Thomas Merton Center Pittsburgh’s Peace and Social Justice Center
PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER VOL. 47 No. 1 February 2017
On January 21st, 1,300 people showed up to the Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional March in East Liberty in solidarity with the Women’s March in Washington D.C.. To see more photos from local events protesting the new administration and its harmful policies, open up to page 9. Photo by Samey Jay
In This Issue.. Truckloads of Nuclear Waste…
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Peace & Justice Statement…
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Giving the Marginalized a Voice…
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Reviving the Religious Left…
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Hope and Democracy Are Alive By Bette McDevitt
Rosemary Trump, retired Vice President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), was in the capital both on the day of the Inauguration and on the day of the Women’s March, and she can tell us something about the mood and the crowds. “On the day of the inauguration, the subway was not crowded at all. Sure, there were lots of red hats for Trump, and as many pink hats opposed to the Trump agenda of attacking women’s rights.” On that first day, Rosemary was a bit more than a spectator; she had volunteered to take part in what might have become civil disobedience, but it
didn’t come to that. If it had, it wouldn’t have been the first time for Rosemary. She has stood up, sat down, and laid down for justice many times over the years, so she had time to wander and to observe. “They were actually giving away tickets to the inauguration,” she said, “and I had on an Obama hat and union jacket and I was even given a free ticket. I didn’t go in, but kept the ticket as a souvenir.” But on Saturday, the “day after,” Rosemary said “it was a different story. There were so many people at Bethesda Station that they stopped the escalators. It was wall to wall people. I’d say 80 Continued on Page 8...
Re: White America By Jacqueline Souza
After a disappointing election year and Friday’s traditional Inauguration ceremony, millions of people around the world participated in marches in response to the official beginning of President Trump’s administration. The various Women’s Marches focused on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, immigrant rights, and environmental justice, among other topics. While I was unable to make it to Washington D.C. for the weekend, I did protest here in Pittsburgh by attending local marches and rallies. I was frequently reminded of the importance of solidarity, intersectionality, and unity at these events, but the “Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional” rally in East Liberty left a lasting impact. As expected, white men and women came out in droves to support both this rally and those happening across the globe- but how do we advocate for intersectionality in the years ahead? How do we lead organization efforts while simultaneously acknowledging our privilege? In general terms, what are our roles in social progress when we continue to benefit from
Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now The problem of nuclear weapons and their abolition has received new urgency with the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. On December 22, 2016 he issued the following tweet: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." The
the oppression of others? On Saturday, I attended the East Liberty rally. The demonstration was formed in response to the original Women’s March on Pittsburgh; its organizers ignored the concerns of individuals who argued that white feminism was legitimized through the silencing of women of color within the Facebook event page. The original march did take place--but the intersectional rally in East Liberty, which drew a crowd of thirteen hundred people, intentionally centered Black femmes, nonbinary individuals, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. At the rally, people of all races, gender identities, and sexual orientations came to stand in solidarity with one another, focusing less on the Trump administration and more on being present and unified in the face of hardship. I immediately noticed the thoroughness of representation among the spokespeople, and the attendees, a group just as diverse as the organizers, came to protest a variety of social and political issues: they rejected fascism, Continued on Page 9...
By Michael Drohan
following day he told MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski on the phone: "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all." It is difficult to know if Trump really means what he says but on the face of it, his comments are very alarming. Nuclear weapons are not something
that one can speak about in a light-hearted manner, given the unthinkable consequences of the use of even one of the approximately 15,000 nuclear bombs now possessed by the nuclear states. It is no exaggeration to say that the survival of all life, human and non-human, is in great peril because of the threat they pose. Continued on Page 5... The Thomas Merton Center 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. 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.
PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO. 458
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February 2017
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TMC Projects
(TMC projects follow TMC guidelines and receive financial and ongoing resources and support from the Thomas Merton Center.)
Human Rights IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE THOMAS MERTON CENTER 5129 PENN AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15224
Thomas Merton Center
East End Community Thrift Store
Anti-War/Anti-Imperialism
Book‘Em: Books to Prisoners Project bookempgh@gmail.com www.bookempgh.org
Anti-War Committee awc@thomasmertoncenter.org
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Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition jumphook@gmail.com; www.pittsburghdarfur.org
Office Phone: 412-361-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540
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Greater Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition Anne Wirth 412-716-9750
TMC Staff, Volunteers & Interns
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Monday—Friday: 10 am to 4 pm
Tuesday—Friday: 10 am to 4 pm Saturday: Noon to 4 pm
Website: www.thomasmertoncenter.org
Neil Cosgrove, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Marni Fritz, Nijah Glenn, Jim McCarville, Bette McDevitt, Mollie March-Steinman, Krithika Pennathur, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush, Jacqueline Souza, Jo Tavener, Nina Young Executive Director: Antonio Lodico Finance Director / Project Liaison: Roslyn Maholland Director of Communications: Marni Fritz TMC Organizer/ Internship Coordinator: Gabriel McMorland Support Staff: Sr. Mary Clare Donnelly, Meagan McGill Activist & Office Volunteers: Raphael Cardamone, Christina Castillo, Monique Dietz, Nancy Gippert, Nijah Glenn, Lois Goldstein, Jordan Malloy, Meagan McGill, Joyce Rothermel, Judy Starr New People Coordinator: Marni Fritz East End Community Thrift Store Managers: Shirley Gleditsch, Shawna Hammond, & Sr. Mary Clare Donnelly
Thomas Merton Center Interns: June Antley, Lucy Cheung, Krithika Pennathur, Mollie March-Steinman, Monica Silny, Jacqueline Souza
2016 TMC Board of Directors
Ed Brett, Rob Conroy (President), Neil Cosgrove, Bill Chrisner, Mark Dixon, Antonia Dominga, Michael Drohan, Patrick Fenton, Nijah Glenn,, Wanda Guthrie, anupama jain, Ken Joseph, Anne Kuhn, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Jim McCarville, Jordan Malloy, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush (co-founder), Tyrone Scales, M. Shernell Smith.
Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW! 412-422-5377, sleator@cs.cmu.edu www.pcdn.org
Pittsburgh 350 350pittsburgh@gmail.com World.350.org/Pittsburgh
Pittsburghers for Public Transit 412-216-9659 info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org
Shalefield Stories (Friends of the Harmed) 412-422-0272 brigetshields@gmail.com
Steel Smiling
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group 724-837-0540 lfpochet@verizon.net
Stop Sexual Assault in the Military 412-361-3022 hildebrew@aol.com
Amnesty International info@amnestypgh.org - www.amnestypgh.org Association of Pittsburgh Priests Sr. Barbara Finch 412-716-9750
www.associationofpittsburghpriests.com Battle of Homestead Foundation
To Submit Articles, Photos, or Poems: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/submit. To Submit an Event to the TMC Calendar: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/calendar/submit-event To Advertise: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/ad Advertising prices range from $15 for a business card size to $250 for a full page. There is a 10% discount when purchasing 6 months of ad space at a time, and a 20% discount when purchasing a year of ad space at a time. An additional 10% discount is available for non-profit organizations and faith-based groups.
412-848-3079
The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD www.thebigideapgh.org The Black Political Empowerment Project Tim Stevens 412-758-7898 CeaseFire PA www.ceasefirepa.org—info@ceasefirepa.org Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, evolve@atlanticbb.net Global Solutions Pittsburgh 412-471-7852 dan@globalsolutionspgh.org www.globalsolutionspgh.org North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition 412-369-3961 email: info@arc.northpgh.org www.arc.northpgh.org PA United for Single-Payer Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 412-421-4242 Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi
For more information: Call 412-361-3022 or email newpeople@thomasmertoncenter.org.
Table of Contents Page 7
Democrats’ Defeats Were Long Overseen In Purple Matte (Poem) Hope and Democracy Are Alive (Cont’d)
Stop Palestinian Suffering Fabricating History From Myths Witness for Peace at Heinz Hall 2 - NEWPEOPLE February 2017
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
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 ojomal@aol.com SWPA Bread for the World Joyce Rothermel 412-780-5118 rothermeljoyce@gmail.com United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org Veterans for Peace kevinbharless@yahoo.com 252-646-4810 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 edith.bell4@verizon.net
TMC is a Member of Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network 412-621-9230 office@piin.org Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Martha Conley 412-361-7872, osterdm@earthlink.net TMC supports these organizations’ missions.
Page 14 The Revival of the Religious Left Feb TV Viewing Recommendation: Interfaith Ser vice on Violence Whitehead: Seeing the Other
Page 9 Re: White America Cont’d Netlfix’s 13th Documentary Required Viewing Support for House Bill 135 Page 11
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Pittsburgh North People for Peace 412-760-9390 info@pnpp.northpgh.org www.pnpp.northpgh.org
Photos from 350.org action Knowledge is Power and Fuel for Cooperatives Sustainability
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Highly Radioactive Liquid Nuclear Waste Shipments Set To Begin Sign A New Gloria (Poem) Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now (Cnt’d) Vote Allegheny Elections Calendar
Pittsburgh BDS Coalition bdspittsburgh@gmail.com
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Burning Down the House Military Budget: Trillions Unaccounted For
412-761-4319 Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-303-1247 lisacubasi@aol.com
On Compassion and Relationships Persecution by the Turkish Government We Stand for Peace and Justice
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Harambee Ujima/Diversity Footprint Twitter @HomewoodNation Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance
Abolitionist Law Center 412-654-9070 abolitionistlawcenter.org
The New People is distributed each month to 3,000 people who belong to diverse organizations, businesses and groups. The deadline for all submissions is the 13th of the month for the following month’s issue.
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Economic Justice
Western PA Student Organizing Network (WPSON) andrew.woomer@gmail.com
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TMC Updates Alternative Giving for Peace City Theatre’s “The Guard” Keepin up with TMC Staff
Marcellus Shale Protest Group melpacker@aol.com 412-243-4545 marcellusprotest.org
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We are mission driven volunteers who look to build love and community by serving others in times of need.
Re: White America Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now Hope and Democracy Are Alive
Environmental Justice
412-512-1709
The East End Community Thrift (Thrifty) is an all volunteer-run thrift shop which provides quality, low-cost, used clothing and household goods to the surrounding community. Thrifty needs volunteers and shoppers! Please contact us at (412) 361-6010 and ask for Shirley or Shawna, or stop in at 5123 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Email shawnapgh@aol.com.
