Pax Christi Tampa Bay E-mail Newsletter

NEWSLETTER ITEMS

1.   Weekly Calendar, including new listings for Peace First and others

2.   Impeachment vote Tuesday

3.  AgJobs bill before Senate this week

4.  Jim Crow in the Pews

5.  Free Trade vs. Fair Trade

6.  Execution planned; information and actions

7.  Walk for Health in Haiti

8.  Veterans for Peace on Campus

9.  Eckerd College lectures

10. Close the SOA/WHINSEC; “Human Costs of War in Iraq”

11. ASAP “Still No Room at the Inn” Caroling

12. Friends report on Iraq War funding

Good folks,

Despite the American Bar Association’s call for a nationwide moratorium, and despite the U.S. Supreme Court blocking an execution in Mississippi last week until it can decide a lethal injection case next spring, the Florida Supreme Court has approved lethal injection in Florida.  The State of Florida is planning to execute Mark Schwab on Thursday, November 14.  Pax Christi Tampa Bay and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty are planning a vigil at the intersection of Ulmerton Road and 49^th Street in mid-Pinellas County from 5:00-6:30 PM.  Details, and links to information on the Supreme Court decisions and the ABA report are below.

Also below is information on a farmworker bill and a bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney which come before Congress this week, the Weekly Calendar, information on a Walk for health in Haiti, a special Pax Christi gathering at the actions to close the SOA/WHINSEC, talks on social justice, and more.

Pax Christi Tampa Bay

WEEKLY CALENDAR

PEACE DEMONSTRATION: Corner of U.S. 19 and Grover Cleveland Boulevard Tuesdays in Homosassa from 4:00-5:00 PM.  For more information (FMI): George at (352) 382-2753.

PEACE FIRST NEW LOCATION:   Peace First will be at the corner of Gulfport Boulevard S. and South Pasadena Avenue in South Pasadena from 5:00-6:00 PM every Wednesday in November.  FMI: SMcCown@tampabay.rr.com

Dunedin peace cornering NEW LOCATION: Main St. and Broadway in Dunedin, 4:30-6:00 PM on Wednesday, with parking at the Dunedin Marina. This location or day may change depending upon the actions of counter-protesters, so contact Melissa or Kim for updates.

PEACEMAKING AND NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION CLASS:  A class on peacemaking and nonviolent direct action will meet every Thursday from noon to 1:30 PM at the American Baptist Church of the Beatitudes, 2812 8th St. N. in St. Petersburg.  Sponsored by Refuge Ministries, the class will feature a DVD curriculum by the Mennonite Youth Fellowship, discussion of readings on peace and nonviolent resistance, the history of nonviolent resistance, and contemporary issues viewed from the perspective of nonviolent action for social change. FMI: (727) 271-5478.

WEEKLY PEACE DEMONSTRATION: Join Peace Now Citrus County in downtown Inverness at Old Citrus County Courthouse every Thursday from 5:00-6:00 PM.  FMI: Beverly at (352) 400-4174.

WEEKLY PEACE DEMONSTRATION: Pasco County Vigil, US 19 and Ridge Rd in Port Richey every Friday from 7:30-8:30 AM. FMI: bettejo@flpan.org

SILENT PEACE VIGIL IN SARASOTA: Join the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice for a silent vigil for peace on Fridays from 4:00-5:00 PM at the Sarasota Bayfront (near Marina Jack's) off Route 41, right after the Ringling cutoff.  FMI: http://www.swfcpj.org/

FRIDAY PICNIC AND SHARING: St. Pete Food Not Bombs holds a picnic and sharing of food at 7:30 PM each Friday in Williams Park at the corner of 2nd Avenue North and 4th Street in downtown St. Petersburg.  St. Pete Food Not Bombs needs volunteers and donations of vegetarian/vegan food.  FMI: http://www.stpetefnb.org/ or contact Tracy@stpetefnb.org or carol@stpetefnb.org. 

PICNIC IN WILLIAMS PARK: MANNA: The Free Food Coalition is sponsoring a picnic Saturday afternoons in Williams Park.  Picnickers bring food to share, play chess, toss Frisbees, read, play music, etc. MANNA is a non-profit Christian organization that serves others by providing food and clothing that would have been thrown away otherwise.  The Refuge and St. Pete for Peace are among supporting groups.  The picnics are each Saturday from 3:00-5:00 PM at Williams Park on 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue N. in downtown St. Petersburg.

CRITICAL RESISTANCE: Critical Resistance, a group working on ending privatized prisons and other prison issues, meets Sunday nights at 8:00 PM at the American Baptist Church of the Beatitudes, 8th St. and 28th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg.  FMI: (727) 278-1547or bgcwright@aol.com

SINGLE EVENTS

IMPEACHMENT VOTE TUESDAY:  Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is planning to force a vote on impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney this Tuesday, November 6.  FMI on the motion and how to support it, go to http://www.neimpeach.org/wp/?page_id=59

FARMWORKER ACTION NEEDED IN SENATE THIS WEEK: AgJOBS is a bipartisan earned legalization program that has been negotiated between the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the agricultural industry. The current farm worker situation is bad for farmers, bad for farm workers and bad for the nation. Over 50% of farm workers are undocumented.  This bill would provide America with a stable farm labor force and help ensure that farm workers are treated fairly.

The Senate Farm Bill should go to the Senate floor this coming week.  United Farm Workers supports adding AgJOBS as an amendment to the Farm Bill.  For a link that will send a fax of support to Senators, and FMI on the bill, go to http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/agjobsfax/8k56n54hmn7tem

JIM CROW IN THE PEWS: Race and Religion in America: Join St. Petersburg Times columnist Bill Maxwell and Times book critic Margo Hammond, co-editors of Race and Religion: The Elixir of Separation for a discussion of race and religion on Wednesday, November 7 at the Studio@620, 620 First Avenue South in St. Petersburg.   A reception is at 6:00 PM; remarks and discussion begin at 7:00 PM.  The moderator will be Ray Arsenault, John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History and co-director of the Florida Studies Program at the University of South Florida. Space is limited and an RSVP is required; call 727-895-6620 or e-mail information@thestudioat620.com  FMI: http://www.thestudioat620.org/p_rt-sj_07-08.htm

FREE TRADE VS. FAIR TRADE: Join economist George F. DeMartino for a free public lecture, “Free Trade Versus Fair Trade: Where Economics Gets It Right…and Wrong,” on Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 PM in Cooper Hall 115 on the University of South Florida Tampa Campus, 4202 East Fowler Avenue.  A discussion of the lecture from the perspective of Catholic social teaching will follow, facilitated by USF Associate Professor of Sociology James Cavendish.  DeMartino is the Associate Professor of Economics in the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver and the author of several books on the ethics of international trade.  FMI, including a map and information on parking, press CRTL and click here.

ANTI-DEATH PENALTY ACTIONS: In September 2006, a blue-ribbon American Bar Association (ABA) panel of judges, legal scholars and attorneys issued a report on Florida’s death penalty which made six recommendations for Florida’s death penalty system (one panel member called Florida’s death penalty “uneven and ineffective”).  Florida has ignored all six recommendations.  Florida leads the country with 22 wrongful death row convictions, yet the state has never investigated any of the wrong convictions.  The U.S. Supreme Court stayed an execution in Mississippi until it can rule on lethal injection, yet the Florida Supreme Court has approved lethal injections in Florida.  Despite all these problems with executions in Florida, an execution is scheduled for Thursday, November 15. 

Please contact Governor Crist to oppose the death penalty:
E-mail: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Governor’s office phone number: (850) 488-7146
Mailing address:
Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
PL-05 The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

For an article about the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow lethal injection and the upcoming execution, press CTRL and click here

For a press release about the ABA death penalty report issued last week, with excellent talking points for letters to Governor Crist, the media, etc., press CTRL and click here

To read the ABA report on Florida’s death penalty, press CTRL and click here

A vigil against the death penalty will be held from 5:00-6:30 PM on Thursday, November 15 at the corner of 49th Street and Ulmerton Road in mid-Pinellas County.  This is the same site used for previous execution vigils.  Park in the lot behind Checkers on the northwest corner.  Signs will be available.  Participants will gather afterwards for a meal at a nearby restaurant.  The vigil is sponsored by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Pax Christi Tampa Bay. FMI: arichter58@msn.com or (727) 573-2935

NOTE: If the execution is postponed, the vigil will be cancelled.

WALK FOR HAITI:  La Gonave, Haiti is one of the poorest regions in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Most people have no access to medical care or to safe drinking water and life expectancy is only 57 years. One 35-bed hospital serves a population of over 100,000.

