Exploring Ways To Make Peace Within
Ourselves & the World

Join us Saturday afternoons from 12:30pm - 1:30pm, as we stand in silent vigil for peace. Click here to learn more.

Why Do I Write This Blog???

The easiest (and probably the most honest) answer to that question is: I don't know. It all started in the summer of 2005, when I went to Crawford, Texas ( a.k.a. the home of the prez's ranch, a.k.a. the home of Camp Casey) to support Cindy Sheehan. I wanted the world to know that, contrary to what one could read in the mainstream media, the peace movement was alive and well and large numbers of Americans did not support the war in Iraq. I wanted people to know that thousands of Americans were willing to travel to Texas and tolerate the heat, humidity, and bugs in order to support a grieving mother whose new purpose was to shine a light on the lies that led to the war and to bring home our troops so that no other mother would have to know the pain that she felt.

Over time, this blog has become more of an exploration of who I am, my spirituality, and how life works. I love life's complexities, exploring the shades of gray. I want to, as Rainier Maria Rilke said,

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."

Maybe my blog is just one big question about what is needed in order for people to take the time to love and cherish each other and our earth. Maybe someday, I will "live along some distant day into the answer."

In the meantime, thank you for joining me on my journey. I welcome you to share yours with me

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Trading Herbs for Oil?

Photo by Ellen Jaskol at the Rocky Mountain News

Today at the last minute, I decided to go to the press conference of the "No Blood for Oil 12". I had been really happy to have the day entirely free to study herbs and clean the house, but I realized that going to the press conference could be a great opportunity to gather information, write it, and get it out wherever I could. Who needs a clean house anyway???

Listening to the stories of these brave people, I am inspired and grateful. I wonder why they are punished for acting from their consciences when so many who appear to have little conscience freely destroy... I plan to post some of their stories over the next few days leading up to their trial.

Now that I have posted an article on some sites, I'm tired of the computer and want to read about herbs. Here's my article:

Anti-War Defendants Speak Out

Cheryl Distaso, a mother of three teenage boys, stood in front of a huge banner that read "Save our Soldiers, Save the Children, No Blood for Oil". She admitted that her conscience required her to act last November when she and eleven others stood in front of the Lakewood Armed Forces Recruitment Center and were arrested for trespassing and obstructing a passageway.

Cheryl is one of the "No Blood for Oil 12" that gathered today, once again in front of the recruitment center, to talk about the reasons behind the November actions, which coincided with similar protests around the country. The group, ranging in age from 27 to 80-plus, is scheduled for trial on Monday, June 5th at 8:00 a.m. in the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Claire Ryder noted a military ad she had found in a women’s magazine. The ad acknowledged that talking with one’s son about the military can make one anxious and emotional, but having the facts can be reassuring. Claire then went on to list off facts about the number of Iraqi civilians killed (200-300,000), the number of U.S. soldiers killed (almost 2500), and the over 20,000 U.S. soldiers who have been injured. She broke down the fiscal costs, revealing that the U.S. has spent $282 billion toward the war, while the price for the state of Colorado has been over $4 billion. She ended by suggesting recruiters explain these facts in their presentations to potential recruits.

T J Bowen stated that our military is violating the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Charter. For him, blocking a recruitment center is a nonviolent method to symbolically prevent our fellow citizens from engaging in illegal activity.

A disabled veteran, Drew Edmondson, addressing the fact that he may face jail time, spoke of the irony of a system that will free a soldier found guilty of torture, while the person who finds the act of torture unacceptable is put in jail.

The trial for the “No Blood for Oil 12” is scheduled for Monday, June 5th at 8:00 a.m. at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 100 Jefferson Parkway in Golden. A pre-trial rally will be held outside the Courthouse at 7:00 a.m. that same day.

posted by Carol at 1:51 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

A Rainbow in the Storm

Today's Women in Black Award:

The Rainbow in the Storm Award goes to the man who, when he saw us standing today, drove into the parking lot, walked with his two very young sons (he had one in his arms) the half block to where we stood, and thanked us for standing for peace. He said that he served in Iraq, and he regrets it. He told us that we had motivated him to get off of his butt and do something.

I wonder what the world would look like if we all got off of our butts and did something...

