MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
October 4, 2008

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met on October 4, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries in Tacoma, WA. Present for check-in: Sallie S., Mark, Louisa, Sally M., Colleen, Rob, Nancy, Terry, and Sheila.

AGENDA

1. HEALTH CARE (Rob)
"Critical Condition" is a POV documentary that "puts a human face on the nation's growing health care crisis by capturing the harrowing struggles of four critically ill Americans who discover that being uninsured can cost them their jobs, health, home, savings, and even their lives." The film, by Roger Weisberg, profiles four individuals in different areas of the country, and offers "a powerful, eye-opening look at the health care crisis in America. In an election season when health care reform has become one of the nation's most hotly debated issues, 'Critical Condition' lays out the human consequences of an increasingly expensive and inaccessible system." The fils is a production of Public Policy Productions Inc. in association with Thirteen/WNET New York and American Documentary | P.O.V., and was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Nathan Cummings Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the Park Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, Public Broadcasting Service, the Silverweed Foundation, Spunk Fund, and the Trull Foundation.

2. FEEDING GRACIE (Sallie)
PPJH members will be responsible for feeding on Oct. 18 and 25, during Sallie's absence for five weeks in Colorado working on the Obama campaign.

3. INTERFAITH CAMP REUNION DINNER (Sallie)
At 7:00 p.m., on Tues., Nov. 25, First United Methodist Church at 621 Tacoma Ave. S. will hold its annual interfaith Thanksgiving service. -- At 5:30 p.m., before the service, the Puget Sound Interfaith Youth Camp will hold its annual reunion dinner at the church. -- Kevin Howell is organizing the dinner and needs help in the kitchen. -- To reserve a spot volunteering to help with the dinner, e-mail Sallie at SallieS@associatedministries.org at your earliest convenience.

4. INTERFAITH CAMP IS IN THE RED (Sallie)
Wrapping up its very successful third season, the Puget Sound Interfaith Youth Camp needs some help in paying a few bills. (The idea for the camp emerged years ago from a PPJH meeting at which the film "Trust Me" was shown.) Please send much appreciated donation checks for this purpose, made out to Associated Ministries (memo line: Interfaith Camp), to Sallie Shawl, c/o Associated Ministries, 1224 South "I" St., Tacoma, WA 98405.

5. JEFF HALPER COMES TO TACOMA (Nancy)
The famous co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) is coming to Tacoma next week. Jeff Halper, an Israeli-American activist who was nominated by the American Friends Service Committee for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Palestinian intellectual and activist Ghassan Andoni) for his work "to liberate both the Palestinian and the Israeli people from the yoke of structural violence" and "to build equality between their people by recognizing and celebrating their common humanity," will speak on Tues., Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m. in Trimble Forum on the campus of the University of Puget Sound (to the left of the Wheelock Student Center). Halper will also report on the Free Gaza Movement, in which he courageously participated. He is the author of Between Redemption and Revival: The Jewish Yishuv in Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century (Westview, 1991) and An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel (Pluto Press, 2008). The event Tuesday night in Tacoma is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to support ICAHD's important work. -- See here for a 2006 video interview with Jeff Halper.  --  Please help publicize and recruit for this unusual event, which has been organized on short notice but that represents a rare opportunity to encounter an extraordinary individual.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. ACLU AND FELONS' RIGHT TO VOTE (Nancy).
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has produced a two-page flier entitled "How Citizens with Felony Convictions Can Restor Their Right to Vote in Washington." This is available as an online PDF file here.

2. BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS (Louisa)
First United Methodist Church, 621 Tacoma Ave. S., will hold a Blessing of the Animals on Sun., Oct. 5, at 1:00 p.m. Pastor Melvin Woodworth will bless pets as the Feast of Saint Francis is celebrated. "Firs, fins, feathers, and skin. Everyone is welcome -- even people." (The feast of day of Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226) is actually today, Oct. 4.)

3. ASSOCIATED MINISTRIES HUNGER WALK (Sallie S.)
On Sun., Oct. 5, volunteers should come to First Christian Church, 602 North Orchard, Tacoma, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to help prepare for the Associated Ministries Hunger Walk, the largest such event west of the Mississippi. Local feeding programs and international relief organizations will benefit. The event will feature music, food, and entertainment. For more information, contact Sandra Sanderson, Associated Ministries Events Coordinator, at 253-383-3056, x115 or email hunger@associatedministries.org.

4. DIGGING DEEPER LIX (Mark)
On Mon., Oct. 6, Andrew Bacevich's new book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (Metropolitan Books, August 2008), will be examined at United for Peace of Pierce County's Monday evening book discussion group.  --  Andrew Bacevich, who is professor of history and international relations at Boston University, is a graduate of West Point who has become one of the nation's most important critics of militarism.  --  In The Limits of Power, Bacevich argues that for a return to "realism," by which he means, among other things, "respect for power and its limits; sensitivity to unintended consequences; aversion to claims of American exceptionalism; skepticism of easy solutions, especially those involving the use of force; and a conviction that, at the end of the day, the books will have to balance."  --  Digging Deeper meets Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma)

5. WPSR PROGRAM ON "PREVENTING CHEMICAL THREATS TO CHILDREN'S HEALTH: SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND POLICY" (Rob)
At the University of Washington-Tacoma Room GWP 320 (Tacoma Room), 1900 Commerce Street, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 25. Rob is involved in organizing and presenting this Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility-presented and U.S. EPA-supported training focusing on the relationship between environmental exposures and children's health that includes expert presentations on routes of exposure to common toxic chemicals, key concepts concerning the unique vulnerabilities of children, etc. Registration costs $15. For more information see here or contact Cherie Eichholz at cherie@wpsr.org or 206-547-2630.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark