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davidswanson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 11:17 AM
Original message
Stop These Wars Or We'll Fill Your Jails
Here's an easy question: would you rather go to jail for a few hours with a bunch of friends or die?

Here's a poorly kept secret: the wars that a majority of Americans want ended are not ending, and the war machine that a majority of Americans want cut back is growing.

Here's a situation that is not secret at all but too horrifying for us to acknowledge: if the war machine continues on its current course, we will not survive it economically, environmentally, or with any civil liberties or representative government intact. If we do not reach those catastrophes it will be because blowback or nuclear proliferation takes us out first.

You may not die for the Pentagon, but if you do not it will be your children or grandchildren. Would you rather go to jail for a few hours with a bunch of friends or see your grandchildren killed? Is the question getting easier?

Here's a well kept secret: many Americans are doing something about it, and Veterans for Peace is taking the lead. We're going to the White House on Thursday, December 16th: http://stopthesewars.org

You may have other obligations, but do they outweigh what's at stake here? How about this question: If you cannot risk arrest at the White House with us on December 16th to stop these wars, can you be there in support? Can you help with transportation or take photos and shoot videos and write reports? If you cannot be there in support, can you phone Congress and the media and demand the defunding of the war machine and an end to wars opposed by majorities of Americans in every poll?

The last time I was arrested at the White House we were "processed" at a table outside a jail and never entered any jail at all. Yes, it takes hours to do what could take minutes. Yes, the handcuffs pinch. But doesn't the knowledge that we are bombing families in other countries pinch a little too?

Don't take it from me. Take it from these people who will also be there:

"I am shamed by the actions of my government and I will do everything in my power to make it stop killing innocent people in my name." -- Leah Bolger

"'….to protect and defend the Constitution…' I took that oath as a sailor, and later as a police officer. I don't consider that oath to have an expiration date because I believe in accountability, justice and peace. Where I come from, we say: 'You don't have to stand tall, but you've GOT to stand up.' Stand up December 16, 2010, at the White House." -- Erik Lobo

"Besides causing untold suffering and destruction, our futile and unending wars distract us from addressing unprecedented humanitarian and planetary crises. To allow war to even exist dishonors the teachers of peace who came before us. To fail to oppose war is to submit to those who make war. I choose to honor the peace teachers; I choose to oppose and resist the war makers." -- Kim Carlyle

"As Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner of a year ago, embraces war on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, he's joined by most all the Democratic Party, and pushed on by the cabal of Republican war-mongers newly dominant in Congress. Obama was the right man for the job of expanding US domination internationally, and domestic surveillance and police-state measures. He's not solely responsible for the system.; neither is he a socialist, or illegitimate based on his birth. But we are right to be protesting at the White House now, as we were right when the Bush regime lived there. People who want to stop these wars being carried out in our name have to be visible and vocal about it, now!" -- Debra Sweet

"I strongly and enthusiastically support these actions! May we move forward peacefully, nonviolently, and with great courage." -- Ron Kovic

"I speak and write a lot about these things; but there comes a time when if you don't put your body on the line, then the speaking and writing becomes posturing. That time is now. December 16 at the White House. " -- Joel Kovel

"Those who know the full extent of America's imperial reach have a unique obligation to let their fellow citizens know what is being done in all of our names. But it is more than an obligation for veterans, since many of us have served in America's invasions and occupations abroad. Perhaps it is also a privilege, another chance to express our love for this country, this time putting their bodies on the line to demand that America once again join the peace loving nations of this world." -- Fred Nagel

"I listened today to Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech given at New York's Riverside Church in 1967, 'Why I Oppose the Vietnam War.' If any of us don't know it, make it a point to hear it. His truth is timeless. When I hear it, I feel as deeply as possible, the necessity and the responsibility to be a Veteran For Peace. My conscience, my refusal to let the world change me are in the forefront of my existence. I will be with my brothers and sisters on Dec. 16." -- Jay Wenk

"When Barack Obama claimed that by not prosecuting the war crimes and crimes against humanity of the previous administration we would be able to go into the future with our core values intact, he was condemning this country to have no moral future. He was, in effect, saying that our core values worth defending are imperialism and capitalism and hypocrisy. All three can only flourish in a climate of no accountability and a belief in the necessary ethic of collateral damage. It is our responsibility to change that." -- Robert Shetterly

"War for empire, endless and cruel war, resulting in untold suffering, destruction and death for millions, a war economy here at home that steals from ordinary citizens and makes the few enormously wealthy, these are powerful reasons for us to put our bodies on the wheels, the levers, the apparatus of this vile war-making machine and demand that it stop. Enough is enough. There is no glory, no heroism, no good wars, no justification whatsoever, it is all, all of it, based on lies. I'll be in Washington on December 16 with other veterans, resisting this war mentality, demanding its end. -- Tarak Kauff

