MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing (Tacoma, WA)
February 13, 2010

PPJH convened in regular meeting at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries, in Tacoma, WA.

Present for the 10:20 a.m. check-in (which began at 10:25 a.m., five minutes late): Louisa, Dorothy, Mark, Sol, Sallie, Sheila, and Colleen.

AGENDA

1. PPJH FUNDRAISER DATE (Sallie)
It looks like the May 1 date is out; another will have to be chosen.

2. FAIR ELECTIONS NOW ACT (Dorothy)
H.R. 1826, the Fair Elections Now Act, is a response to the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC (Jan. 21, 2010), freeing corporations from limitations on spending in political campaigns, and has now more some 134 co-sponsors. Locally, Adam Smith (D-WA 9th) is a co-sponsor; Norm Dicks (D-WA 6th) is not. For more on the response to the Citizens United ruling, see here.

3. WASHINGTON PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS (Louisa)
(a) Washington State Senate Bill 5912 would provide public financing of judicial campaigns for the Washington State Supreme Court, something Louisa characterized as "a foot in the door" for public campaign financing. She attended legislative hearings last week in Olympia, and reported that the bill's only opposition comes from concern about how it is financed, not on the bill's principles. But the bill needs to get out of the Senate Rules Committee by Tues., Feb. 16. See here for a message from Craig Salins of Washington Public Campaigns for how you can ask Senate leaders to move the bill to the floor for a vote.
(b) The Pierce County chapter of Washington Public Campaigns, of the Pierce County chapter of which Louisa is now chair, will hold a party/networking event at Tacoma Unitarian Universalist on Sat., Mar. 27, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. to raise consciousness about the importance of public financing of campaigns. Discussion of the event.

4. PUGET SOUND INTERFAITH YOUTH CAMP (Sallie)
The scheduled meeting to plan for 2011 took place last week and made progress.

A FEW RANDOM REFERRALS

1. COMING TOGETHER 4, a national interfaith student leadership gathering, is taking place at the University of Puget Sound this weekend (Feb. 13-15); previous gatherings have been at Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Southern California.

2. RONALD MALLETT BELIEVES TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE. The Univ. of Connecticut physics professor is an expert on general relativity and quantum gravity and has been working for some time on plans for a time machine, which has been the subject of a segment on "This American Life."

3. WEATHERWAX FOREST at Ocean Shores, WA, is a unique coastal rain forest.

4. VANCOUVER PROTESTERS are not getting much U.S. mainstream media coverage.

5. ACLU-WASHINGTON will hold its annual membership conference in Seattle on Feb. 27.

6. LEONARD COHEN can be seen here singing "ANTHEM" in 2009 (I think).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. DIGGING DEEPER BOOKS FOR FEBRUARY (Mark)
UFPPC'S Digging Deeper has announced the reading selections for February for its Monday night book discussion circle, held Monday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12 St., Tacoma). On Mon., Feb. 15: Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others (Picador, 2003).

2. ASSOCIATED MINISTRIES ANNUAL MEETING (Sallie)
The "Three Interfaith Amigos," Sheikh Jamal Rahman, Rabbi Ted Falcon, and Pastor Don Mackenzie will attend the Associated Ministries Annual Meeting on Wed., Feb. 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at Catholic Community Services, 1323 S. Yakima. The event will also include lunch, a short business meeting to elect new board members, and recognition of years of service and outstanding volunteers. Reservations required -- contact Michele Cotton at michelec@associatedministries.org or 2530383-3056 ext. 107.

3. FRIENDS OF SABEEL CONFERENCE IN SEATTLE (Nancy)
On Feb. 19-20, 2010, the premiere event of Sabeel Puget Sound, a member of Friends of Sabeel-North America working with and on behalf of Palestinian Christians for justice through nonviolence in the Holy Land, will be held at Saint Mark’s Cathedral (1245 Tenth Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102), featuring internationally acclaimed speakers and activists. The conference title is "The United States, Israel and Palestine: What Does Justice Require of US?" Over two days the situation in Israel and Palestine today, the experience of occupation, the role of U.S. policy, and nonviolent strategies for peace will be explored. The dinner and keynote address, by Naim Ateek on Fri. evening, Feb. 19, has been moved to University Presbyterian Church (4540 15th Avenue, N.E., Seattle, WA 98105), a few miles from St. Mark's. Among the other speakers are Neve Gordon, Kathleen and Bill Christison, Mark Braverman, Jeff Halper, Steve Niva, Cindy and Craig Corrie, and Tom Nelson. Registration for the full conference is $75, which includes two lunches and a dinner. For more information, see here.

4. PICKING COTTON: OUR STORY OF INJUSTICE AND REDEMPTION (Sallie)
On Thurs., Mar. 4, at 10:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 p.m., the Integrity of Justice Project at The Evergreen State College-Tacoma an event entitled "Convicting the Innocent: Why Does It Happen? How Can We Prevent It," featuring Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton. Cotton was convicted of raping Thompson based on her positive identification, but his innocence was later proved by DNA evidence and he was freed after serving eleven years in prison. They met two years later and "forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives." More information available here.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark