Grassroots Action

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 Below is the Congressional Record of his request that his name be withdrawn from the co-sponsorship list.

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) held hearings in Seattle on May 31, 2008. While the mainstream media has still ignored the hearings for the most part, the stories told by these brave veterans are being heard. On May 15, members of IVAW testified before a hearing convened by the Congressional Progressive Caucus in Washington DC.

As was reported here back in March, 250 peace activists brought the costs of the war to their local mall, and 2 of them were arrested.

Rutgers students and community activists packed the city council meeting last night, demanding that it pass a resolution against the war in Iraq, and that use its influence to get the charges against the Rutgers 3 (Suzan Sanal, Erik Straub, Arwa Ibrahim) dropped. The resolution was passed unanimously, and New Brunswick thus became the fourth city in New Jersey to stand against the war.

New York citizens are currently marching across the state to bring support to our active duty soldiers and Iraq Veterans Against the War. This 10-day march is an act of re-birthing civic duty and responsibility to defend our Constitution and strengthen our resolve to stop the damage this unjust, illegal, and immoral war is doing to our families, communities, the world and most of all, soldiers.

From Sheila Rosenthal: "The Lafayette Area Peace Coalition (LAPC) is committed to continuing the campaign for peace in 2008. One new, and we think exciting, project is the display of highway billboards that call for peace in Iraq. We are planning to have billboards that say 'Out of Iraq: NOW,' on display for one year at locations in the Lafayette area.

Two people were arrested during a protest at the Smith Haven Mall in Long Island, NY. Organized by the Suffolk Peace Network, and several other Long Island peace groups, the action drew 250 people who lined the street in front of the mall, while a couple dozen pro-war counter-protestors gathered on a corner across the street.

The Greater Lansing Network Against War and Injustice, a UFPJ member group, posted this billboard as part of the UFPJ billboard project, at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Francis Street, where it will remain for a month, drawing local residents' attention to the enormous daily financial costs of the continuing occupation in Iraq.

From William Gerena-Rochet: "Holding a copy of the front page headline of the NY Daily News that read “4000 Dead: Tragic milestone for U.S. in Iraq” and a banner, “El Barrio-Harlem Movement for Peace and Justice,” a handfull of community activists, residents and workers chanted “Bush lies, 4000 dead, 30,000 wounded, Bring the troops home now,” next to the East 103 Street US Army Recruiting Station situated across the Ortiz Funeral Home.

10 grandmothers and supporters, ages 57 to 80, tried to enlist in the US Army at an Atlanta recruiting office on St. Paddy's Day. Following the nurturing instincts of grandmas everywhere, they offered to replace young Americans in harm's way in Iraq. When their generous offer was refused, these gritty grannies stood their ground. "We insist! We enlist!" When will the paddy wagons go to the White House for the real criminals? Stay tuned. Special thanks to cameraman Bill Liggin of Artemis Productions for providing the footage for this video.