"For what do I stand? First, I will not stand for: a Democrat, a Republican, a flag, a border, a government, or a war of any kind. I will stand for the People, to protect and defend the Constitution, for peace and justice. See you in Washington, D.C., December 16, Twenty-Ten." -- Will Covert, Veterans For Peace

"I could not miss this manifestation of veterans' strong condemnation of the wars, and of Obama for continuing them. In this season of supposed peace on earth, we who previously carried out U.S. foreign policy with our bodies must speak out to say, 'NO MORE! Bring the troops home NOW!'" -- Ellen Barfield

"We are at a critical time in world history. Will the Western democracies continue to develop along the lines of Rousseau, Voltaire, Jefferson, King, Chavez and company? Or does the future hold a feudal world committed to slavery and fascism? The extent to which we resist is the extent to which there is reason to hope. Our witness, even if ignored in our times, will be on record and will inspire democratic revolutionaries far into the future. -- Doug Zachary

"The Empire has met the Resistance and it is us! 12.16.10. Washington. Be there!" -- Mike Ferner

"I have three granddaughters whose futures will be bleak unless we can reverse the American slide into endless war. It's time to move the resistance up a notch. That's why I'll be joining the veteran-led civil resistance on December 16 at the White House." -- Ken Mayers

"I'm joining my fellow veterans on December 16 because, plain and simple, it is the right thing to do. I am against war, murder, and torture. Enough! I have a beautiful daughter and a very cute goddaughter. I owe them my best effort towards achieving a more just world. When we all stand up for peace war will end." -- Mike Tork

"The trip to Washington will be an opportunity to stand in solidarity with fellow engaged citizens who are paying attention. As much as it will be a privilege, it is an obligation to add another voice to the growing chorus objecting to obscene wars that serve none other than the rich and powerful. The majorities in the lands subject to our occupations and wars object to our presence, and we the people share more in common with the victims in those countries than we do with the war profiteers here at home. Though we can expect the mainstream media to give little notice to our presence in D.C., that failure will only serve to make these truths more evident." -- Dud Hendrick

"I will not be silent. I'm going to the White House to demand an end to these wars!" -- Mike Hearington

"All who resist keep hope alive. All who succumb to fear, despair and apathy become enemies of hope. They become, in their passivity, agents of injustice. If the enemies of hope are finally victorious, the poison of violence will become not only the language of power but the language of opposition. And those who resist with nonviolence are in times like these the thin line of defense between a civil society and its disintegration." -- Chris Hedges

David Swanson is the author of "War Is A Lie" http://warisalie.org
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 11:48 AM
Response to Original message
1. My dear David...you are 100% correct about the wars.
Actions always speak louder than words.
You have a good idea, the march will be a good start, but it is NOT ENOUGH!

Who will be in Congress on Saturday to see you?
Who will be commuting to and from work around the Capitol that day to see you?
Who will be filming for the evening news to see you?

The reason protests were so effective in the Civil rights era, in the Anti-Viet Nam War era,
hell, even in the Suffragette era, and in the many many union strikes and protests, is that they were not limited to ONE day. Or to ONE "event". Or ONE petition. Or ONE place.

There was no "march on Washington" for only ONE day...on a Saturday...during Congressional recess, as happened recently the the Stewart/Colbert thing, and even the Beck thing.

The effective protests and marches went on, week after week after week, for months, and even years,
Congress could not avoid seeing them, the news could not avoid filming them, people in the towns and cities all over the country could not avoid seeing them, the marches were THERE. At the campuses,
in other cities besides DC.
almost every night Joe 6 pack turned on the tv and saw civil protest on the screen.

Yeah, it is going to take that much involvement.
and our government is really hoping that does not happen, believe me.

Will it happen this time???







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davidswanson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #1
6. 10 am on a Thursday at the White House
and your question is how congress will see us on a Saturday?

I just don't know.
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 02:06 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. My error in reading, David.
I was thinking about the recent weekend marches which were held on Sat.

However, my central concern remains: what can we do to maintain a continued public objection to the wars?



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chervilant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #1
15. In a word,
yes.

With so many of us unemployed, especially us grannies, we have nothing much to lose, other than our lives. AND, this is for our children. Don't you think it's past time we became a child-centric society?
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Pab Sungenis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 12:10 PM
Response to Original message
2. It won't work.
All you'll be doing is providing more fodder for the for-profit private-run prison industrial complex. So you'll be lining their pockets.
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chervilant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 05:21 PM
Response to Reply #2
16. Sigh...
No time for naysayers, Pab. Why waste your time and energy posting 'it won't work'? Are you too comfortably ensconced behind your computer to contemplate taking to the streets and advocating to save our democracy? sad...