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School of the Americas Watch W. PA 412-271-8414 soawpittsburgh@gmail.com
Intention is Everything: Interview with Shanon Williams Forced Migrations in Pittsburgh: How Do We Fight Back? Page 12
MORALtorium Launches “Clean Water for the Woodlands” Fundraiser A Call to Action with Unite100 Gr Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition to Hold Forum
Page 15 Rule of Dark Money Political Cartoon In Memory of Nathaniel Glosser
Merton Center News TMC Updates Bring Martin Home – Thomas Merton Center staff and members have played a central role in the campaign to stop the deportation of Martin Esquivel Hernandez and keep his family together in Pittsburgh. Follow the campaign on Facebook at “Bring Martin Home” and find more information online at KeepTheEsquivelFamilyTogether.com. The coalition includes the Thomas Merton Center, Casa San Jose, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the ANSWER Coalition, and ARYSE. Some highlights from December and January:
Alternative Giving for Peace By Joyce Rothermel
In late fall the Thomas Merton Center tion to hundreds of thousands and devastated received a donation from Jay Walters acthe historic Christian communities of Iraq companied by a letter of explanation. He and subsequently Syria. It may fairly be said gave us permission to share his witness for that those who enabled and supported the peace with you. war on the people of Iraq are ‘secondary This year a collection was taken up in terrorists’ in that they created the objective many Catholic Churches to support the conditions on the ground in the Middle East Archdiocese for Military Services. Mr. Wal- that are driving the extreme forms of terrorters did not support the collection but put the ism currently prevalent in the region. Acfollowing message in the collection basket tions have consequences and those who pro Martin successfully negotiated a plea deal with the US Atinstead: pose the actions must own the consequenctorney’s office, which resolved his federal case without making “I am not giving to the 2016 Archdioes. him a priority for deportation by ICE. The US Attorney’s office cese for Military Services Collection. The “Therefore, because of these issues, I initially decided to charge Martin with “Unlawful reentry,” a bishops of the Archdiocese for Military Seram not giving to the collection for the Archfederal felony increasingly used to artificially criminalize peovices, together with nearly all of their brothdiocese of Military Services. Instead I will ple already in immigration detention under threat of deportaer US Bishops, are guilty of material cooperdonate to an organization working to resolve tion. Our coalition supported this deal by gathering hundreds of ation with the objective evil of unjust war. the problems caused by war. Christmas cards asking the US Attorney to reunite the family It is a sad and scandalous day when a and dozens of letters from community leaders, while organizing In 2003, both Pope John Paul II and then Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Benepeople’s religious leaders fail them so egremultiple downtown actions and a large rally over the holidays. dict XVI, condemned our attack on Iraq as giously. I promise to pray for the conversion We continue to pressure Immigration and Customs Enforcean unjust war. In spite of the Pope’s opposiof the Military Services hierarchy and clerment (ICE) to use their power of discretion to reunite Martin tion, the Most Rev. Edwin O’Brien, then gy, and for the moral and physical protection with his family instead of deporting him back to the danger his Archbishop for the Military Services, adof the members of our Armed Services, who family fled in Mexico. Our coalition initiated a petition and letvised Catholic members of the US Armed are our sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers and ters from community leaders, generated hundreds of letters and Forces: ‘Given the complexity of factors children. They deserve religious leaders who phone calls to ICE officials from Pittsburgh community meminvolved, many of which understandably will courageously preach and teach all of the bers, and created a banner drop during Pittsburgh rush hour. remain confidential, it is altogether appropri- Gospel of Christ, not just that which is acate for members of our armed forces to pre- ceptable to the US Government.” The Center also joined the #HereToStay national day of action for sume the integrity of our leadership and its Thanks, Mr. Walters, for your donation th immigrant rights on January 14 with a rally in Beechview. judgments and therefore to carry out their and for your witness for peace! Talking Trump over the holidays – TMC partnered with HearYour- military duties in good conscience.’ “Subsequent events have sadly proven (The statement in the article was prepared selfThink to host workshops preparing people to talk to friends and by Bob Waldrop, Oscar Romero Catholic the truth, wisdom, and prudence of Pope loved ones about the recent Trump victory and the longstanding John Paul II’s judgment, and the fallacy and Worker House, Oklahoma City. It is availaforces of oppression that Trump relied on for his victory. Trump danger of the moral relativism embraced by ble at www.justpeace.org/mscollection.pdf .) will absolutely make things worse, but white supremacy, patriarchy, the Bishops of the Archdiocese for Military and bigotry have shaped our society since long before the founding Services and most of the other US Catholic Joyce Rothermel is a member of the TMC of this country. More than sixty people participated. board and the NewPeople editorial collecBishops regarding unjust war. The consetive quences cascading from our invasion Reject anti-worker Secretary of Labor Andy Puzder – TMC membrought death and injury and social dislocabers joined the Fight for Fifteen and union members for continuing protests against the aggressively anti-worker nominee for Secretary Intern with the NewPeople this summer! of Labor Andy Puzder.
City Theatre's "The Guard" Pittsburgh’s City Theatre is providing the Thomas Merton Center with a block of tickets for its upcoming production of “The Guard” by Jessica Dickey. The tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, with a suggested donation for the benefit of the Center. The play will run from March 11 to April 2, 2017. A Merton Center “talk back” will take place after the 1 p.m. Saturday performance on April 1st, and the Center also plans to have volunteers at tables for other select performances. Watch for more information on the play and the Center’s involvement with this City Theatre production in the March issue of The NewPeople.
The NewPeople is a monthly print publication reaching about 3,000 people in Pittsburgh and throughout the country, written and edited by an open collective of volunteers since 1979. Articles cover local and global issues related to peace, human rights, and racial, environmental, and economic justice. Apply today! http://bit.ly/1Z7cCmw Positions include: Journalism: W rite blogs and articles for the New P eople! Y ou will have the opportunity to cover protests, events and social justice issues as they happen. In-Print Editing Intern: This is a great w ay to help coordinate the paper, solicit articles, edit articles and see how the newspaper comes together! Digital Media Editor: This person w orks to coordinate the blogs and support our digital and social media presence! Social Media/Communications: Get out information for events, support the work of TMC and the NewPeople, manage social media, share our blogs, work closely with a wide range of people and issues at TMC! Contact Marni Fritz with any questions! marnifritz@thomasmertoncenter.org
Keeping up with TMC Staff In December, we learned that our Finance Director and Project Liaison Roslyn Maholland would need to greatly reduce her hours at the Merton Center and to take on a full-time position with another organization in the city. While additional staffing is being trained to pick up the slack, this change provides the TMC the opportunity to publicly express our gratitude to Ros for the excellent job she has done over the past 5 years! Annual audits have been clean and project accounts have been fully serviced. The Projects had a wonderful advocate in Ros for them at the Merton Center and the number of projects has continued to grow. We are sad to lose Ros’ regular presence at the Center three days a week, but will continue to value the excellence she brings to the financial services she provides to the Merton Center.
The Religious Society of Friends (better known as QUAKERS) A Peace & Social Justice Active Spiritual Community invites you to join us Sundays 10:30AM for waiting worship 4836 Ellsworth Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: (412) 683-2669 www.quaker.orgpghpamm/ February 2017
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Lubricating the War Machine Burning Down the House: How Pgh’s Financial Institutions Assist War-Making Apocalypse Machine By Ron Read
Pittsburgh’s downtown business district holds offices for several major banking institutions that have been in existence for over a hundred years. Three institutions worth noting are PNC Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, and Key Bank (formerly First Niagara Bank). These are three of the largest banks operating in Pittsburgh. They hold billions of dollars in cash and checking deposits and play a major role in providing credit for the economy. But, in addition to being major players in the western Pennsylvania financial industry, these banks are also heavily involved in supporting the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. A 2015 report made by PAX and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called “Don’t Bank on the Bomb” detailed how banks and insurance companies support war. The report explains how companies provide loans, investments, and financial services to large defense contractors that deal in the nuclear weapons industry. Major financial institutions named by the report include Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. From January 2012 to August of 2015, these companies and others had loans and investments worth close to $493 billion dollars with defense contractors. Some of those contractors included Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Bechtel, General Dynamics, and others who deal with nuclear weapons and military accessories. Interestingly enough, several banks as well as insurance companies with offices in Pittsburgh were also named by the report. These financial institutions and their investments in defense contractors
included PNC Financial Services ($928 million), BNY Mellon ($7.6 billion), First Niagara Financial ($108 million), All-State Insurance ($504 million), Fidelity ($7.6 billion), and State Farm ($871 million). And keep in mind that the defense contractors who are receiving financing, such as General Dynamics and Bechtel, also deal in other war materials like submarines, defense software systems, and drones. So the report shows not only how Pittsburgh’s financial institutions promote the existential threat of nuclear weapons, but also how they finance conflicts that are fought around the globe. Along with providing credit, financial institutions also assist defense contractors in the financial logistics of running an organization. PNC, for example, has a web page that is designed specifically for government contractors. It shows how financial institutions can have a hand in every aspect of a defense contractor’s finances, from the bonds they issue to the money their employees spend at the grocery store. Even major universities like Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, which also work for the military by doing research for the Department of Defense, have Virtual Wallet access for students through PNC. What makes things come full circle is that both the financial institutions and the defense contractors invest heavily in politics, which prevents any real effort at disarmament by the federal government. PNC Bank, All-State Insurance, State Farm, and BNY Mellon gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates in the 2016 election cycle according to OpenSecrets.org. And the defense con-
tractors who work in the nuclear weapons industry such as Babcock & Wilcox and Boeing each gave millions of dollars to congressional campaigns in 2014 according to Physicians for Social Responsibility. When we look at the recent vote by the United Nations General Assembly to begin negotiations for a ban on all nuclear weapons, it seems like these corporations have invested wisely. The United States didn’t just abstain from voting on the resolution, they voted “No” and cited security concerns over the enactment of a prohibition. Yet notice how the over 100 smaller, weaker countries voted “Yes” with no such fear. And if anyone should be afraid of nuclear weapons, it’s these countries with no deterrent capability whatsoever. Looking through the list of companies and candidates who receive money from the banks, we see the chief crime of the financial service industry: indifference. These institutions will invest in any politician or company as long as it helps their bottom line. However the real question is “Will Pittsburgh continue to be indifferent to what these companies invest in and the threat of nuclear weapons? Or will we as a community ask that these institutions stop funding and assisting the military industrial complex to make weapons of mass destruction?” I hope we choose the latter. Ron Read is a law student at the University of Pittsburgh.
Military Budget: Trillions Unaccounted For “The Pentagon buried an internal study that exposed $125 billion in military waste in its business operations amid fears Congress would use the funding as an excuse to slash the defense budget.” - Washington Post 12-5-2016
1. NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT www.nationalpriorities.org. a national nonprofit, non-partisan research organization provides transparent and accessible information, so people can prioritize and influence how their tax dollars are spent. 2. CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICIES PRIORITIES www.cbpp.org, non-partisan, “pursues federal and state policies designed both to reduce poverty and inequality and to restore fiscal responsibility in equitable and effective ways.” Share that information with peace, economic justice and faith groups. Help write and circulate fliers. Write letters to the editor and use social media to get out the word.
President Trump has said he would save for a $500 billion increase in military spending with a “full audit” of the Pentagon budget, and by cutting the bureaucracy and unwanted programs. All good ideas. But try that with Congressional support for these programs that bring jobs into their states. In June the Inspector General found that the Army made $2.8 billion in wrongful adjustments to accounting errors in one quarter in 2015. With no invoices or receipts, they just made up the figures. The Post’s report indicated that reining in huge con- Get involved. tracts with Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, Meet with members of Congress and local and Boeing, Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics, would total $64.1 billion in savings. The 2016 fiscal year military budget was $573 billion. The 2017 U.S. military budget is $728 billion, 14 times the Russian budget of $53.02 billion and four times China’s $190 billion. But there’s more, much more. Trillions not accounted for by the Pentagon A Reuters investigation in November 2013 found that since 1996, the Pentagon used fake “plugs,” a budget gimmick of entering false or completely made up figures to hide missing or lost data to the tune of $8 TRILLION. On September 10, 2001, a day before 9/11, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted that “According to some estimates, we cannot track 2.3 trillion dollars in transactions.” That horrifying statement was lost in the horror of the tragic attacks of the following day. Today Presidential appointees for Treasury and the military budget are not likely to end the practices that transfer funds from taxpayers to the shareholders of weapons contractors. So what can we taxpayers do to stop the Congress from stealing funds from urgently needed programs that benefit the people instead of pouring hundreds of billions into the wasteland of phony Pentagon budgets? Get informed. Check out the following sources: 4 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2017
By Molly Rush
state officials who deal with the fallout of cuts to needed programs. Support public forums and speaker series. Join and support a group such as the Merton Center and Womens International League for Peace and Freedom. Join or start a committee. March or protest. You’ll come up with more ideas as you become more engaged. And you’ll meet interesting people who share your concerns. People power is the strength that will create real change. Don’t forget we’re not in the minority on most of these issues. The powers that be don‘t want you to realize that. Determined and consistent work is what it takes to make a difference. Molly Rush is a co-founder of the Thomas Merton Center.
Nuclear Fallout Highly Radioactive Liquid Nuclear Waste Shipments Set to Begin By Molly Rush
On February 17th truckloads of highly radioactive liquid waste may begin their journey along public highways, from on the edge of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River in Ontario to South Carolina. A federal lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and dozens of environmental groups had sought an injunction, demanding that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be produced, published and circulated. In response, the Department of Energy postponed the first shipment. The DOE stated that it was withholding shipments until after February 17, 2017, "in order to ensure compliance with all legal and contractual obligations" – in other words, until the federal judge has had the opportunity to rule on the merits of the lawsuit. The liquid in question is now stored in a large double-walled tank called FISST (Fissile Solutions Storage Tank) at Chalk River, Ontario, containing 6000 gallons of an intensely radioactive and highly dangerous acidic solution, including a variety of radionuclides created when uranium is irradiated in a reactor. The liquid also contains a quantity of weapons-grade Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) – essentially the same material used in the Hiroshima Bomb. “Nuclear authorities in both countries have disguised the true nature of this liquid waste by calling it Highly Enriched Uranyl Nitrate Liquid (HEUNL)” said Dr. Gordon Edwards, President of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. “In fact uranyl nitrate is only one of dozens of radioactive compounds in the liquid, and that liquid is more than 17,000 times more radioactive than the uranyl nitrate alone. Such high-level radioactive liquid has never before been transported over public roads anywhere in North America.” Safer, faster and cheaper ways of dealing with the waste exist. “There are 20 other tanks of liquid radioactive waste at Chalk
River, whose contents are being solidified and stored on-site as solid waste,” said Dr. Ole Hendrickson of the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County, Canada. Plans call for shipping 100 to 150 truckloads of liquid waste, over a period of several years, from Chalk River, Ontario, to the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, along secret routes with heavily armed guards. The ostensible purpose is to “repatriate” the USorigin weapons-grade uranium to avoid any chance of its use in nuclear weapons, according to a program launched by President Obama in 2009. However, it was never originally intended to ship the material in liquid form. Tom Clements, Director of Savannah River Site Watch in South Carolina, observed that “the safest and cheapest way to address proliferation concerns is to eliminate the weapons-grade uranium at Chalk River by down-blending it, leaving only low enriched uranium (LEU), which is not nuclear-weapons-usable material. In February 2016, Indonesia was given permission to down-blend its stock of USorigin liquid weapons grade uranium to avoid transporting it back to the USA. The Indonesian down-blending operation is already completed. For further information: Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, (514) 839 7214 Christine Elwell, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, (647) 338 6363 Janet McNeill, Durham Nuclear Awareness, (647) 207 3208 Ole Hendrickson, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County, (613) 735 4876 Tom Clements, Savannah River Site Watch, (803) 240 7268 Gracia Janes, National Council of Women of Canada, (905) 468 2841
Sing A New Gloria By Rev. Paul Dordal
On the first day back, We heard the thunder crack. Take cover, serpentine, hit the deck. 0704 and rockets' red glare, Celebrating imperial terror. We hide under the covers 'til the dawn's early light. And so now we sing a new Gloria: As it was in the beginning, is not now, but hopefully will be, World without bombs! Amen. Amen. Paul is a member of the Anti-War Committee of TMC, and an organizer for Veterans for Peace, Chapter 47. He serves as a full-time chaplain at the VA hospital in Pittsburgh. He was in the Army for 13 years, including a year-long combat tour in Iraq as a chaplain.
Molly Rush is a co-founder of the Thomas Merton Center.
Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now Cont’d By Michael Drohan
We have had many near mishaps, among which the 1962 Cuban missile crisis between the US and the Soviet Union is only the most dramatic. Were it not for the second officer in command of a Soviet submarine, Vasily Arkhipov, countermanding the order to fire a nuclear torpedo, we would have had Armageddon. The order came because of the US recklessly using depth charges to blow up Soviet submarines armed with nuclear weapons. The hero to whom our survival is due is not Kennedy or Khrushchev or McNamara, but the lone figure Arkhipov. In the days of Trump, the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis is a sobering tale of the fallibility of even apparently level-headed world leaders. It is not just once but on several occasions that Donald Trump has said that he would countenance the use of nuclear weapons. In a conversation in August 2016 with Chris Matthews, he said in regard to the Middle East “if ISIS hits us, would we not hit back” presumably with nuclear weapons. He talks of “leaving nothing off the table,” alluding to the nuclear option. He even has invoked the “madman theory” of Richard Nixon, namely being “unpredictable” so that leaders of other countries might consider him crazy enough to even use nuclear weapons should they threaten the US. In response to the clear and present danger that the Trump election presents, there has been a flurry
of measures to cope with the perceived crisis. One of these measures is a sign-on appeal of the Ploughshares Fund asking President Obama to take nuclear weapons off hairtrigger alert before he left office. They point out that if he did so, the incoming President could try to reverse the order but it would take Congressional approval, which could well fail. In any event, the hairtrigger alert of nuclear weapons is a relic of the Cold War which should have been long since put to rest. Despite thousands of signatures on the petition, President Obama took no action. A historical development regarding nuclear weapon use and possession occurred on October 27,2016 in the UN disarmament and international security committee. Perhaps sensing the imminent danger posed by remarks of the Presidential candidates, the UN Conference on Disarmament passed a resolution to begin negotiations on banning nuclear weapons in 2017. Eight nations possessing nuclear weapons (US, Russia, Britain, France, China, Israel, India and Pakistan) voted against the resolution; N. Korea voted for it; 123 nations in all voted for the resolution, 16 voted against and 38 abstained. This is the first time such a resolution was passed in the 71 years since the first atomic bomb was used and is a hopeful sign that awareness is growing of the magnitude of the threat posed to humanity by both the possession and possible use of nuclear weapons. The
US was adamantly opposed to the resolution. The US Ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Robert Wood, said “the ban treaty runs the risk of undermining regional security.” The UN Conference on Disarmament resolution occurs within the context of developments on the banning of nuclear weapons which have taken place in the last three years. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was adopted in 1970 by the UN and has had a review every five years (quinquennial review). Article 6 of the NPT had a trade-off between the nuclear weapons states and the non-nuclear states. The nonnuclear states pledged not to acquire nuclear weapons but the nuclear states in return pledged to get rid of their arsenal of nuclear weapons. The reality, however, is that the nuclear states did not hold to their end of the bargain and showed no signs that they ever would. In frustration, the non-nuclear states took the initiative and started what is called the “Humanitarian Consequences Initiative” in 2013. This measure takes the abolition movement away from the Security Council to the General Assembly. Could 2017 be the year of total abolition despite the Trumps of the world? Michael Drohan is a member of the editorial collective and the TMC board February 2017
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Rediscovering Palestine’s History Stop Palestinian Suffering: A New Conversation on Campus By Ken Boas
When Israeli supporters complain about student interruptions of pro-Israel speakers they miss the point of these protests. The debate about academic freedom is real and important, but there is something that is even more important--stopping the unconscionable suffering of the Palestinian people. Shouting down pro-Israeli speakers on our campuses is not an attempt to stifle academic freedom. It is a militant refusal to legitimize the insidious and decades long ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in Israel and the illegally Occupied territories—Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Ilan Pappe, the renowned Israeli historian, offers great insight to help us comprehend the true nature of Israeli society and the basis of the campus resistance to pro-Israel voices. Speaking of ethnic cleansing in Israel since 1948, Pappe says: “The international silence in the face of this crime against humanity (which is how ethnic cleansing is defined in the dictionary of international law) transformed the ethnic cleansing into the ideological infrastructure on which the Jewish state was built. Ethnic cleansing became the DNA of Israeli Jewish society—and remains a daily preoccupation for those in power…” from On Palestine, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe (27). The issue is not Academic freedom, nor is it anti-Semitism. The hidden fear behind these bogus complaints is that the Palestinian solidarity movement is no longer only about the latest racist law passed or the most recent demolition of a village; no longer only about the illegality of the settlements or the egregious checkpoint system or even the criminal wide-scale bombing of Gaza. Those policies and acts of violence are still subjects of protest, as they should be. But the real fear stems from the recognition that the pro-Palestinian movement has shifted its focus from specific targets of the illegal Occupation to the racist nature of the Zionist ideology that is the underlying cause of these policies that dehumanize the Palestinian people. The pro-Israeli supporters are panicked about this radical “new conversation,” as Pappe calls it, and so trot out their tired party line of anti-Semitism
and violations of academic freedom. These are deceptive arguments. Organized Israeli support does all it can to silence Israeli criticism wherever it is heard. And the definition of anti-Semitism recently adopted by the British government and the US Senate, heavily supported by America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Jewish Federation, is itself a manifestation of a double standard, since it treats Israel differently from every other country in the world rather than as a nation among nations. The reactionary push-back against this new campus activism is not surprising. What critics like Nelson and Greenberg (in their op-ed in the PostGazette of 12/11/16) are saying when they complain about student incivility is in fact an attempt to silence criticism of the Israeli state and its ideology. Their perverse logic is that if you chastise Israel you assault the Jewish state and by association you attack Judaism. Our students have upped the ante. They will no longer be intimidated about their legitimate criticism of Israel. They are calling out Israel as a pariah state that cannot be allowed to continue acts of ethnic cleansing and incremental genocide. For the defenders of Israel, this new campus focus on the foundational ideology of Zionism is a frightening prospect and must be stopped. It might be helpful to compare this dynamic to the anti-Apartheid struggle against South Africa. For years, it was only legitimate to criticize examples of South Africa’s Apartheid and not focus criticism on the ideology of Apartheid that constituted the basis of the oppression of 85% of the South African people. Only when the systemic nature of Apartheid was seen for what it was and boycotted as an ideology of racism was the system overturned. This is what the new movement against Israeli Apartheid and its racist nature is now undertaking, and this is what is so threatening to Israel and its American supporters. The de-legitimization of the Zionist ideology of ethnic cleansing--the foundation of the Jewish state of Israel-- is the heart of the struggle, just as it was in the boycott, divestment, sanction movement
Fabricating History from Myths
February 2017
Ken Boas is a visiting scholar at the Humanities Center at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of the Pittsburgh BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) Coalition. He is also chair of the board of ICAHD-USA (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions).
Witness for Peace at Heinz Hall Plan now to participate in the protest against the Military Industrial Complex and its spokesperson, Army General Martin Dempsey, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday, February 15 from 7 – 8 PM when he comes to speak at Heinz Hall (600 Penn Avenue) that evening. Join activists from Veterans for Peace, the Merton Center’s AntiWar Committee and other justice groups as we tell those attending this event that war is not entertainment; war is not fun; war is hell. We will gather across the street from Heinz Hall beginning at 7 PM. Please bring signs, your voice and your commitment to peace. For more information, call 412-361-3022.
By Michael Drohan
Review of Book The Invention of the Land of Israel: book. The Bible came to be used to disinherit those From Holy Land to Homeland by Shlomo Sand, Ver- who had cultivated the land of Palestine and transfer so Press, 2012 its ownership to its true owners, the Jewish diaspora. One of the most fascinating parts of his book is the connection he makes between British imperialThis book is a sequel to Shlomo Sand’s 1983 ism, anti-Semitism among the ruling British elite, path-breaking book entitled The Invention of the Jewish People, in which he challenged many of the and the rise of Zionism. Before British imperial inaccepted versions of the history of the Jewish peoterests in Middle-Eastern territory of the Ottoman ple. The present volume challenges many of the ac- Empire, there arose in Britain and elsewhere what cepted understandings of the history of the land that came to be called Christian Zionism. It arose among has variously been called the Holy Land, the Land the Puritans in England who were not concerned of Israel and Palestine. Mr. Sand is a Professor of with Jewish suffering but rather with the belief History in Tel Aviv University, built on the ruins of that Christian redemption of all humanity had to be the Palestinian village of al-Sheikh Muwannis, de- preceded by the return of the children of Israel to Zion. The Jews were then supposed to convert to stroyed in 1948 and its inhabitants exiled to Tulkarm, Qualqilya and elsewhere in Lebanon and Jor- Christianity and the world would see the second dan. There are approximately 57 lecturers in the his- coming of Jesus in the mid-19th century. Zionism tory department of Tel Aviv University whose sup- flourished among the British elite, in figures such as posed profession is to be agents of memory but the Lord Palmerston, Lord Shaftsbury and above all memory of the existence of the Palestinian villagers Lord Balfour. In 1840 the foreign secretary, Lord of al-Sheikh Muwannis is nonexistent. Shlomo Palmerston, floated the idea that the Ottoman Sultan Sand, however, dedicates his book to the memory of support Jewish immigration to Palestine as a check these villagers who were uprooted from their homes on the Egyptian leader, Mehemet Ali. and beloved land and are forgotten by the selective But at the end of the 19th century and into the memories of today’s historians. early 20th century a new phenomenon arose, namely The book is a tour de force in the vast swath of the widespread pogroms and persecution of Jews in history that it covers and the myths that it explodes. Russia and Eastern Europe. Britain was hostile to the coming of these immigrants to England, In his chapter entitled “Mytherritory” he explores how the Bible became a history book, so to speak, in and floated the idea of diverting them to Palestine which many mythical events became historical facts. or, alternatively, to Uganda. Lord Balfour, who beHe explains that the word “homeland,” used in the came Prime Minister of Great Britain, was strongly Bible 19 times, always refers to a person’s land of against Jewish immigration and advocated a homebirth or familial place of origin and never contains land in Palestine. His famous declaration in 1917 in the civil or public dimensions encountered in the his letter to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild had cultures of the Greek polis. The early Zionists, he another twist to it, designed to upend the 1916 asserts, employed the Bible as a title deed to Pales- Sykes-Picot Agreement between the British and the tine and transformed the Bible into a nationalistic French, that divvied up the Ottoman territories of 6 - NEWPEOPLE
against South African Apartheid. The goal is to bring about the end of Palestinian suffering at the hands of Israel. It is to transform the state of Israel, now one Apartheid state, in complete control of every aspect of Palestinians’ lives from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, into one democratic state with equal rights for all, and for the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland. The goal is about the end of a tyrannical settler-colonial state. It is about regime change. This new conversation is hard to hear, yes; yet we don’t have difficulty hearing this when it concerns other anti-democratic regimes. Our sons and daughters are leading the way— once again. And they are being persecuted for it— once again. They realize that to support Israel is to actively contribute to the continued dehumanization and destruction of the Palestinian people. That is what they are shouting about.
the Middle East. By and large, the persecuted Jewish refugees wanted none of the designs of the British Empire; they wanted rather to settle in Britain or the United States. In the early decades of the 20th century, the immigration of persecuted Jews to Palestine was but a trickle, but with the advent of the rise of Nazism in Germany, it became a flood. Once more, Palestine was not the desired destination of the persecuted population, but was often the only recourse due to Jewish immigrant resistance in the United States. The last chapters of Shlomo Sand’s book detail the conflictive relationship between the Palestinian inhabitants of the land and the immigrant settlers of the land. In a very real sense, it is the story of the cuckoo laying its egg in the robin’s nest. The Jewish immigrants believe it is their land given to them by God as Eretz Israel (Land of Israel in Hebrew) and so the Palestinians are usurpers of their rightful inheritance. If there is a bright side to this narrative it would be that all previous attempts to disinherit the inhabitants of the land of Canaan have failed. These inhabitants were generally polytheistic peoples whom the Israelites found there when they first inhabited the land. The Hasmonean dynasty lasted a mere 100 years, from 140 to 116 BCE, and is associated with its founder Simon Maccabeus. The Crusader Christian colony only lasted 90 years. This colonization too will probably not survive if previous history is anything to go by. Michael Drohan is a TMC board member and a member of the NewPeople editorial collective
Defining Movements Persecution by the Turkish Government The Hizmet (the Turkish word for service) movement was inspired by the Turkish Muslim scholar M. F. Gulen about 40 years ago in Turkey. For decades, this global, non-political, non-partisan, non-profit civic movement has reached out to every corner of the globe to take education to the masses, specifically to remote, disadvantaged and war-torn areas, like Siberia, Central Asia, and Africa. Thousands of children have been granted scholarships, exposed to science and technology and provided with opportunities that no other organization provided in their countries. As called by Gulen, 'the caravan of divine yearning' has healed blind eyes (due to severe stages of cataracts) of thousands in Africa, established hospitals, and water wells in regions that have no access to clean, hygienic water, and rescued thousands from starvation by enduring the heat, disease and conditions unknown in our developed worlds. Businessmen inspired by Gulen's teachings became philanthropists and helped sponsor the building and establishment of more than 1000 schools globally. They understood by the teachings of Gulen that to undertake altruistic service, without any material expectation is an act of sincere worship to God. Their goal is to earn the pleasure of the Divine, and to not expect any publicity, fame, recognition, or award from anyone or any entity. The movement opened itself to all communities, inspired by Gulen's teachings on altruism, dedication and sincerity: "Open your heart as much as you can, be as wide as the ocean. Become inspired by faith and love the human being! Let there not be any lonely soul whom you are not concerned with!" However, after July 15th, 2016, the Hizmet
movement's institutions, schools (about 1000 schools in Turkey), 15 universities and thousands of academics, teachers, judges, journalists, doctors and soldiers have been targets of a witch-hunt by the current Turkish government. Using a staged coup as a pretext, thousands have been fired or expelled from their positions, the passports of all academics have been revoked, and more than 40,000 people have been imprisoned. Hundreds of businessmen's property has been confiscated and their accounts frozen. The witch-hunt has become so merciless that the legitimate diplomas of teachers from Gulen-inspired schools have been revoked, forcing teachers to either emigrate from Turkey or to work as very low-paid janitors. Since then, thousands have been forced to emigrate from their homeland into an unknown future, leaving everything they had behind: jobs, houses, cars, businesses, and property. Some even emigrated without taking their wives, children, or husbands with them. Hence, families have been torn apart, forced to separate from one another. The worst part of the witch-hunt hit at core human values: many disowned their family members who they deemed were the instigators of ‘a coup!’ All TV channels and news media established by the Hizmet to bring unbiased, factual news to the public have been shut down. Currently, no dissenting voices are left to inform the masses that they are being exposed to biased news that feeds into the governing power's agenda. Amongst the detainees are mothers with children, pregnant women, and even women who have recently given birth. Housewives and mothers who do not have any specific titles or formal positions
By Sebnem Unlu
have been detained or imprisoned simply because they organized a fundraising bake sale or other social event to raise money for students. The dedication and devotion of Hizmetaffiliated teachers is epic, to say the least: teachers who traveled to countries like those in Central Asia sometimes constructed the schools themselves, taught for very little wages and ate potatoes for months (there was nothing else they could eat when they arrived in Central Asia in 1990s). Most of them did not know the language of the country they were going to, and had to learn it from scratch. After decades of service, dedication, and devotion of the Hizmet movement, most members of parliament in the Turkish government know full well the Hizmet-affiliated community. They had even registered their own children to Hizmet-affiliated schools, knowing full well the quality of education they will receive. The betrayal of this movement dedicated to the well-being of communities was absolutely shocking, unacceptable, and a great crime against basic human rights. As people of faith and conscience, it is our duty to ensure that freedom of expression, religion, thought and way of life is an inviolable right of every human being, that world powers and governments are responsible and accountable for their actions. As power is a trust from The Most Gracious Creator of all, its abuse cannot be overlooked or ignored. Sebnem Unlu is a founding member of the Greater Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition.
We Stand for Peace and Justice Note: The Statement below was developed by a number of people committed to peace and social justice such as Noam Chomsky. It was developed because of the global development of ultra-right groups which threaten democracy, human rights and the welfare of the planet. If our readers agree with this statement and wish to sign on they may access it at www.standforpeaceandjustice.org and sign. At the Merton Center we may work the statement and produce our own version thereof. – Michael Drohan “We see an organized anti worker, anti minority, anti immigrant, anti woman, anti LGBTQ, anti ecological, pro imperial, incarceration minded, surveillance employing, authoritarian reaction proliferating around the world. It calls itself right wing populist but is arguably more accurately termed neofascist. It preys on fear as well as often warranted anger. It manipulates and misleads with false promises and outright lies. It is trying to create an international alliance. Courageous responses are emerging and will proliferate around issue after issue, and in country after country. These responses will challenge the unworthy emotions, the vicious lies, and the vile policies. They will reject right wing rollback and repression. But to ward off an international, multi issue, reactionary assault shouldn’t we be internationalist and multi issue? Shouldn’t we reject reaction but also seek positive, forward looking, inspiring progress? To those ends: “We stand for the growing activism on behalf of progressive change around the world, and their positive campaigns for a better world, and we stand against the rising reactionary usurpers of power around the world and their lies, manipulations, and policies. “We stand for peace, human rights, and international law against against the conditions, mentalities, institutions, weapons and dissemination of weapons that breed and nurture war and injustice. “We stand for healthcare, education, housing, and jobs against war and military spending. “We stand for internationalism, indigenous, and native rights, and a democratic foreign policy against empire, dictatorship, and political and religious fundamentalism. “We stand for justice against economic, political, and cultural institutions that promote huge economic and power inequalities, corporate domination, privatization, wage slavery, racism, gender and sexual hierarchy, and the devolution of human kindness and wisdom under assault by celebrated authority and enforced passivity. “We stand for democracy and autonomy against authoritarianism and subjugation. We stand for prisoner rights against prison profiteering. We stand for participation against surveillance. We stand for freedom and equity against repression and control. “We stand for national sovereignty against occupation and apartheid. We oppose overtly brutal regimes everywhere. We oppose less overtly brutal but still horribly constricting electoral subversion, government and corporate surveillance, and mass media manipulation. “We stand for equity against exploitation by corporations of their workers and consumers and by empires of subordinated countries. We stand for solidarity of and with the poor and the excluded everywhere. “We stand for diversity against homogeneity and for dignity against racism. We stand for multi-cultural, internationalist, community rights, against cultural, economic, and social repression of immigrants and other subordinated communities in our own countries and around the world. “We stand for gender equality against misogyny and machismo. We stand for sexual freedom against sexual repression, homogenization, homophobia, and transphobia. “We stand for ecological wisdom against the destruction of forests, soil, water, environmental resources, and the biodiversity on which all life depends. We stand for ecological sanity against ecological suicide. “We stand for a world whose political, economic, and social institutions foster solidarity, promote equity, maximize participation, celebrate diversity, and encourage full democracy. “We will not be a least common denominator single issue or single focus coalition. We will be a massive movement of movements with a huge range of concerns, ideas, and aims, united by what we stand for and against. “We will enjoy and be strengthened by shared respect and mutual aid while we together reject sectarian hostilities and posturing. “We stand for and pledge to work for peace and justice.”
February 2017
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Democracy and Democrats Democrats' Defeats Were Long Foreseen "Competition for political leadership is in part a competition between differing stories about a nation’s self-identity, and between differing symbols of its greatness." Richard Rorty, A chieving Our Country (1998) Within the first two weeks following the November 8th election, as the popular vote plurality for the Democratic presidential candidate steadily increased, Jennifer Senior of the New Y ork Times published an article highlighting an obscure book by philosopher Richard Rorty, written nearly 20 years earlier. Rorty had then predicted that a “nonsuburban electorate” would eventually, after concluding that their government didn’t care about falling wages and exported jobs, begin “looking around for a strongman to vote for.” Following Senior’s article, Amazon struggled to keep up with demand for Rorty’s book and a long line formed to borrow the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library’s one circulating copy. Rorty’s main insight is that the Democratic party in particular, and the American left in general, has failed to fully commit, either emotionally or while executing the practical business of governing, to a national “self-identity” based on inclusion, fairness, and equality—social, economic and political equality. Nearly a quarter of a century after the Clintons won the White House touting a formulaic shift to some vaguely apprehended “political center,” as recommended by the Democratic Leadership Council (bitterly characterized by Jesse Jackson as “Democrats for the Leisure Class”), party leaders are still arguing over the American self-identity they wish to embrace. Should they take the great leap into a governing vision of equality and inclusion, one that would encompass rather than alienate all those rural and small-town citizens who keep voting for Republicans, time after time? Or keep on offering mild rebuttals to the Republicans’ virulent image of a nation of grasping individuals?
The Democrats most significant recent electoral triumph, in 2008, was propelled in part by Obama’s ability to articulate a vision of “hope” and “change,” a self-imagining vision of inclusion that he himself, as an African-American, embodied. As Ta-Nehisi Coates has observed, Obama’s upbringing, different from that of most African-Americans, allowed him to actually trust the white electorate, thus inducing a mutual acceptance that was both unique and historically astounding. But governing is hard, Republican opposition was unified and relentless, and too many Democrats lacked any clear sense of either an American or a partisan identity they could forcefully defend. The 2014 Democratic candidate for the Senate in Kentucky was representative, being unwilling to admit she even voted for Obama in the previous election. She lost badly, just as the Democratic congressman in one western Pennsylvania rural, small town district lost in 2010, after refusing to vote for the Affordable Care Act that same year. The Democrats are long on policy solutions, while the Republicans have little to offer in that department. But Republicans do have the courage of their reactionary convictions. The Party’s leaders have a simple yet effective formula: engage apprehensive voters by conjuring up their resentments about the present and their fears about the future, then promise a return to a past that was “better,” at least in memory, for those voters. The electorate is offered a moral vision that is supposedly eternal and absolute, and unreflectively applicable to problems related to sexual behavior, crime, foreign affairs, social status, and cultural difference. Republicans appeal to Americans’ desire for individual autonomy, even if that autonomy is challenged every day by economic structures that render people powerless, and even if the illusion of autonomy plays right into the hands of a corporate elite which possesses enormous power. Difficult as it is to accept, it doesn’t matter that
In Purple Matte By Tallon Kennedy
City cars don’t destroy each other somehow. Dreams of standing in the middle of the street, hand and hand, blocking traffic. Flesh against machinery. Life against the law. Together against the world.
By Neil Cosgrove
what the Republicans are selling isn’t a particularly effective product, or doesn’t align with the day-today realities of most people’s lives. Because Republicans aren’t really selling the product, namely the policies they say they will implement, but a selfidentity that appeals to those Americans who have not been offered an equally coherent and appealing identity by the Democrats. It’s not the steak, as that old advertising truism states; it’s the sizzle. As we saw in the 2016 election, a significant minority of American voters decided that it didn’t matter if Donald Trump couldn’t get his facts straight from one moment to the next. They warmed to the image he was projecting, through his own persona, of themselves—as straight-talking, independent, clearthinking, wised-up individuals fully capable of “taking back their country.” Back in 1994, when the Democrats under Bill Clinton lost the entire Congress to the Republicans for the first time since early in the Eisenhower administration, the party should have begun realizing that they had to return to the message that had worked well for them since 1932—that they were the party that stood up for the poor, for workers, for a future of equality, inclusion, and social justice. Instead, it has taken the loss of the 2016 presidential race, when the party put up a competent technocrat against a charismatic branding expert and lost, to bring many of its leaders to the realization that the party’s frequent electoral defeats, on the regional, state and national levels, went beyond “messaging” and entailed its very identity. An identity, which at present, is neither coherent nor inspiring. Neil Cosgrove is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective and the Merton Center Board.
Hope And Democracy Are Alive Cont’d By Bette McDevitt
percent women, 20 percent men, and 60 to 70 percent of them young folks. “Let me tell you, hope is alive and democracy is alive. A lot of people had homemade signs, creative, funny and outrageous signs.” Rachel, a young woman working at Luther Place in Washington, told Rosemary that she was so moved by the activity of the young people that she was going back home to New Hampshire to run for local office. She said that she had not thought in terms of a political career, but that there was lots of talk among her young friends
now about running for office, even among very young people. So, in this historic moment, what might be seen as a dark time, Rosemary Trump is here to tell us that “young people are energized and the movement is starting to come together. Labor, youth, women, people of color, and people of different faiths are coming together, and it’s exciting to see!” Bette McDevitt is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective
Palms sweating into each other. We find a way to love again. Honking horns try to drive between us. Kissing each other in purple matte and somehow Our bodies don’t destroy each other somehow. Pictures from the Washington D.C. protests at the Inauguration on January 20th. Right: Michael Moore being interviewed at the rally. Photos by Rosemary Trump 8 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2017
Pictures From an Inauguration
Re: White America Cont’d By Jacqueline Souza
capitalism, racial discrimination, and ableism. Many discussed the meaning and implications of intersectionality itself, given the controversy with the original march. Since attending the rally, I have been considering my role as a white activist moving forward. I belong to one of the most privileged demographics in this country, and the platform and resources to which I have access as a white woman are insurmountable and endless. For this reason and many others, my priority must lie in educating myself on topics that are directly relevant to the lives of marginalized people, even if those issues are not pertinent to my own experience. I absolutely welcome this responsibility--if we want to successfully mobilize against the Trump administration, it is imperative that we support one another and help to amplify the voices of those who are systematically unheard, though they were fighting before we even started paying attention. White America- this weekend has been incredible, but we have the luxury of being able to decompress now that these historic marches have ended, while others cannot. For the sake of people of color, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and other marginalized groups--we must continue to fight, and fight hard. Participate in mass demonstrations, call your local representatives, volunteer, donate, and vote. We must also continue to educate ourselves and learn to stop talking when we should be listening. We must take a step back and recognize the ways in which we have caused systemic discrimination in the past, and the ways we continue to do so. We cannot move forward together until we can hold ourselves accountable and recognize that we contribute to the perpetuation of inequality. Jacqueline Souza is an intern for the NewPeople and also studies sociology and journalism at the University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in racial justice, social movements, and U.S. politics. Top Photo Left Column: Crowd gathers outside of Penn Plaza in East Liberty to join the Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional March. Photo by Jacqueline Souza Bottom Photo Left Column: The People’s Inauguration took place on January 20th at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh to protest the Inauguration. Photo taken by Neil Cosgrove Top Two Photos of Right Column: Panel on Police & Border Patrol Brutality on Sunday, January 22nd featuring Brandi Fischer, Ana Maria Vasquez, and Monica Ruiz, with music performance by Gizelxanath Soprano and Ben Barson. Top photo by Etta Cetera. Bottom photo by Christina Castillo Middle Photo Right Column: Sandy Lattermore of OnePA, which organized the Peoples Inauguration on January 20th, led the crowd in taking a “citizen’s oath”. Photo by Neil Cosgrove.
Bottom Two Photos Right Column: Protests sprang up all over the country to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump. TMC members in West Palm Beach, Florida, including board member Michael Drohan, joined an impressive turnout in protest. Photo by Joyce Rothermel.
February 2017
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Race and Prisons Netflix’s “13th” Documentary is Required Viewing By Tallon Kennedy
My life so far has been a privileged one, and the main reason for this is my white skin. For a long time, I didn’t understand how racism is institutionalized and ingrained in America, because growing up, I never had to think about race. I never had to live the experiences of racism. I had to teach myself everything I currently know and understand about race in America, because neither my parents nor my teachers felt the need to teach me about how racism is not only pervasive in modern America, but is the backbone on which power hierarchies are structured and maintained. I had to teach myself through listening to the voices and experiences of people of color.
The new Netflix documentary “13th” is a fantastic resource for white allies wanting to engage in anti-racist discourse, as well as expand their knowledge of how racism and its rhetoric operate within American society. The documentary utilizes the voices of scholars of color in an analysis of how black American citizens have been routinely barred from the same opportunities to advance in life that white people have, through political rigging of our social institutions. “13th” is structured brilliantly, moving fluently through time to show how slavery has just been repackaged and renamed post-abolition. The film is focused around the 13th Amendment itself, and how the language in the Amendment has a clause that allows slavery to occur “as a punishment for crime,” which is a fact that I embarrassingly didn’t know until I viewed this film. The documentary then shows how the 13th amendment has been used over time to construct a criminal justice system that not
Support for House Bill 135 By Rodney Derrickson
I am writing this open letter to the citizens of Pennsylvania, asking for your support of Representative Jason Dawkins’ House Bill 135, “Parole Eligibility for Lifer Sentences.” This legislation would permit lifers the opportunity to apply for parole and ask the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole to consider lifers who are redeemed and rehabilitated for parole. Traditionally, lifers bring a degree of stability to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Institutions, due to their interest in maintaining a peaceful environment. Lifer’s experience and knowledge of the prison environment allows the opportunity to alleviate most situations when the tension is high in institutional settings. Lifers are normally the prisoners who implement and facilitate programs that are geared to help rehabilitate other prisoners before their re-entry back into society. Many lifers have committed the ultimate offense against society; however, I ask that you consider the fact that the vast majority of those crimes are not carried out by experienced criminals. Most frequently, these crimes are triggered by circumstances, domestic abuse, substance abuse, peer pressure, emotional trauma or a combination of these. Studies have shown that one percent of the commuted lifers released on parole have 10 - NEWPEOPLE
returned to prison. In addition, commuted lifers have returned to their communities as lawabiding citizens, which demonstrate that lifers can be rehabilitated. Representative Dawkins’ legislation creates no right to parole any lifer. Each lifer would have to go before the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, which can reject those lifers who do not deserve parole. It would only allow deserving lifers an equal opportunity to apply for parole just like Pennsylvania’s juvenile lifers, and lifers in other states. I ask that you please support Representative Jason Dawkins’ HB 2135 by writing or emailing your elected state representative, asking that they too support House Bill 135. Your support would give deserving lifers hope, and a huge incentive to change their lives . Thank You. Rodney Derrickson is a juvenile lifer, and adviser to Fight for Lifers West. You may send comments to: Rodney Derrickson #CW6633 SCI Forest, PO Box 945 Marienville, PA 16239.
February 2017
only targets people of color, but also forces them to work and produce consumer items for little to no payment. Through the war on drugs, and the militarization of police forces, America has created a system that has kept slavery alive into the 21st century. A particularly poignant part of the film features audio from a Donald Trump speech applied to video of black individuals being pushed around and assaulted in the 60s, and it then cuts to the racial violence that has occurred at Trump rallies. It’s disturbing, but it gets the message across. Racist attitudes and violence are at the forefront of our society— it always has been, and it still is. If you’re like me, your parents and all of your white friends have extolled the successes of Bill Clinton’s presidency. “13th” reshapes Clinton’s presidency for what it was: a neoliberal disaster that installed mandatory minimum sentencing and three-strike laws that took the war on drugs to the next level and subsequently destroyed communities of color. “13th” is a comprehensive analysis of institutional racism in America from its very founding up until this very day, and it’s a film that every white person in America needs to watch. Tallon Kennedy is a poet and an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh studying Writing, Literature and Gender Sexuality and Women Studies.
Giving the Marginalized a Voice Intention is Everything: Interview With Shanon Williams By Marni Fritz
Often in anti-racist social movements, the work of women goes ignored. Women work tirelessly behind the scenes, only to be represented by a man with a bull-horn. This erasure is exhausting and overwhelming. In an effort to raise up the voices and anti-racist work of women in Pittsburgh, I am beginning a series that focuses on the fierce women who are taking ownership of their work, to discuss concepts of identity, what their work looks like, and how they make sure they are giving themselves the emotional attention they deserve.
Sitting in Every Day Cafe, a new coffee shop in Homewood, Shanon Williams opened up to me about youth, inclusion, identity and representation. “Access and inclusion make all the difference in the world. There are some very old power structures that really shouldn’t be in power anymore. We are at a point where young leaders should be leading but that isn’t happening.” Shanon currently works for Ceasefire PA as their Campaign Coordinator, working with the youth in Pittsburgh, teaching them how to be advocates for their own rights. “We need to make sure our young adults have access to the same spaces that we do.” This requires getting the youth involved. “We try to get them experience as well, beyond just training. If there is an opportunity to attend a protest or sit in at a meeting or be in front of a particular power structure, we invite them.” The program concludes with a trip to Harrisburg in order to advocate with their representatives for different policies addressing gun violence. Shanon stresses the importance of inclusion of those directly affected by issues in Pittsburgh. “We need to make sure that planning spaces are representative of the community that lives there: age, race, ethnicity, gender. There are several situations where there are meetings where progress and input are talked about, but there is no genuine input from the community. It’s transparent. It’s damaging. It’s violent and it is dangerous. When asked to expand on her definition of violence, Shanon replied: “I identify violence as anything that imposes any level of trauma or dysfunction on any person or group of people. Taking away someone’s housing- that is violence. Imposing a negative or stereotype upon someone- that is violence.” Shanon currently serves on the Community Police Relations Implementation Group. Her focus: restructuring the power in the room away from
elected officials, police and the department of justice, and focusing it on those most affected in the community “The community is not me. I know how to convene meetings with people in power and I have the power of an organization backing me. But Janay down the street, who works at the Rite- Aid, doesn’t know who they are or what they do. She’s concerned with the same issues that we all have and has opinions like we all do. If she wants to be at the table, she deShanon Williams at Every Day Café in Homewood. Photo by Marni Fritz serves a spot.” Shanon describes her experiences in these spaces as one of exclusion and dismissal. “It’s not tions, Shanon noted that “Chief McLay has had a lot of impact in terms of community relations, race relaeasy being the only black woman in these spaces. tions, and implicit biases by opening up the converIt’s a daily struggle figuring out what that means sation. But we have a long way to go.” and who I am.” Shanon went on to describe such efforts as an Diversity is one buzz word that’s emphasized, attempt to educate the community on the position but Shanon says we need more than diversity bepolice are in, but not necessarily to explicitly adcause it’s easy to tokenize marginalized groups in dress racism on the institutional level. Events like these spaces. We should be talking about inclusivipizza with children in Homewood sound great, but ty, access and power, not just diversity. “If we are what the children really need is to understand how not careful it is easy to be used for what you look to work through public safety issues with the police. like to push someone else’s agenda.” Consultation with the youth who frequently come in Shanon describes the struggle between the fear contact with police is needed. “They speak on their of being portrayed as the “angry black girl” and embracing the label because she knows she’s standing successes with youth engagement but there are no up for herself. “There is no separation of the two. I kids at the table.” Self-care and identity are intertwined for need to take up space; otherwise I am not allowed Shanon. “Socially, in general, it’s difficult being a the level of respect in rooms I am in.” black woman anywhere. So I think about what idenShanon is also an organizer in the community. tity is because it’s so heavy and incorrect that it’s Around the time of the election, children of color hard to know what it is and who I am.” It’s emotionbegan experiencing an increase in bullying and the ally draining to deal with these dynamics in both the use of racial slurs from their peers and adults. As a personal and professional spheres. “I was recently reaction, the Woodland Hills football team decided diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which I have only to kneel in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick as a recently began internalizing. It can be painful to be protest against systemic racism. Some parents in the district and beyond berated the children using racial in social situations sometimes. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster.” Shanon emphasizes healthy habits slurs. In response to the violence, Shanon began mak- in her daily life including diet, exercise and knowing when she needs to separate herself socially. “I make ing contacts. With the help of Dustin Gibson, the action Stand With Woodland Hills began to form. In sure the people I surround myself with treat me right. The people you surround yourself with can solidarity with the students. a group of people really affect you. I separate them out based on intenshowed up at a Woodland Hills football game to kneel in recognition of structural injustice. It was a tion and honesty.” beautiful moment of support. “They [the youth] Marni Fritz is the Director of Communications shouldn’t feel bad about what they did. They shouldn’t feel as though they are not able to or that and the NewPeople Coordinator for the Thomas it’s dangerous to stand up for what they believe in.” Merton Center. Her energy is focused on antiracism and intersectional feminism. Regarding Pittsburgh police-community rela-
Forced Migration in Pittsburgh: How Do We Fight Back? By Jacqueline Souza
On January 10, 2017, members of the Pittsburgh Planning Commission met with architects and attorneys of LG Realty to discuss the construction of new complexes in East Liberty. If the meeting’s 4th agenda item were to be passed by committee members, it would allow architects to minimize the size of a local park in order to make space for multiple apartment buildings and a Whole Foods Market. The plans for these new additions were highly controversial in their beginning stages, as the architects and planners responsible faced months of backlash from the public. Members of the community were concerned with their lack of influence in the construction process, as there had been only a few meetings to voice their concerns. Before the meeting began, a media handout distributed to the press included a statement by Tim Stevens, the CEO-chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP), that “[citizens are] questioning the proposed loss of much of the park, and [are] extremely concerned about the absence of any affordable housing on the site.” Spokespeople for B-PEP argued that LG Realty’s construction plans indicated a rejection of the immediate housing needs of community members, who often find themselves unable to enjoy new amenities due to their cost. Stevens closed his letter with a potent message, writing that “a giant such as Whole Foods does not need the protection…of the Commission, but many
poor and moderate income citizens of Pittsburgh do.” Following the extensive review and discussion of item four, members of the City Planning Commission swiftly denied LG Realty’s proposed plans due to poor planning and a lack of input from the public. This was an anticipated win for locals and activists in East Liberty, but what effect do these minor victories have on city-wide gentrification as a whole? Many of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods are gentrified in a predictable manner- major retailers and housing complexes are constructed in a given area where long-term community members are already struggling to keep up with the cost of living, which routinely increases due to new construction. Gentrification may lead to aesthetic and economic improvements; however, these renovations are never for the residents who presently reside there, but for incoming, more affluent residents. Garfield, only a mile and half from East Liberty, faces these same issues presently. Residents struggle to find affordable housing in the neighborhood and lack representation in the community meetings where new construction opportunities are discussed. I conducted an interview with Corey Buckner, a member of the Outreach Committee for the Land Trust in Garfield. As a native of the area and longtime board member of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, Buckner has witnessed changes in the area
throughout the years. After seeing the negative effects of gentrification first hand, he hopes to balance the affordability and the market rate of the neighborhood. Concerning the current trajectory of Garfield, Buckner worries that new construction is happening too quickly with little input from long-term residents. He then spoke about the goals of the Land Trust’s Outreach Committee, mentioning that their main priority is to increase the diversity of their regular community meetings. Buckner hopes to achieve this by reaching out to long-term Garfield residents, including African-American and elderly citizens, by hosting meetings after local church services and even making home visits, so that citizens who cannot attend the meetings can be heard. Fortunately, Buckner has noticed more diversity in the community meetings lately, noting the constructive feedback members of the Land Trust had received at the most recent discussion. He mentioned that one of the main goals of the community is to bring education back into Garfield. “[Members of the community],” he said, “would like to see a school, because all of our students are bussed out of Garfield [since] there are no schools left.” Jacqueline Souza is an intern for the New People and also studies sociology and journalism at the University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in racial justice, social movements, and U.S. politics. February 2017
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Environmental and Social Justice MORALtorium Launches “Clean Water for The Woodlands” Fundraiser By Wanda Guthrie
It’s been close to six years now, a tragic anniversary, for 52 families in a Butler County community who lost their clean well water. Anyone who has lost water service for a day or two knows how difficult it can be. Imagine having to go without water for years. Families in The Woodlands community still rely on a weekly donation of 20 gallons of clean water for drinking, cooking, and brushing their teeth, which they receive from volunteers operating a water bank at the nearby White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church in Renfrew. This support falls far short of what the American Red Cross considers the minimum required for an emergency – two gallons per person per day while, when water goes bad, it’s not even safe for showering, cleaning, or other uses. Even flushing toilets is discouraged. To date, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has not made a determination on the cause of the contamination, but it occurred after fracking began in the community. Without an official determination, no arrangements have been made to permanently replace the water; something the DEP can direct the company responsible, in this case, Rex Energy, to do. Unfortunately, The Woodlands is not the only community that has been impacted. Dimock, PA in Susquehanna County in Northeastern PA is another example of one community where multiple families have lost their private water supplies. The company responsible there, Cabot Oil & Gas, stopped delivering clean water years ago. Across the state, nearly 300 cases of fracking contaminating water supplies have been confirmed by the DEP. Access to clean water is the primary concern for affected families, but they’re also concerned about what the contamination has done to their prop-
erty values. For most of us, our home is our greatest investment. The “Water for The Woodlands” campaign aims to raise $5,000; enough money to purchase water for 5 months, for the affected families. Thanks to a matching grant of $2,500 from a A family prepares to move away from the Woodlands. How do you learn to live without generous donor, our goal is to raise water? Julia Rendleman/Post Gazette August 2012 at least $2,500 using a crowd-funding site operated by the Unitarian tions and sales of the book are responsible for keepUniversalist church called Faithify. The campaign ing this unresolved disaster in the public eye. will run for 45 days and started on January 10. More than 900 peer-reviewed studies now A group of faith leaders who have led a cammake a collective case for an end to fracking. The paign for a MORALtorium on fracking in Pennsyl- studies examine a wide range of impacts to water vania organized the campaign to raise not only quality, air quality, health, safety, quality of life, funds, but awareness of the issue. The government economics, and more. and industry must be held to account for their failure We encourage Thomas Merton Center members to help these families. The situation in The Woodand friends to help with a donation to Faithify. You lands also demonstrates just one of the reasons the can find the link at: https://www.faithify.org/ group is calling for a statewide moratorium on projects/ fracking. Wanda Guthrie is a member of MORALtorium and Friends of the Harmed, with the assistance of Convener of the EcoJustice Working Group. Marcellus Protest, Westmoreland Citizens Group, projects of the Thomas Merton Center, and Marcellus Outreach Butler, have contributed and produced a book, Shalefield Stories, drawing attention to the dirty industrial fracking process. Citizen contribu-
A Call to Action with Unite100 During the one hundred days following the inauguration, the new administration will be subject to scrutiny from all sides. Because of statements made and actions taken by this incoming administration, social justice and climate justice organizations are gravely concerned – and banding together. There is a natural link between climate and social justice organizations, a recognition that respect for the environment extends to all of its inhabitants, and that the effects of environmental devastation tend to be borne largely by underserved populations. To honor this link and advance shared goals and values, 350 Pittsburgh, a project of the Thomas Merton Center, has launched Unite100, a campaign of events that will culminate in the People’s Climate March in DC April 29. Vigils for peace, ally training
By Ellen Wilson
from the Islamic Center, a solar workshop, rallies, letter writing, films, educational and community building activities are all planned as a visible response to the new administration. The Unite100 campaign is actively seeking groups to share in these activities. “We want to add more events to our shared calendar,” says Kate Fissell, one of the organizers of the campaign and a member of the 350 Pittsburgh Steering Committee. “And we’ve designed it to be very easy to take part.” Groups wanting to participate are requested to email 350pittsburgh@gmail.com for more information. The campaign is one of 150 projects that have applied for funding from the Sprout Fund’s “100Days of US Initiative” (100daysof.us). Keep an eye out for more inspiring events as these 100Day projects develop. 350 Pittsburgh is the local chapter of 350.org, a global movement founded by environmentalist Bill McKibben. The goal of the Unite100 campaign is to demonstrate that change starts at the grassroots level, and that by working together groups can continue and build on recent progress in social and environmental justice movements. Ellen Wilson is a member of the 350 Pittsburgh Steering Committee
Wanda Guthrie of the Thomas Merton Center and 350 Pittsburgh talks to Elyse Thurman, an intern working on Unite 100.
12 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2017
Gr. Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition to Hold Forum on Compassion and Relationships The public is welcome to participate in the forum on Compassion and Relationships sponsored by the Gr. Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition on Sunday, Feb. 12 from 2 – 4 PM at Christ United Methodist Church (UMC), 44 Highland Road in Bethel Park. This is the fourth and final forum on its series of conversations on compassion. Compassion and love are grand ideals, but how do people of faith live these values in everyday relationships? People of every faith tradition are invited to attend and participate in the discussion. The four invited panelists represent diverse faith traditions: Christianity: The Rev. Car l Baughman, executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center, has dual ordination in the Church of the Brethren and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist. Hinduism: Pr abha Sankar anar ayan is the Pr esident and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International. She is a conflict transformation consultant who has mediated, facilitated and trained in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the USA. Islam: Chr istine Mohamed, a conver t to Islam, is a frequent speaker at various interfaith venues throughout the Pittsburgh region. She teaches a class at CMU’s Osher School titled “Lions, Tigers and Muslims....Oh My!” Unitarian Universalism: The Rev. J im Magaw is the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills. He enjoys making music and writing poetry. Jeanna-Mar Simmons, director of Missions and Outreach at Christ UMC, will moderate the panel. Following the discussion and a question and answer period with the audience, Rabbi Doris Dyen, the spiritual leader at Makom HaLev, will offer closing remarks. This event is generously supported by United Methodist Women of Christ United Methodist Church. Refreshments will be provided by the Turkish Cultural Center. The event is free and open to the public. Advance registration is appreciated, though not required: visit http://bit.ly/compassionandrelationships to register. The Gr. Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition is a project of the Thomas Merton Center.
Knowledge is Power
Above and Right: 350.org Action on January 9th at Station Square in Pittsburgh to deliver the petition to Senator Toomey's office, asking him to vote against the approval of the Climate Deniers to high posts in government. Photos by Maren Cooke
Knowledge is Power – Foundations and Fuel for Cooperatives’ Sustainability By Ron Gaydos and Jeff Jaeger
This is the fourth in our series about the seven principles of cooperatives. In this article we discuss Cooperative Principle 5: Education, Training, and Information.
only on a “need-to-know” basis, with limited parts of the whole picture offered for individual consideration. Little do they know that everyone needs to know. Workers in a cooperative need to know what affects not only their job, but their company. When the market or a technology changes, decisions have to be made and action needs to be taken. Only within the context of continual learning and sharing can a group of people make practical business decisions that fit within common principles. This requires but also encourages a greater shared responsibility for communicating ideas, concerns, feedback, industry news, anything that affects the cooperative’s environment. This isn’t just to be more humane and charitable; the cooperative education and information sharing model makes business more efficient. Take any size category of business, and there are proportionately more cooperative companies in that category than conventional businesses. Why not help every member of the company be more resourceful, better informed, and increasingly knowledgeable about how to do their jobs and help run the company? Cooperatives have answered this question with a resounding “Yes!” and their business is better off for it.
Knowledge and the institutional wisdom shared by members, officers, managers and elected representatives of cooperatives is key to their effective contribution to the Cooperative members often meet to be sure they're on the same development and sustainability of the cooppage together. Photo by Ron Gaydos erative. Outreach to the public, and their education, training, and information, helps to expand the reach of cooperative business, and make the democratic, efficient governance of the cooperative possible. This is fundamental to the developBy Joyce Rothermel ment of a dynamic and resilient cooperative culture. Only when everyone is working The Dec.-Jan. issue of The advocate. with a common understanding of what a Volunteer and be a leader in NewPeople included a listing with cooperative is and how it functions can a co contact information for our SW PA your community, union, or faith Congressional Delegation. We congregation by organizing an ad-op be effective in the marketplace. Educahope you have saved it and are put- vocacy team or study group. tion, training and up-to-date information ting it to good use. Ensure that your advocacy in sharing is how this happens. In January, our Bread for 2017 is strong by becoming a memCompany culture is an important and ber of the organization(s) that are the World Friends put out some trendy topic in business in general. The culideas that are worth following working on the issues most imture of the business can affect employees’ throughout this year and can be portant to you and make them a level of commitment and inspiration, and applied to whatever issues are most part of your charitable giving. the company’s longevity. Cooperative busiimportant to you. They remind us Resolve to make advocacy for nesses intentionally include members in that the first year of any new presi- your issue(s) a habit this year. decision making regarding questions about Of course, we at the Thomas dency often sees the passing of everything from finance to policy. Can you more legislation than in any year of Merton Center plan to be there for the presidential term. This reality you through the publication of The say resilient? Let’s all say it together! Co-op culture encourages members to invites us to get into action imme- NewPeople, the weekly e-blast, acseek common understanding, while realiz- Jeff Jaeger is a member of the Steel City diately. tivities around our four focus areas ing that the process is always ongoing and Soils Cooperative and a graduate of SlipResolve to email, call, or write of non-violence/anti-war; human evolving. It starts with a collective mission pery Rock University’s Master of Sustainyour members of Congress once a rights, and economic and environability program. month. mental justice, our website and cal- and continues through all the policies and business functions. Fourth River Workers Educate new members and endar and the work of our many Ron Gaydos is a consultant in inclusive Guild meets monthly – sometimes more remind returning members of Con- projects (see listing on page 2). If often – discussing what’s going on in their economic development, entrepreneurship, gress about (your issues) by setting you are not a member, clip out the and organizational strategy, and a member cooperative, what they need to know to up an in-district meeting with them coupon on the back page and send or their staff. it in with your donation or sign up make any decisions going forward, and then of the Thomas Merton Center’s New Economy Campaign. Jeff and Ron are CoSign-up for regular communi- on our webdeciding on their direction. The Pin-up Founders of the Pittsburgh Chamber of cations with others who share your site:www.thomasmertoncenter.org Couriers bicycle posting collective meets Cooperatives. concerns, so you can plan and act To volunteer, call Marni at 412-361 weekly to do the same. (www.PittsburghChamber.coop) in a more unified way. -3022. To join in our organizing Education, training and information Organize a program, action, or efforts, contact Gabe McMorland sharing builds a level team of workers and event in your spheres of influence at 412-719-3424. leaders. It also supports effective and timely around the issue(s) that matter most business decision making. In a typical corJoyce Rothermel is co-convener of porate culture, information is often shared to you. the SW PA Bread for the World Learn about the latest news, Team. tools, and resources you need to February 2017 NEWPEOPLE - 13
Speak Out Loud; Speak Out Strong
The Religious Left’s Witness The Revival of the Religious Left—United in Pursuit of Peace & Justice! By Mollie March-Steinman
Most of us are familiar with the term “Religious Right”. It refers to those who identify as both religious and conservative, and often use these identities to inform each other. Evangelical conservatives tend to be associated the most with the Religious Right in American politics, as they have been one of the more vocal groups opposing reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights. The Westboro Baptist Church and the K.K.K. are two of the more extreme examples of far-right, Christian-affiliated groups. However, we see violent, conservative extremism represented in every religion, including far-right Jewish organizations that support the Israeli occupation of Palestine and express sexist attitudes toward women, and far-right Muslim groups like ISIS, Al-Quaeda, and Boko Haram. In this article, I want to instead highlight some of the ways that religion has positively influenced social justice movements historically, and continues to do so today. Pittsburgh is home to several progressive, welcoming, multi-faith religious organizations. The First Unitarian Church has long featured a rainbow flag across its stone face, emblazoned with the words, “Civil Marriage is a Civil Right”. In addition to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, the church has recently adopted another banner with the words, “Black Lives Matter” to further its commitment to social justice. The First United Methodist Church, located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, recently adopted a sign as well, declaring boldly, “Refugees and Immigrants Welcome”. Both churches describe their missions as being “loving” and “open-minded”. Another Christian institution, the East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC), promotes these welcoming values as well, describing their belief in “Christ’s radical hospitality” on their website. In fact, the ELPC is a social justice partner of the Thomas Merton Center. Thomas Merton began his spiritual journey with Catholicism, and was deeply invested in the peace movement during the 1960s. His religious values were grounded in racial justice and nonviolence, and his activist work reflected
these principles. The inclusive legacy of Christian faith organizations in Pittsburgh directly contradicts the common narrative that we hear about closedminded, conservative Christians. The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh has also demonstrated boundless acts of charity and shown their commitment to justice through their food pantry and community outreach work. The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh works closely with The Muslim Women’s Association, which devotes itself to service projects involving issues like domestic violence, housing, and medical needs per its website. Unfortunately, the Muslim community in Pittsburgh and beyond has faced countless injustices, far beyond the scope of this article. Muslim women have their hijabs ripped from their heads in public, and darker-skinned Muslims are often racially profiled and discriminated against. One notable example of discrimination against Muslim people today is the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the physical and economic violence directed toward Palestinian people. Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian racial justice activist and Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York, states, “As an American Muslim woman, I need to dispel myths about my faith, tell my community’s stories, and preach courage in the face of injustice.” Although there is terrible Islamophobia in the world, we can feel inspired by the courage of activists like Ms. Sarsour. We can also find encouragement in our own Pittsburgh community, and the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network in particular. For example, Jewish students from Squirrel Hill’s Temple Sinai visit the Islamic Center to learn about another religious perspective and exchange ideas. It is heartening to see these interfaith celebrations both emerging locally, and reaching across oceans. Another remarkable organization to promote interfaith harmony is Jewish Voice for Peace, which works to create lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. There have been inspiring, prolific revolutionaries across every faith, including Jewish socialist Rosa Luxemburg, Christian philosopher Dr. Cornel
February TV Viewing Recommendation: “Interfaith Service on Pittsburgh Violence By Carlana Rhoten
On October 6th, a city wide service was held at the Pentecostal Temple to engage in a joint consideration of the tragedies experienced by African American families. Participants included Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims coming together to commit their organizations to future actions. The service was organized by the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) and the Greater Pgh Coalition Against Violence (CAV). They issued their third edition of Strategies for Change: Creating More Peaceful Communities, which will serve as a blueprint for ideas and guidance. This service will be aired on TV every Monday night in February at 9 PM on Comcast 21 and Verizon Fios 47. The TV program highlights testimony of mothers whose sons had become homicide victims. They take us beyond the 30 second report we see on the evening news, and bring us to an appreciation of the very intelligent and responsible individuals who are frequently targets of senseless gun fire. Many of these mothers have dedicated their lives to trying to save our Black youths and the innocent bystanders who get caught in the crossfire. Included in the program are: Valerie Dixon, B-PEP, CAV, 14 - NEWPEOPLE February 2017
Prevent Another Crime Today (PACT) and Center for Victims; Adrianne Young, Tree of Hope; Constance Moore, president of Fathers Who Care Foundation; Wynona Harper, founder of Jamar Place of Peace; and Theresa White, grandmother. Many religious leaders spoke during the Service. Those who appear in our program include Bishop Dr. Loran Mann, Rev. George A. Williams, Rabbi James A. Gibson, Student Minister Victor Muhammad, and Rev. Denice Welch. Community representatives included Pittsburgh City police officers, Mayor Bill Peduto, Tim Stevens, B-PEP. and Esther Bush, Urban League. Many other organizations were represented. Highmark printed the Strategies document, and the Pittsburgh Foundation gave their support. The videographer/editor of the event was Rich Fishkin, You Tube, richfishpgh For more information or to participate in future actions, e-mail b-pepinfo@bpep.net and check out their website at www.b-pep.net
Carlana Rhoten is the community producer of Progressive Pgh Notebook TV Series tvmotebook@gmail.com, 412-363-7472, a project of the Thomas Merton Center.
West, Muslim human rights activist Malcolm X, not to mention the outstanding work of North Carolina’s Dr. Rev. William Barber and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I would be remiss not to recognize the countless feminist, racial and economic justice groups that identify as Buddhist, Hindu, or otherwise spiritual. However, I think it is best to conclude by allowing fellow Pittsburghers to explain how peace and justice inspire their religious identities: “To me, peace and justice, as well as the struggle towards these, confirms my faith in what I cannot necessarily see, in a God, in goodness, in people’s capacity to love.” -Meggie Booth, student “I try to live my life in a way that is guided by God’s selfless love, and that has led me to care deeply for people, for peace, and for unity.” -April Yoder, student “In the Jewish religion, we are encouraged to perform mitzvahs, which are good deeds just for the sake of doing a good deed. Kindness, just for the sake of being kind are promoted.” -Vicki March, physician “Muslims are taught that Allah is willing to forgive all transgressions and that [we can] put ourselves closer to him by emulating this aspect. It’s also generally believed that any disturbance to peace or obstruction of justice is abhorred by Allah and shouldn’t be done unless absolutely necessary. The root word of Islam is Silm, which literally translates into peace.” -Malcolm Williams, student Mollie March-Steinman is currently self-designing an Economic Justice major at Chatham University. She is passionate about promoting peace and justice for all. Mollie is an intern with the NewPeople Editorial Collective.
Whitehead: "Seeing the Other" By James McCarville
Tina Whitehead, “Seeing the Other.” 2016 Spring Speaker Series, Association of Pittsburgh Priests (APP) A review by Jim McCarville Tina Whitehead has an interesting teaching technique, and an important message for us. Her topic, “Seeing the Other”, is a tool that she shared with attendees at the December 5, 2016, APP Speaker Series event. Tina lives in Pittsburgh but spends half of her time each year in Palestine, where she works with Sabeel, a grassroots Palestinian-Christian movement with international supportfriends from around the world. Sabeel promotes spirituality based on peace, justice and reconciliation. It frequently includes pairing Palestinian victims with Israeli victims, and finding common ground. There are a lot of complex issues Tina could have chosen to talk about. She said “before I went to Palestine, I could never have imagined what was happening in this country, and what privileged ‘others’ I got to know”. In “Seeing the Other” she shared with us a tool anyone can use, any day. She called it “unwrapping lives”.
First Whitehead ran through a long series of photos of Arabs, Jews and Christians, with no initial commentary. She let us form our own opinions, frequently formed by negative media coverage. She then went back and told the story of each person: a doctor, a teacher, an orphan. “Seeing the other, recognizing the self in the other, is a long journey,” she said, “and the longest part of that journey is from our head to our heart.” The most memorable photo was that of a young Israeli soldier. As he stands with his arms crossed, casually cradling his rifle, he doesn’t notice that his un-aimed rifle is pointing directly at Tina. But that is not the story Tina tells. Instead she talks about his family and his childhood. Underneath the soldier was a person. In one evening, Tina “unwrapped” a lot of lives and showed us how we can do it too. Whitehead was the final speaker of APP’s 2016 Fall Speaker Series. Jim McCarville is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective and TMC board.
Dark Money Rules The Rule of Dark Money By Ed Brett
Housing Needed for Local Student/ Activist/Friend of the Earth Looking for a roommate? Got a house to share? Want to start up a new community? Hi, my name is Casey and I am looking for a decent affordable place to live in Pittsburgh. I have lived co-operatively a lot, including writing about and teaching co-op lives and issues fairly extensively and am used to sharing space respectfully while taking good care of the place -CAYG-clean as you go. I am a mature woman student, been kind of quadruple majoring in political science, psychology, philosophy and international studies. Working on a dissertation and book, so a fairly calm, quietish and orderly house would be great! I would like to live in a household where we are respectful of each other but aware of our interdependence, with ‘give and take’ rather than just friendly strangers passing in the hall. I am a serious cook, and love to share food of many kinds. NOT A VEGETARIAN! Ideal place is in a quietish area with plenty of street parking, near enough to shops and public transportation. The room needn’t be furnished but need access to the common areas of the home, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Ideally, no slumlords, apartment buildings or poorly kept up space. Would also love to talk about putting together a new intentional community, but sooner rather than later. Co-operation and mutual respect are the way to go- out in the world and at home. Hope this is not too much info, but current house rent term is up March 31 st so I am in haste to leave and get settled. Hope to hear from you soon. I can be available for meet up almost anytime, with some notice. Best regards, Casey Please email at actionactivist@gmail.com
In Memory of Nathaniel Glosser Past Merton Center member and supporter, Nathaniel Glosser died at the end of December in Florida at age 51. He is remembered for his active participation in many progressive social justice and peace struggles. Most notable among them were Occupy Pittsburgh, anti-war efforts, police accountability, and prevention of gun violence. With experience gained from his work as the director of the Rosenberg Institute for Peace and Justice and PA Against Handgun Violence, Nathanial helped guide Occupy Pittsburgh in its first weeks and often acted as spokesperson to the media.
He will be remembered for his generosity of time, talent and treasure to make the world a better place for everyone. Donations in Nathaniel’s memory are being directed to the Thomas Merton Center and Three Rivers Community Foundation.
Review of Book: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires behind the Rise of the Radical Right. By Jane Mayer. NY: Doubleday, 2016. In a recent New York Times column, Nicholas Kristof noted that, as a result of the Millennium Goals set up by the United Nations in 2000, the number of people living in extreme poverty and the mortality rate for small children worldwide have as of today been cut in half. Likewise, the global illiteracy rate has been reduced from over 50% to 15%. Although these are truly remarkable achievements, the opposite was taking place in the United States, one of the world’s richest nations. According to U.S. government statistics, by 2011 extreme poverty levels in our nation had doubled since 1996. 1.5 million households were living in extreme poverty and this included 2.8 million children. Indeed, by 2011 childhood poverty had reached record levels and, according to a 2013 UNICEF report, the U.S. had the second highest child poverty rate in the developed world. Today one in four working Americans still earns less than the poverty level, while the richest 400 Americans make as much as the bottom 150 million. So why has the United States fared so poorly while the rest of the world has collectively improved? Jane Mayer’s Dark Money goes far in helping us answer this question. It is a meticulously documented exposé of the widespread influence that the Koch brothers, Richard Mellon Scaife, and other rightwing billionaires have had on undermining democracy and economic equality in the U.S. Mayer begins with the patriarch, Fred Koch, revealing how he amassed a fortune in the 1930s by building oil refineries first for Joseph Stalin and then for Adolf Hitler. His experience with the Stalin purges eventually transformed him into a libertarian and anti-communist and in 1958 he cofounded the ultra-extremist John Birch Society. His extremist views were passed down to his sons, David and Charles, and the former ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket in 1980. But when the party received less than one percent of the vote, both brothers abandoned it as a lost cause, choosing over the next 30 years to instead put over $100 million of their massive personal fortunes, much of it undisclosed, in carefully laid out plans to change how Americans voted and thought politically. Twice a year the Koch brothers sponsored donor summits at posh resorts where fellowminded corporate plutocrats, political consultants, and rightwing elected officials were invited to strategize on how to take over the American political system. Massive amounts of money were pledged and agendas were drawn up with issues prioritized for upFebruary 2017
coming elections. Think tanks became the foremost weapon in the new robber barons’ war for the minds of the American public. The Scaife Family Charitable Trust donated over $23 million to help set up and finance the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. John M. Olin, whose chemical company made billions from military weapons contracts, established other conservative institutes and created endowed professorships at prestigious universities. The Bradley family used money from their Rockwell mega -corporation to underwrite conservative research projects and pay the cost of publishing conservative books and journals. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which funded conservative student publications on college campuses, was financed by the DeVos family, founders of the Amway Corporation. Richard and Betsy DeVos, who have been major donors to numerous right wing causes, also founded the James Madison Center for Free Speech, whose top priority was ending all restrictions on campaign contributions, a goal that was finally achieved in 2010 with the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision. (President-elect Donald Trump has recently nominated Betsy DeVos to be his Secretary of Education). Mayer demonstrates convincingly that it is the Koch brothers, the single largest producers of toxic waste in the U.S., who have been most responsible for coordinating the attempts by the new robber barons to take control of the Republican Party, and through methods both fair and foul use it to achieve their main goals—creating as small a government as possible, eliminating virtually all taxes on the rich, and ending virtually all restrictions on the accumulation of wealth. Through such front groups as Americans for Prosperity, they have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into not only national political campaigns but local ones as well, even those as seemingly insignificant as district school board races. These plutocrats bankrolled the Tea Party movement, which created gridlock in Congress. They poured money into attacks on Obamacare and on the science of global warming and were largely responsible for the rash of voter ID laws which disenfranchised countless minorities. The shocking election of Donald Trump as president shows just how successful they have become. Dark Money is an immensely important book, in that it thoroughly and skillfully exposes the onerous enemy that is today undermining our democracy. Edward T. Brett is a member of the Board of the Thomas Merton Center and an Emeritus Professor of History at Laroche College NEWPEOPLE - 15
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4 Mirrors of Privilege Film Viewing– 2pm– Squirrel Hill Library Protest Uber– 11am– 2901 Liberty Ave
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Interfaith Service on Violence– Comcast 21, Fios 41, Every Monday at 9pm
Dinner and Discussion Advocacy Training– 5STOP Fast Food 9pm– Smallman CEO Andy Puzder for Labor Gallery, 54 21st St Secretary!- 12 noon– Federal Building 1000 Liberty Ave
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1990- Nelson Mandela released after 27 years in prison
Planning Session Handicap Parking Advocacy– 12—3 pm– 3401 Blvd of the Allies
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First day to circulate nominating petitions for major party candidates
Love of Friends Fundraiser for Planned Parenthood– 710pm– Spirit 242 51st st
Stand With Standing Rock Benefit in Three Parts– 3pm—1am– 5118 Penn Ave
After Spring Film Screening– 6:30– Galleria Six
1996– Zapatistas & Mexican gov’t sign San Andres accords on indigenous autonomy
Possible beginning of nuclear waste shipments
Isarel/Palestine: From One Apartheid State to One Democratic State: A Forum3pm– Kearns Spirituality Center
Veterans For Peace Protest, Gen. Martin Dempsey– 7pm – Heinz Hall
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Working for a Future We Can Believe IN– 1:303:30 pm-
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1903– Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to US “in perpetuity”
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25 1964– Hundreds of thousands of students boycott Chicago schools to protest segregation
Donate to support Pittsburghers arrested protesting the inauguration in DC https://fundrazr.com/j20-legal
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In addition to supporting our projects, the Thomas Merton Center is currently:
31 1 2 4 5 3 Advocating for Martin Esquivel-Hernandez’s release from a for-profit-prison after being detained by I.C.E. on May 2nd 2016.
Working toward city-wide divestment of fossil fuels. Partnering with the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh to combat Islamophobia in Pittsburgh
Subscribe to The NewPeople by becoming a member of the Thomas Merton Center today! As a member, The NewPeople newspaper will be mailed to your home or sent to your email account. You will also receive weekly e-blasts focusing on peace and justice events in Pittsburgh, and special invitations to membership activities. Now is the time to stand for peace and justice!
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February 2017
Sundays: Book’Em: Books to Prisoners Project First three Sundays of the month at TMC, 46pm Contact: bookempgh@gmail.com
Mondays: SW Healthcare 4 All PA /PUSH Meeting 3rd Monday, 6:30 —8 pm Squirrel Hill Library Contact: bmason@gmail.com Association of Pittsburgh Priests 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm, Prince of Peace Rectory 162 South 15th, Southside, Pgh. PA 15203 Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILP) 2nd Monday, 7:00 PM Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave Amnesty International #39 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm First Unitarian Church, Morewood Ave. 15219
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Darfur Coalition Meeting 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Meeting Room C Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill 412-784-0256 Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) 1st Wednesdays, 7-8pm, First Unitarian Church, Ellsworth & Morewood Avenues, Shadyside Pittsburghers for Public Transit 2nd Wednesday, 7pm, 1 Smithfield St., lower level
Thursdays: International Socialist Organization Every Thursday, 7:30-9:30 pm at the Thomas Merton Center Global Pittsburgh Happy Hour 1st Thursday, 5:30 to 8 pm, Roland's Seafood Grill, 1904 Penn Ave, Strip District Green Party Meeting 1st Thursday, 7 to 9 pm, 2121 Murray, 2nd floor, Squirrel Hill Black Political Empowerment Project 2nd Thursday, 6 pm: Planning Council Meeting, Hill House, Conference Room B
Fridays: Unblurred Gallery Crawl 1st Friday after 6 pm, Penn Avenue Arts District, 4800-5500 Penn Ave., Friendship and Garfield 15224 Hill District Consensus Group 2nd Friday, 10 am — 12 pm, Elsie Hillman Auditorium, Kaufmann Center 1825 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 People of Prisoners in Need of Support 3rd Friday, 7:00pm New Hope Methodist Church, 114 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh 15212
Saturdays:
#DisruptJ20 protests filled DC on inauguration day. Protesters shut down most of the checkpoints into the inauguration parade, with each checkpoint blockade lifting up a movement, such as Black Lives Matter, #NoDAPL, labor, Palestinian freedom, and a feminist future.
Join online at www.thomasmertoncenter.org/ join-donate or fill out this form, cut out, and mail in. Select your membership level: ____$15 Low Income Membership ____$15 Youth / Student Membership
Regular Meetings
Wednesdays:
Forum on Compassion and Relationships– 24pm –Christ United Methodist Church
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February 2017
Project to End Human Trafficking 2nd Sat., Carlow University, Antonian Room #502 Fight for Lifers West 1st & 3rd Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 pm, Thomas Merton Center Anti-War and Anti-Drone Warfare Coalition 4th Saturday at 11:00 am at TMC, 5129 Penn Ave., Garfield, PA 15224
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