Just a quick update on our ongoing action to oppose the death penalty in Nebraska: There will be vigils at the Governor’s Mansion every Monday at noon. Be there and help the ongoing struggle to end capital punishment in Nebraska once and for all.
All posts by Shane Pekny
Daily vigil at Governor’s Mansion to oppose death penalty
From the Lincoln Journal Star:
Lisa Knopp has known condemned Nebraska inmate Carey Dean Moore for 23 years.
On Thursday over the noon hour she stood in front of the governor’s mansion with about 30 other death penalty opponents showing their disapproval of Nebraska’s scheduled execution of Moore.
She carried a sign: “We remember the victims but not with more killing.”
She didn’t want to elaborate on Moore’s decision to stop fighting his execution, scheduled for Aug. 14, but she did say that the entire time she’s known him he’s been weary of the process, exhausted by it.
Moore, who killed two Omaha cab drivers in the summer of 1979, has been on death row 38 years. He has told the Nebraska Supreme Court to dismiss his attorneys, that he doesn’t want anyone to file anything on his behalf.
But Knopp is morally opposed to state executions, and said Moore’s death would be difficult for her even if she didn’t know him so well.
Upcoming events: Solar XL, soil regeneration, bees
From Bold Nebraska: Solar XL Install #3
- WHEN: Friday, July 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- WHERE: Allpress Ranch near Naper (directions with RSVP)
- WHAT: The Solar XL installations will help power the homes, farms, and Indigenous spirit camps of communities resisting the pipeline. This clean and renewable energy project stands in contrast to the threat posed by Keystone XL to land and water, Indigenous rights, and the climate.
- RSVP: Let us know you’re coming, and we’ll e-mail you the directions.
From The Ross: Dreaming of a Vetter World
- WHEN: Sunday, July 15, 3 p.m.
- WHERE: The Ross, Lincoln
- WHAT: Dreaming of a Vetter World comes at a time when interest in regenerating soil has exploded worldwide. Others are realizing what the Vetters have known for decades: Soil is key to our very survival. Check out this special showing, Q&A with Director Bonnie Hawthorne, David Vetter et al, plus free reception and hors d’oeuvres.
- Read more.
From the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters: Presentation on Pollinators
- WHEN: July 22, 7 p.m.
- WHERE: Unitarian Church in Lincoln, 6300 A Street
- WHAT: Celebrate our planet’s busy (and vitally important) bees! Judy Wu-Smart will present on pollinators: how they help us, how the environment impacts their health, and how we can help them thrive.
Student-led discussion: What’s Next on Guns?
Consider joining this student-led discussion on the practical steps we can all take to decrease gun violence in our society:
- Monday, June 18, 7 to 9 p.m.
- Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A St., Lincoln
Panelists will include Isabel Boussan, Lincoln East High School; Jadyn Keller, Northeast High School; Jack Buchanan, Lincoln High Sschool; Bouthaina Ebrahim, Northeast High School; Maia Ramsey, Lincoln High School graduate.
The discussion will be bipartisan. Several panelists from among the Lincoln high school students who demonstrated after the Parkland massacre will discuss what they hope to do next to reduce gun violence in our society. They will be discussing, with Nebraskans of all viewpoints, how we can solve an issue that has plagued our state for decades. We all have come in contact with some sort of gun violence, not only in schools, but also concerts, movies, hate crimes and gang shootings. Not an anti-gun rally, this is an open discussion that should lead to our making actual changes quickly and by all means possible.
Gun violence is no idle concern. The massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, goes down as one of the deadliest in U. S. history. It is not isolated. Gun Violence Archive says that about 150 U. S. mass shootings occurred between 1967 and 2017, about eight people killed per incident. Indeed, mass killings are becoming more frequent. Now about 6,000 people in the U.S. die each year from gun violence. To show concern, after the Parkland massacre, high school students throughout the country, including the students from Lincoln, Omaha and several Nebraska towns, demonstrated on March 14 to say, “Never again.” Now we wish to explore how to say it effectively.
In this discussion, people with different perspectives will be encouraged to share their viewpoints, so we can arrive at constructive action steps and move forward. We are urging the community to join us as we continue to strive for positive change. The panelists will each discuss for about 10 to 15 minutes. A person in government active in the gun discussion will follow and examine the student suggestions. Open discussion follows. Coffee and snacks served.
