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January 2005
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25
Years of Peacemaking • 1980 - 2005 |
Rally at State House Calling for
Voter-verified Paper Trail
Monday, January 10, 2005
12:00 Noon, State House, Trenton
A rally is being organized for
Monday, January 10 at noon on the State House steps in
Trenton on the theme, Make Every Vote Count! This is
the day before the January 11 scheduled second hearing
in New Jersey Superior Court of the lawsuit filed by
CFPA and others demanding a voter-verified paper trail
for all electronic voting machines. Carpooling to the
rally will be at 11:15 AM from the Eckerd end of the
Princeton Shopping Center. Please plan to attend,
and help spread the word!
Judge Linda Feinberg originally heard the case a week
before Election Day, and while not ordering emergency
remediation, kept the case open. She asked for more examples
of failures or questionable outcomes on electronic voting
machines. Please contact the Coalition office right away
if you had any negative voting experience with electronic
machine(s) as we will need to investigate and/or get
your affidavit immediately.
Speakers
Assemblyman
Reed Gusciora, prime sponsor
of a bill in the NJ Assembly that would mandate voter
verified paper back-up for all electronic voting machines
in NJ
Ms.
Leslie Potter, NJ Chief of Staff for Rep. Rush Holt,
prime sponsor of a bill in the US Congress that would
mandate voter verified paper back-up for all electronic
voting machines in the country
Ms. Alicia
Welch, Second Vice-President, Trenton NAACP
Don Dileo, American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees
Dr.
Rebecca Mercuri, Harvard University researcher and
computerized voting expert
Recently
The Coalition’s most recent effort to ensure that
every voter’s vote is counted was a December
13 press conference that included speakers Rep. Rush
Holt,
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, the Rev. Reginald Jackson
of the NJ Black Ministers Council, and others. Coverage
resulted in the Asbury Park Press, Trenton Times, Town
Topics and WZBN Television.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. accepting the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
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Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Candlelight March
& Interfaith Service
Monday, January 17, 2005
6:30 PM in front of First Baptist Church
7:00 PM, Trinity Church
Princeton,
NJ
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The annual interfaith service to commemorate the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., sponsored by the Princeton
Clergy Association, will be at 7:00 PM on Monday, January
17 at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street in Princeton. The
Rev. Carlton Branscomb, Pastor of First Baptist Church
in Princeton, will be the preacher, and faith leaders and
groups from many traditions will participate in the liturgy
and music.
or many years,
this Service has been a major interfaith event that expresses
our unity in response
to God’s
call for justice and peace. A free will offering will be
received which in recent years has been split between the
United Negro College Fund and the Coalition.
The Service will be preceded at 6:30
PM by a Candlelight March, sponsored by the Coalition for
Peace Action, from
the Martin Luther King monument in front of First Baptist
Church, at the corner of Paul Robeson Place and John Street,
to Trinity Church. All are encouraged to participate in
the Candlelight March and/or Interfaith Service.
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URGENT ACTION
Reject The "Secretary Of Torture
President Bush has nominated
Alberto Gonzales to replace John Aschroft as Attorney General
to the head of the Department of Justice. We have just
learned that this nomination will likely have initial hearings
in the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 5, so it is
urgent that you take the action(s) listed below as rapidly
as possible!
Gonzales has served as the White House
Counsel, where he wrote a series of infamous memos that
were used to justify the administration's policies of detention
and torture in the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Ashcroft war on
terror. The most telling of the memos referred to the Geneva
Convention's prohibitions against torture to be "quaint" and "obsolete."
Gonzales helped set policies that led
to torture and gross human rights abuse at Abu Ghraib in
Iraq, at Guantanamo, and in Afghanistan. The International
Red Cross and eyewitnesses from the FBI have now confirmed
such practices. These policies make America and Americans
less safe. For his extensive work in the area of the rationalization
of torture by the executive branch, we have come to calling
him the Secretary of Torture.
Gonzales' blatant disregard for the rule
of law and contempt for the Constitution demand that he
be rejected for the position of Attorney General.
ACTIONS: Write your newspaper, call your
senator and demonstrate against Alberto Gonzales. If your
Senator is a Democrat, ask her or him to filibuster the
Gonzales nomination.
Contact your Senator as indicated below.
If your Senator is not listed, you can reach his/her Washington
office through the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121
or via fax. All Senators vote on Cabinet nominations. Senator
Specter is expected to be the Chair of the Judiciary Committee,
and is especially influential.
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Peace and Justice Events
• Wednesday January 5
Tentative Date for the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on
Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General Nominee – see Action Alert at
left
• Monday January 10
Rally at State House for
Making Every Vote Count!
12:00 Noon, State House steps, Trenton.
