Produced by Chapter 39 Veterans for Peace [Cleveland & NE Ohio], this is powerful, graphic and eye-opening. Think of it before voting for anyone talking about a war on Iran. It closes with some potent thoughts:
"If there is a sin superior to every other, it is that of willful and offensive war."
~ Thomas Paine, American Patriot
"War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong: and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses."
~ Thomas Jefferson
"He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of Hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death."
~ Thomas Paine
May the innocent find peace...
May the dead find grace...
May the wounded find healing & comfort....
May the homeless find shelter...
May justice find the guilty...
May America find salvation and forgiveness
Veterans for Peace local 34 New York City chapter, Grandmothers Against the War, Catholic Workers, War Resisters, and others rallied Saturday at Time Square to end the war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq. This was an adjunct event in support of the national Veterans for Peace action at the White House on the same day and also was in support of whistle blower Bradley Manning. There were speeches, entertainment and camaraderie. In a very visible area of town, the rally had the approval of most of the passing crowd. For more of the flavor see my End the War in Afghanistan 03-19-11 photo set on Flickr.com.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day the main Washington DC event had a successful day which William Hughes a/k/a LiamH2 documented on YouTube. I've shared two of his videos with my Facebook friends, with my BlueRootsRadio.com friends, and at the White House Facebook page and I want to share them with my blog and twitter friends. These Voices for Peace speak for me: Enough of this endless war. Bring the troops home, stop giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations while asking the working folks to share all the pain and none of the money. We need to fund education, hospitals, healthcare, jobs, infrastructure, parks, transportation and other things that heal and don't destroy. Activist Author David Swanson is the first Voice for Peace:
Suggested reading, a book I bought several months ago which I am pushing to the top of my to-read list: David Swanson's WAR IS A LIE. If it is as good as David's interviews -- and I think it is, it provides tools to refute the nay sayers. Yes, it is possible to end war but it certainly is not easy. Bottom line, we have to keep on keeping on. And don't forget to leave your comments for peace at the White House contact page. Thanks for all YOU do for true peace and real justice.
Peace hugs, Kate Anne
PS Sam Oast and I went out afterwards and remembered our dear departed Betty Lou Hornick. She is missed and not forgotten -- with us in spirit, no doubt.
Billy Bragg - Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key (w/ Wilco & Natalie Merc...
This is a respite from the holiday season, a step back into the past though, and just one of my favorite songs: Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key sung by Billy Bragg and Wilco. Found it thanks to Chris Johnson of BlueRootsRadio.com. His mixes are generally once a week and loop until the next one (with a few live podcasts sometimes in between. I salute him and look forward to hearing Show #100 -- and I see that it is Due up NOW. Listen this week for YOUR respite from the holiday craziness. Gotta get over to the blog and hit that little blue radio to hear what Chris is offering in this momentous show.... Join me in the minor key and at Blue Roots Radio. (We have fun blogging there about blue politics, too.)
I salute and thank Senator Bernie Sanders for his wonderful and informative filibuster he conducted on Friday, December 10, 2010 on the Senate floor. The crux of his nearly nine hour filibuster is found in his earlier Senate speech of November 30, 2010, seen here, aptly titled This Economy's Winners and Losers. It discusses economic facts and legislative agenda being pushed. (For example, re the so-called death tax that certain Republicans want to eliminate: "If the estate tax is eliminated, all of the benefits will go to the top 3/10 of 1%. " So many are duped into thinking it affects THEIR tiny estates. If eliminated our deficit would be seriously impacted and we know whose programs would be cut.) Basically, the government must create a more fair playing field. All of us should be doing well. The greed and the extremes must be eliminated, by law and not by violence.
Please listen to Bernie and call or write him your thanks. I think I shall even send a follow-up snail mail. Sadly, the corporate media today has buried this story. WE must not only thank Bernie but also reverberate his message far and wide.
While the GOP takes over the House, the Dems still maintain the Senate and the Presidency. Instead of concentrating on healing wounds and creating jobs here, President Obama is off the India, Korea, "the East", and I am upset. Is this how he repays the unions who worked for Democratic candidates? Let's give away more jobs to India and the like!!?!!
I wish President Obama would concentrate more on OUR country first. I want what other countries have: affordable education and healthcare. I want peace and prosperity for Americans. Forget the warfare (albeit it is the one industry we seem to still have) and selling armaments to countries so they can threaten others. He should be listening to Dennis Kucinich.
And let the Bush ten-year tax cuts expire. If everyone can get a cut on the first $250K, fine, but otherwise, I/we can and should live without a cut which only adds to the deficit. Our vision should be jobs and peace and affordable education. Here. Now. For everyone. Not just a good life for the top 1% or 2% but for ALL of us. (And that means our seniors, too: preserve Social Security by raising the cap -- forget about raising the retirement age or gambling SS$ on Wall Street. It is insurance, not an investment program.)
Medea Benjamin speaks at the United National Peace Conference 7/23/2010
True Patriotism: Bring the troops home and spend the money on our libraries, education, jobs -- Code Pink's Medea Benjamin at the United National Peace Conference7/23/2010 [under five minutes]:
Speak up -- "Funding the war is making us poor". Tell our Congress critters: "You are unAmerican if you are taking our tax dollars to bomb people overseas instead of using it to fund our local programs."
Check out Mediasanctuary's page on YouTube for lots of good treats from the Conference.
Irish Ship 'Rachel Corrie' Should Reach Gaza By Morning
Too much hating in the world and this ship is seeking to help heal. Rachel Corrie died because she wanted to help the Palestinian people and trusted in nonviolence -- and the Israeli bulldozer mowed her down as she tried to stop them from bulldozing a Palestinian home. Wish the news story would have reminded people of this. She's a martyr and the blood of martyrs feeds the cause. Long live the memory of Rachel Corrie! [And yes it is time to donate to CSpanJunkie/Moxy/Michael again.]