Sponsored by the Lincoln Chapter of Nebraskans for Peace, The Friends Meeting House, Antelope Park Church of the Brethren, The Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, National Association of Social Workers, and Nebraskans for Peace.
Green Drinks in Omaha Wednesday, May 23
This is a friendly reminder that Omaha Green Drinks will be taking place at The Whole Foods Market in Omaha, Wednesday, May 23! We are teaming up with the Green Omaha Coalition to renew acquaintances, meet new faces, and celebrate all those who embody a shared mission of promoting a greener Omaha:
- Wednesday, May 23, 2018
- 5:30 to 8 p.m.
- Whole Foods Market (10020 Regency Circle, Omaha)
Carpool, cycle, walk, or ride the bus! This is a great way to network, inspire, share ideas, and catch up with other “Green” people! Please RSVP on Facebook.
Looking forward to seeing you!
LJS Editorial: Demand accountability for death-penalty decisions
From the Lincoln Journal Star editorial board:
Nebraska voters reinstated the death penalty in 2016 as a means of ensuring the state’s most heinous murderers are held accountable for their crimes.
Accountability must also extend to the state officials responsible for implementing and carrying out capital punishment. Despite repeated efforts – and now, lawsuits and potential subpoenas – those in positions of authority have hypocritically refused to open themselves up to such scrutiny.
Carrying out the ultimate punishment of ending a person’s life comes with the utmost responsibility because of the gravity of the situation. Yet the state’s refusal to do so brings an ever-increasing number of lawsuits and legal costs. Most recently, the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee received subpoena power to seek information on the death penalty protocol that’s remained hidden.
“We’re just trying to make sure that the process was followed,” said Crete Sen. Laura Ebke, chair of the Judiciary Committee. “If the state is going to put someone to death, then we ought to at least make sure that we’re following our own rules for doing so.”
Amen to that.
NFP’s Annual Rice & Beans Fundraiser May 12 in Omaha
From Progressive Omaha:
Mark your calendar for the Annual Omaha Rice and Beans Potluck & Fundraiser for Nebraskans for Peace!
- “Turn off the Gun Spigot”
- Amanda Gailey, President, Nebraskans Against Gun Violence
- Saturday, May 12, 2018
- 5:30 p.m. social hour; 6 p.m. dinner
Hosted at the Presbyterian Church of the Master Fellowship Hall, 10710 Corby Circle (use South Entrance).
Please RSVP to NFPOmaha1970 at gmail dot com.
Amanda Gailey, an outspoken critic of the gun industry, is president of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence. She has written about gun policy and gun culture for Salon and The New Republic. She is also an associate professor of English at UNL.
March for Our Lives: Saturday in Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings, and Kearney
Nebraskans for Peace, Greens, and many others will be joining with students across the country to march against gun violence. Here in Nebraska:
Lincoln: 1 p.m. at the State Capitol. Check out the Facebook Event.
Omaha: 12 p.m. at Lewis and Clark Landing. Check out the Facebook Event.
Hastings: 12 p.m. at 14th & Saunders. RSVP at March for Our Lives.
Kearney: 12 p.m. at UNK’s Warner Hall. RSVP at March for Our Lives.
Saturday in Lincoln: Protect our kids from guns
From the Nebraska Resistance Calendar:
After the brutal gun rampage at Stoneman Douglas High School, our Governor showed his disrespect to the victims and survivors of gun violence everywhere by inviting the NRA to have its convention in Nebraska. Let the Grim Ricketts know how you feel about his latest effort to misrepresent Nebraska values.
Come to the Governor’s Mansion (14th and H streets, Lincoln) this Saturday, March 3, at noon. Bring signs and sidewalk chalk. Though he has turned the Governor’s Mansion into a ghost house, let’s invoke the leaders from the Nebraska Hall of Fame to help us protect our children from gun violence and VOTE HIM OUT.
Sponsored by Action Committee Nebraska. If you are interested in speaking at this event, leave your message as a comment on the event page:
Cutting NU budget would send wrong message, damage Nebraska
From the Lincoln Journal Star:
University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds asked state senators to think about the future.
“If we want this to be a place where our children and grandchildren will live and work and raise a family, we have to invest in one of the primary economic drivers our state has,” he told members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. “That is the University of Nebraska, and frankly all of higher education.”
Casting the state’s financial support for the university as a moral issue, Bounds, now in his third year as NU’s president, then asked senators to consider the consequences of a plan put forward by Gov. Pete Ricketts earlier this year.