Old business
1. Approval of Minutes for June 8: The minutes were
approved as written.
2. Progress Reports
a. Topic of the Month: Food Justice:
Rey brought his proposed position statement in hard copy and we passed it
around. He will send Peter an email copy and Peter will incorporate Ellyn's
comments and send it out to the list for comments.
b. Topic of the Month: Nonviolent Resistance to Corporate Influence: Rey passed around a resolution supported by Move-On called the Washington Corruption Pledge Drive. He proposed that MPJC partner with the local Move-on chapter to prepare for a rally on August 10th. We would collect signatures on pledges asking Congress to start proceedings to change the Constitution to remove the designation of Corporations as persons, to pass legislation to support candidates, who are not receiving corporate backing, with public financing, and to make it illegal for government officials to lobby for 5 years after they leave government service. After some discussion we decided to support this temporary partnership as long as it is clear we will not engage in any partisan politics endorsed by Move-on. Rey, Peter, Carol, and several others will attend the Move-on planning meeting on Monday, July 26, at 7pm at Panera Bread store at Day and Main. Peter will summarize the pledge drive information found at www.fightwashingtoncorruption.org/resources.html and send it to the list serv.
c. August 6 gathering: We decided to meet at the corner of Michigan and Colfax at 11:00 on August 6. Peter will prepare a flier and send it out for suggestions ASAP. The flier could be modeled after some that Lois had brought. This is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. and Russia have signed the New START treaty and now it is time to pressure the Senate to do the same. WAND is spearheading efforts in this area and we can get flier information from their website. There are a lot of groups putting pressure on Senators to reject it. Peter will bring a card table with some information. Rey and Lois will bring some of the silhouettes we used before. Lois will bring a sandwich board sign we can stand up near the table. She wanted Peter to walk around as Rip van Winkle with a sign asking people to wake up, but he wasn't too keen on that. The Atomic Scientist Clock now stands at 6 minutes to midnight. Other ideas for the flier: push Obama to reduce spending on Nuclear weapons (instead of increasing it as he is doing), note that the danger posed by nuclear weapons is much greater now that they have been acquired by rogue nations.
d. IPJN News: There was a Vietnam War reenactment at a state park near Indianapolis and IPJN had a rally at the entrance opposing it. Peter is now getting all the ijpn emails.
e. June 17 Peace Potluck: It was nice and informal, but the CPNV organizers had hoped that they would get volunteers for committees to focus on peace issues. The next meeting is next Tuesday and Lois will see how successful they were. There did not seem to be a lot of networking going on at the picnic.
3. Treasurer's Report: Our bank total is $140.02 with $10 in petty cash. We paid $25 to continue our membership in IPJN. We also sent David James a $25 check in appreciation for his help with the Memorial Day parade and for making the CD which we will ask for, but we have not yet received the CD. Rey will follow up on this.
New Business
1. What do we (can we) do next? We skipped this item and did not get back to it. We have quite a bit on our plate as it is.
2. Walk for Human Rights - July 29th: We decided to endorse this march to end racial profiling from Jon Hunt in front of the Morris Civic Theater at 4:30pm, past Donnelly's office to deliver a petition for national immigration reform, past the County Court House, down Washington to the Civil Rights Center, arriving about 6pm. Thursday, the 29th, is the day the Arizona immigration law takes effect. As many of us as possible will participate in the march.
3. IJPN call for impeachment endorsement: IJPN is calling on its members to endorse a move to impeach President Obama for war crimes, saying that he he has been as bad as Bush with his war policies. We decided not to participate in this effort as we believe the good he has done outweighs the bad.
3. Topic of the Month: We decided to continue with the current topics of Food Justice and Corporate influence in politics
4. Other Topics and Issues: The City Council will vote on the right to equal employment for glbt folks. Glenda Rae asked that as many folks attend as possible to support this bill. The meeting is on the 4th floor of the City County building at 7pm on Monday the 29th.
The YWCAs of South Bend and Elkhart are combining offices and staff to form the YWCA of North Central Indiana. They will sponsor an October 2nd men's march to walk one mile in her high heel shoes.
September 21 is the International Day for Prayer for Peace. The theme this year is "Peace in the City." There will be a prayer service on that day at noon at the City County lobby to honor the organizations who strive against violence locally. E.g. CURE's gun buyback, TAP, MLK foundation, Mamas against violence, etc.
5. Next meeting: The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 7, at 7pm at 1036 N. Niles Ave., South Bend.