Peace and Social Concerns: Notes from February Meeting

[kirby urner]

PSCC Meeting: 
Feb 25, 2015

Present: 

Debbie Averill (clerk), Kirby Urner, Ron Marson, Marty Crouch, Rhys Scholes, Carl Thatcher, David Chandler, Rick Seifert, Lucinda Hites-Clabaugh

Check In:

Beginning with a few minutes of silence and check in...

I visited with Mireaya and Pedro at the new Belmont Office this afternoon at 1 pm, taking a 15 minute break from a lunch at Horse Brass (across the street).  Very convenient.  I was in route to

David asked to join the P&SC from when he first transferred here, but was told by Nominating that our committee was in the process of being murdered (paraphrase).  We dodged the bullet (no thanks to Nominating) and are finally meeting again after almost a year. 

Marty has an electric car:  a Ford Volt.

David has a long history working in counter-recruitment.  He's surprised how we don't have much in the way of counter-recruitment activism, the Luchini's specialty.

Rhys knows about AFSC's work with Hanford Conversion Project.  Rhys was at the threshing session and understands about the importance of Peace and Social Concerns to Quakerism.  Yay.

The Shelver Movement among Friends is eager to shut down PSCC as a manifestation of Quakerism.  The movement spread in Portland and succeeding in shutting down both Multhnomah's and Bridge City's P&SC.

Lucinda has a Mennonite background (Mennonites in our neighborhood came up with the "QR-code on the door" idea).  Her family has been involved with electric cars since the beginning.  I'm reminded of the Woolsey films (pro electric car).[1]  Lucinda appreciates a big city meeting and what it has to offer.  She's concerned about how migrants are treated and has worked with AFSC, Marco Mejia on particular (whom I met with last night #MAYDAYPDX).  She's concerned about ending solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners.  "Alien Boy" is a movie to see in this connection.  http://www.alienboy.org/  She's against solitary confinement for anyone (e.g. Chelsea Manning).

I'm thinking the 501(c)(3) that takes over ownership of maydaypdx.org should be Voz.  They're already the fiduciary authority for most of what May Day Coalition is up to.

Designation of Minute Taker: 

Marty Crouch (not me).  I told the PSCC I was taking notes, but not for this group.  I'm sharing with AFSC, not Multnomah Meeting.  Someone else is taking minutes, not sure who, maybe Marty?

Job Description: 

An ad hoc committee forced P&SC to submit to a job rewrite process as a condition for being reinstated (I have real problems with this, does not seem like Good Order of Friends -- I've made my qualms known).  P&SC has been treated as a pariah / dysfunctional committee that can't hold its own i.e. cannot be trusted with its own job description (the norm within our meeting). 

I've seen Nominating as behind that rumor, as it was Nominating's apparent intention to destroy this committee, as announced at the June 22 2014 business meeting ("shelve" us for two years, was the proposal). 

Do other committee job descriptions end with "Queries for Friends"? 

Ron Maron (part of the ad hoc rewrite committee) was one of those eager to insert queries into job description.  I asked if this was normal. 

I'm going to go get the Job Descriptions Binder at some point, to see what other committees end with "Queries for Friends Considering Service on X" where X is some Quaker committee.  I don't think PSCC should be singled out in this regard.

[  I gave Ron Marson a QR-code encoded drinking glass (MultnomahFriendsMeeting.org) to Ron for a birthday present.  I also left one in the Social Hall.  Here's a related blog post:
http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2015/02/quakers-heart-beer.html  ]

911 Subcommittee: 

David Chandler is super active in the 911 movement.  He wants to get Quakers up to speed on his research indicating that demolition was a factor in the collapse of the buildings, not just airplanes (which were definitely involved). 

David has his own interpretation of what went on that day.  He has his own interpretation / speculations in that regard. 

My interest:  how can we empower more Friends to give a presentation similar to Chandler's?  What would a "generic presentation" look like?  Would David be willing to train other Quakers in how to share interest groups in this vein?  Though experiment:  What if Donald Rumsfeld becomes a Quaker (I hear his cook is with Food Not Bombs), what would his version of the presentation look like?

Carl Thatcher admitted that as Program Committee (since resigned), he was skeptical of giving David a platform, because we've had rising militarism for a long time.  It sounds like he still is skeptical.  Further comments re "non-violence" etc.

Ron:  what about truth and integrity testimonies and finding the truth? 

Marty:  we need to be careful about getting sucked into speculative theories about what really happened when cover-ups are involved.  Should that be front burner for Friends?  Kirby:  we should go with our strengths, i.e. we have David Chandler, already world-famous, so why not go with our strengths?  What should be the Quaker response to uncovering conspiracy? 