Photo, once again, from my cousin Larry G. Blackwood who will remember me when he is rich and famous.

posted by Carol at 9:19 PM 0 comments

Women in Black Changes and Rally

Women in Black Vigil Time and Day Change

We've moved our Women in Black vigil to Tuesday evenings - at least for the summer. So if you are in the Denver area, come stand with us from 5 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. We are at the same location - the SW corner of West Colfax and the Denver West Retail Entrance, in front of Colorado Mills (Pei Wei Restaurant is at our back).

Women in Black "No Blood for Oil" Pre-trial Rally

Next Monday, June 5th at 7:00 a.m., Women in Black will stand with others at the pre-trial rally for the "No Blood for Oil 12" as they have their day in court for blocking the entrance to the Lakewood Recruitment Center. If you are so moved, please join us. The rally will take place in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse at 7:00 a.m. before the trial which starts at 8:00.

From the No Blood for Oil press release:

On November 18, 2005 the defendants blocked the entrance to the military recruitment center in Lakewood to express their opposition to the war and occupation of Iraq and to the tactics used by recruiters to lure largely disadvantaged youth into the military. They noted that in order to meet their quotas recruiters often make promises which are later ignored by the military services. On the same day as the action in Lakewood, dozens of anti-war protestors across the country did similar actions at recruitment centers in their communities.

For more info on Women in Black, go to www.womeninblack.org

posted by Carol at 1:47 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 29, 2006

On This Day

Today is my dad's 86th birthday (Isn't he cute?). Last year, on his 85th birthday, he had heart surgery - surgery that probably bought him this last year of life and will continue to help keep him around for who knows how long.

Today is also Casey Sheehan's birthday. He would've been 27, but he was killed at the age of 24. He died on 04-04-04 in Iraq. He didn't live long enough to get married and have children and grandchildren like my dad has been able to do.

My dad fought in World War II. He was in a submarine in the South Pacific. I remember my mom talking about my dad's bad dreams that would cause him to make loud and scary noises in his sleep. And I can remember hearing him yelling during one of those nightmares more than 20 years after the war had ended.

It's funny how the mind works. When I was young, I thought that the United States was the greatest country. We fought a noble war that saved the world, and my dad was part of that. He had these nightmares as a result of the trauma caused by being torpedoed while in a submerged submarine. That would certainly give me nightmares! But I never put it together that my dad was a part of a crew that was also bombing other men in other subs. I don't know if the men on my dad's submarine were responsible for the deaths of fathers and brothers and husbands. I would guess so. I can't ask him at this stage of his life. Many parts of his experiences during the war have been too emotional all along. If something doesn't come out naturally, now is not the time to push.

I don't know what the world would be like today if we would not have entered World War II. Everything is much more complex than the information given by the history books. Why is an American a hero for killing, but a German or a Japanese person is the enemy for doing the same thing? They are all pawns of the powers that caused the wars in the first place. I am not sure that hero is a word that applies to anyone in war. Victim comes to mind. Then again, we are all complicit and can't claim victimhood.

Today I think of Cindy Sheehan and the pain that she must be feeling as she knows this is the third of a long line of Casey's birthdays that she won't be able to celebrate. Meanwhile, we will go to my Dad's in a little while to celebrate his long life. One man died young at the hand of the "enemy" while another man lived long by defeating another "enemy".

posted by Carol at 9:01 PM 2 comments

Friday, May 26, 2006

Vote For Peace

In case you haven't yet done so, please sign the Voter's Pledge, saying,

"I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign."

Go to the Voters For Peace website to sign the pledge, then follow through by not voting for any candidate that won't end this war.

posted by Carol at 9:12 PM 0 comments

We Can Make It a Noble Cause

I just drove past our local cemetary where people were visiting and decorating graves in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend. I have never been a grave decorator. Most of my family is buried in Kansas, and I remember knowing that my grandfather and great aunt would decorate relatives' graves each Memorial Day. For some reason, my parents never took me to do that. I had a couple of friends who were buried here in Colorado but I've never been to their graves since their funerals.

My baby is buried in a cemetary near here. I rarely go to the site. I did go for awhile. Once, around the time of a holiday, I saw flowers at the marker of the baby next to my son's, and I had a pang of guilt. I must not have loved my baby, Brian, enough to show it by bringing him flowers. Then I came to my senses and realized that the only people who would benefit by my gift of flowers would be the florist and me - mostly the florist, since I had no need to decorate this plot of earth.

In the beginning, the grave site was a place where I talked with Brian and cried, but I could only do that for so long. I felt his presence for awhile, but then I started feeling that he and I had moved on and there was no longer any need for me to visit a spot on the earth that held a marker with Brian Craig Goff's name on it.

I was thinking about why I no longer need to visit Brian's grave, and I remembered that, after I had recovered from the depression I experienced after his death and the premature birth of his twin brother, I decided that I was going to volunteer at hospice to be with others so that they wouldn't have to feel the alone-ness that I felt at the time of my baby's death. I did volunteer massage therapy at hospice for a few years, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Then a time came when I was done with that work, and I began to take on the cause of social justice. Helping others at hospice, working on myself to become a more compassionate and clear person, TRYING to work to bring about awareness of injustice to others - that is where I feel that I am serving Brian. He doesn't need flowers.

We think of Memorial Day weekends as a three day weekend where the weather is getting warmer and we can go somewhere, party, have a barbeque. Some people will spend the day honoring our veterans with parades and grave decorations. I would like to suggest that we allow this to be a time to remember all of the death and suffering that war and violence have caused over the centuries and to, instead of only helping florists and flag makers profit from our loss, consider doing action that will bring more peace to the world. When a grieving mother asks "What noble cause?", may the answer be that those who died gave their lives to wake us up to do something!

(Photo from my prolific and soon-to-be - if not already- famous cousin, Larry G. Blackwood. Hawkline Photography)

posted by Carol at 11:57 AM 0 comments

Thursday, May 25, 2006

The Children

I look in his chubby little face and I want to kiss it
The innocence and softness are still there and my heart breaks
Because a piece of metal is all that is left of his daddy
And it didn't have to be this way
Can't count the lies that made it happen

I look in his pained little face and I want to hold him
The innocence and softness are already dying and my heart breaks
Because a grave is all that is left of his daddy
And it didn't have to be this way
What kind of madness made this happen?

And I look in my own face and I want to know
Where the innocence and softness have gone and my heart breaks
Because war should not take away the daddies or mothers or husbands or brothers or sisters or wives
And it didn't have to be this way
We all stood by and let it happen

Now how will we heal the children?

(Photos above: top, son of an American soldier who died in Iraq; bottom, son of an Iraqi man killed recently. I apologize for not giving credit to the photographers. Photos are from Truthout.org. I will document credit if anyone can supply names)

posted by Carol at 9:05 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

How Can We Look at Our Children and Say We Did Our Best?

Brian Haw has been camped in Parliament Square in London for 1,817 days - since June of 2001.
From his website: "Brian Haw, a 53-year-old father of seven, left his family home in Birmingham in June 2001 and moved to the pavement at Parliament Square, London. Brian has now lived opposite the Houses of Parliament for over two years, sleeping under a piece of tarpaulin and surviving on handouts from passers by. His original aim was to protest against the sanctions imposed on Iraq and during the build up to war, his pavement home became the focus of Britain's war debate. "

He mostly got away with this until last July when the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act was created. This Act sought to stop demonstrations in Parliament Square and its vicinity.

Yesterday, police raided Mr. Haw's camp and took away the art and posters depicting children harmed by depleted uranium. Mr. Haw has now stated that he will fast, as he has almost nothing else to lose.

"I want to go back to my own kids and look them in the face again knowing that I've done all I can to try and save the children of Iraq and other countries who are dying because of my government's unjust, amoral, fear - and money - driven policies. These children and people of other countries are every bit as valuable and worthy of love as my precious wife and children." Brian Haw

posted by Carol at 3:37 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Beyond Hope

Derrick Jensen writes in his article Beyond Hope (I highly recommend reading its entirety),

"Frankly, I don't have much hope. But I think that's a good thing. Hope is what keeps us chained to the system, the conglomerate of people and ideas and ideals that is causing the destruction of the Earth. To start, there is the false hope that suddenly somehow the system may inexplicably change. Or technology will save us. Or the Great Mother... False hopes bind us to unlivable situations, and blinds us to real possibilities. Does anyone really believe that Weyerhaeuser is going to stop deforesting because we ask nicely?...