11:15 AM, carpool meets at Eckerd end of Princeton Shopping
Center. [details]
• Monday January 17
Martin Luther King, Jr. Candlelight March and
Interfaith Service
6:30 PM, Candlelight March, Princeton Baptist Church (Corner
of John St. and Paul Robeson Dr.) to Trinity Church.
7:00 PM Interfaith Service. [details]
• Thursday, January 20
Counter-inaugural
Tabling for Peace
4:00 PM, Palmer Square, Princeton.
CFPA’s Students for Peace to sponsor information table.
Volunteers needed.
Call office for details.
• Thursday, January 20
Counter-inaugural Open House
4:00 – 8:00 PM, attendance only by RSVP to 609-430-0577. First 100
accepted.
• Friday, January 28
Give Peace a Dance
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Princeton, NJ • 7:30 P.M.
[details]
• Saturday, February
19
Peace Fest
Organized by Students for Peace.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Princeton, NJ.
Contact CFPA office for details. |
Senator Frank
Lautenberg
Tel: (973) 639-8700
Fax: 973-639-8723
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Senator Jon Corzine
Tel: 973-645-3030
Fax: 973- 645-0502
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Senator Arlen
Specter
Tel: 215-597-7200
Fax: 215-597-0406
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Write a letter to the editor of your local paper opposing
the Gonzales nomination. Click on the following link and
you can do it to as many newspapers as you want by email
newspaper
TALKING POINTS:
* The January 2002 memorandum that Gonzales
wrote not only undermined the Geneva Conventions, but went
as far as redefining permissible torture as anything short
of organ failure, death, or permanent psychological damage.
It is this memorandum that led the way to the prison scandals
at Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan.
* Mr. Gonzales fought to keep secret the
details of Vice President Dick Cheney's 2001 meetings with
oil, gas and nuclear concerns as part of his revamping of
U.S. energy policy.
* During Bush's term as Texas governor,
Gonzales repeatedly suppressed crucial death penalty case
facts that Bush should have considered in determining whether
to grant clemency, such as "ineffective counsel, conflict
of interest, mitigating evidence, even actual evidence of
innocence." He denied Pope John Paul II's clemency request
for Karla Faye Tucker in 1998, and failed to enlist a mental-health
expert on the behalf of mentally retarded Terry Washington,
as he was entitled to by the Supreme Court. Clearly. Gonzales
is not qualified to run our federal Justice Department.
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Give Peace
A Dance
to Benefit the
Coalition for Peace Action
Co-sponsored
by Social Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of Princeton
Friday,
January 28th
7:30 P.M. Beginner
East Coast Swing Lesson
8:15
- 11:00 P.M. Open
Dancing, DJ Mix |
Swing & LindyHop Dance
Held
at the
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ
DJ Mix: Swing & Lindy Hop
No partner necessary, beginners welcome
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Advance Tickets (deadline
past: this option is unavailable)
At the Door
$12 per adutl
$8 per student
Put on your dancing shoes,
and Bive Peace a Dance. A beginner east coast
swing lesson will start the evening off at 7:30 led
by a professional instructor. DJ mix of many favorite
classic jazz and rock 'n' roll songs, please bring
your requests. Light drinks and snacks will be provided.
Share your vision of peace, come dance with your
friends, neighbors and loved ones.
What is Swing & Lindy
Hop dancing?
Historically, Lindy Hop was breaking
out in the late 1920's in Harlem wherever people were
partying... But it wasn't until the opening of the
Savoy Ballroom that Lindy Hop got its name and a home.
At the Savoy the Lindy Hop got hotter and hotter, as
people danced to the best Big Bands in the land. The
dance developed as the popular Saturday night competitions
pushed good dancers to greatness. New steps were born
daily, styling got refined and was executed so well
that the dance was a joy to watch as well as do. When
it looked like it couldn't get any better, a young
dancer named Frankie "Musclehead" Manning
created the first airsteps in 1935, and the Lindy Hop
soared.
The airstep, while not often performed
in social dancing, has become a common dance move in
competitions since its creation. Depicted in many movies,
the man stands back to back with his partner and rolls
her over his back and the lady lands in front of him.
Frankie Manning and other fine dancers joined Whitey's
Hopping Maniacs. By 1936 Whitey's dancers had officially
made the big time. His top dancers worked a 6-month
gig at the famous Cotton Club. Meantime, Whitey pulled
together a second group of top dancers to perform for
the first time under the name "Whitey's Lindy
Hoppers" in their first major Hollywood film,
the Marx Brother's zany A Day at the Races.
Between gigs these dancers always
came home to the Savoy Ballroom. Their growing performance
skills must have brought a lot of excitement to the
Cat's Corner jams, where top dancers could shine in
a circle of spectators. No matter how far their professional
careers went, Whitey's dancers were always, first and
foremost, social dancers and true jazz dance improvisers.
