Peace Alliance Newsletter

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A Letter from Minnesota
Meeting with Senator Mark Dayton in D.C. as he decided to introduce the legislation into the Senate.

Senate Soul Force
By Mary Jane LaVigne: Her story about the MN group meeting with Senator Dayton at the Department of Peace conference.

Gandhi entered the Empire theatre in South Africa on September 11, 1906 not knowing he was about to call forth satyagraha or "soul force" from those present. Ninety-nine years and three days later, eleven of us from Minnesota, supporters of the Department of Peace, sat in the U.S. Senate dining room excitedly looking forward to lunch with our Senator, Mark Dayton (D-OH).

Two nurses, a couple of union members, we had one first grader and a grandma, an environmentalist, a sculptor a teacher and a grocery store manager. The Senate dining room, like many things, looms larger in imagination than it is in fact. Seated as we were in the center, we created a gravity of our own.

We talked about small things, like how you shake hands, Senator Dayton extends his palm down, giving the other person control of the strength of grip. Senator Dayton went round the table and listened to each
of us express our opinion on who ought to be his successor. We talked about Robert Kennedy and Paul Wellstone. “Why is it always planes with our people that go down?" burst out of one of the adults.

"No one's plane should go down," said 12 year-old Raven Kinnell.

Sitting next to her, Dayton nodded quietly, then asked the young woman to pin a button on his lapel. "We need a Department of Peace," it read.

We didn't talk about the campaign until after desert. Faith Kidder asked Senator Dayton if he'd be willing to consider proposing the= creation of a Department of Peace in the Senate. "Should he?" the Senator asked the youngest member of our group. Eric looked up at his nodding mom and said "yes." Then he asked Eric's middle school sister= Chelsea and finally Raven, "yes" they said.

Senator Dayton pushed himself away from the table, stood up and said, "then I will."

With a new bounce in his step the Senator ushered us up to the Senate Gallery, then down, in the Senators Only elevator, to the underground tram. I got to sit in the car with the Senator. The breeze blew my hair. He was grinning. I'll never forget that moment. "It's like Willy Wonka," the kids in the car ahead giggled.

We entered his office and were introduced to his staff. "We're going to be Senate sponsors of a Department of Peace Bill," Dayton told them.

They may call us naive. And perhaps we are. But no more naive than any group who dares to claim a better world. No more naive than those who joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton in little Seneca Falls New York, calling for gender equality in 1848. No more naive than the folks who braved the hot coffee poured on their heads determined to desegregate Southern lunch counters in 1963. No more naive than all those who packed the Empire Theatre 99 years ago and with only the strength of their intention, inaugurated a new kind of force.

We are all around that lunch table now, our hearts on our sleeves.
Mary Jane LaVigne

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DONATE NOW!

We need your financial support. From conference planning to citizen outreach to organization and training, our staff is working hard to keep the campaign moving forward. Please help us to build an organization capable of moving to the next level.

Become a Peace Alliance Partner, our sustaining monthly and quarterly donors. By making simple, regular contributions, you help ensure that we have a stable, predictable revenue base to fund our operations.

If just a thousand people donate $20 dollars a month (the price of a pizza!), then we will be able to fully pay our staff, establish an office in Washington, D.C., and increase our effectiveness around the country. If you are already a monthly donor, please consider increasing your donation; if you are not already a donor, please become one now. Or if you would prefer, we gratefully accept one-time donations as well.

www.ThePeaceAlliance.org/donate

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Department of Peace
Activist Training & Planning Workshop
Asheville, North Carolina
Saturday Oct. 29, 2005

Come join us, get inspired, activated! Be a part of the change that you want to see in the world!

Southeastern regional event with Lynn McMullen, the National Campaign Coordinator for The Peace Alliance.

