april new people
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The April edition of the New People NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 1
THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE.
PITTSBURGH, PA 15224
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TMC works to build a consciousness of values and to
raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war,
poverty, racism, classism, economic justice,
oppression and environmental justice.
TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and faiths
who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to
bring about a more peaceful and just world.
War Resisters Pie Chart—See Where Your Money Really Goes
PITTSBURGH‘S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Published by the Thomas Merton Center VOL. 42 No. 4, April, 2012
- Occupy Pittsburgh Insert
In This Issue... Page #
April Showers ..........1, 6
PA State Budget ........1, 10
New Voter ID Law ..........1, 4
New Cracker Plant ..............3
Tour De Frack ..............4
Head to Chicago ..............5
Protest G8/NATO ..............5
Paul Ryan Budget ..............6
Celebrating Molly ……......7
Activist Events ..............8
Transit Hearing ..............9
Trayvon Rally CMU ..............9
We Are One Teach-In ............10
Appreciating Iran ............14
War on Hunger ............14
Gun Loopholes ............15
Activist Calendar ............16
Inequality for All: Taxes, Budget, and Voter ID
OCCUPY PITTSBURGH INSERT Produced by Occupy Pittsburgh VOL. 3 No. 4, April, 2012
It is April and taxes are due on almost all public
sector levels.
Here in Pennsylvania, Governor Corbett proposed
his version of what he thinks the budget for
Pennsylvania should be for 2012-13, which
includes the expenditure of the taxes collected
from all of us.
Many believe government resources should be
directed to the common good in order to promote
the general welfare of its people.
It was not a surprise to most of us that the
proposed balanced budget (required by state law)
contains cuts in many areas that are important to
us and many of our most vulnerable fellow
Pennsylvanians.
Projected expenditures are $27.14 billion, down by
$20 million (.1%) from this current year's
budget. (See information on page 10.)
(Continued on page 10)
This article outlines the new voter ID law. The
information was provided by the ACLU. More is
available at http:/ tinyurl.com/74ffqx7
Even if I have voted for many years at the
same precinct, will the new voter ID law
require me to show photo ID now? Yes.
Does this photo ID requirement apply to
absolutely everyone? No. There is one
exception, which is for people who have a
religious objection to having their picture taken.
Religious objectors can still vote by presenting a
valid non-photo driver‘s license or other non-
photo ID issued by the PA Department of
Transportation (PennDOT).
When does this new photo ID requirement
start? The law will be enforced for the first time
in the November 2012 election. For the April
primary election, the law calls for what‘s known
as a ―soft rollout.‖
(Continued on page 3)
April Showers
Bring Mayflowers and Taxes
What is the source of money spent by the
Federal Government?
Individual taxes at 44% constitute the
major share of the Federal money pot,
followed by Social Insurance and
Retirement Receipts at 36%. Corporate
income tax contributes 12%, excise tax 3%
and another 5% from other miscellaneous
sources. (This information is available
within the National Priorities Project /
Budget from U.S. Fiscal Year 2011,
historical tables 2.1 and 2.5).
During the 1950‘s under President
Eisenhower the highest earners paid up to
90%. Now it is 35% and only 28% on
income from dividends, mostly benefiting
the affluent sector of society. Corporate
taxes are low because of many exemptions
and loopholes, some pertaining to overseas
holdings.
(Continued on page 6)
The PA Proposed State Budget
and the Common Good
New Voter ID Law
Information from the ACLU
Page 5—On Our Way
To Chicago
How These Figures Were Determined
The War Resisters Pie Chart and
background information is online at
http:tomyurl.com/4bffro.
―Current Military‖ includes Department of
Defense ($653 billion), the military portion from
other departments ($150 billion), and an additional
$162 billion to supplement the budget‘s misleading
and vast underestimate of $38 billion for the ―war
on terror.‖
―Past Military‖ represents veteran benefits plus
80% of the interest on debt. These figures are from
an analysis of detailed tables in the ―Analytical
Perspective‖ book of the Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 2009.
- Page 7—Activist Molly Rush
Speaks Out
2 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE THOMAS MERTON CENTER
5129 PENN AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15224
Office Phone: 412-301-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540
Website: www.thomasmertoncenter.org
TMC Editorial Collective Joyce Rothermel, Jo Tavener, Diane McMahon, Martha Garvey, Rob Conroy,
Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Corey Carrington, Kenneth Miller, James Lucius,
Jordana Rosenfeld, Molly Rush, Bette McDevitt, Edith Bell
TMC Staff, Volunteers and Interns
Diane McMahon, Managing Director
Jibran Mushtaq, Thomas Merton Center Community Organizer / IT Director
Roslyn Maholland, Finance Manager, Mig Cole, Assistant Bookkeeper
Shirley Gleditsch, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Shawna Hammond, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Dolly Mason, Furniture Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Corey Carrington, Public Ally, Yiwei Zhang, Pitt MSW Intern
Jordana Rosenfeld, New People Intern
TMC Board of Directors Nina Barbuto, Rob Conroy, Kathy Cunningham,
Michael Drohan, Patrick Fenton, Carol Gonzalez, Mary Jo Guercio,
Wanda Guthrie, Shawna Hammond, Edward Kinley,
Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Francine Porter, Molly Rush
TMC Standing Committees
Board Development Committee
Recruits board members, conducts board elections
Building Committee
Oversees maintenance of 5123-5129 Penn Ave. sites
Membership Committee
Coordinates membership goals, activities, appeals, and communications
40th Anniversary Committee
Planning activities to celebrate TMC’s 40th year of service
Editorial Collective Plans, produces and distributes the NewPeople newspaper
Finance Committee
Ensures financial stability and accountability of TMC
Personnel Committee
Oversees staff needs, evaluation, and policies
Project Committee
Oversees project applications, guidelines, and policies
Special Event Committees
Plan and oversee TMC fundraising events with members and friends
Anti-War Committee [email protected]
www.pittsburghendthewar.org
Association of US Catholic Priests
Book‗Em
(Books to Prisoners)
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
CodePink
(Women for Peace)
[email protected], 412-389-3216
www.codepink4peace.org
Diversity Footprint
(art, justice, community)
East End Community Thrift Shop
412-361-6010, [email protected]
Economic Justice Committee
Fight for Lifers West
412-361-3022 to leave a message
http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up
(prisoner support and advocacy)
412-802-8575, [email protected]
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
In Sisterhood:
The Women‘s Movement in Pgh 412-621-3252, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop
Community Alliance
412-867-9213
Pittsburgh Campaign for
Democracy NOW!
412-422-5377, [email protected]
www.pcdn.org
Pittsburgh Works!
(labor history documentaries)
Roots of Promise
724-327-2767, 412-596-0066
(Network of Spiritual Progressives)
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
www.pittsburghdarfur.org
Urban Arts Project
Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook
Call 412-363-7472
www.progressivepghnotebook.blip.tv
Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens
Group/ Roots of Promise
724-327-2767 murrysvillemarcel-
The Pittsburgh Totebag Project
P.O. Box 99204, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
www.tote4pgh.org
The Africa Project
412-657-8513, [email protected] www.africaproject.net
Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office
412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org
Amnesty International [email protected] www.amnestypgh.org
Association of Pittsburgh Priests
Molly 412-343-3027 [email protected]
The Big Idea Bookstore
412-OUR-HEAD www.thebigideapgh.org
Black Voices for Peace
Gail Austin 412-606-1408
Cease Fire PA
http://www.ceasefirepa.org
Global Solutions Pittsburgh
412-471-7852 [email protected] www.globalsolutionspgh.org
Citizens for Social Responsibility
of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, [email protected]
Haiti Solidarity Committee
[email protected] 412-271-8414
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
PA United for a Single-Payer
Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org
www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 2102 Murray Avenue Pgh, Pa 15217
412-421-4242
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty
Martha Connelly (412) 361-7872
Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network
412-621-9230/[email protected]
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi
412-761-4319
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition
412-563-1519 [email protected]
Pittsburgh Independent Media Center
[email protected] www.indypgh.org
North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition 412-369-3961
www.northhillscoalition.com
Pittsburgh North People for Peace
412-367-0383 [email protected]
Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee
[email protected] www.pittsburgh-psc.org
Raging Grannies
412-963-7163, [email protected] www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 [email protected]
School of the Americas Watch of W. PA 412-371-9722, [email protected]
United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org
Urban Bikers
Veterans for Peace
Voices for Animals
[email protected] 1-877-321-4VFA
Women‘s International League for
Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 [email protected]
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HOURS of OPERATION
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CONTACT INFORMATION
General information……….………...www.bit.ly/merton-contact
Submissions …………………...…...www.bit.ly/submitnewpeople
Events & Calendar Items ……….…www.bit.ly/merton-calendar
The East End Community Thrift Shop
FASHION SHOW IS ALMOST HERE!
APRIL 14, 2012 East Liberty Presbyterian Church Social Hall
116 South Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206
For more information call Shirley at (412) 361-6010.
TMC COMMITTEES & PROJECTS
11 am to 2 pm
Featuring volunteers
and friends as models
of Thrifty fashions!
$15 Admission
$5 Low Income
All funds raised
benefit the Thrift
Store operations.
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 3
(Continued from page 1)
Under the new law, is any photo ID
acceptable? No. Only some photo ID‘s are approved under the
law and if you don‘t have one from the approved
list you will not be allowed to cast a regular
ballot. So, for instance, a valid driver‘s license
with your picture on it from another state will
not be accepted.
What are the approved types of photo ID?
Here‘s the list, but pay very careful attention
because there are rules that even some of these
may not be allowed.
▪ A current Pennsylvania driver's license, or one
that expired after November 2011
▪ A current non-driver Pennsylvania photo ID
card issued by PennDOT, or one that expired
after November 2011
▪ A current U.S. passport
▪ A U.S. military or Pennsylvania National
Guard photo ID (but the fine print in the new
law says that the ID must include ―a designation
that the expiration date is indefinite‖)
▪ A U.S. government-issued photo ID, e.g.,
agency employee
▪ A photo ID issued by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania (the only one we are aware of
would be a state employee ID)
▪ A current employee photo ID issued by a
Pennsylvania county, city, town, township or
borough
▪ A current photo ID issued by a Pennsylvania
college or university (but the fine print says that
only ID‘s containing an expiration date can be
used)
▪ A current photo ID issued by a licensed
nursing, personal care or assisted-living facility
(but again the fine print says that only ID‘s
containing an expiration date can be used)
So if I have one of the photo ID‘s listed above
(and it satisfies the fine print), will I definitely
be allowed to vote without a problem?
Probably, but not necessarily. There are a few ways that your vote could be
challenged. The name on the ID has to
―substantially conform‖ with the name on the
voter registration record. If you got married and
change your name or you use a nickname on one
but your given name on the other you are likely
to have the ballot challenged. Also, the picture
in the ID must look substantially like you.
So any current driver‘s license will work?
No, only ones from Pennsylvania.
If I have a student photo ID could I still have
a problem voting in November? Yes. Only student photo ID‘s from accredited
Pennsylvania colleges and universities are
approved, and even then the ID must have on it
an expiration date. Therefore, if you have a
University of Pittsburgh photo ID, and it
contains an expiration date, you should have no
problem. But if you go to Penn State, Drexel or
LaSalle, and the photo ID does not have the
expiration date, you cannot use it to vote in
November. Check your Pennsylvania college or
university student ID right now and if it does not
have an expiration date you will need to get a
different, approved photo ID (see below).
If I‘m an elderly or disabled person in a
nursing or personal care home, can I vote
without a photo ID? No. The photo ID requirements apply to everyone.
If I‘m in a nursing or personal care home
that issues a photo ID, can I use that? Maybe.
You must be in a facility licensed by the state
and the photo ID must have an expiration date.
If either of these conditions isn‘t satisfied, the
ID will not be accepted when you go to vote.
What if I‘m disabled and cannot travel to get
a photo ID? If you are disabled and your
polling place is not accessible, you are eligible
to vote by alternative ballot. The new voter ID
law doesn‘t require you to show proof of
identification if you vote by alternative ballot.
Can I use my welfare or public assistance
card to vote? No. None of the welfare or public assistance cards is
an approved form of photo ID.
Poll workers know me at my polling place, so
won‘t they just let me vote even if I don‘t
have the right photo ID? No.
They cannot. The law says that poll workers
―shall examine the proof of identification
presented by the elector and sign an affidavit
stating that this has been done.‖ So poll workers
open themselves up to a perjury prosecution if
they let people vote without proper ID. In the
legislative debates over the law, it was said that
poll workers couldn‘t let even family members
vote if they didn‘t have the right photo ID.
