most of the cost. The expansion is optional, but many states have already agreed to sign on. Medicaid and Medicare are healthcare programs, not insurance. They pay doctors and hospitals directly. In contrast, with health insurance people pay premiums to private insurance companies that then pay doctors and hospitals. Under Governor Corbett's proposal federal Medicaid funds would be used to purchase health insurance for eligible participants. Health Care 4 All PA believes this is a poor use of money that only increases the cost and limits the amount of that money available to pay for actual care. Here is why: health insurance has administrative costs in excess of 15%, meaning 15 cents of every dollar does not go towards healthcare. In contrast, Medicare and Medicaid have administrative costs of about 3%. So the Governor's plan turns Medicaid into an insurance program and spends more money on fewer people. Health Care 4 All PA believes that decisions about your healthcare should be made by you and your doctor, not by an insurance company whose primary motivation is to receive more money in premiums than they must pay for your care. (continued on page 4)
Don’t Let Congress Forget About The Hungry and Food Insecure
VOL. 43 No. 11, December 2013
IN THIS ISSUE: Pittsburgh in Solidarity with Duquesne Adjuncts —Page 3
by Joyce Rothermel As we enter the holiday Fight The TPP “Death Star” season, the harsh reality facing Now many low income families and —Page 6 the food banks who try to help them is stark. Last month, Citizens Police Review Board Food Stamp benefits (now Meets in Homewood called SNAP – the —Page 8 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for families were reduced as the boost in benefits from the Economic Recovery Act expired even though their lives and food Anti-hunger groups hope that President Obama banks ability to serve will veto any bill that contains SNAP/food- have not “recovered.” stamp cuts. Photo by Kevork Djansezian. TMC Edition For many in poverty, life has not improved over the past three years of the great recession, and a strong, not weakened, food and nutrition safety net needs to be there for by Samantha Wechsler them. For many people, the New Year is a time for That reduction in benefits ($5 billion in 2014) is a tiny issue compared making resolutions. Losing weight, eating right, with the House’s farm-bill proposals that would cut $39 billion over 10 and volunteering are just a few ways that years from SNAP, causing close to 4 million individuals to lose benefits people choose to make changes in their lives. entirely, 850,000 households to lose an average of $90 per month, and This year, consider making a resolution to be a 210,000 children to lose free school meals. The House provision calls for part of the Thomas Merton Center in a new ending the states’ ability to provide SNAP to single, able-bodied adults for way! Here are just a few ways to get involved: more than three months if they don’t find jobs. It is one of the cruelest of 1. Renew your membership! – Membership provisions. Men make up 60 percent of the single, able-bodied group, renewal season is upon us! An individual according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. It includes membership is $50 and a family membership veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, who although they may be (2+ people) is $100. Low income and youth technically able-bodied, can have emotional problems or simply can’t find memberships are available for $15. jobs in high unemployment areas. Membership dues help the TMC to support (continued on page 12) peace and social justice efforts in the community! 2. Encourage others to be members – Do you know someone who is interested in peace and social justice issues? Encourage them to join us at the Thomas Merton Center for the 2014 year! An increased membership base will by Angelina Winbush and Scilla Wahrhaftig allow us to provide additional, stronger Angelina Winbush, as a former member of the programs at the Center that focus on economic American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) Racial justice, human rights, peace/nonviolence, and Justice Through Human Rights youth group, had the environmental justice. opportunity to be part of the Nobel Peace Laureate 3. Become a Cornerstone sustainer – summit in Warsaw Poland in September of this year. Cornerstone sustainers are major supporters of Angelina is a first-year student at Allegheny College the Thomas Merton Center! These members studying global health. Here are some of her reflections donate $500 or more over the course of a year. on her experience in Poland: If you are financially able, please consider Each day I spent in Warsaw brought with it a hectic taking the steps to join this community of yet incredible itinerary, packed with lectures, generous givers. workshops, and forums. The start of each day began Photo by Angelina 4. Invest in the Molly Rush Legacy Fund – with a congregation of the public, Nobel Peace Winbush. Named after the co-founder of the Thomas Laureates, and Civic Academy members in the grand Merton Center. Molly Rush has been a Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. This magnificent building was lifelong activist for peace and social justice. To home, for three days, to a series of remarkable panel discussions that stand by her lifelong commitment to included opinions from laureates such as Lech Walesa, the 14th Dalai Lama, nonviolence, choose to invest in the fund Frederik William de Klerk , Shirin Ebadi, Muhammad Yunas, Betty through a donation or consideration in your Williams, Peter Lansky-Tieffenhall (UN Representative), and Mairead will. (continued on page 15) Maguire. (continued on page 7)
Eight New Year’s Resolutions:
Peace Summit in Poland as seen by Young Pittsburgh Scholar
TMC works to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, oppression and environmental justice. PERMIT NO. 458
TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world.
December 2013
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Page 4 Page 1 Cartoon by Russ Fedorka Governor Corbett's Inadequate Medicaid Plan Governor Corbett's Inadequate Medicaid Plan Don’t Let Congress Forget About The Hungry and Food Insecure The Healthy Artists Project: Why We Need Better Health Care Peace Summit in Poland as seen by Young Pittsburgh Scholar Page 5 Eight New Year’s Resolutions: TMC Power Shift Workshop Challenges Edition Male Supremacy Page 3 Protecting the Self-Determination Rights of the Intersex What is a Human Rights City?
Solidarity with Duquesne Adjuncts Page 6 60+ Pittsburghers Meet for the New Palestinian Victims Portrayed Economy “Unconference”
2 - NEWPEOPLE
Wrongly
December 2013
Association of Pittsburgh Priests Sr. Barbara Finch 412-716-9750 B.a.finch@att.net Amnesty International info@amnestypgh.org www.amnestypgh.org
Capital’s End 724-388-6258, iamholtz@iup.edu CodePink: Women for Peace codepinkpgh@aol.com, 412-389-3216 www.codepink4peace.org East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, shawnapgh@aol.com
The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD www.thebigideapgh.org The Black Political Empowerment Project Tim Stevens 412-758-7898 Black Voices for Peace Gail Austin 412-606-1408
Economic Justice Committee drohanmichael@yahoo.com
CeaseFirePA
www.ceasefirepa.org
Environmental Justice Committee environmentaljustice@thomasmertoncenter.org
Fight for Lifers West fightforliferswest@yahoo.com
www.fightforliferswestinc.com
info@ceasefirepa.org
Global Solutions Pittsburgh 412-471-7852 dan@globalsolutionspgh.org www.globalsolutionspgh.org
Formerly Convicted Citizens Dean Williams (412) 295-8606
Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, evolve@atlanticbb.net
Harambee Ujima/Diversity Footprint Twitter @HomewoodNation
PA United for a Single-Payer Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 2102 Murray Avenue Pgh, Pa 15217 412-421-4242
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up (prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, hrcfedup@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup Marcellus Shale Protest Group melpacker@aol.com 412-243-4545
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319
New Economy Working Group Molly.Rush@verizon.net
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022 pghfreemumia@gmail.com
Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop
Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-303-1247 lisacubasi@aol.com
Community Alliance 412-512-1709
Pittsburgh Independent Media Center info@indypgh.org www.indypgh.org
Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW! 412-422-5377, sleator@cs.cmu.edu www.pcdn.org Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition jumphook@gmail.com; www.pittsburghdarfur.org Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity Committee jrothermel@gpcfb.org 412-780-5118 www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition 412-369-3961 www.northhillscoalition.com Pittsburgh North People for Peace 412-367-0383 pnpp@verizon.net Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee info@pittsburgh-psc.org www.pittsburgh-psc.org Raging Grannies 412-963-7163 eva.havlicsek@gmail.com
www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook Call 412-363-7472 tvnotebook@gmail.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 ojomal@aol.com
Roots of Promise 724-327-2767, 412-596-0066 rootsofpromise@gmail.com spiritualprogressives.pgh@gmail.com
SW PA Bread for the World Donna Hansen 412-812-1553 United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org
School of the Americas Watch W. PA 267-980-4878 nobler@thomasmertonccenter.org
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Table of Contents:
Anti-War Committee info@pittsburghendthewar.org www.pittsburghendthewar.org
marcellusprotest.org
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TMC Affiliates: Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org
Book‘Em: Books to Prisoners Project bookempgh@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
Interns from Colleges and Universities: Xiaoyuan Ze, Samantha Wechsler, Kathleen DiPrinzio, Meagan McGill, Junwei Shen, Raechelle Landers, Chao Pan, Alathia Joy Campbell, Shawna Porter, Qing Li
TMC Projects:
Urban Bikers urbanbikes@yahoo.com
Stop Sexual Abuse in the Military 412-361-1581 swahrhaftig@afsc.org
Veterans for Peace kevinbharless@yahoo.com 252-646-4810
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group/ Roots of Promise 724-327-2767 murrysvillemarcellus@gmail.com
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 edith.bell4@verizon.net
Who’s Your Brother? 412-328-2301 www.whosyourbrother.com
TMC is a Member of:
Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network 412-621-9230 office@piin.org
Fight the TPP "Death Star" Now Bangladeshi Workers Mobilize to Demand Transparency Page 7 Film Review: Robert Greenwald’s Unmanned, America’s Drone Wars Peace Summit in Poland as seen by Young Pittsburgh Scholar Page 8 Citizens Police Review Board Meets in Homewood Solitary Confinement is Torture
Thomas Merton Center Statement on Gun Violence Prevention
Page 9 PA Still Has the Death Penalty
Why Are We Keeping Grandparents/Elderly in Jail? Page 10 How to Move Toward Regional Worker-Owned Cooperatives Labor Organizing at the PA Farm Show Page 11 Book Review: Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Poetry Page 12 Don’t Let Congress Forget About
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Martha Connelly 412-361-7872,
osterdm@earthlink.net The Hungry and Food Insecure
Sustainability EXPOsed Poetry Page 13 The Extractive Economy and Divestment from Fossil Fuels Page 14 Thomas Merton Award Dinner Page 15 In Memory of David Thomas and Barbara Shore TMC Board Farewells and Welcomes Eight New Year’s Resolutions: TMC Edition
Pittsburgh Activism December 10: What is a Human Rights City? by Scilla Wahrhaftig On December 10th, Human Rights Day, Pittsburghers will call on our officials to live up to their status as a Human Rights City. People will collect at 4:30 p.m. on the steps “Your human rights are of the City County protected by law.” building to raise Photo by Scilla Wahrhaftig. awareness of issues we would like addressed. Our Human Rights Proclamation will be read and we hope our newly elected mayor will speak. A Human Rights city is one whose residents and local authorities, through on-going discussions and creative exchange of ideas, come to understand and work to protect the human rights of the individuals of that city. We are hoping others around the city will also organize their own Human Rights events such as the one being organized by Amnesty International on December 9th at Calvary Episcopal Church from 6-9:00 p.m. At this event they will have information about human rights issues, letters to write about focus cases selected by Amnesty USA, and other activities to express our thoughts about human rights through creative writing, drawing and photography. In 2011 Pittsburgh became the fifth Human Rights City in the country joining other Human Rights Cities around the world. A group of high school youth from the
American Friends Service Committee’s Racial Justice Through Human Rights youth group was instrumental in making this happen. On hearing about Washington D.C. being the first Human Rights City in the U.S., they approached our City Council with a request that Pittsburgh join the expanding number of cities committing to protect the human rights of their citizens. While the City Council proclamation was issued in 2011, not much has been done to live up to our status as a Human Rights City. There is much more to this than just passing a proclamation, and a coalition of individuals and organizations will be calling on our city to live up to its proclamation. We are seeing a growing number of homeless people in our city and region, many of them children; education in our public schools is underfunded, inequitable and racially segregated; and our transit system and our bridges are in trouble. Between December and January the newly formed Human Rights coalition will organize meetings to solicit residents’ input on the human rights agenda that we will be presenting to our new mayor in January and which we will use as a yardstick to measure the administration’s effectiveness. Then, close to the inauguration of Bill Peduto as mayor, we will make the human rights agenda public and encourage officials to take seriously our demands for a new approach to city governance. We are encouraged that the new administration is already putting a number of reforms in place and look forward to working with them on ensuring that all people’s human rights are protected in our city. Watch the TMC calendar for announcements of
December 5: March in Solidarity with Duquesne University Adjuncts Demand that Duquesne University treat their adjuncts with fairness and respect! Please join with the Adjunct Faculty Association and members of the United Steelworkers on Thursday, December 5 at 9:00 a.m. at the USW building. Breakfast will be available there before boarding a bus to Duquesne University’s McAnulty College on campus. There at 10:00 a.m. a march will begin to the Administration Building to deliver to the President a Credo petition that has been signed by 17,500 people. (You can join the march directly outside the McAnulty College Building.) The petition asks Duquesne University to recognize the McAnulty College’s democratically elected union. For more information, visit www.adjunctfacultyassoc.org
opportunities to meet and discuss community visions of a human rights agenda. Come and join us on December 10th. Scilla Wahrhaftig is the program director of the American Friends Service Committee PA.