Where: The Asheville Jewish Community Center @ 236 Charlotte Street, Asheville, NC
When: Saturday Oct.29 from 12:00 noon to 7:00pm
Cost: $20 (For facility costs and healthy snacks)
RSVP: Ellie Richard: [e-mail] or call [phone]

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Department of Peace
Activist Training & Planning Workshop
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Sunday, November 6, 2006

Hosted by: South Florida Peace Alliance
Location: Unity Church- Ft. Lauderdale
Time: 11:30 am - 3:30pm
Contacts: Cynthia Seymour - CD Team Leader - 954-444-9955
Jeffrey Weisberg - Interim State Coordinator - 352-246-5801

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The Human Forum of Puerto Rico
December 8 -11 , 2005

Historic Forum to Bring Together People from across the Globe for World Change

Spiritual leaders, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, villagers to heal humanity

The seeds of a new humanity will be planted firmly in the ground of Puerto Rico this December 8 -11 , 2005 when groups from all over the world join in the human forum, The Power of Oneness; Connecting the Seeds of a New Humanity.

This global network of individuals and organizations is coming together to determine actions we to take to create a world where hope, justice, peace and a sense of the sacredness of life prevails.

The Alliance for a New Humanity is an open forum to facilitate an exchange amongst those who care for their fellow beings, and who understand that there is only one human family, says Alliance President, Deepak Chopra.

Nobel Peace Prize winners, authors, scientists, and extraordinary people from all walks of life, including Mayan women from an impoverished community in Guatemala dedicated to regaining their dignity, will we come to “Connect, Create and Celebrate” during the intense four-day human forum.

The forum will open with a video message from Larry King and presenters include Marianne Williamson, Jeffrey Sachs, James Twyman, Deepak Chopra and many more. Participants will attend panel discussions, group discussions, presentations and exhibitors in a Convergence Plaza at the Hotel Westin Rio Mar on the island of Puerto Rico.

This global network of individuals and organizations is dedicated to bringing together like- minded individuals who share in the vision of creating a global network of NGOs, corporations, governments and individuals dedicated to protecting the environment, securing human rights, consoling the suffering and improving the world through knowledge.

Supporters of the ANH Puerto Rico Forum include The Mythic Imagination Institute, CARE, Synergos, Global Youth Action Network, Taking IT Global, Hands on Network, Hearts in Action, Sheri’s Foundation, and the KL Felicitas Foundation.

For more information visit www.anhglobal.org.

“Open the eyes of your heart and solve your problems in a new way. You believe it will take years or lifetimes to solve things like hunger, disease and violence. Is it possible that it is simple, and that your need to see it as complicated has been the very thing that has kept you from the answer?” Marco, Bulgaria, age 10

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2nd Annual Chesapeake Bioneers Conference
October 14-16, 2005
At the University of the District of Columbia

Conference Rates:
At the door: $125.
Pay online by for only: $109
And groups only: $85 each Conference day rates: $35 per day

Participate in the National Bioneers Conference live via satellite, as part of a 16-city megaconference

Explore the connections between the issues that matter most today: Environmental Sustainability - Health - Social Justice - Peace

And right here: Engage in a fertile, local network of individuals and groups passionate about renewing our world. Get inspired with new ideas, successful models, tools, resources. Connect with local visionaries and innovators in green business, organic farming and food, education, sustainable architecture and building, and more....

Join and launch important local projects. Enjoy innovative music, dance, and theater

National speakers include:
Over 50 luminaries in person. Invitees include

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms
Maryland House of Delegates Dan Morhaim M.D.
DC Energy Office Director Chuck Clinton
Edgar Cahn, founder of Time Dollar Institute
Dawn Gifford, DC GreenWorks, Green Rooftops
Kim Rush U.S. National Arboretum, School Gardens
Kate Davenport, SustainUS, Sustainable Business Map
Robert Duggan, Tai Sophia
Shari Berenbach, Calvert Social Investment Foundation
Reuven Walder, SeaWeb, Seafood Choices
Glen O'Gilvie, Earth Conservation Corps, Urban Socio-Economics Panel

National Speakers via Satellite - up to 15 over the weekend
- David Orr, pioneer of environmental literacy and ecological design
- Diane Wilson, a 4th generation shrimper in Texas who took on mega-corporations
- Bernice Johnson Reagon, legendary musician and cultural activist.
- Bill McKibben, Global Warming: A climate of fear and opportunity.

Conference presented by by 150 members of U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, including the involvement of 200 youth

For more information and to inquire about sponsorship, ads in our program, exhibit space, - Call 202-686-9813 or click on www.WholenessforHumanity.com