Grassroots Action

We hosted a barbeque the other day with some local friends, out of town friends and some family. Beautiful night in So Cal - shrimp, salmon, tri-tip and plenty of booze, good time had by all. The topics of discussion were - dating, politics, the economy, kids, etc. - and the conversations were lively, fun and there was some good spirited jabbing going on especially when love and politics were top of mind.

Stumbled upon Change.org the other day. As you know, "piece" 2.0 is about helping humans live in "piece". That said, I thought Change.org would be a great distribution channel for "us" to help President Obama live moments in "piece". Figured it couldn't hurt to have the President of the United States living moments in "piece" and then sharing those moments with the rest of the world.

So, I set up a petition called - "Help bring "piece" into the world!" If you sign the petition, the following letter will be sent to President Obama on your/our behalf...

Dear Mr. President,

We Need Spy Stories!
Has your group been infiltrated or monitored by local, state or federal police or intelligence agencies in the last 5 – 10 years? If so, we need your stories for a possible Congressional investigation into unconstitutional police spying. Send your stories to sue.udry@defendingdissent.org

South Country Peace Group decided at its meeting last night to have a demonstration against the Bail Out Bill outside Representative Tim Bishop's office tomorrow, October 2, between 12:00 and 2:00 PM.

Our opposition stems from the fact that, in our neighborhoods, there are many people who have already lost their homes or who are facing foreclosure and this bill does nothing for them. Few know anyone with $250,000 in the bank to worry about insuring. It is the same trickle-down theory that has not worked for us before.

Denver became the hub of antiwar activities last week, as thousands of activists and the major antiwar groups in the US staged their own protests and, to some extent, ‘counter-convention’ to the DNC. UFPJ stood at the intersection of a number of these different events, participating through panel discussions and tabling at the PDA’s headquarters in downtown Denver, marching and helping to organize the IVAW-Tent State March to the Pepsi Center, and leafleting to delegates outside the Convention Center, amongst a host of other activities.

Minnesota Leaders Speak Out Against War in Iran was held July 9, 2008 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St Paul. Very well-received. International press from the Arab world was there and picked up the story.

News and Photos are at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NN7rr-85UwA

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Multimedia/Library/NewsAnalyses/2008/...

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=12138717293...

At noon on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 30 Long Islanders gathered on the sidewalk in front of Rep. Gary Ackerman's Bayside office with signs and flags to protest HR 362, Ackerman's resolution asking for an embargo to be imposed on Iran. Our action took place several hours after Code Pink's "naval blockade" of Ackerman's houseboat in Washington, D.C. We were comprised of members of Great Neck SANE/Peace Action, Five Towns Forum, Code Pink, Pax Christi Long Island, MoveOn.org, LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Veterans for Peace, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock.

Monday night, July 14, after almost an hour of testimony and a unanimous City Council 7 to 0 vote, Bellingham became the first community in Washington State to take a stand against possible U. S. military intervention in Iran.

From Bill Ramsay, St. Louis Instead of War Coalition: "Today we received word from Rep. William Lacy Clay’s chief to staff that he will be withdrawing his co-sponsorship of HR 362. Below is the Congressional Record of his request that his name be withdrawn from the co-sponsorship list.

Common sense has prevailed, at least momentarily, in Madison, Wisconsin's municipal court.

Trespassing charges were dropped today against three peace activists who had entered an Army recruiting station to discuss the Iraq war with recruiters.

The Army apparently decided to cut its public relations losses. When the officer who was to testify on the Army's behalf failed to show up (was AWOL, in other words), the judge dismissed the charges against the trio.