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS
Supporters of the law say no one will be
refused the right to vote on Election Day,
even if they don‘t have the right photo ID. Is
that true? Yes and no. If you don‘t have an approved photo ID you will
have to vote by ―provisional ballot,‖ but that
means there‘s a strong chance the vote will not
be counted (see below).
What does it mean to vote by ―provisional
ballot?‖ If you go to vote on Election Day and
you do not have an approved form of photo ID
or there is some other problem with it, you will
be given a ―provisional ballot.‖ You will not be
allowed to vote on an electronic voting machine.
You will then fill out this paper ―provisional
ballot,‖ but it will not be counted unless within 6
days you can get and present to your county (or
Philadelphia) elections bureau an approved
photo ID. It will be close to impossible to get a
new, approved photo ID in 6 days.
Aren‘t provisional ballots counted and just as
good as a regular ballot? No and no.
Provisional ballots will only be counted if you
can present an approved photo ID to your
county elections board within 6 days of the
election (see previous question).
Where can I find my County Board of
Elections? For a listing of all County Boards of
Election in the state go to www.votespa.com.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
Do I need to show ID to vote by absentee
ballot? Unless you are a military or overseas
voter applying for an absentee ballot, you must
prove your identity by providing one of the
following on your application for an absentee
ballot: Your driver‘s license number, the last
four digits of your Social Security
number (if you don‘t have a driver‘s
license) , a copy of any photo ID that
would be acceptable if you were voting
in person, or a non-photo driver‘s license
or other non-photo ID issued by
PennDOT (if you have a religious
objection to being photographed).
What happens if my absentee ballot is
rejected? If you don‘t prove your
identify properly, or your proof can‘t be
verified by the County Board of
Elections, you will get a notice from the
Board (along with the absentee ballot)
that you must provide acceptable proof
or your absentee ballot won‘t count. You
have six calendar days after an election
to do this.
GETTING APPROVED PHOTO ID
So if I don‘t have an approved form of
photo ID, how can I get one?
You can apply to PennDOT for a photo
ID to use for voting only by submitting
an application containing a signed
declaration, under oath or affirmation, that you
don‘t have an acceptable form of ID in order to
vote.
How much will it cost me to get a photo ID
just to vote? The ID itself is free, but you may
have to pay to get the necessary documents, like
an official birth certificate, and of course for any
postage and transportation costs. Getting an
official Pennsylvania birth certificate will cost
about $10, and up to $45 in other states.
Where can I find the nearest PennDOT
office? A listing of all PennDOT offices around
the state is available here: www.dot.state.pa.us.
What documents will I need in order to get a
PennDOT ID card for voting? You must
produce an official Social Security card AND
one of the following types of identification:
▪ An official birth certificate, i.e., one that has a
―raised seal.‖ (You can‘t use a photocopy or a
hospital registration)
▪ U.S. citizenship certificate
▪ Naturalization certificate
▪ Valid U.S. passport
Unless you‘re a naturalized U.S. citizen, the
only document most people are likely to have is
the birth certificate. Additionally, you will need
to present two forms of proof of residency from
the following list: tax records, lease agreement,
mortgage documents, W-2 form, current gun/
firearm permit, and current utility bill.
Where can I find out what I need to do to get
a new or replacement Social Security card?
Please note that Social Security card is only
needed to obtain a PennDOT ID card – not to
vote. You can find out how to get a new or
replacement Social Security card at
http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber.
So if I have a birth certificate I should be able
to get a PennDOT photo ID? It‘s not just any
birth certificate. It has to be a ―raised seal‖
certificate, which is the official one issued by
the state. It cannot be a photocopy of that and it
cannot be a hospital certificate or registration.
But if you have the ―raised seal‖ birth
certificate, the official Social Security card and
the two proofs of residency you should be able
to get the PennDOT photo ID.
What if I‘m homeless and don‘t have proof of
residency? You should be able to present a
letter from a homeless shelter saying you are
staying there. If PennDOT officials don‘t accept
that, contact the ACLU (contact information
below).
Produced by the ACLU of Pennsylvania .
For more information about the voter ID law,
contact the ACLU of Pennsylvania at
(717) 238-2258 or [email protected].
New Photo ID Voter Law
4 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
A group of grassroots organizers from the
shale fields of Western Pennsylvania and
neighboring states, concerned about the negative
effects of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) and
its supporting infrastructure, are planning a 14-
day bike ride from Western PA to Washington,
D.C. from July 15 - 28.
Michael Bagdes-Canning, an organizer of the
event, reports; ―We are planning concerts,
increasing public awareness, encouraging
activism, collecting testimony, circulating a
petition, and, finally, meeting with
our elected officials from a bike
seat.‖
Jason Bell, another organizer,
continues, ―Traveling by bike
connects you to a place that no other
mode of transportation does. It
allows you to see people, land, and
even time, from a new perspective.
There is something inherently human
about the experience, and this is
what we want to do—highlight action in
motion.‖
Jason continues, ―This is really the heart of
this event. We are using hand signed petitions,
human powered transportation, and showcasing
the human spirit to act and overcome.‖
The organizers are gathering personal
accounts into a storybook that will be presented
to different bodies in Washington. ―We want
people to know that they aren‘t alone in this and
to aid them in discovering the strength to turn
their voices into a powerful story‖ added Mike.
Although Mike and Jason can be easily
distracted by the promise of a ride through
quaint river towns and some of the most
spectacular landscapes that the east coast has to
offer, they quickly return to their focus, and the
reason for the ride.
―The outdoor heritage of Butler is being
fractured by the gas industry and it is a harbinger
of what‘s to come in the shale fields of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and
Virginia if people don‘t stand up.‖ states Mike.
―It is endangering our health, our rights, and
the long-term sustainability of our major
economies,‖ says Jason. ―We believe that once
people see the human cost, they will wake up
and deal with it in a meaningful way.‖
More information about the bike tour is
available online at www.tourdefrack.com.
By John Detwiler
Shell Oil grabbed headlines with plans for
a new ‗cracker‘ plant, for turning Marcellus
Shale ‗natural gas liquids‘ into petro
chemicals, to be built on a brownfield site in
Beaver County.
Breathless coverage in the mainstream press
implied that the plant is a ‗done deal.‘ Yet all
that actually happened was that Shell signed a
‗land option agreement‘ with the occupants of
the site (Horsehead Corp., which had already
taken steps to leave).
No terms were disclosed, but the agreement
provides Shell an option to buy the property
and (apparently) a year to decide. Since
Horsehead wasn‘t swamped with buyers, Shell
needn‘t have paid a lot for the option, nor (we
assume) would it lock-in a generous price at
which to consummate the purchase. So Shell
probably hasn‘t spent much money, but it has
bought a strong grip around Gov. Tom
Corbett‘s political throat.
While Mr. Corbett leaped forward to take
credit for winning the site selection, Shell‘s
own version of the story shows that it has not
yet begun to squeeze. In its March 15 press
release, Shell said, ―The next steps for this
project include additional environmental
analysis of the preferred Pennsylvania site
[and] continued evaluation of the economic
viability of the project.‖
Shell went on, ―We look forward to working
with communities in Pennsylvania … as we
continue our efforts.‖ In plain language, Shell
is staking out the grounds on which the real
negotiations will soon begin: environmental
and economic concessions. Similarly,
working with elected officials is
the industry‘s code (familiar to all, from the
Marcellus Shale Coalition) for dealing behind
closed doors.
As Shell‘s preferred site, Pennsylvania gets
to be first in the barrel, while Ohio and West
Virginia stand in reserve, helping Shell apply
the heat. Merely to get into that barrel,
Governor Corbett has (Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review states):
Guaranteed zero state and local
taxes for 15 years, by re-defining
the Keystone Opportunity
Zone. That is: no property tax, no
corporate net income, capital
stock and franchise, sales and use
taxes — no taxes at all.
Set aside $12 million for
additional sweeteners.
Agreed to keep the
negotiations secret. (Secret from
the citizens, that is. Shell, on the
other hand, knows all about Mr.
Corbett‘s $12 million sugar
bowl.)
By making the deal his to lose, Mr. Corbett
has put himself just where Shell wants
him. He has already claimed credit for ‗jobs‘,
and for proving that his no-severance-tax
position is delivering on its trickle-down
promises. (In fact, not only has Shell not
obligated itself to deliver those alleged jobs, it
hasn‘t even needed to speculate about them in
public. All the jobs talk is coming from
industry fronts, like the American Chemistry
Council, and from politicians themselves,
including democratic state representative
leader Jay Costa.)
The governor has backed himself into a
corner with no choice but to give Shell
whatever it wants in order to keep the happy
talk flowing. And we need only to look at
Ireland, Nigeria, and other regions ‗blessed‘
with fossil hydrocarbons, for a glimpse of how
‗whatever Shell wants‘ can become reality.
Article submitted by John Detwiler, local
Pittsburgh environmental justice activist.
Here We Go Again. Shell Targets Western PA for ‗Cracker‘ Site;
Corbett Claims Credit for Jobs, and Promises ‗No Taxes.‘
Issues That Need to be Raised
Before Shell’s Cracker Plant
Is Considered for Beaver PA
* What are the number of long-term local jobs
that a cracker plant provides?
* What other petrochemical companies will be
drawn to the area for use of products made by
cracker plan and by-products of natural gas
fracking?
* What kind of jobs will these plants provide?
Chemists and engineers or working class jobs
requiring only high school diplomas? How many
of each type of job will be provided?
* How will local working class families be able
to afford the education to get these white collar
jobs?
* How much in local tax funds will be given to
companies to locate their companies here?
* What kinds of demands are the cracker plant
companies making related to shaping local
regulations that safeguard water and air quality?
* What kind of regulations and oversight
mechanisms are necessary to safeguard the local
environment? Is the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) equipped to handle oversight of a
new cracker plant?
* Is it required that the EPA regulate operations?
* What is the EPA‘s track record of regulating
cracker plants?
* What is the track record of Shell in Texas and
Louisiana to date? What has happened in these
petrochemical zones as it relates to jobs, wages,
land depreciation, pollution, illnesses, disasters,
and leaks?
* What do states like New York do to protect
themselves from cracker plant impacts? Have
moratoriums been instituted, independent pre-
approval studies been underwritten by health
agencies, etc.?
(Questions provided by Jo Tavener.)
Taken from Sierra Club
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 5
Announced by President Obama,
the G8/NATO meeting promised to
be the biggest thing to hit Chicago
since the 1968 Democratic National
Convention. NATO (the North
American Treaty Organization) and
the G8 (the leadership of the world's
eight largest economies) were to
meet in Chicago the same weekend.
This dual convergence of the forces
of war and poverty was expected to
draw tens of thousands of activists
from around the country and from
around the world for a nationally
permitted demonstration from May
18-20. But, apparently, someone
from among the "powers that be"
blinked. On the afternoon of
Monday, March 5, the White House
announced that the G8 summit was
being moved from the rough and
tumble of the Windy City to the
secluded, sylvan presidential retreat
of Camp David in Maryland.
G8 may have "chickened out", but
NATO is still planning to meet in
Chicago. So are we, activists from
around the globe. The Thomas
Merton Center (TMC) Anti-War
Committee (AWC) is organizing
transportation so that interested
Pittsburghers can participate in
the rally and march on Sunday,
May 20. We will be there to protest
NATO, which serves as the military
arm of what the mainstream media
usually call the "world
community.‖ In fact, the term
"world community" is a euphemism
for the United States and its
normally subservient Western
European "allies.‖ Despite the fact
that the G8 has decided to turn tail
and run into the Maryland woods,
we will be shouting down its policy
of austerity for the 99% so that the
1% can continue to wallow in
luxury.
The travel arrangements are as
follows: vans chartered by the
TMC-AWC will leave Pittsburgh
on Saturday evening, May 19,
travel all night to Chicago,
participate in the rally, and
march, and then depart from
Chicago sometime Sunday
evening, and arrive back in
Pittsburgh in the early hours of
Monday morning, May 21.
The fare will be $55, but a
number of half-price scholarship
seats will be available for persons
of limited incomes. For further
information visit
www.pittsburghendthewar.org. NATO was founded in 1949
ostensibly to counter the armies of
the former Soviet Union, then
stationed in central and eastern
Europe. Of course, the fact that
Russia, the political and military
center of the USSR, is located in
Europe, at least partially explains
why its armies were located there.
When the Soviet Union collapsed
and disappeared in the early 1990s,
so did the reason for the existence of
NATO. Nevertheless, some 20 years
later, NATO is still with us, and
more active than ever.
