[pjw] RSVP: Help mail the PJW UPDATE Thurs. Dec. 29, and/or donate now!

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hey Peace and Justice Works supporters!
Since many of us are stuck in place it seemed as good a time as any  to 
try to get some folks to commit to helping mail out the PJW UPDATE (our 
twice yearly newsletter) two weeks from today, on Thursday December 29 
from 6-8:30 PM. If you can just come for part of the time that's fine, let 
us know as soon as you can since the holidays are upon us!

Some of you received (and responded to--thanks!) a fund-raising letter we 
sent out in November. We know you're probably being bombarded (oops, bad 
word for a peace group to use) with requests at this time of year but if 
you can make a contribution before the year's end it will help launch us 
into our 25th anniversary year (!) with adequate resources for what lies 
ahead. As noted below, you can send a (tax-deductible) check/money order 
to:
  Peace and Justice Works
  PO Box 42456
  Portland, OR 97242
OR use our online donation service at Network for Good:
  http://www.pjw.info/pjwdonate.html

Below is the text of that letter for those who didn't get it.

Thanks again, and hope you're staying warm!
dan handelman
peace and justice works

November 16, 2015

Dear Peace Advocate,

Coming up on our 25th anniversary in March, Peace and Justice Works (PJW) 
has continued to be out in the public educating for non-violent change.

* The Iraq Affinity Group (IAG) organized and co-sponsored numerous 
protest actions against the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and 
elsewhere. We collectively handed out close to 1000 fact sheets at these 
actions. Our March 18 rally about the 13 year anniversary of the Iraq War 
(and 5 years since the Libya intervention) coincided with marking 750 
weeks since the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC) began its 
weekly Friday rallies. The IAG also cosponsored PPRC rallies marking: 2 
years since the renewed Iraq War/Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson/71 
years since the bombing of Hiroshima (August 5), 15 years since 9/11 
(September 9), 2 years since the war on Syria began (Sept. 23), 15 years 
since the Afghan invasion (October 7) and 15 years of the PPRC Friday 
Rally (November 4). Also, sadly, we cosponsored the rally on January 15 
which was 25 years since the "Gulf War" began-- and has continued in one 
form or another to this day. The IAG also once again co-sponsored 
Physicians for Social Responsibility's annual Hiroshima Day event, which 
took place on Nagasaki Day, August 9. In addition, we hosted Brian Willson 
(after the PJW summer meeting in July) speaking about his first 
"voluntary" return to Viet Nam since serving there in the war.

* Information circulated by our police accountability affinity group 
Portland Copwatch (PCW) led to several successful efforts to slow down or 
stop bad policies this year, including derailing a bill in Salem that 
would have hidden officers' names from the public after deadly force 
incidents and delaying implementation of changes to Portland's civilian 
oversight bodies to fix badly conceived provisions. Meanwhile, PCW has 
written extensive analyses of the work done around the US Department of 
Justice's Agreement ordering changes to policy and training due to 
findings of excessive force. PCW continues to have a member on the 
steering committee of the Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA) Coalition for 
Justice and Police Reform, which was granted "enhanced friend of the 
court" status by the judge in the DOJ case. PCW updated its list of deadly 
force cases in Oregon 2010-2015, sending it again to the Oregon Attorney 
General, who has still not published such data despite a 2007 law 
requiring it be posted. Copwatch also runs an incident report line, 
publishes the newsletter the People's Police Report three times a year 
(posting recent and back issues on line), trains people on their rights, 
and observes police behavior at demonstrations such as the May Day event 
and in "hot spots" where houseless people are targeted.

We could never have made it to our 25th year of activity without your 
generous support. With a modest budget or about $11,000 a year, our 
all-volunteer group has continued to be at the forefront of peace and 
police accountability organizing in our rapidly changing city. If you can 
donate any amount, or send money for a voting membership ($15-40 sliding 
scale), we can continue to peacefully oppose state-sanctioned killing 
through war, police brutality, and the death penalty. If you don't have 
funds, check our wish list for wanted items at www.pjw.info. If you prefer 
to make online donations, click on the "Donate" tab on our website and use 
our Network for Good portal-- we especially appreciate those who can set 
up monthly or quarterly donations. Due to limits on tax deductibility when 
donors receive something in return, we can't accept orders for our sale 
items through NFG (ask a tax professional if you need more info. We also 
accept checks and money orders, or cash if you see us in person.

We will keep you posted on ways to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary, 
as well as what's going on connecting issues of climate change, 
militarism, police, racism, government spying, the closure of Guantanamo, 
and more.

We thank you again for supporting peace!

Dan Handelman
for Peace and Justice Works