60+ Pittsburghers Meet for the New Economy “Unconference” by Ron Gaydos On October 26th more than 60 activists from around Pittsburgh met on a sunny Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Shadyside to tell others about their work, their challenges, and their vision for a New Pittsburgh Economy. Men and women ranging from 20something to the stately elder, from labor, small business, education, environmental groups, producer and consumer cooperatives, churches and temples, healthcare, technology, and the arts, came together to share hopes and dreams and concrete accomplishments with each other. Accomplishments included an ecovillage in the East Liberty area, urban farms, and community supported agriculture businesses benefiting townspeople and farmers, a cooperative construction, landscaping company, unions working on co-ops, and a growing renewable energy market. Many people well-versed in new economy ideas are a resource for all of us. After a lunch provided by volunteers and the East End Food Coop, and coffee by Tassa D’Oro, we all settled down in a comfortable space to talk about next
steps. It was hard to keep track of who wanted to speak, but we made sure that everyone was encouraged to speak. The proceedings will be posted on the Thomas Merton Center website, but here are some goals that we strive for: •The new economy movement will DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS among new economy efforts and it will be INCLUSIVE with an OPEN PROCESS. •We will develop a NEW ECONOMY SOCIAL NETWORKING PLATFORM that works for all types of users in real and virtual space. •The new economy movement will involve CULTURAL CHANGE from a crisis driven mode of operation to proactively intentional economic choices. We will strive to endure and resolve personality, ethnic, and procedural conflicts. •We will benefit from TOURS of new economy projects and practices in communities.
•We will write a NEW ECONOMY MANIFESTO. •We will include the SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF LIFE – i.e., the arts and music, and an appreciation of nature. We know this is very important to making the new economy movement successful. •The new economy movement should also be FUN! •We need the new economy MAPPING PROJECT (see previous New People articles on the Mapping Project) to seek out resources and allies! •The new economy movement will be an INCUBATOR of new economy practices. •The new economy movement will support several CAPSTONE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS to show feasibility and help people understand what we mean. The New Economy Working Group (NEWG) is now working on raising funds to award 3-5 new economy demonstration projects seed funding at
our March 21-22, 2014 New Economy Celebration. This event will also include entertainment by local artists and a speaking appearance by Gar Alperovitz, a leading voice in the nation, articulating why we need a new economic system, and how we can get there. For more information see www.GarAlperovitz.com. In the writing of a New Economy Manifesto, we invite everyone to contribute their ideas. This will be enabled with a “Google Doc” online link that people can edit or post their versions for everyone to consider. Having a clear and concise statement of why we have formed the New Economy Working Group, what we intend to do, who we are doing this with, and how we will do that, will get us all on the same page and recognize our common goals and action. The next meeting of the NEWG is Thursday December 4th at 6:00 p.m. at the Thomas Merton Center. Everyone is welcome to attend – actually, everyone is urged to attend to make our new economy movement successful. Ron Gaydos is a member of the New Economy Working Group.
Volunteer Opportunities Through The Thomas Merton Center by Shawna J. Porter We are looking for interested volunteers to help with administrative tasks at the Center! Tasks include answering the phone, assisting with mailings, and greeting visitors to the Center. Hours are flexible! Please call us at 412-361-3022 for more information. Healthcare 4 All PA Southwest Chapter welcomes people who want to learn about and become active in the campaign for truly universal health care, utilizing the single payer model, for Pennsylvania. Stop by our Squirrel Hill office at 2101 Murray Avenue. For more information, email info@healthcare4allPA.org.
Fight for Lifers West welcomes interns and volunteers to help organize letters and files and help us organize our larger projects. For more information or to volunteer, email fightforliferswest@yahoo.com. The Anti-War Committee of the Thomas Merton Center is seeking volunteers to help publicize planned events. To volunteer, email info@pittsburghendthewar.com. For more information, visit www.pittsburghendthewar.org. Capital’s End is seeking an intern to help with the committee’s endeavors. To volunteer, email iamholtz@iup.edu or call 724-388-6258.
The Formerly Convicted Citizens project of the Thomas Merton Center is seeking monetary donations and volunteers for future events. For more information or to volunteer, call Dean Williams at 412-295-8606. The SW PA Bread for the World Team is looking for a volunteer to assist with telephone outreach to Bread Members in the region. For more information or to volunteer, call Joyce Rothermel at 412-361-3022. Shawna J. Porter is a graduate student of social work at the University of Pittsburgh and an intern at the Thomas Merton Center. December 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 3
Healthcare The Healthy Artists Project: Why We Need Better Health Care by Julie Sokolow “There’s so much anxiety and fear in being an artist in this country to begin with, especially as you get older,” said Ken Bolden, a 53-yearold adjunct professor and actor. “Especially for my friends who get married and start having children, not having health care is a real issue. So they start dropping out of the arts.” Bolden, a professor of mine at the University of Pittsburgh, was one of the first people I interviewed for the Healthy Artists documentary series. Since 2012, I’ve been visiting the apartments and art studios of creative people in Pittsburgh. Equipped with a Sony handycam, a small team of Above: volunteers, and high ambitions, we set out to Healthy by Russ Fedorka investigate the health care crisis endemic to the arts Artists hold a movie poster community. “I went through bankruptcy last year because of competition to raise medical bills, even with insurance,” said Jenn Gooch, when I interviewed her on film. Gooch is a awareness. 34-year-old musician, artist, and Carnegie Mellon Photo by Ben graduate. “Economically, the best thing we could Filio/ Sprout offer our citizens is health care, because as a lower- Fund. income entrepreneur, it’s impossible to start a small business or be self-employed if you don’t have insurance, especially if you have pre-existing Right: conditions.” And the Every artist seemed to have a story. There was winner is . . . (continued from page 1) Davon Magwood, a 26-year-old uninsured Jenn Gooch! Health Care 4 All PA does agree with the Governor comedian, who couldn’t afford to see a doctor for that the best healthcare delivery solutions are developed his heart palpitations; Mary Tremonte, a 33-yearat the state and local government levels. After all, states old printmaker, who worked a nonprofit job for over a have been called the laboratories of the nation. Following decade that never provided her with health insurance; and this precedent, Health Care 4 All PA has developed a Morgan Cahn, a 32-year-old artist who was wowed by the single-payer healthcare delivery system. Single-Payer superiority of universal health care in the UK when she simply means that Pennsylvania would develop a system moved abroad for graduate school. modeled after Medicare. “I love the NHS [National Health System],” Cahn said. Health Care 4 All PA's system would be funded by “It is embarrassing how I had learned to put off going to taxes paid by all businesses and individuals. Insurance the doctor. I couldn’t afford to get treated in the U.S.” graphic design and visuals, social media and web premiums, co-pays, and deductibles would be eliminated. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not outreach, youthful community events and rallies, and The cost to individuals and businesses would be much provide universal health care to its citizens. We creative storytelling to give a face to the issue. lower than currently. We are confident that this is true notoriously pay more for health care and get much less. This September 2013, the Huffington Post credited the because we contracted for an Economic Impact Study The UK, Canada, and Australia have a type of universal “passion and creativity” of our Healthy Artists project (EIS) performed by several leading healthcare health care known as single-payer – a proven, effective with helping to keep single-payer “alive and well in the economists. The study demonstrated that Pennsylvania's solution that would save our country $350 billion a year political arena.” Here in Pittsburgh, we hold art healthcare costs could be reduced by $17 billion each and use those savings to provide medical, dental, vision, exhibitions, community film screenings, talks, and year under a single-payer plan. This allows our plan to prescription, and mental health care coverage to all workshops that bring together artists, activists, students, cover all Pennsylvanians with much more comprehensive Americans. The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right educators, doctors, and politicians. We’ve also created a healthcare-hospital, medical, mental health, prescriptions, direction, but it is still a far cry from the single-payer resource of about 40 video documentaries and written vision, dental, and long term care--than is currently system President Barack Obama once endorsed. profiles that are easy to access, available online at available. By uncoupling healthcare from employment it Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act encourages www.healthyartists.org creates greater freedom for people when seeking a job, individual states to develop single-payer. States can apply I started my advocacy work as a volunteer at Health promotes creative entrepreneurial ventures, and allows for an innovation “waiver” and start implementing their Care 4 All PA – a nonprofit organization that educates the people to choose their healthcare provider and maintain own plans starting in 2017. Vermont Governor Peter public on single-payer health care and brings about that relationship. Shumlin led the way when he signed Green Mountain legislative results. Long-time advocates welcomed me The bottom line is that a single-payer healthcare plan care into law in 2011, establishing a road map for a state- into their office in Squirrel Hill with open arms; they costs less and fosters freedom, healthy competition level single-payer system. Larger and less progressive encouraged me to use my artistic passions to rally the among healthcare providers not insurance companies, states will need more help getting single-payer off the cause in a new way. Now, we’d like to welcome you to and opportunity. It promotes equity--every Pennsylvanian ground, and that’s where artists and creative people can attend our next Health Care 4 All PA meeting or start a would have the exact same comprehensive, high quality really help. single-payer project near you. healthcare regardless of income--and a healthier The single-payer movement has yet to capture the heart (Health Care 4 All PA is located at 2101 Murray Commonwealth. of the youthful demographic (approx. 18-40 years of age) Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, We encourage you to visit www.healthcare4allpa.org essential in generating political change. Obama’s 2008 PA. For more information on our next meeting or how to to learn more about the plan and to read the EIS. Become campaign won us over with the help of posters by street get involved, email Julie at healthyartists@gmail.com) an activist. Talk with family and friends and call your artist Shepard Fairey and the resounding optimism of State Senator. Tell them to promote passage of Senate “Hope” and “Change.” Single-payer needs powerful Julie Sokolow is a writer, filmmaker, and musician Bill 400. Join our campaign to establish acclaimed by Pitchfork, Wire, and The What Impact Will the Affordable Health Care Act Have on You? the human right to healthcare and Washington Post. She is a 2012 healthcare justice for all. recipient of a Creative Development Dan Kovalik, legal counsel for the United Steelworkers of America, fears that companies Grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation will seek concessions in contract negotiations with union members to offset their Scott Tyson is a pediatrician and for her first feature-length perceived rising costs for health insurance for their employees, and that some employers longtime advocate for single payer are going to take measures to evade Obamacare requirements – e.g., cut employees’ hours documentary, Aspie Seeks Love. She is health care. He is a founding member to under 30 per week to avoid having to provide insurance. also the producer of the Healthy of Pennsylvanians United for Single We at The New People are interested in hearing about the experiences of our readers. Artists series, which blogs for Michael Please write to us at newpeople@thomasmertoncenter.org. Tell us the good news and the Moore and was recently featured in Payer Health Care (PUSH) and bad news. With your permission, we will share your stories in upcoming issues. Health Care 4 All PA. The Huffington Post. For more about her work, visit www.juliesokolow.com. 4 - NEWPEOPLE December 2013
Governor Corbett's Inadequate Medicaid Plan Spends More Money on Fewer People
Sex and Gender Power Shift Workshop Challenges Male Supremacy by Samantha Wechsler On October 18, 7,000 young leaders converged in Pittsburgh for the Power Shift Conference, a grassroots environmental justice conference. This conference, traditionally held biennially in Washington D.C., came to Pittsburgh for the first time this year. Power Shift leaders were inspired to bring the conference to Pittsburgh because of the ordinance that banned fracking within the city, the first of its kind in the nation. The four-day event not only focused on environmental issues but also tackled other important justice topics including racism, economic justice, sexism, political activism, and sustainability. Throughout the weekend, workshops, panels, and speakers discussed these tough topics with highly receptive audiences of engaged, young activists. One of the most highly attended sessions was a workshop on challenging male supremacy. Esteban Kelly, a dynamic speaker from AORTA, the antioppression and resource training alliance, led this session to an overflowing room of enthusiastic young people of all genders. Kelly began his session by discussing the ways patriarchy intersects with other systems of oppression. He acknowledged that it is important to focus on these systems of oppression, rather than individual efforts. While he did not diminish the negative impact that the prejudice of individuals can cause, he noted that it is more important to see the bigger picture: systemic issues that oppress. Kelly animatedly engaged the group to discuss the five pillars that hold up male supremacy and patriarchy: the gender binary, misogyny, heterosexism, white supremacy, and capitalism. The gender binary refers to the idea that there are only two genders and everyone must fall into one specific category. Not only does this ignore the idea that people fall along a spectrum of gender identity, it also reinforces the idea of a gendered economy. In a gendered economy, a premium is placed on trades seen as male. As a result, when women take on roles traditionally viewed as masculine, they are deemed as inappropriate. This type of thought negatively impacts society as it holds us back from having a more productive economy with people in impactful roles, regardless of gender. Misogyny, the second pillar, is perhaps one of the most obvious ways that male supremacy is furthered. Misogyny, the hatred of women, is all too prevalent in our society, especially in regards to the prevalence of rape culture. The media play
a large role in furthering this destructive culture as they portray rape as a joke or engage in slut shaming, blaming the victim for being raped. Heterosexism, the assumption that people are in heterosexual relationships and only these relationships are appropriate, further contributes to societal oppression. The idea of a stereotypical family evolves from this idea. This concept of a family unit is damaging to society because of the negative impact it has on the economy. The thought of a “traditional” structure of family as a contributing unit hurts anyone who falls outside of this rigid norm. In reality, familial structure is extremely diverse and all forms of it should be accepted. White supremacy was discussed as the fourth pillar in this patriarchal system of male supremacy. Our society’s internalized idea that white is normative and anyone else who deviates from the norm creates a society of “others” that are looked down upon by whites. This destructive concept creates a system that unfairly gives whites unearned privileges and power. Capitalism is the final pillar in this system. This economic model is based on the idea of infinite growth and competition as a way to further this growth. This results in a dangerous way of thinking that those who do not earn money are not making positive, productive contributions to society. However, there are many people who do not have financial earnings yet have an undeniable impact on their families and communities. For example, stay-at-home moms work extremely hard yet their work is viewed as unimportant because money is not exchanged for their work. Not only are women oppressed by this way of thinking but men, families, and communities are hurt by this idea as the concepts of gendered work and contribution are perpetuated. While it can seem daunting to eliminate this structure of male supremacy, it is possible to make a difference. The first step to changing this system of oppression is for individuals to take responsibility for the ways that these systems have helped them, rather than placing blame on anyone. In order to shift the power, we must unite against oppression to move forward. Samantha Wechsler is an intern at the Thomas Merton Center and a senior at the University of Pittsburgh.
Protecting the Self-Determination Rights of the Intersex by Isabel Quan Angela Moreno Lippert (an intersex activist and a speaker for intersex rights) says, “We are not killed off physically, but something vital has been taken from us.”
general, intersex conditions do not cause the person to feel sickness or pain. However, some intersex conditions are associated with serious health issues, which need to be treated medically. However, surgically "correcting" the appearance of intersex genitals will not What does Intersex mean? One in 2,000 babies are born with change these underlying medical needs. Intersex activists oppose ambiguous genitals-- which means they were born with anatomy or physiology “corrective” surgeries on different from contemporary cultural children. stereotypes of what constitute typical male There is a growing movement and female. People call them intersex. In among intersex people and allies to halt reality, the term "intersex" is a these medically unnecessary surgeries until categorization, only made necessary by the child is old enough to decide for society's insistence on maintaining a rigid themselves whether or not such a surgery classification in which human beings are would be desirable. placed in two inflexible stereotypes - male Activists oppose non-consensual and female. genital "normalizing" surgeries on intersex What makes intersex people children primarily because they are similar is their experiences of harmful physically, emotionally and medicalization, not anatomy. There is no sexually, and not necessarily because they single "intersex body;" the term might get the gender of the child "wrong." encompasses a variety of conditions that Traditionally, the medical do not have anything in common except protocol has called for the surgical that they are deemed "abnormal" by the "reconstruction" of these different but medical community. Activists are generally healthy bodies to make them concerned that intersex children (too "normal." But this practice has become young to consent) are often subjected to increasingly controversial, as adults who irreversible “corrective” surgeries which went through the treatment report being may later negatively impact their quality of physically, emotionally, and sexually life. harmed by such procedures. Intersex Intersex rights to selfpeople’s parents usually have surgery determination. performed on the patient while they are Being intersex in this society too still a child. often means that rights to selfIntersex does not mean trans. determination are routinely neglected and In general, issues faced by violated. Intersexuality is primarily a intersex people are very different from problem of stigma and trauma, not gender. those faced by transgender and transsexual Health care providers are usually people (although there are people who are discriminative towards these people and both intersex and transgender). One of the instead of being interested in providing misperceptions that plague the young emotional and psychological support, they intersex movement is the notion that consider the unique needs of their intersex intersex is all about gender. It is not. For patients as technical abnormalities to be many intersex people, the problems they eliminated. face are shame, secrecy, isolation, and the What’s wrong with classifying history of sexual trauma within medical settings. When some transgender people people as male, female, and their advocates conflate intersex and intersex? trans, it sends the wrong message about Using “intersex” as a gender or what intersex is all about and what intersex sex category is not simply incorrect; it is activists are fighting for. hurtful because it makes intersex seem like How can we help? Raise a neutral, stigma-free category. Intersex Awareness and Educate activists feel that using “intersex” as a neutral gender or sex category trivializes We need a general wake-up call the actual pain of medical abuse that in this society. We also need to inform and people go through when they are labeled to campaign in order to remove the “intersex.” ignorance, social prejudice, and It is a natural biological variation stigmatization which surround intersex of sex, not a "disease" or "birth defect." In people. Intersex people deserve to be accepted fully into society without shame, secrecy, or attempts at eugenicist elimination.
The Pillars of Male Supremacy, as discussed by speaker Esteban Kelly at Power Shift. Photo by Samantha Wechsler.
Isabel Quan is a freelance writer for The Atlantic and Tea Leaf Nation magazines.
December 2013
NEWPEOPLE - 5
International Relations Palestinian Victims Portrayed Wrongly
Fight the TPP "Death Star" Now
by Michael Drohan tolerated by them. Halper maintains that the by Tim Cimino turn your internet provider into someone During the weekend November 2-4, vast majority of the settlers are economic It’s being called “NAFTA on steroids,” who could police any potential misuse of Pittsburgh was graced by the presence of settlers in the sense that they are there only “son of SOPA” (Stop Online Piracy Act), copyrighted materials, even a copyrighted Jeff Halper, an American-born Jew who has because of the economic enticements of the and a corporate planet-destroying “Death- recipe that you shared, for instance. There lived in West Jerusalem for the last forty Israeli government which wants to establish Star.” It’s the Trans-Pacific Partnership or are fears of very high fines, or a three years. He is the co-founder and director of “facts on the ground” which have made a TPP, an agreement that is being worked strikes process in which you would the Israeli Committee Against House contiguous Palestinian state impossible. out in secret between 12 countries, and eventually be blocked from the Internet Demolitions (ICADH.org). While in These developments of settler enclaves in covering 40% of the world’s economy. and your uploaded content deleted. Pittsburgh he gave two workshops and the West Bank have made a two-state The U.S. has been involved in Lori Wallach summed it up as follows: made several presentations on the situation solution practically impossible whatever negotiations since 2008, but members of “There’s almost no part of your life, or in Israel/Palestine and how we can best Israel and the U.S., its patron, says to the Congress have only been allowed brief the things you care about, that the direct our energies to advocate for contrary. In fact, it is hard to believe that the looks at it starting in June of this year. agreement couldn’t undermine.” Palestinian-Israeli peace. He also introduced Israeli government does not realize what its It’s called a free trade agreement, but Constitutionally, Congress has Bill McKibben at the 2014 Merton Award policies have wrought and that the rhetoric only five of its 29 chapters deal with complete authority over trade agreements. Dinner and outlined the environmental about a peace process and a two-state trade. According to Lori Wallach, director But in the past, it had delegated complete dimensions of the Israeli occupation of the solution is merely a decoy while more “facts of Public Citizen’s global trade watch, authority to the President to negotiate the West Bank, in particular the strain on the on the ground” are established. most of it either limits the sovereignty of treaty. This is called “Fast Track” and the Palestinian aquifers by massive use of this In the light of the realities on the ground, governments, or it gives corporations new danger is that Congress could again give resource by Israel. Halper believes that the two-state solution is powers. In other words, any U.S. laws or the authority to the President. The Obama For Jeff Halper, a crucial element in the dead; all that is possible is a charade, a set of laws in other countries that violate the administration supports the TPP, and is maintenance and strengthening of the Bantustans in which Palestinians are agreement would have to be changed. asking for Fast Track authority, but Fast occupation of Palestine is the framing of the enclosed, controlled and impoverished. He Thus many laws that enforce food Track would not allow Congress (or us) problem. The Israelis’ framing of the issue maintains that we have to move on from a safety, environmental standards, financial to review the agreement before it became is masterful and has succeeded in struggle for two separate states to civil and regulations, and energy and climate binding. dominating the perception of the situation equal rights in a bi-national state. policy would be struck down or neutered. This month and the first quarter of next globally; Israel portrays itself as the victim Perhaps the greatest obstacle to any Meanwhile, other chapters give powers to year are a critical time for advocacy. The besieged by a relentless terrorist foe which solution in Israel/Palestine has been the U.S. corporations. One worrisome new power good news is that some of the other threatens the existence of the State of Israel Without the U.S. military and economic would be the “investor state system” that negotiating nations have been fighting and would have it disappear. In the Israeli support, Israel could in no way continue its would allow corporations to sue some of the anti-sovereignty measures. brutal assault on Gaza in December 2008/ illegal occupation of the West Bank. The governments not through the national As of this writing, the TPP issue is near January 2009, 2,800 Palestinians were killed support is not covert but out in plain sight. court system, or even the United Nations, the top of Reddit (a user-generated news while only 25 Israelis were killed. Hospitals, Witness the recent vetoing by the U.S. of the but directly through private tribunals of feed), so many people in this country are schools, government offices and homes in granting of observer status to the Palestinian lawyers of TPP acting as judges. aware of it. Please do your part. Consider Gaza were bombed relentlessly and Authority in the UN. All this, while the Here’s an example of the kinds of writing your Legislators and President destroyed. Nevertheless, Israel portrayed U.S. calls itself the only honest broker of lawsuits: Phillip Morris attempted to sue Obama. Also consider forwarding the 12itself as the party victimized by the Gazan peace and reconciliation in Israel/Palestine. Australia for lost expected profits because minute Democracy Now “Corporate Goliath. Similarly, in the larger picture, the The hypocrisy defies all reason. From the of their law that requires plain cigarette Trojan Horse” video on TPP to your frequent military forays into the West Bank, U.S. point of view, however, it is all good, packaging, and therefore limits Phillip friends, asking them also to take action. the uprooting of thousands of olive trees, the since Israel keeps at bay all unruly elements Morris’s ability to entice people to More information can be found at ubiquitous checkpoints and the building of a in the Middle East and keeps the oil smoke. ExposetheTPP.org. Wall two times the height of the Berlin Wall flowing. Wikileaks obtained and published the and five times longer are all portrayed as TPP chapter on Intellectual Property. Tim Cimino is a member of the Thomas Michael Drohan is a member of the board measures instituted by a weak embattled There’s a section in it very much like Merton Center. of the Thomas Merton Center and copeaceful Israel whose overtures for peaceful SOPA. The possibility exists that it could chair of the editorial collective. coexistence are all rejected by a relentless and powerful foe. In fact, the reality of life for the Palestinian people is little better than torture. The Wall, the checkpoints, the by Kenneth Miller union, a union that proscribes the same rights and privileges to all harassment by settlers, the demolition of While the National Garment Workers Federation of members, as workers in Bangladesh making pennies on our houses and uprooting of olive trees make Bangladesh (NGWF) has been demanding transparency, the May dollars? A latte at Starbucks in Chile cost THE SAME as a latte life little better than prison. Gaza as a 13 Bangladesh Safety Accord is an agreement to aggregate the at Starbucks in Pittsburgh. whole has been described as an open air factory lists, making it more difficult to determine what factories Factories are closing in Bangladesh—the ones that are just too prison and the West Bank is little better. are producing products for which retailers and licensers. The dangerous to remain open. The workers there are union members Because of the separation of the different NGWF is a signatory and is implementing the accord with