What truths are we obligated to uncover?  What standard of proof are we concerned with?  Are we reaching beyond our reach?  Lucinda:  we don't leap to false conclusions erroneously.  Rhys agrees we should dig into the coverup, but we need to discuss what it means to organize around this issue.  Rick:  who is the arch nemeses of David's group (the Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes)?  "Alien Entity" is one, says David.  http://youtu.be/1rhY9c_iemA

P&SC agreed to host David's presentation e.g. David is being given a platform for his views by the meeting, rent free.

"Asking Questions":

Ron shared some stuff about queries.  He's new to activism (in my view). 

Why would activists with serious skills come to this committee for help?  I think Multnomah people are somewhat in kindergarten when it comes to activism and currently have little to offer.  The Unitarians are doing a much better job in this town. 

Sure, we'd like to attract some pros to our midst.  Right now though, we're just emerging from a time of extreme dysfunction and have no right to expect real activists to waste their time with such a pathetic Monthly Meeting (my view).  I've been encouraging bona fide activists to stay away, given our crumbling committee structure.  We haven't been together enough to be worthy of activist attention. 

We may be at a turning point however.  Time will tell.

Debbie didn't think my question about "why don't Oversight and Nominating have queries?" was a question PSCC could take up. 

I thought if "keeping a committee on track" is the goal of these queries, then all committees should have them, not just ours.  Why single ourselves out?  We've already been subjected to an ad hoc job rewrite process by an over-powerful Nominating committee that very inappropriately tried to shut us down (ugly process, so far still not explained).

Query:  are we friendly to newcomers?  Do we invite newcomers to join PSCC as a first step when investigating Friends?

Program Updates:

I talked about the May Day planning going on (MMM is not involved at this point).  AFSC has no specific relationship with this meeting.  The ex oficio position has been laid down or not populated or whatever. 

Nominating has informed me it has no plans to fill that position. 

As a West Region liaison, I work with lots of meetings and churches, at least in theory.  I'd like to see about Bridge City restarting its PSCC as well, given that's an NPYM standard.  Don't Monthly Meetings have an obligation, as a public service, to offer these opportunities to the general public?  That would be my query, in place of Ron's.

Planning for Future Meetings:

Do we want to ball and chain ourselves to the meetinghouse as our one and only venue?

Closing Worship:

Friends ended with a few minutes of silent worship.  We ended promptly at 4 pm.

Endnotes:

[1]  http://www.conservamerica-ef.org/webreport/05-2.html

[kirby.urner]

On Friday, February 27, 2015 at 9:26:48 AM UTC-8, kirby.urner wrote:

What Rummy would say, if giving a Chandler style presentation about the Newtonian physics of 911 [1]:

<< SNIP >>

[1] I have AAPT connections thanks to my friendship with Dr. Bob Fuller, past chairman, whom I worked with to get an NSF grant for teaching "First Person Physics", a phrase I coined and he gave me credit for.  I got a trip to Nebraska out of it and more.  Bob is the guy who taught Alex's mom in Burma, Alex being a friend of mine and his mom being famous in Burma (Aung San Suu Kyi).

Picture of me, Dr. Fuller, and Alex Aris in front of Cuban restaurant.  Alex's dad, a professor of religious studies, was born in Cuba.

https://flic.kr/p/9vsoto

Kirby
4dsolutions.net
@npym_it



 

[kirby.urner]

On Friday, February 27, 2015 at 9:44:05 AM UTC-8, kirby.urner wrote:

[2]  Lets be clear:  I've never met Rumsfeld nor communicated with the guy in any way that I can recall (I've written *about* him quite a bit).  That's not true re Casper Weinberger, a predecessor, who's office I did contact in connection with Center for Defense Information (CDI) where my friend Glenn was the archivist (CDI was for retired brass turned peacenik, field trips to Cuba to meet Castro and stuff). 

That's Glenn Baker, met in high school, Philippines, not Glenn Stockton, a friend I made here in Portland and who helped me scout for a new AFSC office at one point.  I see Glenn Stockton a few times a week usually, but Baker still lives in Greater DC and is an award winning documentary film maker.  He has a daughter one year younger than mine.

Picture of Glenn Baker way back then:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirbyurner/2558933093/in/set-72157605485853546  (Glenn Baker, old friend)

Picture of me way back then:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirbyurner/2559427035/in/set-72157605485853546  (underground figure)

Speaking of friends and family:  I gave Tara, my daughter, the David Chandler DVDs for Earlham physics department if she things of it.  

David Chandler, to review, is already all over Youtube and is "world famous" in 911 circles.  He transferred membership from Visalia meeting.  I was on Oversight at the time and convened his clearness committee.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+chandler+911

Kirby

 

Here's a picture of me 'n David.

I've already told him if he wants AFSC involvement I'll refer him to a different region (not West Region).

We have a full plate. 

Doesn't mean Friends at Multnomah shouldn't go with their strengths.  They're lucky to have a him.

Kirby
 

[kirby.urner]

Oops, I forgot the picture:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/afscportland/14995423669/