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February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 1
THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE.
PITTSBURGH, PA 15224 NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PITTSBURGH, PA
PERMIT NO. 458
TMC works to build a consciousness of values and to
raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war,
poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, oppression
and environmental justice.
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’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Published by the Thomas Merton Center VOL. 43 No. 2, February 2013
IN THIS ISSUEIN THIS ISSUE
One Billion Rising One Billion Rising Locally Locally -- Page 8Page 8
Unmarked Police Unmarked Police Cars Cars -- Page 9Page 9
Ending Gun Ending Gun Violence Now Violence Now -- Page 12Page 12
New Economy Group to Visit Boggs Center
Multiple Emmy and
Golden Globe Award
winner Martin Sheen, one
of America's most
accomplished and
celebrated actors, will be
accepting the Thomas
Merton Award on
Saturday, April 13 from 5-
8 pm at Soldiers and
Sailors Museum. We hope
you will be there to
celebrate with us! Sheen has taken part in
protests against racism, nuclear arms, war and
homelessness, often at considerable personal
cost. Actor Martin Sheen is also a regular
protester at the School of the America’s Watch
(SOAW) gathering in Fort Benning, Georgia.
When asked why he is committed to social
justice, Sheen has replied, “I've protested to call
attention to my country's dark spots, because I
love America so much. I learned that, to keep
your life from becoming self-contained and
useless, you have to feel other people's pain and
act to help them. That is what faith and love are
about.” Register by calling (412) 361-3022 or
at ww.thomasmertoncenter.org.
Martin Sheen, Activist and Celebrity
One Billion Rising in Pittsburgh
OCCUPY PITTSBURGH INSERT Published by Occupy Pittsburgh VOL. 2 No. 2, February/March 2013
The Thomas Merton Center’s New
Economy Working Group is making leaps and
strides in learning how we can live together,
free and healthy, without the deleterious
impact of capitalism.
This March 15-17 community leaders will
be traveling to Detroit, led by Molly Rush, co-
founder of the Thomas Merton Center and
organizer of the New Economy Working
Group. Their goal. To learn more about how
Grace Boggs has organized inner city
neighborhoods successfully. Learn more about
what our local Pittsburgh group is planning to
do by reading about their efforts on page 3.
Will you join in an energetic, colorful,
dancing demonstration to celebrate women’s
right for peace, dignity and lives
free from violence?
February 14, 2013 12pm—2pm
Market Square, Pittsburgh
ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE
PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN
IN HER LIFETIME.
ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED
IS AN ATROCITY.
ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS
A REVOLUTION.
Read more about it on page 8.
Martin Sheen , from SOAW
Activists with CeaseFirePa participate in a rally in the Pennsylvania Capitol building
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, in Harrisburg. Associated Press (more on page 5)
Grace Boggs, Courtesy of Creative Commons
2 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE THOMAS MERTON CENTER
5129 PENN AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15224 Office Phone: 412-361-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540
Website: www.thomasmertoncenter.org
TMC Editorial Collective Robin Clarke, Rob Conroy, Ginny Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Jona Dudley, Russ
Fedorka, Martha Garvey, Carol Gonzalez, John Haer, Lilly Joynes, Xinpei He, Shahid Khan,
Bette McDevitt, Charlie McCollester, Diane McMahon, Kenneth Miller, Jonathan Reyes,
Mike Rosenberg, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush, Marcia Snowden,
K. Briar Somerville, Jo Tavener
TMC Staff, Volunteers and Interns Diane McMahon, Managing Director
Marcia Snowden, Office Coordinator
Office Volunteers: Kathy Cunningham, Monique Dietz,
and Mary Clare Donnelly, RSM,
Roslyn Maholland, Finance Manager,
Mig Cole, Assistant Bookkeeper
Shirley Gleditsch, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Shawna Hammond, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Dolly Mason, Furniture Store Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Interns from Pitt Social Work Program:
Michael Rosenberg, Shahid Khan, Minghua He, and Xinpei He
Interns from other University of Pittsburgh Departments:
Mike Deckenbach, Russell Noble, Stephanie Maben, and Briar Somerville
2013 TMC Board of Directors Ed Brett, Rob Conroy, Kitoko Chargois, Kathy Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Patrick
Fenton, Carol Gonzalez, Mary Jo Guercio (President), Wanda Guthrie, Shawna Hammond,
Ken Joseph, Edward Kinley, Chris Mason, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Francine Porter,
Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush, Tyrone Scales, M. Shernell Smith
TMC Standing Committees
Board Development Committee
Recruits board members, conducts board elections
Building Committee
Oversees maintenance of 5123-5129 Penn Ave. sites
Development Committee
Guides the strategic growth and expansion of the Center.
Membership Committee
Coordinates membership goals, activities, appeals, and communications
Editorial Collective Plans, produces and distributes The NewPeople newspaper
Finance Committee
Ensures financial stability and accountability of TMC
Personnel Committee Oversees staff needs, evaluation, and policies
Project Committee
Oversees project applications, guidelines, and policies
Special Event Committees
Plans and oversees TMC fundraising events with members and friends
Youth and Student Outreach Committee
Coordinates outreach efforts with younger members of TMC
Anti-War Committee [email protected]
www.pittsburghendthewar.org
Book‘Em
(Books to Prisoners Project)
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
CodePink
(Women for Peace)
[email protected], 412-389-3216
www.codepink4peace.org
East End Community Thrift Shop
412-361-6010, [email protected]
Economic Justice Committee
Environmental Justice Committee
environmentaljus-
Fight for Lifers West
412-361-3022 to leave a message
http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up
(prisoner support and advocacy)
412-802-8575, [email protected]
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
Marcellus Shale Protest Group
[email protected] (412) 243-4545
marcellusprotest.org
New Economy Initiative
Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop
Community Alliance
412-867-9213
Pittsburgh Campaign for
Democracy NOW!
412-422-5377, [email protected]
www.pcdn.org
Roots of Promise
724-327-2767, 412-596-0066
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
www.pittsburghdarfur.org
Urban Arts Project
Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook
Call 412-363-7472
www.progressivepghnotebook.blip.tv
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens
Group/ Roots of Promise
724-327-2767
The Pittsburgh Totebag Project
P.O. Box 99204, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
www.tote4pgh.org
Whose Your Brother?
412-928-3947
www.whoseyourbrother.com
Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org
Association of Pittsburgh Priests Sr. Barbara Finch 412-716-9750
Amnesty International [email protected] www.amnestypgh.org
The Big Idea Bookstore
412-OUR-HEAD www.thebigideapgh.org
Black Voices for Peace
Gail Austin 412-606-1408
CeaseFirePA
www.ceasefirepa.org
Global Solutions Pittsburgh
412-471-7852 [email protected] www.globalsolutionspgh.org
Citizens for Social Responsibility
of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, [email protected]
Haiti Solidarity Committee
[email protected] 412-780-5118
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
PA United for a Single-Payer
Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org
www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 2102 Murray Avenue Pgh, Pa 15217
412-421-4242
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi
412-761-4319
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-563-1519 [email protected]
Pittsburgh Independent Media Center
[email protected] www.indypgh.org
North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition
412-369-3961 www.northhillscoalition.com
Pittsburgh North People for Peace
412-367-0383 [email protected]
Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee
[email protected] www.pittsburgh-psc.org
Raging Grannies
412-963-7163, [email protected] www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 [email protected]
School of the Americas Watch W. PA
267-980-4878 [email protected]
SW PA Bread for the World Donna Hansen 412-812-1553
United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org
Urban Bikers
Veterans for Peace
Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163
TMC AFFILIATES
2013 HOURS of OPERATION! Thomas Merton Center
Monday—Friday
10 am to 4 pm
Saturday- Noon to 4 pm
East End Community Thrift Tuesday—Friday:
10 am to 4 pm
Saturday: Noon to 4 pm
For information, or to submit an article or calendar items use links below
General information….........…………..www.thomasmertoncenter.org
Article Submissions……..thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/submit-article
Events & Calendar Submissions…thomasmertoncenter.org/calendar/submit-event
TMC COMMITTEES & PROJECTS
This year our Thrift Store is celebrating twenty years of service in the
community! Led by Shirley Gleditsch, Shawna Hammond, and a troupe of
dedicated volunteers—
the store has served
thousands of people
over the last two
decades! Stop by to say
happy birthday and
shop, volunteer, or
donate from Tuesday to
Friday 10-4, or
Saturday from 12-4.
Help us spread the love
around at the East End
Community Thrift
Store! 412-361-3022.
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty
Martha Connelly (412) 361-7872
Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network
412-621-9230
TMC IS A MEMBER OF
East End Community Thrift Celebrating Twenty Years!
courtesy Kenneth Miller
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 3
Photo credit Ken Boas: graffiti in Palestine
Every person wants
to provide for their
family, but as a
worker with the
largest private employer in the state, providing for my
family is next to impossible. I want to explain to you about
what it is like to work full time at UPMC and still need
public assistance. And I want to tell you about the movement
we’re building to make UPMC pay living wages, respect
workers’ rights, and invest in our community.
I am James Staus, and I have worked at UPMC for seven
years, making sure nurses have the supplies they need to
care for you.
I work hard every day at UPMC, but I am among many
UPMC workers with an untold personal story about barely
getting by. My family relies on food stamps and a food
pantry so we can have food on the table every month. Do
you know what it’s like to stand in line and see the stares
people give us? Needing this helps leaves me feeling sad and
inadequate, yet, I’m not sure what my family would do if
those resources weren’t available.
Many families shop at Walmart because they can’t afford
to shop elsewhere. If only I could afford Walmart – we buy
our clothes, shoes and household items at local thrift stores.
Can you imagine how my 11-year-old daughter feels going
to school every day and not having the things other children
do? I wish she didn’t have to know what it’s like to struggle,
if I could only give her the things other girls her age have.
The holidays just passed. It is always a stressful time of
year for me and my family. We rely on the Brashear
Association to help with gifts for our daughter. But buying
my wife a Christmas present is a luxury we can’t afford. I
honestly can’t remember the last year that I was able to buy
my wife a gift. It would be nice to be able to buy her a pair
of earrings or a watch to show her how much I love and
appreciate her. Sadly, I don’t see that anywhere in our near
future.
We are thankful to have a roof over our heads, even
though it leaks. If it weren’t for energy assistance and CAPP
we wouldn’t be able to keep the lights on or heat our home.
We live in fear of losing our home too. Last year we applied
for hardship assistance with the County because we couldn’t
afford to pay our property taxes.
This is why UPMC workers are coming together to form
a union. As you can imagine, UPMC does not want us to
have a Union. They have waged an expensive and illegal
campaign of harassment and intimidation to try and stop us.
The National Labor Relations Board charged UPMC with
over 80 violations of federal labor law for intimidating,
harassing, coercing, and even firing workers for exercising
their rights at work. What kind of a charity spends our public
health care dollars to violate workers’ rights?
We believe that UPMC isn’t acting like a real charity.
UPMC pays its CEO millions while its full-time employees
are the third-most frequent users of public assistance in the
state—right after Wal-Mart and McDonalds. UPMC tried to
lock out two million Highmark subscribes from using its
hospitals. UPMC closed a community hospital in Braddock
while opening overseas hospitals in Italy and Qatar.
We think that UPMC needs to do better. It’s time that
UPMC pay workers a living wage, respect workers’ rights,
help fund our buses and schools, and invest in community
health.
That’s why we have been out talking with our neighbors,
faith leaders, elected officials, and organizations throughout
the City about what a true charity’s responsibilities are. We
want UPMC to do its part in building healthy communities,
to deliver middle-class jobs, and to support vital services
like education and transit.
Our struggle is your struggle. We are bus riders, parents,
tax payers, homeowners, and patients. And we’re making it
our UPMC.
Want to get more involved? Contact: MAKE IT OUR
UPMC at (814) 470-7017 www.makeitourUPMC.org
www.facebook.com/makeitourupmc.
Submitted by the coalition of UPMC workers, faith leaders,
and community organizations looking for just working
conditions.
Make it Our UPMC
by Mary Sheehan
Come hear a rousing talk by David
Cobb of Move to Amend who is coming
to Pittsburgh on February
4th as part of a speaking
tour. Move to Amend is a
coalition of hundreds of
organizations and tens of
thousands of individuals
calling for an amendment
to the U.S. Constitution to
unequivocally state that inalienable
rights belong to human beings only, and
that money is not a form of protected
free speech under the First Amendment
and can be regulated in political cam-
paigns. David Cobb will speak on Mon-
day, February 4th at 4:00 p.m. in the
Ryan Room of the Zappala
Student Center at La Roche
College, 9000 Babcock Blvd.,
in the North Hills. The event is
being sponsored by the Pitts-
burgh North People for Peace.
For more information, call 412
-367-0383 or email:
Mary Sheehan is the Coordinator of
Pittsburgh North People for Peace.
Move to Amend on February 4
by Molly Rush
Neighborhood leaders from
Pittsburgh will join with the Merton
Center New Economy Working Group
members for a tour of Detroit, including
the Packard Plant (built in 1905),
Poletown, Community Gardens, Hope
District, Heidelberg Art Street and the
Urban Network. There is room for a few
more interested people.
The Hope District, a neighborhood
effort, works to provide jobs and
affordable housing for everyone and
seeks to “provide a friendly
environment, a pleasant experience for
volunteers; work readiness and skill
training using technology; business
opportunity in construction and
technology; housing assistance and jobs
to recent immigrants and relevant
community resources and assistance,”
according to their literature.
We will meet with members of
the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center
to Nurture Community Leadership,
www.boggscenter.org which is rooted in
Detroit neighborhoods and committed to
creating “a national network for
visionary organizing in 2013. They
support and work with artists and
activists, urban gardeners and family/
community farmers, the Coalition
Against Brutality [committed to Peace
Zones for Life], the Allied Media
Conference and Allied Media Project,
Disability Activists and thinkers,
educators, with a school set to open in
September, and place-based churches.
“They promise a week-end that
provides the opportunity to engage with
and dialogue with individuals and
projects that are committed to movement
building.” Space is limited. Housing and
food will be provided. For more details,
contact Mike Stout at
Molly Rush is the chair of the New
Economy Working Group at TMC.
Pittsburgh New Economy Neighborhood
Activists to Tour Detroit March 15-17
JOIN THE FIGHT TO SAVE OUR
PUBLIC TRANSIT LIFELINES!
· RALLY IN HARRISBURG STATE CAPITOL
ROTUNDA AGAINST TRANSIT CUTS
· MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2:OO P.M. · FREE BUSES & LUNCHES FOR ROUND TRIP
· JOIN PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE STATE TO
BACK THE TRANSIT BILL OF RIGHTS
We will speak out strongly FOR a transportation bill
which dedicates long-term, sufficient funding to sustain
public mass transit and AGAINST corrupt corporate
privateering of crucial transportation infrastructure that would reduce quality of
service and working conditions.
Port Authority buses will pick up rally participants at Freedom Corner at 7:30 am
on February 11th at the intersection of Crawford and Centre. Box lunches will be
provided at no charge, and we will be back that same evening.
To sign up by email for free transportation:
[email protected] or to
register by phone, call PPT Community Organizer
Helen Gerhardt at 412-518-7387.
And, a standing invitation to:
Join one of our working groups devoted to media,
community outreach, direct organizing, and the
legislative campaign for dedicated funding. Attend a meeting! General
membership meetings are held the third Saturday of every month at 10:00 am at
the Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue 15224.
Save Public Transit
Pittsburgh Activism
4 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
by Bob Mason
For the past six years Health
Care 4 All PA, a statewide,
grassroots, all volunteer
organization, has promoted the
“single payer solution” for
Pennsylvania. Single payer simply
means that the government gathers
revenue from taxpayers that is
dedicated to health care and
utilizes it to pay independent health
care providers, much as Medicare
has been doing very efficiently and
economically for several decades.
So, what does “single payer”
healthcare solve?
1. It solves the death and
misery that accompany the lack of
health insurance and under-
insurance (exorbitant deductibles
and co-pays). At least 45,000
deaths each year in the United
States can be attributed to the lack
of health insurance. Despite the
advances of the landmark
Affordable Care Act (ACA), health
insurance will remain expensive
for many, and at least 23 million
will still be uninsured. In contrast,
a single payer plan provides
coverage for everyone and takes
advantage of the ACA’s
encouragement of state innovation.
2. It eliminates the specter of
medical bankruptcy.
3. It eliminates the current
waste in overhead. Thirty to forty
cents of every health
insurance dollar is spent on items
other than health care. The Family
and Business Health Security Act,
SB 400 and HB 2551 in 2011-2012
legislative session, advocated by
Health Care 4 All PA caps
administrative expenses at five
cents of every dollar.
4. It reduces the medical
benefit costs for businesses and
renders them more competitive
with businesses in other countries.
5. It reduces the medical
benefit costs for all levels of
government and, therefore, saves
taxpayers or allows us to spend
more on education and
infrastructure (mass transit, roads,
bridges, etc.).
6. It may even stimulate more
employment in the delivery of
health care as 1.2 million more
Pennsylvanians gain coverage.
7. It is actually a centrist and
non-partisan model. It appeals to
fiscal conservatives because of the
savings and efficiency noted
above. It appeals to people who
believe in a competitive free
market because we can choose any
licensed health care provider. It
appeals to people who may view
themselves as liberals,
progressives, or leftists because
everyone gets the same
comprehensive, quality health care.
Executive Director Chuck
Pennacchio, Ph. D., of Health Care
4 All PA often refers to single
payer as “civilized” health care.
The President of Health Care 4 All
PA, retired Republican State
Representative and small
businessman, Dave Steil, often
notes that single payer just makes
good economic sense.
8. The object of the plan is to
provide health protection for all
Pennsylvanians, without
restriction, while ensuring that
everyone is responsible for
financial support.
For many years Health Care 4
All PA has made the bold claim
that a Pennsylvania single payer
plan can cover everyone from
conception to death and include
dental, vision, and long term care,
in addition to more traditional
benefits, and still save significant
money. These claims have been
based on studies conducted in a
number of other states, including
California and Maryland. It is also
based on a preliminary study the
organization conducted in 2009
that demonstrated a $2.3 billion
saving for all levels of government
in Pennsylvania.
In 2012 Health Care 4 All PA
invested in the first Economic
Impact Study of single payer for
the Commonwealth. The final
report will be released in the next
few weeks, but preliminary data
indicates that all of the claims
made for the benefits of single
payer are overwhelmingly
supported.
So, stay tuned for press
conferences and releases with the
exciting news. And please help
with the campaign for just,
compassionate, sustainable, and
“civilized” health care for all
Pennsylvania. Go to
www.healthcare4allpa.org to find
out how you can become involved.
And go to the local blog
www.PUSH-hc4allpa.blogspot.com.
Bob Mason is
Vice President
of Health Care
4 All PA.
Single Payer Health Care—Benefitting All of Us!
Helping People With Complex
Intellectual Disabilities
by Daniel Marston
In the December 23,
2012, edition of the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette there was an editorial by
New York Times op-ed columnist
Nicholas Kristof entitled “Too Small
To Fail” in which he addresses the
issue of Social Security Disability. In
the editorial he makes the statement
“But now 55 percent of the
disabilities it (Social Security) covers
are fuzzier intellectual disabilities,
short of mental retardation, where the
diagnosis is less clear-cut.”
This article is a clear illustration
of the difficulties faced by people
who have intellectual disabilities.
Because he is clearly referring to the
category of Borderline Intellectual
Functioning. This is the category of
intellectual disability that is above
the formal diagnosis of Mental
Retardation, a term still used in the
areas of disabilities and health care
but likely to change within the next
year or so, and below the lower end
of Average Intellectual Functioning.
Technically, it involves IQ scores
between 70 and 85.
Despite Mr. Kristof’s rather
flippant brush-off, Borderline
Intellectual Functioning is a clear
diagnosis that covers a large range of
functioning. And determining the
extent of disability associated with a
person’s functioning can be complex
with Borderline Intellectual
Functioning given that large range.
Mr. Kristof, like many in the
educational and legal communities,
seems to confuse complex with “less
clear-cut” and “fuzzy.”
Borderline Intellectual
Functioning often involves
significant difficulties in
comprehension, decision-making,
adaptive skills and/or communication
skills. There is also a host of other
areas of cognitive functioning that
are impacted significantly when a
person’s intellectual abilities are in
the range of Borderline Intellectual
Functioning. And it serves as an
example of the complexities that can
be associated with understanding
disabilities and the extraordinary
demands placed on people with
disabilities.
But policy makers often want
things to be easy. And they are often
looking for excuses to not provide
people with the help they need. If
they cannot understand the
complexities of a person’s situation
they will just brush it off as being too
“fuzzy” or not “clear cut” enough
and therefore not worthy of
consideration. If policy makers
continue to look at disabilities
through the lens presented by people
like Mr. Kristof there will be many,
many people with disabilities whose
needs will not be met.
Daniel Marston is a psychologist
who specializes in disabilities and
neurobehavioral disorders.
Healthcare Activism
HEALTHY ARTISTS
Congratulations to
Julie Sokolow on the
successful Healthy
Artists Poster Exhibit
that occurred in
January 2013 at
Modern Formations
Gallery on Penn Ave.
To see more photos
visit tinyurl.com/
a426b555. Courtesy of Julie Sokolow.
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 5
In 2013, will we
connect the dots?
by Ginny Cunningham
This year, 2013, we will mark the
50th anniversary of J. F. Kennedy’s
assassination. As I reflect on this
event and its anniversary, I’m
reminded of my heritage. When I
was a kid, I found, among my
mother’s old letters and photos, a
yellowed immigration document
that listed her grandmother and
grandfather’s birth names and
birthplaces: Balnitza and Solinka,
Poland, respectively.
My mother raised us as
Ukrainian. I never questioned the
discrepancy between the facts and
my mother’s version of family
history. Truth hadn’t a prayer
against the myth that she established
and perpetuated and that I passed on
to my own children. But decades
later, I found the document again. I
saw what it said, got over my
consternation and accepted. I’m
Polish.
Now I wonder if I can also see
and accept a larger truth about the
murders of JFK (November 1963)
Martin Luther King (April 1968)
and Robert F. Kennedy (June
1968), each of which was attributed
to a crazed lone gunman. And how
those events in the 1960s are linked
to our post-9/11 national security
state.
There are patterns in documents
that have been declassified, in White
House tapes that have been
transcribed and released, and in the
extensive research of writers far
better than I. But what is gained by
linking events of the 1960s to
generations who hadn’t even been
born then and are now fighting in
Iraq and Afghanistan?
I don’t know. What is the half life
of a lie? When does a person killed
in a cover up rise again?
Consider: After JFK’s
assassination, autopsy notes were
burned, the presidential limousine
was cleaned and refitted thus
eliminating vital forensic evidence,
and photos and X-rays of the body
were counterfeited. What mafia don
or lone nut had the authority and
oversight to execute these tasks?
The coroner who conducted the
most thorough autopsy of his career
on Robert Kennedy concluded that
Kennedy had been shot dead from
behind by a gun held one inch from
the edge of his right ear, three inches
behind the head. Why then am I to
believe that Sirhan Sirhan, standing
several feet in front of Kennedy,
fired the gun that killed him. Who
decided that?
In 1999, the King family brought
a civil “wrongful death” action. A
jury returned a finding of conspiracy
in Martin Luther King’s death that
involved military
intelligence, local law
enforcement, FBI, and a
successful murderous cover
up. Who had the influence
to deter any U.S. journalist
from covering a trial whose
published transcript
essentially absolves James
Earl Ray and confirms a
broad conspiracy that
“reached into the higher
levels of the government of the
United States. . .”
Of what use is this information
today? As William Pepper, attorney
for the plaintiffs said in his closing
argument, “[MLK’s] opposition to
war had little to do with ideology,
with capitalism, with democracy. It
had to do with . . huge amounts of
money that [the Vietnam war] was
generating to large multinational
corporations . . . [King] was
threatening the bottom lines of some
of the largest defense contractors in
the country . . . one of which had the
major construction contracts at Cam
Ran Bay in Vietnam.”
What is the profit factor today?
As Washington Post opinion
writer Fareed Zakaria says in a
recent essay, the United States has
been operating under emergency
wartime powers for a “longer period
than the country spent fighting the
Civil War, World War I and World
War II combined. . ..”
The Post also informs us that the
U.S. government “has built 33 new
complexes for the intelligence
bureaucracies alone. The
Department of Homeland Security
employs 230,000 people.” And
counting.
Two trillion dollars. For war. Plus
whatever all that ‘security’ costs.
In his “Letter to the American
People,” James Douglass, author of
JFK and the Unspeakable, Why He
Died and Why It Matters, says, “Our
resurrection can’t begin until we
acknowledge the truth of our own
death.”
The “unspeakable,” which
embedded itself in my world with
JFK’s assassination has attained a
magnitude “beyond experience,” as
Douglass notes, and “sits there
silently in the darkness . . . .”
At the conclusion of the Wizard
of Oz, Toto the dog tips over a
screen to reveal a little old man with
a bald head and a wrinkled face.
Toto exposes the wizard who may
be evil, but, unmasked, he can be
made vulnerable and powerless,
even worthy of compassion.
Ginny Cunningham is a member of
the editorial collective.
The myths of JFK, RFK, MLK and crazed lone gunmen...
Creative Commons
The Fiscal Cliff and Other Economic Follies by Michael Drohan
In 2012, Congress built a fiscal
cliff for itself to fall over if it did not
reach an agreement on deficit
reductions that would ensure it
would never achieve in subsequent
faux negotiations. In such manner,
the people supposedly elected to lay
the legal structure for the economy
to work efficiently endangered the
entire social and economic fabric of
society. This is the medievalesque
nature of the U.S. Congress that
presently rules the country.
Just in the nick of time, so to
speak, Congress passed a deal on
New Year’s Day with a margin of
257 to 167 in the House and 89 to 8
in the Senate. The deal made and
subsequently signed by the President
is a bittersweet one which only
postpones to a later date the
continuation of the process of
undermining the prospects of a
healthy economy. The next extortion
round will take place in only two
months when once more the
Republican zealots with some
Democratic supporters will attempt
to disembody the social programs of
Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid.
The climate in which all this is
taking place is that the U.S. economy
is at best only spluttering along with
high unemployment (7.8% in
December 2012) and slow economic
growth. Under such conditions, a
policy of reduction of government
spending and entitlements is
considered by all economists with
the exception of right wing zealots to
be crazy. The usual
fiscal measures
recommended under the
present circumstances
of the economy are
increased government
spending on
infrastructure, subsidies
to key industries and
social programs.
Anything that will put
money in the pockets of consumers
and increase demand for goods and
services is what is needed. Spending
on infrastructure and industry
subsidies is also needed to increase
job opportunities and put people
back to work.
Under present economic
conditions concentration on debt and
deficit reduction makes little sense
and the Republican obsession with
the deficit at this moment is absurd.
Their so-called concern with the
deficit is insincere to say the least.
During the Reagan and Bush years
when astronomical deficits and debts
were racked up, Republican
lawmakers were totally mute on the
matter. The truth is that the fiscal
cliff and the deficit hysteria are
merely a Trojan horse through which
the social programs of social security
and medicare can be weakened,
undermined and eventually
privatized or abolished.
In the negotiations on
the fiscal cliff, President
Obama staked the
position that the Bush
tax cuts be continued for
all those earning up to
$250,000 a year. For
those with incomes
above this level the
marginal income tax
would go up by 2
percent. It would seem that he had a
strong position from which to
negotiate in that most of the
population believed this was a fair
proposal. In addition, it seemed
obvious to most of the population
that the Republican House was
holding the country hostage for the
sake of the welfare of the top 1.5
percent of the population (the
percentage whose income is above
$250,000). Republicans seemed to
be governing for the interests of only
the truly wealthy, and they would
sink the economy on their behalf.
However, in the negotiations,
Obama caved in to the Republican
zealots and agreed to compromise on
a tax increase for only those
individuals with income above
$400,000 and families with income
above $450,000. This has very
serious forebodings for the next four
years of Obama rule, as it seems he
is ready to compromise and cave in
even when he is in a strong
negotiating position. Rather than
winning over moderate Republicans
who might be attracted to Obama’s
openness to compromise, the likely
effect will be that Republicans,
sensing his weakness to cave in, will
make more and more attacks on
social programs.
Once more Republicans have
learned that obstruction works and
that the President will always blink.
For progressive social activists we
should have also learned that there is
little to be hoped for by just relying
on Obama and the Democratic Party
to defend social programs, end wars
and preserve civil rights. If these
objectives are to be achieved in the
next four years, it can only be by our
counter-efforts, organizing and
pressure from below. It is clearer
than ever that nothing is ceded by
power without relentless pressure
from the people below.
Michael Drohan is a member of the
TMC Economic Committee and the
Board of the Directors.
Creative Commons
National Commentary
6 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
(Continued from PART I in January)
by Nima
Finally, I came to this Freeland and
achieved my American dream since my
high school. A new American
adventure began.
Adventure stop one: Two months
after enrollment to the Master’s
program of Carnegie Mellon
University, I switched from inform-
ation technology to public policy. To
the outside world, that must be a
difficult decision when you run away
from money. To my world, it’s just that
simple. Listen to my inner voice, and
choose what I belong to. I can’t live
someone else’s life, I said this to
myself. Carnegie Mellon gave me a
tough time; I was never able to go to
sleep before 2:00 am in the first year,
no exaggeration, but being able to talk
face-to-face with some of the world’s
influential people made me spirited:
Henry Kissinger (Oh my gosh! I
was shooting questions to a man who
shook hands with Mao and helped
define US-China relations.)
Paul O’Neill (Like an ordinary man
on the street, he walked out, paid the
parking fee and drove away, without a
guard or aide. I told this former U.S.
Treasury Secretary that this kind of
equality was unimaginable in my
country.)
Barbara Barrett (Trained as an
astronaut and once the U.S.
Ambassador to Finland, she was the
first civilian woman to land an F/A-18
Hornet on an aircraft carrier. She and
her husband, Craig Barrett, retired Intel
CEO, had visited my hometown
Chengdu several times.)
After graduation I ended up
working in an international college
preparatory program where I had deep
exposure to a group of 60 Chinese
teens, many from wealthy and/or
politically powerful families. My
interaction with most of them and their
parents with vested interests proved the
heartbreaking truth:
The lethal tumors nourished by
atheism, communism, materialism,
consumerism, and kidnapped
nationalism remain malignant. This
truth provokes an unavoidable question:
If they represent the so-called elite class
in China today, where is hope from this
class to push for something bigger?
So instead of drowning myself in
this hopelessness, I decided to do
something. Working with a US-based
talent team, I drafted a Chinese version
of Guidestar/CharityNavigator (two
leading rating sites for nonprofits
transparency and accountability),
benefiting the 300,000 grassroots
nonprofits in China, marginalized by
government and foundations mostly for
their registration difficulty. While
recruiting student volunteers in Chinese
universities, the notorious censorship
system poked the nerve of public
securities, who interrogated a scholar
who helped me put up recruiting
messages online. Later, they tried to
bribe the scholar for stealing
intelligence because they knew he
would be a visiting professor at
Carnegie Mellon (he told me that he
declined the bribery). For everyone’s
security, I had to halt the project and
delete some communications on Gmail.
(Google exited the China market
because it was not willing to comply
with censorship requirements; Yahoo,
siding with the evil, released private
accounts to the authority, resulting in an
outspoken Chinese journalist, Shi Tao,
being sentenced to five years in
prison.) Keywords that triggered the
regime’s alarm are simply:
USA+NGO+Civil Society.
Unbelievable?
Ok, enough is enough. Now I
don’t even feel safe outside the Great
Wall and firewall. Any solution?
Apparently no single one can remove
the threat once and for all. The
emerging grassroots movement (e.g.,
rights defense cases, citizen
investigation, etc.), however, bears
profound meaning in testing and
shaping essential elements of China’s
civil society: citizen rights, rule of law,
public intellectuals, judiciary/media
independence, social justice, religious
freedom, social organizations, and
more. Ai Weiwei and altruistic pioneers
and awakening citizens, are the heroic,
iconic figures yet among the most
dangerous in the authority
eyes. Bottom line: China’s transfor-
mation from the top down can hardly
gain momentum without correspond-
ding force from the bottom up.
Joining this force across the ocean,
I turned more proactive in my actions
(Project Revelation), including: (1)
interacting with the audience on Ai
Weiwei film: Never Sorry screenings,
attended by leaders of rights groups
and a city councilperson by my
invitation; (2) supporting the launch of
China issue discussion groups at Penn
State and in Pittsburgh, aiming to
awaken minds and counter brainwash;
(3) contributing articles on civil society
to Chinese media; and (4) speaking to
youth/civic/church groups to raise
awareness and build a coalition of
supports. These advocacy efforts
couldn’t be more common for a
westerner. Yet for me they are fairly
new, risky and challenging, not only
because of the stubborn Chinese
regime, but the fact that I am just a
newly arrived alien who has inherent
barriers to mobilize resources, that few
of the silent majority choose to step out
of their comfort zone, and that, not
unlikely, my every word or action is
being spied on by someone right behind
me. This is why I am in a great
dilemma as to whether to promote these
initiatives in Chinese community. (I
was often asked, Did you find other
Chinese to work with you? Yes, but
few. Here is the logic: Statistically,
how many U.S.-based Chinese keep
updated with political/social issues of
China? Among those who do, how
many pay special interest to human
rights? Among those who do, how
many are pro-democracy/liberal/
reformist? Among those who are, how
many dare to step up and act? Among
those who dare, how many are not
spies? Possibility shrinks
exponentially.)
Must remember: The conscience of
China.
Nima now lives in the United
States and can be contacted at
[email protected]. PART III to be
published in the March New People.
Speak Out, Never Sorry—PART II
Activism for China
by Jianyu Hou
The film Back to 1942 directed
by Feng Xiaogang, starring
Adrien Brody, has been on the
screen for two months and still
claims second place box office
billing in China. This movie
aroused discussion among many
political commentators—the
message: it's time to change.
The film is based on Liu
Zhenyun's novel Remembering
1942 focusing on the major
famine that occurred in Henan,
China during WWII. 18 years
ago this movie would have faced
the risk of censorship by The
State Administration of Radio
Film and Television (SARFT) in
China, due to government
corruption.
During the famine in 1942,
mothers faced the grim horror of
cooking their own babies for
food and husbands sold their
wives for just one meal.
However, this was not the reality
that shocked the audience the
most. It was the fact that the local
government forced victims to
turn in 13 of the 15 grains that
they harvested that shocked them
the most.
Jiang Jieshi, the President of
China at that time, sat in his
office located in Chongqing with
little knowledge about the
famine.
At the same time, a Time
magazine correspondent from
America, Theodore. H. White
(played by Adrien Brody), come
to Henan, to find out that human
was eating human. It took White
a long time to put the photos on
Jiang's desk. Afraid of being
fired, local government officials
suppressed the severity of the
famine, and claimed that not
many people died.
Officials around President
Jiang deprived White of the
opportunity to get in touch with
Jiang. But luckily enough, White
finally consulted someone who
did apprise Jiang of the
catastrophe and he delivered aid
to the victims.
The story in 1942 aroused a
series of questions in my own
mind. My question is not why
White was so kind, or why God
put such a disaster to Henan
peasants.
My question instead is, why
didn’t the Henan peasants protest
against the local government, or
select several people to find a
way to inform Jiang of the
starvation that was occurring?
And why did the local
government conceal the truth?
Perhaps my question can be
synthesized into one question.
Why did victims get aid from
an American rather than their
own compatriots?
If traced to the human rights
history of China, both the past
and the present, we can see that
many Chinese don't trust national
authorities.
Instead they find a way to
inform the world outside to
communicate what's happening
in China. In turn worldwide
concern pressures national
authorities to change. This
includes the violent abortions
that result from the “one child”
policy and extends to democratic
reformation.
China has the world's largest
government, with many brilliant
people working for it, but its
democratic progress has not been
improved over the last several
decades.
Why?
Consider what happened to the
blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng.
Guangcheng raised objections
about violent abortions in
Shandong Province, and chose to
help the victims.
As a result he was incarcerated
for his righteous deeds for
several years, and his family
were physically tortured.
The same is true for people in
the government.
One reason is that these acts
can cause local officials to be
fired. So, “politically right” does
not always mean creating good
ideas for change or revealing
social problems to cope with
them.
To earn the accolades of their
superiors local leaders often
suppress the black side, this
preserves their position in the
government.
Sociologists call this “adverse
selection” with the most
righteous people filtered out first.
Those who are good at flattery
will ensure their position and
gain promotion.
Imagine if White were
Chinese.
Without the protection of his
U.S. nationality, what would
have happened to him?
This is why, for personal
safety, many Chinese political
dissents and patriots abandon
their original nationality, and
choose to stay in the U.S.,
advocating for democracy, and
human rights for their
compatriots in China.
At the same time, these patriots
are labeled as betrayers,
conspiring with Americans
against the Chinese government.
It is not always feasible for
China to conduct its reformation
through its international visitors.
Instead China should work to
ensure the “survival of the most
righteous,” where those who
really care about their country
don’t need to become foreigners
to care for and love it’s citizens.
Jianyu Hou, a former TMC
intern, is now a religious affairs
policy analyst in a city
administration department for
religious affairs.
Looking Inward and Back to 1942
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 7
by Ken Boas
This is part two of Ken Boaz’s observations
on the transformative experience of his 12-day
educational tour of the West Bank and East
Jerusalem and Palestinian Israel (the
Galilee), sponsored by the Israeli Committee
Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Part
one was published in the January issue of The
New People.
In part two, I have
written about what I
saw as Israel’s
intentions: what they
want and what they
are doing to achieve
their goals. But I
learned from the
Palestinian people I
met that Israel is not
the enemy. That
deeper forces are at
work, and that
peace will come only when all parties re-
frame the currently futile and
counterproductive dynamic of struggle. There
is much more to be said, and even more to be
done.
On the tour we spent a lot of time trying to
place the Gaza war happening a few miles
from us within an overall understanding of
Israeli intentionality. The inciting cause of the
latest confrontation between Israel and Hamas
has little to do with the firing of rockets,
whether by Hamas or the other Palestinian
factions. The conflict predates the rockets –
and even the creation of Hamas – by decades.
It is the legacy of Israel’s dispossession of the
Palestinians in 1948, forcing many of them
from their homes in what is now Israel into
the tiny Gaza Strip. That original injustice has
been compounded by the occupation Israel
has not only failed to end but has actually
intensified in recent years with its relentless
siege of the small strip of territory.
Jeff Halper, chair of ICAHD, has written of
the UN‘s recognition of the state of Palestine:
“On one level, the General Assembly’s
overwhelming vote to recognize the state of
Palestine represented a significant
achievement for the PLO/Palestinian
Authority. It reaffirmed international support
for Palestinian self-determination and
demonstrated just how isolated Israel and the
U.S. are on this issue. The significance of the
vote went beyond the merely ‘symbolic.’
Unlike previous attempts, some even
supported by Israel, to recognize a ‘Palestine’
but without borders, the UN resolution
explicitly recognizes ‘the State of Palestine on
the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967’.
“On paper, then, the UN’s recognition of a
Palestinian state, the enhanced ability it gives
the Palestinians to effectively pursue
diplomatic and legal channels in their quest
for self-determination and the legal and
political inadmissibility of Israel’s actions on
the ground, including house demolitions, all
give new life to the two-state solution.
Logistically it is also possible; after all, around
90% of the ‘settlers’ live in the occupied
Palestine Territory for economic and not
ideological reasons, and would be willing to
move if their standard of living was not
compromised. But this is all on paper. The
complete lack of will on the part of the
international community to pressure Israel
into actually leaving the Occupied Territory,
including enough of East Jerusalem that a
coherent Palestinian city can once more be
established, is nil.”
There is a minor Jewish holiday called Tu
Bishvat, which dates back to the Torah and is
now known to secular Jews as Israel’s Arbor
Day. When I was growing up in the
Pittsburgh Jewish community, each year our
Temple would hold a fundraising campaign to
plant trees in Israel, then just a newly founded
state. Every little Jewish kid was proud to see
his or her name on a list of people who
planted a tree in Israel. And now there are
great forests in Israel thanks to our efforts.