BTW, you're wrong. Please bear in mind the timeless words of Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
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HCE SuiGeneris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 09:47 PM
Response to Reply #2
21. Please post your alternative.
How are you going to end the war?
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Desertrose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 12:19 PM
Response to Original message
3. This will have to go viral....the MSM won't report it.
Edited on Mon Nov-29-10 12:19 PM by Desertrose
Back in the days of anti-war protests...the news actually reported "news"... now it's all spin. This has to go viral and yeah, gonna take more than one day as dixiegrrrl said.

I respect everyone who puts their time & energy & life on the line. Thank you...I hope it helps.
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EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #3
13. So, let's get out our address books.
Even in the days of anti-war protests, the media whores needed prodding and poking.
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sabrina 1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 12:35 PM
Response to Original message
4. Thank you for your consistency. For not jumping ship on
on these issues that used to be so important to democrats, just because a democrat is now in the WH.

I'm glad the anti-war movement is still alive. I hope it grows.

What is shameful is to see the way some people, who were yelling about Bush and the wars, the civil rights violations etc. don't seem to care about those issues anymore.

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midnight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 01:26 PM
Response to Original message
5. David this is a very important step. Those of us who
want these wars over know every little bit helps.
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davidswanson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 01:45 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. it does indeed
read Dubya's book
the Repubs were inches away from ending the wars in 06
a little bit more would have done it
they never tell you how close you are
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Radical Activist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 02:09 PM
Response to Original message
9. I'm not convinced that publicity arrests accomplish much.
But Vets for Peace is a good group and thanks for doing something.
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mmonk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 02:54 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. What does these days?
But maybe it will encourage others to do something.
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Radical Activist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 03:09 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Civil disobedience that actually impedes the governments ability to continue the war.
But those things can't be discussed on public message boards.
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davidswanson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 02:54 PM
Response to Reply #9
11. i'm fully convinced
it would do more if you all joined us :-)
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chervilant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 04:12 PM
Response to Original message
14. hmm...
Edited on Mon Nov-29-10 04:13 PM by chervilant
I just posted this on another thread:
and I, plus so many more like me, will not go quietly into the night. Mr. Ruffalo embodies what Gandhi adjured lo these many years ago: we must be the change we hope to see in this world. When I finally snapped to that--and to the fact that the corporate megalomaniacs EXPECT us to wallow in our stressed, depressed, jobless, obese lives--I decided to do something unexpected. I have made this decision fully expecting to end up on the DHS hit list or dead. No biggie, our forebears took such risks to establish this democracy. Death is just one price we might have to pay to help insure that our amazing democracy evolves further.

When I have the key components of my advocacy in place, DUers will hear all about it, as will fellow activists on Crooks and Liars, and other internet venues not yet usurped by the corporatists.

To you, montanacowboy, I would say: please find a way to surround yourself with the beauty and peacefulness of your bucolic environment, and contemplate what you CAN do to fight the vile, oppressive radical income inequity promulgated by the handful of hedonists at the top of the Ponzi Pyramid we call capitalism. I promise you, fighting the criminal corporatists is far more envigorating than throwing up our hands in resignation.

More to come, and I respectfully remain,

Ms. Silence B. Damned


Our activism is coalescing, even as we post on DU! We CAN and MUST come together and express our activism in much larger numbers, risking arrest and worse. I am thinking satyagraha in massive numbers, so that the vile corporatists and their delusional minions will be overwhelmed by our sheer magnitude.

More to come, and I respectfully remain,

Ms. Silence B. Damned
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glitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 05:21 PM
Response to Original message
17. Until they change the rules and make protesting a prison offense.
And the profit prison industry smacks its lips.
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Moonbat2 Donating Member (112 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 06:44 PM
Response to Original message
18. SORRY
very busy that week but have fun
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maryf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 09:43 PM
Response to Original message
19. K&R nt
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HCE SuiGeneris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 09:45 PM
Response to Original message
20. K & R
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bertman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-29-10 11:39 PM
Response to Original message
22. This Vietnam vet will be there. Thank you for letting me/us know about this, David.
Rec.

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WhiteTara Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 09:09 AM
Response to Original message
23. that's supposed to be a threat?
The jails are privately owned so that can only be a good thing.
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dogday Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 04:29 PM
Response to Original message
24. Kick
too late to rec this thread. Great writing by a fellow member....
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ElsewheresDaughter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-30-10 09:42 PM
Response to Original message
25. K&R ...am reposting this to 2 other boards.
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