Indeed, the first time that NATO
actually used military force was in
1995, a few years after the demise
of the USSR, when it intervened in
the conflict in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. This was a time when
the former Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia was breaking apart and
several of its constituent republics
were seceding.
What was happening was a civil
war with the Yugoslav central
government, located in Serbia,
resorting to warfare to hold the
nation together, much as the United
States government did in 1861-
1865. A few years later, in 1999,
NATO, at the behest of U.S.
President Bill Clinton, launched a
massive 78- day bombing campaign
against Serbia which, among other
objectives, targeted civilian
infrastructure such as bridges and
power plants in the capital city of
Belgrade.
The stated purpose of that
campaign was to protect the
predominately Muslim population of
the province of Kosovo, which at
the time was attempting to secede
from Yugoslavia. Ironically, the
majority of Serb massacres of
Kosovars occurred after the
bombing campaign began, and in
retaliation for the bombing.
NATO's most recent military
adventure involved its campaign last
year to "protect" anti-Gaddafi
civilians in Libya by bombing pro-
Gaddafi civilians. To paraphrase
Napoleon, the pig in George
Orwell's Animal Farm: All civilians
are equal; but some civilians are
more equal than others.
The core principle of NATO is
contained in Article 5 of the North
Atlantic Treaty wherein members
agree that "an armed attack against
one or more of them in Europe or
North American shall be considered
an attack against all of them" and
that such an attack entitles them to
exercise the right of either
individual or collective self-defense
recognized by Article 51 of the
Charter of the United Nations.
Since the September 11, 2001,
attacks upon the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon, NATO has
used Article 5 as a justification for
participating in various ways in the
U.S. so-called "war on terror".
(Continued on page 15)
Join Us on the Bus to Chicago in Support of the 99%
By Michael Drohan
On Sunday March 18, more than 30 anti-war
activists gathered at Pitt Student Union for a
Forum on U.S. wars around the globe and how
to resist the global attack on the 99 percent. The
Forum began with presentations by five
panelists on some of the wars that the U.S. is
engaged in. Carlos Brossard of Black Voices for
Peace spoke about the Africa Strike Force,
organized out of Stuttgart and Southern Italy.
The strike force identifies situations in Africa
which may endanger U.S. access to natural
resources and indicates when military
intervention is appropriate. Brossard mentioned
specifically the material coltan, an essential
ingredient of cell phones, that comes from the
Congo. Preservation of access to this natural
resource is high on U.S. interests in Africa.
Karina Goulordava of Students for Justice in
Palestine (SJP) at Pitt spoke about U.S. war
against Palestinians. The U.S. gives annually $3
billion of US taxpayer money to Israel to fund
its military occupation of Palestine. One of the
most ominous developments in regard to Israel/
Palestine, she emphasized, was the ambition of
Israel to become a member state of NATO. If
Israel is admitted to the NATO exclusive club,
then this organization of 28 European states
would be obliged to assist Israel should
it launch an attack on Iran and Iran retaliated.
Also, were membership of NATO to materialize,
Israeli troops in Palestine could be replaced by
NATO troops, making the occupation of
Palestine a direct enterprise of the U.S. and its
NATO allies. At present Israel joins NATO in
military exercises in the region, but, due mainly
to Turkey, it has not succeeded in gaining
membership.
Helen Gerhardt, a veteran of the Iraqi War,
spoke as a member of Occupy Pittsburgh. She
told the story of a class action suit brought
against the Titan Corporation in Iraq for
atrocities committed in Iraq. The class action
suit was registered in a court in California but
sadly on June 27,2011 the U.S. Supreme Court
dismissed the case. This story illustrates the
impunity with which contractor companies such
as Titan and Blackwater Act in the war zone of
Iraq. The war on Iraq was a united enterprise of
the military-industrial-judicial complex of the
US to gain control over the oil and other
resources of the Middle East. For the
reconstruction of Iraq, U.S. taxpayers paid $9
billion. However, there is scant record of how it
was used other than that the monies were given
to U.S. military contractors. Much of this money
flowed back into the U.S. into the coffers of the
corporate military contractors.
Tayfun Gol of the Answer Coalition in
Pittsburgh made a presentation on Iran and the
attacks of the US/Israel on that country. It is a
mistake to believe that the war against Iran has
not yet begun, Tayfun asserted. In the case of
Iran, the first stage of the war is the economic
embargo. In this stage the objective is to destroy
the economy of the country, peel away the
support of the masses from the political regime
in Iran and sow unrest. All of this lays the
ground for a military attack exactly as with Iraq.
Iran is in compliance with all the requirements
of the International Atomic Energy Association
(IAEA) and has signed the Non-Proliferation
Treaty. On the other hand, Israel possesses
hundreds of nuclear weapons, does not allow
inspections by the IAEA and is not a signatory
to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Hypocrisy
supreme.
Pete Shell spoke on behalf of the Anti-War
Committee of the Thomas Merton Center. At
present the committee is engaged in mobilizing
Pittsburghers to go to Chicago from May 19-20
to protest the NATO meeting in that city. Both
the G8 and NATO were to have met in Chicago
but the G8 meeting has now been moved to
Camp David. This development alone, Shell
indicated, represents a victory for the popular
anti-war movement. Although the organizers did
not advertise the combined meeting as the
coming together of the economic and military
wings of globalization, the protestors definitely
did. In Chicago, they had formed the Coalition
Against NATO and G8 (CANG8) to protest both
events. It is the hope of the Anti-War Committee
to bring several van loads of protestors from
Pittsburgh. The cost of travel is $55 per person,
and one can reserve a seat and pay for it online.
See the article below.
After the presentations there was a lively
exchange of ideas and opinions on how to
strengthen the anti-war movement. Fred Ware,
Black Voices for Peace, emphasized the
importance of linking the costs of the war to the
local economy. Cuts in funding for education,
public transport and infrastructure upkeep are all
related to the trillions spent on foreign military
adventures. Much disappointment with the
Obama administration on the question of ending
overseas adventures was registered. Faith in the
present incumbent of the presidency or any
possible successor to end the wars was generally
esteemed to be a delusion. The only way the
senseless military enterprises will be brought to
a halt is through civilian pushback, protest, and
resistance. A GOOD REASON TO GET ON
THE BUS TO CHICAGO.
Michael Drohan is
board member of the
Thomas Merton
Center and a
member of the Anti-
war committee.
Pittsburgh Anti-War Organizers Head to Chicago
6 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
(Continued from page 1)
Where does this money go? Why are there no
resources for education, transportation, human
services, etc.?
The Federal budget is complicated. Different
people come up with different statistics; but all
agree, the military takes the biggest chunk.
Government statistics show 22% for defense,
21% social programs; 15% physical and human
community development, 5% interest; 2% law
enforcement; and 34% Social Security,
Retirement and Medicare. However, Social
Security and Medicare are a separate Trust Fund
and should not be included in the overall
budget.
During the Vietnam War President
Lyndon Johnson first decided to include
this item into the general budget, to make
military spending appear a smaller part of
all Federal expenditures. These statistics
also absorb spending on past wars (veterans
affairs, interest on past wars) into social
programs and overall interest.
The War Resisters League‘s pie chart of
the Federal budget does not include Social
Security. It shows 30% for current military,
which includes $117 billion for the wars in
Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and 18%
for past military, for a total of 48% and
$1,372 billion; 38% for Human Resources,
8% General Government and 6% for
Physical Resources.
The Friends‘ Committee on National
Legislation (FCNL) statistics deal with
discretionary funds alone, which is the part voted
on every year. The rest of the budget goes for
mandatory spending, which cannot be changed
from year to year. These numbers show an
astonishing 60% for the military, which includes
Department of Defense, War, Veterans Affairs,
and Nuclear Weapons Programs. It leaves 6%
each for Health and Human Services, and for
Transportation, 4% for State, 4% Education, 4%
other programs, 3% Homeland Security, 3%
Housing and Urban Development, 2% each
Justice and Agriculture and 1% each for NASA,
Energy, Labor, Treasury, Interior, EPA,
Commerce. FCNL calculates that our
government spends $2.1 million per minute on
wars.
The President‘s budget for 2012 proposes
spending cuts across the board on discretionary
spending, however ―security‖ spending is
exempt from the cuts, although it will be capped,
meaning that increases will not keep up with
inflation.
Why is the U.S. spending so much?
China, the next largest military power, has
just increased its military expenditures to $100
billion. In 2009 the US spent $965 billion on
―current military‖, including the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, plus $484 billion on ―past military.
The military–industrial complex, of which
President Eisenhower warned us, has become
very influential in the Halls of Congress. It is
difficult to change, because research and
production take place all over the country, and
Congressmen don‘t like losing these jobs in their
districts, even though statistics show that the
same amount of money spent on defense, if
spent on education or healthcare, would create
more jobs.
The US military buildup creates the desire in
other countries to equally increase their defenses
and weapons supplies, much of which is sold to
them by the US. Unfortunately money spent on
the military cannot be spent on education,
healthcare, food, energy or anything else.
What the world spends on wars could instead
help eliminate malaria forever, provide
necessary healthcare all over the world and
provide safe water sources. We could
comfortably feed the population of the world, if
we would stop destroying the world‘s
resources.
You get what you pay for…
**Sen. Bernie Sanders Ten, as of 3/11/2012
1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in
2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income
taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate
from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.
2) Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax
refund from the IRS last year, although it made
$4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout
from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury
Department of nearly $1 trillion.
3) Over the past five years, while General
Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United
States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from
the IRS.
4) Chevron received a $19 million refund
from the IRS last year after it made $10
billion in profits in 2009.
5) Boeing, which received a $30 billion
contract from the Pentagon to build 179
airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund
from the IRS last year.
6) Valero Energy, the 25th largest company
in America with $68 billion in sales last
year received a $157 million tax refund
check from the IRS and, over the past three
years, it received a $134 million tax break
from the oil and gas manufacturing tax
deduction.
7) Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1
percent of its income in taxes even though it
earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an
almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve
and U.S. Treasury Department.
8) Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion
in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It
received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal
Reserve and U.S. Treasury.
9) ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company
in the United States, made $16 billion in profits
from 2007 through 2009, but received $451
million in tax breaks through the oil and gas
manufacturing deduction.
10) Over the past five years, Carnival Cruise
Lines made more than $11 billion in profits, but
its federal income tax rate during those years
was just 1.1 percent.
Edith Bell leads the Women’s International
League for Freedom and Peace in Pittsburgh.
April Showers Bring May Flowers and Taxes
By Deborah Weinstein
In announcing the Republicans
new budget and tax plan Tuesday,
House Budget Committee Chair man
Paul Ryan said ―We are sharpening
the contrast between the path that
we‘re proposing and the path of debt
and decline the president has placed
us upon.‖
Ryan is right about sharpening the
contrast. But the plan doesn‘t do
much to reduce the debt. Even by its
own estimate the deficit would drop
to $166 billion in 2018 and then
begin growing again.
The real contrast is over what the
plan does for the rich and what it
does to everyone else. It reduces the
top individual and corporate tax rates
to 25 per cent. This would give the
wealthiest Americans an average tax
cut of at least $150,000 a year.
The money would come out of
programs for the elderly, lower-
middle class families, and the poor.
Seniors would get subsidies to buy
private health insurance or Medicare
– but the subsidies would be capped.
So as medical costs will increase,
and seniors would fall further and
further behind.
Other cuts would come out of
food stamps, Pell grants, which
offset the college tuition of kids from
poor families, and scores of other
programs that now help middle-
income and poor people.
The plan also calls for repealing
Obama‘s health-care overhaul,
thereby eliminating health care for
30 million Americans and allowing
insurers to discriminate against (and
drop from coverage) people with pre
-existing conditions.
The plan would carve
an additional $19 billion
from next year‘s
―discretionary‖ spending, over and
above what Democrats agreed to last
year. Needless to say, discretionary
spending includes most programs for
lower-income families.
Not surprisingly, the Pentagon
would be spared.
So what‘s the guiding principle
here? Pure social Darwinism, which
rewards the rich and cuts off help to
anyone who needs it.
Ryan says too many Americans
rely on government benefits. ―We
don‘t want to turn the safety net into
a hammock that lulls able-bodied
people into lives of dependency.‖
Well, I have news for Paul Ryan.
Almost 23 million able-bodied
people still can‘t find work. They‘re
not being lulled into dependency.
They and their families could use
some help. Even if the economy
continues to generate new jobs at the
rate of the last three months, we
wouldn‘t see normal rates of
unemployment until 2017.
And most Americans who do have
jobs continue to lose ground. New
research by professors Emmanual
Saez and Thomas Pikkety shows that
the average adjusted gross income of
the bottom 90 per cent was $29,840
in 2010 — down $127 from 2009
and down $4,842 from 2000 — and
just slightly higher than it was forty-
six years ago in 1966 (all figures
adjusted for inflation).
We could use better schools,
access to higher education, lower-
cost health care, improved public
transportation, and lots of other
things that Ryan and his colleagues
are intent on removing.
Deborah Weinstein is the Executive
Director of the Coalition on Human
Needs— see www.chn.org for more
information.
Paul Ryan Budget Weakens Nation
JOIN US!
6th Annual Tax Day Rally
& Penny Poll
Noon to 3 PM At Darlington & Murray
(Next to the Squirrel Hill Post Office)
The Raging Grannies will perform!
Organized by the Women‘s International League
for Peace and Freedom and the
PA American Friends Service Committee Program
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 7
THOMAS MERTON CENTER ACTIVIST FORUM
Celebrating Molly Rush
By Jo Tavener
When did you dream up the Citizen’s Budget
Campaign and what was it about?
In the early 1990s we opened a local chapter of
the national Citizen‘s Budget Campaign. The
planning committee, about eight to or ten of us,
met monthly. Key issues were the military
budget, budget priorities, and the growing
inequalities. Mostly, we used information from
United for a Fair Economy, which focused on
inequality.
We got the word out through reports, educational
programs, and actions on tax day. We did a four-
page report in the New People. We organized
folks to lobby Federal and State officials. We
also held hearings at City Council. Rep. Mike
Doyle chaired a hearing at Hill House; over 20
groups testified to the skewed budget priorities.
While the hearings didn‘t get into the paper
much, we focused on getting organizations to
look at our information. We did street theater,
which did get radio and TV coverage.
How successful were you?
We didn‘t stop military budget or inequality from
increasing but we did give out lots of good
information to religious and peace groups and
those working on poverty. We tried to provide
good handles on what was not covered well in
the media. Look how long it‘s taken! Not until
Occupy came along did the papers really pick up
on the inequality issue. Of course, it was known
on a personal level but we didn‘t have a handle
on just how unequal we were as a society.
Of course, now the widening gap between the 1%
and everyone else makes it easier to see.
Yes, that‘s so but even then it was obvious.
Alongside workshops and speakers, we did the
ten chair exercise, started by United for a Fair
Economy. We put out ten chairs, one person per
chair, then they were allocated by the actual
distribution of wealth. The richest ten percent,
that is, one person, stretched out over 7 chairs
while the other nine tried to squeeze together to
fit on the remaining three chairs. It was such a
fun event yet graphically illustrated the terrible
fact of just how unequal we were. I recently
found the same exercise being used by Occupy
Boston. I got a kick out of that.
We used another tactic, the penny exercise, to
show how different the public‘s priorities were
from those of the Federal Government. We
would give people pennies and ask them to put
them in a jar marked ‗military budget‘ or one
marked ‗other priorities.‘ The ‗other priorities‘
jar filled up quickly while the ‗military budget‘
jar did not, showing graphically how much
people disagreed with the Federal budget. Now,
of course, the military takes at least forty-eight
percent of our income taxes.
How come there is no national campaign now
when the need is so great?
By 2004, there wasn‘t much energy left to fight
the ballooning military budget, given the Iraq
War and the need felt by most of the nation to
support the troops. The Center was putting our
energy into opposing the war. We had 5000
people in the streets protesting the war in 2003
before it even began!
Things were getting much worse. We were
discouraged so we decided to call a meeting
about single payer health care. Sixty people came
to the first meeting. That‘s where PUSH
(Pennsylvanians United for Single Player Health
Care) began.
What do you think about popular discontent with
the current state and federal budgets?
There is opposition to drones, opposition to
nuclear weapon plants being built but not much
to the overall military budget that has become a
monster. It‘s always been a monster but now it‘s
gone ballistic. There are so many issues hitting
the public at once: transit cuts, job loss,
skyrocketing education costs. It‘s all related to
the military that just sucks money out of the
economy but that fact hasn‘t been front and
center. There are groups working on torture, on
what‘s going on in Africa, on our hidden wars
but no focus that I see on the military budget.
It‘s a different case at the state level. Teachers
and transit workers are organizing against the
Corbett budget. All over the state hundreds are
organizing around unemployment insurance.
What I don‘t see happening yet is a developing
coalition to work on these issues together. What
I‘m looking at is the tax situation. Seventy-five
percent of all Pennsylvania corporations paid
zero taxes in 2011. If we look at the budget and
state taxes together, we‘d see that the money is
there to pay for the services.
Everyone‘s talking about the cuts and what‘s
being lost. But the fact is that the money would
be there if the tax rules were changed, if the
governor‘s priorities were different. Taxes are so
skewed that millionaires as well as corporations
don‘t pay their fair share, if they pay at all, and
this at a time when we are giving away our
natural resources to Marcellus shale gas drillers.
Some complain that income taxes are keeping
corporations out of the state even though 75%
don‘t pay anything! At the same time the cuts to
child health care, education and transit are
destroying the economy and hurting small
businesses and job growth. Corbett‘s budget isn‘t
economically feasible. If workers can‘t get to
their jobs and gas prices stay high as they must
given the nature of today‘s fossil fuels, how are
businesses to thrive?
If we aren‘t educating children for the future,
what jobs will there be for them? If we can‘t
keep our citizens healthy, what does any of it
matter? The latest budget proposal is insane!
So what’s to be done?
When people realize that all these battles are
basically the same battle, they will start to
coalesce. Fr. Jack O‘Malley put it clearly: While
some people say that Occupy has to come up
with the answers he said, ―It‘s up to the rest us to
follow through.‖
Maybe what we need are different graphs
identifying those items that connect the dots
between actions and money, between taxes and
expenditures. But it takes a national group with
that kind of information to connect the dots, to
show us how military budget shapes our lives
and our government budgets. That‘s why national
groups are so important. There needs to be a
major coalescence of forces coming together to
impact what is going on.
I want to see the TMC help build such coalitions
but we need a larger staff to do it. We are not in
position to do such coalition building now
without raising more money to hire organizers.
That‘s what an organizer does, facilitate, connect
and make sure that people get engaged and
involved and use their energy and their ideas to
move ahead. When people come together, that‘s
how organizing happens, that‘s how to build
power.
I think that‘s what Occupy is trying to do. We
recently got together with Occupy and other
single payer groups to plan the February 11
action around health care. We need the same kind
of coalition-building around the budget. It would
be great if the initiative came from Occupy with
all the groups protesting both the distribution of
taxes and the state and federal budgets.
Occupy changed the conversation and now it‘s
time to move from conversation to united action.
Jo Tavener taught film production studies at
New York University Film School before
retiring as Assistant Professor of Critical
Media and Cultural Studies at the University
of Pittsburgh.
This year give PEACE a chance. Become an Active Member of the Thomas Merton Center and Help Change the World!
Together, we can create a more peaceful and just world.
Already a member? Now is the time to renew your membership!
2012 marks the Center‘s 40th Anniversary! With you we will carry on our mission: to instill a consciousness of values and to raise the moral
questions involved with war, racism, poverty, environmental degradation and oppression. Our members are people from diverse philosophies and
faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. Since the Center's beginning, thousands of
people have joined with us to work together on this important mission. Through protests, as well as by organizing projects, the active involvement of
our members has been the backbone of our work. Over twenty organizing campaigns and projects are supported by the Center. Our monthly
newspaper, The NewPeople, is a key source of information for activists interested in participating in justice-oriented advocacy strategies and events.
To become a member go to http://thomasmertoncenter.org/join-donate/ mail, or call the Center at (412) 301-3022.
8 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
April Activist Events in Pittsburgh
Unite Against the War on Women
The Pennsylvania branch of UNITE Women announced the addition of 3
speakers to their roster for April 28, 2012 - Unite Against The War on
Women. This event was launched on February 19, 2012, with a call to
march and rally in every state to say ―Enough is Enough.‖
Newly confirmed speakers for the Pennsylvania rally at the Capitol
building in Harrisburg from 10 am -2 pm include Kate Michelman, past
president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Lois Herr, Executive Director of
the Lancaster County Democratic Committee in 2007-08, and PA Senator
Daylin Leach who represents the 17th district, which includes parts of
Delaware and Montgomery counties. He has been a strong advocate for
women‘s rights legislation since he was elected in 2002.
On Saturday, April 28, in cities across America, a new and growing
movement will march and rally to Unite Against the War on Women. April
28th will be a day for Americans to loudly denounce the ongoing attacks on
women from the extreme right as well as to continue the fight for the
freedom of women.
The events are open to everyone who shares our outrage and wants to join
us in honoring and protecting the liberty and rights of all Americans from
the abuse of government power as we promote resolutions and legislation
that uphold the integrity of the truths we as Americans hold to be self-
evident.
For more information about the Pennsylvania march, visit: http://
www.wearewomenmarch.net/groups/pennsylvania-we-are-women-march/
For national information visit: http://www.wearewomenmarch.net.
Transportation details will be published soon.
Chatham University's F.A.C.E organization (Feminist Activists
Creating Equality) is planning a two-mile Walk for Congo Women on
April 14, 2012, on Chatham University's Campus.
The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of Congo where women are subjected to brutal
gang rape and torture on a daily basis. All proceeds from this event
will be sent to the Women for Women International's Congo program.
WfWI's program works with the women of the Congo through direct
financial assistance, job skills training, rights awareness education, and
trauma counseling. More than 31,000 Congolese women have
participated and benefited from the program's expansion in 2004.
Registration begins at 9:15 am and the walk begins at 10:00 am on
April 14th. Registration for this event will be in the Jenny King Mellon
Library's parking lot on Chatham University's Campus, accessible
through Murray Hill Avenue.
Registration fee for this event is $10 dollars for the public, $5 for
non-Chatham students, and free for Chatham students with a suggested
donation of $5. Walkers are encouraged to ask family members and
friends for monetary sponsorship for this worthy cause. Any further
donations for Women for Women International can be brought on the
event day.
Anyone interested in participating in the walk is encouraged to
register early and pay the event fee online at
walkforcongowomenchathamuniversity.eventbrite.com.
Walk for Congo Women
Please join us for our annual Way of the
Cross/Way of Compassion on Good Friday
April 6th. Please note that our route this year is
considerably shorter than last year! We will
gather at the Greyhound Bus Station at 8:45
AM and process to the Federal Building and
then down Grant St. ending at Mellon Park
stopping at the Court House, the County
Building, and the UPMC Building among
others, ending by 10:30 am.
Please bring a cross to carry. We will be
taking up a collection for the Merton Center in
honor of its 40th Anniversary. We hope you
can join us.
Questions? Call, 412-831-8312.
Peace,
Mimi Darragh for Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi
Pax Christi Annual - Way of the Cross / Way of Compassion
Courtesy of Catholic Lane
This was the largest rally I‘ve ever seen at CMU. You could feel
the energy and passion in the air. Speaker after speaker cried out
for justice. Even CMU students, who are relatively well off,
expressed their feelings of vulnerability that they too could be
targeted for walking while Black.
We passed out flyers for a march against police brutality and
justice for Jordan Miles and Trayvon Martin on April 21,
and they went very fast.
Pete Shell, TMC Anti-War Committee Leader
Justice Rally for Trayvon Martin, March 26 at CMU
Battle of Homestead Foundation
2012 SCHEDULE OF PUMP HOUSE EVENTS
April 14, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―FROM MEMPHIS TO MADISON:
REVIVING MARTIN LUTHER KING‘S GOSPEL OF LABOR RIGHTS
AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE.‖ Michael Honey, Wali Jamal and Mike Stout.
April 26, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - CROSSING THE AMERICAN
CRISES: FROM COLLAPSE TO ACTION. Film by Silvia Leindecker and
Michael Fox. Estreito Meio Productions, 2011. 82 mins.
May 19, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―THE CRISIS OF PUBLIC
TRANSIT.‖ HERE/UNITE, ATU, UFCW, Pittsburghers for Public Transit.
May 31, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - UE LEADING THE FIGHT (excerpts)
and WORKERS‘ REPUBLIC. Film by Andrew Friend. Sponsored by UE
(the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers‘ Union).
Insurgent Productions, 2010. 60 mins.
June 23, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―WHEN JOBS DISAPPEAR.‖
Robert W. Bednarzik, Joe Szalanski, and Norm Koehler.
June 28, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - FOOD STAMPED. Film by Shirah &
Yoav Potash. Summit Pictures, 2011. 62 mins.
July 14, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―INEQUALITY AND THE LABOR
MOVEMENT.‖ The Bernie Kleiman Lecture. Leo Gerard with Paul Le Blanc.
July 26, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - SICK AROUND THE WORLD.
Frontline, PBS, 2008. 56mins. MOUSELAND, Canada, (1944). 8 mins.
August 18, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―COMMEMORATING THE ‗BREAD
AND ROSES‘ STRIKE‖ and ―REMEMBERING FANNIE SELLINS.‖
Millie Beik and Richard Gazarik.
August 30, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - SHOUT YOUNGSTOWN. Produced
and directed by Carol Greenwald and Dorie Krauss.
Cinema Guild, 2006, c. 1984. 45 mins.
September 22, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―WOODY GUTHRIE
CONCERT.‖ Mike Stout and other musicians.
September 27, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - SPLIT ESTATE.
Bullfrog Films, 2009. 76 mins.
October 13, 2012, Saturday, 1:30 pm - ―LIKE A MAN GONE MAD.‖
Sam Hazo. Poetry at the Pump House.
October 25, 2012, Thursday, 7:30 pm - Woody Guthrie:
Ain‘t Got No Home. Peter Frumkin Productions, 2007. 90 mins.
The Pump House is on Waterfront Drive in Munhall, PA
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 9
Testimony at Transit Hearing About Proposed Cuts in Services
By Rob Conroy
Gun violence is killing Pennsylvania citizens—
many of whom are law enforcement officers-and
communities alike. Despite widespread protests
and substantial public outcry, our state
government has done absolutely nothing to
combat this problem. Now, unfortunately, if
either H.B. 1523—a state House Bill introduced
by Cranberry‘s own Daryl Metcalfe and co-
sponsored by 45 other legislators—or its state
Senate companion Bill, S.B. 1438, passes when
it is voted upon early in April, local
governments who enact regulations designed to
curb gun violence will be forced to pay
exorbitant financial penalties to the National
Rifle Association (NRA) for doing so.
Please consider the following:
1) The vast majority of Pennsylvania gun crime
is committed with illegal guns. Of the illegally
owned firearms recovered at crime scenes by
Pittsburgh police, more than ninety percent
(90%) are ―lost or stolen‖ firearms—i.e., guns
that were at one time lawfully registered to a
citizen but that have since left that citizen‘s
possession through either a loss, a theft, or an
unlawful transfer. Some common unlawful
transfers occur between relatives and/or friends,
during illicit drug transactions, or through straw
purchasing—the act of lawfully purchasing a
firearm with the express purpose of unlawfully
transferring that firearm to a different,
unlicensed individual.
2) Of the more than 90% of ―lost or stolen‖
crime guns recovered by the Pittsburgh police,
only one-half of these ―losses‖ or ―thefts‖ are
reported prior to recovery.
As a result, in 2009, City Councils in both
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia chose to fight straw
purchasing by enacting a ―Lost or Stolen
Handgun‖ ordinance that requires gun owners in
the City of Pittsburgh to report to the police the
loss or theft of a handgun within 24 hours of
discovery. This ordinance is designed to
recognize and penalize—first with a $500 fine,
then, upon additional convictions, with heftier
fines and/or potential jail time—those who are
intentionally and repeatedly engaged in the
unlawful transfer of firearms, as such individuals
would obviously not report such transfers to the
police.
Since then forty-six other Pennsylvania
municipalities have enacted similar ―Lost or
Stolen‖ ordinances or resolutions.
Unfortunately, thanks in no small part to our
state politicians‘ innate fear of the gun lobby,
none of these laws are currently being
enforced. In fact, when a statewide ―Lost or
Stolen‖ Bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives in 2008, it failed, with
128 of our state Representatives—including
many from the Western PA delegation—voting
against it.
The NRA has filed multiple Pennsylvania
lawsuits attempting to strike/invalidate local
―Lost or Stolen Handgun‖ laws, and on each of
these occasions, the courts (including the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court) have struck down
the NRA‘s lawsuit. Thus thwarted, the NRA has
now concocted (via Representative Metcalfe and
company) H.B. 1523 and S.B. 1438, which
render ―Lost or Stolen‖ towns liable for up to
three times actual damages, attorneys‘ fees and
court costs in the event of a lawsuit challenging
the ―Lost or Stolen‖ laws even if the underlying
―Lost or Stolen‖ legislation continues to be
upheld by our state Courts.
Worst of all, H.B. 1523 and S.B. 1438 will
now allow the NRA—as an organization whose
membership could be ―adversely affected‖ by
such laws--to file arbitrary lawsuits designed
to bankrupt municipalities by granting it
automatic legal standing to do so, essentially
allowing a lobbying organization to legally
challenge municipal ordinances on ideological
grounds without having suffered any tangible,
provable damage.
Simply stated, H.B. 1523 and S.B. 1438
subvert the role of the judicial branch of our
state government—and, in effect, bully local
governments into submission--without any
elucidated authority to do so.
This is a violation of our state‘s ―separation
of powers‖ clause and an abdication of our state
government‘s moral and legal obligation to
protect the health, safety, and welfare of our
citizenry. To call this legal precedent
―dangerous‖ would be a massive
understatement.
Regardless of how one feels about firearms
regulation, anyone concerned with local
governments and their need to do more with less
during tough economic times should oppose this
legislation, as should anyone in support of equal
justice under the law.
H.B. 1523 and S.B. 1438 simply must be
stopped before it‘s too late. On February 14, the
Council of the City of Pittsburgh—led by
District 3 Councilman Bruce Kraus—
unanimously passed a Will of Council urging the
State Assembly and Governor Corbett to reject
H.B. 1523. It‘s time for the rest of us to follow
suit.
Rob Conroy is the Western PA Field
Coordinator for CeaseFirePA and a member of
the Thomas Merton Center Board of Directors.
Guns, Guns Everywhere
Molly Rush testified at the transit hearing
for proposed cuts in services this past month in
support of all Pittsburgher’s who will be
impacted by devastating losses of transportation
services.
Proposed cuts in service /layoffs of hundreds of
PAT employees will have a devastating effect on
our region, our jobs and our very lives. If we‘re to
prevent a human and economic disaster, we need
to ask a basic question.
Why? We‘re told there‘s no money available:
we have to balance the state budget. Well, a
budget includes income and expenses. Let‘s look
at the income side. Go where the money is.
A November 2009 study by the Institute on
Taxation & Economic Policy [ITEP] named
Pennsylvania as one of the ―Terrible Ten‖ states
that ―stand out for the extraordinary degree to
which they have shifted the cost of funding public
investments to their very poorest residents.‖
twenty percent of non-elderly Pennsylvanians
with incomes below $19,000 pay 11.2% in state
and local taxes. The average income of the
poorest 20% is $10,500; those workers pay
$1100 a year. The middle 20% with income
averaging $45,200 pay 9.1%, or over $4000 a
year in state and local taxes.
As income goes up, the tax rate goes down.
11.2% paid by the poorest fifth; the richest 1%,
whose average yearly income is $1,369,600, pay
just 3.9%.
Pennsylvania is one of the few states without a
graduated income tax. Our sales tax is very
regressive: the poorest 20% pay nearly 6% of
income on sales and excise taxes, the top 1% pay
less than 1%.
Then there‘s the corporate tax, ―too high‖ at
9.9%, we‘re told. But major corporations
headquartered in PA. pay far less than that. For
instance, between 2008 and 2010, Heinz paid
under 1%, PNC Financial paid 1.5%, Consol
3.6% and PPG 4%.
If you earned over $33,000 last year you paid
more in income taxes than 85% of PA.
corporations. About three out of four major
corporations didn‘t pay a dime! Yet corporate
profits have just hit a 50-year high.
Why? Well they just go to Delaware. It‘s a tax
haven, ―a place of refuge or rest; a sanctuary.‖ In
fact, just one building in Wilmington, Delaware
houses 14,000 shell corporations, refugees who
fled from paying taxes. It‘s called the ―Delaware
loophole.‖ And it costs Pennsylvania taxpayers
$500 million a year.
So don‘t let anyone tell you we can‘t afford to
provide basic services such as mass transit to the
people of Pennsylvania. What we can‘t afford is a
Governor or a Legislature who will wreak havoc
on our people, our economy, and our future while
sheltering our wealthiest citizens and major
corporations from paying their fair share.
Molly is a founder of the Thomas Merton
Center, serves on the board, and leads the
editorial collective. Photo by Corey Carrington
The PA Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program
may be eliminated in the near future by the
Administrative Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
This program has allowed the courts to manage
foreclosure cases in a way that lets banks and
homeowners resolve the problem of delinquent
mortgages without banks taking properties that they
do not want from families who desperately need to
keep their homes. Get involved in actions to stop this
and find out more at pasaveourhomes.org.
Photo Courtesy of Celeste Taylor
Celeste Taylor (left)
promotes voter
participation in the
election - to oppose
Governor Corbett‘s
impact on the 99%.
Photo courtesy of pasaveourhomes.org
10 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
Pennsylvania‘s Proposed State Budget for FY 2012-2013
(Continued from page 1)
We hear from many in state government that
current state revenues are running behind
projections by about $700 million. There is hope
that some of this will be made up by the end of
June with improvements in the economy and,
with it, tax collections. Governor Corbett
proposes to make up the shortfall in next year's
budget.
Additional challenges to be considered are:
Matches in state funds that are required for
federally mandated programs are more and
more costly
The big gap between the rich and the poor
with continued need for state assistance by
the economically disadvantaged and those
with disabilities
Continued tax cuts and tax loopholes for
multi-billion dollar corporations, and
No new taxes
Recently, an Allegheny County State Senator,
Jay Costa, spoke to students and human service
providers at the School of Social Work at the
University of Pittsburgh about the proposed
2012-13 state budget. While the presentation was
factual and insightful, its content was very
disturbing, moving all of us in the audience to
commit ourselves to advocate for improvements
before a final budget is decided this summer.
Here are some of the concerns:
Education:
Cutting $100 million from school districts
Cutting higher education institutions 20-30%,
$8.8 million less for community colleges
and $80 million less for state sponsored
universities
Cutting $27.2 million from student financial
aid
Welfare:
Eliminating cash assistance to poor adults
(the General Assistance monthly allocation of
$205 to 68,800 destitute Pennsylvania men
and women without dependent children)
Cutting 20% from county-run social service
programs, which includes cutting $168
million in mental health services, child
welfare and other critical human services
Reducing reimbursements to hospitals and
nursing homes serving those who are poor
Re-introducing assets test on people seeking
to receive food stamps (now called the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -
SNAP).
Agriculture:
Even though the funds which help food
banks: the State Food Purchase Program is
proposed at this year's funding level, with the
proposed cuts in education and welfare, it is
likely that additional food assistance will be
needed by struggling people throughout PA
Democracy requires that citizens take
responsibility and get involved. Now is the time
to do just that.
I invite you to:
1) Continue to get informed about the proposed
state budget and its impact
2) Contact your PA Representative and Senator
with your concerns and suggestions
3) Write a letter to the editor or speak out on a
radio talk show on the issues
4) Join others who will be advocating for a better
2012-13 PA budget that makes the common good
a priority and does not leave needy
Pennsylvanians behind
Below are some organizational website
contacts that can help achieve these goals.
1) www.justharvest.org
Just Harvest 412-431-8960
2) www.pittsburghfoodbank.org
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank 412-460-3663
3) www.forbesfunds.org/sector-leadership/gpnp
Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership 412-394-2634
This information is available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/7ojrsyx.
Joyce Rothermel is Co-Chair of the SW PA
Food Security Partnership.
As Gov. Corbett and the PA State
Legislature escalate their attacks and budget
cuts against public education, reducing
funding for public education in Southwestern
Pennsylvania by $171,780,572* since 2010,
three hundred Pittsburgh-area parents,
community members, teachers, and students
came together on March 3 to coordinate a
response.
Following two hours of information- and
idea-packed, spirited discussion, a hundred
participants braved a cold wind in a spirited,
chanting march across Penn Avenue to the
Verizon Wireless store in Bakery Square.
Verizon is one of the companies which has
taken advantage of the ―Delaware loophole.‖
Incorporated in Delaware, Verizon is
among many high-profit-making businesses
which paid no Pennsylvania taxes last year.
Teach-in speakers and participants pointed
out that this type of Corbett-supported tax
loophole is one of many places the state
could go to raise the revenues necessary to
fund K-12 and higher education.
