Meeting notes for People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

December 17, 2005

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing met at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries, 1224 South "I" St., Tacoma, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005. Present for check-in: Sallie S., Rob, Sheila, Kyle, Louisa (and Paxil), Sol, Vivi, Nancy, Scott, Kathryn, Mark, Colleen, Laura, and Karen K., with special treats brought by Karen H. (unable to stay because she's under the weather).

AGENDA

1. Conversation Cafe (Mark)
Question to be discussed at 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 20 at the Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma: What is your "burn" (i.e. passion)? Scott agreed to facilitate.

2. Feb. 4, 2006 Leonard Peltier event (Sol)
Sol, who has agreed to act as liaison, connected with Sheila, who worked on organizing PPJH's participation in the event last year, re: preparations for work on the dinner that will be held in the late afternoon and evening of Saturday, Feb. 4, at First United Methodist Church, after the rally and march; Sheila and Sol will work out details. See here for more information on the event.

3. Revision of plans for Jan. 7 pre-Peltier event (Laura)
Jan. 7, 2006, was chosen as a date to show the 1992 film "Incident at Oglala," about the Leonard Peltier case, at Guadalupe House, after a potluck lunch, and some pre-event publicity has been sent out, but a conflict has arisen: on Jan. 7 there will be a town hall meeting on "Ending the Iraq War" at the Washington State History Museum (1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma), circa 1:00 p.m, with breakout workshop groups later meeting at First United Methodist (423 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma), circa 3:00 p.m. Decision: Given this development, there will still be soup & a potluck at Guadalupe House at 12:00 noon on Sat., Jan. 7, and possibly a showing of "Incident at Oglala" if there is a demand for that; otherwise, people can go the "Ending the Iraq War" event. Kathryn and Sol volunteer to try and coordinate a later showing of "Incident at Oglala" at First United Methodist around 3:00 p.m.

4. Jan. 15 Martin Luther King event (Sallie)
An event on "King's Legacy for Peace" will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Sun., Jan. 15, at King's Books; a save-the-date e-mail will go out next week. Another message with full details will follow later. Sallie solicited and organized volunteers for poster distribution.

5. Plea (Karen K.)
Karen urged calling legislators to stop drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Phone numbers: Sen. Patty Murray (202-224-2621) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (202-224-3441); Adam Smith (202-225-8901); Norm Dicks (202-225-5916). -- Background from Zachary Coile, "Face-off over Arctic Drilling Funds in Defense Spending Bill: Opponents Outraged over What They View as Backdoor Tactic," San Francisco Chronicle (Dec. 17, 2005): "Senate Republican leaders are setting up a final showdown next week over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by tying oil drilling in Alaska to a popular defense spending bill that would also pay for the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina relief. -- The new strategy could boost the chances of approving oil development in the Alaskan refuge by forcing lawmakers who oppose drilling to make a tough vote against a $453 billion bill that would pay for U.S. military operations for the coming year and aid to hurricane victims in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. -- The drilling measure appeared all but dead for the year this month, but the new tactic has raised the possibility that Congress could decide one of the most contentious environmental issues in a generation before they leave for the holiday recess. -- Democrats and environmental groups were outraged at what they called a backdoor effort to pass drilling, which has been blocked by House Republican moderates who refused to support an earlier strategy that included the authority to drill in the Arctic refuge as part of a major budget bill. . . . The new strategy -- crafted by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who has been lobbying to open the refuge to drilling for 25 years -- still faces major pitfalls, and even GOP leaders said Friday it may not succeed. . . . If Stevens succeeds, Democrats are pledging to filibuster the bill. A filibuster would force Stevens and other drilling proponents to come up with the 60 votes needed to cut off debate and reach final passage. . . . Some Republicans are already balking at the idea of attaching drilling to a military spending bill. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has opposed drilling in the past, said tying the drilling provision to funding for U.S. troops was 'disgusting.' . . . If Stevens succeeds in attaching drilling to the defense bill, the House could vote on the package as soon as Sunday. Senators said they are expecting a final vote on the bill early next week."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. "Digging Deeper," the book-discussion group of United for Peace of Pierce County, will read Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilization (Knopf, 2005) over four weeks, beginning on Mon., Jan. 9, at 7:00 p.m., at the Mandolin Café (3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma). (Mark)

2. The Earth Charter, which PPJH formally endorsed in February 2003, will resume its regular place on the PPJH weekly agenda. (Sheila)

3. Louisa Beal and Steve Larson leave this afternoon (Dec. 17) to travel to New Orleans to work with Common Ground Collective in Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. (Louisa)

4. To estimate the sustainability "footprint" of your existence here on Planet Earth, see here. (Sol)

Respectfully,
Mark