I am grateful to people who help to make the world a more positive place for all. Please let us be the change we wish to see in the world.
Shared by HumanityHealing on YouTube [excellent for meditation] --
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MOTHER EARTH by Ernest Callenbach
I. Thou shall love and honor the Earth for it blesses thy life and governs thy survival. II. Thou shall keep each day sacred to the Earth and celebrate the turning of its seasons. III. Thou shall not hold thyself above other living things nor drive them to extinction. IV. Thou shall give thanks for thy food, to the creatures and plants that nourish thee. V. Thou shall educate thy offspring for multitudes of people are a blessing unto the Earth when we live in harmony. VI. Thou shall not kill, nor waste Earth's riches upon weapons of war. VII. Thou shall not pursue profit at the Earth's expense but strive to restore its damaged majesty. VIII. Thou shall not hide from thyself or others the consequences of thy actions upon the Earth. IX. Thou shall not steal from future generations by impoverishing or poisoning the Earth. X. Thou shall consume material goods in moderation so all may share the Earth's bounty.
Coloring any celebration of Christmas is the passing of Liam Clancy, the last of the Clancy Brothers. I celebrate his life, even as I mourn his passing and the passing of my youth to which the Clancy singing was a part. I only saw Liam once -- when he was with Tommy at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion -- the hat and the sweater, but it wasn't Liam's night to sing, sadly. But I thank God for media and for YouTube memorializing this singer whom Bob Dylan acclaimed the best ballad singer ever.
The World March for Peace and Nonviolence was here in NYC last week and the march was celebrated at an event Dec. 2nd at All Souls in Manhattan, sponsored by their Peace Task Force and co-sponsored by other groups including Fellowship of Reconciliation, Peace Action for New York State, Metro New York Religious Campaign Against Torture, Code Pink, and Brooklyn For Peace. Joe Friendly filmed the event and made this composite video which portrays the good flavor of the evening's 2+ hour program in only 11:17 minutes. Thanks to All Souls Unitarian Church for hosting and Joe Friendly for filming -- and of course the World March for Peace and Nonviolence for marching!
The downer for the evening was the Afghanistan surge announcement -- and the fact that this long announced event conflicted with the United for Peace and Justice impromptu rally at Time Square to oppose the surge. Both events were for peace and sanity and NYFOR's listserv let their members and friends choose. Ah for the ability to bi-locate! And whether or not you were at either event, please stay in touch with peace happenings via the FORpeace.net blog, the United for Peace and Justice website, and reading CommonDreams.org regularly.
Yes, I took some photos -- downloading them is on my "to do" list.
I just posted the attached to a forum at LHJ.com -- yes, I am a subscriber of Ladies Home Journal, deal with it :-)
Some people are all concerned about themselves and their own good health plans and to hell with the 47 million who have no healthcare -- they probably call themselves Christians, too, forgetting about the Golden Rule. OMG. In all the other industrialized countries, they have public healthcare -- and in some of these countries there are add on insurance policies, if people want them. But basically, I am not concerned about the healthcare industry anymore than I would be concerned about the blacksmiths put out of business when the automobiles began being manufactured. When something better comes along it is okay.
Furthermore, the healthcare industry doesn't really care about providing healthcare, profit is their focus. They eliminate people who will keep them from making their big bucks. They make their money from depriving people of health service. I now have what would be called a pre-existing condition. If I get laid off and/or have to change jobs for whatever reason, I will be screwed. Single payer or at least a good public option would be a Godsend to people with pre-existing conditions who need or want to change jobs.
As for the waiting lists under a government paid plan, emergency care is no problem in Canada and the other industrialized countries. And even with my current relatively good plan I have to wait months for certain doctors. Then I get my bill and see how much is denied reimbursement by my insurance, even as my premium (and deductible) go up and up.
You better darn well believe I have been calling my congressmember and senators and demanding that they see we get a program that saves lives. Because it is not about me, but about ALL of us. We need good healthcare which should not be connected to a profit motive. We're talking healing for you, me, everyone -- not an industrial bottom line.
Meanwhile I see that that town hall meetings are being hijacked by vocal people shouting down people who don't agree with them. Who is behind this hijacking of town hall meetings? The people are being spurred on by such sites as RecessRalley.com which is run by your average middle class millionaires and lobbyists. Rachel Maddow bravely pointed this out last night (Aug. 5, 2009). Please take ten minutes to view this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xlqxSRhARU
I've posted Rachel's clip on my Facebook page and have tweeted it and blogged it. All the media should be exposing how good people are being duped by those who don't want Congress to come up with a good plan, one that is affordable and comprehensive. No plan is perfect but it has to be better than our current broken system.
We must get out there and talk to people, all different people -- and for heaven's (and your neighbor's) sake, join me in calling you congressmember and Senators. Thanks!!
PLEASE WATCH and CONSIDER. In this GRITtv video, Laura Flanders reminds us that President Obama needs to follow through on the great words he used this past week, before more needlessly die at Guantanamo. Deeds not Words, President Obama.
This National Wildlife Federation video celebrates "being out there" by going on our own Wildlife Watch! Naturalist David Mizejewski presents the how-tos and points us to http://nwf.org/watch for extra detail and follow-up. Sounds good to me, a way to feed the spirit and add to peace -- Happy Spring!
I knew it anyway, but it is good to hear the back up from BBC America that people need at least one hug a day! A third of us are not meeting our daily requirement, BBC reports. (No wonder there is war and violence -- we are hug-deprived!) Thank you, CSpanJunkiedotOrg for posting the video clip on YouTube -- and peace hugs around, all!
Now, for your homework, go hug somebody! And give 'em a smile, too!