In the early 1940's the Arthur Murray
studios looked at what was being done on the dance
floors in each city and directed their teachers to
teach what was being danced in their respective cities.
As a result, the Arthur Murray Studios taught different
styles of undocumented Swing in each city. At this
point Jitterbug, a simpler version of swing dancing,
had taken shape. As the music changed between the 1920's
and present day, (Jazz, Swing, Bop, Rock 'n' Roll,
Rhythm & Blues, Disco, Country), the Lindy Hop
and Jitterbug swing evolved across the U.S. with many
regional styles. The late 1940's brought forth many
dances that evolved from Rhythm & Blues music:
the Houston Push and Dallas whip (Texas), the Imperial
Swing (St. Louis), the D.C. Hand Dancing (Washington),
and the Carolina Shag (Carolinas and Norfolk) were
just a few.
Today Swing & Lindy Hop are extremely
vibrant across the country, keeping to their original
roots of social dancing.
Directions
From
Route 1 (North or South): Take the Washington Road
exit into Princeton. At the fourth light turn left
onto Nassau St. and go three lights to the intersection
of Nassau and Rt.206. Turn right onto Rt.206 North.
At the third light take a left onto Cherry Hill
Rd. The Unitarian Church will be immediately on
the left.
From the North: Take Route 206 south towards Princeton. Travel
3.8 miles past the intersection of routes 518 and 206 to the
light at Cherry Hill Road (which is the fourth light). Turn
right onto Cherry Hill Road. The Unitarian Church is immediately
on the left.
From South Jersey via I-295: Take Rte. I-295 North until it
turns into I-95 South (by Rte. 1 New Brunswick exit). Continue
on I-95 South (also still I-295 North!) for 2 exits (~2 miles).
Take Exit 7B onto Rte. 206 North. Continue for ~6 miles, at
a traffic light where Rte. 206 continues to the left. (straight
ahead turns into Nassau St. / Rte 27). Follow Rte. 206 North,
then make left at 3rd light (~1 mile) onto Cherry Hill Rd.
Unitarian Church is immediately on left.
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Anne
Blenman has joined the Coalition’s staff as Associate
Director. Anne has worked with and consulted for numerous
non-profit organizations and Foundations, and was founding
editor of The Female Spectator, the newsletter of the Early
English Women’s Writing project, currently housed
in Chawton, England. She worked several years with an international
policy group on Asia at Stanford University after spending
two years in Japan. She also spent three years as a Resident
Fellow at Stanford at the East Asia Theme House, where
she worked with students and staff to bring cultural and
educational events to the community.
She and her family moved
in 2001 from Palo Alto, CA, where she worked with internet
companies to build websites for
newspapers, including The New York Times, and enjoyed rather
better weather. Anne is a long-time advocate for individuals
with disabilities, particularly those with autism. We
are very pleased to welcome Anne to our staff, and look
forward to additions to our website, including a gallery
of photos and stories on current activities and the past
25 years of peace making.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW COALITION STAFF MEMBERS |
 With
the generous support of a grant from the Ploughshares
Fund, the Coalition has
hired the Rev. Al Krass to be its part time Bucks County
Coordinator. In this capacity, Al’s primary responsibility
will be to follow up on the many contacts made in the Peace
Voter 2004 effort in Pennsylvania, and to recruit new members
and start new chapters there.
We’re pleased to report that Al, who is a real mover
and shaker, has already begun one chapter in central Bucks
County and has three more chapters in formation!
Prior to coming to the Coalition’s staff, Al had
served since 2001 as Peacemaking Staff to the Metropolitan
Christian Council of Philadelphia. He also served as pastor
of United Christian Church in Levittown, PA for 11 years,
and has lived and worked in Bucks County for some 20 years.
In the late 1970’s, when Al was co-editor of The
Other Side, a Philadelphia headquartered Christian peace
and justice magazine, he and CFPA executive director Rev.
Bob Moore were part of the same house church, Jubilee Fellowship.
We are delighted to welcome Al to our
staff. To reach Al for more information, and/or to get
involved in one
of the Pennsylvania chapters he is helping form, call him
at 215-547-2656 or email: second.isaiah@verizon.net
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DVD's
OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE
WITH NOAM CHOMSKY
AVAILABLE NOW.
At long last,
DVDs of the Coalition’s
November 14 Conference on The Impact of the Media on War
and Peace are available. There is one DVD of about 105
minutes of the talk by Noam Chomsky, along with his question/answer
period. There is a second 120-minute DVD of the talks by
Amy Goodman, Peter Hart, Laura Secor, and Gregori Pasko,
along with their questions/answers. Each DVD costs $10.00,
so it’s $20.00 for the set. Order yours from the
Coalition’s office right away, while supplies last!
All proceeds benefit the Coalition’s ongoing work.
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