...I'm not, for example, going to say I hope I eat something tomorrow. I just will. I don't hope I take another breath right now, nor that I finish writing this sentence. I just do them... When we realize the degree of agency we actually do have, we no longer have to "hope" at all. We simply do the work... We do whatever it takes...

...I would say that when hope dies, action begins."

May we all have the wisdom to give up hope that someone else will do it or that a new piece of legislation will make it all okay. May we all have the fortitude to do whatever it takes to make this world a better place for ourselves, our children and all beings on this planet now and in the future.

Photo by my talented cousin, Larry G Blackwood of Hawkline Photography.
See more of his work at his website and in the August edition of B & W Magazine.
Thank you to Lisa for letting me know about this article and for the gifts you bring to my life.

posted by Carol at 10:56 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 22, 2006

Clouds

You yourself are the cloud veiling your own sun!
So recognize the essential Reality of your own being!
- Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (c.1194)

posted by Carol at 8:58 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 21, 2006

A Happy Carol is a Good Carol

I have so many serious things that I want to write about, but I just can't make myself do it lately. I will get to those things at some point. Maybe

But for now... I found this on Leila's blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg
and I had so much fun that I am still happy. A happy Carol is a good Carol.

posted by Carol at 8:24 PM 0 comments

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Today's Women in Black Award

I only have one Women in Black award to present today and it goes to an anonymous police officer. We had just finished our vigil and were walking back toward our cars when she pulled up alongside us with her lights flashing and her siren giving a little "bleep". When she stopped a short distance from us, my mind started racing, wondering if the world has really come to this, and knowing that we have every legal right to be standing as we are. The officer got out of her car and ...........

put a sign out on the grass, then said that she wanted to thank us for what we do. She thinks it's great and she's been impressed to see us out there all these months.

To you, officer X, I give the "Roller Coaster Award" for taking us from paranoia to gratitude in three seconds flat.

posted by Carol at 3:12 PM 0 comments

Malcolm X

"Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth." -Malcolm X

I wanted to write about Malcolm X yesterday, his birthday. I would like to have known what Malcolm's life would've been like if he were still alive today, forty-one years after his murder. He was a very intelligent and complex man who was willing to grow and change as he gathered new awareness. I wanted to put excerpts of something Terry, another email friend, posted to a yahoo group I belong to, but I found out that he has a blog where the same writing can be found. Check it out at his Visions of Peace blog - and while you're there, keep reading. Terry has a fascinating story.

posted by Carol at 7:54 AM 0 comments

Friday, May 19, 2006

01-20-09

When I was a kid and would get excited about the future and wish it was Friday, or any day in the future that I was anticipating, my mom would tell me not to wish my life away. I know that the world will not become a better place once W is out of office, but I am hoping that at least I won't have to see his funny little mug any more or listen to him butcher our language (you know, the one that he can't speak but wants everyone else to) after 01-20-09. There are still a lot of W days ahead, but I think we need to use the time to educate people on just what is happening to them with this administration so they don't choose a replay.

Bumper Sticker found at StickerGiant.com

posted by Carol at 7:43 PM 4 comments

The Protest Outside of Halliburton's Duncan, Okalahoma's Shareholder Meeting

My email friend, Darla, was one of the organizers of the recent protest of Halliburton in Duncan, Oklahoma. The event included a teach-in. Sixteen people were arrested when one person tore down the fence separating protesters from the shareholder's meeting and 15 others walked through the break. This was a civil disobedience action that was preplanned and discussed with Duncan law enforcement in advance. I'm happy that this event got national media attention. Though Democracy Now noted that hundreds of protesters were there, the Houston Chronicle claimed there were "roughly 100 demonstrators".

Two points the Chronicle pointed out are really scary to me (quotes from the article are in purple):

A shareholder proposal brought forward by several Catholic groups requesting that Halliburton add language on human rights to its Code of Business Ethics was roundly defeated.

The board of directors had recommended that shareholders vote down the proposal.

*******

One shareholder asked for details about a recent contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to build detention and processing centers in the event of an immigration "emergency."

Lesar called the contract, which is valued at up to $385 million, part of a contingency plan.

"There are no plans at this point to actually physically build anything. We don't know when or if or where this contract will be activated," he said.