The teach-in style gathering, organized by
One Pittsburgh, met at the former Reizenstein
Middle School building (now Pittsburgh
Obama IB). Nina Esposito-Visits, president
of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers,
welcomed participants, then turned the chair
over to Rick Adams, executive director of
community relations at the Community
College of Allegheny County, and former
member of Pittsburgh‘s school board and
human relations commission. Ron Cowell,
long-time former chair of the PA House
Committee on Education, and current head of
the Education Policy and Center, gave
participants a detailed report on the state of
education funding in Pennsylvania. Former
PA State Senator Allen Kukovich added a
powerful look at the political landscape in
which funding for prisons and open doors to
gas frackers has been replacing meeting the
basic human needs of the people of our state.
Participants reflecting a cross-section of
Pittsburgh met in informal workshops, then
presented ideas on how to restructure the
state budget to re-fund both K-12 and higher
education.
The presentations reflected, and are
reflected in, this list as published by the
public education advocacy group,
Yinzercation:
Close the Delaware Loophole, one of the
single largest forms of corporate welfare
costing our state $500 million in tax revenue
every year. More than 20 other states have
already closed this loophole and there is no
reason we can‘t too.
Tax Marcellus shale — even the drilling
companies have said they‘re willing to pay a
severance tax and not having one has cost
Pennsylvania over $314 million since
October of 2009.
Eliminate the bonus depreciation rule,
passed by the Revenue Department last year
without a legislative vote (cost us $260
[million] the first half of this fiscal year
alone).
Repeal the sales tax exemptions for
things like coal ($120 million) and candy
($90 million) which essentially give away
state revenue.
Stop Corbett‘s plan to eliminate the
Capital stock and franchise tax, which are
paid by corporations and will cost the state
$200 million in revenue each year.
Impose a moderate tax increase.
As we left the teach-in and march, many
participants shared a renewed sense of
optimism, determination, and unity. We had
come together from many parts of town, and
from many vantage points, but our outrage at
the attacks on public education, and our
commitment to work together to save our
schools and children, reminded us of the
potential power of the 99%. n
Some of the organizations whose websites
and Facebook pages contain up-to-date
information on the fight for public education
include:
Yinzercation
(http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/)
Education Policy and Leadership Center
(http://www.eplc.org/)
Education Voters Pennsylvania
(www.educationvoterspa.org/)
One Pittsburgh
(www.onepittsburgh.org)
Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers
(www.pft400.org)
A+ Schools
(www.aplusschools.org/)
* For a county-by-county breakdown of
budget cuts by school district, see http://
tinyurl.com/7nt5onr.
Kipp Dawson is a middle school teacher in
the Pittsburgh Public School system.
Three Hundred Attend “We Are One” Education Teach-In
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 11
TMC Anniversary Events and Membership News
Janet Richardson Remembers Just over twenty
- five years ago,
I made my first
visit to the
United States.
The plan was to
go to St Louis,
but at the last
minute things
changed and it
was Pittsburgh
instead. I was
looking forward to St Louis, having done my
home work and looked at its extraordinary
history, but also its location on the Missouri
River right in the middle of the continent.
We arrived in 1985 in a bitterly cold and
snowy January. If St Louis had the Missouri,
Pittsburgh has three wonderful rivers;
Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio. So no
wonder it is known as River City.
But what was I going to do in an unknown
city, in an unknown country, with two young
children and a husband teaching at Carnegie
Mellon. I had one contact. I had met Molly
Rush at Greenham Common Women's Peace
Camp, in England, when she had visited the
previous year. I got in touch with Molly and
everything moved on from there. ―'Come to the
Thomas Merton Centre where I work‖ was how
she welcomed me. So of course I did. I do not
believe we have any equivalent in Britain. The
Thomas Merton Centre seemed to me quite
extraordinary in its consistent and determined
pursuit of justice and peace. People involved
with the centre (excuse English spelling)
seemed to be everywhere. Molly, Liane Norma
and her daughter Marie designed the most
beautiful leaflets for the River City campaign.
Others were involved in researching the issues
we were involved with, in order to be well
briefed when out campaigning and were likely
to be cross questioned by people who did not
understand why we were protesting about
horrendous weapons being designed and built
under their noses.
I soon became involved in one aspect of the
Centre's work, the River City Peace campaign.
Carnegie Mellon, where my husband was
teaching architecture, was the home of Star
Wars research and I sometimes found myself
demonstrating there, handing out fliers - an odd
situation. There was also a group of scientists
opposing the work and a number of very
informative seminars were held. I also went to
work with the local Steelworkers Union. The
aim was to Save Dorothy Six, one of the steel
plants in Homestead. I truly believe we nearly
did it, but not quite. When I visited Pittsburgh a
few years later I could not believe my eyes – not
a trace was left of the steel works in Homestead.
In this recollection, I have concentrated on
the things I became involved in in Pittsburgh
during my only too short a stay. But The Merton
Centre people were (like Greenham women)
everywhere. This reminds me of the little
'action' Molly and I did, when I visited shortly
after my original stay. We spray painted
Greenham Women are Everywhere on a huge
wall that was guarding a site where some
unpleasant new corporation building was going
up.
I follow the work of the Merton Centre
through the website, Facebook and wonderful e-
mails from Molly. Occasionally I spot old and
familiar names. You are all tireless and
wonderful.
In peace Janet Richardson
Janet Richardson lives in London, England
Lois Goldstein Reflects As a relative newcomer to Pittsburgh in the
mid 1980‘s I was extremely honored to be
invited to join the board of the TMC. I was
familiar with the organization because of Molly
Rush‘s reputation as a member of the
Ploughshares 8 and its anti-war work. My
involvement with the peace movement at that
time was as staff for Pennsylvania Peace Links,
an anti-nuclear women‘s group working to
educate about the need to find alternative ways
to settle conflict.
I was impressed by the Merton Center‘s
desire to expand its board and membership to
include not only those whose orientation was
faith based, but also had room for those who
were secular humanists or who otherwise
defined themselves.
I joined the personnel committee, chaired by
Art McDonald, and when he left the area, I
assumed that position. During this time I
interviewed and then recommended the hiring of
Bette McDevitt, who had just moved to
Pittsburgh.
Another high spot for me was when fellow
board member, Jan Neffke and I, worked hard to
ensure that staff members were paid the federal
minimum wage rate, as low as that was, so that
working at the Center didn‘t mean one had to
have support from some other source. Another
change approved by the board was to pay a
stipend toward the cost of their medical care
coverage. In order to help finance these changes
we encouraged members to pledge monthly
contributions.
I was still on the Board into the 90‘s when
Shirley Gleditsch came to us with her proposal
to establish a thrift shop next door that would be
of service to the community, as well as a source
of income to the Center. For almost 20 years it
has more than accomplished both goals.
One of the unique aspects of the Center has
been its willingness to serve as an umbrella to a
whole variety of groups working on diverse
peace and justice projects, supplying space, and
general support of their efforts.
Summing up, I feel that my years on the TMC
board gave me more than I was able to give in
return.
Lois Goldstein, [email protected].
Regal Remembers
My first encounter with the Thomas Merton
Center was in the late 1970‘s during a visit home
from college. The Soviets had invaded
Afghanistan, and draft registration had been
reinstated, so I dropped in to attend a planning
meeting for a peace demonstration.
Little did I imagine that several years later I‘d
be working at a borrowed desk in the Merton
Center‘s back room. Jump ahead to 1986, when
Hunger Action Coalition -- which the Center had
helped to found a decade earlier -- was closing
down and its program was being re-organized
into Just Harvest and what is now known as
Hunger Services at the Urban League.
The office space we planned on fell through,
so when Just Harvest was supposed to officially
open its doors as a brand new organization, there
were no actual doors yet to open. After a couple
of weeks of trying to work from my house, Just
Harvest was rescued by the Merton Center.
With Molly Rush, Joyce Rothermel, and Pat
Burns on our founding board, the negotiations
were pretty friendly.
And so together with my colleagues Joni
Rabinowitz and the late Ann Conley, we got Just
Harvest off the ground thanks in large part to the
hospitality and solidarity of our Merton friends.
Skip ahead a quarter century. Just Harvest
has grown steadily and I‘m proud to still be one
of our co-directors. But I‘m especially proud to
know firsthand the reason that the return address
on Volume 1 Number 1 of our newsletter said
―Just Harvest, c/o The Thomas Merton Center,
5125 Penn Ave.‖ Congratulations on 40 years of
struggle for peace and justice and thank you.
-- Ken Regal, is a Merton Center member and
friend for about 30 years.
THOMAS MERTON
BOOK STUDY GROUP
STARTING
The Thomas Merton Center
community is convening a Merton
Book Study group as part of our 40th
Anniversary celebration, hosted at Calvary
Episcopal Church (parish hall) on Shady Ave in
the East End. All are welcome. Initial dates are:
April 18 (Wed.) – 7 pm
May 9 (Wed) - 7 pm
June 6 (Wed) - 7 pm
We begin with Jim Forest's "Living with
Wisdom: A Life of Thomas Merton."
If you'd like to receive a common reading plan,
please email Carol Gonzalez for info at
You can also participate via facebook at
"Merton Study Group."
TMC Membership Re-energized
Since the Merton Award Dinner last
November, TMC volunteers and staff have
been surveying TMC members with the goal of
listening to the interests in issues and opinions
of our members. To date about one third of our
members have been contacted and we thank
you for your participation.
Many members have been with the Center for
a majority of its past 40 years. Like many
organizations, we are committed to attracting
younger members to join our efforts. Some of
you have since renewed your membership.
Others have joined committees at the Center
and are bringing your gifts of time, talent and
experience to the Center's mission.
If you have not yet completed your
survey, it is not too late. Please contact us and
we can resend the survey, provide it to you on-
line, or complete it with you over the
phone. We can be reached at 412-361-3022 or
via e-mail [email protected],
or better yet, stop in for a visit at 5129 Penn
Avenue in Garfield, Monday through Friday
from 10 AM to 3 PM or on Saturdays from 10
AM to 1 PM.
Throughout the remainder of our 40th
anniversary year, together with several of our
members, we will be hosting some membership
outreach gatherings throughout the Pittsburgh
area. We hope to meet with our members and
interested friends and neighbors to spread the
word of the Center and increase our
membership. If you would like to host such a
gathering in your area, please contact me
through the Center. Together we will create a
more peaceful and just world!
Joyce Rothermel is Chair of the TMC
Membership Committee .
12 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
Many often think of poverty when the name
of the country of Haiti is mentioned, and well
they should, having the distinction as the
poorest country in the western hemisphere. The
answer to the question of poverty in Haiti has
deep roots in its history as well as current
policies and international factors. Needless to
say, the devastating earthquake in January 2010
was a major setback, not only in terms of the
hundreds of thousands of people whose lives
were taken, but also in terms of all those left
without limbs, and the cleanup and rebuilding
that is necessary just to take steps forward.
Government weaknesses and failures aside,
the private sector is challenged to determine its
own destiny; to make their own dreams come
true for a better life. One such shining example
is Fonkoze (translated Shoulder to Shoulder),
Haiti's alternative bank for the organized poor,
a microcredit lending bank. Founded in 1996 by
Haitian Spiritan priest Fr. Josephe Philippe,
Fonkoze works with low income women to
assist them with the building blocks of
economic security.
From the humble beginnings of one bank
office, nine employees, 110 loan clients, 193
depositors, value in deposits of $78,387, and
loans outstanding of $23,234, Fonkoze,
(according to their 2010 annual report) now has
43 branches, 840 employees, 50,533 loan
clients, 234,312 depositors, value of deposits of
over $24 million with loans outstanding at
$10,264,774.
After the earthquake, Fonkoze was making
money available even before commercial banks.
Here are the results of their efforts:
Distributed one-time cash grants to
earthquake victims and their families benefiting
89,150 people
Provided a one-time cash grant to almost
44,000 clients, and family members serving as
host families, to reduce financial burden
Paid $95,816,784 in remittance transfers
into the Haitian economy from January through
December 2010
Disbursed 10,869 new loans to earthquake
victims who were ready to recapitalize their
businesses
Educated 2,372 clients and family members
in Leyogan on disaster preparedness and risk
reduction strategies with short-term plans to
teach over 56,000
Piloted an innovative catastrophe micro-
insurance solution, which led to the launch of
"Lore W" (Reinforce You) in January 2011, and
has already helped thousands of clients recover
from devastating rains in early June 2011
Over the 16 years of its history, Fonkoze has
developed what they call, "The Staircase out
of Poverty." They offer an innovative
sequence of products and services designed to
meet clients wherever they are and accompany
them on their journey out of poverty.
