MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING
August 18, 2007

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met at 10:00 a.m. on August 18, 2007 at Associated Ministries. Present for check-in were Sol, Mark, Nancy, Joel, Scott, Ray, Vivi, Sheila, Kyle, and Sallie S.

AGENDA

1. HIGH SCHOOL COUNTER-RECRUITMENT AND OPT-OUT FORMS (Nancy)
Nancy reported on a positive reception from many parents on Wednesday passing out opt-out forms at Mount Tahoma High School. Contact Sallie at sallies@associatedministries.org for schedule of volunteer opportunities to help with this effort. (On the subject of opt-out forms, see the front-page article in today's Washington Post.)

2. SISTER CITY IN PALESTINE (Nancy)
Discussed approaches to Tacoma's sister city committee, given that Aboud, in Palestine, does not fit stated criteria of the committee.

3. FIGHTING CO-OPTING OF SEPTEMBER 11 (Sallie S.)
Continued discussion of the possibility of organizing several projections on Tues., Sept. 11, 2007, of the 2004 three-hour BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares" in several locations, but nothing firm has been set.

4. PROTESTING BUSH'S VISIT TO BELLEVUE & SUPPORTING IMPEACHMENT DRIVE (Ray)
From 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. near the downtown Bellevue Hyatt (corner of NE 8th and Bellevue Way) a protest against President George W. Bush is being organized in support of the impeachement effort. For carpooling contact karpe-diem@att.net.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION PICNIC — Aug. 19 (Vivi)
Sun., Aug. 19, 3:00 p.m. -- picnic at Hillside Community Church (2508 S. 39th St., Tacoma, behind Borders).

2. STUDY CIRCLE ON AMERICAN IMMIGRATION POLICY -- Aug. 20 & 27 (Mark)
Continues on Mon., Aug. 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma. The books: Roger Daniels, Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants since 1882 (2004); -- Erika Lee, At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 (2003; paperback 2007); -- Lucy E. Salyer, Laws Harsh As Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law (Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1995); -- Philippe Legrain, Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them (Princeton University Press, 2007); -- Mark Steyn, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It (Regnery, 2006). For more information see here.

3. PACT/UFPPC EVENT -- AUG. 26
Preparations continue for the Aug. 26 event in People's Park from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., sponsored by Peace Action Coalition Tacoma and United for Peace of Pierce County, with the theme "another world is possible" -- a flyer has been produced and is being distributed.

4. EVENING OF POETRY AND COMMUNITY DISCUSSION -- Sept. 26
The South Sound Voices education project, in collaboration with Voices in Wartime and the Northwest SPokenword Lab (SPLAB!) presents five outstanding poets (Sam Hamill, Dunya Mikhail, Roy Seitz, Sarah Zale, and Bill Ransom) who articulate the effects of war and invite reflection on these losses and prevention of future wars at Minnaert Center for the Performing Arts, 2011 Mottman Rd. SW, Olympia, WA, in an evening of poetry and community discussion entitled "Healing the Wounds of War." Tickets $11.24; students with ID free. This event is a fundraiser for South Sound Voices. Sponsors of the event or materials include: Northwest Social Justice Fund; Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Fun. Endorsement: Voices in Wartime; Poets Against War; SPLAB!; Veterans for Peace; South Puget Sound Community College and BRICK. For more information, see here or here. Phone: 360-412-1519.

5. WESTERN WASHINGTON FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION FALL RETREAT -- Nov. 11 (Vivi)

Respectfully submitted,
Mark