And they are celebrated.
The second day of our trip, we drove
through Ma’aleh Adumin, a settlement in East
Jerusalem of more than 40,000 Jewish settlers,
with plans for at least 30,000 more, and in
control of land that stretches for miles into the
West Bank. At each major intersection there is
a traffic circle with a water sculpture. Above
each sculpture, there sits an ancient and
breathtakingly beautiful olive tree. These
singular olive trees seem to reach out to the
passersby and welcome them to their
homeland with their regal beauty. There is just
one problem.
This isn’t their homeland. These trees were
part of an ancient Palestinian olive grove that
grew on the land the 40-year old illegal
settlement now occupies. The olive grove and
the adjacent Palestinian villages were
destroyed by Caterpillar bulldozers after the
’67 war, but a few of the most regal trees were
saved and transplanted to these traffic circles
after the settlement was built. And now here
they sit, in a Jewish only settlement,
overlooking scattered surviving Palestinian
villages withering away without water. It is a
humiliating slap in the face of the Palestinian
people. And I can’t help but feel that is the
intention: to humiliate and break the spirit.
I am heartbroken that in the name of
Judaism and the Jewish State, this beautiful
land has become a Kafkaesque nightmare for
half its people. The olive tree has become the
tragic symbol of Israel’s attempt to disappear
the Palestinian people and their culture. Yet
these ancient olive trees in this Jewish only
settlement also become an equally tragic
symbol of what Israel is doing to itself, and
that realization is slowly taking its toll on the
“occupied minds,” as author Arthur Neslen
calls them, of the Israeli people.
Israel is not the enemy. If we continue to
frame the struggle in this way, we will
continue to go nowhere except further into
darkness. Fear, racism, privilege and the
wrong stories are the enemies. It is time to
start telling the right stories. The right stories
and the spirit of calm determination I found in
the Palestinian people are all that we have to
begin to breakdown the myths and fears and
unproductive anger that have allowed this
horrendous situation to continue. I am
eternally grateful for the gift of this spirit I
received as I listened to the people on the
West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The olive tree is the symbol of life on this
land, for both peoples. Once they have been
bulldozed out of the ground, they will not
grow again. We must not stop loving the olive
tree. We must plant new olive trees and olive
groves, and cultivate and water them and
harvest their fruit.
Ken Boas is a member of the English
faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and a
former president of the board of the
Thomas Merton Center.
Planting Olive Trees in Our Hearts Garment Workers
Rally for Saftey
by Amirul Haque Amin
Every year, on December 27,
trade union organizations in
Bangladesh observe Garment
Workers Safety Day, in memory
of the 27 garment workers killed
in a fire at the Saraka Garment
Factory at Mirpur in Dhaka City
on December 27, 1990. In late
2012 members of the National
Garment Workers Federation
(NGWF) extended activities
over several days in order to
address the need for action and
reforms following the deaths of
112 workers in a fire at Tazreen
Fashion on November 24.
A Home Ministry enquiry report
has recommended punishment
under the Bangladesh Penal
Code of those responsible for the
fire. At a procession and rally on
December 21 NGWF speakers
alleged that none among the
culprits had been arrested and
brought to book. Speakers also
demanded that a correct list of
dead and injured workers be
prepared and that compensation
payments be made publicly for
the sake of the image of the
Bangladesh garment
industry. In order to assure
transparency, a committee
should be formed comprising
representatives of government,
owners and workers and a joint
initiative of government, the
Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters
Association, buyers and trade
unions be formed to establish a
“Safe Workplace” at garment
factories in Bangladesh,
NGWF President Amirul Haque
Amin presided over the rally,
which was addressed by General
Secretary Safia Parveen, Sultana
Akter and Kabir
Hossain. Coordinator of
Bangladesh Garment Workers
Unity Council Delwar Hossain
spoke at the rally expressing
solidarity with the workers.
“Garment Workers Safety Day-
2012,” under the auspices of the
NGWF, saw garment workers
forming a human chain and
demanding health-safety and
trade union rights. Speakers at
the program said that from the
Saraka Garment fire in 1990 to
the Tazreen Fashion fire in
November 2012, 566 garment
workers had died in 55 major
factory fires. In addition to these
566, another 64 workers died in
the collapse of a building at the
Spectrum Garment
Factory. There were serious
injuries to 3,610 workers in these
incidents, yet the issue of health,
safety and security of garment
workers has not been
addressed. Once again, speakers
demanded that the garment
industry be made a “Safe
Workplace” and stressed the
need for a joint initiative of
owners, government, buyers and
trade union organizations.
At a December 31 action
program organized by NGWF,
garment workers cited Walmart
for its anti-worker anti-
industrialization policy and
urged the company to participate
in compensation of dead and
injured workers of Tazreen
Fashion and to sign a
memorandum of understanding
for ensuring a safe
workplace. NGWF leaders
claimed “Walmart is the biggest
sourcing company of
Bangladeshi garment
products. Naturally they reap
the highest profit from
Bangladesh. But they are not
taking any responsibility for the
garment workers.” Walmart
decided to stop business with
Tazreen Fashion but not to
participate in a compensation
program. NGWF leaders said,
“Businesses stopping or cutting
and running is not the
solution. Ensure fair trade,
transparency and
responsibility.” They also
demanded that Walmart sign a
health-safety memorandum
immediately to ensure a safe
workplace for garment workers.
Amirul Haque Amin is the
president of the National
Garment Workers Federation.
Report from Bangladesh
International Activism
drawing by Amanda Dell'Aringa
Credit Amirul Haque Amin
8 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
Thursday, February 14
Market Square from Noon to 2:00 pm
Protest violence against women
throughout the world!
by Jona Dudley and Edith Bell
“You may write me down in history
with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod
me in the very dirt but still, like dust I’ll
rise.” The legendary Maya Angelou
explains it best in her epic poem “Still I
Rise” — that no matter what you endure,
you can still lift yourself up to overcome
obstacles and
abuse. This is the
idea that organizer
Eve Ensler wants
people to embrace
at the February 14
global event One
Billion Rising,
which Pittsburgh
will celebrate at
Market Square as
“Pittsburgh
Rising.”
Statistics show
that one in three
women will be
raped or beaten in
their lifetime: 324,000 women total in a
year. We must ask ourselves as a
community what can we do to support
these many women, how we can help
stand up for them. Together, we must say
No not only to domestic violence, but
also to other forms of dehumanization,
discrimination, abuse, and rape.
We must stand for victims like
Ka’Sandra Wade of Larimer, who was
murdered on
January 2.
Ka’Sandra had to
leave behind a 10-
year-old son when the child’s father sadly
ended her life. The local February 14
event, Pittsburgh Rising, is dedicated to
Ka’Sandra’s memory.
We must stand against corrupt,
conspiratorial rapists like the football
players of Steubenville, Ohio, who
allegedly raped and urinated on an
underage female last August during a
party. These rapists then received help
not only from their football coach but
from other members of Steubenville
society to cover up this horrible act of
violence. We as a
community need to
stand up and let
everyone know this is
unacceptable.
We must stand up to
politicians who do not
share our values. The
Violence Against
Women Protection Act
(VAWA) was typically
reauthorized by
Congress with broad
support, but the
legislation expired last
year for the first time
since its 1994 inception.
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill with
new protections for the LGBT
community, Native Americans, and
immigrants, but House Republican
leaders refused to bring it up for a vote,
charging that it was politically
driven. The Convention
on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination
Against Women
(CEDAW) treaty signed by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1979
was never ratified by the U.S. Senate.
So we ask that on February 14,
2013, you join us in saying “Enough is
enough.” It is time for us to say No to
the violence, say No to the abuse, No
to the rape and the dehumanization that
is taking place in today’s world.
On February 14 we ask that you join
the revolution so that we can get ONE
BILLION people to rise above and
join us by dancing, walking out, letting
your voice be heard. The members of
Pittsburgh Rising would like to see
signs, costumes, and colors. They want
to see organizations, groups, and
individuals raising awareness about
what they are working on that will
affect the women of Pittsburgh and
help convey our anti-violence
message. They want to hear music,
poems, and drums, voices yelling in
support of the women of the world,
letting them know they do not have to
accept such brutality.
On February 14, 2013, Rise with
Pittsburgh, make a statement, and
RAISE YOUR VOICE. For a short
film and more information about
Pittsburgh Rising, go to
onebillionrisingpgh.wordpress.com
Jona Dudley is studying psychology,
is an administrator for the Social
Justice Group in Braddock, PA, and
is part of the editorial collective.
Edith Bell belongs to the Women's
International League for Peace and
Freedom.
PITTSBURGH RISES SUPPORTED BY
-New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice
-Women Against Street Harassment -WWhat’s Up!? (Whites Working and
Hoping to Abolish Total Supremacy Undermining Privilege)
-Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
-ACTION United Women -Neighborhood Print Shop at the Braddock Carnegie Library -Athena’s Fire -Fight Back Pittsburgh -POORLAW -Summit Against Racism
Pittsburgh Rising
Prosecute the culture of taking
what doesn’t belong
in toxic water gambling on
children with downs
syndromes of misogyny
ask me again
what gender I am
in this war uniform
pinned together with
a crucifix
inhabiting one savior
or another Big Ben
casting the shadow
of the stadium
over the mouth
of the women
incoherent or speaking
in tongues
with a girl
my student says
one Yes trumps
seven No’s
Dear Steubenville —R/B Mertz
R/B Mertz teaches writing and also
publishes poems on
lifeandpoems.tumblr.com.
Ending the Violence
bring yr self home to yr self, enter the garden
the guy at the gate w/ the flaming sword is yrself
—Diane di Prima, Revolutionary Letter #75
She is at the gate w/ the flaming sword
slaying the beast of delay
casting innumerable spells of power / danger / pleasure
She escapes the enclosures on her outlaw body
in solidarity w/ All who have reached the gate
rising
She comes in waves
eventually turning to spirals
She is you in the raw
bring yourself
reveal your carnal core
She is awake and always listening
She rides w/ Comanche technique
if She falls
the root She worked will replenish her
& She will pour again
always bringing a cooling effect
to the burn
(good luck drying off)
Raith —Danielle Maggio
Danielle Maggio works with the Book 'Em committee,
teaches pre-school and makes sauce, not war.
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 9
Citizen Investigation into Unmarked Police
Cars - the kind of police unit that Jordan
Miles encountered.
by Craig Stevens
Pittsburgh’s Citizen Police Review
Board (CPRB) held a public hearing
December 12, 2012, on the Pittsburgh
Bureau of Police (PBP) use of plainclothes
officers in unmarked cars, also known as “99
cars.” The hearing was prompted by ongoing
complaints and questions about the conduct
of these units, particularly in predominantly
African American communities, including
the case of Homewood teen Jordan Miles,
who was brutally beaten and arrested in
January 2010 by three officers in a 99 unit.
Police spokespersons included Deputy
Police Chief Paul Donaldson, Assistant
Chief of Investigations Maurita Bryant, and
Immediate Past President of the Fraternal
Order of Police Dan O’Hara. Speakers on
police accountability included Tim Stevens,
chair of the Black Political Empowerment
Project (BPEP), and Brandi Fisher, chair of
the Alliance for Police Accountability
(APA).
CPRB Director Elizabeth Pittinger read
into the record a memo from David Harris,
University of Pittsburgh law professor and
expert in racial profiling and law
enforcement, who was unable to attend.
Stating that “much is not known about how
the PBP uses this tactic,” Harris listed
questions concerning the extent of use of 99
cars; their mission, staffing, training, and
oversight; data on frequency of “jump out”
activity, seizures of weapons and narcotics,
civilian stops, frisks, and arrests; and
measurement of success.
Deputy Chief Donaldson said they did
not come with a prepared statement nor
could he respond to all the points raised in
Harris’s memo but that they would be
willing to do so. He said the PBP’s
relationship with the public is a priority
concern and that he is aware that a negative
encounter with the public carries more
weight than positive encounters. He said a
low number of encounters with the public
involve the use of force: out of 15,000
arrests last year, 740, or 5.5% of all arrests
involve the use of force.
Donaldson did not provide specific data
on the operations of the 99 cars nor on their
effectiveness. The primary value of the units
emphasized by all three police
representatives was the units’ ability to carry
out proactive policing, suppressing or
intervening in crimes as they occur, and
“keeping a pulse of the community.”
Otherwise, Donaldson said, the vast majority
of police time and resources are spent
responding to calls and investigating crimes
that have already occurred. Donaldson did
say that the 99 units, like all PBP officers,
will be required to file reports on all ‘stop
and frisk’ encounters, as required by bills
passed by City Council in 2011.
Assistant Chief Bryant, who previously
oversaw 99 units as Zone 5 commander,
said, “If all we did
was respond to 911 calls, the level
of criminal activity would be off the charts.
These officers aren’t loose cannons. We
hold them accountable. There are all sorts of
checks and balances.”
When board member Thomas Waters
asked how the PBP knows crime would
increase without the 99 units, Donaldson
replied that drug crimes would flourish if
dealers could operate with impunity.
Ralph Norman, CPRB Acting Chair,
asked about placing video cameras in the
cars, to which Donaldson replied that there
is no funding for that and that cameras
would make 99 cars more identifiable as
police cars.
In an overview, Donaldson and Bryant
stated that there is one 99 unit in each of the
six police zones, with at least three officers
per unit to ensure that at least two are
deployed together per shift. Zone
Commanders select and supervise 99 unit
officers, who must have at least four years of
experience. There is no special training for
this duty.