Fonkoze has learned that many people are not
prepared to join together with other women to
take out a loan to begin or support a small
business. Therefore, they started Chemen Lavi
Miyo (pathway to a better life) that works with
women to build their confidence, train them in
the world of enterprise and assists them with
basics needs, including food, housing and
health services. When they are ready, the Ti
Kredi (little credit) program is available for
education, close monitoring, and participation
in a solidarity group.
In these solidarity groups, education
continues. Some move onto the final phase
which is business development where women
can obtain individual loans and assistance in
transitioning into the formal business sector of
Haiti economic life.
How does all of this get accomplished? A
huge part of Fonkoze's success is due to its
employees. They are quiet heroes! Locally, the
Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity Committee has
hosted 30 students (Fonkoze employees) who
have received scholarships from Duquesne
University over the past 15 years. Together we
have learned more about the important work
that they do in strengthening Haiti.
One of this year's Haitians from Fonkoze
who attends Duquesne University, Nikelson
Pierre-Louis says, "After becoming aware of
the outstanding job that Fonkoze has been
doing in the development of the country by
helping poor people, specifically women, I
decided to join the staff to share my knowledge
and my ability so the institution will keep
growing and reaching its objectives. I do
understand what Fonkoze means for the market
women in Haiti because my mother used to be
one of them. Working for Fonkoze is about
taking part in the socio-economic development
of Haiti.‖
When asked about the importance of his
year's time in Pittsburgh, Nikelson continues,
"This experience helps me to improve my
ability in communication and management, and
to enhance my skills with computers. With my
classes at Duquesne University, I have a better
understanding of groups of people and how to
manage them. I believe this experience is going
to help Fonkoze in its mission and also Haiti in
its projects of development."
If you want to learn more, I encourage you to
visit www.fonkoze.org. You are also most
welcome to join the Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity
Committee. We are seeking host families for
two new students from mid-August 2012 to
early May 2013. Our next meeting is Saturday,
April 14 from 10 AM to noon at the Thomas
Merton Center. Also, we are hosting a farewell
reception for this year's students on Sunday,
April 29, from 3:30 - 5:30 PM, at Sacred
Heart‘s Rectory basement located at the corner
of Shady Avenue and Alder Street in
Shadyside.
Joyce Rothermel is the Secretary/Treasurer of
Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity Committee, a TMC
affiliate.
A Pearl of Great Value in Haiti: Fonkoze
Photo Credit: www.fonkoze.org
This is a photo
of a Martin
Luther King Day
celebration in
2010, where
Jonathan
Christensen
represented both
the Pittsburgh
Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance and the
Industrial Workers of the World at an event in
Dhaka with the US Embassy's Human Rights
Officer.
Then, on February 17, 2012, members of the
National Garment Workers Federation launched
a Safe Workplace Campaign. Factories that sew
apparel that we buy in Pittsburgh for major
corporations like the Pittsburgh Pirates is being
sewn in dangerous sweatshops where some
workers have died in fires. Kalpona Acter of
the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity
presented testimony in Pittsburgh City Council
and to the Pittsburgh Pirates about this. The
Pittsburgh Pirates deny any responsibility for
factory conditions. The National Garment
Workers Federation of Bangladesh organizes
general strikes throughout the garment sector
in Bangladesh.
Members of the Pittsburgh IWW will feature
solidarity support for the Safe Work Place
Campaign on May Day, featuring what workers
and students in Pittsburgh have in common with
workers and students in Bangladesh For info
contact Kenneth Miller 412-867-9213. .
Celebrating the National Garment Worker
Federation's Safe Workplace Campaign
Photos courtesy of Kenneth Miller
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 13
Shirley Gleditsch has been with the Merton
Center since the beginning. As founder of the
East End Community Thrift shop (known to the
community as Thrifty), she‘s been--really been--
through fire and water. More about that later.
In 1972, Shirley was attending Salem United
Methodist Church, where the minister spoke out
against the war. ―He stuck his neck out. He knew
exactly what was happening and was very
articulate. The four of us were delighted,‖ she
recalled. The four she spoke of were to become
early members of the Merton Center--Mabel
Karsch (now deceased), Mary Sheehan, Alice
Neuenschwander (also deceased), and Shirley
herself. ―We would place ourselves throughout
the congregation,‖ she said, ―and when it was
time for announcements, we would get up, one
after another, and talk about the upcoming
events in the peace community.‖ They had a
small peace group in Zelienople, a group that has
since grown into the very active Pittsburgh North
People for Peace.
During those early years, Shirley worked
selling cars at an agency in the North Hills,
which has not traditionally been the most fertile
ground for peace and justice activity. The
reaction of her co-workers when she got arrested
at Senator John Heinz‘s office for protesting the
proposed deployment of U.S. troops to Honduras
was interesting. According to Shirley, ―They
didn‘t ostracize me, but they couldn‘t believe
that someone they knew would do that. They
thought people who did those things were from
some other country like Russia.‖ At the time,
Shirley had just returned from a trip to
Nicaragua with Witness for Peace and had seen
the preparations for an invasion from Honduras.
―I was highly motivated to prevent that from
happening,‖ she said. ―Witness for Peace
delegations nationwide did protests on the same
day and it was a victory: the troops were not
sent.‖
Her second arrest occurred during protests
against apartheid, protests that focused on the
South African currency, the Krugerrand. ―We
were all downtown at a gold shop,‖ Shirley
reminisced, ―and the policeman asked Eliza
Critchlow how old she was. Eliza gave her age--
somewhere in the seventies--and the policeman
told her she was too old to be doing this sort of
thing. Then he asked Mabel Karsch her age, and
she replied that she was in her eighties. That was
pretty funny. We all got arrested. ‖
While working at the automobile agency,
Shirley made a contact that was to change her
life. ―One day, I passed the new receptionist on
my way to the parts department, and she was
reading a book, unusual in itself. I asked her
what she was reading, and she said she was re-
reading The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas
Merton. ‘Pardon me?’ I said.”
The receptionist, Kathleen Conlogue, was a
former Eastern Orthodox nun, and her husband
was a former member of the clergy. Shirley took
them to the Merton Center‘s annual dinner, and
when they learned of the Center‘s need for
money, Kathleen said, ―I know what I‘d do if I
were you, Shirley: I‘d open a thrift shop.‖ And
so she did.
Kathleen and her husband shared with Shirley
their experience of operating a family homeless
shelter in California funded by the proceeds from
a thrift shop, and Shirley presented the idea of
opening a similar shop to the Merton Center
Board. ―The Board was cautious with lots of
questions,‖ she recalled. ―I told them there was
too much work involved to do this without their
support and they came around.‖
The shop opened in 1993 across the street
from its present location and in 1994 they moved
to 5123 Penn Avenue. In the winter of 2000, a
fire destroyed the inside of the shop. However,
after everyone affiliated with the shop chipped in
labor and money, the shop re-opened in the fall
of 2001, brighter and better than ever. But the
elements were yet to have their way with the
new shop: one bitter winter, freezing pipes burst
and caused some flooding. Once again, everyone
pitched in to repair the damage.
There are many good things about the
relationship between the Center and Thrifty, in
addition to the funds the shop turns over every
month to support the Center. Shawna Hammond,
Thrifty manager, has been a longtime hard
working TMC Board member. Also, the shop
brings people of varied backgrounds together to
work as a team. Linda Loar, a longtime
volunteer, claims that the best day of her week is
the day she volunteers at Thrifty.
While thinking about Thrifty‘s history,
Shirley recalled the words of Kim, who was a
volunteer and a customer of Thrifty. Kim told
her that before she found the Thrift store and
started volunteering, she couldn‘t decorate her
house; after she started volunteering, she was
finally able to decorate. ―I always think of her,‖
Shirley said. ―Before she came here, she had just
the bare essentials.‖ Thanks, Shirley, for
bringing so many of us beyond the bare
essentials.
Bette McDevitt, an active member of the New People
Editorial Collective and past staff person of the
Thomas Merton Center.
Shirley Gleditsch, Founder of the East End Community Thrift Shop
Shirley Gleditsch, Founder of Thrifty
Photo Courtesy of Shawna Hammond
Why Do You Volunteer at East End Community Thrift?___
Janet M: I volunteer at Thrifty because it gives me both peace of mind and a huge help with my budget. It‘s a blessing
to see the customers‘ smiling faces when they see how far a dollar goes.
Mig C: It‘s just a joy interacting with everyone, both customers and volunteers. And I love the prices!
Shirley B: I volunteer because it is wonderful for the community and there is something for everyone.
Hazel J: I like to have fun with the people; I enjoy them.
Penny L: I volunteer because I am learning to give more and take less. I love the people who work at Thrifty and the
people who come in! I love doing ―hook-ups‖ with the fabulous clothes that come in.
Linda L: The stimulating conversations with great people like Dolly, Shirley, Alice and Dorothy. My favorite day of
the week is the day I volunteer at Thrifty.
Wanda T: Because I like to make people smile and find some way to give to them that feeling of being needed.
Sophia E: I volunteer because I love the people I work with and the people who come to Thrifty.
Alice W: I volunteer at EECT because I‘m a strong supporter of the Thomas Merton Center.
Ola D: I love to help others because I remember when I needed help.
Karen P: I volunteer at EECT to give back to and strengthen the spirit of the community.
Shawna H: While my kids were in elementary school, I needed something to do and Thrifty became my second home.
The youngest is now a junior in college and Thrifty is still my home away from home.
Cheryl D: I volunteer at Thrifty because I feel that I should do something for someone instead of people doing for me.
Sheila K: Thrifty has wonderful goods for sale at bargain prices. I volunteer and donate items to make these available to
people and to help finance the important work of the Thomas Merton Center.
Sharon J: I volunteer at Thrifty for the community that it is, people helping people.
Anne K: Let me ask that question in a slightly different way: What makes the presence of Thrifty so important to
Garfield, to Pittsburgh and to the World?--Every action we do for another affects the whole world, and Thrifty is busy
doing that. The thrift shop serves those who give to it and those who receive from it. There is fellowship and caring,
room for anyone who wants to be of use to the needs of others and to their own needs. Those needs might be a snazzy
two piece silk suit for an award ceremony or serious clothing for job interview. You may find a basket of treats at the
side of the counter or donated bread. Sometimes there are handmade ceramics and artwork, shoes and galoshes, and
even furniture and lamps to light our way. What a place! It has heart and soul and love and THAT is how Thrifty
changes Garfield, Pittsburgh and the World. And that is why I volunteer at Thrifty.
Local neighbors and
friends will be the featured
models at Thrifty‘s
Affordable Chic Luncheon
and Fashion Show on April
14 at East Liberty
Presbyterian Church in the
Social Hall. Lunch is
included. We look forward
to seeing you there!
Shawna Hammond and Shirley at TMC
Model Anna Bowman
14 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
Thomas Merton Center 40th Anniversary Event
Focuses on the Life of Thomas Merton
More about “Fourth and Walnut” from the diaries of Thomas Merton
In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that
I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It
was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness.
The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Not that I question the reality of my vocation, or of my monastic life: but the
conception of "separation from the world" that we have in the monastery too easily presents itself as a complete illusion ....
[W]e are in the same world as everybody else, the world of the bomb, the world of race hatred, the world of technology, the world of mass
media, big business, revolution, and all the rest .... This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me
that I almost laughed out loud .... To think that for sixteen or seventeen years I have been taking seriously this pure illusion that is implicit in
so much of our monastic thinking .... I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As
if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize
this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
(Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, By Thomas Merton New York: Doubleday, 1996)
Thomas Merton Center
NEW PERSONS
AWARDS
Honoring
OCCUPY
PITTSBURGH
May 31, 2012
7 to 9:30 PM East Liberty
Presbyterian Church
Social Hall
$20 general admission / $15 low-income
Reserve online at
http://tinyurl.com/6qug3zf
April, 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 15
Join Us in Chicago (Continued from page 5)
The G8, consisting of the world's
eight largest economies, is a global
forum for the 1%. It began in 1975
when then-French President Valery
Giscard d'Estaing invited leaders
from the governments of the United
States, the United Kingdom, Italy,
West Germany and Japan to his
country for a summit conference.
The Group expanded to seven
nations in 1976 when Canada
joined, and became G8 in 1997 with
the inclusion of Russia. The G8
holds a three day conference every
year and follows a "no topics off
limits" policy for these meetings.
Over the past thirty-seven years, a
wide variety of topics has been
covered from trade issues to foreign
affairs, "terrorism,‖ health, the
environment, labor and economics.
With the exception of Russia and
Japan, every other current member
of the G8 is also a member of
NATO.
