MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
January 24, 2009
People for Peace, Justice and Healing met Saturday, January 24, 2009, at 10 a.m. at Associated Ministries. Present for check-in were: Sallie, Mark, Ray, Sol, Nancy, Karen K., Karen H., Jan, Terry, and Rob (comments on the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States).
AGENDA
1. TREASURER'S REPORT (Karen H.).
PPJH has $1,828.58 in the bank. PPJH will pay $50 each to Luke Smiraldo and Josh Reisberg for their performances at the Jan. 20 Inauguration Day party. Approximately $130 in contributions to be deposited.
2. SOME EVENT OR SOMETHING (Sallie).
Decided to do another dinner and film showing like last year's successful "Our Dinner with 'My Dinner with Andre.'" This time we'll show Alain Resnais's "Mon Oncle d'Amérique" (1980). Name of the event: "Our Dinner with 'My Uncle from America.'" Date and particulars to be determined later.
3. INAUGURAL BASH DEBRIEF (All).
Debrief of the successful Jan. 20 inaugural celebration at the Swiss Tavern.
4. WASHINGTON STATE SENATE RESOLUTION SUPPORTING ISRAEL (Nancy and Sallie).
Discussion of how to respond to a letter from Debbie Regala explaining her support of Washington State Senate Resolution 8602 (text appended below), which declares that Israel "is
deserving of continued and unwavering support from the United States." Consensus that non-confrontational informal responses best for now. -- BACKGROUND: PPJH adopted statements critical of Israel on Dec. 27, 2008, and Jan. 10, 2009. -- Several members of PPJH attended a meeting with representatives of Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representatives Norm Dicks and Adam Smith on Fri., Jan. 23; for a report on the meeting, see here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. CARRIE LITTLE LEADING CANDIDATE TO BE WHITE HOUSE FARMER (Sallie).
Carrie Little of Mother Earth Farm has been nominated to be White House Farmer -- and you can help her cause. -- Voting closes on Jan. 31. -- As of Jan. 24, Carrie has 2,091 votes -- 31% of the total so far, putting her in first place. -- But another candidate is a close second and more votes are needed. -- The inspirational statement nominating her can be read here. -- Voting on the web site is easy. BACKGROUND: On Oct. 9, 2008, Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma (Penguin, 2006) published an open letter entitled "Farmer in Chief" to the next president-elect calling for the appointment of a "a White House farmer" to help in "building a new American food culture" and who, inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt's White House Victory Garden in 1943, would be assigned to "tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden." Pollan says that "The president should throw his support behind a new Victory Garden movement, this one seeking 'victory' over three critical challenges we face today: high food prices, poor diets, and a sedentary population. Eating from this, the shortest food chain of all, offers anyone with a patch of land a way to reduce their fossil-fuel consumption and help fight climate change. . . . Victory Gardens offer a way to enlist Americans, in body as well as mind, in the work of feeding themselves and changing the food system." -- You can also join the Eat the View campaign to support this idea at the Eat the View web site. -- If you're on Facebook you can also join the "Friends of Carrie Anne Little for White House Farmer" group (30 friends so far).
2. DIGGING DEEPER READS CONJURING HITLER. On Mon., Jan. 26, at 7:00 p.m., UFPPC's study circle, Digging Deeper, will examine Guido Giacomo Preparata's Conjuring Hitler: How Britain and America Made the Third Reich (Pluto, 2005). Preparata taught for a number of years as a professor of political economy at UW Tacoma. His volume interprets the Weimar Republic as a "puppet regime of the West" and argues that Anglo-American financial interests backed the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. For more information, see here.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark
***
APPENDIX
[WASHINGTON STATE] SENATE RESOLUTION 8602 [PDF file]
By Senators Zarelli, Delvin, and Kline
[January 21, 2009]
WHEREAS, The United States of America and the State of Israel are nations founded by people seeking religious freedom, which triumphed in wars of independence to establish enduring democratic governments; and
WHEREAS, The first national elections in Israel took place on January 25, 1949, eight months after Israel proclaimed its independence; and
WHEREAS, These elections resulted in the creation of the Israeli parliament, called the Knesset, which then began its first session; and
WHEREAS, In the ensuing 60 years the United States and Israel have remained strong allies because of their shared interest in democracy and basic human rights, and more recently, from standing together at the forefront of a new kind of war, the war against terror; and
WHEREAS, Israel represents the strongest democracy in the Middle East, and as such is deserving of continued and unwavering support from the United States;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate recognize the 60th anniversary of the elections which created Israel's national legislative body and the 60 years of strong ties that have existed between the United States and Israel; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Prime Minister and President of Israel, the Speaker of the Knesset, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama.
I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of Senate Resolution 8602, adopted by the Senate January 21, 2009
THOMAS HOEMANN
Secretary of the Senate