In their comments, both Stevens and
Fisher emphasized the importance of
intensive cultural sensitivity training for
officers placed in these controversial units.
Stevens spoke of the “awesome power”
given police, power which can be abused,
and noted that African American males
believe the police are out to get them.
Ms. Fisher stated that the disrespect
civilians experience from police has broken
the trust between communities and the
police. She also spoke of the ‘Catch 22’ of
99 unit officers jumping out of their cars,
scaring the person they have targeted into
running, and then escalating force in
response.
Several police accountability and civil
rights advocates spoke during the public
comment period. One pointed out that the
police left before Stevens, Fisher and the
public spoke.
MORE ABOUT CPRB:
The Citizen Police Review Board
(CPRB) is an independent agency in
the City of Pittsburgh setup to
investigate citizen complaints about
improper conduct by the Pittsburgh
Bureau of Police. For more
information, including how to file a
complaint concerning police
misconduct, see the CPRB’s web site
at: cprbpgh.org or call the CPRB at:
(412) 765-8023 or the CPRB
Confidential Tip Line: 412-255-
CPRB. For information on Jordan
Miles’ ongoing case:
justiceforjordanmiles.com.
For more information on The Black
and White Reunion, see:
blackandwhitereunion.org or call 412-
322-9275.
Craig Stevens is a member of the
Black and White Reunion.
Concern Over Unmarked Police Cars
Citizens for Justice
PERFORMANCE
SCHEDULE: Wednesday, February 27: 7pm
Thursday, February 28: 8pm
Friday, March 1:
10am & 8pm
Saturday, March 2:
2pm & 8pm
by Kenneth Miller and Charles
McCollester
Martin Delany was
empowered by publishing and
journalism. Among the best
journalists of the era, he
published The Mystery, his anti-
slavery newspaper, from
Pittsburgh and later served as co
-editor of The North Star with
Frederick Douglass.
He wrote numerous
important works including a
novel about a mass slave
uprising, Blake or the Huts of
America. He is best known for
his manifesto, considered a
founding document of Black
Nationalism: The Condition,
Elevation, Emigration, and
Destiny of the Colored People
of the United States, Politically
Considered.
Martin Delany was a leader
of Pittsburgh’s struggle against
the Fugitive Slave Law, but left
for Canada with his family after
the Dred Scott decision. He
conferred with John Brown in
Canada during the planning
phase of the Harper’s Ferry
Raid. Incredibly, in 1859, he
traveled to West Africa, looking
for a place to settle a colony of
African Americans and made
several forays on foot into
Liberia and up the Niger River
to Abeokuta (Nigeria).
He reported on this voyage
to a prestigious international
conference in London and
when challenged for his
credentials by the American
delegation, he stated: “I am a
man.” This assertion became
the battle cry of the Memphis
Sanitation Workers’ strike a
century later.
With the Civil War engaged,
Delany returned to the United
States where he recruited and
agitated for the acceptance of
black troops including a
demand for black officers. After
a face-to-face meeting in early
1865 with Abraham Lincoln, he
was commissioned by
presidential order as a major in
the U.S. Army, its highest-
ranking black officer.
For a time after the war he
was the military governor for
South Carolina’s coast south of
Charleston. He represented
black soldiers at the flag-raising
at Fort Sumter on April 14,
1865, the fourth anniversary of
its surrender to the secessionist
South. Call to order tickets or
arrange for students to
attend. 412-867-9213.
Kenneth Miller and Charles
McCollester are members of
the editorial collective.
Martin Delany,
Pittsburgh Writer
Wali Jamal’s Third
Martin Delany
production to end
Black History Month
February 27 –
March 2, 2013
Elsie H. Hillman
Auditorium at
Kaufmann Center (Next to the Hill House
Center, 1825 Centre
Avenue, Pgh., PA 15219)
Creative Commons
10 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
by Anne E. Lynch
In 2009, the United
Nations chose February 20th,
to be the first World Day of
Social Justice, to promote
efforts to tackle issues such
as poverty, exclusion and
unemployment. It advocates
creating a “society for all,”
calling on governments to
make a commitment to
creating a framework for
action at all levels (local,
state, and national). The day
calls for “greater access to
resources through equity and
equality and opportunity for
all.” The society for all must
be based on justice and
respect for all human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
It’s a non-binding, purely
ideological UN resolution. So
we should all just ignore it,
right? Wrong!
While we may not be able
to convince our governments
of the importance of justice,
we can demonstrate equality
and equity in our own lives!
Community gardens are
popping up all over the City
of Pittsburgh. Join one, and
help out – when the harvest
comes in, share with your
neighbors. Or, if the
community garden is
growing flowers rather than
edible produce, brighten
people’s days by spreading
the blooms around!
If gardening is not your
forte, think about what you
can offer to your community
(as broadly or as narrowly as
you define it).
Are you able to
shovel snow from walks or
mow grass? Are there
members of your community
who aren’t able to do so?
Offer your services to them.
Perhaps you can share that
batch of muffins. Share the
extras. Turn off your cell
phone and actually listen to a
friend who needs to talk. We
all have unique talents – use
yours to the best of your
ability!
Of course, most of this
comes naturally to the people
reading this article. These are
just friendly, neighborly
things that one should do.
How is that creating social
justice? The acts themselves
are not social justice.
However, as you get to know
your neighbors and your
community, you start to see
needs that go beyond one or
two people. Maybe there’s an
industrial practice moving in
that some of you aren’t sure
of. Or perhaps some people
who are perceived as
different are being bullied or
harassed. Or there’s been a
breakdown in police-
community relations.
Whatever the problem is, you
are now in a position to bring
the community together to
take action. You learn about
the issue, listen to as many
sides as you can, and then,
together, ACT. Actions can
have small, medium or large
results. That you’ve just
gotten two families on the
same block to stop feuding
may seem small in the grand
scheme of things, but it helps
build community. Ultimately,
when it comes to social
justice, there is no such thing
as a “small” act.
It’s so easy to say that
someone else will do it or
that you just don’t have time.
But if each of us just sat
outside our residences for an
hour a week, saying hello to
everyone who passes and
asking how they are, we
could create true change over
time. Stronger communities
feel more empowered to take
on larger tasks, even
challenging governments and
entire societies. A gentle
smile and a helping hand
could sow the seeds of social
justice.
Anne E. Lynch is Manager
of Operations at Three
Rivers Community
Foundation.
World Day of Social Justice—Feb. 20
by Jennifer Lawer
A regional workshop for
Bread for the World will take
place on Sunday, March 3, from
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm at The Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church, 4503
Old William Penn Highway in
Monroeville. The conference
will include a presentation on the
2013 policy goals by Larry
Hollar, regional coordinator for
Bread for the World. A
representative for Senator Bob
Casey’s office has been invited
to share policy perspectives on
food security and budget issues.
Breakout groups will hear
presentations on topics such as
letter writing, state food security
issues, and possibly immigration.
Please contact Donna Hansen at
home at (712) 731-2460 or via
cell at (412) 812-1553 for more
information. All who are
interested are welcome to attend.
“Bread for the World” is a
Christian-based group that is
committed to ending hunger at
home and abroad. The group is
dedicated to providing food for
those in need through group
organization and governmental
support. The group believes that
everyone can make a difference;
individual efforts and
government leaders can all work
together to overcome global
hunger.
All are also welcome to join
the Regional Bread for the
World Team. Their next meeting
will be held on Wednesday,
February 20, at 10:00 am on the
second floor of Christian
Associates, located at the corner
of Butler Street and 37th Street
in Lawrenceville.
Learn more about “Bread for
the World” at www.bread.org.
Jennifer Lawer is an intern
working on food security issues
at the Thomas Merton Center.
Bread for the World Regional Workshop
Join Us in Our Work to End Hunger
by Joyce Rothermel
The American Taxpayer Relief Act
that passed before the end of the last
Congress included the extension of
two tax credits that favorably impact
many poor families: the Earned
Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child
Tax Credit (CTC). Both of them are a
great help to families that struggle
with basic human needs. Also of note
is its protection of the Supplemental
Food Assistance Program (SNAP --
formerly the Food Stamp Program),
Medicaid and international food aid.
While the past Congress did not
enact a new Farm Bill, they did extend
the current one through September of
this year. The Farm Bill includes
funding and policies for SNAP, The
Emergency Food Assistance Program
(TEFAP), the Commodity
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP),
and the Farmers Market Nutrition
Program (FMNP). All of these
programs are important for people
who are food insecure and often find it
hard to get the food they need for their
families.
What lies ahead is the completion
of the 2013 budget, sequestration, and
the question of raising the debt ceiling
-- these were delayed for only a few
months, leaving them for the new
Congress to address. Anti-hunger
advocates ask for hungry and poor
people to be a priority through these
considerations. We seek adequate
funding (which will require additional
funding) to ensure food security for
our people. Sequestration calls for
across the board cuts which we
oppose. Across-the-board cuts would
mean that programs like the Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) Program
would be cut to balance the budget.
We call for a "Circle of Protection"
around all the domestic and
international food programs
throughout the budget and
sequestration negotiations.
To learn more about what you
can do, please see the information at
right on the upcoming Bread for the
World Workshop.
Joyce Rothermel is Co-Chair of the
SW PA Food Security Partnership.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act:
Impact on the Hungry and Poor
Social Justice Activism
CAPITAL’S END
New Location, New Time
3:30 PM at the AVA Lounge
126 S. Highland Ave. 15206
A social space for those working for social change.
February Programs: Feb. 3 – “Anarchy”
Feb. 10 – “Palestine:” BDS
Feb. 17 – “Amend:” Corporate Personhood
Feb. 24 – “Changemakers”
Live local music, poetry, talk, collective
karaoke, open mike, display/sale of art, a
“call to arms” and an opportunity to
build friendships, community & solidarity.
Further information: [email protected]
or 724-388-6258
18th Annual Empty Bowls
Benefits Greater Pittsburgh
Community Food Bank
and Just Harvest
Please come and help spread the word
about this year's Empty Bowls Dinner
being held at Rodef Shalom Congregation
at Fifth and Morewood Avenues in
Oakland on Sunday, March 10, 2 - 6 pm.
The event features fabulous soups from
restaurants across the region, family-
friendly entertainment, a silent auction of
ceramic art and celebrity-autographed
bowls, and an incredible assortment of
handmade ceramic bowls donated by
dozens of artists, schools and art centers.
Tickets are $20 which include a modest
meal of soup and bread and your choice
of a handmade bowl as a lasting reminder
of those whose bowls are empty. For
more information and to order tickets on
line, go to www.pittsburghfoodbank.org.
Duquesne University Professor
Aimee Light to Speak at
February 17 Conference
All are invited to attend a
conference on Roman
Catholic Feminist
Theology featuring
Aimee Light from the
Theology Department at
Duquesne University on
Sunday, February 17 from 1:30 - 4:30 pm.
The conference will be held at Epiphany
Administrative Center, 164 Washington
Place next to the Consol Energy Center.
Suggested donation is $20.
Students are admitted at no charge.
Register by emailing:
[email protected] and pay at
door, or send payment to
Association of Pittsburgh Priests (APP),
P.O. Box 2106,
Pittsburgh, PA 15230.
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 11
No, we’re not there yet...
by Wanda Guthrie
All who saw the movie Promised
Land recognized our lovely Western
Pennsylvania landscape. Sadly, the
ability of the community to choose
their future was pure fiction. We
know that “12.5 million
Pennsylvanians are denied the right
to make governing decisions in our
communities of the sort that frames
Matt Damon's fictional film. State
"preemption" forbids Township
Supervisors from adopting municipal
laws that protect community health,
safety and welfare, even though they
take an oath obliging them to do so.
But to live up to their oaths, they'd
have to violate state law that places
corporate interests above the rights
of the people -- including the right to
local self-government on issues with
direct impact on their lives. And the
people are forbidden to vote
democratically on such questions,
regardless of what the film
fictitiously portrays,” states Ben
Price, Projects Director, Community
Environmental Legal Defense Fund.
Ben goes on to say, “We all fight
our individual and collective battles -
against fracking, toxic waste
facilities, factory farms, compressor
stations, pipelines, coal mines,
industrial windmills, GMOs - all
within the same concrete box (or
coffin). We win small battles at
home while not actually changing the
system that perpetuates the ability for
others to endanger us all over again
later. This ‘box’ is our system of law,
which creates regulatory funnels at
the end of which we all have no real
power to create sustainable
communities. We may win a battle
here and there, but someday someone
else can still endanger us, and we’ll
have to jump through the same old
hoops, stressing our bodies, minds,
hearts, and bank accounts all over
again.”
At a recent Community Rights
Workshop, community activist
learned how
community-
based control
was taken
from the
people of
Pennsylvania
with the
rewriting of
our original
Articles of
Confederation
(the original US Constitution) by
those with accumulated property who
wanted to “tame” democracy into
what we have now – a limited
monarchy ruled by central offices of
government instead of a king.
Last month we told you that we
would be beginning a campaign to
include our Community Bill of
Rights in Pittsburgh’s Home Rule
Charter. As the direction and work of
the campaign unfolds we look to our
history and how direct democracy
through citizen initiatives has been
and can again be an effective, non-
violent form of civil disobedience to
confront the 21st century partnership
of state and corporate power. When
that power is used to violate the civil
rights of people
and of nature,
and when
consent of the
governed is no
longer
considered
necessary by
government, we
must take back
direct
democracy!
The Environmental Justice
Committee and community partners
have resolved to continue to meet
together and grow! We need you, we
need to hear your community vision.
We can work to be We the People
once again as we launch and
participate in a successful campaign
to amend our Home Rule Charter
with a permanent Citizens Bill of
Rights; an amendment that will
include obligations and limitations to
our right to pure water, clean air,
chemical trespass, peaceful
enjoyment of our homes, natural
communities, a sustainable energy
future, self-government, and
recognition of people as sovereign,
and recipients of all rights afforded
to us in the Pennsylvania Declaration
of Rights.
How will we do it?
-Partnering with all Pittsburgh
communities to petition for a
referendum question on the
November ballot to amend the City
Charter to include a Community Bill
of Rights and
-Asking citizens to
envision, participate and
spread the word about
the importance of this
campaign.
- Working together not
only collect signatures
on petitions but to create
strategies for a winning
campaign in Pittsburgh
in their neighborhoods.
- Gathering to keep each other going,
growing, and learning!
Wanda Guthrie is the Chair of the
Environmental Justice, and
Education and Outreach Committee
and TMC Board Member.
Fiction to Fact: Promised Land?
Environmental Activism
Recent Community Rights Workshop
Community Bill of Rights in Pittsburgh communitybillofrightspittsburgh.wordpress.com Join our email/contact list by emailing [email protected]. Wednesday, February 6, 2013 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Freedom Unlimited (Alma Speed Fox Center) 2201 Wylie Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (next to the NAACP office) Call 412-596-0066 for directions. Getting the Conversation Started: How do we talk about community rights -- gearing up for the July push for 10,000 signatures.
Climate Rally Feb. 17! Join Us! At Noon on Sunday, February 17, thousands of Americans will head to Washington,
D.C. to make Forward on Climate the largest climate rally in history. Make your
voice heard and help the president start his second term with strong climate action.
When: February 17th, Noon
Where: The National Mall, Washington D.C.
Who: 350.org, Sierra Club & Hip-Hop Caucus
Why: To tell Barack Obama it's time to lead in the fight against climate change,
beginning with the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
You can find or offer a carpool to D.C. by joining the
Forward on Climate group at Ridebuzz.org.
The Nature and Spirit of our Work: Deep Democracy
(DeepDemocracyPittsburgh.wordpress.com) practiced in circles of trust that open the
political door wide and help people walk through it. This is sponsored by the
Environmental Justice Committee of the Thomas Merton Center. We will be meeting
on Sunday, February 10, from1 to 4 pm, at Pat Buddemeyer’s house, 5808 Black
Street (between North Euclid and North Beatty), East Liberty. Call412-860-9524 for
directions.
Focusing on: beginning a study of Parker Palmer’s book Healing the Heart of
Democracy, examples of mass movements, and a lesson from the Pennsylvania
Community Rights Cook Book. Bring snacks to share.
Global Warming: Changing C02urse
-4 SESSION DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR WORKPLACE,
COMMUNITY CENTER OR HOME.
PARTICIPANTS WILL: Explore personal values and habits as they relate to
climate change, Deepen an understanding of the history and science of global
warming, and Consider both individual and community level actions to curb global
warming.
2013 RESOLUTION: ADOPT A LOW-CARB DIET!
Thomas Merton Center’s Environmental Justice Committee & The Stillworkers
Network of Engaged Buddhists are partnering to offer this 4-session Discussion
Course. JOIN US!
Initial Planning Meeting: Feb.17, 2013 2:00-4:00 pm
Where: East Liberty Presbyterian Church
116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh 15206
CONTACT KATE AT: pghstillworkers@gmail.
107 SE Washington Suite 235 Portland, OR 97214
Phone: 503.227.2807 The Thomas Merton Center is a proud consumer of TriEagle Energy.
12 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
by Rob Conroy
Columbine.
Virginia Tech.
Western Psych.
Aurora.
Wisconsin.
Portland.
Sandy Hook.
Hollidaysburg.
Webster.
Taft.
The list goes on...
As record numbers of citizens
rush to their local sporting goods
stores, gun shows or gun shops (as
this article is being written, I’m
listening to recaps from the first
national Gun Appreciation Day) to
purchase record numbers of firearms,
what feels like record numbers of
bodies are piling up. If there is one
silver lining to be pulled from this
horrifying trend, it seems that some
state and national politicians—not
least our President and Senator
Robert Casey—may finally be
listening to points that many of us in
the nonviolence movement have
been raising for years.
We at CeaseFirePA continue to
stand by the families and friends of
those who have lost loved ones to
tragic bullets from largely illegally
acquired firearms. We will continue
to fight to end gun violence in
Pennsylvania, particularly that
caused by illegal guns, and we will
continue to partner with other local,
state and national organizations like
the Thomas Merton Center to make
Pennsylvania neighborhoods (and
every other American neighborhood)
safe. Many communities in
Pittsburgh deal with the effects of
gun violence every single day and
this simply cannot stand. We fully
support the President and Vice
President’s gun violence reduction
agenda, to which we were honored to
have contributed at a meeting on
January 9, and vow to continue our
long-standing goals of ending gun
violence, promoting responsible gun
ownership and keeping guns out of
the “wrong” hands, particularly by
encouraging our state and national
legislators to enact the following
reforms:
1. Require comprehensive
background checks on all sales of
guns (and, in an ideal world,
ammunition) in Pennsylvania.
Currently, such checks are required
for all sales of handguns and any gun
sale by a federally licensed dealer.
But this exempts the sale of many
long guns, including the very
weapon used to kill the victims in
Connecticut, when said weapon is
not sold by a federally licensed
dealer. This means that any private
sale between two individuals and
many sales by non-dealers at gun
shows (or many transfers at
community “gun bashes”) do not
require a background check. Current
law also exempts ammunition sales.
2. Require Pennsylvania gun
owners to file police reports if their
guns are lost or stolen.
This would enable police to find
missing guns before they become
crime guns, save time during
criminal investigations when police
need to track the ownership history
of a gun, and help police identify
straw purchasers who buy guns and
then transfer them illegally to people
who cannot legally buy guns
themselves.
3. Ensure that Pennsylvania
continues to forward all relevant
data to the national criminal
background check system. Until
mid-January of this year, more than
600,000 mental health records that
could bar someone from purchasing
a gun were available in the
Pennsylvania database (PICS) but
only one of those records had been
shared with the federal system
(NICS). Unfortunately, this means
someone who could not legally buy a
gun here might have been able to
cross state lines and purchase one in
a state that only had access to the
records in the federal system.
Although the state police have
temporarily rectified this situation,
they simply cannot be allowed to let
such records transfers lapse in the
future, particularly as there is
currently a bill circulating in the
Pennsylvania state House of
Representatives (HB 2127) that is
proposing elimination of PICS.
4. Close the loophole that makes it
possible for a gun owner to use a
concealed carry permit from
another state when he might not be
eligible to get one in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania recognizes
concealed carry permits from several
other states, even when some of
those states grant such permits to
people who would not meet
Pennsylvania’s eligibility
requirements. Pennsylvania should
grant reciprocal recognition only to
those states that employ permitting
standards equivalent to ours.
5. Working in tandem with
reforms at the federal level,
remove all assault weapons from
the stream of commerce in
Pennsylvania.
Semi-automatic assault weapons
(firearms designed for military use
that have no place or purpose for
civilian use), along with high-
capacity ammunition magazines,
should be banned from distribution,
manufacture, sale or ownership in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
None of these solutions will
happen overnight, but every single
one of them is worth fighting for. We
believe that ordinary Pennsylvanians
are demanding meaningful reforms.
NOW IS THE TIME
Together—and only together—we
can take a stand against gun violence
and make a difference.
Together we can put an end to gun
violence in Pittsburgh, in
Pennsylvania and in the United
States.
Rob Conroy is a TMC board
member and the Western PA
Coordinator for CeaseFirePA.
How To End Gun Violence
Activists on Guns
by Lilly Joynes
About three years ago, I learned
the truly horrifying consequences of
Americans’ devout desire to own
guns. On a normal Friday night in
November 2009, I read the most
recent text on my phone - sent in all
capital letters - and stared in
disbelief: “OMG ERIC F---ING
SHOT HIMSELF!!!” Eric, the
goofy, always-smiling boy clad in
overalls and sweaters that I had
come to know and love was dead -
and by his own choice.
I tried to think of any moment in
the last several years that could have
hinted at this impending tragedy. All
I saw in my head over and over
again was Eric at 7:30 am outside of
school, holding the door and offering
fist bumps and words of
encouragement to all the students
dragging themselves inside - “Happy
Monday! Welcome to school! Party
on!” Guns can cause unexpected
destruction at the hands of
unexpected people.
No one knows what caused the
emotional pain inside Eric’s head
that made him feel like he didn’t
want to live anymore. What I do
know is that Eric had dozens of
friends who would have done
anything for the opportunity to stop
him. Instead, Eric went quietly into
the basement of his home, got a
shotgun from his dad’s hunting
cabinet, and within the same instant
he pulled the trigger he was dead. I
wish it had been just a little bit
harder for him to go through with
this irreversible decision. I wish he
had had just one more second to
realize he was not alone.
One thing is undeniable from
stories like Eric’s and tragedies like
the recent shootings in Newtown,
Connecticut or Aurora, Colorado:
guns are not safe in the hands of
emotionally unstable people (sad,
angry, or otherwise). Unfortunately,
about 25% of the U.S. falls into this
category, meaning one in four people
has some sort of diagnosable mental
disorder. The National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) presents this
statistic comprehensively, including
even mild mood disorders and eating
disorders. However, I still think it is
an important factor in the discussion
of what America’s policies on gun
control should be.
When it comes to shooting
tragedies, Americans surveyed in a
January 2011 Gallup Poll believed
the two most important things that
could be done to prevent “mass
shootings” are 1) stricter gun control
laws (24%) and better mental health
screening/support (15%). However,
as our nation tends to divide down
the middle on many issues, the
results of another Gallup Poll from
January 2012 show 50% of the
nation as “satisfied” with the
nation’s laws or policies on guns,
while 42% are dissatisfied.
Most people don’t think about
suicide when they think about gun
control, but stricter laws could help
save many struggling souls.
According to the National Institute
of Mental Health, there were nearly
40,000 suicides in 2009. However,
NIMH emphasizes that for every
successful suicide, there were eleven
more attempted suicides. In the case
of people like Eric who have access
to a gun - it’s almost guaranteed
which statistic they will be a part of.
Research on the NIMH website
shows that males choose a firearm
most frequently as the means to end
their own lives. Boys are exposed to
guns in many ways while growing
up: hunting with Dad, video games,
paintball, and even pretend games
like “cops and robbers” or “cowboys
and Indians.” It’s no wonder boys
are more comfortable with firearms -
we told them it was okay to play
with guns!
Now factor in the other attitudes
we have about guns in America, and
disaster is certain. In a Gallup Poll
conducted 12/18/12, Americans’ top
responses for how to prevent future
school shootings shifted away from
changing laws. The responses were:
“increased police presence at
schools, more government spending
on mental health screening and
treatment, and a focus on reducing
media and video game emphasis on
gun violence.” Where is the
responsibility placed? Not on the
parents, and not on the individual.
Pro-gun Americans are worried
about losing their rights, but what
we’re losing now with our current
policy is lives. I urge Americans
concerned about their self-defense to
first consider pepper spray, martial
arts classes, or other non-lethal
alternatives. Regardless of your
political dogma, I beg you to please
reconsider the power of a gun and
the consequences of having access to
one so easily.
Lilly Joynes is a sophomore at the
University of Pittsburgh majoring
in Communication Studies.
Gun attitudes cost innocent lives
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 13
by Scilla Wahrhaftig
January 11th was the 11th
anniversary of the opening of
Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
which has become a symbol of our
country’s torture policy. It was also the
day that the new movie about the
capture of Osama Bin Laden, Zero Dark
Thirty, opened in movie theatres around
the country. While the use of torture was
not a contributing part of the capture,
many are seeing the movie as a
vindication of our torture policy.
The movie has sparked a huge
amount of attention and has opened up a
major debate about the use of torture.
Did it work? Didn’t it work? Is it
necessary for the capture of terrorists, as
47 percent of people in the U.S. believe?
What has gotten lost in the debate is the
impact of the use of torture on our
credibility as a country.
Chuck Fager, writer and former
Director of Quaker House in
Fayetteville NC, writes:
“The loss of credibility may still be
easy for many of us to ignore, but
consider: today, what tyrants will do
other than smirk and snicker at U.S.
State Department reports tut-tutting
about their lousy human
rights records? Not that
our hands were ever
entirely clean; but the
years of Maya's (the
heroine in Zero Dark
Thirty) obsession were
also when the U.S. sank
to unprecedented lows.
At home, those years
similarly yielded steadily
increasing domestic
repression, from
wiretapping to the
coordinated crackdowns
on Occupy Wall
Street and now the growing shadows of
domestic drones circling above our
homes and streets.”
Yet credibility is not a strong enough
term for this loss. Honor helps. But
"soul" is better. Dr. Martin Luther King's
motto for his civil rights career was,
"Saving the Soul of America." The
crusade by Maya, the CIA and their
White House masters to find and kill
Osama Bin Laden succeeded, but along
the way America lost much, perhaps
most, of its "soul."
With the attention on
torture we have an
opportunity to have
some impact. A number
of us handed out flyers
outside the movie
theatre when Zero Dark
Thirty opened and were
encouraged by the
number of people who
took our flyers and went
into the movie to
consider it critically.
Last month the Senate
Intelligence Committee
approved a 6,000- page report of the
CIA’s interrogation practices during the
Bush era. "The report uncovers startling
details about the CIA detention and
interrogation program and raises critical
questions about intelligence operations
and oversight," said Senator Dianne
Feinstein, after the vote.
The release of this report is vital and,
as Dixon Osborn of Human Rights First
said, "Telling the American people the
truth about torture isn't a task that should
be left up to speculative reporting,
Hollywood filmmakers, or publishing
houses. It should be based on the facts.
Thankfully, that report already exists.
Now it should be made public."
The release of this report is essential
in light of the nomination of John
Brennan as head of CIA. Brennan is
known to have favored rendition and the
use of torture. It is vital that we know his
role in the use of torture and his
participation in Obama's secretive,
unaccountable drone war.
We can all contact our senators calling
on them to authorize the release of the
Senate Intelligence Report on
Interrogations. We have a right to see
what our government did in our name.
Not till we face up to our past can we as
a country start to regain our standing in
the world and start the process of
“Saving Our Soul.”
Scilla Wahrhaftig is the Program
Director of the American Friends
Service Committee PA.
Torture and America’s SOUL
Faith and Activism
A Liberation Priest Calls for the
U.S. to Stop the Repression
by Daniel Kovalik
On February 17, 1980,
Archbishop Oscar Romero of San
Salvador sent a letter to U.S.
President Jimmy Carter in which he
implored Carter not to support the
repressive forces in El Salvador with
lethal aid. Romero implored
President Carter “to forbid that
military aid be given to the
Salvadoran government.” Sadly,
Carter did not heed the good
Archbishop’s pleas, and, on March
20, 1980, U.S.-backed assailants shot
and killed Oscar Romero while he
was saying mass.
Since that time, scores of priests
have been killed throughout Latin
America by U.S.-backed forces. In
Colombia alone, 79 Catholic priests
have been killed since 1984. This
type of violence and repression has
virtually wiped out the liberation
Church which Romero described to
Carter in his letter. And indeed, as
Noam Chomsky has pointed out, the
U.S. School of the Americas has
bragged about how it helped
“destroy liberation theology.”
Nonetheless, a small number of
brave priests and religious have
continued on with the liberation
struggle. Most notable of these is
Father Javier Giraldo, a Jesuit priest
from Colombia. Reminiscent of
Romero’s letter to Carter, Father
Giraldo sent a letter in September of
2011 to the U.S. Ambassador to
Colombia, P. Michael McKinley,
imploring him to prevail upon
President Obama not to go ahead
with his decision to release $20
million in military aid to Colombia
which had been suspended on
human rights grounds. And, as was
the case with Jimmy Carter more
than 30 years ago, President Obama
did not heed Father Giraldo’s pleas.
In his letter, Father Giraldo sets
forth profound truths about
Colombia which few ever hear
outside that country. Thus, he
describes the fact that the very
paramilitary (a.k.a., “death squad”)
strategy which continues to plague
Colombia to this day was formulated
pursuant to a recommendation “by
the government of the United States
in the [General William P.]
Yarborough mission in February of
1962.”
According to Father Giraldo, the
paramilitary groups, as before,
continue to work “in close harmony
with the Army and Police” to carry
out crimes against humanity. And,
he places the responsibility for these
continued abuses firmly at the feet of
the U.S. Thus, Father Giraldo
informs the U.S. Ambassador that
“[t]he current commanders take part
in the same immunity and impunity
and the assistance from your
government only reinforces their
criminal activity” --
criminal activity
which includes “the
systematic crime of
forced disappearance
of persons, which
according to national
and international
agencies now affects
more than 50,000
families.”
Father Giraldo explains that the
Obama Administration’s
“certification and release of military
assistance funds takes place in a
moment in which the economic
policy of this government is showing
alarming signs of failure to recognize
the most fundamental collective
rights of the most vulnerable
populations.” Of course, the
“economic policy” referred to here is
a joint U.S./Colombia policy which
is spurred on by the U.S.-Colombia
Free Trade Act (FTA) signed into
law by Obama one month after this
letter. Father Giraldo explains that,
pursuant to the economic policy,
Afro-Colombian, indigenous and
peasant communities are being
destroyed by paramilitaries clearing
their land for use by multi-national
companies.
Father Giraldo also decries the
violence in Buenaventura which is
being spurred on by the struggle for
control of the expanding ports there
– ports which are critical to the
growing trade under the FTA.
Specifically, Father Giraldo
refers to “the permanent genocide
that is being carried out in
Buenaventura, where the
neighborhoods and the Community
Councils around the port are being
invaded by paramilitaries supported
or tolerated by the armed forces.
They cut people in pieces with
horrifying cruelty throwing the body
parts into the sea, if any of them dare
to resist the megaproject for the new
port.”
Just as Jimmy Carter turned a deaf
ear to Archbishop Romero’s pleas
for justice, President Obama has
ignored the pleas of Father Javier
Giraldo whose voice remains a
“voice in the wilderness”—a term
Father Giraldo himself uses in his
letter to describe the victims of U.S.
foreign policy in Colombia. Still,
Father Giraldo remains a prophetic
voice in Colombia and in the world,
defending the “preferential treatment
of the poor” which the U.S. has tried
to stamp out in Colombia and in
Latin America since the Kennedy
Administration.
Daniel Kovalik is a labor and
human rights lawyer living in
Pittsburgh. He teaches
International Human Rights at the
University of Pittsburgh School of
Law.
A Voice in the Wilderness
Scilla Wahrhaftig and Wanda
Guthrie outside of the theater
distributing information.
Hoped for Fruits of Vatican Council II
Principles WE ARE CHURCH, an international movement, were founded on in November 1996:
Community of Brothers and Sisters
With the full participation of women in all aspects
of church life
Without obligatory clerical celibacy
With a positive evaluation of sexuality and
conscience, and a message of joy and inclusivity
More than 2.5 million people throughout Europe signed a document calling for a Church that witnesses these principles.
14 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
Buying Local?
Marcellus Outreach Butler Reports
by Colleen Donovan and G. Smith
Progressive activists from all over
the country are raising their voices
ever more loudly in unison against
the rise of political, economic,
environmental and social justice
issues that undermine our democracy.
From fracking to incarceration rates
to clean air and water, to social justice
and gun control as well as access to
health care, activists voice their
increasing desire to form a united
front against the onslaught. To
achieve these ends, activists from
Southwestern Pennsylvania find
strength in numbers as we march in
unison over the hills and valleys and
the streets of our urban centers.
The geography of our region
ensures that all the creeks and rivers
eventually flow towards the Golden
Triangle in Pittsburgh, and for this
region’s activists, that leads us to the
Thomas Merton Center. Members of
the Indiana County Center for
Community Growth (CCG) are happy
to establish vital connections with the
Thomas Merton Center because our
organizations share so many common
goals.
The Building Change Conference
by the Three Rivers Community
Foundation represented another
important local influence in the
development of this new progressive
alliance. A group of Indiana County
community leaders who attended the
Building Change Conference were
inspired by the discussion to
reorganize. As a result, in the spring
of 2012, the Center brought together
social service and community
organizations to identify ways to
increase civic participation of low-
income county residents. This led to a
summer voter education and
registration campaign in collaboration
with the county food banks.
Finally, the Indiana County
“Center” (CCG) currently has
members who were part of the
original Indiana County Progressive
Alliance that was active in the ‘90s.
So, the newly-formed “Center,”
according to its Facebook page, aims
to stimulate activism based on
“democratic principles, non-violence,
civic engagement and ...
to work on those issues locally,
regionally and globally,” goals
similar to those of members and
affiliates of the Thomas Merton
Center and other social justice
organizations. Hopefully, the echoes
from this organization and all its
affiliates will reverberate throughout
our region.
In order to achieve these ends, the
CCG is launching a progressive film
series starting this February. This six-
month documentary series focuses on
new ideas to build a vibrant and just
regional economy. The series starts
February 22 with The Economics of
Happiness, at the historic downtown
Indiana Theater. Other films being
considered include The Corporation,
a film based on the book The
Corporation: The Pathological
Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel
Bakan, and Antonino D’Ambrosio’s
Let Fury Have the Hour. The Center
also hopes to show the environmental
film YERT by Pittsburgh filmmaker
Mark Dixon.
The series is designed to stimulate
discussion and action in supporting a
new local economy, as well as
supporting local establishments such
as the Indiana Theater and the Artists
Hand Coffee House. Organizers look
to establish ties with these businesses
and other locales to create
an environment where the culture of
progressivism can work towards a
New Economy based on both local
values and global thinking.
We hope that individuals from all
over the region will join us in our
local and regional united front for
activism, and come out to the movies.
For more information about The
Center, you can check our website:
theindianacenter.wordpress.com, or
email [email protected],
or “like” us on Facebook, or follow
us on Twitter @theindianacenter, or
just call us at (724) 471-6298.
By making these connections, we
can strengthen bonds that will enable
us to work together to influence the
resolution of issues at the regional,
state, national and global levels. Let
the waters of our three-rivers -- the
Monongahela, the Allegheny, and the
Ohio -- nourish us all and permit the
flow towards larger streams of
consciousness, awareness, and action.
Let us all persuade our friends and
neighbors to take a stand for those
democratic principles that ensure
conditions that enable all citizens to
ultimate health, spirit, and rights.
This includes the people and
future generations of this region and
its natural resources as well as all
global counterparts.
Colleen Donovan and G. Smith are
activists from Indiana County with
the Indiana County Center for
Community Growth (CCG).
Indiana County Activists
Reach Out to Pittsburgh
Regional Activist Community
by Jason Bell
Theodora Colborn, a professor
emerita at the University of
Florida and president of the
Endocrine Disruption Exchange,
has identified 632 chemicals used
in natural gas production. She
reported her findings in a 2011
article, “Natural Gas Operations
from a Public Health Perspective,”
which outlined the potential health
risks of more than half of the
proprietary fracking fluids.
Colburn wrote, “Many
chemicals used during the
fracturing and drilling stages of
gas operations may have long-
term health effects that are not
immediately expressed.”
While 75 percent of the
chemicals affect the skin, eyes,
respiratory and gastrointestinal
systems, an alarming 50 percent
affect the brain, nervous system,
immune and cardiovascular
systems, and 25 percent could
cause cancer and mutations.
How much proof is enough to
keep the frack off the farm?
Full steam ahead!!!! This seems
to be what Governor Corbett and
the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) are saying about
fracking in Pennsylvania
communities. While New York
and Maryland are waiting for long
-term health studies before they
allow toxic fracking to drill its
claws in their neighborhoods,
Pennsylvania (with the exception
of the wealthy Montgomery and
Bucks counties) has been
designated as a sacrifice zone for a
fracking free-for-all. Despite an
outcry from medical professionals,
at the eleventh hour lawmakers
stripped all funding for medical
studies from Act 13. There is also
a shameful effort at the federal
level to shutdown research to
study the public health dangers of
fracking. In a letter to Health and
Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius, GOP leaders
on the House Energy and
Commerce Committee accused
officials at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention of
harboring "preconceived notions"
about the possible health effects of
gas drilling and hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking.
But because of the hard work of
many dedicated people we are
starting to see a picture of the real
public health perils presented by
fracking, and the picture is
alarming. In their report, Impacts
of Gas Drilling on Human and
Animal Health, Bamberger and
Oswald write, “Because animals
are exposed continually to air, soil
and groundwater and have more
frequent reproductive cycles,
animals can be used as sentinels to
monitor impacts on human
health.”
December saw the flaring of the
Marburger Farm Dairy well along
Mars-Evans City Road. Several
nearby homeowners and witnesses
reported noxious smells and
noises loud enough to drown out
the music from a Christmas
display. Although flaring is
temporary, it
has renewed
questions
about the long
-term effects
on the health
of livestock
and the safety
of milk.
Studies are
still ongoing
but fracking
the foodshed has raised serious
concerns.
Lastly, Marcellus Outreach
Butler (MOB) thanks everyone
who supports our efforts to raise
money for the 25 families that are
now living without safe water in
the Woodlands community. MOB
presented $4,300 to White Oaks
Springs Church on January 7th to
help with the effort. Tax
deductible donations can be made
at https://sites.google.com/site/
waterforwoodlands.
Jason Bell is a member of
Marcellus Outreach Butler
and Tour de Frack.
Marburger’s
Milk
Company in
Evans City.
by Mary Sheehan
The Pittsburgh North People
for Peace has just celebrated 30
years of peace and justice work in
the North Hills! Over those 30
years, issues have been brought to
the public eye through peace fo-
rums, peace festivals, school essay
contests, an 8-year vigil against the
war in Iraq, the International Day
of Peace, and Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day events, and by starting an
anti-racism coalition. We have of-
ten called ourselves, "small but
mighty."
Now, as we begin the next 30
years, our goal is to grow and be-
come "mightier." We want to pro-
vide an avenue for more people to
thoughtfully discuss, learn, and act
to make a difference in our com-
munity, our nation, and our world.
Thanks to support from the Thomas
Merton Center, this work is already
underway. If you are looking to
connect with a group of people
where you can share and work on
issues to bring about a vision of
peace and justice, give me a call
(412-367-0383) or send us an email
You are welcome to come to one of
our February events:
Move to Amend Event: Monday,
February 4th, 4:00 p.m. at La
Roche College
Peace Forum: Sunday, February
24th, 3:00 p.m. at Kearns Spiritual-
ity Center
Mary Sheehan is the chair of
Pittsburgh North People for
Peace.
Peace and Justice in the North Hills
Alive and Well...and Growing!
Submitted by
Wanda Guthrie
February 2013 NEWPEOPLE - 15
TMC State of the Union
by Molly Rush
"“I feel guilty because what it costs
me to be in the hospital for one day
could keep a Guatemalan village
alive for one year. There's always
that sense of why am I alive? … As a
result, I feel I have to do something
about that, otherwise I would be just
sick and stay at home." –Indiana
Gazette
The gift of being around the
Merton Center is getting to know
some pretty extraordinary people.
Chris Catalfamo, who died at 59 on
January 15, 2013, was that and more.
Nothing stopped her, not hearing
loss, nor years on dialysis from renal
failure, caused by scleroderma, an
auto-immune disease. Despite
having to retire early from teaching
history at St. Vincent College, she
lived an incredibly full life.
History was her passion. An
expert on abolitionist movements in
Indiana County and the area's role in
the Underground Railroad, she
enthusiastically promoted that
history, writing articles in the
Indiana NAACP newsletter and the
Indiana Gazette, getting historical
markers at key sites and taking part
in Civil War re-enactments. Her last
article appeared in the Gazette in
December.
Her other major passion was for
social justice. As a board member of
the Indiana NAACP she worked for
prisoners rights and for single payer
health care. I don’t think there was a
movement for justice in which she
did not play a leading or supporting
role.
Her enthusiasm and spirit
inspired others.
She spoke matter-of-factly about
her illness, but she was excited when
she emailed me last month that she
was to have surgery to restore some
of her hearing. Then I learned she’d
been life-flighted to Pittsburgh for a
heart attack. When I called
Presbyterian Hospital’s ICU unit she
was unconscious.
She may
have left her
family and
friends but
her spirit and
her loving
ways will
remain with
us.
Molly Rush is the co-chair of the
editorial collective, co-founder of
TMC, board member, and friend of
Chris’s.
Chris Catalfamo, Extraordinary Woman, RIP
by Joyce Rothermel
Believing that each of us has a
calling to become an everyday
hero, Shernell Smith has joined the
board of the Thomas Merton
Center for her first two-year term.
Shernell serves in the Division
of Student Affairs at Carnegie
Mellon University, coordinating
multi-cultural and diversity
initiatives. She is also involved in
a variety of aspects of student life
and oversees sustainability
initiatives.
Shernell was attracted to the
Merton Center by individuals who
are engaged in the mission of the
Center. When she first came to
Pittsburgh through service learning
activities at CMU, Shernell came
to know managing director Diane
McMahon and Wanda Guthrie,
TMC board member.
Wanda was at that time involved
in the Remembering Hiroshima,
Imaging Peace Project. Shernell
also worked with Diane and other
members on the 2011 Merton
Award Event honoring Vandana
Shiva, arranging for her to speak
on campus. She also engaged some
students in the award ceremony.
Shernell hopes to learn more
about the Center’s history,
listening to members’ diverse
voices, then identifying ideas for
greater engagement with young
people.
Understanding the importance
of sustainable financial support for
the Center, she also agreed to chair
the newly formed Development
Committee and help with the
Center's messaging to the broader
community.
Upgrading the Center’s
technology and improving its uses
is also on her radar screen. These
tools help to bridge the wisdom of
the lived experiences of the Center
with newer members as we look to
the future. Please join us in
welcoming Shernell Smith to the
Board!
Joyce Rothermel chairs the
Membership Committee of the
Thomas Merton Center.
by Diane McMahon
In 2012 the Thomas Merton
Center had many things to celebrate!
For one, we were 40 years old! And
forty years of peace and justice work
was the central unifying theme that
helped draw together old and new
friends committed to the important
goal of creating a more peaceful and
just world!
Through reconnecting to our
friends and supporters we discovered
that, now, at this point in history, the
work of the Center is just as vital to
raising the moral issues that speak to
the unjust treatment of oppressed
people , the 99% of us, as it was forty
years ago.
This past year TMC experienced
a growth in membership, a doubling
from the year before - with 450
active members by year’s end. This
was made possible by a dedicated
and committed group of members,
led by Joyce Rothermel and Michael
Drohan, who worked tirelessly to
bring the community together at
potluck dinners, awards ceremonies,
a summer picnic, and in organizing
efforts like the trip to protest the
School of the Americas in Fort
Benning in the fall of 2012.
New energy was brought into the
center with an increased number of
interns and volunteers. We benefited
from the expertise of committed
advocates, many who came from Pitt,
CMU, and Chatham. A group of
younger leaders formed the Youth
Outreach Committee, and we will be
supporting their efforts with the help
of board member Ed Brett (a retired
La Roche College professor) in the
year ahead. Additionally, more than
20 talented, creative and committed
interns worked at the Center this last
year.
We also benefited from the help
of current and returning members on
a weekly basis. As you might
imagine, at TMC there are many
tasks that need to be completed. They
range from answering the phone, to
engaging members in community
organizing activities, completing
mailings, to editing and distributing
the New People, to name only a few!
We are thankful for the dozens of
committed volunteers who worked in
this capacity and know that the center
would not be so strong as it is
without their efforts and passion.
With renewed commitment to
our mission and purpose, and much
hard work and volunteer efforts by
the board, volunteers, members and
interns, the Center was able to end
the year with a positive fund balance.
This is in no small part due to the
strategic plan that was formulated by
our Board of Directors in 2012 which
will guide the work of the center until
2017.
Going forward we will be
working towards moving the Center
into a more stable position so that the
work of our sustainers, members and
projects will be supported for
generations to come.
We invite you to become a part
of this effort by choosing to donate to
the Molly Rush Legacy Fund,
launching your own TMC centered
initiative or project, or joining with
us in the many community
organizing activities that are being
facilitated through the Center.
One thing remains clear, the
Center is only as strong as its
members are committed to building a
community of peace and justice
advocates. The board, staff,
volunteers, and interns thank you
for your relentless commitment to
making this so!
Diane McMahon is a member of
the editorial collective and the
managing director of the
Thomas Merton Center.
Meet New Board Member Shernell Smith
M. Shernell Smith
Awards Dinner
5%
New Person Awards
5% Pottlucks, Community
Events
5%
Thrifty Store Support
5%
Community Oganizing
(ie.School of
Americas)15%
New People Publication
15%
Administration and
Accountability25%
Projects Support
25%
Thomas Merton Center 2012 Expense Allocation
Special thanks to Xinpei He for
producing the charts in this report.
Local Activist Community
In Memoriam,
Marcella Raynak
This past fall
Marcella Raynak,
Thomas Merton
Center (TMC)
member and
activist, died at the
age of 93.
She had been an active
member of the TMC Mon
Valley Cluster and faithful
supporter. We are grateful to
Marcella for remembering the
TMC in her will. Even in her
passing, Marcella is a witness
for peace and justice.
Submitted by Joyce Rothermel,
Chair of the TMC Membership
Committee.
16 - NEWPEOPLE February 2013
Sunday Monday
Tuesday Thursday Friday 1 Wednesday Saturday 2
Harris
Interfaith
Lecture:
Gershon
Baskin, Ph.D
Rodef Shalom
Synagogue,
4905 5th Ave
11am-2pm
Pittsburgh Area
Strategic Peace
Planning
Friends
Meeting
House, 4836
Ellsworth Ave,
Pittsburgh, PA
2:30-5pm
Capital’s End:
Anarchism
AVA Lounge
126 S.
Highland.,
East Liberty
3:30pm-7:00pm
3 4
“If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.” —Martin Delany
5 7 8 6 9
Community Bill
of Right
Pittsburgh
Freedom
Unlimited
(Alma Speed
Fox Center) 201
Wylie Ave.
6:30pm-8:30pm
Hearing on
Fracking at
Allegheny
Airport
RMU, Sewall
Center, 119
Campus Dr.
6:00pm-8:00pm
"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise." —Maya Angelou
Move to
Amend
La Roche
College, Ryan
Room, 900
Babcock Blvd.
4:00 pm-
6:00pm
Capital’s End
AVA Lounge,
126 S.
Highland.,
East Liberty
3:30pm-7:00pm
(ALSO the 17th
–see pg. 10 ad)
10 11
12 14 15 13 16
PUSH
Meeting Health Care 4
All PA office,
2101 Murray
Ave.
6:15-8pm
One Billion
Rising
Market Square,
Downtown,
Pittsburgh
12:00pm-2:00pm
Susan B.
Anthony Day
“Organize,
agitate, educate,
must be our war
cry.”
—Susan B.
Anthony
The 2nd Annual
Food Pantry
Brunch
Challenge
New Hazlett
Theater,
Allegheny
Square East
11:00am-1:00pm
“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was” —Abraham Lincoln
Climate Rally
DC (See eblast)
What’s With
This Weather?
ELPC 2:00-4:00 Roman Catholic
Feminist (APP)
Theology
1:30-4:30 pm
Epiphany Center
164 Washington Pl.
Pgh., PA 15219
17 18
19 21 22 20 23
SW PA Bread
for the World
Meeting
Christian
Associates,
37th & Butler St,
Lawrenceville
10:00am-
12:00pm
Human Rights
Film Series:
Poetry of
Resilience
Duquesne
University, 105
College Hall
7:00-9:30pm
Pitt Center on
Race & Social
Problems Speaker
Series: Gerald
Early "Is Black
Music Criminal?"
2017 Cathedral of Learning, Pitt
Oakland
12:00pm-1:30pm
Pittsburgh
Haiti Solidarity
Committee
Thomas Merton
Center, 5129
Penn Ave.
11:00am-1:00pm
TMC Board
Meeting 7 pm
Happy
President’s
Day!
Capital’s End
AVA Lounge
126 S.
Highland.,
East Liberty
3:30pm-7:00pm
24 25
“Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice” —Ray Charles
26 28 27 New Economy
Potluck
Dinner
Thomas
Merton Center,
6:30pm-
8:30pm
“I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up” —Rosa Parks
February Activist Events
Become a Member of TMC!
__$15: Low Income/Student Membership
__$50: Individual Membership
__$100: Family Membership
__$75: Organization (below 25 members)
__$125: Organization (above 25 members)
Join at thomasmertoncenter.org/join-donate
or fill out the box and mail it in.
ONCE YOU BECOME A MEMBER,
YOU WILL RECEIVE THE NEW PEOPLE
IN THE MAIL!
TMC membership benefits include monthly
mailings of The New People to your home
or email account, weekly eblasts focusing
on peace and justice events in Pittsburgh,
and special invitations to membership activities.
You will be an active member of our community!
Name(s):
________________________________________
Organization (if applicable):__________________________
Address:________________________________
City: __________________ State: __________
Zip Code:_______________________________
Home Phone:____________________________
Cell Phone: _____________________________
Email:_________________________________
Be sure to choose your membership level.
Mail to: Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave.,
Pittsburgh, PA 15224. You can also join online at
www.thomasmertoncenter.org.
Weekly Meetings
Monday Looking for a place to do your internship? Contact
Tuesday
International Socialist Organization Meetings
-meeting weekly at the Thomas Merton Ctr.
730-9:30 PM
Wednesday
Fed-Up!
Write on-Letters for Prisoner Rights
7:00 PM—Thomas Merton Center
Thursday TMC schedules potlucks on this evening. Interest-
ed in having one on an issue that’s important to
you? Email [email protected]
Friday Looking for a place to volunteer on a regular basis.
Email [email protected].
Saturday
Black Voices for Peace—Vigil to End War
1:00 pm—Corner of Penn & Highland Ave.
East Liberty
Sunday
Anti-War Committee Mtg. every other week.
Economic Justice Committee - varies
Environmental Justice Committee - see pg. 8.
Monthly Recurring Meetings
First Wednesdays
Darfur Coalition Meeting
7:00—9:00 pm—2121 Murray Avenue
Second Floor—Squirrel Hill
Contact: (412) 784-0256
Pennsylvanians Against the Death Penalty
Visit PADP.org for more information.
Second Wednesdays
PUSH Meeting
6:15—8:00 pm—2101 Murray Avenue
First Floor—Squirrel Hill
Contact: [email protected]
First Thursdays
Green Party Meeting
5:00—7:30 pm—Room C
Carnegie Library—Squirrel Hill
Third Sundays
Fight for Lifers West
10 am to Noon—Crossroads Church
325 N. Highland Ave—East Liberty
Coming Soon!
Thomas Merton Award
April 13, 2013—Saturday
Soldiers & Sailors Museum
Awardee: Martin Sheen
Dear TMC Members,
Thanks to all of you who attended the annual
membership meeting on Dec. 8, 2012! Your feedback
and input for this current year's strategic plan is greatly
valued. Please take this opportunity to renew your 2013
membership if you have not already responded to your
renewal notice. See the form below, complete it and
mail it in or go to www.thomasmertoncenter.org.
If you are interested in becoming a part of the TMC
Membership Committee or helping to plan the TMC
Award events this year, please contact me at
[email protected] or by phone at 412-780-5118.
Remember, this is YOUR Thomas Merton Center! We
need your active engagement and involvement to create
a more peaceful and just world. Thanks for caring!
Joyce Rothermel, Chair
TMC Membership Committee
(Please cut the form out and mail to the address listed.)
What to share your thoughts
about The New People?
Have a comment or a
suggestion about the
newspaper?
Please take a moment and fill out
a New People Readership
Survey. Online go to:
http://tiny.cc/newpeople
Or to take the survey over the
phone, call (412-361-3022)
We hope you will take a moment
to share this information with us
so that we can improve our
publication for you!