You can listen to interviews with Corpwatch’s Pratap Chatterjee about his new report "Hurricane Halliburton: Conflict, Climate Change and Catastrophe." and Nigerian attorney, Michael Keania Karikpo, who represents Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria on DemocracyNow.org.

Thanks Darla (and the rest of the people who worked so hard to bring awareness).

posted by Carol at 9:39 AM 2 comments

Thursday, May 18, 2006

We Need to Talk

Tonight I was driving in my neighborhood when I saw a sign in someone's yard that says "Stop the Invasion". I was happy, because I thought that there were only three families in the neighborhood that thought like me. Then I read further and saw that they were talking about the "invasion" of immigrants.

And I wonder...why would someone care more about ending an "invasion" of people who are working to support their families (like Mexican immigrants) than they would about ending an invasion by people who are killing men, women and children (like us)? (Actually, this sign makes me wonder a lot, but I will save the rest of my questions for other posts.)

posted by Carol at 9:21 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

A Matter of National Importance

See Jon Stewart re: Bush's immigration plan (and see the connection to between that plan and W's ratings) at OneGoodMove.org.

posted by Carol at 10:29 AM 0 comments

38 Years Ago Today

From DemocraticUnderground.com

Our apologies good friends
for the fracture of good order
the burning of paper
instead of children the angering of the orderlies
in the front parlor of the charnel house
We could not so help us God do otherwise
For we are sick at heart our hearts
give us no rest for thinking of the Land of Burning Children
Fr. Dan Berrigan Statement to the Court, Trial of the Catonsville Nine.

On May 17th, 1968, exactly 38 years ago today, Nine people, including Father Daniel Berrigan and his brother Father Phillip Berrigan, entered a draft board and removed draft files of those who were about to be sent to Viet Nam. They took these files outside and burned them with home-made napalm, a weapon commonly used on Vietnamese civilians by the U.S. forces. They then awaited their arrest by authorities.

Let us celebrate this act of resistance, of obedience to higher laws, this respect for the humanity of Vietnamese civilians that were being killed by the thousands in an illegal, immoral, unjust war.

Let's recommit ourselves to acting in resistance to the Bush regimes war in Iraq, and all plans to attack Iran, and everywhere U.S. supports war, occupation, oppression. Support the brave soldiers who have resisted, and went into exile to Canada, or sit in military prisons like our brother Kevin Benderman. These acts of courage will not be forgotten, they are not in vain.
A new world is possible. And we shall create it.
We shall see better days, filled with hope.

All of us who act against the law
turn to the poor of the world to the Vietnamese
to the victims to the soldiers who kill and die
for the wrong reasons for no reason at all
because they were so ordered by the authorities
of that public order which is in effect
a massive institutionalized disorder
We say: Killing is disorder
life and gentleness and community and unselfishness
is the only order we recognize...

See the whole unforgettable statement of faith and resistance here:
http://tomjoad.org/catonsville9.htm

And for a more in-depth look at the Catonsville Nine action, go to:
http://c9.mdch.org/index.cfm

posted by Carol at 8:56 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Violent Texts in the Scriptures

For those of you who live in the Denver area and are interested:

SUNDAY MAY 21, 5:00PM-7:00PM

St. Paul's UM Church

Panel Discussion:

"Violent Texts

in the Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam:

How the Texts Justify Violence and How the Texts Can Be Reclaimed for Peace"

Panelists:

Rabbi Bernard Gerson

Congregation Rodef Shalom

Dr. Ed Everding

Iliff Professor Emeritus

Imam Ibrahim Kazerooni

Abrahamic Initiative

Monday, May 15, 2006

Watching My Mind

funny how i find
love
when I watch a person give
peace
when the sound of water washes my soul
courage
when I do something I thought I couldn't

yet I can forget all of that in a moment
hope
can fade away leaving darkness and
despair
when reading the current news
sadness
at humanity's blindness

it's all a choice
thoughts are only thoughts
not truths
feelings change with the winds
only faster
watch the mind's circus and
let go

Labels: love, mind, peace

posted by Carol at 10:47 PM 0 comments

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Gratefulness

Candlelight at the crosses in Camp Casey.

