Tag: anti-war

Writing about the recent House vote against more Iraq war funding, The Nation notes that growing numbers of Democrats in Congress are finding it safer to vote to stop funding the endless war and occupation. Susannah Vila writes:

Since March 2006, eighty Democrats have switched to voting no on war funding, due in part to persistent lobbying by local constituents and peace groups. After voting for funding as recently as December, veteran Democrats like John Dingell and Dale Kildee changed their votes in response to pressure from United for Peace and Justice’s Michigan Peace Action Chapter. “They are riding the wave,” says UFPJ’s Sue Udry of the additions to the nay camp. “Now it’s safe to vote against the war. There had been pressure on them from their districts, but it had been building slowly. The grassroots peace movement has been hounding Congress for years, and finally it pushed them over.” The lesson of the May 15 vote? “The strength of the peace movement is people’s willingness to keep hounding.”

The appropriations bill is coming back for a House vote soon, since $193-billion for the war was restored by the Senate.  It will almost certainly pass the House this time; it failed last time not only because Dems voted no, but because many Repubs, mostly angry about procedural issues, voted “present” instead of aye.  That’s unlikely to happen again.

-Edward Luttwak



On Memorial Day, a day that is intended to be one of somber remembrance and the recognition of our nation’s war dead although it is perversely come to be more associated with boozing barbecues, silly assed NASCAR races and the inevitable retail extravaganzas at the shopping emporiums throughout the land it is no longer necessary to most Americans to pay tribute. They are the type who just wear those stupid assed American flag pins as though they were some sort of star spangled merkin, festoon their gas guzzlers with yellow ribbon stickers that in and of themselves are gauche take offs on a lousy country western song and wrongly believe that they are being truly patriotic. Such garbage only serves to dishonor those who have sacrificed and perished in past conflicts and will continue to do so in the new American century due to the illegal wars of aggression and conquest that have been thrust upon us due to the criminal Bush regime and it’s neocon policy makers who conspire in secret to launch their schemes of global conquest all justified by that one great and fortuitous ‘terrorist’ attack that tore open a hole to a parallel universe where up is down, black is white, freedom is slavery, war is peace and most importantly: ignorance is strength.

This from our friends at United for Peace and Justice.  It needs no further comment from me: 

Apparently the Senate doesn't think there are enough fallen soldiers to honor this Memorial Day, so they have passed a funding bill to extend the Iraq war and occupation past Memorial Day 2009. And were they even thinking of the potentially thousands of Iraqis who will die? To add to the moral repugnance of the Senate's actions, they have tied important programs including GI and unemployment benefits to the Iraq funding bill. Vets can get college tuition, but they'll need to spend another year in Iraq first. See below for details on the Senate bill and to find out how your senators voted.

Are you as outraged as we are?

But we can't give up the fight just yet. The Senate bill will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote in the beginning of June. Before they vote though, members of Congress will be coming home for their week-long Memorial Day recess. That means they will be at parades, picnics, campaign events and in their offices. They must hear from you — loud or silent, rude or polite, funny or solemn, in print, on the phone or in person. There are many ways to convey one message: Stop funding the war, bring all our troops home now! Use as many of them as you can!

Please check the UFPJ calendar to see if there are any Memorial Day Peace events near you (and make sure your event is listed if you are organizing one).

Click here to find out who your representative is and the locations and phone numbers of their local offices.

Let us know how you contacted your representative — phone, email, fax, in-person, etc. — who you reached, what you said, and what the response was.

As the United States prepares to remember its war dead on Memorial Day, some veterans who want to remember their fallen comrades with a wish for peace are being barred from participating in official events.  

Two chapters of Veterans for Peace, one in Washington state and one in Washingtgon, D.C., have been banned from parades.

In both cases,VFP was told it could not participate because the organization is “too political.”  That is the same reason that others have given for barring Veterans for Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War from Veterans Day parades and activities.

What is particularly sad is that those who exclude them are often veterans themselves, with some misguided sense of patriotism.

 

What do we do in Milwaukee when the temperature finally hits 70 degrees? Go to the lakefront? Grill brats in the back yard? Skinny dip? Take off our longjohns?

If it’s the Third Friday — Iraq Moratorium day –we meet in the heart of downtown for an hour, fill all four corners of the intersection with people, flags, banners and enthusiasm, and call for an end to the war and occupation. We had a diverse group of kids, college students, parents, and grandparents, about 70 in all, counting one small dog with a “Puppy for Peace” jacket.

We’re getting used to support from rush hour drivers, who honked their horns almost non-stop tonight, including a lot of county bus drivers and one trucker driving a huge tractor-trailer with a big air horn. One driver got out of his car (while the light was red) to chat and say something supportive to one of the vigilers. We leaflet pedestrians, and one young Iranian couple, downtown shopping, stopped to express their support. But our favorite anecdote of the day was the two Army recruiters who drove past in an Army vehicle — while one of them gave the protesters a thumbs-up.

This report by Joy First of Madison WI is among posts on the Iraq Moratorium website from participants in Moratorium activities this month:

We Mourn the Dead from Iraq – 9th Iraq Moratorium

As part of the Iraq Moratorium, eight activists in Madison, WI participated in a solemn vigil at Hilldale Mall on May 16, 2008, calling for an end to the war and occupation in Iraq.  This was, in the words of Gandhi, “an experiment in truth” as we pushed to see how far we could go in speaking out against the utter devastation and the crippling suffering of the people of Iraq.  Two of us had been in court the day before and were found guilty of trespassing after we were arrested for speaking out against the war at Hilldale Mall in February.

Three of us wore paper mache masks of Iraqi women and long dark gowns and we carried paper mache babies, one who was severely hurt.  The masks sat on the top of our heads with scarves over the back of the masks that hung down and came around covering our faces.  We could only see faintly as we looked through the light-weight fabric over our face.  The expressions on the faces of the masks, the Iraqi women, were haunting.  

The other five people in our group handed out leaflets about the suffering of Iraqi women, and carried signs saying “We mourn the dead from Iraq’ as we walked in a slow and solemn procession through the mall.  We planned to stay there and march for one hour from 5:30-6:30 pm unless we were arrested before then.  There were not a lot of people inside the mall, but those who were seemed very interested in our procession and gratefully accepted a leaflet.  A good number thanked us for being there or made other positive comments.  It was a very powerful experience, very sad, wearing the masks and carrying the babies who were hurt.  I have been spending a lot of time with my grandchildren, including my newest granddaughter, Linnea, just one week old on the day of our action, and I was feeling very emotional thinking about the suffering of the children of Iraq.

Mall security asked us to leave and said we could march outside (which was surprising because I believe that is still private property).  We went outside because there were a lot of people eating at outside seating at several restaurants adjoining the mall and we were able to walk by them and hand out leaflets.

When we walked back inside the mall, we met the police and they told us we must leave.  We decided to go outside again and the police told us we could stay there as long as wanted, but if we came back inside, there would be a physical arrest.  I asked the police if this wasn’t private property outside the mall, and the police said it was not, but I believe they are wrong about that. They explained a physical arrest would mean they would handcuff us, transport us downtown, book us, and we would have to pay bail to be released.  We were surprised to hear this.  We follow the principles and guidelines of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and others doing nonviolent civil resistance to speak out against the war crimes of our government.  The police in Madison have always arrested us, wrote a citation on the spot, and released us.  When we asked why they would respond with a physical arrest, they said that when the bad behavior continues, they have to take us in.  Bad behavior??!!??  Us??!!??  I wonder when someone in law enforcement will have the guts to arrest Bush and his cronies for their bad behavior – war crimes against humanity.  We walked for a few more minutes and at 6:30 we left the mall.  However, we plan to return and continue our commitment to work for peace, calling attention to the devastating human suffering resulting from the crimes of our government.

Not hardly.

But, in honor of Iraq Moratorium #9, being observed today, it seems worth asking the question. (And with the trifecta in the headline, I thought maybe someone over at the orange blog, where my cross-posts go to die, will click on it.)

McCain’s hallucination  vision of what would happen in his presidency:

“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom,” McCain said in a speech in Columbus, Ohio.

“The Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced,” McCain said.

Wouldn’t that be loverly?

I’ve been writing in this space about the Iraq Moratorium for months now, and it’s coming around again tomorrow, Friday, May 16.

And quit calling me Alfie.

* * *

The Iraq Moratorium project grew out of the frustration the organizers share with so many Americans. Why does the war grind on when the people of this country have so clearly rejected it? Clearly voting didn’t do the job. In response to questions like these, the idea of the Iraq Moratorium took shape.

* I really hate this war and what it’s doing to my country, but I’ve never protested. I am not sure that I would be comfortable at a vigil or peace march.

If you do attend a vigil or other protest, you will probably be surprised at how many people very much like you are present. You’ll also find that being part of a group action can be inspiring and motivating.  But if that’s not your thing, or there’s nothing going on in your community, there are many other ways to take a stand as an individual. Wear a black armband or ribbon on Moratorium Day. Call or write your elected officials that day or send a letter to the editor of the local paper. Donate to a peace group.  Put a sign in your yard or window.

Whatever you do, you’ll be doing with lots of other people. And whatever you do, we hope you will fill out the easy report form on the Moratorium website, to let others know what you did.

* I’ve already done all this. What good will this do?

We know. So have we. That’s where the Moratorium idea came from. Imagine that even half the people who have stood up to end the war over the last five years were joined by even a tenth of all those who oppose the war privately – on the same day! It would be the biggest single outcry of protest in US history. And it will continue month after month until Washington listens and ends the war.  

San Francisco organizers are taking it to the streets — their ironing board, that is.

Here’s what they’re suggesting as an Iraq Moratorium activity on Friday, the ninth monthly Moratorium action:

Make a difference – join us in neighborhood outreach! Stand at an ironing board at a busy location with a partner to help you and speak to that frustrated, angry person who doesn’t know what to do. Get them to write a message on a postcard to their congressperson or presidential candidate. It’s fun, people are so appreciative and eager to speak out! In an hour or two you will reach 50+ people. Please help, choose a time and location of your choice, we have materials! Locations: Golden Gate Park, City Hall, Farmer’s market, 9th and Irving, City College, Tenderloin and more.

One woman who’s tried it out lately says that is an effective way to engage people and get them to do something.  Why an ironing board?  They’re portable, quick and easy to set up, and allow people to write standing up.

Progressive organizers have spent many hours over the years sitting behind tables filled with literature, signs, petitions, and buttons — so many that the act of sitting at such a table has developed into a verb.  They call it “tabling.”

One of these days, will we be at a meeting where we hear talk of “ironing boarding?”

The ironing boards are but one facet of plans for Iraq Moratorium #9 on Friday, as evidenced by more than 100 events listed at the Moratorium website.

Cincinnati’s Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center will sponsor half a dozen neighborhood vigils in different parts of the city on Friday night.  

In Manitou Springs CO, Iraq Veterans Against the War will sponsor “Words of Resistance,” an evening of poetry and spoken word from Iraq veterans, and a chance to share your own as well.

In Naples FL, a group of military veterans and spouses from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and parentswho have sons in Iraq will hold a roadside vigil.

In Chicago, it’s Art Against war, with a night of music and poetry at the Heartland Cafe.

And in Laramie WY, there will be a vigil on the corner where there has been a vigil every Friday since January 2003.  In Lansing MI there’s been a Friday vigil at the State Capitol since September, 2001.  Oak Park IL has more than five years of vigils as well.

There’s a full list on the website, along with some ideas about what you can do as an individual if you can’t find or attend an action where you live.

The whole idea is to do something — anything — to show your opposition to the war, whether it’s wearing an armband or writing your members of Congress or donating to a peace group working to end the war and occupation.  Or get out your own ironing board and do some outreach.  All it takes to have an action is two people and a sign.  Or maybe one person and an ironing board.

Friday’s the day.  Please do something.

 

By Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, UFPJ:

Since last fall, on the third Friday of every month, people in cities and towns around the country have organized protest activities and other events as part of the nationally coordinated Iraq Moratorium. This coming Friday, May 16th, is Iraq Moratorium #9.

First, we want to congratulate the local organizers who keep pulling together these activities. And we also want to congratulate the national organizers who have maintained and expanded this effort, including the Iraq Moratorium website at: www.IraqMoratorium.org



Second, we want to encourage more local groups to get involved. There is still time to organize something in your community, at your school or workplace, or anywhere you might be able to reach people.

You can find reports from past Moratorium actions, as well as listings for events already planned for this Friday, at the Iraq Moratorium website. Reading through all of this will inspire you and might give you an idea of something you can do as part of this project. If you do plan something, please be sure to list it on the calendar.

Finally, if you are planning something for May 16, try to take some photos or video. Then we hope you’ll take a few minutes to go back to the site and post a report on what happened — not just numbers but anecdotes, descriptions of who came, etc. If you have them, include photos or video. What you do, and the stories you tell, can inspire others for future actions.

Again, the website for the Iraq Moratorium is www.IraqMoratorium.org – be sure to check it out!

(UFPJ — United for Peace and Justice — is the nation’s largest peace coalition, with more than 1,400 affiliated organizations.)

Kathy Kelly has more than paid her dues in the movement for peace through non-violence, putting herself in harm’s way and risking her freedom.

She is the latest endorser of the Iraq Moratorium, a growing grassroots initiative which will be observed on Friday, May 16, as it is on the third Friday of each month.  (She explains her endorsement below.)

The co-coordinator of Chicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Kelly helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end UN/US sanctions against Iraq in 1996. For bringing “medicine and toys” to Iraq in open violation of the UN/US sanctions, she and other campaign members were fined $20,000, which they’ve refused to pay.

Voices in the Wilderness organized 70 delegations to visit Iraq in the period between 1996 and the beginning of the “Operation Shock and Awe” warfare (March 2003). Kelly has been to Iraq 24 times since January 1996. In October 2002, she joined Iraq Peace Team members in Baghdad where she and the team maintained a presence throughout the bombardment and invasion. Kelly left Iraq on April 19, 2003 and has returned three times, most recently in May of 2006 when she traveled to northern Iraq.

Along with three other Voices activists, Kathy was in Beirut, Lebanon during the final days of the Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006. (Photo at right.) They subsequently reported from southern Lebanon following a ceasefire.

In the spring of 2004, she served three months at Pekin federal prison for crossing the line as part of an ongoing effort to close an army military combat training school at Fort Benning, GA. In 1988 she was sentenced to one year in prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites. Kelly served nine months of the sentence in Lexington KY maximum security prison.

She is currently organizing Witness Against War 2008,a nonviolent walk for peace from Chicago to the site of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Kathy Kelly: Why I endorse the Iraq Moratorium