Bulletin #152: Upcoming public meetings and issue discussions! 

Dear friends –

Most of you have not heard a word from us since Bulletin 151 on June 13, nearly a month ago. 

Since then we’ve been mostly quite busy here and in Washington, DC, where Greg worked for another week in late June meeting with officials, congressional staff, and allied NGOs. 

We also took some vacation as we were able, mostly doing construction, with the help of dear friends, to expand our home office for interns and volunteers. 

By the way, some of you who are active on Facebook may wish to follow the Los Alamos Study Group more closely there.  We post broader and more frequent content – from others as well as us – there than in these Bulletins.

As we have written previously, most of what we here at the Study Group think, write, do, and want to do doesn’t really fit well into mass emails.  In our post-democratic, propaganda-soaked, noisy society, impersonal emails are increasingly problematic as vehicles for truth and democratic engagement, unless they are supported by and engaged with other political and institutional infrastructures.   Mere information or opinion outside such contexts may not be very helpful, especially when it must be presented in a “one-size-fits-all” form.  So these Bulletins are just the thinnest skin of what we are doing.  We welcome – even crave! – your deeper interest and participation.   

To that end we will be hosting four public meetings this month.  The first is tomorrow evening, and yes, we know that this is last-minute notice!  (Some of you have heard about this meeting earlier from other sources.)

These meetings will have two subjects.  First, they will provide updates – authoritative, we believe – on the current status of U.S. nuclear weapons issues, legislation, and politics, especially as regards CMRR-NF.  Second, we want to discuss what may be more fruitful and positive alternatives to most “activism” as it is thought of today.  

All of the following meetings will begin at 6:30 pm and end at about 8:30 pm.  Please come!  

• Albuquerque: Thursday, July 12, at the Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard Blvd. NE (map);
• Santa Fe: Tuesday, July 17, CloudCliff Bakery, 1805 Second St. (map)
• Taos: Wednesday, July 18, Kit Carson Electric Coop, 118 Cruz Alta Rd (map)

Then, on Wednesday, July 25, again at the CloudCliff in Santa Fe and like the above meetings at 6:30 pm, we will host a special presentation on solar electric generation in New Mexico by Allan Sindelar of Positive Energy and Claudia Pavel.  Positive Energy, a leading installer of photovoltaic systems in our state, recently received the distinct honor of being named Santa Fe’s Small Business of the Year by the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce.  Allan has long been an active participant in Study Group discussions. 

In conclusion, many of you may find the following articles interesting and useful, if you have not already seen them:

• State’s Clout Crucial In Lab Funding Fight, Albuquerque Journal, Jul 1, 2012
• NM's Nuke Dilemma, Albuquerque Journal North, Jul 1, 2012
• With Uncertainty in Congress on CMRR, Project Faces Murky Future, Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor, Jun 29, 2012
• Left-Right Coalition Joins to Voice Opposition to CMRR-NF, Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor, Jun 29, 2012

Very best wishes, and looking forward to seeing some of you soon,

Greg and Trish for the Los Alamos Study Group