I have been "lighting a candle" at Gratefulness.org, then checking out some of the candles that are already lit. I figured out that I need to look for candles from the U.S., since I don't read any other languages. It is humbling to see what others have to say when they light their candles. I feel like, somehow, I am joined together with other "candle-lighters" in their hopes and wishes. The "candles" only stay lighted for 48 hours, so I go back and light another with new intent every once in awhile. Kinda nice.

posted by Carol at 7:26 PM 0 comments

No Blood For Oil

On Monday, June 5th, the No Blood For Oil 12 will have their day in court for their November 18, 2005 action where they blocked the entrance to a local recruiting center. You can watch film footage of the action here: http://www.s90370584.onlinehome.us/tj/NoBloodforOilComp.mov
Women in Black stood in vigil during the November action and we will stand again at the rally before the trial. Please join us for the rally at 7:00 a.m. in front of the Jefferson (Colorado) County Courthouse on June 5th.

Thank you to Drew for the film link.

For info and resources to stop military recruitment, go to NotinOurName.net

posted by Carol at 8:32 AM 0 comments

Saturday, May 13, 2006

A Piece of the Pie

Yesterday a small group of us visited Representative Bob Beauprez' office to deliver a pie and a request that he support the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace.

TJ, on the far left - at least in the photo - is very knowledgeable about the DOP proposal, and he arranged for our visit. We brought the staff a pie as a symbol of asking for the senator to give peace a piece of the federal budget pie.

Mr. Beauprez and I don't see eye to eye on very many issues. He pretty much follows the same line of thinking as W. Bob even posed in flight suit, just like W, and like W, Bob has never served in the military - but why should that stop him from dressing like it? Representative Beauprez is running for Colorado governor this fall. oh boy

I digress.

TJ did an excellent job of communicating with Beauprez' staff beforehand and had set an appointment for us to show up at Bob's office. The three members of the staff that we met with were very courteous, and they listened well to us for most of an hour. It was a beautiful example of respectful and peaceful communication and listening. A woman from Bob's office praised TJ for the manner with which he set up a non- confrontational meeting. Do I think that we changed anyone's minds? I won't hold my breath waiting to see anyone from that office defecting to the side of those who want an end to this war. Would we have changed any minds by yelling, demanding and calling names? Never. So, on the surface, it appears that we get the same outcome either way. But now at least we can live together and the door is open for more talks.

More info on the Department of Peace proposal:

Did you know that the first formal proposal for a Department of Peace dates back to 1792? The Department of Peace would aid in both domestic and international issues? Our department of Defense budget for 2006 is $419.3 billion! It's not much to ask for 2% of our U.S. budget to go toward creative ways to avoid violence.

posted by Carol at 9:03 AM 0 comments

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Sir! No Sir!

Click here to watch video of: Not Your Soldier Please forward it to every young person who might think about joining the military. Not Your Soldier members:

* The Ruckus Society
* The War Resisters League Youth & Counter Militarism Project
* The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition
* National Network Opposed to Militarization of Youth
* American Friends Service Committee
* League of Independent Voters

Check the Sir! No Sir! website for showings of the the film, Sir! No Sir! near you. See the trailer here.

posted by Carol at 9:40 AM 1 comments

Mother's Day Without Her Son

May 11, 2006

Dear nancy ,

This Sunday will be the third Mother's Day that I have spent without my oldest child in my life. Casey was killed in Iraq exactly five weeks before Mother's Day in 2004.

Everyday is an incredible experience of pain and longing: for Casey and for his future and for his here and now. Special days like holidays and birthdays always seem to be harder. Casey will never call me again to wish me Happy Mother's Day. I will never get another funny card from him. I will never have a daughter-in-law or grandchild from Casey.

George and Laura Bush will probably celebrate Mother's Day with their daughters, secure and happy in the fact that they are together. Jenna and Barbara will never be put in harm's way for the avaricious and destructive policies of their father, policies that have sent too many of us world's mothers into a tailspin of grief and emptiness.

This Mother's Day, I will be joining CODEPINK and mothers from all over the country in holding a 24-hour vigil in front of the White House beginning Saturday, May 13th at 3 pm. We will be demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq before too many more Cindy and Casey Sheehan’s are produced. We mothers and children of the world will also demand that our government not invade Iran and kill any chance for a peaceful world that we may still have. We will be joined there by Susan Sarandon and many other mothers of peace and courage who are working for the same thing.

