Old business
1. Approval of Minutes for February 2: The minutes
were approved with the correction of spelling of Weikamp.
2. Progress Reports
a. Midwest Peace and Justice Summit
- March 27: It turns out that no one from the Michiana area attended the summit.
The van that we reported Kathy taking to the summit was actually to a Progressive
meeting at the Hilton in Indy a few weeks earlier. Pam attended the Progessive
meeting and said it was very good.
b. Topic of the Month: Nonviolent Resistance to Corporate Influence: Lois was not able to do anything on this topic. She will try again and get a statement to Peter to spur discussion on the listserv.
c. Health Care Initiative: This initiative was finally passed. We decided that the best thing we can do is continue to speak the truth to counter irrational fears people are experiencing when being lied to by the tea party folks. The chair of the League of Women Voters recently spoke to residents at the YWCA who were worried that they could not afford the fines for not having health care. The truth is that not only would they not be fined, but the government would provide funding to help them attain heath care insurance. There was a very rowdy demonstration outside Donnelly's office during the week before the vote that most of us attended. The tea party folks were interspersed with pro-healthcare demonstators. We tried to point out how spending for the war has greatly reduced our ability to provide universal health care.
d. Tax Day - April 15: We decided to limit the hours to 6-10pm for the vigil outside the post office due to the drop off in last minute filers. Several folks volunteered to spend time at this annual vigil and leafletting. Peter has the flyers and will stamp and fold them. Glenda Rae and Ellyn will be there from 9-10, Lois and Pam from 7-9, Rey from 7:30-9, Peter from 6-8. Pam will call Kathy and Bob. Peter will call Caroline, Lee, Jay and some Saint Mary's folks.
3. Treasurer's Report: Our bank total is $240.02 with $11.32 in petty cash. We authorized Glenda Rae to renew our membership in Jobs with Justice and also pay our entrance fee for the Memorial Day parade. Peter will get her an invoice for JWJ dues and Pam will let her know about the parade.
New Business
1. What do we (can we) do next? We decided to participate in the Memorial Day parade on the west side. Pam will call to find out how to get an application. We will decorate Rey's truck with some Red, White, Blue bunting from Lois. We will carry the MPJC banner and Lois (and possibly Ron) will ride in the truck.
2. Topic of the Month: We decided to take up the topic of Food Justice as spring has finally arrived. Rey will email the list with a statement to get the discussion going.
3. Other Topics and Issues: Jim Wallace has an editorial in the last Sojourner magazine about lowering the deficit by cutting military spending (except for returning veterans).
Glenda Rae handed out a flyer about the League's public fora for candidates for political office. Voter Registration closes at the end of the week. The contents of the flyer were published on the listserve a couple of days ago.
On April 10, IUSB heritage center is sponsoring a dedication of the Natatorium sidewalk at 9:30am and a community panel discussion at 10:30am. Both events will take place at the Natatorium building on West Washington. There will be a Gospel celebration that evening at 6:00pm at Olivet AME church, 719 Notre Dame Ave.
4. Next meeting: The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 11, at 7 pm. Place to be determined. Peter will not be able to attend this meeting.