Last year's meeting was held in
Deauville, France, and, according to
the World Socialist website, G8
leaders demanded an intensification
of austerity programs across the
globe at the very moment that
billions of dollars were being spent
upon the NATO bombing campaign
against Libya. Criticism at the
meeting by the U.S. delegates,
among others, called into question
the handling the so-called European
"debt crisis." This led to increased
pressure upon Greece to create more
austerity measures and
privatizations.
These pressures were later
extended to Italy, which led to an
ouster in both nations of
democratically elected leaders with
replacements made by unelected
agents of bankers.
All of this follows a familiar
pattern throughout the capitalist
world community in which money
for imperialist military
"interventions" is readily available,
but money for the service of human
needs is deemed increasingly scarce.
Demonstrators coming to Chicago
will be greeted by a series of ultra-
repressive measures pushed through
by Chicago‘s Mayor (Barack Obama
pal) Rahm Emanuel. Among these
measures organizers are required to
pre-register any sign that requires
more than one person to carry it.
Resisting arrest at the event
includes the act of going limp. This
form of resistance can result in a
$1000 fine. Although permits have
been issued for the May 19 rally and
march, they carry the proviso that
they can be abrogated by the Secret
Service or Homeland Security.
It is imperative that those who
are able to go to Chicago not only
protest the depredations of NATO
and the G8, but that they also stand
up and defend out First Amendment
rights to free speech and peaceable
assembly.
Michael Drohan is a member of the
Thomas Merton Center Board and
an organizer working to end the
war on the Anti-War Committee.
By Scilla Wahrhaftig
It was not your typical potluck
dinner. Iraqi refugees and U.S.
veterans of the Iraq War were
sharing a meal together in a
Pittsburgh art gallery on a Sunday
afternoon. Surrounding them were
murals, three dozen of them,
depicting the human cost of the war
in Afghanistan.
The unusual group was marking
the end of American Friends Service
Committee (AFSC) Windows and
Mirrors exhibit in Pittsburgh, which
had drawn over 1,100 people in the
course of its one month stay. But
they were doing something else
too. They were picking up the
threads of a conversation.
When AFSC‘s Pittsburgh program
inspired the launching of the War
Dialogues project created by Joyce
Wagner, the idea seemed simple:
open up a dialogue between an Iraqi
war refugee and a U.S. veteran who
served in Iraq. But when Iraqi
refugee Mina Al Doori and US
veteran Joyce Wagner first met and
began sharing the memories of their
experiences in Iraq—those feelings
were not so simple.
―I‘ve talked to other vets about the
war, of course,‖ says Joyce. ―But
talking with Mina, I had to think
about it in a different way, a more
accountable way.‖ At first Mina was
nervous, too. ―I wasn‘t sure if it was
right to share my real feelings with
an American. I mean, I can‘t speak
for all the Iraqi people. Everyone has
a different opinion.‖
The relationships each woman had
built with AFSC‘s Pittsburgh
program helped them build trust with
one another. When Windows and
Mirrors opened in Pittsburgh, it
opened with a special addition, a
collaborative installation created by
Joyce and Mina through stories and
art over the past year. The two artists
were joined by other speakers and
audiences in a series of events
organized by AFSC‘s Pittsburgh
program to compliment the exhibit.
Sawsan Alobaidi spoke about
raising a baby in Iraq during
sanctions, the Kuwait war, and the
Iraq war. Iris Kaminski talked about
her experiences in the Israeli army
and her peace work in Pittsburgh.
Judith Kelly, who was part of a
recent delegation to Afghanistan,
shared stories of the Afghani people
she met there. Peter Lems brought
his perspective as AFSC‘s Program
Director for the Middle East. And
the Pittsburgh Playback Theatre
moved audiences to tears with their
interpretations of the murals and
reflections shared.
The potluck dinner for Iraqi
refugees and U.S. war veterans
brought Windows and Mirrors to a
fitting close, but it certainly did not
mark the end of the conversations,
learning, and healing begun in
Pittsburgh.
In fact the occasion inspired two
more pairs of refugees and veterans
to step forward and begin dialogues
of their own. The unique voices that
they will bring to Pittsburgh‘s War
Dialogues have only just begun to be
heard.
Scilla Wahrhaftig is the Program
Director American Friends Service
Committee in PA.
The War Dialogues
16 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2012
S O C I A L A C T I O N C A L E N D A R A P R I L 2 01 2
See calendar on TMC Website for more details about events. www.thomasmertoncenter.com/calendar/
-Amnesty Int‘l Letter
Writing Salon 4-6pm
Kiva Han Oakland,
weekly
-Book‘Em Packing Day
4-7pm Merton Center
weekly
-Anti-War Meeting
2pm at the Thomas
Merton Center
HAPPY EASTER!
TMC 40th Anniversary Event
―ALIVE at 4th and
Walnut‖—Play @
Thomas Merton 4-6 pm
Synod Hall Oakland (free)
-Anti-War Meeting 2pm
at TMC
-Book‘em Packing
4-7pm at TMC
-Human Rights Letter
Writing Salon 4-6 pm
Kiva Han on South Craig
9th PIIN Banquet
4-7:30 pm
Westin Convention Ctr
RSVP (412) 621-9230
Amnesty Int‘l Letter
Human Rights Letter-
Writing Salon 4-6pm
Kiva Han Oakland
-Book‘Em Packing Day
4-7pm Merton Center
weekly
Economic Justice Mtg. at
TMC 4-5:30pm
-Anti-War Meeting
2pm at the Thomas
Merton Center
--Book‘Em Packing Day
4-7pm Merton Center
weekly
Amnesty Int‘l Letter
Book‘em Packing
4-6pm Kiva Han Oakland
8
15
22
29
Bread and Puppet at
the Brew House 7-8pm
2100 Mary St. Pgh 15203
www.artup.org
In early May
Martin Delaney Lives
Wali Jamal‘s work
commemorating the 200th Birthday of Martin
Delaney one of
Pittsburgh‘s best. August Wilson Center
May 1-6
Call 412-583-6395 to
make reservations
9
16
23
Tax Day Rally & Penny
Poll Noon-3pm
Squirrel Hill by Post Office
Highmark‘s potential
purchase of West Penn
Hospital 9am/7pm
Public Hearings
Westin Convention Ctr.
CCAC Labor Mgmt
Forum 3pm Forester Hall Allegheny Campus
10
17
24
Green Party Mtg—7-9pm
2121 Murray Ave.
Citizen Power Offices
People & Labor in China
7:30-8:30pm Friends
Meeting House
Business/Political Networking Mixer at Hosanna House 5:30-6:30pm 807 Wallace St. Wilkinsburg, PA 15221
―Crossing the
American Crisis‖
Movie at the Pump
House in Homestead
7:30-9:00 PM
Thurs 5
12
19
26
Pax Christi—Way of the
Cross/ Way of Compassion
Pgh. Greyhound Bus Station
8:45 AM (In support of TMC)
First Friday Action on
Unemployment Comp. 1:30-3pm at the Post Office,
Grant and 7th Avenue,
Downtown, Contact Tony at
412.462.9962
New People Editorial
Collective Meeting at Thomas Merton Center 10:30
Equal Pay Day Rally
Market Square
Noon-1pm Women /Girls Fdt.
Let‘s Talk Diversity
3-4:45 pm (Free)
Pitt School of Law
Ground Floor, Teplitz Rm
CAUSE lecture
4:30-6:30pm
Dr. Michael Honey
CMU Baker Hall Steinberg Auditorium
New People Editorial
Collective Meeting at
Thomas Merton Center
10:30 am
New People Editorial
Collective Meeting at
Thomas Merton Center
10:30 am
Workers Memorial Day
Market Square
11:30 am
Mindfulness Retreat with
Dharma Teacher
Chan Huy
April 27-29 caontact
Nuin Center on Bryant St In Highland Park Pgh
Fri 6
13
20
27
Darfur Coalition Meeting
Meeting Room C
Carnegie Library
5:30—7 pm Contact [email protected]
PUSH MEETING
6:15-8:00 pm
Health Care 4 All
2101 Murray Avenue Squirrel Hill
TMC 40th Anniversary Event
Thomas Merton Book
Study at Calvary
Episcopal Church
7-8:30pm
Write On! Letters for
Prisoner Rights
7-10pm TMC
Darfur Coalition Meeting
Meeting Room C
Carnegie Library
5:30—7 pm Contact [email protected]
Write On! Letters for
Prisoner Rights
7-10pm TMC
11
18
25
Women in Black
Monthly Peace Vigil
10-11am In Slippery Rock
Ginger Hill Unitarian Church
Haiti Solidarity
Committee Meeting 10 AM to noon at TMC
Sat 7
TMC Thrifty Fashion Show Noon –3pm East Liberty
Presbyterian Church Hall
Walk for Congo Women 9-11 am Chatham University
Black Voices for Peace
Anti-War Protest 1pm Corner Penn & Highland 15206
Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver
Mike Honey at the Pump
House 1:30—3:30 PM
Career Fair 10 am-6 pm Hosanna House
Labor Organization as a
Human and Civil Right
9-11:30am
Pallisades in McKeesport
Fight for Lifers West Mtg
10-Noon Crossroads United Methodist
Church—325 Highland Dr.
East Liberty
Black Voices for Peace
Anti-War Protest
1pm at the corner of Penn
and Highland
Bread for the World
Workshop 9:30-12:30pm
Good Shepherd Church,
4503 Old William Penn Hwy Monroeville, 15146
Jazz Royalty Series
New Hazlett Theater
Roy Ayers—8 pm
Black Voices for Peace
Anti-War Protest
1pm at the corner of Penn
and Highland
14
21
28
ADVERTISE IN THE NEW PEOPLE The New People circulation is 3,000 monthly. Additional 10% discount for non-profit organizations /faith-based groups. PAGE SIZE MONTHLY 6 MONTHS @10% off 12 Mos.@ 20% off
Full $250 $1350 ($225) $2200 ($200)
Half $130 $702 ($117) $1144 ($104)
Quarter $70 $378 ($63) $616 ($56)
Sixth $50 $270 ($45) $396 ($36)
Eighth $40 $216 ($36) $352 ($32)
Business card $15 $81 ($14) $132 ($12)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DIANE - 412-301-3022 or email
TMC CLASSIFIED SECTION IN THIS EDITION
THOMAS MERTON CENTER has partnered
with OCCUPY PITTSBURGH‘s Communication
Work Group to support their production of a four
page insert.
The opinions expressed in the Occupy Insert
are those of the individuals who wrote
them and are neither endorsed, approved
or censored by the Merton Center.
Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook
(www.ProgressivePghNotebook.blip.tv).
Carlana Rhoten Producer ―Let‘s Talk About Sweatshops @ PNC Park‖ Kenneth Miller
Producer (412-867-9213)
Free Speech TV— AL JAZEERA, Public
Access TV
Democracy Now - 8 am-Mon-Fri@ 8 am; AJ
Stream @ 9 am, & Faultlines at @ 9:30
Part-time Office Coordinator Position available at TMC
The Thomas Merton Center (TMC) is looking to hire a part-time Of-
fice Coordinator to work 20 hours during the week and occasional
Saturdays and weekday evenings. Hours worked will primarily fall
between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Skills needed for this position in-
clude expertise with Microsoft: Publisher, Word, Excel and Access.
The Office Coordinator welcomes visitors and acts as a special event
assistant and support person to staff, board, interns, volunteers, and
committee leaders. Responsible for overseeing the donor database,
ordering supplies, and assisting with accounting tasks. Paid sick and
vacation time are offered. $12 hourly rate. Please send resume and
cover letter to [email protected] by April 15, 2012.
Write On! Letters for
Prisoner Rights
7-10pm TMC
PA Alternative to the
Death Penalty 7-8pm
First Unitarian Church Ellsworth/Morewood Aves.
Shadyside
TMC Membership
Meeting Noon at TMC
Lobby Day and Rally to
Restore the HEMAP
Program in Harrisburg,
1-2 pm Call John Dodds 215-557-0822
TMC Project Committee
Meeting at 2:30 at the
Thomas Merton Center
Anti-War Meeting
2pm at the Thomas Merton
Center
Book‘Em Packing Day
4-7pm Merton Center
weekly
Lawrenceville Historical
Society Tour 1 pm
Liberty and Herron Aves
Sun 1 Mon 2 Tues 3 Wed 4
TMC Board Mtg
6pm Potluck
7-9pm Meeting
(CLOSE the School
of the America’s
(SOA) Washington
DC from April 14 to
17. More information
is available at
www.soaw.org)