The "Walk for Health in Haiti" will raise money for the Partners with Haiti, Inc.’s fourth annual medical mission to La Gonave and for training two local Haitians to staff a new permanent clinic developed by Partners with Haiti.  The walk will take place on Saturday November 17 at 8:00 AM.  Participants will meet in the parking lot at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 1800  12^th St. on N. in St. Petersburg.  The route is about 3 miles around Crescent Lake and back to the church.  Participants may choose to walk or remain at the starting point. The registration fee of $20 includes a T-shirt and refreshments.  Everyone is invited to walk and gather sponsors for the walk. 

Partners with Haiti, Inc. a ministry of St. Paul's Catholic parish in St. Petersburg. FMI: (727) 642-5868 or jimstitt@tampabay.rr.com

VETERANS FOR PEACE ON CAMPUS:  After lobbying the Pinellas County School Board for the same access to students as the military, Veterans for Peace have been allowed onto high school campuses.  To read a St. Petersburg Times article about their first visit, hold down CTRL and click here.  

ECKERD COLLEGE LECTURES:

Conflict Diamonds, Refugees and Environmental Impacts of War- lecture by Doug Henry, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Texas, on Monday, November 12, 2007 at 7:30 PM in Miller Auditorium.

An Evening with Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer, commentator, activist, and University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 7 PM in Fox Hall.

These lectures are free and open to the public.  FMI: http://www.eckerd.edu/president/pes/

CLOSE THE SOA/WHINSEC: Join the thousands of people from around the world who will gather at Fort Benning, in Columbus, Georgia for a vigil to demand closing the US Army School of Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC), this November 15-18. The SOA/WHINSEC, which is located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, has taught terrorism and torture to some of the worst human rights abusers in Latin America. FMI, including information on the rally, housing, the SOA/WHINSEC, etc., go to www.SOAW.org

Also be sure to join Pax Christi USA for “The Human Costs of War in Iraq,” on Friday, November 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in The Presidential Room at the Howard Johnson Hotel, 1011 Veterans Parkway in Columbus.  Speakers include:
-Katy Zatsick Scott of Pax Christi USA and Military Families Speak Out.  Scott’s son Jason was injured in Iraq in October 2005 and spent eight months recuperating at Walter Reed Hospital;

-Joe Colgan, a Pax Christi member whose son Ben was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in November 2003;

-Ra'ed Jarrar, an Iraqi political analyst and activist who was the director for the only door-to-door casualty survey in post-war Iraq.

FMI: johnnypcusa@yahoo.com; (352) 219-8419; http://www.paxchristiusa.org

ASAP “Still No Room at the Inn” CAROLING: The twenty-first annual "Still... No Room at the Inn" Carol Sing with ASAP Homeless Services will be held from 7:00-9:00 P.M. on Friday, December 14, beginning at the ASAP Drop-in Center, 423 11th Avenue South in St. Petersburg.  Again this year, Friends of ASAP will serve carolers and shelter residents at its cookout before the caroling, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM.  Carolers sing at homeless shelters and nursing homes and end at Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg with cookies. The caroling and cookout are free and open to the public, so invite families, friends, religious groups, clubs, co-workers, etc.  FMI on the caroling: (727) 894-2832; FMI on ASAP, call (727) 823-5665.

FCNL REPORT ON IRAQ WAR FUNDING: Although Congress isn't ready to cut off funding for war, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) reports that support is growing for cutting off funding and for the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's diplomacy strategy. The first legislation that attempted to turn the recommendations of the Study Group into policy won bipartisan support in both chambers but was blocked by the leadership of both major political parties.

Now new legislation introduced in the House by Representative David Price (NC) with 17 cosponsors, the New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act (H.R. 3797), would mandate and monitor the diplomatic negotiations that are a key part of the Iraq Study Group's proposals to establish the conditions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The leadership in the House has agreed to hold a stand-alone vote on this bill before the end of the year if it gains at least 40 cosponsors. The bill would almost certainly pass if it comes to a floor vote and would establish the basis for attaching these recommendations to the next war funding bill when it comes to a vote in January or February of 2008.

This legislation would take us a next step toward ending the U.S. war in Iraq and would support those in the administration who are promoting diplomacy rather than confrontation. It would establish the conditions for a new U.S. policy in 2009 that might lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Stay up-to-date by checking the FNCL Iraq Peace page

For details, go to the New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act (H.R. 3797)