safety and they need jobs in other factories that are signatories to the sections of the West Bank (generally committees making reports from tens of factories throughout Bangladesh Safety Accord. The transferability is for members of described as Bantustans) from one Dhaka. the National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh. another, commerce between them is The NGWF is a labor union. The Bangladesh Center for Kenneth Miller is a member of the editorial collective. made impossible and families and Workers Solidarity is a non-governmental organization. It is communities are divided from one unclear how they are working together with the U.S. Trade another. It is difficult to describe and Representatives and U.S. AID and the AFL-CIO Solidarity imagine the daily humiliations and Center. United Students Against Sweatshops is having harassments to which the Palestinian success convincing colleges and universities to join the population is subjected. Yet the Accord and make a 5-year commitment to maintaining Palestinians are described as powerful production levels in Bangladesh. They have called the oppressors. Accord a "contract for garment workers in Bangladesh.” It In the Israeli framing of the situation, is a critical manifestation of the Worker Rights the word OCCUPATION is language Consortium's Designated Supplier Program; they are trying that is never used. To the rest of the to expand it throughout the global apparel industry. At world, however, Israel occupied the West PNC Park, we called this a "Multi Fiber Freeze," a way to Bank and Gaza in 1967 and since then stop "cut and run" of suppliers from the labor union. has been an occupying power with all its The Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance/ obligations as spelled out in the Fourth TMC Project and the Black Political Empowerment Geneva Convention. The infractions of Project, have ongoing initiatives to dialogue with the this Convention are numberless and university administrations and the local governments about blatant. But here enters another dimension implementation of their respective Codes of Conduct, not to of the framing. The Israelis maintain that mention a requirement that suppliers and licensees sign DHAKA, BANGLADESH— December 31, 2012. Members of the the entire territory west of the Jordan National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh at one of six onto the Bangladesh Safety Accord. The Industrial demonstrations last winter. NGWF president Amirul Haque Amin River belongs to them and was given to Workers of the World are actively fundraising to support them by God as Eretz Israel or the land of the National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh. holds the microphone. The banner reads: “Hi Wal Mart, Business Cut & Run is not the Solution—Ensure Transparency, Fair Trade and Israel. In this framing, the Palestinians are Religion, geography, time, language. . . all difficult to Responsibility: Compensate Dead and Injured of Tazreen Fashion, Sign on Israeli land and are generously transcend. But the biggest problem is the wage the Healthy-Safety Memorandum of Understanding” disparity. How do workers in PA organize into the same 6 - NEWPEOPLE December 2013
Bangladeshi Workers Mobilize to Demand Transparency
Speaking for Peace Film Review:
by Jo Tavener Robert Greenwald has made a remarkable film that looks at the global impact of American drone strikes on Pakistan. The film opens with the gathering of a jirga, comprised of tribal elders, drone victims and the general public. It was organized to find out who had been killed, where, why and how to provide credible evidence of civilian and otherwise unwarranted drone deaths for an international press, gathered for the occasion. The film looks at the impact of U.S. drone strikes through more than 70 interviews with attack survivors in Pakistan, a former U.S. drone operator, military officials and more. A case in point is the story of Tariq Aziz, a 16-year-old boy from a small village that had been repeatedly attacked. Here is Neil Williams account of his encounter with Tariq: Neil Williams: When I was talking to Tariq, one of the first things that he did was he handed me his cousin’s student ID card. And as I looked at it, I looked back at Tariq, and I noticed that he was crying. He started to tell me the story of his cousin,
Robert Greenwald’s Unmanned, America’s Drone Wars who had been killed from a drone strike. He had come to the jirga primarily to inform us a little bit more about what had happened to his cousin, to people in his local village, and find out how to stop the killing. We sat together all day. We ate together at lunch time. We laughed together. We became friends. Tariq was extremely intelligent and funny to be around. He had a nice sense of humor. He was fascinated by photography and intrigued by Western music, mentioning artists. And one that sprang to mind was Lady Gaga. He started to talk about drone strikes in his village, how he was unable to sleep at night. He was scared. He was worried about his family, his friends. Tariq was traumatized. As noted by others in the film, had the authorities wanted to contact, question or arrest Tariq, they could have done so easily while he was in Islamabad. The conference had been publized before hand and was open to all. Instead, they waited three days to kill him back in his village. Neither Pakistan nor the United States has acknowledged the killing. In
fact, the United States had not acknowledge any such drone attacks in Pakistan over the past few years. While claiming that all acknowledged drone attacks have killed only known terrorists, the United States has used signature strikes to kill unknown men, women and children that they say act “as if” they were terrorists. Such a justification has gone unchallenged legally so far. However, the film along with testimonials recently in the House of Representatives, organized by Rep. Alan Grayson, and on-going actions by Code Pink are attempting to change the situation here at home. For those who know little about drone warfare, the film is a revelation. For those who know about the administration drone policy and approve of it, the film provides adequate evidence to give one pause and to reconsider. For those who reject the policy as criminal, the film provides ample proof of a world-wide rejection of drone warfare
along with a worrisome glance at the possible blowback from such killings and an ensuing national insecurity that results. Jo Tavener is a member of the editorial collective and has taught at New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University and Point Park University.
Peace Summit in Poland as seen by Young Pittsburgh Scholar (continued from page 1)
The topics of the panel discussion ranged from Inequalities in Social Justice to Standing in Solidarity with Peace. My favorite session was Human and Social Values in the Time of Crisis, in which I had the opportunity to listen to Mairead Maguire, a peace activist whom I admire greatly. After the sessions each day was a lunch, provided by the Civic Academy. I looked forward to this time as a time to meet and connect with youth from all across the world who share a passion for peace and social justice. One interesting workshop I attended, People Power for Nuclear Exits, was led by Dr. Tadatoshi, the former mayor of Hiroshima. Dr. Tadatoshi, in the past decade, has done an incredible amount of work to bring understanding to the dangers of possessing nuclear weapons. Currently, Dr. Tadatoshi is proposing the idea of a Nuclear Exit Summit for the year of 2015.
Dr. Tadatoshi has crafted a set of sufficient problem. Earlier in the day, Muhammad set out to put an end to the violence and conditions needed in order for nuclear Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate who killing in her home country. Now, Mairead disarmament to take place. Prior to created a renowned system for acquiring Maguire has become a world advocate for attending this lecture, I must say that I microloans in Bangladesh, used one of my non-violence training and is now inspiring knew little about nuclear weapons but I favorite quotes which is, “You can give a millions as she continues her work in feel as if I have been given a new man a fish and feed him for a day, or you Syria, actively supporting the non-violence perspective on the intricate role nuclear can teach a man to fish and feed him for a movement. disarmament plays in obtaining peace. lifetime.” Annie and I believe this I cannot express in words how grateful I With me in Warsaw was a wonderful, powerful metaphor should be applied to all am to have received this opportunity. diverse group of AFSC workers and areas of humanitarian work. Memories from Warsaw will stay with me volunteers. My roommate, Annie, is also This trip to Warsaw once again made throughout my entire life and each day I in college majoring in English, and her clear to me the power one individual can think back to the incredible friendships, passion for social justice and peace is very have in changing the world. Most of the inspiration, and hope I gained. Pokoj! – strong. Throughout the trip most of us laureates I heard from are people from Peace in Polish” bonded closely with each other and spent everyday backgrounds who voiced their the evenings exploring Warsaw and trying concerns about injustices they saw and Angelina Winbush is a first-year student out delicious bites from the Polish cuisine. then went on to lead extraordinary lives of at Allegheny College, and Scilla One distinct conversation I remember peacemaking. Mairead Maguire, one of Wahrhaftig is Program Director of the occurred after Annie and I had attended a my heroes, was personally affected by the American Friends Service committee PA workshop, led by an anti-hunger violence in Northern Ireland. Devastated program. organization. Although we were both by what she witnessed, Mairead Maguire impressed with the dedication of this organization, we pondered whether Every Monday at 9:00 PM organizations such as these truly aid in decreasing world hunger. From my perspective, I see airs within city limits: the root cause of hunger being Comcast Channel 21 + Verizon FiOS Channel 47 poverty. We also discussed how antiWatch live at December: hunger www.pctv21.org organizations may Bill McKibben, 350.0rg not be directly See more at TMC Banquet speech tackling the root www.youtube.com/
Progressive Pgh Notebook TV Series
richfishpgh
WARSAW, POLAND— Angelina Winbush at the 13th Nobel Peace Laureate Summit
Rich Fishkin: Camera and Editor C.S. Rhoten: Community Producer for PCTV21
January: Sierra Club Roundtable on Climate Change — Part II
Pittsburgh Community Television Corporation
December 2013
NEWPEOPLE - 7
Violent Injustice Solitary Confinement is Torture
Citizens Police Review Board Meets in Homewood by Mark Ozark Pittsburgh's Independent Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB) held its October public meeting on the 22nd at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA. CPRB most often meets in City Council Chambers downtown, but in recent years has been reaching out by holding some monthly meetings in the neighborhoods. This gives concerned citizens a convenient opportunity to learn what CPRB is and does. Coincidentally, October 22nd is the annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. During the public comment section of the meeting, community activist Celeste Taylor spoke to the Board on behalf of the October 22nd Coalition and its Stolen Lives Project. She gave copies of the Coalition's Call for Action to the Board, staff, and meeting attendees, and thanked CPRB Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger for compiling a list of Stolen Lives in Pennsylvania. Visit http://summitagainstracism.blogspot.com/ for more information. Four of the seven members of the Board attended the meeting. Executive Director Pittinger noted in her report to the Board that although several members' terms are expiring, and some have lost eligibility to serve, the appointment process is in a holding pattern. Concerned citizens should make sure that Council and the Mayorelect, Bill Peduto, fulfill their obligations to fill the Board to its full complement as soon as possible. Since the Board is an official government body and operates on the basis of a quorum, it is unfair to the sitting members, the public, and the police, to place the responsibility of police review on a reduced number of members. Twenty-seven sworn complaints of alleged police misconduct were voted on by the Board. Members had been provided with reports and recommendations by the investigative staff.
The Board agreed that some of the cases warranted public hearings. They will involve subpoenaed witnesses, sworn evidence, prosecution, defense, and eventual judgment by three empaneled Board members. As the name "public hearing" implies, these proceedings are open to the public. Details and schedules are available on the CPRB website. Interested attendance at these hearings is an important step toward improving the performance of Pittsburgh's police. One of the case reviews, about a complaint by a subordinate police officer against a superior, precipitated a welcome, important, and extended discussion of the role and purpose of the Board, in particular its independence from all other avenues for addressing police misconduct. Video recordings of Board meetings are available on CPRB's website, cprbpgh.org. At them, dedicated people do hard work, sometimes in gray ethical areas. Don’t expect monthly board meetings to be glamorous or exciting. If you believe that lasting improvement comes from steady reasoned pressure, attend the next meeting, on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, in City Council Chambers downtown. Mark Ozark occasionally reports on the CPRB for the Black and White Reunion, whose annual Summit Against Racism is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2014 at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.
by Michael Drohan On November 11, Jules Lobel, Pitt Law Professor and President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, gave a lecture at the Barco Law School on solitary confinement in the State of California, specifically in Pelican Bay Supermax, Northern California. Jules represents the prisoners in Pelican Bay who are in solitary and who are challenging their solitary status which in many cases has lasted for decades. Conditions in solitary are truly draconian: the prisoners are confined to windowless cells 24 hours a day with no contact with other human beings. Not only contact with other humans is denied them but also contact with the natural world. They never get to see a tree or the sky or hear a bird sing. Total sense deprivation is the order of things in solitary. In the law case on behalf of the prisoners in Pelican being brought by Jules, the basic contention is that solitary for an extended period of time constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, that is, torture. The UN Rapporteur on torture has ruled that 15 days of solitary is about the limit of bearability for any human being in solitary. Nevertheless, in the U.S. penal system, solitary for years, even decades, is normal. An interesting historical footnote to the institution of solitary is that in the U.S. it was introduced by the Quakers as an instrument of reform and rehabilitation of prisoners. Jules quoted the observations of Charles Dickens on the occasion of his visit to a penitentiary in Cherry Hill, near Philadelphia in 1842. Dickens had the following to say about what he observed on the occasion of his visit: “ From what I have seen written upon their faces, and what to my certain knowledge they feel within, I am only the more convinced that there is a depth of terrible endurance in which none but the sufferers themselves can fathom, and which no man has a right to inflict upon his fellow creature. I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye and sense of touch as scars upon the flesh; because its wounds are not upon the surface, and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore the more
I denounce it, as a secret punishment which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay.” Solitary was abolished more than a hundred years ago in the U.S., influenced no doubt by Dickens and others who depicted it as more cruel than any physical punishment. It was revived, however, in the 1980s. The institution has been challenged in Pelican Bay and elsewhere with limited success to date. In 1991, the famed Civil Rights Judge, Thelton Henderson ruled on a constitutional challenge to the excessive use of force at Pelican Bay ( Madrid v Gomez) in which he catalogued the unnecessary and excessively violent cell-extractions, the hog-tying of prisoners, the caging of naked prisoners outside for long periods of time in cold and rainy weather and the staff beatings of prisoners. He concluded that violence was used by staff “not only in good faith efforts to restore and maintain order, but also for the very purpose of inflicting punishment and pain.” On solitary itself, however, Henderson ruled that for ordinary prisoners it does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, i.e., torture. For prisoners who suffer from mental disorders, solitary was deemed to constitute torture. Somewhat extraordinary for a liberal civil rights judge with a stellar record. In U.S. culture, Jules asserts, the damage done by the inflicting of mental pain is underestimated. For it to be considered cruelty or torture, it has to drive someone crazy. One of the extraordinary facets of the present legal struggle in Pelican Bay that Jules has observed is the extraordinary solidarity that has been built among those confined to solitary. One of the mysteries is why it has not driven them crazy but instead has enabled them to develop extraordinary bonds beyond race, religion and age. In fighting the system, more than 30,000 prisoners have gone on hunger strike in California. Jules’ conclusion is that it is the resistance itself that is the fount of their maintenance of sanity. It is all quite an extraordinary tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and a summons to us all to join in solidarity with them. Michael Drohan is a member of the board of the Thomas Merton Center and co-chair of the editorial collective.
Thomas Merton Center Statement on Gun Violence Prevention Adopted at the October 21, 2013 Board Meeting We, the Board of Directors of the Thomas Merton Center, have watched with increasing unease and profound sadness as gun violence claims the lives of more citizens (both locally and nationally) on a daily basis. We are appalled that as of today, exactly ten months and one week after the Newtown/Sandy Hook tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 first graders and 6 school teachers/administrators, 19 months after Pittsburgh’s own massacre at Western Psych, and 4 months since the George Zimmerman verdict, the seemingly endless discussion about 8 - NEWPEOPLE
solutions to senseless acts such as these and the near daily shootings in our own neighborhoods has thus far yielded absolutely no tangible results. We believe, as an organization founded upon the principles of peace and nonviolence, that it is time for all communities in the greater Pittsburgh area to work together in the spirit of compassion and solidarity to eradicate this problem through community initiatives and outreach. Perhaps more importantly, and almost certainly more tangibly, we believe that it is time for our state and federal legislators to enact common-sense legislation designed to keep the firearms used in these killings of out the hands of December 2013
potential murderers. These laws include: •A national ban on military-style, semi-automatic “assault” weapons. •A national limitation on the amount of ammunition that can be included in highcapacity magazines. •A national (S 649/HR 1565) or statewide (HB 1010) law requiring background checks for every gun sold. •A national or statewide law to reduce gun trafficking by requiring every gun owner to report to local law enforcement the loss or theft of any firearm owned by him/her. •The repeal of any (both in Pennsylvania and in the 30 other states
that have enacted) so-called “stand-yourground” laws whose sole purpose is to eliminate the duty to retreat from perceived “danger” (itself very subjective) before using deadly force. We at the Thomas Merton Center believe above all in a just and peaceful society. Although we recognize that all of our proposed solutions together may not completely and decisively eliminate gun violence in our community, state and nation, we are more confident that these proposals will have an immediate positive impact. Only together will we achieve peace.
Life In Prison Pennsylvania Still Has the Death Penalty by Martha R. Conley According to Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center, death sentences have declined by 75% and executions by 50% in the last decade. Pennsylvania is out of step with the rest of the country and the rest of the world once more. Even as the use of the death penalty is in decline elsewhere, Pennsylvania prosecutors continue to seek the death penalty. Pennsylvania juries continue to sentence to death and Pennsylvania is poised to begin executing people again as a number of inmates exhaust their appeals. Pennsylvania has exonerated more people (6) than it has executed (3) since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 and yet it has the fourth largest death row in the country. Aside from the six exonerees noted above, Pennsylvania Courts have vacated numerous death sentences, reducing them to life sentences. These decisions document the many Constitutional violations rendered in Pennsylvania Courts involving eyewitness misidentification, faulty science, poor defense lawyering, racial bias, police, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, coerced confessions and unreliable informant testimony. Furthermore, Pennsylvania is the only state that provides no funding for indigent defense (leaving it to the individual counties) which may explain, in part, its burgeoning prisons and jails. It is widely conceded that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime. In fact, statistics show that many states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than those with it. If it were a deterrent, Texas would be homicide free by now. The only advantage the death penalty provides is as a stepping-stone to higher political office for politicians who want to appear tough on crime and need an issue on which to campaign. The Innocence Project at Cardozo University has succeeded in freeing 311 people by the use of DNA evidence throughout the United States –some of them from death row. It has also succeeded in demonstrating that the criminal justice system is infected with serious legal errors. William Stuntz pointed out in his book, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice that 19 of every 20 felony convictions in the U.S. are obtained through plea bargaining. Defendants are threatened with extremely harsh sentences if they refuse to cooperate and plead guilty (extortion in any other context). That 20th case just may be an innocent person facing the death penalty. The innocent are often convinced that they could not possibly be convicted. They are innocent! The guilty and innocent are often given the opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid the death penalty. The innocent often dig in their heels and refuse to plead guilty to something they did not do. They refuse to lie and sometimes end up on death row in spite of their innocence. As one former death row inmate said after years on death row and finally agreeing to plead guilty to something he did not do, “I told you I was
innocent and you locked me up, I told you I was guilty and you let me out.” The West Memphis Three found themselves in that very situation. They maintained their innocence, but were forced to plead guilty to get out of prison. Generally speaking prosecutors seem to be unable to admit when they are wrong. They also are probably attempting to protect the state from a wrongful conviction lawsuit. The federal government, The District of Columbia and 29 states provide compensation to the wrongly convicted. Of course, Pennsylvania is among the 21 states that do not. Since death row in Pennsylvania is solitary confinement, we then have the distinction of torturing people before they are scheduled to die by killing them slowly in solitary. The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that it is unconstitutional to subject juveniles and retarded persons to capital punishment. Apparently prosecutors in Pennsylvania are so concerned that a few people may escape the ultimate punishment by pretending to be retarded that they are insisting that taxpayers foot the bill for a full blown death penalty trial after which the jury will decide whether a person is retarded or not. A much more economical approach would be to have the judge make that determination based on school records prior to trial and avoid the expense of a capital case. It is difficult to imagine that people would pretend to be retarded in elementary school in order to avoid a potential death sentence 20 years later. Pennsylvania is surrounded by states that have abolished the death penalty in recent years. These include New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland. The Delaware Senate voted recently to repeal the death penalty. (West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965.) Even some conservatives are jumping on the anti-death penalty bandwagon (Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty) noting that it is too expensive, not a deterrent, unequally applied and visited on the innocent. While we lay off teachers and close schools in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has plans to build three more prisons. Apparently, our legislators would rather spend billions maintaining a medieval system than spend money on providing quality education for our children. Aside from the moral question inherent in permitting the Commonwealth to kill its citizens some of whom are undoubtedly innocent, it is costing Pennsylvania taxpayers approximately 10 million dollars a year to house 204 death row inmates in solitary confinement--$300 million dollars over 30 years. Pennsylvania should abolish the death penalty now. Martha R. Conley is Chair of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Why Are We Keeping Grandparents/ Elderly in Jail? me, "It's very tough surviving prison. The provoking, verbal abuse, and violence only add to the original sentence term. Little things begin to add [up] causing inmates to react in ways with custody staff or fellow prisoners. Overcrowded conditions, poor medical service, lack of interaction with Administrative Staff is staggering." Under these conditions, it isn't surprising that older adults in prison actually age at an accelerated rate. In fact, the elderly population in corrections is defined as aged 50 and above primarily because the typical 50-year-old inmate has the health status of a 65-year-old or older individual outside of prison. More than 3,000 older men and women will die each year in prison, even though they were not officially sentenced to death. But because of the lengthy sentences they received, they might as well have been. The effects of lengthy sentences and general prison culture aren't the only factors to take into account when assessing the needs of this population. Often, older prisoners have lived with the cumulative effects of a lifetime of untreated trauma as victims of family, community, and institutional abuse. Because of this history of untreated victimization, older prisoners are at an increased risk of adverse physical and mental health, such as depression, PTSD, and cognitive impairment that today, the correctional system is not adequately equipped to address. While there are some geriatric specific programs, these programs are few and far between, and little research has been done to assess their actual effectiveness. With the elderly prison population expected only to increase, these few existing programs will be less and less able to address their needs. As Eleanor Roosevelt so aptly said, "Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both." When looking beyond the mugshot to the bigger picture, mounting evidence suggests that older adult offenders are also the victims of abuse and neglect by our prison system. The time to take action is now, both for our societal mores and our collective pocketbook.
by Donna Hill America's prisons aren't just overcrowded. They are rapidly graying. We know that Life means Life in Pennsylvania or until the day a lifer dies. People with Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer and illness associated with aging are prevalent in the elderly lifer population in Pennsylvania. Yet they aren’t afforded the health care that needs to be given to them. Does this not fall under cruel and unusual punishment? Why should we care? Because at $68,000 per prisoner per year, older adults in prison cost three times as much as their younger counterparts and with the older prisoner population now five times as large as it was in 1990, we can no longer afford to ignore this growing financial cost and hidden humanitarian crisis. While there are many complicated aspects to this issue, one thing is clear: These elderly prisoners aren't the only offenders. The system itself is an offender too. Perhaps the largest tragedy is that the exponential increase of older adults in prison is not due to a crime surge in that demographic but rather is the result of stricter sentencing laws passed in the midst of the 1980's tough- on-crime fervor. With these laws still on the books today, we are basically building into law an aging population that will only grow along with their costly health needs, even though recidivism rates among lifers aged 50 and up is at 0.01%. No one is suggesting we go soft on crime. Individuals found guilty are and will continue to be held accountable for their crimes. But the older adult prison population is a highly vulnerable and neglected one. There are few professions and communities that can solely and Donna Hill is President of Fight for adequately address their needs. As a Lifers West. society, it is essential that we uphold our ethical obligation to respect their inherent dignity and worth, To report abuse or request resources, write while at the same to: time attending to societal concerns HRC/ FedUp! about public safety. Thomas Merton Center Prisons are well 5129 Penn Avenue known for their FedUp! is the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15224 culture of violence, chapter of the Human neglect, and Rights Coalition dedicated to upholding the rights overcrowding and of prisoners through providing resources and are havens for gang support, exposing injustices, and building activity. Older relationships with people in prison and their adults, because of advocates. We are an organization of concerned their increasing citizens, people in prison To volunteer, come to frailty, are especially and their loved ones. Our the Thomas Merton vulnerable to Center on Wednesdays focus is on high level victimization in this security facilities in at 7:00 p.m. environment. As one Pennsylvania. 62-year-old wrote to
FedUp! Letters to Prisoners
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Local Labor disaffected worker, about work that’s more rewarding and accountable, that’s what many people want. Get them thinking about their own experience, and they begin to see how much sense worker-ownership makes. Union leaders know that bargaining doesn’t get very far these days, so you start thinking outside that paradigm: how can we influence the economy and improve our members’ lives? Then we get into issues of trade and the environment, on green jobs and the blue-green alliance between middle class progressives and unions and their members When we first talked about working with the Sierra Club, nobody got it. Just the idea of not just jobs but environmentally safe jobs was difficult. Today it does make sense and I think we’re getting to the notion of worker-ownership and unions. Now that we’re talking about it, people understand that it could provide an economic foundation for a stronger and broader blue-green alliance, one that sustains community and creates a new world for all workers. The more it becomes mainstream, the more possibilities for incubating new businesses and growing a new economy and a whole new way of life.
How to Move Toward Regional Worker-Owned Cooperatives Part III of Jo Tavener’s Interview with Rob Witherell of the United Steelworkers Rob Witherell: We are trying to build on the Cleveland example here in Pittsburgh. Cleveland’s success story still gets marginalized so we’re working on and supporting a number of projects. We talk to people all over the country. After our 2009 announcement, a study group was formed in Cincinnati to discuss how they might apply the co-op idea. Today a more formal group drawn from the community includes the Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative. They are looking at incubating seven projects. The first, “Our Harvest” to develop a food hub, is training folks to become farmer-owners. USW’s local members, 3000 employers in 5000 contracts, know if business is doing well or if it could do better. There’s a lot of knowledge at that level but attention is on contract negotiation and minimizing concessions if the company isn’t doing well. Local union leaders need to use their members’ knowledge to explore other ways of saving good paying jobs. We need to make the concept of worker ownership available to our members and local leaders. Jo Tavener: Right now you’re in the educational phase. Rob: Yes, and setting up supporting structure. Even if you had a good lead on a business about to go bankrupt, and looking for a buyer, you’d need capital to buy it. Mondragon in Spain has Caja Laboural, the labor bank, the people’s bank created by the cooperative with the community. Community deposits enable investment in new co-ops, which also put money in the bank-pooled resources. Most investments come from the community as consumer investments like loans and mortgages. Jo: So if co-ops take off here, that would be a way to raise capital? Rob: It’s part of the structure that’s needed to grow the co-op movement on a larger scale. Some banks are out there but their ability to lend is limited as is the incentive to lend to co-ops. Ask a bank for a loan for your co-op, you get “what’s that?” or “we don’t loan to that sort of business.” It’s vital to establish the idea of worker-ownership as a business model. Jo: So we need examples of successful co-ops to get banks to take you seriously. Rob: Here in Pittsburgh, this workerowned laundry may show what can be done. We also need to use public resources to fund these projects. Why
provide huge tax breaks to multi-nationals that may leave in five years? Why not support worker-owned businesses that are here to stay? You’d improve the local tax base and create ongoing local jobs in the community. Happily, our next mayor is very supportive of the idea. He may be able to connect some of the dots and make some of this happen. Once the laundry is going and people in the community come up with new ideas, people in power make the connections, so you start building something strong and lasting. Jo: This really is a grassroots movement. One coop may not be a big deal but when a number of coops form alliances and pool resources, we can gain momentum and move forward. Rob: They have to build on one another. There may not be the appetite right now to turn the post office into a giant worker cooperative, but if we build smaller projects locally--as slow as progress has been on this local laundry--it has a lot of support and is very viable. It’s just a matter of time. Seven and a half percent official unemployment is the new norm, with actual unemployment a lot higher. Prospects for good sustainable jobs disappearing, cities falling apart, but here’s an opportunity to build in a new way. Jo: We can redirect discussion from diminishing tax bases and fewer public jobs to community renewal and new opportunities. Rob: The person on the street may not see herself as political but start talking about being a
Jo Tavener is a member of the editorial collective and has taught at New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University and Point Park University.
$20 Labor Organizing Gift Package for Workers and Students Give the gift of labor education that lasts all year long:
2014 IWW Labor History Calendar, produced by the Hungarian Workers Literature Fund and the Kansas City IWW A short book called Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks by Daniel Gross and Staughton Lynd with artwork by Tom Keough
TWO Pittsburgh IWW union organizing buttons made at Steel Valley Printers Send a check for $20 to the Pittsburgh IWW, P.O. Box 5912 Pittsburgh, PA 15210 Join the Industrial Workers of the World Today. Pittsburgh IWW Hotline: 412-894-0558 www.IWW.org
Retail and Extraction Workers, Come to the Pennsylvania Farm Show! by Kenneth Miller Kenneth Miller 412-512-1709 and Alex Lotorto 570-269-9589 are organizing union activists to attend the Pennsylvania Farm Show January 4 - 11, 2014 in Harrisburg. This is the best place to compare union label and picket line contract language in advance of UFCW Local 23 bargaining with Giant Eagle. We are inviting members of UFCW Local 23 and Ohio Local 800 and members of the two Teamster Locals that represent OKAY Grocery warehouse truckers and warehouse workers. We want to bargain with Giant Eagle together, line Sculpture made of butter at the 2013 PA up contract expiration dates and win a Farm Show — Come see the 2014 butter Martin Luther King Day holiday and figure sculpture in person! 10 - NEWPEOPLE
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out contract provisions and pattern bargaining strategies that will help us organize up and down the supply chain. There is lots that can be done to accomplish these goals at the Farm Show. We will also eat delicious food at the world famous Farm Show Food Court and survey the splendor of Pennsylvania agriculture. Kenneth and Alex are seeking labor union and organizational support to provide some child care, travel, housing, translation, and media services for Giant Eagle workers and Wal Mart workers to be a part of the Alternative Media Fair at the Farm Show. We are organizing at the next Pittsburgh IWW meeting and the UFCW
Local 23 membership meeting on December 11. Alex Lotorto has world class experience organizing in the Pennsylvania Extraction Sector and working with our state's regulatory agencies. We will try to have a stack of the new book about July Bari and the organizing of Earth First and the Industrial Workers of the World with loggers and environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest. Kenneth Miller is a member of the editorial collective, UFCW Local 23, and the Industrial Workers of the World.
Faith Alive in Justice Book Review:
Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
by Michael Drohan Reza Aslan’s new book entitled Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is if anything controversial. Aslan has been attacked by Fox News religion editor, Lauren Green, for daring to write a life of Jesus because he is a Muslim. In the PostGazette, Rebecca Denova, a biblical studies professor at the University of Pittsburgh, berated his understanding of biblical history and interpretation. Rev. Chris Stubna of St. Paul’s Cathedral dismisses his book because his specialty is creative writing and not biblical studies. Aslan has appeared on NPR’s program Fresh Air with Terry Gross. On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart gave him a more favorable exposure. All very good for sales. Reza Aslan has an interesting background to say the least. He was born in Iran in a nominal Muslim household and emigrated to the United States in 1979 as a boy after the overthrow of the Shah. In his boyhood, he became an evangelical Christian and a fervent evangelizer converting his own mother to the Christian faith. When he later attended Santa Clara University, he took up religious studies and at the instigation of the Jesuits he returned to the faith of his childhood, namely Islam. He maintains, however, his admiration for the person of Jesus of Nazareth while rejecting the idea of Jesus the Savior or Christ. This admiration for the man Jesus comes through very clearly in the book I am not a biblical scholar, so I cannot weigh in on some of the more substantive issues he raises in the book. So my review is confined to some broader observations about the book. To me, the book is a valuable attempt at understanding Palestine at the time of Jesus under Roman occupation and at sifting out the historical gems about the person of Jesus from all the mythological accretions that time has added. Aslan points out that the Romans practiced a kind of indirect rule
-Christians as he probes the historical go on. His explorations, however, are a record of the life and times of Jesus. So valuable contribution to disseminating for instance, he dismisses the belief that some of the fruits of scholarship in this Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judaea. He field to a wide audience. points out the historical inaccuracies in the construct of the census that Luke uses Michael Drohan is a member of the to locate Bethlehem as the birthplace of board of the Thomas Merton Center and Jesus. The Roman census Luke speaks of co-chair of the editorial collective. did not include Galilee and the Romans, he points out, did not require people to be registered in the village of their lineage but in the place of their residence. Jesus was then from Nazareth, a village in Galilee not far from the opulent city of Sepphoris ruled over by Herod Antipas, the son —by Angele Ellis of King Herod and was born sometime between 4 and 6 CE. On the elevation of Pope Francis Palestine was in plain revolt against its Roman overlords If you and their local collaborators in were a stolen child injustice, the priestly of the Argentine aristocratic class. Jesus was your mother drawn into this ferment of a shining revolution leading to his enemy of the state execution for treason by the who birthed you in prison Romans. His revolt against then disappeared injustice ended in failure as did into the deep Pacific so many other struggles in angel-bladed helicopters history. fleeing her wake The big question is how did would you we come from the historical now give person of Jesus of Nazareth to a hair of your head the Jesus of faith or Jesus the a gob of spit Christ. This is a long and a drop of blood twisted development that Aslan to test your identity attempts to unwind. He or would you attributes a great amount of choose unknowing? what people today accept as real and historical about Jesus If you to the inventions of Paul of were a bishop Tarsus. Paul, a Romanized Jew of the Argentine who understood the Roman would you Emperor to be divine and the have lifted protection son of god, came to understand from your brothers Jesus with this mindset. His washed your hands to pray kingdom, however, was not of for the poor we have always with us? this world and he came to No liberation in our cells deliver mankind from their sins. only the theology of force Aslan’s conclusions about making two priests reappear who the historical Jesus was in a wavering field may not be correct. We have sobbing little of the historical record to as angel-bladed helicopters ascended
PROTECTION
of Palestine and its other colonies. They co-opted the local religious authorities, the High Priests of the Temple in Jerusalem and appointed one of their own as King. What was important was the collection of taxes for Rome. Both the Temple authorities and their Roman overlords were generally hated by the subject population. Aslan understands the historical Jesus to have been a zealous opponent of the Roman/Temple oppressive system and his eventual execution or crucifixion was because of sedition and treason. He dismisses Gospel that record Pilate as washing his hands with the case and handing Jesus over to the High Priests to deal with. This he sees as a later invention by Hellenized Jewish followers of Jesus who wanted to exonerate the Romans. He attributes the concoction to the evangelist Mark and sees in the exoneration of the Romans and the blaming of the Temple Jewish authorities the beginning of the absurd process of two thousand years of Christian anti-Semitism. Aslan dismisses many of the cherished beliefs of Christians and indeed many non
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Social Justice Poems The Thomas Merton Center publishes original, unpublished poems from local and national writers in each issue of The New People. The New People works to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions on the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, human rights,
If you were a scarred Jesuit of the Argentine would you have died in your hive of bitterness or would you have forgiven— living to watch his benediction beamed across our planet robes splashed white
and environmental justice in keeping with the work of Thomas Merton (1915-1968), a trappist monk who was a Catholic writer and mystic poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion intensely involved with peace and justice issues. Current Issue: http://thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/ Guidelines and Online submission link: http://thomasmertoncenter.org/submit-poetry/
Angele Ellis is the author of Arab on Radar (Six Gallery)--poems from which earned her a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts-Spared (A Main Street Rag Editors' Choice Chapbook), and with Marilyn Llewellyn, Dealing With Differences: Taking Action on Class, Race, Gender and Disability (Corwin).
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Hunger and Sustainability Don’t Let Congress Forget About The Hungry and Food Insecure (continued from page 1)
is higher. This year, due to the cuts that Right now, conferees from the House families are already experiencing in and Senate are debating a Farm Bill that SNAP, demand is stretching their limited will direct our agriculture and nutrition resources. Charities tell us they cannot policy for the next several years. While make up for cuts in government programs the Senate version did not propose as and the impact in our communities will drastic a cut as the House, no cut that puts have many unintended consequences now holes in the food security safety net can be and for years to come. A coalition of tolerated. We weaken our nation when we 1,300 anti-hunger charities told conferees make it more difficult for families to put last week the House cuts would exceed food on the table. the total number of meals distributed In November, the Greater Pittsburgh annually by Feeding America, a national Community Food Bank publicly network of food banks. requested help to increase their inventory As somebody who believes that our for the winter when traditionally demand government should not actively try to increase hunger in America, I hope you will join me in contacting our Members of Congress and strongly urge them to work to pass a Farm Bill that protects antihunger programs and finds a better way to balance the budget than pulling the rug out from under Americans struggling to get by. Surely, they can find a better way to put our fiscal house in order. Joyce Rothermel is Co-Chair of the SW PA Bread for the World Team.
Tell Congress: “As you work with your colleagues to pass a final Farm Bill, I urge you to protect SNAP from harmful cuts and policy changes and support an additional $300 million in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) funding for food banks, the funding level for TEFAP included in the House-passed Farm Bill. I understand the challenges of passing fiscally responsible legislation and the need to reduce our deficit. I believe we can do both without increasing hunger and creating additional hardships for low-income Americans.” Anti-hunger groups (such as Feeding America and its affiliate the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank) hope that President Obama will veto any bill that contains SNAP/food-stamp cuts. Let’s back that hope up with a message to the President, too!
THE GRIEF OF EXILE —from an interview with a professional mourner, Liao Yiwu How long can you wail? What is your record? Two days and two nights. Our voices are our capital. We know how to protect them. Liao Yiwu, a Chinese poet and musician now exiled in Germany, read at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh's Exiled Voices of China and Tibet, a day-long series of readings, conversations and performances featuring human rights activists and exiled writers and musicians. 12 - NEWPEOPLE
December 2013
Coming to Pittsburgh, December 10 by Ginette Walker Vinski Founder and VP of External Get ready for a whirlwind of ideas that Affairs, Food Corps will change the way you think about our "Local food systems and region and the world – and sustainability education reform for healthy itself. On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, kids and sustainable join eight organizations from communities" southwestern Pennsylvania as they present: Sustainability EXPOsed Mickey McManus, CEO, and “Rediscovering sustainability – ideas and Principal of MAYA Design innovations that are making business, "The 3rd Industrial governance, and community better for our Revolution is here...in region.” Pittsburgh" Taking place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from 8:30 am – 4:00 Hardik Savalia, Senior Associate, pm (registration begins at 7:30am), Standards, B Lab Sustainability EXPOsed is poised for "B Corporations redefine being the region’s signature sustainability success by giving business a program for 2013. With nearly 650 soul" attendees, EXPOsed features 11 Jerry Tinianow, Chief remarkable speakers in an exciting format Sustainability Officer, Office of to surprise, motivate, and lead to action. Mayor Michael B. Hancock, City Roll-up your sleeves and get to work during the event through salon-style and County of Denver discussion, interaction with exhibitors, and "What Denver knows that a facilitated session by the Allegheny Pittsburgh should Conference on Community Development too...regional systems for to collect your recommendations as it sustainable development" develops its next three-year agenda. Jeanne VanBriesen, Professor of Paul Hawken, one of the most respected and widely read thought leaders Civil and Environmental of the sustainable business movement, is Engineering and Director, Water providing the keynote. Additional Quality in Urban Environmental speakers include: Systems (Water-QUEST), Robyn Beavers, Senior Vice Carnegie Mellon University President, founder of Station A "One Water...the energyGroup, NRG Energy water nexus" "Innovating a 21st century Rediscover sustainability and the triple low carbon, energy bottom line it offers to your organization economy" and to our region. Register today! More John Buckley, Managing Director information, including registration and agenda, is available at of Corporate Social www.sustainablepittsburgh.org/exposed. Responsibility, BNY Mellon Cost is $55 for a full day of inspiration "Corporate Social and an opportunity to voice your Responsibility" recommendations on regional priorities. Donald Carter, Director of the Remaking Cities Institute at Ginette Walker Vinski is the Carnegie Mellon University and communications manager of Sustainable Pittsburgh. Chair of the Master of Urban Design program in and justice the School of tsburgh’s peace Connect with Pit ) 00 35 P Circulation Architecture community. (N "Remaking Cities: Manifesto for the development and redevelopment of post-industrial cities" Candi CastleberrySingleton, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, UPMC "The Illusion of Inclusion" Projjal Dutta, Director, Sustainability Initiatives, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York “Taking the car out of carbon” Debra Eschmeyer, Co-
Energy and the Environment The Extractive Economy: How We Got Here and How We Can Get Out (Answer: Divest from Fossil Fuels) by Wanda Guthrie To write this article I found that I must revisit the teachings of Thomas Berry, the Passionist Priest, geologian and author of The Universe Story, The Great Work, Dream of the Earth, and so much more. There have been three moments in our history that have defined our situation as we try to extract our lives from an extractive economy. This is local and Earth-encompassing. This calls for a worldwide movement — a Global Power Shift (GPS). The first of the three events began with the biblical-Christian insistence that the spirituality of the human should be joined with Greek humanism. This was alien to most religions of the world and meant that humans would differentiate themselves from all nonhuman parts of the planet Earth. Prior to this, the natural world was considered a manifestation of the divine and was where the divine and human met. The importance of preserving the Earth as a single integral community, with every being having inherent value and rights corresponding to their value and mode of being was communicated throughout the cultures of the world. In the course of a few centuries the excessive emphasis on the human as a spiritual being separate from the physical universe not only alienated humans but caused fear both spiritually and physically. The Black Death in Europe became the second event of further human separation from the natural world. To believe that humans had become depraved and were being punished seemed to demand a spiritual piety The Beehive Design Collective’s The True Cost of Coal: leading to a redemption out of this world. This still continues in our own Mountaintop removal, now conducted with heavy machinery, provides less than one tenth of time. We witness this almost daily. the job opportunities Appalachian miners had in the 1950s. The division between the secular and the spiritual has been intensified and the sense that there is somehow a Meanwhile, the process destroys natural habitats and biodiversity, poisons the water, renders restraint that is necessary between the the land infertile, and negatively impacts the health of neighboring communities. spiritual concerns and industry and Above is just a small piece of this anti-copyright educational graphic that took the Beehive commerce continue. To recognize this Design Collective over two and a half years to produce. is a way to work toward the remedy. The nineteenth century ushered in an The “Bees,” based in Maine, brought two of their tapestry-sized works to Pittsburgh in October for the Power Shift Youth Environmentalist Conference. even more alienating and severe set of www.beehivecollective.org problems for Earth and the human community. The third historic event began with the transition from an organic economy to an extraction economy. The industrial establishment and the control by corporations set out to conquer the forces of nature. And they have seized control in a way that has affected the biosystems of the planet like nothing ever before in the whole history of Earth. We have become dependent on an extractive economy that by its nature is a terminal economy. This transition to an extractive economy has taken careful preparation and required useful knowledge over centuries. Moreover, we have passed on this useful knowledge in all curricula for a long while. A sort of mysticism, a psychic compulsion of progress has led science and engineers in their work and quest to expand and create. The other part of the force to expand has been power and absolute control in a life of abundance and this has been an attraction not to be refused. So then, many have reaped the benefits and the modern corporation, financed by an abundance of capital, guided and controlled by boards of directors, and led by CEOs are convinced that they should reorganize the planet in a much better way than nature has ever been capable of doing. When we look back on the history of oil, utilities, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper and lumber, steel and automobiles, we see a survival of unmatched power that has taken control of the entire human community while ruining vast areas of the natural world. The quest is to reinvent the human at the species level. The human formation is governed by three basic principles: differentiation, subjectivity, and communion. We are unique, have a sacred depth, and bonded together with all the components of the universe and one another. Here we are. The necessity of rethinking who, where, and within the time developmental context is crucial. It is a time for critical reflection. It is a time to honor the geological and biological legal rights that honor the Earth community and our collective need to flourish, to procreate, and to be protected. It is time to reinvent the human The Environmental Justice within the community of life systems. Committee needs you! We can begin by divesting If your community of faith, school, social from fossil fuels in every group, or if you personally would like to institution as we address the explore DIVESTMENT FROM FOSSIL FUELS or extraction economy. if you would like to start a campaign please contact us. We are willing to come out to speak on the climate crisis and offer alternative socially responsible investment opportunities. Go to www.gofossilfree.org and find “City of Pittsburgh Invest in Thriveability Divest from Fossil Fuel” or email environment@thomasmertoncenter.org and we will send you an electronic petition. Call 412-661-1529 or 412-596-0066 and we will send you a petition.
Wanda Guthrie is chair of the Environmental Justice Committee of the Thomas Merton Center.
The Thomas Merton Center is a proud consumer of TriEagle Energy.
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Thomas Merton Award Dinner The Thomas Merton Center thanks everyone —friends both old and new— who made possible the November 4 banquet in honor of environmentalist Bill McKibben. Left: Mary Jo Guercio presents Bill McKibben with the Thomas Merton Award, a stained glass dove created by new board member Anne Kuhn. Photo by Mark Haller. Right: Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, whose goal is to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Photo by Jibran Mushtaq.
Left: Board member and membership coordinator Joyce Rothermel addresses the audience at the Sheraton Station Square. Photo by Jibran Mushtaq.
Right: Activists Anne Feeney and Ginny Hildebrand perform a guitar and vocal duet. Photo by Joe Guthrie.
Left: Awardee Bill McKibben, board member and environmental justice chair Wanda Guthrie, and Mayor -elect Bill Peduto. Photo by Jibran Mushtaq. Right: Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey:
the Education of an Unlikely Activist,
speaks on divestment from fossil fuels. Photo by Jibran Mushtaq.
Left: Russ Fedorka,
New People
cartoonist, public transit supporter, and anti-war activist, stands beside a papermâché drone made by TMC interns. Photo by Joe Guthrie. Right: Pittsburgh’s Raging Grannies, an activist choir, sing at the event with political buttons on their hats. Photo by Mark Haller.
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December 2013
Thomas Merton Center Community In Memory of David Thomas:
Farewells and Welcome:
A Great Friend of TMC by Michael Drohan On November 4, David Thomas ceased to grace us with his physical presence in our lives and work. For many years David was a dear friend to many of us in the Thomas Merton Center and is remembered with great tenderness. He served on the board of the center for several years, was a faithful member of the Anti-War Committee and a strong supporter of many struggles and campaigns of the center. Beyond all this, were his friendship and camaraderie when he came around the Center. He took a great interest in the young interns in the Center and genuinely enjoyed being with them. As a young man David joined the Marines and was a member of the First Battalion 9th Marine Corps “Walking Dead” serving in Vietnam for one tour. On his return from Vietnam, he joined the peace movement and has been to his death a member of Veterans for Peace. Pete Shell, the Chair of the Anti-War Committee of the Thomas Merton Center has the following memory of David: “Dave was an active member of the Thomas Merton Center Antiwar Committee in the early days of the Iraq war. I remember him as being goodhumored and enthusiastic. At one meeting, we were talking about reclaiming the idea of supporting the troops from the warmongers. Soon after, he signed up to speak at a veterans' rally to "support the troops" at Point State Park. But all the speakers were pro-war -except him. When he got to the stage and started describing how the best way to support the troops is to bring them home alive, they cut the mic off on him. But he
reported this story in his usual goodnatured way.” My own memory of David, is joining with him in the snow outside Braddock Hospital as UPMC had decided to close the hospital and demolish the buildings. David was sure to be found in the ranks of those defending the rights of those oppressed and downtrodden in our society. On a lighter side, David and his wife Jackie often joined Joyce and me at Cajun dances at the Bulgarian Club in Homestead. He loved to dance as well as to protest. The Center extends its sincere condolences to his widow Jackie to whom he had been married for 40 years. Our sympathies also go out to his son Sean and his daughter Erin and their families. The family suggested donations in Dave’s memory be sent to Veterans for Peace, 216 S. Meramac Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105 and the Thomas Merton Center.