George Bush has never met with me to answer what noble cause Casey and over 2400 brave young Americans and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have died for.

Fighting a War on Terror with a War of Terror to enrich the war machine is not a noble cause. Peace is.

Please join us to make our noble cause dream a reality. Come to Washington DC if you can (click here for more info) or participate in a local Mother's Day activity. Support our efforts by sending a rose or making a donation. And work with us in the months ahead as we build a movement of mothers and others powerful enough to stop this war -- and the next one.

Cindy Sheehan

posted by Carol at 8:30 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Trying to Figure Out Rationalizations

In the book, Hell Healing and Resistance, I am reading about Father George Zabelka, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Army Air Force who served as a priest for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in1945. LewRockwell.com also has the text of the speech that Zabelka gave on the 40th anniversary of the bombings.

Some excerpts:

The destruction of civilians in war was always forbidden by the Church, and if a soldier came to me and asked if he could put a bullet through a child's head, I would have told him, absolutely not. That would be mortally sinful. But in 1945 Tinian Island was the largest airfield in the world. Three planes a minute could take off from it around the clock. Many of these planes went to Japan with the express purpose of killing not one child or one civilian but of slaughtering hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of children and civilians - and I said nothing.

As a Catholic chaplain I watched as the Boxcar, piloted by a good Irish Catholic pilot, dropped the bomb on Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, the center of Catholicism in Japan.

I never preached a single sermon against killing civilians to the men who were doing it. I was brainwashed! It never entered my mind to protest publicly the consequences of these massive air raids. I was told it was necessary - told openly by the military and told implicitly by my Church's leadership. (To the best of my knowledge no American cardinals or bishops were opposing these mass air raids. Silence in such matters is a stamp of approval.).

...For the last 1700 years the Church has not only been making war respectable: it has been inducing people to believe it is an honorable profession, an honorable Christian profession. This is not true. We have been brainwashed. This is a lie.

War is now, always has been, and always will be bad, bad news. I was there. I saw real war. Those who have seen real war will bear me out. I assure you, it is not of Christ. It is not Christ's way. There is no way to conduct real war in conformity with the teachings of Jesus. There is no way to train people for real war in conformity with the teachings of Jesus.

For the complete text of the speech, go to LewRockwell.com

And I wonder... If Father Zabelka is correct (and I believe that he is) that war cannot be conducted in conformity with Christ's teachings, and if Jesus firmly stated in the Ten Commandments that "Thou Shalt Not Kill, and if 80 - 83 per cent of the citizens of the U.S. claim to be Christian, including W, what kind of craziness is going on? (My figures are from 2001. Maybe they have dropped significantly since then, but I doubt it.)

I am asking, in all sincerity, for a Christian - or W - to tell me where we can find Jesus saying anything to support invading another country and slaughtering its people. If we want God to bless America, and Jesus is God's only begotten son, then we need to look at following the teachings of God's most beloved.

Labels: Father George Zabelka, Hell Healing and Resistance, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

posted by Carol at 10:59 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Sacred Ditches

Al McCleese has a bunch of great Camp Casey photos, including photos of the members of the Prairie Dog 14 getting arrested for "camping in the ditch".

posted by Carol at 9:52 PM 0 comments

Latest Bakes Sale Update

With continuing on-line donations to BakeSalesForBodyArmor.org and money that is dribbling in here and there, we are now up to $4383 from our bake sale this past weekend.

THANK YOU!!!

posted by Carol at 9:40 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 08, 2006

The Secret to Life

When interviewed shortly before his death, the sculptor Henry Moore was asked if he believed there was a secret to life. "The secret to life", Moore answered without hesitation, "is to have something you devote your entire life to, something you bring your whole self to each day. And the most important thing is - it must be something you cannot possibly do."

Thank you to my teachers, Rabia and Elias, for this quote and for all you give the world.

Labels: Elias, Henry Moore, Rabia, secret to life

posted by Carol at 9:26 PM 0 comments

One More Bake Sale Photo

That's me on the right, next to Gaye. It felt like a New England day that day - cold and wet. I had on four layers and was still cold.

And looking at this photo, I wonder... How did I get so old? It seems like only yesterday....

(Thanks to Lu for the photo!)

posted by Carol at 8:54 AM 0 comments

Exploring Ways To Make Peace Within Ourselves & the World