In Memory of Barbara Shore:
Thomas Merton Center Board of Directors by Joyce Rothermel When the Thomas Merton Center Board of Directors meets next month, it will not have around the table two Merton Center members whose terms expire at the end of the year. We take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to both of them. Shawna Hammond served on the board for many years, most recently as vice-president and chair of the Building Committee. Many of you know Shawna from our Merton Award dinners and your visits to the East End Community Thrift, where she continues as Store Manager. Completing her term along with Shawna is Carol Gonzalez, who led our Merton Study Group during our 40th anniversary year and serves on the Editorial Collective. Thanks to Shawna and Carol for your generous gift of time and talent through board governance at the Thomas Merton Center Please join me in welcoming our three new board members who have been elected to three year terms: Thom Baggerman, Theresa Chalich, and Anne Kuhn. Here are brief introductions of all three. Each will be interviewed for The New People in the months ahead. Thom Baggerman: Thom received his BA in Telecommunications (Radio and Television) from Kent State University in 1991. Over the years, he has been a producer, director, newscaster, and station coordinator for various television stations. In 2001, he earned an MS in Communications and Information Systems at Robert Morris University. He then earned a Ph. D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1996. He now teaches at Point Park University. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he is engaged in research, principally in the areas of pedagogy, new media journalism, communication technology, and media policy. His first publication appeared in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of
Eight New Year’s Resolutions: (continued from page 1)
5. Attend an activist event – There A Fighter for Justice are many peace and social justice events occurring daily in and around our great city. Our weekly e-blast and by Molly Rush Newpeople calendar are both excellent “She was one of those fires we resources for ways to become more thought would never die,” Tracy involved. Soska of Pitt’s School of Social 6. Participate in a project – We have Work told the Post-Gazette. more than 20 projects that focus on The last time I saw Barbara peace/nonviolence, economic justice, was at a gathering of old ACLU human rights, and environmental board members. Though in a wheelchair, she was vibrant as ever and, I’m told, remained so to the end. justice. Current projects include the New Economy Working Group, Book I recall meeting her during the civil rights movement. Through the years she was a leader in the ‘Em, Stop Sexual Assault in the Military, and many others. struggles for rights for women, sexual minorities, 7. Donate to Thrifty – The East End children, the aged, and people with disabilities. Community Thrift Store (Thrifty) is United Way’s Bob Nelkin cited her ability to forge always in need of donations! During consensus in campaigns for reform, “without tearing apart all the relationships…needed to bring it about.” I believe she was a trailblazer in expanding the role of social work to incorporate the struggle for social change. Thank you, Barbara, for being such a role model to so many in our community and beyond. Molly Rush is a member of the board of the Thomas Merton Center.
Media Education. He also serves as Vice Chair for the research division of the Broadcast Education Association. Theresa Chalich: Theresa is a Registered Nurse with years of community and mental health nursing experience. In conjunction with her nursing career, she has been an active proponent of a Medicare for All system of care. She has been involved in working for comprehensive care since the 1980s. Since then, she organized the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee’s Health Care Committee. She also conducted a health care household survey in Homestead, Pennsylvania, to receive her Master’s in Public Health and founded the Rainbow Health Center, a free primary care clinic in Homestead. Theresa is actively engaged in voting registration and most importantly, turnout. Additionally, she is a member of the Larimer Green Team and garden in Larimer Commons. Anne Kuhn: Anne has been a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Friends since 1976. She has been actively involved in peace efforts for many years, particularly with events that condemn the use of nuclear weapons. She is a past President of Freeport Peace Links and Pennsylvania Peace Links. She has voiced her concerns over the use of nuclear weapons in the United States and China. Anne is a volunteer and supporter at the East End Community Thrift. She also creates the Thomas Merton Awards given to the Center’s honorees each year. We are grateful to Thom, Theresa and Anne for their gracious willingness to join the Board and help in the governance of the Thomas Merton Center. Joyce Rothermel is a board member and volunteer of the Thomas Merton Center.
TMC Edition
the holiday season, winter clothes are visit our website: in high demand. All donations benefit www.thomasmertoncenter.org. the Thomas Merton Center and the community. Volunteers are always Samantha is an intern at the Thomas needed! Merton Center and a senior at the 8. Write for The New People – University of Pittsburgh. Interested in writing, editing, or Help Build TMC’s Thrive-ability Index! photographing? Join the Thomas Merton Make a holiday or end-of-the-year donation to TMC! Center Editorial To donate through your Collective to Amazon.com account. participate in the HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT: production of our Go to thomasmertoncenter.org/donate. peace and social Look for the Donate via Amazon link justice newspaper. located near the top of the page. Simply follow the directions We are also looking on the website to complete the Amazon donation. for people to distribute The New Another way you can help TMC... People in different Donate gently used clothes, furniture and other household neighborhoods! items to Thrifty! Funds raised at the store support core Want more operating costs at the center. information on how Or...consider giving a gift Thomas Merton Center membership to become more to a friend so that they can receive The New People and help involved in any of build a more peaceful and just world by joining with the these great ways? many organizing opportunities that we publicize within our Call the Thomas membership. Merton Center at (412) 361-3022 or December 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 15
December Activist Events and Holiday Celebrations! Weekly Meetings Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
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World Aids Day—Interfaith Celebration of Hope—ELPC 1—4 pm
Celebration of Peace Dinner 6:00—9:00 pm First UMC, 5401 Centre Ave., Shadyside
TMC Editorial Collective – 10am
Zionist History of Israel and the U.S. 10:00-11:50am Course Registration on the 4th Floor, Cathedral of Learning, Oakland
Clean Water Action Annual Conference 8:00—9:00 pm Call-in Number: (800) 509-6344 Access Code: 7456053
“No Grand Bargain” Lunch Forum 12:00—2:00pm Wyndam Ctr, 100 Lytton Ave.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Capital’s End or Our End? 6:30—9:30 pm AVA Lounge, 304 N. Craig St., Oakland
Operation Stay (politically) Engaged Homewood YMCA 6 pm
Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Neighborhoods & Racial Inequality 12:00—1:30pm SOSW - 2017 Cathedral of Learning 15213 Hanukkah
Larimer Consensus Group—6 pm
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Amnesty International— Forum—Calvary Episcopal 6pm (Shadyside)
Sustainability EXPOsed 8:30am—4pm D. L. Lawrence Convention Ctr
Sierra Club Allegheny Holiday Party 425 Craig St. 6 pm
Food For Change Film 6:30 pm, East End Food Coop, 412-2423598
If you want peace than work for justice.
ISO Rebel Party 8:00 pm AVA Lounge, 304 N. Craig St., Oakland
Creating a better world is a life-long commitment.
Bodhi Day
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Bill of Rights Day - 1791 ratification of the first 10 amendments by the US Constitution
Allegheny County DHS LGBTQ Community of Practice Kick-off 5:30 pm Human Service Building One Smithfield Street Homestead Grays Conference Room
International Socialist Organization Meets weekly at the Thomas Merton Center 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday:
Human Rights Law Class 4:30—5:45 pm Room 107, Barco Law School, 3900 Forbes Ave., Benefit Concert Oakland for Youth and Philippines 7:30—9:30 pm Friends, 4836 Ellsworth Ave.
Pgh Honors Ball Andy Warhol Museum Pgh Aids Task Force Celebration 8 pm
Internat’l Human Rights Day Rally 4:30—5:30 pm, City County Bldg, 414 Grant St., Downtown Pgh
Tuesday:
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Wigle Whiskey Happy Hour Just Harvest Fundraiser 2401 Smallman St 5:30-8:30 pm
Saturday
Fed-Up! Write letters for prisoner’s rights at the Thomas Merton Center, 7 p.m.
Thursday: TMC Potlucks! Are on Thursday evenings. Interested in having one on an issue that’s important to you or your organization? Contact: mcmahond@thomasmertoncenter.org
Saturday: Black Voices for Peace Vigil to End War, 1 to 2 p.m., Penn Ave. and Highland Ave., East Liberty Citizens for Peace Vigil noon to 1 p.m., Forbes Ave. and Braddock Ave.
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TMC Open House & Holiday Sing Along Noon-4pm
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Today in 1843, Charles Dickens first published A Christmas Carol.
Health Committee for People with Disabilities UCP/CLASS 4638 Centre Ave Pgh. PA 15213 3 pm
Disabilities Resource Breakfast VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA 1650 Main Street Pgh., PA 15215 8:30 am
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Give the Holiday Gift of Creating a More Peaceful and Just World!
Christmas
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Kwanzaa
GlobalPittsburgh Happy Hour 5:30 to 8 pm, Luke Wholey's Wild Alaskan Grille, 2106 Penn Ave, Strip District Green Party Meeting 7 to 9 pm, 2121 Murray, 2nd floor, Squirrel Hill
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa
Women In Black Monthly Peace Vigil, 10 to 11 am, Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Church, Slippery Rock Industrial Workers of the World Membership Meeting 5:30 - 7 pm Ritter's Diner, 5221 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh
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Second Thursdays: Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) Planning Council Meeting 6 pm, Hill House, Conference Room B
Kwanzaa
“We do not exist for ourselves.”
Second Saturdays: Project to End Human Trafficking (PEHT) Carlow University, Antonian Rm #502
Third Saturdays: Fight for Lifers West 10 a.m. to 12:30 pm, Thomas Merton Center
Every Other Second Monday: Association of Pittsburgh Priests Meeting 7 to 9 pm, Epiphany Administration Center
New Year’s Eve, Kwanzaa
Subscribe to The New People by becoming a member of the Thomas Merton Center today!
Mail this form and membership donation to: Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224
_____ Check here if this is a gift membership As a member, The New People newspaper will be mailed to your home or sent to your Select your membership level: email account. You will also receive weekly e__$15 Low Income Membership blasts focusing on peace and justice events in __$15 Youth / Student Membership Pittsburgh, and special invitations to mem__$50 Individual Membership bership activities. Now is the time to stand for __$100 Family Membership peace and justice! __$500+ Cornerstone Sustainer Membership Join online at www.thomasmertoncenter.org/join__Donation $____________________________ donate or fill out this form, cut out, and mail in.
16 - NEWPEOPLE
First Thursdays:
W.O.M.I.N., 7:30-8:30pm, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, 18 Schubert St. on the North Side
—Thomas Merton
Kwanzaa
Darfur Coalition Meeting 7 to 9 pm, 2121 Murray Avenue, Second Floor, Squirrel Hill, Contact: 412-784-0256
Second Tuesdays:
$500 – Gift cornerstone sustainer membership at Thomas Merton Center $100 - Gift family membership at the Thomas Merton Center $50 - Gift single membership at the Thomas Merton Center $15 - Gift youth or student membership at the Thomas Merton Center $15 - Gift low-income membership at the Thomas Merton Center Fill out the form below and indicate if it is a gift membership. Peace & Thanks!
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Monthly Meetings
Second Sundays:
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Today in 1919, the U.K. passed the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, enabling women to hold government positions.
Anti-War Committee First Sunday at 1:30 pm at TMC Anti-Drone Warfare Coalition Third Sunday at 1:30 pm at TMC Book’Em: Books to Prisoners Project Meets the first three Sundays of the month Contact: kurbaga@comcast.net
First and Third Wednesdays:
Winter Solstice
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Sunday:
December 2013
Organization Membership:
__$75 Organization (below 25 members) __$125 Organization (above 25 members) Name(s):________________________________ Organization (if any):______________________________ Address:________________________________ City: ___________________ State: _________ Zip Code:_______________________________ Home Phone:____________________________ Cell Phone: _____________________________